YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bought with the income
ofthe
WILLIAM C. EGLESTON FUND

THE
LIFE AND LETTERS
OF
WALTER H. PAGE

ZcUrfyytl 4u^,

Sir Edward Grey (now Viscount Grey of FaUodon), Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, 1905-1916

THE
LIFE AND LETTERS OF
WALTER H. PAGE
BY
, BURTON J. HENDRICK

VOLUME II

GARDEN CITY NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1922

COPYRIGHT, 1921, 1922, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
AT
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.

CONTENTS VOLUME II
CHAPTER PAGB
XIV. The "Lusitania" and After ... 1
XV. The Ambassador and the Lawyers . 53
XVL Dark Days for the Allies ... 81
XVII. Christmas in England, 1915 , . . 103
XVIII. A Perplexed Ambassador .... 128
XIX. Washington in the Summer of 1916. 148
XX. "Peace Without Victory". ... 189
XXL The United States at War . . . 215
XXIL The Balfour Mission to the United
States  248
XXIII. Page— the Man  295
XXIV. A Respite at St. Ives  321
XXV. Getting the American Troops to
France  349
XXVI. Last Days in England  374
XXVII. The End  404
Appendix  407
Index  425
V

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Sir Edward Grey  Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

Col, Edward M. House. From a painting by P. A.
Laszlo  88
The Rt. Hon. Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minis
ter of Great Britain, 1908-1916  89
Herbert C. Hoover, in 1914  104
A facsimile page from the Ambassador's letter of
November 24, 1916, resigning his Ambassador
ship  105
Walter H. Page, at the time of America's entry into
the war, April, 1917  216
Resolution passed by the two Houses of Parliament,
April 18, 1917, on America's entry into the war 217
The Rt. Hon. David Lloyd George, Prime Minister
of Great Britain, 1916—  232
The Rt. Hon. Arthur James Balfour (now the Earl of
Balfour), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
1916-1919  233
Lord Robert Cecil, Minister of Blockade, 1916-1918,
Assistant Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
1918  344
vii

vm list of illustrations
FACING PAGE
General John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of
the American Expeditionary Force in the Great
War  345
Admiral Wilham Sowden Sims, Commander of
American Naval Forces operating in European
waters during the Great War  360
A silver model of the Mayflower, the farewell gift
of the Plymouth Council to Mr. Page . . . 361

THE
LIFE AND LETTERS
OF
WALTER H. PAGE

THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF
WALTER H. PAGE
CHAPTER XIV
the "lusitania" — AND AFTER

THE news of the Lusitania was received at the Amer
ican Embassy at four o'clock on the afternoon of
May 7, 1915. At that time preparations were under way
for a dinner in honour of Colonel and Mrs. House; the
first Lusitania announcement declared that only the ship
itself had been destroyed and that all the passengers and
meinbers ofthe crew had been saved; there was, therefore,
no good reason for abandoning this dinner.
At about seven o'clock, the Ambassador came home;
his manner showed that something extraordinary had
taken place; there were no outward signs of emotion, but
he was very serious. The first news, he now informed
Mrs. Page, had been a mistake ; more than one thousand
men, women, and children had lost their lives, and more
than one hundred of these were American citizens. It was
too late to postpone the dinner but that affair was one of
the most tragic in the social history of London. The
Ambassador was constantly receiving bulletins from his
Chancery, and these, as quickly as they were received, he
read to his guests. His voice was quiet and subdued;
there were no indications of excitement in his manner or
in that of his friends, and hardly of suppressed emotion.

2 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OP WALTER H. PAGB
The atmosphere was rather that of dumb stupefaction.
The news seemed to have dulled everyone's capacity for
thought and even for feeUng. If any one spoke, it was in
whispers. Afterward, in the drawing room, this same men
tal state was the prevaiUng one; there was Uttle denuncia
tion of Germany and practicaUy no discussion as to the
consequences of the crime; everyone's thought was en
grossed by the harrowing and unbeUevable facts which
the Ambassador was reading from the Uttle yeUow sUps
that were periodicaUy brought in. An irresistible fasci
nation evidently kept everybody in the room ; the guests
stayed late, eager for every new item. When they
finaUy left, one after another, their manner was stiU ab
stracted and they said their good-nights in low voices.
There were two reasons for this behaviour. The first was
that the Ambassador and his guests had received the de
tails of the greatest infamy which any supposedly civilized
state had perpetrated since the massacre of Saint Barthol
omew. The second was the conviction that the United
States would at once declare war on Germany.
On this latter point several of the guests expressed their
ideas and one of the most shocked and outspoken was
Colonel House. For a month the President's personal
representative had been discussing with British^statesmen
possible openings for mediation, but aU his hopes in this
direction now vanished. That President WUson would
act with the utmost energy Colonel House took for
granted. This act, he evidently believed, left the United
States no option. "We shaU be at war with Germany
within a month," he declared.
— ' The feeUng that prevaUed in the Embassy this evening
was the one that existed everywhere in London for several
days. EmotionaUy the event acted Uke an anaesthetic.
This was certainly the condition of aU Americans asso-

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 3
dated with the American Embassy, especially Page him
self. A day or two after the sinlting the Ambassador
went to Euston Station, at an early hour in the morning,
to receive the American survivors. The hundred or more
men and women who shambled from the train made a hst
less and bedraggled gathering. Their grotesque clothes,
torn and unkempt — for practically none had had the op
portunity of obtaining a change of dress — ^their expres
sionless faces, their lustreless eyes, their uncertain and
bewUdered walk, faintly reflected an experience such as
comes to few people in this world. The most noticeable
thing about these unfortunates was their lack of interest
in their surroundings; everything had apparently been
reduced to a blank; the fact that practicaUy none made
any reference to their ordeal, or could be induced to dis
cuss it, was a matter of common talk in London. And
something of this disposition now became noticeable in
Page himself. He wrote his dispatches to Washington
in an abstracted mood; he went through his duties almost
with the detachment of a sleep-walker; like the Lusitania
survivors, he could not talk much at that time about the
scenes that had taken place off the coast of Ireland. Yet
there were many indications that he was thinking about
them, and his thoughts, as his letters reveal, were con
cerned with more things than the tragedy itself. He
beUeved that his country was now face to face with its
destiny. What would Washington do?
Page had a characteristic way of thinking out his prob
lems. He performed his routine work at the Chancery
in the daytime, but his reaUy serious thinking he did in
his own room at night. The picture is stiU a vivid one
in the recoUection of his family and his other intimates.
Even at this time Page's health was not good, yet he fre
quently spent the evening at his office in Grosvenor

4 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Gardens, and when the long day's labours were finished,
he would walk rather wearUy to his home at No. 6 Gros
venor Square. He would enter the house slowly — and his
walk became slower and more tired as the months went
by — go up to his room and cross to the fireplace, so ap
parently wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hardly
greeted members of his own fanuly. A wood fire was kept
bmriing for him, winter and summer alike; Page would
put on his dressing gown, drop into a friendly chair, and
sit there, doing nothing, reading nothing, saying nothing
— only thinking. Sometimes he would stay for an hour;
not infrequently he would remain tiU two, three, or four
o'clock in the morning; occasions were not unknown when
his almost motionless figure would be in this same place
at daybreak. He never slept through these nights, and
he never even dozed ; he was wide awake, and his mind was
silently working upon the particular problem that was
uppermost in his thoughts. He never rose untU he had
solved it or at least untU he had decided upon a course of
action. He would then get up abruptly, go to bed, and
sleep like a child. The one thing that made it possible
for a man of his deUcate frame, racked as it was by anx
iety and over work, to keep steadily at his task, was the
wonderful gift which he possessed of sleeping.
Page had thought out many problems in this way. The
tension caused by the sailing of the Dada, m January,
1915, and the deftness with which the issue had been
avoided by substituting a French for a British cruiser,
has already been descrUaed. Page discovered this solu
tion on one of these aU-night self-communings. It was
ahnost two o'clock in the morning that he rose, said to
himself, "I've got it!" and then went contentedly to bed.
And durmg the anxious months thatfoUowed theLusitoraia,
the Arabic, and those other outrages which have now

THE "lusitania" — AND AFTER 5
taken their place in history, he spent night after night
turning the matter over in his mind. But he found no
way out of the humiUations presented by the poUcy of
Washington. "Here we are swung loose in time," he wrote to his son
Arthur, a few days after the first Lusitania note had been
sent to Germany, "nobody knows the day or the week or
the month or the year — and we are caught on this island,
with no chance of escape, whUe the vast slaughter goes on
and seems just beginning, and the degradation of war
goes on week by week ; and we Uve in hope that the United
States wiU come in, as the only chance to give us standing
and influence when the reorganization of the world must
begin. (Beware of betraying the word 'hope'!) It has
aU passed far beyond anybody's power to describe. I
simply go on day by day into unknown experiences and
emotions, seeing nothing before me very clearly and re
membering only dimly what Ues behind. I can see only
one proper thing: that aU the world should faU to and hunt
this wUd beast down.
"Two photographs of Uttle MoUie^ on my mantelpiece
recaU persons and scenes and hopes unconnected with the
war: few other things can. Bless the baby, she couldn't
guess what a sweet purpose she serves."
The sensations of most Americans in London during
this crisis are almost indescribable. Washington's failure
promptly to meet the situation affected them with aston
ishment and humiUation. Colonel House was confident
that war was impending, and~Ior this reason J&e iiurriecT
his preparations to leave England; he wished to be in the
United States, at the President's side, when the declara-
fion was made. With this feeUng about Mr. Wilson,
iThe Ambassador's granddaughter.

6 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
Colonel House received a fearful shock a day or two after
the Lusitania had gone down: whUe walking in PiccadiUy,
he caught a gUmpse of one of the famous sandwich men,
bearing a poster of an afternoon newspaper. This glaring
broadside bore the foUowing legend: "We are too proud
to fight — ^Woodrow Wilson." The sight of that placard^
was Colonel House's first intimation that the President
mightnot act vigorously. He made no attempt to conceal
from Page and other important men at the Americf^n Km-
bassy the shock which it had given him. Soon the whole
of England was ringing with these six words; the news
papers were filled wixh stmgmg editorials and cartoons,
and the music haUs found in tUe WUsonian phrase mato-
ials for their choicest jibes. Even in more serious quarters
America was the subject of the most severe denunciation.
No one felt these strictures more poignantly than Presi-
dent WUson's closest confidant. A day or two before sail
ing home he came into the Embassy greatly depressed at
the prevaiUng revulsion against the United States. "I
feel," Colonel House said to Page, "as though I had been
given a kick at every lamp post coming down Constitution
HiU." A day or two afterward Colonel House sailed for
America. 11
And now came the period of distress and of disUlusion-
ment. Three Lusitania notes were sent and were evas-
ively answered, and Washington stiU seemed to be mark
ing time. The one event m this exciting period which
gave Page satisfaction was Mr. Bryan's resignation as
Secretary of State. For Mr. Bryan personaUy Page had a
certain fondness, but as head of the State Department the
Nebraska orator had been a cause of endless vexation.
Many of Page's letters, aheady printed, bear evidence of

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 7
the utter demoraUzation which existed in this branch of
the Administration and this demoraUzation became es
peciaUy glaring during the Lusitania crisis. No attempt
was made even at this momentous period to keep the Lon
don Embassy informed as to what was taking place in
Washington; Page's letters and cablegrams were, for the
most part, unacknowledged and unanswered, and the
American Ambassador was frequently obhged to obtain
his information about the state of feeUng in Washington
from Sir Edward Grey. It must be said, in justice to Mr.
Bryan, that this carelessness was nothing particularly new,
for it had worried many ambassadors before Page. Readers
of Charles Francis Adams's correspondence meet with the
same complaints during the CivU War; even at the time
of the Trent crisis, when for a fortnight Great Britain and
the United States were Uving on the brink of war, Adams
was kept entirely in the dark about the plans of
Washington.^ The letters of John Hay show a simUar
condition during his brief ambassadorship to Great Britain
in 1897-1898.='
But Mr. Bryan's incumbency was guilty of diplomatic
vices which were pecuUarly its own. The "leaks" in the
State Department, to which Page has aheady" relerreci,
were constantly taking place^the Ambassador would send
the most contidential cipher dispatches to his superior,
cautioning the Department that they must be held in
violably secret, and then he would pick up the London
newspapers the next morning and find that everything
had been cabled from Washington. To most readers, the
informal method of conducting foreign business, as it is
disclosed in these letters, probably comes as somethmg of
i"A Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861-1865," edited by Worthington Chauncey
Ford. Vol. I, p. 84.
2"The life and Letters of John Hay," by William Roscoe Thayer. Vol. II,
p. 166.

8 THE life and letters OF WALTER H. PAGE
a shock. Page is here discovered discussing state mat
ters, not in correspondence with the Secretary of State,
but in private unofficial communications to the Presi
dent, and especiaUy to Colonel House — the latter at that
time not an official person at aU. AU this, of course,
was extremely irregular and, in any properly organized
State Department, it would have been even reprehensible.
But the point is that there was no properly organized
State Department at that time, and the impossibiUty of
conducting business through the regular channels com
peUed Page to adopt other means. "There is only one
Avay to reform the State Department," he informed Colo
nel House at this time. " That is toraze the whole build
ing, with its archives and papers, to the groimd, and beginT
aU over again.''
This state of affairs in Washington explains the curious
fact that the real diplomatic history of the United States
and Great Britain during this great crisis is not to be found
in the archives of the State Department, for the official
documents on ffle there consist of the most routine tele
grams, which are not particularly informing, but in the
Ambassador's personal correspondence with the President,
Colonel House, and a few other intimates. The State
Department did not have the first requisite of a properly
organized foreign office, for it could not be trusted with
confidential mformation. The Department did not teU
Page what it was doing, but it apparently told the whole
world what Page was doing. It is an astonishing fact that
Page could not write and cable the most important de
tails, for he was afraid that they would promptly be given
to the reporters.
"I shaU not send another confidential message to the
State Department," Page wrote to Colonel House,

THE LUSITANIA — AND AFTER 9
September 15, 1914; "it's too dangerous. Time and time
again now the Department has lealted. Last week, I
sent a dispatch and I said in the body of it, 'this is confi
dential and under no condition to be given out or made public,
but to be regarded as inviolably secret.' The very next
morning itwas telegraphed from Washington to the London
newspapers. Bryan telegraphed me that he was sure it
didn't get out from the Department and that he now had
so fixed it that there could be no leak. He's said that at
least four times before. The Department swarms with
newspaper men, I hear. But whether it does or not the
leak continues. I have to go with my taU between my
legs and apologize to Sir Edward Grey and to do myself that
shame and to do my very Pest to keep his coilfldeirce=='
%ainst these unnecessary oH^ ihe only way to be safe
fe to do tUe job perfunctorily, to answer the questions the
Department sends and to do nothing on your own ac
count. That's the reason so many of our men do their
jobs in that way — or one reason and a strong one. We can
never have an alert and energetic and powerful service
untU men can trust the Department and until they can
get necessary information from it. I wrote the President
that of course I'd go on tiU the war ended and aU the ques
tions growing out of it were settled, and that then he must
excuse me, if I must continue to be exposed to this danger
and humiUation. In the meantime, I shaU send aU my
confidential matter in private letters to him."
Page did not regard Mr. Bryan's opinions and attitudes
as a joke: to him they were a serious matter and, in his
eyes, Bryan was most interesting as a national menace.
He regarded the Secretary as the extreme expression of
an irrational sentimentahsm that was in danger of under
mining the American character, especiaUy as the kind of

10 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
thought he represented was manifest in many phases of
American life. In a moment of exasperation. Page gave
ression to this feeling in a letter to his son :

To Arthur W. Page
London, June 6, 1915.
Dear Arthur:
. . . We're in danger of being feminized and fad-
ridden — grape juice (God knows water's good enough:
why grape juice?); pensions; Christian Science; peace
cranks; efficiency-correspondence schools; aid-your-
memory; women's clubs; co-this and co-t'other and cod-
dhng in general; Billy Sunday; petticoats where breeches
ought to be and breeches where petticoats ought to be;
white Uvers and soft heads and milk-and-water; — I don't
want war: nobody knows its horrors or its degradations or
its cost. But to get rid of hyphenated degenerates per
haps it's worth while, and to free us from 'isms and soft
folk. That's the domestic view of it. As for being
kicked by a sauerkraut caste — 0 Lord, give us backbone!
Heartily yours, W. H. P.
In the bottom of this note, Page has cut a notch in the
paper and against it he has written: "This notch is the
place to apply a match to this letter."

'Again and ever I am reminded," Page also Avrote in
reference to Bryan's resignation, "of the danger of hav
ing to do with cranks. A certain orderUness of mind and
conduct seems ei§sential for safety in this short Ufe.
SpirituaUsts, bone-rubbers, anti-vivisectionists, aU sort
of anti's in fact, those who have fads about education or
fads against it, Perfectionists, Daughters of the Dove of
Peace, Sons of the Roaring Torrent, itinerant peace-

THE " LUSITANIA " — AND AFTER 11
mongers — aU these may have a real genius among them
once in forty years; but to look for an exception to the
common run of yeUow dogs and damfools among them is
like opening oysters with the hope of finding pearls. It's
the common man we want and the uncommon common
man when we can find him — ^never the crank. This is
the lesson of Bryan."
At one time, however, Mr. Bryan's departure seemed
Ukely to have important consequences for Page. Colonel
House and others strongly urged the President to caU him
home from London and make him Secretary of State.
» This was the third position in President WUson's Cabinet
for which Page had been considered. The early plans
to make hini Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of
Agriculture have already been described. Of aU cabinet
posts, however, the one that would have especiaUy at-
liacted him would have been the Department of State.
But President Wilson beUeved that the appointment of an
Ambassador at one of the beUigerent capitals, especiaUy
of an Ambassador whose sympathies for the AUies were
so pronounced as were Page's, would have been an "un
neutral" act, and, therefore. Colonel House's recommen
dation was not approved. From Edward M. House
Roslyn, Long Jsland,
June 25th, 1915.
Dear Page:
The President finaUy decided to appoint Lansing to
succeed Mr. Bryan. In my opinion, he did wisely, though
I would have preferred his appointing you.
The argument against your appointment was the fact
that you are an Ambassador at one of the belUgerent

12 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
capitals. The President did not think it would do, and
from what I read, when your name was suggested I take
it there would have been much criticism. I am sorry —
sorrier than I can teU you, for it would have worked ad
mirably in the general scheme of things.
However, I feel sure that Lansing wiU do the job, and
that you wiU find your relations with him in every way
satisfactory. The President spent yesterday with me and we talked
much of you. He is looking well and feeUng so.
I read the President your letter and he enjoyed it as
much as I did.
I am writing hastily, for I am leaving for Manchester,
Massachusetts, where I shall be during July and August.
Your sincere friend, E. M. House.
Ill
But, in addition to the Lusitania crisis, a new terror now
loomed on the horizon. Page's correspondence reveals
that Bryan had more reasons than one for his resignation;
he was now planning to undertake a seff-appointed mission
to Europe for the purpose of opening peace negotiations
entirely on his own account.
From Edward M. House
Manchester, Massachusetts,
August 12th, 1915.
Dear Page:
The Bryans have been stopping with the X's. X
writes me that Bryan told him that he intended to go to
Europe soon and try peace negotiations. He has Lloyd
George m mind in England, and it is then his purpose to
go to Germany.

the "lusitania"^— and after 13
I take it he wiU want credentials from the President
which, of course, he wiU not want to give, but just what
he wiU feel obUged to give is another story. I anticipated
this when he resigned. I knew it was merely a matter of
time when he would take this step.
He may find encouragement in Germany, for he is in
high favour now in that quarter. It is his purpose to
oppose the President upon the matter of "preparedness,"
and, from what we can learn, it wiU not be long before
there wiU be open antagonism between the Administra
tion and himself.
It might be a good thing to encourage his going to
Europe. He would probably come back a sadder and
wiser man. I take it that no one in authority in England
would discuss the matter seriously with him, and, in
France, I do not beUeve he could even get a hearing.
Please let me have your impressions upon this subject.
I wish I could be near you to-day for there are so many
things I could teU that I cannot write.
Your friend, E. M. House.
To Edward M. House
American Embassy, London [Undated].
Dear House:
Never mind about Bryan. Send him over here ff you
wish to get rid of him. He'U cut no more figure than a
tar-baby at a Negro camp-meeting. If he had come while
he was Secretary, I should have jumped off London
Bridge and the country would have had one ambassador
less. But I shaU enjoy him now. You see some peace
crank from the United States comes along every week —
some crank or some gang of cranks. There've been two
this week. Ever since the Daughters of the Dove of

14 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Peace met at The Hague, the game has become popular
in America; and I haven't yet heard that a single one has
been shot — so far. I think that some of them are Ukely
soon to be hanged, however, because there are signs that
they may come also from Germany. The same crowd
that suppUes money to buy labour-leaders and the press
and to blow up factories in the United States keeps a good
supply of peace-Uars on tap. It'U be fun to watch Bryan
perform and never suspect that anybody is lying to him
or laughing at him; and he'U go home convinced that he's
done the job and he'U let loose doves aU over the land tiU
they are as thick as EngUsh sparrows. Not even the
President could teach him anything permanently. He
can do no harm on this side the world. It's only your
side that's in any possible danger; and, ff I read the signs
right, there's a diminishing danger there.
No, there's never yet come a moment when there was
the sUghtest chance of peace. Did the Emperor not say
last year that peace would come in October, and again
this year in October? Since he said it, how can it come?
The ambitions and the actions of men, my friend, are
determined by their antecedents, their surroundings, and
their opportunities — ^the great deeds of men before them
whom consciously or unconsciously they take for models,
the codes they are reared by, and the chances that they
think they see. These influences shaped Alexander and
Caesar, and they shaped you and me. Now every mon
arch on the Continent has behind him the Napoleonic
example. " Can I do that? ' ' crosses the mind of every one.
Of course every one thinks of himseff as doing it benefi
cently — ^for the good of the world. Napoleon, himseff,
persuaded himseff of his benevolent intentions, and the
devU of it was he persuaded other people also. Now the
only monarch in Europe in our time who thought he had a

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 15
chance is your friend in BerUn. When he told you last
year (1914) that of course he didn't want war, but that he
was "ready," that's what he meant. A similar ambition,
of course, comes into the mind of every professional
soldier of the continent who rises to eminence. In BerUn
you have both — ^the absolute monarch and the miUtary
class of ambitious soldiers and their fighting machine.
Behind these men walks the Napoleonic ambition aU the
time, just as in the United States we Ue down every night
in George Washington's feather-bed of no entangUng
alUances. Then remember, too, that the German monarchy is a
cross between the Napoleonic ambition and its inheritance
from Frederick the Great and Bismarck. I suppose the
three damnedest Uars that were ever born are these
three — old Frederick, Napoleon, and Bismarck — ^not, I
take it, because they naturaUy loved lying, but because
the game they played constantly caUed for lying. There
was no other way to play it : they had to fool people all the
time. You have abundant leisure — do this: Read the
whole career of Napoleon and write down the startUng
and exact paraUels that you wiU find there to what is
happening to-day. The French were united and patriotic,
just as the Germans now are. When they invaded other
people's territory, they said they were attacked and that
the other people had brought on war. They had their
lying diplomats, their corruption funds; they levied money
on cities and states; they took booty; and they were God's
elect. It's a wonderful paraUel — ^not strangely, because
the game is the same and the moral methods are the same.
Only the tools are somewhat different — ^the submarine, for
example. Hence the Lusitania disaster (not disavowed,
you wiU observe), the Arabic disaster, the propaganda,
underground and above, in the United States. And

16 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
there'U be more. The Napoleonic Wars were about eleven
years long. I fancy that we shall have war and wars
from this attempt to dominate Europe, for perhaps as
long a period. The Balkans can't be quieted by this war
only, nor Russia and Italy perhaps. And Germany may
have a series of earthquakes herseff — ^internal explosions.
Then Poland and perhaps some of the Scandinavian
States. Nobody can teU.
I cannot express my admiration of the President's
management, so far at least, of his colossal task of leading
us right. He has shown his supreme wisdom up to this
point and I have the profoundest confidence in his judg
ment. But I hope he doesn't fool himseff about the fu
ture; I'm sure he doesn't. I see no possible way for us to
keep out, because I know the ignorance and falseness of
the German leaders. They'll drown or kiU more Amerr
leans — on the sea and in America. They may at last even
attack one of our own passenger ships, or do something
that will dramatically reveal them to the whole American
people. Then, of course, the tune wiU be caUed. It's
only a question of time ; and I am afraid the war wiU last
long enough to give them time. An early peace is aU that
can prevent them from driving us at last into war; and I
can see no chance of an early peace. You had as well pre
pare as fast as the condition of pubUc opinion wiU permit.
There could be no better measure of the immeasurable
moral advance that the United States has made over
Europe than the increduUty of our people. They simply
can't comprehend what the Napoleonic legend can do,
nor the low poUtical moraUty of the Continent — of BerUn
in particular. Hence they don't beUeve it. We have
gone on for 100 years working might and main to better
our condition and the condition of people about us — ^the
greatest effort made by the largest number of people since

THE lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 17
the world began to further the mood and the arts of peace.
There is no other such chapter in human history as our
work for a hundred years. Yet just a hundred years ago
the Capitol at Washington was burned by — a political
oUgarchy in the freest country of Europe — as damnable
an atrocity as you will fmd in history. The Germans
are a hundred years behind the EngUsh in poUtical devel
opment and poUtical moraUty.
So, let WiUum J. come. He can't hurt Europe — ^nor
help it; and you can spare him. Let all the Peace-gang
come. You can spare them, too; and they can do no harm
here. Let somebody induce Hoke Smith to come, too.
You have hit on a great scheme — ^friendly deportation.
And Bryan won't be alone. Daughters of the Dove of
Peace and Sons of the OUve Branch come every week.
The latest Son came to see me to-day. He said that the
German ChanceUor told him that he wanted peace —
wants it now and wants it bad, and that only one thing
stood in the way — i£ England would agree not to take
Belgium, Germany would at once make peace! This
otherwise sensible American wanted me to take him to see
Sir Edward to teU him this, and to suggest to him to go
over to HoUand next week to meet the German ChanceUor
and fix it up. A few days ago a pious preacher chap
(American) who had come over to "fix it aU up," came
back from France and caUed on me. He had seen some
thing in France — ^he was excited and he didn't quite make
it clear what he had seen; but he said that if they'd only
let him go home safely and quickly he'd promise not to
mention peace any more — did I think the American boats
entirely safe? — So, you see, I do have some fun even in
these dark days. Yours heartily, W. H. Page.

18 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
IV
This letter discloses that Page was pinning his faith m
President Wilson, and that he stUl had confidence in the
President's determmation to uphold the national honour.
Page was not one of those who thought that the United
States should declare war immediately after the Lusitania.
The President's course, in giving Germany a chance to
make amends, and to disavow the act, met with his ap
proval, and he found, also, much to admire m Mr. Wilson's
fu-st Lusitania note. His judgment in this matter was
based first of aU upon the merits of the case; besides this,
his admu-ation for Mr. Wilson as a pubUc man was strong.
To think otherwise of the President would have been a
great grief to the T^mbassador and to differ with his
chief on the tremendous issue of the war would have
meant for Page the severance of one of the most cherished
associations of his Ufe. The interest which he had shown
in advocating Wilson's presidential candidacy has aheady
been set forth; and many phases of the Wilson adminis
tration had aroused his admiration. The President's
handUng of domestic problems Page regarded as a master
piece in reconciling statesmanship with practical poUtics,
and his energetic attitude on the Panama Tolls had in
troduced new standards into American foreign relations.
Page could not sympathize with all the details of the WU
sonian Mexican poUcy, yet he saw in it a high-minded
purpose and a genuine humanitarianism. But the out
break of war presented new aspects of Mr. Wilson's mind.
The President's attitude toward the European struggle,
his conception of "neutrahty," and his failure to grasp
the meaning of the conflict, seemed to Page to show a lack
of fundamental statesmanship; stiU his faith in Wilson
was deep-seated, and he did not abandon hope that the

THE "lusitania" — AND AFTER 19
President could be brought to see things as they reaUy
were. Page even beUeved that he might be mstrumental
in his conversion.
But in the summer and autumn of 1915 one agony
foUowed another. The "too proud to fight" speech was
in Page's mind nothing less than a tragedy. The presi
dent's first Lusitania note for a time restored the Ambas
sador's confidence; it seemed to show that the President
intended to hold Germany to that "strict accountabiUty "
which he had threatened. But Mr. Wilson's course now
presented new difficulties to his Ambassador. StiU Page
beUeved that the President, in his own way and in
his own time, would find a path out of his dUemma
that would protect the honour and the safety of the
United States. If any of the Embassy subordinates
became impatient over the procedure of Washington, he
did not find a sympathetic Ustener in the Ambassador.
The whole of London and of Europe might be resounding
with denunciations of the White House, but Page would
tolerate no manifestations of hostiUty in his presence.
"The problem appears different to Washington than it
does to us," he would say to his confidants. "We see
only one side of it; the President sees aU sides. If we give
him aU the facts, he wUl decide the thing wisely." Eng
Ushmen with whom the Ambassador came into contact
soon learned that they could not become ffippant or crit
ical about Mr. Wilson in his presence; he would resent
the shghtest hostile remark, and he had a way of phrasing
his rebukes that usuaUy discouraged a second attempt.
About this time Page began to keep closely to himseff,
and to decUne invitations to dinners and to country houses,
even those with which he was most friendly. The rea
son was that he could not meet EngUshmen and EngUsh-
women, or even Americans who were resident in England,

20 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
on his old easy famiUar terms; he knew the ideas which
everybody entertained about his country, and he knew
also what they were saying, when he was not among them;
the restraint which his presence necessarily put upon his
friends produced an uncongenial atmosphere, and the
Ambassador therefore gave up, for a time, those dis
tractions which had ordinarily proved such a deUghtful
rehef from his duties. For the first time since he had come
to England he found himseff a sohtary man. He even
refused to attend the American Luncheon Club in London
because, in speeches and in conversation, the members
did not hesitate to assaU the WUson poUcies.
Events, however, eventuaUy proved too strong for the
most devoted supporter of President Wilson. After the
Arabic and the Hesperian, Page's official intimates saw
signs that tne Ambassador was losmg contidennft in his nIH
friend. ~He would discuss Mr. Wilson occasionaUy, with
those secretaries, such as Mr. LaughUn, in whom his con
fidence was strongest; his expressions, however, were never
Ifippant or violent. Ihat Page could De bitmg as weU as
EriUiant in his comments on pubhc personages his let
ters abundantly reveal, yet he never exercised his talent
for sarcasm or invective at the expense of the White
House. He never forgot that Mr. Wilson was President
and that he was Ambassador; he would stiU defend
the Administration; and he even now contmued to
fmd consolation in the reflection that Mr. Wilson was
Uving in a different atmosphere and that he had diffi
culties to confront of which a man in London could know
nothing. The Ambassador's emotion was rather one of
disappointment and sorrow, mingled with anxiety as to
the pUght into which his country was being led. As to
his duty in this situation, however. Page never hesi
tated. In_his^ relations with hiV Kmliflaay pnH with the

THE "lusitania" — AND AFTER 21
British world he mamtamed this non-critical attitnde: hut
in his letters to President Wilson and Colonel House,
he was describing the situation, and expressing his con
victions, with the utmost freedom and frankness. In
both these attitudes Page was consistent and absolutely
loyal. It was his duty to carry out the Wilson instruc
tions and he had too high a conception of the Ambassa
dorial office to show to the world any unfavourable opin
ions he may have held about his country's course. His
duty to his post made it just as imperative that he set
forth to the President the facts exactly as they were.
And this the Ambassador now proceeded to do. For the
mere ornamental dignities of an Ambassadorship Page
cared nothing; he was wasting his health in his duties and
exhausting his private resources; much as he loved the
English and congenial as were his surroundings, the fear
of being recaUed for "disloyalty" or insubordination
never influenced him. The letters which he now wrote
to Colonel House and to President Wilson himseff are
probably without paraUel in the diplomatic annals of this
or of any other country. In them he told the President
precisely what EngUshmen thought of him and of the ex
tent to which the United States was suffering in European
estimation from the Wilson poUcy. His boldness some
times astounded his associates. One day a friend and
adviser of President Wilson's came into the Ambassador's
office just as Page had finished one df his communications
to Washington.
"Read that!" the Ambassador said, handing over the
manuscript to his visitor.
As the caUer read, his countenance displayed the pro
gressive stages of his amazement. When he had finished,
his hands dropped helplessly upon his knees.
" Is that the way you write to the President? " he gasped.

22 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
"Ofcourse," Page repUed, quietly. "Why not? Why
shouldn't I teU hhn the truth? That is what I am here
for." "There is no other person in the world who dare talk to
him Uke that!" was the reply.
This is unquestionably the fact. That PresidentWil-
son did not Uke people about him whose views were opposed
to his own is now no secret, and during the period when Im
poficy was one of the great issues of the world there was
probably no one except Page w^ho intruded upon his soUtude
with ideas that so abruptly disagreed with the opinions of
the White House. The letters which Page wrote Colonel
House were intended, of course, for the President him
seff, and practicaUy all of them Colonel House read
aloud to the head of the nation. The two men would
closet themselves in the old cabinet room on the second
floor of the White House — ^that same room in which Lin
coln had met his advisers during CivU War days; and here
Colonel House would quietly read the letters in which Page
so mercUessly portrayed the situation as it appeared in
EngUsh and European eyes. The President Ustened im
passively, giving no sign of approval or disapproval, and
hardly, at times, of much interest. In the earher days,
when Page's letters consisted of pictures of EngUsh Ufe
and EngUsh men, and colourful descriptions of England
under the stress of war, the President was vastly enter
tained; he would laugh loudly at Page's wit, express his
deUght at his graphic and pungent style and feel deeply
the horrors of war as his Ambassador unfolded them. " I
always found Page compelUng on paper," Mr. Wilson re
marked to Mr. LaughUn, during one of the latter's visits
to Washington. "I could never resist him — ^I get more
information from his letters than from any other single
source. TeU him to keep it up." It was during this

THE LUSriANIA — ^AND AFTER 23
period that the President used occasionally to read Page's
letters to the Cabinet, expressing his great appreciation of
their charm and historical importance. "The President
quoted from one of the Ambassador's letters to the Cab
inet to-day," a member of the Cabmet wrote to Mrs.
Page m February, 1915. "'Some day,' the President
said, T hope that Walter Page's letters wiU be pubUshed.
They are the best letters I have ever read. They make
you feel the atmosphere in England, understand the peo
ple, and see into the motives of the great actors.' " The
President repeated this statement many tunes, and his
letters to Page show how greatly he enjoyed and profited
from this correspondence. But after the sinking of the
Lusitania and the Arabic his attitude toward Page and his
letters changed.
He now found Uttle pleasure or satisfaction in the Page
communications. When Mr. Wilson found that one ofhis
former confidemts had turned out to be a critic, that man
instantaneously passed out of his Ufe. And this was now
Page's fate ; the friendship and associations of forty years
were as though they had never been. Just why Mr.
WUson did not recaU his Ambassador is a question that
has puzzled Page's friends. He would sometimes refer
to him as a man who was "moreBritish than the BritislTT^
as one who had been taken completelv captive bv British
blandishments, but he never came to the point of dis-
TTvissrng hJTn. Perhaps he did not care to face the public""
scandal that such an act would have caused; but a more
plausible reason is that Page, despite the causes which he
had given for irritation, was indispensable to him. Page's
early letters had furnished the President ideas which had
taken shape in Wilson's poUcies, and, disagreeable as the
communications now became, there are ^yidgncep, that
they influenced the soUtary statesman in the White House,

24 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
and that they had much to do in finally forcing Mr. Wil
son into the war. The alternative question, as to why
Page did not retire when he found himseff so out of sym
pathy with the President, wiU be sufficiently answered in
subsequent chapters; at present it may be said that he did
resign and only consented to remain at the urgent request
of Washington. In fact, aU during 1915 and 1916, there
seemed to be a fear in Washington that Page would defi
nitely abandon the London post. On one occasion, when the
newspapers pubUshed rumours to this effect, Page received
an urgent despatch from Mr. Lansing. The message
came at a time — ^the date was October 26, 1915 — ^when
Page was especially discouraged over the Washington
poUcy. " Representatives ofthe press," said Mr. Lansing,
"have repeated rumours that you are planning to resign.
These have been brought to the President's attention,
and both he and I have denied them. StiU these rumours
persist, and they cause both the President and me great
anxiety. We cannot beUeve that they are weU founded.
" In view of the fact that they are so persistent, we have
thought it weU to inform you of them and to teU you how
earnestly we hope that they are baseless. We trust that
you wiU set both our minds at rest."
If Page had ever had any compunction about addressing
the President in blunt phrases these expressions certainly
convinced him that he was a free agent.
Yet Page himself at times had his doubts as to the value
of this correspondence. He would frequently discuss the
matter with Mr. LaughUn. "That's a pretty harsh let
ter," he would say. "I don't Uke to talk that way to the
President, yet it doesn't express haff what I feel."
"It's your duty to teU the President the real state of
affairs," Mr. Laughlin would urge.
" But do you suppose it does any good? " Page would ask.

THE LUSITANIA — AND AFTER 25
"Yes, it's bound to, and whether it does or not, it's
your business to keep him informed."
If in these letters Page seems to lay great stress on the
judgment of Great Britam and Europe on American
poUcy, it must be remembered that that was his particular
province. One of an Ambassador's most important du
ties is to transmit to his country the pubUc opinion of the
country to which he is accredited. It was Page's place to
teU Washmgton what Great Britam thought of it; it was
Washington's business to formulate pohcy, after giving
due consideration to this and other matters.
To Edward M. House July 21, 1915.
Dear House:
I enclose a pamphlet in ridicule of the President. I
don't know who wrote it, for my inquiries so far have
brought no real information. I don't feel like sending it
to him. I send it to you — ^to do with as you think best.
This thing alone is, of course, of no consequence. But it
is symptomatic. There is much feeling about the slowness
with which he acts. One hundred and twenty people
(Americans) were drowned on the Lusitania and we are
StiU writing notes about it — ^to the damnedest pirates that
ever blew up a ship. Anybody who knows the Germans
knows, of course, that they are simply playing for time,
that they are not going to "come down," that Von Tirpitz
is on deck, that they'd just as Uef have war with us as not
— perhaps had rather — because they don't want any large
nation left fresh when the war ends. They'd like to have
the whole world bankrupt. There is a fast growing feeling
here, therefore, that the American Government is pusUlan
imous — dalUes with 'em, is affected by the German propa
ganda, etc., etc. Of course, such a judgment is not fair.

26 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
It is formed without knowuag the conditions in the United
States. But I thmk you ought to reaUze the strength of
this sentiment. No doubt before you receive this, the
President wiU send something to Germany that wUl
amount to an ultimatum and there wiU be at least a mo
mentary change of sentiment here. But looking at the
thing in a long-range way, we're bound to get into the war.
For the Germans wiU blow up more American traveUers
without notice. And by daUying with them we do not
change the ultimate result, but we take away from ourselves
the spunk and credit of getting in instead of being kicked
and cursed in. We've got to get in: they won't play the
game in any other way. I have news direct from a high
German source in BerUn which strongly confirms this. . . .
It's a curious thing to say. But the only solution that
I see is another Lusitania outrage, which would force war.
W. H. P.
P. S. The London papers every day say that the Presi
dent wiU send a strong note, etc. And the people here
say, "Damn notes: hasn't he written enough?" Writing
notes hurts nobody — changes nothing. The Washington
correspondents to the London papers say that Burleson,
the Attorney-General, and Daniels are Bryan men and
are holding the President back.
The prophecy contained in this letter was quickly ful
fiUed. A week or two after Colonel House had received
it, the Arabic was sunk with loss of American Ufe.
Page was taking a brief hoUday with his son Frank in
Rowsley, Derbyshire, when this news came. It was tele
graphed from the Embassy.
"That settles it," he said to his son. " They have sunk
the Arabic. That means that we shaU break with Ger
many and I've got to go back to London."

THE LUSITANIA — AND AFTER 27
To Edward M. House
American Embassy, London, August 23, 1915.
Dear House:
The sinking of the Arabic is the answer to the President
and to your letter to me. And there'U be more such an
swers. You said to me one day after you had got back
from your last visit to Berlin: "They are impossible."
I think you told the truth, and surely you know your Ger
man and you know your BerUn — or you did know them
when you were here.
The question is not what we have done for the AUies,
not what any other neutral country has done or has faUed
to do — such comparisons, I tliink, are far from the point.
The question is when the right moment arrives for us to
save our seff-respect, our honour, and the esteem and fear
(or the contempt) in which the world will hold us.
BerUn has the Napoleonic disease. If you foUow Na
poleon's career — ^his excuses, his evasions, his inventions,
the wUd French enthusiasm and how he kept it up — you
wiU find an exact paraUel. That becomes plainer every
day. Europe may not be wholly at peace in five years —
may be ten. HastUy and heartUy, W. H. P.
I have your note about WiUum J. . . . Crank once, crank
always. My son, never tie up with a crank. ^ jj p
To Edward M. House
London, September 2nd, 1915.
Dear House:
You wTite me about pleasing the AlUes, the big AUy in
particular. That doesn't particularly appeal to me. We

28 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
don't owe them anything. There's no obUgation. I'd
never confess for a moment that we are under any obU
gation to any of them nor to anybody. I'm not out to
"please" anybody, as a primary purpose: that's not my
game nor my idea — ^nor yours either. As for England in
particular, the accoimt was squared when she twice sent
an army against us — ^in her foUy — especiaUy the last time
when she burnt our Capitol. There's been no obUgation
since. The obUgation is on the other foot. We've set
her an example of what democracy wiU do for men, an
example of efficiency, an example of freedom of oppor
tunity. The future is ours, and she may foUow us and
profit by it. Already we have three white EngUsh-
speaking men to every two in the British Empire: we
are sixty per cent, of the Anglo-Saxons in the world. If
there be any obUgation to please, the obUgation is on her
to please us. And she feels and sees it now.
My point is not that, nor is it what we or any other
neutral nation has done or may do — ^HoUand or any other.
This war is the direct result of the over-poUte, diplomatic,
standing-aloof, bowing-to-one-another in gold lace, which
aU European nations are gujlty of in times of peace-
castes and classes and unif6rms and orders and such
folderol, instead of the proper business of the day. Every
nation in Europe knew that Germany was preparing
/for war. If they had reaUy got together — not mere
Hague Sunday-school talk and resolutions — but had
reaUy got together for business and had said to Ger
many, "The moment you fire a shot, we'U aU fight
against you; we have so many milUons of men, so many
men-of-war, so many biUions of money; and we'U increase
aU these if you do not change your system and your
building-up of armies"— then there would have been no
war.

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 29
My point is not sentimental. It is:
(1) We must maintain our own seff-respect and
safety. If we submit to too many insults, that wiU in
time bring Germany against us. We've got to show at
some time that we don't beUeve, either, in the efficacy of
Sunday-School resolves for peace — that we are neither
Daughters of the Dove of Peace nor Sons of the OUve
Branch, and
(2) About nagging and forever presenting technical
legal points as lawyers do to confuse juries — ^the point is
the point of efficiency. If we do that, we cem't carry
our main points. I find it harder and harder to get
answers now to important questions because we ask so
many unimportant and nagging ones.
I've no sentiment — ^perhaps not enough. My gushing
days are gone, ff I ever had 'em. The cutting-out of the
"100 years of peace" oratory, etc., etc., was one of the
blessings of the war. But we must be just and firm and
preserve our own seff-respect and keep ahve the fear that
other nations have of us; and we ought to have the cour
age to make the Department of State more than a bureau
of complaints. We must learn to say "No" even to a
Gawdamighty independent American citizen when he
asks an improper or impracticable question. PubUc
opinion in the United States consists of something more
than the threats of Congressmen and the bleating of news
papers; it consists of the judgment of honourable men on
courageous and frank actions — a judgment that cannot
be made up tiU action is taken. HeartUy yours, W. H. P.

30 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
To Edward M. House
American Embassy, London, Sept. 8, 1915.
(This is not prudent. It is only true— nothing more.)
Dear House:
I take it for granted that Dumba^ is going, of course.
But I must teU you that the President is bemg laughed
at by our best friends for his slowness in action. I hardly
ever pick up a paper without seeing some sarcastic re
mark. I don't mean they expect us to come into the war.
They only hoped we would be as good as our word —
would regard another submarine attack on a ship carry
ing Americans as an unfriendly act and would send Berns
torff home. Yet the Arabic and now the Hesperian have
had no effect in action. Bernstorff's personal note to
Lansing,^ even as far as it goes, does not bind his Government.
The upshot of aU this is that the President is fast losing
in the minds of our best friends here aU that he gained
by his courageous stand on the Panama tolls. They feel
that ff he takes another insult — ^keeps taking them — and
is satisfied with Bernstorff's personal word, which is
proved false in four days — ^he'U take anything. And the
British will pay less attention to what we say. That's
inevitable. If the American people and the President
accept the Arabic and the Hesperian and do nothing to
Dumba tiU the Government here gave out his letter,
which the State Department had (and silently held) for
^ lOn September 6th, certain documents seriously compromising Dr. Constantin
Dumba, Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to the United States, were published in
the British press. They disclosed that Dr. Dumba was fomenting strikes in the
United States and conducting other intrigues. The American Grovwnment gave
Dr. Dumba his passports on September 17th.
^On August 26th, Count Bernstorff gave a pledge to the United States Govern
ment, that, in future, German submarines would not attack liners without warn
ing. This promise was almost immediately violated.

THE "lusitania"— AND AFTER 31
several days— then nobody on this side the world wUl
pay much heed to anything we say hereafter.
This, as I say, doesn't mean that these (thoughtful)
people wish or expect us to go to war. They wish only
that we'd prove ourselves as good as the President's word.
That's the conservative truth; we're losing influence
more rapidly than I supposed it were possible.
Dumba's tardy dismissal wiU not touch the main
matter, which is the rights of neutrals at sea, and keeping
our word in action. Yours sincerely, W. H. P.
P. S. They say it's Mexico over again — watchful waiting
and nothing doing. And the feeling grows that Bryan has
reaUy conquered, since his programme seems to prevaU.

To Edward M. House
London, Tuesday night, Sept. 8, 1915.
Dear House:
The Germans seem to think it a good time to try to
feel about for peace. They have more to offer now than
they may have again. That's aU. A man who seriously
talks peace now in Paris or in London on any terms that
the Germans wUl consider, would float dead that very
night in the Seine or in the Thames. The Germans have
for the time being "done-up" the Russians; but the
French have shells enough to plough the German trenches
day and night (they've been at it for a fortnight now);
Joffre has been to see the ItaUan generahssimo; and the
EngUsh destroy German submarines now almost as fast
as the Germans send them out. I am credibly told that
several weeks ago a group of Admiralty men who are in

32 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
the secret had a Uttle dinner to celebrate the destruction
of the 50th submarine.
While this is going on, you are talking on your side of
the water about a change in German pohcy I The only
change is that the number of submarines available be
comes smaUer and smaUer, and that they wish to use
Uncle Sam's brOad, fat back to crawl down on when
they have failed.
Consequently, they are laughing at Uncle Sam here —
it comes near to being ridicule, in fact, for seeming to
jump at Bernstorff's unfrank assurances. And, as I
have telegraphed the President, EngUsh opinion is —
weU, it is very nearly disrespectful. Men say here (I
mean our old friends) that with no disavowal of the
Lusitania, the Falaba, the Gulflight, or the Arabic or of the
Hesperian, the Germans are "stufiing" Uncle Sam, that
Uncle Sam is in the clutches of the peace-at-any-price
pubUc opinion, that the United States wiU suffer any
insult and do nothing. I hardly pick up a paper that
does not have a sarcastic paragraph or cartoon. We are
on the brink of convincing the EngUsh that we'U not
act, whatever the provocation. By the EngUsh, I do
uot mean the Ughter, transitory pubUc opinion, but I
mean the thoughtful men who do not wish us or expect
us to fire a gun. They say that the American democracy,
since Cleveland's day, has become a mere agglomeration
of different races, without national unity, national aims,
and without courage or moral quaUties. And (I deeply
regret to say) the President is losing here the high esteem
he won by his Panama tolls repeal. They ask, why on
earth did he raise the issue if under repeated provocation
he is unable to recaU Gerard or to send Bernstorff home?
The Hesperian foUows the Arabic; other "liners" wiU
foUow the Hesperian, ff the Germans have submarines.

THE "lusitania" — AND AFTER 33
And, when SackviUe-West^ was promptly sent home for
answering a private citizen's inquiry about the two poUtical
parties, Dumba is (yet awhile) retained in spite of a far
graver piece of business. There is a tone of sad disappoint
ment here — not because the most thoughtful men want us
in the war (they don't), but because for some reason, which
nobody here understands, the President, having taken a
stand, seems unable to do anything.
AU this is a moderate interpretation of sorrowful
pubUc opinion here. And the result wiU inevitably be
that they wiU pay far less heed to anything we may here
after say. In fact men now say here every day that the
American democracy has no opinion, can form no opinion,
has no moral quaUty, and that the word of its President
never gets as far as action even of the mUdest form. The
atmosphere is very depressing. And this feeling has ap
parently got beyond anybody's control. I've even heard
this said : " The voice of the United States is Mr. Wilson's :
its actions are controUed by Mr. Bryan."
So, you see, the war wiU go on a long long time. So far as
English opinion is concerned, the United States is useful
to make ammunition and is now thought of chiefly in
this connection. Less and less attention is paid to what
we say. Even the American telegrams to the London
papers have a languid tone.
Yet recent revelations have made it clearer than ever
that the same quahties that the EngUsh accuse us of
having are in them and that these quaUties are directly
to blame for this war. I recaU that when I was in Ger
many a few weeks, six years ago, I became convinced that
'Sir Lionel Sackville- West was British Minister to the United States from 1881
to 1888. In the latter year a letter was published which he had written to an
American citizen of British origin, the gist of which was that the reelection of
President Cleveland would be of advantage to British interests. For this gross
interference in American domestic affetirs. President Cleveland immediately
handed Sir Lionel his passports. The incident ended his diplomatic career.

34 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Germany had prepared to fight England; I didn't know
when, but I did know that was what the war-machine had
in mind. Of course, I had no opportunities to find out
anything in particular. You were told practicaUy that
same thing by the Kaiser, before the war began. "We
are ready," said he. Of course the EngUsh feared it and
Sir Edward put his whole Ufe into his effort to prevent it.
The day the war began, he told me with tears that it
seemed that his Ufe had been wasted — that his Ufe work
had gone for naught. — ^Nobody could keep from won
dering why England didn't 
(Here comes a parenthesis. Word came to me a Uttle
while ago that a ZeppeUn was on its way to London.
Such a remark doesn't arouse much attention. But just
as I had finished the fifth line above this, Frank and Mrs.
Page came in and chaUenged me to play a game of cards
before we should go to bed. We sat down, the cards
were dealt, and bang! bang! — ^with the deep note of an
explosion. A third, a fourth shot. We went into the
street. There the ZeppeUn was revealed by a searchUght
— saiUng along. I think it had probably dropped its
bombs; but the aircraft guns were cracking away at it.
Some of them shot explosive projectiles to find the range.
Now and then one such explosive would almost reach the
Zeppelin, but it was too high for them and it sailed away,
the air guns doing their ineffectual best. I couldn't see
whether airplanes were trying to shoot it or not. The
searchUght revealed the ZeppeUn but nothing else. —
WhUe we were watching this battle in the air, the maids
came down from the top of the house and went into the
ceUar. I think they've aheady gone back. You can't
imagine how Uttle excitement it caused. It , produces
less fright than any other conceivable engine of war.
We came back as soon as the ZeppeUn was out of sight

THE "LUSriANIA"— AND AFTER 35
and the firing had ceased; we played our game of cards;
and here I am writing you the story— aU withua about
haff an hour. — ^There was a raid over London last
night, too, wherein a dozen or two women and children
and a few men were kUled. I haven't the sUghtest idea
what harm this raid to-night has done. For aU I know
it may not be aU done. But of aU imagmable war-
experiences this seems the most futUe. It interrupted a
game of cards for twenty minutes!)
Now — to go on with my story: I have wondered ever
since the war began why the AUies were not better pre
pared — especiaUy England on land. England has just
one big land gun — ^no more. Now it has turned out, as
you have doubtless read, that the British Government
were as good as told by the German Government that
Germany was going to war pretty soon — ^this in 1912 when
Lord Haldane^ was sent to make friends with Germany.
The only answer he brought back was a proposition
that England should in any event remain neutral — ^stand
aside whUe Germany whipped Russia and France. This
insulting proposal was kept secret tiU the other day.
Now, why didn't the British Cabinet inform the people
and get ready? They were afraid the EngUsh people
wouldn't beUeve it and would accuse them of fomenting
war. The EngUsh people were making money and pur
suing their sports. Probably they wouldn't have be
Ueved it. So the Liberal Cabinet went on in silence,
knowing that war was coming, but not exactly when it
was coining, and they didn't make even a second big gun.
^In this passage the Ambassador touches on one of the bitterest controversies
of the war. In order completely to understand the issues involved and to obtain
Lord Haldane's view, the reader should consult the very valuable book recently
published by Lord Haldane: "Before the War." Chapter II tells the story of
Lord Haldane's visit to the Kaiser, and succeeding chapters give the reasons why
the creation of a huge British army in preparation for the war was not a simple
matter.

36 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Now here was the same silence in this "democracy"
that they now complain of in ours. Rather an interest
ing and discouraging paraUel — ^isn't it? PubUc opinion
has turned Lord Haldane out of office because he didn't
tell the pubUc what he declares they wouldn't have be
Ueved. If the EngUsh had raised an army in 1912, and
made a lot of big guns, Austria would not have trampled
Serbia in the earth. There would have been no war
now; and the strong European Powers might have made
then the same sort of protective peace-insurance com
bine that they wiU try to make after this war is ended.
Query: A democracy's inabiUty to act — how much is this
apparently inherent quaUty of a democracy to blame for
this war and for — other things?
When I am asked every day "Why the United States
doesn't do something — send Dumba and Bernstorff
home?" — ^WeU, it is not the easiest question in the world
to answer. Yours heartUy, W. H. P.
P. S. This is the most comical of aU worlds: WhUe I
was writing this, it seems the maids went back upstairs
and Ughted their Ughts without puUing their shades down
— ^they occupy three rooms, in front. The doorbeU rang
furiously. Here were more than haff a dozen poUcemen
and special constables — ^must investigate! "One Ught
would be turned on, another would go out; another one
on ! ' ' — etc. , etc. Frank tackled them, told 'em it was only
the maids going to bed, forgetting to puU down the shades.
Spies and agnalUng were in the air! So, in the morning,
I'U have to send over to the Foreign Office and explain.
The Zeppelin did more "frightfulness" than I had sup
posed, after aU. Doesn't this strike you as comical? w. H. p;

THE "lusitania"— AND AFTER 37
Friday, September 10, 1915.
P. S. The news is just come that Dumba is dismissed.
That wUl clear the atmosphere— a Uttle, but only a Uttle.
Dumba committed a diplomatic offence. The German
Government has caused the death of United States citi
zens, has defied us, has declared it had changed its poUcy
and yet has gone on with the same old poUcy. Besides,
Bernstorff has done everythuig that Dumba did except
employ Archibald, which was a mere incident of the
game. The President took a strong stand: they have
disregarded it — ^no apology nor reparation for a single
boat that has been sunk. Now the EngUsh opinion of
the Germans is hardly a calm, judicial opinion — of course
not. There may be facts that have not been made
known. There must be good reasons that nobody here
can guess, why the President doesn't act in the long suc
cession of German acts against us. But I tell you with
all solemnity that British opinion and the British Govern
ment have absolutely lost their respect for us and their former
high estimate of the President. And that former respect is
gone for good unless he acts now very quickly.^ They will
pay nothing more than formal and poUte attention to
anything we may hereafter say. This is not resentful.
They don't particularly care for us to get into the war.
Their feeUng (I mean among, our best old friends) is not
resentful. It is simply sorrowful. They had the highest
respect for our people and our President. The Germans
defy us; we sit in sUence. They conclude here that we'U
submit to anything from anybody. We'U write strong
notes — ^nothing more.
I can't possibly exaggerate the revulsion of feeUng.
Members of the Government say (in private, of course)
that we'U submit to any insult. The newspapers refuse
iThe italics are Page's.

38 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
to pubhsh articles which attempt to make the President's
silence reasonable. "It isn't defensible," they say,
"and they would only bring us thousands of insulting
letters from our readers." I can't think of a paper nor
of a man who has a good word to say for us — except,
perhaps, a few Quaker peace-at-any-price people. And
our old friends are disappointed and sorrowful. They
feel that we have dropped out of a position of influence
in the world.
I needn't and can't write more. Of course there are
more important things than EngUsh respect. But the
EngUsh think that every Power has lost respect for us —
the Germans most of aU. And (unless the President acts
very rigorously and very quickly) we'U have to get along
a long time without British respect. W. H. P.
P. S. The last Zeppelin raid — ^which interrupted the
game of cards — SkiUed more than twenty persons and de
stroyed more than seven miUion doUars' worth of private
business property — aU non-combatants'! W. H. P.
To Edward M. House
21st of September, 1915.
Dear House:
The insulting cartoon that I enclose (destroy it with
out showing it) is typical of, I suppose, five hundred that
have appeared here within a month. This represents the
feeling and opinion of the average man. They say we
wrote brave notes and made courageous demands, to
none of which a satisfactory reply has come, but only
more outrages and no guarantee for the future. Yet
we wiU not even show our displeasure by sending Berns-

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 39
torff home. We've simply "gone out," Uke a snuffed
candle, in the regard and respect of the vast volume of
British opinion. (The last Punch had six ridicuUng
aUusions to our "faU.")
It's the loneUest time I've had ua England. There's a
tendency to avoid me.
They can't understand here the continued declaration
in the United States that the British Government is
trying to take our trade — to use its blockade and navy
with the direct purpose of giving British trade profit out
of American detentions. Of course, the Government had
no such purpose and has done no such thing — with any
such purpose. It isn't thinking about trade but only
about war.
The EngUsh think they see in this the effect on our
Government and on American opinion of the German
propaganda. I have had this trade-accusation investi
gated haff a dozen times — ^the accusation that this Gov
ernment is using its mUitary power for its own trade ad
vantage to our detriment: it simply isn't true. They stop
our cargoes, not for their advantage, but whoUy to keep
things from the enemy. Study our own trade reports.
In a word, our importers are playing (so the EngUsh
think) directly into the hands of the Germans. So mat
ters go on from bad to worse.
Bryce^ is very sad. He confessed to me yesterday
the utter hopelessness of the two people's ever under
standing one another.
The miUtary situation is very blue — ^very blue. The
general feeUng is that the long war wUl begin next March
and end — nobody dares predict. W. H. P.

iViscount Bryce, author of "The American Commonwealth" and British Am
bassador to the United States, 1907-1913.

40 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
P. S. There's not a moral shadow of a doubt (1) that
the commander of the submarine that sunk the Arabic is
dead — although he makes reports to his government!
nor (2) that the Hesperian was torpedoed. The State
Department has a piece of the torpedo.

The letters which Page sent directly to the President
were just as frank. " Incidents occur nearly every day,"
he wrote to President WUson in the autumn of 1915,
"which reveal the feeUng that the Germans have taken
us in. Last week one of our naval men. Lieutenant
McBride, who has just been ordered home, asked the
Admiralty ff he might see the piece of metal found on
the deck of the Hesperian. Contrary to their habit, the
British officer refused. 'Take my word for it,' he said.
'She was torpedoed. Why do you wish to investigate?
Your country will do nothing — ^wiU accept any excuse,
any insult and — do nothing.' When McBride told me
this, I went at once to the Foreign Office and made a
formal request that this metal should be shown to our
naval attache, who (since Symington is with the British
fleet and McBride has been ordered home) is Lieutenant
Towers. Towers was sent for and everything that the
Admiralty knows was shown to him and I am send
ing that piece of metal by this mail. But to such a pass
has the usual courtesy of a British naval officer come.
There are many such instances of changed conduct.
They are not hard to endure nor to answer and are of no
consequence in themselves but only for what they denote.
They're a part of war's bitterness. But my rmnd runs
ahead and I wonder how Englishmen wiU look at this
subject five years hence, and it runs afield and I wonder
how the Germans wiU regard it. A sort of pro-German

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 41
American newspaper correspondent came along the other
day from the German headquarters; and he told me that
one of the German generals remarked to him: 'War with
America? Ach no! Not war. If trouble should come,
we'd send over a platoon of our poUcemen to whip your
Uttle army.' (He didn't say just how he'd send 'em.)"
To the President
American Embassy, London, Oct. 5, 1915.
Dear Mr. President :
I have two letters that I have lately written to you but
which I have not sent because they utterly lack good
cheer. After reading them over, I have not Uked to send
them. Yet I should faU of my duty ff I did not teU you
bad news as well as good.
The high esteem in which our Government was held
when the first Lusitania note to Germany was sent seems
aU changed to indifference or pity — ^not hatred or
hostUity, but a sort of hopeless and sad pity. That ship
was sunk just five months ago; the German Government
(or its Ambassador) is yet holding conversations about
the principle involved, making "concessions" and prom
ises for the future, and so far we have done nothing to
hold the Germans to accountabUity.^ In the meantime
their submarine fleet has been so reduced that probably
the future wiU take care of itseff and we shall be used as a
sort of excuse for their faUure. This is what the English
think and say; and they explain our failure to act by con
cluding that the peace-at-any-price sentiment dominates
the Government and paralyzes it. They have now, I
tliink, given up hope that we wiU ever take any action.
iln a communication sent February 10, 1915, President Wilson warned the
German Govemment that he would hold it to a "strict accoimUibility" for the
loss of American lives by illegal submarine attack.

42 the life and letters of WALTER H. PAGE
So deeply rooted (and, I fear, permanent) is this feeUng
that every occurrence is made to fit into and to strengthen
this supposition. When Dumba was dismissed, they said:
"Dumba, merely the abject tool of German intrigue.
Why not Bernstorff?" When the Anglo-French loan"^
was oversubscribed, they said: "The people's sympathy
is most welcome, but their Government is paralyzed."
Their respect has gone — at least for the time being.
It is not that they expect us to go to war: many, in fact,
do not wish us to. They expected that we would be as
good as our word and hold the Germans to accountabiUty.
Now I fear they think Uttle of our word. I shudder to
think what our relations might be ff Sir Edward Grey
were to yield to another as Foreign Minister, as, of course,
he must yield at some time.
The press has less to say than it had a few weeks ago.
Punch, for instance, which ridiculed and pitied us in six
cartoons and articles in each of two succeeding numbers,
entirely forgets us this week. But they've aU said their
say. I am, in a sense, isolated — lonely in a way that I
have never before been. I am not exactly avoided, I
hope, but I surely am not sought. They have a poUte
feeling that they do not wish to offend me and that to
make sure of this the safest course is to let me alone.
There is no mistaking the great change in the attitude of
men I know, both in official and private Ufe.
It comes down and comes back to this — ^that for five
months after the sinking ofthe Lusitania the Germans are
yet playing with us, that we have not sent Bernstorff
home, and hence that we wiU submit to any rebuff or any
indignity. It is under these conditions — ^under this judg
ment of us — ^that we now work — the EngUsh respect for
^A reference to the Anglo-French loan for $500,000,000, placed in the United
States in the autumn of 1915,

THE "lusitania"— AND AFTER 43
OUT Government indefinitely lessened and instead of the
old-time respect a sad pity. I cannot write more.
Heartily yours,
Walter H. Page.
" I have authoritatively heard," Page writes to President
Wilson in early September, "of a private conversation be
tween a leadhig member of the Cabuiet and a group of im
portant officials aU friendly to us in which aU sorrowfuUy
expressed the opuaion that the United States wUl submit
to any uadignity and that no effect is now to be hoped for
from its protests against unlawful submarine attacks or
against anything else. The inactivity of our Government,
or its delay, which they assume is the same as inactivity,
is attributed to domestic poUtics or to the lack of national,
consciousness or unity.
"No explanation has appeared in the British press of
our Government's inactivity or of any regret or promise of
reparation by Germany for the sinking of the Lusitania,
the Falaba, the Gulflight, the Nebraskan, the Arabic, or
the Hesperian, nor any explanation of a week's silence
about the Dumba letter; and the conclusion is drawn
that, in the absence of action by us, aU these acts have
been practicaUy condoned.
"I venture to suggest that such explanations be made
pubhc as wUl remove, ff possible, the practicaUy unanimous
conclusion here that our Government wiU permit these and
similar future acts to be explained away. I am surprised
almost every hour by some new evidence of the loss of re
spect for our Government, which, since the sinking of the
Arabic, has become so great as to warrant calling it a com
plete revulsion of English feeling toward the United States.
There is no general wish for us to enter the war, but there
is genuine sorrow that we are thought to submit to any

44 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
indignity, especiaUy after having taken a fu-m stand. I
conceive I should be lacking in duty if I did not report
this rapid and unfortunate change in pubhc feeling, which
seems Ukely to become permanent unless facts are quickly
made public which may change it."
There are many expressions of such feeUngs in Page's
letters of this time. They brought only the most per
functory acknowledgment from the White House. On
January 3, 1916, Page sent the President a mass of cUp-
pings from the British press, aU criticizing the Wilson Ad
ministration in unrestrained terms. Ih his comment on
these, he writes the President:
" PubUc opinion, both official and unofficial, is expressed
by these newspaper comments, with far greater restraint
than it is expressed in private conversation. Ridicule of
the Administration runs through the programmes of the
theatres; it inspires hundreds of cartoons; it is a staple of
conversation at private dinners and in the clubs. The
most serious class of EngUshmen, including the best
friends ofthe United States, feel that the Administration's
reUance on notes has reduced our Government to a third-
or fourth-rate power. There is even talk of spheres of
German influence in the United States as in China. No
government could fall lower in EngUsh opinion than we
shaU fail if more notes are sent to Austria or to Germany.
The only way to keep any sfired of EngUsh respect is the
immediate dismissal without more parleying of eveiy
German and Austrian official at Washington. Nobody<^
here beheves that such an act would provoke war.
"I can do no real service by mincing matters. My
previous telegrams and letters have been purposely re
strained as this one is. We have now come to the part
ing of the ways. If EngUsh respect be worth preserving

((.

THE lusitania"— AND AFTER 45
at aU, it can be preserved only by immediate action.
Any other course than immediate severmg of diplomatic
relations with both Germany and Austria wiU deepen the
EngUsh opuaion mto a conviction that the Admmistra-
tion was uisincere when it sent the Lusitania notes and
that its notes and protests need not be taken seriously on
any subject. And EngUsh opinion is aUied opuaion. The
ItaUan Ambassador^ said to me, 'What has happened?
The United States of to-day is not the United States I
knew fffteen years ago, when I Uved ua Washmgton.'
French officers and members of the Government who
come here express themselves even more strongly than
do the British. The British newspapers to-day pubUsh
translations of ridicule of the United States from German
papers." To the President London,
January 5, 1916.
Dear Mr. President:
I wish — ^an impossible thing of course — ^that some sort
of guidance could be given to the American correspondents
of the EngUsh newspapers. Almost every day they tele
graph about the visits of the Austrian Charge or the
German Ambassador to the State Department to assure
Mr. Lansing that their governments wiU of course make a
satisfactory explanation of the latest torpedo-act in the
Mediterranean or to "take one further step in reaching a
satisfactory understanding about the Lusitania." They
usuaUy go on to say also that more notes are in prepara
tion to Germany or to Austria. The impression made up
on the European mind is that the German and Austrian
officials in Washington are leading the Admuaistration on
'The Marquis Imperiali.

46 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
to endless discussion, endless notes, endless hesitation.
Nobody in Europe regards their pledges or promises as
worth anything at aU: the Arabic foUows the Lusitania,
the Hesperian foUows the Arabic, the Persia foUows the
Ancona. "StiU conferences and notes continue," these
people say, "proving that the American Government,
which took so proper and high a stand in the Lusitania
notes, is paralyzed — ^in a word is hoodwinked and 'worked'
by the Germans." And so long as these diplomatic
representatives are permitted to remain in the United
States, "to explain," "to parley" and to declare that the
destruction of American lives and property is disavowed
by their governments, atrocities on sea and land wiU of
course continue; and they feel that our Government, by
keeping these German and Austrian representatives in
Washington, condones and encourages them and their
governments. This is a temperate and even restrained statement of the
EngUsh feeUng and (as far as I can make out) of the whole
European feeUng,
It has been said here that every important journal
pubUshed in neutral or aUied European countries, daily,
weekly, or monthly, which deals with pubhc affairs, has
expressed a loss of respect for the United States Govern
ment and that most of them make continuous severe
criticisms (with surprise and regret) of our failure by ac
tion to Uve up to the level of our Lusitania notes. I had
(judiciously) two American journaUsts, resident here —
men of judgment and character — ^to inquire how true this
declaration is. After talkuag with neutral and aUied
journaUsts here and with men whose business it is to read
the journals of the Continent, they reported that this
declaration is substantiaUy true — ^that the whole European
press (outside Germany and its affies) uses the same tone

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 47
toward our Government that the EngUsh press uses —
to-day, disappointment verging on contempt; and many
of them explain our keeping diplomatic intercourse with
Germany by sayhag that we are afraid of the German vote,
or of civU war, or that the peace-at-any-price people reaUy
rule the United States and have paralyzed our power to
act — even to cut off diplomatic relations with governments
that have insulted and defied us.
Another (simUar) declaration is that practicaUy aU men
of pubUc influence in England and ia the European aUied
and neutral countries have pubUcly or privately expressed
themselves to the same effect. The report that I have
about this is less definite than about the newspapers, for,
of course, no one can say just what proportion of men of
pubhc influence have so expressed themselves; but the
number who have so expressed themselves is overwhelming.
In this Kingdom, where I can myseff form some opinion
more or less accurate, and where I can check or verffy my
opinion by various methods — I am afraid, as I have fre
quently already reported, that the generation now Uving
wiU never whoUy regain the respect for our Government
that it had a year ago. I wiU give you three Uttle indi
cations of this feeUng; it would be easy to write down hun
dreds of them:
(One) The governing class: Mr. X [a cabinet member]
told Mrs. Page a few nights ago that for sentimental rea
sons only he would be gratified to see the United States in
the war along with the AUies, but that merely sentimental
reasons were not a sufficient reason for war — ^by no means ;
that he felt most grateful for the sympathetic attitude of
the large mass of the American people, that he had no
right to expect anything from our Government, whose
neutral position was entirely proper. Then he added;
"But what I can't for the Ufe of me understand is your

48 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Government's failure to express its disapproval of the
Gerfhan utter disregard of its Lusitania notes. After
eight months, it has done nothing but write more notes.
My love for America, I must confess, is offended at this
inaction and— ^puzzled. I can't understand it. You
wiU pardon me, I am sure."
(Two) "Middle Class" opinion: A common nickname
for Americans in the financial and newspaper districts of
London is "Too-prouds."
(Three) The man in the street: At one of the moving
picture shows in a large theatre a Uttle while ago they fiUed
in an interval by throwing on the screen the picture of the
monarch, or head of state, and of the flag of each of the
principal nations. When the American picture appeared,
there was such hissing and groaning as caused the man
agers hastily to move that picture off the screen.
Some time ago I wrote House of some such incidents
and expressions as these; and he wrote me that they were
only part and parcel of the continuous British criticism
ot their own Government — ^in other words, a part of the
passing hysteria of war. This remark shows how House
was Uving in an atmosphere of illusion.
As the matter stands to-day our Government has sunk
lower, as regards British and European opinion, than it
has ever been in our time, not as a part of the hysteria of
war but as a result of this process of reasoning, whether it
be right or wrong: """"
We said that we should hold the Germans to strict ac
countabiUty on account of the Lusitania. We haye not
settled that yet and we stiU aUow the German Ambassa
dor to discuss it after the Hesperian and other such acts
showed that his Arabic pledge was worthless.
The Lusitania grows larger and larger in European
memory and imaguaation. It looks as if it would become

THE "lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 49
the great type of war atrocities and barbarities. I have
seen pictures of the drowned women and children used
even on Christmas cards. And there is documentary
proof in our hands that the warning, which was reaUy an
advance announcement, of that disaster was paid for by
the German Ambassador and charged to his Government.
It is the Lusitania that has caused European opinion to
regard our foreign poUcy as weak. It is not the wish for
us to go to war. No such general wish exists.
I do not know, Mr. President, who else, ff anybody,
puts these facts before you with this complete frankness.
But I can do no less and do my duty.
No Englishman — except two who were quite intimate
friends — ^has spoken to me about our Government for
months, but I detect all the time a tone of pity and grief
in their studied courtesy and in their avoidance of the
subject. And they talk with every other American in
this Kingdom. It is often made unpleasant for Amer
icans in the clubs and in the pursuit of their regular bus
iness and occupations; and it is always our inaction about
the Lusitania. Our controversy with the British Govern
ment causes Uttle feeUng and that is a sort of echo of the
Lusitania. They feel that we have not Uved up to our
promises and professions.
That is the whole story.
BeUeve me always heartily,
Walter H. Page.

This dismissal of Dumba and of the Attaches has had
Uttle more effect on opinion here than the dismissal of
the Turkish Ambassador.^ Sending these was regarded as
iRustem Bey, the Turkish Ambassador to the United States, was sent home
early in the war, for publishing indiscreet newspaper and magazine articles.

50 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
merely kicking the dogs of the man who had stolen our
sheep.

VI

One of the reasons why Page felt so intensely about
American pohcy at this time was his conviction that the
severance of diplomatic relations, in the latter part of 1915,
orThe early part of 1916, in itself would have brought the^
European War to an end. This was a conviction from
which he never departed. Count Bernstorff was indus
triously creating the impression in the United States that
his dismissal would immediately cause war between Ger
many and the United States, and there is Uttle doubt
that the Administration accepted this point of view. But
Page beUeved that this was nothing but Prussian bluff.
The severance of diplomatic relations at that time, in
Page's opinion, would have convinced the Germans of tKe
hopelessness of their cause. In spite of the British
Blockade, Germany was drawing enormous quantities of
food suppUes from the United States, and without these
suppUes she could not maintain indefinitely her resist
ance. The severance of diplomatic relations would
naturaUy have been accompanied by an embargo sus
pending trade between the United States and the Father
land. Moreover, the consideration that was mainly
IpaHjnp; Gprp^pny tn linpp fnr oncf^f^pc waS the beUcf that
sEecould embroil the United States and Great Britain
over the blockade. A break with Germany would of
course mean an end to that manoeuvre. Page regarded
aU Mr. Wilson's attempts to make peace in 1914 and early
1915 — before the Lusitania — as mistakes, for reasons that
have aheady been set forth. Now, however, he be
Ueved that the President had a real opportunity to end
the war and the unparaUeled sufferuag which it was caus-

THE 'lusitania" — ^AND AFTER 51
ing. The mere dismissal of Bernstorff, in the Ambassa
dor's opinion, would accompUsh this result.
In a communication sent to the President on February
15, 1916, he made this plain.

To the President February 15, 7 p. m.
The Cabinet has directed the Censor to suppress, as far
as he can with prudence, comment which is unfavourable
to the United States. He has taken this action because
the pubhc feeUng against the Administration is constantly
increasing. Because the Lusitania controversy has been
going on so long, and because the Germans are using it in
their renewed U-boat campaign, the opinion of this coun
try has reached a point where only prompt action can
bring a turn in the tide. Therefore my loyalty to you
would not be complete ff I should refrEiin from sending,
in the most respectful terms, the solemn conviction which
I hold about our opportunity and our duty.
If you immediately refuse to have further parley or to
yield one jot or tittle of your original Lusitania notes, and
if you at once break diplomatic relations with the German
Empire, and then declare the most vigorous embargo of
the Central Powers, you wUl quickly end the war. There
wiU be an immediate coUapse in German credit. If there
are any AUies who are wavering, such action wiU hold
t'hem in Une. Certain European neutrals — Sweden. Ru-
mania, Greece, and others — ^wiU put up a firm resistance
to Germanic inlluences and certain of them wiU take part
with Great Britain and France. There wiU be an end at
once to the Germah propaganda, which is now world
wide. The moral weight of our country wiU be a deter
mining influence and bring an early peace. The credit

52 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
you will receive for such a decision wiU make you immortal
and even the people of Germany will be forever grateful.
It is my conviction that we would not be called upon
to fire a gun or to lose one human Ufe.
Above aU, such an action wiU settle the whole question
of permanent peace. The absolute and grateful loyalty
of the whole British Empire, of the British Fleet, and of
aU the AlUed countries will be ours. The great EngUsh-
speaking nations will be able to control the details of the
peace and this without any formal alUance. There wiU
be an incalculable saving of human Ufe and of treasure.
Such an act wiU make it possible for Germany to give in
honourably and with good grace because the whole world
wUl be against her. Her bankrupt and blockaded people
wUl bring such pressure to bear that the decision wiU be
hastened. The sympathies of the American people wiU be brought
in line with the Administration.
If we settle the Lusitania question by compromising
in any way your original demands, or ff we permit it to
drag on longer, America can have no part in bringing the
war to an end. The current of alhed opinion will run so
strongly against the Administration that no censorship
and no friendly interference by an aUied government
can stem the distrust of our Government which is now so
strong in Europe.
We shaU gain by any further delay only a dangerous,
thankless, and opulent isolation. The Lusitania is the
turning point in our history. The time to act is now. Page.

CHAPTER XV
THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS
REFERENCES m the foregomg letters show that
Page was still having his troubles over the blockade.
In the latter part of 1915, indeed, the negotiations with
Sir Edward Grey on this subject had reached their second
stage. The faUure of Washington to force upon Great
Britain an entirely new code of naval warfare — the Dec
laration of London — ^has already been described. This
faUure had left both the British Foreign Office and the
American State Department in an unsatisfactory frame
of mind. The Foreign Office regarded Washington with
suspicion, for the American attempt to compel Great
Britain to adopt a code of naval warfare which was ex
ceedingly unfavourable to that country and exceedingly
favourable to Germany, was susceptible of a sinister inter
pretation. The British rejection of these overtures, on
the other hand, had evidently irritated the international
lawyers at Washington. Mr. Lansing now abandoned
his efforts to revolutionize maritime warfare and confined
himseff to specific protests and complaints. His communi
cations to the London Embassy dealt chiefly with partic
ular ships and cargoes. Yet his persistence in regarding
aU these problems from a strictly legaUstic point of view
Page regarded as indicating a restricted sense of states
manship. 53

54 the LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
To Edward M. House
London, August 4, 1915.
My DEAR House:
. . . The lawyer-way in which the Department
goes on in its dealings with Great Britain is losing us the
only great international friendship that we have any
chance of keeping or that is worth having. Whatever
real principle we have to uphold with Great Britain —
that's aU right. I refer only to the continuous series of
nagging incidents — always criticism, criticism, criticism
of smaU points — ^points that we have to yield at last, and
never anything constructive. I'U iUustrate what I mean
by a few incidents that I can recaU from memory. If I
looked up the record, I should find a very, very much
larger Ust.
(1) We insisted and insisted and insisted, not once but
haff a dozen times, at the very beginning of the war, on
England's adoption of the Declaration of London entire
in spite of the fact that ParUament had distinctly decUned
to adopt it. Of course we had to give in — after we had
produced a distinctly unfriendly atmosphere and much
feeUng. (2) We denied the British right to put copper on the
contraband Ust — ^much to their annoyance. Of course
we had at last to acquiesce. They were withua their
rights. (3) We protested against bringing ships into port to
examine them. Of course we had to give in — after pro
ducing irritation.
(4) We made a great fuss about stopped telegrams.
We have no case at aU; but, even after acknowledging
that we have no case, every pouch continues to bring
telegrams with the request that I ask an explanation why

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 55
they were stopped. Such explanations are practically
refused. I have 500 telegrams. PeriodicaUy I whe the
state of the case and ask for more specific instructions.
I never get an answer to these requests. But the De
partment continues to send the telegrams! We confess
edly have no case here; and this method can produce noth
ing but irritation. ""^
I could extend this Ust to 100 examples — of mere lawyer
like methods — ^mere useless technicaUties and objections
which it is obvious in the beginning cannot be maintained.
A simUar method is now going on about cotton. Now
this is not the way Sir Edward Grey takes up business.
It's not the way I've done business aU my Ufe, nor that
you have, nor other frank men who mean what they say
and do not say things they do not mean. The constant
continuation of this method is throwing away the real re
gard and confidence of the British Government and of the
British pubhc — ^very fast, too.
I sometimes wish there were not a lawyer in the world.
I heard the President say once that it took him twenty
years to recover from his legal habit of mind. WeU, his
Administration is suffering from it to a degree that is
pathetic and that will leave bad results for 100 years.
I suspect that in spite of aU the fuss we have made we
shaU at last come to acknowledge the British blockade;
for it is pretty nearly parallel to the United States block
ade of the South during our Civil War. The only differ
ence is — ^they can't make the blockade of the Baltic
against the traffic from the Scandinavian neutral states
effective. That's a good technical objection; but, since
practically aU the traffic between those States and Ger
many is in our products, much of the real force of it is
lostr If a protest is made against cotton being made contra-

56 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
band — it'U amount to nothing and give only irritation.
It wiU only play into Hoke Smith -German hands and
accompUsh nothing here. We make as much fuss about
points which we have sUently to yield later as about a
real principle. Hence they aU say that the State Depart
ment is merely captious, and they pay less and less at
tention to it and care less and less for American opinion — '
ff only they can continue to get munitions. We are re
ducing EngUsh regard to this purely mercenary basis. . . .
We are — ^under lawyers' quibbUng — drffting apart very
rapidly, to our complete isolation from the sympathy of
the whole world. Yours forever sincerely, W. H. P.
Page refers in this letter to the "blockade"; this was
the term which the British Government itseff used to de
scribe its restrictive measures against German commerce,
and it rapidly passed into common speech. Yet the truth
is that Great Britain never declared an actual blockade
against Germany. A reaUzation of this fact wiU clear up
much that is obscure in the naval warfare of the next two
years. At the beginning of the Civil War, President
Lincoln laid an uaterdict on aU the ports of the Confeder
acy; the ships of aU nations were forbidden entering or
leaving them: any ship which attempted to evade this
restriction, and was captured doing so, was confiscated,
with its cargo. That was a blockade, as the term has
always been understood. A blockade, it is weU to keep
in mind, is a procedure which aims at completely closing
the blockaded country from aU commercial intercourse
with the world. A blockaduag navy, ff the blockade is
^Senator Hoke Smith, of Georgia, was at this time — and afterward — conduct
ing a bitter campaign against the British blockade and advocating an eml)argo
as a cetaUation.

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 57
successful, or "effective," converts the whole country into
a beleaguered fortress, just as an army, surrounding a
single town, prevents goods and people from entering or
leaving it. Precisely as it is the purpose of a besieging
army to starve a particular city or territory into submis
sion, so it is the aim of a blockading fleet to enforce the
same treatment on the nation as a whole. It is also essen
tial to keep in mind that the question of contraband has
nothing to do with a blockade, for, under this drastic
method of making warfare, everything is contrabandT
Contraband is a term appUed to cargoes, such as rifles.
machine guns, and the Uke, which are needed in the pros
ecution of war. ~ " " 
That a beffigerent nation has the right to intercept
such munitions on the way to its enemy has been admitted
for centuries. Differences of opinion have raged only as
to the extent to which this right could be carried — ^the
particular articles, that is, that constituted contraband,
and the methods adopted in exercising it. But the im
portant point to be kept in mind is that where there is
a blockade, there is no contraband list — ^for everything
automaticajly becomes contraband. The seizure of con
traband on the high seas is a war measure which is availed
of only in cases in which the blockade has not been es
tabUshed. Great Britain, when she declared war on Germany, did
not foUow President Lincoln's example and lay the whole
of the German coast under interdict. Perhaps one reason
for this inaction was a desire not unduly to offend neutrals,
especiaUy the United States; but the more impeUing mo
tive was geographical. The fact is that a blockade of the
German seacoast would accompUsh Uttle in the way of
keeping materials out of Germany. A glance at the map
of northwestern Europe wiU make this fact clear. In the

58 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
first place the seacoast of Germany is a smaU affair. In
the North Sea the German coast is a little indentation,
not more than two hundred miles long, wedged in between
the longer coastlines of HoUand and Denmark; in the
Baltic it is somewhat more extensive, but the entrances
to this sea are so circuitous and treacherous that the sug
gestion of a blockade here is not a practicable one. The
greatest ports of Germany are located on this Uttle North
Sea coastUne or on its rivers — ^Hamburg and Bremen. It
might therefore be assumed that any nation which success
fuUy blockaded these North Sea ports would have strangled
the commerce of Germany. That is far from beuig the
case. The point is that the pohtical boundaries of Ger-
many are simply fictions, when economic considerations
m:e involved. Holland, on the west, and Denmark, on
the north, are as much a part of the German transporta-
tion system as though these two countries were parts of
the German Empire. Their territories and the territories
ot liermany are contiguous; the railroad and the canal
systems of Germany, HoUand, and Denmark are prac
ticaUy one. Such ports as Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and
Copenhagen are just as useful to Germany for purposes of
commerce as are Hamburg and Bremen, and, in fact, a
special commercial arrangement with Rotterdam has
made that city practically a port of Germany since 1868.
These considerations show how ineffective would be a
blockade of the German coast which did not also compre
hend the coast of HoUand and Denmark. Germany
could still conduct her commerce through these neigh
bouring countries. And at this point the great difiiculty
arose. A blockade is an act of war and can be appUed
only to a country upon which war has been declared.
Great Britain had declared war on Germany and could
therefore legaUy close her ports; she had not declared war.

