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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Under Four Administrations, by Oscar S. Straus
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Under Four Administrations
+       From Cleveland to Taft
+
+Author: Oscar S. Straus
+
+Release Date: March 14, 2012 [EBook #39144]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER FOUR ADMINISTRATIONS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Julia Neeufeld and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
+
+The carat character in Nov. 1^{st} indicates that the following letters
+inside the curly brackets are superscripted.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+[Illustration: Oscar S. Straus with signature]
+
+  Under Four Administrations
+
+  FROM CLEVELAND TO TAFT
+
+  RECOLLECTIONS OF OSCAR S. STRAUS, LITT.D., LL.D.
+
+  _Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague
+  Three Times Minister and Ambassador to Turkey
+
+  Former Secretary of Commerce and Labor_
+
+  WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+  [Illustration: Publisher's Mark]
+
+  Boston and New York
+  HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
+  The Riverside Press Cambridge
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY OSCAR S. STRAUS
+
+  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+  SECOND IMPRESSION
+
+  The Riverside Press
+  CAMBRIDGE·MASSACHUSETTS
+  PRINTED IN THE U·S·A
+
+
+
+
+  DEDICATED TO
+  MY GRANDCHILDREN
+  AND THEIR CONTEMPORARIES
+  OF EVERY RACE AND CREED
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+I am drawing these memories to a close in my log cabin in the primitive
+Maine woods, where my wife and I have been coming for rest and for
+fishing for the past twenty years. Here we renew our youth, and far from
+tumult and crowds, near to nature, we realize anew how little is
+required in order to be contented and happy. Here I am taken back to the
+memories of my childhood in the little town in Georgia where too our
+home was a log house, but for appearances had the luxurious outer and
+inner dressing of clap-boarding painted white. The logs of the upper
+story where we children played and slept had no covering, which pleased
+us all the more.
+
+In a highly organized society, we are often attracted by pomp and
+circumstance, rather than by qualities of heart and mind, which after
+all are the true measure of enlightenment. Here in these woods, fair
+dealings and human relations are not regulated by statutes, but by the
+golden rule of conduct. We need not hide our possessions behind locked
+doors, honesty is the accepted rule of life; there are no treasures to
+hide and no bars to break.
+
+It has been permitted me to do useful work and to have interesting
+experiences. Privileged opportunities have been afforded me for public
+service. Of these I write.
+
+Perhaps in chronicling the experiences of a life which at many points
+touched vital affairs and the most interesting personalities, I may be
+able to add something to the record of men, movements, and events during
+those decades still absorbing to us because they are so near.
+
+The story is one of service at home and abroad, of personal relations
+with six of our Presidents, with diplomats, labor leaders, foreign
+rulers, leaders of industry, and some plain unticketed citizens who were
+the salt of the earth and certainly not the least of those whom it was a
+pleasure to know.
+
+To write of one's self requires a certain amount of egotism. The
+autobiographer usually tries to justify this vanity by explaining it as
+a desire to gratify his children and kinsmen, or as a yielding to the
+urgent request of his friends. Benjamin Franklin, whose autobiography,
+incomplete though it be, is one of the most human in our language,
+frankly conceded that he was prompted by the weakness of praise. He
+says: "I may as well confess it, since my denial of it will be believed
+by nobody, perhaps I shall a good deal gratify my own vanity."
+
+I do not wish to conceal from those who may from interest or curiosity
+read what I write, that I am not entirely free from that vanity, even
+though it be my chief aim and purpose to cast some additional light upon
+our country's development and upon events in which, in public and
+private life, I have been permitted to take part. Having held official
+positions at home and abroad under four administrations, and having come
+in close relationship with many of the statesmen and others of
+distinction in this and foreign countries, perhaps my narrative will
+serve to give more intimate knowledge and truer appreciation of their
+personal traits and their exceptional qualities.
+
+I have also been influenced by a desire to bring a message of
+encouragement to the youth of our country, especially to those who may
+be conscious of handicaps in the race, not to lose heart, but to be
+patient, considerate, and tactful, and not to withhold the saving extra
+ounce of effort which often spells the difference between failure and
+success.
+
+So long as our democracy remains true to its basic principles and
+jealously guards the highways of opportunity, the golden age will not be
+in the past, but ever in the future. In externals the age in which we
+live has changed, but the qualities of effort, of industry, and the will
+to succeed which were required when I was a boy, have not changed; they
+lead to the same goals now as then, with this difference: that the boy
+of to-day has greater advantages, better educational facilities, and
+more avenues of advancement than the boy of two generations ago. There
+never was a time in our history when more men of humble origin have
+attained commanding positions in industry, in commerce, and in public
+affairs than now. While our American system is not without fault, the
+fact that an enlightened public is ever watchful to maintain our
+democratic principles and to correct abuses is convincing proof of our
+country's wholesome development in conformity with the changing
+conditions of modern life.
+
+I desire to make acknowledgment to my long-time and esteemed friend, Mr.
+Lawrence Abbott, the President of "The Outlook," who encouraged and
+advised me to write these memoirs and even outlined the chapter plan
+which I have largely followed.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  I. ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS                 1
+
+  II. LAW, BUSINESS, AND LETTERS             30
+
+  III. ENTERING DIPLOMACY                    50
+
+  IV. FIRST TURKISH MISSION                  70
+
+  V. HARRISON, CLEVELAND, AND MCKINLEY      105
+
+  VI. MY SECOND MISSION TO TURKEY           130
+
+  VII. THEODORE ROOSEVELT                   163
+
+  VIII. INDUSTRIAL DIPLOMACY                194
+
+  IX. IN THE CABINET                        207
+
+  X. THE TAFT CAMPAIGN OF 1908              248
+
+  XI. MY THIRD MISSION TO TURKEY            271
+
+  XII.  THE PROGRESSIVES                    307
+
+  XIII. THREATENING CLOUDS OF WAR           327
+
+  XIV. PERSONAL VIGNETTES                   343
+
+  XV. THE WORLD WAR                         370
+
+  XVI. PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE               396
+
+  INDEX                                     431
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  OSCAR S. STRAUS                          _Frontispiece_
+  Photograph by the Campbell Studios, New York
+
+  MOTHER AND FATHER OF OSCAR S. STRAUS                  2
+
+  BIRTHPLACE OF OSCAR S. STRAUS, OTTERBERG, RHENISH
+  BAVARIA                                               8
+
+  CHAPEL AND SCHOOLHOUSE, COLLINSWORTH INSTITUTE,
+  TALBOTTON, GEORGIA                                    8
+
+  OSCAR S. STRAUS AT SIX                               12
+
+  OSCAR S. STRAUS AT THE TIME OF HIS GRADUATION        28
+
+  LETTER OF HENRY WARD BEECHER TO PRESIDENT
+  CLEVELAND                                            46
+
+  MRS. STRAUS IN TURKEY                                62
+
+  TESTIMONIAL GIVEN TO MR. STRAUS IN JERUSALEM IN
+  APPRECIATION OF THE RELEASE OF SEVERAL HUNDRED
+  PRISONERS                                            84
+
+  OSCAR S. STRAUS, CONSTANTINOPLE, 1888                96
+
+  PRESIDENT MCKINLEY SENDING THE AUTHOR TO TURKEY
+  ON HIS SECOND MISSION, 1898                         124
+
+  MEMBERS OF THE RAILWAY BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION      200
+
+  THE ROOSEVELT CABINET                               216
+
+  MRS. OSCAR S. STRAUS                                246
+
+  NATHAN, OSCAR, AND ISIDOR STRAUS                    312
+  Photograph by Pirie MacDonald, New York, 1912
+
+  ROGER W. STRAUS                                     392
+
+
+
+
+Under Four Administrations
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS
+
+     Napoleonic Era: the Sanhedrin--A forefather in Napoleon's
+     councils--My father and the German Revolution of 1848--My father
+     emigrates to America--My father starts business in Talbotton,
+     Georgia--My mother and her children arrive, 1854--We attend the
+     Baptist Church--My early schooling--Deacons duel with
+     knives--Household slaves--Life in a small Southern town--Frugal and
+     ingenious housekeeping--Outbreak of the Civil War--Our family moves
+     to Columbus, Georgia--First lessons in oratory--General Wilson's
+     capture of the city--The town is looted--Our family moves North
+     --My father surprises Northern creditor by insisting upon paying
+     his debts in full--I attend Columbia Grammar School in New York
+     City--My accidental schoolroom glory before Morse, the inventor--I
+     enter Columbia College in 1867 with Brander Matthews, Stuyvesant
+     Fish, and other distinguished classmates--My classroom début in
+     diplomacy--Poetic ambitions--Military aspirations and an interview
+     with President Grant--Choosing law as a career.
+
+
+My ancestors, on both my father's and my mother's side, were natives of
+the Palatinate of Bavaria, of the town of Otterberg and immediate
+vicinity. Up to the time of Napoleon's taking possession of that part of
+the country the Jews of the Palatinate had not adopted family names.
+This they did later, beginning in 1808, when, under Napoleon, the
+Palatinate became the Department of Mont Tennérre and part of France. My
+great-grandfather, for instance, before adopting the family name of
+Straus, was known as Jacob Lazar, from Jacob ben Lazarus, or Jacob son
+of Lazarus, as in biblical times.
+
+Jacob Lazar, afterwards Jacob Straus, had three sons: Jacob, Lazarus,
+and Salomon. My father, Lazarus Straus, born April 25, 1809, was the son
+of the eldest, Jacob; and my mother, Sara Straus, born January 14,
+1823, was the daughter of the youngest, Salomon. My paternal grandfather
+died when my father was a young man, but my grandfather Salomon Straus
+and his brother Lazarus were known to us as children, particularly to my
+eldest brother, Isidor, who knew them quite well. They were men of
+culture and education, landowners who sent their crops--mainly wheat,
+oats, clover and clover seed--and those of their neighbors to the
+markets of Kaiserslautern and Mannheim, the chief commercial towns of
+the section. They spoke German and French fluently, and had also, of
+course, been thoroughly educated in the Hebrew language and literature.
+
+The name of Straus was well known among the Jews of Bavaria, and both my
+great-grandfather and my father contributed to its prominence. During
+1806 a spirit of reaction, political and religious, swept over France,
+making itself especially troublesome in Alsace and in the German
+departments of the upper and lower Rhine. Exceptionable and restrictive
+laws were advocated to deprive the Jews there of rights they were
+enjoying throughout France. As had happened often before, and not
+unknown since, the reactionaries fanned the hatred against Jews, making
+them the scapegoats in their campaign against the advancing spirit of
+liberalism. Thus the cause of the Jews was linked with the cause of
+liberty itself.
+
+[Illustration: MOTHER AND FATHER OF OSCAR S. STRAUS]
+
+Napoleon himself was at first prejudiced against the Jews, regarding
+them as usurers and extortioners. He soon realized, however, that the
+characteristics which confronted him could not be imputed to Judaism,
+but were due rather to the restricted civil and industrial rights of the
+Jews and to their general unhappy condition. It was made manifest to him
+that in Bordeaux, Marseilles, and the Italian cities of France, as
+well as in Holland, some of the most useful and patriotic citizens were
+Jews. Napoleon always had an eye on his historical reputation, and
+desiring to do nothing that would obscure his fame, he decided to
+convene a council of representative Jews from the various provinces.
+Accordingly, on May 30, 1806, he issued his decree, famous in the annals
+of the Jews in modern times, summoning the Assembly of Notables of the
+Jewish nation to meet in Paris the following July. The prefects in the
+various provinces were required to aid in the selection of the most
+distinguished men from among the rabbis and the laity.
+
+The deputies came to Paris from all parts of the French Empire. They
+numbered one hundred and eleven in all, and spoke French, German, and
+Italian. Many of them were themselves well known, others achieved a
+posthumous glamour in the deeds of descendants who have since won
+distinction in European history and in the annals of Jewry. There were
+Joseph Sinzheim, first rabbi of Strasbourg, foremost Talmudist and
+considered the most scholarly member of the Assembly, who was made
+president of the Assembly and later chairman of the Great Sanhedrin;
+Michel Berr, afterwards the first French Jew to practice at the bar;
+Abraham Furtado, son of a marano or crypto-Jewish Portuguese family from
+which was also descended the wife of the first Benjamin D'Israeli and
+Sir John Simon; Isaac Samuel d'Avigdor of Nice, grandfather of Jules
+d'Avigdor who was a member of the Piedmont Parliament; Israel
+Ottolenghi, an ancestor of Italy's late Minister of War; Abraham de
+Cologna, rabbi of Mantua, a great political leader and reformer; and
+many others of equal rank and caliber. Their task was a monumental one,
+for it was nothing less than to justify Judaism and Jewry to the world;
+and they assembled with a full consciousness of their responsibility.
+
+At this Assembly my great-grandfather represented the Department of Mont
+Tennérre. He evidently played an important part in the diplomacy which
+this unprecedented council involved, for he was a member of the
+sub-committee of fifteen delegated to meet the commissioners appointed
+by Napoleon, also a member of the committee to which the Assembly gave
+the delicate work of preparing the groundwork for discussion with the
+commissioners. Subsequently he was appointed to the committee of nine of
+the Great Sanhedrin which the following year presented to Napoleon's
+committee the conclusions formulated and agreed upon by the Assembly,
+and which helped to bring about their adoption.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+My father, in turn, was active in the revolutionary movement in 1848.
+This was an heroic effort on the part of the liberal forces of Europe to
+achieve constitutional government, and when it failed many of those who
+had borne a conspicuous part fled to other countries. Thus it was that
+Generals Sigel, Schurz, Stahl, and others, who later were prominent in
+our Civil War, came to America. These men and their immediate followers
+constitute one of the most valuable groups of immigrants that have come
+to these shores since our government was organized. In the land of their
+birth they had already made sacrifices for constitutionalism and
+democracy, and basically they had made them for American principles.
+They were Americans in spirit, therefore, even before they arrived.
+
+Having been active only locally in the revolutionary movement, my father
+was not prosecuted. He was made aware, however, of the suspicions of the
+authorities and was subjected to all those petty annoyances and
+discriminations which a reactionary government never fails to lay upon
+people who have revolted, and revolted in vain. My father decided, in
+consequence, to emigrate. This purpose he did not carry into effect
+until the spring of 1852. He had many ties, which it was difficult to
+break at once. He had been in comfortable circumstances, like his father
+and grandfather a landowner and dealer on a large scale in farm
+products, principally grains. The revolution left him reduced in
+circumstances and even to some extent in debt. He had four children, of
+whom I was the youngest, being then less than a year and a half old.
+Therefore, like the prudent man he was, he waited, and then came to
+America alone with the purpose of establishing himself in some small way
+before allowing his family to exchange the comparative security of their
+familiar surroundings for the insecurity of an unknown land.
+
+He landed at Philadelphia, where he met a number of former acquaintances
+who had preceded him to America, some of whom were already established
+in business. They advised him to go South. Acting on this suggestion he
+went on to Oglethorpe, Georgia, where he met some more acquaintances
+from the old country. Through them he made a connection with two
+brothers Kaufman, who plied the peddler's trade. They owned a peddler's
+wagon with which they dispensed through the several counties of the
+State an assortment of dry goods and what was known as "Yankee notions."
+
+For my father this was indeed a pioneer business in a pioneer country,
+yet it was not like the peddling of to-day. In the fifties the
+population of the whole State of Georgia was only about nine hundred
+thousand. Because of the existence of slavery there were on the large
+plantations often more colored people than there were whites living in
+the near-by villages. The itinerant merchant, therefore, filled a real
+want, and his vocation was looked upon as quite dignified. Indeed, he
+was treated by the owners of the plantations with a spirit of equality
+that it is hard to appreciate to-day. Then, too, the existence of
+slavery drew a distinct line of demarcation between the white and black
+races. This gave to the white visitor a status of equality that probably
+otherwise he would not have enjoyed to such a degree.
+
+Provided only, therefore, that the peddler proved himself an honorable,
+upright man, who conscientiously treated his customers with fairness and
+made no misrepresentations regarding his wares, he was treated as an
+honored guest by the plantation owners--certainly a spirit of true
+democracy. The visits were made periodically and were quite looked
+forward to by the plantation owners. The peddler usually stayed one
+night at the house of his customer and took his meals with the family.
+Another ideally democratic feature about these sojourns was that spirit
+of Southern hospitality which, even in the relationship between the
+wealthiest, most aristocratic family and the humble peddler, permitted
+no pay for board and lodging, and only a small charge for feed for the
+horses. The peddler in turn usually made a gift to either the lady or
+her daughter. Often he provided himself with articles for this purpose,
+but usually on one visit he would find out what might be welcome and on
+the next visit bring it. The bonds of friendship thus made are, I
+venture to say, hardly understandable in our day.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the course of these wanderings my father came to Talbotton, a town of
+some eight or nine hundred inhabitants, the county seat of Talbot
+County, and about forty miles east of the Alabama boundary. Talbotton
+immediately impressed him so favorably that he selected it as the next
+home for his family. It had an air of refinement that pleased him; there
+were gardens with nicely cultivated flowers and shrubbery, and houses
+that were neat, well kept, and properly painted. Upon inquiry he found
+further that there were splendid schools for both boys and girls.
+
+There was another factor which doubtless caused father to be favorably
+impressed with Talbotton; it was court week when he arrived, at which
+time a town has a more or less festive appearance and is at its best so
+far as activity is concerned. Then there was a third factor that
+influenced him to settle there. Before doing business in any county,
+peddlers were required to go to the county seat to buy a license. At
+Talbotton this license was very high, and my father doubted that his
+business in Talbot County would warrant the expense. The idea occurred
+to him to utilize the presence of the many strangers in town to test the
+possibilities of the place by unpacking and displaying his goods in a
+store. An interview with Captain Curley, the only tailor in the town,
+developed the fact that the store he occupied was too large for his
+needs and he would be willing to share it with my father. So this
+arrangement was promptly made, and at a cost less than the expense of
+the county license for itinerant merchandising.
+
+The experiment proved most satisfactory. In a few weeks the stock was so
+depleted that my father proposed to his partner that they rent a store
+and settle in Talbotton. This they did. My father then prepared to go to
+Philadelphia to get a stock of goods. His partner counseled against
+this. There was a merchant in Oglethorpe who, up to this point, had
+supplied them with all their merchandise; they would need to refer to
+him for credit, and they were still indebted to him for the stock in
+hand; also, he would probably not approve of their settling down in a
+store instead of peddling. The new store offered large display space in
+comparison with the wagon, and the partner doubted my father's ability
+to get enough credit in Philadelphia to make a proper display. Still
+another obstacle. The line of merchandise that was to constitute most of
+their stock was what was then known as dry goods and domestics. This
+business was entirely in the hands of the Yankees and the most difficult
+one in which to gain a foothold, especially for a German immigrant
+without capital.
+
+However, in the end my father did go to Philadelphia. He had found
+several acquaintances in that city, as I have already said, who had been
+resident in his neighborhood in the old country. These people were
+established in several of the wholesale houses in the different lines of
+merchandise he required, except the dry goods. And solely on the
+strength of his character and the reputation he had had in Europe he was
+able to establish with them the necessary credit, which neither his
+capital nor his business experience in a new field and a strange country
+warranted. In fact, their faith in him was so strong that one of them
+gladly introduced him to the wholesale dry goods merchants, and he was
+able to accomplish the full purpose of his mission, to the great
+amazement of his partner.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: BIRTHPLACE OF OSCAR S. STRAUS OTTERBERG, RHENISH BAVARIA]
+
+[Illustration: CHAPEL AND SCHOOLHOUSE COLLINSWORTH INSTITUTE, TALBOTTON,
+GEORGIA]
+
+That was in 1853, and marked the beginning of my family's history in
+this country. This bit of success encouraged my father to write home
+that he might be able to have us join him the following year.
+Accordingly, on August 24, 1854, our little party left Otterberg. It
+was a journey that required no little courage and resourcefulness. My
+mother had three years before suffered a paralytic stroke, and of her
+four children the eldest, my brother Isidor, was only nine years old. My
+sister Hermina was a year and a half younger, Nathan was six, and I was
+only three and a half. My mother's father accompanied us from Otterberg
+to Kaiserslautern, he on horseback and the rest of us with our nursemaid
+in a carriage; we then took the train to Forbach, a French frontier
+town, where we remained overnight. The next morning we left for Paris.
+There we stayed until August 29th, when we started for Havre to board
+the steamer St. Louis on her maiden voyage. As our boat was being docked
+in New York on September 12th, my mother recognized my father
+energetically pacing the wharf. Minutes seemed like hours.
+
+We did not go directly to Talbotton. Yellow fever was raging in
+Savannah, and as we had to go through that port _en route_ to Talbotton,
+we waited in Philadelphia for a few weeks, until the danger was
+considered over. Even then we avoided entering the city until it was
+time to board the train for Geneva, where we were to take the
+stage-coach for the remaining seven miles to Talbotton. The boat docked
+at Savannah in the morning, and we spent the day until evening in the
+small shanty that was called the station. When finally we reached
+Talbotton we found a very comfortable home ready for us. My precocious
+brother Isidor immediately inspected the whole and thought it odd to be
+in a house built on stilts, as he called it. The house, typical of that
+locality, had no cellar, but was supported by an open foundation of
+wooden pillars about twenty-five feet apart.
+
+Our family was received with kindness and hospitality, so that in a
+very few years our parents were made to feel much at home. My mother,
+who had considerable experience in the cultivation of flowers and
+vegetables, soon had a garden which was very helpful and instructive to
+her circle of neighbors and friends. My father, always a student and
+well versed in biblical literature and the Bible, which he read in the
+original, was much sought by the ministers of the various denominations,
+several of whom habitually dined at our house when in Talbotton on their
+circuit. At such times the discussion usually ran along theological
+lines. One of my earliest recollections is hearing my father take
+passages from the Old Testament and translate them literally for the
+information of these ministers.
+
+We were the only Jewish family in the town. This at first aroused some
+curiosity among those who had never met persons of our race or religion
+before. I remember hearing some one doubt that we were Jews and
+remarking to my father, who had very blond hair and blue eyes, that he
+thought all Jews had black hair and dark complexion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+My brother Isidor and my sister were immediately sent to school, and my
+second brother and I were sent as soon as we arrived at school age. I
+was seven years old when I began learning my letters.
+
+My main religious instruction came from conversations with my father and
+from the discussions the ministers of various denominations had with
+him, which I always followed with great interest. When my brother Nathan
+and I were respectively about eleven and eight and a half years old, we
+were sent to the Baptist Sunday school upon the persuasion of the
+Baptist minister, who had become an intimate friend of my father's.
+There we heard the Bible read and were taught principally from the Old
+Testament. Our teacher was a gunsmith who had more piety than knowledge,
+and what he lacked in erudition he made up by good intentions which,
+after all, had a cultural value. We continued our attendance some two
+years.
+
+At eleven I entered Collinsworth Institute, a higher school for boys,
+about a mile outside of Talbotton. Isidor had been there, and Nathan was
+there then. It was not a large school, though it was the best of its
+kind in our vicinity. The recitation hall or chapel was a little frame
+building standing in a square, and around that were eight or ten
+one-story frame houses where boys coming from a distance lived. The
+pupils ranged in age from about ten to eighteen, and there were three
+teachers. We were taught the three R's, and the advanced pupils studied
+the classics.
+
+In our small town, being the county seat, we had gala days each month
+when the court convened and people came from the surrounding districts
+as for a holiday. There was much drinking of gin and whiskey by the
+young country squires, which frequently ended up in some fighting where
+pistols and knives were freely used. This all left a deep impression on
+my young mind and made me a prohibitionist long before I knew the
+meaning of the word. In the North when boys got to fighting they used
+their fists; in the South they used, besides their fists, sticks and
+stones, and consequently it was a more serious and dangerous affair. If
+in the North one boy cursed another or called him a liar, it would not
+necessarily lead to a fist fight; in fact, it usually stopped at
+recrimination. In the South that kind of quarreling meant a serious
+fight. I think because of these facts the Southern boys were much more
+guarded and polite to each other in speech than was customary among
+Northern boys. Perhaps much of the so-called Southern politeness had
+its roots in the use, in boyhood, of milder terms in case of
+disagreement. I recall one fight between two of the leading men of
+Talbotton, both deacons in the same church. One took out his pocket
+knife and cut the other's throat, and he died. After considerable delay
+the murderer was tried, but because of his high standing in the
+community he was acquitted, doubtless on the plea of self-defense, and
+he got off scot-free.
+
+As a boy brought up in the South I never questioned the rights or wrongs
+of slavery. Its existence I regarded as matter of course, as most other
+customs or institutions. The grown people of the South, whatever they
+thought about it, would not, except in rare instances, speak against it;
+and even then in the most private and guarded manner. To do otherwise
+would subject one to social ostracism. We heard it defended in the
+pulpit and justified on biblical grounds by leading ministers. With my
+father it was different. I frequently heard him discuss the subject with
+the ministers who came to our house, and he would point out to them that
+the Bible must be read with discrimination and in relation to the period
+to which the chapters refer; and it must not be forgotten that it is the
+history of a people covering more than a thousand years; and that even
+then there had been no such thing as perpetual bondage, as all slaves
+were declared free in the year of jubilee.
+
+[Illustration: OSCAR S. STRAUS AT SIX]
+
+Looking backward and making comparisons between my observations as a boy
+in the South and later in the North, I find there was much more freedom
+of expression in the North than in the South. Few people in the South
+would venture to express themselves against the current of dominant
+opinion upon matters of sectional importance. The institution of slavery
+with all that it implied seemed to have had the effect of enslaving,
+or, to use a milder term, checking, freedom of expression on the part of
+the master class only in lesser degree than among the slaves themselves.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In our town, as in all Southern communities, the better families were
+kind, especially to their household slaves, whom they regarded as
+members of the family requiring guardianship and protection, in a degree
+as if they were children. And the slaves addressed their masters by
+their first names and their mistresses as "miss." My mother, for
+instance, was "Miss Sara." I recall one of our servants pleading with my
+mother: "Miss Sara, won't you buy me, I want to stay here. I love you
+and the white folks here, and I am afraid my master will hire me out or
+sell me to some one else." At that time we hired our servants from their
+masters, whom we paid an agreed price. But as the result of such
+constant pleadings my father purchased household slaves one by one from
+their masters, although neither he nor my mother believed in slavery. If
+we children spoke to the slaves harshly or disregarded their feelings,
+we were promptly checked and reprimanded by our parents. My father also
+saw to it that our two men servants learned a trade; the one learned
+tailoring and the other how to make shoes, though it was regarded
+disloyal, at any rate looked upon with suspicion, if a master permitted
+a slave boy or girl to be taught even reading and writing. When later we
+came North we took with us the two youngest servants, one a boy about my
+age, and the other a girl a little older. They were too young to look
+out for themselves, and so far as they knew they had no relatives. We
+kept them with us until they grew up and could look out for themselves.
+
+The people throughout the South, with the exception of the richer
+plantation owners, lived simply. In our household, for instance, we
+always lived well, but economically. My mother was very systematic and
+frugal. She had an allowance of twenty dollars a month, and my brother
+Isidor has well said that she would have managed to save something even
+if it had been smaller. It was her pleasure to be her own financier, and
+small as her allowance sounds now, she was able in the course of two or
+three years to save enough to buy a piano for my sister. This she felt
+to be an expense with which my father's exchequer should not be taxed.
+
+We raised our own vegetables and chickens. Fresh meat, except pork,
+might have been termed a luxury. Many of the families had their own
+smokehouses, as we did, which were filled once a year, at the
+hog-killing season. There was no such thing as a butcher in our little
+town. When a farmer in the country round wanted to slaughter an ox or a
+sheep, he would do so and bring it to town, exhibit it in the public
+square in a shanty called the market (used for that particular occasion
+and at other times empty), toll the bell that was there, and in that way
+announce that some fresh meat was on sale. This procedure never occurred
+oftener than once in two or three weeks during the cold weather.
+
+Ice was another luxury in that community. It had to be shipped many
+miles and was therefore brought in only occasionally, mainly for a
+confectioner who at times offered ice cream to the people.
+
+There was no gas lighting. Oil lamps were used, but to a larger extent
+candles, which were manufactured in each household, of fat and bees'
+wax. In that process we children all helped.
+
+Indeed, with a small business in a small town in those days it was
+possible for a man to accumulate a surplus only through the practice of
+the strictest economy by his family as well as by himself, an economy
+almost bordering parsimony. There were no public or free schools in that
+part of the South; every textbook had to be bought and tuition paid for;
+and there were four of us.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the war broke out new economies were called for. A simple life has
+its advantages; it is conducive to self-help, also to the ability to do
+without things and meet emergencies without unhappiness. My father's
+partner joined the Fourth Georgia Regiment, and my brother Isidor, then
+sixteen, was withdrawn from Collinsworth Institute to take up work with
+my father. He had gained some experience in carrying on the business by
+helping father evenings, for our store was open until nine-thirty. It
+was closed during the supper hour, but reopened thereafter.
+
+In that part of the country coffee became unobtainable except when now
+and then a few bags arrived on a ship that had run the blockade. Our
+mothers learned to give us an acceptable substitute by cutting sweet
+potatoes into little cubes, drying them in the sun, then roasting and
+grinding them, together with grains of wheat, like the ordinary bean.
+This made a hot and palatable drink having the color of coffee without
+the harmful stimulus of its caffeine.
+
+Salt also became scarce. It was difficult and at times impossible to
+obtain enough to cure our pork. Some one discovered that the earthen
+floors of the smokehouses were impregnated with considerable salt from
+previous curings, so a method was invented for recovering it from that
+source.
+
+In the later years of the war, when railway transportation was very poor
+and in many localities interrupted, we did not suffer for food, because,
+as I have said, most households in the small towns and in the country
+raised the major part of their food supplies; they had their own
+chickens, eggs, milk, butter, garden provisions. Children of my age
+lived largely on corn bread and molasses, of which there was an
+ever-plentiful amount.
+
+During the second year of the war my father's partner was discharged
+from his regiment for physical disability. My father, always insistent
+upon the best possible education for us all, therefore urged my brother
+Isidor to continue his studies. Most of the high schools and colleges,
+however, had been suspended because the teachers, as well as many of the
+senior scholars, had joined the army. On the other hand, the war had
+fired the whole South with the military spirit, and as was natural for a
+young man barely seventeen, my brother chose to attend the Georgia
+Military Academy at Marietta, which was running full blast. Earlier in
+the war, when the Fourth Georgia Regiment, taking practically all the
+able-bodied men of the town, had left for the front, the boys of
+Talbotton organized a company of which Isidor was elected first
+lieutenant. They had offered their services to the governor of the
+State, but he replied that there were not enough arms to equip all the
+men, so that equipping boys was out of the question. All these incidents
+had influenced my brother in his choice, and he left quite
+enthusiastically for the Georgia Military Academy to take his entrance
+examinations. When he returned, however, his mood was much different.
+Upon his arrival at Marietta he had about an hour's waiting before he
+could see the proper person. Some acquaintances whom he met on the
+campus invited him to visit their living quarters meanwhile. As he
+entered one of the rooms the door stood ajar. Without noticing this he
+gave the door a push, resulting in his being drenched to the skin by a
+bucket of water that had been balanced over the door and held there by
+the position of the door when ajar. He had to return to the hotel to
+change his entire apparel. He had not heard of hazing before, and the
+incident disgusted him so that he never returned to the academy. He
+embarked upon his career as a merchant the very next morning.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In 1863 our family moved to Columbus, Georgia. It was a much larger
+place than Talbotton, having a population of about twelve thousand,
+offered more opportunities, and, too, my brother Isidor had already
+found employment there. With its broad main street and brick residences
+it looked like a great city to me.
+
+As in Talbotton, there were no public schools in Columbus, so I was sent
+to a private school kept by an Irish master named Flynn, who did not act
+on the pedagogical principle, "Spare the rod and spoil the child." By
+him I was taught the three R's and began Latin. I also experienced my
+first stage-fright at Master Flynn's, when my turn came to speak a piece
+before the entire school. In all Southern schools much emphasis was
+placed upon elocution. I well remember practicing before a mirror and
+reciting under the trees in stentorian voice with dramatic gesture the
+great oration put into John Adams's mouth by Daniel Webster, beginning:
+"Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my
+heart to this vote."
+
+After another year this school was discontinued and I was sent to one
+kept by a Dr. Dews. He was a teacher trained in the classics and far
+less severe than Flynn, more sympathetic and cultured. Under him I
+began Virgil and afterwards Horace. It was not customary to teach
+English grammar; we derived that from our laborious drilling in Latin
+grammar.
+
+There were no public libraries, and few families, other than those of
+professional men, had many books. The standard assortment consisted of
+the Bible, Josephus, Burns; some had Shakespeare's works. I do not
+recall at this period reading any book outside of those we had for study
+at school. Boys of my age led an outdoor life, indulging in seasonable
+sports which rotated from top-spinning to marbles, to ball-playing,
+principally a game called town-ball. We all had shot-guns, so that in
+season and out we went bird-hunting and rabbit-hunting.
