THE REPORTER WHO BECAME KING

New Zealand Tablet, 29 April 1915, Page 27

THE REPORTER WHO BECAME KING

Under the above heading (says the Sacred Heart Review) a daily contemporary publishes a sketch of the life of the present King of Belgium • for it appears that when King Albert was a young. prince, desirous of seeing the world and learning about it at first hand, he came to the United States and took some lessons -in that most interesting and strenuous of all schools, daily journalism. The young Belgian prince used to. sign himself ‘John Banks, of New York/ and at other times, ‘ C. A. Harris.’ He had done some newspaper work for a home paper, and had travelled extensively through. Europe, studying commerce, ports, shipyards, etc. The tour to America rounded out his experiences. We are told in the sketch of his life that as the guest of James J. Hill, the . railroad magnate, the young nobleman travelled throughout the North-West. He also spent a month in Minneapolis, finding employment as a protege of Mr. Hill on a newspaper there, and acquitting himself creditably. In St. Paul he repeated the experience, and even now there are city editors in the sister cities who will learn with a shock that the promising ‘ cub ’ they employed then at the behest of the railroad owneris now one of the commanding figures in the greatest war the world has ever known. The Democratic Young-Prince fitted easily into his new environment. He liked journalism because of its opportunities of gaining knowledge in a wide range of subjects, and because of its surprises, interests, and even an element of romance that it held for him. Says his American historian; ‘ If you ever looked into the steady, thoughtful blue eyes of the King you would realise at once that wedded to the hard, practical element in him is the rare and beautiful spirit of the romance of the middle ages. And yet they say that if he had mot been born a prince he would have been a mechanic of exceptional ability—probably an inventor. There are few things that he - ' can not do. He boxes, fences, rides, shoots,'swims ; knows metallurgy, mining, and shipbuilding; is an expert aviator and an all-round engineer. ' He drives his own motoror did before the wax—and should the gear box go wrong he has never hesitated to get on his back under the car and do the fixing himself. A story is told of a pretty waitress of a Tyrol inn who, beholding him after a long struggle with a rebellious motor had made him look like an oiler on a tramp steamer, ordered him from the spick and span place. It was characteristic of him' that appreciating the humor of the situation he quietly obeyed her.’ . An even more amusing incident occurred last summer when the King— who had been the reporter—drove his Queen to a store in a Swiss town. And; while he waited there for her to make her purchases along.came an American lady. She saw the car, and the smart chauffeur standing beside it, reading a newspaper. She was in a hurry. Fortunately here was a taxi at her hand, so stepping into the car ? she curtly commanded

King Albert to drive her to her hotel. The King only ,said : ‘I am at your orders, toad am,’ and drove her to the hotel. She paid him a generous fee, and the royal chauffeur went off in high glee to get his Queen, who was wondering what had become of her husband. When he told her of his experience she joined with him in a, hearty laugh. '-ivir’To King Albert, America is a country of great ideals and of great deeds, and the" generous response of the nation to the needs of his people has cemented the bonds of friendly feeling and admiration. The King who said: ‘ My skin is no better than my men’s/ when urged to leave the trenches, has proved himself to be not only every inch a king and soldier, but also every inch r. man.