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Titled Americans.

Titled Americans.—The correspondent of the New York “Evening Post,” writing from Paris after the armistice, commented on the power of propaganda through the medium of decorations bestowed on Americans by some of the foreign governments. The war has assuredly added a long list to the roll of titled Americans, Knights of the Garter and of the Bath and Chevaliers and Commanders of the Legion of Honor. Except Secretary Daniels and former Senator Lewis, practically all accepted the dignities with which they were invested at the hands of royalty. The cross of the Legion of Honor was established by Napoleon and historically is an imperial decoration.

Prominent among those who had knighthood conferred upon them at the hands of the King of England were General Pershing, General Dickman, former Ambassador James W.Gerard, Oscar Straus, Col. C.Cordier, Brigadier General C.B. Wheeler and Major General George W.Goethals (Knight Commander of the Order of St.Michael and St.George). Lieutenant General Robert L.Bullard was decorated by the King of Belgium with the Order of Leopold and made a Commander of the Legion of Honor. General Joseph H.Kuhn, former military attache at Berlin with the American embassy, was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor. James M.Beck, a famous Wall Street corporation lawyer, was made “a Bencher,” an honor never before bestowed on an American, and he also received the Order of the Crown from the King of Belgium; Alfred C.Bedford, chairman of the board of directors of the Standard Oil Company, was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor; Lieutenant Laurenc C.Welling of Mount Vernon received the order of a Chevalier of the Crown of Belgium; the Legion of Honor Cross was conferred on Dr. William T.Manning, rector of Trinity Church, New York; Otto H. Kahn was appointed by the King of Italy, Commander of the Crown of Italy, as was Major Julius A.Adler; J.M. Nye, chief special agent, in charge of King Albert’s train in the United States, was given the order of Chevalier of the Order of Leopold; Elizabeth Marbury was decorated with the Medal of Queen Elizabeth of Belgium “in recognition of services rendered to Belgium since1914.”

Others named to be Knights Commanders by the King of England were Brigadier General George Bell,Jr., Major General William Lassiter, Brigadier General John L.Hines and Brigadier General Charles H.Muir; Commanders of the Order of the Bath, Brigadier General Malin Craig and Brigadier General Harry A.Smith; Commanders of the Order of St.Michael and St.George, Col. John Montgomery, Col. David H.Biddle, Col. William P.Wooten, Col. Horace Stebbins. Several American naval officers were “promoted” and nominated in the Legion of Honor.

Admiral Benson promoted to receive the Grand Cross of the Legion, while Admiral Mayo and Rear-Admirals Sims and Wilson are advanced to the grade of Grand Officer. Rear-Admirals Gleaves, Usher, Long, Griffin, Welles, Taylor and Earle become Commanders of the Legion.

Dr. Henry van Dyke, former American ambassador to the Netherlands, and Alexander J.Hemphill were made Chevaliers of the French Legion of Honor.

Companion of the Order of Bath—Major General William L.Kenly. Companion of the Order of St.Michael and St.George—Brigadier General William Mitchell, Brigadier General George S.Diggs, Colonel Walter Kilmer and Major Harold Fowler.

The widow of Col. Robert Bacon, who fell in action, was invested with the insignia on behalf of her husband of the order of British knighthood; Edward R.Stettinius was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor; the Order of the Crown was conferred on Elliot Wadsworth of Boston; Mrs.James Hamilton Lewis received a French decoration; Jacob A.Riis received the order of Danneborg from the King of Denmark. This list is only a partial one of Americans distinguished in the manner indicated, which prompted Arthur Brisbane in his column in the New York “American” to observe:

We shall have our little titled class in America, thanks to the British King’s action. General Pershing is now “Sir John”—in England, anyhow, and here if he chooses. Our General Dickman, commander of the Third Army, is made a Knight Commander of the Bath. He will be “Sir Joseph” and his wife “Lady Dickman.” Those that “dearly love a Lord” or a Knight are not all English.

In England such men as Gladstone, Carlyle and others refused any title, setting too high a value upon their own dignity. Some American soldiers have missed an opportunity to take democracy seriously.

Clyx.com