+
+We went barefooted nine months of the year, both for comfort and
+economy. As in Talbotton we lived most economically. We were not poor in
+the sense of being needy; we never felt in any way dependent. Our home
+was comfortable, wholesome, full of sunshine and good cheer, and always
+hospitable to friends. Our wants were few and simple, so we had plenty,
+and I felt as independent as any child of the rich.
+
+We were now in the midst of the Civil War, and money, measured in gold,
+was worth about five cents per dollar. My brother Nathan seemed to be
+affected by this into constant scheming for making pocket money. He was
+fifteen years old, and out of school hours helped father in the store;
+but he seemed to be in need of more pin-money. He finally hit on a plan
+that proved quite lucrative. He collected or bought up pieces of hemp
+rope and sold them to a manufacturer. Hemp was very scarce and much
+needed. With the proceeds he bought a beautiful bay pony, which he and I
+prized more than any possession we have ever had, before or since.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the 16th of April, 1865, after a feeble skirmish on the part of the
+citizen soldiers, mainly superannuated men and schoolboys, Columbus was
+captured by General James H. Wilson at the head of a cavalry corps of
+fifteen thousand men. The war had practically ended seven days before,
+as Lee surrendered on the 9th at Appomattox Court House in Virginia; but
+as telegraph and railroad communication had been disrupted, this fact
+was not yet known in our part of Georgia. As soon as Wilson's army took
+possession of our debilitated city general confusion reigned. Looting
+began by the town rabble, led by several drunken Federal soldiers;
+cotton warehouses were burned, the contents of which represented the
+savings of many, including most of my father's; all horses were seized,
+and among them our little pony, which I never saw again, though I still
+retain a vivid picture of him in my mind's eye. Frequently since, when I
+have met that fine and accomplished old veteran, General Wilson, who is
+still among the living, hale and hearty, I have jestingly reproached him
+for taking from me the most treasured possession I ever had.
+
+This incident and others served to give me a most vivid impression of
+the closing years of the Civil War. Another very vivid impression that
+occurred shortly before the beginning of the war clings to my memory.
+Robert Toombs, one of Georgia's most conspicuous United States Senators,
+was making a speech at the Masonic Temple in Columbus, Georgia. It was a
+hot summer day. Toombs was a short, thick, heavy-set man of the
+Websterian type, and one of the South's most picturesque orators. After
+the election of Lincoln, however, Toombs advocated secession and
+resigned from the Senate, was talked of for the Confederate presidency,
+did become Confederate Secretary of State, and was later commissioned a
+brigadier-general, and commanded with distinction in numerous battles of
+the Civil War. During the speech I heard him make, he drew a large white
+handkerchief from his pocket with a flourish, and pausing before mopping
+his perspiring forehead, he exclaimed:
+
+"The Yankees will not and can not fight! I will guarantee to wipe up
+with this handkerchief every drop of blood that is spilt."
+
+Neither he nor the audience foresaw what was coming. The Civil War was a
+family affair, yet the hostility it engendered and the misconception it
+brought in its train regarding the valor, and even the standards of
+civilization, of the enemy, were as extreme and virulent as in a war
+between nations of different continents and races. Such are the
+brutalizing passions war arouses in banishing from the individual mind
+the most elementary ideas of brotherhood.
+
+When the war ended my father had to begin life anew, and because of the
+discouraging prospects and conditions of the South he decided to move
+North. In the North, too, he could more readily dispose of the remainder
+of his cotton, his chief asset, to pay off debts which he owed in New
+York and Philadelphia for goods purchased before the war. With the few
+thousand dollars remaining after paying these debts, and with good
+credit, he thought he could begin some new business in a small way.
+
+Simultaneously with our arrival in Philadelphia my brother Isidor
+arrived in New York from Europe, where he had gone two years before as
+secretary of a commission to buy supplies for the State of Georgia. The
+blockade of the Southern ports became so effective that ships could not
+get through, so that he did not succeed in getting over the supplies;
+but he made several thousand dollars in the sale of Confederate bonds.
+Upon learning in New York that we were in Philadelphia, he immediately
+came there to find out my father's plans. He persuaded father that New
+York, as the chief market, was preferable to Philadelphia as a secondary
+one. Consequently we moved to New York, and father and Isidor, together
+with Nathan, planned to establish themselves in the wholesale crockery
+business. Isidor, twenty years old, first used part of his fortune to
+buy for my mother a high-stoop, three-story brick house at 220 West
+Forty-Ninth Street, now long since torn down, but which we occupied for
+over eighteen years.
+
+It was fully six months before the new business venture was launched. My
+father depended for his part of the capital upon the sale of the
+remainder of his cotton, which had been shipped to Liverpool, and this
+was not effected until early in 1866. In the intervening months he
+visited his creditors in New York to arrange for paying his debts. In
+this connection I remember one significant incident: His principal New
+York creditor was the dry goods house of George Bliss & Co., to whom he
+owed an amount between four and five thousand dollars. (Bliss afterward
+became a member of the banking firm of Morton, Bliss & Co.) When he
+called regarding the payment of this, Mr. Bliss asked how old he was,
+what family he had, and what he intended doing. My father answered that
+he was fifty-seven, that he had a wife and four children, and that he
+hoped to make a new start in the wholesale crockery business. "I don't
+think you are fair to your family and yourself," said Mr. Bliss, "to
+deprive yourself of the slender means you tell me you possess by paying
+out your available resources. I will compromise with you for less than
+the full amount in view of the hardships of the war and your family
+obligations."
+
+My father had a very high sense of honor and was always more concerned
+in maintaining it beyond possible reproach than in making money. Some
+parents forget that they cannot successfully live by one standard
+outside and another inside the home, and many never realize that
+children are influenced not so much by the preaching as by the true and
+real spirit of their parents. My father believed that "a good name is
+better than riches," and within the home or without he lived up to that
+standard. I clearly remember the impression I received of his integrity
+at the time of this Bliss incident, and of a certain feeling of
+compunction on the part of his creditor, as though he had expected
+something different. Most Southern merchants regarded themselves morally
+freed from paying Northern creditors because the Confederate government
+had confiscated such debts and compelled the debtors to pay the amounts
+to the government. But my father held true to his standard, and I well
+remember his parting words to Bliss that day: "I propose to pay my debts
+in full and leave to my children a good name even if I should leave them
+nothing else."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+My brother Isidor, always my guide, philosopher, and friend, now
+arranged for my schooling. In my geography textbook was a picture of
+Columbia College, and I had the fixed idea that when we came to New York
+I wanted to go there. On inquiry we learned that I was too young, for I
+was only fourteen and a half, and that I had not the requirements for
+admission. So in the autumn of 1865 Isidor had me enter Columbia Grammar
+School, then one of the best schools in the city. It was my first
+experience in a really first-rate school, and the teaching was so much
+more thorough and exact than my previous training had been that it
+seemed to me I had to learn everything anew. The tuition fee and the
+cost of books was considerable, in view of the modest income of the
+family; but my father, economical in all other respects, was liberal
+beyond his means where the education of his children was concerned. My
+brother, moreover, was desirous that I should have the advantages of the
+college training which circumstances, notably the war, had withheld from
+him.
+
+I appreciated to the full the privileges I was permitted to enjoy and
+studied with all my might. The school regulations required that parents
+fill out a blank each week stating, among other things, the number of
+hours we studied at home. The average number of hours daily reported
+were three or four, and as my record was fully double that, I felt
+rather ashamed to give the true number, so I always gave less. The
+school was on Fourth Avenue and Twenty-Seventh Street, and our home on
+Forty-Ninth Street was near Eighth Avenue. I invariably walked both
+ways, saving car fares and at the same time conserving my health, for
+aside from a half-hour of gymnastics twice a week in school I had
+neither time nor opportunity otherwise to get the exercise my body
+required.
+
+Owing to the careless preparation I had received at the schools in the
+South, I made a poor showing in spite of my hard work now, though on one
+occasion I shone with accidental glory. It was the custom for the
+instructor to put the same question to pupil after pupil, and to elevate
+the one who gave the correct answer to the head of the class. In this
+instance, it so happened that I gave the fortunate answer and thus
+qualified for the seat of scholastic eminence. As I sat there enjoying a
+near view of the teacher's countenance, I wondered how long I should
+remain thus distinguished, and was unable to resist the impulse to cast
+an occasional backward glance at the rows of seats in the rear.
+
+At about this time, an elderly gentleman of distinguished appearance
+entered the classroom. He was S. F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph.
+Morse, whose grandson was in my class, knowing the custom and observing
+me in the seat of honor, complimented me. He observed that I, like
+himself, had a large head in comparison with the body, and remarked that
+I must be a bright boy. But I felt embarrassed rather than gratified at
+the praise, for I knew, and so did the rest, that I did not deserve it.
+I still recall that scene, and see the venerable old man, then
+seventy-five years old, with the long white beard that made him look
+even older.
+
+When the time came, in the spring of 1867, for our class to go up for
+college examination, the Rev. Dr. Bacon, successor as principal of the
+school to Charles Anthon, the distinguished classical scholar and editor
+of classical works, called the boys of our class before him and gave us
+each a blessing with some encouraging words. When my turn came he was
+very kind, telling me he knew I had tried hard, but because of my early
+training, or lack of it, he feared I might not pass. I saw my chances of
+a college education go glimmering. There were, however, still two weeks
+before the examinations, and I determined to use those for all they were
+worth. I worked night and day, cramming with a vengeance. I felt I could
+not expect my father to keep me in school another year when after two
+years of preparation I had shown myself so deficient. That thought was
+my spur, though in point of fact I am sure both my brother Isidor and my
+father, realizing I had done the best I could, would have insisted upon
+my taking another year for preparation.
+
+The result of my entrance examinations was more favorable than I could
+have hoped. It turned out that I was the only one from our grammar
+school class to pass in all subjects without a single condition. It was
+luck rather than brilliancy. The professor who examined my classmates in
+ancient geography, being the author of the book upon which the
+examination was held, was so meticulous that unless the student gave the
+answer exactly as in the book he was marked deficient. By the time it
+came my turn to be examined another and more generous-minded professor
+had taken his place and passed me with the highest mark. The others, who
+had all flunked, regarded me, in their own language, as "the lucky dog."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+My college course began on October 7, 1867. Here I did not find the
+studies hard. I had ample leisure for reading and took full advantage of
+the college library, from which we were free to select and take home
+whatever books we desired. Then, as now, I cared little for fiction. To
+me the literature of facts was more interesting and therefore lighter
+reading, and I read much biography and history.
+
+Our class matriculated fifty-two, but dwindled down to thirty-one by
+graduation. In the class were Brander Matthews, now professor of
+literature at Columbia as well as literary and dramatic critic; Robert
+Fulton Cutting, financier and ideal citizen, descendant of an old and
+famous New York family, as his name indicates; Stuyvesant Fish, banker,
+also of a well-known New York family, whose father, Hamilton Fish, was
+Secretary of State in the Grant Cabinet, and whose grandfather and
+father both were among Columbia alumni; and Henry Van Rensselaer, who
+became a Jesuit father and is now no longer among the living.
+
+At the commemoration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
+founding of the college three of us--Robert Fulton Cutting, Brander
+Matthews, and myself--received the honorary degree of LL.D. At this
+writing, fifty years after graduation, there are but ten of us
+remaining.
+
+The most coveted honors in those days were to be had for literary
+achievement and class rank. Among the few prizes was one known as the
+Alumni Prize, awarded to the most deserving student in the graduating
+class. The college board nominated for that honor William Henry Sage,
+now our class historian, Joseph Fenelon Vermilye, and myself; and the
+class elected Vermilye for the prize.
+
+Athletics had not attained the vogue it has in American universities
+to-day, and was particularly absent in our college, confined then to a
+city block. Doubtless due to this lack the boys of our class, on the
+whole a spirited and boisterous lot, found self-expression in a
+disregard for proper decorum in the lecture rooms. There was one period
+where this was conspicuously the case. The subject was Evidences of
+Christianity. It was compulsory and along denominational lines. It did
+not interest many of the boys, and some of those who were not
+Episcopalians even resented it; to boot, the professor, Rev. Dr.
+McVickar, was a mild-mannered man, entirely unable to maintain
+discipline. The result was frequent and various disturbances during the
+sessions of his class, which often put the good-natured and
+unsophisticated man at his wits' end. He complained to the college
+board, and President Barnard took the matter up with some seriousness,
+but no real appeasement.
+
+I felt great sympathy for Dr. McVickar, for he was earnest and gentle,
+and took much to heart the conduct of the men in his class. Of course,
+in common with most of my classmates I strongly favored that the
+subject be elective instead of compulsory; yet I realized that, as
+colleges were then constituted, the original Columbia being largely an
+Episcopalian foundation, there was a legal right, as distinguished from
+reason, for the requirement that the course in Evidences of Christianity
+be compulsory.
+
+One day when the disturbances became most flagrant, and the poor
+professor was really quite helpless, I ventured to point out to him how
+he might bring about order. He received my suggestion most favorably, so
+I asked him to let me take his chair for a few moments. I made a brief
+appeal to the class, reminding them that we were now seniors, and that
+there were some, especially those intending to study for the ministry,
+who were interested in the subject and prevented from following it by
+the boisterous behavior of the rest. I was jeeringly dubbed Professor
+Straus, but I went right on. I said I knew there were a number who were
+opposed to the study of Evidences of Christianity, and I proposed that
+they rise. To those who got up I gave permission to leave the room, and
+as I recall it, there were some eight or ten left. Then I turned to Dr.
+McVickar and said, "Here is a class you can teach." And the session went
+on smoothly enough. Subsequently a petition was drawn up and signed by a
+large majority of the class, asking that we be excused from examinations
+in this particular subject; but President Barnard replied that the
+request could not be entertained.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the whole my four years at college were full of serious effort and
+not altogether free from anxiety. I had a restless ambition to have a
+useful career and it seemed difficult to discover for what I was best
+fitted. For a while, in those dreamy days, I even believed I might
+achieve some measure of success as a poet. I recall with a smile that
+the choice for class poet at commencement lay between Brander Matthews,
+whom we then knew as James Brander Matthews, and myself. And for some
+reason, which posterity will doubtless find even more difficult to
+fathom than I have, I was chosen. Matthews had already given evidence of
+his literary talents; he contributed much to the college papers, and
+wrote humorous poems. However, at our graduation exercises held in the
+Academy of Music, Fourteenth Street and Irving Place, the city's largest
+auditorium then, my class poem was well received by a capacity audience
+of proud parents and sympathetic friends. I had gravely entitled it
+"Truth and Error."
+
+A more fervent aspiration held by me in those years was to devote my
+life to the nation, and I could conceive no better way of doing so than
+to enter the army. One day I saw an item in the press that President
+Grant had several appointments to make to the United States Military
+Academy. I consulted with Dr. F. A. P. Barnard, president of Columbia,
+and he gave me a letter of introduction to Grant, highly commending me
+for an appointment. When President Grant came to New York I called on
+him. He received me very kindly, but informed me that he had only
+something like eight appointments allowed him by law, and he had decided
+to give them where possible to the sons of officers who had been killed
+in the war; if, however, there were not enough such candidates he would
+be glad to give me a chance. I told him I thoroughly agreed that his
+decision was so appropriate that I would not even ask to be appointed
+under the circumstances.
+
+[Illustration: OSCAR S. STRAUS
+
+At the time of his graduation]
+
+During the second half of my senior year I finally chose the law as
+my vocation. I preferred it to a business career because I disliked the
+idea of devoting my life to mere money-making, as business appeared to
+me then. My outlook was idealistic rather than practical, and to
+harmonize it with the workaday world caused me much mental anguish and
+struggle, as it does many a young man, even where affluent fortune has
+smiled. However, my father and brother had begun to prosper and had no
+need for my coöperation unless on my own account I chose to join them.
+Besides, I was the youngest and had the benefit of the brotherly
+interest and economic protection of Isidor and Nathan, should I need it.
+This gave me a feeling of security, and encouraged me to put forth my
+best efforts not only to succeed for myself, but to show my appreciation
+to them. Where, under moderate circumstances, a family puts forth
+coöperative effort in making its way forward, closer family ties result,
+with the advantages of stimulating unselfishness and common devotion,
+which in turn promote a happiness that members of richer families often
+miss because of their more independent relations.
+
+So I prepared to enter Columbia Law School in the fall of 1871.
+Meanwhile that summer I took my first vacation since coming to New York.
+I went to Wyoming Valley, near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where I had a
+good time despite the farmer with whom I boarded. Perhaps I had no right
+to expect much for the five dollars a week I paid him; but whatever I
+expected I know I got less. However, there were fish in the brooks and I
+do not recall that I starved. I had spent other summers assisting in
+some branch of my father's business, not because I relished work unduly,
+but because I regarded it less as labor than as diversion. It was
+interesting and useful activity which gave me an understanding of
+business that was valuable later in following my chosen profession.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+LAW, BUSINESS, AND LETTERS
+
+     Columbia Law School--Impressions of the faculty--I begin law
+     practice--Early partnerships--A $10,000 fee--Founding of the Young
+     Men's Hebrew Association in 1874--The "dissipations" of a law
+     partner--The Hepburn Committee on railway rates; my partner Simon
+     Sterne represents the Chamber of Commerce--On the bridle-path with
+     Joseph H. Choate--I become a member of L. Straus & Sons,
+     manufacturers and importers--My marriage to Miss Sarah
+     Lavanburg--My début in politics--The Cleveland-Blaine campaign--The
+     "rum, Romanism, and rebellion" episode--"Origin of the Republican
+     Form of Government," my first book--Recommended as minister to
+     Turkey; Henry Ward Beecher writes the President--Cleveland
+     nominates me minister to Turkey.
+
+
+Columbia Law School in 1871 was at Lafayette Place. The course covered
+two years, at the end of which a successful examination entitled a
+student to admission to the bar without a further State examination, and
+for those who gave serious attention to the course it was an easy matter
+to pass this finishing examination.
+
+Particularly worthy of mention with regard to the school are Professors
+Theodore W. Dwight and Francis Lieber. Professor Dwight, the able
+director of the school at that time, well deserved his great reputation
+as the most distinguished teacher of law in the country. He was not only
+a master of his subject, but had a marvelous gift for imparting his
+great knowledge.
+
+Professor Lieber, whose lectures we attended once a week, taught us
+political science. He was a Prussian veteran who fought in the Battle of
+Waterloo. At the close of the Napoleonic Wars he had returned to his
+studies in Berlin, and thereafter was arrested several times for his
+outspoken liberal views. After frequent persecution and even
+imprisonment, he fled to England, and in 1827 came to America.
+
+He was author of many books on legal and political matters, among them
+"Civil Liberty and Self-Government," which was adopted as a textbook in
+several of our universities. In 1863 he prepared "Instructions for the
+Government of Armies of the United States, in the Field," which Lincoln
+promulgated as Order No. 100 of the War Department. It was a masterly
+piece of work, embodying advanced humanitarian principles, and it later
+formed the basis of several European codes.
+
+As a rule, egotism and real merit negate one another rather than
+coördinate; Lieber was the exception. He had both, and combined them to
+a marked degree, sometimes in a manner that afforded amusement to his
+students. For instance, he referred continuously to "my Civil Liberty"
+as a book of extraordinary erudition, new in its field and the last word
+on the matter. He was so full of his subject that he was apt to lose
+himself and stray off, with his distinctly German accent, into the vast
+field of his profound philosophical and historical knowledge. A
+veritable encyclopædia of information, he was really more of an
+expounder than a teacher. As his course was optional, those who came to
+listen came to learn, and we received a larger view of the function of
+law in civil society than we derived from all our studies of municipal
+law.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I was graduated from law school in June, 1873, and immediately entered
+the offices of Ward, Jones & Whitehead, one of New York's prominent
+firms. John E. Ward, the senior member, who presided over the Democratic
+National Convention that nominated Buchanan, and later served for two or
+three years as Minister to China, was a friend of my brother's, and he
+took me into his office largely out of friendship for Isidor.
+
+I remained with this firm only a few months. Later in 1873 I formed a
+partnership with James A. Hudson, a man about ten years older than I,
+who had also been associated with the Ward firm. As Hudson & Straus we
+opened offices on the fourth floor of 59 Wall Street.
+
+On the same floor in this building was the office of Charles O'Conor,
+then the acknowledged head of the American Bar. He had practically
+retired, but retained a small office of one or two rooms, with one
+clerk. He came in only two or three times a week. Often when he felt
+fatigued he would rest on a lounge in a room set apart as library in our
+office. For a young lawyer like myself it was an unusual privilege to
+have such pleasant personal relations with so able and wise a leader in
+the profession. Incidentally I think O'Conor was instrumental in sending
+us our first important case, the collection of an old debt of
+considerable size. We were so successful for our client that, of his own
+accord, he sent us a check for ten thousand dollars, saying he would
+make it larger if we regarded it insufficient. The fact was, the amount
+was larger than we had thought of charging, and we frankly told him so.
+With five thousand dollars in reserve I felt rich and independent. My
+wants were naturally simple and our general practice was encouraging.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At about this time I first became active in public-spirited
+undertakings. The Young Men's Christian Association a few years before
+had opened its Twenty-Third Street Branch at the corner of Fourth Avenue
+and Twenty-Third Street, and the movement on the whole was getting much
+publicity and proving very successful in its work among young men. But
+it was an institution for Christians, and it occurred to several of
+us--as I remember it, there were two of my fellow members of the bar,
+Meyer S. Isaacs and Isaac S. Isaacs; Dr. Simeon N. Leo, Solomon B.
+Solomon, and myself--that it would be a useful undertaking if we
+organized a Young Men's Hebrew Association for the cultural and
+intellectual advancement of Jewish young men. After a few preliminary
+meetings we launched our project early in 1874. We rented a house in the
+vicinity of Nineteenth or Twentieth Street and began in a very modest
+way. Our first entertainment was of a purely literary nature, and I
+recollect on that occasion addressing the members of the infant
+enterprise on the subject of literary clubs, ancient and modern, from
+the time of Socrates and Plato to the days of the coffee houses of
+Addison, Steele, and Goldsmith. The Y.M.H.A. subsequently had its years
+of struggle for existence, but to-day its place in our cities as an
+influence for the development of culture and patriotism is assured, as
+well as that of its sister organization of later birth, the Young
+Women's Hebrew Association.
+
+I had chosen the law as my profession, but I still wrote verse, and in
+the decade following my graduation published several pieces. At one
+memorable event I was invited to deliver an original poem. It was in
+1875, at a large fair in Gilmore's Garden, the predecessor of the
+present Madison Square Garden. The fair was held to raise funds toward
+the erection of a new building for the Mount Sinai Hospital, and the
+immense auditorium was crowded. Samuel J. Tilden, then Governor of New
+York and also prospective Democratic nominee for President, made the
+opening address. My poetic possibilities, however, rested more upon
+aspiration than inspiration, and my craving for versification was but a
+passing phase of my literary activities.
+
+About 1876 we removed our office to the New York Life Building, then, as
+now, at 346 Broadway, corner of Leonard Street. Our clientèle was
+mostly commercial and this neighborhood seemed more convenient. Our
+neighbors at the new location were Chamberlain, Carter & Eaton, a
+prominent commercial law firm of which Charles E. Hughes subsequently
+became a member.
+
+A few years later we took into our firm Simon Sterne, then one of the
+brilliant younger members of the bar, and our firm became Sterne, Hudson
+& Straus. But Hudson wanted to devote himself to patent law, in which he
+had specialized somewhat, so the firm soon changed again to Sterne,
+Straus & Thompson. Daniel G. Thompson had been our managing clerk. He
+had an attractive personality and a philosophical temperament, but was
+more a psychologist than a lawyer. He was author of several works on the
+science and history of psychology which were favorably received and
+commended by such men as Herbert Spencer and other high authorities in
+both Europe and America. These qualities made him a target for the
+sarcasm of Sterne, who, on the other hand, was thoroughly the lawyer. On
+one occasion I remember Sterne asking me whether I knew Thompson was
+dissipating. I expressed surprise, and Sterne went on: "Certainly he is,
+for when he goes home he works till all hours of the night writing
+psychology, and naturally next day he comes with an exhausted brain to
+his legal work. He might better go on a spree, for one gets over that.
+But when one buries one's self in such an exacting science he is lost
+for the law, which is a jealous mistress and will not bear a rival."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Under the name of Sterne, Straus & Thompson we had a practice that
+ranged all the way from the collection of debts to questions affecting
+street railways and public utilities. Our old firm had a business like
+that of most young lawyers, but Sterne's practice was much more
+important, his field being mainly banking and railroads. Sterne, in
+fact, was rapidly achieving a reputation as an authority in the State on
+railways and railway legislation. At that time there was no Interstate
+Commerce Commission. Many New York merchants were complaining, through
+the New York Chamber of Commerce and the New York Board of Trade and
+Transportation, that the railroads were discriminating and giving to
+certain shippers much lower rates than to others, also giving preference
+to some in the moving of freight. In 1879 the Legislature finally
+appointed a committee of eight men to investigate these charges. A.
+Barton Hepburn, member of the Assembly from St. Lawrence County, was
+made chairman, causing the committee always thereafter to be referred to
+as the Hepburn Committee. Sterne represented the Chamber of Commerce and
+the Board of Trade in this investigation.
+
+The committee sat intermittently for about nine months. The railroads
+had a brilliant array of legal talent, but Sterne elicited testimony
+from them which proved the charges of the merchants. Sterne then drafted
+the report of the committee, which included several recommendations for
+legislation. It was the first impressive and well-directed attempt to
+deal with the regulation of transportation companies, and resulted in
+the passage, in 1880, of the bill creating the first Board of Railroad
+Commissioners. Later, in 1887, the influence of this work was still
+alive in connection with legislation for the creation of the Federal
+Interstate Commerce Commission. The business of our firm did not exactly
+benefit by this public service of Sterne. As a result of his public
+activities and settlement of litigation, such railway clients as we had
+were lost to us at about this time.
+
+At this point in my career I have the fond recollection of a dear and
+intimate friendship, which continued for several years, with Joseph H.
+Choate, of the firm of Evarts, Southmayd & Choate. We used to ride
+horseback together in the park before breakfast. This intimacy naturally
+was very valuable to me. We discussed all manner of topics, not only
+affecting our profession, but touching many public matters and the
+philosophy of life and living in general. In these morning hours, with
+the exhilaration of our ride, Mr. Choate was always full of fun and good
+humor. He was the most sought after person for addressing all important
+public functions, and frequently he would outline the substance of his
+addresses. Speaking one day of the many demands upon him as a speaker,
+he remarked that he appeared to be in the fashion just then, but, like
+wall-paper, fashions change, and it was not likely to last long. In his
+case, however, the fashion lasted, even increased, until his death in
+1917.
+
+My major law work was in the most exacting and nerve-racking branch, the
+trying of cases. My general physical condition, though never robust, was
+none the less good, but I had not learned what one is more apt to
+acquire later in life: to conserve my energies. The result was that the
+wear and tear of court work reduced my weight to one hundred and five
+pounds. My physician strongly advised me to do less exacting work, and
+especially to stop trying cases. As this branch of the law appealed to
+me most, it was a grave disappointment to have to abandon it. Rather
+than continue in the profession with such an inhibition, therefore, I
+yielded to the advice of my father and brother to join their firm.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I took a vacation of several months, and upon my return early in 1881 I
+became a member of L. Straus & Sons, who had become large manufacturers
+and importers of china and glassware. On account of the growing business
+they really needed my services, and my transition from professional to
+business man was made as acceptable and agreeable as possible. As was to
+be expected, I continued for some time to long for "the fleshpots of
+Egypt," for I was much attached to my profession. As a compensation, and
+to satisfy my intellectual longings, I devoted my evenings and spare
+time to historical reading and study.
+
+Having embarked on a business career, I reversed a decision that I made
+while practicing law. As a lawyer I had taken very seriously and
+literally the saying that "the law is a jealous mistress." I was her
+devoted slave, quite willingly so, and I determined never to marry. I
+was economically independent as a single man and could devote my time to
+the law for its own sake. This I preferred to do, as the idealist that I
+was, rather than pursue the law for economic reasons first and for its
+own sake as much as possible secondarily, which I felt would have to be
+the case if I married. But as a business man things were different, and
+I decided now to marry.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On January 22, 1882, I became engaged to Sarah, only daughter of Louis
+and Hannah Seller Lavanburg, and we were married on the 19th of April
+following, at the home of her parents on West Forty-Sixth Street, near
+Fifth Avenue. At the wedding dinner, to which had come hosts of our
+friends and acquaintances, Joaquin Miller, poet of the Sierras, as he
+was called, read a poem which he composed for the event. The manuscript
+I think is still in my possession.
+
+In the year of my marriage I also made my début in politics. I was
+secretary of the Executive Committee of an independent group organized
+for the reëlection of William R. Grace as mayor of New York. The
+distinguished lawyer, Frederick R. Coudert, was chairman of that
+committee. Grace had been a Tammany mayor and given the city a good
+business administration--so good and so independent that Tammany refused
+to nominate him for a second term. On the independent ticket Grace had a
+large Republican as well as the independent Democratic support, and was
+duly elected.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I next took part in the Cleveland-Blaine campaign. In 1884 we formed in
+New York City the Cleveland and Hendricks Merchants' and Business Men's
+Association, of which I was secretary of the executive committee, and we
+coöperated with the Democratic National Committee, Senator Arthur P.
+Gorman, chairman, whose headquarters were at the old Fifth Avenue Hotel,
+corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-Third Street. We organized a parade
+and marched forty thousand strong from lower Broadway to Thirty-Fourth
+Street. It was the first time business men had ever been organized along
+political lines.
+
+All who remember this campaign know what an exciting and close battle it
+was. The dramatic event which doubtless put the balance in Cleveland's
+favor was the speech of the Rev. Dr. Samuel D. Burchard, a Presbyterian
+minister of New York, at Republican headquarters. A few days before the
+election the Republican managers had called what they termed a
+ministers' meeting, to which came some six hundred clergymen of all
+denominations to meet Mr. Blaine. Dr. Burchard, noted as an orator, was
+to speak, followed by Mr. Blaine. In concluding his address, Dr.
+Burchard evidently lost control of his dignity, for he stigmatized the
+Democratic Party as the party of "rum, Romanism, and rebellion." In the
+face of the great efforts the Republican Party had made, with some
+measure of success, to secure the Roman Catholic vote, this denunciation
+gave a big opportunity to the Democrats. Furthermore, Blaine, keen a
+politician as he was, failed immediately to repudiate the remark.
+
+I was present at Democratic headquarters when the reporter who had been
+sent to this meeting returned. Senator Gorman asked him to read from his
+shorthand notes, and when he came to the expression, "rum, Romanism, and
+rebellion," Gorman at once said, "Write that out." The Democratic
+managers saw their chance. Quickly the whole country was placarded with
+posters headed "R.R.R.," with all sorts of variations and additions of
+the original phrase. In the end it was the New York vote that determined
+the victory for the Democrats, and doubtless because of the influence
+the words of Dr. Burchard had had upon Roman Catholic voters.
+
+When the election returns were in, Cleveland had won by only 1047 votes.
+Because of the closeness of the vote in New York the Republicans did not
+at first concede the victory. Among the Democrats, on the other hand,
+there was a great feeling of bitterness and nervous apprehension lest an
+effort be made to make it a Republican victory, as was the case in 1876
+when the uncertain returns were decided by an electoral commission,
+which, to the disappointment of many, made its decision on party lines.
+Jay Gould, who controlled the telegraph lines, was accused by the
+Democrats of holding back returns.
+
+The Merchants' and Business Men's Association promptly organized a large
+meeting in the Academy of Music, to proclaim and celebrate Cleveland's
+election. August Belmont, Sr., as chairman, presided, and I, as
+secretary, presented the resolutions. We had invited the most prominent
+speakers we could get, and there were Henry Ward Beecher, Daniel
+Dougherty of Philadelphia, Algernon S. Sullivan, among others. I
+distinctly recall a humorous and cryptic remark of Beecher's address
+that day: "If the chair is too small, make it larger"--referring to
+Cleveland's avoirdupois and the claim that he did not fit in the
+presidential chair. The note of victory, and the determination to stand
+by that victory at all costs, had a reassuring effect throughout the
+country.
+
+When the campaign was over I was told by a member of the National
+Committee that if there was any political office to which I aspired, the
+Committee would be glad to further any ambition I might have; but I
+replied my only wish was that Cleveland live up to the political
+principles which had brought him the support of so many independent or
+"mugwump" voters and so made possible his election.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the winter of 1883-84 the Young Men's Hebrew Association invited
+me to speak in their course of lectures. I was to choose my own subject.
+They had hired Chickering Hall, at Fifth Avenue and Fifteenth Street, a
+large lecture hall in those days, and as great importance was being
+attached to the occasion I naturally put my best foot forward in the
+preparation of my material. I chose as my theme "The Origin of the
+Republican Form of Government." In it I traced the rise of democracy, in
+contradistinction to monarchy, from the Hebrew Commonwealth as expounded
+in the Old Testament and interpreted by the early Puritans of New
+England, especially in their "election sermons," which were of a
+politico-religious character and were delivered annually before the
+legislatures of the various New England colonies.