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 59
on HoUand and Denmark, and therefore could not use the
smne measure against those friendly countries. Conse-
(pently the blockade was useless to Great Britain ; and so,
in the first six months of the war, the Admiralty fell back
ugon the mUder system of declaring certain articles con-
traband of war and seizing ships that were suspected of
carryuag them to Germany.
A geographical accident had apparently largely de
stroyed the usefulness of the British fleet and had guar
anteed Germany an unending supply of those foodstuffs
without which she could not maintain her resistance for
any extended period. Was Great Britain caUed upon to
accept this situation and to deny herseff the use of the
blockade in this, the greatest struggle in her history?
Unless the British fleet could stop cargoes which were
reaUy destined to Germany but which were bound for
neutral ports, Great Britain could not win the war; ff the
British fleet could intercept such cargoes, then the chances
strongly favoured victory. The experts of the Foreign
Office searched the history of blockades and found some
thing which resembled a precedent in the practices of the
American Navy during the CivU War. In that conffict
Nassau, in the Bahamas, and Matamoros, in Mexico,
played a part not unlike that played by Rotterdam and
Copenhagen in the recent struggle. These were both
neutral ports and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the
United States, just as Rotterdam and Copenhagen were
outside the jurisdiction of Great Britain. They were the
ports of powers with which the United States was at
peace, and therefore they could not be blockaded, just as
Amsterdam and Copenhagen were ports of powers with
which Great Britain was now at peace.
Trade from Great Britain to the Bahamas and Mexico
was ostensibly trade from one neutral port to another

60 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
neutral port in the same sense as was trade from the
United States to HoUand and Denmark. Yet the fact is
that the "neutrahty" of this trade, in the Civil War, from
Great Britain to the Bahamas and Mexico, was the most
transparent subterfuge; such trade was not "neutral" in
the sUghtest degree. It consisted almost entirely of
contraband of war and was intended for the armies of the
Confederate States, then in arms against the Federal
Government. What is the reason, our Government
asked, that these gentle and unwarlike inhabitants of the
Bahamas have so suddenly developed such an enormous
appetite for percussion caps, rifles, cannon, and other in
struments of warfare? The answer, of course, lay upon
the surface; the cargoes were intended for reshipment into
the Southern States, and they were, in fact, immediately
so reshipped. The American Government, which has
always regarded reaUties as more important than logic,
brushed aside the consideration that this trade was con
ducted through neutral ports, unhesitatingly seized these
ships and condemned both the ships and their cargoes.
Its action was without legal precedent, but our American
courts devised a new principle of international law to
cover the case— that of " continuous voyage" or "ultimate
destination. Under this new doctrine it was maintaineS"
that cargoes of contraband could be seized anywhere upon
the high seas, even though they were going from one neu
tral port to another, if it could be demonstrated that this
contraband was reaUy on its way to the enemy. The
mere -fact that it was transshipped at an intermediate
neutral port was not important; the important point was
the "ultimate destination." British shippers naturally
raged over these decisions, but they met with Uttle sym
pathy from theu- own government. Great Britain filed
no protest against the doctrine of "continuous voyafe,"

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 61
but recognized its fundamental soundness, and since 1865
^is doctrine !has"been a part of international lawl *
Great Britain's good sense in acquiescing in our CivU
War practices now met its reward; for these decisions of
American courts proved a godsend in her hour of trial.
The one neutral from which trouble was anticipated was
the United States. What better way to meet this situa
tion than to base British maritime warfare upon the deci
sions of American courts? What more ideal solution of the
problem than to make Chief Justice Chase, of the United
States Supreme Court, reaUy the author of the British
"blockade" against Germany? The poUcy of the Brit
ish Foreign Office was to use the sea power of Great Brit
ain to crush the enemy, but to do it in a way that would
not aUenate American sympathy and American support;
clearly the one way in which both these ends could be
attained was to frame these war measures upon the pro
nouncements of American prize courts. In a broad sense
this is precisely what Sir Edward Grey now proceeded to
do. There was a difference, of course, which Great
Britain's enemies in the American Senate — such men as
Senator Hoke Smith, of Georgia, and Senator Thomas
Walsh, of Montana — ^proceeded to point out; but it was a
difference of degree. Great Britain based her blockade
measures upon the American principle of "ultimate des
tination," but it was necessary considerably to extend
that doctrine in order to meet the necessities of the new
situation. President Lincoln had applied this principle
to absolute contraband, such as powder, shells, rifles, and
other munitions of war. Great Britain now proceeded to
apply it to that nebulous class of commodities known as
"conditional contraband," the chief ot which was fog4-
st^ If the United States, while a war was pending,
coui3^evolve the idea of "ultimate destination" and apply

62 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
it to absolute contraband, could not Great Britain, whUe
another war was pending, carry it one degree further and
make it include conditional contraband? Thus reasoned
the British Foreign Office. To this Mr. Lansing repUed
that to stop foodstuffs on the way to Germany through a
neutral port was simply to blockade a neutral port, and
that this was something utterly without precedent. Seiz
ing contraband is not an act of war against the nation
whose ships are seized; blockading a port is an act of war;
what right therefore had Great Britain to adopt measures
against HoUand, Denmark, and Sweden which virtuaUy
amounted to a blockade?
This is the reason why Great Britain, in the pronounce
ment of March 1, 1915, and the Order in Council of March
11, 1915, did not describe these measures as a "blockade."
President Wilson described his attack on Mexico in 1914
as "measures short of war," and now someone referred to
the British restrictions on neutral commerce as "measures
short of blockade." The British sought another escape
from their predicament by justifying this proceeding,
not on the general principles of warfare, but on the ground
of reprisal. Germany declared her submarine warfare
on merchant ships on February 4, 1915 ; Great Britain
repUed Avith her announcement of March 1st, in which
she declared her intention of preventing "commodities of
any kind from reaching or leaving Germany." The Brit
ish advanced this procedure as a retaUation for the iUegal
warfare which Germany had declared on merchant ship
ping, both that of the enemy and of neutrals. "The
British and French governments wiU therefore hold
themselves free to detain and take into port ships carrying
goods of presumed enemy destination, ownership, and
origin." This sentence accurately describes the purposes
of a blockade — ^to cut the enemy off from aU commercial

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 63
relations with the outside world; yet the procedure Great
Britain now proposed to follow was not that of a blockade.
When this interdict is classicaUy laid, any ship that at
tempts to run the Unes is penaUzed with confiscation,
along with its cargo; but such a penalty was not to be
exacted in the present instance. Great Britain now pro
posed to purchase cargoes of conditional contraband dis
covered on seized ships and return the ships themselves to
their owners, and this soon became the estabUshed prac
tice. Not only did the Foreign Office purchase aU cotton
which was seized on its way to Germany, but it took meas
ures to maintain the price in the markets of the world.
In the succeeding months Southern statesmen in both
Houses of Congress railed agednst the British seizure of
their great staple, yet the fact was that cotton was aU this
time steadily advancing in price. When Senator Hoke
Smith made a long speech advocating an embargo on the
shipment of munitions as a punishment to Great Britain
for stopping American cotton on the way to Germany,
the acute John Sharp WUUams, of Mississippi, arose in the
Senate and completely annihUated the Georgia poUtician
by demonstrating how the Southern planters were growing
rich out of the war.
That the so-caUed "blockade" situation was a tortuous
one must be apparent from this attempt to set forth the
saUent facts. The basic point was that there could be no
blockade of Germany unless the neutral ports of contig
uous countries were also blockaded, and Great Britain
beUeved that she had found a precedent for doing this in
the operations of the American Navy in the Civil War.
But it is obvious that the situation was one which would
provide a great feast for the lawyers. That Page sym
pathized with this British determination to keep food
stuffs out of Germany, his correspondence shows. Day

64 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
after day the "protests" from Washington rained upon
his desk. The history of our foreign relations for 1915
and 1916 is largely made up of an interminable corre
spondence deaUng with seized cargoes, and the routine of
the Embassy was an unending nightmare of "demands,"
"complaints," "precedents," "cases," "notes," "deten
tions" of Chicago meats, of Southern cotton, and the like.
The American Embassy in London contains hundreds of
volumes of correspondence which took place during Page's
incumbency ; more material has accumulated for those five
years than for the preceding century and a quarter of the
Government's existence. The greater part of this mass
deals with intercepted cargoes.
The foUoAving extract from a letter which Page wrote
at this time gives a fair idea of the atmosphere that pre
vaUed in London while this correspondence was engaging
the Ambassador's mind: •
The truth is, in their present depressed mood, the
United States is forgotten — everything's forgotten but
the one great matter in hand. For the moment at least,
the EngUsh do not care what we do or what we think or
whether we exist — except those critics of things-in-general
who use us as a target since they must take a crack at
somebody. And I simply cannot describe the curious
effect that is produced ou men here by the apparent utter
lack of understanding in the United States of the phase
the war has now entered and of the mood that this phase
has brought. I pick up an American paper eight days old
and read solemn evidence to show that the British Gov
ernment is interrupting our trade in order to advance
its own at our expense, whereas the truth is that the
British Government hasn't given six seconds' thought in
six months to anybody's trade — not even its own.

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 65
When I am asked to inquire why Pfister and Schmidt's
telegram from New York to Schimmelpfenig and Johann
in HoUand was stopped (the reason is reasonably obvious),
I try to picture to myseff the British Muaister ua Washuag-
ton making inquhy of our Government on the day after
BuU Run, why the saihng boat loaded with persimmon
blocks to make goff clubs is delayed in Hampton Roads.
I think I have neither heard nor read anything from
the United States in three months that didn't seem so
remote as to suggest the captain of the sailing ship from
Hongkong who turned up at Southampton in February
and had not even heard that there was a war. AU day
long I see and hear women who come to ask ff I can make
inquiry about their sons and husbands, "dead or missing,"
with an interval given to a description of a man haff of
whose body was splashed against a brick waU last night on
the Strand when a ZeppeUn bomb tore up the street and
made projectUes of the pavement; as I walk to and from
the Embassy the Park is fuU of wounded and their nurses;
every man I see tells me of a new death; every member of
the Government talks about miUtary events or of Balkan
venaUty; the man behind the counter at the cigar store
reads me part of a letter just come from his son, telling
how he advanced over a pUe of dead Germans and one of
them grunted and turned under his feet — they (the Eng
Ush alone) are spending $25,000,000 a day to keep this
march going over dead Germans; then comes a tele
gram predicting blue ruin for American importers and a
cheerless Christmas for American chUdren ff a cargo of
German toys be not quickly released at Rotterdam, and
I dimly recaU the benevolent unction with which Amer
ican chUdren last Christmas sent a shipload of toys to
this side of the world — ^many of them for German children
— to the tune of "God bless us aU" — do you wonder we

66 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
often have to pinch ourselves to find out ff we are we ; and
what year of the Lord is it? What is the vital thing —
the kilUng of fifty people last night by a ZeppeUn within
sight of St. Paul's on one side and of Westminster Abbey
on the other, or is it making representations to Sir Ed
ward Grey, who has hardly slept for a week because his
despatches from Sofia, Athens, Belgrade, and Salonika
come at aU hours, each possibly reporting on which side
a new government may throw its army — to decide perhaps
the fate of the canal leading to Asia, the vast British
Asiatic empire at stake — ^is it making representations to
Sir Edward while his mind is thus occupied, that it is of
the greatest importance to the United States Government
that a particular German who is somewhere in this King
dom shaU be permitted to go to the United States because
he knows how to dye sealskins and our sealskins are
yet undyed and the Avinter is coming? There wUl be no
new sealskins here, for every man and woman must give
haff his income to keep the cigarman's son marching over
dead Germans, some of whom grunt and turn under his
feet. Dumba is at Falmouth to-day and gets just two
Unes in the newspapers. Nothing and nobody gets three
Unes unless he or it in some way furthers the war. Every
morning the Washington despatches say that Mr. Lan
sing is about to send a long note to England. England
won't read it tUl there comes a luU in the fighting or in
the breathless diplomatic struggle with the Balkans.
London and the Govemment are now in much the same
mood that Washington and Lincoln's administration
were in after Lee had crossed the Potomac on his way to
Gettysburg. NorthcUffe, the Lord of YeUow Journals,
but an uncommonly briUiant feUow, has taken to his bed
from sheer nervous worry. "The revelations that are
imminent," says he, "wiU shake the world— the incom-

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 67
petence of the Government, the losses along the Darda
neUes, the throwing away of British chances in the Bal
kans, perhaps the actual defeat of the Affies." I regard
Lord NorthcUffe less as an entity than as a symptom.
But he is always very friendly to us and he knows the
United States better than any EngUshman that I know
except Bryce. He and Bryce are both much concerned
about our Note's coming just "at this most distressing
time." "If it come when we are cahner, no matter; but
now it cannot receive attention and many wiU feel that
the United States has hit on a most unhappy moment —
almost a cruel moment — ^to remind us of our sins." —
That's the substance of what they say.
Overwork, or perhaps mainly the indescribable strain
on the nerves and vitahty of men, caused by this experi
ence, for which in fact men are not buUt, puts one of
our staff after another in bed. None has been seriously
sick: the malady takes some form of "grip." On the
whole we've been pretty lucky in spite of this almost
regular temporary breakdown of one man after another.
I've so far escaped. But I am grieved to hear that
Whitlock is abed — "no physical ailment whatever — just
worn out," his doctor says. I have tried to induce him
and his wffe to come here and make me a visit; but one
characteristic of this war-malady is the conviction of the
victim that he is somehow necessary to hold the world
together. About twice a week I get to the goff hnks and
take the risk of the world's falling apart and thus escape
both Uhaess and its ffiusions.
"I cannot begin to express my deep anxiety and even
uneasiness about the relations of these two great gov
ernments and peoples," Page wrote about this time.
"The friendship of the United States and Great Britain

68 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
is all that now holds the world together. It is the greatest
asset of civilization left. AU the cargoes of copper and
oil in the world are not worth as much to the world. Yet
when a shipper's cargo is held up he does not think of
civiUzation and of the future of mankind and of free
government; he thinks only of his cargo and of the in
dignity that he imagines has been done him; and what is
the American Government for if not to protect his rights?
Of course he's right; but there must be somebody some
where who sees things in their right proportion. The
man with an injury rushes to the Department of State —
quite properly. He is in a mood to bring England to
book. Now comes the critical stage in the journey of his
complaint. The State Department hurries it on to me —
very properly; every man's right must be guarded and de
fended — a right to get his cargo to market, a right to get
on a steamer at Queenstown, a right to have his censored
telegram returned, any kind of a right, if he have a right.
Then the Department, not wittingly, I know, but hu
manly, almost inevitably, in the great rush of overwork,
sends his 'demands' to me, catching much ofhis tone and
apparently insisting on the removal of his grievance as a
right, without knowing aU the facts in the case. The
telegrams that come to me are fuU of 'protests' and
'demands' — ^protest and demand this, protest and demand
that. A man from Mars who should read my book of
telegrams received during the last two months would find
it difficult to explain how the two governments have kept
at peace. It is this serious treatment of trUUng griev
ances which makes us feel here that the exactions and dis
locations and necessary disturbances of this war are not
understood at home.
"I assure you (and there are plenty of facts to prove it)
that this Government (both for unselfish and seffish rea-

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 69
sons) puts a higher value on our friendship than on any
simUar thing m the world. They wiU go— they are
gouag — the fuU length to keep it. But, in proportion to
our tendency to nag them about httle things wUl the value
set on our friendship diminish and wiU their confidence in
our sincerity decUne."
The note which Lord Bryce and Lord NorthcUffe so
dreaded reached the London Embassy in October, 1915.
The State Department had spent nearly six months in
preparing it; it was the American answer to the .sn-cal1gH
blockade estabUshed by the Order in CouncU of the pre
ceding March. Evidently its contents fulfiUed the worst
forebodings : To Edward M. House
London, November 12, 1915.
Dear House:
I have a great respect for the British Navy. Admiral
Jefficoe now has under his command 3,000 ships of aU
sorts — ^far and away the biggest fleet, 1 think, that was
ever assembled. For the first time since the ocean was
poured out, one navy practicaUy commands aU the seas:
nothing saUs except by its grace. It is this fleet of course
that wiU win the war. The beginning of the end — ^how
ever far off yet the end may be — ^is already visible by rea
son of the economic pressure on Germany. But for this
fleet, by the way, London would be in ruins, aU its treas
ure looted; every French seacoast city and the ItaUan
peninsula would be as Belgium and Poland are; and thou
sands of English women would be violated — just as dead
French girls are found in many German trenches that have
been taken in France. Hence I greatly respect the Brit
ish fleet.

70 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB

We have a good navy, too, for its size, and a naval per
sonnel as good as any afloat. I hear — ^with much joy —
that we are going to make our navy bigger — as much
bigger (God save the mark!) as Bryan wiU permit.
Now, whatever the future bring, since any fighting
enterprise that may ever be thrust on us wiU be just and
justified, we must see to it that we win, as doubtless we
shaU and as hitherto we always have won. We must be
dead sure of winning. WeU, whatever fight may be
thrust on us by anybody, anywhere, at any time, for any
reason — ^if it only be generally understood beforehand that
our fleet and the British fleet shoot the same language,
there'U be no fight thrust upon us. The biggest buUy in
the world wouldn't dare kick the sorriest dog we have.
Here, therefore, is a Peace Programme for you — ^the
only basis for a permanent peace in the world. There's
no further good in having venerable chUdren build houses
of sand at The Hague; there's no further good in peace
organizations or protective leagues to enforce peace. We
had as weU get down to facts. So far as ensuring peace is
concerned the biggest fact in the world is the British fleet.
The next biggest fact is the American fleet, because of it
seff and stffi more because of the vast reserve power of the
United States which it imphes. If these two fleets per
fectly understand one another about the undesirabffity of
wars of aggression, there'U be no more big wars as long
as this understanding continues. Such an understanding
caUs for no treaty — ^it calls only for courtesy.
And there is no other peace-basis worth talking about —
by men who know how the world is governed.
Since I have Uved here I have spent my days and nights,
my poor brain, and my smaU fortune aU most freely and
gladly to get some understanding of the men who rule
this Kingdom, and of the women and the customs and

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 71
the traditions that rule these men — ^to get theh trick of
thought, the play of their ideals, the working of their
imagination, the springs of their instincts. It is impos
sible for any man to know just how weU he himseff does
such a difficult task — ^how accurately he is coining to
understand the sources and character of a people's actions.
Yet, at the worst, I do know something about the Brit
ish : I know enough to make very sure of the soundness
of my conclusion that they are necessary to us and we to
them. Else God would have permitted the world to be
peopled in some other way. And when we see that the
world wiU be saved by such an artificial combination as
England and Russia and France and Japan and Serbia, it
calls for no great wisdom to see the natural way whereby
it must be saved in the future.
For this reason every day that I have Uved here it has
been my conscious aim to do what I could to bring about a
condition that shaU make sure of this — that, whenever we
may have need of the British fleet to protect our shores or
to prevent an aggressive war anywhere, it shall be ours by
a natural impulse and necessity — even without the asking.
I have found out that the first step toward that end is
courtesy; that the second step is courtesy, and the third
step — such a fine and high courtesy (which includes
courage) as the President showed in the Panama tolls
controversy. We have — ^we and the British — common
aims and character. Only a continuous and sincere
courtesy — over periods of strain as weU as of calm — is
necessary for as complete an understanding as will be re
quired for the automatic guidance of the world in peaceful
ways. Now, a difference is come between us — ^the sort of
difference that handled as between friends would serve
only to bind us together with a sturdier respect. We

72 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
send a long lawyer's Note, not discourteous but whoUy
uncourteous, which is far worse. I am writing now only
of the manner of the Note, not of its matter. There is
not a courteous word, nor a friendly phrase, nor a kindly
turn in it, not an aUusion even to an old acquaintance, to
say nothing of an old friendship, not a word of thanks for
courtesies or favours done us, not a hint of sympathy in
the difficulties of the time. There is nothing in its tone
to show that it came from an American to an EngUshman:
it might have been from a Hottentot to a Fiji-Islander.
I am ahnost sure — I'U say quite sure — ^that this un
courteous manner is far more important than its endless
matter. It has greatly hurt our friends, the real men of
the Kingdom. It has made the masses angry — ^which is
of far less importance than the severe sorrow that our
discourtesy of manner has brought to our friends — I fear
to aU considerate and thoughtful EngUshmen.
Let me illustrate: When the Panama toUs controversy
arose, Taft ceased to speak the language of the natural
man and lapsed into lawyer's courthouse zigzagging mut
terings. Knox wrote a letter to the British Government
that would have made an enemy of the most affectionate
twin brother — all mere legal twists and turns, as agreeable
as a pocketful of screws. Then various bovine "interna
tional lawyers" wrote books about it. I read them and
became more and more confused the further I went: you
always do. It took me some time to recover from this
word-drunk debauch and to fmd my own natural intelU
gence again, the common sense that I was born with.
Then I saw that the whole thing went wrong from the place
where that Knox legal note came in. Congressmen in the
backwoods quoted cryptic passages from it, thought they
were saying something, and proceeded to make their
audiences beUeve that somehow England had hit us with

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 73
a club — or would have hit us but for Knox. That pure
discom-tesy kept us apart from EngUsh sympathy for
something like two years.
Then the President took it up. He threw the legal
twaddle into the gutter. He put the whole question in
a ten-minutes' speech to Congress, fuU of clearness and
fairness and high courtesy. It won even the rural Con
gressmen. It was read in every capital and the men who
conduct every government looked up and said, "This is a
real man, a brave man, a just man." You wiU recaU what
Sir Edward Grey said to me : "The President has taught us
aU a lesson and set us aU a high example in the noblest
courtesy." This one act brought these two nations closer together
than they had ever been since we became an independent
nation. It was an act of courtesy. . . .
My dear House, suppose the postman some morning
were to leave at your door a thing of thirty-five heads and
three appendices, and you discovered that it came from
an old friend whom you had long known and greatly
valued — ^this vast mass of legal stuff, without a word or a
tum of courtesy in it — ^what would you do? He had a
grievance, your old friend had. Friends often have.
But instead of explaining it to you, he had gone and had
his lawyers send this many-headed, much-appendiced
ton of stuff. It wasn't by that method that you found
your way from Austin, Texas, to your present eminence
and wisdom. Nor was that the way our friend found
his way from a Uttle law-office in Atlanta, where I first
saw him, to the White House.
More and more I am struck with this — ^that govern
ments are human. They are not remote abstractions,
nor impersonal institutions. Men conduct them; and
they do not cease to be men. A man is made up of six

74 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
parts of human nature and four parts of facts and other
things — ^a Uttle reason, some prejudice, much provincial
ism, and of the particular fur or skin that suits his habitat.
When you wish to win a man to do what you want him to
do, you take along a few weU-estabUshed facts, some rea
soning and such-Uke, but you take along also three or
four or five parts of human nature — ^kindliness, courtesy,
and such things — sympathy and a human touch.
If a man be six parts human and four parts of other
things, a government, especiaUy a democracy, is seven, or
eight, or nine parts human nature. It's the most human
thing I know. The best way to manage governments
and nations — so long as they are disposed to be friendly —
is the way we manage one another. I have a confirm
ation of this in the foUowing comment which came to me
to-day. It was made by a friendly member of ParUa
ment. "The President himseff dealt, with Germany. Even
in his severity he paid the Germans the compliment of a
most courteous tone in his Note. But in deaUng with
us he seems to have called in the lawyers of German
importers and Chicago pork-packers. I miss the high
Presidential courtesy that we had come to expect from
Mr. WUson."
An American banker here has told me of the experience
of an American financial salesman in the city the day
after our Note was pubUshed. His business is to make
calls on bankers and other financial men, to seU them se
curities. He is a man of good address who is popular
with his cUents. The first man he caUed on, on that day,
said: "I don't wish to be offensive to you. But I have
only one way to show my feeUng of indignation toward
the United States, and that is, to have nothing more to do
with Americans."

THB AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 75
The next man said: "No, nothing to-day, I thank you.
No— nor to-morrow either; nor the next day. Good
morning." After four or five such greetings, the feUow gave it up
and is now doing nothing.
I don't attach much importance to such an incident as
this, except as it gives a hint of the general feeling. These
financial men probably haven't even read our Note.
Few people have. But they have aU read the short and
sharp newspaper summary which preceded it in the Eng
Ush papers. But what such an incident does indicate is
the prevalence of a state of pubUc feeUng which would
prevent the Government from yielding any of our de
mands even ff the Government so wished. It has now been
nearly a week since the Note was published. I have seen
most of the neutral ministers. Before the Note came they
expressed great eagerness to see it: it would champion
their cause. Since it came not one of them has mentioned
it to me. The Secretary of one of them remarked, after
being invited to express himseff: " It is too — ^too — ^long! "
And, although I have seen most of the Cabinet this week,
not a man mentioned it to me. People seem studiously
to avoid it, lest they give offense.
I have, however, got one Uttle satisfaction. An Ameri
can — a haff-expatriated loafer who talks "art" — ^you
know the intellectuaUy affected and degenerate type —
screwed his courage up and told me that he felt ashamed
of his country. I remarked that I felt sure the feeUng was
mutual. That, I confess, made me feel better.
As nearly as I can make out, the highwater mark of
EngUsh good-feeUng toward us in aU our history was after
the President's Panama tolls courtesy. The low-water
mark, since the CivU War, I am sure, is now. The Cleve
land Venezuela message came at a time of no nervous

76 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
strain and did, I think, produce no long-lasting effect.
A part of the present feeling is due to the EngUsh convic
tion that we have been taken in by the Germans in the
submarine controversy, but a large part is due to the lack
of courtesy in this last Note — ^the manner in which it was
written even more than Its matter. As regards its mat
ter, I have often been over what I conceive to be the main
points with Sir Edward Grey — very frankly and without
the least offense. He has said: "We may have to arbi
trate these things," as he might say, "We had better take
a cab because it is raining." It is easUy possible — or it
was — to discuss anything with this Government without
offense. I have, in fact, stood up before Sir Edward's
fire and accused him of stealing a large part of the earth's
surface, and we were just as good friends afterward as be
fore. But I never drew a laAvyer's indictment of him as a
land-thief: that's different.
I suppose no two peoples or governments ever quite un
derstand one another. Perhaps they never wiU. That is
too much to hope for. But when one government writes
to another it ought to write (as men do) with some refer
ence to the personaUty of the other and to their previous
relations, since governments are more human than men.
Of course I don't know who wrote the Note. Hence I
can talk about it freely to you without implying criticism
of anybody in particular. But the man who wrote it
never saw the British Government and wouldn't know it
if he met it in the road. To him it is a mere legal entity,
a wicked, impersonal institution against which he has the
task of drawing an indictment — not the task of trying to
persuade it to confess the propriety of a certain course of
conduct. In his view, it is a wicked enemy to start with
— ^like the Louisiana lottery of a previous generation or
the Standard Oil Company of our time.

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 77
One would have thought, since we were six months in
preparuag it, that a draft of the Note would have been
sent to the man on the ground whom our Government
keeps in London to study the situation at first hand and
to make the best judgment he can about the most effec
tive methods of approach on deUcate and difficult matters.
If that had been done, I should have suggested a courteous
short Note saying that we are obUged to set forth such
and such views about marine law and the rights of neu
trals, to His Majesty's Government; and that the con
tention of the United States Government was herewith
sent — etc., etc. — Then this identical Note (with certain
court-house, strong, shirt-sleeve adjectives left out)
could have come without arousing any feeling whatsoever.
Of course I have no personal vanity in saying this to you.
I am sure I outgrew that foible many years ago. But
such a use of an ambassador — of any ambassador-^is
obviously one of the best and most natural uses he could
be put to; and aU governments but ours do put their am
bassadors to such a use: that's what they have 'em for.
Per contra: a telegram has just come in saying that a
certain Lichtenstein in New York had a lot of goods
stopped by the British Government, which (by an ar
rangement made with their attorney here) agreed to buy
them at a certain price: wiU I go and find out why the
Government hasn't yet paid Lichtenstein and when he
may expect his money? Is it an ambassadorial duty to
coUect a private biU for Lichtenstein, in a bargain with
which our Government has had nothing to do? I have
telegraphed the Department, quite cahnly, that I don't
think it is. I venture to say no ambassador ever had such
a request as that before from his Government.
My dear House, I often wonder ff my years of work
here — the kind of high good work I've tried to do — have

78 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER Hi PAGE
not been thrown away. I've tried to take and to busy
myseff with a long-range view of great subjects. The
British Empire and the United States wiU be here long
after we are dead, and their relations wiU continue to be
one of the most important matters — ^perhaps the most
important matter — ^in the world. WeU, now think of
Lichtenstein's biU!
To get back where I started — ^I fear, therefore, that,
when I next meet the Admiral of the Grand Fleet (with
whom I used to discuss everything quite freely before he
saUed away to the war), he may forget to mention that
we may have his 3,000 ship^at our need.
Since this present difference is in danger of losing the
heahng influence of a kindly touch — has become an un
courteous monster of 35 heads and 3 appendices — ^I see no
early end of it. The British Foreign Office has a lot of
lawyers in its great back offices. They and our lawyers
wUl now butt and rebut as long as a goat of them is left
aUve on either side. The two governments — the two
human, kindly groups — ^have retired: they don't touch, on
this matter, now. The lawyers wiU have the time of their
hves, each smeUing the blood of the other.
If more notes must come — as the EngUsh papers report
over and over again every morning and every afternoon —
the President might do much by writing a brief, human
document to accompany the Appendices. If it be done
courteously, we can accuse them of stealing sheep and of
dyeing the skins to conceal the theft — without provoking
the sUghtest bad feeUng; and, in the end, they'U pay
another Alabama award without complaint and frame
the check and show it to future ambassadors as Sir Edward
shows the Alabama check to me sometimes.
And it'U be a lasting shame (and may bring other Great
Wars) ff lawyers are now permitted to tear the garments

THE AMBASSADOR AND THE LAWYERS 79
with which Peace ought to be clothed as soon as she can
escape from her present rags and tatters.
Yours always heartily, W. H. P.
P. S. My dear House: Suace I have — ^in weeks and
months past— both telegraphed and written the De
partment (and I presume the President has seen what
I've sent) about the feeling here, I've written this letter
to you and not to the President nor Lansing. I wiU not
run the risk of seeming to complain — ^nor even of seeming
to seem to complain. But ff you think it wise to send or
show this letter to the President, I'm willing you should.
This job was botched: there's no doubt about that. We
shaU not recover for many a long, long year. The iden
tical indictment could have been drawn with admirable
temper and the way laid down for arbitration and for
keeping our interpretation of the law and precedents
intact — aU done in a way that would have given no offense.
The feeUng runs higher and higher every day — ^goes
deeper and spreads wider.
Now on top of it comes the Ancona.^ The EngUsh
press, practicaUy unanimously, makes sneering remarks
about our Government. After six months it has got no
results from the Lusitania controversy, which Bernstorff
is aUowed to prolong in secret session whUe factories are
blown up, ships suppUed with bombs, and aU manner of
outrages go on (by Germans) in the United States. The
English simply can't understand why Bernstorff is aUowed
to stay. They predict that nothing wiU come of the
Ancona case, nor of any other case. Nobody wants us
to get into the war — ^nobody who counts — but they are
^Torpedoed off Sardinia on Nov. 7, 1915, by the Austritms. There was a large
loss of life, including many Americans.

80 THE LIFB AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
losing respect for us because we seem to them to submit tp
anything.
^-^^e've simply dropped out. No EngUsh person ever
mentions our Government to me. But they talk to one
another aU the time about the poUtical aneemia of the
United States Government. They think that Bernstorff
has the State Department afraid of him and that the
Pacffists dominate opinion — ^the Pacifists-at-any-price.
I no longer even have a chance to explain any of these
things to anybody I know.
'** It isn't the old question we used to discuss of our having
no friend in the world when the war ends. It's gone far
further than that. It is now whether the United States
Government need be respected by anybody.
W. H. P.

CHAPTER XVI
DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES
To Edward M. House June 30, 1915.
My dear House:
There's a distinct wave of depression here — ^perhaps
I'd better say a period of setbacks has come. So far as
we can find out only the Germans are doing anything in
the war on land. The position in France is essentiaUy
the same as it was in November, only the Germans are
much more strongly entrenched. Their great plenty of
machine guns enables them to use fewer men and to kiU
more than the AUies. The Russians also lack ammuni
tion and are yielding more and more territory. The AlUes
— so you hear now — ^wiU do weU ff they get their Uttle
army away from the DardaneUes before the German-
Turks eat 'em ahve, and no Balkan state comes in to help
the Affies. Italy makes progress — slowly, of course,
over ahnost impassable mountains — etc., etc. Most of
this doleful recital I think is true; and I find more and
more men here who have lost hope of seeing an end of the
war in less than two or three years, and more and more
who feaf that the Germans wiU never be forced out of
Belgium. And the era of the giant aeroplane seems about
to come — a machine that can carry several tons and
several men and go great distances — two engines, two
propeUers, and the Uke. It isn't at aU impossible, I am
told, that these machines may be the things that wffi at
last end the war — ^possibly, but I doubt it.
81

82 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
At any rate, it is true that a great wave of discourage-

meht is come. AU these events and more seem to prove
to my mind the rather dismal failure the Liberal Govern
ment made — a failure reaUy to grasp the problem. It was
a dead faUure. Of course they are waking up now, when
they are faced with a certain dread lest many soldiers
prefer frankly to die rather than spend another winter in
practicaUy the same trenches. You hear rumours, too, of
great impending mihtary scandals — God knows whether
there be any truth in them or not.
In a word, while no EngUshman gives up or wiU ever
give up — ^that's aU rot — ^the job he has in hand is not going
weU. He's got to spit on his hands and buckle up his belt
two holes tighter yet. And I haven't seen a man for a
month who dares hope for an end of the fight mthin any
time that he can foresee.
I had a talk to-day with the Russian Ambassador.^ He
wished to know how matters stood between the United
States and Great Britain. I said to him: "I'U give you
a task ff you have leisure. Set to and help me hurry up
your distinguished AUy in deaUng with our shipping
troubles." The old man laughed — ^that seemed a huge joke to
him; he threw up his hands and exclaimed — "My God!
He is slow about his own business — has always been slow
—can't be anything else."
After more such banter, the nigger in his wood-pUe
poked his head out: "Is there any danger," he asked,
"that munitions may be stopped?"
The Germans have been preparing northern France for
German occupation. No French are left there, of course,
except women and children and old men. They must be
fed or starved or deported. The Germans put them on
' Count Beckendorff.

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 83
trains — a whole viUage at a time — and run them to the
Swiss frontier. Of course the Swiss pass them on into
France. The French have their own and — ^the Germans
wUl have northern France without any French popu
lation, ff this process goes on long enough.
The mere bang! bang! frightful era of the war is passed.
The Germans are settUng down to permanent business
with their great organizing machine. Of_course they talk
about the freedom of the seas and such mush-mush; of
coiirse they'd Uke to have Paris and rob it of enough"
money to pay what the war has cost them, and Liondon',
too. But what they reaUy want for keeps is seacoastT—
Belgium and as much of the French coast as they can win.
That's reaUy what they are out gunning for. Of course,
somehow at some time they mean to get HoUand, too,
and Denmark, ff they reaUy need it. Then they'll have
a very respectable seacoast — the thing that they chiefly
lack now. ^
More and more people are getting their nerves knocked
out. I went to a big hospital on Sunday, twenty-five
miles out of London. They showed me an enormous,
muscular Tommy sitting by himseff in a chair under the
trees. He had had a shght wound which quickly got
weU. But his speech was gone. That came back, too,
later. But then he wouldn't talk and he'd insist on
going off by himseff. He's just knocked out — you can't
find out just how much gumption he has left. That's
what the war did for him: it stupefied him. WeU, it's
stupefied lots of folks who have never seen a trench.
That's what's happened. Of aU the men who started in
with the game, I verily beUeve that Lloyd George is hold
ing up best. He organized British finance. Now he's
organizing British industry.
It's got hot in London — hotter than I've ever known

84 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
it. It gets loneUer (more people going away) and sadder
— ^more wounded coming back and more visible sorrow.
We seem to be settUng down to something that is more
or less Uke Paris — so far less, but it may become more and
more like it. And the confident note of an earlier period
is accompanied by a duU undertone of much less cheerful
ness. The end is — ^in the lap of the gods. W. H. P.
To Arthur W. Page
American Embassy, London,
July 25, 1915.
Dear Arthur:
. . . Many men here are very active in their
thought about the future relations of the United States
and Great Britain. WiU the war bring or leave them
closer together? If the German machine be completely
smashed (and it may not be completely smashed) the
Japanese danger wiU remain. I do not know how to
estimate that danger accurately. But there is such a
danger. And, if the German wild beast ever come to Ufe
again, there's an eternal chance of trouble with it. For
defensive purposes it may become of the very first im
portance that the whole EngUsh-speaking world should
stand together — ^not in entangling affiance, but with a
much clearer understanding than we have ever yet had.
I'U indicate to you some of my cogitations on this sub
ject by trying to repeat what I told Phffip Kerr^ a fort
night ago — one Sunday in the country. I can write this
to you without seeming to parade my own opinions. —
Kerr is one of "The Round Table," perhaps the best
group of men here for the real study and free discussion
of large poUtical subjects. Their quarterly. The Round
^Afterward private secretary to Premier Lloyd George.

DARK DAYS FOR THB ALLIES 85
Table, is the best review, I dare say, in the world. Kerr is
red hot for a close and perfect understanding between
Great Britam and the United States. I told hun that,
since Great Britain had only about forty per cent, of
the white Enghsh-speakuag people and the United States
had about sixty per cent., I hoped in his natural history
that the taU didn't wag the dog. I went on:
"You now have the advantage of us in your aggrega
tion of three centuries of accumulated wealth— the spoU
of aU the world — and in the talent that you have devel
oped for conserving it and adding to it and in the insti
tutions you have buUt up to perpetuate it — your merchant
ships, your insurance, your world-wide banking, your
mortgages on aU new lands; but isn't this the only ad
vantage you have? This advantage wffi pass. You are
now shooting away miffions and miffions, and you wffi
have a debt that is bound to burden industry. On our
side, we have a more recently mixed race than yours;
you've begun to inbreed. We have also (and therefore)
more adaptabffity, a greater keenness of mind in our
masses; we are Old-World men set free — ^free of classes
and traditions and aU that they connote. Your so-
caUed democracy is far behind ours. Your aristocracy
and your privUeges necessarily bring a social and eco
nomic burden. Haff your people look backward.
"Your leadership rests on your wealth and on the
power that you've buUt on your wealth."
When he asked me how we were to come closer to
gether — ^" closer together, with your old-time distrust of
us and with your remoteness?" — 1 stopped him at "re
moteness." "That's the reason," I said. "Your idea of our 're
moteness.' 'Remoteness' from what? From you? Are
you not betraying the only real difficulty of a closer sym-

86 THE LIFB AND LETTERS GF WALTER H. PAGE
pathy by assuming that you are the centre of the world?
When you bring yourseff to think of the British Empire
as a part of the American Union — ^mind you, I am not
saying that you would be formaUy admitted — ^but when
you are yourselves in close enough sympathy with us to
wish to be admitted, the chief difficulty of a real union
of thought wffi be gone. You recaU Lord Rosebery's
speech in which he pictured the capital of the British
Empire being moved to Washington ff the American
Colonies had been retained under the Crown? WeU, it
was the Crown that was the trouble, and the capital of
EngUsh-speaking folk has been so moved and you stffi
remain 'remote.' Drop 'remote' from your vocabu
lary and your thought and we'U actuaUy be closer to
gether." It's an enormous problem — just how to bring these
countries closer together. Perhaps nothing can do it but
some great common danger or some great common ad
venture. But this is one of the problems of your Ufe
time. England can't get itseff clean loose from the con-
tuaent nor from continental mediaevaUsm; and with that
we can have nothing to do. Men like Kerr think that
somehow a great push toward democracy here wiU be
given by the war. I don't quite see how. So far the
aristocracy have made perhaps the best showing in de
fense of EngUsh Uberty. They are paying the bffis of
the war; they have sent their sons; these sons have died
like men; and their parents never whimper. It's a fine
breed for such great uses as these. There was a fine in
cident in the House of Lords the other day, which gave
the Ue to the talk that one used to hear here about "de
generacy." Somebody made a perfectly innocent pro
posal to complete a Ust of peers and peers' sons who had
fallen in the war — a thing that wiU, of course, be done.

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 87
just as a simUar Ust wiU be compiled of the House of
Commons, of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. But
one peer after another objected vigorously lest such a
Ust appear immodest. "We are but doing our duty.
Let the matter rest there."
In a time Uke this the aristocracy proves its worth. In
fact, aU aristocracies grew chiefly out of wars, and perhaps
they are better for wars than a real democracy. Here,
you see, you run into one of those contradictions in Ufe
and history which make the world so hard to change. . . .
You know there are some reasons why peace, whenever
it may come, wffi bring problems as bad as the problems
of the war itseff. I can think of no worse task than the
long conferences of the Affies with their confficting in
terests and ambitions. Then must come their confer
ences with the enemy. Then there are sure to be other
conferences to try to make peace secure. And, of course,
many are going to be dissatisfied and disappointed, and
perhaps out of these disappointments other wars may
come. The world wffi not take up its knitting and sit
quietly by the fire for many a year to come. . . .
Affectionately, W. H. P.
One happiness came to Mr. and Mrs. Page in the midst
of aU these war alarums. On August 4, 1915, their only
daughter, Katharine, was married to Mr. Charles G.
Loring, of Boston, Massachusetts. The occasion gave the
King an opportunity of showing the high regard in which
Page and his faniily were held. It had been planned
that the wedding should take place in Westminster Ab
bey, but the King very courteously offered Miss Page
the Royal chapel in St. James's Palace. This was a dis
tinguished compUment, as it was the first time that any

88 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
marriage, in which both bride and bridegroom were
foreigners, had ever been celebrated in this building, which
for centuries has been the scene of royal weddings. The
special place which his daughter had always held ha the
Ambassador's affections is apparent in the many letters
that now foUowed her to her new home in the United
States. The unique use Page made of the initials of his
daughter's name was characteristic.

To Mrs. Charles G. Loring
London, September 1, 1915.
My dear K. a. P-tain:
Here's a joke on your mother and Frank: We three
(and Smith) went up to Broadway in the car, to stay
there a Uttle while and then to go on into Wales, etc.
The hotel is an old curiosity shop; you sit on EUza-
bethan chairs by a Queen Anne table, on a drunken floor,
and look at the peAvter platters on the waU or do your best
to look at them, for the ancient windows admit hardly any
Ught. "Oh! lovely," cries Frank; and then he and your
mother make out in the haff-darkness a perfectly won
derful copper mug on the mantelpiece; and you go out
and come in the ramshackle door (stooping every time)
after you've felt aU about for the rusty old iron latch, and
then you step down two steps (or fall), presently to step
up two more. WeU, for dinner we had six kinds of meat
and two meat pies and potatoes and currants! My
dinner was a potato. I'm old and infirm and I have
many ailments, but I'm not so bad off as to be able to
Uve on a potato a day. And since we were having a va
cation, I didn't see the point. So I came home where I
have seven courses for dinner, aU good; and Mrs. Leggett
took my place in the car. That carnivorous company

Edward M. House. From a painting by P. A. Laszlo

The Rt. Hon. Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister
of Great Britain, 1908-1916

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 89
went on. They've got to eat six kinds of meat and two
meat pies and — currants! I haven't. Your mother calls
me up on the phone every morning — ^me, who am Uving
here in luxury, seven courses at every dinner — and asks
anxiously, "And how are you, dear? " I answer: " Prune,
and how are you?" We are aU enjoying ourselves, you
see, and I don't have to eat six kinds of meat and two
meat pies and — currants! They do; and may Heaven
save 'em and get 'em home safe!
It's lovely in London now — ^fine, shuaing days and
showers at night and Ranelagh beautfful, and few people
here; but I don't deny its loneliness — somewhat. Yet
sleep is good, and easy and long. I have neither an
ocean voyage nor six kinds of meat and two meat pies
and currants. I congratulate myseff and write to you
and mother.
You'U land to-morrow or next day — ^good; I congratu
late you. Salute the good land for me and present my
respectful compliments to vegetables that have taste and
fruit that is not sour — ^to the sunshine, in fact, and to
everything that ripens and sweetens in its glow.
And you're now (when this reaches you) fixing up
your home — your own home, deiar Kitty. Bless your
dear Ufe, you left a home here — wasn't it a good and nice
one? — left it very lonely for the man who has loved you
twenty-four years and been made happy by your pres
ence. But he'U love you twenty-five more and on and
on — always. So you haven't lost that — nor can you.
And it's very fit and right that you should build your own
nest; that adds another happy home, you see. And I'm
very sure it will be very happy always. Whatever I can
do to make it so, now or ever, you have only to say. But
— your mother took your photograph with her and got
it out of the bag and put it on the bureau as soon as she

90 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
went to her room — a photograph taken when you were a
Uttle girl.
Hodson^ came up to see me to-day and with tears of
gratitude in his voice told me of the present that you and
Chud had made him. He is very genuinely pleased. As
for the rest, Ufe goes on as usual.
I laugh as I think of aU your new aunts and cousins
looking you over and wondering ff you'U fit, and then
saying to one another as they go to bed: "She is lovely —
isn't she?" I could teU 'em a thing or two ff I had a
whack at 'em.
And you'U soon have aU your pretty things in place in
your pretty home, and a lot more that I haven't seen.
ru see 'em aU before many years — and you, too! TeU
me, did Chud get you a dinner book? Keep your record
of things: you'U enjoy it in later years. And you'U have
a nice time this autumn — your new kinsfolk, your new
friends and old and Boston and Cambridge. If you run
across Mr. Mifflin, Wiffiam Roscoe Thayer, James Ford
Rhodes, President EUot — ^these are my particular old
friends whose names occur at the moment.
My love to you and Chud too. Affectionately, W. H. P.
The task of being "German Ambassador to Great
Britain" was evidently not without its irritations.
To Arthur W. Page September 15, 1915.
Dear Arthur:
Yesterday was my German day. When the boy came
up to my room, I told him I had some official caUs to make.
'A messenger in the American Embsissy.

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 91
"Therefore get out my oldest and worst suit." He
looked much confused; and when I got up both my worst
and best suits were laid out. Evidently he thought he
must have misunderstood me. I asked your mother ff she
was ready to go down to breakfast. "Yes."— "WeU,
then I'U leave you." She grunted something and when
we both got down she asked: "What did you say to me
upstairs?" I rephed: "I regard the incident as closed."
She looked a sort of pitying look at me and a minute or
two later asked: "What on earth is the matter with you?
Can't you hear at aU? " I repUed: " No. Therefore let's
talk." She gave it up, but looked at me again to make
sure I was aU there.
I stopped at the barber shop, badly needing a shave.
The barber got his brush and razor ready. 1 said: "Cut
my hair." He didn't talk for a few minutes, evidently
engaged in deep thought.
When I got to my office, a case was brought to me of a
runaway American who was caught trying to send news
to Germany. "Very good," said I, "now let it be made
evident that it shaU appear therefore that his innocence
having been duly estabUshed he shaU be shot."
"What, sh-?"
"That since it must be evident that his guUt is genuine
therefore see that he be acquitted and then shot."
LaughUn and BeU and Stabler were seen in an earnest
conference in the next room for nearly haff an hour.
Shoecraft brought me a letter. "This is the most
courteous complaint about the French passport bureau
we have yet had. I thought you'd Uke to see this lady's
letter. She says she knows you."
"Do not answer it, then."
He went off and conferred with the others.
Hodson spoke of the dog he sold to Frank. "Yes,"

92 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
said I, "since he was a very nice dog, therefore he was
worthless." "Su-?"
And he went off after looking back at me in a queer way.
The day went on in that fashion. When I came out to
go to lunch, the stairs doAvn led upward and I found my
seff, therefore, stepping out of the roof on to the sidewalk
— ^the house upside down. Smith looked puzzled. " Home,
su-?" "No. Go the other way." After he had driven two
or three blocks, I told him to turn again and go the other
way — ^home !
Your mother said almost as soon as I got into the door
— "What was the matter with you this morning?"
"Oh, nothing. You forget that I am the German
Ambassador." Now this whole narrative is a Ue. Nothing in it oc
curred. If it were otherwise it wouldn't be German.
Affectionately, W. H. P.
To Mrs. Charles G. Loring
London, 6 Grosvenor Square.
Sunday, September 19, 1915.
My dear Kitty:
You never had a fibner autumnal day in the land of the
free than this day has been in this old kingdom — fresh
and fair; and so your mother said to herseff and me:
"Let's go out to the Laughhns' to lunch," and we went.
There never was a prettier drive. We found out among
other things that you pleased Mrs. Laughlin very much
by your letter. Her garden changes every week or so,
and it never was loveUer than it is now. — ^Then we came
back home and dined alone. WeU, since we can't have

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 93
you and Chud and Frank, I don't care ff we do dine
alone sometimes for some time to come. Your mother's
monstrous good company, and sometmaes three is a
crowd. And now is a good time to be alone. London
never was so duU or deserted since I've known it, nor
ever so depressed. The mffitary (land) operations are
not cheerful; the hospitals are aU fuU; I see more wounded
soldiers by far than at any previous time; the Zeppehns
came somewhere to this island every night for a week —
one of them, on the night of the big raid, was visible from
our square for fifteen or twenty minutes — ^in general it is
a duU and depressing time. I have thought that since
you were determined to run off with a young feUow, you
chose a pretty good time to go away. I'm afraid there'U
be no more of what we caU "fun" in this town as long
as we stay here.
Worse yet: in spite of the CoaUtion Government and
everybody's wish to get on smoothly and to do nothing
but to push the war, since ParUament convened there's
been a great row, which doesn't get less. The labour
men give trouble; people blame the poUtieians: Lloyd
George is saving the country, say some; Lloyd George
ought to be hanged, say others. Down with Northcliffe !
They seem likely to burn him at the stake — except those
who contend that he has saved the nation. Some main
tain that the cabinet is too big — ^twenty-two. More say
that it has no leadership. If you favour conscription,
you are a traitor: ff you don't favour it, you are pro-
German. It's the same sort of old quarrel they had be
fore the war, only it is about more subjects. In fact,
nobody seems very clearly to know what it's about.
Meantime the Government is spending money at a rate
that nobody ever dreamed of before. Three miffion
pounds a day — some days five miffion. The Germans'

94 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
meantime are taking Russia; the Affies are not taking the
DardaneUes; in France the old deadlock contuaues. Bos
ton at its worst must be far more cheerful than this.
Affectionately and with my love to Chud, W. H. P.
To the President
London, September 26, 1915.
Dear Mr. President:
The suppression of facts about the military situation is
more rigorous than ever since the mihtary facts have be
come so discouraging. The volume of pretty WeU authen
ticated news that I used to hear privately has become
sensibly diminished. Rumours that reach me by the back
door, in aU sorts of indirect ways, are not fewer, but fewer
of them are credible. There is great confusion, great fear,
very great depression — far greater, I think, than England
has felt, certainly since the Napoleonic scare and probably
since the threat of the Armada. Nobody, I think, sup
poses that England herseff AviU be conquered: confidence
in the navy is supreme. But the fear of a practical defeat
of the Affies on the continent is become general. Russia
may have to pay a huge indemnity, going far to reimburse
Germany for the cost of the war; Belgium may be per
manently held unless Germany receive an indemnity to
evacuate, and her seaports may be held anyhow; the Ger
mans may reach Constantinople before the Affies, and
Germany may thus hold, when the war ends, an open way
to the East: and France may have to pay a large sum to
regain her northern territory now held by the Germans.
These are not the convictions of men here, but they have
distuactly become the fears; and many men's mhad are
beginning to adjust themselves to the possible end of the
war, as a draw, with these results. Of course such an

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 95
end would be a real German victory and — another war as
soon as enough men grow up to fight it.
When the more cheerful part of pubhc opinion, espe
ciaUy when any member of the Government, affects to
laugh at these fears, the people say: "WeU, make known
the facts that you base your hope on. Precisely how
many men have volunteered? Is the voluntary system
a success or has it reached its limit? Precisely what is the
situation in the DardaneUes? Are the affied armies
strong enough to make a big drive to break through the
German Une in France? Have they big guns and am
munition enough? What are the facts about the chance
in the DardaneUes? What have we done with reference
to the Balkan States? " Thus an angry and ominous politi
cal situation is arising. The censorship on war news appar
ently becomes severer, and the general fear spreads and
deepens. The air, of course, becomes heavUy charged
with such rumours as these : that ff the Government con
tinue its poUcy of secrecy, Lloyd George wffi resign, see
ing no hope of a real victory: that, ff he do resign, his res
ignation wffi disrupt the Government — cause a sort of
earthquake; that the Government wiU probably faU and
Lloyd George wffi be asked to form another one, since he
is, as the pubhc sees it, the most active and efficient man
in poUtical Ufe ; that, ff aU the Balkan States fail the AlUes,
Sir Edward Grey wiU be reckoned a faUure and must
resign; and you even now hear talk of Mr. Baffour's
succeeding him.
It is impossible to say what basis there is for these and
other such rumours, but they show the general very serious
depression and dissatisfaction. Of that there is no doubt.
Nor is there any doubt about grave differences in the
Cabinet about conscription nor of grave fear in the pubUc
mind about the action of labour unions in hindering the

96 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
utmost production of ammunition, nor of the increasing
feeling that the Prime Minister doesn't lead the nation.
Except Lloyd George and the ChanceUor of the Ex
chequer^ the Cabinet seems to suffer a sort of paralysis.
Lord Kitchener's speech in the House of Lords, explaining
the mffitary situation, reads like a series of month-old
buUetins and was a great disappointment. Mr. Asquith's
corresponding speech in the House seemed to lack com
plete frankness. The nation feels that it is being kept
in the dark, and aU the mihtary information that it gets
is discouraging. Sir Edward Grey, as philosophic and
enduring a man as I know, seems much more depressed
than I have ever known him to be ; Bryce is very very far
from cheerful; Plunkett,* whom also you know, is in the
dumps — ^it's hard to find a cheerful or a hopeful man.
The secrecy of official Ufe has become so great and suc
cessful that prophecy pf poUtical changes must be mere
guess work. But, unless good news come from the Dar
daneUes in particular, I have a feehng that Asquith may
resign — ^be forced out by the gradual pressure of pubUc
opinion; that Lloyd George wiU become Prime Minister,
and that (probably) Sir Edward Grey may resign. Yet
I cannot take the prevailing miUtary discouragement
at its face value. The last haff million men and the last
miffion pounds wiU decide the contest, and the Affies wUl
have these. This very depression strengthens the nation's
resolution to a degree that they for the moment forget.
The blockade and the armies in the field wffi wear Ger
many down — not absolutely conquer her, but wear her
down — ^probably in another year.
In the meantime our prestige (if that be the right word),
in British judgment, is gone. As they regard it, we have
"The Rt. Hon. Reginald McKenna.
'Sir Horace Plunkett.

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 97
permitted the Germans to kiU our citizens, to carry on a
worldwide underhand propaganda from our country (as
weU as in it), for which they have made no apology
and no reparation but only vague assurances for the
future now that then- submarine fleet has been almost
destroyed. They think that we are credulous to the
point of simpUcity to accept any assurances that Bern
storff may give — in a word, that the peace-at-any-price
sentiment so dominates American opinion and the Amer
ican Government that we wffi submit to any indignity
or insult — that we wffi learn the Germans' real char
acter when it is too late to save our honour or dignity.
There is no doubt of the definiteness or depth of this
opinion. And I am afraid that tffis feeUng wffi show itseff in our
future deahngs with tffis government. The pubUc opin
ion of the nation as weU as the Government accepts their
blockade as justified as weU as necessary. They wffi not
yield on that point, and they wffi regard our protests as
reaUy inspired by German influence — thus far at least:
that the German propaganda has organized and en
couraged the commercial objection in the United States,
and that this propaganda and the peace-at-any-price
sentiment demand a stiff controversy with England to
offset the stiff controversy with Germany; and, after all,
they ask, what does a stiff controversy with the United
States amount to? I had no idea that EngUsh opinion
coffid so quickly become practicaUy indifferent as to what
the United States thinks or does. And as nearly as I can
make it out, there is not a general wish that we should go
to war. The prevalent feeUng is not a seffish wish for
mihtary help. In fact they tffink that, by the making of
munitions, by the taking of loans, and by the sale of food
we can help them more than by miUtary and naval action.

98 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Their feeUng is based on then- disappointment at our subr
mitting to what they regard as German daUying with us
and to German insults. They beUeve that, if we had sent
Bernstorff home when his government made its unsatis
factory reply to our first Lusitania note, Germany would
at once have "come down"; opportunist Balkan States
would have come to the help of the Affies; Holland and
perhaps the Scandinavian States would have got some con
sideration at BerUn for their losses by torpedoes; that
more attention would have been paid by Turkey to our
protest against the wholesale massacre of the Armenians;
and that a better settlement with Japan about Pacific
islands and Pacific influence would have been possible for
the EngUsh at the end of the war. Since, they argue,
nobody is now gtfraid of the United States, her moral in
fluence is impaired at every capital; and I now frequently
hear the opinion that, if the war lasts another year and
the Germans get less and less use of the United States as
a base of general propaganda in aU neutral countries,
especiaUy all American countries, they are Ukely them
selves to declare war on us as a mere defiance of the whole
world and with the hope of stirring up internal trouble
for our government by the activity of the Germans and
the Irish in the United States, which may hinder muni
tions and food and loans to the Affies.
I need not remark that the Enghsh judgment of the
Germans is hardly judicial. But they reply to this that
every nation has to learn the real, incredible character of
the Prussian by its own unhappy experience. France had
so to learn it, and England, Russia, and Belgium; and we
(the United States), they say, fail to profit in time by the
experience of these. After the Germans have used us to
the utmost in peace, they wiU force us into war — or even
flatly declare war on us when they think they can thus

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 99
cause more embarrassment to the Affies, and when they
conclude that the time is come to make sure that no great
nation shaU emerge from the war with a clear commercial
advantage over the others; and in the meantime they wiU
prove to the world by playing with us that a democracy
is necessarUy pacffic and hence (in their view) contempt
ible. I felt warranted the other day to remark to Lord
Bryce on the unfairness of much of the EngUsh judgment
of us (he is very sad and a good deal depressed). "Yes,"
he said, "I have despaired of one people's ever reaUy
understanding another even when the two are as closely
related and as friendly as -the Americans and the Eng
Ush." You were kind enough to inquire about my health in
your last note. If I could Uve up to the popular concep
tion here of my labours and responsibffities and deUcate
duties (wffich is most flattering and greatly exaggerated),
I should be only a walking shadow of a man. But I am
most inappreciately weU. I imagine that in some year
to come, I may enjoy a vacation, but I could not enjoy
it now. Besides since civffization has gone backward
several centuries, I suppose I've gone back with it to a
time when men knew no such thing as a vacation. (Let's
forgive House for Ms kindly, mistaken soUcitude.) The
truth is, I often feel that I do not know myseff — ^body or
soul, boots or breeches. Tffis experience is making us
aU here different from the men we were — ^but in just
what respects it is hard to teU. We are not within hearmg
of the guns (except the guns that shoot at Zeppelins when
they come) ; but the war crowds itseff in on us sensibly
more and more. There are more wounded soldiers on the
streets and in the parks. More and more famiUes one
knows lose their sons, more and more women their hus
bands. Death is so common that it seems a Uttle thmg.

100 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Four persons have come to my house to-day (Sunday) in
the hope that I may find their missing kinsmen, and two
more have appealed to me on the telephone and two
more stiU have sent me notes. Smce I began tffis let
ter, Mrs. Page insisted on my going out on the edge of
the city to see an old friend of many years who has
just lost both his sons and whose prospective son-ui-
law is at home wounded. The first thing he said was:
"TeU me, what is America going to do?" As we drove
back, we made a caU on a household whose nephew is
"missing." — "Can't you possibly help us hear definitely
about him?"
Tffis sort of thing aU day every day must have some
effect on any man. Then — yesterday morning gave
promise of a calm, clear day. I never know what sen
sational experience awaits me around the next corner.
Then there was put on my desk the first page of a rep
utable weekly paper which was fiUed with an open letter
to me written by the editor and signed. After the usual
description of my multitudmous and deUcate duties, I
was caUed on to insist that my government should protest
against ZeppeUn raids on London because a bomb might
kiU me! Humour doesn't bubble much now on this side
the world, for the censor had forbidden the pubUcation of
this open letter lest it should possibly cause American-
German trouble! Then the American correspondents
came in to verffy a report that a news agency is said to
have had that I was deluged with threatening letters! —
More widows, more mothers looking for lost sons! . . .
Once in a while — far less often than ff I Uved in a sane
and normal world — I get a few hours off and go to a lonely
goff club. Alas! there is seldom anybody there but now
and then a pair of girls and now and then a pair of old
feUows who have played goff for a century. Yet back in

DARK DAYS FOR THE ALLIES 101
London m the War Office I hear they indulge in dis
respectful hUarity at the poor game I play. Now how do
they know? (You'd better look to your score with
Grayson: the Enghsh have spies in America. A major-
general m their spy-service department told Mrs. Page
that they knew aU about Archibald^ before he got on the
ship in New York.)
AU this I send you not because it is of the sUghtest per
manent importance (except the EngUsh judgment of us)
but because it wiU prove, ff you need proof, that the world
is gone mad. Everything depends on fighting power and
on nothing else. A victory wffi save the Government.
Even distinctly hopeful miUtary news wiU. And EngUsh
depression wffi vamsh with a turn of the mffitary tide.
If it had been Bernstorff instead of Dumba — that would
have affected even the EngUsh judgment of us. TyrreU^
remarked to me — did I write you? " Think of the freaks
of" sheer, blind Luck; a man of considerable abiUty Uke
Dumba caught for takmg a risk that an idiot would have
avoided, and a fool like Bernstorff escaping!" Then he
added: "I hope Bernstorff wffi be left. No other human
bemg could serve the EngUsh as weU as he is serving
them." So, you see, even in Ms depression the Enghsh
man has some humour left — e. g., when that old sea dog
Lord Fisher heard that Mr. Baffour was to become First
Lord of the Admiralty, he cried out: "Damn it! he
won't do: Arthur Baffour is too much of a gentleman."
So John BuU is now, after aU, rather pathetic — de
pressed as he has not been depressed for at least a hundred
years. The nobffity and the common man are doing their
whole duty, dymg on the Bosphorus or in France without
"It was Archibald's intercepted baggage that furnished the documents which
caused Dumba's dismissal.
'Sir WiUiam Tyrrell, private secretary to Sir Edward Grey.

102 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
a murmur, or facing an insurrection m India; but the
labour union man and the commercial class are holding
back and hindering a victory. And there is no great
national leader. Smcerely yours, Walter H. Page.

CHAPTER XVII
CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915
To Edward M. House
London, December 7, 1915.
My dear House:
I hear you are stroking down the Tammany tiger — an
easier job than I have with the British Uon. You can
find out exactly who your tiger is, you know the house he
Uves m, the Uquor he drinks, the company he goes with.
The British Uon isn't so easy to find. At times in EngUsh
ffistory he has dwelt in Dowmng Street — ^not so now. So
far as our struggle with him is concerned, he's aU over the
Kingdom; for he is pubhc opinion. The governing crowd
m usual times and on usual subjects can here overrun
pubhc opioion — can make it, turn it, down it, dodge it.
But it isn't so now — as it affects us. Every mother's son
of 'em has made up ffis mind that Germany must and
shaU be starved out, and even Sir Edward's scalp isn't
safe when they suspect that he wishes to be lenient in
that matter. They keep trying to drive him out, on
two counts: (1) he lets goods out of Germany for the
United States "and thereby handicaps the fleet"; and
(2) he faUed m the Balkans. Sir Edward is too much Of a
gentleman for tffis business of rough-riding over aU neutral
rights and for bribing those Balkan bandits.
I went to see him to-day about the Hocking, etc. He
asked me: "Do you know that the sffips of tffis Une are
reaUy owned, in good faith, by Americans?"
"I'U answer your question," said I, "ff I may then ask
103

104 the LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
you one. No, I don't know of my own knowledge. Now,
do you know that they are not owned by Americans?"
He had to confess that he, of ffis own knowledge, didn't
know. "Then," I said, "for the rehef of us both, I pray you
hurry up your prize court."
When we'd got done quarrelUng about ships and I
started to go, he asked me how I Uked Wordsworth's war
poems. "The best of aU war poems," said he, "because
they don't glorffy war but have to do with its philos
ophy." Then he told me that some friend of his had just
got out a Uttle volume of these war poems selected from
Wordsworth; "and I'm gomg to send you a copy."
"Just in time," said I, "for I have a copy of 'The Lffe
and Letters of John Hay'' that I'm sending to you."
He's coming to dme with me m a night or two: he'U do
anythmg but discuss our Note with me. And he's the
only member of the Government who, I think, would like
to meet our views; and he can't. To use the language of
LoweU about the campaign of Governor Kent— these
British are heU-bent on starvmg the Germans out, and
neutrals have naighty few rights tiU that job's done.
The worst of it is that the job won't be done for a very
long time. I've been making a sort pf systematic round
of the Cabinet to see what these feUows think about things
in general at this stage of the game. Bonar Law (the
Colomes) teUs me that the news from the Balkans is
worse than the pubhc or the newspapers know, and that
stffi worse news wiU come. Germany wffi have it aU her
own way in that quarter.
"And take Egypt and the canal?"
"I didn't say that," he repUed. But he showed that
he fears even that.
iRy William Roscoe Thayer, published in 1915.

'© Underwood & Underwood
Herbert C. Hoover, in 1914

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A facsimile page from the Ambassador's letter of November 24,
1916, resigning his Ambassadorship

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 105"
I could go on with a dozen of 'em; but I sat down to
write you a Christmas letter, and nothmg else. The
best news I have for you is not news at aU, but I conceive
it to be one of the best hopes of the future. In spite of
Irishmen past, present, and to come; in spite of Germans,
whose fuss wffi soon be over; m spite of lawyers, who (ff
left alone) would bankrupt empires as their cUents and
think, they'd won a victory; I'm gomg to leave things
here in a year and a haff so that, ff wise men wish to lay
a plan for keeping the peace of the world, aU they need
to do wffi be to say first to Uncle Sam: "Tffis feUow or
that must understand that he can't break loose Uke a
wUd beast." If Uncle Sam agrees (and has a real navy
himseff), he'U wink at John BuU, and John wffi foUow
after. You see our blackleg taU-twisters have the whole
thing backward. They say we truckle to the British.
My plan is to lead the British — ^not for us to go to them
but to have them come to us. We have three wffite men
to every two wffite men m their whole Empire; and, when
peace comes, we'U be fairly started on the road to become
as rich as the war wffi leave them. There are four clubs
in London which have no other purpose than this; and the
best review"^ in the world exists chiefly for tffis purpose.
AU we need to do is to be courteous (we can do what we
like ff we do it courteously). Our maimers, our poUti
eians, and our newspapers are aU that keep the Enghsh-
speaking wffite man, under our lead, from ruhng the
world, without any treaty or entangUng alUance whatso
ever. If, when you went to BerUn to talk to your gen
tle and timid friend, the Emperor, about disarmament
before the war — ^ff about 200 American dreadnaughts and
cruisers, with real grog on 'em, had come over to make a
friendly caU, m the North Sea, on the 300 Enghsh dread-
*The Ambassador had in mind The Round Table.

106 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
naughts and cruisers — just a friendly caU, admirals on
admirals — ^the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Save
the Kmg" — and ff General Bell, from the PffiUppines, had
happened m London just when Kitchener happened to
be home from Egypt — then, there wouldn't have been this
war now. Nothing need have been said — ^no treaty, no
affiance, notffing. For then 100 or more British naval
sffips would have joined the Panama naval procession
and any possible enemy would have seen that combmed
fleet clean across the Pacffic.
Now tffis may aU be a mere Christmas fancy — a mere
yarn about what might have been — because we wouldn't
have sent ships here m our old mood; the crew would have
missed one Sunday School. But it's this kind of thing
that does the trick. But this means the practice of
courtesy, and we haven't acquired the habit. Two years
or more ago the trainmg sffips from AnnapoUs with the
cadets aboard anchored down the Thames and stayed
several weeks and let the boys loose m England. They
go on such a voyage every two years to some country,
you know. The Enghsh didn't know that fact and they
took the visit as a special compUment. Their old admirals
were aU greatly pleased, and I hear talk about that yet.
We ought to have two or three of our rear-admirals
here on their fleet now. Symmgton, of course, is a good
fellow; but he's a mere commander and attache — ^not an
admiral — ^in other words, not any particular compUment
or courtesy to the British Navy. (As soon as the war
began, a Japanese admiral turned up here and he is here
now.) We sent over two army captains as mffitary ob
servers. The Russians sent a brigadier-general. We
ought to have sent General Wood. You see the differ
ence? There was no courtesy in our method. It would
be the easiest and prettiest job in the world to swaUow

CaSRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 107
the whole British orgamzation, lock, stock, and barrel —
King, Primate, Cabinet, Lords, and Commons, feathers
and aU, and to make 'em foUow our courteous lead any
where. The President had them in this mood when the
war started and for a long tune after— tiU the Lusitania
seemed to be forgotten and tiU the lawyers began to write
ffis Notes. He can get 'em back, after the war ends, by
several acts of courtesy — ^ff we could get into the habit of
domg such tffings as sendmg generals and admirals as
compliments to them. The British Empire is ruled by a
wUy use of courtesies and decorations. If I had the Pres
ident himseff to do the correspondence, ff I had three or
four fine generals and admirals and a good bishop or
two, a thoroughbred senator or two and now and then a
Supreme Court Justice to come on proper errands and
be engineered here m the right way — we could do or say
anything we liked and they'd do whatever we'd say. I'd
undertake to underwrite the whole EngUsh-speakmg world
to keep peace, under our leadership. Instead whereof,
eye^ move we now make is to follow them or to drive
them. The latter is impossible, and the former is unbe-
commg to us.
But to return to Christmas. — ^I could go on writmg for
a week in tffis off-hand, slap-dash way, saymg wise things
ffippantly. But Christmas — ^that's the thmg now. Christ
mas! What bloody irony it is on this side the world!
Stffi there wffi be many pleasant and touching thmgs
done. An EngUshman came m to see me the other day
and asked ff I'd send $1,000 to Gerard^ to use m makmg
the EngUsh prisoners in Germany as happy as possible
on Christmas Day — offiy I must never tell anybody who
did it. A lady came on the same errand — ^for the British
"^ James W. Gerard, American Ambassador to Germany, and, as such, in charge
of British interests in Germany.

108 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
prisoners in Turkey, and with a less but stiU a generous
sum. The heroism, the generosity, the endurance and
self-restraint and courtesy of these people would melt a
pyramid to tears. Of course there are yeUow dogs among
'em, here and there; but the genume, thoroughbred
EngUsh man or woman is the real thmg — one of the realest
tffings m tffis world. So pohte are they that not a smgle
EngUsh person has yet mentioned our Note to me — ^not
one. But every one I've met for two days has mentioned
the sendmg of Von Papen and Boy-Ed^ home — not that
they expect us to get into the war, but because they re
gard this action as maintaining our self-respect.
Nor do they neglect other tffings because of the war.
I went to the annual dinner of the Scottish Corporation
the other mght — an orgamzation wffich for 251 years has
looked after Scotchmen stranded in London; and they
coUected $20,000 then and there. There's a good deal
of Christmas m 'em yet. One feUow in a Uttle patriotic
speech said that the Government is spending twenty-five
miffion doUars a day to whip the Germans. — "Cheap
work, very cheap work. We can spend twice that ff
necessary. Why, gentlemen, we haven't exhausted our
pocket-change yet."
Somehow I keep getting away from Christmas. It
doesn't stay put. It'U be a memorable one here for its
sorrows and for its grim determmation — an empty cheiir
at every EngUsh table. But nowhere in the world wiU it
be ffifferent except in the smaU neutral states here and in
the lands on your side the world.
How many Christmases the war may last, nobody's
wise enough to know. That depends absolutely on
iThe German military and naval attaches, whose persistent and outrageous vio
lation of American laws led to their dismissal by President Wilson.

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 109
Germany. The Affies announced their terms ten months
ago, and notffing has yet happened to make them change
them. That would leave the Germans with Germany and
a secure peace — ^no obhteration or any other wUd non
sense, but offiy a secure peace. Let 'em go back home,
pay for the damage they've done, and then stay there.
I do hope that the actual fighting wiU be ended by Christ
mas of next year. Of course it may end with dramatic
suddenness at any time, tffis being the offiy way, perhaps,
for the Kaiser to save ffis throne. Or it may go on for
two or three years. My guess is that it'U end next year —
a guess subject to revision, of course, by events that can't
be foreseen.
But as I said before — to come back to Christmas. Mrs.
Page and I send you and Mrs. House our affectionate good
wishes and the hope that you keep very weU and very
happy m your happy, prosperous hemisphere. We do,
I thank you. We haven't been better for years — ^never
before so busy, never, I tffink, so free from care. We get
plenty to eat (such as it is in this tasteless wet zone), at a
ffigh cost, of course; we have comfortable beds and shoes
(we spend aU our time m these two tffings, you know);
we have good company, enough to do (I!), no grievances
nor ailments, no ffi-wffi, no disappointments, a keen
mterest in some big tffings — aU the cffips are blue, you
know; we don't feel ready for halos, nor for other un
comfortable honours; we deserve less than we get and
are content with what the gods send. Tffis, I take it, is
aU that Martin' woffid caU a comfortable mood for
Christmas; and we are old enough and tough enough to
2iave tffick armour against trouble. When Worry knocks
at the door, the butler teUs him we're not at home.
And I see the most interesting work in the world cut
'E. S. Martm, Editor of Life.

110 THB LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
out for me for the next twenty-five or thirty years — to get
such courtesy into our deahngs with these our kmsmen
here, pubUc and private — as wffi cause them to foUow us
m aU the developments of democracy and — ^m keepmg
the peace of the world secure. I can't impress it on you
strongly enough that the EngUsh-speakmg folk have got
to set the pace and keep tffis world in order. Nobody
else is equal to the job. In aU our deaUngs with the
British, pubhc and private, we allow it to be assumed
that they lead: they don't. We lead. They'U foUow, ff
we do reaUy lead and are courteous to them. If we hold
back, the Irishman rears up and says we are surrendermg
to the EngUsh! Suppose we go ahead and the EngUsh
surrender to us, what can your Irishmen do then? Or
ypur German? The British Navy is a pretty good sort
of dog to have to trot under your wagon. If we are
wiffing to have ten years of thoughtfffi good manners, I
teU you Jefficoe wffi eat out of your hand.
Therefore, cheer up! It's not at aU improbable that
Ford' and his cargo of cranks, ff they get across the ocean,
may strike a German mine in the North Sea. Then
they'U die happy, as martyrs; and the rest of us wiU Uve
happy, and it'U be a Merry Cffiistmas for everybody.
Our love to Mrs. House. Always heartUy yours, W. H. P.
To Frank N. Doubleday and Others
London, Cffiistmas, 1915.
Dear D. P. & Co.
. . . Now, smce we're talking about the war, let
me dehver my opimon and leave the subject. They're
'Mr. Henry Ford at this time was getting together his famous peace ship, which
was to sail to Europe "to get the boys out of the trenches by Christmas."

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 111
killing one another aU right; you needn't have any doubt
about that — so many thousand every day, whether there's
any battle or not. When there's "notffing to report"
from France, that means the regular 5,000 casualties that
happen every day. There isn't any way of getting rid of
men that has been forgotten or neglected. Women and
chUdren, too, of course, starve in Serbia and Poland and
are massacred m Turkey. England, though she has by
very much the largest army she ever had, has the smallest
of aU the big armies and yet I don't know a family that
had men of fightmg age wffich hasn't lost one or more
members. And the worst is to come. But you never
hear a complaint. Poor Mr. Dent,' for mstance (two
sons dead), says: "It's aU right. England must be
saved." And tffis Kmgdom alone, as you know, is spendmg
twenty-five miffion doUars a day. The big loan placed m
the Umted States^ would last but twenty days! If tffis
pace of slaughter and of spendmg go on long enough,
there won't be any men or any money left on tffis side the
world. Yet there wffi be both left, of course ; for somehow
tffings never qmte go to the ultimate smash that seems to
come. Read the ffistory of the French Revolution. How
did the French nation survive?
It wffi go on, uffiess some unexpected dramatic mihtary
event end it, for somethmg Uke another year at least —
many say for two years more, and some, tffiee years
more. It'U stop, of course, whenever Germany wiU pro
pose terms that the AlUes can consider — or somethmg
near such terms ; and it won't stop before. By blockade
pressure and by fightmg, the Affies are gradually wearmg
the Germans out. We can see here the gradual pressure
'J. M. Dent, the London publisher.
'$500,000,000.

112 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
of events m that direction. My guess is that they won't
go into a third winter.
WeU, dear gentlemen, however you may feel about it,
that's enough for me. My day — every day — ^is divided
into these parts: (1) two to three hours hsteffing to Amer
icans or their agents here whose cargoes are stopped, to
sorrowing American parents whose boys have run away
and gone mto the EngUsh Army, to nurses and doctors
and sheU makers who wish to go to France, to bereaved
EngUsh men and women whose sons are "missmg": can
I have them found m Germany? (2) to answering letters
about these same cheerful subjects; (3) to going over cases
and documents prepared about aU these sorts of troubles
and forty other sorts, by the eight or ten secretaries of
the Embassy, and a conference with every one of them;
(4) the readmg of two books of telegrams, one mcommg,
the other outgomg, and the preparation of a lot of answers;
(5) gomg to the Foreign Office, not every day but often,
to discuss more troubles there; (6) home to dinner at 8
o'clock — at home or somewhere else, and there is more
talk about the war or about the poUtical troubles. That
for a regular daily routine for pretty nearly a year and a
haff! As I say, ff anybody is keeping the war up for my
entertainment, he now has my permission to stop. No
time to read, no time to write, Uttle time to think, Uttle
or no time to see the people you most wish to see, I often
don't know the day of the week or of the month: it's a
sort of hfe m the trenches, without the immediate physical
danger. Then I have my cabinet meetmgs, my fmancial
reports (money we spend for four governments: I had tiU
recently about a milUon doUars subject to my check);
then the commission for the rehef of Belgium; then the
Ambassadors and Mimsters of the other neutral states —
our task is worse than war!

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 113
WeU, praise God for sleep. I get from seven to nine
hours a mght, unbroken; and I don't take Armageddon
to bed with me.
I don't mmd telUng you (nobody else) that the more I
see just how great statesmen work and manage great
governments — ^the more I see of them at close range —
whether m Washmgton or London or BerUn or Vienna or
Constantmople (for these are my Capitals), the more I
admire the methods of the Long Island farmers. Boys, I
swear I could take our crowd and do a better job than
many of these great men do. I have to spend a lot of
time to correct their moves before the other fellow fmds
out the mistake. For mstance I know I spent $2,000 m
telegrams before I could make the German Government
understand the British miUtary age, and the British
Government understand the German miUtary age, for
exchanging prisoners who had lost two legs or arms or
both eyes; and I've had to send a man to BerUn to get a
financial report from one man on one floor of a buUdmg
there emd to take it to another man on the floor above.
Just yesterday I was reminded that I had made eighteen
requests for the same information of the British Govern
ment, when the nmeteenth request for it came from Wash
mgton; and I have now telegraphed that same tffing mne-
teen times smce the war began. Of course everybody's
worked to death. But sometffing else ails a lot of 'em all
the way from Constantmople to London. Leavmg out
common gutter lymg (and there's much of it) the sheer
stupidity of governments is amazing. They are aU so
human, so mighty human! I wouldn't be a government
for any eartffiy consideration. I'd rather be a brindled
dog and trot under the wagon.
But it has been an inexpressibly mteresting experience
to find aU tffis out for myseff. There's a sort of weary

114 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
satisfaction m feeUng that you've seen too much of them
to be fooled by 'em any more. And, although most men
now engaged in tffis game of government are mere common
mortals with most of the common mortal weaknesses, now
and then a reaUy big man does stumble mto the business.
I have my doubts whether a reaUy big man ever deliber
ately goes mto it. And most of the men who the
crowd for the moment thinks are big men don't reaUy
turn out so. It's a game like buU fightmg. The bull
is likely to kiU you — ^pretty sure to do so ff you keep
at the busmess long enough ; but m the meantime you have,
some excitmg experiences and the applause of the auffi-
ence. When you get kiUed, they forget you — immeffi-
ately. There are two rather big men m tffis Government,
and you wouldn't guess in tffiee rounds who they are.
But in general the war hasn't so far developed very big
men in any country. Else we are yet too close to them to
recognize their greatness. Joffre seems to have great
stuff in him ; and (I assure you) you needn't ever laugh at a
Frenchman agam. They are a great people. As for the
British, there was never such a race. It's odd — ^I hear that
it happens just now to be the fashion m the Umted States
to say that the British are not doing their share. There
never was a greater slander. They absolutely hold the
Seven Seas. They have caught about seventy subma-
rmes and some of them are now destroymg German sffips
in the Baltic Sea. They've sent to France by several
times the largest army that any people ever sent over the
sea. They are financing most of their affies and they
have turned tffis whole island mto gun and sheU factories.
They made a great mistake at the DardaneUes and they
are slower than death to change their set methods. But
no famUy m the land, from charcoal burners to dukes,
hesitates one moment to send its sons mto the army.

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 115
When the news comes of their death, they never whimper.
When you come right down to hard facts, the courage and
the endurance of the British and the French excel any
thmg ever before seen on this planet. AU the old stories
of bravery from Homer down are outdone every day by
these people. I see these British at close range, fuU-dress
and undress; and I've got to know a lot of 'em as weU as
we can ever come to know anybody after we get grown.
There is simply no end to the siUy sides of their character.
But, when the real trial comes, they don't fUnch; and (ex
cept the thoroughbred American) there are no such men
m the world.
A seven-foot Kansas lawyer (Kansas aU over him) came
to see me yesterday. He came here a month ago on
some legal busmess. He told me yesterday that he had
always despised EngUshmen. He's seen a few with stud
horse clothes and wffite spats and monocles on who had
gone tiarough Kansas to shoot in the Rocky Mountams.
He couldn't understand 'em and he didn't like 'em.
"So infernaUy uppish," said he.
"WeU, what do you think of 'em now?"
"The very best people m the world," said he. I think
he has a notion of enUstmg!
You're stffi pubUshmg books, I hear. That's a good
occupation. I'd like to be doing it myseff. But I can't
even get time to read 'em now.
But, as you know, nobody's writmg anythmg but war
books — from KipUng to Hall Caine. Poor KipUng! — his
boy's dead. I have no doubt of it. I've had all the Ger
man hospitals and prison camps searched for him m vam.
These writing men and women, by the way, are as true
blue and as thoroughbred as any other class. I can never
forget Maurice Hewlett's brave behaviour when he
thought that ffis flymg corps son had been killed by the

116 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Germans or drowned at sea. He's no prig, but a real man.
And the women are as fine as the men. . . .
To go back to books: Of course nobody can teU what
effect the war will have on the writing of them, nor what
sort of new writers may come up. You may be sure that
everything is stirred to its profoundest depths and wUl
be stirred stiU more. Some old stagers wffi be laid on
the sheff; that's certam. What sort of new ones wiU
come? I asked H. G. Wells this question. He has
promised to think it out and tell me. He has the power
to guess some thmgs very well. I'U put that question to
Conrad when I next see hun.
Does anybody in the Umted States take the Prime
Minister, Mr. Asquith, to be a great man? His wife is a
brUliant woman; and she has kept a diary ever smce he
became Prime Mimster ; and he now has passed the long
est single term in EngUsh ffistory. Mr. Dent thinks he's
the biggest man alive, and Dent has some mighty good
instincts. Talk about troubles! Think of poor NorthcUffe. He
thinks he's saved the nation from its miserable govern
ment, and the government now opeffiy abuses ffim in
the House of Commons. NorthcUffe puts on his brass
knuckles and turns the Times building upside down and
sets aU the Daily Mail macffine guns gomg, and has to go
to bed to rest ffis nerves, while the row spreads and
deepens. The Government keeps hell in the prayer-
book because without it they wouldn't know what to do
with NorthcUffe; and NorthcUffe is just as sure that he
has saved England as he is sure the Duke of Wellington
did. To come back to the war. (We always do.) Smce
I wrote the ffist part of this letter, I spent an eveffing with
a member of the Cabinet and he told me so much bad

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 117
mihtary news, wffich they prevent the papers from pub
Ushmg or even hearing, tiiat to-night I ahnost share tffis
man's opmion that the war wUl last tiU 1918. That
isn't impossible. If that happens the offer that I heard
a noble old buck make to a group of ladies the other mght
may be accepted. Tffis old codger is about seventy-five,
ruddy and saucy yet. "My dear laffies," said he, "ff
the war goes on and on we shaU have no young men left.
A doffiale duty wffi faU on the old feUows. I shaU be
ready, when the need comes, to take four extra wives, and
I daresay there are others of my generation who are as
patriotic as I am."
AU of wffich is offiy my long-wmded, round-about dip
lomatic way of wishmg you every one and every one of
yours and aU the folk m the office, their assigns, superiors,
dependents, compamons m labour — aU, everyone and
sundry, the happiest of Cffiistmases; and when you take
stock of your manffold blessmgs, don't forget to be thank
ful for the Atlantic Ocean. That's the best asset of
safety that we have. Affectionately yours, W. H. P.
To Mrs. Charles G. Loring
6 Grosvenor Square,
London, December 7, 1915.
Dear Kitty:
This is my Cffiistmas letter to you and Chud — a poor
tffing, but the best I have to give you. At least it carries
my love, dear, and my wishes that every Cffiistmas under
your own roof wffi be happier than the precedmg one.
Smce your starting pomt is on the high level of your first
Christmas m your own home — ^that's a good wish: isn't it?

