A Mayor Abroad

James J. Walker, New York Mayor, continued last week to astonish and charm Europe by his appearance, his behavior, his conversation.

P:In Venice he was photographed feeding the pigeons outside of St. Mark's Cathedral. It was a drizzly morning and the Mayor, with Mrs. Walker, had just attended Mass. This was the occasion for scurrilous comments in the Manhattan press. Slyly wrote the correspondent of the tabloid Daily News: "When they left the Cathedral, the moving picture men wanted Walker to feed the pigeons, since pigeons show up so well in a film, and the Mayor obliged, although pigeon feeding wasn't his home specialty." Slyly wrote the editors, fearing that gum-chewers might miss the delicate wit of this tidbit: "Our mischievous correspondent's inference seems too obvious for pointing." Over their rude insinuation against the Mayor of the largest U. S. city, they put an almost libelous tag: "THERE MAY BE A CACKLE IN THIS."

P:At the Hotel Royal Danieli, Mayor Walker attended a formal luncheon given in his honor by Count Orsi, Podesta of Venice. Having finished what he termed "the best luncheon I have ever drunk," the Mayor spoke to the guests. He reminded them that in New York there are Italian, Chinese, Jewish quarters where no English is understood. Even his interpreter smiled when he remarked: "That is why I've been elected so many times." When congratulated upon this and other sallies, the Mayor made a gesture of dismay, exclaiming: "My goodness, I forgot to mention Columbus. Just imagine an American speaking to Italians and forgetting Colum-bus." P:After three days of lolling in bed or on the Lido beach, Mayor Walker emerged from his hotel to take the train for Rome. Said he: "I now feel like $1,000,000." P:In Rome, the Mayor visited St. Peter's Basilica, saddened by the newly reported disaster to Rome-bound aviators, awed and impressed by the" grandeur of this edifice. Said he: "They must have passed the hat around several times to build all this." Of the catacombs, the Mayor remarked: ". . . Nice fresh tombs, 2,000 years old. . . . Wish we could find a few cata- combs in New York's subsoil. It would save us a lot of money when we build subways."

While Mayor Walker was thus engaged, Manhattan newsreaders were depressed and confounded to read upon the editorial page of tho sedate New York Times an article which 'definitely jeered at the second busiest holder of public office in the U. S. Said the Times: "It is a comfort to New Yorkers to think of their Mayor dressed in a double-breasted grey coat and. . . trousers, as he reclines upon the sunny sands. . . assimilating the wisdom he has acquired on the 'Grand Tour.'. . . They are proud to realize that his motto has been to improve each shining hour, even if this has meant activities far into the night. ... To the itinerant Mr. Walker falls the task of noting, marking and inwardly digesting . . . information, and doing it within a brief respite after a tour of inspection of Venetian ballrooms lasting until 5 a. m. Naturally he is looking forward to a real vacation when he returns from this strenuous 'Student-Reise.'"

P:With Mrs. Walker, who was dressed in a long, black gown and lace mantilla, the Mayor was received by Pope Pius XI at Rome. The Mayor soon emerged from his private audience and said to reporters: "The Holy Father put me at my ease at once. He treated me as if he were my father indeed. He rested his elbow on the large table between us and spoke to me in soft paternal tones. So I rested my elbow on the table also and answered without fear or re-straint." The truth of the Mayor's description became more and more obvious as bits of the conversation were related. Said the Pope: "But you are a very young man to be Mayor of such a large metropolis!" "But I am not as young as I look," said the Mayor.

P:Mayor Walker went into a 45-minute conference with Benito Mussolini. When, after being photographed with him, the Mayor was permitted to leave the presence of Il Duce, there was an immediate outburst of enthusiasm. Said he: ". . . What a wonderful man . . . immense ... I don't know whether he wore a cutaway or riding breeches. ... I only noticed his attraction from the chin up... a man of superior attainments. . . . While we were together there was no minority, only unanimity." P:After a luncheon given for him by Prince Potenziani, Mayor Walker made a speech which he began with witticism that had served him so well in Venice (see above). His words were: "This is the best punch I've ever drunk." When Prince Potenziani expressed his pleasure at entertaining "the chief magistrate of the greatest city in the world, of that fabulous city of incomparable development in which Anglo-Saxon energy with untiring activity has translated into actual fact the boldest conceptions of human thought ..." Mayor replied, "Prince, if you said what I think you said, I'm grateful." Also the Mayor remarked (as he had done at Venice the week previous) : "They call me the late mayor of New York but you don't notice me showing up late in Europe. If the boys back home could see this array of glasses, maybe they would understand why."