+
+There was a huge audience, and the next morning the press gave very
+generous reports of the address. It attracted the attention of various
+ministers in Brooklyn, and subsequently I was asked to repeat it before
+the Long Island Historical Society, in that city. There I had an amusing
+experience. In the course of the talk I quoted ideas similar to mine
+that had been advanced over a hundred years before by Thomas Paine in
+his "Common Sense," and I referred to the high estimates of Paine held
+by Washington, Monroe, Dr. Rush, and others of the time. I refrained
+from expressing opinions of my own, contenting myself with a reference
+to those of the fathers of the Republic. Suddenly, however, several
+ministers left the hall, protesting that they had not come to hear a
+eulogy on Paine.
+
+Later I developed this address, under its original title, and published
+it in book form. The first edition came out in 1885. The appearance of a
+first book is quite an event in one's life, especially when it is well
+received among critics and by the press. At any rate, it seemed like a
+landmark in my own life. Historical writers referred to it as a distinct
+contribution to our historical literature, and I felt that so far as the
+pen was concerned I had discovered this branch of writing to be my forte
+rather than poetry. After all, historical writing is no less imaginative
+than poetry. Without the use of imagination history is lifeless and a
+dry record of facts instead of literature.
+
+A second impression of the book was issued in 1887, and in 1901 a second
+and revised edition was published. A French edition had appeared
+simultaneously in Paris and Brussels, 1890, translated by M. Emile de
+Laveleye, eminent Belgian publicist and professor at the University of
+Liége, and containing an introductory essay by him. This essay was
+translated into English and embodied in the 1901 American edition. Since
+then additional impressions of this revised edition have appeared. I
+might mention that on the strength of this book I was admitted to
+membership in the Authors' Club, in 1888.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the fall of the year following the original publication of my first
+book I chanced to meet Senator Gorman of Maryland in the Palmer House,
+Chicago, where we both happened to be stopping--he on his return from a
+trip to the Far West, and I on an important business errand. He told me
+he and his son had read my book on their trip, and that he had not in a
+long time read a book with so much valuable information in it and giving
+such a clear view of the sources and early growth of our form of
+government. We naturally talked of matters political, and he reminded me
+of an earlier conversation he had had with me since Cleveland's
+election, stating that Mr. Cox--S.S. Cox--our minister to Turkey, had or
+was about to resign, and that he would like to recommend me to President
+Cleveland for appointment in Cox's place. He thought at the same time it
+might enable me to make further studies along the lines of my book.
+
+The idea was a complete surprise to me. As I have mentioned, I had no
+thought of entering public life. My political activities had been
+limited to the part I took in the re-election of Mayor Grace and the
+Cleveland-Blaine, campaign. Even had I been ambitious for a political
+position I should never have ventured application for a diplomatic post,
+for I had never given much attention to our foreign relations. Besides,
+I had been in business only a few years, I was married and had two small
+daughters; everything considered, I felt I could not afford to leave my
+affairs to go abroad.
+
+Upon returning to New York I conferred with my father and brothers, and
+their attitude changed my views somewhat. They generously offered to see
+that my interests should not suffer, and gave me every encouragement to
+entertain Senator Gorman's suggestion. I could not possibly have further
+considered the subject without this generosity on their part. My
+obligations to my family did not permit the expenditure of several times
+my salary, required in a position of this kind. The salary of minister
+to Turkey had been reduced to seven thousand five hundred dollars,
+though it was subsequently restored to ten thousand; and in order to
+live properly he had to rent a winter house in the capital and a summer
+house outside, or live in hotels as Mr. Cox, and his predecessor,
+General Lew Wallace, did. General Wallace was restricted to his salary
+and felt compelled to decline the invitations of his colleagues because
+he was not in position to reciprocate. (His "Ben Hur," by the way, he
+had written before his sojourn in the East, and not afterward as is
+often supposed.)
+
+Senator Gorman was not finally able to make the recommendation he had
+proposed. His relations with the President became strained, so that
+recommendations for appointments coming from him were not regarded with
+favor by Cleveland. Gorman told me as much when we met subsequently, but
+advised me to use such influence as I might command in other directions.
+
+I presently spoke of it to an old friend of my days in the law, B.
+Franklin Einstein, who was counsel for the "New York Times" and the
+personal adviser of George Jones, its proprietor. Einstein suggested
+that I speak with Jones about it, and this I did. Jones encouraged me
+and said he would be glad to help. He said he had read my book and felt
+sure I would give a good account of myself and be a credit to the
+administration; that he had never asked any favor of the administration
+and felt justified in asking Cleveland to make the appointment. The
+"Times" had been an independent Republican paper, but in the campaign of
+1884 it came out for Cleveland.
+
+I also conferred with Carl Schurz, with whom I stood on intimate terms,
+and with John Foord, another friend. In the early eighties we used to
+have a lunch club that met about once in two weeks at a little French
+restaurant, August Sieghortner's, at 32 Lafayette Place, now Lafayette
+Street, in a house that had been a former residence of one of the
+Astors. We used to discuss various political and reform matters--the
+"mugwump" movement, the Cleveland campaigns, or what not. There were ten
+or twelve of us, and Carl Schurz was one; the late Charles R. Miller,
+who was for many years the leading editorial writer of the "Times," was
+another; and John Foord, whose death by accident occurred in Washington
+only a few days ago as I write, was another. Foord was then
+editor-in-chief of the "Times." He took up my appointment with both
+President Cleveland and Secretary of State Bayard. Schurz encouraged me
+and said he would speak to Oswald Ottendorfer about having me appointed.
+Ottendorfer, proprietor of the "New Yorker Staatszeitung," was a client
+of our law firm and knew me well. Subsequently I saw him and he wrote to
+Cleveland strongly recommending the appointment.
+
+Cleveland was favorably enough impressed, but he hesitated. He said our
+chief concern in Turkey was the protection of American missionary
+interests, and he would not like to appoint any one to this particular
+mission who might be objected to by the two principal missionary
+bodies--the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and the
+Presbyterian Board of Missions.
+
+It happened that on a return trip from Washington about this time my
+brother Isidor met A. S. Barnes, prominent textbook publisher and a
+member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, to
+whom also I was quite well known. He had been in frequent consultation
+with our law firm when we represented the City of Brooklyn in its suit
+against the Atlantic Avenue Railroad to compel the road to sink its
+tracks, in which suit, as one of Brooklyn's public-spirited citizens, he
+was much interested. He was sympathetic toward me and brought the
+subject of my appointment before his missionary board, with the result
+that its Prudential Committee wrote a letter to the President expressing
+fullest approval of my appointment, suggesting only that I be asked not
+to hold receptions on the Sabbath, as one of my predecessors had done to
+the great disapproval of the missionaries and all Protestant Christians
+in Constantinople. Even without this intimation I would quite naturally
+have refrained from offending the religious sensibilities of my
+nationals at that post.
+
+The representatives of all the Protestant churches who had interests in
+Turkey were most generous in favoring the appointment when they learned
+that I was being considered for that mission. The most admired and best
+beloved American preacher of his time, Henry Ward Beecher, of Plymouth
+Church, Brooklyn, heard of it through Mr. O. A. Gager, one of the
+trustees of his church; also that there was some diffidence about my
+actual selection because of my religion. He immediately wrote the
+President a beautiful and characteristic letter, urging my appointment.
+The original of this letter, now in my possession, was given to me by
+Governor Porter, first assistant Secretary of State.
+
+With my wife I had gone to Atlantic City for a few days, to recuperate
+from a cold, when on March 24, 1887, I received telegrams from friends
+all over the country congratulating me on my appointment as minister to
+Turkey. The papers of the day announced it, and the "New York Times"
+published the Beecher letter just referred to.
+
+To the press of the country my appointment was of added interest because
+of the Keiley incident of two years before. A. M. Keiley, of Virginia,
+was nominated by Cleveland as minister to Austria-Hungary, but objected
+to by that country because Mrs. Keiley, being of Jewish parentage, was
+_persona non grata_. As a matter of fact this excuse for the rejection
+of Keiley was supposedly made because the Austro-Hungarian Government
+thought it might be acceptable to us in lieu of the truth.
+
+The real reason lay much deeper. Keiley had earlier been nominated as
+minister to Italy. The Italian Government, through its representative at
+Washington, made known to our Department of State that Keiley would be
+_persona non grata_ because it was remembered that in 1870 he had made a
+public speech in Richmond violently denouncing King Victor Emmanuel for
+his treatment of the Pope. The nomination was therefore withdrawn. And
+when a few months later Keiley was appointed minister to
+Austria-Hungary, that country, being a member with Italy in the Triple
+Alliance, did not want to run the risk of displeasing Italy by accepting
+a representative not satisfactory to her; but not wishing to admit this,
+based its excuse on religious grounds.
+
+[Illustration: Hand written letter page 1]
+
+[Illustration: Hand written letter page 2]
+
+[Illustration: Hand written letter page 3]
+
+[Illustration: Hand written letter page 4]
+
+This so incensed our Administration that Secretary Bayard rebuked the
+Austro-Hungarian Government with the statement:
+
+     It is not within the power of the President nor of the Congress,
+     nor of any judicial tribunal in the United States, to take or even
+     hear testimony, or in any mode to inquire into or decide upon the
+     religious belief of any official, and the proposition to allow this
+     to be done by any foreign Government is necessarily and _a
+     fortiori_ inadmissible.
+
+And Mr. Cleveland made reference to the episode in his First Annual
+Message to Congress:
+
+     The reasons advanced were such as could not be acquiesced in,
+     without violation of my oath of office and the precepts of the
+     Constitution, since they necessarily involved a limitation in favor
+     of a foreign government upon the right of selection by the
+     Executive, and required such an application of a religious test as
+     a qualification for office under the United States as would have
+     resulted in the practical disfranchisement of a large class of our
+     citizens and the abandonment of a vital principle of our
+     Government.
+
+These statements contain a clear exposition of one of the fundamental
+principles of our laws and system of government; they form one of the
+most illuminating and inspiring chapters of our diplomatic literature.
+Following the Keiley incident, my appointment was a silent but effective
+protest against such illiberal views as those expressed by
+Austria-Hungary; and to me personally it meant something to be sent as
+the representative of my country to the power whose dominion extended
+over the land that cradled my race, Palestine.
+
+Leaving Atlantic City, we soon proceeded to Washington, where I called
+on Secretary Bayard, who received me with characteristic cordiality and
+referred me to John Bassett Moore, now our famous authority on
+international law, compiler of the International Law Digest, American
+judge of the Court of International Justice by vote of the Council and
+Assembly of the League of Nations. At the time I met him, thirty-five
+years ago, he was third assistant Secretary of State, and I could not
+have wished for a better instructor in the intricate matters that
+involved our relations with the Ottoman Empire.
+
+Alvey A. Adee, veteran of our Foreign Office, then as now the second
+assistant Secretary of State, was another man who gave me most helpful
+advice. His encyclopædic knowledge of our foreign relations for more
+than forty years is remarkable, and our diplomatic appointees for years
+have been indebted to him for much helpful guidance.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Later in the day we called on the President. Our conversation during
+this call was purely of a general nature, and as I was leaving Mr.
+Cleveland expressed pleasure at my promptness in calling and hoped that
+I would start for Turkey as soon as personal convenience permitted. When
+I told him I hoped to sail at the end of a week, he answered, "That is
+businesslike; I like that," and he asked me to call again before leaving
+Washington.
+
+Two days later, by appointment of Colonel Lamont, the President's
+secretary, Mrs. Straus and I, accompanied by brother Isidor and E. G.
+Dunnell, "New York Times" correspondent, called on Mrs. Cleveland in the
+Green Room of the White House. I vividly recall this visit. Mrs.
+Cleveland came into the room with a sprightly and unceremonious walk,
+very friendly, with charm of manner and a sufficient familiarity to put
+us entirely at our ease. She was a very handsome woman, with remarkable
+sweetness of expression, and her appearance symbolized beauty and
+simplicity.
+
+What most impressed me about the Clevelands, after these two visits,
+was the simple, unassuming manner that was so in keeping with the spirit
+of our laws and the democracy of our institutions. Verily, I thought in
+the words of Cleveland himself, "a public office is a public trust," and
+while administering office we are indeed servants of the people.
+
+Before leaving Washington we again called on the President as agreed.
+His entire conversation and attitude showed satisfaction with my
+appointment. He said he understood the missionaries were doing good
+work, and he felt sure from what he had learned of me that they would
+receive impartial and just treatment at my hands. He commented on the
+fact that the press of the country had been so unanimously in favor of
+my appointment. "I wished they would go for you a little; I have
+something to give them," he said. From Mr. Dunnell later I learned the
+meaning of this remark. He had received a letter from the Prudential
+Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
+highly approving of his appointing me as minister to Turkey and
+endorsing me of their own accord in unqualified terms. This letter he
+was holding to give to the press should any unfavorable comment be made
+because a member of the Hebrew race was being sent to a post where the
+Christian mission interests were so large. Mr. Cleveland's parting
+remark to me was: "I know you will do well; I have no trepidation--none
+at all."
+
+On Saturday, April 9th, at 6 A.M., we--my wife, Aline, the younger of
+our little daughters, and myself--sailed out of the harbor on the S.S.
+Aurania. My one prayer in bidding farewell to my home was that I might
+find no vacant seat at my table upon my return, and that I might
+discharge my high trust with credit and honor. For this no sacrifice
+would be too great.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+ENTERING DIPLOMACY
+
+     At sea--Our arrival in London--Concerning George Eliot and
+     Lewes--At the banking house of Baron de Rothschild--In
+     Paris--Boulanger's Napoleonic dreams; his suicide--Josef Hofmann as
+     a boy pianist--The artist who painted "Christ before Pilate"; an
+     extraordinary wife--Distinguished hosts and rich cooking--Vienna
+     and the Balkans--Thoughts on passing through the
+     Bosphorus--Constantinople, the city of picturesque dirt--Many
+     delays obstruct my audience with the Sultan--The fast of
+     Ramazan--Diplomatic garden parties--An ambassador's £300 Circassian
+     slave-wife--The Sultan says his prayers--Advice from a seasoned
+     diplomat--My address at Robert College commencement--In the
+     Sultan's Palace.
+
+
+Our voyage was not altogether a light one. We had found it expedient to
+leave Mildred, our elder daughter, then four years old, with her Grandma
+Lavanburg; and while she was in excellent hands my wife was naturally
+heavy-hearted at the thought of traveling so far and for so long without
+her. The weather on board ship was for the most part stormy. Our little
+Aline and her nurse were so seasick that the child resented being on
+board with all the force of age three. "Mama, this ship is nobody's
+home; why did you bring me here? I shall write sister Milly never to go
+on the ocean," she declared rebelliously.
+
+Having reached London, however, things went more pleasantly. Our
+minister there at the time--we did not yet appoint ambassadors--was
+Edward J. Phelps, for many years Professor of International Law at Yale,
+a scholarly gentleman. I called on him almost immediately on my arrival,
+and subsequently Mrs. Straus and I dined at the legation to meet Rustem
+Pasha, Turkish ambassador, veteran diplomat who had been in the service
+for thirty-three years and was about twice as old. He was leading
+Turkish representative at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, following the
+Russo-Turkish War. He referred to the various questions pending between
+his Government and mine--the interpretation of Article 4 of the Treaty
+of 1830, signed only in Turkish; the proposed treaty of 1874, negotiated
+by Minister Boker and not confirmed by the Senate, concerning
+naturalized citizens of the United States returning to Turkey;
+missionary matters; our refusal to negotiate a treaty for the
+extradition of criminals. I had informed myself regarding all of these,
+but I deemed it wise not to discuss them in detail; rather I chose to be
+the listener and draw him out, assuring him that when I arrived at my
+post all these subjects would have my very best attention. He was
+particularly concerned with the treaty for the extradition of criminals,
+but the so-called criminals that came to the United States at that
+period, especially from Russia and Turkey, were with rare exception
+political refugees, and it is provided in most of our extradition
+treaties that political offenders are not to be delivered up.
+
+We remained in London about ten days, calling on a number of interesting
+people. We spent one pleasant evening with Dr. and Mrs. John Chapman, of
+the "Westminster Review." My article on "The Development of Religious
+Liberty in America" was appearing in a current number of the "Review."
+The Chapmans were good friends of George Eliot and Professor Lewes. In
+fact, the novelist and the professor first met at the Chapman home. Dr.
+Chapman also told me he was the one who first employed George Eliot in
+literary work. He became editor of the "Review" in 1851 and engaged her
+as associate editor. When George Eliot resigned, Mrs. Chapman became the
+associate editor. With us that evening, too, was Harold Frederic, London
+correspondent of the "New York Times" and a novelist of some promise.
+
+From Messrs. J. & W. Seligman of New York I had received a letter to the
+Seligman banking house in London, at 3 Angel Court. Mr. Isaac Seligman
+invited us to dine _en famille_, and arranged for me to call at Messrs.
+N. M. Rothschild & Sons', where I was very pleasantly received by Baron
+Alfred Charles de Rothschild, who showed me through his magnificent
+banking establishment and offered to send me a letter to the Paris
+Rothschild firm. The Baron was then about forty-four years old, very
+agreeable, a polished gentleman of the best Jewish type.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In Paris, our next stopping-place, we also had a very interesting time.
+Of course we called on our minister, Robert M. McLane, then seventy-four
+years old, but looking sixty. He was distinctly of the old school, with
+all the grace of manner, combined with ability and wide experience in
+public service--an excellent representative who was esteemed by the
+French people quite as highly as by our own citizens in France. I speak
+of this especially because in capitals like Paris it is not an easy task
+to please both elements.
+
+At dinner one evening in the home of my friend Adolphe Salmon, an
+American merchant residing in Paris, we met Count Dillon and his wife,
+most affable people to whom we felt ourselves immediately attracted. The
+Count was a thorough Royalist, had been for many years in the army. At
+this time he was managing director of the Mackay-Bennett Cable Company
+and the leader of a movement, really anti-Republican intrigue, designed
+to put General Boulanger, Minister of War, at the head of the State. The
+Count was a close personal friend and schoolmate of Boulanger, then the
+most extolled man in all France. The Count suggested that he arrange a
+luncheon or dinner to have us meet the General, if that was agreeable to
+us, for he felt sure the General would be pleased.
+
+Consequently a few days later we lunched at Count Dillon's beautiful
+villa some thirty minutes outside of Paris. It was an intimate two-hour
+luncheon party, just Mr. and Mrs. Adolphe Salmon, the Count and Countess
+Dillon, General Boulanger, Mrs. Straus, and myself. Boulanger was a
+young-looking man for his fifty years, of medium height and weight,
+wearing a closely trimmed beard; rather Anglo-American than French in
+appearance, unassuming, of pleasant expression, and probably at the
+height of his power. Five years before he had been Director of Infantry
+in the War Office and made himself very popular as a military reformer.
+In 1886, under the ægis of Clemenceau and the Radical Party which
+brought Freycinet into power, Boulanger was made Minister of War. He was
+noted for his fire-eating attitude toward Germany in connection with the
+Schnaebele frontier incident, and because of this was hailed as the man
+destined to give France her revenge for the disasters of 1870. In fact,
+the masses looked upon him as a second Napoleon, "the man on horseback,"
+and his picture on horseback was displayed in countless shop windows.
+
+At our luncheon party he entertained us with many an interesting
+anecdote, and I particularly recall his telling of coming to the
+Yorktown Centennial Celebration and traveling as far as the Pacific
+Coast in company with General Sherman to see our fortifications. "I was
+asked what I thought of your American fortifications ["You know what
+antiquated and insignificant things they are," in an aside to Mrs.
+Straus], and I praised them and said I thought they were splendid, that
+I had never seen any better ones because"--and here his eyes
+twinkled--"no country has such nice ditches in front of its
+fortifications," He meant, of course, the Atlantic and the Pacific.
+
+When the champagne was being drunk and toasts were in order I turned to
+the General, after drinking to the health of the company, and said: "May
+you administer the War Department so successfully that posterity will
+know you as the great preserver of peace." To this he responded that for
+fifteen years France had always been on the defensive and permitted
+insults rather than take offense, but that the time had come when she
+could no longer do so and must be ready for the offensive. He evidently
+had in mind that war was imminent. At a later meeting he asked me
+whether, in case of war, I would be willing to take charge of French
+interests in Turkey. I told him that while of course it would be
+agreeable to me personally, such action could be taken only under the
+authority of my government, which authority I would have to obtain
+before giving an official answer.
+
+The subsequent meteoric career of Boulanger is a matter of history. For
+two years more his personality was one of the dominating factors of
+French politics. I remember writing from Constantinople early in 1889:
+"The most menacing condition exists in France, where, I am of opinion,
+Boulanger will gain the presidency before many months and from that time
+perhaps try to tread in the footprints of his Napoleonic ideal. If
+so--alas, poor France, and alas the peace of Europe!" He had become an
+open menace to the republic; and when Constans was Minister of the
+Interior a prosecution was instituted against Boulanger and a warrant
+signed for his arrest. He fled from Paris and was afterward tried and
+condemned _in absentia_ for treason. In 1891 he committed suicide on the
+grave of his mistress in a cemetery at Brussels.
+
+We dined, on another evening in Paris, with Mr. and Mrs. William
+Seligman, of the banking firm of Seligman Frères, the Paris branch of J.
+& W. Seligman of New York and of the London Seligman establishment. This
+dinner was a very large and elaborate affair, with many distinguished
+guests present. After dinner we were entertained by the budding genius
+of Josef Hofmann, then ten or eleven years old.
+
+The noted Hungarian, Munkacsy, painter of "Last Day of a Condemned Man,"
+"Christ before Pilate," "Christ on Calvary," and other celebrated works,
+was also there with his wife. As a couple they presented a striking
+contrast indeed. He was a silent man, talking very little and haltingly;
+he impressed one as a refined artisan of some sort, perhaps a carpenter.
+He was a large man of about five feet ten in height, with bushy hair
+combed up, bushy beard and mustache, and small eyes which he screwed up
+to almost nothing when observing something. His wife, on the other hand,
+was as coarse-looking a woman as one might discover, with a loud,
+raucous, almost masculine voice which, like a saw in action, rose above
+every other sound. However, I have observed that these contraries in
+personality in couples often make for happiness.
+
+The artist seemed to take a keen interest in Mrs. Straus. He quite
+embarrassed her by his constant staring, and after dinner sought an
+introduction and sat next to her. Her plain hair-dress, smoothly brushed
+back and rolled in a coil behind, fascinated him. He remarked how
+natural and becoming it was and wanted to know whether she always wore
+it that way; he wondered whether it would be as becoming any other way.
+He wanted to know how long we should remain in Paris and expressed
+regret when told we were leaving in three or four days. Mrs. Straus
+felt he had studied her head long enough to paint it from memory. And
+who knows, perhaps he has used it in some painting that we have not yet
+discovered!
+
+Another memorable dinner was at the home of Eli Lazard, of Lazard
+Frères, bankers, where we met Judge Wilson and daughters, of Cincinnati.
+All of these hospitalities were very pleasant, but personally I should
+have been glad to escape them, for the late hours, together with the
+rich cooking of Paris, were not in accord with my quiet habits and
+simple tastes in food and drink.
+
+In Vienna I called on our consul-general, Edmund Jussen, whose wife was
+the sister of my esteemed friend Carl Schurz, which fact really prompted
+me to make the call. Jussen himself was not very admirable. He had much
+of the arrogance of a German official, so out of place in an American
+representative. However, during our sojourn in the city he and his wife
+exchanged several visits with us. Mrs. Jussen did not much resemble her
+distinguished brother, except for an expression about the eyes. She was
+a very amiable woman with a good face. She told me much of her brother's
+childhood and school years--how he had to struggle hard for his
+education. Their father was a small shopkeeper, but no business man, and
+was never able to make money. Carl did not earn money, but always
+applied himself diligently. This and much more that has since been
+published about Schurz interested me greatly, of course.
+
+We continued our journey to Varna on the Black Sea, there to take the
+steamer for Constantinople. In those days there was no railway
+connection with Constantinople. The Oriental Express went only to Varna,
+by way of Bucharest. On that particular part of our journey we got our
+first glimpses of the picturesque costumes of the Balkan district,
+especially those of the men with their bare legs and flying shirts.
+
+The trip from Varna to Constantinople was beautiful and inspiring. We
+boarded the boat at about four in the afternoon and retired early so as
+to be up by five or six next morning, when we passed through the
+Bosphorus, round which clusters so much of classical memory. I suddenly
+realized how much of my Homer I had forgotten--the Homer on whom I had
+spent years of hard study. However, most of us meet so many new subjects
+that have a more direct relation to our surroundings that it is next to
+impossible to get that "elegant leisure" necessary for a continued
+interest in the classics.
+
+The effect of the trip through the Bosphorus is quite like a dream. The
+high coast on both sides is covered with green, with here and there a
+house or some large huts; on one side is Europe and on the other side
+Asia, looking very much alike, bathed by the same sunshine, peaceful.
+
+We sailed past Buyukdereh, Therapia, the summer residence of most of the
+diplomats, about twelve miles from Constantinople, where the English,
+French, Austrian, and Russian embassies had magnificent palaces and the
+Germans were engaged in building; on past the lovely old towers of
+Roumeli-Hissar, built eight hundred years before, when first the Turks
+set foot in Europe, and back of this the tower of Robert College.
+
+Suddenly my ever-smiling and happy wife spied a launch flying a large
+United States flag at the stern. "It's our launch!" And sure enough,
+when we waved our handkerchiefs we discovered the members of my official
+family, who had come in the legation launch to meet us. There were
+Pendleton King, acting chargé d'affaires; Mr. Gargiulo, dragoman; J.
+Lynch Pringle, consul-general; Mehmet, the _cavass_; and several clerks
+of the consulate and legation.
+
+The _cavass_, by the way, is a sort of bodyguard. He walks before the
+minister, or rides on the box beside the driver, and serves the purpose
+of designating that the minister or ambassador follows. He carries two
+huge pistols and a sword suspended from a gold belt, and his coat,
+sometimes red and sometimes blue, is much bebraided and embroidered. The
+natives know each minister or ambassador by his _cavass_.
+
+Our first impression from the windows of the Royal Hotel in
+Constantinople was of picturesque dirt. As Mrs. Straus said at the time,
+dirt not only on the hard earth roads and the people, but even on the
+dogs. In time, however, one is less impressed by the dirt than by the
+picturesqueness--the venders calling out their wares of fish, fruit,
+meat, vegetables, all carried on the edges of baskets covered with
+leaves; the water-carriers with their urns carried on yokes; and the
+veiled women.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Immediately upon my arrival, of course, I communicated with His
+Excellency, Saïd Pasha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, to present my
+credentials and arrange for an audience with His Majesty the Sultan,
+Abdul Hamid. The Pasha replied at once, appointing a time two days
+later, and accordingly I went to the Sublime Porte, as the Turkish
+Government seat is called, in company with the chargé and the dragoman
+or interpreter. That was about May 26th. Not until June 6th, however,
+did I receive a communication from Munir Pasha, Grand Master of
+Ceremonies, that His Majesty had named June 8th for my audience. The
+next evening I received a telegram postponing the audience to the 10th.
+On the 9th I received another communication, postponing it _sine die_.
+On the 15th a new appointment was made for the 17th; then, between
+midnight and one o'clock on the night of June 16th-17th, the personal
+secretary of the Sultan came knocking at the door of my apartment, and,
+after apologizing for his arrival at that untimely hour, informed me
+that he had come at the Sultan's special request to say that word had
+come from the Porte that June 17th was a most sacred day, a fact just
+determined by the phases of the moon, and the Sultan therefore was
+constrained to postpone the audience again. The date was later set for
+July 1st, when I finally had my audience.
+
+It was a peculiarity of Abdul Hamid to delay audiences to new
+representatives for weeks and sometimes months by these successive
+appointments and postponements, to no other purpose than to impress the
+agents of foreign governments with the importance of His Majesty. In my
+case there was some added cause: it was the month of Ramazan, during
+which only the most pressing official functions take place.
+
+Ramazan, ninth month of the Turkish calendar, is a period of fasting.
+For twenty-nine days every Mussulman abstains from food and water, and
+even smoking, from sunrise to sunset; which the rich arrange
+conveniently by sleeping all day and eating all night, while the poor
+who have to work all day eat at sundown, at midnight, and very early in
+the morning. The first meal after the fasting, at sunset, is called
+_iltar_. The fast is broken with Ramazan bread, a cakelike bread,
+circular in shape, which we saw much in evidence at a bazaar in the
+courtyard of a mosque at Stamboul, the more Oriental part of
+Constantinople, where the costumes of Greeks, Armenians, Turks, and
+Arabs form a strange mixture indeed.
+
+During Beiram, a three days' feasting following Ramazan, the mosques
+are all illuminated at night, and the view over the water, with the
+moving lights of boats in the foreground and the dimly lighted houses
+beyond, interspersed with brightly illumined mosques, is quite like a
+picture of some enchanted land.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Because of the Sultan's peculiarities in receiving foreign
+representatives, the custom in regard to official calls at
+Constantinople is different from that at most capitals. Elsewhere calls
+on colleagues are not made until after a minister or ambassador has had
+his audience; but here usage dictated calling on one's colleagues as
+soon as possible. Therefore I called first on Baron de Calice,
+ambassador from Austria-Hungary and _doyen_ of the diplomatic corps. He
+received me with great cordiality and kindness, and advised me fully
+regarding diplomatic practices at Constantinople. And we were welcomed
+by each and all of my colleagues in turn, so that I found these calls
+very much less disagreeable than I had anticipated; I even enjoyed many
+of them. At each visit coffee or tea was served, and generally
+cigarettes too, as is customary with the Turks, which is wonderfully
+effective in taking off the chill of diplomatic formalities. One soon
+gets to expect these refreshments; it is a delightful custom that might
+be adopted in other places to advantage.
+
+Another reason why these formal calls were less formidable than they
+might have been was that three days after our arrival at the capital we
+were invited to a garden party given by Lady White, wife of the British
+ambassador, Sir William A. White. This served to give us a prompt
+introduction to all my colleagues. In fact, in the five weeks
+intervening between our arrival and my audience, we had attended so many
+garden parties and dinners given to us, that I found myself heartily
+longing for respite. My natural inclination was to regard these social
+gatherings in the light of idle frivolities, especially in the summer,
+when one is supposed to be relatively free from functions of this kind;
+and I was not alone among my colleagues in preferring more evenings at
+home to the occasional headaches that it cost to continue the very late
+hours these many engagements forced us to keep. Yet I could not
+consistently decline invitations; such a course might have been
+interpreted as a desire on my part to withdraw from the diplomatic
+circle and would have interfered with the pleasant social relations it
+was incumbent on me to cultivate. Attendance was really part of my duty,
+and in time I found these functions distinctly advantageous.
+
+We looked forward with more than usual interest to the evening of our
+dinner at the Persian embassy. The Persian ambassador's wife had been a
+Circassian slave, whom he was said to have bought for £300 with a horse
+thrown into the bargain. The ambassador's wife was, of course, typically
+Circassian; chalky white skin, soft black eyes, small features, an
+unattractive figure unattractively dressed, with whom conversation was
+almost nil because she knew only Persian.
+
+The streets of Pera, the European part of Constantinople, are
+exceedingly narrow and very hilly, for the city is built on several
+hills, like ancient Rome; in addition they are poorly paved and dirty.
+This makes driving dangerous and, as in mediæval times, sedan chairs
+were quite generally in use as a means of conveyance for the ladies of
+the diplomatic corps and the wives of the higher Turkish officials,
+especially at night to dinners and other official functions. Two sinewy
+porters carry these chairs, one in front and the other behind, and they
+shuffle along with considerable rapidity. Usually the lady is carried
+while the gentleman, preceded by his _cavass_ in the case of a diplomat,
+walks alongside, except in inclement weather when he follows also in a
+chair. I am reminded of the wife of the German ambassador at the time, a
+large, heavy woman, whom the porters quite justly charged double. She,
+however, was entirely oblivious of her extra avoirdupois and always
+complained of the injustice of these porters! The Austrian and Russian
+embassies were particularly difficult of approach by conveyance other
+than the sedan.
+
+We certainly were living in a new sphere of life, in a strange land
+among strange people, with customs and habits that brought to mind the
+age of the patriarchs. There was much to see where some thirty
+nationalities lived and did business as if in their own homes--much to
+wonder at, much to deplore, much to praise and admire. The natives are a
+peculiar people, with many admirable characteristics; they are kind and
+hospitable, comparatively honest and reliable, especially the lower
+classes, and they manifest a most sincere devotion to their religion.