118 the life and letters OF WALTER H. PAGE
I'm beginnmg to tffink a good deal of your mother and
me. Here we are left alone by every one of you — ^m a
foreign land; and, contrary to aU predictions that any of
you would have made about us four or five years ago,
we're faring pretty weU, thank you, and not on the edge
of dying of loneUness at aU. I teU you, I think we're
pretty brave and hardy.
We're even capable of becommg cocky and saucy to
every one of you. Be careful, then.
You see ff you have a war to Uve with you don't nec
essarUy need children: you'll have strife enough without
'em. We'U console ourselves with such reflections as
these. And the truth is — at least about me — ^that there isn't
time to think of what you haven't got. Of course, I'm
workmg, as always, to soften the relations between these
two governments. So far, m spite of the pretty deep
latent feeUng on both sides — ^far worse than it ought to he
and far worse than I wish it were — ^I'm workmg aU the
time to keep thmgs as smooth as possible. Happily,
nobody can prove it, but I beUeve it, that there is
now and there has been aU along more danger of a
serious misunderstanding than anybody has known.
The Germans have, of course, worked m 1000 ways to
cause misunderstandmg between England and the United
States. Then, of course, there has been constant danger
m the EngUsh bull-headed insularity which sees notffing
but the EngUshman's immediate need, and in the EngUsh
slowness. Add to these causes the American ignorance
of war and of European conditions. It has been a God's
mercy for us that we have so far had a man Uke Sir
Edward Grey in his post. And m my post, while there
might well have been a better man, this much at least has
been lucky — ^that I do have a consciousness of EngUsh

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 119
ffistory and of our common origm and some sense of the
mevitable destiny of the great EngUsh-speaking race^ —
so that, wheu we have come to sharp corners m the road,
I have known that whatever happen we must travel m the
right general direction — ^have known that no temporary
difference must be aUowed to assume a permanent qual
ity. I have thought several times that we had passed the
worst possible place, and then a still worse one would ap
pear. It does look now as if we had faced most of the
worst difficulties that can come, but I am not sure what
Congress may do or provoke. If we outlast Congress, we
shaU be safe. Now to come tffiough this enormous war
even with no worse feeUng than already exists between the
two countries — ^that'U be a big thmg to have done. But
it's work Uke the work of the EngUsh fleet. Nobody can
prove that Jefficoe has been a great admiral. Yet the fleet
has done the whole job more successfuUy than ff it had
had sea-fights and lost a part of their ships.
Our Note has left a great deal of bad feelmg — sup
pressed, but existent. A part of it was mevitable and
(I'd say) even necessary. But we put in a lot of things
that seem to me to be merely disputatious, and we didn't
write it m the best form. It corresponds to what you
once caUed suburban: do you remember? Not thorough
bred. But we'U get over even that, especially if the Ad-
mhaistration and the courts contmue to bring the Ger
mans to book who are msultmg our dignity and destroying
our property and kiffing Americans. If we can satis
factorily settle the Lusitania trouble, the whole outlook
wffi be very good.
Your mother and I are hearmg much interesting po
Utical talk. We dmed last mght with Mr. Bonar Law.
Sir Edward Carson was there. To-day we lunched with
Lady P. — the other side, you see. There are funda-

120 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
mental differences contmuaUy arismg. They thought a
few weeks ago that they had the Prime Mimster's scalp.
He proved too nimble for them. Now one person after an
other says to you: "Kitchener doesn't deserve the rever
ence the people give him." More and more folks say he's
hard to work with — ^is domineering and seffish. Nobody
seems reaUy to know him; and there are some signs that
there may be a row about him.
We've heard nothing from Harold in quite a Uttle
wffile. We have, you know, tffiee of our footmen m the
war. AUen was wounded at Loos — ^a flesh, bullet-wound.
He's about weU now and is soon going back. LesUe is
m the trenches and a postal card came from him the other
day. The third one, PhiUp, is a prisoner m Germany.
Your mother sent him a lot of things, but we've never
heard whether he received them or not. The general
stram — ^miUtary, poUtical, financial— gets greater. The
streets are darker than ever. The number of wounded
mcreases rapidly. More houses are turned mto hospitals.
The Manchesters', next door, is a hospital now. And
everybody fears worse days are to come. But they have
no nerves, these EngUsh. They grit their teeth, but they
go on bravely, enduring everything. We run into ex
periences every day that melt you, and the heroic things
we hear outnumber and outdo all the stories m all the
books. I keep forgetting Xmas, Kitty, and this is my Xmas
letter. You needn't put it m your stockmg, but you'd
reaUy better burn it up. It would be the rumation of
the world if my frank comments got loose. It's for you
and Chud only. You may fill your stocking fuU of the
best wishes you ever received — enough to fffi the polar
bear skin. And I send you both my love. W. H. P.

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 121
To Ralph W., Arthur W., and Frank C. Page^
London, Cffiistmas, 1915.
Dear Boys: R. W. P., A. W. P., F. C. P.
A Merry Cffiistmas to you! Good cheer, good com
pany, good food, good fires, good goff. I suppose (though
the Lord only knows) that I'U have to be here an
other Cffiistmas; but another after that? Not on your
Ufe! I think I'm as cheerful and hopeful as I ever was, but
tffis experience here and the war have caused my general
ccnfidence ffi the orderly progress of civihzation some
what to readjust itseff. I think that any man who looks
over the world and who knows somethmg of the history
of human society — I mean any American who reaUy be
Ueves ffi democracy and m human progress — ^is somewhat
saddened to see the exceedmg slowness of that progress.
In the early days of our RepubUc hopeful Americans held
the opimon that the other countries of the world would
foUow our example; that is to say, would educate the
people, would give the masses a chance to become real
men, would make their governments and mstitutions
serve the people, would dispense with kmgs and gross
privUeges and become free. WeU, they haven't done it.
France is nominaUy a repubUc, but the masses of its
people are far, far backward. Switzerland is a repubUc,
but a very smaU one. Denmark is a very free state, in
spite of its monarcffical form of government. In South
America they think they have repubUcs, but they haven't
the sUghtest idea of the real education and freedom of the
people. PracticaUy, therefore, the Umted States and
the seff-governing British colomes are the only reaUy
free countries of much importance in the whole world —
'The Ambassador's sons.

122 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
these and this Kingdom. Our example hasn't been fol
lowed. In Europe, Germany and Russia ffi particular
have monarchs who are ffi absolute command. Thus on
both sides the world, so far as government and the danger
of war are concerned, there hasn't been very much real
progress ffi five hundred years.
Tffis is a Uttle disappomtmg. And it means, of course,
that we are likely to have periodical earthquakes hke tffis
present one till some radical change come. RepubUcs
have their faults, no doubt. But they have at least tffis
virtue: that no country where the people reaUy have the
control of their government is likely to start out de
liberately on any war of conquest — ^is not likely to run
amuck — and wiU not regard its population as mere food
for sheU and powder.
Nor do I beUeve that our example of our government
has, relatively to our strength and wealth and population,
as much influence ffi the world as we had one hundred
years ago. Our people have no foreign consciousness and
I know that our government knows ahnost nothmg about
European affairs; nor do our people know. As regards
foreign affairs our government lacks proper machmery.
Take this as an illustration: The President wrote vig
orous and proper notes about the Lusitania and took a
firm stand with Germany. Germany has paid nx^ atten
tion to the Lusitania outrage. Yet (as I understand it)
the people wiU not run the risk of war — or the Adminis-
tratiotf tffinks they wiU not — and hence the President
can do notffing to make his tffieat good. Therefore we
stand m a ridiculous situation; and nobody cares how '
many notes we write. I don't know that tlie President
could have done differently — ^unless, before he sent the
Lusitania notes, he had caUed Congress together and
submitted his notes to Congress. But, as the matter

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 123
stands, the Germans are merely encouraged to blow up
factories and practicaUy to carry on war in the Umted
States, because they know we can (or wiU) do nothing.
Mere notes break nobody's skm.
We don't seem to have any macffinery to brmg any
influence to bear on foreign governments or on foreign
opuaion; and, tffis bemg so, it is Uttle wonder that the rest
of the world does not foUow our repubUcan example.
And tffis sort of impotence ffi influence has curious
effects at home. For example, the sffip-purchase biU, as
it was at the last session of Congress, was an economic
crime. See what has happened: We have waked up to
the fact that we must have a big navy. WeU, a navy is
of no far-fightmg value uffiess we have auxffiary sffips and
a lot of 'em. Admiral Jefficoe has 3,000 ships under ffis
command; and he couldn't keep his fleet on the job ff
he didn't have them. Most of them are commandeered
merchant, passenger, and fishmg sffips. Now we haven't
merchant, passenger, and fishmg ships to commandeer.
We've got to bmld and buy auxiUary ships to our navy.
Tffis, to my mind, makes the new sffip-purchase biU, or
sometffing like it, necessary. Else our navy, when it
comes to the scratch, wiU be of no fightmg value, however
big it be. It's the price we've got to pay for not havmg
buUt up a merchant marme. And we haven't bmlt up a
merchant marme because we've had no foreign conscious
ness. Wffile our Irishmen have been leadmg us to twist
the Lion's tail, we've been depending almost wholly on
EngUsh sffips — and, in late years, on German sffips. You
can't cross the ocean yet ffi a decent American sffip. You
see, we've declared our independence; and, so far as
mdividual development goes, we've worked it out. But
the governmental machinery for maintaiffing it and for
making it visible to the world — we've simply neglected to

124 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
bffild it or to shape it. Hence the President's notes hurt
nobody and accompUsh notffing; nor could our navy put
up a real fight, for lack of coffiers and supply ships. It's
the same way aU around the horizon. And these are the
reasons we haven't made our democracy impress the
world more.
A democracy is not a quick-trigger war-engme and
can't be made into one. When the quick-trigger engmes
get to work, they forget that a democracy' does not con
sider fightmg the ffist duty of man. You can bend your
energies to peacefffi pursuits or you can bend them to
war. It's hard to do both at the same time. The Ger
mans are the offiy people who have done both at the same
time; and even they didn't get their navy big enough for
their needs.
When the infernal tffing's over — that'U be a glad day;
and the European world won't reaUy know what it has
cost ffi men and money and loss of standards tiU it is
over. . . . Affectionately, W. H. P.
To Walter H. Page, Jr.^
London, Cffiistmas, 1915.
Sir: For your first Christmas, I have the honour to send you
my most affectionate greetings; and ffi wisffing you all
good health, I take the Uberty humbly to mdicate some of
the favours of fortune that I am pleased to think I enjoy
in common with you.
First — I hear with pleasure that you are quite weU con
tent with yourseff — ^not because of a reasoned conviction
of your own worth, which would be mere vaffity and un-
>The Ambassador's infant grandson, son of Arthur W. Page.

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 125
worthy of you, but by reason of a philosophical dispo
sition. It is too early for you to bother over problems of
seff-improvement — as for me it is too late; wherefore we
are alike ffi the cahn of our seff-content. What others
may think or say about us is a subject of the smallest
concern to us. Therefore they generaUy speak weU of
us; for there is httle satisfaction ffi speakmg ill of men
who care nothmg for your opuaion of them. Then, too,
we are content to be where we happen to be — a fact that
we did not order ffi the beginnmg and need not now
concern ourselves about. Consider the eternal commg
and gomg of folk. On every road many are travelUng
one way and an equal number are travelUng the other way.
It is obvious that, ff they were aU content to remam at
the places whence they set forth, the distribution of the
popffiation would be the same. Why therefore move
ffither and yon at the cost of much time and labour and
money, smce notffing is accompUshed thereby? We
spare ourselves by being content to remam where we are.
We thereby have the more time for reflection. Nor can
we help observing with a smile that aU persons who have
good reasons to see us themselves make the necessary
journey after they discover that we remain fixed.
Agam, people about us are contmuaUy domg tffis ser
vice and that for some other people — ^rumaing errands,
mendmg fences, bearing messages, buildffig, and tearffig
down; and they aU demand equal service ffi return. Thus
a large part of mankffid keeps itseff ffi constant motion
like bubbles of water racing around a pool at the foot of a
water-faU — or like rabbits hurrying mto their warrens
and immediately hurrying out agam. Whereas, wffile
these antics amuse and sadden us, we for the most part
remam where we are. Hence our wants are few; they
are generaUy most courteously suppUed without our ask-

126 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
ing; or, ff we happen to be momentarily forgotten, we
can qmckly secure anything in the neighbourhood by a
Uttle judicious squalUng. Why, then, should we whirl
as bubbles or scurry as rabbits? Our conquering self-
possession gives a masterful charm to Ufe that the victims
of perpetual locomotion never seem to attain.
You have discovered, and my experience confirms yours,
that a perpetual seff-consciousness brings most of the
misery of the world. Men see others who are richer than
they; or more famous, or more fortunate — so they think;
and they become envious. You have not reached the
period of such empty vaffity, and I have long passed it.
Let us, therefore, make our mutual vows not to be dis
turbed by the good luck or the good graces of others,
but to contffiue, instead, to contemplate the contented
cat on the rug and the unenvious sky that hangs over aU
aUke. This mood will contffiue to keep our Uves simple. Con
sider our diet. Could anytffing be simpler or better?
We are not even tempted by the poisonous victuals where
with mankind destroys itseff. The very ffist sound law
of Ufe is to look to the beUy; for it is what goes mto a
man that ruins him. By avoidmg murderous food, we
may hope to become centenarians. And why not? The
golden stieets will not be torn up and we need be ffi no
mdecent haste to travel even on them. The satisfac
tions of this hfe are just beginffing for us; and we shaU
be wise to endure tffis world for as long a period as pos
sible. And sleep is good — ^long sleep and often; and your age
and mine permit us to indulge ffi it without the sneers of
the lark or the cock or the dawn.
I pray you, sir, therefore, accept my homage as the
pffilosopher that you are and my assurance of that ffigh

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND, 1915 127
esteem mdicated by my faithful imitation of yoiir virtues.
I am. With the most distmgmshed consideration.
With the sincerest esteem, and
With the most affectionate good wishes,
Su-, Your proud.
Humble, Obedient Granddaddy.
To Master Walter Hffies Page,
On Cffiistmas, 1915.

CHAPTER XVIII
A PERPLEXED AMRASSADOR
THE beginffing of the new year saw no improve
ment ffi German-American relations. Germany
and Austria continued to violate the pledge given by
Bernstorff after the sinkmg of the Arabic — ^ff that sffifty
statement could be regarded as a "pledge." On Novem-
ber 7. 1915, the Austrians sank the Ancona, ffi the Medi
terranean, drowffing American citizens under conditions
of particular atrocity, and submarme attacks on mer
chant ships, without the "warning" or attempt to save
passengers and crew which Bernstorff had promised, took
place nearly fiyejy day. Un April l», iS^lb, the Sussex
was torppdnpid in t>ip. English Channel, without warmng
and with loss nf ATi^priVfln life This caused what seemed
to be a real crisis; President Wilson sent what was practi
cally an ultimatum to Germany, demandmg that it "im
mediately declare and effect an abandonment of its pres
ent methods of warfare agamst passenger and freight
carrying vessels," declaring that, unless it did so, the
Umted States would sever diplomatic relations with the
German Empire. In reply, Germany apparently backed
down and gave the promise the President had demanded.
However, it coupled this concession with an expression
of its expectation that the tJffited States would compel
Great Britaffi to observe international law in the block
ade. As this latter statement might be interpreted as a
quahfication of its surrender, the incident hardly ended
satisfactorily. 128

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 129
To Arthur W. Page Bournemouth May 22, 1916.
Dear Arthur:
I stick on the back of tffis sheet a letter that Sydney
Brooks wrote from New York (May 1st) to the Daily Mail.
He formffiates a question that we have many times asked
ourselves and that, ffi one way or other, comes into every
body's mind here. Of course the common feUow in Jones-
vffie who has given most of his time and energy to ear nmg
a Uvmg for ffis wffe and cffildren has no foreign conscious
ness, whether his Jonesville be ffi the Umted States or in
England or ffi France or ffi Zanzibar. The real question
is. Do these feUows in .Tonpsvillp malte up~tJae United
States? or has there been such a lack of prompt leadersffip
as to make all the^^onesVUle people confused? It's hard
for me to judge at tffis distance iust h»w far thp Prpsidpnt.
has led and just how far he has waited and been pushed
along. Suppose he had stood on the front steps every
mornmg before breakfast for a month after the Lusitania
went down and had caUed to the people in the same tone
that he used m his note to Germany — ^had sounded a bugle
caU — ^would we have felt as we now feel? What would
the men m JonesviUe have done then? Would they
have got their oid guns down from over the doors? Or
do they so want ppflf-pj and sn tTiinlf tliQ+ tlipy ran havp
peace always that they've lost their spine? Have they
really Deen iiryaffized, Fordized, Janeaddamsized, Sun-
dayschooled, and Chautauquaed ffito supme creatures
to whom the Umted States and the ideals of the Fathers
mean notffing? Who tffink a German is as good as an
EngUshman? Who have no particular aims or aspirations
for our country and for democracy? When T. R. was in

130 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
the Wffite House he surely was an active feUow. He
caUed us to exercise ourselves every morffing. He bawled
"Patriotism" loudly. We surely thought we were awake
during those strenuous years. Were we really awake or
did we only look upon him and his antics as a sort of good
show? AU that time Bryan was peace-a-footing and
prmce-of-peacmg. Now did he reaUy have the minds
of the people or did T. R.?
If we've reaUy gone to sleep and if the Umted States
stands for notffing but personal comfort and commercial
ism to our own people, what a job you and the patriotic
men of your generation have cut out for you!
My own conviction (which I don't set great store by)
is that our isolation and prosperity have not gone so far
in softenffig us as it seems. They've gone a good way,
no doubt; but I think that even the JonesviUe people yet
feel their Americaffism. What they need is — leadership.
Their Congressmen are poor, timid, pork-barrel creatures.
Their governors are ffi trainmg for the Senate. The Vice-
President reads no official Uterature of the war, "because
then I might have a conviction about it and that wouldn't
be neutral." And so on. If the people had a real lead
ersffip, I beUeve they'd wake up even in JonesviUe.
Well, let's let these things go for the moment. How's
the Ambassador?' And the Ambassador's mother and
sister? They're mce folks of whom and from whom I
hear far too Uttle. Give 'em my love. I don't want you
to rear a fightmg fanaily. But these kids won't and
mustn't grow up peace-cranks — ^not that anybody objects
to peace, but I do despise and distrust a crank, a crank
about anytffing. That's the lesson we've got to learn
from these troubled times. First, let cranks alone — ^the
other side of the street is good enough for them. Then,
'A playful reference to the Ambassador's infant grandson, Walter H. Page, St.

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 131
ff they persist, I see notffing to do but to kiU 'em, and
that's troublesome and mconveffient.
But, as I was sayffig, bless the babies. I can't begin to
teU you how very much I long to see them, to make their
acquamtance, to chuckle 'em and punch 'em and see 'em
laugh, and to see just what sort of kids they be.
I've written you how ffi my opiffion there's no country
ffi the world fit for a modern gentleman and man-of-char-
acter to Uve ffi except (1) the Umted States and (2) this
island. And tffis island is cffiefly valuable for the breed
of men — ^the right stock. They become more valuable to
the world after they go away from home. But the right
blood's here. Tffis island's breed is the best there is. An
Englishman or a Scotchman is the best ancestor ffi this
world, many as ffis shortcomffigs are. Some EngUsh
man asked me one ffight ffi what, I thought, the EngUsh
man appeared at ffis best. I said, "As an ancestor to
Americans ! ' ' And tffis is the fundamental reason why we
(two peoples) belong close together. Reasons that flow
from these are such as foUows: (1) The race is the sea-
masterffig race and the navy-managmg race and the ocean-
carryffig race; (2) the race is the Uterary race, (3) the
exploring and settUng and colonizffig race, (4) the race to
whom fair play appeals, and (5) that ffisists on mdividual
development. Your mother havffig read these two days 1,734 pages of
memoirs of the Coke family, one of whose members wrote
the great law commentaries, another carried pro-Ameri
can votes m ParUament ffi our Revolutionary times, re
fused peerages, defied kmgs and— ^begad! here they are
now, Uvmg ffi the same great house and sayffig and domg
what they darn please — ^we know tffis generation of 'em! —
weU, your mother havmg read these two big volumes
about the old ones and told me 175 good stories out of

132 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
these books, bless her soul! she's gone to sleep in a big chair
on the other side of the table. WeU she may, she walked
for two hours tffis morffing over ffiUs and cliffs and tffiough
pine woods and along the beach. I guess I'd better wake
her up and get her to go to bed — as the properer thmg to
do at tffis time o'ffight, viz. 11. My goff tffis afternoon
was too bad to confess. But I must say that a 650 and
a 730 yard hole argues the audacity of some fellow and the
despair of many more. Nature made a lot of obstructions
there and Man made more. It must be seven or eight
miles around that course! It's almost a tffiee hour task
to foUow my slow baU around it. I suggested we play
with howitzers instead of clubs. Good mght!
W. H. P.
To Frank N. Doubleday and Others
Royal Bath and East CUff Hotel,
Bournemouth, May 29, 1916.
DearD. p. &Co.:
I always have it ffi mind to write you letters; but there's
no chance ffi my trenches in London; and, sffice I have
not been out of London for nearly two years — sffice the
war began — only an occasional haff day and a ffight — ^tiU
now — ^naturally I've concocted no letter. I've been down
here a week — a week of simshine, praise God — and peo
ple are not after me every ten mmutes, or Governments
either; and my most admirable and efficient staff (now
grown to one hundred people) permit few letters and
telegrams to reach me. There never was a httle rest more
grateful. The quiet sea out my window shows no sign of
crawUng submarines; and, in general, it's as qmet and
peaceful here as in Garden City itseff.
I'm on the home-stretch now in all my thoughts and
plans. Tffiee of my four years are gone, and the fourth

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 133
wiU cpiickly pass. That's not only the Umit of my leave,
but it's qmte enough for me. I shouldn't care to Uve
tffiough another such experience, ff the chance should ever
come to me. It has changed my whole hfe and my whole
outlook on hfe; and, perhaps, you'd Uke to hear some in-
pressions that it has made upon me.
The first impression — perhaps the strongest — ^is a loss
of permanent mterest in Europe, especiaUy aU Europe
outside of tffis Kingdom. I have never had the illusion
that Europe had many thmgs that we needed to learn.
The cffief lesson that it has had, ffi my judgment, is the
lesson of the art of Uving — ^the comforts and the courtesies
of Ufe, the refinements and the pleasures of conversation
and of courteous conduct. The upper classes have tffis
to teach us; and we need and can learn much from them.
But tffis seems to me aU — or practicaUy aU. What we
care most for are mdividual character, mdividual develop
ment, and a fair chance for every human bemg. Char
acter, of course, the EngUsh have — immense character,
colossal character. But even they have not the dimmest
conception of what we mean by a fair chance for every
human bemg — not the sUghtest. In one thousand years
they may learn it from us. Now on the contffient, the
offiy important Nation that has any character worth
mentioffing is the French. Of course the httle nations —
some of them — have character, such as HoUand, Switzer
land, Sweden, etc. But these are aU. The others are
simply ^ttem. In givmg a free chance to every human
creature, we've notffing to learn from anybody. In char
acter, I bow down to the EngUsh and Scotch; I respect
the Frenchman ffighly and admire his good taste. But,
for our needs and from our poffit of view, the EngUsh can
teach us only two great lessons — character and the art of
Uvmg (ff you are rich).

134 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
The idea that we were brought up on, therefore, that
Europe is the home of civiUzation ffi general — nonsense!
It's a periodical slaughter-pen, with aU the vices that this
imphes. I'd as Uef Uve ffi the Cfficago stock-yards.
There they kiU beeves and pigs. Here they kiU men and
(mcidentaUy) women and cffildren. I should no more
think of encouragmg or bemg happy over a child of name
becommg a European of any Nation than I should be
happy over his faU from Grace in any other way.
Our form of government and our scheme of society-
God knows they need improvmg — ^are yet so immeasur
ably superior, as systems, to anytffing on tffis side the
world that no comparison need be made.
My ffist strong impression, then, is not that Europe is
"effete " — that isn't it. It is mediaeval — ^far back toward
the Dark Ages, much of it yet uncivilized, held back by
inertia when not held back by worse thmgs. The caste
system is a constant burden almost as heavy as war itseff
and often quite as cruel.
The next impression I have is, that, during the thousand
years that will be required for Europe to attaffi real (mod
ern) civiUzation, wars wiU come as wars have always
come ffi the past. The different countries £md peoples and
governments wiU not and cannot learn the lesson of feder
ation and cooperation so long as a large mass of their
people have no voice and no knowledge except of their
particular business. Compare the mUes of raUway in
proportion to population with the same proportion in
the Umted States — or the telephones, or the use of
the mails, or of bank checks; or make any other practical
measure you like. Every time, you'U come back to the
discouragffig fact that the masses ffi Europe are driven as
' cattle. So long as tffis is true, of course, they'U be driven
periodically into wars. So many countries, so many races,

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 135
so many languages aU withm so smaU an area as Europe
positively mvite deadly differences. If railroads had
been mvented before each people had developed its own
separate language, Europe could somehow have been
cobrdmated, hnked up, federated, made to look at ffie
somewhat ffi the same way. As it is, wars wiU be bred
here periodicaUy for about another thousand years. The
devU of tffis state of tffings is that they may not always
be able to keep their wars at home.
For me, then, except England and the smaUer ex
ceptions that I have mentioned, Europe wiU cut ho big
figure ffi my Ufe. In all the humaffities, we are a thousand
years ahead of any people here. So also ffi the adaptabil
ities and the conveffiences of hfe, ffi its versatihties and
ffi its enjoyments. Most folk are stoUd and sad or duU
on tffis side of the world. Else how could they take their
kffigs and siUy ceremoffies seriously?
Now to more immediate and definite impressions. I
have for a year had the conviction that we ought to get
mto the war — ^mto the economic war — ^for the foUowffig
among many reasons.
1. That's the offiy way to shorten it. We could cause
Germany's credit (such as she has) mstantly to coUapse,
and we could hasten her hard times at home wffich would
mduce a surrender.
2. That's the only way we can have any real or im
portant influence ffi adjustmg whatever arrangements can
be made to secure peace.
3. That's the best way we can ffispire complete respect
for us ffi the minds of other nations and thereby, perhaps,
save ourselves from some wars ffi the future.
4. That's the best way we can assert our own charac
ter — our Americaffism, and forever get rid of aU kinds of
hyphens.

136 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
5.- That's the offiy way we shaU ever get a real and
sensible preparedness, wffich wffi be of enormous educa
tional value even if no miUtary use should ever be made
of our preparation.
6. That's the only way American consciousness wUl
ever get back to the seff-sacrificffig and patriotic pomt
of view of the Fathers of the RepubUc.
7. That's the best way to emancipate ourselves from
cranks. 8. That's the offiy way we'U ever awaken ffi our whole
people a foreign consciousness that mU enable us to assert
our natural mfluence ffi the world — poUtical, fmancial,
social, commercial — the best way to make the rest of the
world our customers and fripnds and foUowers.
AU the foregomg I have ffied at the Great White Cffief
for a year by telegraph and by maU; and I have never
ffied it anywhere else tiU now. Be very qmet, then.
No man with whom I have talked or whose writmgs I
have read seems to me to have an adequate conception
of the colossal changes that the war is brmging and will
brmg. Of course, I do not mean to imply that I have any
adequate conception. Nobody can yet grasp it. The
loss of (say) ten miffion men from production of work or
wares or children; what a changed world that fact alone
wiU make! The presence in aU Europe of (perhaps)
fffteen or twenty miffion more women than men wiU up
set the whole balance of society as regards the sexes. The
loss of most of the accumulated capital of Europe and the
vast burdens of debt for the future to pay wffi change the
financial relations of the whole world. From these two
great losses — men and money — God knows the many
kinds of changes that will come. Women are doing and
wiU contffiue to do many kffids of work hitherto done by
men.

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 137
Of course there are some great gams. Many a flabby
or abject feUow wffi come out of the war a real man: he'U
be nobody's slave thereafter. The criminal luxury of the
rich wiU not assert itself agam for a time. The un
paraUeled addition to the world's heroic deeds wffi be to
the good of mankffid, as the unparaUeled suffering has
ecUpsed aU records. The survivors wiU be ffi an heroic
mood for the rest of their Uves. In general, ffie wffi start
on a new plane and a lot of old stupid habits and old party
quarrels and class prejudices wiU disappear. To get
Europe gomg agam wffi caU for new resolution and a new
sort of effort. Nobody can yet see what far-reacffing
effects it wffi have on government.
If I could make the EngUsh and Scotch over, I could
greatly improve them. I'd cut out the EngUshman's
arrogance and key him up to a quicker gait. Lord! he's
a slow beast. But he's worked out the germ and the
beginnffig of aU real freedom, and he has character. He
knows how to conserve and to use wealth. He's a great
John BuU, after aU. And as for commandffig the sea, for
war or trade, you may properly bow down to him and
pay him homage. The war wiU, I think, qmcken him
up. It wffi lessen ffis arrogance — ^to us, at least. I think
it wffi make him stronger and humbler. And, whatever
ffis virtues and his faults, he's the offiy Great Power we
can go hand ffi hand with ....
These kmds of things have been going on now nearly
two years, and not tffi these ten days down here have I
had time or chance or a free naffid to think them over;
and now there's notffing ffi particular to think — notffing
but just to go on, domg these 40,000 tffings (and they take
a new turn every day) the best I can, without the sUghtest
regard to consequences. I've long ago passed the place
where, havmg acted squarely according to my best judg-

138 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
ment, I can afford to pay the sUghtest attention to what
anybody thinks. I see men tffiown on the scrap heap
every day. Many of them deserve it, but a good many
do not. In the abnormal state of mffid that everybody
has, there are mevitable innocent misunderstandffigs,
wffich are as fatal as criminal mistakes. The diplomatic
service is pecuharly exposed to misunderstandffigs: and,
take the whole diplomatic service of aU nations as shown
up by tffis great strain, it hasn't stood the test very weU.
I haven't the respect for it that I had when I started.
Yet, God knows, I have a keen sympathy for it. I've
seen some of 'em displaced; some of 'em Ue down; some
of 'em die.
As I've got closer and closer to big men, as a rule they
sffiink up. They are very much Uke the rest of us—
many of 'em more so. Human nature is stripped in these
times of most of its disguises, and men have to stand and
be judged as a rule by their real quaUties. Among aU
the men ffi high place here. Sir Edward Grey stands out
in my mind bigger, not smaUer, than he stood ffi the be
ginnmg. He's a square, honourable gentleman, ff there
is one ffi this world. And it is he, of course, with whom
I have had aU my troubles. It's been a truly great ex
perience to work and to quarrel with such a man. We've
kept the best friendship — a constantly ripeffing one.
There are others Uke him — only smaUer.
Yet they are aU in turn set upon by the press or pubUc
opiffion and hounded Uke criminals. They try (some
body tries) to drive 'em out of office every once ffi a while.
If there's anythmg I'm afraid of, it's the newspapers.
The correspondents are as thick as flies in summer — all
huntffig sensations — especially the yeUow American press.
I play the game with these feUows always squarely, some
times I fear indiscreetly. But what is discretion? That's

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 139
the hardest question of aU. We have regular meetings.
I teU 'em everything I can — always on the condition that
I'm kept out of the papers. If they'U never mention
me, I'U do everythffig possible for them. Absolute
sUence of the newspapers (as far as I can affect it) is the
first rffie of safety. So far as I know, we've done fairly
weU; but always ffi proportion to silence. I don't want
any pubUcity. I don't want any glory. I don't want
any office. I don't want notffin' — but to do this job
squarely, to get out of this scrape, to go off somewhere ffi
the sunsffine and to see ff I can sUp back ffito my old seff
and see the world sane agam. Yet I'm immensely proud
that I have had the chance to do some good — ^to keep our
record straight — as far as I can, and to be of what service
I can to these heroic people.
Out of it aU, one conviction and one purpose grows and
becomes clearer. The world isn't yet haff-orgaffized. In
the Uffited States we've Uved in a good deal of a fool's
paradise. The world isn't haff so safe a place as we sup
posed. UntU steamsffips and telegraphs brought the
nations aU close together, of course we could enjoy our
isolation. We can't do so any longer. One mad fool ffi
BerUn has turned the whole earth topsy-turvy. We'd
forgotten what our forefathers learned — the deadly dan
gers of real monarchs and of castes and classes. There
are a lot of 'em left ffi the world yet. We've grown rich
and — ^weak; we've let cranks and old women shape our
ideas. We've let our poUtieians remain provincial and
ignorant. And beUeve me, dear D. P. & Co. with affectionate
greeting to every one of you and to every one of yours,
coUectively and smgly, Yours heartily, W. H. P.

140 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Memxyrandum written after attending the service at
St. Paul's in memory of Lord Kitchener}
American Embassy, London.
There were two Kitcheners, as every ffiformed person
knows — (1) the popffiar hero and (2) the Cabmet Minister
with whom it was impossible for ffis associates to get along.
He made ffis admiffistrative career as an autocrat deaUng
with dependent and inferior peoples. This experience
fixed ffis habits and made it impossible for him to do team
work or to delegate work or even to inform ffis associates
of what he had done or was domg. Wffile, therefore, his
name raised a great army, he was in many ways a hm-
drance in the Cabffiet. First one tffing and then another
was taken out of his hands — ordnance, muffitions, war
plans. When he went to GaffipoU, some persons pre
dicted that he would never come back. There was a hot
meetmg of the Cabinet at which he was asked to go to
Russia, to make a sort of return visit for the visit that im
portant Russians had made here, and to link up Russia's
mffitary plans with the plans of the Western Allies. He
is said to have remarked that he was gomg offiy because he
had been ordered to go. There was a hope and a feeUng
agam that he might not come back till after the war.
Now just how much truth there is ffi aU tffis, one has
to guess; but undoubtedly a good deal. He did much in
raisffig the army, but his name did more. What an ex-
traordmary situation ! The great hero of the Nation an
impossible man to work iiVith. The Cabmet could not
teU the truth about him: the people would not beUeve it
and would make the Cabinet suffer. Moreover, such a
row would have given comfort to the enemy. Kitchener,

'Drowned on the Hampshire, June 5, 1916, off the coast of Scotland.

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 141
on his part, could not afford to have an open quaiTel.
The offiy solution was to ffiduce him to go away for a long
time. Both sides saw that. Such thoughts were ffi
everybody's mind while the impressive funeral service was
said and sung ffi St. Paffi's. The Great Hero, who had
failed, was celebrated of course as a Great Hero — qmte
trffiy and yet far from true. For him his death came at
a lucky time : ffis work was done.
There is even a rumour, wffich I don't for a moment
beheve, that he is ahve on the Orkney Islands and pre
fers to disappear there tUl the war ends. Tffis is fan
tastic, and it was doubtless suggested by the story that
he did disappear for several years wffile he was a young
officer. I could not help noticffig, when I saw aU the Cabffiet
together at the Cathedral, how much older many of them
look than they looked two years ago. Sir Edward Grey,
Mr. Asqmth, Mr. Baffour, who is reaUy an old man,
Lloyd George — each of these seems ten years older. And
so does the Kmg. The men ffi responsible places who are
not broken by the war wiU be bent. General French,
smce ffis retirement to command of the forces ffi England,
seems much older. So common is tffis qmck agmg that
Lady Jefficoe, who went to Scotland to see her husband
after the big naval battle, wrote to Mrs. Page ffi a sort of
rhapsody and with evident surprise that the Admiral
really did not seem older! The weight of tffis thmg is so
prodigious that it is changmg aU men who have to do with
it. Men and women (who do not wear mourffing) men
tion the death of their sons in a way that a stranger might
mistake for ffidifference. And it has a curious effect on
marriages. Apparently every young feUow who gets a
week's leave from the trenches comes home and marries
and, of course, goes straight back — especiaUy the young

142 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
officers. You see weddmgs aU day as you pass the favour
ite churches; and already the land is fuU of young widows.

To Edwin A. Alderman^
Embassy of the U. S. A., London,
June 22, 1916.
My DEAR Ed Alderman :
I shaU not forget how good you were to take time to
write me a word about the meeting of the Board' — the
Board: there's no other one in that class — at Hampton,^
and 1 did most heartily appreciate the knowledge that you
aU remembered me. Alas! it's a long, long time ago when
we aU met — so long ago that to me it seems a part of a
former mcarnation. These three years — especiaUy these
two years of the war — have changed my whole outlook on
Ufe and foreshortened all that came before. I know I
shall never Unk back to many tffings (and alas! too, to
many people) that once seemed important and surely
were mteresting. Life ffi these trenches (five warring or
quarrelUng governments miffing and sappffig under me
and shootmg over me)— two years of uffiversal ambassa
dorship in tffis heU are enough — enough I say, even for
a man who doesn't run away from responsibihties or
weary of toil. And God knows how it has changed me
and is changffig me : I sometimes wonder, as a merely m-
tellectual and qmte impersonal curiosity.
Strangely enough I keep pretty weU — ^very weU, ffi fact.
Perhaps I've learned how to Uve more wisely than I knew
in the old days; perhaps again, I owe it to my old grand
father who Uved (and enjoyed) nmety-four years. I
'President of the Umversity of Virginia.
'Hampton Institute, at Hampton, Va.

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 143
have walked ten miles to-day and I sit down as the clock
Strikes eleven (p. m.) to write tffis letter.
You wiU recaU more clearly than I certain horrible,
catastrophic, imiversal-rum passages ffi Revelation —
monsters swaUowmg the universe, blood and ffie and clouds
and an eternal crash, rolUng rum envelopmg aU thmgs —
weU, aU that's come. There are, perhaps, ten miffion men
dead of tffis war and, perhaps, one hundred miffion per
sons to whom death would be a blessmg. Add to these as
many mUUons more whose views of ffie are so distorted that
blank idiocy would be a better mental outlook, and you'U
get a hmt (and offiy a hmt) of what the contffient has
already become — ^a bankrupt slaughter-house inhabited
by unmated women. We have talked of "problems" ffi
our day. We never had a problem; for the worst task we
ever saw was a mere bUthe pastime compared with what
these women and the few men that wiU remain here must
face. The ffiUs about Verdun are not blown to pieces
worse than the whole social structure and intellectual and
spiritual Ufe of Europe. I wonder that anybody is sane.
Now we have swung ffito a period and a state of mmd
wherem aU tffis seems normal. A lady said to me at a
dinner party (tffink of a dinner party at aU!), "Oh, how
I shall miss the war when it ends! Lffe without it will
surely be duU and tame. What can we talk about?
Wffi the old subjects ever mterest us again?" I said,
"Let's you and me try and see." So we talked about
books — ^not war books — old country houses that we both
knew, gardens and gold and what not; and in fifteen
minutes we swung back to the war before we were aware.
I get out of it, as the days rush by, certain fundamental
convictions, which seem to me not only true — ^true beyond
any possible cavil — ^truer than any other poUtical tffings
are true — and far more important than any other con-

144 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
temporary facts whatsoever in any branch of endeavour,
but better worth wffile than anytffing else that men now
Uving may try to further:
1. The cure for democracy is more democracy. The
danger to the world Ues in autocrats and autocracies and
privileged classes; and these things have everywhere been
dangerous and always wiU be. There's no security ffi
any part of the world where people cannot think of a
government without a king, and there never wffi be. You
cannot conceive of a democracy that wffi unprovoked set
out on a career of conquest. If aU our reUgious mis
sionary zeal and cash could be turned into convincing
Europe of this simple and obvious fact, the longest step
would be taken for human advancement that has been
taken sffice 1776. If Carnegie, or, after he is gone, his
Peace People could see this, his Trust might possibly do
some good.
2. As the world stands, the Uffited States and Great
Britain must work together and stand together to keep
the predatory nations in order. A League to Enforce
Peace and the President's idea of disentangUng aUiances
are all ffi the right direction, but vague and general and
cumbersome, a sort of bastard chUdren of Neutrality.
The tffing, the only thmg is — ^a perfect understanding be
tween the EngUsh-speaking peoples. That's necessary,
and that's aU that's necessary. We must boldly take the
lead in that. I frankly tell my friends here that the
English have got to tffiow away their damned arrogance
and their insularity and that we Americans have got to
tffiow away our provincial ignorance ("What is abroad
to us?"), hang our Irish agitators and shoot our hyphen
ates and bring up our children with reverence for EngUsh
ffistory and ffi the awe of EngUsh Uterature. This is the
only job now in the world . worth the whole zeal and

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 145
energy of aU first-class, thoroughbred EngUsh-speakmg
men. We must lead. We are natural leaders. The
EngUsh must be driven to lead. Item: We must get
their lads ffito our umversities, ours ffito theirs. They
don't know how to do it, except the Uttle driblet of
Rhodes men. Think tffis out, remembering what fools
we've been about exchange professors with Germany!
How much good could Fons Smitffi do in a thousand
years, on such an errand as he went on to BerUn? And
the EngUsh don't know how to do it. They are childish
(ffi some tffings) beyond behef. An Oxford or Cambridge
man never thinks of going back to his umversity except
about twice a hfetime when his coUege formaUy asks him
to come and dme. Then he dmes as docilely as a scared
Freshman. I am a D. C. L. of Oxford. I know a lot of
their facffity. They are hospitaUty itseff. But I've
never yet found out one important fact about the umver
sity. They never teU me. I've been down at Cam
bridge time and again and stayed with the Master of one
of the coUeges. I can no more get at what they do and
how they do it than I could get at the real meanffig of a
service ffi a Buddhist Temple. I have spent a good deal
of time with Lord Rayleigh, who is the ChanceUor of
Cambridge Uffiversity. He never goes there. If he were
to enter the town, aU the men ffi the umversity would
have to stop theu- work, get on their parade-day gowns,
Une-up by precedent and rank and go to meet him and go
tffiough days of ceremony and mcantations. I think the
old man has been there once in five years. Now this
mediaevaUsm must go — or be modified. You fellers who
have uffiversities must work a real alUance — a big job
here. But to go on.
'C. Alphonso Smith, Professor of English, U. S. Naval Academy; Roosevelt
Professor at Berlin, 1910-11.

146 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
The best informed English opiffion is ripe for a com
plete workmg understanding with us. We've got to
work up our end — ^get rid of our ignorance of foreign
affairs, our sffirt-sleeve, complaining kind of diplomacy,
our sport of twistffig the hon's taU and such thmgs and
faU to and bring the EngUsh out. It's the one race ffi
tffis world that's got the guts.
Hear tffis in confirmation: I suppose 1,000 EngUsh
women have been to see me — ^as a last hope — ^to ask me to
have ffiquiries made ffi Germany about their "missmg"
sons or husbands, generaUy sons. They are of every
class and rank and kind, from marcffioness to scrub
woman. Every one teUs her story with the same dignity
of grief, the same marvellous seff-restraffit, the same
courtesy and deference and sorrowful pride. Not one
has whimpered — but one. And it turned out that she was
a Belgian. It's the breed. Spartan mothers were theat
rical and pinchbeck compared to these women.
1 know a lady of title, very weU to do, who for a year
got up at 5 :30 and drove herseff in her own automobile
from her home in London to Woolwich where she worked
all day long in a shell factory as a volunteer and got home
at 8 o'clock at night. At the end of a year they wanted
her to work ffi a London place where they keep the records
of the Woolwich work. "Think of it," said she, as she
shook her enormous diamond ear-rmgs as I sat next to
her at dinner one Sunday mght not long ago, "think of
it — ^what an easy time I now have. I don't have to
start tiU half-past seven and I get home at haff-past
six!" I could fiU forty pages with stories like these. This
very Sunday I went to see a bedridden old lady who
sent me word that she had somethmg to teU me. Here
it was: An EngUsh flymg man's machme got out of order

A PERPLEXED AMBASSADOR 147
and he had to descend ffi German territory. The Ger
mans captured him and his machine. They ordered him
to take two of their flying men in his 'machine to show
them a particular place in the EngUsh Unes. He de
cUned. "Very weU, we'U shoot you, then." At last he
consented. The tffiee started. The Enghshman quietly
strapped himseff in. There were no straps for the two
Germans. The EngUshman looped-the-loop. The Ger
mans feU out. The EngUshman flew back home. "My
son has been to see me from France. He told me that.
He knows the man" — ^thus said the old lady and thanked
me for coming to hear it! She didn't know that the
story has been prffited.
But the real question is, "How are you?" Do you
keep strong? Able, without wearffiess, to keep up your
good work? I heartily hope so, old man. Take good
care of yourself — ^very.
My love to Mrs. Alderman. Please don't quote me —
yet. I have to be very silent pubUcly about everything.
After March 4th, I shaU agam be free.
Yours always faithfuUy, W. H. P.

CHAPTER XIX
WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916

IN JULY Page received a cablegram summonffig him to
Washmgton. This message did not explain why ffis
presence was desired, nor on this point was Page ever
defiffitely enUghtened, though there were more or less
vague statements that a "change of atmosphere" might
better enable the Ambassador to understand the problems
wffich were then engrossing the State Department.
The President had now offiy a single aim in view. From
the date of the so-called Sns.<iPT. "plpdpp." May 4, 1916^
until the resumption of submarme warfare on February 1,
1917, Mr. Wilson devoted aU his energies to brffigmg the
warring powers together and estabUshing peace. More
than one motive was ffispirffig the President in this de-
termination. That this poUcy accorded with his own
ideaUstic tendencies is true, and that he aspired to a
position ffi history as the great "peace maker" is probably
the fact, but he had also more immediate and practical
purposes in mind. Above aU, Mr. Wilson was bent on
keeping the Uffited States out of the war; he knew that
there was offiy one certam way of preserving peace in
tffis country, and that was by brffigffig the war itseff to
an end. "An early peace is all that can prevent the Ger-
mans from driving us at last into the war,'' Page wrote
at about this tune; and this single sentence gives tne key
to the President's activities for the succeedmg nine
months. The negotiations over the Sussex had taught
148

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 149
Mr. WUson this truth. He understood that the pledge
wffich the German Government had made was only a
conditional one; that the submarme campaign had been
suspended offiy for the purpose of givmg the Uffited
States a breathmg speU durffig wffich it could persuade
Great Britam and France to make peace.
" I repeat my proposal," Bernstorff cabled his govern
ment on April Zb,' "to suspend the submarme war at
least for the period of negntiations. Tffis would remove
aU danger of a breach [with the Uffited States] and also
enable WUson to continue his labours ffi ffis great plan of^
brffiging about a peace based upon the freedom of the
seas — ^i. e., that for the future trade shaU be free from air
mterference ffi time of war. Accordffig to the assurances
wffich Wilson, tffiough House, has given me. he would in
t£at case take ffi hand measures directly against England.
He is, however, of the opimon that it would be easier to
Brffig about peace than to cause Jj^ngland to abandon the
blockade. This last could only be brought about by
war and it is weU known that the means of war are lack-
ffig here. A prohibition of exports as a weapon against
the blockade is not possible as the prevaihng prosperity
would suffer by it. ~
"¦"I'he ffiquiries made by House have led Wilson to be
Ueve that our enemies would not be unwiUffig to consider
peace. In view of the present condition of affairs, I
repeat that there is offiy one possible course, namely,
that Your ExceUency [Von Jagow] empower me to declare
that we wiU enter ffito negotiations with the Umted
States touchmg the conduct of the submarme war wffile
the negotiations are proceedmg. Tffis would give us
the advantage that the submarme war, bemg over Mr.
'This is quoted from a hitherto unpublished despatch of Bernstorff's to Berlin
which is found among Page's papers.

150 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
WUson's head, Uke the sword of Damocles, would compel
him at once to take in hand the task of mediation."
This dispatch seems sufficiently to explain all the
happeffings of the summer and wmter of 1916-1917. It
was sent to Berhn on April 26th; the German GovernmenT
g&ve tne Sussex ' ' pledge " on May 4th, eiglat days aiterward.
Iif^Om reply Germany declared that she would now ex
pect Mr. WUson to brmg pressure upon Great Britam
to secure a mitigation or suspension of the British block-
ade, and to tffis Mr. Wilson promptly and energetlcaJIy
rephed that he regarded the German promise as an un
conditional one and that the Government of the Umted
States "cannot for a moment entertam, much less dis
cuss, a suggestion that respect by German naval author^
ities f'or the rights of citizens of the Uffited States upon
the high seas should in any way or ffi the shghtest degree
be made contffigent upon the conduct of any other gov
ernment affecting the rights of neutrals and non-comhat=
ants. ResponsibiUty ffi such matters is smgle not joint;
absolute not relative."
Tffis reply gave satisfaction to both the Umted States
and the countries of the Affies, and Page himseff regarded
it as a master stroke. "The more I think of it," he wrote
on May 17th, "the better the strategy of the President
appears, ffi his latest (and last) note to Germany. They
laid a trap for ffim and he caught them in their own trap.
The Germans had tried to 'put it up' to the President to
commit the ffist unfriendly act. He now 'puts it up' to
them. And tffis is at last bound to end the controversy
ff they sink another ship uffiawfuUy. The French see
tffis clearly and so do the best Enghsh, and it has pro
duced a most favourable mapression. The future? The
German angUng for peace wffi prove futile. They'U have
another fit of fury. Whether they wUl agam become

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 151
reckless or commit 'mistakes' with theu submarmes wiU
depend partly on their fury, partly on theu fear to make
a breach with the Uffited States, but mamly on the state
of their submarme fleet. How many have the EngUsh
caught and destroyed? That's the mam question, after
aU. The EngUsh view may not be fair to them. But
nobody here beheves that they wiU long abstain from the
luxury of crime."
It is thus apparent that when the Germans practicaUy
demanded, as a price of their abstention from ffidis-
criminate submarme warfare, that Mr. Wilson should
move against Great Britaffi ffi the matter of the blockade,
they reaUzed the futihty of any such step, and that what
they reaUy expected to obtam was the presidential
mediation for peace. President Wilson at once began to
move ffi tffis direction. On May 27th, tffiee weeks after
the Sussex "pledge," he made an address ffi Washmgton
before the League to Enforce Peace, wffich was mtended to
lay the basis for ffis approaching negotiations. It was ffi
tffis speech that he made the statement that the United
States was "not concerned with the causes and the ob
jects" of the war. "The obscure fountams from which
its stupendous flood has burst forth we are not ffiterested
to search for or to explam." Tffis was another of those
unfortunate sentences which made the President such an
unsympathetic figure ffi the estimation of the Affies and
seemed to mdicate to them that he had no appreciation
of the nature of the struggle. Though this attitude of
non-partisanship, of equal balance between the accusa
tions of the Affies and Germany, was mtended to make
the President acceptable as a mediator, the practical re
sult was exactly the reverse, for Allied statesmen turned
from Wilson as soon as those sentences appeared in prmt.
The fact that tffis same oration specffied the "freedom of

152 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
the seas" as one of the foundation rocks of the proposed
new settlement only accentuated this unfavourable at
titude. This then was clearly the "atmosphere" which pre
vailed ffi Washmgton at the time that Page was sum
moned home. But Page's letters of tffis period mdicate
how Uttle sympathy he entertained for such negotiations.
"It is quite apparent," he had recently written to Colonel
House, "that nobody in Washmgton understands the
war. Come over and fmd out." Extracts from a letter
which he wrote to his brother, Mr. Henry A. Page, of
Aberdeen, North CaroUna, are especiaUy interesting when
placed side by side with the President's statements of
tffis particular time. These passages show that a two
years' close observation of the Prussians in action had not
changed Page's opimon of their motives or of their
methods; in 1916, as in 1914, Page could see in tffis
struggle notffing but a colossal buccaneering expedition
on the part of Germany. "As 1 look at it," he wrote,
"our diUy-daUying is Ukely to get us into war. The
Germans want somebody to rob — to pay their great
miUtary bffis. They've robbed Belgium and are stiU
robbing it of every penny they can lay their hands
on. They robbed Poland and Serbia — ^two very poor
countries which didn't have much. They set out to
rob France and have so far been stopped from getting
to Paris. If they got to Paris there wouldn't be
thirty cents' worth of movable property there in a week,
and they'd levy fines of milUons of francs a day. Their
miUtary scheme and teaching and open purpose is to make
somebody pay for their vast miUtary outlay of the last
forty years. They must do that or go bankrupt. Now it
looks as if they woffid go bankrupt. But in a little while
they may be able to bombard New York and demand

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 153
biffions of dollars to refrain from destroying the city.
That's the richest place left to spoil.
"Now they say that — quite openly and quite frankly.
Now ff we keep 'neutral' to a highwayman — ^what do we
get for our pains? That's the mistake we are making.
If we had sent Bernstorff home the day after the Lusitania
was sunk and recaUed Gerard and begun to train an army
we'd have had no more trouble with them. But since
they have found out that they can keep us discussing
tffings forever and a day, they wiU keep us discussing
tffings tiU they are ready. We are very simple; and we'U
get shot for it yet. . . .
"The prestige and fear of the Uffited States has gone
down, down, down — disappeared ; and we are regarded as
'discussors,' incapable of action, scared to death of war.
That's aU the invitation that robbers, whose chief busi
ness is war, want — aU the invitation they need. These
devils are out for robbery — and you don't seem to beUeve
it ffi the Uffited States: that's the queer thing. Tffis
neutrahty business makes us an easy mark. As soon as
they took a town in Belgium, they asked for aU the money
in the town, aU the food, aU the movable property; and
they've levied a tax every month since on every town and
made the town government borrow the money to pay it.
If a cffild ffi a town makes a disrespectful remark, they fme
the town an extra $1,000. They haven't got enough so
far to keep them going flush; and they won't uffiess they
get Paris — ^which they can't do now. If they got London,
they'd be rich; they wouldn't leave a shiffing and they'd
make aU the rich EngUsh get aU the money they own
abroad. Tffis is the reason that Frenchmen and EngUsh
men prefer to be kiUed by the 100,000. In the country
over wffich their army has passed a crow would die of
starvation and no human being has ten cents of real

154 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
money. The Belgian Commission is spending more than
100 milUon doUars a year to keep the Belgians aUve — only
because they are robbed every day. They have a rich
country and could support themselves but for these rob
bers. That's the meaffing of the whole tffing. And yet
we treat them as if they were honourable people. It's
offiy a question of time and of power when they wffi attack
us, or the Canal, or South America. Everybody on tffis
side the world knows that. And they are 'yielding' to
keep us out of tffis war so that England wiU not
help us when they (the Germans) get ready to attack
America. "There is the strangest infatuation in the Umted States
with Peace — the strangest iUusion about our safety with
out preparation."
Several letters to Colonel House show the state of the
British mind on the subject of the President's peace pro
posals: To Edward M. House
Royal Bath and East CUff Hotel,
Bournemouth, 23 May, 1916.
Dear House:
The motor trip that the Houses, the WaUaces, and the
Pages took about a year ago was the last trip (tffiee days)
that I had had out of London; and I'd got pretty tired.
The Chirm case having been settled (and settled as we
wanted it), I thought it a good time to try to get away
for a week. So here Mrs. Page and I are — ^very much to
my benefit. I've spent a beautiful week out of doors, on
this seashore ; and I have only about ten per cent, of the
fatal diseases that I had a week ago. That is to say, I'm
as sound as a doUar and feel Uke a fighting cock.

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 155
Sir Edward was fine about the China^ case. He never
disputed the principle of the inviolabiUty of American
ships on the ffigh seas; but the Admiralty maintained that
some of these men are officers in the German Army and
are now receiving officers' pay. I tffink that that is prob
ably true. Nevertheless, the Admiralty had bungled the
case badly and Sir Edward simply rode over them. They
have a fme quarrel among themselves and we got aU we
wanted and asked for.
Of course, I can't make out the Germans but I am afraid
some huge deviltry is yet coming. When the EngUsh
say that the Germans must give up their militarism, I
doubt if the Germans yet know what they mean. They
talk about conquered territory — Belgium, Poland, and the
rest. It hasn't entered their heads that they've got to
give up their armies and their miUtary system.. When
tffis does get into their heads, if it ever do, I tffink they
may so sweU with rage at tffis "insult" that they may
break loose in one last desperate effort, ignoring the Uffited
States, defying the umverse, runffing amuck. Of course it
woffid be fooffiardy to predict tffis, but the fear of it keeps
commg mto my mind. The fear is the more persistent
because, if the worst comes to them, the mihtary caste and
perhaps the dynasty itseff wiU prefer to die in one last ter-
rffic onslaught rather than to make a peace on terms wffich
wiU require the practical extinction of their supreme power.
Tffis, I conceive, is the really great danger that yet awaits
the world — ^ff the Affies hold together till defeat and
famffie drive the Germans to the utmost desperation.
In the meantime, the Affies stiU holding together as
'The China case was a kind of Trent case reversed. In 1861 the American
ship San Jacinto stopped the British vessel Trent and took off Mason and Slidell,
Confederate commissioners to Great Britain. Similarly a British ship, in 1916,
stopped an American ship, the China, and removed several German subjects.
As the British quickly saw the analogy, and made suitable amends, the old excite
ment over the Trent was not duplicated in the recent war.

156 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
they are, there's no peace yet in the British and French
minds. They're after the miUtarism of Prussia — ^not
territory or other gains; and they seem likely to get it,
as much by the blockade as by victories on land. Do
you remember how in the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck
refused to deal with the French Emperor? He demanded
that representatives of the French people should deal with
ffim. He got what he asked for and that was the last of
the French Emperor. Neither the French nor the Eng
Ush have forgotten that. You wiU recaU that the Ger
mans starved Paris into submission. Neither the French
nor the EngUsh have forgotten that. These two leaves out
of the Germans' own book of forty-five years ago — ^these
two and no more — may be forced on the Germans them
selves. They are both quite legitimate, too. You can
read a recoUection of both these events between the Unes
ofthe interviews that Sir Edward and Mr. Baffour recently
gave to American newspapers.
There is nothing but admiration here for the strategy
of the President's last note to Germany. That was the
cleverest play made by anybody since the war began —
clever beyond praise. Now he's " got 'em." But nobody
here doubts that they wiU say, sooner or later, that the
Uffited States, not having forced the breaking of the
British blockade, has not kept its bargain — ^that's what
they'U say — and it is in order again to run amuck. Tffis
is what the EngUsh think — provided the Germans have
enough submarines left to keep up real damage. By that
time, too, it wiU be clear to the Germans that the Presi
dent can't bring peace so long as only one side wishes peace.
The Germans seem to have counted much on the Irish
uprising, which came to pass at all only because of the
customary EngUsh stupid bunghng; andthe net result has
been only to put the mass of the Irish on their mettle to

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 157
show that they are not Sinn Feiners. The final upshot
wiU be to strengthen the British Army. God surely is
good to tffis bunghng British Government. Wind and
wave and the wiU of High Heaven seem to work for them.
I begin to understand their stupidity and their arrogance.
If your enemies are such fools in psychological tactics and
Heaven is with you, why take the trouble to be alert?
And why be modest? Whatever the reason, these Eng
hsh are now more cocky and confident than they've been
before since the war began. They are beginffing to see
results. The offiy question seems to be to hold the AlUes
together, and they seem to be doing that. In fact, the
battle of Verdun has cemented them. They now have
visible proof that the German Army is on the wane. And
they have trustworthy evidence that the blockade is tell
ing severely on the Germans. Nobody, I think, expects
to tffiash 'em to a frazzle ; but the almost uffiversal opin
ion here is that the hold of miUtarism wiU be shaken loose.
And the German High Canal Navy — what's to become
of that? Von Tirpitz is down and out, but there are
thousands of Germans, 1 hear, who complain of their
naval inactivity. But God only knows the future —
I don't. I tffink that I do weU if I keep track of the
present. . . .
My kffidest regards to Mrs. House, Yours very heartily, W. H. P.
To Edward M. House
London, 25 May, 1916.
Dear House:
No utterance by anybody has so stirred the people of
tffis kingdom for many months as Su Edward Grey's
impromptu speech last ffight in the House of Commons

158 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
about Peace, when he caUed the German ChanceUor a
ffist-class liar. I sent you to-day a cUpping from one of
the morning papers. Every paper T pick up compli
ments Sir Edward. Everyone says, "We must fight
to a fiffish." The more sensational press intimates that
any EngUshman who uses the word "peace" ought
to be shot. You have never seen such a raUy as that
wffich has taken place in response to Sir Edward's cry.
In the ffist place, as you know, he is the most gentle of aU
the Cabinet, the last man to get on a "war-rampage," the
least belUgerent and rambunctious of the whole lot. When
he, felt moved to say that there can be no peace tiU the
German miUtary despotism is broken, everybody from
one end of the Kingdom to the other seems to have tffiown
up his hat and applauded. Except the haff-dozen peace-
cranks in the House (Bryan sort of men) you can't find
a man, woman, child, or dog that isn't fued with the de
termination to see the war through. The continued talk
about peace which is reported directly and indirectly from
Germany — coming from Switzerland, from Rome, from
Wasffington — ^has made the EngUsh and the French very
angry: no, "angry" isn't qmte the right word. It has
made them very determined. They feel insulted by the
impudence of the Germans, who, since they know they
are bound to lose, seem to be turmng heaven and
earth to induce neutrals to take their view of peace.
People are asking here, "If they are victorious, why
doesn't their fleet come out of the canal and take the seas,
and again open their commerce? Why do they wffimper
about the blockade when they wiU not even risk a warsffip
to break it? " You'U recaU how the talk here used to be
that the EngUsh wouldn't wake up. You wouldn't know
'em now. Your bulldog has got his grip and even thun
der doesn't disturb ffim.

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 159
IncidentaUy, aU the old criticism of Su Edward Grey
seems to have been forgotten. You hear notffing
but praise of ffim now. I am told that he spoke
ffis impromptu speech last mght with great ffie and
at once left the House. His speech has caused a greater
stir than the Irish rebelUon, showing that every EngUsh
man feels that Sir Edward said precisely what every man
feels. The Germans have apparently overdone and over
worked their premature peace efforts and have made
thmgs worse for them. They've overplayed their
hand. In fact, I see no end of the war. The AUies are
not gomg to qffit prematurely. They won't even dis
cuss the subject yet with one another, and the Germans,
by their peace-talk of the sort that they inspire, simply
postpone the day when the Affies wffi take the subject
up. AU the wffile, too, the Affies work closer and closer
together. They'U soon be doing even their diplomatic
work with neutrals, as a umt — England and France as one
nation, and (on great subjects) Russia and Italy also
with them.
I've talked lately not offiy with Sir Edward but with
nearly haff the other members of the Cabinet, and they
are aff keyed up to the same tune. The press of both
parties, too, are (for once) whoUy agreed: Liberal and
Conservative papers alike hold the same war-creed.
Sfficerely yours, Walter H. Page.
Before leaving for Wasffington Page discussed the
situation personaUy with Sir Edward Grey and Lord
Bryce. He has left memoranda of both interviews.

160 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Notes of a Private and Informal Conversation with
Sir Edward Grey, at his residence, on July 27, 1916, when
I called to say good-bye before sailing on leave to the United
States . . . Sir Edward Grey went on to say qmte
frankly that two thoughts expressed in a speech by the
President some months ago had had a very serious influ
ence on British opimon. One thought was that the causes
or objects of the war were of no concern to him, and the
otherwas ffis (at least implied^ endorsement nf "thp frpp-
dom of the seas," wffich the President did not defme.
~Xoncermng the ffist thought, he understood of course
that a neutral President could not say that he favoured
one side or the other: everybody understood that and no
body expected him to take sides. But when the Presi
dent said that the objects of the war did not concern him,
that was taken by British pubhc opimon as meaffing a
condemnation of the British cause, and it produced deep
feeUng. Concernmg the "freedom ofthe seas," he beUeved that
the ffist use of the pffiase was made by Colonel House
(on ffis return from one of his visits to Berhn),' but the
pubhc now regarded it as a German mvention and it
meant to the British mind a pohcy which would render
British supremacy at sea of Uttle value in time of war; and
pubUc opimon resented this. He knew perfectly well that
at a convement time new rules must be made govern
ing the conduct of war at sea and on the land, too. But
the German idea of " the freedom of the seas " (" freedom "
was needed on land also) is repulsive to the British
mind. He mentioned these things because they had produced
'See Chapter XIII, page 434.

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 161
in many minds an unwilUngness, he feared, to use the good
offices of the President whenever any mediatorial service
might be done by a neutral. The tendency of these
remarks was certamly in that direction. Yet Sir Ed
ward carefuUy abstained from expressffig such an unwiU
ingness on ffis own part, and the inference from his tone
and manner, as weU as from his habitual attitude, is that
he feels no unwiffingness to use the President's good office,
ff occasion should arise.
I asked what he meant by "mediatorial" — ^the Presi
dent's offermg his services or good offices on ffis own
imtiative? He said — ^No, not that. But the Germans
might^ express to the President their wiffingness or even
their defimte wish to have an armistice, on certaffi terms,
to discuss conditions of peace coupled with an mtimation
that he might sound the AlUes. He did not expect the
President to act on his own imtiative, but at the request or
at least at the suggestion of the German Government, he
might conceivably sound the Affies — especiaUy, he added,
"sffice I am informed that the notion is wide-spread ffi
America that the war wiU end fficonclusively — as a draw."
He smiled and remarked, as an aside, that he didn't think
that tffis notion was held by any considerable group of
people ffi any other country, certamly not ffi Great
Britaffi. In further talk on tffis subject hesaid that none of the
Allies could mention peace or discuss pparp till Franrp
should express such a wish: for it is the very vitals of
France that have received and are receivmg the shock
of such an assault as was never before launched agamst
any nation. Unlgss France was ready to quit, none of
France's Affies could mention peace, and France showed
no mood to quit. Least of aU could the EngUsh make or
receive any such suggestion at least tiU her new great army

162 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
had done its best; for until lately the severest fightffig had
not been done by the British, whose army had practicaUy
been held in reserve. There had for a long time been a
perfect understandmg between Joffre and Haig — ^that the
EngUsh would wait to begm their offensive tiU the moment
arrived when it best suited the French.
The impression that I got from this part of the conver
sation was that Sir Edward hoped that I might convey to
the President (as, of course, he could not) Sir Edward's
idea of the effect of these parts of the President's speech on
feeUng ffi England toward him. Nowhere in the conver
sation did he make any request of me. Any one, over-
hearmg it, might have supposed it to be a conversation
between two men, with no object beyond expressmg their
views. But, of course, he hoped and meant that I should,
ffi my own way, make known to the President what he
said. He did not say that the President's good offices,
when the time should come, would be unwelcome to him
or to his government; and he meant, I am sure, to convey
only the fear that by these assertions the President had
planted an objection to ffis good offices in a large section
of British opinion.
Among the conditions of peace that Sir Edward himseff
personally would Uke to see imposed (he had not yet
discussed the subject with any of his colleagues in the
Government) was this: that the German Government
should agree to submit to an impartial (neutral) com
mission or court the question, Who began the war and
who is responsible for it? The German ChanceUor and
other high German officials have put it about and continue
to put it about that England is responsible, and doubtless
the German people at least beUeve it. AU the govern
ments concerned must (this is ffis idea) submit to the
tribunal all its documents and other evidence bearmg on

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 163
the subject; and of course the findffig of the tribunal must
be pubUshed.
Then he talked a good deal about the idea that Ues be-
hffid the League for Enforcmg Peace — ^m a sympathetic
mood. He went on to pomt out how such a league —
with force behmd it — woffid at any one of tffiee stages
have prevented tffis war — (1) When England proposed
a conference to France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, aU
agreed to it but Germany. Germany alone prevented
a discussion. If the League to Enforce Peace had m-
cluded England, France, Italy, and Russia — there would
have been no war; for Germany would have seen at once
that they would aU be agaffist her. (2) Later, when the
Czar sent the Kaiser a personal telegram proposffig to
submit their differences to some tribunal, a League to
Enforce Peace would have prevented war. And (3) when
the question of the invasion of Belgium came up, every
signatory to the treaty guaranteeffig Belgium's mtegrity
gave assurance of keeping the treaty — but Germany,
and Germany gave an evasive answer. A league would
agam have prevented a war — or put all the miUtary force
of aU its members agamst Germany.
Tffioughout the conversation, which lasted about an
hour. Sir Edward said more than once, as he has often said
to me, that he hoped we should be able to keep the friction
between our governments at the minimum. He would
regard it as the greatest calamity ff the iU-feeUng that
various events have stirred up in sections of pubUc opimon
on each side should mcrease or should become permanent.
His constant wish and effort were to lessen and ff possible
to remove aU misunderstandffigs.
Lord Bryce was one of the EngUshmen with whom Page
vas especiaUy mcUned to discuss pendffig problems.

164 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Notes on a conversation with Lord Bryce,
July 31, 1916 •
Lord Bryce spoke of the President's declaration that we
were not concerned with the causes or objects of the war
and he said that that remark had caused much talk — all,
as he thought, on a misunderstanding of Mr. WUson's
meaffing. "He meant, I take it, offiy that he did not
propose at that time to discuss the causes or the objects of
the war; and it is a pity that his sentence was capable of
being interpreted to mean something else ; and the sen
tence was published and discussed here apart from its
context — a most unfair proceeding. I can imagine that
the President and his friends may be much annoyed by
this improper interpretation."
I remarked that the body of the speech m wffich tffis
remark occurred might have been written ffi Dowmng
Street, so friendly was it to the Affies.
"Quite, qmte," said he.
This was at dinner. Lady Bryce and Mrs. Page and he
and I only being present.
When he and I went mto the library he talked more
than an hour.
"And what about this blackUst?" he asked. I told
him. He had been m France for a week and did not know
just what had been done. He said that that seemed to
him a mistake. "The Government doesn't know Amer
ica — ^neither does the British pubUc. Neither does the
American Government {no American government) know
the British. Hence your government writes too many
notes — ^all governments are likely to write too many notes.
Everybody gets tired of seemg them and they lose then-
effect." He mentioned the blockade and said that it had be-

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 165
come quite effective — wonderfuUy effective, in fact; and he
impUed that he did not see why we now failed to recog
mze it. Our refusal to recogmze it had caused and
doubtless is now causmg such iU-feeUng as exists ffi Eng
land. Then he talked long about peace and how it would prob
ably be arranged. He judged, from letters that he re
ceives from the Uffited States as weU as from Americans
who come over here, that there was an expectation in
America that the President would be caUed in at the peace
settlement and that some persons even expected him to
offer mediation. He did not see how that could be. He
knew no precedent for such a proceedmg. The President
might, of course, on the defiffite request of either side,
make a defimte inquiry of the other side ; but such a course
would be, ffi effect, merely the transmission of an ffiquiry.
But after peace was made and the time came to set
up a League for Enforcmg Peace, or some such machffi-
ery, of course the Uffited States would be and would have
to be a party to that if it were to succeed. He remffided
me that a Uttle group of men here, of whom he was one,
early ffi the war sketched substantiaUy the same plan
that the American League to Enforce Peace has worked
out. It had not seemed advisable to have any general
pubUc discussion of it ffi England tffi the war should end:
nobody had time now to give to it.
As he knew no precedent for beffigerents to caU m a
third party when they met to end a war, so he knew no
precedent for any outside government to protest agamst
the mvasion of a country by a Power that had signed
a treaty to guarantee the ffitegrity of the ffivaded coun
try — ^no precedent, that is to say, for the Uffited States to
protest agamst the invasion of Belgium. "That prece
dent," I said, "was found in Hysteria."

166 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Lord Bryce, who had just returned from a visit to the
British headquarters ffi France, hardly dared hope for the
end of the war till next year; and the intervenmg time
between now and the end would be a time, he feared, of
renewed atrocities and fficreasffig hatred. He cited the
kiffing of Captain Fryatt of the Brussels and the forcible
deportation of young women from LiUe and other towns
in the provffices of France occupied by the Germans.
The most defmite idea that he had touching. American-
British relations was the fear that the anti-British feeUng
in the Umted States would become stronger and would
outlast the war. "It is organized," he said. "The dis
affected Germans and the disaffected Irish are interested
in keeping it up." He asked what effect I thought the
Presidential campaign would have on this feeUng. He
seemed to have a fear that somehow the campaign would
give an occasion for stirring it up even more.
"Good-bye. Give my regards to aU my American
friends; and I'm proud to say there are a good many of
them." One episode that was greatly stirring both Great Brit
ain and the Umted States at this time was the trial of Sir
Roger Casement, the Irish leader who had left Wiffielms-
haven for Ireland in a German submarme and who had
been captmed at Tralee in the act of landing arms and
muffitions for an Irish insurrection. Casement's subse
quent trial and conviction on a charge of ffigh treason had
inspired a movement in ffis favour from Irish-Americans,
the fmal outcome of which was that the Senate, in early
August, passed a resolution asking the British Govern
ment for clemency and stipulating that tffis resolution
should be presented to the Foreign Office. Page was
then on the ocean bound for the Uffited States and

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 167
the deUcate task of presenting this document to Sir
Edward Grey feU upon Mr. LaughUn, who was now
Charge d'affaires. Mr. LaughUn is a diplomat of great
experience, but this responsibiUty at ffist seemed to be
sometffing of a poser even for ffim. He had received ex-
pUcit instructions from Washington to present this resolu
tion, and the one tffing above aU which a diplomatic officer
must do is to carry out the orders of his government, but
Mr. LaughUn well knew that, should he present this paper
in the usual manner, the Foreign Secretary might decUne
to receive it; he might regard it as an interference with
matters that exclusively concerned the sovereign state.
Mr. LaughUn, however, has a techmque all his oAi^m, and,
in accordance with tffis, he asked for an interview with Sir
Edward Grey to discuss a matter of routine business.
However, the Charge d'affaires carried the Casement
resolution tucked away in an inside pocket when he made
ffis call.
Like Mr. Page, Mr. LaughUn was on the friendUest terms^
with Sir Edward Grey, and, after the particular piece of
business had been transacted, the two men, as usual, fell |
mto casual conversation. Casement then loomed large
ffi the daily press, and the activities of the American Senate
had Ukewise caused some commotion in London. In
round-about fasffion Mr. LaughUn was able to lead Sir
Edward to make some reference to the Casement case. /
"I see the Senate has passed a resolution asking clem
ency," said the Foreign Secretary — exactly the remark
wffich the American wished to eUcit.
"Yes," was the reply. "By the way, I happen to have
a copy of the resolution with me. May I give it to you? "
"Yes, I should like to have it."
The Foreign Secretary read it over with deUberation.
"Tffis is a very mterestffig document," he said, when he

168 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
had finished. "Would you have any objection if I
showed it to the Prime Minister?"
Of course that was precisely what Mr. LaughUn did wish,
and he repUed that this was the desire of his government.
The purpose of his visit had been accompUshed, and he
was able to cable Washington that its instructions had
been carried out and that the Casement resolution had
been presented to the British Govemment. Simultane
ously with his commumcation, however, he reported also
that the execution of Roger Casement had taken place.
In fact, it was being carried out at the time ofthe interview.
This fficident lends point to Page's memorandum of the
last interview wffich he had before leaving England.
August 1st. I lunched with Mr. Asquith. One does
not usuaUy bring away much from his conversations, and
he did not say much to-day worth recording. But he
showed a very eager interest in the Presidential campaign,
and he confessed that he felt some anxiety about the anti-
British feeUng in the Uffited States. This led him to teU
me that he could not in good conscience interfere with
Casement's execution, in spite of the shoals of telegrams
that he was receiving from the United States. Tffis man,
said he, visited Irish prisoners in German camps and tried
to seduce them to take up arms against Great Britain —
their own country. When they refused, the Germans
removed them to the worst places in their Empire and, as a
result, some of them died. Then Casement came to Ireland
in a German man-of-war (a submarine) accompamed by
a sffip loaded with guns. " In aU good conscience to my
country and to my responsibiUties I cannot interfere." He
hoped that thoughtful opiffion in the Umted States would
see this whole matter in a fair and just way.
I asked him about anti-American feeUng in Great Brit-

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 169
ain. He said: "Do not let that unduly disturb you. At
bottom we understand you. At bottom the two people
surely understand one another and have unbreakable
bonds of sympathy. No serious breach is conceivable."
He went on qmte earnestly: "Mr. Page, after any pohcy
or plan is thought out on its merits my next thought al
ways is how it may affect our relations with the United
States. That is always a fundamental consideration."
I ventured to say that if he would keep our relations
smooth on the surface, I'd guarantee their stabiUty at the
bottom. It's the surface that roUs ffigh at times, and the
danger is there. Keep the surface smooth and the bottom
wffi take care of itseff.
Then he asked about Mexico, as he usuaUy has when
I have talked with ffim. I gave ffim as good a report as I
could, reminding ffim of the great change in the attitude of
aU Latin-America caused by the President's patient poUcy
with Mexico. When he said, "Mexico is a bad problem,"
I couldn't resist the impulse to reply: "When Mexico
troubles you, think of — Ireland. As there are persons in
England who concern themselves Avith Mexico, so there
are persons in the Uffited States who concern themselves
about Ireland. Ireland and Mexico have each given
trouble for two centuries. Yet these people talk about
them as if they could remove aU trouble in a month."
"Quite true," he said, and smiled himseff into silence.
Then he talked about more or less frivolous subjects; and,
as always, he asked about Mr. Bryan and Mr. Roosevelt,
"aUke now, I suppose, in their present obscure pUght."
I told him I was going from his house to the House of
Lords to see Sir Edward Grey metamorphosed ffito Vis
count Grey of FaUodon.
"The very stupidest ofthe many stupid ceremonies that
we have," said he — ^very truly.

170 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
He spoke of my "onerous duties" and so on and so on —
tut, tut! talk that gets nowhere. But he did say, qmte
sincerely, I tffink, that my frankness called forth frankness
and avoided misunderstanding; for he has said that to
other people about me.
Such is the Prime Mimster of Great Britam in this
supreme crisis in EngUsh history, a remarkable man, of an
abnormally quick mind, pretty nearly a great man, but
now a spent force, at once nimble and weary. History
may call ffim Great. If it do, he wiU owe tffis judgment
to the war, with the conduct of which ffis name wiU be
forever associated. II
Mr. and Mrs. Page's homecoming was a tragedy. They
sailed from Liverpool on August 3rd, and reached New
York on the evening of August Ilth. But sad news
awaited them upon .the dock.. About two months previ
ously their youngest son, Frank, had been married to
Miss Katherine Sefton, of Auburn, N. Y., and the young
couple had settled down in Garden City, Long Island.
That was the summer when the epidemic of infantile
paralysis swept over the larger part of the Uffited States.
The young bride was stricken; the case was unusuaUy
rapid and unusuaUy severe ; at the moment of the Pages'
arrival, they were informed that there was practicaUy no
hope; and Mrs. Frank Page died at two o'clock on the
aftemoon of the foUowing day. The Pages had always
been a particularly umted and happy fanaily; tffis was the
ffist time that they had suffered from any domestic sorrow
of this kind, and the Ambassador was so affected that it
was with difficulty that he could summon himseff for the
task that lay ahead.
In a few days, however, he left for Wasffington. He has

WASHINGTON IN THB SUMMER OF 1916 171
ffimseff described ffis experience at the Capital ffi words
that must inevitably take their place in history. To ap
preciate properly the picture wffich Page gives, it must be
remembered that the city and the officialdom which he
portrays are the same city and the same men who six
months afterward declared war on Germany. When
Page reached Wasffington, the Presidential campaign was
in fuU swing, with Mr. Wilson as the Democratic candidate
and Mr. Charles E. Hughes as the Repubhcan. But
another crisis was absorbffig the nation's attention: the
raUway uffions, comprisffig practicaUy aU the 2,000,000
raUway employees in the Uffited States, were tffieatemng
to strike — ostensibly for an eight-hour day, in reahty
for ffigher wages.
Mr. Page's memorandum of his visit to Washington
in August, 1916
The President was very courteous to me, in ffis way.
He, invited me to luncheon the day after I arrived. Pres-
ent: the President, Mrs. Wilson, Miss Bones, Tom BoU-
mg, ms DrOther-in-law, and I. The conversation was
general and in the main jocular. Not a word about
tiUglana, not a word about a foreign policy nr foreign"
relations.^. He explained that the tffieatened railway strike en
gaged ffis whole mind. I asked to have a talk with him
when ffis mmd should be free. Would I not go off and
rest and come back? — I preferred to do my minor errands
with the Department, but I should hold myself at his
convemence and at his command."
Two weeks passed. Another invitation to lunch.
Sharp, the Ambassador to France, had arrived. He, too,
was invited. Present: the President, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs.

172 THE, LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
WaUace, the Misses Smith of New Orleans, Miss Bones,
Sharp, and I. Not one word about foreign affairs.
After luncheon, the whole party drove to the Capitol,
where the President addressed Congress on the strike,
proposing legislation to prevent it and to forestaU similar
strikes. It is a simple ceremony and somewhat impres
sive. The Senators occupy the front seats in the House,
the Speaker presides and the President of the Senate sits
on ffis right. An escorting committee is sent out to
bring the President in. He walks to the clerk's or reader's
desk below the presiding officer's, turns and shakes hands
with them both and then proceeds to read ffis speech, very
clearly and audibly. Some passages were applauded.
When he had done, he again shook hands with the presid
ing officers and went out, preceded and foUowed by the
Wffite House escort. I sat in the Presidential (or diplomat
ic?) gallery with the Wffite House party, higgledy-piggledy.
The speech ended, the President drove to the Wffite
House with his escort in ffis car. The crowds in the cor
ridors and about the doors waited and crowded to see Mrs.
Wilson, quite respectful but without order or discipUne.
We had to push our way tffiough them. Now and then a
policeman at a distance would yeU loudly, "Make way
there!" When we reached the White House, I asked the door
man if the President had arrived.
"Yes."
"Does he expect me to go in and say good-bye? "
"No."
Thus he had no idea of talking with me now, if ever.
Not at lunch nor after did he suggest a conversation about
American-British affairs or say anything about my seeing
him again.
This threatened strike does hold ffis whole mind —

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 173
bothers him greatly. It seems doubtful if he can avert a
general strike. The RepubUcans are trying " to put ffim in
a poUtical hole," and they say he, too, is playing poUtics.
Whoever be to blame for it, it is true that poUtics is in the
game. Nobody seems to foresee who wiU make capital
out of it. Smely I can't.
There's no social sense at the Wffite House. The
President has at ffis table famUy connections offiy — and
they say few or no distingffished men and women are in
vited, except the regffiar notables at the set dinners — ^the
diplomatic, the judiciary, and the like. His table is his
private famUy affair — ^nothing more. It is very hard to
understand why so inteUectual a man doesn't have notable
men about ffim. It's the coUege professor's viUage habit,
I dare say. But it's a great misfortune. Tffis is one way
ffi which Mr. WUson shuts out the world and hves too
much alone, feeding offiy on knowledge and subjects that
he has already acquired and not getting new views or fresh
suggestions from men and women.
He sees almost nobody except members of Congress for
whom he sends for special conferences, and he usuaUy sees
these ffi ffis office. The railroad presidents and men he
met in formal conference — ^no social touch.
A member of ffis Cabinet told me that Mr. Wilson had
shown confidence ffi him, given him a wide range of ac
tion in ffis own Department and that he reUes on ffis judg
ment. Tffis Cabmet member of course attends the
routme state dinners and receptions, as a matter of re
quired duty. But as for any social recogmtion of his
existence — he had never received a ffint or nod. Nor
does any member of the Cabinet (except, no doubt, Mr.
McAdoo, ffis son-in-law). There is no social sense nor
reason ffi tffis. In fact, it works to a very decided disad
vantage to the President and to the Nation.