+The lower classes are poor, very poor; yet they are content and
+reasonably happy because their wants are few. Their poverty is not a
+suffering condition and they seemed to be better off than the poor
+elsewhere. Their religion strictly interdicts the use of alcoholic
+drinks, and as they are true to it and live faithfully up to its
+principles, they are spared all the evils that fall in the train of
+drunkenness.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. STRAUS IN TURKEY]
+
+During the weeks that I waited for my audience with the Sultan I devoted
+my time to studying in detail the various questions in regard to our
+diplomatic relations, so that I might be better informed when they came
+up. This study was very interesting from an historical point of view,
+for some of the questions were related to capitulations that dated as
+far back as the fall of Constantinople in 1453. My legal training also
+proved valuable in enabling me to understand and handle matters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On our first Friday in Constantinople we witnessed Selamlik, the
+picturesque ceremony held with great pomp every Friday, attending the
+Sultan's going to the mosque. The Sultan's mosque is on the top of a
+hill commanding the most beautiful view of the city, from which can be
+seen the Bosphorus and, farther on, the Sea of Marmora. On the roads
+surrounding the mosque as far as the eye could see were ranged ten or
+more regiments of infantry and cavalry, each dressed in glittering
+uniforms according to the section of the empire from which they came,
+the most resplendent being the Nubian and the Arabian. The Sultan
+arrived in an open landau, and opposite him Osman Pasha, distinguished
+soldier, hero of the Battle of Plevna in the Russo-Turkish War, and
+Grand Marshal of the Palace. The coachman was magnificently dressed in
+scarlet and gold, and following were the aides-de-camp, also beautifully
+dressed, one, an Armenian, all in white and gold. As the Sultan entered
+the mosque a priest chanted a call to prayer which sounded not unlike
+the old Hebrew chants in some of our synagogues. The mosque was so
+crowded that we could see many Moslems kneeling and salaaming on the
+streets outside the doors. The service lasted about twenty minutes,
+whereupon the bands played and the Sultan reviewed his troops from one
+of the windows of the mosque. He then returned to the Palace in a
+beautiful top phaëton drawn by two horses, which he drove himself, again
+with Osman Pasha opposite, followed by his aides and the carriage that
+had brought him. Usually several carriages, open and closed, also
+several saddle horses, are brought from the royal stables to the
+mosque, that the Sultan may take his choice for his return to the
+Palace.
+
+It is expected as a display of good will that the ministers and
+ambassadors occasionally attend this ceremony. It was practically the
+only occasion on which Abdul Hamid appeared in public, for he constantly
+feared assassination, and his expression showed his timidity. Following
+Selamlik he quite frequently arranged to receive in audience. In the
+kiosque or small house beside the mosque, there is a special suite of
+rooms reserved for the diplomatic corps. An aide informs the Sultan what
+diplomatic representatives or other persons of distinction are at the
+kiosque, to each of whom His Majesty then sends some gracious message.
+While prayers are being said in the mosque, the guests at the kiosque
+are served coffee and cigarettes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One of the persons whom I met shortly after my arrival in the city was
+Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, who was in Constantinople as Britain's special
+envoy to negotiate a convention regarding the withdrawal of British
+troops from Egypt. He had a suite at our hotel where we saw each other
+frequently and became very good friends. Drummond Wolff, as he was
+usually spoken of to distinguish him from the several other prominent
+Wolffs, was certainly a remarkable and clever man, and a great
+_raconteur_. He was then in his late fifties, had had wide experience as
+a diplomat, and was thoroughly familiar with the Turkish temperament. In
+fact, he was at home in all that part of the world. He was born in
+Malta, the son of the famous missionary, Rev. Joseph Wolff, a Jew who
+became a convert first to Catholicism and then to Episcopalianism, being
+ordained as priest in the Church of England. While in America he
+received the degree of Doctor of Theology from the College of St.
+John's, Annapolis, Maryland.
+
+Sir Henry advised me in dealing with the Turkish authorities always to
+be patient, pleasant, persistent. He also impressed upon me the
+importance of maintaining the most cordial relations with my colleagues
+and of returning all hospitalities; that a well-disposed colleague can
+often be of incalculable assistance in inducing the authorities to
+accede to any proper demand one might have to make. However, his own
+relations with the British ambassador, Sir William White, were not so
+friendly. The estrangement between them was quite evident, caused no
+doubt by personal jealousy, which is so likely to result between a
+special envoy and the regularly accredited representative of the same
+country in a given territory.
+
+We stayed at the Royal only about ten days, and then moved to summer
+quarters in a hotel at Therapia, a name given to the district some three
+thousand years ago by the Greeks because of its healthful and balmy
+climate. Here, too, Drummond Wolff had a neighboring suite, and later,
+when by reason of a longer stay than anticipated he was obliged to give
+up his apartment before he was ready, we put a portion of ours at his
+disposal, which he much appreciated. It was a very pleasant arrangement,
+and diplomatically no less profitable. We dined together every evening,
+and often in our party were also Prince Ghika, Roumanian chargé, and the
+Princess; Baron Van Tetz, Dutch minister, and the Baroness. The Baron
+was later accredited to Berlin, and then made Minister of Foreign
+Affairs in his own country. He has now retired and at this writing he
+and the Baroness still live at The Hague. They are charming people.
+
+On June 21, 1887, the entire diplomatic corps was present in official
+dress at services in the English chapel, in honor of the Queen's
+Jubilee. The chaplain of the English embassy, the Reverend George
+Washington, officiated. He said he was of the same family as our own
+George Washington.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The day before my audience I presided at the commencement exercises of
+Robert College at Roumeli-Hissar, by invitation of the venerable
+president, Dr. George Washburn. The college in 1887 had about one
+hundred and eighty students, mainly Bulgarians, Greeks, and Armenians,
+with two or three Turks. The commencement was quite similar to those at
+home, except that the orations were delivered in the various languages
+of the East as well as in French and English.
+
+I took this first occasion to refer in a larger way to the aims and
+purposes of Robert College and similar American institutions. The Turks
+had not been able to understand the benevolence that prompted the
+establishment of schools and colleges by Americans throughout the
+empire. They were suspicious, and their attitude was founded on
+experiences with various institutions and societies of several of the
+other nations, notably the Greeks, who, under guise of scientific and
+benevolent activity, had fostered political design. The Turks believed
+that behind our institutions lay a purpose inimical to the sovereignty
+of Turkey, a belief stimulated by Russia and by some of the French
+Catholics, who were opposed to the extended use of the English language
+and the influence of Protestant English and American ideas in the East.
+This gave rise to many of the vexatious questions that the legation had
+to solve. By way of throwing some oil upon these troubled waters,
+therefore, I said, during my address:
+
+     For centuries the tide of progress and civilization has been making
+     its way toward the West. Its course has been marked by blood and
+     carnage. The history of the Middle Ages and of modern times
+     chronicles the nations and empires that have sunk in this mighty
+     current, and the new life and new civilization that have sprung up
+     over the ruins of the old. That flood tide, pushing its
+     irresistible course onward, still swept on, until in our day it
+     mingled its waters with the Great Pacific Ocean. The Ultima Thule
+     having at last been reached, the great ebb-tide began to course its
+     way backward; and America, the youngest of nations, in gratitude
+     for all the past, as a token of her amity and her friendship, has
+     sent back on the advance current of this return tide not ships of
+     war nor armed troops, but her most cherished institutions, a fully
+     equipped American college.
+
+     So that here, to-day, on the beautiful and picturesque shores of
+     the classic Bosphorus, on the very spot where the nations of the
+     East four and a half centuries ago erected and left the
+     well-preserved monument of their passage to the West, stands Robert
+     College. What a tale and what a history! Robert College here and
+     the Towers of Roumeli-Hissar there! The one the fortified remains
+     of bygone wars, the other the tranquil emblem of returning peace.
+     What a double tale do these two institutions speak to one another!
+     The tie that unites them is one of love and peace, a league more
+     puissant than army or navy for the welfare and happiness of
+     nations. When centuries shall have rolled by and another Gibbon
+     shall come to write of empires, may it be his privilege to record
+     no longer the decline and fall, but the rise and rejuvenation of
+     this Orient to which we look with affection.
+
+And now that I had been received and entertained by about everybody in
+Constantinople, it was time for my audience with the Sultan, who came
+last like the prima donna. Official functions at Yildis Palace, as the
+Sultan's residence is called (Yildis meaning star), were always most
+dignified and punctilious. Royal carriages were sent from the Palace
+with escorts for myself and staff. At the entrance to the Palace we were
+met by the Introducer of Ambassadors; then we proceeded to the salon of
+the Grand Master of Ceremonies, where I was met by the Minister of
+Foreign Affairs and conducted by Osman Pasha, Grand Marshal, into the
+presence of His Majesty.
+
+The Sultan was standing ready to receive me. He was a small man, of
+rather spare frame, sallow complexion, dark eyes that sparkled with a
+furtive expression, prominent aquiline nose, and short full black beard
+which later, when it turned gray, he dyed reddish with henna. He had on
+a black frock coat that buttoned to the neck.
+
+According to custom I handed him the letters of recall of my
+predecessor, then presented my credentials, and made a brief address, a
+copy of which in writing I left with him. It read as follows:
+
+     The President of the United States has been pleased to charge me
+     with the distinguished honor and agreeable duty of cultivating to
+     the fullest extent the friendship which has so happily subsisted
+     between the two Governments, and of conveying to Your Imperial
+     Majesty the assurances of his best wishes for the welfare of Your
+     Imperial Majesty and for the prosperity of Turkey.
+
+     As the faithful representative of my Government, charged with the
+     duty of protecting the interests of her citizens, permit me to
+     express the hope that Your Imperial Majesty's Government will lend
+     me its kindly aid in the efforts I shall at all times make to
+     maintain and further cement a good understanding for the
+     development of the relations of amity and friendship between the
+     two Governments, and that the same courtesy and cordiality may be
+     shown me which were so generously accorded to my honored
+     predecessors.
+
+     The time has at last come, through the progress of science, when
+     all nations by reason of the facility and rapidity of communication
+     have been brought nearer together, so that their mutual interests
+     and relations verily entitle them to be called one great family.
+
+     In the spirit of that relationship I have come to dwell near the
+     Government of Your Imperial Majesty, and to greet you in behalf of
+     and in the words of our Chief Magistrate as his "Great and Good
+     Friend," with the hope "that God may have Your Imperial Majesty in
+     His wise keeping."
+
+Which is the customary language of such documents, with the exception of
+the third paragraph. His Majesty replied in a brief address, expressing
+his pleasure in receiving me. He then sat down and bade me do likewise,
+whereupon we were served with cigarettes and Turkish coffee, the latter
+in egg-shaped cups resting in jewel-studded holders. The Sultan speaks
+only Turkish, and I spoke English, so we understood one another by means
+of the dragoman, Mr. Gargiulo, who had been for twenty years the very
+able Turkish adviser and interpreter of the legation and remained at
+that post for ten years thereafter.
+
+The audience concluded, we returned to the legation in the same stately
+fashion we had come, following which we gave a reception to the American
+colony, composed almost exclusively of the missionaries resident in
+Constantinople, together with the president and faculty of Robert
+College and of the Home School for Girls, then located at Scutari,
+across the Bosphorus. I was now ready for the official business of my
+mission.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+FIRST TURKISH MISSION
+
+     Turkey's jealousy of foreigners--My protest against the closing of
+     American mission schools--Diplomacy prevents drastic regulations
+     proposed by Turkey--The schools are reopened--Defending the sale of
+     the Bible--A cargo of missionaries and rum--Robert College--A visit
+     to Cairo--"Bombe à la Lincoln"--Governmental reforms in Egypt--My
+     protest against persecution of Jews in flight from Russia and
+     Roumania--At Jerusalem--Huge delegation of Jews pleads with me for
+     release of imprisoned relatives--I make drastic demands, and
+     prisoners are promptly released--Their grateful memorial to
+     me--Rights of American citizens on Turkish soil--Disputes regarding
+     our Treaty of 1830--Uncle Sam gives $10,800 worth of presents to
+     Turkish officials, on conclusion of a treaty--Diplomatic tangles;
+     United States left without Treaty of Naturalization with
+     Turkey--Baron de Hirsch, international celebrity--I am invited to
+     arbitrate his dispute with the Sultan, and am offered an honorarium
+     of 1,000,000 francs--I decline honorarium, but offer to
+     mediate--Baroness de Hirsch's philanthropies--American capitalists
+     consider Turkish railway concessions--Sultan grants permission for
+     American excavation in Babylon--My resignation in 1888--The
+     Sultan's farewell.
+
+
+For several years the Turks had been very jealous of foreigners,
+especially in Asia Minor, and the result was many restrictions which
+manifested themselves in a variety of relations. The growth of the
+mission schools and their increase in number quite naturally enhanced
+the suspicion of the authorities, with the help, as I have mentioned, of
+those whose interests were served in helping the Turks to see danger in
+this growth of our institutions.
+
+At the legation the interests of the American missionaries with regard
+to their schools and their printed matter formed the major portion of
+the affairs requiring my immediate attention. About four hundred schools
+had been established in Turkey by the Presbyterian and Congregational
+missionary boards. Beginning with the winter of 1885, upon one pretext
+or another, thirty of these schools in Syria were closed, many of the
+teachers arrested and forbidden ever to teach in the country again,
+while the parents were threatened with fine and imprisonment if they
+continued to send their children to American schools. With few
+exceptions all the teachers and parents were natives and Turkish
+subjects. The official reason given for the closing of these schools was
+that their boards had not complied with the Turkish law requiring that
+textbooks, curriculums, and certificates of the teachers be submitted to
+the authorities for examination; although the missionary representatives
+gave assurance that these requirements had been met.
+
+Soon after my audience with the Sultan I took up the subject of these
+schools with the Grand Vizier, Kiamil Pasha, who was perhaps the most
+enlightened statesman of the Turkish Empire. Mr. King, while acting
+chargé, had made an agreement with the Minister of Public Instruction
+whereby the missionaries at these schools were to submit the textbooks
+and other documentary equipment to the local authorities. I protested to
+the Grand Vizier against the closing of the schools, and after some
+weeks we reached an understanding: he was to telegraph the vali or
+governor-general at Syria that the schools were to be allowed to reopen
+upon their compliance with the law, according to an arrangement between
+himself and myself. The outcome looked hopeful, though months dragged
+along without further result.
+
+Meanwhile, and quite by accident, I learned that the Porte had
+formulated proposed additional regulations concerning all foreign
+schools, and that these regulations were about to be submitted to the
+Council of Ministers to be made law. I immediately requested a copy from
+the Grand Vizier. I found, to my surprise, that the regulations were
+calculated to place insuperable obstacles in the way of every foreign
+school in the empire. Among other things, in addition to the requirement
+that textbooks, curriculums, and teachers' certificates be submitted for
+examination, all schools were to obtain an iradé or express sanction of
+the Sultan in order to function. Failing to receive that iradé within
+six months from the date of the law embodying the new regulations, the
+authorities in the several provinces were commanded to close such
+schools.
+
+I communicated my discovery to those of my colleagues who were
+interested with me in this dispute: Count de Montebello, French
+ambassador; Baron Blanc, Italian ambassador; and Sir William White,
+British ambassador. At the same time I submitted copies of the proposed
+regulations to the Reverend Doctor Isaac Bliss and the Reverend Henry O.
+Dwight, of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in
+Western Turkey. They all viewed the matter as I did.
+
+The following day I again called on the Grand Vizier, informing him that
+I looked upon these regulations as seriously infringing upon the rights
+of American citizens in Turkey, and pointing out my objections in
+detail. The three colleagues just referred to did the same on behalf of
+their respective subjects who had mission or other schools in the
+empire. We succeeded in impressing the Grand Vizier with the force and
+validity of our objections, for he requested us to put them in writing
+and forward them to the Porte. With the aid of Drs. Bliss and Dwight I
+prepared such a document, and I am glad to be able to say that our
+protests came in time and were sufficiently forceful to prove effective
+in preventing this new legislation.
+
+As I had now been negotiating for several months with reference to the
+Syrian schools, I decided that the most efficient way of translating
+into concrete result the repeated promises in regard to them was to
+visit some of our missionary schools throughout the empire. I obtained
+the necessary permission from Washington and took a journey to Cairo,
+Jaffa, Jerusalem, Beirut, Mersina, and Smyrna, where I conferred with
+our missionaries, with our several consuls, as well as with the
+respective governors and governor-generals. I found the relations
+between the local authorities and our consuls, and between the
+authorities and the missionary representatives, quite friendly, in some
+places indifferent, but nowhere hostile.
+
+I had instructed the missionaries to get ready for the opening of the
+schools, and I planned the trip so as to be in Beirut about the time my
+order for the reopening was to be put in force. My plan had the desired
+effect. In anticipation of my arrival at Beirut, fifteen of the schools
+were reopened; and while I was there five or six more. That was about as
+many of the total thirty as the missionaries cared to or were in a
+position to reopen then. For the time being I felt satisfied that I had
+sufficiently reversed the Government policy to check the progressive
+closing of the schools which, if continued, would seriously have
+threatened the existence of all American schools in Turkey.
+
+I must here express my appreciation of the assistance given me by Erhard
+Bissinger, our consul at Beirut. He was an earnest, sincere man,
+formerly a New York merchant. Although his health was frail he worked
+with unremitting zeal and efficiency, discharging his official duties
+with rare judgment and tact. I could always rely on the correctness of
+his reports respecting the many difficulties as they arose, and I could
+always feel assured that in each instance he would apply every effort to
+bring about an adjustment with the local authorities, by whom he was as
+highly esteemed as by the missionaries.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Another expression of the Government's enmity toward the activities of
+our missionaries was the treatment being accorded the colporteurs, or
+persons who went about selling Bible tracts. The agents of the American
+as well as the British Bible Society were constantly and arbitrarily
+being arrested. They were charged with plying their trade without
+license, yet when they made application they were never able to get
+license. From time to time I protested against these arrests and secured
+the release of one after another of the agents; but the thing to be done
+was to prevent arrests.
+
+The fact was they were being made without real cause. Before these
+tracts or any other material could be printed a permit had to be
+obtained from the Ottoman Government. The material had to pass
+censorship before it was allowed to be printed, so that the very fact of
+its appearing in print was proof of the authorization of the censors. I
+held that, once printed, to prohibit the sale of these tracts was in
+restraint of commerce; that there was no reason why book hawkers should
+be under different regulations from hawkers of any other wares.
+
+I prepared an argument along these lines, which I presented to the Grand
+Vizier, and he agreed with my conclusions. He forthwith gave orders for
+the release of all colporteurs and that no further arrests were to be
+made. The British Bible Society, of course, benefited equally with our
+own by these orders, and I received their grateful appreciation through
+my colleague, Sir William White.
+
+All this hostility toward the missionaries and their work might be
+construed to be founded upon an objection by the Government to having
+its subjects converted to Christianity. But it was rather foreign
+influence as a whole that was being fought, and religion was simply the
+convenient peg. Conversions from Mohammedanism were few and far between,
+and for the number of Mohammedans turned Christian in the course of a
+year there were as many Christians turned Mohammedan. The Mohammedans
+are intensely and sincerely devoted to their faith. On the whole they
+are convinced that their religion is the only true one and that
+Christianity is inferior and less rational. Such converts as the
+missionaries do make come almost exclusively from among the Armenians,
+Syrians, Greeks, Maronites, and other Christian sects whose form of
+Christianity is of a mediæval character. The chief missionary work in
+Turkey is educational, carried forward in a religious spirit. At the
+time of my visit to the various vilayets, the Presbyterian Board alone
+had over one hundred schools throughout Syria, all located in places
+where previously there had been no schools at all.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Many of the men who carried forward missionary work had consecrated
+their whole lives to it. Chief among these were Rev. Henry H. Jessup,
+venerable patriarch of the Presbyterian missionaries; Rev. Daniel Bliss,
+president of the Syrian Protestant College; and Dr. George Washburn,
+president of Robert College.
+
+Dr. Jessup and Dr. Bliss had started for the field together in 1856,
+when, in bleak December, they both left Boston in the sailing vessel
+Sultana, which, according to Dr. Jessup's autobiography, "Fifty-Three
+Years in Syria," carried in addition to nine or ten missionaries a cargo
+of New England rum to Smyrna--a cargo spirited no less than spiritual.
+
+Dr. Bliss was succeeded in 1902 by his distinguished son, Rev. Howard S.
+Bliss, who conducted with renewed vigor the work of his father,
+enlarging the scope and curriculum of the college so that through its
+thousands of graduates in the arts, in science, and in medicine it
+became a potent force throughout the whole Near East. During my
+subsequent missions to Turkey I became very intimate with the younger
+Bliss, and during the Peace Conference in 1919, when he was in Paris in
+behalf of Syria, I was able to continue this intimacy. Unfortunately in
+Paris he was already suffering from a serious malady which resulted in
+his death in America the year following. He was honored, respected, and
+beloved in both the old world and the new.
+
+Dr. Washburn was a man of statesmanship as well as erudition. His book
+of recollections, "Fifty Years in Constantinople," is valuable for the
+light it throws on political issues in Turkey no less than on questions
+educational and religious. He was recognized as an authority on Turkish
+and Balkan affairs, and the influence of the college was by no means
+limited to the Turkish Empire; it was felt quite as much throughout the
+Balkan States. Bulgaria at one period was largely governed by officials
+who had been graduated from Robert College, and they looked to Dr.
+Washburn as their chief adviser. The British ambassador at
+Constantinople frequently consulted him and was swayed by his advice,
+for Dr. Washburn understood the Turks and spoke their language. He was
+the second president of the college, having succeeded his father-in-law,
+the Reverend Cyrus Hamlin, D.D.
+
+On the faculty of Robert College were a number of other very able men:
+Dr. Albert L. Long, Professor of Natural Science, distinguished as an
+archæologist as well, was a man of engaging personality. He had a large
+acquaintance among the learned Turks, whose estimate of our country was
+materially influenced for the good by their association with him. Then
+there was Dr. Edwin A. Grosvenor, Professor of Latin and History, who
+resigned shortly afterward to accept a professorship at Amherst. He was
+then at work on his scholarly "History of Constantinople," which I
+consider the best and most reliable work on that subject.
+
+In 1888 I secured for Robert College, after arduous negotiation,
+permission for the erection of two new buildings, one a house for the
+president and the other an addition to the college itself. When the
+permits came through there was no mention of the addition to the
+college, and as work on it meanwhile had been begun, no little anxiety
+ensued. It developed that some one on the staff of the Grand Vizier had
+been bribed by an enemy of the college to tamper with the permits.
+However, because of the good relationship between Kiamil Pasha and
+myself, he acknowledged this bit of chicanery and duly rectified it.
+
+I might add that in numerous instances I was able to arrange
+unofficially with the Grand Vizier matters which threatened to become
+more or less troublesome. This method of negotiating was peculiarly
+advantageous at the Porte, where delays were proverbial and so
+frequently defeated official action. Again, some of the difficulty
+experienced by my colleagues in getting proper redress for violations,
+even gross violations, was due to the fact that the Porte was not always
+able to control the governor-generals of the provinces.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I have said that my trip among our missionary schools included a visit
+to Cairo. At that time Egypt was still under Turkish sovereignty and
+questions of larger importance had to be taken up with the Sublime
+Porte. Thus American questions came under my jurisdiction as envoy
+extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the empire. Our
+representative at Cairo, John Cardwell, had the title of consul-general
+and diplomatic agent, and had to receive his exequatur from the Sublime
+Porte. He was a conscientious and capable official who had been there
+since the beginning of the first Cleveland Administration.
+
+On this trip also I saw much of Anthony M. Keiley and his charming wife;
+I have spoken of him in a previous chapter as having been rejected for
+the post of United States minister by Austria-Hungary. Keiley was
+serving as one of the American judges of the Mixed or Reform Tribunal at
+Cairo and was highly respected for his ability at this international
+court.
+
+Mohammed Tewfik, son of the extravagant Ismail of Suez Canal fame, whom
+he succeeded, was Khedive of Egypt and entertained us during our visit.
+He was only thirty-six years old, and without his fez might have been
+taken for an Englishman. He spoke fluent English and his conversation
+showed him to be well informed regarding the governments and peoples of
+Europe. Within an hour after my first call upon him he called with his
+aide-de-camp upon me at the Hotel Shepheard. He wanted to decorate me,
+but I informed his aide that under our system we did not permit
+diplomatic representatives to accept such distinctions; so the next day
+he sent a lesser decoration to the manager of the hotel, which, it was
+said, he did in my honor.
+
+A few days later we were invited to lunch with him, and there were also
+present a number of higher officials. The menu consisted of dishes with
+such improvised names as "crevettes à l'Américaine," "bombe à la
+Lincoln," etc. One dish that made a deep impression upon my
+none-too-keen gastronomic memory was the delicious Egyptian quail, which
+is larger and plumper than our own. In season the birds migrate from the
+north and are trapped in great numbers. They could be bought in the
+markets for a piaster, or less than five cents.
+
+I had frequent conferences with Nubar Pasha, Egypt's foremost statesman.
+He was an Armenian educated by Jesuits in France. His knowledge was
+extensive, and he combined the enlightened viewpoint of a European
+statesman of the first rank with all the subtlety of an Oriental. It was
+he who conceived the plan of introducing a legal system and good
+government in Egypt, and creating the mixed tribunals or international
+law courts. In the reorganization of Egypt he acted in sympathy with
+Lord Dufferin's programme and consequently was highly regarded by the
+British.
+
+With Sir Evelyn Baring, British agent and consul-general in Egypt,
+afterwards Lord Cromer, I had a pleasant conversation. He was then at
+the height of his power in the reconstruction of Egypt. Major-General
+Sir Francis Grenfell, sirdar or commanding general of the Egyptian army,
+is another memory in connection with that visit.
+
+I regretted that time did not permit my going up the Nile; but like
+every one with an historical imagination I was immensely impressed with
+the grandeur and massive beauty of the pyramids and the classic ruins of
+ancient Egypt, which with their five thousand or more years of existence
+have outdistanced all other relics in bringing the handiwork of man down
+through ages of devastating time.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a matter pending at Jerusalem regarding which our Secretary of
+State had instructed me, and which I thought best to look into
+personally while on this trip. Foreign Jews were being expelled simply
+because of their race, and American Jews were being discriminated
+against along with those of other nations. In the background of this
+action by Turkey were Russia and Roumania, for since the days of the
+Spanish Inquisition the Ottoman authorities, with rare exceptions, had
+been not only tolerant but hospitable to Jewish immigrants. Roumania,
+contrary to express provisions of the Treaty of Berlin guaranteeing
+equal political and civil rights to all subjects in this newly created
+principality, placed restrictions upon her Jewish subjects, causing a
+large number to emigrate. And from Russia, following the enforcement of
+the Ignatieff laws of 1882 (some of them laws that had been on the
+statute books unenforced for years), there was also a wholesale exodus
+of persecuted Jews. Most of these people went to America, but some to
+other countries, including Palestine.
+
+It was the irony of persecution that the Russians who came to Turkey
+were claimed as subjects by Russia, which entered a protest at the Porte
+against making them Ottoman subjects. On the other hand, the Russian
+Patriarch in Turkey and the dignitaries of the Roman Church objected to
+the settlement of foreign Jews in Palestine. This pressure from powers
+that Turkey wished to please brought forth the promulgation of a law
+interdicting all Jews from coming to Palestine for permanent residence.
+Besides those from Russia and Roumania, there were a few Jews coming
+from England and France. And there were a very few coming from
+America--naturalized citizens.
+
+At the Porte I had taken this matter up with the Grand Vizier. He told
+me that a regulation was communicated to the Imperial authorities at
+Jerusalem limiting the stay of foreign Jews there to one month. Later he
+told me that the Council of Ministers was about to change this limit to
+three months. He gave as reasons for the existence of any such
+regulations, first, that at certain times of the year, Easter, for
+example, religious fanaticism was at so high a pitch that Jews had to
+remain in their houses to escape attack and perhaps murder at the hands
+of the Christians. In the second place, it had been reported that the
+Jews of all the world were planning to strengthen themselves in and
+around Jerusalem with a view to re-establishing their ancient kingdom at
+some future time.
+
+I answered that of course the first reason could be done away with by a
+strong force of police. As for the second, if the Porte would make
+inquiry it could satisfy itself that there was no such plan among the
+Jews of the world, that the immigration was caused by the persecution in
+Russia and Roumania. (This was nine years before the publication of the
+pamphlet, in 1896, by Dr. Hertzl, from which generated modern Zionism. I
+shall speak of Dr. Hertzl later.) So far as the American Jews were
+concerned, I informed the Grand Vizier that it was a fundamental
+principle of our Government to make no distinction of race or creed
+among our citizens, and that we had consistently denied to foreign
+nations that right over our citizens, as the provisions in our treaties
+with the Ottoman Empire showed. To all of this the Grand Vizier replied
+simply that should any American be expelled he would carefully consider
+my arguments and give instructions accordingly.
+
+On communicating with our consul-general at Jerusalem, Henry Gillman, I
+learned that he had taken the same position, and that to date no
+American citizen had been expelled; also that the American consulate was
+the only one which had refused aid to the authorities in the expulsion
+of foreign Jews, and our representative was not being made very
+comfortable for this non-coöperation with the local government. Here the
+matter stood when I left Constantinople.
+
+There were a number of other vexatious questions pending between the
+vali at Jerusalem and Mr. Gillman, and I deemed it good policy to show
+my resentment to the vali for his arbitrary methods. I declined the
+courtesy of the official conveyance with which he sent one of his aides
+to Jaffa to meet me and my family and take us to Jerusalem. We took a
+Cook's conveyance, stopped overnight at Ramleh, and next day drove over
+the hills of Judea to Jerusalem, where Mr. Gillman conducted us to
+comfortable quarters at a hotel outside the walls.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Scarcely had I arrived at the hotel when a huge delegation of Jews, men
+and women, some with infants in their arms, came to plead with me to
+obtain the release of relatives and friends who had been put in prison
+by the vali or governor because they had come to settle there. I had
+known of the troubled conditions in Jerusalem because of the immigration
+of the Jews; but until my arrival there I was not aware of the
+imprisonment of these people. More than four hundred of them were being
+held in prison awaiting deportation.
+
+Instead of calling on the vali as ordinarily would have been proper, I
+sent a note to him through the consul demanding the immediate release of
+the immigrants who, I claimed, were being imprisoned contrary to our
+treaty as well as the treaties of Great Britain, France, and other
+powers; I said that I should decline to call upon him until this
+injustice was righted by such release; and that, further, unless my
+request was promptly complied with I should appeal to the Sublime Porte
+for his removal.
+
+I felt authorized to take so drastic a step by reason of the
+negotiations I had had with the Grand Vizier and in view of our treaty
+and the treaties of several of the powers I have referred to. I obtained
+the desired result. The vali communicated my message to the Porte, and
+the Grand Vizier instructed him to comply with my request. Within
+twenty-four hours all the prisoners were released.
+
+The following morning there was a delegation of several thousand people
+outside my hotel, who had come to express their gratitude. They
+presented me with a beautifully embossed memorial, the text of which,
+translated, reads:
+
+     With delight of soul we bring to thee, O Sir, glory of our people,
+     the blessing of our community, the congregations of Israel dwelling
+     in Zion and in all the cities of the Holy Land,
+
+                            THE BLESSING OF MAZZOL TOV
+                                       (good fortune)
+
+     because the Lord God of Israel has raised thee to fame and glory
+     and has given to thee a seat of honor among the mighty of the
+     earth. And we lift our hands to the Holy Sanctuary (praying) that
+     thy horn be exalted with honor and splendor, and that thou be given
+     the strength and the power to exalt the horn of Israel, thy people,
+     to speak in their favor before the throne of the Government--may
+     its glory increase!--and that thou continue in thy honored office
+     for many days, until he (the messiah) shall come unto Shiloh "and
+     unto him shall the obedience of the people be"--soon, in our days,
+     amen!
+
+     Such is the blessing of those who respect and honor thee in
+     accordance with thy high and exalted station.
+
+     The leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem--may it be built and
+     established in our days!
+
+It is signed with the seals and signatures of Rafail Meir Panisel (Haham
+Bashi), chief rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in Jerusalem, and
+Samuel Salant, chief rabbi of the Ashkenazim, Perushim, and Hasidim in
+Jerusalem.
+
+Now I called upon the vali, who received me very graciously and with
+great courtesy. I thanked him for his prompt compliance with my request,
+and expressed the hope that, inasmuch as I had an understanding with the
+Porte that no discrimination was to be made against Jewish immigrants to
+Jerusalem, I should not in future have to complain of any infringement
+upon this understanding, otherwise I should again be compelled to take
+drastic action. I called his attention to the treaties referred to, of
+which he had had no previous knowledge.
+
+I stopped to make some official calls, accompanied by the consul and his
+staff. As is customary when high officials go through the streets of the
+Holy City, several halberdiers of the vali preceded, to give distinction
+to the party as well as protection and a clear passage through the
+crowds. I could remain in Jerusalem only three or four days, however,
+for I had to catch the steamer that stopped at Alexandretta and Smyrna,
+where I wanted to confer with our consuls.