174 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
By the way, that a notable man in our educational
Ufe could form such a habit does not speak weU for our
educational Ufe.
What an unspeakably lamentable loss of opportuffity!
This is the more remarkable and lamentable because the
President is a charming personaUty, an uncommonly
good talker, a man who could easily make personal friends
of all the world. He does his own tffinking, untouched
by other men's ideas. He receives nothing from the out
side. His domestic Ufe is spent with his own, nobody
else, except House occasionaUy. His contact with his
own Cabinet is a business man's contact with ffis business
associates and kind — at his office.
He decUned to see Cameron Forbes"^ on ffis return from
the PffiUppines,
The sadness of this mistake !
Another result is — ^the President doesn't hear the
frank truth about the men about ffim. He gives nobody
a chance to teU him. Hence he has several heavy en
cumbrances in ffis official family.
The influence of tffis lone-hand way of playmg the game
extends very far. The members of the Cabinet do not
seem to have the habit of frankness with one another.
Each hves and works ffi a water-tight compartment. I
sat at luncheon (at a hotel) with Lansffig, Secretary of
State; Lane, Secretary ofthe Interior; Gregory, Attorney-
General; Baker, Secretary of War; Daffiels, Secretary of
the Navy; and Sharp, Ainbassador to France; and aU the
talk was jocular or semi-jocular, and personal — ^mere
cheap chaff. Not a question was asked either of the Am
bassador to France or of the Ambassador to Great Brit
am about the war or about our foreign relations. The
'Mr. Forbes had been Governor-General of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913.
His work had been extraordinarily successful.

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 175
war wasn't mentioned. Sharp and I might have come
from Bungtown and JonesviUe and not from France and
England. We were not encouraged to talk — ^the local
personal joke held the tune and conversation. Tffis as-
toundmg fact must be the result of this lone-hand, water
tight compartment method and — of the neutrahty sup
pression of men. The Vice-President confessed to ffis
neighbour at a Gridiron dinner that he had read none of
the Wffite Papers, or Orange Papers, etc., of the beffigerent
governments — confessed tffis with pride — ^lest he should
form an opimon and cease to be neutral! Miss X, a
member of the President's household, said to Mrs. Y, the
day we lunched there, that she had made a remark pri
vately to Sharp showing her admiration of the French.
"Was that a violation of neutrahty?" she asked in all
seriousness. I can see it in no other way but this: the President sup
pressed free thought and free speech when he msisted upon
personal neutrahty. He held back the dehberate and
spontaneous thought and speech of the people except the
pro-Germans, who saw their chance and improved it!
The mass of the American people found themselves for
bidden to think or talk, and this forbiddmg had a sufficient
effect to make them take refuge ffi ffidifference. It's the
President's job. He's our leader. He'U attend to this
matter. We must not embarrass him. On this easy
cusffion of non-responsibihty the great masses feU back
at their mteUectual and moral ease — softened, isolated,
luUed. That wasn't leadership ffi a democracy. Right here is
the President's vast failure. From it there is now no es
cape unless the Germans commit more submarme crimes.
They have kept the United States for their own exploitmg
after the war. They have thus had a real triumph of us.

176 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
I have talked ffi Washffigton with few men who showed
any clear conception of the ditf erence hetween the iief-
mans and the British. To the mffids of these people and
high Government officials, German and Enghsh are alike
foreign nations who are now foolishly pnfyaffpd ffi war.
Two of the men who Innk npnn thp t.hinp- differently are
Houston'_and Logan WaUer Page.*^ In fact, there is no
reaUzation of the war ffi Wasffington. Secretary Houston
has a proper perspective of the situation. He would have
done precisely what I recommended — ^paved the way for
claims and let the EngUsh take their course. "Inter
national law" is no strict code and it's aU shot to pieces
anyhow.
/The Secretary [of State] betrayed not the sUghtest cu-
/riosity about our relations with Great Britam. I saw
him several times — (1) in his office; (2) at ffis house;
(3) at the French Ambassador's; (4) at WaUace's; (5) at
his office; (6) at Crozier's' — ^tffis durffig my ffist stay ffi
Washmgton. The only remark he made was that I'd fmd
a different atmosphere in Washmgton from the atmosphere
ffi London. Truly. AU the rest of ffis talk was about
" cases." Would I see Senator Owen? Would I see Con
gressman Sherley? Would I take up this "case" and
that? His mind ran on " cases."
Well, at Y's, when I was almost ffi despair, I rammed
down him a sort of general statement of the situation as
I saw it; at least, I made a start. But soon he stopped
me and ran off at a tangent on some historical statement I
had made, showing that his mind was not at aU on the real
subject, the large subject. When I returned to Washing
ton, and he had read my interviews with Grey, Asquith,
^Secretary of Agriculture.
^In charge of govemment road building, a distant relative of the Ambassador.
•Major General William Crozier, U. S. A., Chief of Ordnance.

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 177
and Bryce,' and my own statement, he stiU said noth
mg, but he ceased to taUi of "cases." At my final m-
terview he said that he had had difficffity ffi preventffig
Congress from makffig the retaUatory resolution manda
tory. He had tried to keep it back tiU the very end of
the session, etc.
Tffis does not qmte correspond with what the President
told me — ^that the State Department asked for tffis re
taUatory resolution.
I made specific suggestions in my statement to the
President and to Lansffig. They have (yet) said nothing
about them. I fancy they wffi not. I have found no
where any poUcy — only "cases."
I proposed to Baker and Daffiels that they send a Gen
erai and an Admiral as attaches to London. They both
agreed. Daffiels later told me that Baker mentioned it
to the President and he "stepped on the suggestion with
both f^et." I did not bring it up. In the Franco-
Prussian War of 1870, both General McCleUan (or Sheri
dan?^) and General Forsythe were sent to the German
Army. Our mihtary ideas have sffiunk since then!
I find at tffis date (a month before the Presidential
election), the greatest tangle and uncertainty of poUtical
opimon that I have ever observed in our country. The
President, ffi spite of ffis unparaUeled leadersffip and
authority in domestic poUcy, is by no means certain of
election. He has the open hostiUty of the Germans — aU
very weU, if he had got the frmts of a real hostiUty to
them; but they have, in many ways, directed his foreign
poUcy. He has lost the silent confidence of many men
upon whose conscience this great question weighs heavily.
If he be defeated he wiU owe his defeat to the loss of con-
'See Chapter XIX, pages 160-164.
'It was General Sheridan.

178 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE;
fidence in ffis leadersffip on tffis great subject. His
opponent has put forth no clear-cut opimon. He plays^a
silent game on the German "issue." Yet he wiU com
mand the support of many patriotic men merely as a lack
of confidence in the President.
Nor do I see any end of the results of tffis fundamental
error. In the economic and poUtical readjustment of the
world we shaU be "out of the game," ffi any event^ — ^un
less we are yet forced into the war by Hughes's election
or by the renewal of the indiscrimmate use of submarines
by the Germans.
There is a great lesson ffi tffis lamentable failure of the
President reaUy to lead the Nation. The Umted States
stands for democracy and free opimon as it stands for
nothing else and as no other nation stands for it. Now
when democracy and free opiffion are at stake as they have
not before been, we take a "neutral" stand — ^we tffiow
away our very birtffiight. We may talk of "humamty"
aU we Uke: we have missed the largest chance that ever
came to help the large cause that brought us mto being as
a Nation. . . .
And the people, sittmg on the comfortable seats of
neutrahty upon wffich the President has pushed them
back, are grateful for Peace, not having taken the trou
ble to think out what Peace has cost us and cost the world
— except so many as have felt the uncomfortable stirrings
of the national conscience.
There is not a man ffi our State Department or in our
Govemment who has ever met any prominent statesmen
in any Jiuropean Government — except the third Assistant.
Secretary of State, who has no authority in forming poUcies ;
thCTgjs not a man who knows the atmosphere of Emope.
Yet when I proposed that one of the under Secretaries
should go to England on a visit of a few weeks for obser-

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 179
vation, the objection arose that such a visit would not be
"neutral."

Ill
The extraordmary feature of this experience was that
Pageiaad been officiaUy summoned home, presumably to
^cuss JheEuropean situation, and that neither the Presi
dent nor the State Department apparently had the shght
est interest in ffis visit.
"The President," Page wrote to Mr. LaughUn, "domi
nates the whole show in a most extraordinary way. The
men about him (and he sees them offiy on 'business ') are
very nearly all very, very smaU fry, or worse — ^the nar
rowest twopenny lot I've ever come across. He has
no real compaffions. Nobody talks to him freely and
frankly. I've never known quite such a condition in
American hfe." Perhaps the President had no desire to
discuss inconvement matters with ffis Ambassador to Great
Britaffi, but Page was certaiffiy determined to have an
interview with the President. "I'm not going back to
London," he wrote Mr. LaughUn, "tiU the President has
said sometffing to me or at least tffi I have said sometffing
to him. I am now going down to Garden City and New
York tiU the President send for me; or, if he do not send
for me, I'm going to his house and sit on his front steps tiU
he come out!" Page had brought from England one of
the medals wffich the Germans had struck in honour ofthe
Lusitania sinkmg, and one reason why he particularly
wished to see the President alone was to show him tffis
memento. Another reason was that in early September Page had re
ceived important news from London concermng the move
wffich Germany was making for peace and the attitude
of Great Britain in tffis matter. The several plans wffich

180 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Germany had had under consideration had now taken the
form of a defimte determination to ask for an armistice
before winter set in. A letter from Mr. LaughUn, Charge
d'affaires in Page's absence, teUs the story.
From Irwin Laughlin
Embassy of the Uffited States of America.
London, August 30, 1916.
Dear Mr. Page:
For some Uttle time past I have heard persistent ru
mours, which indeed are more than rumours, since they
have come from important sources, of an approacffing
movement by Germany toward an early armistice. They
have been so circumstantial and so closely connected — ^in
prospect — with the President, that I have examined them
with particular attention and I shaU try to give you the
results, and my conclusions, with the recommendation
that you take the matter up directly with the President
and the Secretary of State. I have been a Uttle at a loss
to decide how to communicate what I have learned to the
Government in Washington, for the present conditions
make it impossible to set down what I want to say in an
official despatch, but the fortunate accident of your being
ffi the Umted States gives me the safe opportuffity I want,
and so I send my information to you, and by the pouch,
as time is of less importance than secrecy.
There seems to be no doubt that Germany is casting
about for an opportuffity to effect an armistice, if possible
before the winter closes in. She hopes it may result in
peace — a peace more or less favourable to her, of course —
but even if such a result should fail of accompUshment she
would have gained a breatffing space; have secured an op
portuffity to improve her strategic position in a miUtary
sense, perhaps by shorteffing her Une in Flanders; have

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 181
stiffened the resistance of her people; and probably have
influenced a certain body of neutral opiffion not offiy in
her favour but against her antagomsts.
I shaU not try to mention the various sources from
wffich the tffieads that compose tffis fabric have been
drawn, but I finaUy fastened on X of the Admiralty as a
man with whom I could talk profitably and confidentiaUy,
and he told me positively that his information showed
that Germany was looking in the direction I have indi
cated, and that she would soon approach the President on
the subject — even ff she had not already taken the ffist
steps toward preparing her advance to him.
I asked X if he thought it weU for me to broach the
subject to Lord Grey and he suggested that I ffist consffit
Y, wffich I did. The latter seemed very wary at the out
set, but he warmed up at last and in the course of the con
versation told me he had reUable information that when
Bethmann-HoUweg went to Muffich just before the be
ginnmg of the affied offensive in the west in June he told
the King of Bavaria that he was confident the Affies would
be obUged to begm overtures for peace next October ; add-
mg that ff they didn't Germany would have to do so.
The Kmg, it appears, asked him how Germany coffid
approach the AlUes ff it proved to be advisable and he re
pUed: "Tffiough our good friend Wilson."
I asked Y ff the King of Spain's good offices would not
be enlisted joffitly with those of the President ffi attempt-
mg to arrange an armistice, but he thought not, and said
that the Kmg of Spam was very weU aware that the Affies
would not consider anytffing short of defimte peace pro
posals from Germany and that His Majesty knew the
moment for them had not arrived. I then finaUy asked
him point blank if he thought the Germans would ap
proach the President for an armistice, and, if so, when.

182 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
He said he was incUned to tffink they might do so perhaps
about October. On my asking ffim if he was disposed to
let me commumcate his opimon privately to the Govern
ment in Wasffington he rephed after some hesitation that
he had no objection, but he quickly added that I must
make it clear at the same time that the British Govern
ment would not Usten to any such proposals.
These conversations took place during the course of
last week, and on Sunday — ^the 27th — I invited the Span
ish Ambassador to luncheon at Tangley when I was able
to get him to coiffirm what Y had said of ffis Sovereign's
attitude and opinions.
I may mention for what it is worth that on Hoover's
last trip to Germany he was told by BuUock, of the Pffila-
delpffia Ledger, that Zimmermann of the Berhn Foreign
Office had told him that the Germans had intended in
June to take steps for an armistice wffich were prevented
by the preparations for the alhed offensive in the west.
Y was very emphatic in what he said of the attitude of
his government and the British people toward continmng
the war to an absolutely conclusive end, and I was much
impressed. He said among other tffings that the execu
tion of Captain Fryatt had had a markedly perceptible
effect in hardemng British pubhc opiffion-'against Germany
and fixing the determmation to fight to a relentless fiffish.
Tffis corresponds exactly with my own observations.
I leave tffis letter entirely in your hands. You wiU
know what use to make of it. It is meant as an official
communication m everytffing but the usual form from
which I have departed for reasons I need not explain
further. I look forward eagerly to your return.
Very sincerely yours,
Irwin Laughlin.

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 183
Page waited five weeks before he succeeded in obtaimng
ffis mterview with Mr. Wilson.
To the President
The New WiUard, Wasffington, D. C.
Thursday, September 21, 1916.
Dear Mr. President:
While I am waiting for a convement time to come '¦
when you wiU see me for a conference and report, I send
you notes on conversations with Lord Grey and Lord
Bryce.^ They are, in effect, though of course not in form,/
messages to you.
The situation between our government and Grea\
Britain seems to me most alarming; and (let me add)
easUy removable, if I can get the ear of anybody in author
ity. But 1 find here offiy an atmosphere of suspicion —
unwarranted by facts and easily dissipated by straight and
simple friendly methods. I am sure of this.
I have, besides, a most important and confidential
message for you from the British Government wffich
they prefer should be oraUy deUvered.
And 1 have written out a statement of my own study of
the situation and of certain proposals wffich, I think, if
they commend themselves to you, wffi go far to remove
tffis dangerous tension. I hope to go over them with you
at your convemence. Yours faithfully, Walter H. Page.
The situation was alarming for more reasons than the
determination of Germany to force the peace issue. The
State Department was especiaUy irritated at tffis time
'See Chapter XEX, pages 160 and 164.

184 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
over the blockade. Among the "trade advisers" there
was a conviction, wffich aU Page's explanations had not
destroyed, that Great Britain was using the blockade as
a means of destroying American commerce and securing
America's customers for herseff. Great Britain's regu
lations on the blacklist and "bunker coal" had intensffied
this feehng. In both these latter questions Page regarded
the British actions as tactless and unjust ; he had had many
sharp discussions at the Foreign Office concermng thena,
but had not made much headway in his efforts to obtain
their abandonment. The purpose of the "blackUst"
was to strike at neutral ffiffis witn German flfTiliatinns
which wpre trading with Germany. The Tradffig with the
Enemy Act provided that such ffims could not trade with
Great Britain; that British vessels must refuse to accept
their cargoes, and that any neutral ship which accepted
such cargoes would be demed bunker coal at British ports.
Under this law the Ministry ol ijiockade issued a "black-
hst" of more than 1,000 proscribed exporting houses in
tiie Umted States. SQ_great was the indignation against
tffis boycott in the Uffited States that Congress, in early
September, had passed a retahatory act; this gave the
R-gsident the authority at any iime to place an emoafgo^
upon the exports to the Uffited States of countries wffich
discriminated against American ffims and also to deny
clearance to sffips which refused to accept American car"^
goes._ The two countries indeed seemed to be hastening
tnvirard a crisis.
Page's urgent letter to Mr. Wilson brought a telegram
from Mr. Tumulty inviting the Ambassador to spend the
next eveffing and night with the President at Shadow
Lawn, the seaside house on the New Jersey coast ffi wffich
Mr. Wilson was spending the summer. Mr. Wilson re
ceived ffis old friend with great courtesy and Ustened

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 185
quietly and with apparent interest to aU that he had to say.
The written statement to wffich Page refers in ffis letter
told the story of Anglo-American relations from the time
of the Panama toUs repeal up to the time of Page's visit
to Shadow Lawn. Quotations have already been made
from it in preceding chapters, and the ideas wffich it
contams have abundantly appeared in letters already
printed. The document was an eloquent plea for Ameri
can cooperation with the Affies — ^for the dismissal of
Bernstorff, for the adoption of a manly attitude toward
Germany, and for the vindication of a ffigh type of Ameri
caffism. Page showed the President the Lusitania medal, but
that did not especiaUy impress him. "Tlae Presi
dent said to me." wrote Page in reference to tffis visit.
' that when the war began he and aU the men he met
were in hearty sympathy with the Affies; but that now
the sentiment toward England had greatly changed.
He saw no one who was not vp.ypH anrl irritatpH by thft
arbitrary English course. That is, I fear, true — that
he sees no one but has a complaint. So does the Secre-
tary of State, and the trade Bureau and aU the rest
ffi Washington. But in Bnstmr, in New Ynrlt, and in
the South and in Auburn, N. Y., I saw no one whose
sympathy witn the AUies had undergone any funda
mental change. 1 saw men who felt vexed at such an
act as the blacklist, but that was merely vexation, not
a fundamental change of feeUng. Of course, there
came to see me men who had 'cases.' Now these are
the offiy kind of men, I fear, whom the Government at
Washington sees — ^these and the members of Congress
whom the Germans have scared or have 'put up' to
scare the Government — ^who are 'twisting the lion's tail,'
m a word."

186 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
"The President said," wrote Page immediately after
commg from Shadow Lawn, "'TeU those gentlemen for
me ' — and then foUowed a homily to the effect that a dam
age done to any American citizen is a damage to ffim, etc.
He described the war as a result of many causes, some
of long origin. He spoke of England's having the earth
and of Germany wanting it. Of course, he said, the
German system is directly opposed to everything Ameri
can. But I do not gather that he thought that this
carried any very great moral reprehensibiUty.
"He said that he wouldn't do anytffing with the re
taUatory act till after election lest it might seem that
he was playing poUtics. But he hinted that if there were
continued provocation afterward (ffi case he were elected)
he would. He added that one of the worst provocations
was^ the long English delay in answering our Notes.
Was this delay due to fear or shame? He evidently
felt^ thai such a delay showed contempt. He spoke of
the Bryan treaty.' But on no question had the British
'locked horns' with us — on no question had they come
to a clear issue so that the matter naight be referred to
the Commission."
Page deUvered his oral message about the German
determination to obtain an armistice. This was to the
effect that Great Britam would not grant it. Page inti
mated that Britain would be offended ff the President
proposed it.
" If an armistice, no, " answered Mr. Wilson. "That's
a miUtary matter and is none of my business. But ff
they propose an armistice looking toward peace — ^yes,
I shaU be glad."

'The treaty between the United States and Great Britain, adopted through the
urgency of Mr. Bryan, providing for the arbitration of disputes between the two
coimtries.

WASHINGTON IN THE SUMMER OF 1916 187
The experience was an exceedingly trying one for both
men. The discussion showed how far apart were the
President and ffis Ambassador on practicaUy every issue
connected with the crisis. NaturaUy the President's
reference to the causes of the war — ^that there were many
causes, some of them of long persistence, and that Great
Britain's domination of the "earth" was one of them —
coffiUcted with the judgment of a man who attributed
the origin of the struggle to German aggression. The
President's statement that American sympathy for
the Affies had now changed to irritation, and the tolerant
attitude toward Germany wffich Mr. Wilson displayed,
affected Page with the profoundest discouragement.
The President's intimation that he would advance Ger
many's request for an armistice, if it looked toward
peace — ^tffis in reply to Page's message that Great Britain
woffid not receive such a proposal in a kindly spirit —
seemed to lay the basis of further misunderstandings.
! The mterview was a disheartemng one for Page. Many
people whom the Ambassador met ffi the course of tffis
visit stiU retffin memories of ffis fervour ffi what had now
become with him a sacred cause. With many friends and
officials he discussed the European situation almost like a
man inspired. The present writer recaUs two long conver
sations with Page at tffis time: the recoUection of ffis brU
Uant verbal portraiture, ffis description of the determina
tion of EngUshmen, ffis admiration for the heroic sacrffice
of EngUsh women, remain as about the most vivid memor
ies of a Ufe-time. And now the Ambassador had brought
tffis same eloquence to the President's ear at Shadow
Lawn. It was m this mterview that Page had hoped to
show Mr. WUson the real merits of the situation, and per
suade him to adopt the course to wffich the national honour
and safety pointed; he talked long and eloquently, paint-

188 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H, PAGE
ing the whole European tragedy with that intensity and
readiness of utterance and that mored conviction which
had so moved aU others with whom he had come into con
tact during this memorable visit to the United States ; but
Mr. Wilson was utterly cold, utterly unresponsive, inter
ested only in ending the war. The talk lasted for a whole
morning; its nature may be assumed from the many letters
aheady printed ; but Page's voice, when it attempted to fire
the conscience of the President, proved as ineffective as
his pen. However, there was nothing rasping or conten
tious about the interview. The two men discussed every
thing with the utmost calmness and without the sUght
est indications of iU-nature. Both men had in mind
their long association, both inevitably recaUed the hopes
with which they had begun their official relationship
tffiee years before, at that time neither having the
_ faintest intimation of the tremendous problems that were
to draw them asunder. Mr. Wilson at tffis meeting
did not impress his Ambassador as a perverse character,
but as an extremely pathetic one. Page came away
with no vexation or anger, but with a real feeUng for a
much sufferffig and a much perplexed statesman. The
fact that the President's hfe was so soUtary, and that
he seemed to be so completely out of touch with men and
with the Uving thoughts of the world, appealed strongly
to Page's sympathies. " I think he is the loneUest man
I have ever known," Page remarked to ffis son Frank
after coming away from this visit.
Page felt this at the time, for, as he rose to say good-bye
to the President, he put his hand upon his shoulder.
At tffis Mr. Wilson's eyes fUled with tears and he gave
nPage an affectionate good-bye. The two men never met
agam.

CHAPTER XX
"peace WITHOUT VICTORY"
OF ONE tffing I am sure," Page wrote to ffis wife
from Wasffington, while waiting to see President
Wilson. "We wish to come home March 4th at midnight
and to go about our proper business. There's notffing
here that I would for the world be mixed up with. As
soon as I can escape with digffity I shaU make my bow and
exit. . . . But I am not unhappy or hopeless for the
long run, They'U find out the truth some day, paying, I
fear, a heavy penalty for delay. But the visit here has con
firmed me in our previous conclusions — ^that if we can carry
the load until March 4th, midffight, we shaU be grateful
that we have puUed tffiough."
Soon after President Wilson's reelection, therefore.
Page sent his resignation to Washington. The above
quotation shows that he intended this to be more than a
"courtesy resignation," a term traditionaUy appUed to the
kind of leave-takings wffich Ambassadors usuaUy send
on the formation of a new admiffistration, or at the be
ginffing of a new Presidential term, for the purpose of giv
mg the President the opportunity of reorganizing his offi
cial family. Page beUeved that his work in London had
been fimshed, that he had done everythinpr in his power
to make Mr. Wilson see the situation in its true Ught and
that he had not succeeded. He therefore wished to give
up his post and come home. This explains the fact that
his resignation did not consist of the haff dozen perfunc
tory Unes which most diplomatic officers fmd sufficient on
1.89

190 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
such an occasion, but took the form of a review of the
reasons why the Uffited States should aUgn itseff on the
side of the AUies. To the President London, November 24, 1916.
Dear Mr. President:
We have aU known for many years that the rich and
populous and orgamzed states in which the big cities are
do not constitute the pohtical Uffited States. But, I
confess, I hardly expected so soon to see tffis fact pro
claimed at the baUot-box. To me that's the surprise of
the electioii. And your popular majority as weU as your
clear majority in the Electoral CoUege is a great personal
triumph for you. And you have remade the ancient and
demoraUzed Democratic party. Four years ago it con
sisted of a protest and of the wreck wrought by Mr.
Bryan's long captaincy. This rebirth, with a popular
majority, is an historical achievement — of your own.
You have relaid the foundation and reset the piUars of
a party that may enjoy a long supremacy for domestic
reasons. Now, ff you wiU pernut me to say so, from my
somewhat distant view (four years make a long period of
absence) the big party task is to bffild up a clearer and
more positive foreign poUcy. We are in the world and
we've got to choose what active part we shaU play in it — I
fear rather quickly. I have the conviction, as you know,
that this whole round globe now hangs as a ripe apple for
our plucking, ff we use the right ladder while the chance
lasts. I do not mean that we want or could get the apple
for ourselves, but that we can see to it that it is put to
proper uses. What we have to do, in my judgment, is to
go back to our pohtical fathers for our clue. If my long-
tune memory be good, they were sure that their estabUsh-

"peace without victory" 191
ment of a great free RepubUc would soon be imitated by
European peoples — that democracies would take the place
of autocracies in aU so-caUed civiUzed countries ; for that
was the form that the fight took in their day against
orgamzed Privilege. But for one reason or another — ^in
our Ufe-time partly because we chose so completely to iso
late ourselves — ^the democratic idea took root in Europe
with disappointmg slowness. It is, for instance, now
perhaps for the ffist time, in a thoroughgoing way, witffin
sight in tffis Kmgdom. The dream of the American
Fathers, therefore, is not yet come true. They fought
against orgamzed Privilege exerted from over the sea. In
prmciple it is the same fight that we have made, ffi our
domestic field, during recent decades. Now the same
fight has come on a far larger scale than men ever dreamed
of before.
It isn't, therefore, for merely doctrinal reasons that we
are concerned for the spread of democracy nor merely
because a democracy is the only scheme of orgamzation yet
wrought out that keeps the door of opportuffity open and
myites aU men to then- fullest development. But we are
interested in it because under no other system can the
world be made an even reasonably safe place to Uve in.
For offiy autocracies wage aggressive wars. Aggressive
autocracies, especiaUy miUtary autocracies, must be
softened down by peace (and they have never been so
softened) or destroyed by war. The AU-Highest doctrine
of Germany to-day is the same as the Taxation-without-
Representation of George III — only more virulent,
stronger, and farther-reaching. Only by its end can the
German people recover and build up their character and
take the permanent place in the world that they — ^thus
changed — ^wiU be entitled to. They wiU either reduce
Europe to the vassalage of a miUtary autocracy, which

192 the life and letters of Walter h. page
may then overrun the whole world or drench it in blood,
or they must tffiough stages of LiberaUsm work their way
toward some approach to a democracy; and there is no
doubt which event is impending. The Liberal idea wiU
win tffis struggle, and Europe wiU be out of danger of
a general assault on free institutions tiU some other autoc
racy wffich has a miUtary caste try the same Napoleomc
game. The defeat of Germany, therefore, wiU make for the
spread of the doctrine of our Fathers and our doctrine yet.
An interesting book might be made of concrete evi
dences of the natural antipathy that the present German
autocracy has for successful democracy and hence for us.
A new mstance has just come to me. My son, Arthur,
who succeeded to most of my activities at home, has been
over here for a month and he has just come from a visit to
France. In Paris he had a long conversation with Del-
casse, who told him that the Kaiser himseff once made a
proposal to him to join in producmg "the complete isola
tion " of the Umted States. What the Kaiser meant was
that if the great Powers of Europe would hold off, he
would put the Monroe Doctrine tp the test and smash it.
The great tide of the world wiU, by reason of the war,
now flow toward democracy — at present, alas! a tide of
blood. For a century democracies and Liberal govern
ments have kept themselves too much isolated, trusting
prematurely and too simply to international law and
treaties and Hague conventions. These things have
never been respected, except as springes to catch wood
cock, where the Divine Right held sway. The outgrow
ing or the overthrow of the Divine Right is a condition
precedent to the effectiveness of international law and
treaties. It has seemed to me, looking at the subject only with
reference to our country's duty and safety, that somehow

PEACE without VICTORY" 193
and at some early time our championship of democracy
must lead us to redeclare our faith and to show that we
beUeve in our historic creed. Then we may escape faUing
away from the Liberal forces of the Old World and escape
the suspicion of indifference to the great scheme of gov
ernment wffich was set up by our fathers' giving their
blood for it. I see no other way for us to take the best
and biggest opportuffity that has ever come to prove true
to our faith as weU as to secure our own safety and the
safety of the world. Only some sort of active and open
identification with the AlEes can put us in effective protest
against the assassins of the Armemans and the assassins
of Belgium, i^oland, and Serbia, and m a friendly attitude
to the German people themselves, as distinguished from
their miUtary rulers. This is the attitude surely that our
fathers would have wished us to take — ^and would have
expected us to take — ^and that our cffildren wiU be proud
of us for taking; for it is our proper historic attitude,
whether looked at from the past or looked back at from the
future. There can be no historic approval of neutrahty
for years, while the world is bleeding to death.
The complete severance of relations, diplomatic at ffist
and later possibly economic as weU, with the Turks and
the Germans, would probably not cost us a man in battle
nor any considerable treasure; for the moral effect of with
drawmg even our formal approval of their conduct — at
least our passive acqffiescence — ^would be — ^that the Ger
mans would see that practicaUy aU the Liberal world
stands against their system, and the war would end be
fore we should need to or could put an army in the field.
The Liberal Germans are themselves beginning to see
that it is not they, but the German system, that is the
object of attack because it is the dangerous thing in the
world. MaxiimUan Harden presents this view in his

194 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
BerUn paper. He says in effect that Germany must get
rid of its predatory feudahsm. That was aU that was
the matter with George III.
Among the practical results of such action by us would,
I beUeve, be the foUowing:
1. The early ending of the war and the saving of, per
haps, miffions of lives and of incalculable treasure ;
2. The establishment in Germany of some form of
more Uberal govemment;
3. A league to enforce peace, ready-made, under our
gffidance — i.e., the Affies and ourselves;
4. The sympathetic cooperation and the moral force of
every Affied Government in deaUng with Mexico:
5. The acceptance — and even documentary approval —
of every AUied Government of the Monroe Doctrme ;
6. The warding off and no doubt the final prevention
of danger from Japan, and, most of aU, the impressive
and memorable spectacle of our Great Democracy thus
putting an end to tffis colossal crime, merely from the
impulse and necessity to keep our own ideals and to lead
the world right on. We should do for Europe on a large
scale essentially what we did for Cuba on a smaU scale and
thereby usher in fi new era in human ffistory.
I write thus freely, 'Mr. President, because at no time
can I Avrite in any other way and because I am sure that aU
these things can quickly be brought to pass under your
strong leadersffip. The Uffited States would stand, as
no other nation has ever stood in the world — ^predominant
and unselfish — on the ffighest ideals ever reached in
human government. It is a .vision as splendid as the
Holy Grael. Nor have I a shadow of doubt of the eager
and faithful foUowing of our people, who would thereby
reestablish once for aU our weakened nationaUty. We
are made- of the stuff that our Fathers were made of.

"t»TOA1-IT7, nrri^TT^^rrr. .r,^,.,««,r ' »

PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY 195
And I write tffis now for the additional reason that I
am witffin sight ofthe early end of my service here. When
you caUed me I answered, not offiy because you did me
great honour and laid a defimte patriotic duty on me, but
because also of my personal loyalty to you and my pride
in helping forward the great prmciples in wffich we both
beheve. But I understood then (and I am sure the sub
ject lay in your mind in the same way) that my service
woffid be for four years at the most. I made all my ar
rangements, professional and domestic, on tffis supposi
tion. I shaU, therefore, be ready to lay down my work
here oh March 4th or as soon thereafter as meets your
pleasure.
f* I am more than proud of the confidence that you have
shown ffi me. To it I am indebted for the opportuffity
I have had to give such pubhc service to my country as
I coffid, as weU as for the most profitable experience of
my ffie. A proper and sympathetic understandffig be
tween the two EngUsh-speaking worlds seems to me the
most important duty, of far-seeing men in either country.
It has taken such a profound hold on me that I shaU, in
whatever way I can, work for its complete reaUzation as
long as I can work for anytffing. , '
I am, Mr. President, most faithfuUy and gratefuUy
yours, Walter' H. Page.
Tffis letter was written at a time when President Wilson
was exerting ffis best energies to brmg about peace. The
Presidential campaign had caused ffim to postpone these
efforts, for he beUeved that neither Germany nor Great
Britam could take seriously the activities of a President
whose own poUtical position was insecure. At the time
Page's letter was received, the President was tffihkmg offiy

196 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
of a peace based upon a stalemate ; it was then his appar
ent conviction that both sides to the struggle were about
equaUy in the wrong and that a decisive victory of either
would not be a good thing for the world. Yet it is in
teresting to compare this letter with the famous speech
which the President made six months afterward when
he asked Congress to declare the existence of a state of
war with Germany. PracticaUy all the important reasons
wffich Mr. Wilson then advanced for this declaration are
found in Page's letter of the preceding Noveniber. That
autocracies are a constant menace to world peace, that
the Umted States owes it to its democratic tradition to
take up arms against the enemy of free govemment, that
in doing this, it was not making war upon the German
people, but upon its imperiaUstic masters — these were the
arguments which Page lend before the President in ffis let
ter of resignation, and these were the leading ideas in Mr.
Wilson's address of April 2nd. There are even sentences
in Page's commumcation wffich seem to foreshadow Mr.
Wilson's assertion that "The world must be made safe
for democracy." It is impossible to read this letter and
not conclude that Page's correspondence, irritating in its
later phases as it may have been, did not strongly influence
Mr. Wilson in ffis thinking.
On one point, indeed. Colonel House afterward caUed
the Ambassador to account. When America was pre
paring to raise armies by the millions and to spend its
treasure by the biffions, he reminded Page ofhis statement
that the severance of diplomatic relations "would prob
ably not cost us a man in battle nor any considerable
treasure." Page's statement in this Noveniber letter
merely reiterated a conviction which for more than a year
he had been forcing upon the President and Colonel
House — ^that the dismissal of Bernstorff would not neces-

"peace WITHOUT VICTORY" 197
sarily imply war with Germany, but that it would in itseff
be enough to bring the war to an end. On this point Page
never changed ffis mind, as is evident from the letter which
he wrote to Colonel House when this matter was caUed to
ffis attention: To Edward M. House
London, June 29, 1917.
My dear House:
I never put any particular value on my own prophecies
nor on anybody else's. I have therefore no pride as a
prophet. Yet I do tffink that I hit it off accurately a
year or a year and a haff ago when I said that we could
then have ended the war without any appreciable cost.
And these are my reasons:
If we had then come ffi and absolutely prevented sup
pUes from reaching Germany, as we are now about to do,
the war would then have been much sooner ended than it
can now be ended :
(1) Our suppUes enabled her to go on.
(2) She got time ffi this way to build her great sub-
marffie fleet. She went at it the day she promised the
President to reform.
(3) She got time and strength to overrun Rumaffia
whence she got food and oil; and contffiues to get it.
(4) Durffig this time Russia feU down as a mffitary
force and gave her more time, more armies for France
and more suppUes. Russian guns have been sold to the
Germans. If a year and a haff ago we had starved her out, it
would have been over before any of these thmgs hap
pened. This delay is what wiU cost us biffions and
biffions and men and men.
And it cost us one tffing more. During the neutrahty

198 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OP WALTER H. PAGE
period we were as eager to get goods to the Uttle neutral
states wffich were ffi large measure undoubtedly bound to
Germany as we are now eager to keep them out. Grey,
who was and is our best friend, and who was unwiUmg
to quarrel with us more than he was obUged to, was tffiown
out of office and his career ended because the blockade,
owffig to his consideration for us, was not tight enough.
Our delay caused his faU.
But most of aU, it gave the Germans time (and to some
extent material) to buUd their present fleet of submarmes.
They were at work on them aU the whUe and according to
the best opmion here they contffiue to buUd them faster
than the British destroy them; and the submarmes are
destroyffig more merchant sffips than aU the sffipbuUd-
mg docks of aU the world are now turmng out. This is
the most serious aspect of the war — by far the most
serious. I am trymg to get our Government to send
over himdreds of improvised destroyers — armed tugs,
yachts, etc., etc. Admiral Sims and the British Admiralty
have fears that uffiess such help come the fuU frmts of the
war may never be gathered by the Affies — that some sort
of a compromise peace may have to be made.
It is, therefore, true that the year and a haff we waited
after the Lusitania wffi prove to be the most costly year
and a haff ffi our ffistory; and for once at least my old
prophecy was quite a good guess. But that water has
flowed over the dam and it is worth mentioffing now only
because you chaUenged me. . . .
That part of Page's letter which refers to his retirement
had a curious ffistory. It was practicaUy a resigna
tion and therefore caUed for an immediate reply, but Mr.
Wilson did not even acknowledge its receipt. For two
months the Ainbassador was left ffi the dark as to the atti'

"peace without victory" 199
tude of Washffigton. FffiaUy, in the latter part of Janu
ary, 1917, Page wrote mgently to Mr. Lansffig, askffig
him to bring the matter to the President's attention. On
F^ruary 5, 1917, Mr. Lansffig's reply was received.
"The President." he said, "lindpr pvt.rpmp prpssnrp nf the
present situation, has been unable to consider your com
mumcation in regard to your resignation. He desires me
to inform you that he hopes that, at the present tune, you
wiU not press to be reUeved from service : that he realize
that he is askffig you to make a personal sacrifice, but he
beheves that you wffi appreciate the importance, ffi the
t^lS which has develnppH, that no change should he madp.
Ihardl^need to add my personal hope that you wffi put
aside any thought of resigffing your post for the present."
At this time, of course, any idea of retirmg was out of
the question. The President had dismissed Bernstorff
and there was every likelffiood that the country would
soon be at war. Page would have regarded his retire
ment at this crisis as httle less than the desertion of his
post. Moreover, smce Mr. Wilson had adopted the poUcy
wffich the Ambassador had been urging for nearly two
years, and had sent Bernstorff home, any logical excuse
that may have existed for ffis resignation existed no longer.
Mr. WUson had now adopted a course which Page coffid
enthusiasticaUy support.
"I am happy to serve here at any sacrffice" — such was
his reply to Mr. Lansffig — ^"untU after the end of the war,
and I am making my arrangements to stay for tffis
period." The months that ffitervened between the Presidential
electi^and the declaration of war were especiaUy difficuTt
for the American Embassy ffi London. Page had m-
fonned the President, ffi the course of ffis mterview of
September 22nd, how unfavourably Great Britam re-

200 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
garded his efforts ffi the direction of peace; he had in
fact deUvered a message from the Foreign Office that
any Presidential attempt to "mediate" would be rejected
by the AlUes. Yet his earnest representation on this
pomt had produced no effect upon Mr. Wilson. The
pressiue which Germany was bringing to bear upon Wash
ington was apparently irresistible. Count Bernstorff's
memoirs, with their accompanyffig documents, have re
vealed the mtensity of the German efforts during this
period; the most starthng fact revealed by the German
Ambassador is that the Kaiser, on October 9th, notified
the l^resident, almost ffi so many words, that, unless lie
promptly moved ffi the direction of peace, the German
Government "would be forced to regaffi the freedom of
action which it has reserved to itseff in the note of May
_  , — I — .— — 11 —
4th last."' It IS unlikely that the annals of diplomacy
contam many documents so cool and msolent as this one.
It was a notification from the Kaiser to the President that
the so-caUed ^Sussex pledge" was not regarded as an
unconditional one by the Imperial Government; that it
was given merely to furnish Mr. Wilson an opportuniEyTo
brmg the war to an end ; and that unless the Presidential
attempt to accomphsh this were successful, there would IBe
a resumption of the mdiscrimlnate submarme campaign"
The curious developments of the next two months are
now a famiUar story. Possibly because the British Govern
ment had notffied him, tffiough Page, that his proffer of
mediation would be unacceptable, Mr. Wilson moved
cautiously and slowly, and Germany became impatient.
The successful campaign against Rumaffia, resultffig ffi the
capture of Bucharest on December 6th, and the new vista
wffich it opened to Germany of large food suppUes,
strengthened the Teutonic purpose. Perhaps Germany,
'"My Three Years in America," by Count Bernstorff, p. 294.

"peace WITHOUT VICTORY" 201
with her characteristic lack of finesse, imagmed that her
own open efforts would lend emphasis to Mr. Wilson's
pacific exertions. At any rate, on December 12th, just as
Mr. WUson was preparing to launch his own campaign for
mediation, Germany herseff approached her enemies with a
proposal for a peace conference. A few days afterward
Page, as the representative of Germany, called at the For
eign Office to dehver the large white envelope which con-
tamed the Kaiser's ' ' peace proposal. ' ' In dehvermg this to
Lord Robert CecU, who was acting as Foreign Secretary
m the temporary absence of Mr. Baffour, Page emphasized
the fact that the American Government entirely disasso
ciated itseff from its contents and that he was actffig
merely in his capacity of "German Ambassador." Two
commmaications from Lord Robert to Sir CecU Spring
Rice, British Ambassador at Washffigton, teU the stOTy
and also reveal that it was almost impossible for Page,
even when engaged ffi an official proceedffig, to conceal
his contempt for the whole enterprise:
Lord R. Cecil to Sir C. Spring Rice
Foreign Office,
December 18, 1916.
Sir: The American Ambassador came to see me tffis mornmg
and presented to me the German note containffig what is
caUed ffi it the "offer of peace." He explamed that he
did so on mstructions of ffis Government as representmg
the German Government, and not ffi any way as repre-
sentffig their own opmions. He also explaffied that the
note must be regarded as commg from the four Central
Powers, and as bemg addressed to aU the Entente Powers
who were represented by .the United States.
He then read to me a telegram from his Government,

202 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
but decUned to leave me a copy of it. The first part of
the telegram explamed that the Government ofthe Uffited
States would deeply appreciate a confidential mtimation
of the response to be made to the German note and that
they would themselves have certaffi representations to
make to the Entente Powers, to wffich they urgently
begged the closest consideration. The telegram went on
to explam that the Government of the Uffited States had
had it ffi mind for some time past to make such represen
tations on behaff of neutral nations and humamty, and
that it must not be thought that they were prompted by
the Governments of the Central Powers. They wished
us to understand that the note of the Central Powers
created a good opportunity for makffig the American
representations, but was not the cause of such represen
tations bemg made.
I rephed that I could of course say nothmg to him on
such an important matter without consultffig my col
leagues. I am, etc., Robert Cecil.
Lord R. Cecil to Sir C. Spring Rice
Foreign Office,
19 December, 1916.
Sir: The American Ambassador came to see me this after
noon. I asked him whether he could teU me why his govern
ment were anxious to have confidential information as to
the nature of our response to the German peace note.
He repUed that he did not know, but he imagmed it
was to enable them to frame the representations of which
he had spoken to me.

"peace WITHOUT VICTORY" 203
I then told him that we had asked the French to draft
a reply, and that it would then be considered by the Affies,
and ffi aU probabffity an identic note would be presented
ffi answer to the German note. I thought it probable that
we shoffid express our view that it was impossible to deal
with the German offer, sffice it contamed no specffic pro
posals. He said that he qmte understood this, and that we
shoffid in fact reply that it was an offer "to buy a pig ffi a
poke" which we were not prepared to accept. He added
that he thought his Government would fuUy anticipate a
reply ffi this sense, and he himseff obviously approved it.
Then, speakmg qmte seriously, he said that he had
heard people ffi London treating the German offer with
derision, but that no doubt the beffigerent governments
would treat it seriously.
I said that it was certaiffiy a serious tffing, and no doubt
woffid be treated seriously.
I asked him if he knew what would be contaffied ffi the
proposed representations from his government.
He said that he did not; but as he understood that they
were to be made to aU the beffigerents, he did not think
that they could be much more than a pious aspiration for
peace; sffice that was the only tffing that was equaUy
appUcable to the Germans and to us.
As he was leavmg he suggested that the German note
might be published m our press. I am, etc.,
Robert Cecil.
This so-caUed German "peace proposal" began with
the statement that the war "had been forced" upon Ger
many, contaffied the usual reference to the miUtary might
of the Central Powers, and declared that the Fatherland

204 THE life and LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
was fightmg for "the honour and liberty of national
evolution." It is therefore not surprisffig that Lord
Robert received it somewhat sardonically, especiaUy as the
communication contamed no specific proposals, but
merely a vague suggestion of "negotiations." But an
other spectacffiar performance now drove the German
manoeuvre out of everybody's mmd. That President
Wilson resented tffis German mterference with his own
plans is weU known; he did not drop them, however, but
on December 18th. he sent his long-contemplated ppanp
commumcation to aU the warrffig Powers. His appeal
took the form of askffig that they state the objects for
which they were fightffig, the Presidential hehef evidently
bemg that, ff they did this, a common meetmg ground
imght possibly be found. The suggestion that the Allied
war aims were not pubUc property, despite the tact
t!i^~JBritish statesmen had been broadly proclainUng
them for tffiee years, caused a momentary irritation
m iiingland, but tffis was not a serious matter, especially
as the British Cabffiet qmckly saw that this request j
gave them a position of advantage over Germany^
which had always refused to make pubhc the terms oaF
wffich it would end the war. Ihe mam substance ffi this
Presidential approach, therefore, would have produced
no iU-feeUng; as usual, it was a few parenthetical pffiases —
pffiases which were not essential to the mam argument —
which set the affied countries seethmg with mdignation.
The President, this section of ffis note ran, "takes the
Uberty of caUffig attention to the fact that the objects
wffich the statesmen of the beffigerents on both sides have
ffi mind ffi this war, are virtually the same, as stated in
general terms to theu own people and to the world. Each
side desu-es to make the rights and privileges of weak
peoples and smaU states as secure against aggression and

<c

PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY" 205

demal ffi the future as the rights and privUeges of the
great and powerful states now at war." Tffis idea was
elaborated in several sentences of a similar straffi, the
general purport of the whole passage bemg that there was
Uttle to choose between the combatants, inasmuch as both
were apparently fighting for about the same thmgs. Mr.
Wilson's purpose ffi this paragraph is not obscure ; he was
makffig ffis long expected appearance as a mediator, and
he evidently beUeved that it was essential to this role that
he shoffid not seem to be prejudiced ffi favour of either
side, but shoffid hold the balance impartiaUy between
them. It is tiue that a rffinute readmg ffidicates that Mr.
Wilson was merely quotmg, or attemptmg to parapffiase,
the statements of the leaders of both sides, but there is such
a tffing as qpiotmg with approval, and no explanation
coffid convmce the British pubhc that tlae ruler of the
greatest neutral nation had not declared that the Affies
ahd the Central Powers stood moraUy upon the samFlevel.
The popffiar mdignation which this caused ffi Great
Britam was so ffitense that it alarmed the British authori
ties. The pubUcation of tffis note ffi the British press was
withheld for several hours, ffi order to give the Govern
ment an opportuffity to control the expression of editorial
opimon; otherwise it was feared that tffis woffid be so un-
restramed ffi its bitterness that relations with the Uffited
States might be imperffied. The messages wffich the Lon
don correspondents were permitted to send to the Uffited
States were carefuUy censored for the same reason. The
dispatch sent by the Associated Press was the product of
a long struggle between the Foreign Office and its London
correspondent. The representatives spent haff an hour
considerffig whether the American correspondents coffid
cable their country that the note had been received ffi

206 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
England with "surprise and irritation." After much
discussion it was decided that "irritation" could not be
used, and the message of the Associated Press, after under-
goffig this careful editmg by the Foreign Office, was a
weak and ridiculous description of the high state of ex
citement wffich prevaUed ffi Great Britam. The fact that
the British Foreign Office should have given aU tffis trou
ble over the expressions sent to American newspapers and
should even have spent haff an hour debatffig whether a
particular word should be used, almost patheticaUy ffius-
trates the great care taken by the British Government not
to mfluence American opililuii a^'HUlMl the Affies^
The Government took the same precautions with its
own press in England. When the note was finally
released the Foreign Office expUcitly directed the Lon
don newspapers to comment with the utmost caution
and in no case to question the President's sincerity.
Most of them acquiesced in these instructions by main
taiffing silence. There was offiy one London newspaper,
the Westminster Gazette, which made even a faint-hearted
attempt to explain away the President's statement.
From the first day of the war the British people had
declared that President Wilson did not understand the
issues at stake; and they now declared that tffis note
con&med their worst forebodings. The comments of
the man-m-the-street were unprintable, but more serious
than these was the impression which Mr._ Wilson's du
bious remarks made upon those EngUshmen who had
always been especiaUy friendly to the Uffited States and
who had even defended the President in previous crises.
Lord Bryce, who had accepted pffilosophically the Presi
dential statement that the Uffited States was not "con
cerned with the causes" of the war, could not regard
so indulgently this latest judgment of Great Britam

PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY" 207
and Germany. "Bryce came to see me in a state of
great depression," wrote Page. "He has sent Mr. Wilson
a personal letter on tffis matter." Northcliffe com
manded ffis newspapers, the Times and the Daily Mail,
to discuss the note in a judicial spirit, but he ffimseff
told Mr. Page that "everybody is as angry as heU."
When someone attempted to discuss the Wilson note
with Mr. Asquith, he brushed the subject away with a
despairing gesture. "Don't taUt to me about it," he
said. "It is most disheartemng." But the one man in
England who was perhaps the most affected was King
George. A man who had attended luncheon at Buck
ingham Palace on December 21st gave Page a descrip
tion of the royal distress. The King, expressing his
surprise and dismay that Mr. Wilson should think that
Englishmen were fighting for the same tffings in this war
as the Germans, broke down.
The world only now understands the dreadful prospect
wffich was opening before Europe at the moment when
tffis Presidential note added a new cause for general
despondency. Rumaffia had coUapsed, the ffist inkhng
of the Russian revolution had been obtained, the
British weU knew that the submarine warfare was to
be resumed, and British finances were also ffi a
desperate phght. More and more it was becoming
evident to the British statesmen that they needed the
intervention of the Uffited States. Tffis is"~the reason
why they could not destroy the chances of American
help by taking official offense even at what Page, ffi a
commumcation to the Secretary of State, did not hesitate
to caU President Wilson's "msulting words"; and hence
their determmation to sUence the press and to give no
outward expression of what they felt. Page's mterview
with Lord Robert Cecil on December 26th, wffile the

208 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Presidential communication was lying on his desk, dis
closes the real emotions of Enghshmen. Apparently
Page's frank cables concermng the reception of this para
graph had caused a certam mterest in the State Depart
ment; at least the Ambassador was instructed to caU at the
Foreign Office and explain that the interpretation wffich
had been commonly put upon the President's words was
not the one which he had intended. At the same time
Page was instructed to request the British Foreign Office,
in case its reply were "favourable," not to pubUsh it,
but to commumcate it secretly to the American Govern
ment. The purpose of this request is a Uttle obscure;
possibly it was the President's plan to use such a favour
able reply to force Germany likewise to display an ac
quiescent mood. The object of Page's call was to present
this disclaimer.
Lord Robert Cecil, the son of the late Lord SaUsbury,
— ^that same Lord SaUsbury whose combats with Secre
tary Blaine and Secretary Olney form piquant chapters
in British-American history — is one of the most able
and respected of British statesmen. In his earUer
hfe Lord SaUsbury had been somewhat overbearing
in his attitude toward the Umted States; in ffis later
years, however, perhaps owing to the influence of his
nephew, Mr. Baffour, ffis manner had changed. In his
attitude toward the Uffited States Lord Robert Cecil
reflected only the later phases of his father's career.
To tffis country and to its peaceful ideals he had always
been extremely sympathetic, and to Page especially he
had never manifested anything but cordiality. Yet it
was evident, as Page came into his office this morffing,
that to Lord Robert, as to every member of the Govern
ment, the President's note, with its equivocal pffiases,
had been a terrible shock. His manner was extremely

"peace without victory" 209
courteous, as always, but he made no attempt to conceal
his feelmgs. Ordinarily Lord Robert did not wear his
emotions on the surface; but he took occasion on this
visit to teU Page how greatly the President's commum
cation had grieved him.
"The President," he said, "has seemed to pass judg
ment on the affied cause by puttffig it on the same level
as the German. I am deeply hurt."
Page conveyed Mr. Lansing's message that no such
inference was justified. But this was not reassuring.
"Moreover," Lord Robert added, "there is one sen-^
tence ffi the note — ^that in wffich the President says that
the position of neutrals is becoming intolerable — ^thaty
seems almost a veiled tffieat." '
Page hastened to assure Lord Robert that no tffieat
was intended.
Lord Robert's manner became mcreasmgly serious.
"There is notffing that the American Government or
any other human power can do," he remarked slowly and
solenmly, "wffich wiU bring this war to a close before the
AUies have spent their utmost force to secure a victory.
A faUure to secure such a victory wiU leave the world at
the mercy of the most arrogant and the bloodiest tyranny
that has ever been orgamzed. It is far better to die in
an effort to defeat that tyranny than to perish under its
success." On any occasion Lord Robert is an impressive or at
least a strikmg and unusual figure; he is taU, lank, and
ungaiffiy, almost Lfficoffiesque ffi the carelessness of his
apparel and the exceedmg awkwardness ofhis postures and
manners. His angular features, sharp nose, pale face, and
dark hair suggest the straffi of ascetism, almost of fanat
icism, wffich runs ffi the present generation of his family.
And the deep smcerity and power of his words on this

210 the life and letters of WALTER H. PAGE
occasion made an impression which Page never forgot;
they transformed the British statesman ffito an eloquent,
almost an heroic figure. If we are to understand the fuU
tragedy of this moment we must remember that, mcredible
as it now seems, there^was a fear ffi British officialdom
that the Uffited States might not only not pursue a course
favourable to the Affies, but that it might even tffiow its
support to (iermany! The fear, of course, was baseless;
any suggestion of such a pohcy ffi the Uffited States woffid
have destroyed any official who had brought it forward;
but Lord Rolaert knew and Page knew that there were
insidious ffifluences at work at that time, both in the
Umted States and ffi Great Britain, wffich looked ffi tffis
direction. A group of Americans, whom Page used to re
fer to as "peace spies," were associated with EngUsh
pacifists, for the purpose of brffigffig about peace on al
most any terms. These "peace spies" had worked out a
programme aU their own. The purpose was to compel
Great Britam to accept the German terms for endmg the
war. Uffiess she did accept them, then it was mtended.
that the American Government should place an embargo
on the shipment of foodstuff's and mmaitions to the Affies.
There is Uttle question that the Umted States, by takmg
such action, coffid have ended the war almost ffistan-
taneously. Should the food of her people and the great
quantities of munitions wffich were commg from this
country be suddeffiy cut off, there is httle likelihood that
Great Britam could have long survived. The possibffitv
that an embargo might shut out these suppUes had hung
over "the heads of British statesmen ever smce the war be
gan; they knew that the possession of this mighty power
made the Umted States the potential dictator of events;
and the fear that it naight be used had never ceased to
influence their thoughts or their actions. Even wffile this

PEACE without VICTORY" 211
mterview was takmg place, certain anti-British forces ffi
the Uffited States, such as Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia,
were urgffig action of tffis kmd.
"I have always been almost a Pacifist," Lord Robert
continued. " No man has ever hated war worse than I.
No man has ever had a more earnest faith that war can
be abolished. But European civiUzation has been mur
derously assaulted and there is nothffig now to do but to
defeat tffis desperate enemy or to perish ffi the effort. I
had hoped that the Umted States understood what is at
stake." Lord Robert went on:
"I wiU go so far as to say that ff the Uffited States wiU
come ffito the war it wffi decide wffich wffi wffi, freedom or
organized tyranny. If the Uffited States shaU help the
Germans, civffization wiU perish and it wffi be necessary
to buUd it up slowly again — ^ff ffideed it wffi ever appear
agam. If the Uffited States wiU help the Affies, civiliza
tion wiU tiiumph."'
As to the proposal that the British terms should be
conveyed confidentiaUy to Mr. Wilson, Lord Robert said
that that would be a difficult thmg to do. The President's
note had been pubUshed, and it therefore seemed neces-^
sary that the reply shoffid also be given to the press. This
was the procedure that was ffitimately adopted.
StartUng as was the sensation caused by the President's
December note, it was mUd compared with that which was
now to come. Page naturaUy sent prompt reports of aU
these conversations to the President and likewise kept
him completely informed as to the state of pubhc feehng,
but his best exertions apparently did not immediately
affect the Wilson poUcy. The overwhelmffig fact is that
'This narrative is based upon memoranda made by Page.

212 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
the President's mffid was fixed on a determffiation to com
pel the warrffig powers to make peace and ffi this way to
keep the Umted States out of the conflict. Even the dis
turbance caused by ffis note of December 18th did not
make him pause in tffis peace campaign. To that note
the British sent a maffiy and defiffite reply, drafted by
Mr. Baffour, givmg ffi detaU precisely the terms upon
wffich the AlUes would compose their differences with the
Central Powers. The Germans sent a reply consistmg of
ten or a dozen Unes, which did not give their terms, but
merely asked agaffi for a conference-. Events were now
movmg with the utmost rapidity. I On January 9th, a
council of German miUtary chief tarns was held at Pless;
in this it was decided to resume unrestricted submarme
warfare. On January 16th the Zimmermann-Mexico tele
gram was intercepted; this informed Bernstorff, among
other things, that this decision had been made. On
January 16th, at mne o'clock in the morffing, the
American Embassy in London began receiving a long
cipher despatch from Washington. The preamble an
nounced that the despatch contained a copy of an address
which the President proposed to deUver before the Senate
"in a few days." Page was directed to have copies of
the address "secretly prepared" and to hand them to the
British Foreign Office and to newspapers of the type of the
Nation, the Daily News, and the Manchester Guardian-
ail tffiee newspapers weU known for their Pacifist tenden
cies. As the speech approached its end, this sentence ap
peared: "It must be a peace without victory." The
words greatly puzzled the secretary in charge, for they
seemed almost meaffingless. Suspecting that an error
had been made in transmission, the secretary directed the
code room to cable Wasffington for a verification of the
cipher groups. Very soon the answer was received ; there

((

PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY" 213

had been no imstake ; the Presidential words were precisely
those wffich had been ffist received: "Peace without vic
tory." The sUps were then taken to Page, who read the
document, especiaUy these fateful syUables, with a con
sternation wffich he made no effort to conceal. He im-
mediately wrote a ^nb]^ t" Prpai'flpnt Wilso"- teffing him of
the deplorable effect tffis sentence would produce and ma-
ploring him to cut it out of ffis speech — ^with what success"
tlie world now knows. "
An astomsffing feature of this episode is that Page had
recently explained to the Foreign Office, in obedience to ¦
instructions from Washington, that Mr. Wilson's Decem
ber note should not be interpreted as placing the Affies and
the Central Powers on the same moral level. Now Mr.
Wilson, in tffis "peace without victory" pffiase, had re
peated practicaUy the same idea in another form. On
the day the speech was received at the Embassy, about a
week before it was deUvered in the Senate, Page made
the foUowing memorandum:

The President's address to the Senate, which was r^
ceived to-day (January 16th),' shows that he tffinks he
can play peace-maker. He does not at aU understand,
(or, ff he do, so much the worse for ffim) that the Entente
Powers, especiaUy Great Britain and France, cannot make
"peace without victory.'" If they do, they wiU become
vassals of Germany. In a word, the President does not
know the Germans ; and he is, unconsciously, under their
influence in his thought. His speech plays into their
hands. Tffis address wiU give great offense in England, since it
puts each side in the war on the same moral level.
I immediately saw the grave danger to our relations with
'It was delivered and published on January 22nd.

214 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
/ Great Britain by the Peace-without-Victory plan; and I
j telegraphed the President, venturing to advise him to ramt
I that phrase — with no result.
Afterward Page added tffis to the above:
Compare this Senate speech with his speech ffi April
caffing for war: Just when and how did the President
come to see the true nature of the German? What made
ffim change from Peace-Maker to War-Maker? The
Zimmermann telegram, or the February U-boat renewal
of warfare? Had he been so credulous as to beUeve the
German pronuse? This promise had been continuously
and repeatedly broken.
Or was it the pressure of pubhc opimon, the growing
impatience of the people that pushed him in?
Tffis distressing peace-move — ^utterly out of touch with
the facts of the origin of the war or of its conduct or ofthe
mood and necessities of Great Britam — a remote, aca
demic dehverance, while Great Britam and France were
fightmg for their very hves — ^made a profoundly dejected
feeUng; and it made my place and work more uncomfort
able than ever. "Peace without victory" brought us to
the very depths of European disfavour.

CHAPTER XXI
THE UNITED STATES AT WAR

THE Umted States broke off diplomatic relations with
Germany on February 3, 1917. The occasion was
a memorable one ffi the AmericEm Embassy in London,
not imreUeved by a touch of the ridiculous. All day
long a nervous and rather weary company had waited in
the Ambassador's room for the decisive word from Wash
ington. Mr. and Mrs. Page, Mr. and Mrs. LaughUn, Mr.
Shoecraft, the Ambassador's secretary, sat there hour after
hour, hardly speaking to one another in their tense excite
ment, waiting for the news that would inform them that
Bernstorff's course had been run and that their country
had taken its decision on the side of the Affies. Finally,
at nme o'clock ffi the evemng, the front door beU rang.
Mr. Shoecraft excitedly left the room; half way down
stairs he met Admiral Wiffiam Reginald HaU, the head
of the British Naval InteUigence, who was hurrying up to
the Ambassador. Admiral HaU, as he spied Mr. Shoe
craft, stopped abruptly and uttered just two words:
"Thank God!"
He then went into the Ambassador's room and read a
secret code message which he had just received from Cap
tam Gaunt, the British naval attach^ at Wasffington.
It was as foUows:
"Bernstorff has just been given his passports. I shaU
probably get drunk to-mght!" 215

216 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
It was ffi tffis way that Page ffist learned that the long
tension had passed.
Page weU understood that the dismissal of Bernstorff
at that time meant war with the Central Empires. Had
this dismissal taken place ffi 1915, after the sinkmg of the
Lusitania, or ffi 1916, after the sinking ofthe Sussex, Page
beUeved that a sunple break ffi relations would in itseff
have brought the war to an early end. But by February,
1917, tffings had gone too far. For Germany had now"
decided to stake everytffing upon the chance of winning a
quick victory with the submarme. Our pohcy had per
suaded the Kaiser's advisers that America would not
mtervene; and the hkeUhood of rapidly starvmg Great
Britam was so great — ^ffideed the Germans had reduced the
situation to a mathematical calculation of success — ^that
an American declaration of war seemed to BerUn to be a
matter of no particular importance. The American Am
bassador ffi London regarded Bernstorff's dismissal much
more seriously. It justffied the mterpretations of events
which he had been sendmg to Mr. Wilson, Colonel House,
and others for nearly tffiee years. If Page had been m-
clffied to take satisfaction ffi the fulfilment of his own pro
phecies, Germany's disregard of her promises and the
American declaration of war would have seemed an ample
justification of ffis course as ambassador.
But Page had Uttle time for such vam communmgs.
"AU that water," as he now wrote, "has flowed over the
dam." OccasionaUy his mffid would revert to the dread
ful period of "neutrahty," but in the maffi his activities,
mental and physical, were devoted to the future. A
letter addressed to his son Arthur shows how qmckly and
how sympatheticaUy he was adjustffig himseff to the
new prospect. His mffid was now occupied with sffips,
food, armies, warfare on submarmes, and the approacffing

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Walter H. Page, at the time of America's entry into the war,
April, 1917
Resolution passed by the two Houses of Parliament, April 18, 1917,
on America's entry into the war

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 217
resettlement of the world. How completely he foresaw
the pa^t that the Umted States must play ffi the actual
wagffig of hostffities, and to what an extent he himseff was
responsible for the pohcies that ultimately prevaUed, ap
pears iia tffis letter:
\] To Arthur W. Page
\ 25 March, 1917, London.
Dear Arthur:
It's very hard, not to say impossible, to write ffi these
swfftly movmg days. Anythmg written to-day is out of
date to-morrow — even ff it be not wrong to start with.
The impression becomes stronger here every day that we
shaU go ffito the war "with both feet" — ^that the people
have pushed the President over ffi spite of ffis vision of the
Great Peacemaker, and that, bemg pushed over, his idea
now wffi be to show how he led them ffito a glorious war
m defense of democracy. That's my readmg of the situ
ation, and I hope I am not wrong. At any rate, ever smce
the caU of Congress for AprU 2nd, I have been telegraph^
mg tons of ufformation and plans that can be of use offiy
tf we go to war. HabituaUy they never acknowledge thy
receipt of anytffing at Wasffington. I don't know, there
fore, whether they like these pieces of information or not,
I have my staff of twenty-five good men gettmg aU sorts
of warlike information; and I have just orgamzed twenty-
five or thirty more — ^the best busmess Americans ffi
London — ^who are also at work. I am trymg to get the
Government at Washffigton to send over a committee of
conference — a General, an Admiral, a Reserve Board man,
etc., etc. If they do haff the tffings that I recommend
we'U be ffi at the final Uckm' big, and wiU save our souls
yet. There's lots of human nature ffi tffis world. A note is

218 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
now sometimes heard here ffi undertone (Northcliffe istrUtes
it) — ^that they don't want the Americans in the war.
This means that ff we come m just as the AlUes fuush the
job we'U get credit, ffi part, for the victory, which we did
httle to wm! But that's a mffior note. The greikt mass
of people do want us in, quick, hard, and strong — our
money and our guns and our ships.
A gfft of a biffion doUars^ to France wiU fix Franco-
American history aU right for several centuries. Push it
tffiough. Such a gfft could come to this Kmgdom also
but for the British stupidity about the Irish for tffiee
hundred years. A big loan to Great Britam at a low
rate of mterest wiU do the work here.
My mffid keeps constantly on the effect of the war and
especially of our action on our own coimtry. Of course
that is the most important end of the tffing for us. I hope
that— 1. It wffi break up and tear away our isolation;
2. It wiU unhorse our cranks and soft-brains.
3. It wiU make us less promiscuously hospitable to
every kffid of immigrant;
4. It wiU reestabUsh in our mffids and conscience and
pohcy our true historic genesis, background, kindred, and
destffiy — ^i. e., kiU the Irish and the German influence.
5. It wiU revive our real manhood— put the moUy-
coddles in disgrace, as idiots and dandies are;
6. It wiU make our poUtics frank and maffiy by re
storing our true nationaUty;
7. It wiU make us again a great sea-faring people. It
is tffis that has given Great Britain its long lead in the
world; 8. Break up our femiffized education — ^make a boy a
^At this time the proposal of such a gift found much popular favour. How
ever, the plan was not carried through.

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 219
vigorous ammal and make our education rest on a whole
some physical basis;
9. Bring men of a ffigher type into our poUtical Ufe.
We need wakinjg up and shaking up and invigorating as
much as the Germans need taking down.
There is no danger of "miUtarism" in any harmful sense
among any EngUsh race or in any democracy.
By George! aU these tffings open an mteresting outlook
and series of tasks — don't they?
My staff and I are asking everybody what the Ameri
cans can best do to help the cause along. The views are
not starthng, but they are interesting.
Jellicoe: More sffips, merchant sffips, any kind of
sffips, and take over the patrol of the American side of the
Atlantic and release the British cruisers there.
Balfour: American credits in the Uffited States big
enough to keep up the rate of exchange.
Bonar Law: Same tffing.
The military men: An expeditionary force, no matter
how smaU, for the effect of the American Flag in Europe.
If one regiment marched tffiough London and Paris and
took the Flag to the front, that would be worth the wm-
mng of a battle.
Think of the vast increase of territory and power Great
Britam wiU have — ^her colonies drawn closer than ever, the
German colomes, or most of them, taken over by her, Bag
dad hers — ^what a way Germany chose to lessen the Brit
ish Empire! And these gains of territory will be made,
as most of her gains have been, not by any prearranged, set
plan, but as by-products of action for some other purpose.
The offiy people who have made a deliberate plan to con
quer the earth — now living — -are the Germans. And from
first to last the additions to the British Empire have been
made because she has been a ffist-class maritime power.

220 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
And that's the way she has made her trade and her money,
too. On top of tffis the President speculates about the danger
of the wffite man losing his supremacy because a few mil
Uon men get kiUed! The truth is every country that is
playing a big part in the war was overpopulated. There
wffi be a considerable productive loss because the kiUed
men were, as a rule, the best men; but the white man's
control of the world hasn't depended on any few miffion
of males. Tffis speculation is far up in the clouds. If
Russia and Germany really be Uberated from social and
poUtical and industrial autocracy, tffis Uberation wiU
bring into play far more power than aU the men kffied in
the war could have had under the pre-war regime. I ob
serve this with every year of my observation — ^there's no
substitute for common-sense.
The big results of the war will, after aU, be the freedom
and the stimulation of men in these weary Old-World
lands — ^in Russia, Germany itseff, and in England. In five
or ten years (or sooner, alas!) the dead wffi be forgotten.
If you wish to make a picture of the world as it wiU be
when the war ends, you must conjure up such scenes as
these — human bones along the Russian highways where
the great retreat took place and aU that such a sight de
notes; Poland literaUy starved; Serbia, blasted and burned
and starved; Armeffia butchered; the horrible tragedy of
GalUpoU, where the best soldiers ffi the world were sacrificed
to poUtieians' policies; Austria and Germany starved and
wffipped but UberaUzed — ^perhaps no king in either coun
try; Belgium — ^belgiumized; northern France the same
and worse; more productive Frenchmen kiUed in propor
tion to the population perhaps than any other country
wiU have lost; Great Britain — ^most of her best men gone
or maimed ; colossal debts ; several Teutoffic countries bank-

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 221
rupt; every atrocity conceivable committed somewhere —
a heU-swept great continent having endured more suffer
ffig ffi tffiee years than in the preceding tffiee hundred.
Then, ten years later, most of this suffering a mere mem
ory; governments reorgamzed and hberaUzed; men made
more efficient by this strenuous tffiee years' work; the
fields got back their bloom, and hfe going on much as it
ffid before — ^with tffis cffief difference — some kings have
gone and many privileges have been aboUshed. The
lessons are two — (1) that no government can successfffily
set out and conquer the world ; and (2) that the hold that
privilege holders acquire costs more to dislodge than any
one could ever have guessed. That's the sum of it. Kings
and privilege mongers, of course, have held the parts of
the world separate from one another. They fatten on
provinciahsm, wffich is mistaken for patriotism. As
they lose their grip, human sympathy has its natural play
between nations, and civilization has a chance. With any
Emperor of Germany left the war wiU have been haff in
vam. If we (the U. S. A.) cultivate the manly quaUties and
tffiow off our cranks and read our own history and be true
to our traditions and blood and get some poUtical vigour;
then if we emancipate ourselves from the isolation theory
and from the landlubber theory — get into the world and
buUd sffips, ships, ships, ships, and run them to the ends of
the seas, we can dominate the world in trade and in poUti
cal thought.
You know I have moments when it occurs to me that
perhaps I'd better give whatever workmg years I may
have to telUng tffis story — ^the story of the larger meaffing of
the war. There's no bigger theme — ^never was one so big.
Affectionately,
W. H. P.

222 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
On AprU 1st, the day before President WUson made ffis
great address before Congress requesting that body to de
clare the existence of a state of war with Germany, Page
committed to paper a few paragraphs wffich sunamed up
his final judgment of President Wilson's foreign poUcy for
the precedffig two and a haff years.

Embassy of the United States of America,
AprU 1, 1917.
In these last days, before the Umted States is forced
mto war — by the people's msistence — ^the precedffig course
of events becomes even clearer than it was before; and it
has been as clear aU the time as the nose on a man's face.
The President began by refusmg to understand the
meanffig of the war. To him it seemed a quarrel to settle
econonoic rivalries between Germany and England. He
said to me last September^ that there were many causes
why Germany went to war. He showed a great degree
of toleration for Germany; and he was, during the whole
morffing that I talked with him, complainmg of England.
The controversies we had with England were, of course,
mere by-products of the conffict. But to him they
seemed as important as the controversy we had with Ger
many. In the beginnmg he had made — as far as it was
possible — neutrahty a positive quaUty of mffid. He woffid
not move from that position.
That was his ffist error of judgment. And by insistmg
on this he soothed the people — sat them down ffi com
fortable chairs and said, "Now stay there." He reaUy
suppressed speech and thought.
The second error he made was ffi thinkmg that he could
^At the meeting of Page and the President at Shadow Lawn, September 22,
1916. See Chapter xrx.

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 223
play a great part as peacemaker — come and give a blessmg
to these erring chUdren. This was stiong ffi ffis hopes and
ambitions. There was a condescension ffi this attitude
that was offensive.
He shut himseff up with these two ideas and engaged
ffi what he caUed "thought." The air currents of the
world never ventUated his mmd.
This mactive position he has kept as long as pubUc senti
ment permitted. He seems no longer to regard himseff
nor to speak as a leader — offiy as the mouthpiece of pubhc
opimon after opuaion has run over him. ~V
He has not breathed a spirit ffito the people: he has
encouraged them to supmeness. He is not a leader, but .
rather a stubborn pffiasemaker.
And now events and the aroused people seem to have
brought the President to the necessary pomt of action;
and even now he may act timidly.

"One tffing pleases me," Page wrote to his son Arthur,
"I never lost faith ffi the American people. It is now
clear that I was right ffi feeUng that they would have
gladly come in any time after the Lusitania crime. Middle
West ffi the front, and that the German hasn't made any
real impression on the American nation. He was made
a bug-a-boo and worked for aU he was worth by Bern
storff; and that's the whole story. We are as Anglo-
Saxon as we ever were. If Hughes had had sense and
courage enough to say: 'I'm for war, war to save our
honour and to save democracy,' he woffid now be President.
If Wilson had said that, Hughes would have carried no
important states ffi the Umon. The suppressed people
would have risen to either of them. That's God's truth as
I beUeve it. The real Umted States is made up of yoy/

224 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
and Frank and the Page boys at Aberdeen and of the
10,000,000 other young feUows who are ready to do the
job and who mstinctively see the whole truth of the situa
tion. But of course what the people would not have done
under certam conditions — ^that water also has flowed over
the dam; and I mention it only because I have resolutely
kept my faith ffi the people and there has been nothmg ffi
recent events that has shaken it."
Two letters which Page wrote on this same April 1st
are ffiterestmg ffi that they outhne almost completely the
war pohcy that was finaUy carried out:
To Frank N. Doubleday
Embassy of the Uffited States of America,
AprU 1, 1917.
Dear Effendi:
Here's the programme:
(1) Our navy ffi immediate action in whatever way a
conference with the British shows we can best help.
(2) A smaU expeditionary force to France immedi
ately — as large as we can quickly make ready, ff only
10,000 men — as proof that we are ready to do some fight
ing. (3) A large expeditionary force as soon as the men can
be organized and eqmpped. They can be traffied ffito an
effective army ffi France ffi about one fourth of the time
that they could be trained anywhere else.
(4) A large loan to the AlUes at a low rate of ffiterest.
(5) Sffips, sffips, sffips — ^tioop ships, food ships, mmai-
tion ships, auxiUary sffips to the navy, wooden ships, steel
sffips, Uttle sffips, big ships, ships, sffips, ships without
number or end.
(6) A clear-cut expression of the moral issue involved

THE united states AT WAR 225
in the war. Every social and poUtical ideal that we
stand for is at stake. If we value democracy ffi the
world, this is the chance to further it or — to bring it into
utter disrepute. After Russia must come Germany and
Austria; and then the King-business will pretty nearly be
put out of commission.
(7) We must go to war in dead earnest. We must
sign the AUies' agreement not to make a separate peace,
and we must stay in to the end. Then the end wiU be
very greatly hastened.
It's been four years ago to-day since I was first asked to
come here. God knows I've done my poor best to save
our country and to help. It'U be four years in the middle
of May since I sailed. I shaU stiU do my best. I'll not be
able to start back by May 15th, but I have a feeUng, if
we do our whole duty in the Uffited States, that the end
may not be very many months off. And how long off it
may be may depend to a considerable degree on our ac
tion. We are faring very weU on army rations. None of us
wiU Uve to see another time when so many big things are
at stake nor another time when our country can play so
large or important a part in saving the world. Hold up
your end. I'm doing my best here.
I tffink of you engaged in the peaceful work of instruct
ing the people, and I think of the garden and crocuses and
tlae smell of early spring in the air and the earth and —
push on; I'll be with you before we grow much older or
get much grayer; and a great and prosperous and peaceful
time wiU Ue before us. Pity me and hold up your end for
real American participation. Get together? Yes; but
the way to get together is to get in !
Affectionately, W. H. P.

226 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
To David F. Houston^
Embassy of the Umted States of America,
April 1, 1917.
Dear Houston:
The Administration can save itself from becoming a
black blot on American history offiy by vigorous action-
acts such as these :
Putting our navy to work — ^vigorous work — ^wherever
and however is wisest. I have received the Government's
promise to send an Admiral here at once for a conference.
We must work out with the British Navy a programme
whereby we can best help; and we must carry it without
hesitancy or delay.
Sending over an expeditionary mffitary force immedi
ately — a smaU one, but as large as we can, as an earnest
of a larger one to come. Tffis immediate smaU one wiU
have a Z'^f^'^ m"^'^l pffftpf,.; and we need aU the moral rein
statement that we can get in the estimation of the world;
our moral stock is lower than, I fear, any of you at home
can possibly reaUze. As for a larger expeditionary force
later — even that ought to be sent quite early. It can and
must spend some time in training in France, whatever its
traiffing beforehand may have been. AU the mihtary men
agree that soldiers in France back ofthe Une can be trained
in at least haff the time that they can be tramed
anywhere else. The officers at once take their turn in the
trenches, and the progress that they and their men make in
close proximity to the fighting is one of the remarkable dis
coveries of the war. The British Army was so trained
and aU the colomal forces. Two or tffiee or four hundred
thousand Americans could be sent over as soon ahnost as
they are organized and equipped — ^provided transports
^Secretary of Agriculture in President Wilson's Cabinet.

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 227
and a continuous supply of food and muffition ships can
be got. They can be tramed into fighting men — into an
effective army — ^in about one third of the time that would
be required at home.
I suppose, of course, we shaU make at once a large
loan to the Affies at a low rate of interest. That is most
important, but that alone wiU not save us. We must also
fighi.
AU the ships we can get — ^build, requisition, or confiscate
— are needed immediately
Navy, army, money, ships — ^these are the ffist things,
but by no means aU. We must make some expression of
a conviction that there is a moral question of right and
wrong involved in this war — a question of humamty, a
question of democracy. So far we have (officiaUy) spoken
offiy of the wrongs done to our ships and citizens. Deep
wrongs have been done to aU our moral ideas, to our
ideals. We have sunk very low in European opiffion be
cause we do not seem to know even yet that a German
victory would be less desirable than (say) a Zulu victory
of the world.
We must go in with the Affies, not begin a mere single
fight against submarmes. We must sign the pact of
London — ^not make a separate peace.
We mustn't longer spin dreams about peace, nor
leagues to enforce peace, nor the Freedom of the Seas.
These tffings are mere mteUectual diversions of minds
out of contact with reaUties. Every poUtical and social
ideal we have is at stake. If we make them secure, we'U
save Europe from destruction and save ourselves, too.
I pray for vigour and decision and clear-cut resolute ac
tion. (1) The Navy — ^fuU strength, no "grapejuice" action.
(2) An immediate expeditionary force.

228 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
(3) A larger expeditionary force very soon.
(4) A large loan at a low mterest.
(5) Ships, ships, ships.
(6) A clear-cut expression of the moral issue. Thus
(and offiy thus) can we swmg ffito a new era, with a world
born agam. Yours ffi strictest confidence, W. H. P.

A memorandum, written on AprU 3rd, the day after
President Wilson advised Congress to declare a state of
war with Germany:

The Day
When I went to see Mr. Baffour to-day he shook my
hand warmly and said: "It's a great day for the world."
And so has everybody said, ffi one way or another, that 1
have met to-day.
The President's speech did not appear ffi the mornmg
papers — only a very brief summary ffi one or two of them;
but the meanffig of it was clear. The fact that the House
of Representatives orgamzed itseff in one day and that
the President addressed Congress on the eveffing of that
day told the story. The noon papers had the President's
speech in fuU; and everybody applauds.
My "Cabinet" meeting this morffing was unusuaUy
interesting; and the whole group has never before been
so deUghted. I spoke of the suggestive, constructive
work we have aheady done ffi making reports on various
war preparations and activities of this kffigdom. "Now
we have greater need than ever, every man to do con-
stiuctive work — ^to think of plans to serve. We are in

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 229
this exceUent strategical position in the capital of the
greatest beffigerent — a position which I thank my stars,
the President, and aU the powers that be for giving us.
We can each strive to justffy our existence. "
Few visitors caUed ; but enthusiastic letters have begun
to come ffi.
Nearly the whole afternoon was spent with Mr. Baffour
and Lord Robert CecU. Mr. Baffour had a long Ust of
subjects. Could we help in (1) — (2) — (3) ? — Every once
ffi a whUe he stopped his enumeration of subjects long
enough to teU me how the action of the United States had
moved him.
To Lord Robert I said: "I pray you, give the Black
List a decent burial: It's dead now, but tffiough no act of
yours. It insulted every American because you did not
see that it was insultmg: that's the discouraging fact to
me." He thanked me earnestly. He'U think about that.