+
+Upon my return to Constantinople my French and British colleagues were
+much pleased at my having secured the release of the Jewish immigrants
+in Palestine. They had received, through their foreign offices,
+expressions of appreciation and grateful acknowledgment from such
+organizations as the Anglo-Jewish Association of London, and the
+Alliance Israélite of Paris.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: TESTIMONIAL GIVEN TO MR. STRAUS IN JERUSALEM IN
+APPRECIATION OF THE RELEASE OF SEVERAL HUNDRED PRISONERS]
+
+The next step in the development of this question was a communication
+received by our State Department from Mavroyeni Bey, Turkish minister at
+Washington, informing the Department of a change, indeed, of the time
+limit from one month to three for the sojourn of Jews in Jerusalem, with
+the proviso, however, "that they are going to Jerusalem in the
+performance of a pilgrimage, and not for the purpose of engaging in
+commerce or taking up their residence there."
+
+This communication was received while I was on my trip, and Secretary
+Bayard forwarded it to me with the instruction that I take up the
+subject with the Ottoman Government as follows:
+
+     To require of applicants for passports, which under our laws are
+     issued to all citizens upon the sole evidence of their citizenship,
+     any announcement of their religious faith or declaration of their
+     personal motives in seeking such passports, would be utterly
+     repugnant to the spirit of our institutions and to the intent of
+     the solemn proscription forever by the Constitution of any
+     religious test as a qualification of the relations of the citizen
+     to the Government, and would, moreover, assume an inquisitorial
+     function in respect of the personal affairs of the individual,
+     which this Government can not exert for its own purposes, and could
+     still less assume to exercise with the object of aiding a foreign
+     Government in the enforcement of an objectionable and arbitrary
+     discrimination against certain of our citizens.
+
+     Our adherence to these principles has been unwavering since the
+     foundation of our Government, and you will be at no loss to cite
+     pertinent examples of our consistent defense of religious liberty,
+     which, as I said in my note to Baron Schaeffer of May 18, 1885, in
+     relation to the Keiley episode at Vienna, "is the chief
+     corner-stone of the American system of Government, and provisions
+     for its security are embedded in the written charter and interwoven
+     in the moral fabric of its laws."
+
+I received this upon my return. Secretary Bayard asked me also to
+ascertain the views of my colleagues respecting this iradé, and I found
+them willing and ready to take it up with the Porte in a manner similar
+to the instructions I had received.
+
+I called on Saïd Pasha and left with him a note in accordance with my
+instructions, and I sent a copy of this note to the French and British
+ambassadors. They in turn each advised the Ministry that they could not
+admit of regulations prejudicial to the existing rights of their
+subjects as secured by treaties. And here for a time the matter rested.
+
+Several months later three American Jews were expelled from Jerusalem
+because they had not left the city at the expiration of three months,
+and again the question had to be taken up with the Porte. This time Saïd
+Pasha replied that the restrictions with regard to the three Americans
+had been ordered withdrawn, "the Sublime Porte having lately decided
+that the measure concerning the Israelites going to Palestine shall not
+be applied but to those who emigrate in number (_en nombre_), and that
+no obstacle shall be opposed to the sojourn of those who are not in this
+class."
+
+This, like most other questions that arose between the Ottoman
+Government and our own, could not be settled for any length of time by
+principle, law, or treaty. Such documents might be used as reminders of
+agreements once reached, but in Turkey they do not of themselves direct
+policies or action. Drummond Wolff had advised being "patient, pleasant,
+persistent," to which I would add: eternally vigilant.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the whole, the interests of the United States throughout the Ottoman
+Empire were peculiar, in that the majority of the complaints related to
+personal, as distinct from commercial, rights. I have said in an earlier
+chapter that some of the questions at issue, especially those involving
+extraterritoriality, grew out of capitulations dating back over four
+hundred years, to the conquest of Constantinople by the Moslems in 1453.
+The terms of these capitulations or "privileges" were made originally
+between the Greeks and the various Italian city republics--Pisa, Genoa,
+Venice. The Moslems later embodied them in revised capitulations with
+France in 1535, 1604, 1673, and 1740; with England in 1583 and 1675;
+with Holland in 1680; with Austria in 1718; and with Russia in 1783. On
+these later European capitulations was based our own first treaty with
+the Sublime Porte in 1830. Practically speaking, therefore, consular
+jurisdiction in Turkey was then not very different from what it was in
+the fifteenth century.
+
+When I took office one of the vexatious questions to be settled was the
+interpretation of Clause IV of the Treaty of 1830. This treaty was
+negotiated by Charles Rhind, as American commissioner, with Reis
+Effendi, Turkish representative. Rhind had prepared it, with the help of
+dragoman Navoni, in French and in Turkish, and when it was finally drawn
+up, according to Rhind's own report, Reis Effendi "signed and sealed the
+treaty in Turkish and I did the same with the French translation, and we
+exchanged them." Thereupon the original Turkish version, together with a
+copy of the French translation as signed by the American
+commissioners--President Jackson had appointed Captain James Biddle and
+David Offley together with Rhind--and several English translations were
+transmitted to Washington. The treaty actually approved by the Senate
+was one of the English versions.
+
+Before the ratifications were exchanged the American chargé d'affaires
+at Constantinople, David Porter, received word that the French version
+was not exactly in agreement with the Turkish. Porter's simple method of
+correcting this discrepancy was to sign a document, also in the Turkish
+language, accepting the Turkish version of the treaty without reserve;
+and when the translation of this document reached Washington nothing
+further was said.
+
+Indeed, the treaty rested in peace until 1868, when the American
+minister, acting according to the English version, clashed with the
+Turkish authorities in the interpretation of Clause IV, regarding
+jurisdiction over American citizens--in this case two who had been
+arrested and imprisoned for alleged offenses against the Turkish
+Government. The English version read:
+
+     Citizens of the United States of America, quietly pursuing their
+     commerce, and not being charged or convicted of any crime or
+     offence, shall not be molested; and even when they may have
+     committed some offence they shall not be arrested and put in
+     prison, by the local authorities, but they shall be tried by their
+     Minister or Consul, and punished according to their offence,
+     following, in this respect, the usage observed towards other
+     Franks.
+
+When our Government proceeded to obtain exact translations of this
+clause, it was found that the Turkish version did not contain the words
+"arrested" or "tried," although the phraseology made clear that American
+citizens were not to be imprisoned in Turkish prisons, but punished
+through their minister or consul. Consequently, the Turkish authorities
+could arrest but not imprison, could try but not inflict punishment.
+
+The Turkish Government would not recognize as accurate any of the
+translations the United States presented. When asked to present a
+translation of its own, however, the matter was gradually put in
+abeyance.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In 1862 our minister, E. J. Morris, concluded another treaty with the
+Porte, entitled, as was the first one, "A Treaty of Commerce and
+Navigation," which, by its Article XX, was to remain in force
+twenty-eight years unless either party saw fit to abrogate at the end of
+fourteen or twenty-one years. In January, 1874, the Turkish Government
+gave notice to our Department of State of its desire to terminate the
+treaty, following this notice up with another communication to the same
+effect in September, 1875. Although by the terms of the treaty such
+notice was to be permissible not earlier than June, 1876, nothing was
+said in Washington regarding the untimeliness of these communications,
+and in his Annual Message of December, 1876, President Grant announced:
+"Under this notice the treaty terminated upon the fifth day of June
+1876." President Cleveland, on the other hand, in his first Annual
+Message nine years later, questioned the official termination, but
+added: "As the commercial rights of our citizens in Turkey come under
+the favored-nation guarantee of the prior treaty of 1830 ... no
+inconvenience can result" from our agreeing to the abrogation. Thus
+questions of jurisdiction and commercial rights were thrown back for
+settlement under the Treaty of 1830, the translation of which was and
+has remained in dispute.
+
+Much of this confusion was due, again, to the slight actual regard, on
+the part of the Ottoman Empire, for the terms of treaties. In this
+attitude they had been encouraged by some of the European nations--most
+of all Russia in its more powerful days--who, in return for other
+advantages, were not insistent upon their claims under the
+capitulations, especially the claims of jurisdiction over nationals. So
+far as concerned the United States, this loose effectiveness of treaties
+caused constant misunderstanding with regard to the handling of cases
+arising under them.
+
+With every question that came up under the disputed Clause IV, for
+instance, the Turks would controvert the right of our consuls to try,
+and we would insist on that right. The battle then would be won after a
+fashion by the side with the most persistence. During my administration
+I happened to be the winner much of the time, although my winning merely
+released a possibly innocent person; for while we argued about a trial
+for the suspect he lingered in jail, and after I got his release the
+Turks would refuse to acknowledge our jurisdiction and not prosecute.
+Innocent and guilty alike were made to suffer in jail, and alike were
+set scot-free upon release. Not only that, but whenever an American
+citizen committed, or was alleged to have committed, a crime and was
+arrested by the Turkish authorities, it created irritation and a strain
+of our relationship.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The only other treaty then negotiated between the Ottoman Government and
+our own--the Treaty of Naturalization and Extradition--had also been a
+subject for discussion and dispute ever since it was signed by Minister
+George H. Boker in 1874. When it was concluded, the Senate refused to
+confirm it because under it American citizenship was forfeited _ipso
+facto_ by the return of the naturalized citizen to his native land and
+his remaining there two years; but the Senate amended this treaty by
+changing the phraseology of the clause containing the two-year
+reference. The Sublime Porte accepted the amendment by a declaration of
+what it understood to be its intent and significance, which
+interpretation our Government, in turn, would not accept.
+
+And there that treaty was hung in 1875, although our Government that
+year made an appropriation of ten thousand eight hundred dollars for
+presents to Turkish officials, which was then customary on concluding a
+treaty with the Porte.
+
+As the conditions which had called forth the treaty continued to exist,
+I was instructed to renew negotiations in the matter. A number of
+Christian subjects of the Porte--some Greeks and some Syrians, but
+principally Armenians--in order to free themselves from Turkish
+jurisdiction had fled to the United States. Here they remained long
+enough to become citizens, and from time to time they came back to
+Turkey, where they were charged with being involved in alleged
+conspiracies against the Turkish Government. Such cases arose
+frequently, and it was felt that the Treaty of Naturalization and
+Extradition with the two-year clause, similar to the one we have with
+many other nations, would prevent citizens of the Porte from using
+naturalization in America as a means of escaping liability as subjects
+of Turkey upon their return there.
+
+I addressed myself to bringing about an adjustment of these
+difficulties, either by securing a new treaty or having the one of 1874
+accepted as amended. A long and tedious exchange of notes on the subject
+ensued. Finally the Porte agreed to accept the Treaty of 1874 as
+amended.
+
+Of course I was elated, and the State Department was pleased. That the
+treaty was one very much desired by our Government was clear. I received
+a long, flattering cable of congratulation from Mr. Bayard, and a letter
+in similar vein from Mr. Adee, saying in part:
+
+     Whatever may be the outcome of these negotiations, you are to be
+     congratulated without stint on having achieved a decided diplomatic
+     success by causing the Government of the Porte to recede from the
+     position which it took in 1875, with respect to the Senate
+     amendments, and to which it has so pertinaciously adhered ever
+     since, until you wrought a change of heart and induced it to take a
+     more rational view of the subject. This makes it far easier for us
+     to deal with the question now as justice and equity and due respect
+     for the rights and privileges attaching to American nationality may
+     demand.
+
+Then the bubble burst! Under my instructions I had assured the Turkish
+authorities that with their acceptance of the amendments of our Senate
+the negotiations in the matter would be concluded, and all that would be
+necessary to give effect to the treaty was the proclamation of the
+President. Instead, however, it was thought best again to submit the
+terms to the Senate, as fourteen years had elapsed since the negotiation
+of the original treaty. Thereupon some of our leading missionaries, at
+the instigation of prominent Armenians who had been naturalized in
+America and returned to Turkey, opposed ratification, and no further
+action was taken. It was a very discouraging situation, for many
+annoying cases constantly came up, some of a rather serious nature.
+
+I might add that ten years later, when I was again minister to Turkey, I
+was instructed to renew negotiations, but the Ottoman Government was now
+unwilling to negotiate at all on this subject, and we were left without
+any treaty of naturalization.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There were one or two interesting special matters that came up during
+this mission. Toward the end of 1887 Baron Maurice de Hirsch came to
+Constantinople to adjust some financial differences with the Turkish
+Government. His railway, connecting Constantinople with European cities,
+was about completed. The Turkish Government claimed that he owed it
+132,000,000 francs, a claim growing out of kilometric guarantees and
+other concessions.
+
+One day while I was calling on the Grand Vizier, Kiamil Pasha, he asked
+to introduce some one to me, and forthwith I met a tall and slender man
+in his fifties, dark eyes sparkling with spirit and energy, clean-shaven
+except for a full black mustache, dressed rather dudishly in a cutaway
+coat, white vest and white spats--Baron de Hirsch. I was glad of this
+opportunity, for I had often heard of him and his great philanthropic
+activities. We had a pleasant conversation about things in general.
+
+A few days later I took dinner with the Sultan. He spoke to me about
+Baron de Hirsch and the claim of Turkey against him. The Turkish
+Government was hard-pressed for funds--its chronic condition. The Sultan
+explained that for some time efforts had been made to arrive at some
+settlement, and that it was now proposed to arbitrate. The Baron had
+suggested first the French and then the Austrian ambassador as
+arbitrator, but neither was satisfactory to His Majesty; he, however,
+had much confidence in my judgment and impartiality, so that he had
+counter-suggested my name to the Baron, which was satisfactory to the
+latter; and they had agreed to pay me an honorarium of one million
+francs.
+
+I assured the Sultan that I was much complimented by his request, but I
+would have to consult the Secretary of State. He told me he had already
+requested the Turkish minister at Washington to inquire the views of the
+Department, and that Mr. Bayard had said there was no objection to my
+acting as arbitrator. But I said I would have to communicate with Mr.
+Bayard personally and would let His Majesty hear from me in the course
+of a few days.
+
+I cabled Mr. Bayard and learned, as the Sultan had said, that there was
+no objection to my acceding to the latter's wishes and accepting the
+honorarium if it appeared to me advisable. Upon giving the proposal
+careful consideration, however, I felt it would not be wise for me to
+comply with the Sultan's request, much as I should have liked to please
+him. Any transaction with the Turkish Government involving money was
+open to suspicion of improper methods and bribery. Had I as arbitrator
+made a decision disappointing to the Turkish Government, I should
+certainly have fallen under such suspicion, and I deemed it improper to
+assume an obligation which might throw the American legation into a
+false light.
+
+I advised Secretary Bayard accordingly and frankly told the Sultan I
+could not accept. I added, however, that while I would not accept an
+honorarium, I should be glad to act as mediator to see whether a
+satisfactory adjustment could not be brought about between the Baron and
+the Grand Vizier, which offer the Sultan accepted.
+
+As the negotiations went forward, the Baron and the Grand Vizier had
+frequent disagreements and altercations. Each of them would come to me
+with his grievance, and I would give my opinion and bring them together
+again. Finally there arose a legal question, and this was submitted to
+Professor Gneist, the famous German authority on international law. Upon
+his decision the Baron finally paid the Turkish Government 22,000,000
+francs.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During these negotiations, which lasted several months, an intimate
+friendship developed between the Baron and his wife and Mrs. Straus and
+myself. They often took family dinner with us. They were declining
+official invitations because of the recent death of their only child,
+Lucien. The Baroness was an exceptionally fine woman, learned and able,
+whose principal aim in life seemed to be to find ways of being most
+helpful to others. In the quarters of the poor, both Jew and Gentile,
+her short, trim figure, dressed in deep mourning, was familiar. Her face
+had an attractively benign expression. A story regarding her activities
+in connection with the construction of her husband's railroad was
+characteristic of her.
+
+In a village near Constantinople a number of houses belonging to the
+poor had to be torn down to make way for the railway station. The work
+was to be done with the understanding that the Turkish Government would
+compensate these people, but evidently no such consideration was
+forthcoming. A number of those thus dispossessed came to the Baron to
+complain, but he answered that it was the Government's responsibility,
+not his. On hearing of this the Baroness informed her husband that she
+did not propose to let the railroad cause unhappiness to people, that it
+would probably be a long time before the Government paid the
+compensation, if ever, and that she insisted on paying these people out
+of her own private fortune so they could at once build new houses and be
+happy. Then and there she carried out that programme.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Baron spoke to me of his own benefactions and said he purposed
+during his lifetime to devote his fortune to benevolent causes. His
+philanthropy up to that time had been bestowed mainly in Russia, but he
+was desirous of doing something for the Russians who, because of the
+oppression resultant from the Ignatieff laws, were emigrating to
+America. They had been persecuted and were poor, and he wanted to enable
+them to reëstablish themselves.
+
+I was familiar with the conditions of these Russian immigrants, because
+prior to my coming to Turkey I had been in close relationship for
+several years with Michael Heilprin, author of a number of scholarly
+works and one of the chief editors of Appleton's Encyclopædia. He worked
+untiringly on behalf of these new arrivals, collecting money for them
+and aiding them personally in numerous ways. I think his untimely death
+was due primarily to his generous expenditure of energy in this way. I
+mentioned Heilprin to the Baron and said I would write him for
+suggestions how best the immigrants might be helped.
+
+When I heard from Heilprin I forwarded the letter to the Baron, together
+with a list of men who had done most in the way of benevolent work for
+the Jews of New York. Prominent on that list were Meyer S. Isaacs,
+president of the United Hebrew Congregations; Jesse Seligman, president
+of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum; Jacob H. Schiff, who was connected with a
+number of our charitable enterprises; and my brother Isidor. The Baron
+subsequently communicated with Mr. Isaacs and some others, and out of
+their arrangements grew the Baron de Hirsch Fund and the Baron de Hirsch
+Trade School. Later the Baroness, upon conferring with Mrs. Straus,
+endowed the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls.
+
+Neither my wife nor I wish to claim any credit for the founding of the
+de Hirsch benevolent institutions. We were simply the medium through
+which these came into being. We never even suggested the nature of them.
+We only gave the requested information regarding the need for such
+institutions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: OSCAR S. STRAUS
+
+Constantinople, 1888]
+
+But to come back to Constantinople and its railroads. During 1888 the
+question of a railroad from Constantinople to the Persian Gulf was much
+agitated, especially by the Germans. The Grand Vizier several times
+brought up the subject in conversation with me, asking me to help him
+get in communication with some reliable American railroad builders. He
+assured me that the Turkish Government would give more favorable terms
+to a group of Americans because the project would then be free from the
+political complications that might ensue if a road through the heart
+of the empire were controlled by Germany or any other European power.
+
+William K. Vanderbilt was in Constantinople at the time. He had arrived
+in his yacht, which was larger than most yachts that came through the
+Dardanelles, so it was stopped until I could procure for him a special
+permit from the Sultan to proceed. At the Sultan's request, I spoke to
+Vanderbilt about the railroad and introduced him to the Grand Vizier.
+But he was on pleasure bent and not inclined to take up the cares and
+burdens involved in such an undertaking.
+
+Of course it was apparent that if American capitalists and railroad
+builders with their vast experience would take up the construction of
+this road it would put tremendous power and prestige into American
+hands. I suggested that Carl Schurz and Henry Villard might be the
+proper persons to undertake this gigantic work. Villard's name had
+figured prominently in the completion of the Northern Pacific; he was
+close to Schurz, and they each enjoyed a high reputation. Soon
+thereafter the Porte submitted the matter to a syndicate of German,
+British, and French bankers, and the famous Bagdad Railroad was not
+built by Americans.
+
+Early in 1888 I received a letter from an old friend, the Reverend
+William Hayes Ward, eminent Assyriologist and scholarly editor of the
+"Independent," respecting an expedition for excavating in Babylonia
+which the Reverend John P. Peters, of the University of Pennsylvania,
+contemplated. Under Dr. William Pepper, provost of the university, Dr.
+Peters was organizing the Babylon Exploration Fund, which would base its
+work on the recommendations made in 1884-85 by the Wolfe expedition
+headed by Dr. Ward himself. The Wolfe expedition, financed by Miss
+Catherine L. Wolfe, of New York City, had been limited to
+reconnoissance and exploration. Shortly thereafter the subject was
+brought to my attention officially by Mr. Adee, of the Department of
+State, who wrote me:
+
+     We find ourselves between two fires,--on one hand is the
+     Philadelphia organization under the lead of Dr. Peters, which has
+     the money, and on the other is the Johns Hopkins enterprise, which
+     has the most solid ballasting of Assyriological talent, but,
+     unfortunately, its dollars are limited. As the Johns Hopkins people
+     deposit all their collections in the National Museum, Professor
+     Langley feels kindly disposed towards them.... We shall probably
+     have to look to you as the _deus ex machina_ to prescribe a
+     solution.
+
+I conferred unofficially with Hamdy Bey, director of the Imperial Museum
+at Stamboul, himself a very competent scientist and in charge of all
+excavations in Turkey, who informed me fully regarding the Turkish law
+governing excavations, among other things that a permit for making them
+had to be obtained from the Ministry of Public Instruction (and these
+permits were not easily obtained); and that all objects discovered were
+the property of the Turkish Government, the excavator being permitted
+only moulds or drawings thereof, except possibly in the case of certain
+duplicates.
+
+To save time in the matter, I brought it before the Grand Vizier, who
+promised support in laying the project before His Majesty the Sultan,
+with the view possibly of getting an iradé to export at least a portion,
+if not half, of the objects discovered. I suggested to our State
+Department that the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins work
+together and operate as one body, so that an iradé, should it be
+obtainable, might serve for the benefit of all concerned.
+
+While _en route_ to the United States on a short leave of absence I met
+Dr. Peters in London. He handed me a letter of introduction from
+President Cleveland asking my good offices. The proposed excavations
+interested me very much, and I promised Dr. Peters I would give the
+subject immediate attention upon returning to my post. Meanwhile I
+instructed the chargé, Mr. King, how to proceed in my absence.
+
+Early in November when I got back to Constantinople I asked for an
+audience with the Sultan to explain the purposes of the exploration
+fund, the interest of the various universities and scientific societies
+in it, adding that I had received a personal letter from the President
+in regard to it, and that if he would give the permit to excavate it
+would meet with high appreciation in my country.
+
+It was the custom for ministers, as distinct from ambassadors, to
+dismount at the Palace gate and proceed to the Palace on foot. For this
+occasion, however, orders had been given for our coming in at the Palace
+door. Here I was met by His Highness, the Grand Vizier; the Minister of
+Foreign Affairs; and the Grand Master of Ceremonies. After some fifteen
+minutes the Grand Vizier and the Grand Master of Ceremonies ushered me
+into the presence of His Majesty. A private audience took place, wherein
+the Sultan seemed very affable indeed. He said he was happy to welcome
+me back to my post and hoped that Mrs. Straus and I had had a pleasant
+trip.
+
+His Majesty then led the way to the brilliantly illuminated dining-hall,
+where a military orchestra of about thirty members was playing. I was
+seated at His Majesty's right, with the dragoman next to me, and the
+Grand Vizier was at the left; down both sides sat the pashas, their
+breasts sparkling with diamond orders. The dinner was served on gold and
+silver plates, and the menu was excellent and not overburdened. The
+Sultan conversed freely, cheerfully, and apparently without reserve.
+
+After dinner we went with him to a play in the little theater on the
+Palace grounds. At an opportune moment between the acts, while His
+Majesty questioned me regarding some matters in the United States, I
+referred to the excavations, and to the fact that several
+representatives of the universities were awaiting his decision. He
+graciously stated that permission would be granted, and it was given a
+very few days thereafter.
+
+Though we were all somewhat disappointed because the permit was more
+restricted than we had been led to expect, it enabled Dr. Peters and his
+party to go ahead with their work. Dr. Peters has left a full account of
+the explorations and the objects discovered, some of them dating back
+earlier than 4000 B.C., in his two volumes entitled "Nippur," which form
+a lasting memorial to his services in the cause of archæology.
+
+Unfavorable as we thought the permit was, I was accused by Theodore
+Bent, British archæologist, writing in the "Contemporary Review," of
+bribing Hamdy Bey to obtain a favorable firman. He himself had dug at
+Thasos the previous year and had run into difficulties with the Turkish
+authorities, resulting in the seizure of his findings. He still felt
+revengeful toward Hamdy Bey, and the knowledge of our negotiations for a
+permit afforded him ground for a scurrilous attack on the director of
+the museum, who was, nevertheless, a man of fine character and high
+repute.
+
+The fact really was that the Sultan felt somewhat under obligations to
+me because of my services in another matter. There were in the Ottoman
+Empire a million or more Persians, mainly rug dealers. Many of them had
+married Turkish women. The Sultan claimed that when a Persian in Turkey
+married a Turkish subject his nationality followed that of his wife. The
+controversy had gone so far that the Shah of Persia was about to recall
+his ambassador, and they finally agreed to submit the matter to me for
+decision.
+
+I took the subject under advisement and wrote an opinion in accordance
+with the universally accepted doctrine of nationality under such
+conditions, namely, that upon marriage nationality followed that of the
+husband. But instead of rendering my decision, I advised the Sultan what
+it would be and suggested that it would probably make for better
+relationship if he would anticipate my decision by agreeing with the
+Shah's contention. This he appreciated. At the same time it relieved me
+from the necessity of deciding against the sovereign to whom I was
+accredited.
+
+Of course the Shah's ambassador, Mohsin Khan, who was practically
+viceroy in the Ottoman Empire, desired to confer upon me Persia's
+decoration, the Lion and the Sun, set in costly brilliants, and once
+more I had to explain our custom in regard to such things. It is indeed
+a wise provision of our Constitution which prohibits American officials
+from accepting "any present, emolument, office or title of any kind
+whatever" without the consent of Congress.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The election of 1888 having resulted in a Republican victory, I tendered
+my resignation to the new President upon his taking office, as is
+customary for heads of missions when there has been a change in the
+administration. I was unofficially informed that numerous letters and
+memorials had been received in Washington from individuals and
+missionary and church bodies, asking that I be retained at my post; Dr.
+Pepper, of the University of Pennsylvania, and several other university
+heads also joined in urging my retention. But I wrote Dr. Pepper not to
+push the request, as I could no longer absent myself from my private
+affairs. The main matters of difference between the two Governments had
+been settled, and I felt justified in resigning, even had Cleveland been
+reëlected, for I could not afford to stay on except under pressure of
+patriotic necessity.
+
+The salary at the Porte barely covered my house rent. I had secured the
+best available house with facilities for entertaining and the returning
+of hospitalities, and, as I have mentioned before, such functions are
+essential for the proper relations with one's colleagues and the
+government to which one is accredited. Besides, it is important to be
+able to show to one's nationals the hospitality they expect from their
+diplomatic representatives, especially in the case of prominent visitors
+who bring letters from high officials at home.
+
+Again, "noblesse oblige" has its widest and most emphatic application in
+diplomacy. Americans are supposed to be rich, and if an American
+diplomat does not show the usual hospitalities he is charged with
+penuriousness, for it is understood that a man who is not able to live
+according to his station would not be chosen to head a mission. That his
+pay may be inadequate for the discharge of his social duties is not
+generally known. When I was in Washington during my leave of absence Mr.
+Cleveland asked me how I got along on my salary, and I told him then
+that I could have got along fairly well on four times the amount, for I
+had spent between thirty-five and forty thousand dollars a year.
+
+A few days prior to leaving my post in June, 1889, I again dined with
+the Sultan. I had often done so during my stay, but this time he was
+especially gracious and unreserved. He expressed great regret at my
+going, saying that at no time during his reign had the relations of our
+countries been more agreeable, and that he and his minister had had
+every confidence in my candor and fairness. What seemed to have
+impressed him most was my handling of a large claim by an American which
+was being urged through the legation. I carefully examined this claim
+and found it to be justified neither in morals nor in law, and I
+informed the Turkish Government accordingly that I had withdrawn it. The
+Porte was not accustomed to such fair treatment! Of course, ever
+afterward when I presented a matter it was believed to be justified.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Sultan held the government pretty firmly in his own hands--too much
+so in fact--and kept himself very well informed regarding all manner of
+things. On this evening he said he had heard of the great disaster and
+loss of lives caused by the Johnstown flood and he desired to transmit
+through me two hundred pounds to be used for relief work. I cabled the
+amount to the Secretary of State on the following day and communicated
+to His Majesty our Government's acknowledgment:
+
+     Express grateful appreciation of the President and the Government
+     of the United States for the Sultan's generous relief for flood
+     sufferers.
+
+When it became known that I was about to leave my post I received many
+communications expressing regret. These were a great satisfaction,
+especially one beautiful letter from the missionaries of Constantinople,
+signed by Edwin E. Bliss, I. F. Pettibone, Joseph K. Greene, H. S.
+Barnum, Charles A. S. Dwight, Henry O. Dwight, and William G. Bliss.
+
+After we had boarded the steamer to Varna, homeward bound, a royal
+caïque--a rowboat of the graceful lines of a Venetian gondola and manned
+by six oarsmen--came alongside our ship and one of the Sultan's aides
+came aboard to present to Mrs. Straus the highest order of the Shefekat
+decoration, a star set in brilliants, with the special request of His
+Majesty that she accept it as a token of his esteem and regard. As the
+regulations prohibiting me from accepting such honors did not apply to
+my wife, she graciously accepted this parting gift from Abdul Hamid.
+
+And so farewell to Pera and the beautiful Bosphorus!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+HARRISON, CLEVELAND, AND McKINLEY
+
+     One function of ex-diplomats--Russian refugees in flight to
+     America--President Harrison remonstrates with Czar against
+     persecutions--"A decree to leave one country is an order to enter
+     another"--Grover Cleveland's fight for sound money--His letters to
+     me--"The Little White House"--Cleveland under fire for Van Alen
+     appointment--Cleveland's theatrical tastes--A midnight supper of
+     delicatessen and beer--Cleveland's first meeting with Charles F.
+     Murphy, of Tammany Hall--The final confidences of an
+     ex-President--A pilgrimage in England to the school attended by
+     Roger Williams--I join the fight for election reforms--President
+     McKinley summons me to Washington to discuss plan to avert war with
+     Spain--A proposal to "rattle the Sultan's windows"--McKinley urges
+     me to again accept the Turkish post--"Secretary of State for
+     Turkey."
+
+
+Had diplomacy been a career, nothing would have pleased me more than to
+continue in such service of my country. On the whole I cannot say that I
+advocate changing our system as to a more permanent service for the
+heads of missions. Our President is now unhampered to select men who are
+best qualified to deal with the problems in hand at the various posts.
+This is an advantage over a system that tends to keep in office
+ministers and ambassadors who are ill equipped to bring statesmanlike
+qualities to their work, though they may be past-masters in routine and
+social requirements. But it would be well if, on a change of
+administration, removals of heads of missions were the exception rather
+than the rule. Of course, after four or eight years, the return of our
+diplomatic chiefs from foreign fields to the various parts of our
+country has the advantage of enabling these men, by reason of their
+experience and standing, to inform and in a measure guide public opinion
+on questions concerning international affairs.
+
+On my return to New York I reëntered business, but continued to take a
+deep and active interest in public affairs. I spent much of my spare
+time lecturing on public questions and historical matters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Waves of Russian-Jewish immigrants were pounding our shores in the
+spring of 1891. In Russia, pogroms and other forms of mob persecution
+had become so persistent that refugees were arriving in pitiful droves
+at our ports. Sinister circumstance had hurled them from one country
+into another. Many had been compelled to abandon their employment or
+even their own established businesses in Russia, owing to the
+enforcement of the Ignatieff laws and the consequent prohibitions,
+restrictions, and persecutions.
+
+Determined to make a strenuous protest, a small committee was formed of
+prominent Jews from New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago, to lay before
+President Harrison the pitiable conditions day by day presented by the
+arriving refugees, many of whom had been stripped of all their
+possessions.
+
+Our committee was headed by Jesse Seligman, and among the others I
+recall Jacob H. Schiff, of New York, and General Lewis Seasongood, of
+Cincinnati, besides myself. The President listened to our story with
+sympathetic interest, and then turned to me and asked what, in the light
+of my international and diplomatic experience, I thought should be done.
+I told him that we had a right to remonstrate with any nation with which
+we were on friendly terms, as we were with Russia, for committing an
+unfriendly act if that nation by special laws forced groups of its
+people, in pitiable condition, to seek refuge in another country and
+that country our own.
+
+The President agreed, but suggested that our Government ought to have
+before it an official report or statement of facts. I replied that this
+could easily be obtained by sending a competent commission to Russia to
+make inquiry. Promptly Colonel John B. Weber, immigration commissioner
+at Ellis Island, admirably qualified because of his experience in office
+and his sympathetic interest, together with Dr. Walter Kempster, a
+physician known for his studies of the pathology of insanity, were sent
+abroad to make an investigation and report. Their investigation was
+thorough, and they embodied their findings in a report that is a model
+of its kind. It was the first authentic and official report on these
+Russian restrictions and persecutions, and when published it aroused
+great interest in all enlightened parts of Europe as well as at home.
+The distinguished English historian, Lecky, refers to it in his own
+work, "Democracy and Liberty."
+
+George Jones, of the "New York Times," also had an investigation and
+report made by his London correspondent, Harold Frederic. These findings
+the "Times" published as articles and syndicated them to several other
+papers of the country, and later Frederic brought them out in book form
+under the title "The New Exodus."
+
+President Harrison was much impressed with the report of the commission,
+and through diplomatic channels brought the matter to the attention of
+the Russian Government. His reference to this action in the Annual
+Message of December, 1891, is such a clear and convincing recognition of
+humanitarian diplomacy, that I quote it:
+
+     This Government has found occasion to express, in a friendly
+     spirit, but with much earnestness, to the Government of the Czar,
+     its serious concern because of the harsh measures now being
+     enforced against the Hebrews in Russia.... It is estimated that
+     over one million will be forced from Russia within a few years....
+
+     The banishment, whether by direct decree or by not less certain
+     indirect methods, of so large a number of men and women is not a
+     local question. A decree to leave one country is, in the nature of
+     things, an order to enter another--some other. This consideration,
+     as well as the suggestions of humanity, furnishes ample ground for
+     the remonstrances which we have presented to Russia, while our
+     historic friendship for that Government can not fail to give the
+     assurance that our representations are those of a sincere
+     wellwisher.
+
+The President's Message was largely quoted and favorably commented upon
+in this and many European countries. All of this had a reaction in
+Russia itself. No matter how autocratic a government may be, as Russia
+then was, it cannot free itself from "a decent respect to the opinions
+of mankind." For the time being conditions in Russia for the Jews were
+ameliorated.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the fall of 1891 I was a delegate to the Democratic State Convention
+at Saratoga and was a member of the platform committee. One of the
+questions to be solved was: What should be our position regarding
+silver? Cleveland's statement of his position during his first term had
+lost him the Presidency.
+
+Quite purposely Cleveland had boldly accentuated, while in office, the
+outstanding issues then before the country--the tariff and sound
+money--without any regard to political consequences. His friend, Richard
+Watson Gilder, has said of him in this connection:[1]
+
+  [Footnote 1: _Grover Cleveland_, _A Record of Friendship_, p. 33.]
+
+     Every once in a while Cleveland "threw away the Presidency," and I
+     never saw him so happy as when he had done it; as, for instance,
+     after the tariff message, and now again after the silver letter.
+
+Cleveland, while not a scholar, was ultra-conscientious and had an
+honest and logical mind that dealt with fundamentals. He would "mull
+over" (that is the very phrase I have heard him use) a question until
+he got to the bottom, and there he would start to build up his premises
+and arrive at his decisions. Because of the surplus accumulating in the
+Treasury he had been impressed more and more with the fact that the
+taxes and the tariff should be reduced. He realized, during the spring
+and summer of 1887, that the rapid increase of this surplus was becoming
+a menace to the stability of our financial system, and he felt it his
+duty to provide some means for averting commercial disaster. At the
+opening of Congress that year, instead of a message covering all of the
+Government activities as was the invariable custom, he prepared one
+devoted exclusively to the revenue system and to the necessity of
+reducing the tariff. He gave much care and deliberation to this message,
+but none to the political consequences.
+
+Again later, when the free coinage of silver became a topic of
+prominence, the Reform Club of New York invited him to attend a banquet
+at which this question was to be discussed. Many of his friends advised
+that he remain silent on the subject, in order not to mar his chances
+for reëlection. Cleveland, however, accepted the invitation and boldly
+announced his position regarding "the dangerous and reckless experiment
+of free, unlimited and independent silver coinage." That was too much
+for the machine men of the party; the note of Cleveland's doom was
+sounded from one end of the country to the other.
+
+After his retirement partisan bitterness largely disappeared, and it
+soon became a foregone conclusion that he would again have to stand for
+the Presidency. Although he had occupied the President's chair only one
+term, I doubt whether any ex-President of our time, with the exception
+of Roosevelt, carried with him into private life a deeper interest or a
+higher esteem on the part of the great body of the people. His rugged
+honesty of purpose and determined stand for the best principles in our
+public life were more and more appreciated and valued. During the entire
+period between his defeat and his reëlection he was the most
+distinguished representative of his party.
+
+When the silver question came up in the State Convention at Saratoga, a
+few others and myself contended for a sound money plank. We met with
+opposition from a majority of the platform committee. Richard Croker,
+boss of Tammany Hall, had not up to that time bothered much about the
+subject. I laid before him the reasons underlying the question and got
+him to throw his powerful influence and help on our side, and we
+succeeded in the end in incorporating a strong sound money plank.
+
+Cleveland expressed his satisfaction with that accomplishment in the
+following note to me:
+
+                                                  _Sept._ 27, 1891
+
+     MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     I have a suspicion that you had much to do with the formation of
+     the silver plank in the platform adopted at Saratoga. I am so well
+     satisfied indeed that you thus merit my thanks as a citizen who
+     loves the honor of his country and as a Democrat who loves the
+     integrity of his party, that I desire to tender them in this frank
+     informal manner.
+
+                                       Yours very truly
+                                            GROVER CLEVELAND
+
+
+I may add here that upon his retirement in 1889 Cleveland came to New
+York to live, and the pleasant relations I had had with him in office
+became close and intimate.
+
+Early in July, 1892, I wrote Cleveland regarding his position on the
+tariff, and after the Chicago convention which nominated him for the
+Presidency, I received the following communication from him:
+
+                                                 GRAY GABLES
+                                            BUZZARDS BAY, MASS.
+                                              _July_ 25, 1892
+
+     MY DEAR SIR:
+
+     I wish to thank you for your letter of July 12, and to express my
+     disappointment that while in New York last week I did not have the
+     opportunity to converse with you on the suggestions which your
+     letter contained. You cannot fail to see by some expressions in my
+     address in reply to the notification committee, that thoughts quite
+     similar to yours have occupied my mind in regard to the tariff
+     plank in our platform. I am exceedingly anxious that there should
+     be no misrepresentation of our true position, and I regret
+     exceedingly that there should have been any form of expression
+     adopted which makes us liable to that danger.
+
+     I shall continue to give the subject earnest thought and when I
+     write my letter of acceptance if it should then seem to be
+     necessary I shall not hesitate to pursue the subject further. I
+     have heard of your labors at Chicago and of your constant and
+     earnest devotion to my cause, and while your previous conduct and
+     our relations have been such as to lead me to expect such things of
+     you, I am none the less gratified and beg to thank you from the
+     bottom of my heart.
+
+     With the kind remembrances of Mrs. Cleveland to you and Mrs.
+     Straus, in which I heartily join, I am
+
+                                       Very truly yours
+                                               GROVER CLEVELAND
+
+
+In 1888 his position on these two questions caused his defeat; in 1892,
+his position still the same, these very issues were the dominant factors
+that brought about his renomination and election.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the winter before his second term of office, in order to get some
+rest and be freer than was possible in New York from the constant stream
+of visitors and place-hunters, he and his family accepted the invitation
+of my brother Nathan to occupy a little frame house which my brother
+had bought from a New Jersey farmer in connection with the property on
+which stands the Lakewood Hotel. The little two-story house, surrounded
+by pines, simple as could be, was renovated and painted white, and
+became known as "the little White House." To it from time to time
+Cleveland summoned the people with whom he wished to confer--the leaders
+of his party with regard to policies and the make-up of his Cabinet, and
+personal friends. He had no secretary and wrote all letters with his own
+hand.
+
+During his stay at "the little White House" he sent for me several times
+to talk over things with him. On one of these occasions he proposed
+connecting me with the Administration in some way that might be
+agreeable to me. While I appreciated highly his intention, I told him I
+felt I owed it to my brothers to stick to business for the next few
+years. He answered that he would have to have one of the brothers in his
+Administration. I learned later that in his mind he had reserved the
+ministership to Holland for Isidor. At about this time Isidor had been
+nominated, and was subsequently elected, to fill a vacancy in Congress,
+and Cleveland purposely did not fill the Dutch post until after that
+special election. He afterwards remarked to a friend he and Isidor had
+in common, William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, chairman of the Ways and
+Means Committee and responsible for the Wilson Tariff Bill, that he much
+preferred Isidor in Congress where he could have the benefit of his
+wisdom and knowledge in financial and tariff matters. Indeed, my brother
+was largely responsible for Cleveland's calling the extra session of
+Congress for the repeal of the Sherman Silver Coinage Act.
+
+Among my letters from Cleveland at this period I have one concerning a
+subject that caused a great deal of stir and unfavorable comment: the
+appointment of James J. Van Alen, of Newport, Rhode Island, as
+ambassador to Italy. Van Alen was a very rich man. He was the son-in-law
+of William Astor and the personal friend of William C. Whitney, the real
+manager of the Cleveland campaign, whose appointment as Secretary of the
+Navy was not liked by the "mugwump" wing of the party, headed by Carl
+Schurz and others. When Van Alen was appointed a hue and cry arose from
+the idealists, and Cleveland's enemies alleged that the appointment was
+nothing more than a reward for the very large contribution Van Alen had
+made to Whitney for the campaign, for which Whitney had promised this
+position. Schurz, as editor of "Harper's Weekly," wrote a savage
+editorial against Cleveland on this subject, and in a letter to me he
+stated that he felt Cleveland's prestige would never recover from the
+blow he had struck against himself in making that appointment. I wrote
+to Cleveland about the matter and how it was regarded by some of his
+friends, mentioning Schurz among others. The President sent me the
+following reply:
+
+                                      EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON
+                                              _Oct._ 29, 1893
+
+     MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     Your letter was received to-day.
+
+     I need not tell you how much I value your friendship; and I hardly
+     need confess how touched I am by the manifestation of affection
+     afforded by the solicitude you evince in the Van Alen matter. I am
+     amazed by the course pursued by some good people in dealing with
+     this subject. No one has yet presented to me a single charge of
+     unfitness or incompetency. They have chosen to eagerly act upon the
+     frivolous statements of a much mendacious and mischievous
+     newspaper, as an attempt to injure a man who in no way has been
+     guilty of wrong. I leave out of the account the allegation that his
+     nomination was in acknowledgment of a large campaign contribution.
+     No one will accuse me of such a trade and Mr. Whitney's and Mr.
+     Van Alen's denial that any such thing existed in the minds of any
+     one concerned, I believe to be the truth. I think it would be a
+     cowardly thing in me to disgrace a man because the New York World
+     had doomed him to disgrace. Since the nomination was sent in I have
+     left the matter entirely to the Senate, and I hear that the
+     nomination was confirmed to-day. This ends the matter. I am
+     entirely content to wait for a complete justification of my part in
+     the proceeding.
+
+     I am sorry you regard this matter as so unfortunate, and if
+     anything could have induced me to turn away from a course which
+     seems to me so plainly just and right, it would be my desire to
+     satisfy just such good friends as you have always proved yourself
+     to be.
+
+     I shall be glad to see you at all times.
+
+                            Yours very sincerely
+                                      GROVER CLEVELAND
+
+
+Van Alen was confirmed by the Senate, but on November 20th he sent in
+his resignation, which Cleveland reluctantly accepted, but urged Van
+Alen to reconsider his decision, as his (the President's) preference was
+emphatically that Van Alen accept the post and by the discharge of his
+duties vindicate the wisdom and propriety of his selection.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the second term I saw little of the President. I was very much
+tied to business and went to Washington only when summoned there to
+discuss a few international questions as they arose. But while I am
+reminiscing about my relations with Mr. Cleveland, I shall jump ahead
+about ten years and speak of a visit he paid me for three days during
+March, 1903. He was to deliver an address at the Henry Ward Beecher
+Memorial in the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Sunday evening, and he
+arrived from Princeton on Saturday. He was like a boy out of school.
+
+We were going to the theater on Saturday evening and I suggested Justin
+McCarthy's "If I Were King," played by Sothern.
+
+"I hope it is not sad," Cleveland said. "I want to see it from start to
+finish"; and with a smirk he added, "for I am a hayseed." I discerned
+afterward that he would rather have seen a comedy or vaudeville.
+
+When we arrived at the theater, many in the audience recognized
+Cleveland and heads were constantly turning in the direction of our box.
+I mentioned it to him, but he said: "Oh, no, they don't know me any
+more." After the theater we had a supper of delicatessen and beer at
+home, which I knew he would like, and he amused us with several funny
+stories and mimicry. My wife remarked that he might have made a success
+on the stage, and he replied that his friend Joe Jefferson had often
+deplored his having missed that profession.
+
+Cleveland gave an imitation of the humorous Congressman Campbell, of New
+York, who used to come to the White House and, pointing to the room
+occupied by Cleveland, ask the clerk: "Is His Royal Nibs in?" And
+sometimes Tim Campbell made requests that Cleveland had to deny as
+unconstitutional; then Tim would come back with "Oh, I wouldn't let the
+Constitution stand between friends!"
+
+At dinner on Sunday we were joined by Mr. and Mrs. John G. Carlisle, my
+brother Isidor, his wife, and his business associate, Charles B.
+Webster. Carlisle had been one of the most distinguished Senators in
+Congress, former Secretary of the Treasury, and a close friend of
+Cleveland. When the champagne was served my wife said to the
+ex-President:
+
+"Does Mrs. Cleveland let you drink this? You know it is bad for your
+rheumatism!"
+
+"No, but I won't tell her," answered Cleveland.
+
+They compromised on one glass.
+
+After dinner the conversation turned to the bond loans during
+Cleveland's second Administration--the first made through J. P. Morgan &
+Company and the subsequent popular loans--to keep the gold in the United
+States Treasury. The ex-President referred to his fight against the
+silver craze and said he had been compelled to abandon the fundamental
+issue, the tariff reform, to combat that dangerous heresy.
+
+When the guests had gone, Cleveland wanted to know whether we would like
+to hear the speech he was to deliver that evening, and of course we
+assured him we should be delighted. This led to conversation about
+Beecher, and I showed him the original letter that Beecher wrote him in
+1887 recommending my appointment to Turkey. He said he remembered it
+perfectly, and it was the thing that turned the scale while he was
+considering whether or not he could properly appoint a person of my race
+to a post largely concerned with the protection of Christian missions. I
+made bold to request the manuscript of his Memorial Address to file with
+my Beecher letter, and he kindly consented with the words: "Yes,
+certainly; they are kind of cousins."
+
+After a light supper we drove to Brooklyn. Cleveland liked to be
+punctual and I took care that we should arrive at the appointed hour,
+7.45. It was pouring rain, and Cleveland anticipated that most people
+would be kept away; but when we entered the hall it was packed from pit
+to dome and several thousand persons were turned away. At the close of
+the meeting hundreds crowded onto the stage to greet the ex-President,
+showing that the love and admiration of the people had in no degree
+waned.
+
+The next morning we prevailed upon him to stay another day. He said he
+knew I had a speech to make at Brown University and that its preparation
+would engage my time. But I assured him the speech was all prepared and
+the subject was "Brown in Diplomacy." He asked me to read it to him, and
+I did. He pronounced it appropriate and fine, which gave me some
+confidence in the success of the occasion, for I knew he was not given
+to flattery and would not have praised the speech without meaning it;
+that was not his habit.
+
+He had to go to Rockwood, the photographer, at Thirty-Ninth Street and
+Broadway, so I went with him. He said he had hundreds of requests for
+pictures and wanted a new one taken so that when people wrote for them
+he could refer such requests to Rockwood; similarly he had had some
+pictures made by a Philadelphia photographer. These arrangements would
+save him much trouble. I asked Rockwood to take a special, large picture
+for me. He brought forward his larger camera and took one of the best
+photographs of Cleveland I have ever seen. I had two finished: one for
+Mrs. Cleveland and the other for myself, and it now hangs in my library.
+
+For luncheon we met Isidor at Delmonico's. At the next table sat Charles
+F. Murphy, successor to Croker as boss of Tammany Hall, who requested me
+to introduce him to Cleveland. They had quite a chat, after which
+Cleveland remarked: "He looks like a pretty clean fellow."
+
+During the meal our guest told us, with language, voice, and manner
+befitting the tale, how, when he was being spoken of for reëlection
+before his second term, he met a farmer who said to him: "Now if you
+will go on sawin' wood and don't say nothin', they will give you back
+that job in Washington." No actor could have given a more vivid
+characterization of that farmer.
+
+That evening we went to Weber and Field's Music Hall, on Twenty-Ninth
+Street near Broadway. Cleveland suggested this himself. He said he liked
+to be amused at the theater and not saddened or instructed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At about this period Cleveland from time to time showed evidences of
+illness. He called them stomach attacks. Whether or not his personal
+friend and physician, Dr. Joseph D. Bryant, had diagnosed the malady as
+more serious I do not know; but at times I rather inferred that he had.
+Dr. Bryant made it a point to accompany Cleveland on several of his
+hunting and fishing expeditions, which were taken not alone for
+pleasure, but as health measures, for a change of air and the outdoor
+recreation.
+
+On and off during those years also, when the family wanted a little
+change, they occupied "the little White House" at Lakewood. Cleveland
+liked it for its simplicity and because it was not unlike the parsonage
+at Caldwell, New Jersey, where he was born. Early in June, 1908, while
+the Clevelands were at Lakewood, the ex-President sent for my brother
+Isidor; he desired to have a talk with him. He seemed to wish to
+unburden his mind.
+
+This proved to be the last time he spoke to any one outside of his
+immediate family while still in the possession of all his faculties.
+That very night he had another attack of his malady, after which, as I
+was told, his faculties seemed to go under a cloud. Two weeks later, on
+June 24th, the country was shocked, though it was not unprepared, to
+learn that the ex-President had died that morning at his Princeton home.
+
+On June 26th Grover Cleveland was laid to rest. The funeral was private;
+my brothers and I had received a note from Mrs. Cleveland asking us to
+be present. At his home we met about one hundred of his personal
+friends. It had been his express wish that there be no eulogy or funeral
+oration, and his friend Dr. Henry van Dyke conducted a simple service at
+which he read passages from Wordsworth's poem, "The Happy Warrior." In a
+carriage with Chief Justice Fuller, Judge George Gray, of Delaware, and
+Governor Fort, of New Jersey, I accompanied the body to the cemetery.
+
+For Grover Cleveland there were no longer enemies to traduce and vilify.
+Perhaps no President had ever been so reviled by a hostile press
+throughout the country as this great man, and, strong as he was, these
+attacks quite naturally pained him. Public appreciation of men who
+struggle against the tide for righteous things is often deferred,
+sometimes until after death. In his case, happily, it came while he was
+yet among us in the constantly increasing manifestations of admiration,
+love, and esteem by the people of the country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I have mentioned that during Cleveland's second Administration I seldom
+went to Washington. At that time I was occupied also with the writing of
+two books. I was not, of course, relying upon my pen for a living. I
+should not have survived long if I had! Historical writing has fittingly
+been called the aristocracy of literature; it requires long and patient
+investigation and yields meager returns. For me it made a fascinating
+avocation. My "Roger Williams, the Pioneer of Religious Liberty," was
+published by the Century Company in 1894, and "The Development of
+Religious Liberty in the United States" appeared in a limited edition,
+published by Philip Cowen, New York, in 1896.
+
+The latter was a slim volume, an amplification of an address I had
+delivered in New Haven before the Yale College Kent Club, and elsewhere;
+the former grew out of studies I had made in preparing my first book,
+"The Origin of Republican Form of Government." "Roger Williams" was well
+received and had a generous circulation, being several times reprinted.
+Brown University, under the presidency of that eminent historian and
+scholar, E. Benjamin Andrews, conferred upon me the honorary degree of
+Litt.D.
+
+When I was again in London in 1898 I carried out a purpose I had long
+had, to visit Charterhouse School, earlier known as Sutton's Hospital
+School, where Roger Williams received his early education. I met the
+Reverend Doctor William Haig Brown, master, who showed me the register
+of the school for 1624 containing the inscription of Roger Williams.
+When he saw I was much interested in Roger Williams he told me of a
+recent life of him that had been written, which he considered very fine
+and with which he wanted to acquaint me. He went to his library on the
+floor above, and when he returned he handed me my own work! (I had not
+previously told him my name.)
+
+I observed in the main hall of the school a number of tablets
+commemorating distinguished scholars who had attended there. There were
+represented Thackeray, General Shakespeare, Archdeacon Hale, Sir Henry
+Havelock, and several who were sacrificed in the Crimean War and the
+Indian Mutiny. I asked Dr. Brown whether he did not think it fitting
+that a tablet should be added in memory of Roger Williams, and said that
+I should be glad to defray the expense thereof. He agreed, and I
+authorized him to have the tablet made. He employed Howard Ince, a
+well-known architect, to design the tablet, which contains the following
+inscription:
+
+                    IN MEMORY OF ROGER WILLIAMS
+
+                Formerly a Scholar of Charterhouse
+           Founder of the State of Rhode Island, and the
+      Pioneer of Religious Liberty in America. Placed here by
+      Oscar S. Straus, United States Minister to Turkey, 1899
+
+I did not wish my name on it, but Dr. Brown quite definitely preferred
+it so.
+
+Of all my books, the "Life of Roger Williams" contains the greatest
+amount of work in the way of research and study; but the amount of
+pleasure it gave me in the doing was commensurate.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In politics I had become more impressed year by year with the importance
+of a reform in our electoral system, especially in our large cities. The
+bosses in the two big parties were the "invisible powers" who dictated
+the nominations. Primaries were primaries in name only, and were so
+conducted as to strengthen the power of the bosses. In Chicago a
+campaign to purify the primaries had been carried on by the political
+committee of the Civic Federation. The Federation, of which its
+organizer, Ralph M. Easley, was the secretary, now enlarged its scope in
+the political field and issued a "Call for a National Conference on
+Practical Primary Election Reform," in the name of some two hundred and
+fifty of the leading men of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and
+thirty-five cities in between. Prominent in this list I remember Mayor
+William L. Strong, of New York; ex-Mayor Abram S. Hewitt, of New York;
+Darwin R. James, president of the New York Board of Trade; Andrew B.
+Humphreys, of the Allied Political Clubs of New York; Mayor Josiah
+Quincy, of Boston; Mayor James D. Phelan, of San Francisco; ex-Mayor
+George W. Ochs, of Chattanooga; Albert Shaw; Nicholas Murray Butler;
+Carl Schurz; Lyman Abbott; Lyman J. Gage; Melville E. Stone; Myron T.
+Herrick; Albert J. Beveridge; Robert M. La Follette.
+
+The meeting was held in the rooms of the New York Board of Trade on
+January 20, 1898, and we organized the National Primary Election League.
+I was elected president; Josiah Quincy, first vice-president; Charles
+Emory Smith, of Philadelphia, second vice-president; Walter C. Flower,
+of New Orleans, third vice-president; Ralph M. Easley, secretary; and
+Darwin R. James, treasurer. The conference gave a distinct impetus to
+primary reform all over the country, and in many of the States led to
+the passage of laws providing for such reforms.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the presidential election of 1896 I voted for McKinley, despite my
+former political affiliations. The outstanding issue between the
+Republican and Democratic Parties was the money question, and I was an
+advocate of sound money.
+
+Early in the new Administration our relations with Spain were rapidly
+drifting to a crisis over conditions in Cuba. My friend General Stewart
+L. Woodford was appointed minister to Spain. I gave him a letter of
+introduction to Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, who was now British ambassador
+at Madrid. Wolff was very sympathetic toward America. Woodford later
+informed me that the letter had been very serviceable, especially as his
+audience had been delayed for several weeks on account of the Queen's
+absence from the capital. He very frankly laid before Wolff the American
+position and attitude with regard to Cuba, which Wolff asked permission
+to detail to his Government. Based on that information the British
+diplomatic representatives were advised by Lord Salisbury: "The
+American cause is absolutely impregnable; govern yourselves
+accordingly."
+
+President McKinley frequently invited me to Washington and encouraged my
+writing to him, especially on international matters; and my letters
+always received prompt reply over his own signature. Accordingly on
+March 12, 1898, I wrote him at length stating that perhaps the impending
+war with Spain could be averted if we proposed to Spain a plan of
+suzerainty. I quote from my letter:
+
+     We have no need for Cuba; our destinies point to the Continent; to
+     leave it to make conquests will weaken our rights, ... and will
+     place us against our will on the world's chessboard, from which we
+     have happily kept clear. The Cuban insurgents are imbued with a
+     spirit of belligerency, but have neither past training nor the
+     knowledge to maintain freedom and to accord to each other
+     individual liberty.
+
+     The great problems, I take it, are, first: to stop the war;
+     secondly, to find a solution which will bring independence to Cuba,
+     and at the same time preserve the _amour propre_ to Spain.... The
+     proposition to which I have given considerable thought ... is the
+     following:
+
+     That we insist that Spain accord and Cuba accept the position of
+     suzerainty such as are the relations between Turkey and Egypt. This
+     will give Cuba self-government, and will at the same time preserve
+     the _amour propre_ of Spain by retaining a semblance of a claim of
+     sovereignty without power to interfere with self-government on the
+     part of the Cubans.... We could much better afford to help Cuba
+     with a number of millions which would after all be a small fraction
+     of what a war would cost us, ... especially when the end attained
+     is the independence of Cuba, and attained in such a way as not to
+     entail upon us unending responsibilities full of care and
+     entangling obligations.
+
+Immediately upon receipt of this the President asked me to come to
+Washington for a conference. He was very much interested in the idea and
+requested me to write out the plan in more detail. This I did. I
+discussed with him the suzerainty plan as developed in Europe and as it
+was working in Egypt. I expressed the opinion that as the leading
+nations of Europe were familiar with the idea it was not likely to meet
+with any serious objections. McKinley was impressed with the feasibility
+of my proposal and was in favor of some such arrangement. He said he was
+having difficulty because of the jingo agitation in Congress and the
+storming for war of the American press. He felt when the report of the
+Board of Inquiry on the destruction of the Maine was made public, as it
+would be in a few days, nothing could hold back Congress and the press,
+and the Cuban controversy would be pushed to an issue.
+
+However, he immediately communicated the plan to Minister Woodford, who
+brought it to the attention of the Spanish Government. General Woodford
+reported that he had every reason to believe it would be acceptable to
+Spain. But meantime things moved with lightning speed and war was
+declared.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: PRESIDENT McKINLEY SENDING THE AUTHOR TO TURKEY ON HIS
+SECOND MISSION, 1898]
+
+Matters in Turkey at this time were also not going very smoothly. At a
+conference with McKinley one day he showed me a communication from Dr.
+James B. Angell, minister at the Porte, suggesting that the only way to
+bring Turkey to terms was to send warships up there and "rattle the
+Sultan's windows." The President was much disturbed. He felt the sending
+of warships might result in another incident like the blowing up of the
+Maine. He said the situation had worried him so that it interfered with
+his sleep, and he begged me to accept again the appointment of minister
+to Turkey, declaring with conviction that he regarded me as the only man
+who could adjust the situation. I explained to him frankly how I was
+situated in regard to my business obligations and that it was very
+difficult for me to drop them at this time; but under the circumstances
+as he had stated them to me I felt I had no right to interpose my
+personal affairs as a reason for refusing, for I certainly regarded no
+sacrifice too great to make in the service of the country when it was
+needed, as in this instance. I said I had been too young to shoulder a
+gun in the Civil War as he had done, but with a full understanding of my
+situation if he should feel it necessary to call upon me I should be at
+his service.
+
+Dr. Angell was a distinguished scholar and not lacking in diplomatic
+experience. He was president of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor,
+and had been special envoy to China. He was also an adviser and one of
+the trustees of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
+Missions. However, in some public utterance he had criticized Turkey
+unfavorably, and the Porte was having its revenge. Every request Dr.
+Angell made was declined; exequaturs were refused to our consuls
+appointed at Erzerum and Harpoot. Dr. Angell was discouraged and
+incensed. He was about to resign.
+
+Finally one day I received a telegram:
+
+                                               EXECUTIVE MANSION
+                                                  WASHINGTON, D.C.
+                                                       _May 27_, 1898
+
+     HONORABLE OSCAR S. STRAUS
+         New York
+
+     Remembering our talk of a few months ago I would be glad to have
+     you accept the post of Minister to Turkey. Dr. Angell has resigned
+     to take effect 15 of August. I would be pleased to nominate you
+     before Senate adjourns.
+
+                                              WILLIAM MCKINLEY
+
+And I telegraphed back that same day:
+
+        PRESIDENT MCKINLEY
+           Executive Mansion
+               Washington
+
+     Your request that I should accept the post of Minister to Turkey,
+     with which you honor me, I regard as a command, and deem it my
+     patriotic duty to you and to the country to accept.
+
+                                                    OSCAR S. STRAUS
+
+Among the telegrams and letters of congratulation I received was one
+from William L. Wilson, then the president of Washington and Lee
+University at Lexington, Virginia, reading: "Washington and Lee greets
+you as Doctor of Laws."
+
+The National Civic Club of Brooklyn gave me a dinner and reception,
+presided over by my friend and college mate, Frederic W. Hinrichs, at
+which the leading speaker was Dr. St. Clair McKelway, editor of the
+"Brooklyn Eagle." During the evening a letter was received from my
+former chief and Secretary of State, Thomas F. Bayard, saying:
+
+     It was my good fortune to be associated with Mr. Straus when he
+     first took up the tangled web of Turkish diplomacy, so that few
+     persons can so well attest as I, his possession of those talents
+     and high personal characteristics which give him weight everywhere.
+
+Ex-President Cleveland, who was prevented from being present by another
+engagement, wrote:
+
+     I would be glad to join those who will do honor to Mr. Straus ...
+     and thus show my appreciation of his usefulness and the worth of
+     his good example in recognizing the demands of good citizenship and
+     responding to the call of public duty.
+
+And there were also messages from many others, including President
+McKinley.
+
+I did not leave for my post for several months. Meanwhile I had more
+conferences with the President regarding the Spanish situation. Early
+in August, in discussing pending Spanish peace negotiations, he wanted
+my ideas regarding them and as to how much of the Philippines we should
+take. I strongly advised that we take as little as possible--nothing
+more than a naval and coaling station; otherwise to appropriate the
+Philippines would in the long run entail endless obligations without
+commensurate benefits. I told him I believed these to be the views also
+of many of the more thoughtful citizens, and that I had spoken with a
+number of prominent men, such as ex-Postmaster-General Wilson,
+ex-Secretary of the Treasury Carlisle, and Clifton R. Breckinridge,
+formerly of the Ways and Means Committee, all of whom were of like
+opinion. The President seemed to appreciate my view, but again feared
+the jingo spirit of Congress. He complained also of the attitude of the
+Cuban insurgents, who were exaggerating their numbers as well as their
+demands.
+
+Turning for a moment to my appointment, he said: "I don't know whether
+you know it, but your nomination has been received with more praise by
+all parties throughout the country than any nomination to office I have
+made since I am President." I assured him I was gratified, but realized
+the emphasis this put upon my responsibilities.
+
+Because I had been a Cleveland Democrat my appointment by a Republican
+President had, of course, created a great sensation in the press; it was
+heralded as a step toward the merit system in our foreign service.
+
+John Bassett Moore was now assistant Secretary of State, and with him I
+spent several days in the preparation of my instructions. I considered
+him even then the best equipped authority on international law in the
+country, and I thought it was a pity his services could not be retained
+in the Department of State; but his salary there was five hundred
+dollars a year less than as professor, and he had a family to support.
+He told me that the President and Secretary Day wished him to accompany
+the Peace Commission to Paris, and subsequently he went as secretary and
+counsel.
+
+While I was with the President for a final conference a week before
+sailing, Attorney-General Griggs came in all aglow and announced with
+much enthusiasm that he had just had a telephone message from Justice
+White (Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, later Chief
+Justice) that he would consent to be one of the members of the Spanish
+American Peace Commission. That specially pleased the President because
+White was a man of great ability, and because the fact that White was a
+Catholic might make a more favorable impression upon Catholic Spain. The
+President immediately directed that the names be given to the press.
+Shortly thereafter, however, White reconsidered his acceptance, for
+reasons which were not made public, and Senator George Gray, who was
+serving as a member of the Quebec Commission, and who like White was a
+Democrat, was prevailed upon by the President to accept in his stead.
+The other members were all Republicans. The commission as finally
+constituted was: Secretary of State William R. Day, Senator Cushman K.
+Davis (chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate),
+Senator William P. Frye, Senator George Gray, and Whitelaw Reid.
+
+There was considerable clamor, from missionaries and others, that we
+send warships to Turkey. Of this I entirely disapproved and so told the
+President. He answered me: "I shall be guided by you; I shall support
+you; I have confidence in your ability and foresight. No vessels will
+be sent to Turkey unless you demand them, and then, only then, will they
+be sent. And when you get to London I wish you to see Ambassador
+Hay"--Hay was about to return to take up the post of Secretary of
+State--"and tell him that I have not only constituted you Minister to
+Turkey, but Secretary of State for Turkey, and that both he and I will
+be guided entirely by your judgment and advice."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+MY SECOND MISSION TO TURKEY
+
+     Conferences with Ambassador Hay and Dr. Angell in London regarding
+     Turkish matters--I make suggestions for coördinating work in our
+     diplomatic service--With Baroness de Hirsch in Vienna--Arrival at
+     Constantinople; audience with the Sultan--The visit of the Emperor
+     and Empress of Germany--Breaking Turkish passport regulations--The
+     Porte refuses to negotiate a treaty of naturalization--The
+     indemnities for missionaries at Harpoot and Marash; the Sultan
+     admits claim and promises to pay; I obtain iradé for rebuilding
+     college at Harpoot--The Philippine Mohammedans; a diplomatic
+     romance--American flour cheapens bread in Turkey--Aid to the
+     British ambassador in the protection of Armenian orphanages--A
+     renegade Roman priest--Lord Rosebery--Dr. S. Weir Mitchell--The
+     Sultan entertains American tourists--His Majesty's only smile--A
+     visit to Athens--Happy days on the Bosphorus--The Sultan's gift of
+     vases--Dr. Theodor Hertzl--A visit to Rome--I return to Washington
+     and conduct negotiations from there--LL.D. from Pennsylvania
+     University--I end my mission.