II
These jottffigs give offiy a faffit impression of the
change wffich the American action wrought in Page. The
stiam wffich he had undergone for twenty-ffine months
had been ffitense; it had had the most unfortunate effect
upon his health; and the sudden hftffig might have pro
duced that reaction for the worse which is not unusual
after critical experiences of this kmd. But the gratifica
tion wffich Page felt ffi the fact that the American spirit
had justified his confidence gave him almost a certam
exuberance of contentment. Londoners who saw him at
that time describe him as acting Uke a man from whose
shoffiders a tremendous weight had suddenly been re
moved. For more than two years Page had been com
peUed, officiaUy at least, to assume a "neutrahty" with

230 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
which he had never had the sUghtest sympathy, but the
necessity for this mask now no longer existed. A weU-
known EngUshman happened to meet Page leavmg ffis
house in Grosvenor Square the day after the Declaration
of War. He stopped and shook the Ambassador's hand.
"Thank God," the Enghshman said, "that there is one
hypocrite less ffi London to-day."
"What do you mean?" asked Page.
"I mean you. Pretendmg aU tffis time that you were
neutral! That isn't necessary any longer."
"You are right!" the Ambassador answered as he
walked on with a laugh and a wave of the hand.
A few days after the Washmgton Declaration, the Ameri
can Luncheon Club held a feast ffi honour of the event.
Tffis orgamzation had a membersffip of representative
American busmess men ffi London, but its behaviour durmg
the war had not been based upon Mr. WUson's idea of
neutrahty. Indeed its tables had so constantly rung with
denunciations of the Lusitania notes that aU members
of the American Embassy, from Page down, had found
it necessary to refrain from attending its proceedmgs.
When Page arose to address his compatriots on this occa
sion, therefore, he began with the significant words, "I am
glad to be back with you again," and the mffigled laughter
and cheers with wffich tffis remark was received mdicated
that his hearers had caught the pomt.
The change took place not only in Page, but ffi London
and the whole of Great Britaffi. An England that had been
sayffig harsh tffings of the Uffited States for nearly two
years now suddeffiy changed its attitude. Both houses
of Parhament held commemorative sessions ffi honour
of America's participation; ffi the Commons Mr. Lloyd
George, Mr. Asquith, and other leaders welcomed their
new affies, and ffi the Upper Chamber Lord Curzon, Lord

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 231
Bryce, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and others simUarly
voiced their admiration. The Stars and Stripes almost
instantaneously broke out on private dwelUngs, shops,
hotels, and theatres; street hucksters did a thrivmg busi
ness selUng rosettes of the American colours, which even
the most stodgy Englishmen did not disdaffi to wear ffi
their buttonholes; wherever there was a band or an or-
chestia, the Star Spangled Banner acquired a sudden
popularity; and the day even came when the American
and the British flags flew side by side over the Houses of
Parhament — the ffist occasion ffi history that any other
than the British standard had received this honour. The
editorial outgivmgs of the British press on America's en
trance form a hterature aU their own. The theatres and
the music haUs, wffich had found ffi "notes " and " nootral-
ity " an endless theme of entertainment for their patrons,
now sounded Americaffism as their most popular refraffi.
Churches and cathedrals gave special services ffi honour
of American mtervention, and the Kmg and the President
began to figure side by the side ffi the prayer book. The
estimation in which President Wilson was held changed
overmght. AU the pffiases that had so grieved Enghsh
men were ffistantaneously forgotten. The President '-s
address before Congress was praised as one of the most
eloquent and statesmanUke utterances ffi history. Special
editions of this hearteffing document had a rapid sale; it
was read in school houses, churches, and at pubhc gather-
mgs, and it became a most influential force ffi upUfting the
hopes of the Affies and inspirmg them to renewed activi
ties. Americans everywhere, in the streets, at dinner
tables, and in general social mter course, could feel the new
atmosphere of respect and admiration which had suddenly
become their country's portion. The ffist American
troops that passed through London — a company of en-

232 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
gmeers, an especiaUy fine body of men — aroused a popu
lar enthusiasm wffich was almost unprecedented ffi a
capital not celebrated for its emotional displays. Page
himseff records one particularly touchmg mdication of the
feeUng for Americans which was now umversal. "The
fficreasffig number of Americans who come tffiough Eng
land," he wrote, "most of them on their way to France,
but some of them also to serve ffi England, give much
pleasure to the British pubhc— nurses, doctors, raUway
engmeers, sawnaiU imits, etc. The sight of every Ameri
can uniform pleases London. The other mornmg a group
of American nurses gathered with the usual crowd ffi front
of Buckffighain Palace while the Guards band played m-
side the gates. Man after man as they passed them and
saw their unfforms Ufted their hats."
The Ambassador's mail likewise underwent a complete
transformation. His correspondence of the precedmg
two years, enormous ffi its extent, had contamed much
that would have disturbed a man who could easUy get
excited over trifles, but this aspect of ffis work never
caused Page the sUghtest unhappffiess. Almost every
crank ffi England who disliked the American pohcy had
seemed to feel it his duty to express his opimons to the
American Amba§isador. These letters, at times sorrow
ful, at others abusive, even occasionaUy tffieatemng, vary-
ffig in their style from cultivated EngUsh to the grossest
ilUteracy, now written ffi red ink to emphasize their bitter
ness, now prffited in large block letters to preserve their
anonymity, aroused ffi Page offiy a temporary amusement.
But the letters that began to pour ffi upon him after our
Declaration, many of them from the highest placed men
and women ffi the Kmgdom, brought out more vividly
than anything else the changed position of his country.
Soimets and verses raffied upon the Embassy, most of

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The Rt. Hon. David Lloyd George, Chancellor of
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1915-1916, Prime Minister of Great Britain , 1916-1 922

The Rt. Hon. Arthur James Balfour (now the Earl of Balfour)
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1916-1919

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 233
them pretty bad as poetry, but aU of them commend
able for their admirffig and friendly spirit. Of aU these
letters those that came from the steadfast friends of Amer
ica perhaps gave Page the greatest satisfaction. "You
wiU have been pleased at the universal tribute paid to the
spirit as weU as to the lofty and impressive terms of the
President's speech," wrote Lord Bryce. "Nothmg fmer
m our tune, few thffigs so fine." But probably the letter
wffich gave Page the greatest pleasure was that which
came from the statesman whose courtesy and broad out
look had eased the Ambassador's task ffi the old neutrahty
days. In 1916, Sir Edward Grey — ^now become Viscount
Grey of FaUodon — ^had resigned office, forced out. Page
says ffi one of his letters, mainly because he had refused to
push the blockade to a pomt where it might produce a
break with the United States. He had spent the larger
part of the time smce that event at ffis country place ffi
Northumberland, along the streams and the forests which
had always given him ffis greatest pleasure, attempting to
recover somethmg of the health that he had lost in the ten
years wffich he had spent as head of the British Foreign
Oflfice and bearffig with characteristic cheerfuffiess and
fortitude the tragedy of a graduaUy faiUng eyesight.
The American Declaration of War now came to Lord Grey
as the complete justification of his pohcy. The mam-
sprffig of that pohcy, as already explaffied, had been a
determmation to keep the friendsffip of the Uffited States,
and so shape events that the support of this country
would ultimately be cast on the side of the Affies. And
now the great occasion for wffich he had prepared had
come, and ffi Grey's mffid tffis sigmfied more than a help
to England ffi soldiers and sffips; it meant brmging to
gether the two branches of a common race for the promo
tion of common ideals.

234 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
From Viscount Grey of Falhdon
' RosehaU Post Office,
Sutherland, AprU 8, 1917.
Dear Mr. Page:
This is a hne that needs no answer to express my con
gratulations on President WUson's address. 1 can't ex
press adequately aU that I feel. Great gratitude and
great hope are ffi my heart. I hope now that some
great and abidmg good to the world wffi yet be wrought
out of aU tffis welter of evil. Recent events ffi Russia, too,
stimulate this hope: they are a good ffi themselves, but not
the power for good ffi tffis war that a great and firmly
estabhshed free country Uke the Uffited States can be.
The President's address and the way it has been foUowed
up ffi your country is a splendid instance of great action
finely inspired. I glow with admiration. Yours sfficerely,
Grey of Fallodon
One EngUshman who was especiaUy touched by the
action of the United States was His Majesty the King.
Few men had watched the course of America durmg the
war with more ffiteffigent mterest than the head of the
British royal house. Page had had many interviews with
Kmg George at Buckffigham Palace and at Wmdsor, and
his notes contam many appreciative remarks on the Kmg's
ffigh character and conscientious devotion to his duties.
That Page ffi general did not beheve ffi kmgs and emper
ors as mstitutions ffis letters reveal; yet even so profound
a RepubUcan as he recognized sterUng character, whether
ffi a crowned head or in a humble citizen, and he had seen
enough of Kmg George to respect ffim. Moreover,

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 235
the pecuhar limitations of the British monarchy cer
taiffiy gave it an unusual position and even saved it
from much of the criticism that was fairly lavished upon
such nations as Germany and Austria. Page especiaUy
admired King George's frankness m recognizffig these
limitations and his readmess to accommodate himseff
to the British Constitution. On most occasions, when
these two men met, their mtercourse was certainly friendly
or at least not formidable. After all formaUties had been
exchanged, the Kmg would frequently draw the Ambassa
dor aside; the two would retire to the smokmg room, and
there, over their cigars, discuss a variety of matters — sub
marmes, mternational pohtics, the Irish question and the
Uke. His Majesty was not averse even to brffigffig up
the advantages of the democratic and the monarcffical
system. The Kmg and Ambassador would chat, as Page
himseff would say, Uke "two human beings"; Kmg
George is an emphatic and vivacious talker, fond of em-
phasizffig his remarks by poundmg the table; he has the
UveUest sense of humour, and enjoys nothmg qmte so
much as a good story. Page found that, on the subject
of the Germans, the King entertained especiaUy robust
views. "They are my kmsmen," he would say, "but I
am ashamed of them."
Probably most EngUshmen, ffi the early days ofthe war,
preferred that the Uffited States should not engage ffi
hostffities; even after the Lusitania, the majority ffi aU
likelihood held tffis view. There are mdications, how
ever, that Kmg George favoured American participation.
A few days after the Lusitania sinkmg. Page had an au
dience for the purpose of presentffig a medal sent by cer
tam societies ffi New Orleans, Neitlier man was thuakffig
much about medals that mornmg. The thoughts upper
most ffi their mffids, as ffi the minds of most Americans and

236 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
EngUshmen, were the Lusitania and the action that the
Uffited States was likely to take concerffing it. After the
formahties of presentation, the Kffig asked Page to sit
down and talked with him for more than haff an hour.
"He said that Germany was evidently tryffig to force the
Uffited States mto the war ; that he had no doubt we woffid
soon be in it and that, for ffis part, he would welcome us
heartUy. The Kmg also said he had reUable information
from Germany, that the Emperor had wished to return
a conciUatory answer to our Lusitania note, but that
Admiral von Tirpitz had prevented it, even gomg so far
as to 'tffieaten' the Kaiser. It appears that the Admiral
msisted that the submarffie was the only weapon the
Germans coffid use with effect agamst England and that
they could not afford to give it up. He was violent and
the Kaiser finaUy yielded."^
The statement from the Kmg at that crisis, that he
would "heartUy welcome the Uffited States mto the war,"
was ffiterpreted by the Ambassador as amountmg practi
caUy to an ffivitation — ^and certaiffiy as expressffig a wish
that such an ffitervention should take place.
That the American participation would rejoice King
George could therefore be taken for granted. Soon after
tffis event, the Ambassador and Mrs. Page were ffivited to
spend the ffight at Wffidsor.
" I arrived durmg the middle of the afternoon," writes
Page, " and he sent for me to talk with him ffi his oflfice.
" 'I've a good story on you,' said he. 'You Americans
have a queer use of the word "some," to express mere big
ness or emphasis. We are taking that use of the word
from you over here. WeU, an American and an English
man were ridmg ffi the same railway compartment. The
^The quotation is from a memorandum of the conversation made by one of the
secretaries of the American Embassy:

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 237
American read ffis paper diUgently — aU the details of a big
battle. When he got done, he put the paper down and said :
"Some fight!" "And some don't!" said the Enghshman.'
"And the Kmg roared. 'A good one on you!'
" 'The trouble with that joke, sir,' I ventured to reply,
*is that it's out of date.'
"He was ffi a very gay mood, surely because of our
entry ffito the war. After the dinner — there were no
guests except Mrs. Page and me, the members of ffis house
hold, of course, beffig present — ^he became even famihar
in the smokffig room. He talked about himseff and his
position as king. 'Knowmg the difficulties of a limited
monarch, I thank heaven I am spared beffig an absolute
one.' "He went on to enumerate the large number of thmgs
he was obUged to do, for example, to sign the death war
rant of every condemned man — and the Uttle real power
that he had — ^not at aU ffi a tone of complamt, but as a
merely impersonal explanation.
"Just how much power — perhaps 'influence' is a better
word — the King has, depends on his personaUty. The
influence of the tffione — and of ffim on the tffione, beffig a
whoUy thoughtful, mdustrious, and conscientious man —
is very great — ^greatest of aU ffi keepffig the vested mter
ests of tlie aristocratic social stiucture secure.
"EarUer than this visit to Wmdsor he sent for me to go
to Buckffigham Palace very soon after we declared war.
He went over the whole course of events — and asked me
many questions. After I had risen and said 'good-bye'
and was about to bow myseff out the door, he ran toward
me and wavffig ffis hand cried out, 'Ah — Ah! — we knew
where you stood aU the time.'
"When General Persffing came along on ffis way to
France, the Kffig summoned us to luncheon. The

238 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
luncheon was eaten (here, as everywhere, strict war ra
tions are observed) to a flow of general talk, with the
Queen, Prfficess Mary, and one of the young Prmces.
When tbey had gone from the hmcheon room, the Kmg,
General Pershing, and I stood smoking by the window; and
the King at once launched into talk about guns, rifles,
ammuffition, and the American place ffi the battle line.
Would our place be with the British or with the French or
between the two?
" General Pershmg made a diplomatic reply. So far as
he knew the President hadn't yet made a final decision,
but there was a feehng that, sffice we were helpmg the
British at sea, perhaps we ought to help the French on
land. "Then the Kffig expressed the earnest hope that our
guns and ammuffition would match either the British or
the French. Else ff we happened to run out of ammuni
tion we could not borrow from anybody. He thought it
most unfortunate that the British and French guns and
rifles were of different caUbres."
To Arthur W. Page Brighton, England,
AprU 28, 1917.
Dear Arthur:
. . . WeU, the British have given us a very good
welcome ffito the war. They are not very skUfful at such
a task: they do not know how to say "Welcome" very
vocfferously. But they have said it to the very best of
their abffity. My speeches (which I send you, with
some comment) were very weU received ffideed. Simple
and obvious as they were, they meant a good deal of work.
I cannot conceal nor can I express my gratffication that
we are ffi the war. I shaU always wonder but never find

\ N

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 239
out what influence I had in drivffig the President over.
AU I know is that my letters and telegrams for nearly
two years — especiaUy for the last twelve months — have
put before him every reason that anybody has expressed
why we shoffid come ffi — ^ffi season and out of season.
And there is no new reason — offiy more reason of the same
old sort — why we should have come ffi now than there was
why we shoffid have come ffi a year ago. I suspect that the
pressure of the press and of pubhc opimon reaUy became
too strong for him. And, of course, the Peace-Dream
blew up — was torpedoed, mffied, shot, captured, and
kiUed. I tiust, too, much enhghtenment will be furmshed
.by the two Commissions now ffi Washffigton. ^ Yet it's
comical to think of the attitude of the poor old Depart
ment last September and its attitude now. But thank
God for it! Every day now brffigs a confession of the
blank idiocy of its former course and its long argument!
Never mffid that, so long as we are now right.
I have such a sense of reUef that I ahnost feel that my
job is now done. Yet, I dare say, my most important
work is StiU to come.
The more 1 try to reach some sort of rational judgment
about the war, the more I find myseff at sea. It does look
as ff the very crisis is near. And there can be no doubt
now — not even, I hope, in the United States — about the
necessity of a clear and decisive victory, nor about
pimishment. AU the devastation of Northern France,
wffich outbarbarizes barbarism, aU the ships sunk,, m-
cludffig hospital ships, must be paid for ; that's aU. There'U
be famffie ffi Europe whenever it end. Not only must
these destructions be paid for, but the HohenzoUerns and
aU they stand for must go. Trust your Frenchman for
that, ff nobody else!
^The British and Frendi CommisHons, headed by Mr'. Balfour and M. Viyiani.

240 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
If Europe had the food wasted ffi the Uffited States,
it would make the difference between sustenance and
famffie. By the way, the submarme has made every
nation a danger zone except those few that have seff-
feedffig contments, such as ours. It can brmg famme
to any other kind of a country.
You are now out ffi the country agam — ^good. Give
Moffie my love and help her with the garden. I envy
you the fresh green tffings to eat. Little MoUie, kiss
her for granddaddy. The Ambassador, I suppose, waxes
even stmdier, and I'm glad to hear that A. W. P., Jr., is
pickffig up. Get ffim fed right at aU costs. If Frank
stays at home and Ralph and his fanaUy come up, you'U
aU have a fine summer. We've the very ffist hmt of sum
mer we've had, and it's cheerful to see the sky and to feel
the simshine. Affectionately, W. H. P.
To Frank N. Doubleday American EJmbassy,
London, May 3, 1917.
Dear Effendi:
I aim this at you. It may ffit a German submarine.
But we've got to take our chances ffi these days of risk.
Your letter from the tropics — a letter from you from any
place is as scarce as peace! — ^gave me a pleasant tffiiU and
remmder of a previous state of existence, a long way back
ffi the past. I wonder ff, on your side the ocean you are
Uvmg at the rate of a century a year, as we are here?
Here ffi bountfful England we are Uvmg on rations. I
spent a night with the Kffig a fortnight ago, and he gave
us only so much bread, one egg apiece, and — ^lemonade.
We are to begffi bread tickets next week. All this is per-

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 241
fectly healthful and wholesome and as much as I ever eat.
But the hard part of it is that it's necessary. We haven't
more than six weeks' food supply and the submarmes
sunk eighty-eight ships — ^237,000 tons — ^last week. These
English do not pubUsh these harrowing facts, and nobody
knows them but a few official people. And they are de-
stioymg the submarmes at a most beggarly slow rate.
They work far out at sea^ — 100 to 200 miles — and it's as
hard to find them as it would be to find whales. The sim
ple truth is we are ffi a dangerous pUght. If they could
stop tffis submarffie warfare, the war would pretty quickly
be won, for the Germans are ffi a far worse pUght for food
and materials and they are gettmg much the worst of it
on land. The war would be won tffis summer or autumn
ff the submarme could be put out of busffiess. If it isn't,
the Germans may use this success to keep their spirits up
and go on tffi next year.
We (the Uffited States) have about 40 destroyers. We
are sendmg over 6! I'm doffig my best to persuade the
Government at Washffigton to send every one we have.
But, smce the British conceal the facts from their own
press and the people and from aU the world, the fuU pres
sure of the situation is hard to exert on Washffigton. Our
Admiral (Sims) and I are trymg our best, and we are
spendffig enough on cables to buUd a destroyer. AU tffis,
you must, of course, regard as a dark secret; but it's a
devffish black secret.
I don't mean that there Vany^anger-of-losmg. the war.
Even ff the British armies have to have their food cut
down and people here go hungry, they'U wm; but the
winning may be a long time off. Nothmg but their con
tmued success can keep the Germans gomg. Their peo
ple are war-weary and hungry. Austiia is knocked out
and is starvmg. Turkey is done up but can go on hvmg

242 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
on nothmg, but not fightffig much more. When peace
comes, there'U be a general famme, on the contffient at
least, and no ships to haul food. This side of the world
wiU have to start lffe all over agam — with ffisufficient
men to carry thmgs on and innumerable maimed men
who'U have (more or less) to be cared for. The horror of
the whole thing nobody reaUzes. We've aU got used to
it here ; and nobody clearly remembers just what the world
was like in peace times ; those times were so far away. AU
tffis I write not to fiU you with horrors but to prove that
I speak the hteral truth when I say that it seems a hundred
years sffice I had before heard from you.
Just how aU this affects a man, no man can accurately
teU. Of how much use I'U be when I can get home, I
don't know. Sometimes I thffik that I shaU be of vastly
greater use than ever. Plans and pubhshffig ambitions
pop up ffi my mmd at times which look good and promis-
mg. I see books and series of books. I see most useful
magazine stuff. Then, before I can tffink anythmg out
to a clear plan or conclusion, the ever-mcreasffig official
duties and responsibihties here knock everytffing else out
of my head, perhaps for a whole month. It's a hteral
5act that many a month I do not have an hour to do with
as I please nor to think about what I please, from the time
I wake up tffi I go to bed. In spite of twenty-four secre
taries (the best feUows that ever were and the best staff
that any Embassy ever had ffi the world) more and more
work comes to me. I thank Heaven we no longer have
the ffiterests of Germany, Austiia, and Tmkey to look
after; but with our commg mto the war, work ffi general
has mcreased enormously. I have to spend very much
more time with the different departments of the British
Government on war plans and such like thffigs. They
have welcomed us in very handsomely; and one form of

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 243
their welcome is consulting with me about — ^navy plans,
war plans, loans of biffions, sffips, censorship, secret ser
vice — everything you ever heard of. At first it seemed a
Uttle comical for the admirals and generals and the Gover
nor of the Bank of England to come and ask for advice.
But when I gave it and it worked out weU, I went on
and, after aU, the thffig's easier than it looks. With a
Uttle practice you can give these feUows several pomts ffi
the game and play a pretty good hand. They don't know
haff as much as you might suppose they'd know. All
these years of lecturffig the State Department and the
President got my hand ffi! The whole game is far easier
than any smaU busffiess. You always play with blue
cffips better than you play with wffite ones.
This country and these people are not the country and
the people they were tffiee years ago. They are very
different. They are much more democratic, far less
cocksure, far less haughty, far humbler. The man at the
head of the army rose from the ranks. The Prime Minis
ter is a poor Welsh schoolteacher's son, without early
education. The man who controls aU British shippffig
began lffe as a shipping "dark," at ten sffiUmgs a week.
Yet the Lords and Ladies, too, have shown that they were
made of the real stuff. Tffis experience is making England
over agam. There never was a more ffiterestmg tffing to
watch and to be part of.
There are about twenty American organizations here —
big, Uttle, rag-tag, and bobtaU. When we declared war,
every one of 'em proceeded to prepare for some sort of
celebration. There would have been an epidemic of
Fourth-of-July oratory aU over the town — before we'd
done anytffing — Americans spoutmg over the edges and
kiffing Kruger with their mouths, I got representatives
of 'em aU together and proposed that we hold our tongues

244 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
tffi we'd won the war — ^then we can take London, And
to give one occasion when we might aU assemble and dedi
cate ourselves to tffis present grim busmess, I arranged for
an American Dedicatory Service at St. Paffi's Cathedral.
The royal famUy came, the Government came, the Affied
diplomats came, my Lords and Ladies came, one hundred
wounded American (Canadian) soldiers came — ^the pick
of the Kmgdom; my Navy and Army staff went ffi fuU
uniform, the Stars and Stripes hung before the altar, a
double brass band played the Star Spangled Banner and
the Battle Hymn of the RepubUc, and an American bishop
(Brent) preached a red-hot American sermon, the Arch
bishop of Canterbury delivered the benediction; and (for
the ffist time ffi EngUsh history) a foreign flag (the Stars
and Stripes) flew over the Houses of Parhament, It was
the biggest occasion, so they say, that St. Paul's ever had.
And there's been no spiffing of American oratory sffice!
If you had published a shilhng edition of the words and
music of the Star Spangled Banner and the Battle Hymn
you could have sent a cargo of 'em here and sold them.
There isn't paper enough ffi this Kffigdom to get out an
edition here.
Give my love to aU the Doubledays and to aU the feUows
in the shop, and (I wonder ff you wffi) try your hand at
another letter. You write very legibly these days!
Sfficerely yours,
Walter H. Page.
" Curiously enough," Page wrote about tffis tune, "these
most excitmg days of the war are among the most barren
of excitffig topics for private correspondence. The 'at
mosphere' here is unchangffig — to us — ^and the British are
turmng theu best side to us contffiuously. They are
mcreasingly appreciative, and they see more and more

the united STATES AT WAR 245
clearly that our commg ffito the war is aU that saved them
from a virtual defeat — ^I mean the pubUc sees this more
and more clearly, for, of course, the Government has
known it from the beginffing. I even find a sort of mor
bid fear lest they do not sufficiently show their apprecia
tion. The Archbishop last ffight asked me ffi an appre
hensive tone whether the American Government and
pubUc felt that the British did not sufficiently show their
gratitude. I told him that we did not come ffito the war
to wm comphments but to whip the enemy, and that we
wanted aU the help the British can give: that's the mam
tffing; and that thereafter of course we Uked appreciation,
but that expressions of appreciation had not been lackmg.
Mr. Baffour and Sir Edward Carson also spoke to me
yesterday much ffi the same tone as the Archbishop of
Canterbury. "Try to tffink out any Une of action that one wiU, or
any future sequence or events or any plan touchffig the
war, one runs mto the question whether the British are
doffig the best that coffid be done or are merely pluggffig
away. They are, as a people, slow and unimagffiative,
given to over-much seff-criticism; but they eternaUy hold
on to a task or to a poUcy. Yet the question forever
arises whether they show imagmation, to say nothmg of
geffius, and whether the waste of a slow, ploddffig pohcy
is the necessary price of victory.
" Of course such a question is easy to ask and it is easy
to give dogmatic answers. But it isn't easy to give an
answer based on facts. Our General Lassiter.^ for ffi-
stance — ^a man of sound judgment — ^has ffi general been
less hopefffi of the mffitary situation ffi France than most
of the British officers. But he is just now returned from
the front, much cheered and encouraged. 'Lassiter,' I
^American military attache in LoBd<M)i.

246 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
asked, 'have the British in France or has any man among
them what we caU genius, or even wide vision; or are they
merely plodding along at a mechamcal task?' His
answer was, 'We don't see geffius tiU it has done its job.
It is a mechamcal task — yes, that's the nature of the strug
gle — ^and they surely do it with inteffigence and spirit.
There is waste. There is waste ffi aU wars. But I come
back much more encouraged.'
"The same sort of questions and answers are asked and
given contffiuously about naval action. Every discussion
of the possibiUty of attackmg the German naval bases
ends without a plan. So also with preventffig the sub
marines from commg out. These subjects have been
contffiuously under discussion by a long series of men who
have studied them; and the total effect so far has been to
leave them among the impossible tasks. So far as I can
ascertaffi aU naval men among the Allies agree that these
thffigs can't be done.
"Here agaffi — ^Is this a merely routme professional
opuaion — a merely traditional opiffion — or is it a lack of
imagffiation? The question wiU not down. Yet it is
impossible to get facts to combat it. What are the hmits
of the practicable?
"Mr. Baffour told me yesterday his personal conviction
about the German colomes, wffich, he said, he had
not discussed with ffis associates ffi the Cabffiet. His
firm opimon is that they ought not to be returned to the
Germans, first for the sake of humaffity. 'The na
tives — the Africans especiaUy — have been so barba
rously treated and so immoraUy that it woffid be inhuman
to permit the Germans to rffie and degrade them further.
But Heaven forbid that we should stffi further effiarge the
British Empire. As a practical matter I do not care to do
that. Besides, we should mcur the criticism of fighting

THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 247
m order to get more territory, and that was not and is not
our aim. If the Uffited States wffi help us, my wish is
that these German Coloffies that we have taken, especially
ffi Africa, should be "internationalized." There are
great difficulties ffi such a plan, but they are not msuper-
able ff the great Powers of the Affies wiU agree upon it.'
And much more to the same effect. The parts of Asiatic
Turkey that the British have taken, he thought, might be
tieated ffi the same way."

CHAPTER XXII
THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE
UNITED STATES

PAGE now took up a subject which had been near his
heart for a long time. He beUeved that one of the
most serious causes of Anglo-American misunderstandmg
was the fact that the leadmg statesmen of the two coun
tries had never had any personal contact with one another.
At one time, as tffis correspondence shows, the Ambassa
dor had even hoped that President Wilson himseff might
cross the ocean and make the British people an official
visit. The proposal, however, was made before the
European war broke out, the occasion wffich Page had
in mffid being the dedication of Sffigrave Manor, the old
EngUsh home of the Washffigton family, as a perpetual
memorial to the racial bonds and common ideals maitmg
the two countries. The President found it impossible
to act upon tffis suggestion and the outbreak of war made
the hkelihood of such a visit stiU more remote. Page had
made one unsuccessful attempt to brffig the American
State Department and the British Foreign Office into
personal contact. At the moment when American irri
tation had been most keen over the blockade and the
blackhst. Page had persuaded the Foreign Office to mvite
to England Mr. Frank L. PoUt, at that tune Counsellor of
the Department; the Ambassador beheved that a few
conversations between such an intelhgent gentleman
as Mr. Polk and the British statesmen woffid smooth
248

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 249
out aU the points wffich were then making tffings so
diflficffit. Unfortunately the pressure of work at Wash
ington prevented Mr. Polk from accepting Sir Edward
Grey's invitation.
But now a greater necessity for close personal association
had arisen. The Uffited States had entered the war, and
tffis declaration had practicaUy made tffis country an aUy
of Great Britain and France. The British Government
wished tnsend a dJRtingnished commissloii tO the United
States, for two reasons: ffist, to show its appreciation o^/
the stand wffich America Uad taken, and second, to dis-
CUSS pTarig fnr f^nnpPT-gti'/>V| iti t>iA r^nr.it.ir'^-tQoTr ^Grcat
Britain frankly admitted that it had made many mistakes
m the preceding tffiee years — ^mistakes naval, miUtary,
poUtical, and economic; it would welcome an opportuffity
to display t^figeerrors to, Wasffington, wffich might natu
raUy hope to profit from them. As soon as ffis country was
m the war, Page took up tffis suggestion with the Foreign
Oflfice. There was of course one man who was preemi
nently fitted, by experience, position, and personal quaU
ties, to head such a commission; on tffis point there was
no discussion. Mr. Baffour was now ffi ffis seventieth
year; ffis activities in British pohtics dated back to the
tunes of DisraeU ; ffis position in Great Britain had become
as near that of an " elder statesman" as is tolerable under
the Anglo-Saxon system. By tffis time Page had estab
Ushed the friendUest possible relations with tffis distin
guished man. Mr. Baffour had become Foreign Secretary
m December, 1916, in succession to Lord Grey. Greatly
as Page regretted the resignation of Grey, he was much
gratffied that Mr. Baffour had been selected to succeed
him. Mr. Baffour's record for twenty-five years had been
one of consistent friendhness toward the Uffited States.
When President Cleveland's Venezuelan message, in 1896,

250 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
had precipitated a crisis in the relations of the two coun
tries, it was Mr. Baffour's influence wffich was especiaUy
potent in causing Great Britain to modify its attitude and
to accept the American demand for arbitration. That
action not offiy amicably settled the Venezuelan question;
it marked the beginffing of a better feehng between the
Enghsh-speaking countries and laid the basis for that
pohcy of benevolent neutraUty wffich Great Britain had
maintained toward the Uffited States in the Spamsh War.
The exceUent spirit wffich Mr. Baffour had shown at tffis
crisis he had mamfested on many occasions since. In the
criticisms of-tha Umted States during the Lusitania trou-
h1p.s Mr. Baffour had^TTGvcr tnlLcn port; The era of
"neutrahty" had nomuffled Lhe confid^ence wffich he had
always felt in the Uffited States, During aU tffis time the
most conspicuous dinner tables of London had rung with
criticisms of American pohcy ; the fact was well known, how
ever, that Mr, Baffour had never sympatffized with these
reproaches; even when he was not in office, no unfriendly
word concerffing the Uffited Stateshad_eEfiE^BSCaped ffis
Ups-^ilBaiiJjifehH^towai-d Lffiti countrywas weU shown in
a letter wffich he wrote Page, in reply to one congratulat
ing him on ffis seventieth birthday. "I have now hved
a long lffe," said Mr. Baffour, "and most of my energies
have been expended in poUtical work, but ff I have been
fortunate enough to contribute, even ffi the smaUest de
gree, to drawing closer the bonds that maite our two coun
tries, I shaU have done sometffing compared with wffich
aU else that I may have attempted counts m my eyes as
nothmg." Page's letters and notes contain many references to Mr.
Baffour's kffidly spuit. On the day foUowmg the dis-
naissal of Bernstorff the American Ambassador lunched
with the Foreign Secretary at No. 4 Carlton Gardens.

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 251
"Mr. Baffour," Page reported to Washington, "gave
expression to the hearty admiration which he entertained
for the President's handhng of a difficult task. He said
that never for a moment had he doubted the President's
wisdom ffi the course he was pursffing. He had the pro
foundest admiration for the manner in which he had
promptly broken with Germany after receiving Germany's
latest note. Nor had he ever entertained the shghtest
question of the American people's ready loyalty to their
Government or to their ffigh ideals. One of ffis inteUec
tual pleasures, he added, had long been contemplation of
the Umted States as it is and, even more, as its influence in
the world wffi broaden. 'The world,' said Mr. Baffour,
*wiU more and more turn on the Great RepubUc as on a
pivot.'" OccasionaUy Mr. Baffour's discussion of the Umted
States woffid take a more pensive turn. A memorandum
wffich Page wrote a few weeks after the above touches
another point : March 27, 1917.
I had a most interesting conversation with Mr.
Baffour tffis afternoon. "It's sad to me," said he,_llthat.
we are so unpopffiar, so much more unpopffiar than the
Frencti, m your country. Why is it? The old school
books?" I doubted the school-book influence.
"Certaiffiy their influence is not the main cause. It is
the organized Irish. Then it's the effect of the very fact
that the Irish question is not settled. You've had that
problem at your very door for 300 years. What's the
matter that you don't solve it?"
"Yes, yes," — he saw it. But the plaintive tone of
such a man asking such a question was sigmficant and
mteresting and — sf d.

252 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Then I told ffim the curious fact that a British Govra-n-
ment made up of twenty individuals, every one of whom
is most friendly to the Uffited States, wiU, when they
act together as a Government, do the most offensive
tffings. I mentioned the blackhst; I mentioned certain
complaints that I then held in my hand — of Americans
here who are told by the British Government that they
must turn over to the British Government's agent in New
York their American securities which they hold in Amer
ica! There's a sort of imperious, arrogant, Tory action that
comes natural to the Enghsh Government, even when not
natural to the individual Enghshman.
On AprU 5th, the day before the Uffited States formaUy
declared war, Page notified Wasffington that the British-
Government wished Mr. Baffour to go to the Umted
States as the head of a Commission to confer with our
Government. "Mr. Balfour is chosen for tffis mission,"
Page reported, "not offiy because he is Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs, but because he is personaUy-+he most
distingffished member of the Government. ' ' Page teUs the
stoTy in more detail in a letter to Mr. PoUt, at that time
CounseUor of the State Department.
To Frank L. Polk London, May 3, 1917.
Dear Mr. Polk:
. . . Mr. Baffour accurately represents British
character, British opiffion, and the British attitude. No
body who knows ffim and knows British character and the
British attitude ever doubted that. I know his whole
tribe, ffis home-lffe, ffis family connections, ffis friends; and,
of course, since he became Foreign Secretary, I've come

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 253
to know him intimately. When the question ffist came
up here of his going, of courseijsielcQinfidJLjeiilffiiaiasti-
cally^^ About that time during a two-hour conversation
he asked me why the British were so unpopffiar in the
Umted States. Among other reasons I told ffimthatour
official people on both sides steadfastly refused to visit
one^ anotEer and to become acquainted. Neither he nor
Lord Grey, nor Mr. Asqmth, nor Mr. Lloyd George, had
ever been to the Uffited States, nor any other im
portant British statesman in recent times, and not a single
member of the Admiffistration was personaUy known to a
smgle member of the British Government. "I'U go,"
said he, "^ff you are perfectly sure my going will be agreer-
able to-4b6-^i eKideuLt He himself recaUed the fact,
during one of our several conversations just before he left,
that you had not come when he and Lord Grey had invited
you. If you had come, by the way, tffis era of a better
understanding woffid have begun then, and haff our old
troubles woffid then have been removed. Keeping away
from one another is the best of all methods of keeping aU
old imsunderstandmgs aUve and of making new ones.
I have no doubt that Mr. Baffour's visit wiU cause visits
of many ffist-class British statesmen during the war or
soon afterward. That's aU we need to briag-ahQut-a^ier-
fecjjimleistanding. You may remember how I tried to get an official report
about the behaviour of the Benham,^ and how, in the ab
sence of that, Lord Beresford made a disagreeable speech
about our Navy in the House of Lords, and how, when

'The reference is to the attack made in October, 1916, by the German Submarine
1/-53, off Nantucket on several British ships. An erroneous newspaper account
said that the Benham, an American destroyer, had moved in a way that facihtated
Ihe operations of the German submarine. This caused great bitterness in Eng
land, until Page showed the Admiralty a report from the Navy Department prov
ing that the story was false.

254 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
months later you sent me Roosevelt's ^ letter, Lord Beres
ford expressed regret to me and said that he woffid explain
in another speech. I hadn't seen the old feUow for a long
time tffi a fortmght ago. He greeted me cheerUy, and I
said, " I don't tffink I ought to shake hands with you tiU
you retract what you said about our navy." He insisted
on my diffing with ffim. He invited Admiral Sims also,
and those two saUors had a joUy eveffing of it. Sims's
coming has straightened out aU that naval misunder
standing and more. He is of immense help to them and
to us. But I'm going to make old Beresford's hfe a bur
den tiU he gets up in the Lords and takes that speech back
—pubhcly. He's reaUy all right; but it's just as weU to
keep the records right. The proceedings of the House of
Lords are handsomely bound and go into every gentle
man's hbrary. I have seen two centuries of them in
many a house.
We can now begin a distinctly New Era ffi the world's
ffistory and in its management if we rise to the occasion:
there's not a shadow of doubt about that. And the
Umted States can play a part bigger than we have yet
dreamed of if we prove big enough to lead the British and
the French instead of hsteffing to Irish and Germans.
Neither England nor France is a democracy — far from it.
We can make them both democracies and develop then-
whole people mstead of about 10 per cent, of their
people. We have simply to conduct our affairs by a large
national poUcy and not by the complaints of our reaUy
non-American people. See how a declaration of war has
cleared the atmosphere I
We're happy yet, on rations. There are no potatoes.
We have meatless days. Good wheat meantime is sunk
'This, of course, is Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Seraetary of the Navy ia
1917.

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 255
every day. The submarine must be knocked out. Else
the earth wffi be rffied by the German bayonet and natural
hvmg wffi be verboten. We'll aU have to goose-step as the
Crown Prmce orders or — ^be shot. 1 see they now propose
that the Uffited States shaU pay the big war mdemffity
m raw materials to the value of hundreds of biffions of
doUars! Not just yet, I guess!
As we get reports of what you are doffig, it's most cheer
ful. I assure you, God has yet made notffing or nobody
equal to the American people; and I don't think He ever
wiU or can. Sfficerely yours, Walter H. Page.
One of the curious developments of tffis Baffour Mission
was a request from President Wilson that Great Britam
shoffid take some decisive step for the permanent settle
ment of the Irish question. "The President," tffis mes
sage ran, "wishes that, when you next meet the Prime
Mimster, you would explain to him that only one circum
stance now appears to stand ffi the way of perfect
cooperation with Great Britam. AU Americans who
are not immediately connected with Germany by blood
ties find their one difficffity in the failure of Great Britam
so far to estabUsh a satisfactory form of seff-govemment in
Ireland. In the recent debates in Congress on the War
Resolution, tffis sentiment was especiaUy mamfest. It
came out in the speeches of those enemies of the Declara
tion who were not Irish themselves nor representatives of
sections ffi wffich Irish voters possessed great influence —
notably members from the South p^" States.
" If the American people were once convinced that there
was a UkeUhood that the Irish question woffid soon be
settled, great enthusiasm and satisfaction woffid resffit

256 the life and letters of waiter h. page
and it wOffid also strengthen the cooperation which we are
now about to orgamze between the Umted States and
Great Britain. Say tffis in unofficial terms to Mr. Lloyd ,
George, but impress upon ffim its very great sigmficance.
If the British Government shoffid act successfully on this
matter, our American citizens of Irish descent and to a
great extent the German sympatffizers who have made
common cause with the Irish, woffid join hands in the
great common cause." To the President London, May 4, 1917.
Dear Mr. President:
. . . It is a remarkable commentary on the insular
ity of the British and on our studied isolation that-JiU Mr. .,
T^al%ir wpnt, oyer uot a member of tffis Government Jiad
ever met a member of our AdmimstrationJ — Qffiie-lraff
r.iir\nlia4<-w«<>wil.axif<ing.c! wpre {^^^. |n this If I had the
making of the laws of the two governments, I'd have a
statutory requirement that at least one visit a year by
high official persons should be made either way. We
shoffid never have had a blackUst, etc., ff that had been
done. When I tried the quite humble task of getting
Polk to come and the excuse was made that he couldn't
be spared from ffis desk — ^Mr. President, I fear we haven't
haff enough responsible official persons in our Govern
ment. I should say that no man even of Polk's rank
ought to have a desk: just as weU give him a miU-stone.
Even I try not to have a desk: else I'd never get anytffing
of importance done; for I find that talks and conferences
in my office and ffi the government offices and wherever
else I can find out tffings take aU my waking hours. The
Foreign Office here has about five high position men to
every ope in the State Department. God sparing me,

the ralfour mission to the united states 257
I'm gomg one of these days to prepare a paper for our
Foreign Affairs Committee on the Waste of Having
too Few High Grade Men in the Department of State;
a Plea for Five Assistant Secretaries for Every One Now
Existing and for Provision for International Visits by
Them. Here's an ancient and moffidy precedent that needs
shattering — ^for the coming of our country into its proper
station and influence in the world.
I am sure that Mr. Baffour's visit has turned out as weU
as I hoped, and my hopes were ffigh. He is one of the
most ffiteresting men that I've ever had the honour
to know intimately — ^he and Lord Grey. Mr. Baffour
is a Tory, of course; and in general I don't Uke Tories,
yet Uberal he surely is — a sort of ffigh-toned Scotch demo
crat. I have studied him with increasing charm and
interest. Not infrequently when I am in ffis office just
before luncheon he says, "Come, walk over and we'U
have lunch with the fanaUy." He's a bachelor. One
sister hves with ffim. Another (Lady Rayleigh, the
\dfe of the great chemist and ChanceUor of Cambridge
Umversity) frequently visits him. Either of those
ladies coffid rule tffis Empire. Then there are meces and
cousins always about — ^people of rare cultivation, every
one of 'em. One of those girls coiffirmed the story that
"Uncle Arthur" one day concluded that the ffibhck was
sometffing more than a humble necessity of a bad goffer
— that it had positive virtues of its own and had suffered
centuries of neglect. He, therefore, proceeded to play
with the mbUck only, tiU he proved his case and showed
that it is a club entitled to the ffighest respect.
A fierce old Liberal fighter in ParUamentary warfare,
who entered pohtics about the time Mr. Balfour did,
told me this story the other day. "I've watched Baffour

258 THE life and letters of WALTER H. PAGE
for about forty years as a cat watches a rat. I hate his
party. I hated him tiU I learned better, for I hated that
whole SaUsbury crowd. They wanted to CecU every
tffing. But I'U teU you. Sir, apropos of ffis visit to your
country, that ffi aU those years he has never spoken of the
United States except with iSghrg-ipprt and nftf^njeith deep
affection, 1 shouldJiavo caught him, if ho had.-"
went with ffim to a college in London one afternoon
where he dehvered a lecture on Dryden, to prove that
poetry csm carry a certain cargo of argument but that
argument can't raise the smaUest ffight of poetry. Dry
as it sounds, it was as good a hterary performance as I
recall I ever heard.
At ffis "family" luncheon, I've found Lord Miffier or
Lord Lansdowne, or some Uterary man who had come in
to find out from Lady Rayleigh how to conduct the
Empire or to write a great book; and the modest old
chemical Lord sits silent most of the time and now and
then breaks loose to confound them aU with a pat joke.
Tffis is a vigorous famUy, these Balfours. There's one
of them (a cousin of some sort, I think, of the Foreign
Secretary) who is a Lord of much of Scotland, about as
taU as Ben Nevis is ffigh — a giant of a man. One of his
sons was killed early in the war and one was missing —
whether dead or not he did not know. Mrs. Page ex
pressed her hope one day to the old man that he had had
news from ffis missing son. "No, no," said he simply,
"and me lady is awearying."
We've been lucky, Mr. President, in these days of
immortal horrors and of difficffities between two govern
ments that did not know one another — uncommoffiy lucky.
in the large chances that pohtics gives for grave errors,
to Mve had JjEO-auclLmm in thejjireign Qffit:? here as
Lord Grey and Mr. Balfour^ Th^rA are men who wwe

THB BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 259
mentioned for tffis post that woffid have driven us mad —
or to war with them. I'm afraid I've almost outgrown
my Uving hero worsffip. There isn't worsffipful material
enough lying around in the world to keep a vigorous rev
erence in practice. But these two geptlprnpn V>y birth
and cffiture have at least sometimes seemedref-heEoic-aizeji
to me. It has meant much to know them weU. I shaU
always be gratefffi to them, for in their qmet, forcefffi
way they helped me much to establish right relations
with these people — wffich, pray God, I hope to retain
tffiough whatever new trials we may yet encounter. For
it wffi faU to us yet to loose and to free the British, and a
Briton set free is an American. That's aU you can do for
a man or for a nation of men.
These Foreign Secretaries are not offiy men of much
greater cffitivation than their Prime Mimsters but of
greater moral force. But I've come to like Lloyd George
very much. He'd never deUver a lecture on Dryden, and
he doesn't even play a good game of goff; but he has what
both Lord Grey and Mr. Baffour lack — a touch of geffius
— whatever that is — ^not the kind that takes infimte pains,
but the kind that acts as an electric Ught flashed in the
dark. He said to me the other day that experts have
nearly been the death of him. "The Government has
experts, experts, experts, everywhere. In any depart
ment where tffings are not going weU, I have found boards
and committees and boards of experts. But in one de
partment at least I've found a substitute for them. I let
twenty experts go and I put in one Man, and tffings
began to move at once. Do you know any real Men?
When you hear of any, won't you let me know? "
A Uttle wffile ago he dined with me, and, after dinner, I
took him to a corner of the drawing room and deUvered
ymiY Tnpggaprp tn him flbnnt Ireland. " God knoWS, I'm try-

260 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
ing," he rephed. "TeU the President that. And teU him
to talk to Baffour." Presently he broke out — "Madmen,
madmen — I never saw any such task," and he pointed
across the room to Sir Edward Carson, ffis First Lord of
the Admualty— " Madmen." " But the President's right.
We've got to settle it and we've got to settle it now." Car
son and Jefficoe came across the room and sat down with
us. "I've been teffing the Ambassador, Carson, that
we've got to settle the Irish question now — in spite of
you." "I'll tell you sometffing else weVe got to settle now,"
said Carson. " Else it'U settle us. That's the submarines.
The press and pubhc are working up a calcffiated and
concerted attack on Jefficoe and me, and, ff they get us,
they'U get you. It's an attack on the Government made
on the Admiralty. Prime Mimster," said tffis Ulster
pirate whose civU war didn't come off offiy because the
big war was begun — " Prime Mimster, it may be a fierce
attack. Get ready for it." WeU, it has been developing
ever since. But I can't for the Ufe of me guess at the
possible resffits of an English Parhamentary attack on a
government. It's like a basebaU man watcffing a game
of cricket. He can't see when the player is out or why, or
what caused it. Of course, the submarine may torpedo
Lloyd George and his Government. It looks very Uke
it may overturn the Admiralty, as Gaffipoh did. If tffis
pubhc finds out the whole truth, it will demand some
body's head. But I'm offiy a baseball man; cricket is
beyond me.
But Lloyd George wiU outUve the war as an active force,
whatever happen to ffim in the meantime. He's too heav
Uy charged with electricity to stop activity. The war
has ended a good many careers that seemed to have long
promise. It is ending more every day. But there is

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 261
only one Lloyd George, and, whatever else he lack, he
doesn't lack lffe.
I heard aU the speeches in both Houses on the resolution
of appreciation of our comffig into the war — ^Bonar Law's,
Asqmth's (one of the best), Dffion's, a Labour man's,
and, ffi the Lord.s, Curzon's, Crewe's, the Archbishop's
(who deUvered in the course of ffis remarks a benediction
on me) and Bryce's (ahnost the best of aU). It wasn't
"oratory," but it was well said and well meant. They
know how badly they need help and they do mean to be as
good to us as their bemgnant insffiarity wffi pemait. They
are changing. I can't describe the great difference that
the war has made in them. They'U almost become docUe
ffi a Uttle more time.
And we came in in the mck of tune for them — in very
truth. If we hadn't, theu- exchange wnii|H jiav^ Q^^*^
down soon and they know it. I shaU never forget the
afternoon I spent with Mr. Balfour and Mr. Bonar Law
on that subject. They saw blue rmn without our finan
cial help. And now, ff we can save them from sub
marmes, those that know wffi know how vital our help was.
Again, the submarine is the great and grave and perhaps
the offiy danger now. If that can be scotched, I beheve
the whole Teutoffic mffitary structure woffid soon tum
ble. If not, the Germans may go on as long as they can
feed their army, aUowing their people to starve.
Of course, you know, we're on rations now — ^yet we
suffer no inconveffience on that score. But these queer
people (they are the most amusing and confusing and con
tradictory of aU God's creatures, these Enghsh, whose
possibffities are infinite and whose actuahties, in many
ways, are pitffffi) — these queer people are fiercely pur-
sumg food-economy by discussing ffi the newspapers
whether a hen consumes more food than she produces, and

262 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
whether what dogs eat contains enough human food to
justify the shooting of every one in the Kffigdom. That's
the way we are commg down to humble fare. But noth
ffig can qmte starve a people who aU Uve near the sea
wffich yields fish enough near shore to feed them waste-
fffily. All along tffis South shore, where I am to-day,^ I see the
Stars and Stripes; and everywhere there is a demand for
the words and music of the Battle Hymn of the Repubhc
and the Star Spangled Banner.
Tffis our-new-AUy bi^ffigss is bringing thp f^ ]r.t of
amuang troubles. TEeaties offer me boxes, imiversities
dSer me degrees, hospitals solicit visits from me, clubs
offer me dinners — I'U have to get a new private secretary
or two weU-traffied to say "No" poUtely, else I shaU not
have my work done. But aU that wffi presently wear
away as everytffing wears away (qmckly, too) ffi the grim
face of tffis bloody monster of war wffich is consummg
men as a prairie ffie consumes blades of grass. There's
a famUy that Uves aroimd the corner from tffis hotel.
One son is ffi the trenches, another is ffi a madhouse from
sheU-shock, a third commg home wounded the other day
was barely rescued when a torpedo sunk a hospital sffip
and may lose ffis reason. I suppose I saw one hundred
men tffis afternoon on a single mUe of beach who had lost
both legs. Tffiough the waU from my house ffi London
is a hospital. A young Texan has been there, whose
legs are gone at the thighs and one arm at the elbow.
God pity us for not havmg organized the world better
than tffis! We'U do it, yet, Mr. President— yoa' W do it;
and thank God for you. If we do not orgaffize Europe
iThi« letter is dated London and was probably begun there. It is evidoit, hew-
ever, that the latter part was written at Brighton, where the Ambassador was
taking.^ brief holiday.

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THB UNITED STATES 263
and make anothW such catasti-ophe impossible, Ufe wUl
not be worth bemg born into except to the few whose
days happen to faU between recurring devastations of the
world. Yours sfficerely, Walter H. Page.
"I hope that the Enghsh people," Colonel House wrote
to Page about tffis time, "reaUze how successful Mr.
Baffour's visit to America reaUy was. There is no man
they coffid have sent who coffid have done it better. He
and the President got along marveUously weU. The
tffiee of us dmed and spent the evemng together and it
was dehghtfffi to^ee hr^w s^Tupfft^^'^t^''^ t^^^V miprig ^Ypf^'
A letter from Mr. Polk also discloses the impression
wffich Mr. Baffour made upon Washffigton:
From Frank L. Polk
Wasffington, May 25, 1917.
My dear Mr. Page:
1 just want to get off a hne to catch the pouch.
You probably know what a wonderful success the Brit
ish Mission has been, but I do not tffink you can realize
what a deep impression they have made on aU of us. Mr.
Baffour reaUy won the affection of us all, and I do not
know when I was more sorry to have a man leave than I
was to have him go last ffight. He expressed ffimseff
as having been very much impressed with ffis reception
and the way he was treated. He was mosCl^r^ aU dis
cussions, and I think has a better undersEanding of our
point of view. I had the good fortune of being present
at the financial and the diplomatic conferences, and^I
tbinE we all leit tnat we were deahng with a sympathetic
friea^L

264 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
He and the President got ontremendouslv. The best
evidence of that was the facOhat the President went
up to Congress and sat ffi the gaUery wffile Mr. Baffour
addressed the House. Tffis is °°^^'*^^'it prffrpd°"-f
The difficult problem of course was the blackUst and
bunkering agreement, but I tffink we are by that. The
important tffing now is for the British to make aU the con
cessions possible in connection with the release of goods
in Rotterdam and the release of goods in Prize Court,
though the cases have not been begun. Of course I
mean cases of merely suspicion rather than where there is
evidence of wrongdoing.
The sending ofthe destroyers and troops abroad is going
to do a ^^t deal toward impressing our people with the
fact that we really are in the war. T do not think it i.«i
thorougffiy borne home on the majority yet what a serious
road we' Uave cUoseii:

Yours faithfuUy, Frank L. Polk.
Mr. Polk's reference to the blackUst recaUs an episode
which in itseff illustrates the rliangprl rligrgntpr rff t^^" ^p^"-
tignssthat had now been estabUshed between the American
and the British governments. Mr. Baffour discussed
sffipping problems for the most part with Mr. Polk, under
whose jurisdiction these matters feU. As one of these
conferences was approaching its end Mr. Baffour sUghtly
coughed, uttered an "er, " and gave other indications that
he was about to touch upon a tickhsh question.
"Before I go," he said, "there — er — ^is one subject I
would — er — ^Uke to say sometffing about."
Mr. Polk at once grasped what was coming,
"I know what' you have in mind," said Mr. PoUi in ffis

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 265
characteristically qffick way. "You want us to apply your
blackhst to neutrals."
In other words, the British hoped that the Uffited States,
now that it was in the war, would adopt against South
America and other offenders those same discriminations
which tffis country had so fiercely objected to, when it was
itseff a neutral.
The British statesman gave Mr. Polk one of ffis most
winmng smUes and nodded.
"Mr. Baffour," said Mr. PoUt, "it took Great Britain
tffiee years to reach a point where it was prepared to vio
late aU the laws of blockade. You wiU find that it wiU
take us offiy two months to become as great criminals as
you are!"
Mr. Baffour is usuaUy not explosive in ffis mamfesta-
tions of mirth, but ffis laughter, in reply to tffis statement,
was almost uproarious. And the State Department was
as good as its word. It immediately forgot aU the elab
orate "notes" and "protests" wffich it had been address-
mg to Great Britain. It became more inexorable than
Great Britain had ever been in keeping foodstuffs out of
neutral countries that were contiguous to Germany. Up
to the time the Uffited States entered the war, Germany,
m spite of the watcMffi British fleet, had been obtaimng
large supphes from the Uffited States tffiough Holland,
Denmark, and the Scandinavian pemnsffia. But the
Umted States now immediately closed these leaks. In the
mam tffis country adopted a poUcy of "ratiomng"; that
is, it woffid furffish the httle nations adjoiffing Germany
precisely the amount of food wffich they needed for their
own consumption. Tffis pohcy was one of the cffief in
fluences in undermimng the German people and forcing
their surrender. The American Government extended
likewise the blackhst to South America and other coun-

266 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
tries, and, in doing so, it bettered the instruction of Great
Britain herseff.
Though the whole story of the blockade thus seems fin
aUy to have ended in a joke, the whole proceeding has its
serious side. The Uffited States had been posing for tffiee
years as the champion of neutral rights; the point of view
of Wasffington had been that there was a great principle
at stake. If such a principle were involved, it was cer
taiffiy present in just the same degree aftei- the Umted
States became beffigerent as in the days when we were
neutrals. The lofty ideals by which the Admiffistration
had professed to be guided shoffid have stiU controUed its
actions; the mere tact that we, as a beffigerent7coffid ob-
taurijetmTT--adYaiitafies~wouia~T^^ justffied a
great and high-minded nation in abandoning its principles.
Yet eibandon them we did from the day that we declared
war. We became iust as remorseless in djarfigarding the
rights orimaU states as Great Britain — according to our
numerous blockade notes — ^tiad Deen. Possibly, there
fore, Mr. Baffour's mirth was not merely sympathetic or
humorous; it perhaps echoed his discovery that our posi-
tion for tffiee y^ars had reaUy been notffing but a sham;
that tne State Department had been forcing points in
wffich it did not reaUy beUeve, or ffi which it did not be
heve when American interests were mvolved. At any rate,
tffis endmg of our long argument with Great Britam was
a .splendid jnstifiriatinn for Page: ffis contention had al
ways been that the preservation of civiUzation was more
important than the techmcahties of the mternational
lawyers. And now thp Wj^s^ti AdTniniHtration. by tffiow-
mg mtoj^hpi wa.stft basket aU the finespun theories with
-irTvif^h itjijd bof^n timbnrra.cigiTig |^ AlUed caj^S*^ Rmce

Ai^iisr^, 1914, accepted — and accepted joyously— his
pomt of view.

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 267
II
One of the ffist tffings wffich Mr. Balfour did, on his
arrival in Washington, was personaUy to explain to
President Wilson about the so-caUed "secret treaties."
The "secret treaty" that especiaUy preyed upon Mr.
Wilson's mind, and wffich led to a famous episode at the
Versaffies Conference, was that wffich had been made with
Ital^Jn 1915, as consideration for Italy's participation in
tliewai\ Mr. Baffour, in teffing the President of these
territorial arrangements with Italy, naturaUy did not
criticise ffis aUy, but it was evident that he regarded the
matter as sometffing about wffich the Umted States shoffid
be informed.
"Tffis is the sort of tffing you have to do when you are
engaged in a war," he explained, and then he gave Mr.
WUson the detaUs.
Probably the most important information wffich Mr.
Baffour and the French and ItaUan Commissions brought
to Wasffington was the desperate situation nf thp Allied
cause. On that point not one of the visiting statesmen
or buhtary and naval advisers made the sUghtest attempt
at concealment. M^. Tt^lfrinr- pmplicigiTPrl thp gprmnanpcg
of the crisis in one of ffis earUest talks with Mr. McAdoo.
SppTptary nf thp TreasTTry: — The British statesman was
especiaUy ffiterested in the financial situation and he there
fore took up tffis matter at an early date with the Treas
ury Department.
"Mr. Baffour," gQi^Mr^ ]Y[f^Afl»r^, f'T^pfr^r-p we make any
plans of financial assiSance it is absolutely necessary that
we know precisely where we stand. The aU-important
tffing is the question as to how long the war is likely to
last. If it is offiy to last a few months, it is evident that
we need to make very different arrangements than ff it is

268 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
to last several years. Just what must we make provision
for? Let US assume that the Umted States goes in with
aU its men and resources — ^that we dedicate aU our money,
our manufacturing plants, our army, our navy, everytffing
we have got, to bringing the war to an end. How long
wffi it take?"
Mr. Baffour rephed that it woffid be necessary to con
sffit ffis naval and mffitary advisers before he answered
that question. He said that he woffid return ffi a day or
two and make an exphcit statement. He did so and his
answer was tffis: Under these circumstances — ^that the
Uffited States should make war to the fuU limit of its
power, in men and resources^-the war coffid not be ended
until the summer or the autumn of 1919. Mr. McAdoo
put the same question in the same formi to the French
and Italian Missions and obtained precisely the same
answer. ^
Pagers papers e^nw tbat MFi Bfllfnnr^ in thr r.nrly .8tt»gps
of American participation, regardpd the fi"ffp<"ipl w'ti'f^-
tidp as the thing wffich chiefly thrpatpnpd thp sncppss of
the Affied cause. So much greater emphasis has been
laid upon the siibmarine warfare that tffis may at first
seem rather a misreading of Great Britain's peril. Yet
the fact is that the high rate of exchange and the dep
redatory U-boat represented almost identicaUy the same
danger. The prospect that so darkened the horizon in
the spring of 1917 was the possible isolation of Great
Britain. England's weakness, as always, consisted ffi the
fact that she was an island, that she coffid not feed herseff
with her own resources and that she had offiy about six
weeks' supply of food ahead of her at any one time. If
Germany coffid cut the hnes of communication and so
prevent essential supplies from reacffing British ports,
the population of Great Britain could be starved into

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 269
surrender in a very brief time, France would be over
whelmed, and the triumph of the Prussian cause would
be complete. That the success of the German submarine
campaign woffid accomplish this result was a fact that the
popffiar mind readily grasped. What it did not so clearly
see, however, was that the financial coUapse of Great
Britain woffid cut these Unes of commumcation quite as
effectuaUy as the submarine itseff. The British were
practicaUy dependent for their existence upon the food
brought from the Uffited States, just as the Alhed armies
were largely dependent upon the steel wffich came from
the great ffidustrial plants of tffis country. If Great
Britain coffid not find the money with which to purchase
these suppUes, it is qmte apparent that they coffid not be
sffipped. The coUapse of British credit therefore woffid
have produced the isolation of the British Isles and led to
a British surrender, just as effectively as woffid the success
of the German submarine campaign.
As soon flsRernstorff was sent home, therefore, and the
participation of tffis cnnntry ii^ thp war bnnnmp nvtypmply
probableJHfZBaffourtook up the financial question with
Page. To the President March 5, 1917.
The ffiquiries wffich I have made here about financial
conditions disclose an mternational situation wffich is
most alanffing to the financial and ffidustrial outlook of
the Umted States. England has not only to pay her own
war biUs, but is obUged to finance her Affies as well. Up
to the present time she has done these tasks out of her
own capital. But she cannot continue her present exten
sive purchases in the Uffited States without shipping gold
as payment for them, and there are two reasons why she

270 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
cannot make large shipments of gold. In the ffist place,
both England and France must keep the larger part of the
gold they have to mamtain issues of their paper at par;
and, ffi the second place, the German U-boat has made the
shipping of gold a dangerous procedure even if they had
it to ship. Thprp is therefore a pressing danger that the
Franco-American and Anglo-American exchange wUl be
greatly disturbed; the inevitable consequen'Ce-wiU be that
orders"^ all the Affied Governments will be reduced to
the lowest possible amount and that trans-AtlantiC trade
wiU practicaUy~com5~tO~air~end: TEe~resiiIt of such a
stoppage wiU be a pamc ffi the United States. The
world wiU therefore~Tje divided iutu-two hemispheres,
one of them, our own, will have the gold and the commoffi-
ties: the other, Great Britain and Europe, wiU need these
commodities, but it wiU have no money with wffich to
pay for them. Moreover, it will have practically no com
modities of its own to exchange for them. The financial
and commercial result wiU be ahnost as bad for the United
States as for Europe. We shaU soon reach tffis condition
uffiess we take quick action to prevent it. Great Britain
and France must have a credit in th^ TTn^'^prl Statee whirh
wiU be large enough to prevent the coUapse of world trade
l;tig-J!nited States declare war against Germany, the
Cgate^^lp we could give Great Britam and its Affies
woffid be,judia credit. If we shoffid adopt tffis pohcy,
an exceUentplEm>ould be for our Government to make a
large investment in a Franco-British loan. Another plan
would be to guarantee such a loan. A great advantage
would be that aU the money would be kept in the Umted
States. We coffid keep on with our trade and mcrease it,
tiU the war ends, and after the war Europe would pur
chase food and an enormous supply qf materials with

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 271
wffich to reequip her peace industries. We should thus
reap the profit of an iminterrupted and perhaps an en-
largffig trade over a number of years and we should hold
their securities m payment.
On the other hand, ff we keep nearly aU the gold and
Europe cannot pay for reestabhsffing its economic hfe,
there may be a world-wide pamc for an indefimite period.
Of course we nannnt PYtpnd snoh P ^r"^''t t^t^I^F w^ go
to war with Germany. But is there no way ffi wffich our
Government mighFlmmediately and indirectly help the
estabhshment in the Umted States of a large Franco-
British credit without violating armed neutraUty? I do
not know enough about our own reserve bank law to form
an opimon. But these banks would avert such a danger
ff they were able to estabUsh such a credit. Danger for
us i& more real and imminent, I think, than the pubhc on
either side the Atlantic understands. If it be not averted
before its manifestations become apparent, it wiU then be
too late to save the day.
The pressure of this approacffing crisis, I am certain,
has gone beyond the abiUty of the Morgan financial agency
for the British and French governments. The financial
necessities of the Affies are too great and urgent for any
private agency to handle, for every such agency has to
encounter business rivalries and sectional antagomsms.
It is n'7t irnprf^ViaVtlp^ that the only way of maintaiffing
our prepf>nt pr'^'^Tninpnt tfr^dp position and avertmg a
pnnir is by di^H^^^'^g ™^"^ "^ (^prrnany The submarine
has added the last item to the danger of a financial world
crash. There is now an uncertainty about our being
drawn mto the war; no more considerable credits can be
privately placed in the United States. In the meantime
a collapse may come. Page.

272 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Urgent as this message was, it really understated the
desperate condition of British and Affied finances. That
the warring powers were extremely pressed for money
has long been known; but Page's papers reveal for the first
time the fact that they were facmg the prospect of bank
ruptcy itseff. "The whole Alhed combination on tffis
side the ocean are very much nearer the end of their
financial resources," he wrote in July, "than anybody has
guessed or imagined. We only can save them. . . .
The submarines are steadily winmng the war. Persffing
and his army have bucked up the French for the moment.
But for ffis coming there was more or less danger of a
revolution in Paris and of serious defection ffi the army.
Everybody here fears that the French will faU before
another winter of the trenches. Yet — the Germans must
be still worse off."
The matter that was chipfly pressing at the time, of the
BaffoTji-yisit wRsthe fact that the British balances in the
l^p™_jym-l'^ l^i^pl^g wprp IT) p serious condition. It should
always be remembered, however, that Great Britain was
financing not offiy herseff, but her Affies, and that the
difficult condition in wffich she now found herseff was
caused by the not too considerate demands of the nations
with which she was affied in the war. Thus by AprU 6,
1917, Great Britain had overdrawn her account with J. P.
Morgan to the extent of $400,000,000 and had no cash
avaUable with wffich to meet tffis overdraft. Tffis obU
gation had been incurred in the purchase of supphes, both
for Great Britain and the alhed governments; and se
curities, largely British owned stocks and bonds, had been
deposited to protect the bankers. The money was now
coming due; if the obligations were not met, the credit of
Great Britain in tffis country woffid reach the vanishing
point. Though at ffist there was a shght misunder-

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 273
standing about this matter, the American Government
finaUy pffid tffis over-draft out of the proceeds ofthe ffist
Liberty Loan. Tffis act saved the credit of the aUied
countries; it was, of course, offiy the beginffing of the
financial support that America brought to the aUied cause;
the advances that were afterward furmshed from the
American Treasury made possible the purchases of food
and supphes in enormous quantities. The ffist danger
that tffieatened, the isolation and- starvation of Great
Britain, was therefore overcome. It was the joint prod
uct of Page's work in London and that of the Baffour
Commission in the Uffited States.

Ill
UntU these financial arrangements had been made
there was no certainty that the supphes wffich were
so essential to victory woffid ever leave the Uffited States;
tffis obstruction at the source had now been removed.
But the greater difficulty stiU remained. The German
submarmes were lying off the waters south and west of
Ireland ready to sink the supply sffips as soon as they en
tered the'proffibited zone. Mr. Baffour and ffis associates
were working also on tffis problem in Wasffington; and,
at the same time. Page and Admiral Sims and the British
Admiralty were bending aU their energies in London to
obtain immediate cooperation.
A remark wffich Mr. Baffour afterward made to Admiral
Sims shows the frightful nature of the problem wffich was
confronting Great Britain at that time.
"That was a terrible week we spent at sea in that
voyage to the Uffited States," Mr. Baffour said. "We knew
that the German submarine campaign was succeeding.
Their submarines were destroying our shipping and we

274 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
had no means of preventing it. I coffid not help tffinking
that we were facing the defeat of Great Britain."
Page's papers show that as early as February 25th he
understood in a general way the disheartemng propor
tions of the German success. " It is a momentous crisis,"
he wrote at that time. "The submarines are destroying
shipping at an appaUing rate." Yet it was not untU
Admiral Sims arrived in London, on AprU 9th, that the
Ambassador learned aU the details. Tn gpri^fng tliP \A.
nfiiraTjhn^F.ngjanrl the Nn^^'^-F^pHl! If'""! l-'-'.l-a^d^fl »n an
earnest recommendation from Page. The fact that the
American Navy was inadequately represented in the
British capital had long been a matter of embarrassment
to ffim. The ability and personal quaUfications of our
attaches had been unquestioned; but none of them during
the war had been men of high rank, and tffis in itself
proved to be a constant impediment to their success.
While America was represented by Commanders, Japan,
Italy, and France had aU sent Admirals to London,
Page's repeated requests for an American Admiral had so
far met with no response, but the probabffity that tffis
country would become involved in the war now gave new
point to his representations. In the latter part of March,
Page renewed his request in stiU more urgent form, and
this time the President and the Navy Department re
sponded favourably. The resffit was that, on April 9th,
tffiee days after the American declaration of war. Ad
miral Sims and ffis flag-lieutenant. Commander Babcock,
presented themselves at the American Embassy. There
was little in the appearance of these men to suggest a vio
lent naval demonstration against Germany. Both wore
civihan dress, their instructions having commanded them
not to bring uniforms; both were travelUng under assumed
names, and both had no more defiffite orders than to in-

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 275
vestigate the naval situation and cable the resffits to
Wasffington, In spite of these attempts at secrecy, the
British had learned that Admiral Sims was on the way;
they rejoiced not offiy in this fact, but in the fact that
Sims had been chosen, for there was no American naval
ofl&cer whose professional reputation stood so high in the
British Navy or who was so personaUy Sicceptable to
British officialdom and the British public. The Admiralty
therefore met Admiral Sims at Liverpool, brought ffim
to London ffi a special train, and, a few hours after his
arrival, gave him the innermost secrets on the submarine
situation — secrets wffich were so dangerous that not all the
members ofthe British Cabinet had been let into them.
Page welcomed Admiral Sims with a cordiaUty wffich
that experienced sea veteran stffi gratefuUy remembers.
He at once turned over to ffim two rooms in the Embassy.
"You can have everytffing we've got," the Ambassador
said. " If necessary to give you room, we'U turn the whole
Embassy force out into the street." The two men had
not previously met, but ffi an instant they became close
friends. A common sympathy and a common enthusiasm
were greatly needed at that crisis. As soon as Admiral
Sims had fimshed ffis ffiterview with Admiral Jefficoe, he
immediately sought out the Ambassador and laid aU the
facts before him. Germany was winmng the war. Great
Britaffi had offiy six weeks' food supply on hand, and the
submarffies were sinking the sffips at a rate wffich, unless
the depredations shoffid be checked, meant an early and
unconditional surrender of the British Empire. Only the
help of the Umted States could prevent tffis calamity.
Page, of course, was aghast: the facts and figures Ad
rairal Sims gave ffim disclosed a situation wffich was even
more desperate than he had imagined. He advised the
Admiral to cable the whole story immediately to Wash-

276 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
ington. Admiral Sims at fust had some difficulty in ob
taimng the Admiralty's consent to doing tffis, and the
reason was the one with wffich Page had long been famiUar
— the fear, altogether too justified, that the news would
"leak" out of Washington. Of course there was no sus
picion in British naval circles of the good faith of the
Wasffington officials, but important facts had been sent
so many times under the seal of the strictest secrecy and
had then found their way into the newspapers that there
was a deep distrust of American discretion. Certaiffiy
no greater damage coffid have been done the affied cause
at that time than to have the Germans learn how success
fuUy their submarine campaign was progressing. The
question was referred to the Imperial War Council and
its consent obtained. The report, however, was sent to
the Navy Department in the British naval code, and de
coded in the British Embassy in Wasffington.
Admiral Sims's message gave aU the facts about the
submarine situation, and concluded with the recommen
dation that the Umted States should assemble aU floating
craft that could be used in the anti-submarine warfare,
destroyers, tugs, yachts, hght crffisers, and similar vessels,
and send them immediately to Queenstown, where they
woffid do valuable service in convoying merchant vessels
and destroying the U-boats. At that time the American
Navy had between fifty and sixty destroyers that were
patroUing the American coast; these could have been des
patched, almost immediately, to the scene of operations;
but, in response to tffis request, the Department sent six
to Queentown.
The next few months were very unhappy ones for
Admiral Sims. He was the representative in London of
one of the world's greatest naval powers, participating in
the greatest war that had ever enhsted its energies, yet ffis

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 277
constant appeals for warsffips ehcited the most inade
quate response, ffis well-reasoned recommendations for
meeting the crisis were frequently unanswered and at other
times were met with counter-proposals so childish that
they seemed almost to have originated in the brains of
newspaper amateurs, and ffis urgent pictures of a civihza
tion rapidly going to wreck were apparently looked upon
with suspicion as the utterances of a man who had been
completely led astray by British guUe. To give a fair
idea of Wasffington' s neglect during tffis period it is only
necessary to point out that, for four months. Admiral
Sims occupied the two rooms in the Embassy directly
above Page's, with Commander Babcock as ffis offiy aid.
Sims's repeated requests to Secretary Darnels for an
additional staff went unheeded. Had it not been for the
Admiral's constant daily association with Page and the
comfort and encouragement wffich the Ambassador gave
him, tffis experience would have been almost unbearable.
In the latter part of April, the Admiral's appeals to Wash
mgton HSaymg appHrentlT^aUen on deaf_ears7 he asked
Page togmrpd his '^ffc;rts T'h'^ AHmiy^iT anrl Commander
Babcock wrote another message, and drove ffi a motor
car to Brighton, where Page was taking a Uttle rest. The
Admiral did not know just how strong a statement the
Ambassador woffid care to sponsor, and so he did not make
tffis representation as emphatic as the judgment of both
men woffid have preferred.
The Admiral handed Page the paper, saying that he
had prepared it with the hope that the Ambassador would
sign it and send it directly to President Wilson.
"It is quite apparent," Admiral Sims said, "that the
Department doesn't beheve what I have been saying.
Or they don't beheve what the British are saying. They
think that England is exaggerating the peril for reasons

278 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
of its own. They tffink I am hopelessly pro-British and
that I am being used. But if you'U take it up directly
with the President, then they may be convmced."
Page put on ffis spectacles, took the paper, and read it
tffiough. Then, lookmg over the rim of ffis glasses in ffis
characteristic way, he leaned toward Admiral Sims and
said:
. "Admiral, it isn't half strong enough! I tffink I can
write a better despatch than that, myseff! At least let
me try."
He immediately took a pen and paper and in a few
minutes he had written his own version wffich he gave
the Admiral to read. The latter was dehghted with it
and in a brief time it was on its way to Wasffington.
From: Ambassador Page.
To: Secretary of State.
Sent: 27 April, 1917.
Very confidential for Secretary and President
There is reason for the greatest alarm about the issue
rvf t.l^p MJTs^y ranspH by the increasing success of the'GermMl"
submarines. 1 have it from official sources that during
the week ending 22nd AprU, 88 sffips of 237,000 tons, affied
and neutral, were lost. The number of vessels unsuccess-
fffily attacked indicated a great increase in the number
of submarines in action.
This means practically a miffion tons lost every month
till the shorter days of autumn come. By that time the
sea will be about clear of sffipping. Most of the sffips are
sunk to the westward and southward of Ireland. The
British have in that area every available anti-submarine
craft, but their force is so insufficient that they hardly
discourage the submarines.

THE BALFOUR MISSION* TO THE UNITED STATES 279
The British transport of troops and suppUes is already
strained to the utmost, and the maintenance of the armies
in the field is tffieatened. There is food enough here to
last the civU popffiation offiy not more than six weeks or
two months.
Whatever help the Umted States may render at any
time ffi the future, or ffi any theatre of the war, our help
is now more seriously needed in tffis submarme area for
the sake of aU the Affies than it can ever be needed again,
or anywhere else.
After talking over tffis critical situation with the Prime
Mimster and other members of the Government, I can
not refraffi from most strongly recommending the immedi
ate sending over of every destroyer and aU other craft that
can be of anti-submarine use. Tffis seems to me the
sharpest crisis of the war, and the most dangerous situa
tion for the Alhes that has arisen or coffid arise.
If enough submarines can be destroyed in the next two
or tffiee months, the war wffi be won, and if we can con
tribute effective help immediately, it wiU be won directly
by our aid. I cannot exaggerate the pressing and increas-
mg danger of tffis situation. Thirty or more destroyers
and other similar craft sent by us immediately would very
likely be decisive.
There is no tune to be lost. (Signed) Page.
Tffis cablegram had a certain effect. The reply came
from Washington that "eventually" thirty-six destroyers
woffid be sent.
Page's letters of tffis period are fuU of the same sub
ject.

280 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
To the President London, May 4, 1917.
Dear Mr. President:
The submarines have become a very grave danger.
The loss of British and affied tonnage mcreases with the
longer and brighter days — as I telegraphed you, 237,000
tons last week; and the worst of it is, the British are not
destroying them. The Admiralty pubUshes a weekly re
port wffich, though true, is not the whole truth. It is
known in official circles here that the Germans are turmng
out at least two a week — some say tffiee; and the British
are not destroying them as fast as new ones are turned
out. If merely the present situation contmue, the war
wiU pretty soon become a contest of endurance under
hunger, with an increasing proportion of starvation. Ger
many is yet much the worse off, but it wffi be easUy
possible for Great Britain to suffer to the danger pouat
next winter or earher maless some decided change be
wrought in tffis situation.
The greatest help, I hope, can come from us — our de
stroyers and similar armed craft — ^provided we can send
enough of them qmckly. The area to be watched is so
big that many submarine hunters are needed. Early in
the war the submarines worked near shore. There are very
many more of them now and their range is one hundred
miles, or even two himdred, at sea.
The pubhc is becoming very restive with its half-
information, and it is more and more loudly demanding
all the facts. There are already angry tffieats to change
the personnel of the Admiralty; there is even talk of turn
ing out the Govemment. "We must have results, we
must have resffits." I hear confidentially that JelUcoe
has tffieatened to resign uffiess the Salonica expedition is

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 281
brought back: to feed and equip that force reqmres too
many sffips.
And there are other troubles impending. Norway has
lost so many of her sffips that she dare not send what are
left to sea. Unarmed they'U aU perish. If she arm them,
Germany wiU declare war against her. There is a plan
on foot for the British to charter these Norwegian ships
and to arm them, taking the risk of German war against
Norway. If war come (as it is expected) England must
then defend Norway the best she can. And then England
may ask for our big ships to help in these waters. AU this
is yet in the future, but possibly not far in the future.
For the present the only anti-submarine help is the help
we may be able to give to patrol the wide area off Ireland.
If we had one himdred destroyers to send, the job there
could, I am told, be qmckly done. A third of that num
ber wiU help mightUy. At the present rate of destruction
more than four million tons wffi be sunk before the summer
is gone.
Such is tffis dire submarine danger. The EngUsh
thought that they controUed the sea; the Germans, that
they were mvfficible on land. Each side is losing where
it thought itseff strongest.
Admiral Sims is of the greatest help imaginable. Of
course, I gave him an office in one of our Embassy build-
mgs, and the Admiralty has given ffim an office also with
them. He spends much of ffis time there, and they have
opened aU doors and aU desks and drawers to him. He
stiikes me (and the Enghsh so regard him) as a man of
admirable judgment — unexcitable and indefatigable. I
hope we'U soon send a general over, to whom the War
Department wffi act similarly. Hoover, too, must have a
good man here as, I dare say, he has already made known.
These wffi cover the Navy, the Army, Food, and Shipping.

282 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Perhaps a Censor and an IntelUgence (Secret Service)
group ought to come. I mean these for permanent — at
least indefimte — service. Exchange visits by a Con
gressional Committee (such as the French and British
make) and by ffigh official persons such as members of
your Cabinet (such also as the French and British make) —
you will have got ideas about these from Mr. Baffour.
W. H, P.
In the latter part of June Admiral Sims went to Queens
town. Admiral Bayly, who directed the operation of the
anti-submarine forces there, had gone away for a brief
rest, and Admiral Sims had taken over the command of
both the British and American forces at that point, Tffis
experience gave Admiral Sims a ffist-hand picture of a
reaUy deplorable situation. The crisis was so desperate
that he made another appeal to Page.
From Admiral William S. Sims
Admiralty House, Queenstown,
June 25, 1917.
My dear Mr, Page:
I enclose herewith a letter on the submarine situation.^
I tffink I have made it plain therein that the AUies are
losing the war; that it wiU be aheady lost when the loss
of shippffig reaches the point where fully adequate sup
pUes cannot be mamtaffied on the various battle fronts.
I cannot understand why our Government shoffid hesi
tate to send the necessary anti-submarme craft to tffis side.
There are at least seventeen more destroyers employed
on our Atlantic coast, where there is no war, not to mention
numerous other very usefffi anti-submarme craft, mclud
ing sea-gomg tugs, etc.
^This was a long document describing conditions in great detail.

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 283
Can you not do sometffing to bring our Government to
an understandffig of how very serious the situation is?
Woffid it not be well to send another telegram to Mr.
Lansing and the President, and also send them the en
closed correspondence?
I am sendffig tffis by mail because I may be somewhat
delayed in returffing to London. Very sincerely yours,
Wm. S. Sims.
Page immediately acted on tffis suggestion.
Most confidential for the Secretary of State and
President only
Sims sends me by special messenger from Queenstown
the most alarming reports of the submarffie situation
wffich are conffimed by the Admiralty here. He says that
the war wffi be won or lost in tffis submarme zone witffin
a few months. Time is of the essence of the problem, and
anti-submarine craft wffich cannot be assembled in the
submarme zone almost immediately may come too late.
There is, therefore, a possibffity that tffis war may become
a war between Germany and the Uffited States alone.
Help is far more urgently and qmckly needed in tffis sub
marffie zone than anaywhere else in the whole war area.
Page.
The Umted States had now been in the war for tffiee
months and only twenty^ight of the sixty d^gt^ny^^s w^^'^h
were avaUable had__be^^sent into the fields Yet tffis
latesr"message of Page produced no effect, and, when
Admiral Sims retumed from Queenstown, the two men,
almost in despair, consulted as to the step which they
should take next. What was the matter? Was it that

284 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Wasffington^didjaot care to get intothe naval war with its
fuU strength, or was itJiiatJlLSim3El2^tasedTS-"beUe^
thp-TppresftBtatinns nf its Admirallflnd its Ambassador?
Admiral Sims and Page went over tlie~whole situation
and came to the conclusion that Washington regarded
them both as so pro-British that their reports were subject
to suspicion. Just as Page had found that the State
Department, and its "trade advisers," had beheved that
the British were using the blockade as a means of de
stroyffig American trade for the benefit of Britam, so now
he beheved that Mr. Darnels and Admiral Benson, the
Cffief of Naval Operations, evidently thought that Great
Britain was attempting to lure American warsffips into
European waters, to undergo the risk of protecting British
commerce, wffile British warsffips were kept safely m
harbour. Page suggested that there was now offiy one
tffing left to do, and that was to request the British
Government itself to make a statement to President
WUson that would substantiate ffis own messages.
"Whatever else they tffink of the British in Wasffing
ton," he said, "they know one tffing — and that is that a
British statesman like Mr. Baffour wffi not he."
Mr. Baffour by tffis time had returned from America.
The fact that he had estabhshed these splendid personal
relations with Mr. Wilson, and that he had impressed the
American pubhc so deeply with ffis sincerity and fine
purpose, made him especially valuable for tffis particular
appeal. Page and Admiral Sims therefore went to the
Foreign Office and laid all the facts before ffim. Their
own statements. Page informed the Foreign Secretary,
were evidently regarded as hysterical and biased by
an unreasomng friendliness to Great Britain. If Mr.
Balfour would say the same things over ffis own signature,
• then they woffid not be disbeheved.

•the BALFOtTR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 285
Mr. Baffour gladly consented. He called in Admiral
Jefficoe and asked him to draft a despatch, so that aU the
techmcal facts woffid be completely accurate. He also
consffited with Sir Edward Carson, the First Lord of the
Admiralty. Then Mr. Baffour put the document in its
final shape and signed it. It was as foUows:
Mr. Balfour to the President June 30, 1917.
The forces at present at the disposal of the British Ad
miralty are not adequate to protect shipping from subma
rine attack in the danger zone round the British Islands.
Consequently sffipping is being sunk at a greater rate than
it can be replaced by new tonnage of British origin.
The time wffi come when, ff the present rate of loss
continues, the available sffipping, apart from American
contribution, wffi be insufficient to bring to tffis country
sufficient foodstuffs and other essentials, including oil fuel.
The situation in regard to our Affies, France, and Italy, is
much the same.
Consequently, it is absolutely necessary to add to our
. forces as a first step, pending the adoption or completion
of measures which will, it is hoped, eventually lead to the
destruction of enemy submarines at a rate sufficient to
ensure safety of our sea commumcations.
The Umted States is the only affied country in a posi
tion to help. The pressing need is for armed small craft
of every kind available in the area where commerce con
centrates near the British and French coasts. Destroy
ers, submarines, gunboats, yachts, trawlers, and tugs
would aU give invaluable help, and if sent in suflicient
numbers would undoubtedly save a situation which is
mamfestly critical. But they are required now and in
as great numbers as possible. There is no time for delay.

286 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
The present method of submarine attack is almost en
tirely by torpedo with the submarine submerged. The
gun defense of merchant sffips keeps the submarine below
the surface but does no more; offensively against a sub
merged submarine it is useless, and the large majority of
the ships torpedoed never see the attacking submarine
until the torpedo has ffit the sffip.^
The present remedy is, therefore, to prevent the sub
marine from using its periscope for fear of attack by bomb
or ram from small craft, and this method of defense for- the
sffipping and offense against the submarine requires smaU
craft in very large numbers.
The introduction of the convoy system, provided there
are sufficient destroyers to form an adequate screen to the
convoy, wffi, it is hoped, mimmize losses when it is work
ing, and the provision of new offensive measures is pro
gressing; but for the next few months there is only one
safeguard, viz., the immediate addition to patrols of
every smaU vessel that can possibly be sent to European
waters. Page, moreover, kept up ffis own appeal:
To the President Jffiy 5th.
Strictly confidential to the President and the Secretary
The British Cabinet is engaging in a tffieatemng contro
versy about the attitude which they shoffid take toward
the submarine peril. There is a faction in the Admiralty
wffich possesses the indisputable facts and wffich takes

*The Navy Department had taken the position that arming merchantmen was
the best protection against the submarine. This statement was intended to re
fute this belief.

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 287
a very disheartemng view of the situation. This group
insists that the Cabinet shoffid make a confession at least
to us of the fuU extent of the danger and that it shoffid
give more information to the pubhc. The pubhc does
not feel great alarm simply because it has been kept in
too great ignorance. But the poUtical faction is so far the
stronger. It attempts to minimi^p thppfants, anrij prob
ably for poKticai reasons, it refuses to give these disconrag-
ing farts wide pubhcitv. The poUtieians urge that it is nec
essary to conceal the fuU facts from the Germans. They
also see great danger in tffiowing the pubhc into a pamc.
Mr. Lloyd George is always optimistic and he is too
much incUned to yield ffis judgment to poUtical motives.
In ffis recent address in Glasgow he gave the pubhc a
comforting impression of the situation. But the facts do
not warrant the impression wffich he gave.
Tffis dispute among the poUtical factions is most un
fortunate and it may cause an explosion of pubUc feeUng
at any time. Changes in the Cabinet may come in con
sequence. If the British pubhc knew aU the facts or ff
the American people knew them, the present British Gov
ernment woffid probably faU. It is therefore not offiy the
submarme situation wffich is fuU of danger. The pohtical
situation is ffi a dangerous state also. Page.
To Arthur W. Page
Wilsford Manor, SaUsbury,
Jffiy 8, 1917.
Dear Arthur:
Since admirals and generals began to come from home,
they and the war have taken my time so completely, day
and mght, that I haven't lately written you many tffings
that I should hke to teU you. I'U try here — a house of a

288 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
friend of ours where the offiy other guest besides your
mother and me is Edward Grey. This is the first time
I've seen him since he left office. Let me take certain big
subjects in order and come to smaller things later:
1. The German submarines are succeeding to a degree
that the pubhc knows nothing about. These two tffings
are true : (a) The Germans are building submarines faster
than the EngUsh sink them. In tffis way, therefore, they
are steadily gaiffing. (b) The submarines are sinking
freight sffips faster than freight ships are being bmlt by
the whole world. In tffis way, too, then, the Germans are
succeeding. Now if this goes on long enough, the AlUes'
game is up. For instance, they have lately sunk so
many fuel oU sffips, that tffis country may very soon be in
a perilous condition — even the Grand Fleet may not have
enough fuel. Of course the chance is that oil ships wiU
not continue to fall victims to the U-boats and we shaU
get enough through to replemsh the stock. But this U-
lustrates the danger, and it is a very grave danger.
The best remedy so far worked out is the destroyer.
The submarines avoid destroyers and they sink very,
very few ships that are convoyed. If we had destroyers
enough to patrol the whole approach (for, say, 250 mUes)
to England, the safety of the sea woffid be very greatly
increased; and if we had enough to patrol and to convoy
every sffip going and coming, the damage woffid be re
duced to a minimum. The Admiral and I are trying our
best to get our Government to send over 500 improvised
destroyers — yachts, ocean-going tugs — any kind of swfft
craft that can be armed. Five hundred such httle boats
might end the war in a few months; for the Germans are
keeping the spirit of their people and of their army up
by their submarine success. If that success were stopped
they'd have no other cry haff so effective. If they could

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 289
see tffis in Washington as we see it, they'd do it and do it
not haffway but with a vengeance. If they don't do it,
the war may be indefimtely prolonged and a whoUy satis
factory peace may never be made. The submarine is
the most formidable tffing the war has produced — ^by far
— and it gives the German the offiy earthly chance he has
to win. And he may substantiaUy win by it yet. That's
what the British conceal. In fact, haff of them do not see
it or beUeve it. But notffing is truer, or plainer. One
hundred thousand submarine chasers next year may be
worth far less than 500 woffid be worth now, for next year
see how few sffips may be left! The mere arming of ships
is not enough. Nearly aU that are sunk are armed. The
submarine now carries a Uttle periscope and a big one,
each painted the colour of the sea. You can't see a Uttle
periscope except in an ocean as smooth as glass. It isn't
bigger than a coffee cup. The submarine thus sinks its
victims without ever emerging or ever being seen. As
tffings now stand, the Germans are winmng the war, and
they are wirming it on the sea; that's the queer and the
most discouraging fact. My own opimon is that aU
the facts ought to be pubhshed to aU the world. Let the
Germans get aU the joy they can out of the confession.
No matter, ff the Government and the people of the
Umted States knew aU the facts, we'd have 1,000 impro
vised destroyers (yachts, tugs, etc., etc.) armed and over
here very qmckly. Then the tide woffid turn.
Then there'd be notffing to fear in the long run. For
the mffitary authorities aU agree that the German Army is
inferior to the British and French and wffi be wffipped.
That may take a long time yet; but of the resffit nobody
who knows seems to have any doubt — ^uffiess the French
get tired and stop. They have periods of great war weari
ness and there is real danger that they may qffit and

290 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
make a separate peace. General Pershing's presence has
made the situation safe for the moment. But in a Uttle
while sometffing else spectacffiar and hopefffi may be re
quired to keep them in Une.
Such is an accurate picture of the war as it is now, and
it is a dangerous situation.
2. The next grave danger is financial. The European
Affies have so bled the Enghsh for money that the EngUsh
woffid by this time probably have been on a paper money
basis (and of course aU the Affies as weU) if we had not
come to their financial aid. And we've got to keep our
financial aid going to them to prevent tffis disastrous re
sult. That woffidn't at once end the war, if they had aU
abandoned specie payments; but it woffid be a frightfuUy
severe blow and it might later bring defeat. That is a real
danger. And the Government at Wasffington, I fear,
does not know the fffil extent of the danger. They tffink
that the English are disposed to lie down on them. They
don't reaUze the cost of the war. Tffis Government has
bared aU tffis vast skeleton to me; but I fear that Wash
ington imagines that part of it is a dehberate scare. It's
a very real danger.
Now, certain detached items:
Sims is the idol of the British Admiralty and he is doing
ffis job just as weU as any man coffid with the tools and
the chance that he has. He has made the very best of the
chance and he has completely won the confidence and
admiration of this side of the world.
Persffing made an admirable impression here, and in
France he has simply set them wild with joy. His com
ing and ffis httle army have been worth what a real army
wiU be worth later. It is weU he came to keep the French
in Une.
The army of doctors and nurses have had a simUar effect.

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 291
Even the New England saw-miU umts have caused
a furor of enthusiasm. They came with absolute Yankee
completeness of orgamzation — ^with duphcate parts of all
their macffinery, tents, cooks, pots, and pans, and every
tffing sffip-shape. The offiy question they asked was:
"Say, where the heU are them trees you want sawed up?"
That's the way to do a job! Yankee stock is made ffigh
here by such tffings as that.
We're getting a crowd of Yankee lecturers on the
Umted States to go up and down tffis Kingdom. There's
the greatest imaginable curiosity to hear about the Uffited
States ffi aU kinds of society from muffition workers
to umversities. I got the British Government to write
Buttrick^ to come as its guest, and the RockefeUer Boards
rose to the occasion. He'U probably be along presently.
If he hasn't already saUed when you get tffis, see ffim and
teU him to make arrangements to have pictures sent over
to him to ffiustrate ffis lectures. Who else coffid come
to do tffis sort of a job?
I am myseff busier than I have ever been. The kind
of work the Embassy now has to do is very different from
the work of the days of neutraUty. It continues to in
crease — especiaUy the work that I have to do myseff.
But it's aU pleasant now. We are trying to help and no
longer to ffinder. To save my Ufe I don't see how the
Washffigton crowd can look at themselves in a mirror and
keep their faces straight. Yesterday they were bent on
sendmg everytffing into European neutral states. The
foundations of civihzation would give way ff neutral trade
were interfered with. Now, notffing must go in except on
a ration basis. Yesterday it must be a peace without
victory. Now it must be a complete victory, every man
*Dr. Wallace Buttrick, President of the General Education Board, who was
sent at this time to deliver lectures throughout Great Britain on the United States.

292 THE LIFE -AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
and every doUar tffiown in, else no peace is worth having.
I don't complain. I offiy rejoice. But I'm glad that
kind of a rapid change is not a part of my record. The
German was the same beast yesterday that he is to-day;
and it makes a simple-minded, straight-minded man
hke me wonder wffich attitude was the (or is the) attitude
of real conviction. But this doesn't bother me now as a
real problem — only as a specffiation. What we call His
tory will, I presume, in time work this out. But History
is often a kind of lie. But never mind that. The only
duty of mankind now is to win. Other tffings can wait.
I walked over to Stonehenge and back (about six miles)
with Lord Grey (Sir Edward, you know) and we, like every
body else, feU to talking about when the war may end.
We know as well as anybody and no better than anybody
else, I have very different moods about it — ^no convic
tions. It seems to me to depend, as tffings now are,
more on the submarines than on anytffing else. If we
could effectuaUy discourage them so that the Germans
woffid have to withdraw them and coffid no more keep
up the spirit of their people by stories of the imminent
starvation of England, I have a feehng that the hunger
and the war weariness of the German people woffid lead
them to force an end. But, the more they are caUed on
to suffer the more patriotic do they tffink themselves and
they may go on till they drop dead in their tracks.
What I am really afraid of is that the Germans may,
before winter, offer aU that the Western Affies most want
— ^the restoration of Belgium and France, the return of
Alsace-Lorraine, etc, in the West and the surrender of
the Colomes — provided Austria is not dismembered. That
would virtuaUy leave them the chance to work out their
Middle Europe scheme and ultimately there'd probably
have to be another war over that question. That's the

THE BALFOUR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES 293
real eventuahty to be feared — a German defeat in the
West but a German victory in the Southeast. Everybody
in Europe is so war weary that such a plan may succeed.
On the other hand, what Hoover and Northcliffe fear
may come true — ^that the Germans are going to keep up
the struggle for years — tffi their armies are practically
obUterated, as Lee's army was. If the Affies were actually
to kiU (not merely wound, but actuaUy kiU) 5,000 Ger
mans a day for 300 days a year, it would take about
four years to obUterate the whole German Army. There
is the bare possibffity, therefore, of a long struggle yet.
But I can't beheve it. My dominant mood these days is
an end witffin a very few months after the submarines are
knocked out. Send over, therefore, 1,000 improvised
destroyers the next two months, and I'U promise peace
by Cffiistmas, Otherwise I can make no promises.
That's aU that Lord Grey and I know, and surely we are
two wise men. What, therefore, is the use in writing
any more about tffis?
The cffief necessity that grows upon me is that aU the
facts must be brought out that show the kinsffip in blood
and ideals of the two great EngUsh-speaking nations.
We were actuaUy coming to beUeve ourselves that we were
part German and Slovene and Pole and What-not, instead
of essentiaUy being Scotch and Enghsh. Hence the un
speakable impudence of your German who spoke of elimi
nating the Anglo-Saxon element from American ffie! The
truth shoffid be forcibly and convincingly told and re
peated to the end of the chapter, and our national hfe
shoffid proceed on its natural ffistoric Unes, with its
proper laistoric outlook and background. We can do
sometffing to bring this about. Affectionately, W. H. P.

294 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
The labour of getting the American Navy into the war
was evidently at ffist a difficffit one, but the determination
of Page and Admiral Sims triumphed, and, by August and
September, our energies were fuUy engaged. And the
American Navy made a record that wffi stand everlast
ingly to its glory. Without its help the German sub
marines could never have been overcome.

/' '¦¦-
CHAPTER XXIII
PAGE — THE MAN
THE entrance of America into the war, foUowed
by the successfffi promotion of the Baffour visit,
brought a period of qmet into Page's lffe. These events
represented for him a personal triumph; there were many
tffings stffi to be done, it is true, and Page, as always, was
active in advancing the interests that were nearest ffis
heart; yet the mighty rehef that followed the American
declaration was the kind that one experiences after ac-
comphsffing the greatest task of a Iffetime. Page's letters
have contained many references to the sense of moral
isolation wffich ffis country's pohcy had forced upon him;
he probably exaggerated his feehng that there was a
tendency to avoid him; this was merely a reflection
of ffis own inchnation to keep away from aU but the
oflficial people. He now had more leisure and certaiffiy
more interest in cultivating the friends that he had
made in Great Britain. For the fact is that, during
aU these engrossing years. Page had been more than
an Ambassador; by the time the Umted States entered
the war he had attained an assured personal position
in the hfe of the British capital. He had long since
demonstrated ffis quaUfications for a post, which, in the
distinction of the men who have occupied it, has few
paraUels in diplomacy. The scholarly Lowell, the courtly
Bayard, the compamonable Hay, the ever-humorous
Choate, had set a standard for American Ambassadors
wffich had made the place a difficult one for their suc-
295

296 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
cessors. Though Page had characteristics in common
with all these men, his personahty had its own distinctive
tang; and it was something new to the poUtical and
social hfe of London. And the iBritish capital, which is
extremely exacting and even merciless in its demands upon
its important personages, had found it vastly entertain
ing. "I didn't know there could be anything so Ameri
can as Page except Mark Twain," a British hterary man
once remarked; and it was probably tffis strong American
quaUty, this directness and even breeziness of speech
and of method, this absence of affectation, tffis almost
openly expressed contempt for finesse and even for tradi
tion, combined with those other traits which we like to
think of as American — an upright purpose, a desire to
serve not only his own country but mankind — ^wffich
made the British public look upon Page as one of the
most attractive and useful figures in a war-torn Europe,
There was a certain ruggedness in Page's exterior wffich
the British regarded as distinctly in keeping with tffis Amer
ican flavour. The Ambassador was not a handsome man.
To one who had heard much of the hveliness of ffis conver
sation and presence a ffist impression was likely to be dis
appointing. His figure at this time was taU, gaunt, and
lean — and he steadily lost weight during ffis service in
England; his head was finely shaped — ^it was large, with a
high forehead, ffis thin gray hair rather increasing its in
tellectual aspect; and ffis big frank brown eyes reflected
that keen zest for hfe, that unsleeping interest in everytffing
about him, that ever-working intelhgence and sympathy
wffich were the man's predominant traits. But a very large
nose at ffist rather lessened the pleasing effects of ffis other
features, and a rather weather-beaten, corrugated face
gave a preliminary suggestion of roughness. Yet Page
had only to begin talking and the impression immediately

PAGE — THE MAN 297
changed. "He puts ffis mind to yours," Dr, Johnson
said, describing the sympathetic quahties of a friend, and
the same was true of Page, Haff a dozen sentences,
spoken in ffis qmck, soft, and ingratiating accents, ac-
compaffied by the most geffial smile, at once converted
the listener into a friend. Few men have ever Uved
who more qmckly responded to this human relation-
sffip. The Ainbassador, at the simple approach of a
human being, became as a man transformed. Tired
though he naight be, low in spirits as he not infrequently
was, the press of a human hand at once changed ffim into
an animated and radiating compamon. Tffis responsive
ness deceived aU ffis friends in the days of ffis last iUness.
His intimates who dropped in to see Page invariably
went away much encouraged and spread optimistic re
ports about his progress. A few minutes' conversation
with Page woffid deceive even ffis physicians. The ex
planation was a simple one: the human presence had an
electric effect upon ffim, and it is a reveaUng sideUght on
Page's character that almost any man or woman could
produce tffis result. As an editor, the readiness with
wffich he woffid hsten to suggestions from the humblest
source was a constant astomshment to ffis associates.
The office boy had as accessible an approach to Page
as had his partners. He never treated an idea, even a
grotesqpie one, with contempt; he always had time to
ffiscuss it, to argue it out, and no one ever left ffis presence
tffinking that he had made an absurd proposal. Thus
Page had a profound respect for a human being simply
because he was a human being; the mere fact that a man,
woman, or chUd Uved and breathed, had his virtues and
ffis faihngs, constituted in Page's imagination a tremen
dous fact. He coffid not wound such a Uving creature
any more than he coffid wound a flower or a tree; conse-

298 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
quently he treated every person as an important member
of the umverse. Not infrequently, indeed, he stormed
at pubhc men, but ffis thunder, after all, was not very
terrifying; ffis remarks about such personages as Mr.
Bryan merely reflected his indignation at their pohcies and
their influence but did not indicate any feehng against the
victims themselves. Page said "Good morning" to ffis
doorman with the same deference that he showed to Sir
Edward Grey, and there was not a httle stenographer in
the buUding whose joys and sorrows did not arouse in him
the most friendly interest. Some of the most affecting
letters written about Page, indeed, have come from these
daily associates of more humble station. "We so often
speak of Mr. Page," writes one of the Embassy staff —
"Findlater, Short, and Frederick" — ^these were all EngUsh
servants at the Embassy; "we aU loved him equaUy,
and hardly a day passes that something does not remind
us of ffim, and I often fancy that I hear his laugh, so fuU
of kindness and love of hfe." And the impression left
on those in ffigh position was the same. "I have seen
ladies representing aU that is most worldly in Mayfair,"
writes Mr. EUery Sedgwick, the editor of the Atlantic
Monthly, "start at the sudden thought of Page's ffiness,
their eyes ghstemng with tears."
Perhaps what gave most charm to tffis human side was
the fact that Page was fundamentaUy such a scholarly
man. Tffis was the aspect which especiaUy deUghted
ffis EngUsh friends. He preached democracy and Ameri
caffism with an emphasis that almost suggested the back
woodsman — the many ideas on these subjects that appear
in ffis letters Page never hesitated to set forth with aU due
resonance at London dinner tables — yet he pffiased ffis
creed in language that was httle less than Uterary style,
and illuminated it with iUustrations and a pffilosophy

PAGE — THE MAN 299
that were the product of the most exhaustive reading.
"Your Ambassador has taught us sometffing that we did
not know before," an Enghsh friend remarked to an
American. "That is that a man can be a democrat and a
man of cffiture at the same time." The Greek and Latin
authors had been Page's compamons from the days when,
as the holder of the Greek FeUowsffip at Johns Hopkins,
he had been a favourite pupU of Basil L. GUdersleeve.
British statesmen who had been trained at Baffiol, in the
days when Greek was the indispensable ear-mark of a
gentleman, coffid thus meet their American associate on
the most sympathetic terms. Page likewise spoke a
brand of idiomatic Enghsh wffich immediately put him
in a class by himseff. He regarded words as sacred tffings.
He used them, in ffis writing or in ffis speech, with the
utmost care and discrimination; yet tffis did not resffit in
a halting or stilted style; he spoke with the utmost ease,
gomg rapidly from thought to thought, choosing invari
ably the one needfffi word, Ughting up the whole withwffim-
sicahties aU ffis own, occasionaUy emphasizing a good point
by looking downward and glancing over his eyeglasses,
perhaps, ff he knew ffis compamon intimately, now and
then givmg him a momtory tap on the knee. Page, in
fact, was a great and incessant talker; hardly anything
dehghted him more than a compamonable exchange of
ideas and impressions; he was seldom so busy that he
would not push aside ffis papers for a chat; and he woffid
talk with almost any one, on ahnost any subject — ^ffis
secretaries, ffis stenographers, ffis office boys, and any
crank who succeeded in getting by the doorman — ^for, in
spite of ffis hvely warmngs against the breed, Page did
reaUy love cranks and took a coUector's joy in uncovering
new types. Page's voice was normaUy qmet; though he
had spent aU ffis early Ufe in the South, the characteristic

300 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Southern accents were ordinarily not observable; yet ffis
intonation had a certain gentleness that was probal)ly an
inheritance of his Southern breeding. Thus, when he
fust began talking, his words woffid ripple along qmetly
and rapidly; a characteristic pose was to sit calmly, with
one knee tffiown over the other, his hands folded; as ffis
interest increased, however, he woffid get up, perhaps
walk across the room, or stand before the ffieplace, ffis
hands beffind his back; a large cigar, sometimes unUghted,
at other times emitting huge clouds of smoke, would
oscffiate from one side of his mouth to the other; ffis talk
would grow in earnestness, his voice grow louder, his
words come faster and faster, until finaUy they would
gush forth in a naighty torrent.
AU Page's personal traits are explained by that one
characteristic wffich tempered aU others, ffis sense of
humour. That Page was above aU a serious-mmded man
his letters show; yet ffis spirits were constantly alert for
the amusing, the grotesque, and the contradictory; like
aU men who are reaUy serious and aUve to the pathos of
existence, he loved a hearty laugh, especiaUy as he found
it a rehef from the gloom that fiUed ffis every waking
moment in England. Page ffimseff regarded tffis abffity
to smile as an indispensable attribute to a weU-rounded
life. "No man can be a gentleman," he once declared,
"who does not have a sense of humour." Offiy he who
possessed this gfft. Page beUeved, had an imaginative
insight into the faihngs and the virtues of ffis brothers;
offiy he could have a tolerant attitude toward the stupidi
ties of ffis fellows, to say notffing of his own. And humour
with him assumed various shades; now it woffid flash in
an epigram, or smile indulgently at a passing human
weakness; now and then it would break out into genial
mockery; occasionally it would mamfest itself as sheer

PAGE— THE MAN 301
horse-play; and less frequently it woffid become sardomc
or even savage. It was in this latter spirit that he once
described a trio of Wasffi'ngton statesmen, whose influence
he abhorred as, " tffiee minds that occupy a single vacuum."
He once convffised a Scottish audience by describing the
national motto of Scotland — and doing so with a broad burr
in ffis voice that seemed almost to mark the speaker a native
to the heath — as "Liber-r-ty, fra-a-termty and f-r-r-u-
gahty." The pohcy of ffis country occasioned many awk
ward moments wffich, thanks to ffis talent for amiable
raiUery, he usuaUy succeeded in rendering harmless. Not
infrequently Page's feUow guests at the dinner table woffid
tffink the American attitude toward Germany a not
inappropriate topic for small talk. "Mr. Page," re
marked an exaltedly titled lady in a conversational pause,
"when is your country going to get into the war?" The
more discreet members of the company gasped, but Page
was not disturbed. " Please give us at least ninety days, "
he answered, and an exceedingly disagreeable situation was
thus reheved by general laughter.
On another occasion ffis repudiation of tffis ffippant
spirit took a more solemn and even more effective form.
The time was a few days before the Uffited States had
declared war. Bernstorff had been dismissed; events
were rapidly rusffing toward the great climax; yet the
behaviour of the Washington Admiffistration was stiU
inspirmg much caustic criticism. The Pages were pres
ent at one of the few dinners wffich they attended in
the course of this crisis ; certain smart and tactless guests
did not seem to regard their presence as a bar to many
gibes against the American pohcy. Page sat tffiough it
all impassive, never betraying the sUghtest resentment.
Presently the ladies withdrew. Page found himseff
sitting next to Mr. Harold Nicolson, an important official

302 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
in the Foreign Office. It so happened that Mr. Nicolson
and Page were the offiy two members of the company who
were the possessors of a great secret wffich made ineffably
siUy all the chatter that had taken place during the din
ner; this was that the Uffited States had decided on war
against Germany and woffid issue the declaration ffi a
few days.
"WeU, Mr. Nicolson," said Page, "I tffink that you
and I wiU drink a glass of wine together."
The two men qmetly ffited their glasses and drank the
silent toast. . Neither made the slightest reference to the
forthcoming event. Perhaps the other men present were
a httle mystified, but in a few days they understood what
it had meant, and also learned how effectively they had
been rebuked.
"Is it any wonder," says Mr. Nicolson, teffing tffis
story, "that I think that Mr. Page is perhaps the greatest
gentleman I have ever known? He has only one possible
competitor for tffis distinction — and that is Arthur Bal
four." The Enghsh newspapers took dehght in printing Page's
aphorisms, and several anecdotes that came from America
afforded them especial joy. One went back to the days
when the Ambassador was editor of the Atlantic Monthly.
A woman contributor had sent him a story; like most
hterary novices she beheved that editors usuaUy rejected
the manuscripts of unknown writers without reading them.
She therefore set a trap for Page by pasting together cer
tain sheets. The manuscript came back promptly, and,
as the prospective contributor had hoped, these sheets
had not been distiubed. These particffiar sections had
certainly not been read. The angry author triumphantly
wrote to Page, explaiffing how she had caught ffim and
denouncing the whole editorial tribe as humbugs. " Dear

PAGE — THE MAN 303
Madam," Page immediately wrote in reply, "when I
break an egg at breakfast, I do not have to eat the whole
of it to find out that it is bad." Page's treatment of
authors, however, was by no means so acrimomous as this
Uttle note naight imply. Indeed, the urbamty and con
sideration shown in ffis correspondence with writers had
long been a tradition in American letters. The remark of
0. Henry in tffis regard promises to become immortal:
"Page coffid reject a story with a letter that was so com
plimentary," he said, " and make everybody feel so happy
that you coffid take it to a bank and borrow money on it."
Another anecdote remimscent of his editorial days was
ffis retort to S. S. McClure, the editor of McClure' s Maga
zine. "Page," said Mr. McClure, "there are offiy tffiee great
editors in the Uffited States."
"Who's the third one, Sam?" asked Page.
Plenty of stories, illustrating Page's qffickness and
aptness ffi retort, have gathered about ffis name ffi Eng
land. Many of them indicate a mere spirit of boyish
fun. Early ffi ffis Ambassadorsffip he was spending a
few days at Stratford-on-Avon, ffis hostess being an
American woman who had beautifuUy restored an EUza-
bethan house; the garden contaffied a mulberry tree
wffich she hked to tffink had been planted by Shake
speare himseff. The digmtaries of Stratford, learmng that
the American Ambassador had reached town, asked
permission to wait upon ffim; the Lord Mayor, who headed
the procession, made an exceUent speech, to wffich Page
appropriately rephed, and several himdred people were
solenmly presented. After the party had left Page
turned to ffis hostess:
"Have they all gone?"
"Yes."

304 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
"AU?""Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes.""Then let's take hands and dance around the mul
berry tree!"
Page was as good as his word; he danced as gaily as the
youngest member of the party, to the singing of the old
Enghsh song.
The great service in St. Paul's Cathedral, in commem
oration of America's entry into the war, has aheady been
described. A number of wounded Americans, boys whose
zeal for the Allies had led them to enhst in the Canadian
Army, were conspicuous pEuticipants in tffis celebration.
After the solemn rehgious ceremonies, the Ambassador
and these young men betook themselves for lunch to a
weU-known London restaurant. In an interval of the
conversation one of the Americans turned to Page.
"Mr. Ambassador, there was just one tffing wrong
with that service."
"What was that?"
"We wanted to yell, and we couldn't."
"Then why don't you yeU now?"
The boy jumped on a chair and began waving ffis nap
kin. "The Ainbassador says we may yeU," he cried.
"Let'syeU!" "And so," said Page, telUng the story, "they yeUed for
five minutes and I yeUed with them. We aU felt better
in consequence."
Tffis gemaUty, tffis disposition not to take Ufe too
solenmly, sometmaes Ughtened up the sombre atmos
phere of the Foreign Office itseff. "Mr. Baffour went on
a sort of mUd rampage yesterday," Page records. "The
British and American navies had come to an arrangement

PAGE — THE MAN 305
whereby the Brazihan ships that are coming over to help
us fight should join the American mait, not the British,
as was at ffist proposed. Washington telegraphed me
that the British Miffister at Rio was blocking the game
by standing out for the ffist British idea — that the Brazil
ian sffips should join the British. It turned out in the
conversation that the British Miffister had not been
informed of the British-American naval arrangement.
Mr. Baffour sent for Lord Hardinge. He caUed in one
of the private secretaries. Was such a tffing ever heard
of? "'Did you ever know,' said the indignant Mr. Baffour,
turmng to me, 'of such a tffing as a mimster not even be
mg informed of his Government's decisions?' 'Yes,' I
said, 'ff I ransack my memory dihgently, I think I could
find such cases.' The meeting went into laughter ! "
Evidently the troubles wffich Page was having with his
own State Department were not unfamUiar to British
oflficialdom. Page's letters sufficiently reveal ffis fondness for Sir
Edward Grey and the splendid relations that existed be
tween them. The sympathetic chords wffich the two
men struck upon their first meeting only grew stronger with
time. A single episode brings out the bonds that drew
them together. It took place at a time when the
tension over the blockade was especially tffieatemng.
One afternoon Page asked for a formal interview; he had
received another exceedffigly disagreeable protest from
Wasffington, with instructions to push the matter to a
decision; the Ambassador left ffis Embassy with a grave
expression upon ffis face; ffis associates were especiaUy
worried over the outcome. So critical did the situation
seem that the most important secretaries gathered in the
Ambassador's room, awaiting his return, their nerves

306 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
strung ahnost to the breaking point. An hour went by
and notffing was heard from Page; another hour slowly
passed and stiff the Ambassador did not return. The
faces of the assembled staff lengthened as the mmutes
went by; what was the Ainbassador doing at the Foreign
Office? So protracted an interview could portend only
evil; already, ffi the minds of these nervous young men,
ultimatums were flying between the Uffited States and
Great Britain, and even war naight be hanging ffi the
balance. Another hour drew out its weary length; the
room became dark, dinner time was approacffing, and stiU
Page failed to make ffis appearance. At last, when ffis
distracted subordinates were almost prepared to go in
search of their cffief, the Ambassador walked jauntUy in,
smiUng and apparently carefree. What had happened?
What was to be done about the detained sffips?
"What sffips?" asked Page, and then suddeffiy he re
membered. "Oh, yes — those," That was aU right; Sir
Edward had at once promised to release them; it had aU
been settled in a few minutes.
"Then why were you so long?"
The truth came out : Sir Edward and Page had quickly
turned from intercepted cargoes to the more congemal
subject of Wordsworth, Tennyson, and other favourite
poets, and the rest of the afternoon had been consumed in
discussing tffis really important business.
Perhaps Page was not so great a story-teUer as many
Americans, but he excelled in a type of yarn that especially
deUghts EngUshmen, for it is the kind that is native to the
American soil. He possessed an inexhaustible stock of
Negro anecdotes, and he had the gift of bringing them
out at precisely the right point. There was one which the
Archbishop of York never tued of repeating. Soon after
America entered the war, the Archbishop asked Page how

PAGE — ^THE MAN 307
long ffis country was "in for." "I can best answer that
by teffing you a story," said Page. "There were two
Negroes who had just been sentenced to prison terms. As
they were beffig taken away ffi the carriage placed at their
disposal by the Uffited States Government, one said to
the other, 'Sam, how long is you in fo'?' 'I guess dat it's
a yeah or two yeahs,' said Sam. 'How long is you in fo'?'
'I guess it's from now on,' said the other darky." "From
now on," remarked the Archbishop, teffing this story.
"What coffid more eloquently have described America's
attitude toward the war?"
The mention of the Archbishop suggests another of
Page's talents — ^the aptness of ffis letters of mtroduc
tion. In the sprmg of 1918 the Archbishop, at the
earnest recommendation of Page and Mr. Baffour, came
to the United States. Page prepared the way by letters
to several distffigmshed Americans, of wffich tffis one, to
Theodore Roosevelt, is a fair sample:
To Theodore Roosevelt
London, January 16, 1918.
Dear Mr. Roosevelt:
The Archbishop of York goes to the Umted States to
make some observations of us and of our ways and to
deUver addresses — on the ffivitation of some one of our
church organizations; a fortunate event for us and, I have
ventured to teU him, for him also.
Durffig ffis brief stay ffi our country, I wish him to
make your acquamtance, and I have given ffim a card
of mtroduction to you, and thus I humbly serve you
both. The Archbishop is a man and a brother, a humble,
learned, earnest, compaffionable fellow, with most charm
ing manners and an attractive personaUty, a good friend of

308 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
mme, wffich argues much for him and (I think) imphes also
sometffing in my behalf. You wiU enjoy him.
I am, dear Mr. Roosevelt, Sincerely yours, Walter H. Page.
Greatly as Page loved England he never ceased to
preach ffis Americaffism. That he preferred ffis own
country to any other and that he beheved that it was its
greatest destiny to teach its institutions to the rest of the
world. Page's letters show; yet tffis was with him no cheap
spread-eagleism; it was a defiffite phUosophy wffich the
Ambassador had completely thought out. He never
hesitated to express ffis democratic opimons in any com
pany, and only once or twice were there any signs that these
ideas jarred a Uttle in certain strongholds of conservatism.
Even ffi the darkest period of American neutraUty Page's
faith in the American people remained complete. After
tffis country had entered the war and the apparent slow
ness of the Wasffington Adnaimstration had raised certain
questioffings. Page never doubted that the people them
selves, however irresolute and lukewarm their representa
tives might be, would force the issue to its only logical
end. Even so friendly a man as Mr. Baffour once voiced
a popffiar apprehension that the Uffited States might
not get into the war with aU its strength or might with
draw prematurely. This was in the early period of our
participation. "Who is going to stop the American
people and how?" Page quickly repUed. "I think that
was a good answer," he said, as he looked back at the
episode in the summer of 1918, when hundreds of thou
sands of Americans were landing in France every month.
A scrap of his writing records a discussion at a dinner
party on tffis question: "If you could have a month in any

PAGE — THE MAN 309
time and any country, what time and what country would
you choose?" The majority voted for England in the
time of Ehzabeth, but Page's preference was for Athens
in the days of Pericles. Then came a far more interesting
debate: "If you coffid spend a second hfetime when and
where woffid you choose to spend it?" On this Page
had not a moment's hesitation: "In the future and in the
U. S. A.!" and he upheld ffis point with such persuasive
ness that he carried the whole gathering with him. His
love of anytffing suggestmg America came out on all
occasions. One of his Enghsh hostesses once captivated
him by servmg corn bread at a luncheon. "The Ameri
can Ambassador and corn bread!" he exclaimed with all
the dehght of a schoolboy. Again he was invited, with
another distingffished American, to serve as godfather at
the cffiisteffing of the daughter of an American woman
who had married, an EngUshman. When the ceremony
was fimshed he leaned over the font toward his feUow
godfather. "Born on Jffiy 4th," he exclaimed, "of
an American mother! And we two Yankee godfathers!
We'U see that this cffild is taught the Constitution of the
Umted States!"
One day an American duchess came into Page's office.
"I am going home for a Uttle visit and I want a pass
port," she said.
"But you don't get a passport here," Page rephed.
"You must go to the Foreign Office."
His visitor was indignant.
"Not at aU," she answered. "I am an American: you
know that I am; you knew my father. I want an Ameri
can passport."
Page patiently explained the citizenship and naturaUza-
tion laws and finaUy convinced ffis caller that she was now
a British subject and must have a British passport. As

310 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
tffis American duchess left the room he shook at her a
menacing forefinger.
"Don't teU me," was the Ambassador's parting shot,
"that you thought that you coffid have your Duke and
Uncle Seuu, too!"
The judgments wffich Page passed on men and tffings
were quick and they were not infrequently wise. One of
these judgments had historic consequences the end of which
cannot even yet be foreseen. On the outbreak of hostil
ities, as already related, an American Rehef Committee
was organized in London to look out for the interests of
stranded Americans. Page kept a close eye on its opera
tions, and soon ffis attention was attracted by the noise
less efficiency of an American engineer of whom he
had already caught a few fleeting ghmpses in the period
of peace. After he had fimshed his work with the
American Committee, Mr. Herbert C. Hoover began to
make his arrangements to leave for the Umted States,
His private affairs had been disorgamzed; he had al
ready sent ffis family home, and ffis one Eunbition was
to get on the ffist sffip saiUng for the Uffited States.
The idea of Belgian relief, or of feeding starving people
anywhere, had never occurred to him. At tffis moment
an American, Mr. MiUard K. Shaler, came from Brussels
and gave the most harrowing account of conditions in
Belgium. Mr. Hoover took Mr. Shaler to Page, who
immediately became sympathetic. The Ambassador ar
ranged an interview between Mr. Hoover and Sir Edward
Grey, who likewise showed great interest and promised
government support. Soon afterward tffiee Belgians
arrived and described the situation as immediately alarm
ing: Brussels had offiy food enough to feed the people for
thirty-six hours; after that, uffiess help were forthcoming,
the greatest distress woffid set in. Five men — ^Page, the

PAGE — THE MAN 311
tffiee Belgians, and Mr. Hoover — at once got together at
the American Embassy. Upon the resffit of that meeting
hung the fate of milhons of people. Who before had ever
undertaken a scheme for feeding an entire nation for an
indefimte period? That there were great obstacles in the
way aU five men knew; the British Admiralty in particular
were strongly opposed; there was a fear that the food, ff
it coffid be acquired and sent to Belgium, would find its
way to the German Army. Unless the British Govern
ment coffid be persuaded that this coffid be prevented, the
enterprise woffid faU at the start. How coffid it be
done? "There is offiy one way," said Page. "Some govern
ment must give its guarantee that this food will get to the
Belgian people." "And, of course," he added, "there
is only one government that can do that. It must be the
American Government."
Mr. Hoover pointed out that any such guarantee in
volved the management of transportation; offiy by con-
troffing the railroads coffid the American Government
make sure that this food would reach its destination.
And that, added Page, involved a director — some one
man who coffid take charge of the whole enterprise. Who
shoffid it be?
Then Page turned quickly to the young American.
"Hoover, you're It! "
Mr. Hoover made no reply; he neither accepted nor
rejected the proposal. He merely glanced at the clock,
then got up and sUently left the room. In a few
mmutes he returned and entered agaffi mto the dis
cussion. "Hoover, why did you get up and leave us so
abruptly?" asked Page, a httle puzzled over this be
haviour.

312 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
"I saw by the clock," came the answer — and it was a
story that Page was fond of telhng, as illustrating the
rapidity with wffich Mr. Hoover worked — "that there
was an hour left before the Exchange closed in New York.
So I went out and cabled, buying several miffions of
bushels of wheat — ^for the Belgians, of course."
For what is usuaUy known as "society" Page had httle
inchnation. Yet for social intercourse on a more genmne
plane he had real gifts. Had he enjoyed better health,
week ends in the country would have afforded him wel
come entertainment. He also hked dinner parties but in^-
dulged in them very moderately. He was a member of
many London clubs but he seldom visited any of them.
There were a number of orgamzations, however, wffich he
regularly attended. The Society of Dilettanti, a company
of distinguished men interested in promoting the arts and
improving the pubhc taste, wffich has been continuously
in existence since 1736, enrolUng in each generation the
greatest painters and writers of the time, elected Page
to membership. He greatly enjoyed its dinners in the
Banquet Hall of the Grafton GaUery. "Last mght," he
writes, describing his initial appearance, "I attended my
fust Dilettanti dinner and was inducted, much as a new
Peer is inducted into the House of Lords. Lord Mersey
in the chair — ^in a red robe. These gay old dogs have had
a fine time of it for nearly 200 years — good wine, high
food, fine satisfaction. The oldest diffing society in the
Kingdom. The blue blood old Briton has the art of en
joying himseff reduced to a very fine point indeed." An
other gathering whose meetings he seldom missed was
that of the Kinsmen, an informal club of literary men
who met occasionally for food and converse in the Troca
dero Restaurant. Here Page would meet such congenial

PAGE — THE MAN 313
souls as Su James Barrie and Su Arthur Pinero, aU of
whom retain hvely memories of Page at these gatherings.
"He was one of the most lovable characters 1 have ever
had the good fortune to encounter," says Sir Arthur
Pinero, recalhng these occasions. "In what special
quaUty or quaUties lay the secret of ffis charm and in
fluence? Surely in ffis simpUcity and transparent hon
esty, and in the possession of a disposition wffich, without
the smaUest loss of digffity, was responsive and affection
ate. Distingffished American Ambassadors wffi come and
go, and wffi in their turn win esteem and admiration. But
none, 1 venture to say, wffi efface the recollection of Wal
ter Page from the minds of those who were privileged to
gain ffis friendsffip."
One aspect of Page that remaffis fixed in the memory of
ffis associates is ffis unwearied mdustry with the pen.
His official commumcations and ffis ordinary corre
spondence Page dictated ; but his personal letters he wrote
with ffis own hand. He ffimseff deplored the stenogra
pher as a deterrent to good writing; the habit of dictating,
he argued, led to wordiness and general looseness of
thought. PracticaUy aU the letters pubhshed in these
volumes were therefore the painstaking work of Page's
own pen. His handwriting was so beautffffi and clear
that, in his editorial days, the printers much preferred it
as " copy " to typewritten matter. This habit is especiaUy
surprising in view of the Ambassador's enormous episto
lary output. It must be remembered that the letters
mcluded in the present book are only a selection from
the vast number that he wrote during ffis five years in
England; many of these letters fiU twenty and thirty
pages of script ; the labour involved in turning them out ;
day after day, seems fairly astounding. Yet with Page
tffis was a labour of love. AU tffiough ffis Ambassador-

314 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
ship he seemed hardly contented unless he had a pen in
his hand. As ffis secretaries woffid glance into ffis room,
there they woffid see the Ambassador bending over ffis
desk — ^writing, writing, eternaUy writing; sometimes he
woffid caU them in, and read what he had written, never
hesitating to tear up the paper ff their unfavourable
criticisms seemed to ffim weU taken. The Ambassador
kept a desk also in his bedroom, and here ffis most im
portant correspondence was attended to. Page's aU-
mght seff-commumngs before ffis wood ffie have already
been described, and he had another nocturnal occupation
that was similarly absorbing. Many a ffight, after re
turffing late from ffis office or from dinner, he woffid put
on ffis dressing gown, sit at ffis bedroom desk, and start
pouring forth his inmost thoughts in letters to the Presi
dent, Colonel Hquse, or some other correspondent. His pen
flew over the paper with the utmost rapidity and the
Ambassador woffid sometimes keep at ffis writing untU
two or tffiee o'clock in the morffing. There is a fre
quently expressed fear that letter writing is an art of the
past; that the intervention of the stenographer has de
stroyed its spontaneity; yet it is evident that in Page
the present generation has a letter writer of the old-
fashioned kind, for he did all ffis writing with ffis own hand
and under circumstances that woffid assure the utmost
freshness and vividness to the result.
An occasional game of golf, wffich he played badly,
a trip now and then to rural England — these were
Page's offiy relaxations from his duties. Though he was
not especiaUy fond of leaving ffis own house, he was al
ways deUghted when visitors came to him. And the
American Embassy, during the five years from 1913 to
1918, extended a hospitality wffich was fittingly democratic
in its quality but wffich graduaUy drew witffin its doors

PAGE — THE MAN 315
aU that was finest in the inteUect and character of Eng
land. Page ffimseff attributed the popffiarity of his
house to his wffe. Mrs. Page certaiffiy embodied the
traits most desirable in the Ambassadress of a great
Repubhc. A woman of cultivation, a tireless reader,
a close observer of people and events and a sffiewd
conunentator upon them, she also had an unobtrusive
digmty, a penetrating sympathy, and a capacity for
human association, which, wffile more restrained and
more placid than that of her husband, made her a helpful
compamon for a sorely burdened man. The American
Embassy under Mr. and Mrs. Page was not one of Lon
don's smart houses as that word is commoffiy under
stood in tffis great capital. But No. 6 Grosvenor Square,
ffi the spaciousness of its rooms, the simple beauty of its
furmsffings, and especiaUy in its complete absence of
ostentation, made it the worthy abiding place of an Amer
ican Ambassador. And the people who congregated there
were precisely the kind that appeal to the educated Amer
ican. "I didn't know I was getting into an assembly
of immortals," exclaimed Mr. Hugh WaUace, when he
dropped ffi one Thursday afternoon for tea, and found
himseff foregathered with Sir Edward Grey, Henry James,
John Sargent, and other men of the same type. It was
tffis kind of person who most naturaUy gravitated to the
Page estabhshment, not the ffitra-fasffionable, the merely
rich, or the many titled. The formal functions wffich the
position demanded the Pages scrupffiously gave; but the
affairs wffich Page most enjoyed and which have left
the most lastmg remembrances upon his guests were the in
formal meetings with ffis chosen favourites, for the most
part Uterary men. Here Page's sheer briffiancy of conver
sation showed at its best. Lord Bryce, Sir John Simon,
John Morley, the inevitable compamons, Henry James

316 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
and John Sargent — "What things have I seen done at
the Mermaid"; and certaiffiy these gatherings of wits and
savants furnished as near an approach to its Elizabethan
prototype as London coffid then present.
Besides his official activities Page performed great ser
vices to the two countries by his speeches. The demands
of this kind on an American Ambassador are always num
erous, but Page's position was an exceptional one; it was
ffis fortune to represent America at a time when ffis own
country and Great Britain were alhes in a great war. He
coffid therefore have spent practicaUy aU his time in speak
ing had he been so disposed. Of the hundreds of invita
tions received he was able to accept offiy a few, but most
of these occasions became memorable ones. In any spec
tacffiar sense Page was not an orator; he rather despised
the grand manner, with its flourishes and its tricks; the
name of pubhc speaker probably best describes ffis talents
on the platform. Here his style was earnest and con
versational: ffis speech flowed with the utmost readiness;
it was invariably quiet and restrained ; he was never aiming
at big effects, but ffis words always went home. Of the
series of speeches that stand to ffis credit in England prob
ably the one that will be longest remembered is that
deUvered at Plymouth on August 4, 1917, the third an
niversary of the war. This not only reviewed the com
mon ffistory of the two nations for three hundred years,
and suggested a programme for making the bonds tighter
yet, but it brought the British pubUc practical assur
ances as to America's intentions in the conffict. Up to
that time there had been much vagueness and doubt; no
official voice had spoken the clear word for the United
States; the British pubhc did not know what to expect
from their kinsmen overseas. But after Page's Plymouth
speech the people of Great Britain looked forward with

PAGE — THE MAN 317
complete confidence to the cooperation of the two coun
tiies and to the inevitable triumph of tffis cooperation.
To Arthur W. Page
Knebworth House, Knebworth,
August 11, 1917.
Dear Arthur:
First of aU, these tffiee years have made me tired. I
suppose there's no doubt about that, if there were any
scientffic way of measuring it. While of course the strain
now is notffing hke what it was during the days of neutral
ity, there's yet some straffi.
I went down to Plymouth to make a speech on the an-
mversary of the beginffing of the war — went to teU them
in the west of England something about relations with
the Uffited States and sometffing about what the Uffited
States is doing in the war. It turned out to be a great
success. The Mayor met me at the train; there was a
mihtary company, the Star Spangled Banner and real
American applause. All the way tffiough the town the
streets were hned with aU the inhabitants and more —
apparently miffions of 'em. They made the most of it for
five sohd days.
On the morffing of August 4th the Mayor gave me an
official luncheon. Thence we went to the esplanade fac
mg the sea, where soldiers and sailors were hned up for
haff a mile. The American Flag was flung loose, the Star
Spangled Banner broke forth from the band, and all the
people in that part of the world were there gathered to see
the show. After aU tffis salute the Mayor took me to the
stand and he and I made speeches, and the background
was a group of dozens of admirals and generals and many
smaUer fry. Then I reviewed the troops; then they
marched by me and ffi an hour or two the show was over.

318 the life AND letters of WALTER H. PAGE
Then the bowhng club — ^the same club and the same
green as when Drake left the game to saU out to meet the
Armada. Then a solemn service in the big church, where the
prayers were written and the hymns selected with refer
ence to our part in the war.
Then, of course, a dinner party. At eight o'clock at
mght, the GmldhaU, an enormous town haU, was packed
with people and I made my speech at 'em. A copy (some
what less good than the version I gave them) goes to you,
along with a leader from the Times. They were vocifer
ously grateful for any assuring word about the Umted
States. It's strange how very httle the provmcial Eng
lander knows about what we have done and mean to do.
They took the speech finely, and I have had good letters
about it from aU sorts of people in every part of the King
dom. Then foUowed five days of luncheons and dinners and
garden parties — and (what I set out to say) I got back to
London last mght dead tired. To-day your mother and
I came here — about twenty-five rmles from London — ^for
a fortmght. Tffis is Bulwer-Lytton's house — a fine old Enghsh place
ffired tffis year by Lady Strafford, whom your mother is
visiting for a fortnight or more, and they let me come
along, too. They have given me the big Ubrary, as good
a room as I want — with as bad pens as they can find in
the Kingdom.
Your mother is tired, too. Sffice the American Red
Cross was orgamzed here, she has added to her committee
and hospitals. But she keeps weU and very vigorous. A
fortmght here wiU set her up. She enjoyed Plymouth
very much in spite of the continual rush, and it was a rush.
What the Umted States is doing looks good and large at

PAGE — THE MAN 319
tffis distance. The gratitude here is unbounded; but I
detect a feeUng here and there of wonder whether we are
going to keep up tffis activity to the end.
I sometimes feel that the German coUapse may come
next winter. Their internal troubles and the lack of
sufficient food and raw materials do increase. The break-
mg point may be reached before another summer. I
wish I coffid prove it or even certaiffiy predict it. But it is
at least conceivable. Alas, no one can prove anytffing
about the war. The conditions have no precedents.
The sum of human nusery and suffering is simply incal
culable, as is the loss of Ufe; and the gradual and general
brutahzation goes on and on and on far past any preceding
horrors. With aU my love to you and Moffie and the trio,
W. H. P.
And so for five busy and devastating years Page did his
work. The stupidities of Washington might drive ffim
to desperation, ffi-health might increase his periods of
despondency, the misunderstandings that he occasionaUy
had with the British Government might add to ffis dis
couragements, but a naturaUy optimistic and humorous
temperament overcame aU obstacles, and did its part in
bringing about that uffited effort wffich ended in victory.
And that it was a great part, the story of ffis Ambassador
sffip abundantly proves. Page was not the soldier work
mg in the blood and shme of Flanders, nor the sea fighter
spending day and mght around the foggy coast of Ireland,
nor the statesman bending parhaments to his wffi and
manipffiating nations and peoples in the mighty game
whose stake was civilization itseff. But ffistory wiU in
deed be ungratefffi if it ever forget the gaunt and pensive
figure, clad in a dressing gown, sitting long into the morn-

320 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
ing before the smouldering ffie at 6 Grosvenor Square,
seeking to find some way to persuade a reluctant and hesi
tating President to lead his country in the defense of
Uberty and determined that, so far as he coffid accom
pUsh it, the nation should play a part in the great assize
that was in keeping with its traditions and its instincts.

CHAPTER XXIV
A RESPITE AT ST. IVES
To Edward M. House
Knebworth House
Simday, September, [sic] 1917.
Dear House:
. . . By far the most important peace plan or utter
ance is the President's extraordinary answer to the Pope.^
His flat and convincing refusal to take the word ofthe pres
ent rffiers of Germany as of any value has had more effect
here than any other utterance and it is, so far, the best con
tribution we have made to the war. The best evidence
that I can get shows also that it has had more effect in
Germany than anytffing else that has been said by any
body. That ffit the buU's-eye with perfect accuracy; and
it has been accepted here as the war aim and the war con
dition. So far as I can make out it is working in Germany
toward peace with more effect than any other dehver
ance made by anybody. And it steadied the already un
shakable resolution here amazingly.
I can get any information here of course without danger
of the shghtest pubUcity — an important point, because
even the mention of peace now is dangerous. AU the
world, under this long strain, is more or less off the normal,
'On August 1, 1917, Pope Benedict XV sent a letter to the Powers urging them
to bring the war to an end and outhning possible terms of settlement. On August
29th President Wilson sent his historic reply. This declared, in memorable
language, that the HohenzoUern dynasty was unworthy of confidence and that
the United States would have no negotiations with its representatives. It in-
ferentiaUy took the stand that the Kaiser must abdicate, or be deposed, and the
German autocracy destroyed, as part of the conditions of peace.
321

322 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
and all my work — even routine work — ^is done with the
profoundest secrecy: it has to be.
Our energetic war preparations caU forth umversal ad
miration and gratitude here on all sides and nerve up the
British and hearten them more than I know how to ex
plain. There is an eager and even pathetic curiosity to
hear all the detaUs, to hear, in fact, anything about the
Umted States; and what the British do not know about the
United States would ffil the British Museum. They do
know, however, that they would soon have been obliged
to make an unsatisfactory peace if we hadn't come in when
we did and they freely say so. The httle feehng of jeal
ousy that we should come in and win the war at the end
has, 1 think, been forgotten, swaUowed up in their genmne
gratitude. Sincerely yours, Walter H. Page.
To Arthur W. Page
American Embassy,
London, Sept. 3, 1917.
Dear Arthur:
. . . The President has sent Admiral Mayo over to
study the naval situation. So far as I can learn the feel
ing at Wasffington is that the British Navy has done
nothing. Why, it hasn't attacked the German naval bases
and destroyed the German navy and ended the war!
Why not? I have a feeUng that Mayo wiU supplement
and support Sims in his report. Then graduaUy the naval
men at Washington may begin to understand and they
may get the important facts into the President's head.
Meantime the submarine work of the Germans continues
to win the war, although the government and the people
here and in the Umted States appear not to beUeve it.

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 323
They are stffi destroying seventy-five British sffips a
month besides an additional (smaUer) number of affied
and neutral sffips. And aU the world together is not
turmng out seventy-five sffips a month; nor are we all
destroying submarmes as fast as the Germans are turmng
them out. Yet all the poUtieians are putting on a cheer
ful countenance about it because the Germans are not
starvffig England out and are not just now sinking passen
ger sffips. They may begin tffis again at any time. They
have come witffin a few feet of torpedoing two of our
American Iffiers. The submarine is the wsu- yet, but no
body seems disposed to beheve it. They'll probably wake
up with a great shock some day — or the war may possibly
end before the destruction of ships becomes positively
fatal. The President's letter to the Pope gives ffim the moral
and actual leadersffip now. The HohenzoUerns must go.
Somehow the subjects and governments of these Old
World kffigdoms have not ffitherto laid emphasis on tffis.
There's stffi a divimty that doth hedge a king in most
European mffids. To me this is the very queerest thing
m the whole world. What agam ff Germany, Austria,
Spam shoffid foUow Russia? Whether they do or not
crowns wiU not henceforth be so popular. There is an
unbounded enthusiasm here for the President's letter and
for the President ffi general.
In spite of certain details wffich it seems impossible to
make understood on the Potomac, the whole American
preparation and enthusiasm seem from tffis distance to
be very fine. The people seem in earnest. When I read
about tax bffis, about the food regulation and a thoussmd
other such tffings, I am greatly gratified. And it proves
that we were right when we said that during the days
of neutraUty the people were held back. It aU looks

'324 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
exceedingly good from tffis distance, and it makes me
homesick. To Frank N. Doubleday American Embassy.
[Undated, but written about October 1, 1917]
Dear Effendi:
. . . The enormous war work and war help that
everybody seems to be doing in the Uffited States is
heartily appreciated here — ^most heartily. The Enghsh
eat out of our hands. You can see American unfforms
every day in London. Every sffip brings them. Every
body's thriUed to see them. The Americans here have
great houses opened as officers' clubs, and scrumptious
huts for men where countesses and other ffigh ladies hand
out sandwiches and serve ice cream and gffiger beer.
Oiu two admirals are most popular with aU classes, from
royalty down. EngUsh soldiers salute our officers in the
street and old gentlemen take off their hats when they
meet nurses with the American Red Cross uffiform. My
Embassy now occupies four bffildings for offices, more
than haff of them miUtary and naval. And my own staff,
proper, is the biggest in the world and keeps growing.
When I go, in a httle wffile, to receive the Freedom of the
City of Edinburgh, I shall carry an Admiral or a General
as my aide!
That's the way we keep a stiff upper Up.
And Good Lord! it's tiresome. Peace? We'd aU give
our Uves for the right sort of peace, and never move an
eyehd. But only the wrong sort has yet come witffin
reach. The other sort is coming, however; for these pres
ent German contortions are the beginffing of the end.
But the wearffiess of it, and the tragedy and the cost.
No human creature was ever as tired as I am. Yet I keep
weU and keep going and keep working aU my wakmg

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 325
hours. When it ends, I shaU coUapse and go home and
have to rest a while. So at least I feel now. And, ff I
outUve the work and the danger and the weariness, I'U
praise God for that. And it doesn't let up a single day.
And I'm no worse off than everybody else.
So tffis over-weary world goes, dear Effendi; but the
longest day shades at last down to twiUght and rest; and
so tffis wiU be. And poor old Europe will then not be
worth wffile for the rest of our Uves — a vast grave and
ruin where unmated women will mourn and starvation
wiU remam for years to come.
God bless us.
Smcerely yours, with my love to all the boys, W. H. P.
To Frank N. Doubleday
London, November 9, 1917.
Dear Effendi :
. . . Tffis infernal tffing drags its slow length along
so that we cannot see even a day ahead, not to say a week,
or a year. If any man here allowed the horrors of it to
dwell on ffis naind he would go mad, so we have to skip
over these tffings somewhat hghtly and try to keep the
long, defimte aim in our thoughts and to work away dis
tracted as httle as possible by the butchery and by the
starvation that is making tffis side of the world a shambles
and a wilderness. There is hardly a country on the Con
tinent where people are not hterally starving to death,
and in many of them by hundreds of thousands; and tffis
state of tffings is going to continue for a good many years
after the war. God knows we (I mean the American
people) are doing everything we can to alleviate it but
there is so much more to be done than any group of forces
can possibly do, that I have a feeUng that we have hardly

326 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
touched the borders of the great problem itseff. Of course
here in London we are away from aU that. In spite of the
rations we get qmte enough to eat and it's as good as it is
usuaUy in England, but we have no right to complain. Of
course we are subject to air raids, and the wise air people
here tffink that early next spring we are going to be bom
barded with thousands of aeroplanes, and with new kinds
of bombs and gases in a weU-organized effort to try actuaUy
to destroy London. Possibly that wffi come; we must
simply take our chance, every man sticking to ffis job.
Already the slate sffingles on my roof have been broken,
and bricks have been knocked down my chimney; the sky-
Ught was ffit and glass fell down all tffiough the halls, and
the nose of a sffiapnel sheU, weigffing eight pounds, feU just
in front of my doorway and roUed in my area, Tffis is the
sort of tffing we incidentaUy get, not of course from the
enemy directly, but from the British guns in London wffich
shoot these tffings at German aeroplanes. What goes up
must come down. Between our own defences and the'
enemy, God knows which will kill us ffist!
In spite of aU tffis I put my innocent head on my piUow
every mght and get a good ffight's sleep after the bombing
is done, and I thank Heaven that notffing interrupts my
sleep. This, and a httle walking, which is aU I get time to
do in these foggy days, constitute my hfe outdoors and
precious httle of it is outdoors.
Then on every block that I know of in London there is
a hospital or supply place and the ambffiances are bringing
the poor feUows in aU the time. We don't get any gaso
lene to ride so we have to walk. We don't get any white
bread so we have to eat stuff made of flour and corn meal
ground so fine that it isn't good. Wffile everybody gets
a httle tffinner, the umversal opimon is that they also get
a Uttle better, and nobody is going to die here of hunger.

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 327
We feel a little more cheerful about the submarines than
we did some time ago. For some reason they are not get
ting so many sffips. One reason, I am glad to beheve, is
that they are getting caught themselves. If I coffid re
member aU the stories that I hear of good fighting with
the submarines I could keep you up two mghts when I get
home, but in these days one big tffing after another crowds
so in men's minds that the Lord knows if, when I get
home, I shaU remember anytffing. Always heartily yours, W. H. P.
To the President London, December 3, 1917.
Dear Mr. President :
. . . Some of the British naihtary men in London
are not hopefffi of an early end of the war nor even cheerfffi
about the resffit. They are afraid of the war-weariness
that overcame Russia and gave Italy a setback. They
say the mffitary task, though long and slow and hard,
can be done if everybody wffi puU together and keep at
the job without weariness — be done by our help. But they
have fits of fear of France. They are discouraged by the
greater part of Lord Lansdowne's letter.^ I myself do not
set great value on tffis military feeUng in London, for the
British generals in France do not share it. Lord French
once said to me and General Robertson, too, that when
they feel despondent in London, they go to the front and
get cheered up. But it does seem to be a long job.
Evidently the Germans mean to fight to the last man
*0n November 29, 1917, the London Daily Telegraph pubhshed a letter ft-om
the Marquis of Lansdowne, which declared that the war had lasted too long and
suggested that the British restate their war aims. This letter was severely con
demned by the British press and by practicaUy aU representative British states
men. It produced a most lamentable impression in the United States also.

328 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
unless they can succeed in inducing the AlUes to meet them
to talk it over without naming their terms in advance.
That is what Lord Lansdowne favours, and no pubhc out
giving by any prominent man in England has caUed forth
such a storm of protest since the war began. I think I
see the genesis of his thought, and it is tffis: there is
nothing in his letter and there was nothing in the half dozen
or more rather long conversations that I have had with
him on other subjects to show that he has the sUghtest
conception of democracy as a social creed or as a poUtical
system. He is, I think, the most complete aristocrat
that I have ever met. He doesn't see the war at aU as a
struggle between democracy and its opposite. He sees it
merely as a struggle between Germany and the Affies;
and inferentially he is perfectly willing the Kaiser should
remain in power. He is of course a patriotic man and a
man of great cffitivation. But he doesn't see the deeper
meaning of the conffict. Add to tffis defect of under
standing, a long period of bad health and a lasting de
pression because of the loss of ffis son, and ffis caU to the
war-weary ceases to be a surprise.
I am, dear Mr. President,
Sincerely yours,
Walter H. Page.
To Arthur W. Page
American Embassy,
London, December 23, 1917.
Dear Arthur:
I sent you a Cffiistmas cable yesterday for everybody.
That's about all I can send in these days of slow mail and
restricted shipping and enormously high prices; and you
gave aU the guls each $100 for me, for the babies and them
selves? That'U show 'em that at least we haven't for-,

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 329
gotten them. Forgotten? Your mother and I are always
talking of the glad day when we can go home and hve
among them. We get as homesick as smaU boys their
first month at a boarding school. Do you remember the
day I left you at Lawrencevffie, a forlorn and lonely kid? —
It's like that.
A wave of depression hangs over the land ffice a Lon
don fog. And everybody on tffis tired-out side of the
world shows a disposition to lean too heavUy on us— ^to
depend on us so completely that the fear arises that they
may unconsciously relax their own utmost efforts when we
begm to fight. Yet they can't ffi the least afford to relax,
and, when the time comes, I dare say they wiU not. Yet
the plaffi tiuth is, the French may give out next year for
lack of men. I do not mean that they wffi qffit, but that
their fightmg strength wiU have passed its maximum and
that they wffi be able to play offiy a sort of second part.
Except the British and the French, there's no nation ffi
Europe worth a tinker's damn when you come to the real
scratch. The whole contffient is rotten or tyramaical or
yeUow-dog. I woffidn't give Long Island or Moore
County for the whole of contffiental Europe, with its
kmgs and itchffig pahns.
. . . Waves of depression and of hope — ^ff not of
elation — come and go. I am told, and I think truly, that
waves of wearffiess come ffi London far oftener and more
depressffigly than anywhere else in the Kingdom. There
is no sign nor fear that the British wffi give up ; they'U
hold on tffi the end. Winston ChurcffiU said to me last
mght: "We can hold on tffi next year. But after 1918, it'U
be your fight. We'U have to depend on you." I told
him that such a remark might weU be accepted in some
quarters as a British surrender. Then he came up to the
soratch: "Surrender? Never." But I fear we need — ffi

330 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
some practical and non-ostentatious way — now and then
to remind aU these European folk that we get no particffiar
encouragement by being unduly leaned on.
It is, however, the weariest Cffiistmas in aU British
annals, certainly since the Napoleomc wars. The unto
ward event after the British advance toward Cambrai
caused the retirement of six British generals and deepened
the depression here. Still I can see it now passing. Even
a Uttle victory wiU bring back a wave of cheerfuffiess.
Depression or elation show equally the undue strain
that British nerves are under. I dare say nobody is en
tirely normal. News of many sorts can now be circu
lated offiy by word of mouth. The queerest stories are
whispered about and find at least temporary credence.
For instance: The report has been going around that the
revolution that took place in Portugal the other day was
caused by the Germans (likely enough); that it was a
monarcffical movement and that the Germans were gomg
to put the King back on the tffione as soon as the war
ended. Sensation-mongers appear at every old-woman's
kmtting circle. And all this has an effect on conduct.
Two young wives of noble officers now ffi France have just
run away with two other young noblemen — to the scandal
of a large part of good society ffi London. It is umversaUy
said that the morals of more ffitherto good people are
wrecked by the straffi put upon women by the absence of
their husbands than was ever before heard of. Every
body is overworked. Fewer people are hteraUy trutffiul
than ever before. Men and women break down and faU
out of working ranks continuously. The number of men
in the government who have disappeared from pubhc
view is amazing, the number that woffid Uke to disappear
is StiU greater — ^from sheer overstrain. The Prime Min
ister is tired. Bonar Law in a long conference that Crosby

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 331
and I had with him yesterday wearily ran all round a circle
rather than ffit a plain proposition with a clear decision.
Mr. Baffour has kept ffis house from overwork a few days
every recent week. I lunched with Mr. Asquith yesterday ;
even he seemed jaded; and Mrs. Asqmth assured me that
' ' everytffing is going to the devU danmed fast. ' ' Some con
spicuous men who have always been sober have taken to
drink. The very few pubhc dinners that are held are
served with ostentatious meagreness to escape criticism.
I attended one last week at wffich there was no bread, no
butter, no sugar served. All of which doesn't mean that
the world here is going to the bad — only that it moves back
ward and forward by emotions; and tffis is normally a most
unemotional race. Overwork and the loss of sons and
friends — the hst of the lost grows — always make an abnor
mal strain. The churches are fuUer than ever before.
So, too, are the "parlours" of the fortune-teUers. So
also the theatres — in the effort to forget one's seff. There
are afternoon dances for young officers at home on leave:
the curtams are drawn and the music is muffled. More
marriages take place — ^bUnd and maimed, as weU as the
young feUows just going to France — ^than were ever cele
brated in any year witffin men's memory. Verse-writffig
is rampant. I have received enough odes and sonnets
celebratffig the Great Repubhc and the Great President
to fiU a foUo volume. Several American Y. M. C. A.
workers lately turned rampant Pacifists and had to be
sent home. Colomal soldiers and now and then an
American sailor tum up at our Y. M. C. A. huts as full as
a goat and swear after the event that they never did sueh
a tffing before. Emotions and strain everywhere!
Affectionately, W. H. P.

332 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
In March Page, a very weary man — as these letters
indicate — ^took a brief hoUday at St. Ives, on the coast of
CornwaU. As he gazed out on the Atlantic, the yearnmg
for home, for the sandffiUs and the pine trees of North
CaroUna, agam took possession of ffis soffi. Yet it is evi
dent, from a misceUaneous group of letters written at this
time, that ffis mind reveUed in a variety of subjects, rang
ing all the way from British food and vegetables to the
settlement of the war and from secret diplomacy to hter
ary style. To Mrs. Charles G. Loring
St. Ives, CornwaU, March 3, 1918.
Dear Kitty:
Your mother of course needed a rest away from London
after the influenza got done with her ; and I discovered that
I had gone stale. So she and I and the goff clubs came
here yesterday — as near to the sunUt land of Uncle Sam
as you can weU get on this island. We look across the
ocean — at least out into it — ^in your direction, but I must
confess that Labrador is not in sight. The place is aU
right, the hotel uncommoffiy good, but it's Greeffianffish
in its temperature — a very cold wind blowing. The golf
clubs lean up against the wall and curse the weather. But
we are away from the hordes of people and wiU have a
little qmet here. It's as qmet as any far-off place by the
sea, and it's clean. London is the dirtiest town in the
world. By the way that picture of Chud came (by Col.
Honey) along with AUce Page's adorable Uttle photograph.
As for the wee cffick, I see how you are already beginffing
to get a lot of fun with her. And you'll have more and
more as she gets bigger. Give her my love and see what
she'U say. You won't get so lonesome, dear Kitty, with

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 333
Uttle AUce; and I can't keep from tffinking as well as hop
ing that the war wiU not go on as long as it sometimes
seems that it must. The utter collapse of Russia has
given Germany a vast victory on that side and it may turn
out that tffis wffi make an earlier peace possible than would
otherwise have come. And the Germans may be — ^in
fact, must be, very short of some of the essentials of war
in their metals or in cotton. They are in a worse internal
plight than has been made known, I am sure. I can't keep
from hopffig that peace may come tffis year. Of coiuse,
my guess may be wrong; but everytffing I hear points in
the direction of my timid prediction.
Bless you and httle Alice,
Affectionately, W. H. P.
Page's oldest son was buUding a house and laying out a
garden at Pinehurst, North Carohna, a fact wffich ex-
plams the horticffitural and gastronomical suggestions
contaffied ffi the foUowffig letter:
To Ralph W. Page
Tregenna Castle Hotel,
St. Ives, CornwaU, England,
March 4, 1918.
Dear Ralph:
AsparagusCeleryTomatoes Butter Beans
PeasSweet Corn
Sweet Potatoes

334 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Squash — ^the sort you cook ffi the rind
CantEdoupe
Peanuts Egg Plant
FigsPeachesPecans ScuppernongsPeanut-bacon, in glass jars
Razor-back hams, divinely cured
Raspberries Strawberriesetc. etc. etc. etc.
You see, having starved here for five years, my mind, as
soon as it gets free, runs on these tffings and my mouth
waters. All the foregoing tffings that grow can be put up
in pretty glass jars, too.
Add cream, fresh butter, buttermilk, fresh eggs. Only
one of all the things on page one grows with any flavour
here at all — strawberries; and only one or two more
grow at aU. Darned if I don't have to confront Cabbage
every day. I haven't yet surrendered, and I never
shaU uffiess the Germans get us. Cabbage and Germans
belong together: God made 'em both the same stinking
day. Now get a bang-up gardener no matter what he costs.
Get him started. Put it up to him to start toward the
foregoing programme, to be reached in (say) tffiee years
— two ff possible. He must learn to grow these tffings
absolutely better than they are now grown anywhere on
earth. He must get the best seed. He must get muck
out of the swamp, manure from somewhere, etc. etc. He
must have the supreme flavour in each tffing. Let him
take room enough for each — ^plenty of room. He doesn't

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 335
want much room for any one tffing, but good spaces be
tween. Tffis wiU be the making of the world. Talk about fairs?
If he faUs to get every prize he must pay a fine for every
one that goes to anybody else.
How we'U Uve! I can Uve on these thffigs and notffing
else. But (just to match tffis home outfit) I'U order tea
from Japan, ripe oUves from CaUforma, grape frmt and
oranges from Florida. Then poor folks wffi hang around,
hoping to be invited to dinner!
Plant a few fig trees now; and pecans? Any good?
The world is going to come pretty close to starvation
not offiy during the war but for five or perhaps ten years
afterward. An acre or two dx)ne right — divinely right —
wiU save us. An acre or two on my land in Moore County
— ^no king can Uve haff so weU ff the ground be got ready
this sprmg and such a start made as one natural-born
gardener can make. The old Russian I had in Garden
City was no slouch. Do you remember ffis httle patch
back of the house? That far, far, far exceUed anytffing
in aU Europe. And you'U recaU that we jarred 'em and
had good tffings aU winter.
Tffis St. Ives is the finest spot in England that I've ever
seen. To-day has been as good as any March day you
ever had in North Carohna — a fine air, clear sunsffine, a
beautffffi sea — ^looking out toward the Umted States;
and tffis country grows — ^the best goff hnks that I've ever
seen ffi the world, and notffing else worth speaking of but
— tin. Tffi mines are all about here. Tin and goff are
good crops in their way, but they don't feed the beUy of
man. As matters stand the offiy people that have fit
things to eat now in aU Europe are the American troops in
France, and their food comes out of tins cffiefly. Ach!
Ifeaven! In these islands man is ampffibious and car-

336 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
mvorous. It rains every day and meat, meat, meat is the
offiy human idea of food. God bless us, one acre of the
SandffiUs is worth a vast estate of tin mines and goff hnks
to feed the innards of Yours affectionately, W. H. P.

P. S. And cornfield peas, of just the right rankness,
cooked with just the right dryness.
When I become a citizen of the SandffiUs I propose to
induce some benevolent lover of good food to give sub
stantial prizes to the best grower of each of these tffings
and to the best cook of each and to the person who serves
each of them most daintily.
We can can and glass jar these things and let none be
put on the market without the approval of an expert em
ployed by the commumty. Then we can get a reputation
for SandhiU Food and charge double price. W. H. P.

To Arthur W. Page St. Ives, CornwaU,
England, March 8, 1918.
Dear Arthur:
Your letter, written from the Umversity Club, is just
come. It makes a very distinct impression on my mind
wffich my own conclusions and fears have long confirmed.
Let me put it at its worst and in very bald terms: The
Great Wffite Cffief is at bottom pacifist, has always been
so and is so now. Of course I d6 not mean a pacffist at
any price, certainly not a cowardly pacifist. But (looked

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 337
at theoreticaUy) war is, of course, an absurd way of settUng
any quarrel, an irrational way. Men and nations are
wastefffi, cruel, pigheaded fools to indffige in it. Qmte
true. But war is also the offiy means of adding to a
nation's territory the territory of other nations which they
do not wish to seU or to give up — the robbers' only way to
get more space or to get booty. This last explains tffis
war. Every HohenzoUern (except the present Emperor's
father, who reigned offiy a few months) since Frederick
the Great has added to Prussian and German area of rffie.
Every one, therefore, as he comes to the tffione, feels an
obUgation to make ffis addition to the Empire. For tffis
the wars of Prussia with Austria, with Denmark, with
France were brought on. They succeeded and won the
additions that old Wiffiam I made to the Empire. Now
WiUiam II must make his addition. He prepared for more
than forty years; the nation prepared before he came to
the tffione and ffis whole reign has been given to making
sure that he was ready. It's a robber's raid. Of course,
the German case has been put so as to direct attention
from tffis bald fact.
Now the phUosopffical pacifists — I don't mean the cow
ardly, yeUow-dog ones — ^have never qmte seen the war
in tffis aspect. They regard it as a dispute about some
tffing — about trade, about more seaboard, about tffis or
that, whereas it is offiy a robber's adventure. They want
other people's property. They want money, treasure,
land, indermiities, minerals, raw materials; and they set
out to take them.
Now confusing tffis character of the war with some sort
of rational dispute about sometffing, the pacifists try in
every way to stop it, so that the "issue" may be reasoned
out, debated, discussed, negotiated. Surely the President
tried to reach peace — ^tried as hard and as long as the

338 the life and letters of Walter h. page
people woffid allow him. The Germans argued away
time with him while they got their submarine fleet bmlt.
Then they carried out the programme they had always
had in naind and had never thought of abandomng. Now
they wish to gain more time, to slacken the efforts of the
AlUes, if possible to separate them by asking for "dis
cussions " — ^peace by ' ' negotiation. ' ' When you are about
to kiU the robber, he cries out, "For God's sake,
let's discuss the question between us. We can come to
terms." — ^Now here's where the danger comes from the
pffilosopffical pacifist — ^from any man who does not clearly
understand the nature of the war and of the enemy. To
discuss the difference between us is so very reasonable m
sound — so very reasonable in fact if there were a discuss
able difference. It is a programme that woffid always be
in order except with a burglar or a robber.
The yet imperfect understanding of the war and of the
nature of the German in the Uffited States, especiaUy at
Washington — ^more especiaUy in the White House — there
in hes the danger.
. . . This httle rest down here is a success. The
weather is a disappointment — windy and cold. But to
be away from London and away from folks — that's much.
Shoecraft is very good.^ He sends us next to nothing.
Almost aU we've got is an invitation to lunch with Their
Majesties and they've been good enough to put that off.
It's a far-off country, very fine, I'm sure in summer, and
with most beautffffi goff hnks. The ffiU is now so wmdy
that no sane man can play there.
We're enjoyffig the mere qmet. And your mother is
qmte weU agaffi. Affectionately,
 W. H. P.
^Eugene C. Shoecraft, the Ambassador's secretary.

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 339
To Mrs. Charles G. Loring
St. Ives, CornwaU,
March 10, 1918.
Dear Kitty:
A week here. No news. Shoecraft says we've missed
nothmg in London. What we came for we've got: your
mother's qmte weU. She climbs these ffigh ffiUs qmte
spryly. We've had a remarkable week in tffis respect —
we haven't carried on a conversation with any human be
ing but ourselves. I don't tffink any such tffing has ever
happened before. I can stand a week, perhaps a fortmght
of tffis now. But I don't care for it for any long period.
At the bottom of tffis ffigh and steep ffiU is the quaintest
Uttle town I ever saw. There are some streets so narrow
that when a donkey cart comes along the urcffins all have
to run to the next corner or into doors. There is no side
walk, of course; and the donkey cart takes the whole
room between the houses. Artists take to the town, and
they have funny httle studios down by the water front in
tiny houses bmlt of stone in pieces big enough to construct
a tidewater front. Imagine stone waUs made of stone,
each weigffing tons, bmlt into Uttle houses about as big as
yoiu httle back garden! There's one feUow here (an
artist) whom I used to know in New York, so smaU has
the world become!
On another ffiU beffind us is a triangffiar stone monu
ment to John KffiU. He was once mayor of the town.
When he died in 1782, he left money to the town. If the
town is to keep the money (as it has) the Mayor must once
in every five years form a procession and march up to tffis
monument. There ten girls, natives of the town, and
two widows must dance around the monument to the

340 the life and letters of Walter h. page
playing of a fiddle and a drum, the girls dressed in wffite.
Tffis ceremony has gone on, once in five years, aU this
time and the town has old KffiU's money!
Your mother and I — though we are neither girls nor
widows — danced around it tffis morffing, wondering what
sort of curmudgeon old John KffiU was.
Don't you see how easily we fall into an idle mood?
WeU, here's a photograph of httle Alice lookmg up at
me from the table where I write — a good, sweet face she
has. And you'U never get another letter from me in a time
and from a place whereof there is so httle to teU.
Affectionately, dear Kitty, W. H. P.
To Ralph W. Page
Tregenna Castle Hotel,
St. Ives, CornwaU,
March 12, 1918.
My dear Ralph:
Arthur has sent me Gardiner's 37-page sketch of
American-British Concords and Discords — a remarkable
sketch; and he has reminded me that your summer plan
is to elaborate (into a popffiar style) your sketch of the
same subject. You and Gardffier went over the same
groimd, each in a very good fasffion. That's a fascmating
task, and it opens up a whoUy new vista of our History
and of Anglo-Saxon, democratic ffistory. Much Ues
ahead of that. And all tffis puts it in my mmd to write
you a Uttle discourse on style. Gardiner has no style.
He put ffis facts down much as he would have noted on a
blue print the facts about an engineering project that he
sketched. The style of your article, wffich has much to

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 341
be said for it as a magazine article, is not the best style
for a book.
Now, tffis whole question of style — ^weU, it's the gist
of good writing. There's no reaUy effective writing without
it, EspeciaUy is tffis tiue of historical writing. Look
at X Y Z's writings. He knows ffis American ffistory
and has written much on it. He's written it as an Offio
blacksmith shoes a horse — ^not a touch of hterary value
in it aU; aU dry as dust — as dry as old Bancroft.
Style is good breedffig — and art — ffi writmg. It con
sists of the arrangement of your matter, ffist ; then, more,
of the gait; the manner and the manners of your express
ing it. Work every group of facts, naturaUy and logicaUy
grouped to begffi with, into a chmax. Work every group
up as a scffiptor works out ffis idea or a painter, each
group complete in itseff. Tffiow out any superfluous
facts or any merely minor facts that prevent the orderly
workmg up of the group — that prevent or mar the effect
you wish to present.
Then, when you've got a group thus presented, go over
what you've made of it, to make sure you've used your
material and its arrangement to the best effect, taking
away merely extraneous or superfluous or distracting facts,
here and there addffig concrete iUustrations — ^puttffig ffi
a convincffig detaU here, and there a touch of colour.
Then go over it for your vocabffiary. See that you use
no word ffi a different meaffing than it was used 100 years
ago and wffi be used 100 years hence. You wish to use
only the permanent words — ^words, too, that wiU be un
derstood to carry the same meaffing to Enghsh readers in
every part of the world. Your vocabulary must be chosen
from the permanent, sohd, stable parts of the language.
Then see that no sentence contains a ffint of obscurity.
Then go over the words you use to see ff they be the

342 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
best. Don't faU into merely current pffiases. If you
have a long word, see ff a native short one can be put in
its place wffich wiU be more natural and stronger. Avoid
a Latin vocabulary and use a plain EngUsh one — short
words instead of long ones.
Most of all, use idioms — ^EngUsh idioms of force. Say
an agreement was "come to," Don't say it was "con
summated." For the difference between idioms and a
Latm style, compare Lincoffi with George Wasffington.
One's always interesting and convfficing. The other is
duU ffi spite of aU ffis good sense. How most foUi do
misuse and waste words!
Freeman went too far in ffis use of one-syUable words.
It became an affectation. But he is the only man I can
tffink of that ever did go too far in that direction. X —
would have written a great ffistory if he had had the
natural use of idioms. As it is, he has good sense and no
style; and ffis book isn't haff so interestmg as it would
have been ff he had some style — some proper value of
short, clear-cut words that mean offiy one tffing and that
leave no vagueness.
You'U get a good style ff you practice it. It is m your
blood and temperament and way of sayffig tffings. But
it's a ffigh art and must be laboriously cffitivated.
Yours affectionately, W. H. P.
Tffis gUmpse of a changmg and chastened England
appears ih a letter of tffis period:
The disposition shown by an endless number of such
mcidents is sometffing more than a disposition of gratitude
of a people helped when they are hard pressed. AU these
tffings show the changed and changing Enghshman. It

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 343
has aheady come to ffim that he may be weaker than he
had thought ffimseff and that he may need friends more
than he had once imagined; and, if he must have helpers
and friends, he'd rather have ffis own kinsmen. He's a
queer "cuss," tffis Enghshman. But he isn't a har nor
a coward nor any sort of "a yeUow dog." He's true, and
he never runs — a possible hero any day, and, when heroic,
modest and qffiet and gracefffi. The trouble with him
has been that he got great world power too easUy. In the
times when he exploited the world for ffis own enrichment,
there were no other successfffi exploiters. It became an
easy game to him. He organized sea traffic and sea
power. Of course he became rich — ^far, far richer than
anybody else, and, therefore, content with ffimseff. He
has, therefore, kept much of ffis mediaeval impedimenta,
his dukes and marquesses and aU that they imply — ^ffis
outworn ceremomes and ffis mediaeval disregard of ffis
social inferiors. Notffing is weU done in tffis Kingdom
for the big pubhc, but offiy for the classes. The railway
stations have no warm waiting rooms. The people pace
the platform tffi the traffi comes, and nulord sits snugly
wrapt up ffi ffis carriage tffi ffis footman announces the
approach of the tram. And occasional discontent is re
Ueved by enoigration to the Colomes. If any man be
comes weary of ffis restrictions he may go to AustraUa
and become a gentleman. The remarkable loyalty of
the Colonies has ffi it sometffing of a servant's devotion
to ffis old master.
Now tffis trymg time of war and the tffieat and danger
of extmction are bringmg — ^have in fact sdready brought
— ^the conviction that many changes must come. The
first sensible talk about popffiar education ever heard here
is just now beginffing. Many a gentleman has made up
his mmd to try to *do with less than seventeen servants

344 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
for the- rest of ffis Ufe since he now has to dp with;less.
Privilege, on wffich, so large a part of lffe here rests, is al
ready pretty well shot tb pieces.' A lot of old baggage
will never be recovered after tffis w:ar: that's certain.
During a httle after-diimer speech ffi a club not long ago
I indulged in a pleasantry about excessive impedimenta.
Lord Derby, Minister of War and a bluff and honest
aristocrat, sat near me and he wffispered to me — "That's
me." "Yes,". I said, "that's you," and the group about
us made merry at ' the j est. The meaffing of tffis is, they
now. joke about, what was the most solemn tffing m Ufe
tffiee years ago.
None of tffis conyeys the idea I am trymg to explam^-
the change in the EngUsh point of view and outlook— a
haff century's change in less than tffiee years, radical and
fundamental change, too. The mother of the Duke of X
came to see me this afternoon, hobbhng on her sticks and
feeble, to tell me of a radiant letter she had received'from
her granddaughter who has been in Wasffington visitmg the
Spring Rices. "It's all very wonderfffi," said the venera
ble lady, "and my granddaijghter actuaUy heard the Presi
dent make a speech!" Now, knowing this lady and
knowing her sOn, the Duke, ; and knowing how tffis girl,
ffis daughter, has been brought up, I dare swear that three
years ago not one of them woffid have crossed the street
to hear any President that ever hved. They've simply
become different people. They were very genmne be
fore. They are very genmne now.
It is tffis steadfastness in them that gives me sound hope
for the future. They don't forget sympathy Or help or
friendsffip. Our going into the war has eliminated the
Japanese question. It has sffifted the virtual control of
the world to Enghsh-speaking peoples. It wiU bring into
the best European minds the Ameridan ideal of service.