+
+
+In London I had several conferences with Ambassador John Hay, who was
+shortly to return to Washington as Secretary of State in the place of
+William R. Day, chosen to head the Spanish-American Peace Commission at
+Paris. Mr. Day a few years afterward was made associate justice of the
+United States Supreme Court, and the duties of that post he still
+discharges with distinction.
+
+Mr. Hay and I went over in detail the questions at issue in Turkey and
+the plans I proposed for their adjustment. I told him of the pressure
+being brought upon the President to send warships to the Bosphorus, and
+said I regarded such a course as mixing up in the Eastern question, that
+traditional tinder box of Europe, aside from the possible danger of
+another incident like the blowing-up of the Maine. Mr. Hay agreed and
+promised to support me to the fullest extent in settling matters with
+Turkey.
+
+I also met Dr. Angell in London on his way back from Constantinople, and
+went over matters with him. He told me what a fruitless year and a half
+he had had there and how he was made to feel he was _persona non grata_.
+He had not been invited to dine at the Palace once during his entire
+stay.
+
+Before I left London I had a call from William E. Dodge, of Phelps,
+Dodge, & Company, New York, and president of the Evangelical Alliance of
+America. He came to express his appreciation for my making the personal
+and business sacrifice to go to Turkey again. He was one of our most
+benevolent citizens, prominently connected with the missionary bodies
+and therefore deeply interested in the American colleges and schools in
+the Ottoman Empire.
+
+When I left for Constantinople this time, there were with me, besides my
+wife, my daughters, Aline and Mildred, respectively fourteen and fifteen
+years old; my little son Roger, six and a half years old, and his nurse;
+my niece Sissy, daughter of my brother Nathan; and my nephew Percy,
+second son of my brother Isidor, who was to be my private secretary.
+Mildred we allowed to return from Paris to continue her studies at
+Barnard, as we were unable to find a suitable school for her in either
+England or France. We had sailed for Liverpool on the S.S. Lusitania on
+September 3d.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+My friend General Horace Porter had been appointed ambassador to France,
+and while in Paris I dined with him several times. He was a man of means
+and had located the embassy in a magnificent residence in one of the
+most fashionable parts of Paris. There we met among others Ferdinand W.
+Peck, United States Commissioner to the Paris Exposition, and Mrs. Peck;
+also William F. Draper, ambassador to Italy, who with Mrs. Draper was
+in Paris on a leave of absence.
+
+To Messrs. Porter and Draper I proposed what I had felt the need for
+during my earlier mission: some sort of coördination and coöperation
+among our various diplomatic representatives throughout Europe. I
+suggested we might have conferences from time to time, or prevail upon
+the State Department to keep each of us informed respecting negotiations
+between the Department and all the others. Much of this material would
+be of interest and value to us in connection with our respective
+embassies or missions. It was being done by other foreign offices. The
+British Foreign Office, for instance, issues confidential communications
+in the form of blueprints, which are sent to the heads of all British
+missions. During my previous sojourn at Constantinople my colleague, Sir
+William White, frequently gave me the benefit of extracts from these
+blueprints referring to American matters. They were very informing and
+helpful.
+
+Porter and Draper said they would coöperate with me in urging the State
+Department to adopt some such scheme, and when I wrote to our colleague
+at Berlin, Andrew D. White, he gave similar support. However, when I
+suggested the idea to the State Department nothing came of it. Since
+then some further effort has been made in that direction, but I have not
+learned to what extent this desired system has been effected.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We went on to Vienna to meet Baroness de Hirsch, who was coming from her
+estate at Eichhorn. She had put her beautiful Paris residence on the rue
+d'Elysée at our disposal, but unfortunately my appointments made it
+impossible for us to avail ourselves of her hospitality. The Baroness
+looked ill to me, and I warned her against allowing her intense
+occupation with benevolent activities to wear upon her. She said she had
+had the grippe, and later told my wife that her physicians feared her
+ailment might be more serious. In spite of this, however, she went right
+on, while at the Hotel Bristol in Vienna, with conferences with her
+almoners, among others Ritter von Gutmann and Baron Günzburg, who were
+associated with her in her endowed enterprises in Austria and elsewhere.
+Alas, her malady was more serious than grippe, for it was only a short
+time after our reaching Constantinople that her family informed us of
+her death.
+
+We met some of the leading Jewish scholars, artists, and literary men
+while in Vienna: the architect, Wilhelm Stiassny; the actor, Adolf von
+Sonnenthal; Dr. Adam Politzer; the Hungarian artists, Leopold Horowitz
+and Isidor Kaufmann; Professor David Heinrich Miller, of the Vienna
+University; and the attorney, Dr. Adolph Stein. Herr Stiassny was
+president of the Jewish Historical Society, and at a meeting of that
+body at which I was present he referred in glowing terms to my
+appointment, saying that, amid the anti-Semitic spirit that was taking
+hold of Austria and other European countries, America had shown by my
+appointment that no race or religious distinction existed here, which
+could not fail to have an influence in Austria and in several other
+European states.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On arriving at Constantinople we were welcomed by the secretary of the
+legation and acting chargé, John W. Riddle, together with other members
+of the legation and consulate and several of the missionaries. Mr.
+Riddle, by the way, had conducted the affairs of the legation in the
+interim with discretion and ability. He has since filled several other
+posts most creditably; he was ambassador to Russia under Roosevelt, and
+at the present writing is ambassador to Argentina.
+
+The Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Porte now was Tewfik Pasha, who
+had been ambassador to Germany. He spoke German better than French, so I
+conversed with him in the former language. As was customary, I left with
+him the letters of recall of my predecessor and a copy of my
+presentation address. I was informed that the Sultan and all the
+officials at the Porte were pleased at my return, because they knew me
+and had every confidence in me both personally and officially. Of
+course, these remarks may have been diplomatic politeness, but events
+seemed to show some sincerity in them. My audience, for instance,
+instead of being delayed for weeks, was granted within one week of my
+arrival; and instead of being accorded the lesser formalities of a
+minister, I was received with all the ceremony accorded an ambassador:
+four state carriages were placed at my disposal, preceded by four
+postilions and outriders; a detachment of guards rendered military
+honors as I arrived at the Palace; the Sultan was attended by Osman
+Pasha, Fouad Pasha, general-in-chief of the Turkish armies, and some
+thirty other high civil and military officers.
+
+After the formality of presenting my credentials and making my address,
+the Sultan reiterated three times that he felt great pleasure in
+welcoming me back, as my former mission had given him much satisfaction.
+He said that he knew I was a "gentleman"; and that is the only English
+word I had ever heard him use.
+
+President McKinley had authorized me to arrange for the elevation of the
+mission at Constantinople to an embassy, as by the Act of March 3, 1893,
+provision was made for the appointment of ambassadors. Up to that time,
+based on the idea that ambassadors represented the person of a monarch
+and that republics should not thus be represented, we had had only
+ministers. The act reads:
+
+     Whenever the President shall be advised that any foreign government
+     is represented, or is about to be represented, in the United States
+     by an ambassador, envoy extraordinary, minister plenipotentiary,
+     minister resident, special envoy, or chargé d'affaires, he is
+     authorized, in his discretion, to direct that the representative of
+     the United States to such government shall bear the same
+     designation.
+
+The initiative for sending an ambassador, therefore, rested with the
+foreign power, and we could not send an ambassador to Turkey until that
+Government accredited an ambassador to us.
+
+During my audience I informed the Sultan that the President had said he
+would be pleased to raise our mission to an embassy, but I observed that
+His Majesty did not take kindly to the suggestion. He replied politely
+that he would take it under consideration.
+
+Among my colleagues, Baron Calice still represented Austria-Hungary.
+Germany was represented by Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, former
+Prussian minister, a large man of the von Moltke physique; he died later
+in London (1912) after a short service as ambassador to Britain. From
+France there was Paul Cambon, brother of Jules Cambon, who was
+ambassador at Washington at the time of the Spanish-American War and
+continued the Spanish negotiations after our rupture with Spain; a
+little while after my arrival in Constantinople Paul Cambon was
+transferred to London. From Great Britain there was Nicholas R. O'Conor,
+whom I met during my former mission when he was consul-general and
+chargé at Sophia; he had meanwhile been ambassador to Russia. And from
+Italy there was Signor Pansa. Severally they informed me that since my
+first mission, ten years before, the power of the Ottoman Government
+had been more and more concentrated in the Palace, that the Sultan
+himself was the "whole show" and very little power was left at the
+Porte.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Constantinople was all agog with preparation and excitement, for the
+Emperor and Empress of Germany were expected on October 17th! (As a
+matter of fact, rough weather on the Ægean caused them to arrive a day
+late.) The main streets of Pera were paved anew, and the walls
+surrounding Yildis were newly whitewashed. All business at the Porte was
+suspended. A Government official told me that the visit would probably
+cost the Ottoman Empire not less than five hundred thousand pounds! One
+of the residences at Yildis, near the Palace, was placed at the
+Emperor's disposal.
+
+As is customary on such visits, all the heads of missions left their
+cards at the German embassy and inscribed their names in the Emperor's
+visiting register. Each visit was promptly returned the next day by von
+Bülow, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who left his card.
+
+The Emperor and Empress drove through Pera in state, preceded by a
+company of Turkish lancers and followed by numerous officers on horses
+and in carriages. They rode in the royal victoria, drawn by four horses,
+accompanied by numerous outriders in gala uniforms and on caparisoned
+horses. The whole procession was gorgeous, and the royal pair bowed to
+left and right as the crowds in the streets greeted them.
+
+Some time after midnight on October 20-21 the doorbell rang and my
+portier brought me a communication, just received from the Grand Master
+of Ceremonies at the Palace, inviting Mrs. Straus, myself, and our first
+dragoman to the banquet to the German Emperor and Empress at 7.15
+o'clock on the evening of the 21st. The doyen of the diplomatic corps
+had sent suggestions that the ladies wear high neck and long sleeves, as
+the Sultan objected to the regulation European evening dress. The ladies
+accordingly contrived to cover their necks and arms with chiffons,
+laces, and long gloves. It proved unnecessary, however, because the
+Empress and her ladies-in-waiting wore the usual décolleté.
+
+In the recollection of the oldest diplomats present, this banquet was
+the most brilliant in its appointments that had ever been given at the
+Palace. More than one hundred persons were there, all the heads of
+missions and the leading officials of the empire. The approach to the
+Palace for quite a distance was illuminated and lined on both sides of
+the way with rows of soldiers. At the Palace entrance, where we were met
+by the court officials, we passed between rows of magnificently
+uniformed Turkish and German officers, each wearing his full regalia of
+numerous decorations.
+
+At the proper time we were ushered into the audience room, where the
+diplomats and their wives were arranged in a circle, the ladies on one
+side and the gentlemen on the other. When the Emperor and Empress with
+the Sultan entered, every one made a court bow. The Sultan and the
+Emperor then engaged in conversation through an interpreter in the
+center of the circle, while the Empress greeted each lady individually.
+Each person, as was the custom, bowed before and after being spoken to.
+When the Empress had greeted all the ladies and started with the
+gentlemen, the Emperor started with the ladies.
+
+When he came to Mrs. Straus, he made some mention of having seen her
+queen lately and that she was as beautiful as ever. Mrs. Straus, by way
+of indicating that she was from the United States, said, "I suppose Your
+Majesty refers to Mrs. McKinley"; but the Emperor, evidently without
+stopping to listen to what was being said, clicked his heels, made his
+courtesy, and greeted the next person. It seems on being introduced he
+had misunderstood "Roumanie" for "Etats-Unis," especially since Mrs.
+Straus was next to the Serbian minister's wife. Count Eulenburg later
+explained to Mrs. Straus that the Emperor's hearing was a little
+defective.
+
+When the Emperor reached me, he at once expressed a keen desire that it
+might be possible for him to visit my country, and especially our great
+shipyards, such as those of Cramp, which he had heard were wonderful. He
+then asked me whether I knew our ambassador at Berlin, Andrew D. White;
+and when I informed him that Mr. White had been a friend of mine for a
+number of years, he said a few complimentary words about him.
+
+The dinner service included gold plates and gold knives and forks. The
+waiters wore brilliant red and gold uniforms. Between courses the Sultan
+and the Emperor conversed by means of the interpreter who stood behind
+them, and until they had finished talking the waiters were patiently
+holding the next course up in the air for a cooling.
+
+After the dinner we again formed a circle, made more courtesies at the
+proper time, while the Sultan himself went round and greeted and shook
+hands with each one. That ended the royal dinner.
+
+During the meal I sat next to the Emperor's personal physician, Dr.
+Lidhold. He had held the same position under the late Frederick III,
+whom he characterized as a most lovable man. He said William II was
+active and fond of amusing himself, and enjoyed constantly traveling
+about, which was not so pleasant for his physician and other members of
+his train. He admitted that the Emperor's left arm was quite lame, but
+it did not interfere much with his movements because he had acquired
+such dexterity with the other. He added that the magnificent attentions
+of the Sultan could not fail to have a great influence upon Germany's
+attitude toward the Ottoman Empire.
+
+The visit of the Emperor at this time, following as it did the dreadful
+massacre of Armenians only a few years before at Harpoot and then at
+Constantinople itself, was very much resented by the Christians
+throughout Europe. It was interpreted as an effort on the part of the
+Emperor, for his own gain, to reinstate the "bloody Sultan" in the
+esteem of the world. It was stated that the Sultan presented the Empress
+with a very costly string of pearls.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One of the four outstanding questions included in my instructions
+concerned the right of our citizens to travel in the interior of Turkey.
+Following the Armenian massacres of 1896 the Turkish Government made new
+passport regulations, and all foreigners were required to get a
+tezkirah, or special local passport, from the Sultan before traveling
+into the interior. As usual in Turkey, asking for a permit of any kind
+was one thing; getting it was quite another. This regulation proved most
+obstructive to our missionaries and those of Great Britain who had
+missions in the interior. They would go home or to Europe on a leave of
+absence, and upon returning to Constantinople would be held up,
+sometimes for weeks, on account of these tezkirahs, which were not
+definitely refused, but not given, which practically amounted to the
+same thing.
+
+When I arrived at Constantinople eight Americans, bound for Erzerum and
+Harpoot, were being held up in this way. One of them was Dr. C. F.
+Gates, president of the Euphrates College at Harpoot. After exhaustive
+negotiations with the authorities, in which I pointed out the fact that
+refusal of the tezkirah was in violation of treaty rights, I myself gave
+Dr. Gates a permit, signed by me, with the seal of the legation on it. I
+then informed the Porte of my action and said that if any injury befell
+the party _en route_ I should hold the Turkish Government responsible. I
+also sent an open cable to our State Department informing Secretary Hay
+what I had done. My British colleague was a bit disturbed when he heard
+of it, because there were several British missionaries in the party.
+
+That same night I got another of those Turkish midnight messages. After
+apologizing for disturbing me, the messenger brought me the intelligence
+that my cable had been held back, and that the Minister of Foreign
+Affairs sent word that instructions had been given for the full
+protection of the missionaries _en route_ to their posts. That broke
+down the passport regulations, and a very few days thereafter I received
+notice that the Council of Ministers had taken up the matter and ruled
+that the regulations for traveling into the interior should be restored
+to what they were before the Armenian troubles.
+
+At about the same time I was enabled to cable to our Department of State
+that I had obtained the Sultan's iradé granting the exequatur for our
+consul at Erzerum.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The third item in my instructions, the Treaty of Naturalization, I had
+to drop. The Porte refused to negotiate this question because of the
+failure of our Government to accept the terms I had obtained during my
+previous mission, and for this I could not blame them. As during my
+earlier mission, when matters involving questions of naturalization
+arose I succeeded in securing the rights of the persons concerned on the
+merits of each individual case.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Lastly there was the question of indemnities due missionaries at Harpoot
+and Marash for property, real and personal, plundered and destroyed
+during the massacres. This was a delicate matter, because the Americans
+were not alone in making claims for such damage; also the Government was
+very poor. At first the Porte denied all liability and refused to pay. I
+started the negotiations in November, 1898, and the process proved a
+long and tedious one, lasting over a year. But step by step progress was
+made. By December the Sultan admitted the claims and promised to pay as
+soon as the amount was fixed. By February, with the amount still
+unfixed, he had decided how payment was to be made: he would buy a
+cruiser in America, to the cost of which the indemnities could be added,
+enabling him to make payment "behind a screen," which he preferred. He
+said arrangements were being made for loans through a bank in Paris to
+begin installments on such a contract. By early September the iradé for
+the purchase of a ship from some American builder had been given, and
+plans were being studied to determine the type of ship. By the end of
+the month the Sultan again assured me that the subject was receiving his
+attention and would be settled in a month or two.
+
+The state of the Turkish finances was, of course, deplorable, and the
+Minister of Foreign Affairs told me that the Government was planning to
+apply to the purchase of the ship, money coming due in two months upon
+the conversion of some loans. And there were claims from England,
+France, Germany, and Italy, none of which the Sultan had recognized or
+promised to pay.
+
+Even so, I planned that if His Majesty showed a disposition to deny his
+promise I should offer to arbitrate and thus bring matters to a head.
+That would put him upon one of two horns of a dilemma: if he accepted,
+it definitely and authoritatively exposed to all the world the horrible
+details of the massacre; if he refused, it put him in the position of
+having declined the only peaceful method of adjustment. Tewfik Pasha,
+however, in the name of the Sultan continued to make promises of
+payment, and the matter dragged along a few months more.
+
+Having settled all other problems that were irritating the relations of
+the two Governments, I asked for leave to visit the United States. I
+planned this trip so as to accentuate our displeasure at the
+procrastination of the Ottoman Government in settling the indemnities,
+and notified the Minister of Foreign Affairs that as my Government had
+been patient for over a year I should now return home for consultation
+regarding the delay.
+
+Upon my return to the United States I carried on the negotiations
+through the Turkish minister at Washington and prepared the instructions
+for our chargé at Constantinople through the State Department. This
+finally resulted in a contract with the Cramp Shipbuilding Corporation,
+with an additional amount of ninety-five thousand dollars to pay the
+indemnity claims, though actual payment was not made until June, 1901,
+under the incumbency of John G. Leishman, my successor.
+
+During the course of the indemnity negotiations I succeeded in obtaining
+the Sultan's iradé for the rebuilding of college and missionary
+buildings at Harpoot which had been injured or destroyed during the
+massacres.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Among the interesting episodes during these fifteen months at
+Constantinople was what might be termed a diplomatic romance. In the
+spring of 1899 I received a letter from Secretary Hay enclosing a
+communication from William E. Curtis, Washington correspondent of the
+"Chicago Record," and one of the best-known syndicate writers of the
+time, who was well informed regarding what was going on in both official
+and unofficial circles at Washington. Curtis reported a conversation
+with an important official of the Turkish legation wherein he learned
+that since the Turko-Greek War the Sultan had regained authority and
+respect among Mussulmans throughout the world, and his advisers thought
+the time propitious for him, as the religious head of Islam, to make
+known his authority to the Mohammedans of the Philippines, Java, and
+neighboring islands. The official had gone on to say that our victories
+over Spain had surprised the Sultan beyond description, and he was
+anxious to cultivate the friendship of a government whose navy could
+sink the enemy's fleet and go round the world without the loss of a man.
+
+Curtis thought that, in view of our present minister's influence and our
+good relations with the Turkish Government, the Sultan under the
+circumstances might be prevailed upon to instruct the Mohammedans of the
+Philippines, who had always resisted Spain, to come willingly under our
+control. Secretary Hay said he would give me no advice or instructions,
+but would leave to my judgment what, if any, action I might deem it wise
+to take; that if I could succeed in getting the Sultan of Turkey to send
+a message to the Sultan of the Sulu Islands which would result in
+peaceful and harmonious relations between the Sulu Sultan and our
+officers, it would of course be a great accomplishment. The subject
+interested me greatly. I saw the possibility of rendering an effective
+service, and I was fascinated by the romance of the suggestion.
+
+When I went to Turkey on my first mission, my father placed his hands
+upon my head, gave me his blessing, and a parting advice which sank deep
+into my consciousness: "When you have an important matter coming before
+you, don't act promptly, but sleep over it." My father's death in
+January, 1898, accentuated this advice in my memory, and when I received
+the Hay-Curtis letters I followed it. I knew very little about the
+Philippines. I doubt that our State Department knew much more. The
+library at Constantinople had nothing on the subject. I had a copy of
+the testimony taken by our commissioners at the Paris peace
+negotiations, but it contained only vaguest references. But one of my
+colleagues had the works of Jean Jacques Reclus, the French geographer.
+From this I learned that the Mohammedans of the Philippines were not
+Shiites, like those of Persia, but Sunnites, and therefore recognized
+the Sultan of Turkey as their spiritual head.
+
+I thought about the problem for a few days, and then I sent a note to
+the Palace that I should like to have an audience with His Majesty, as I
+had some private communication to make to him that I believed might
+interest him, for it would enable him to render a great service to a
+section of his co-religionists. The audience was promptly arranged, and
+I gathered that the Sultan knew very little about the Sulu Mohammedans.
+He asked regarding their sect. I told him they were Sunnites. He asked
+whether they made pilgrimages to Mecca. I told him I thought they did,
+the same as those of Borneo.
+
+Then a curious incident occurred. In order to be able to take up the
+matter very fully with the Sultan, I had anticipated all kinds of
+questions and armed myself with pertinent information. Among them I
+thought he might seek some assurance as to our Government's attitude
+toward Mohammedanism, and to reassure him I had come prepared with a
+translation into Turkish of Article XI of an early treaty between the
+United States and Tripoli, negotiated by Joel Barlow in 1796. It read:
+
+     As the Government of the United States of America is not in any
+     sense founded on the Christian Religion; as it has in itself no
+     character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility of
+     Musselman; and as the said States never have entered into any war
+     or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by
+     the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall
+     ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the
+     two countries.
+
+When the Sultan had read this, his face lighted up. It would give him
+pleasure, he said, to act in accordance with my suggestions, for two
+reasons: for the sake of humanity, and to be helpful to the United
+States. He added that he hoped his services would be appreciated, and
+that when occasion presented itself a like friendly spirit would be
+shown to him. He knew I was a "gentleman" and would make known to my
+Government the spirit in which he met my suggestions. The Mohammedans in
+question recognized him as khalif of the Moslems and he felt sure they
+would follow his advice.
+
+We discussed means of conveying his message to them, and finally decided
+to send a telegram to Mecca, where the Moslem pilgrims were then
+gathered, to ascertain if any Sulu chiefs were there. Before
+transmitting it, His Majesty's secretary read the telegram to me in
+translation.
+
+Two days later the Sultan invited me to the Palace to inform me that he
+had received a reply that two Sulu chiefs were at Mecca. Another
+telegram was then formulated instructing the chiefs in the name of the
+Sultan that a definite understanding had been reached with the American
+Elchi Bey (American minister) that they would not be disturbed in the
+practice of their religion if they would promptly place themselves under
+the control of the American army; that because of the Sultan's deep
+concern for their welfare he advised and instructed them to return at
+once to their people to prevent any bloodshed.
+
+Immediately I cabled Secretary Hay, that he might be able to advise
+General Bates, one of our commanders in the Philippines. The negotiation
+proved to be very important and valuable to us. Some three months later
+our Government received word from the Philippines that an
+insurrectionist leader, Aguinaldo, had sent emissaries among these Sulu
+Mohammedans, but they had refused to join the insurrectionists and had
+placed themselves under the control of our army, thereby recognizing
+American sovereignty.
+
+Lieutenant-Colonel John P. Finley, who had been governor of the District
+of Zamboanga, Moro Province, of the Philippine Islands for ten years,
+wrote an article for the April, 1915, issue of "The Journal of Race
+Development" in which he refers to this incident:
+
+     At the beginning of the war with Spain the United States Government
+     was not aware of the existence of any Mohammedans in the
+     Philippines. When this fact was discovered and communicated to our
+     ambassador in Turkey, Oscar S. Straus, of New York, he at once saw
+     the possibilities which lay before us of a holy war.... He sought
+     and gained an audience with the Sultan, Abdul Hamid, and requested
+     him as Caliph of the Moslem religion to act in behalf of the
+     followers of Islam in the Philippines.... A telegram to Mecca
+     elicited the fact that they not only visited Mecca in considerable
+     numbers, but that at that very time there were Moros from Sulu in
+     the Sacred City.... The Sultan as Caliph caused a message to be
+     sent to the Mohammedans of the Philippine Islands forbidding them
+     to enter into any hostilities against the Americans, inasmuch as no
+     interference with their religion would be allowed under American
+     rule.
+
+     President McKinley sent a personal letter of thanks to Mr. Straus
+     for the excellent work he had done, and said its accomplishment had
+     saved the United States at least twenty thousand troops in the
+     field. If the reader will pause to consider what this means in men
+     and also the millions in money, he will appreciate this wonderful
+     piece of diplomacy in averting a holy war.
+
+There was one commercial trouble to be attended to, in the settlement of
+which I nevertheless emphasized the human aspect. Bread was, of course,
+one of the main staples of the people, and it was rising in price. There
+was a shortage of flour, yet a shipment of twenty thousand bags from the
+Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Company of Minneapolis had been rejected. The
+reason given was that it did not contain a sufficient percentage of
+gluten and elasticity.
+
+As a matter of fact, a shipment received six months before had had the
+effect of reducing the retail price of bread about thirty-three per
+cent. Such shipments competed with the local flour mills, whose owners,
+chiefly Greeks, thereafter paid liberal baksheesh (tips, or bribe money)
+to have the flour rejected.
+
+I secured expert testimony to show that the flour, instead of being
+inferior, was far superior to the local flour. I made the issue urgent
+and sent an open telegram to our State Department that the flour was
+being refused admission in distinct violation of our treaty rights. This
+had the effect I anticipated. The flour was admitted.
+
+The result of this negotiation was reflected in every household, and was
+significant especially for the poorer people, who were grateful to the
+American legation and the American people for further reducing the price
+of their bread. After this, other large shipments of flour arrived from
+time to time and were admitted without difficulty.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The British ambassador came to me one day to ask whether, in view of the
+success I had had in opening and protecting American schools, I could
+give him some assistance in the protection of the orphanages which
+British benevolent societies had established following the Armenian
+massacres. The Duke of Westminster had called the attention of Her
+Majesty's Government to the Porte's ruthless closing of a number of
+these orphanages.
+
+Although it was not a matter that came officially under my jurisdiction,
+I told my colleague I should be glad to aid in every way possible. I
+called on the Grand Vizier and explained to him that if the Government
+persisted in destroying these institutions for the protection of orphan
+children, it would have a prejudicial effect in aggravating the
+justified horror produced in America as well as in England by those
+massacres. I stated frankly that while this was not an American
+question, it would, none the less, from a humanitarian standpoint,
+create a disastrous impression to the further disadvantage of the
+Turkish Government.
+
+We got the desired result. It so pleased my colleague that in reporting
+to Lord Salisbury he expressed great appreciation for the valuable help
+I had given him. This recognition was widely published, in the London
+"Times" and other British papers, as well as throughout America. The
+Germans also reaped some benefit, for several of the orphanages, as at
+Palu and Diarbekir, were under the supervision of their nationals.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Occasionally in the City of the Sultan there arose strange and peculiar
+incidents. I had a call one day from Monsignor Bonetti, the papal
+delegate, who had a summer residence near mine. He said it had been
+reported to him that a Roman priest named Brann, who had left his
+position in America about a year before because of some moral
+delinquencies, had arrived in Turkey within a few days. He was doubtless
+under an assumed name, but Bonetti had heard that the renegade priest
+was among our missionaries, and requested that I make inquiry. I asked
+him what he proposed doing should the priest be found. He said he wanted
+to counsel him to return to the church. The missionaries with whom I
+spoke gave me every assistance, but the priest had evidently not come
+among them, for he could not be found.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A number of distinguished people, European and American, visited
+Constantinople during the winter of 1898-99. Lord Rosebery arrived in
+his mother's yacht and was the guest of the British ambassador, Sir
+Nicholas O'Conor. We had the pleasure of meeting him several times at
+dinner. In a conversation I had with him he expressed great admiration
+for America and said that at one time he was on the point of becoming an
+American. I remember particularly his remark to the effect that he
+believed America and England, by coöperating, would control the world
+for the interests of the world, without having to fight a battle; that
+the peace and welfare of the world were in their hands, and sooner or
+later it must come.
+
+We talked about our respective forms of government, parliamentary and
+congressional. He thought McKinley wise in referring all questions,
+during and since the Spanish-American War, to Congress. To quote his own
+words: "He is sailing on unknown seas, and it is wise to let the
+representative body do the steering."
+
+He asked whether I was an ambassador or a minister. I explained to him
+that the President desired to raise the mission to an embassy, but as
+the law stood we were dependent upon the initiative of the Sultan. He
+said that during his incumbency as prime minister he had much to do with
+having the United States name an ambassador to London; he took special
+care that Great Britain should be the first nation to send an ambassador
+to Washington and to receive an American ambassador.
+
+He spoke in a complimentary manner of Secretary Hay and said he should
+have remained in London, especially as it seemed to be his preference.
+He spoke of the ambassadorship of Edward J. Phelps and said he had heard
+him make some of the ablest public speeches he ever listened to; they
+were effective not only in what they expressed, but in their reserve. He
+thought public speaking in America was more finished than in England, of
+a higher order or better grounded from the standpoint of oratory: "We
+can't speak as you do."
+
+I replied that one had only to point to him as an example to disprove
+that complimentary comparison. But he thought hardly anybody ever read
+his speeches.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, of Philadelphia, and his wife, together with the
+great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, Philip Schuyler, and his wife,
+came to Constantinople. We saw much of them. The Mitchells had just lost
+their daughter.
+
+Dr. Mitchell, who was regarded as the leading authority on nervous
+diseases--if I mistake not it was he who first introduced the rest cure,
+at any rate so far as America is concerned--was very anxious to see
+something of a Turkish household, which was not easily possible by
+reason of the seclusion of Turkish women. It happened that Tewfik
+Pasha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, had often spoken to me about the
+illness of his wife, who seemed to be suffering from some nervous
+ailment. She was a German-Swiss whom he had married while ambassador at
+Berlin, but their _ménage_ was kept purely Turkish. Here, then, was my
+opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: I should satisfy Dr.
+Mitchell's curiosity by rendering Tewfik Pasha a service. In speaking to
+the Pasha I explained, of course, that Dr. Mitchell would accept no fee,
+that he would give his services as a favor to me and an act of courtesy
+to him. Dr. Mitchell was able to prescribe with excellent effect for
+Mme. Tewfik, and the Pasha was very grateful indeed.
+
+Dr. Mitchell and I went to the museum one afternoon to see two famous
+marble tombs that had recently been unearthed at Sidon, upon discovery
+by Hamdy Bey, director of the museum. Both these tombs were supposed to
+be of the best period of ancient Greece. One was known as the Alexander
+tomb because it portrayed in high bas-relief the battle of Issus and
+also a hunting scene, in each of which one of the figures was identified
+as portraying Alexander. At first some scholars believed it to be the
+tomb of the monarch himself, but that seemed not to be correct, and it
+was doubtless the tomb of one of his generals. The other tomb was of
+equal size and proportions, about five feet high and ten feet long.
+Round its four sides it had a number of figures of a woman in various
+phases of mourning, the same figure with varying expressions. This
+ancient work of art appealed to the bereaved heart of Dr. Mitchell and
+he sat before it for quite a while. Later he wrote an "Ode to a Lycian
+Tomb," one of the best, if not the best, of his poems. He sent me a copy
+when it was privately printed, and subsequently it appeared in the
+"Century Magazine."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The inauguration of trips to the Orient by the Hamburg-American and the
+North German Lloyd Steamship Companies frequently brought hundreds of
+Americans to Constantinople at a time. In March the S.S.
+Augusta-Victoria arrived with three hundred and fifty American visitors.