Lord Robert Cecil, Minister of Blockade, 1916-18, Assistant Sec
retary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1918

General John J. -Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American
Expeditionary Force in the Great War

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 345
It wUl, ffi fact, give us the lead and make the EngUsh ffi
the long run our wUUng foUowers and affies. I don't
mean that we shaU always have plaffi saihng. But I do
mean that the direction of events for the next fifty or
one hundred years has now been detemamed.
Yet Page found one stohd opposition to ffis attempts
to estabhsh the friendUest relations between the two peo
ples. That offish attitude of the Wasffington Admims
tiation, to wffich reference has already been made, did not
soften with the progress of events. Another experience
now agaffi brought out President Wilson's coldness toward
his affies. About tffis time many rather queer Americans
— some of the ' ' international" breed — ^were coming to Eng
land on more or less official missions. Page Avas somewhat
huuuUated by these excursions; he knew that ffis country
possessed an ahnost unlimited supply of vivid speakers,
fiUed with zeal for the affied cause, whose influence, ff
they coffid be mduced to cross the Atlantic, woffid put
new spirit mto the British. The idea of havmg a number
of distinguished Americans come to England and teU the
British pubhc about the Umted States and especiaUy
about the American preparations for war, was one that
now occupied his thoughts. In June, 1917, he wrote ffis
old friend Dr. WaUace Buttrick, extendmg an mvitation
to visit Great Britaffi as a guest of the British Grovemment.
Dr. Buttrick made a great success; his speeches drew
large crowds and proved a soiuce of inspiration to the
British masses. So successfffi were they, ffideed, that the
British Govemment desired that other Americans of
simUar type shoffid come and spread the message. In
November, therefore, Dr. Buttrick retumed to the
United States for the purpose of organizffig such a com
mittee. Among the emment Americans whom he per-

346 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
suaded to give several months of their time to tffis work
of heartening our British alhes were Mr. George E. Yincent,
President of the RockefeUer Foundation, Mr. Harry Pratt
Judson, President of Cfficago Umversity, Mr. Charles
R. Van Hise, President of the University of Wisconsin,
Mr. Edwin A. Alderman, President of the Umversity of
Virginia, Mr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, and Bishop Law
rence of Massachusetts. It was certainly a distffigmshed
group, but it was the gentleman selected to be its head
that gave it almost transcendent importance in the eyes
of the British Government. Tffis was ex-President Wil
ham H. Taft. The British lay greater emphasis upon
official rank than do Americans, and the fact that an ex-
President of the Umted States was to head tffis delegation
made it ahnost an ffistoric event. Mr. Taft was exceed
ingly busy, but he expressed ffis wffiingness to give up aU
ffis engagements for several months and to devote ffis
energies to enUghtemng the British pubUc about America
and its purposes in the war. An official invitation was
sent ffim from London and accepted.
Inasmuch as Mr. Taft was an ex-President and a
representative of the poUtical party opposed to the one
in power, he thought it only courteous that he caU upon
Mr. Wilson, explain the purpose of ffis mission, and obtain
ffis approval. He therefore had an interview with the
President at the Wffite House; the date was December 12,
1917. As soon as Mr. Wilson heard of the proposed visit
to Great Britain he showed signs of irritation. He at
once declared that it met with ffis strongest disapproval.
When Mr. Taft remarked that the resffit of such an enter
prise woffid be to draw Great Britain and the Umted States
more closely together, Mr. Wilson repUed that he seriously
questioned the desirabffity of drawffig the two countries
any more closely together than they already were. He

A RESPITE AT ST. IVES 347
was opposed to puttffig the Uffited States ffi a position of
seeming ffi any way to be mvolved with British pohcy.
There were divergencies of purpose, he said, and there were
features of the British pohcy ffi tffis war of wffich he heart
Uy disapproved. The motives of the Uffited States in tffis
war, the President contffiued, "were unseffish, but the
motives of Great Britain seemed to him to be of a less
unseffish character." Mr. WUson cited the treaty be
tween Great Britain and Italy as a sample of British
statesmansffip wffich he regarded as proving tffis conten
tion. The President's reference to tffis Itahan treaty
has considerable ffistoric value; there has been much dis
cussion as to when the President ffist learned of its
existence, but it is apparent from tffis conversation with
ex-President Taft that he must have known about it
on December 12, 1917, for President Wilson based ffis
criticism of British pohcy largely upon tffis Italian
convention.^ The President showed more and more feeUng about the
matter as the discussion continued. "There are too many
EngUshmen," he said, "in tffis country and in Washffigton
now and I have asked the British Ambassador to have
some of them sent home."
Mr. Wilson referred to the jealousy of France at the
close relations wffich were apparently developing between
Great Britain and the Uffited States. Tffis was another
reason, he thought, why it was unwise to make the bonds
between them any tighter. He also caUed Mr. Taft's
attention to the fact that there were certain elements in
the Umted States wffich were opposed to Great Britain —
tffis evidently beffig a reference to the Germans and the

'As related m Chapter XXII, page 267, President WUson was informed of the
so-called "secret treaties" by Mr. Balfour, in the course of his memorable visit
to the White House.

348 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Irish — and he therefore beUeved that any conspicuous
attempts to increase the friendliness of the two countries
for each other would arouse antagomsm and resentment.
As Mr. Taft was leaving he informed Mr. Wilson that
the plan for ffis visit and that of the other speakers had
originated with the American Ambassador to Great Brit
ain. Tffis, however, did not improve the President's
temper. "Page," said the President, "is reaUy an EngUshman
and I have to discount whatever he says about the situa
tion in Great Britain."
And then he added, " I think you ought not to go, and
the same apphes to the other members of the party. I
woffid Uke you to make my attitude on tffis question known
to those having the matter in charge."
Despite tffis rebuff Dr. Buttrick and Mr. Taft were
reluctant to give up the plan. An appeal was therefore
made to Colonel House. Colonel House at once said
that the proposed visit was an exceUent tffing and that
he woffid make a personal appeal to Mr. Wilson in the
hope of changing ffis mind. A few days afterward Colonel
House called up Dr. Buttrick and informed ffim that
he had not succeeded. "I am sorry," wrote Colonel
House to Page, "that the Buttrick speaking programme
has turned out as it has. The President was decidedly
opposed to it and referred to it with some feeUng."

CHAPTER XXV
GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE
A GROUP of letters, written at tffis time, touch upon
a variety of topics wffich were then engaging the
interest of aU countries: To Arthur W. Page
London, January 19, 1918.
Dear Arthur:
Wffile your letter is stffi fresh in my mind I dictate
the foUowing in answer to your question about Pales-
tme. It has not been settled — and cannot be, I fancy, untU
the Peace Conference — ^precisely what the British wiU do
with Palestine, but 1 have what I tffink is a correct idea
of their general attitude on the subject. First, of course,
they do not propose to aUow it to go back into Turkish
hands; and the same can be said also of Armeffia and pos
sibly of Mesopotamia. Theu idea of the future of Pales
tine is that whoever shaU manage the country, or however
it shaU be managed, the Jews shaU have the same chance
as anybody else. Of course that's qmte an advance for
the Jews there, but their idea is not that the Jews should
have command of other popffiations there or control over
them — ^not in the least. My guess at the EngUsh wish,
wffich I have every reason to beUeve is the right guess,
is that they woffid wish to have Palestine internation-
aUzed, whatever that means. That is to say, that it
shoffid have control of its own local affairs and be a free
349

350 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
country but that some great Power, or number of Powers,
shoffid see to it that none of the races that hve there should
be aUowed to impose upon the other races. I don't know
just how such a guarantee can be given by the great
Powers or such a responsibihty assumed except by an
agreement among two or tffiee of them, or barely possibly
by the EngUsh keeping control themselves; but the con
trol by the EngUsh after the war of the former German
colomes wffi put such a large task on them that they wiU
not be particffiarly eager to extend the area of their re-
sponsibffity elsewhere. Of course a difficffit problem wiU
come up also about Constantinople and the DardaneUes.
The DardaneUes must be internationaUzed.
I have never been able to consider the Ziomst move
ment seriously. It is a mere rehgious sentiment wffich
wUl express itseff in action by very few people. I have
asked a number of Jews at various times who are in favour
of the Ziomst movement if they themselves are gomg
there. They always say no. The movement, therefore,
has fixed itseff in my naind as a Jewish movement ffi wffich
no Jew that you can lay your hands on wffi ever take part
but who wants other Jews to take part in it. Of course
there naight be a flocking to Palestine of Jews from Russia
and the adjoiffing countries where they are not happy,
but I tffink the tffing is chiefly a sentiment and notffing
else. Morgenthau' is dead right. I agree with him in
toto. I do not think anybody in the Uffited States need
be the least concerned about the Ziomst movement be
cause there isn't a single Jew in our country such a fool
as to go to Palestine when he can stay in the Umted States.
The whole thing is a sentimental, reUgious, more or less
'Mr. Henry Morgenthau, American Ainbassador to Turkey, 1913-16, an
American of Jewish origin who opposed the Zionist movement as un-American
¦ and deceptive.

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 351
unnatural and fantastic idea and I don't tffink wffi ever
trouble so practical a people as we and our Jews are.
The foUowing memorandum is dated February 10, 1918:
General BUss^ has made a profound and the best possi
ble impression here by ffis wisdom and ffis tact. The
Pritish have a deep respect for ffim and for ffis opimons,
and ffi ffispiring and keeping ffigh confidence in us he is
worth an army ffi ffimseff. 1 have seen much of him and
found out a good deal about ffis methods. He is simphc
ity and directness itseff. Although he is as active and
energetic as a boy, he spends some time by himseff to
tffink tffings out and even to say them to ffimseff to see
how ffis conclusions strike the ear as weU as the mmd.
He has been stayffig here at the house of one of our resi
dent officers. At times he goes to ffis room and sits long
by the ffie and argues ffis point — out loud — obhvious to
everytffing else. More than once when he was so en
gaged one of ffis officers has knocked at the door and gone
m and laid telegrams on the table beside him and gone out
without ffis having known of the officer's entrance. Then
he comes out and tries ffis conclusion on someone who
enjoys ffis confidence. And then he stands by it and when
the time comes dehvers it slowly and with precision; and
there he is; and those who hear him see that he has thought
the matter out on aU sides and finally.
Our various estabUshments in London have now become
big — the Embassy proper, the Naval and Army Head
quarters, the Red Cross, the War Trade Board's repre
sentatives, and now (forthwith) the Shipping Board, be
sides Mr. Crosby of the Treasury. The volume of work is
^American member of the Supreme War Council. Afterward member of the
American Commission to Negotiate Peace.

352 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
enormous and it goes smootffiy, except for the somewhat
halting Army Headquarters, the high personnel of which
is now undergoing a change; and that wffi now be aU right.
I regffiarly make the rounds of aU the Government De
partments with which we deal to learn if they find our men
and methods effective, and the rounds of aU our centres
of activity to find whether there be any friction with
the British. The whole macffine moves very weU. For
neither side hesitates to come to me whenever they strike
even smaU snags. AU our people are at work on serious
tasks and (so far as I know) there are now none of those
despicable creatures here who used during our neutrahty
days to come from the Uffited States on peace errands
and what-not to spy on the Embassy and me (their in
quiries and their correspondence were catalogued by the
pohce). I have been amazed at the activity of some of
them whose doings I have since been informed of.
We now pay this tribute to the submarines — ^that we
have entered the period of compffisory rations. There is
enough to eat in spite of the food that has gone to feed
the fishes. But no machinery of distribution to a whole
popffiation can be umformly effective. The British
worker with his hands is a greedy feeder and a sturdy
growler and there will be trouble. But I know no reason
to apprehend serious trouble.
The utter break-up of Russia and the German present
occupation of so much of the Empire as she wants have
had a contrary effect on two sections of opimon here, as I
mterpret the British mind. On the undoubtedly enor
mously dominant section of opimon these events have
offiy stiffened resolution. They say that Germany now
must be wffipped to a fiffish. Else she wiU have doubled
her empire and wiU hold the peoples of her new territory
as vassals without regard to theu wishes and the war lord

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 353
caste wffi be more ffimly seated than ever before. If her
armies be UteraUy whipped she'U have to submit to the
AUies' terms, wffich wffi dislodge her from overlordsffip over
these new unwiffing subjects — and she can be dislodged
m no other way. Tffis probably means a long war, now
that after a time she can get raw materials for war later
and food from Rumaffia and the Ukraine, etc. Tffis wiU
mean a fight in France and Belgium tiU a decisive victory
is won and the present exffitant German wffi is broken.
The mmority section of pubhc opiffion — ^as I judge a
smaU minority — ^has the feehng that such an out-and-out
mihtary victory cannot be won or is not worth the price;
and that the enenaies of Germany, aUowing her to keep her
Eastern accretions, must make the best terms they can
in the East; that there's no use in runffing the risk of
Italy's defeat and defection before some sort of bargain
could be made about Belgium, Alsace-Lorraine, and Serbia.
Of course tffis plan woffid leave the German warlordsffip
intact and woffid bring no sort of assurance of a prolonged
peace. It woffid, too, leave European Russia at least to
German mercy, and woffid leave the Baltic and the Black
Seas practicaUy whoUy under German influence. As for
the people of Russia, there seems smaU chance for them
m tffis second contmgency. The offiy way to save them
is to win a decisive victory.
As matters stand to-day Lord Lansdowne and ffis
friends (how numerous they are nobody knows) are the
loudest spokesmen for such a peace as can be made. But
it is talked much of in Asqmth circles that the time may
come when this pohcy wiU be led by Mr. Asqmth, in a
form somewhat modffied from the Lansdowne formffia.
Mr. Asqmth has up to tffis time patriotically supported
the govemment and he ffimseff has said notffing in pubhc
wffich coffid warrant Unking ffis name with an early peace-

354 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
seeking pohcy. But ffis friends opeffiy and incessantly
predict that he wffi, at a favourable moment, take tffis
cue. I myseff can hardly beheve it. Pohtical victory
in Great Britain doesn't now Ue ffi that direction.
The dominant section of opimon is much grieved at
Russia's surrender, but they refuse to be discouraged by it.
They recaU how Napoleon overran most of Europe, and the
French held practically none of ffis conquests after his faU.
Such real pohtical danger as exists here — ^ff any exists,
of wffich I am not qmte sure — comes not offiy now mainly
of tffis spht in pubhc opimon but also and to a greater
degree from the personal enemies of the present govern
ment. Lloyd George is kept in power because he is the
most energetic man in sight — ^by far. Many who support
him do not Uke ffim nor trust ffim — except that nobody
doubts ffis supreme earnestness to win the war. On aU
other subjects he has enemies of old and he makes new
ones. His intense and superb energy has saved him m
two notable crises. His disnaissal of Sir Wiffiam Robert
son^ has been accepted in the ffiterest of greater imity of
mihtary control, but it was a dangerous rapids that he
shot, for he didn't do it tactfuUy. Yet there's a certam
danger to the present powers ffi the feeUng that some
of them are wearing out. Parhament itseff — an old one
now — ^is thought to have gone stale. Bonar Law is over
worked and tired; Baffour is often said to be too phUosoph
ical and langmd; but, when tffis feeUng seems in danger
of taking defimte shape, he makes a clearer statement than
anybody else and catches on ffis feet. The man of new
energy, not yet fagged, is Geddes,^ whose frankness carries
conviction.

'Sir Henry Wilson had recently succeeded Sir William Robertson as Chief of
the Imperial General Staff.
^ First Lord of the Admiralty.

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 355
To the President London, March 17, 1918.
Dear Mr. President:
The rather impatient and unappreciative remarks made
by the Prune Mimster before a large meeting of preachers
ofthe "free" chiuches about a League of Nations reminds
me to write you about the state of British opimon on that
subject. What Lloyd George said to these preachers is
regrettable because it showed a certain impatience of
mmd from wffich he sometimes suffers; but it is only fair
to him to say that ffis remarks that day did not express a
settled opimon. For on more than one previous occasion
he has spoken of the subject in a whoUy different tone —
much more appreciatively. On that particffiar day he had
m mind offiy the overwhelming necessity to win the war —
other tffings, all other tffings must wait. In a way tffis is
his constant mood — ^the mood to make everybody feel
that the offiy present duty is to win the war. He has
been accused of almost every defect in the calendar except
of slackness about the war. Nobody has ever doubted
ffis earnestness nor ffis energy about that. And the um
versal confidence ffi ffis energy and earnestness is what
keeps him ffi office. Nobody sees any other man who can
push and ffispire as weU as he does. It would be a mis
take, therefore, to pay too much heed to any particffiar
utterance of tffis electrical creature of moods, on any sub
ject. Nevertheless, he hasn't thought out the project of a
league to enforce peace further than to see the difficul
ties. He sees that such a league naight mean, ffi theory
at least, the givmg over in some possible crisis the com
mand of the British Fleet to an officer of some other na
tionaUty. That's unthinkable to any red-blooded son of

356 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
these islands. Seeing a theoretical possibihty even of
raising such a question, the British mind stops and refuses
to go further — ^refuses in most cases even to inquire seriously
whether any such contingency is ever hkely to come.
The British Grand Fleet, in fact, is a subject that stands
alone in power and value and in difficulties. It classffies
itseff with notffing else. Since over and over again it has
saved these islands from invasion when notffing else could
have saved them and since during tffis war in particular
it has saved the world from German conquest — as every
Enghshman beheves — ^it hes m their reverence and their
gratitude and their abiding convictions as a necessary
and perpetual sffield so long as Great Britain shaU endure.
If the Germans are tffiashed to a frazzle (and we haven't
altogether done that yet) and we set about putting the
world in order, when we come to discuss Disarmament,
the British Fleet wiU be the most difficffit item ffi the world
to dispose of. It is not only a Fact, with a great and saving
ffistory, it is also a sacred Tradition and an Article of Faith.
The ffist reason, therefore, why the British general mind
has not firmly got hold on a league is the instinctive fear
that the formation of any league may in some conceivable
way affect the Grand Fleet. Another reason is the general
inabiUty of a somewhat slow public opimon to take hold
on more than one subject at a time or more than one
urgent part of one subject. The One Subject, of course,
is winmng the war. Since everytffing else depends on that,
everytffing else must wait on that.
The League, therefore, has not taken hold on the pubUc
imagination here as it has in the Umted States. The
large mass of the people have not thought seriously about
it: it has not been strongly and persistently presented to
the mass of the people. There is no popular or general
orgamzation to promote it. There is even, here and there,

GETTING THB AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 357
condemnation of the idea. The (London) Morning Post,
for example, goes out of its way once ffi a wffile to show
the wickedness of the idea because, so it argues, it wiU in
volve the sacrffice, more or less, of nationaUty. But the
Morning Post is impervious to new ideas and is above aU
thmgs critical ffi its activities and very seldom construc
tive. The typical Tory mffid ffi general sees no good ffi the
idea. The typical Tory mind is the ffisffiar mmd.
On the other hand, the League idea is understood as a
necessity and heartUy approved by two powerfffi sections
of pubhc opimon — (1) the group of pubhc men who have
given attention to it, such as Bryce, Lord Robert Cecil,
and the like, and (2) some of the best and strongest lead
ers of Labour. There is good reason to hope that when
ever a fight and an agitation is made for a League these two
sections of pubhc opimon wffi win; but an agitation and a
fight must come. Lord Bryce, in the mtervals of ffis work
as chairman of a committee to make a plan for the reor
ganization of the House of Lords, wffich, he remarked to
me the other day, "mvolves as much labour as a Govern
ment Department," has fits of impatience about pusffing
a campaign for a league, and so have a few other men.
They ask me ff it be not possible to have good American
pubhc speakers come here — ^privately, of course, and in
no way connected with our Government nor speaking for
it — to explaffi the American movement for a League ffi
order to arouse a pubhc sentiment on the subject.
Thus the case stands at present.
Truth and error alike and odd admixtures of them come
m waves over tffis censored land where one can seldom
determine what is true, before the event, from the
newspapers. "News" travels by word of mouth, and
uaformation that one can depend on is got by personal
mquiry from sources that can be trusted.

358 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
There is a curious wave of fear just now about what
Labour may do, and the common gossip has it that there
is grave danger in the situation. I can find no basis for
such a fear. I have talked with labour leaders and I
have talked with meinbers of the government who know
most about the subject. There is not a satisfactory situa
tion — there has not been since the war began. There has
been a continuous series of labour "crises," and there have
been a good many embarrassing strikes, all of wffich have
ffist been hushed up and settled — at least postponed.
One cause of continuous trouble has been the notion held
by the Uffions, sometimes right and sometimes wrong,
that the employers were making abnormal profits and
that they were not gettffig their due share. There have
been and are also other causes of trouble. It was a con
tinuous quarrel even in peace times. But I can find no
especial cause of fear now. Many of the Uffions have had
such advances of wages that the Government has been
severely criticized for giving in. Just lately a large wing
of the Labour Party put forth its war aims wffich — with
relatively ummportant exceptions — coincide with the best
declarations made by the Government's own spokesmen.
Of course, no prudent man woffid venture to make
dogmatic predictions. There have been times when for
brief intervals any one woffid have been tempted to fear
that these quarrels might cause an unsatisfactory con
clusion of the war. But the undoubted patriotism of the
British workman has every tune saved the situation.
Wffile a danger point does Ue here, there is no reason to be
more fearfffi now than at any preceding tune when no
especial trouble was brewing. Tffis wave of gossip and
fear has no right to sweep over the country now.
Labour hopes and expects and is preparing to win the
next General Election — whether with good reason or not

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 359
I cannot guess. But most men expect it to win the
Government at some time — ^most of them after the war.
I recaU that Lord Grey once said to me, before the war
began, that a general poUtical success of the Labour Party
was soon to be expected.
Another wave wffich, I hear, has swept over Rome as
weU as London is a wave of early peace expectation. The
British newspapers have lately been encouraging this by
mysterious pffiases. Some men here of good sense and
sound judgment tffink that tffis is the resffit of the so-
caUed German "peace offensive," wffich makes the pres
ent the most dangerous period of the war. W. H. P.
To David F. Houston^
London, March 23, 1918.
My dear Houston:
It is very kmd of you indeed to write so generously
about the British visitors who are invading our sacred
premises, such as the Archbishop of York, and it is good
to hear from you anyhow about any subject and I needn't
say that it is qmte a rare experience also. I wish you
would take a Uttle of your abundant leisure and devote it
to good letters to me.
And in some one of your letters teU- me tffis. — ^The
British send over men of this class that you have written
about to see us, but they invite over here — and we pemait
to come — cranks on proffibition, experts in the investiga
tion of crime, short-haired women who wish to see how
British babies are reared, peace cranks and freaks of other
kinds. ^ Our Govemment apparently won't let plain.

* Secretary of Agriculture.
'See Chapter XXIV-

360 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
honest, normal civiUans come over, but if a fellow comes
along who wants to investigate some monstrosity then
one haff of the Senate, one haff of the House of Represen
tatives, and a number of the executive offices of the Gov
ernment give him the most cordial letters. Now there are
many tffings, of course, that I don't know, but it has been
my fate to have a pretty extensive acquaintance with
cranks of every description in the Umted States. I
don't tffink there is any breed of them that didn't haunt
my office wffile I was an editor. Now I am surely pun
ished for aU my past sins by having those feUows descend
on me here. I know them, nearly aU, from past experi
ence and now just for the sake of keeping the world as
qmet as possible I have to give them time here far out of
proportion to their value.
Now, out of your great wisdom, I wish you would ex
plain to me why the deuce we let aU tffis crew come over
here instead of sending a sffipload of perfectly normal,
digmfied, and right-minded gentlemen. These thiig re
formers! — ^Baker wiU be here in a day or two and ff I can
remember it I am going to suggest to him that he round
them all up and put them in the trenches in France where
those of them who have so far escaped the gaUows ought
to be put.
I am much obUged to have the Uluminatffig statement
about our crops. I am going to show it to certain gentle
men here who.wiU be much cheered by it. By gracious,
you ought to hear their appreciation of what we are doing I
We are not doing it for the sake of theu appreciation, but
if we were out to win it we coffid not do it better. Down
at bottom the EngUshman is a good fellow. He has his
faffits but he doesn't get tued and he doesn't suffer spasms
of emotion.
Give my love to Mrs. Houston, and do sit down and

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forces operating in European waters during the Great War
A silver model of the Mayflower, the farewell gift of the Plymouth
Council to Mr. Page

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 361
write me a good long letter — a whole series of them, in
fact. BeUeve me, always most heartUy yours,
Walter Hines Page.

To Frank L. Polk
London, March 22, 1918.
Dear Mr. Polk:
You are good enough to mention the fact that the Em
bassy has some sort of grievance against the Department.
Of course it has, and you are, possibly, the offiy man that
can remove it. It is tffis: You don't come here to see the
war and tffis government and these people who are again
savmg the world as we are now saving them. I thank
Heaven and the Admiffistration for Secretary Baker's
visit. It is a dramatic moment in the ffistory of the race,
of democracy, and of the world. The State Department
has the duty to deal with foreign affairs — ^the especial
duty — and yet no man in the State Department has been
here sffice the war began. Tffis doesn't look pretty and
it won't look pretty when the much over-worked "future
historian" writes it down in a book. Remove that
grievance. The most interestmg tffing going on in the world to-day
— a tffing that in History wffi transcend the war and be
reckoned its greatest gain — is the ffigh leadersffip of
the President ffi formffiating the struggle, in puttffig
its aims ffigh, and in taking the democratic lead in the
world, a lead that wiU make the world over — and ffi
takmg the democratic lead of the EngUsh-speaking folk.
Next most impressive to that is to watch the British
response to that lead. Already they have doubled the
number of their voters, and even more important defimte

362 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
steps in Democracy will be taken. My ffim — ^and it's
the offiy way to save the world — ^is to lead the British
in tffis direction. They are the most easUy teachable
people in our way of tffinking and of doing. Of
course everybody who works toward such an aim
provokes the cry from a lot of fools among us who
accuse ffim of toadying to the Enghsh and of "accepting
the conventional EngUsh conclusion." They had as
weU talk of missionaries to India accepting Confucius
or Buddha. Their fieet has saved us four or five times.
It's about time we were saving them from tffis bloody
Tffing that we caU Europe, for our sake and for
theirs. The bloody Tffing wUl get us aU ff we don't fight our
level best; and it's offiy by our help that we'U be saved.
That clearly gives us the leadersffip. Everybody sees
that. Everybody acknowledges it. The President au
thoritatively speaks it — speaks leadersffip on a ffigher level
than it was ever spoken before to the whole world. As
soon as we get this fighting job over, the world procession
toward freedom — our kind of freedom — wiU begm under
our lead. Tffis being so, can't you delegate the writing of
telegrams about "faciUtating the hcense to sffip poppy
seed to McKesson and Robbins," and come over and see
big world-forces at work?
I cannot express my satisfaction at Secretary Baker's
visit. It was ffistoric — ^the first member of the Cabinet,
I tffink, who ever came here wffile he held office. He
made a great ^ impression and received a hearty wel
come. That's the only grievance I can at the moment unload
on you. We're passing out of our old era of isolation.
These bemghted heathen on tffis island whom we'U yet
save (since they are weU worth saving) wffi be with us as

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 363
we need th^m in future years and centuries. Come, help
us heighten tffis fine spirit. Always heartUy yours,
Walter Hines Page.
P. S. You'd see how big our country looks from a dis
tance. It's gigantic, I assure you.
The above letter was written on what was perhaps the
darkest day of the whole war. The German attack on
the Western Front, wffich had been long expected, had
now been launched, and, at the moment that Page was
pennffig tffis cheery note to Mr. Polk, the German armies
had broken tffiough the British defenses, had pushed theu
Unes forty mUes ahead, and, in the judgment of many
mihtary men, had Paris almost certaiffiy witffin their
grasp. A great German gun, placed about seventy miles
from the French capital, was dropping sheUs upon the
apparently doomed city. Tffis attack had been regarded
as mevitable since the coUapse of Russia, which had en
abled the Germans to concentrate practicaUy aU their
armies on the Western Front.
The world does not yet fuUy comprehend the devas-
tatmg effect of tffis apparently successful attack upon
the affied morale. British statesmen and British soldiers
made no attempt to conceal from official Americans the
desperate state of affairs. It was the expectation that
the Germans naight reach Calais and thence invade Eng
land. The War Office discussed these probabilities most
freely with Colonel Slocum, the American mffitary attache.
The simple fact was that both the French and the British
arnaies were practicaUy bled wffite.
"For God's sake, get your men over!" they urged Gen
eral Slocum. "You have got to finish it."

364 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
Page was writing urgently to President Wjlson to the
same purpose. Send the men and send them at once.
"I pray God," were his solemn words to Mr. Wilson,
"that you wiU not be too late! "
One propitious event had taken place at the same time as
the opemng of the great German offensive. Mr. New
ton D. Baker, the American Secretary of War, had left
qmetly for France in late February, 1918, and had reached
the Western Front in time to obtain a ffist-hand sight of
the great March drive. No visit in ffistory has ever been
better timed, and no event coffid have better played into
Page's hands. He had been urging Wasffington to send
aU available forces to France at the earhest possible date;
he knew, as probably few other men knew, the extent to
wffich the Affies were depending upon American troops to
give the final blow to Germany; and the arrival of Sec
retary Baker at the scene of action gave him the oppor
tuffity to make a personal appeal. Page immediately
commumcated with the Secretary and persuaded ffim to
come at once to London for a consffitation with British
mihtary and poUtical leaders. The Secretary spent only
tffiee days in London, but the visit, brief as it was, had
historic consequences. He had many consffitations with
the British naihtary men; he entered into their plans with
enthusiasm; he ffimseff received many ideas that after
ward took shape in action, and the British Government
obtained from him ffist-hand information as to the prog
ress of the American Army and the American deter
mination to cooperate to the last man and the last doUar.
"Baker went straight back to France," Page wrote to ffis
son Arthur, "and our whole cooperation began."
Page gave a dinner to Mr. Baker at the Embassy on
March 23rd — ^two days after the great March drive had
begun. This occasion gave the visitor a memorable

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 365
gUmpse of the British temperament. Mr. Lloyd George,
Mr. Baffour, Lord Derby, the War Secretary, General
Biddle, ofthe Umted States Army, and Admiral Suns were
the Ambassador's guests. Though the mighty issues then
overhanging the world were not ignored ffi the conversation
the atmosphere hardly suggested that the existence of the
British Empire, indeed that of civiUzation itself, was that
very mght hanging in the balance. Possibly it was the
general sombreness of events that caused these British
statesmen to fimd a certain rehef in jocffiar smaU taUt and
remuaiscence. For the larger part of the evening not
a word was said about the progress of the German armies
in France. Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Baffour, seated on
opposite sides of the table, apparently found relaxation in
reviewing their pohtical careers and especially their old-
time pohtical battles. They woffid laugffingly recaU occa
sions when, in American parlance, they had put each other
"ma hole " ; the exigencies of war had now made these two
men coUeagues in the same government, but the twenty
years precedmg 1914 they had spent in poUtical antago
nism. Page's guests on tffis occasion learned much poUti
cal history of the early twentieth century, and the mutual
confessions of Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Balfour gave
these two men an insight into each others' motives and
manoeuvres wffich was almost as reveaUng. "Yes, you
caught me that time," Mr. Lloyd George woffid say, and
then he woffid counter with an episode of a poUtical battle
in wffich he had got the better of Mr. Balfour. The whole
talk was Uvely and bantering, and accompamed with
much laughter; and aU tffis time sheUs from that long
distance gun were dropping at fifteen rainute intervals
upon the devoted women and cffildren of Paris and the
Germans were every hour driving the British back in dis
order. At times the conversation took a more phUosophic

366 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
turn. Woffid the men present like to go back twenty-
five years and Uve their Uves aU over again? The practi
caUy unammous decision of every man was that he would
not wish to do so.
All tffis, of course, was merely on the surface; despite
the laughter and the banter, there was only one tffing wffich
engrossed the Ambassador's guests, although there were
not many references to it. That was the struggle wffich
was then taking place in France. At intervals Mr. Lloyd
George would send one of the guests, evidently a secre
tary, from the room. The latter, on his return, would
wffisper sometffing in the Prime Mimster's ear, but more
frequently he woffid merely shake his head. Evidently
he had been sent to obtain the latest news of the
battle. At one point the Prime Mimster did refer to the great
things taking place in France.
"Tffis battle means one tffing," he said. "That is a
generahssimo." "Why coffidn't you have taken tffis step long ago?"
Admiral Sims asked Mr. Lloyd George.
The answer came Uke a flash.
"If the cabinet two weeks ago had suggested placing
the British Army under a foreign general, it woffid have
fallen. Every cabinet in Europe would also have faUen,
had it suggested such a tffing."
Memorandum on Secretary Baker's visit
Secretary Baker's visit here, brief as it was, gave the
heartiest satisfaction. So far as I know, he is the first
member of an American Cabinet who ever came to Eng
land wffile he held office, as Mr. Baffour was the first
member of a British Cabinet who ever went to the Umted
States wffile he held office. The great governments of

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 367
the EngUsh-speaking foUt have surely dealt with one an
other with mighty elongated tongs. Governments of
democracies are not exactly instruments of precision. But
they are at least human. But personal and human neg
lect of one another by these two governments over so long a
period is an astoffisffing fact in our ffistory. The wonder
is that we haven't had more than two wars. And it is no
wonder that the ignorance of Enghshmen about America
and the American ignorance of England are monumen
tal, stupendous, amazing, passing understanding. I have
on my mantelpiece a statuette of Benjamin FrankUn,
an exceUent and unmistakable likeness wffich was made
here diuing ffis Iffetime; and the inscription burnt on its
base is Geo. Washington. It serves me many a good turn
with my EngUsh friends. I use it as a measure of their
ignorance of us. Of course tffis is a mere httle error of a
statuette-maker, an error, moreover, of a hundred years
ago. But it teUs the story of to-day also. If I had to
name the largest and most indehble impression that
has been made on me during my five years' work
here, I shoffid say the ignorance and aloofness of the
two peoples — ^not an ignorance of big essential facts
but of personaUties and temperaments — such as never
occur except between men who had never seen one
another. But I was writing about Mr. Baker's visit and I've
got a long way from that. I doubt ff he knows him
seff what gratffication it gave; for these men here have
spoken to me about it as they coffid not speak to
him. Here is an odd fact: For sixty years, so far as I know,
members of the Adnaimstration have had personal ac
quaintance with some of the men in power in Salvador,
Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru, etc., etc., and meinbers of

368 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
the British Government have had personal acquaintance
with some men in authority in Portugal, Serbia, Monte
negro and Monte Carlo; but durmg tffis time (with the
single exception of John Hay) I tffink no member of any
Admimstration had a real personal acquaintance wffile he
held office with any member of the British Government
while he held office, and vice versa— tiU Mr. Balfour's
visit. Suspicion grows out of ignorance. The longer I
Uve here the more astoffished I become at the fundamental
ignorance of the British about us and of our fundamental
ignorance about them. So colossal is tffis ignorance that
every American sent here is supposed to be taken in, to
become AnglophUe; and often when one undertakes to
enlighten EngUshmen about the United States one be
comes aware of a feeling inside the Enghsh of unbehef, as
if he said, "Oh, weU! you are one of those queer people
who believe in repubUcan government." AU tffis is sim
ply amazing. Poor Adnairal Sims sometimes has a sort
of mama, a delusion that nobody at Wasffington trusts
his judgment because he said seven or eight years ago
that he hked the Enghsh. Yet every naval officer who
comes here, I understand, shares his views about practi
caUy every important naval problem or question. I don't
deserve the comphment (it's a very ffigh one) that some of
my secretaries sometimes pay me when they say that I
am the only man they know who tries to teU the whole
truth to our Government in favour of the Enghshman as
weU as against ffim. It is certain that American public,
opimon is umversaUy supposed to suspect any American
who tries to do anything with the British hon except to
twist ffis tail — a supposition that I never beheved to be
true. — ^But it is true that the mutual ignorance is as
high as the Andes and as deep as the ocean. Personal
acquaintance removes it and nothing else wffi.

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 369
To Arthur W. Page
American Embassy,
London, AprU 7, 1918.
Dear Arthur:
I daresay you remember tffis epic:
Old Morgan's wife made butter and cheese;
Old Morgan drank the whey.
There came a wind from West to East
And blew Old Morgan away.
I'm Old Morgan and your mother got ashamed of my
wheyness and made the doctor prescribe creema for me.
There's never been such a luxury, and anybody who sup
poses that I am now going to get fat and have my cream
stopped simply doesn't know me. So, you see why I'm
mtent on sffiedded wheat biscmts. That's about the best
form of real wheat that wffi keep. And there's no getting
real wheat-stuff, pure and simple, in any other form.
There's no use in talking about starving people — except
perhaps in India and Cffina. Wffite men can hve on any
tffing. The Enghsh coffid fight a century on cabbage and
Brussels sprouts. I've given up hope of starving the
Germans. A gut of dpgmeat or horse flesh and a potato
wiU keep them in fighting trim forever. I've read daUy
for two years of impending starvation across the Rffine;
but I never even now hear of any dead ones from hunger.
Cold steel or lead is the offiy fatal dose for them.
Therefore I know that sffiedded wheat wffi carry me
tffiough. You'U see, I hope, from the chppings that I enclose
that I'm not done for yet anyhow. Two speeches a day
is no smaU stunt; and I did it agam yesterday — ^hand

370 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
runffing; and I went out to dinner afterward. It was a
notable occasion — ^this celebration of the amiiversary of
our coming into the war.^
Nobody here knows defiffitely just what to fear from
the big battle; but everybody fears more or less. It's a
critical time — ^very. I am told that that long-range
gunffing of Paris is the worst form of frightfffiness yet
tried. The sheUs do not kffi a great many people. But
their faffing every fffteen minutes gets on people's nerves
and they can't sleep. I hear they are leaving Paris in
great numbers. Since the big battle began and the Ger
mans have needed aU their planes and more in France,
they've let London alone. But nobody knows when they
wiU begin again.
Nobody knows any future tffing about the war, and
everybody faces a fear.
Secretary Baker stayed with me the two days and tffiee
mghts he was here. He made a good impression but he
received a better one. He now knows sometffing about
the war. I had at dinner to meet him:
Lloyd George, Prune Mimster.
Baffour, Foreign Secretary.
The Cffief of Staff.
Lord Derby, War Secretary.
General Biddle, U. S. A., in command in London.
Admiral Sims, U. S. N.
The talk was to the point — good and earnest. Baker went
straight back to France and our whole cooperation began.
With the ffist group of four he had conferences besides
for two days. His coming was an admirable move.
Yours affectionately, W. H. P.

iThis meeting, on April 6, 1918, was held at the Mansion House. Page and
Mr. Balfour were the chief speakers.

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 371
To Ralph W. Page
London, AprU 13, 1918.
Dear Ralph:
Your cheery letters about entertaiffing governors,
plantffig trees and sffiubbery and your mother's Uttle
orchard give us much pleasure. The Southern Pines
paper brings news of very great damage to the peach crop.
I hope it is much exaggerated. Is it?
We haven't any news here, and I send you my weekly
note offiy to keep my record clear. The great battle— no
one talks or thinks of anytffing else. We have suffered
and stffi suffer a good deal of fear and anxiety, with real
reason, too. But the mffitary men are reassuring. Yet
I don't know just how far to trust their judgment or to
share their hopes. Certaiffiy tffis is the most dangerous
situation that modern civffization was ever put in.
If we can keep them from wffimng any great objective,
like Paris or a channel port, we ought to end the war
tffis year. If not, either they win or at the least pro
long the war indefimtely. It's a hazardous and trying
time. There were never such casualties on either side as now.
Such a bloody business cannot keep up aU summer. But be
fore everybody is MUed or a decisive conclusion is reached,
the armies wiU, no doubt, dig themselves ffi and take a
period of comparative rest. People here see and feel the
great danger. But the extra effort now may come too
late. Stffi we keep up good hope. The British are hard
to wffip. They never give up. And as for the French
army, I always remember Verdun and keep my courage
up. The wounded are coming over by the thousand. We
are mcomparably busy and in great anxiety about the

372 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
resffit (though stiU pretty ffim in the behef that the Ger
mans wiU lose), and luckUy we keep very weU.
Affectionately, W. H. P.
To Ralph W. Page
London, April 7, 1918.
Dear Ralph:
There used to be a country parson down in Wake
County who, when other subjects were talked out, always
took up the pleasing topic of saving your soffi. That's
the way your mother and I do — ^with the subject of going
home. We talk over the battle, we talk over the boys, we
talk over mffitary and naval problems, we discuss the
weather and aU the babies, and then take up poUtics, and
talk over the gossip of the wiseacres; but we seldom finish
a conversation without discussing going home. And we
reach just about as clear a conclusion on our topic as the
coimtry parson reached on his. I've had the doctors
going over me (or rather your mother has) as an expert
accountant goes over your books; and I tried to bribe
them to say that I oughtn't to continue my arduous
duties here longer. They woffidn't say any such tffing.
Thus that device failed — dead. It looks as ff I were
destined for a green old age and no martyr business at
aU. AU tffis is disappointing; and I don't see what to do but
to go on. I can't keep from hoping that the big battle
may tffiow some Ught on the subject; but there's no teffing
when the big battle wffi end. Notffing ends — ^that's the
trouble. I sometimes feel that the war may never end,
that it may last as the Napoleomc Wars did, for 20 years;
and before that time we'U aU have guns that shoot 100
miles. We can stay at home and indefimtely bombard

GETTING THE AMERICAN TROOPS TO FRANCE 373
the enemy across the Rffine — ^have an endless battle at
long range.
So, we stick to it, and give the peach trees time to grow
up. We had a big day in London yesterday — ^the anmver-
sary of our entry into the war. I send you some news
paper chppings about it.
The next best news is that we have a httle actual sun
sffine — a very rare tffing — and some of the weather is now
almost decent. . . . Affectionately, W. H. P.

CHAPTER XXVI
LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND
IN SPITE of the encouraging tone of the foregoing
letters, everytffing was not weU with Page. AU tffiough
the winter of 1917-1918 ffis associates at the Embassy had
noticed a change for the worse in ffis health. He seemed
to be growing tffinner; his face was daily becoming more
haggard; he tired easUy, and, after walkffig the short dis
tance from his house to ffis Embassy, he woffid drop Ust
lessly into his chair. His general bearing was that of a
man who was physicaUy and nervously exhausted. It
was hoped that the hoUday at St. Ives woffid help ffim;
that he greatly enjoyed that visit, especiaUy the westward
— ^homeward — outlook on the Atlantic which it gave him,
ffis letters clearly show; there was a temporary improve
ment also in his health, but offiy a temporary one. The
last great effort wffich he made in the interest ofthe com
mon cause was Secretary Baker's visit; the activities which
tffis entailed wearied ffim, but the pleasure he obtained
from the resultant increase in the American participation
made the experience one of the most profitable of his hfe.
Indeed, Page's last few months in England, though fuU of
sad memories for ffis friends, contained Uttle but satis
faction for himseff. He still spent many a lonely evening
by ffis ffie, but his thoughts were now far more pleasurable
than ffi the old Lusitania days. The one absorbing sub
ject of contemplation now was that America was "ffi."
His country had justified his deep confidence. The Ameri
can Navy had played a determiffing part in defeating the
374

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 375
submarine, and American sffipyards were turmng out
merchant ships faster than the Germans were destroying
them. American troops were reacffing France at a rate
wffich necessarUy meant the early coUapse of the German
Empire. Page's own famUy had responded to the caU
and tffis in itseff was a cause of great contentment to
a sick and weary 'man. The Ambassador's youngest
son, Frank, had obtained a commission and was serv
mg m France; ffis son-in-law, Charles G. Loring, was
also on the Western Front; wffile from North CaroUna
Page's youngest brother Frank and two nephews
had saUed for the open battle Une. The bravery and
success of the American troops did not surprise the
Ambassador but they made his last days in England very
happy. Indeed, every day had some dehghtfffi experience for
Page. The performance of the Americans at Cantigny
especiaUy cheered ffim. The day after tffis battle he and
Mrs. Page entertained Mr. Lloyd George and other guests
at lunch. The Prime Mimster came bounding into the
room with ffis characteristic enthusiasm, rushed up to
Mrs. Page with both hands outstretched and shook hands
joyously. "Congratffiations!" he exclaimed. "The Americans
have done it! They have met the Prussian guard and
defeated them!"
Mr. Lloyd George was as exuberant over the acffieve-
ment as a cffild.
Tffis was now the kind of experience that had become
Page's daUy routme. Lively as were ffis spirits, however,
his physical frame was giving way. In fact Page, though
he did not know it at the time, was suffering from a speci
fic disease — ^nepffiitis; and its course, after Cffiistmas of
1918, became rapid. His old friend, Dr. WaUace Buttrick,

"]"1

376 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
had noted the change for the worse and had attempted to
persuade ffim to go home.
"Qffit your job. Page," he urged. "You have other big
tasks waiting you at home. Why don't you go back?"
'No — ^no — ^not now."
'But, Page," urged Dr. Buttrick, "you are going to lay
down your Ufe."
"I have only one lffe to lay down," was the reply. "I
can't qffit now." To Mary E. Page'
London, May 12, 1918.
Dear Mary:
You'U have to take tffis big paper and tffis paint brush
pen — ^it's aU the pen these blunt British have. Tffis is to
tell you how very welcome your letter to Alice is — ^how
very welcome, for nobody writes us the family news and
nothing is so much appreciated. I'll try to caU the shorter
roU of us in the same way :
After a miserable winter we, too, are having the rare
experience of a httle sunshine in tffis dark, damp world of
London. The constant confinement in the city and in
the house (that's the worst of it — ^no outdoor lffe or fresh
air) has played hob with my digestion. It's not bad, but
it's troublesome, and for some time I've had the feehng o^
being one haff weU. It occurred to me the other day that
I hadn't had leave from my work for four years, except
my short visit home nearly two years ago. I asked for two
months off, and I've got it. We are going down by the
shore where there is fresh air and where I can Uve outdoors
and get some exercise. We have a house that we can get
there and be comfortable. To get away from London

'Of Aberdeen, N. C, the Ambassador's sister.

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 377
when the weather promises to be good, and to get away
from people seemed a joyous prospect. I can, at any time
I must, come to London in two hours.
The job's too hnportant to give up at tffis juncture.
Tffis, then, is the way we can keep it going. I've no such
hard task now as I had during the years of our neutraUty,
wffich, praise God! I somehow survived, though I am
now suffering more or less from the physical effects of
that straffi. Yet, sffice I have had the good fortune to
win the confidence of tffis Government and these people, I
feel that I ought to keep on now untU some more or less
natural time to change comes.
AUce keeps remarkably weU — since her influenza late
m the wmter; but a rest away from London is reaUy needed
as much by her as by me. They work her to death. In
a httle wffile she is to go, by the invitation of the Govern
ment and the consent of the King, to cffiisten a new Brit
ish warsffip at Newcastle. It wffi be named the "Eagle."
Meantime I'U be trying to get outdoor Ufe at Sand
wich. Yesterday a regiment of our National Army marched
tffiough the streets of London and were reviewed by the
King and me ; and the town made a great day of it. WhUe
there is an undercurrent of complaint in certain sections
of EngUsh opiffion because we didn't come into the war
sooner, there is a very general and very genmne apprecia
tion of everytffing we have done and of aU that we do.
Notffing coffid be heartier than the welcome given our
men here yesterday. Nor coffid any men have made
a braver or better showffig than they made. They made
us aU sweU with pride.
They are coming over now, as you know, in great
quantities. Therewere about 8,000 landed here last week
and about 30,000 more are expected tffis week. I tffink

378 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
that many more go direct to France than come tffiough
England. On their way tffiough England they do not
come to London. Offiy twice have we had them here,
yesterday and one day last summer when we had a parade
of a regiment of engineers. For the army London is on a
sidetrack — ^is an out of the way place. For our navy, of
course, it's the European headquarters, since Adnairal
Sims has ffis headquarters here. We thus see a good
many of our saUors who are aUowed to come to London on
leave. A few days ago 1 had a talk with a Uttle bunch of
them who came from one of oiu superdreadnaughts m
the North Sea. They had just returned from a patrol
across to the coast of Norway. "Bad luck, bad luck,"
they said, "on none of our long patrol trips have we seen
a single Hun sffip!"
About the war, you know as much as I know. There
is a general confidence that the Affies wffi hold the Ger
mans in their forthconung effort to get to Calais or to
Paris. Yet there is an undercurrent of fear. Nobody
knows just how to feel about it. Probably another pro
digious onslaught wffi be made before you receive this
letter. It seems to me that we can make no inteffigent
guess until tffis German effort is fimshed ffi France — ^no
guess about the future. If the Germans get the French
ports (Calais, for example) the war wffi go on indefimtely.
If they are held back, it may end next autumn or wmter
— partly because of starvation ffi Germany and partly
because the Germans wffi have to confess that they can't
wffip our armies in France. But, even then, since they
have aU Russia to draw on, they may keep going for a long
time. One man's guess is as good as another's.
One sad tffing is certain: we shaU at once begffi to have
heavy American casualties. Our Red Cross and our
army here are gettffig hospitals ready for such American

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 379
wounded as are brought over to England— the parts of
our army that are fighting with the British.
We have a lot of miserable pohtics here wffich interfere
with the pubhc feehng. The British pohtician is a worse
yeUow dog than the American — at tunes he as, at least;
and we have just been going tffiough such a time. An
other such time wffi soon come about the Irish.
WeU, we have an unending quantity of work and wear
—no very acute bothers but a continuous strain, the
strain of actual work, of uneasiness, of seeing people, of
uncertainty, of great expense, of doubt and fear at times,
of inabffity to make any plans — ^aU wffich is offiy the com
mon lot now aU over the world, except that most persons
have up to tffis time suffered incomparably worse than we.
And there's notffing to do but to go on and on and on and
to keep goffig with the stoutest hearts we can keep up till
the end do at last come. But the Germans now (as the
rest of us) are fighting for their Uves. They are desperate
and their leaders care notffing for human Ufe.
The Embassy now is a good deal bigger than the whole
State Department ever was in times of peace. I have
tffiee buUdings for offices, and a part of our civil force oc
cupies two other bffildings. Even a general supervision
of so large a force is in itseff a pretty big job. The army
and the Navy have each about the same space as the Em
bassy proper. Besides, our people have huts and inns and
clubs and hospitals aU over the town. Even though there
be fewer vexing problems than there were while we were
neutral, there is not less work — on the contrary, more.
Nor wffi there be an end to it for a very long time — ^long
after my time here. The setthng of the war and the be
gmmng of peace activities, whenever these come, wiU in
volve a great volume of work. But I've no ambition to
have these things in hand. As soon as a natural time of

380 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
relief shaU come, I'U go and be happier in my going than
you or anybody else can guess.
Now yie go to get my digestion stiffened up for another
long tug — ^uffiess the Germans proceed forthwith to knock
us out — wffich they cannot do.
With my love to everybody on the HiU,
Affectionately yours, W. H. P.
Mr. and Mrs. Waldorf Astor — since become Viscount
and Viscountess Astor — ^had offered the Pages the use of
theu beautfful seaside house at Sandwich, Kent, and it
was the proposed vacation here to wffich Page refers in
this letter. He obtamed a six weeks' leave of absence and
almost the last letters wffich Page wrote from England
are dated from tffis place. These letters have aU the
quaUties of Page at ffis best: but the handwriting is a sad
reminder of the change that was progressively taking place
in ffis physical condition. It is stffi a clear and beautfful
script, but there are signs of a less steady hand than the
one that had written the vigorous papers of the precedmg
four years. Memorandum
Sandwich, Kent, Sunday, 19 May, 1918.
We're at Rest Harrow and it's a fine, sunny early
spring CaroUna day. The big German drive has evi
dently begun its second phase. We hear the guns ffis-
tinctly. We see the coast-guard aeroplanes at almost any
tune o' day. What is the mood about the big battle?
The soldiers — ^British and French — ^have confidence m
theu abihty to hold the Germans back from the Channel
and from Paris. Yet can one rely on the judgment of

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 381
soldiers? They have the job in hand and of coiuse they
beUeve in themselves. Wffile one does not hke in the
least to discount their judgment and their hopefffiness,
for my part I am not quite so sure of their abiUty to make
sound judgments as I wish I were. The chances are in
favour of their success; but — suppose they should have to
yield and give up Calais and other Channel ports? WeU,
they've prepared for it as best they can. They have made
provision for commandeering most of the hotels in London
that are not yet taken over — ^for hospitals for the wounded
now in France.
And the war woffid take on a new phase. Whatever
shoffid become of the British and American armies, the
Germans woffid be no nearer having England than they
now are. They woffid not have command of the sea.
The combined British and American fleets coffid keep
every German sffip off the ocean and contffiue the blockade
by sea — ^indefinitely; and, ff the peoples of the two coun
tries hold fast, a victory woffid be won at last — at sea.

To Ralph W. Page
Rest Harrow, Sandwich, Kent.
May 19, 1918.
Dear Ralph:
I felt very proud yesterday when I read T. R.'s good
word in the Outlook about your book.^ If I had written
what he said myseff — ^I mean, ff I had written what /
tffink of the book — I shoffid have said tffis very tffing.
And there is one tffing more I shoffid have said, viz. : — ^AU
your lffe and aU my lffe, we have cffitivated the opimon
at home that we had notffing to do with the rest of the

"Dramatic Moments in AmericaB Diplomacy," by Ralph W. Page, 1918.

382 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
world, notffing to do with Europe in particffiar — and in
our poUtical Ufe our hayseed spokesmen have said this
over and over again tiU many people, perhaps most people,
came reaUy to beUeve that it was true. Now tffis aloof
ness, tffis utterly detached attitude, was a pure invention
of the shirt-sleeve statesman at home. I have long con
cluded, for other reasons as weU as for tffis, that these men
are the most ignorant men in the whole world; more igno
rant — ^because they are viciously ignorant — than the Negro
boys who act as caddies at Pinehurst ; more ignorant than
the inmates of the Morganton Asylum; more ignorant
than sheep or rabbits or idiots. They have been the
chief hindrances of our country — worse than traitors, in
effect. It is they, in fact, who kept our people ignorant
of the Germans, ignorant of the English, ignorant of our
own ffistory, ignorant of ourselves. Now your book,
without mentioffing the subject, shows tffis important
fact clearly, by showing that our aloofness has aU been a
fiction. We've been in the world — and right in the middle
of the world — the whole time.
And our pubUc consciousness of tffis fact has enormously
sUpped back. Take FrankUn, Madison, Monroe, Jeffer
son; take Hay, Root — ^and then consider some of our
present representatives! One good resffit of the war and
of our being in it wiU be the restoration of our foreign con
sciousness. Every one of the haff mUhon, or tffiee miffion,
soldiers who go to France wiU know more about foreign
affairs than aU Congress knew two years ago.
A stay of nearly five years in London (five years ago
to-day I was on the ship coming here) with no absence
long enough to give any real rest, have got my digestion
wrong. I've therefore got a real leave for two months.
Your mother and I have a beautfful house here that has
been lent to us, right on the Channel where there's notffing

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 383
worth bombmg and where as much sunshine and warmth
come as come anywhere in England. We got here last
night and to-day is as fine an early spring day as you ever
had in the Sandhills. I shaU goff and try to find me an old
horse to ride, and I'U stay out in the sunshine and try to
get the inside macffinery going aU right. We may have a
few interruptions, but I hope not many, if the Germans
leave us alone. Your mother has got to go to Newcastle to
cffiisten a new British warsffip — a comphment the Ad
miralty pays her "to bind the two nations closer together"
etc. etc. And I've got to go to Cambridge to receive an
LL. D. for the President. Offiy such tffings are allowed
to interrupt us. And we are very much hoping to see
Framk here.
We are in sound of the battle. We hear the big guns
whenever we go outdoors. A few miles down the beach
is a rffie range and we hear the practice there. Almost
any time of day we can hear aeroplanes wffich (I pre
sume) belong to the coast guard. There's no danger of
forgettffig the war, therefore, unless we become stone
deaf. But tffis decent air and sunsffine are blessings of
the ffighest kind. I never became so tired of anything
since I had the measles as I've become of London.
My Lord! it sounded last mght as if we had jumped from
the frying pan into the ffie. Just as we were about to go
to bed the big gun on the beach — just outside the fence
aroimd our yard — about 50 yards from the house, began
its thundering belch — ^five times in quick succession,
rattUng the windows and shaking the very foundation of
tffings. Then after a pause of a few minutes, another
round of five shots. Then the other guns all along the
beach took up the chorus — ^farther off — and the iffiand
guns foUowed. They are planted aU the way to London
— ^mnety mUes. For about two hours we had tffis roar

384 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
and racket. There was an air raid on, and there were
supposed to be twenty-five or thirty German planes on
their way to London. I hear that it was the worst raid
that London has had. Two of them were brought down
— that's the only good piece of news I've heard about it.
WeU, we are not supposed to be in danger. They fly over
us on the way to bigger game. At any rate I'U take the
risk for this air and sunshine. Trenches and barbed wire
run all along the beach — ^I suppose to help ffi case of an
invasion. But an invasion is impossible in my judgment.
Holy Moses! what a world! — ^the cannon in the big battle
in France roaring in our ears all the time, tffis cannon at
our door likely to begin action any ffight and aU the rest
along the beach and on the way to London, and this is
what we caU rest! The world is upside down, aU crazy,
aU murderous; but we've got to stop tffis barbaric assault,
whatever the cost.
Ray Stannard Baker is spending a few days with us,
much to our pleasure.
With love to Leila and the babies,
Yours affectionately, W. H. P.
To Arthur W. Page
Rest Harrow, Sandwich Beach,
Sandwich, Kent, England.
May 20, 1918.
Dear Arthur:
. . . I can't get qmte to the bottom of the anti-
EngUsh feeling at Washington. God knows, tffis people
have their faffits. Their social system and much else here
is mediaeval. I could write several volumes in criticism
of them. So I could also in criticism of anybody else.

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 385
But Jefferson's^ letter is as true to-day as it was when he
wrote it. One may or may not have a lot of sentiment
about it ; but, without sentiment, it's mere common sense,
mere prudence, the mere instinct of safety to keep close
to Great Britain, to have a decent respect for the good
quaUties of these people and of tffis government. Cer
tainly it is a mere perversity — ^lost time — ^lost motion,
lost everything — to cherish a disUke and a distrust of them
— a tffing that I cannot whoUy understand. While we are,
I fear, going to have trade troubles and controversies, my
feeUng is, on the whole, in spite of the attitude of oiu of
ficial hfe, that an increasing number of our people are
wakmg up to what England has done and is and may be
depended on to do. Isn't that true?
We've no news here. We see nobody who knows any
thmg. I am far from strong — ^the old stomach got tired
and I must graduaUy coax it back to work. That's
practicaUy my sole business now for a time, and it's a
slow process. But it's coming along and reUef from see
ing hordes of people is as good as medicine. Affectionately, W. H. P.
To the President Sandwich, May 24, 1918.
Dear Mr. President:
Your speeches have a cumffiative effect in cheering up
the British. As you see, if you look over the mass of
newspaper chppings that I send to the Department, or
have them looked over, the British press of aU parties and

'The reference is to a letter written in 1823 by Thomas Jefferson to President
Monroe at the tune when the Holy AUiance was threatening the independence
of South America. "With Great Britain," Jeflferson wrote, "we should most sedu
lously cherish a cordial friendship and nothing would tend more to knit our
affections than to be fighting once more, side by side, in the same cause."

386 the life and letters of Walter h. page
shades of opimon constantly quote them approvingly and
gratefuUy. They have a cumffiative effect, too, in clear
ing the atmosphere. Take, for instance, your declara
tion in New York about standing by Russia. AU the
alhed governments in Europe wish to stand by Russia,
but their pressing business with the war, near at hand,
causes them in a way to forget Russia; and certainly the
British pubhc, all intent on the German " drive " in France
had in a sense forgotten Russia. You woke them up.
And your "Why set a limit to the American Army?" has
had a cheering effect. As leader and spokesman of the
enenaies of Germany — ^by far the best trumpet-caU spokes
man and the strongest leader — your speeches are worth
an army in France and more, for they keep the proper
moral elevation. AU this is gratefuUy recognized here.
PubUc opimon toward us is wholesome and you have a
"good press " in tffis Kingdom. In tffis larger matter, all
is weU. The EngUsh faffits are the faffings of the smaUer
men — about smaller matters — ^not of the large men nor of
the pubhc, about large matters.
In private, too, thoughtful Enghshmen by their fears
pay us ffigh tribute. I hear more and more constantly
such an opimon as tffis: "You see, when the war is over,
you Americans wffi have much the largest merchant fleet.
You wiU have much the largest share of money, and Eng
land and France and aU the rest of the world will owe you
money. You wffi have a large share of essential raw mate
rials. You wiU have the macffinery for marine insurance
and for foreign banking. You wiU have much the largest
volume of productive labour. And you wiU know the
world as you have never known it before. What then is
going to become of British trade?"
The best answer I can give is: "Adopt American
methods of manufacture, and the devil take the hind-

last days in ENGLAND 387
most. There wffi be for a long time plenty for everybody
to do; and let us make siue that we both play the game
fairly: that's the chief matter to look out for." That's
what I most fear in the decades foUowing the end of the
war — trade clashes.
The EngUshman's pride wffi be hurt. I recaU a speech
made to me by the friendUest of the British — ^Mr. Baffour
hunseff: "I confess that as an EngUshman it hurts my
pride to have to borrow so much even from you. But I wiU
say that I'd rather be in your debt than in anybody else's."
To Edward M. House May 27, 1918.
My DEAR House:
. . . I can write in the same spirit of the Labour
Group wffich left for home last week. Nobody has been
here from our side who had a better influence than they.
They emphaticaUy stuck by their instructions and took
pleasure, against the blandishments of certain British
SociaUsts, in declaring against any meeting with anybody
from the enemy countries to discuss "peace-by-negotia
tion" or anytffing else tiU the enemy is whipped. They
made admirable speeches and proved admirable represen
tatives of the bone and sinew of American manhood.
They had dead-earnestness and good-humour and hard
horse-sense. Tffis sort of visit is aU to the good. Great good they
do, too, in the present Enghsh curiosity to see and hear
the right sort of frank, candid Americans. Nobody who
hasn't been here lately can form an idea of the eagerness
of aU classes to hear and learn about the Uffited States.
There never was, and maybe never will be again, such a
chance to inform the British and — ^to help them toward a
right understanding of the Uffited States and our people.

388 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
We are not haff using the opportuffity. There seems to
be a feehng on your side the ocean that we oughtn't to
send men here to "lecture" the British. No typical,
earnest, sound American who has been here has "lectured"
the British. They have aU simply told facts and in
structed them and won their gratitude and removed mis
conceptions. For instance, I have twenty inquiries a
week about Dr. Buttrick. He went about qmetly during
ffis visit here and talked to uffiversity audiences and to
working-men's meetings and he captured and fascinated
every man he met. He simply told them American facts,
explained the American spirit and aims and left a grateful
memory everywhere. Buttrick cost our Government
nothing : he paid his own way. But if he had cost as much
as a regiment it woffid have been weU spent. The people
who heard him, read American utterances, American ffis
tory, American news in a new Ught. And most of ffis talk
was with Uttle groups of men, much of it even in private
conversation. He did no orating or "lecturing." A
hundred such men, if we had them, would do more for a
perfect understanding with the British people than any
tffing else whatsoever coffid do. Yours sincerely, Walter H. Page.
To Arthur W. Page
Sandwich, May 27, 1918.
Dear Arthur:
. . . I do get tired — ^my Lord! how tired! — ^not of
the work but of the confinement, of the useless tffings 1
have to spend time on, of the bad digestion that has over
taken me, of London, of the weather, of absence from you
all — of the general breaking up of the world, of tffis mad .
slaughter of men. But, after aU, this is tlae common lot

last DAYS IN ENGLAND 389
now and I am gratefffi for a chance to do what I can.
That's the true way to look at it.
. . . Worry? I don't worry about anytffing except
the war in general and tffis mad world so tffieatened by
these devU barbarians. And I have a feeUng that, when
we get a few thousand flying macffines, we'U put an end
to that, alas! with the loss of many of our brave boys. I
hear the guns across the channel as I write — an unceasing
boom! boom! boom! That's what takes the stuff out of
me and gets my inside machinery Avrong. Stffi, I'm grad
uaUy getting even that back to normal. Goff and the
poets are fine medicine. I read Keats the other day, with <
entire forgetfuffiess of the guns. Here we have a com- -
fortable house, our own servants (as many as we need), a -
beautffffi calm sea, a perfect air and for the present ideal
weather. There's nobody down here but Scottish sol
diers. We've struck up a pleasant acquaintance with
them; and some of the feUows from the Embassy come
down week ends. Offiy the murderous guns keep their
eternal roar.
Thanks, thanks, a thousand thanks, old man. It'U aU
work out right.
. . . I look at it in tffis way : aU's weU that ends weU.
We are now doing our duty. That's enough. These
tffings don't bother me, because doing our duty now is
worth a miffion years of past errors and shortcomings.
Your mother's weU and spry — ^very, and the best com
pany in the world. We're havmg a great time.
BuUy for the kids! Kiss 'em for me and Moffie too.
Affectionately, W. H. P.
Make Shoecraft teU you everytffing. He's one of the
best boys and truest ffi the world.

390 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGB
To Ralph W. Page
Rest Harrow, Sandwich, Kent.
June 7, 1918. ;
My dear Ralph:
. . . I have aU along cherished an expectation of
two tffings — (1) That when we did get an American Army
by conscription, ff it shoffid remain at war long enough to
learn the game, it would become the best army that the
world ever saw, for the simple reason that its ranks would
contain more capable men than any other coimtry has
ever produced. The proof of this comes at once. Even
our new and raw troops have astoffished the veterans of
the French and British arnaies and (I have no doubt) of
the German Army also. It'U be our men who wiU wffip
the Germans, and there are nobody else's men who could
do it. We've already saved the Entente from coUapse
by our money. We'll save the day again by our fighting
men. That is to say, we'U save the world, thank God ; and
I fear it coffidn't have been saved in any other way. (2)
Since the people by their mood command and compel
efficiency, the most efficient people wiU at last (as recent
events show) get at the concrete jobs, in spite of any
body's preferences or philosophy. And tffis seems at last
to be taking place. What we have suffered and shaU
suffer is not failure but delays and delays and bungUngs.
But they've got to end by the sheer pressure of the people's
earnestness. These two tffings, then, are aU to the good.
I get the morffing papers here at noon. And to-day I
am aU alone. Your mother went early on her journey
to launch a British battleship. I haven't had a soul to
speak to aU day but my servants. At noon, therefore, I
was rather eager for the papers. I saw at a glance that
a submarine is at work off the New Jersey coast! It's an

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 391
awful tffing for the innocent victims, to be drowned. But
their deaths have done us a greater service than 100 times as
many Uves lost in battle. If anybody lacked earnestness
about the war, I venture to guess that he doesn't lack it any
longer. If the fools woffid now offiy sheU some innocent
town on the coast, the journey to Berhn woffid be shortened.
If the Germans had practised a cffivalrous humamty in
their war for conquest, they'd have won it. Notffing on
earth can now save them; for the world isn't big enough to
hold them and civffized people. Nor is there any room
for pacifists tffi tffis grim business is done. Affectionately, W. H. P.
The last piece of writing from Sandwich is the foUowing
memorandum: Sandmch, Kent. June 10, 1918.
The Germans continue to gain ground in France — ^more
slowly, but stiU they gain. The French and British papers
now give space to plans for the final defense — ^the des
perate defense — of Paris. The Germans are offiy forty
mUes away. Slocum, nuUtary attache, tffinks they wiU
get it and he reports the same opimon at the War Office —
hecause the Germans have taken such a large number of
guns and so much ammuffition. Some of these guns were
meant for the American troops, and they cannot now be
replaced in time ff the German advance continues. But
I do not know enough facts at ffist hand to form an opin
ion. But, ff Paris be taken, the war wiU go on a long time
— ^uffiess the EngUsh-speaking rffiers make a compromise.
And, then, in another form — and forms — ^it'U go on in
defimtely. — ^There has been no more perUous or uncer
tain or anxious time than now.

392 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
The Umted States too late, too late, too late: what ff it
shoffid turn out so?
But it did not turn out so. Even whUe Page was pen-
mng these hnes great events were taking place in France
and the American troops were having a large share in
them. In June the Americans stopped the German
troops at BeUeau Wood — a battle wffich proved the mettle
of these fresh levies not offiy for the benefit ofthe Germans
but of the Affies as weU. Thus Page had the great satis
faction of returffing to London while the city was rmging
with the praise of these achievements. He found that
the atmosphere had materiaUy changed since he had last
been in the British capital; when he had left for Sandwich
there had been a general expectation that the Germans
woffid get Paris or the Channel ports; now, however, there
was every confidence of victory. Greatly as Page re
joiced over the new prospect, however, the fight at
BeUeau Wood brought him his last great sorrow. His
nephew, Alhson M. Page, of Aberdeen, North CaroUna,
the son of his youngest brother, Frank, lost ffis lffe in that
engagement. At ffist the young man was reported
" missing "; the investigation set afoot by the Ambassador
for some time brought no defimte information. One of
the most pathetic of Page's papers is a brief note addressed
by him to Affison Page, asking him for news: "It's been
a long time since we heard from you," Page wrote his
nephew. "Write how it goes with you. Affection
ately, Uncle Wat." After traveUing over a considerable
part of France, this note found its way back to the Em
bassy. The boy — he was only 19 — ^had been kiUed in
action near BeUeau Wood, on June 25th, wffile leading
ffis detachment in an attack on a machine gun. Citations
and decorations for gallantry in action were given post-

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 393
humously by General Persffing, Marshal Petain, Major-
General Omar Bundy,and Major-General John A.LeJeune.
And now the shadows began to close in rapidly on
Page. In early July Major Frank C. Page, the Ambassa
dor's youngest son, came over from France. A brief
glance at ffis father convinced ffim that he was dying.
By tffis time the Ambassador had ceased to go to the Chan
cery, but was transacting the most imperative business
propped up in a chair at home. His mind was possessed
hy two yearmngs: one was to remain in London until
the end of the war, the other was to get back to his
chUdhood home in North CaroUna. Young Page urged
his father to resign, but the weary invahd insisted on
sticking to ffis post. On this point it seemed impossible
to move him. Knowing that his brother Arthur had
great influence with ffis father, Frank Page cabled, asking
ffim to come to England immediately. Arthur took the
first boat, reacffing London late in July.
The Ambassador's two sons then gently pressed upon
their father the fact that he must resign. Weak as he
was, the Ambassador was stiU obdurate.
"No," he said. " It's qffitting on the job. I must see
•the war tffiough. I can't qffit untU it's over."
But Sir Wiffiam Osier, Page's physician and devoted
friend, exercised ffis professional authority and insisted on
the resignation. FinaUy Page consented.
To the President American Embassy, London,
August 1, 1918.
My dear Mr. President:
I have been strugghng for a number of months against
the necessity to write you this note; for my doctors now
advise me to give up aU work for a period — ^my London

394 the life and letters of Walter h. page
doctor says for six months. I have a progressive digestive
trouble wffich does not yield to the usual treatment. It's
the war, five London winters, and the unceasing labour
wffich is now the common lot. I am ashamed to say that
these have brought me to something near a breakdown.
I have had Sir Wiffiam Osier as weU as two distingmshed
London physicians for several months. The digestive
trouble has brought other iUs in its trffin; and I am assured
that they wUl yield to freedom from responsibffity and
complete rest for a time in a dry, warm climate and that
they are not likely to yield to anytffing else.
I see notffing else to do then but to bow to the inevitable
and to ask you to be kind enough to reheve me and to ac
cept my resignation to take effect as soon as I can go to
Wasffington and make a somewhat extended report on
the work here, wffich, I hope, wffi be of some use to the
Department; and I ought to go as soon as possible — say,
in September. 1 cannot teU you how great my disap
pointment is that tffis request has become necessary.
If the world and its work were so orgamzed that we
could do what we shoffid hke to do, I shoffid like a leave
of absence tiU winter be broken and then to take up my
duties here again tfll the war end. But that, of course, is
impracticable. And it is now a better time to change
Ambassadors than at any time since the war began. My
five years' service has had two main phases — the diflicult
period of our neutraUty and the far easier period since we
came into the war. But when the war ends, I fear that
there wiU be agEun more or less troublesome tasks arising
out of commercial difficffities.
But for any reasonable period the Embassy's work for
tunately can now go on perfectly weU with Mr. LaughUn
as Charge — ^until my successor can get here. The Foreign
Office like ffim, he is persona graia to aU other Departments

last days in ENGLAND 395
ofthe Government, and he has had a long experience; and
he is most conscientious and capable. And the organiza
tion is in exceUent condition.
I venture to ask you to have a cable message sent to me
(to be deciphered by me alone). It wffi requue qmte a
Uttle time to pack up and to get away.
I send tffis, Mr. President, with more regret than I can
express and offiy after a struggle of more than six months
to avoid it. Yours sincerely, Walter H. Page.
Arthur Page took ffis father to Banff, in Scotland,
for a Uttle rest ffi preparation for the voyage. From tffis
place came Page's last letter to ffis wife:

To Mrs. Page
Duff House, Banff, Scotland.
Sunday, September 2, 1918.
My dear:
. . . I've put the period of our hfe in London, in my
mmd, as closed. That epoch is ended. And I am glad.
It was time it ended. My job (that job) is done. From
the letters that Shoecraft has sent me and from what the
papers say, I tffink I coffidn't have ended it more happUy
— or at a better time. I find myseff thinking of the winter
down South — of a Thanksgiving Day dinner for the older
folks of our famUy, of a Cffiistmas tree for the kids, of
frohcs of aU sorts, of Rest, of some writing (perhaps not
much), going over my papers with Ralph — that's what he
wants, you know; etc., etc., etc. 
And I've got to eat more. / myself come into my think
mg and planmng in only two ways — (1) I'm going to have

396 the life and letters of Walter h. page
a smt like old Lord N.'s and (2) I'm going to get all the
good tffings to eat that there are!
Meantime, my dear, how are you? Don't you let tffis
getting ready wear you out. Let sometffing go undone
rather. Work Miss Latimer and the boys and the mov
ing and packing men, and Petherick and the servants.
Take it very easy yourseff.
Nine and a haff more days here — ^may they speed swfftly.
Comfortable as I am,, I'm mortal tired of being away from
you — dead tired.
Praise God it's only 9J days. If it were 9f , I should
not stand it, but break for home prematurely.
Yours, dear Affie, with aU my love, W. H. P.
On August 24th came the President's reply:
I have received your commumcation of August 1st. It
caused me great regret that the condition of your health
makes it necessary for you to resign. Under the circum
stances I do not feel I have the right to insist on such a
sacrifice as your remaiffing in London. Your resignation
is therefore accepted. As you request it wffi take effect
when you report to Wasffington. Accept my congratu
lations that you have no reason to fear a permanent im
pairment of your health and that you can resign knowing
that you have performed your difficffit duties with ffis-
tingmshed success. Woodrow Wilson.
The news of Page's resignation inspired tributes from
the British press and from British public men such as have
been bestowed upon few Americans. The London Times
headed its leader "A Great Ambassador" and tffis note

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 397
was echoed in aU sections of Great Britain. The part of
Page's career which EngUshmen cffiefly recaUed was his
attitude during the period of neutraUty. This, the news
papers declared, was Page's great contribution to the cause.
The fact that it had had such far-reacffing influences on ffis
tory was the one especially insisted on. His conciUatory
and skffifffi behaviour had kept the Umted States and Great
Britain friends at a time when a less tactfffi ainbassador
might easUy have made them enemies; the result was that,
when the time came, the Umted States could join forces
against the common enemy, with resffits that were then
daUy unfolding on the battlefields of France. . "I reaUy
beUeve," wrote the Marquess of Crewe, "that there were
several occasions when we might have made it finaUy im
possible for America to join us in the war; that these
passed by may have been partly due to some glimmering
of common sense on our part, with Grey as its main ex
ponent ; but it was more largely owing to your patience and
courtesy and to the certainty which the Foreign Office
always enjoyed that its action woffid be set before the
Secretary of State ffi as favourable a hght as it conscien
tiously coffid be." That, then, was Page's contribution to
the statesmansffip of tffis crisis — ^that of holding the two
countries together so that, when the time came, the
Umted States could join the Affies. A mass of private
letters, aU breatffing the same sentiment, began to pour in
on Page. There was hardly an ffiustrious name in Great
Britain that was not represented among these leave-tak
ings. As ffiustrating the character and spirit animating
them, the foUowmg selections are made:
From the King
The information commumcated to me yesterday
tffiough Mr. Laughlin of Your ExceUency's resignation of

398 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
the Post of Ambassador and the cause of this step fiU me
with the keenest regret. During your term of office in
days of peace and of war your influence has done "much to
strengthen the ties of friendsffip and good-wiU wffich
umte the two Enghsh-speaking nations of the world. I
trust your health wffi soon be restored and that we may
have the pleasure of seeing you and Mrs. Page before your
departure. George R. I.
From the Prime Minister
10, Dowmng Street, WffitehaU, S. W. 1,
30th August, 1918.
My DEAR Amrassador:
It is with the deepest regret that my coUeagues and I
have received the news that you have been forced by Ul
health to resign your office and that the President has
consented to your reUnqmsffing your ambassadorial
duties. We are sorry that you are leaving us, aU the more
because your tenure of office has coincided with one of the
greatest epochs in the history of our two countries and
of the world, and because your influence and counsel
tffioughout this difficffit time have been of the utmost
value to us aU.
The power for good or evil which can be exerted by the
occupant of your ffigh position is at aU times necessarUy
very great. That our peoples are now fightmg side by
side in the cause of human freedom and that they are
manffesting an ever growing feehng of cordiahty to one
another is largely attributable to the exceptional wisdom
and good-wffi with wffich you have discharged your duties.
For the part you have played diuing the past five years m
bringing about tffis happy resffit we owe you our lastmg
gratitude.

last days in ENGLAND 399
May I add that wffile you have always firmly presented
the point of view of your own country, you have succeeded
in wffimng, not only the respect and admuation of official
circles, but the confidence, and I can say without hesita
tion, the affection of aU sections of our people? It wiU be
with umversal regret that they wiU learn that, owing to
the strain of the great responsibiUties you have borne,
you are no longer to remain among us. I earnestly
trust that a weU-earned rest wiU speedily restore you to
complete health, and that you have many years of pubhc
service stiU in store for you.
I shoffid hke also to say how much we shall miss Mrs.
Page. She has won a real place in aU our hearts. Tffiough
her unfaffing tact, her genuine kindhness, and her unvary-
mg readiness to respond to any call upon her time and
energy, she has greatly contributed to the success of your
ambassadorsffip. Ever sincerely, D. Lloyd George.
From Viscount Grey of Fallodon
Glen Innerleithen, Scotland.
September 2, 1918.
Dear Mr. Page:
I have been out of touch with current events for a few
days, but yesterday I read the two articles in the Times
on your retirement. 1 am very grieved to tffink that you
are going. There was not a word of eulogy in the Times
articles that was not under rather than over-stated, and
reflecting thus I thought how rare it is in pubhc hfe to have
an occasion that justifies the best that can be said. But it
is so now, and I am filled with deep regret that you are
going and with deep gratitude that you came to us and
were here when the war broke out and subsequently. If

400 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
the Umted States had been represented here by any one
less decided as to the right and wrong of the war and less
ffim and courageous than yourseff, the whole of the re
lations between your country and ours would have been
in peril. And if the two countries had gone apart instead
of coming together the whole fate of the world would be
very different from what I hope it wiU now be.
I have often thought that the forces beffind pubUc
affairs are so tremendous that individuals have httle real,
even when much apparent, influence upon the course of
events. But in the early years of the war I tffink every
tffing might have gone wrong if it had not been that cer
tain men of strong moral conviction were in certain places.
And you were preeminently one of these. President
Wilson I am sure was another, though I know ffim only
tffiough you and Colonel House and ffis own pubhc utter
ances. Even so your influence must have coimted in ffis
action, by your friendship with ffim as weU as by the fact
of your being the channel through which commumcations
passed between ffim and us.
I cannot adequately express what it was to me per
sonaUy in the dark days of 1914, 1915, and 1916 to know
how you felt about the great issues involved in the war.
I, go to Fallodon at the end of tffis week and come to
London the ffist week of September — ^ff you and Mrs.
Page have not left by then I hope I may see you. I long
to do so before you go. I wish you may recover perfect
health. My eyesight continues to faU and I shaU soon
be absolutely dependent upon other eyes for reading
print. Otherwise I feel as weU as a schoolboy, but it is
depressing to be so well and yet so crippled in sight.
Please do not trouble to answer this letter — you must
have too many letters of the kind to be able to reply to
themi separately — ^but ff there is a chance of my seeing

LAST DAYS EV ENGLAND 401
you before you go please let me have a message to say
when and where. Yours sincerely, Grey of F.
A few months before ffis resignation Page had received
a letter from Theodore' Roosevelt, who was more famihar
than most Americans with Page's work in London. Tffis
summed up what wiU be probably the judgment of history
upon ffis ambassadorsffip. The letter was in reply to one
written to the Ex-President, asking him to show hospital
ity to the Archbishop of York,' who was about to visit the
Umted States. (Office of the Metropohtan Magazine)
342 Fourth Ave., New York,
March 1st, 1918.
My dear Mr. Amrassador:
I am very much pleased with your letter, and as soon
as the Archbishop arrives, he wiU be addressed by me
with aU his titles, and I wffi get him to lunch with me or
dine with me, or do anytffing else he wishes! I shaU do it
for ffis own sake, and stiU more, my dear fellow, I shaU do
it for the sake of the Ambassador who has represented
America in London during these trying years as no other
Ambassador in London has ever represented us, with the
exception of Charles Francis Adams, during the CivU
War. FaithfuUy yours, Theodore Roosevelt.
The seriousness of Page's condition was not understood
in London ; consequently there were many attempts to do
^See Vol. II, page 307.

402 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
ffim honour in which he was unable to participate. Cus«
tom demands that a retiring Ambassador shaU go to
Windsor Castle to dine and to sleep; but King George,
who was very solicitous about Page's health, offered to
spare the Ambassador this trip and to come himseff to
London for tffis leave-taking. However, Page insisted on
carrying out the usual programme ; but the visit greatly
tired ffim and he found it impossible personaUy to take
part in any further official fareweUs. The last ceremony
was a visit from the Lord Mayor and CouncU of Plymouth,
who came to the Ambassador's house in September to pre
sent the freedom of the city. Ever since Page's speech of
August 4, 1917, Plymouth had been planmng to do ffim tffis
honour; when the Council heard that the Ambassador's
health woffid make it impossible for him to visit Plymouth,
they asked ff they naight not come to London. The pro
ceeding was most impressive and toucffing and the Ambas
sador's five-minute speech, the last one wffich he made in
England, had all his old earnestness and mental power,
though the physical weakness of the man saddened every
body present. The Lord Mayor presented the freedom
of the ancient borough in a temporary holder, explaining
that a more permanent receptacle would foUow the Am
bassador to America. When this arrived, it proved to be
a beautiful silver model of the Mayflower. Certaiffiy
there could have been no more appropriate fareweU gfft
to Page from the Enghsh town whose name so closely
hnks the old country with the Umted States.
The last scene took place at Waterloo Station. Sir
Arthur Walsh came representing the King, wffile Mr.
Balfour, Lord Robert Cecil, and other mimsters repre
sented the cabinet. The Government had provided a
special railway carriage, and this was stationed at a con
vement place as Page's motor drew up. So weak was

LAST DAYS IN ENGLAND 403
the Ambassador that it was with difficffity that his com
pamons, the ever devoted Mr. LaughUn, on one side, and
Page's secretary, Mr. Shoecraft, on the other, succeeded
in supporting ffim to ffis chau. Mr. Baffour, Lord Rob
ert CecU and the others then entered the carriage, and,
with aU that sympathetic digmty in which EngUshmen
of tffis type excel, said a few gracious and affectionate
words of good-bye. They all stood, with uncovered heads,
as the train slowly puUed out of the station, and caught
theu final glimpse of Page as he smUed at them and
faintly waved ffis hand.
Perhaps the man most affected by tffis leave-taking was
Mr. Baffour. He knew, as did the others, that that frail
and emaciated figure had been one of the greatest friends
that Britaffi had had at the most dreadful crisis in her
ffistory. He has many times told of tffis parting scene
at Waterloo Station and always with emotion.
"I loved that man," he once said to an American friend,
recaUffig tffis event. "I almost wept when he left Eng
land."

CHAPTER XXVII
THE END
PAGE came home only to die. In fact, at one
time it seemed improbable that he woffid hve to
reach the Umted States. The voyage of the Olympic, on
which he sailed, was literally a race with death. The
great-hearted Captain, Sir Bertram Hayes, hearing of the
Ambassador's yearmng to reach his North CaroUna home,
put the ffighest pressure upon his sffip, wffich almost
leaped tffiough the waves. But for a considerable part of
the trip Page was too ill to have much consciousness of ffis
surroundings. At times he was deffiious; once more he
hved over the long period of "neutrahty"; again he was
discussing intercepted cargoes and "notes" with Sir
Edward Grey; from tffis ffis naind woffid revert to ffis
Enghsh Uterary friends, and then again he was a boy in
North CaroUna. The Olympic reached New York more
than a day ahead of schedule; Page was carried down the
gangplank on a stretcher, propped up with piUows; and
since he was too weak then to be taken to ffis Southern
home, he was placed temporarily in St. Luke's Hospital.
Page arrived on a beautiful sunshiny October day; Fffth
Avenue had changed its name in honour ofthe new Liberty
Loan and had become the "Avenue ofthe AUies"; each
block, from Forty-second Street north, was decorated with
the colours of one of the nations engaged in the battle
against Germany; the street was fffil of Red Cross workers
and other picturesquely clad enthusiasts seffing Liberty
Bonds; in its ammated beauty and in its inspiring sigm-
404

THE END 405
ficance it formed an appropriate setting for Page's home
coming. The American air seemed to act hke a tome on Page;
in a short time he showed such improvement that ffis re
covery seemed not impossible. So far as ffis spuits and
ffis mind were concerned, he became ffis old famihar seff.
He was able to see several of his old friends, he read
the newspapers and discussed the international situation
with ffis customary hveUness. With the assistance of
his daughter, Mrs. Loring, he even kept track of ffis
correspondence. Evidently the serious nature of his
iUness was not understood, for invitations to speak
poured in from aU quarters. Most of these letters Mrs.
Loring answered, but there was one that Page insisted
on attendmg to himseff. The City of Cleveland was
orgaffizing some kind of a meeting dedicated to closer rela
tions with Great Britain, and the Mayor wrote Page ask
ffig him to speak. The last tffing which Page wrote with
ffis own hand was ffis reply to this invitation ; and it is an
impressive fact that ffis final written word shoffid have dealt
with the subject that had been so close to ffis heart for the
precedmg five years.
To Harry L. Davis, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio
I deeply regret my health wiU not permit me to attend
any pubUc function for some time to come; for I deeply
appreciate your invitation on behaff of the City of Cleve
land for the meetffig on December 7th, and have a pro
found sympathy with its purpose to bring the two great
Enghsh-speakmg worlds as close together as possible,
so that each shaU thoroughly understand the courage
and sacrifice and ideals of the other. Tffis is the great
est poUtical task of the future. For such a complete and
lasting understanding is the offiy basis for the continued

406 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER H. PAGE
progress of civiUzation. I am proud to be associated in
your thought, Mr. Mayor, with so fitting and happy an oc
casion, and offiy physical inabihty coffid cause absence.
Sincerely, Walter H. Page.
Page's improvement was offiy temporary; a day or two
after this letter was written he began to sink rapidly; it
was therefore decided to grant his strongest wish and take
ffim to North CaroUna. He arrived in Pinehurst on
December 12th, so weak that ffis son Frank had to carry
ffim in ffis arms from the train.
"WeU, Frank," said Page, with a shghtly triumphant
smUe, "I did get here after aU, didn't I?"
He Ungered for a few days and died, at eight o'clock m
the evemng, on December 21st, in ffis sixty-fourth year.
He suffered no pain. He was buried in the Page famUy
plot in the Bethesda Cemetery near Aberdeen.
He was as much of a war casualty as was ffis nephew
Affison Page, who lost ffis Ufe with ffis face to the German
macffine guns in BeUeau Wood.

the end

APPENDIX
SCRAPS FROM UNFINISHED DIARIES
PAGE was not methodical in keeping diaries. His
documents, however, reveal that he took many
praiseworthy resolutions in this duection. They include
a large number of bulky books, each labelled "Diary"
and inscribed with the year whose events were to be re
corded. The outlook is a promising one; but when the
books EQ-e opened they reveal offiy fragmentary good in
tentions. Entries are kept up for a few days, and then
the work comes to an end. These volumes contain many
scraps of interesting writing, however, which are worth
preserving; some of them are herewith presented in hap
hazard fashion, with no attempt at order in subject matter.
1913
PETHERICK
PETHERICK: may he be immortal; for he is a man
who has made of a humble task a high caffing; and
without knowing it he has caused a man of a ffigh caffing
to degrade it to a mean level. Now Petherick is a humble
Enghshman, whose father many years ago enjoyed the
distinction of carrying the mail pouch to and from the
post office for the American Embassy in London. As
father, so son. Petherick succeeded Petherick. In this
remote period {the Petherick must now be 60) Govern
ments had "despatch agents," men who distributed mail
407

408 APPENDIX
and whatnot, sent it on from capital to capital — were
a sort of general "forwarding" factotums. The office
is reaUy out of date now. Telegraph compames, express
compames, railway compames, the exceUent maU service
and the hke out-despatch any conceivable agent — except
Petherick. Petherick has quaUties that defy change,
such as an unfffihng courtesy, a genmne joy in serving
his feUows, the very geffius of helpfuffiess. WeU, since a
governmental office once estabUshed acquires quaUties
of perpetmty, tffiee Uffited States despatch agents have
survived the development of modem commuffication, one
in London, one in New York, and the third (I think) in
San Francisco. At any rate, the London agent re
mains. Now in the beginffing the London despatch agent was a
mail messenger (as I understand) for the Embassy. He
StiU takes the pouch to the post office, and brings it back.
In ordinary times, that's all he does for the Embassy, for
wffich ffis salary of about * * * is paid by the State De
partment — too ffigh a salary for the labour done, but none
too ffigh for the trustworthy quahties required. If tffis
had been aU that Petherick did, he woffid probably have
long ago gone to the scrap heap. It is one mark of a man
of gemus that he always makes ffis job. So Petherick.
The American Navy came into being and parts of it come
to this side of the world. Naval officers need help when
they come ashore. Petherick was always on hand with
despatches and maU for them, and Petherick was a handy
man. Did the Captain want a cab? Petherick had one
waiting. Did the Captain want rooms? Such-and-such
a hotel was the proper one for ffim. Rooms were engaged.
Did the Captain's wife need a maid? Petherick had
thought of that, too. Then a Secretary from some con
tinental legation wished to know a good London taUor.

APPENDIX 409
He sought Petherick. An American Ambassador from
the continent came to London. London yielded Petherick
for ffis gffidance and his wants. Petherick became omffi-
present, uffiversaUy usefffi— an American institution in
fact. A naval officer who had been in Asiatic waters was
steaming westward to the Mediterranean. His wffe and
tffiee babies came to London, where she was to meet her
husband, who was to spend several weeks here. A tele
gram to Petherick : they needed to do nothing else. When
the lady arrived a furmshed flat, a maid and a nurse and
a cook and toys awaited her. When her husband arrived,
a pair of boots awaited him from the same last that his
last pair had been made on, in London, five years be
fore. At some thoughtfffi moment $1,000 was added
to Petherick's salary by the Navy Department; and a
few years ago a handsome present was made to Peth
erick by the Uffited States Naval Officers aU over the
world. But Petherick, with aU his virtues, is merely an Enghsh
man, and it is not usual for an EngUshman to hold a
$3,000 office under appointment from the Uffited States
Government. The office of despatch agent, therefore,
has been nommaUy held by an American citizen in
London. Tffis American citizen for a good many years
has been Mr. Crane, a barrister, who simply turns over
the salary to Petherick; and aU the world, except the
Secretary of State, knows that Petherick is Petherick and
there is none other but ffim.
Now comes the story: Mr. Bryan, looking around the
world for offices for ffis henchmen, finds that one Crane
has been despatch agent in London for many years, and
he writes me a personal and confidential letter, asking
ff tffis be not a good office for some Democrat!
I teU the story to the Naval Attache! He becomes

410 APPENDIX
riotous. He'U have to employ haff a dozen clerks to do
for the Navy ffi what Petherick does weU with ease, ff he's
removed. Lffe woffid not be worth hving anyhow. I
uncover Petherick to the Secretary and show him in his
glory. It must be said to the Secretary's credit that he
has said nothing more about it. Petherick, let us hope,
wffi hve forever. The Secretary's petty-spoUs noind now
works on grand plans for Peace, holy Peace, having un
successfuUy attacked poor Petherick. And Petherick
knows notffing about it and never dreams of an enemy in
aU the world, and in aU naval and diplomatic Ufe he has
only fast friends. If Mr. Bryan had removed him, he
naight have made a temporary friend of one Democrat
from Oklahoma, and lasting enemies of aU that Demo
crat's rivals and of the whole naval and diplomatic service.
November, 191U.
We have to get away from it — or try to — a minute at a
time; and the comic gods sometimes help us. Sqmer^ has
a junior officer here to hold ffis desk down when he's gone.
He's a West Point Lieutenant with a German name.
His study is ordnance. A new kind of bomb gives him
the same sort of joy that a new species woffid have given
Darwin. He was over in France — ^where the armies had
passed to and from Paris — ^and one day he found an un-
exploded German bomb of a new sort. The tffing weighed
haff a ton or thereabouts, and it was loaded. Somehow
he got it to London — ^I never did hear how. He wrapped
it ffi blankets and put it under his bed. He went out of
town to study some other infernal contraption and the
pohce found tffis tffing under ffis bed. The War Office
took it and began to look for him — ^to shoot him, the
'Colonel (now Major General) George O. Squier, Military Attache at the
American Embassy.

APPENDIX 411
bomb-harbouring German! They soon discovered, of
course, that he was one of our men and an officer in the
Umted States Army. Then I heard of it for the first
tune. Here came a profuse letter of apology from the
Government; they had not known the owner was one of
my attaches. Pardon, pardon— a thousand apologies.
But wffile tffis letter was being deUvered to me one of the
under-secretaries of the Government was asking one of
our secretaries, "In Heaven's name, what's the Ambassa
dor goffig to do about it? We have no right to molest
the property of one of your attaches, but this man's room
is less than 100 yards from Westminster Abbey: it might
blow up haff of London. We can't give the tffing back
to him! " They had taken it to the Duck Pond, wherever
that is. About that time the Lieutenant cemae back.
His pet bomb gone — what was I going to do about it?
The feUow actuaUy wanted to bring it to ffis office in
the Embassy!
" Look here. Lieutenant, besides the possibffity of blow
up tffis buUding and killing every mother's son of us, con
sider the scandal of the American Embassy in London
blown up by a German bomb. That woffid go down in
the school ffistories of the Uffited States. Don't you see? "
No, he didn't see instantly — ^he does so love a bomb! I
had to tffieaten to disown him and let ffim be shot before
he was content to go and teU them to uffioad it — ^he would
have it, maloaded, ff not loaded.
WeU, I had to write haff a dozen letters before the tffing
was done for. He tffinks me a cfficken-livered old coward
and I know much more about him than I knew before;
and we are at peace. The newspapers never got the
story, but ffis friends about town stiU laugh at him for
trymg first to blow up Westmimster Abbey and then his
own Ainbassador. He was at my house at dinner the

412 APPENDIX
other ffight and one of the ladies asked him: "Lieutenant,
have you any darling little pet lyddite cartridges in your
pocket? " Think of a young fellow who just loves bombs!
Has loaded bombs for pets! How I misspent my youth!
February, 1915.
This is among the day's stories: The British took a sffip
that had a cargo of 100,000 busts of Von Hindenburg —
ffiled with copper.
Another: When Frederick Watts was painting Lord
Minto he found it hard to make the portrait please him.
When he was told that Lord Minto liked it and Lady
Minto didn't and that So-and-So praised it, he exclaimed:
"I don't care a d — ^n what anyone thinks about it —
except a fellow named Sargent."
And the King said (about the wedding'): "I have the
regffiation of the dress to be worn at all functions in the
Chapel Royal. I, therefore, declare that the American
Ambassador may have any dress worn that he pleases!"
E. M. House went to Paris this morffing, having no
peace message from this Kingdom whatever. This kind
of talk here now was spoken of by the Prime Mimster the
other day "as the twittering of a sparrow in a tumult
that shakes the world."
Lady P. remarked to me to-day, as many persons do,
that I am very fortunate to be Ambassador here at tffis
particular time. Perhaps; but it isn't easy to point out
precisely wherein the good fortune consists. This much
is certain : it is surely a hazardous occupation now. Henry
James remarked, too, that nobody coffid afford to miss
the experience of being here — ^nobody who coffid be here.
Perhaps true, again; but I confess to enough shock and
horror to keep me from being so very sure of that. Yet
'The wedding of Mr. Page's daughter at the Chapel Royal.

APPENDIX 413
no other phenomenon is more noticeable than the wish
of every sort of an American to be here. I sometimes
wonder whether the really well-balanced American does.
Most of them are of the overwrought and excitable kinds.
A conservative lady, qmte conscientious, was taken
down to dinner by Winston , ChurchiU. Said she, to be
qmte frank and fair: "Mr. ChurchiU, I must teU you that
I don't like your pohtics. Yet we must get on together.
You may say, ff you hke, that this is merely a matter of
personal taste with me, as I naight not Uke your — ^weU,
your moustache." "I see no reason. Madam, why you
shoffid come in contact with either."
My talk with Bonar Law: He was disposed to believe
that ff England had declared at once that she would go
to. war with Germany if France was attacked, there would
have been no war. Well, would English opinion, before
Belgium was attacked, have supported a government
wffich made such a declaration?
Mr. Bonar Law thinks that President Wilson ought to
have protested about Belgium.
He didn't agree with me that much good human ma
terial goes to waste in this Kingdom for lack of opportun
ity. (That's the Conservative in him.)
Friday, April 30, 1915.
Sir Edward Grey came to tea to talk with Mr. House
and me — Ahttle talk of the main subject (peace), which is
not yet ripe by a great deal, Su Edward said the Ger
mans had poisoned wells in South Africa. They have
lately used deadly gases in France. The key to their mind
says Sir Edward, is this — they attribute to other folk
what they are thinking of doing themselves.
WhUe Sir Edward was here John Sargent came in and
brought Katharine the charcoal portrait of her that he

414 APPENDIX
had made — ^his present to her for her and Chud to give
to W. A. W. P.' and me. A very gracefffi and beautfful
tffing for him to do.
April 30, 1915.
Concermng Peace: The German civU authorities want
peace and, so does one faction of the mffitary party.
But how can they save their face? They have made
their people beUeve that they are at once the perse
cuted and the victorious. If they stop, how can
they explain their stopping? The people naight rend
them. The ingeffious loophole discovered by House is —
mere moonsffine, viz., the freedom of the seas in war.
That is a one-sided proposition uffiess they couple with
it the freedom of the land in war also, wffich is nonsense.
Notffing can be done, then, until some unfavourable mffi
tary event brings a new naind to the Germans. Peace
talk, therefore, is yet mere moonsffine. House has been
to Berhn, from London, thence to Paris, then back to
London again — ^from Nowhere (as far as peace is con
cerned) to Nowhere again.
May 3, 1915.
Why doesn't the President make himseff more accessi
ble? Dismiss X and get a bigger man? Take ffis cabinet
members reaUy into his confidence? Everybody who
comes here makes these complaints of ffim!
We dined to-night at Y's. Professor M. was there, etc.
He says we've got to have polygamy in Europe after the
war to keep the race up.
Friday, May 21, 1915.
Last night the Itahan Parhament voted to give the
Government war-powers; and this means immediate war
'Mrs. Page.

APPENDIX 415
on the side of the Affies. There are now eight nations
fighting against Germany, Austria, and Turkey; viz.,
Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Belgium,
Serbia, Montenegro. And it looks much as ff the Uffited
States wffi be forced in by Germany.
The British Government is wresthng with a very grave
internal disruption— to make a Coahtion Government.
The offiy portfohos that seem absolutely secure are the
Prune Mmister's and the Foreign Secretary's (Su Edward
Grey's)— for wffich latter, many thanks. The two-fold
trouble is — (1) a difference between ChurcffiU (Fust Lord
ofthe Admiralty) and Lord Fisher — about the DardaneUes
campaign and (I dare say) other things, and (2) Lord
Kitchener's fffilure to secure ammunition — "to orgamze
the mdustries of the Kingdom." Some even declare K.
of K. (they now say Kitchener of Kaos) is a general colos
sal faUure. But the prevaihng opimon is that his raising
of the new army has been good work but that he has failed
with the task of procuring muffitions. As for ChurcffiU,
he's too restless and erratic and dictatorial and fussy and
he runs about too much. I talked with him at dinner last
mght at ffis mother's. He shps far down in ffis chair and
swears and be-dams and by-Gods ffis assertions. But ffis
energy does interest one. An impromptu meeting in the
Stock Exchange to-day voted confidence in K. of K. and
burned up a copy of the Daily Mail, wffich tffis morffing
had a severe editorial about ffim.
Wasffington, having sent a severe note to Germany, is
now upbraided for not sending another to England, to
match and peur it. That's largely German influence, but
also the Cfficago packers and the cotton men. These
latter have easy grievances, like the Irish. The delays of
the British Government are exasperating, but they are
reaUy not so bad now as they have been. Still, the Presi-

416 APPENDIX
dent can be influenced by the criticism that he must
ffit one side every time he ffits the other, else he's not
neutral! I am working by every device to help the sit
uation and to prevent another note. I proposed to-day
to Sir Edward Grey that ffis Government make an im
mediate advance payment on the cotton that it proposes
to buy.
Uffiess Joffre be a man of geffius — of wffich there are
some indications — and uffiess French also possibly have
some clffim to tffis distinction and perhaps the Grand
Duke Nikolas, there doesn't yet seem to be a great man
brought forth by the war. In civil Ufe, Sir Edward Grey
comes to a ffigh measure. As we yet see it from tffis
Enghsh corner of the world, no other statesman now ranks
with him.
March 20, 1916.
I am sure I have the best secret service that could be
got by any neutral. I am often amazed at its efficiency.
It is good because it is not a secret — certainly not a spy
service at aU. It is all aboveboard and it is aU done by
men of ffigh honour and good character — I mean the
Embassy staff. Counting the attaches there are about
twenty good men, every one of whom moves in a some
what different circle from any other one. Every one cffi-
tivates ffis group of Enghsh folk, in and out of official lffe,
and ffis group in the diplomatic corps. There isn't a week
but every man of them sees ffis particffiar sources of m-
formation — at their offices, at the Embassy, at luncheon,
at dinner, at the clubs — everywhere. We aU take every
possible occasion to serve our friends and they serve us.
The result is, I verily beUeve, that we hear more than any
other group in London. These young fellows are aU keen
as razors. They know when to be silent, too; and they

APPENDIX 417
are trusted as they deserve to be. Of course I see them,
singly or in paus, every day in the regular conduct of the
work of the Embassy; and once a week we aU meet together
and go over everything that properly comes before so
large a "cabinet" meeting. Thus some of us are on
confidential terms with somebody in every department
of the (government, with somebody in every other Em
bassy and Legation, with aU the newspapers and corre
spondents — even with the censors. And the wives of those
that are married are abler than their husbands. They are
most attractive young women — ^welcome everywhere —
and mdefatigable. Mrs. Page has them spend one after
noon a week with her, roUing bandages; and that regular
meeting always yields sometffing else. They come to my
house Thursday afternoons, too, when people always
drop ffi to tea — ^visitors from other countries, resident
Americans, EngUsh — everybody — sometimes one hun
dred. Nobody in tffis company is a "Spy" — God forbid! I
know no more honourable or attractive group of ladies and
gentlemen. Yet can conceive of no orgamzation of spies
who coffid find out as many tffings. And the loyalty of
them aU! Somebody now and then prefaces a revelation
with the declaration, "Tffis is in strict confidence — abso
lutely nobody is to hear it." The answer is — "Yes, only,
you know, I have no secrets from the Ambassador: no
member of ffis staff can ever have." — Of course, we get
some fun along with our tragedies. If I can find time, for
instance, I am going to write out for House's amusement
a verbatim report of every conversation that he held in
London. It has aU come to me — from what he said to the
King down; and it aU talUes with what House himself
told me. He went over it aU himself to me the other day
at luncheon. — ^I not offiy beheve — I am sure —that in this

418 APPENDIX
way 1 do get a correct judgment of public feeUng and
pubUc opinion, from Cabinet Mimsters to stock-brokers.
December 11, 1916.
The new Government is qmte as friendly to us in its
intentions as the old, and much more energetic. The old
Government was a spent force. Mr. Baffour is an agree
able man to deal with, with a will to keep our sympathy,
unless the dire need of sffips forces ffim to unpleasantness.
The Prime Mimster is — American in ffis ways. Lord
Robert has the old Cecil in ffim, and he's going to maintain
the blockade at any cost that he can justffy to himseff
and to pubhc opimon, and the public opimon is with ffim.
They are aU eager to have American approval — much
more eager, I tffink, than a large section of pubhc opimon,
wffich has almost ceased to care what Americans tffink
or do. The more we talk about peace, the more they
tffink about war. There is no vindictiveness in the
Enghsh. They do not care to do hurt to the German
people: they regard them as misgffided and misled. But
no power on earth can stop the British tiU the German
miUtary caste is broken — ^that leadersffip wffich attacked
Belgium and France and would destroy England. Bal
four, Lloyd George, the people, the army and the navy
are at one in tffis matter, every labourmg man, everybody,
except a little handful of Quakers and professors and Noel
Buxton. I think I know and see all the peace men. They
feel that they can talk to me with safety. They send me
their pamphlets and documents. I tffink that aU of them
have now become warlike but tffiee, and one of them is a
woman. If you meet a woman you know on the street
and express a sympathy on the loss of her second son, she
wiU say to you, "Yes, he died in defence of ffis country.
My third son will go next week. They aU die to save

APPENDIX 419
us." Doubtless she sheds tears in private. But her eyes
are dry in pubUc. She has discarded her luxuries to put
money in the war loan. Say "Peace " to her? She would
msffit you.
May 10, 1917.
We dined at Lambeth Palace. There was Lord Morley,
whom I had not seen sffice ffis long iUness — ^much reduced
m flesh, and qmte feeble and old-looking. But his mind
and speech were most alert. He spoke of Cobden favour-
mg the Confederate States because the constitution of the
Confederacy provided for free trade. But one day Bright
informed Cobden that he was making the mistake of ffis
Ufe. Thereafter Cobden came over to the Umon side.
Tffis, Morley heard direct from Bright.
The Archbishop spoke in ffigh praise of Charnwood's
Lincoffi — ^was surprised at its exceUence, etc.
Geoffrey Robinson' asked who wrote the Quarterly
articles ffi favour of the Confederacy aU tffiough the war
— was it Lord Sahsbury? Nobody knew.
The widow of the former Archbishop Benson was there
— the mother of aU the Bensons, Hugh, A. C, etc., etc. —
a remarkable old lady, who talked much in admiration of
Baffour. The Bishop of — Winchester (?) — was curious to know
whether the people in the Uffited States really understood
the Irish question — the two-nation, two-reUgion aspect
of the case. I had to say no!
There is an orphan asylum founded by some preceding
Archbishop, by the sea. The danger of bombardment
raised the question of safety. The Archbishop ordered
aU the cffilch-en (40) to be sent to Lambeth Palace. We
dffied in a smaU diffing room: "The cffildren," Mrs. David-
'Editor of the London Timet.

420 APPENDIX
son explained, "have the big dining room." Each cffild
has a lady as patroness or protector who "adopts" her,
i.e., sees that she is looked after, etc. Some of the ladies
who now do tffis were themselves orphans!
At prayers as usual at 10 o'clock in the chapel where
prayers have been held every ffight — ^for how many cen
turies? At lunch to-day at Mr. Asqffith's — ^Lord Lansdowne
there; took much interest in the Knapp farm work wffile
I briefly explained.
Lord Morley said to Mrs. Page he had become almost a
Tolstoyan — ^Human progress hasn't done much for man
kind's happiness, etc. Look at the war — ^by a "progres
sive" nation. Now the mistake here is born of a class-
society, a society that rests on privilege. "Progress,"
has done everytffing (1) in Uberating men's minds and
spirits in the Uffited States. This is the real gam; (2)
in arraying all the world against Germany.
Tuesday, January 22, 1918.
Some days bring a bunch of interesting tffings or men.
Then there sometimes come relatively duU days — ^not
often, however. To-day came:
General Tasker H. BUss, Cffief-of-Staff, now 64 — the
wisest (so 1 judge) of our naihtary men, a rather wonderful
old chap. He's on his way to Paris as a member of the
Supreme War Council at VersaiUes. The big question
he has struck is : Shall American troops be put into the
British and French lines, in smaU groups, to fill up the
gaps in those armies? The British have persuaded him
that it is a military necessity. If it were less than a
necessity, it woffid, of course, be wrong — ^i.e., it would cut
across our national pride, force our men under another
flag, etc. It is not proposed to deprive Persffing of ffis

APPENDIX 421
command nor even of ffis army. The plan is to bring over
troops that would not otherwise now come and to lend
these to the British and French armies, and to let Pershing
go on with ffis army as ff tffis hadn't been done. BUss is
incUned to grant tffis request on condition the British
bring these men over, eqmp and feed them, etc. He
came in to ask me to send a telegram for ffim to-morrow
to the President, making -tffis recommendation. But on
reflection he decided to wait tiU he had seen and heard the
French also, who desire the same tffing as the British.
General Bhss is staying with Major Warburton; and
Warburton gave me some interesting ghmpses of him.
A telegram came for the General. Warburton thought
that he was out of the house and he decided to take it
ffimseff to the General's room. He opened the door.
There sat the General by the ffie talking to himself,
wrapped ffi thought. Warburton walked to the middle
of the room. The old man didn't see him. He decided
not to disturb him, for he was rehearsing what he proposed
to say to the Secretary of State for War or to the Prime
Muaister — ^getting ffis ears as well as his mind used to
it. Warburton put the telegram on the table near the
General, went out, and wasn't discovered.
Several mghts, he sat by the ffie with Warburton and
began to talk, again rehearsing to ffimseff some important
conclusions that he had reached. Every once in a while
he'd look up at Warburton and say: "Now, what do you
think of that?"
That's an amazing good way to get your thought clear
and your plans weU laid out. I've done it myseff.
I went home and Kiphng and Carrie' were at lunch with
us. KipUng said : " I'U teU you, your coming into the war
made a new earth for me." He is on a committee to see
'Mrs. Kipling.

422 APPENDIX
that British graves are properly marked and he talked
much about it. I could not help tffinking that in the back
of ffis naind there was all the time thought of his own dead
boy, John.
"Then in the aftemoon Major Drain brought the copy of
a contract between the Uffited States Government and
the British to bffild together 1500 tanks ($7,500,000).
We took it to the Foreign Office and Mr. Baffour and I
signed it. Drain tffinks that the tanks are capable of
much development and he wishes our army after the war
to keep on studying and experimenting with and improv
ing such macffines of destruction. Nobody knows what
may come of it.
Then I dined at W. W. Astor's (Jr.) There were Bal
four, Lord Sahsbury, General and Lady Robertson, Mrs.
Lyttleton and PffiUp Kerr.
During the afternoon Captain Amundsen, Arctic ex
plorer came in, on his way from Norway to France as the
guest of our Government, whereafter he will go to the
United States and talk to Scandinavian people there.
That's a pretty good kind of a full day.
April, 19, 1918.
BeU,' and Mrs. Bell during the air raid took their httle
girl (Evangeline, aged tffiee) to the cellar. They told
her they went to the cellar to hear the big ffie crackers.
After a bomb fell that shook all Chelsea, EvangeUne
clapped her hands in glee. "Oh, mummy, what a big
fire cracker!"

'Mr. Edward BeU, Second Secretary of the American Embassy.

INDEX

INDEX

AgCt Louisville, coimection with, I 32
Aid to stranded Americans in Europe on out
break of war. I 304, 307, 329
Alabama claims, the framed check for, in
British Foreign Office, I 390. II 78
Alderman. Dr. Edwin A., early efforts in behcdf
of public education. I 73, 78; stricken with
tuberculosis, but recovers health, I 120; on
conuuittee to lecture in England, II 346.
Letters io: expressing fear and hope of
Wilson, I 121; on meeting of the Southem
and the Greneral Education Boards, I 125;
after Wilson's inauguration, I 128; while en-
route to port as Ambassador, 1 129; on
changed world conditions. II 142
Ambassador, some activities of an, I 159; as a
preventer of calEmiities. I 166
America and Great Britain, only free countries
in the world, II 121
American Grovemment, slight regard for by
British, I 145, 152, 190, II 153; strong feeling
against uncourteous Notes of, II 74 ; on han
dling of Lusitania case, II 79 ; on being under
German influence, II 80, 97
American Luncheon Club, could not adhere to
neutrality, II 230
Americem Navy, its aid in combatting the sub
marine, II 294
American supremacy, a before-the-war prophe
cy, I 144; why tho British will acknowledge,
1170
Ancona, torpedoed, II 79 note
Anderson, Chandler P., counsel for Committee
for relief of stranded Americans, I 307; backs
up Ambassador in neutrality letter to Wilson.
I 373 ; gives reasons why unwise to demand
adoption of Declaration of London, I 387
Anglo-American-GermaD "pact," planned by
Wilson and House. I 281
Anglomania, charged against ambassadors, I
257
Anii-Imperialists, protest declaration of war
against Spain, I 62
Ar<d)ie, sinking of, thought surely to bring on
war. II 26
Arbitration Treaty, renewal of, I 285; signifi
cance of Germany's refusal to sign, I 294
Archbold, John D., attempts to explain Foraker
letters, I 88

Archibald, James, trapped by British secret
service, II 101
Asquith, H. H., opposition to the House of
Lords, I 137; at state dinner to King Chris
tian, I 167; bint to, on MexicEui situation,
I 185 ; conciliatory remarks at Guildhall
banquet, I 210; explains Deu-danelles prep
arations, I 430; his ministry suspected of
pacifist or "defeatist" tendencies, 1 430; aged
by the w£u-, II 141 ; conversation with, regard
ing Casement case, and relations between
Great Britain and America, II 168; refuses
to discuss Wilson's peace note, II 207; in
House of Commons speech welcomes America
as ally, II 230; inclined toward seeking
peace, II 353
Astor, Mr. and Mrs. Waldorf, at the home of,
II 380
Atlantic Monthly, editor of, I 53
Atlantic Ocean, a blessing to America, I 162,
170, 310; II 117
Austrian Embassy, left in charge of American
Ambassador. I 305, 321; difficulties incident
to, I 345
Aycock, Gov. Charles B., efforts in educational
reform, I 85; commendatory letter from, I 86
Babcock, Commander, arrival in England, II 274
Bacon, Senator Augustus O., declared he would
have blocked Page's Ambassadorship had
he known he was author of "The South
erner," I 93, 226
Baker, Secretary Newton D., sees tiie war at
first-hand, II 364; dinner at Embassy to,
II 364. 370; Page's memorandum of his visit,
II 366
Baker, Ray StEumard, visit at Sandwich. II 384
Balfour, aged by the war, II 141; drafts reply
to Wilson's peace note, II 212; reply to
question how best America could help, II 219;
on the disposition of the German colomes,
II 246; friendliness toward United States
averts crisis in Venezuela dispute, II 249;
much concemed at feeling toward British in
the United States, II 251; his home life, II
257; conference with Bonar Law and, over
financial help from America, II 261; satis
factory conference with Mr. Polk over black
list and blockade, II 265; explains "secret

425

426

INDEX

treaties" to President Wilson, II 267; con
ference with McAdoo on financial situation*
II 267; sends dispatch to President Wilson
substantiating previous reports of Page and
Sims on submarine peril which were not
taken seriously, II 284; indignant over mis
understanding with Brazilian Navy, II 304;
at the Embassy dinner to Secretary Baker,
II 365, 370; at train to bid good-bye, II 402;
most affected at leave-taking, 403
Balfour Mission to the United States, II 249
et seq.
Barclay, Esther, Mr. Page's matemal grand-
moth^, I 6
Bayard, Thomas F., accused of Anglomame
while Ambassador, I 257
Beckendorff, Count, talk with, II 82
Belgium, violation of, the cause of Great Brit
ain's participation in the war, I 315; sending
food supplies to aid starving, I 346
Benham, misunderstanding over American de
stroyer's action during submarine operations
off Nantucket, II 253
Benton, William S., Englishman, murdered in
Mexico, I 285
Beresford, Lord Charles, complains of attitude
of Foreign Office in pacifying America. I 365;
makes speech in House of Lords on attitude
of U. S. Destroyer Benham, II 253
Bernstorff, Count von, objectionable activities
of, I 335; efforts to secure intercession of tho
United States toward peace, I 403; at the
Speyer dinner, I 404; instructed to stent
propaganda for "freedom of the seas," I 436;
gives pledge that liners would not be sub
marined without warning, II 30 note; thought
in England to dominate our State Depart.
ment, II 80; cable proposing suspending of
submarine war, II 149; threatens President
Wilson witii resumption of submarine sink
ings unless he moves for peace, II 200; news
of his dismissal received in London, II 215
Bethmann-Hollweg, not seen by Colonel
House, I 289; teUs King of Bavaria peace
must be secured, II 181
Biddle, General, at the Embassy dinner to
Secretary Baker, II 365, 370
Bingham School, studies and environment at,
I 16;!^selected for honour prize by Ambas
sador, 1 17
Blacklist, feeling in America over the, II 184;
conditions change on American entry into
war, II 264. 265, 266
Blanquet, General, in Mexican uprising, 1 175
Bliss, General Tasker, wisdom and tact impress
the Allies, II 351
Blockade, British, compared to our blockade in
CivU War, II 55 ei seq; the American Note
protesting against, II 69

Blockade, strong feeling in America against,
II 184
Boiling, Thomas, at President Wilson's lunch
eon, II 171
Bones, Miss, at President Wilson's luncheon,
II 171
Boy-£d, dismissal of, II 108
BraziliEin Navy, ships join American unit in
EuropcEm waters, II 304
Breitung, E. N., makes test case with Dacia
registry, I 393
British Navy League, activity in keeping up the
navy, I 284
Bryan, WiUiam Jennings, uncomplimentary
editorial on, in World's Work, I 87; attitude
toward concession holders in Mexico, I 181;
refuses to consider intervention in Mexico,
11 193; an increasing lack of confidence in,
I 193; tirade against British, to Sir William
Tyrrell, 1 202, to Col. House, 1 206; Asquith's
opinion of, 236; Page's appeal to Colonel
House that he he kept out of Europe, 1 235,
236; regards Ambassador as unneutral, 1 362 ;
insists that Great Britain adopt the Declara
tion of London, I 373, 377 ; interested in the
Straus peace proposal, 1 407 ; resignation after
Lusitania notes, 116; proposes going to Eng
land and Germany to try peace negotiations,
II 12
Bryan, comments on his political activity hut
diplomatic laxity, 1194, 225, 236; crank
once, crank always, II 27; democratic
party wrecked by his long captaincy, II
190
Bryce, Lord, hopeless of the two countries ever
understanding one another, II 39; concern at
our trivial notes, II 67; conversation with, on
misunderstandings between America and
Great Britain, and the peace settiement, II
165; depressed at tenor of Wilson's note pro
posing peace, sends him personal letter, II
207; in House of Lords speech welcomes
America as ally, II 230; frequent visitor at
the Embassy, II 315; attitude toward a
League of Nations, II 357
Burns, John, resigns from British Cabinet on
declaration of war, I 316
Buttrick, Dr. Wallace, intimacy with, I 85;
efforts in building up Southem agriculture,
I 94; in hookworm eradication, I 99; lectures
on the United States throughout Great
Britain, II 291; his speeches a source of in-
spiratio;! to British masses, II 345; asked to
organize a committee of Americans to extend
the work, II 345; informed by Colonel House
of Wilson's disapproval, II 348; warns Page
of breakdown if he does not at once return to
America, II 375; beneficial effects of lui.
lectures, III 388

INDEX

427

Canterbury, Archbishop ot, in House of Lords
speech welcomes America as ally, II 231; on
gratitude shown to America, II 245
Carden, Sir Lionel Edward Gresley, his being
sent to Mexico, a British mistake, I 187-
anti-American propaganda in Cuba, I 196 •
as British Minister to Mexico shows great
hostility to the United States, 1 197; formally
advises Huerta to abdicate, I 209; Page's
part in recall from Mexican post, 1 215 et seg.
Carlyle, Thomas, new letters £ix>m, discovered
in Canada, I 60
Carnegie, Andrew, visit to, at Skibo, 1 142
Carranza, Venustiano, thought by Wilson to be
a patriot, I 227, 228
Carson, Sir Edward, resists the Home Rule
Bill, 1 137; at Bonar Law dinner, II 119; tells
Lloyd George submarines must be settled
before Irish question, II 260
Casement, Sir Roger, trial and conviction in
spire movement fronx Irish-Americans result
ing in Senate resolution, II 166
Cecil, Lord Robert, Incident of the ** Boston
Tea Party," I 392; receives German proposal
from Page as ** German Ambassador," II 201;
letters to Sir C. Spring Rice on Germany's
peace proposal, II 201, 202; Page's interview
with to explain Wilson's peace conununica-
tion, II 208; at train to bid good-bye, II 402
Chamberlain, Senator, presents petition de
manding Ambassador's removal, I 259; de
mands Senate be furnished with copy of
Panama tolls speech, I 260
Chancery, removal of, to better quarters, I 341
Children, crusade for education of, 1 72
China case, the, satisfactorily settled, II 154,
155
Choate, Joseph H., understanding of Hay-
Pauncefote Treaty, 1 242; accused of An
glomania while Ambassador, I 257
Christian, King, royal reception to, 1 167
Christmas in England, 1915, II 103
Churchill, Winston, proposal for naval holiday,
I 277, 278, 279, 298
Civil War, first contact with, I 1; his father's
attitude toward, 1 5; early recollectiona of
Sherman's invasion, II 10; the aftermath, 1 13
Clark, Champ, opponent of repeal of Panama
Tolls Bill, I 264
Cleveland, President, an influence in fonnation
of ideals, I 40; conversation with, I 40
Cotton, the question of contraband, 1 fi^T" 36/
Country Life Commission, appoiuted on, by
President Roosevelt, I 89
Conrt, presentations at, 1 156, 172
Courtesies in diplomatic intercourse, necessity
for, 1 147, 190
Cowdray, Lord, head of British oO conoesaioDS
in Mexico, I 181; witiidraws request for

Colombian oil concession, I 217; long tallc
with on intervention in Mexico, I 225; great
monetary loss in giving up oil concessions, I
227
Cradock, Admiral, does not approve American
policy toward Mexico, I 230
Crewe. Marquis of, on Page's tact as Ambas
sador, II 397
Criticisms and attacks on Ambassador Page;
the "knee-breeches" story, I 133; Hearst
papers watching for opportunity, 1 149, 261;
furor over "English-led and EugUsh-ruled'-
phrase, I 258; speech before Associated
Chambers of Commerce, on Panama tolls I
259
Cuba, a problem, 1 176
Curzon, Lord, in House of Lords speech wel
comes America as ally, II 230
Dacia incident, the, a serious crisis averted I
392, II 4
Daniels, Josephus, protest made against his
appointment to Secretaryship of Navy I
119
DardaneUes: Asquith explains preparations I
430
Daughters of the Confederacy, considered not
helpful to Southem regeneration, I 44
Davis, Harry L., Mayor of Cleveland, letter
to, expressing regret at not being able to at
tend meeting for purpose of bringing England
and America closer together, II 405
Davis, Jefferson, call on, I 37
Declaration of London, Bryan insists on adop
tion by Great Britain, I 373, 377; history of
the articles, I 375; the solution of the diffi
culty, I 385
Declaration of War, America's, and its effect
in Great Britain, II 230 et seq.
Delcass^, Kaiser makea proposal to, to join in
producing "complete isolation" of the
United States, II 192
De Ealb, Courtney, congratulations from, I 59
Dent, J. M., loses two sons in the war, II 111;
opinion of Asquith, II 116
Depression in England, the dark days of the
war, II 64, 81, 94
Derby, Lord, "excessive impedimenta," II 344;
at the Embassy dinner to Secretary Baker,
I 365, 370
Demburg, Bemhard, instructed to start prop
aganda for "freedom of the seas," 1 436
Desart, Earl of, formulates Declaration of Lon
don, I 375
Diaz, Porfirio, authority maintained by genius
and force, I 175
Dilettanti, Society of, dinners at, II 312
Doubleday, Frank N., joins in puhlishmg veo,-
tore with S. S. McClure, I 64; the Harper

428

INDEX

experiment, I 65; has "business" visit from
a politician, I 88
Letters to: impressions of England, I 138;
anent the ChristmEis holidays, etc., I 164;
Christmas letter, 1915, II 110; impressions
of Europeans, II 132; on America's pro-
, gramme after declaration of war, II 224; on
wartime conditions and duties, II 240; on the
good showing of the AmericEuis in weu- prepa
ration, II 324; depressed at long continua
tion and horrors of the war, II 325
Doubleday, Page & Co., founding of the firm,
I 66; attains great influence and popularity,
186
Dumba, Dr. Constantin, given his passports,
II 30 note
Duncan, Dr., president of Randolph-Macon
CoUege, I 20
Education: efforts in behalf of Southem child,
I 72; church system dedared a failure, I 78;
organization of Southern Educational Con
ference, I 83; Southern Education Board
organized, I 84; General Educatiou Board
founded by John D. RockefeUer, I 84; the
South's awakening, I 85
England, why unprepared for war, II 35;
chemged and chastened, II 342
Englishwoman's letter from Berlin giving Ger
many's intentions toward England, America,
and the world, I 347
'* English-led and English-ruled," furor over
phrase, I 258
"Excoriators," disregarded, I 80-83
Falkenhayn, cynical toward proposals of Colo
nel House. I 289
Farming, love of, and home in South, 1 115, 127
128
Field, Eugene, succeeds to desk of, on St. Joseph
Gazette, I 36
Fisher, Lord, remark that Balfour was "too
much of a gentleman" for First Lord of the
Admiralty, II 101
Flexner, Dr. Abraham, cites' Page as greatest
educational statesman, I 85
Flexner, Dr. Simon, interested in hookworm
campaign, I 100
Foraker, Senator Joseph B., career destroyed
by exposure of Archbold-Standard Oil
letters, I 88
Forbes, Cameron, ftiils to see President Wilson
on his return from Philippines, II 174
Ford, Henry, the venture in the peace ship, II
110 note
Forgotten Man, The, addr^s at GreeiMboro,
174
Forum, The, made of great influence and a
business success, under editorship, I 49

Fosdick, Harry Emerson, on proposed com
mittee to lecture in England, II 346
Fowler, Harold, in London, I 134; sent to Bel
gium, I 338; enlists in British Army, I 358
France, not in favour of England reducing naval
programme, I 284; a gift of a billion doUars
to, proposed, II 218
•^Freedom of the seas," Colonel House's pro
posed reform, I 435
French, Field Marshal Sir John, informs Page
of undiplomatic methods of State DepEirt-
ments in peace propcraals, I 425, 427; aged by
the war, II 141
Frost, W. G., writes for Atlantic Monthly, I 60
Fryatt, Captain, execution of, hardens British
people to fight to finish, II 182
GEirfield, President, assassination deplored
throughout the South, I 39
Gat^, Dr. Frederick T., interested in hook
worm campaign, I 99
Gaunt, Captain, sends news from Washington
of Bernstorff's dismissal, II 215
General Education BoEu-d, organized by John
D. RockefeUer, I 84; assists Dr. Knapp in
agricultural demonstration work, I 96
George V, received by, I 135 ; very likeable, I
157; overwrought condition in speaking with
Page on declaration of war, I 309 ; much dis
tressed at tenor of Wilson's note proposing
peace, II 207; as a "human being," II 235;
night spent with, II 236, 240; luncheon to
General Pershing, II 237; telegram of regret at
resignation of Mr. Page and iU-healtii that
occasioned it, II 397
German Embassy, left in charge of American
Ambassador, I 306; difficulties incident to,
I 306, 345, 359
Germany: ridicules idea of naval hoUday, 1 279;
would have been victorious in World Wsir
had she signed arbitration treaty with Uniied
States, I 294; attempts to embroil the United
States and Great Britain, I 393, 400; move
for peace, 1916, II 179
Germany, travels in, in 1877, I 30
Gildersleeve, Professor, Basil L., at Johns
Hopkins University 1 24, 25; Page a favourite
pupil of, in Greek, II 299
Gilman. Daniel Coit, constructive work as pres
ident of Johns Hopkins University, I 23
Godkin, E. L., writes for Atlantic Monthly, I 60
Grady, Henry, kindness of, I 34, 37
Great Britain aud the United States only free
countries in the world, II 121
Great Britain's peurticipation in the war, the
cause of, I 315
Greek, proficiency in, I 21, 24, 25, 30; II 299
Grey, Lord, ex-Govemor-General of Canada,
1150

INDEX

429

Grey, Sir Edward, credentials presented to, I
135; high regard for, 1 150; his fairness faciU-
tates diplomatic business, 1 155; talks with on
Mexican situation, I 184, 185, 188, 199; in
formed as to Garden's activities, I 219, 220;
^k»l to meet Ccdouol House at luncheon,
I 245; note to Sir C. Spring Rice on WUson's
address to Congress on Tolls BiU, I 254;
criticized for " bowing too low to the Ameri
cans," I 261; depressed at extent of Anglo
phobia in the United States, I 266; evinces
satisfaction at clearing up of problems, 1 285;
weeps as he informs Page of ultimatum to Ger
many, 1 309, 315;"subservience"toAmCTican
interests, 1 364; accepts Declaration of London
vrith modifications, I 384; joking over serious
affairs, I 390; welcomes Page's solution of the
Dacia tangle, I 394; letter to Sir Cecil Spring
Rice regarding Speyer-Straus peace proposal,
1 408; states war could be ended more quickly
if America ceased protests against seizure of
contraband, I 421; talk on detained shipping
and Wordsworth poems, II 103; "a God's
mercy for a man like him at his post," II 118;
aged by the war, II 141; satisfactory settle
ment of the China case, II 155; speech in
House of Commons on Peace, II 157; noth
ing but praise heard of him, II 159 ; memoreui-
dum of conversation with, on conditions of
peace, II 160; receives Senate Resolution
asking clemency for Sir Roger Casement,
II 167; forced to resign, because he refu«ied
to push the blockade and risk break with
America, II 233; guest with Mr. and Mrs.
Page at Wilsford Manor, II 288; walk to
Stonehenge with, II 292; serious blockade
questions give way to talks on poets, II 305 ;
promises govemment support of Belgian Re
Uef plan, II 310; frequent visitor at the Em
bassy, II 315
Letters from: congratulatioiM on Wilson's
address to Congress advising declaration of
war, II 234; expressing grief at Page's de
parture and citing his great help, II 400
Haldane, Viscount, at Thanksgiving Dinner of
the American Society, I 213; discussion with
Von Tirpitz as to relative sizes of navies, I
278; knew that Germany intended war, II 35
HaU, Admiral WilUam Reginald, brings news
of BemstorfTs dismissal, II 215
Hanning, Mrs. Robert, sister of Thomas Carlyle,
160
Harcourt, Right Honourable Lewis, eulogizes
work of International Health Board, I 101
Harden, MaximiUan, says Germany must get
rid of its predatory feudalism, II 193
Harper & Brothers, difficulties of, I 64
Harrow, visit to, and taUt to schoolboyB. I 17

Harvey, George, succeeds Page aa editor of
Harper's, I 66
Hay, John, understanding of Hay-Pauncefote
Treaty, I 242; accused of Anglomania whUe
Ainbassador, I 257
Hays, Sir Bertram, captain of the Olympic,
races ship to hasten Page'a homecoming, II
404
Hearst, WiUiam Randolph, used by Germans
in their peace propaganda, I 410, 411
Hearst papers, antagonism of, I 149, 256, 264,
286
Hesperian, submarined in violation of Bern
storff's pledges, II 30
Hewlett, Maurice, his son eunong the missing,
II 115
Home Rule BUl, Carson tiireatens re^tance to.
I 137; "division" in House of Lords, I 138
Hookworm eradication, efforts in.I 98
Hoover, Charles L., war reUef work while Amer
ican Consul at Carlsbad, I 334
Hoover, Herbert C, reUef work at heginning of
war, I 333 ; selected by Page for Belgian Re
Uef post, II 310
House, Colonel Edward M., wires Page to
come North, expecting to offer Secretaryship
of Interior, I 118; transmits offer of Am
bassadorship, 1 130 ; on Cowdray and Carden,
I 218, 220; meets Sir Edward Grey to talk
over Panama Tolls question, I 246; mission
to the Kaiser a disappointment, I 289; no
success in France, I 297; fancied security in
England, thinks his mission unnecessary, I
298; telegrams, to and from Wilson on proffer
ing good offices to avert war, I 317, 318; de
clares hiU admitting foreign ships to Americtm
registry "fuU of lurking dangers," I 392; de
clares America wiU declare war on Germany
after Lusitania sinking. II 2; sees "Too proud
to fight" poster in London, II 6; recommends
Page's appointment as Secretary of State,
II 11; fails to alter WUson's opposition to
Taft Committee visiting England, I 348
Letters from: reporting progress in Panama
ToUs matter, I 253; plans to visit Kaiser and
bring about naval holiday between nations,
1 277 ; cites further plans for visiting Germany,
I 281; respecting proposed trip to Germany,
I 285, 286, en route, I 288; note from BerUn,
I 296; from Paris, I 297; on the outbreak of
the war, 1 299; transmitting Wilson's warning
to adhere more strictiy to neutrality, I 362;
explains the toning down of demands that
Declaration of Loudon he adhered to, I 378;
on German peace proposals, and giving his
ideas for a settiement, I 413; proposing that
Wilson start peace parleys. I 416; thinks
Germany ready for peace proposals, I 424,
425; decides to visit combatants in intereaU

430

INDEX

of peace, I 425, 429; talks in Berlin with
Zimmermann cmd others regarding peace par
leys, I 432, 433, 434; on appointment of
Lansing to succeed Bryan, II 11 ; on Bryan's
intentions of going to England and Germany
to try peace negotiations, H 12; reporting
success of Balfour Mission, II 263
Letters to: comparing the Civil War witii
the World War, I 5 ; on the Mexican situation,
I 189; asked i>er3onaUy to deUver memoran
dum to President on intervention in Mexico,
I 194; on visit of Sir WUUam Tyrreil to the
United States, 1 201; letters to Page on Mexi
can situation, I 205, 206; on Mexican ques
tion, I 210, 211; on Lord Cowdray and oU
conce^ions in Mexico, etc., I 216; protesting
publication of secret information respecting
Carden, I 223; suggesting intervention in
Mexico, I 230; on serious disadvantage in not
having suitable Embassy, I 233; on rashness
of Bryan's visit to Europe, I 235; appeal for
attention to cables and letters by State De
partment, I 239; on necessity of repeal of
Panama Tolls BiU, I 247; on the prevention
of wars, I 270; asked to further plan to have
Wilson visit England, aa a preventative of
European war, I 275; favouring alUance of
EngUsh-speaking peoples, I 282; on French
protest against reduction of British naval
programme, 1 283 ; transmitting pamphlets on
"federation" and disarmament, 1 284; told he
wiU have no effect on Kaiser, I 287 ; reply to
note as to prevention of the war, I 300; de
scribing conditions in second month of tbe
war, I 327 ; on the horrors of war, and the set
tiement, I 340; on difficulties of Sir Edward
Grey with Army and Navy officers ia releasing
American cargoes, 1 365 ; on evil of insisting on
Declaration of London adoption, I 380; re
garding the Straus peace proposal, I 410 ; ex
plaining there can be no premature peace, I
417; on harmlessness of Bryan on proposed
I>eace visit and cranks in general, II 13; com
menting on slowness of Wilson in Lusitania
matter, II 26; on sinking of i4ra&H;, II 27; not
interested in "pleasing the AlUes," II 28; on
Dumba's intrigues, and Wilson's "watchful
waiting and nothing doing," II 30, 31, 37, 38;
on the lawyer-like attitude of the State De
partment, II 54; the best peace programme —
the British and American fleets, II 69; on
uncourteous notes from State Department,
II 72; on British adherence to the blockade,
and an EngUsh Christmas, 1915, II 103; on
the conditions of peace and the German
miUtarism, II 134, 157; on prophecy as to
Elding the war by dismissal of Bemstcn-ff,
II 197; on the beneficial visit of the Labour
Group and otiiers, II 387

Houston, David F., suggested to WUson for
Secretary of Agriculture,' II 114; has proper
perspective of European situation, II 176
. Lexers to: imprrasions of diplomatic life,
II 151; suggesting vigorous action of Admin-
isti'ation in prosecuting the war, II 226; on
American cranks being sent to England,
others prevented, II 359
Houston, Herbert S., letters to, giving impres
sions of England, 1 139
Huerta, General Victoriano, seizes presidency
of Mexico, I 175; attitude of Great Britain
and the United States toward recognition;
I 180; an epochal figure, I 183; rejects pro
posals submitted by Und, I 193; proclaims
himself dictator, I 197
Huxley, Thomas H,, deUvers address at open
ing of Johns Hopkins University, I 25
International Health Commission, endowed by
John D. RockefeUer, I 100; cooperation by
British Govemment, 1 101
Irish Question, the, British difficulties with, I
159; cause of feeling against British in the
United States, II 251; Wilson requests Great
Britain to settie, II 255; Uoyd George striv
ing for solution, II 259
James, Henry, frequent visitor at the Embassy,
II 315
Jeanes Board, appointment to, I 89
JelUcoe, Admiral Sir John, vigUance in war
time, I 335; after hattie of Jutland, II 141;
reply to question how best America could
help, II 219; drafts dispatch explaining seri
ousness of submarine situation which Balfour
sends to President Wilson, II 285
Johns Hopkins University, teaching on new lines,
123
Johnston, Miss Mary, noted serial of, in
Atlantic Monthly, I 56, 61
Judson, Harry Pratt, on proposed Committee
to lecture in England, II 346
Jusserand, opinion of the Straus peace proposal,
1407
KeUer, Helen, persuaded to write "Story of
My Life," I 90
Kent, Mr., forms American Citizens ReUef
Committee in London at outbreak of war,
I 304, 307
Kerr, PhiUp, conversation with on future rela
tions of the United States and Great Britain,
II 84
Kipling, Rudyard, loses his son in the war, II
115
Kitchener, Lord, speedh in House of Lords a
diflappointment, II 96; criticism of, II 120,*

INDEX

431

Memorandum after attending service In
memory of, II 140
Knapp, Dr. Seaman A., his "Demonstration
Work" in Southem agriculture, I 95; his
funeral, I 96
Kropotkin, Prince Peter, writes Memoirs for
Atlantic Monthly, I 61
Lane, Secretary Franklin, comment on feeling
against British for conduct in Huerta affair,
1198
Lansdowne, Marquis of, letter favouring pre
mature peace severely criticized, II 327, 353
Lansing, Robert, regards Ambassador as un
neutral, I 362 ; a lawyer, not a statesman, I
369; insistence that Great Britain adopt
Declaration of London, I 378 et seq; attitude
of lawyer, not statesman, II 53; arguments
against British blockade, II 62; mind running
on "cases", not diplomacy, II 176; answers
Page's letter of resignation, transmitting
President Wilson's request to reconsider and
stay at his post, II 199
Lassiter, General, encouraged on trip to the
front, II 245
Laughlin, Irwin, First Secretary of the Em
bassy, I 133; requested to ascertain Great
Britain's attitude toward recognition of
Huerta, I 180; tells Colonel House he wiU
have no success with Kaiser, I 285; on Ger
many's intentions toward America, I 351
Tiofe; as to depressing effect of the war on
Page, I 357 ; backs up Ambassador in
neutraUty letter to WUson, I 373; gives opin
ion that persistence is unwise in demanding
acceptance of Declaration of London, I 387;
Wilson's comment to, on Page's letters, II
22; diplomaticaUy presents to Sir Edward
Grey the Senate Resolution asking clemency
for Casement, II 167; letters from, on occasion
of Germany's 1916 peace movement, II 180;
commended to President Wilson in letter
of resignation, II 394
Law, Bonar, gives depressing news from the
Balkans, II 104; dinner with, II 119; reply to
question how best America could help, II 219 ;
conference with Balfour and, over financial
help from America, II 261
Lawrence, Bishop, on proposed committee to
lecture in England, II 346
Leadership of the world, American, II 105, 110,
145, 254
League to Enforce Peace, Page's opinion of, H
144; Sir Edward Grey in sympathy with
objects of, II 163; Lord Bryce, remarks as
to favourable time for setting up such a league,
II 165
Leaks in diplomatic correspondence, gravity of,
I 147, 148, 151, 222, 223, 224, 235, II 7, 276

Liclmowsky, German Ambassador at London,
almost demented at breaking out of the war,
I 306, 309, 315; places blame for war on Ger
many, I 322
Lincoln, Abraham, monument to, erected at
Westminster, I 274
Lind, John, faUure of mission to Mexico, I 193
Literary stylo and good writing, advice on II
341
Uoyd George, his taxing of the aristocracy, I
137; landowners fear of, I 158; at state
dinner to King Christian, I 167; on the neces-
aity of reducing navy programme, I 283;
holding up under sUain of war, II 83; aged
by the war, II 141; in House of Commons
speech welcomes America as aUy, II 230; has
the touch of genius in making things move,
II 259; working for solution of Irish question,
II 259; too optimistic regarding submarine
situation, II 287; his energy keeps him in
power, II 354; at the Embassy dinner to
Secretary Baker, II 365, 370; congratulates
Mr. and Mrs. Page on American success at
Cantigny, H 375; letter expressing sorrow at
Mr. and Mrs. Page's departure and reviewing
their good work, II 398
Loring, Charles G., marries Miss Katharine
Page, II 87; in service on westem front, II 375
Loring, Mrs. Charles G., letters to, on traveUing
— and staying at home, II 88; autumn, gar
dens, famUy, and war news, II 92; Christmas
letter, 1915, II 117; from St. Ives, II 332, 339
LoweU, James RusseU, accused of Anglomania
while Ambassador. I 257
Lusitania, torpedoed, I 436; buUetins of the
tragedy received at the dinner given in hon
our of Colonel and Mrs. House, II 1; distress
and disiUusionment of the Wilson notes, II 6
Madero, Francisco, overthrown as president of
Mexico, and assassinated, I 175
Mayflower PUgrims, dedication of monument
to, at Southampton, I 258
Mayo, Admiral, sent to Europe to study naval
situation, II 322
McAdoo, Secretary, conference with Balfour
Mission on financied situation, II 267
McClure, S. S., joins forces with F. N. Double-
day, I 64; the Harper experiment, I 65; anec
dote of, II 303
McCrary, Lieut. -Commander, on Committee
for reUef of stranded Americans, 307
McIver, Dr. Charles D., educational states
man, I 73, 74, 78; as the character. Profes
sor BiUy Bain, in "The Southerner," I 93
McKinley Administration endorsed on meas
ures against Spain, by Atlantic Monthly, I 63
Mary, Queen, received by, I 136
Mensdorf, Austrian Ambassador, marooned in

432

INDEX

London, at outbreak of war. I 305, 309; the
war a tragedy to, I 321
Mersey, Ix)rd, comments on the tariff, I 150;
at dinner of DUettanti Society, II 312
Mexico, "poUcy and principle" in, IllSelseq.;
difficulties of self-government, II 177; prog
ress due to foreign enterprise, I 178; the
problem of oU concessions, I 179, 181; inter
vention beUeved by Page the only solution,
I 188, 193. 194, 200, 230, 273
Mims, Professor Edwin, letter to, on attacks
of Southem theologians, I 80
Monroe Doctrine, the Kaiser's proposal to
smash it, II 192
Moore, John Bassett, suggestion that he be put
in charge of American-British affairs, I
239
Morley, John, at state dinner to King Christian,
1 167; resigns from British cabinet on declara
tion of war, I 316; visitor at the Embassy,
II 315
Morley, Lord, on reforms, I 141
Morgan. J. P., account of AlUes witb, greatly
overdrawn at time of America's entrance into
war. II 272; this paid by proceeds of I..iberty
Loans, II 273
Morgan. J. P. & Co., in control of Harper &
Brothers. I 64
"Mummy" theme appUed to the unawakened
South, I 45, 75
Munitions, American, importance of to the
AUies, I 368
Mtinsterberg, Prof. Hugo, pro-German activi
ties of, I 335
Navy Department, ignores urgent recommenda
tions of Admiral Sims that destroyers be sent,
II 276, 284
Negro, the, the invisible "freedom", I 12;
wrong leadership after the CivU War, I 14;
fails to take advantage of university educa
tion during Reconstruction, I 18
Negro education, and industrial training ad
vocated, I 43
NeutraUty, strictiy observed, I 358, 360; the
mask of, II 230
New York Evening Post, connection with. I 48
New York World, correspondent for, at Atlanta
Exposition, I 34; on editorial staff, I 35
Northcliffe, Lord, Ulness from worry, II 66;
"saving the nation from its govemment", II
116; attitude on Wilson's peace note, II 207
Norway, shipping destroyed by submarines, II
281
Nicolson, Harold, the sUent tof^t with, II 301
Ogden, Robert C, organizes Southem Educa
tional Conference, I 83; after twenty years
of zealous service, 1 126

O'Gorman, Senator, active in Panama Tolls
controversy, I 243, 283
**0. Henry," on Page's "complimentary'' re
jection of manuscripts, II 303
Osier, Sir WiUiam, Page's physician, insists on
the return home, II 393
Pacifism, work of the "peace spies," II 210
Pact of London, binding the AlUes not to make
a separate peace, I 409 note
Page, Allison Francis, a buUder of the common
wealth, I 4; attitude toward slavery and the
CivU War, I 5; ruined by the war, I 13
Page, Allison M., falls at BeUeau Wood, II 392,
406
Page, Anderson, settles in Wake County, N. C,
14
Page, Arthur W., Delcassfi in conversation with
tells of Kaiser's proposal to join in producing
"complete isolation" of the United States,
II 192 ; caUed to London in hopes of influenc
ing his father to resign and return home he
fore too late, II 393
Letters io; on the motor trip to Scotland,
I 142; on conditions in second month of the
war, I 335; a national depression and the
horrors of war, I 344; emotions after Lusi
tania sinking, II 5; on the tendency toward
fads and coddling, II 10; on the future rela
tions of the United Statra and Great Britain,
II 84; on the vicissitudes of the "German
Ambassador to GreatBritain," II 90; Christ
mas letter, 1915, II 121; on the attitude in
the United States toward Germany, II 129;
on the effect of the war on future of America,
and the world, II 217; never lost faith in
American people, II 223; on America's en
trance into the war, H 238; on grave condi
tions, submarine and financial, II 287; on the
occasion of the Plymouth speech, and the re
ceptions, II 317; on the Administration's lack
of confidence in British Navy, Wilson's reply
to Pope, etc., II 322; Christmas letter, 1917,
depicting a war-weary world, II 328; on paci
fists — ^fromthe President down, II 337; views
on Palestine, II 350; on personal diet, and the
benefit of Secretary Baker's visit, II 369;
on the anti-EngUah feeUng at Washington,
II 385; whUe resting at Sandwich, II 388
Page, Mrs. Catherine, mother and close com
panion, I 7; Christmas letter to, I 8
Page, Frank C. in London, I 134; with his
father in Rowsley when news of Arabic sink
ing was received, II 26; in service with Amer
ican troops, II 375; realizes his father is failing
fast and insists on his returning home. II 393
Letters to: on buUding up the home farm,
and the stress of war, I 353; Christmas letter,
1915, II 121

INDEX

433

Page, Henry A., letters to, stating « govern
ment might be neutral, but no man could
bo, I 361; on iUusions as to neutrality and
the peace proposals. II 152
Page. Miss Katharine A., arrival in London,
I 134; married in tbe chapel Royal, II 87;
see also, Loring, Mrs. Charles G.
Page, Lewis, leaves Virginia lo settie in North
Carolina, I 3
Page, Logan WaUer, has proper perspective of
European situation, II 176
Page. Mary E., letter to, II 376
Page, Ralph W., letters to; impressions of
London life, I 161; on wartime conditions,
I 352; Christmas letter, 1915, H 121; on
longings for fresh Southem vegetables and
fruits and farm life, II 335; on style and good
writing, II 340; on the big battie, etc., II 371,
372; in praise of book on American Diplo
macy, II 381; on success of our Army and
Navy, II 390
Page, Mrs. Ralph W., Christmas letter to, 163
Page, Robert N., letters to, impressions of
social London, I 153
Page, Thomas Nelson, Colonel House confers
with in regard to peace parleys, I 434
Page, Walter Hines, impressions of his early
life, I; family an old one in Virginia and
North Carolina, 3; matemal ancestry, 6;
dose sympathy between mother and son,
8, 11; birthplace, and date of birth, 9; recol
lections of the CivU War, 10; finds a market
for peaches among Northern soldiers, 14;
boyhood and early studies, 16; intense am-
biLion, 20; Greek Fellowship at Johns Hopkins
University, 24; renewed for the next year;
27; early prejudices against Yankees, 28;
travels in Germany, 1877, 30; lectures on
Shakesi>eare, 30; teacher of English at Louis-
viUe, Ky., 32; enters joumaUsm, 32; experi
ence with LouisvUle Age, 32; reporter on,
theu editor of, Gazdle, at St. Joseph, Mo.,
33; a free lance, 34; correspondent for N. Y.
World aX Atlanta Exposition, 34; on the staff
of N.Y. World, 35; married, 37; first acquaint
ance with Woodrow WUson, 37; American
ism fully developed, 40 ; regard for President
Cleveland, 40; founds State Chronicle at
Raleigh, 42; a breaker of images — of the
South, 44; the "mummy letters," 45; instru
mental in establishment of State CoUege,
Raleigh, 47; with N. Y. Evening Post, 48;
makes the Forum of great influence and a
business success, 49; a new type of editor, 50;
editor of Atlantic Monthly, 53; discovers
unpublished letters of Thomas Carlyle, 60;
attitude toward Spanish American War, 62;
the Harper experiment, 65; joins in founding
Doubleday, Page & Co., 66; his poUcy for

the Worlds Work, 66; public activities, 72;
in behalf of education, 72; his address, "The
Forgotten Man," 74; his Creed of Democracy,
78; work with General Education Board, 85;
independence' as an editor, 87; severely
criticizes John D. Archbold for Foraker bri
bery, 88; appointed by Roosevelt on Country
Life Commission, 89; other public services, 89;
author of "the Southerner" 90; activities in
behalf of Southern agriculture and Hookworm
eradication, 94; his interest in WUson's candi
dacy and election, 102, ei seq.; discourages ef
forts to have him named for[Cabinet position,
113; why he was not named, 118; protests
against appointment of Daniels, 119; love for
farming, 127, 128; offered Ambassadorship,
130; impressions of London and the Embassy,
132, 144; impressions of Scotiand, 142; han
dUng of the Mexican situation, 183; beUef in
intervention in Mexico, 193, 194; compli
mented by President Wilson, Bryan, and Sir
WiUiam TyrreU, 208; his part in the removal
of Sir Lionel Garden from Mexican post, 215.
commended by Wilson, 219, 221; suggested
for Secretary of Agriculture, 232, 286; why
he wished to remain in London, 240; work in
behalf of Panama Tolls BiU repeal, 244; as
saUed for certain speeches, 258, 259; opposed
to including Germany in international alU
ance, favouring understanding hetween
English-speaking peoples, 282; difficulties at
outbreak of the war, 301 ei seq.; asked to take
over Austrian Embassy, 305, German Em
bassy, 306; varied duties of war time, 337,
difficulties in charge of German and Austrian
and Turkish embE^sies, 345; reUef work in
starving Belgium, 346 ; ageing under the strain
and the depressing environment, 357 ; difficul
ties of maintaining neutrality, 358; warned
from Washington, 362; tactful handling of
the demands that Declaration of London be
adopted, 370, 373; writes Colonel House that
he wUI resign if demands are insisted on, 383;
memorandum of the affair, 385; his solution
of the Dacia puzzle, 394; attitude toward a
premature peace, 417 ; leams through General
French of the undiplomatic methods of State
Department in peace proposals, 425, 427

Humiliations from Washington's faUure to
meet tiie situation, 5 ; remarks on Bryan's res
ignation, 10 ; considered for appointment as
Secretary of State, 11 ; his feeling toward poU
cies of Wilson, 18; boldness ofhis criticism,
21; WUson Emd Lsmsing express anxiety that
hemay resign, 24 ; describes Zeppelin attack on
London, 34, 38; Christmas in England, 1915,
103; perplexed at attitude of the United

434

INDEX

States, 128; his impressions of Europeans,
132; summoned to Washington, 148; memo
randum of his visit to Washington, 171; Im
pressions of President Wilson, 172; waits five
weeks before obtaining interview, 183; disap
pointing interview at Shadow Lawn, 184;
letter of resignation sent to Wilson, 189;
and the reply, 199; delivers Germany's
peace proposal to Lord Robert Cecil, 201;
comments to Secretary of State on "insult
ing words" of President Wilson's peace
proposal, 207; implores Wilson to leave
out the "peace without victory" phrase
from his speech, 213; leams of Berns-
dorff's dismissal, 215; memorandum of his
final judgment of Wilson's foreign policy to
April 1, 1917, 222; memorandum written on
April 3, the day after Wilson advised Con
gress to declare war, 228; on friendly footing
with King George, 234; joins with Admiral
Sims in trying to waken the Navy Depart
ment to seriousness of the submarine situa
tion, 278; Page— the man, 295-320; moves for
relief of Belgium, 310, and delegates Hoover,
311; Speech at Plymouth, 316; goes to St.
Ives tor brief rest, 332; heatedly referred to as
"really an Englishman" by President Wilson,
348 ; memorandum on Secretary Baker's visit,
366; failing health, 374; resignation in obedi
ence to physicians orders, 393; representa
tives from King, and Cabinet at train to
bid good-bye, 402; rallies somewhat on
arrival in America, 405; the end — at home,
406
Page, Walter H. Jr., Christmas letter from his
"granddaddy," II 124
Page, Mrs. Walter H., arrival iu London, 1 134;
plays part in diplomacy, I 215, 224, 226; her
great help to the Ambassador, II 315; the
last letter, II 395
Palestine and Zionism, views on, II 351
Panama Tolls, a wrong policy, I 190; Sir Wil
liam Tyrrell's talk with President Wilson, I
207, 209
Panama Tolls Bill, Wilson writes of hopes for
repeal, I 222; repeal of, I 232 et seq., the bill a
violation of solemn treaties, I 242; the con
test before Congress, I 255
Paris, capture of city thought inevitable, I 401
Parliament, holds commemorative sessions in
honour of America's participation in the war,
II 230
Pasha, Tewfik, leaves Turkish Embassy in
charge of American Ambassador, I 345
Peace, Germany's overtures, I 389; her first
peace drives, I 398; Wilson's note to warring
powers, received with surprise and irritation,
II 205
"Peace without Victory" speech, of President

Wilson, and its reception in Great Britain,
H212
Peace Centennial, plans being formed for, 1 236,
274
Pershing, General, at luncheon with King
George, II 237; his presence of moral benefit
to French Army, II 290
Philippines, a problem, I 176
Pinero, Sir Arthur, reminiscences of Page at
Dilettante gatherings, II 313
Plymouth,- Mayor and Council, present the
freedom of the city, II 402
Plymouth Speech, inspires confidence in Amer
ican co&peration, II 316
Polk, Frank L., invited by British Foreign Office
to consultation in England, II 248; "could
not be spared from his desk," H 256
Letter from: on wonderful success of Bal
four Mission, II 263
Letters to: on Balfour and his Mission to the
United States, II 252; on Secretary Baker's
visit, II 361
Price, Thomas R., noted professor at Randolph-
Macon, I 22
Probyn, Sir Dighton, calls at Embassy, I 339
Raboteau, John Samuel, Mr. Page's maternal
grandfather, I 6
Randolph-Macon College, studies at, I 20
Rawnsley, Rev. Hardwicke Drummond, a sub
ject of conversation, I 149
Rayleigh, Lady, political ability, II 257, 258
Rayleigh, Lord Chancellor of Cambridge Uni
versity, II 145
Reconstruction, more agonizing than war, 1 14;
effects of, upon State University, I 18
Reed, John, account of Mexican conditions in
fluences Wilson's policy, I 228
Religion, deepest reverence for, I 80
Rtis, Jacob, writes for Atlantic Monthly, I 60
Rockefeller, John D., organizes General Educa
tion Board, I 84; publication of Reminis
cences, 1 88; founds Hookworm Commission^
and International Health Commission, I 100
Roosevelt, Theodore, writes for Atlantic
Monthly, I 60; appoints Country Life Com
mission, I 89
Letter to: introducing the Archbishop of
York, II 307
Letter from: praising the Ambassador's
services, II 401
Root, Elihu, understanding of Hay-Pauncefote
Treaty, I 242
Rose, Dr. Wickliffe, dinner to, in London, as
head of International Health Board, I 101;
hookworm work, I 127
Round Table, The, organization for study of
political subjects, II 84; Round Table, The,
organ of above, a quarterly publication, II
84, 105

INDEX

435

Royal Institution of Great Britain, address be
fore. I 191
Royce. Josiah, associate at Johns Hopkins, I 25
Russian CoUapse, effect on the AUies, H
353
Rustem Bey, Turkish Ambassador, given pass
ports, II 49 note
St. Ives, CornwaU, seeking rest at, II 332
St. Joseph Gazette, connection with, I 33, 37,
succeeds to Eugene Field's desk, on I 36
Sackville- West, Sir Lionel, handed his passports
by Cleveland, II 33 note
Sargent, John, frequent visitor at the Embassy,
II 315
Saw-mUl units, favourable reception of, II 291
Sayre, Mr. and Mrs., hearty reception iu Lon
don, I 213, 222, 275
Schrippenfest. celebration of, in Berlin, I 291
Scbwab, Charles M., supplying war material to
AUies, I 341
Scotland, impressions of, I 142
Scudder, Horace E., succeeded as editor of
Atlantic Monthly, I 53
Secret treaties, explained to President Wilson
by Mr. Balfour, II 267
Sedgwick, EUery, recoUections of Mr. Page, as
editor of Atlantic Monthly, I 55; on the high
regard in which Page was held, II 298
Shakespeare, lectures on, I 30
Sharp, Ambetssador, his mention of peace re
sented by the French, I 389; at President
Wilson's luncheon, II 171
Sherman's army, cavalry troop camp at Page
home, ransack, and destroy contents, I 10
Shoecraft, Mr., receives news of Bernstorff's
dismissal, II 215
Sihler, Prof. E. G., reminiscence of Page at
Johns Hopkins, I 27
Simon, Sir John, frequent visitor at the Em
bassy, II 315
Sims, Admiral, with Ambassador Page, dines
with Lord Beresford, II 254; advised of ter
rible submarine situation, II 273, 275; arrival
and welcome in England, II 274; recommen
dations ignored by Washington, II 276;
backed up by Page in strong dispatch, II
278; praised in letter to Wilson, II 281; in
command of both English and American
naval forc^ at Queenstown, II 282; letters
from, on submarine situation, II 282; in high
regard with British Admiralty, II 290; at the
Embassy dinner to Secretary Baker, II 365,
370
Shaler, MiUard, reports on destitution in Bel
gium, II 310
Skinner, Consul-General, on Committee for re
Uef of stranded Americans, I 307
Slocum, Colonel, urged to hasten arrival of
American troops, II 363

Smith, C. Alphonso, an exchange professor to
GermEmy, II 145
Smith, Senator Hoke, "friendly deportation"
of, suggested, II 17; campaign against British
Blockade, II 56, 61, 63; urging embargo on
shipments to AUies, II 211
South, the, efforts in behalf of, 1 38, 43, 74; three
"ghosts" which prevent progress. I 91
Southampton speech, press comments on, 141
Southern Education Board, active work with,
184
Southern Educational Conference, organization
of, I 83
"Southerner, The," only effort at novel writing,
190
Spanish-American War, attitude toward, I 62
Speyer, James, connected with Grerman peace
move, I 403
Spring Rice, Sir CecU, notifies Washington of
British change of attitude toward recognition
of Huerta, I 181; confidentiaUy consulted
by Col. House regarding demands that Dec
laration of London be adopted, I 379; noti
fies Washington that Dacia would be seized,
1 393, opinion of Straus peace proposal, 1 407;
letters from Lord Robert CecU on Germany's
peace proposal, II 201, 202
Squier, Colonel, American miUtary attach^ in
London at outbreak of the war, I 301
Standard OU Co., editorial against, in Archbold-
Foraker scandal, I 88
State Chronicle, connection with, I 42; editori
ally a success, I 48
State CoUege, Raleigh, N. C, instrumental in
establishment of, I 47, 48
State Department, leaks of diplomatic cor
respondence through, 1 147, 148, 151, 223, 224
State Dept., ignores official correspondence,
I 94, 213, 219, 224, 225, 232, 238, 239, II 7,
55, 217, 253; not properly organized and con
ducted, II 8; trivial demands and protests,
II 54, 68; uncourteous form of Notes, I 72
StUes, Dr. Charles W., discovers hookworm*
I 98; work in combatting, I 127
Stone, Senator WiUiam J., spokesman of pro-
German cause, I 380
StovaU, Pleasant A., Colonel House confers
with, regarding peace parleys, I 434
Straus, Oscar S., used as a tool in German peace
propaganda, I 389, 403 et seq.
Submarine sinkings, Germany threatens to re
sume, unless WUson moves for peace,
II 200; German mUitEur chieftains at Pless
conference decide to resume unrestricted
warfare, II 212; the most serious problem at
time of American entry iuto war, II 273,
275, et seq.
Sulgrave Manor, ancestral home of the Wash-
ingtons, restoration and preservation, I 274;

436

INDEX

plan to have President Wilson at dedication
of, I 274, 275, II 248
Sussex "pledge", a peace move of Germany,
II 150
Taft, WiUiam H., faUs in having Carden re
moved from Cuba, I 196, 215, 219; accepts
British invitation to head delegation explain
ing America's purposes in the war, II 346;
Wilson's strong disapproval interferes with
the project, II 347
Tariff Commission, traveUing with, for N. Y.
World, I 35
Teaching democracy to the British Govern
ment, I 187, 211
Tennessee, sent to England on outbreak of war
with gold for reUef of stranded Americans,
1307
Thayer, WiUiam Roscoe, disappointed in policy
of the World's Work, I 66; letter to, in ex
planation, I 67
TiUett, Wilbur Fisk, friend at Randolph-Macon
CoUege, I 20
Towers, Lieutenant, shown remnant of torpedo
from Hesperian, II 40
Trinity CoUege, studies at, I 19
Turkish Embassy left in charge of American
Ambassador, I 346
Tyrrell, Sir WilUam, significance of his visit to
the United States, I 201; unsatisfactory con
sultation with Bryan, I 202; explains to
President Wilson the British policy toward
Mexico, 1 204, 207; conversation with Colonel
House, I 206; Colonel House informs him of
plan to visft Kaiser in behalf of naval holiday
plan, I 277; advises House not to stop in
England on way to Germany, I 289 ; expresses
reUef on withdrawal of demands that Declara
tion of London be adopted, I 387; comment
on Dumba's dismissal, and Bernstorff, II 101

Underwood Tariff BiU, impressions of in Great
Britain, 150, 172
Van Hise, on proposed committee to lecture in
England, II 346
VanderUp, Frank A., at the Speyer "peace
dinner", I 404
ViUa, Pancho, thought by Wilson to be a pa
triot, I 227, 228
Vincent, George, on proposed committee to lec
ture in England, II 346
Von Jagow, offers no encouragement to Colonel
House's proposals, I 289
Von Papen, dismissal of, II 108
Von Tirpitz, discussion with Viscount Haldane
as to relative sizes of navies, I 278; hostile
to Colonel House's proposals, I 289

Waechter, Sir Max, efforts for "federation"
and diaarmcuuent, I 284
"Waging neutraUty", poUcy of, I 362
WaUace, Henry, letters to: on Wilson's candi
dacy, I 105 ; on backing up new Secretary of
Agriculture, etc., 1 115
WaUace, Hugh C, accompanies Colonel House
to Europe, I 288; joins "assemblage of im
mortals" at Embassy, II 315
Walsh, Sir Arthur, Master of the Ceremonies,
I 135; at train to bid good-bye, II 402
Walsh, Senator Thomas anti-English attitude,
II 61
War, American efforts to prevent the, I 270 et
seq.
War, memorandum at outbreak of the, I 301
Washington, Booker T., writes for Altantic
Monthly, I 60; induced to write "Up From
Slavery", I 90
Wantauga Club, activities of the, I 47; crusade
for educatiou of Southern chUd, 73
Wheeler, Benjamin Ide, gives Colonel House
information of conditions in Germany, I 281
White, Henry, understanding of Hay-
Pauncefote Treaty, I 242
White, WiUiam AUen, writes for Atlantic
Monthly, I 60
Whitiock, Brand, eulogized, I 334
WUlard, Joseph E., Colonel House confers with,
in regard to peace parleys, 1 434
WiUiams, Senator John Sharp, demonstrates
blockade against Germany not an iojury to
cotton-producing states, II 63
Wilhelm II, nullifies Hague Conferences, I 280;
Colonel House disappointed in mission to,
I 289; derides American arbitration treaty,
I 294; Colonel House's impressions of, I 295;
asks President Wilson to transmit peace offer
to Great Britain, I 426; makes proposal to
Delcass6 to join in producing " complete
isolation" of the United States, II 192
WUson, Miss WUUa AUce, married to Page,
137
WUson, Dr. WUUam, father of Mrs. Page, I 37
Wilson, Sir Henry, succeeds Sir WiUiam Robert
son as Chief of Imperial General Staff, II 354
note
Wilson, Woodrow, first acquaintance with, 1 37;
writes tov Atlantic Monthly, I 60; Page greatly
interested in his candidacy and election, 1 102,
et seq.; Colonel House introduced to, I 107;
memorandum of interview with, soon after
election, I 110; offers Aoobassadorship, I 130;
attitude toward recognition of Huerta, 1 180;
formulates new principle for deaUng with
Latin American repubUcs, I 182; refuses to
consider intervention in Mexico, 1 193 ; sug
gestion that he officiaUy visit Sulgrave
Manor, the ancestral home of the Washing-

INDEX

437

tons, 1 195; explains attitude on Panama Toll
question to Sir WiUiam TyrreU, I 207; ex
presses gratification in way Page has handled
Mexican situation, I 208; letter giving credit
tor Garden's recaU from Mexico, and for
constructive work, 1 221; addresses Congress
asking repeal of Panama ToUs BUl, 1 253;
plan to visit England on occasion of restora
tion of Sulgrave Manor, 1 274, 275,11248; re
quested by resolution of the Senate to proffer
his good oifices for mediation between Austria
and Serbia, I 317; telegrams to and from
Colonel House on proffering good offices to
avert war, I 317, 318; message to King George
proffering good offices to avert war, I 320;
neutrality letter to the Senate, I 360; desires
to start peace parleys, I 416; insists on press
ing the issue, I 423; the "Too proud to
fight" speech derided and denounced in
England, 11 6; the Lusitania notes, II 6;
Page's feeling toward poUcies of, II 8; appre
ciation of Page letters, 11 22; peace activities
after Sussex "pledge", II 148; his reply to
the German note concerning the submarine
cessation, II 150, 156; reluctant to speak on
foreign matters with his ambassadors, II 171,
172; Hved too much alone, no social touch,
II 173; addresses Congress on threatened
railroad strike, II 172; refuses to send high
ranking officers as miUtary attaches, II 177;
interview with Ambassador Page at Shadow
Lawn, II 185; sends peace communication
to aU the warring Powers, II 204; reception
in Great Britain of the "Peace without
Victory" speech, II 212; answer to the Pope's
peace proposal, II 321, 323; coldness toward
the AUies, II 345; his strong disapproval of
closer relations with Great Britain, prevente
visit of Taft and noted committee, II 346
Letters from: on "mistaken" opinion of
British critics of Carranza and ViUa, I 227,
228; expressing gratitude and regard of and
hopes for repeal of ToU BiU, I 254; regarding
the criticized speeches, I 262, 265; reply to
proposal to visit England, I 276; acceptance
•rf Page'a resignation, II 396
Letters to: congratulations and suggestions
on Election Day, I 108; as to best man for
Secretary of Agriculture, I 114; impressions
of the British people, I 144; on royal recep
tion to King Christian of Denmark, 1 167; on
the Mexican situation, I 184, 185, 188; mem
orandum sent through Colonel House on in
tervention in Mexico, I 194; on feeling in
England toward Panama Tolls question, I

248; recapitulating events bringing the two
countries more in unity, 1 251; explanation
of speech before Associated Chambers of
Commerce, 1 260, 263; suggests speech at
tacking Anglophobia, I 264; on the outbreak
of war, 1 303; on German atrocities, I 325;
on agreement of nations not to make peace
separately, etc., I 338 ; attempts to enUghten
on the real nature of the war, I 370; "Rough
notes toward an explanation of the British
feeling toward the United States," 1 373; on
UabiUty of Paris being captured and German
peace drive being launched, I 401 ; on feeUng
of English toward American inactitm after
Lusitania notes, II 40, 41, 43, 44, 45; told
that if he broke diplomatic relations with
Germany he would end the war, II 51; on
the miUtary situation, faU of 1915, and the
loss of American prestige, II 94; while waiting
for interview sends notes of conversations
with Lord Grey and Lord Bryce, II 183; letter
of resignation — with some great truths, II
190; regarding success of BaUour Mission,
etc., II 256; on financial situation among the
AlUes and the necessity of American assist
ance, II 269; on seriousness of submarine
situation, II 280, 283, 286; on slow progress
of war and comments on Lord Lansdowne's
peace letter, II 327; on British opinion on
subject ot League of Nations, II 355; on the
cheering effect of his war speeches and letters,
II 385; the resignation in obedience to phy
sician's orders, II 393
Wilson Doctrine, the, I 217
Wood, Gen. Leonard, methods in Cuba an ob
ject lesson, I 177
World's Work, founding of, I 66
Worth, Nicholas, nom de plume in writing
"The Southerner", I 90
York, Archbishop of, letter commending him to
Roosevelt, II 401
ZeppeUn attack on London, II 34, 38
Zionism, view of, II 350
Zimmermann, German under Foreign Secretary
in communication with Colonel House regard
ing peace proposals to Great Britain, I 426;
talk with House on peace terms, I 432
Zimmermann, says Germany must apply for
armistice, II 182
Zunmermann-Mexico telegram influence on
the United States declaration ot war, II
214.

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