+The Sultan was most gracious to them. Through one of his aides he asked
+me to invite them to Selamlik, after which he arranged a luncheon for
+them on the grounds of the ambassadorial kiosque, and had them visit the
+royal stables. When they left, the Sultan's aide carried on board the
+ship for them a large assortment of delicious Turkish candies and
+cigarettes, which they appropriately acknowledged in a letter that I
+transmitted to the Palace for them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From time to time, especially when the weather was fine, I attended
+Selamlik, as was customary among the diplomats. On one very beautiful
+Friday I took with me my little son Roger, then seven years old. It was
+the Sultan's birthday and the pageant was exceptionally fine. From the
+window of the ambassadorial kiosque Roger leaned out as far as he
+possibly could to get a good view of the Sultan as he passed beneath in
+his victoria. The Sultan bowed in acknowledgment of our greeting, when
+suddenly Roger realized that he had not taken off his cap and pulled it
+off rather comically. This made the Sultan smile, and it was the only
+time I ever saw his habitually sad face wreathed in a smile.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+After a strenuous winter, replete with difficult and trying
+negotiations, I took advantage of the invitation of M. Paul
+Stefanovich-Schilizzi, a philanthropist of Greece, to visit him in
+Athens in May. He was a man of great wealth and beloved throughout the
+Near East by reason of his benevolence. It is his niece, who was a
+frequent guest at our home, who recently married Eleutherios Venizelos,
+the famous Greek statesman.
+
+_En route_ to Athens we stopped for several days at Smyrna, where we met
+Kiamil Pasha, the Grand Vizier with whom I had so satisfactorily carried
+on a number of important negotiations during my first mission. He was
+now vali at Smyrna, highly regarded, and justly called the "grand old
+man" of Turkey, being about seventy-five years old. Amid the corruption
+of his time no one ever questioned his honesty. He had been grand vizier
+several times. He spoke English fluently, doubtless acquired in his
+youth at Cyprus, where he was born.
+
+He deplored the hopeless condition of affairs at Constantinople, where
+all the power had gradually been concentrated at the Palace. Thus the
+grand vizierate became a post without power, which, he explained, did
+not interest him any longer. Besides, he did not agree with the Sultan's
+methods, though he was thoroughly loyal to Turkey. His sympathies, as
+between the contending powers, were with Great Britain; he believed good
+relationship with her was the surest guarantee for the welfare of his
+country.
+
+From Smyrna we took a ship for Piræus, a sixteen-hour trip. There we
+took a carriage, instead of the train, to Athens. We stayed at the Hotel
+Grande Bretagne, which was owned by our friend Stefanovich. It was, and
+doubtless still is, the leading hotel on the square near the King's
+palace, and from the balcony of our rooms we had a clear view of the
+Acropolis.
+
+This was our second visit to Athens. We had been there ten years before
+as guests at the beautiful residence of Dmitri Stefanovich-Schilizzi,
+brother of Paul, where we were sumptuously entertained; we dined at the
+palace, attended several functions there, and met, at various social
+gatherings, the leading people of the city. This time, however, we came
+for rest and recreation; we made no official calls, but spent the six
+days or so visiting places of interest, chiefly the excavations that
+were being made, and the museum.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Returning we took a steamer direct for Constantinople. We had learned
+that the Montenegrin portier in charge of our house at Pera had a slight
+case of smallpox, so we went directly to our summer home at Yenikeui on
+the Bosphorus, about a mile distant from Therapia where most of my
+colleagues had their summer residences. We had succeeded in securing a
+house that was a veritable palace and admirably arranged for
+entertaining, so that we were well able to reciprocate the attentions of
+our colleagues and extend proper hospitalities. A wealthy Greek had
+constructed and owned this mansion, but on account of some questionable
+dealings with the Palace involving large sums of money, he was a
+fugitive from Turkey.
+
+The house was surrounded by a park of its own, fronting on the
+Bosphorus. There were pomegranate and magnolia trees in bloom, under
+which we took our lunch. We had a launch that I named the Franklin, and
+it was one of the fastest on the Bosphorus, so that within an hour I
+could readily be at the Porte to transact the business of the legation,
+although things are more quiet during the summer.
+
+Altogether that summer was thoroughly delightful. My brother Isidor and
+his devoted wife had both joined us. My brother had had an attack of
+influenza and his health was not very good, so they had come to Europe
+to consult a distinguished specialist, Professor Erb, at Heidelberg.
+After completing the cure my brother came to Constantinople for rest and
+quiet with us. The climate on the Bosphorus is ideal, never very hot
+because of the constant cool breezes from the Black Sea. During that
+summer there were only three days when the thermometer rose to ninety.
+
+Everything seemed to prosper with me. I had brought several important
+issues to a successful termination; our whole immediate family was
+together, for Mildred had come to spend her vacation with us; and I had
+the pleasure of a visit from my dear brother and his wife. I recall no
+period of my life that was such a happy one.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Toward the end of the year I telegraphed to Washington for leave to
+return home. I had adjusted all the matters at issue between the two
+Governments except the indemnity, so that I felt justified in leaving my
+post. I knew that I could rely on Lloyd C. Griscom, the secretary who
+would be in charge, for a tactful and efficient handling of the affairs
+of the legation. The indemnity required only steady pressure and
+patience. As I have already stated I timed my return so as to make it
+effective in adding a little more pressure.
+
+When I was about to depart, the Sultan sent to my residence a pair of
+beautiful vases, each several feet high, and artistically ornamented.
+They were manufactured at the royal pottery which the Sultan had had
+established on the Palace grounds, and the workmanship was French. As
+the question of cost did not enter into the manufacture, some wonderful
+productions were turned out at this pottery, and the vases sent to me
+were exceptionally fine specimens. I was very much embarrassed, yet I
+did not want to give offense by refusing them. I sent Mr. Gargiulo, our
+veteran dragoman, to explain to the Sultan's secretary how much I
+appreciated this attention, but as I was not permitted to accept the
+vases for myself I would accept them for our National Museum at
+Washington. That pleased the Sultan, and the vases now have a place in
+our museum at the national capital.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As there was no need for hurrying home, we made a few stops on the way,
+first at Vienna. The papers announced our arrival at the Austrian
+capital, and I received a note from Dr. Theodor Hertzl asking for an
+appointment. I was glad of the opportunity to meet him, for I had read
+much about him. I found him a man of attractive appearance: a little
+above medium height, coal-black beard and hair, very dark, expressive,
+bright eyes. He was about forty years old, seemed full of energy,
+beaming with idealism, but a man of the world. He did not at all impress
+one as a religious fanatic.
+
+He said the idea of Zionism, or, rather, the colonization of oppressed
+Jews, had been developing in his mind for ten or twelve years. I told
+him I was not a Zionist, though I did not want him to understand that I
+was in any way opposed to the movement, or disposed carelessly to ignore
+the solemn aspirations which the deeply religious members of my race had
+prayerfully nurtured in sorrow and suffering through the ages. In answer
+to his question whether the Sultan had ever spoken with me about the
+subject, I told him he had not, as he probably understood it was not an
+American question and did not in any way come under my jurisdiction. But
+I told Hertzl of my negotiations regarding the immigration of the Jews
+to Palestine during my first mission to Turkey, when I visited
+Jerusalem.
+
+We spoke of the condition brought about through the agitation of
+Zionism, the immigration of hundreds of Jews without means into
+Palestine, where there was as yet no industry to enable them to make a
+livelihood. He said he appreciated that and was doing everything in his
+power to prevent such immigration until a permit for a "chartered
+company" with sufficient capital had been obtained from the Sultan, and
+that he was in correspondence with an official of the Porte for the
+securing of such a permit. I suggested that it might be best for him to
+go to Constantinople and personally take up such negotiations; that I
+had been shown a letter from him to Artin Effendi, the under-Secretary
+of State, and this man was one of the biggest rogues in the empire, an
+Armenian kept nominally in office by the Sultan to mislead and hold in
+check his oppressed co-religionists. Dr. Hertzl thought he might take my
+advice.
+
+He informed me that some months before, he had taken the matter up with
+the German Emperor and was led to believe that the Emperor was not in
+any way opposed to Zionism, nor to the returning of the Jews to
+Palestine, but Dr. Hertzl feared the opposition of the Catholics. He
+gathered also, from what he had heard, that Russia did not oppose the
+plan.
+
+I mentioned Mesopotamia to him as a better place for the colonization of
+the Jews than Palestine; it was the original home of Abraham and his
+progenitors, was sparsely settled, and if the ancient canals were
+reopened that country could support several million people. He said he
+was somewhat familiar with this idea, as well as with Professor Haupt's
+pamphlet, and a scheme for the colonization of Cyprus, and that it was
+perhaps well to have more than one plan; if one did not serve as an
+outlet for emigration another might.
+
+It seemed to me that Hertzl was one of those men who, having capacity
+and idealism, attach themselves to a cause that appeals to their
+intellect or their sympathies, and grow in spirit and effectiveness
+through the intensity of their devotion. Such men often develop
+extraordinary qualities of true greatness under conditions that impose
+weighty responsibilities, to an extent which they themselves did not
+realize.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We next went to Rome. All my life I had looked forward to visiting
+"Imperial Rome" on her seven hills, the old Rome that inspired some of
+the leading chapters of the world's history. And my imagination was
+fired the more because in my mind's eye I carried for comparison a
+picture of Athens, city of Pallas Athene, once proud intellectual
+mistress of the world; Jerusalem, from whence emanated the spiritual
+endowment of civilization; and the new Rome to which Constantine brought
+the scepter of the world.
+
+While in Rome we were entertained by our ambassador and Mrs. Draper.
+They were occupying Palazzo Piombino, one of the most magnificent of the
+newer palaces, where they entertained in a manner befitting their
+station. We met there several of my former colleagues at Constantinople
+who were now representing their governments in Rome. Moses Ezekiel, our
+distinguished American sculptor, was also in Rome at this time, and with
+him and Mr. Bonney, in charge of the excavations of the Forum then in
+process, we went through the recently excavated chambers of the vestal
+virgins.
+
+Before leaving the city we were received by the beautiful and charming
+Queen Margherita. She was a remarkably well-informed woman, even about
+events in our country. She spoke about the American press, and said one
+of our papers had a correspondent in Rome who was an ardent supporter of
+papal rule and could see no virtue in the Italian Government. She
+referred to the invention of the flying machine by Professor Langley, of
+the Smithsonian Institution, which, if it proved a success, would
+ultimately change the life of all peoples, which she hoped would bring
+the nations nearer to one another and into closer spiritual contact.
+
+We visited Pompeii, and then went to Naples, where we boarded a steamer
+for New York, arriving home on February 8, 1900.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Immediately I went to Washington for a conference with Secretary Hay and
+to give him the details of the various negotiations. He was especially
+interested in the communication of the Sultan to the Sulu Mohammedans,
+for the friendly relations that this established between the Sulus and
+our Government had already prevented the shedding of blood.
+
+I told Secretary Hay that I desired to resign. The matters for which I
+had been sent to Turkey were adjusted, the payment of the indemnity
+being only a question of time and patience; on the other hand, it was
+important, so far as concerned my personal affairs, that I be relieved
+from further duty abroad, especially as I could not in Turkey properly
+give to my children the education I felt they should have. The secretary
+thought my request reasonable and just, but he thought the President
+would regret it and would have difficulty in replacing me.
+
+I took the subject up with the President next day. He said he realized I
+had made sacrifices enough and was entitled to have my wishes respected;
+he did not, however, wish me to send in my resignation just yet, but to
+continue, for a time at least, to direct matters in Turkey in
+consultation with Secretary Hay. He expressed great satisfaction with
+the result of my mission and said if he hadn't sent me, some hostile
+demonstration in Turkish waters would have been inevitable, with
+possible serious complications as a result; but that the clamoring for a
+warship to Turkey subsided with my going over because of the general
+belief that I would succeed in handling matters. "No one else could have
+done so well; you have done better than I thought it possible for any
+one to do," he graciously added.
+
+He indicated that there might develop some important post in the United
+States which he should like to feel free to ask me to accept should the
+occasion arise, but he made no further explanation. I later learned from
+St. Clair McKelway to what this had reference. McKelway was on intimate
+terms with the President and at the same time was a close friend of
+mine. The President mentioned to him that he feared Secretary Hay, whose
+health was failing, might have to relinquish his post, in which event
+McKinley had in mind to offer it to me.
+
+Within a week after my return I received a letter from Charles C.
+Harrison, provost of the University of Pennsylvania, informing me that
+the trustees had unanimously voted to confer upon me the honorary degree
+of Doctor of Laws, and he would be glad if it were convenient for me to
+receive the degree at a convocation of unusual importance on
+Washington's Birthday. This ceremony took place at the Academy of Music,
+Philadelphia, and similar degrees were conferred also upon Justice
+Harlan, of the United States Supreme Court; Professor Ames, of the
+Harvard Law School; Minister Wu, of China; President Diaz, of Mexico;
+and two delegates from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
+
+From time to time during the next few months I went to Washington both
+to direct Turkish matters through the State Department and to confer
+with the President on matters in general. On one of these occasions, in
+August, he mentioned his forthcoming letter of acceptance of
+renomination and spoke about the efforts of the Democrats to fasten the
+charge of imperialism on the administration, but said he would make it
+plain that we proposed to give as much freedom of government and
+independence to the Philippines as they showed themselves able to
+receive. I read to him from a memorandum I had drawn up regarding our
+purpose to withdraw our troops as fast and in proportion as the
+conditions of peace in the islands permitted. He said I had expressed
+his ideas exactly, and as I was about to replace the memorandum in my
+pocket he said he wished I would let him have it, which of course I did.
+
+He asked what I thought of conditions in China, and I told him I was
+convinced our true course was to oppose the partition of that country
+and to stand firm for the open-door policy; that if Germany, or any
+other Power, endeavored to bring about a division, we could doubtless
+prevent it by insisting upon the open door, especially as the nations
+could not agree among themselves.
+
+Early in December I received a letter from Secretary Hay, asking whether
+I still preferred to be relieved or whether for any reason I would
+consent to continue as minister to Turkey. I definitely answered in the
+negative and my second mission terminated with the following letter:
+
+
+                                                DEPARTMENT OF STATE
+                                        WASHINGTON, _December 18, 1900_
+
+     OSCAR S. STRAUS, ESQUIRE
+        42 Warren Street
+          New York City
+
+     MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     I have laid before the President your letter of the 12th instant,
+     in which you express your preference not to return to
+     Constantinople, and offer your resignation of the mission you have
+     honorably and faithfully filled for the past few years.
+
+     Deferring to your wish, the President has accepted your
+     resignation. In charging me to inform you of this acceptance, the
+     President desires me to make known in fitting words his high
+     appreciation of the valuable services you have rendered to your
+     country, and his sense of the ability and intelligence you have
+     brought to bear in the performance of a task of more than usual
+     delicacy and difficulty. Called, as you were, a second time to the
+     Ottoman mission and confronted by the problems and entanglements
+     that seem to especially environ that post, you have shown rare
+     aptness in dealing with its perplexities and have notably
+     strengthened the hands of the government in leading the long
+     pending questions toward a settlement. While deeply regretting your
+     retirement and while averse to losing your helpful counsels, the
+     President has felt that he could not rightfully impose fresh
+     personal sacrifices upon you by disregarding your wish. You take
+     with you into honored private life the esteem of those who have
+     known and understood your conscientious worth in the paths of
+     official duty.
+
+     I share the President's regrets and equally share his appreciation
+     of the good services you have rendered. My sincere regards and
+     personal friendship are with you always.
+
+                          Very cordially yours
+                                           JOHN HAY
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+     Roosevelt appoints me member of the Hague Tribunal--Trouble with
+     Philippine Mohammedans averted--Humanitarian diplomacy under
+     Roosevelt; Hay's Roumanian note; Roosevelt's Russian cable--The
+     Alaska boundary--Panama and the "covenant running with the
+     land"--White House luncheons; Carnegie suggests to Roosevelt a
+     legacy for my grandchildren--Roosevelt and organized
+     labor--Roosevelt's definition of Americanism--Overnight at the
+     White House; conference regarding the President's
+     Message--Roosevelt and the Portsmouth peace negotiations; Count
+     Witte invites a committee to discuss the Russian Jewish question;
+     Roosevelt writes to Witte--Roosevelt's prophetic characterization
+     of Germany--Some essential qualities of Roosevelt.
+
+
+I began the year 1901 as a private citizen once more. I devoted much of
+my time, however, to public activities, giving close attention
+particularly to the international questions that arose.
+
+The doctrine of citizenship and the rights of naturalized American
+citizens in foreign countries had for many years formed the major
+subject in our foreign relations, and it had been one for constant
+controversy between our own and foreign countries, especially Germany,
+Austria, and Turkey. In the spring I read a paper at a meeting of the
+American Social Science Association, of which I was the president,
+entitled "The United States Doctrine of Citizenship and Expatriation."
+Later in the year I received, in consequence, a letter from Senator S.
+M. Cullom of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign
+Relations, asking me to prepare material for amendments to legislation
+on this subject, which I did.
+
+When Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States through
+the lamentable death of William McKinley, one of my earliest relations
+with him was my being appointed by him as a member of the Permanent
+Court of Arbitration at The Hague. Whether or not he acted herein in
+conformity with McKinley's intention, I cannot say. When McKinley was
+selecting the original members, he conferred with me and indicated that
+if agreeable to me, he would be pleased to appoint me as a member.
+Shortly afterward when the appointments were announced, my name was not
+among them. It was some time before I saw him again, and while I should
+never have mentioned it, he did. He said he was very sorry that through
+the pressure of duties he had quite forgotten his intention to name me
+when the time came to announce the appointments. I told him I thought
+perhaps I had been mistaken in understanding that he had offered me one
+of the appointments. He said I had not misunderstood, but that he would
+make amends should a vacancy occur while he was still President; he had
+wanted me as a member of the Court, not alone in recognition of the
+great services I had rendered, but because he regarded me exceptionally
+qualified. He added that when he became ex-President he would like to be
+a member of that Court himself; it appealed to him more than any other
+office he could think of.
+
+The vacancy in the membership of the Court occurred sooner than any one
+anticipated, by the death, in March, 1901, of ex-President Harrison; but
+by the decree of the gods McKinley himself was no longer with us when
+the time came to fill President Harrison's place. In fact I think the
+day we talked about the Court marked my last conference with him. He was
+always simple in manner and of charming personality. Together we enjoyed
+a good smoke that afternoon; he was fond of smoking and knew I enjoyed a
+good cigar, and he was wont to have me take one of his brand. I begged
+him not to concern himself further with the omission of my appointment
+at The Hague, that I was satisfied to know he thought me worthy of the
+selection.
+
+It is possible that Roosevelt knew the circumstance and McKinley's
+intention, for he was Vice-President at the time it happened. At any
+rate, when the successor to President Harrison was chosen, I received
+the following appointment, somewhat different in form from most
+documents of the kind:
+
+
+                                                     WHITE HOUSE
+                                           WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1902_
+
+     MY DEAR SIR:
+
+     Article XX of the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of
+     International Disputes, signed July 29, 1899, by the
+     Plenipotentiaries to the Hague Peace Conference, provides for the
+     organization of a permanent Court of Arbitration, and Article XXIII
+     of the same Convention provides for the selection by each of the
+     signatory Powers of four persons at the most, as members of the
+     Court, who are to be appointed for a term of six years.
+
+     It will give me pleasure to designate you as one of the four United
+     States members if you will advise me that such action is agreeable
+     to you.
+
+                                Very Truly Yours,
+                                          THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+     HONORABLE OSCAR S. STRAUS
+         New York, N.Y.
+
+
+Since then I have been reappointed three times: in 1908, again by
+Roosevelt, in 1912 and 1920, by Wilson.
+
+In April, 1902, there appeared in the press a dispatch to the effect
+that an expedition of twelve hundred men was to be sent to the southern
+Philippines to punish the Mohammedans there for killing one of our
+soldiers and wounding several others. I immediately wrote the President
+that I believed such a step would be unwise and would probably bring on
+a general uprising in that province. I called his attention to the
+negotiation I had had with the Sultan of Turkey regarding these people,
+and suggested that instead of the expedition a commission be sent to
+treat with them. The President asked me to come to Washington to confer
+with him in the matter, and after the Cabinet meeting I met him in his
+study. There were present also Mr. Taft, who had been appointed governor
+of the Philippines, Adjutant-General Corbin, and Mr. Sanger, acting
+Secretary of War. I presented my arguments more fully. The President had
+already telegraphed General Chaffee regarding the sending of a
+diplomatic mission, in accordance with my letter.
+
+The result of our conference was that General Corbin was directed to
+advise General Chaffee to use the office of the friendly datos to obtain
+the desired redress. It developed later that the soldier killed was
+laying a telegraph line, which procedure, not being understood by the
+Moros, was regarded by them as a device for their destruction. The
+slayers were surrendered and punished and the incident was
+satisfactorily adjusted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At about this time disturbances in Roumania were being reflected in our
+country. Eleven years before, a committee of prominent Jews had brought
+before President Harrison the pitiable condition of the large number of
+Jews arriving in New York from Russia, and it was now necessary to take
+similar steps with regard to the Jews from Roumania.
+
+In Chapter IV I mentioned that Roumania disregarded the provisions of
+the Treaty of Berlin and placed restrictions upon her Jewish subjects.
+Into that treaty, by which Roumania was made an independent kingdom
+following the Russo-Turkish War, Article XLIV was inserted specially for
+the protection of the Jews, of whom there were about four hundred
+thousand in the new state. It provided that difference of religion
+should not be ground for exclusion in the participation of civil,
+political, or economic rights. In spite of this, however, the Jews in
+Roumania were being oppressed and discriminated against on the specious
+claim that they were foreigners, though they and their ancestors had
+been living in the land for generations. They were compelled to serve in
+the army, but not permitted to become officers; they were made subject
+to exceptional taxes; they were excluded from the professions and from
+owning and cultivating land. In every direction they were being
+throttled, and new laws were being promulgated to shut off every avenue
+of self-support.
+
+The result was what had doubtless been the intention in putting into
+force these drastic measures: the Jews who could emigrated, and they
+left Roumania _en masse_. The obstacles in the way of their gaining
+admission into the countries of Western Europe were so great that few of
+them could settle there. The leading Jewish organizations of Great
+Britain and France, namely, the Jewish Colonization Association in
+London and the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Paris, laid the matter
+before their respective governments, but, on account of the disturbed
+conditions in the Balkans and the cross-currents of European politics,
+no pressure could be exerted through these governments.
+
+The main stream of the Roumanian exodus was thus directed to America,
+and they arrived here in increasing numbers. The leading Jewish agencies
+of the country, particularly the B'nai B'rith Order under the presidency
+of Leo N. Levi, used their best efforts to distribute the immigrants
+over the country and to places where they were most likely to find
+employment. Later our very able commissioner of immigration at Ellis
+Island, Robert Watchorn, went over to Roumania for the special purpose
+of studying the situation and made a graphic report of what he learned.
+But to alleviate the situation action of a more official character was
+needed.
+
+Jacob H. Schiff and I prepared a careful brief on conditions and
+presented it to President Roosevelt. The President said he was willing
+to take the matter in hand provided something could be done by our
+Government. Congressman Lucius N. Littauer also extended helpful
+coöperation. He had recently returned from Roumania and had first-hand
+knowledge of the question, which he took up in conferences with the
+President and with Secretary Hay.
+
+Finally, in September, 1902, the President directed Secretary Hay to
+prepare his now famous Roumanian Note to the Powers signatory to the
+Treaty of Berlin. The note was sent to our diplomatic representatives in
+those countries with instructions to present it to the governments to
+which they were accredited. The occasion for sending it was found in
+connection with negotiations initiated by Roumania for the concluding of
+a naturalization treaty with our country. The note gave the reasons why,
+under the circumstances, we were unwilling to conclude such a treaty.
+After referring to the Treaty of Berlin and the obligations assumed by
+Roumania under it regarding the treatment of subject nationalities, the
+Secretary said:
+
+     The United States offers asylum to the oppressed of all lands. But
+     its sympathy with them in no wise impairs its just liberty and
+     right to weigh the acts of the oppressor in the light of their
+     effects upon this country, and to judge accordingly.
+
+     Putting together the facts, now painfully brought home to this
+     Government, during the past few years, that many of the
+     inhabitants of Roumania are being forced by artificially adverse
+     discriminations to quit their native country; that the hospitable
+     asylum offered by this country is almost the only refuge left to
+     them; that they come hither unfitted by the conditions of their
+     exile to take part in the new life of this land under circumstances
+     either profitable to themselves or beneficial to the community, and
+     that they are objects of charity from the outset and for a long
+     time--the right of remonstrance against the acts of the Roumanian
+     Government is clearly established in favor of this Government.
+     Whether consciously and of purpose or not, these helpless people,
+     burdened and spurned by their native land, are forced by the
+     sovereign power of Roumania upon the charity of the United States.
+     This Government can not be a tacit party to such an international
+     wrong. It is constrained to protest against the treatment to which
+     the Jews of Roumania are subjected, not alone because it has
+     unimpeachable ground to remonstrate against the resultant injury to
+     itself, but in the name of humanity. The United States may not
+     authoritatively appeal to the stipulations of the treaty of Berlin,
+     to which it was not and can not become a signatory, but it does
+     earnestly appeal to the principles consigned therein, because they
+     are the principles of international law and eternal justice,
+     advocating the broad toleration which that solemn compact enjoins
+     and standing ready to lend its moral support to the fulfillment
+     thereof by its cosignatories, for the act of Roumania itself has
+     effectively joined the United States to them as an interested party
+     in this regard.
+
+One of the most valuable by-products of the Congress of Berlin was to
+bring into closer relations the autocratic with the liberal governments
+of Europe and cause the former to become more amenable to the
+enlightened conscience of the world. Hay's dispatch, while not pleasing
+to the Government of Roumania, yet, because of the world-wide publicity
+it received, had a measure of influence in modifying Roumania's
+indefensible proscriptions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Another need for humanitarian diplomacy arose the following year. The
+attitude and proscriptions of the Roumanian authorities had doubtless
+encouraged anti-Semitic activity in Russia, and the latter Government,
+no longer contenting itself with the application of restrictions in the
+book of laws which compelled Jews to live in the Pale settlements,
+officially encouraged mobs to massacre and loot, culminating on April
+19-20, 1903, with the outbreak in Kishineff, where forty-seven Jews were
+killed, ninety-two severely wounded, and some five hundred more slightly
+injured. In addition great material losses were inflicted: seven hundred
+houses were destroyed, six hundred stores pillaged, and thousands of
+families utterly ruined.
+
+When these facts became known, they called forth an expression of
+indignation throughout the civilized world. In New York a mass meeting
+was called at Carnegie Hall by hundreds of the foremost New York
+Christians, in protest against the outrages upon the Jews in Russia and
+particularly against the Kishineff affair. The meeting was presided over
+by Paul D. Cravath, eminent lawyer, and the speakers were ex-President
+Cleveland, Mayor Seth Low, Jacob G. Schurman, president of Cornell, and
+Edward M. Shepard, well known for his unselfish devotion to the
+interests of the public. I have in my possession the manuscript of
+Cleveland's address on this occasion, which concludes:
+
+     In the meantime, let the people of the United States, gathered
+     together in such assemblages as this in every part of the land,
+     fearlessly speak to the civilized world--protesting against every
+     pretence of civilization that permits mediæval persecution, against
+     every bigoted creed that forbids religious toleration and freedom
+     of conscience, against all false enlightenment that excuses hatred
+     and cruelty towards any race of men, and against all spurious forms
+     of government protection, that withhold from any human being the
+     right to live in safety, and toil in peace.
+
+
+I will also quote part of the resolutions adopted that evening:
+
+     Resolved, that the people of the United States should exercise such
+     influence with the Government of Russia as the ancient and unbroken
+     friendship between the two nations may justify to stay the spirit
+     of persecution, to redress the injuries inflicted upon the Jews of
+     Kishineff, and to prevent the recurrence of outbreaks such as have
+     amazed the civilized world.
+
+A few weeks later a committee from the B'nai B'rith Order, consisting of
+Simon Wolf, Adolf Moses, Julius Bien, Jacob Furth, Solomon Sulzberger,
+and Joseph D. Coons, and headed by their president, Leo N. Levi, called
+upon Secretary Hay and presented to him a statement regarding the
+massacres in Russia together with a proposed petition which they wished
+forwarded to the Government of the Czar. The Secretary expressed great
+sympathy and the desire to do what might be possible in the matter. His
+reply to the committee, taken down in shorthand at the time, was
+published in full in the press, and from it I quote the concluding
+sentence:
+
+     All we know of the state of things in Russia tends to justify the
+     hope that even out of the present terrible situation some good
+     results may come; that He who watches over Israel does not slumber,
+     and that the wrath of man now, as so often in the past, shall be
+     made to praise Him.
+
+The Secretary then accompanied the committee to the White House, where
+they met the President and presented to him an outline of the oppression
+of their co-religionists in Russia.
+
+Early in July I received a telegram from the President's secretary to
+the effect that the President would like to have me lunch with him the
+day following at Oyster Bay, and that Simon Wolf of Washington, and Leo
+N. Levi also had been invited. When I arrived at Sagamore Hill there
+were present besides those named Dr. Albert Shaw of the "Review of
+Reviews," and an English friend of his, Mr. Morris Sheldon Amos.
+
+We discussed the Russian situation throughout lunch. The President
+suggested that a note be sent by the Secretary of State to John W.
+Riddle, our chargé at St. Petersburg, and that this note should embody
+the entire petition which Mr. Levi and his committee had drafted. Dr.
+Shaw observed that the embodying of the petition to the Czar and giving
+publicity to the note would have all the effects of a presentation even
+if the Czar should refuse to receive it, which was exactly what the
+President had in mind.
+
+After luncheon we adjourned to the study, and Roosevelt said: "Now let's
+finish this thing up." Hay had been to see him the day before and had
+left a memorandum. Roosevelt at once drafted the note with his own pen,
+using part of Hay's memorandum. The note was to be sent as an open
+cable. It read as follows:
+
+     RIDDLE
+
+     St. Petersburg
+
+     You are instructed to ask an audience of the Minister of Foreign
+     Affairs and to make to him the following communication:
+
+     _Excellency_: The Secretary of State instructs me to inform you
+     that the President has received from a large number of prominent
+     citizens of the United States of all religious affiliations, and
+     occupying the highest positions in both public and private life, a
+     respectful petition addressed to his Majesty the Emperor relating
+     to the condition of the Jews in Russia and running as follows:
+
+     [Here is set out the petition.]
+
+     I am instructed to ask whether the petition will be received by
+     your Excellency to be submitted to the gracious consideration of
+     his Majesty. In that case the petition will be at once forwarded to
+     St. Petersburg.
+
+Roosevelt wanted the cable to be sent at once and was in a hurry to get
+it to Washington. One of his reasons was that the late Russian
+ambassador, Cassini, had been dismissed and was on his way back to
+Russia, and he wanted the note to reach the Russian Government before
+Cassini arrived in St. Petersburg. Mr. Wolf, who lived in Washington,
+was to take the drafted cable to Secretary Hay; but as he could not
+return that night the President asked whether I could take it so that it
+might be dispatched next morning. By ten o'clock the following morning I
+placed the draft in the Secretary's hands and it was immediately put on
+the wire.
+
+In planning the cable as he did, the President was right in his
+anticipation. Duly the American chargé at St. Petersburg informed the
+State Department that the Russian Government, through its Minister of
+Foreign Affairs, had declined to receive or consider the petition.
+Nevertheless, its purpose was accomplished. Official Russia was made to
+realize the aroused indignation and the public protests of the civilized
+world. This in turn had a decided influence in checking, for the time
+being at least, similar outbreaks threatened throughout the empire,
+besides bringing to trial and punishment some of the leaders of the
+massacres.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That afternoon at Sagamore Hill, after the Russian matter had been
+disposed of, the President was talking to Dr. Shaw and me about the
+Alaskan boundary question. He pulled out a map showing the disputed
+boundary, and explained that three commissioners from the United States
+and three from Great Britain and Canada would take up the dispute for
+investigation. He argued that they were not arbiters and he refused to
+sign an arbitral agreement; if they did not agree, he would take the
+matter into his own hands; that the whole trouble arose from the fact
+that the Canadians had shoved down the boundary line after the discovery
+of gold. "Suppose a man pitches a tent on my grounds and claims them,
+and I want him to get off; and he says he won't get off, but will
+arbitrate the matter!" Roosevelt exclaimed. Then, turning to me, he
+added: "Straus, you are a member of the Hague Tribunal; don't you think
+I'm right?"
+
+I calmly replied that as a member of the Hague Tribunal I should first
+have to hear what the other side had to say and therefore must reserve
+my judgment. And we all had a good laugh.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the Venezuela controversy in 1902, Venezuela on the one side and
+Great Britain and Germany on the other, Roosevelt was very much incensed
+that Germany, with the feeble backing of England, should undertake a
+blockade against Venezuela to make the latter carry out certain
+agreements, and he promptly took steps to prevent it. Thereupon there
+was a disposition on the part of Germany to ask Roosevelt to arbitrate.
+Secretary Hay, it seems, favored such a course, but I strongly advised
+against it.
+
+At a luncheon to which I was invited by the President early in November,
+1903, the conditions in Panama came up as the principal topic of
+conversation. There were present on this occasion, besides Mr. and Mrs.
+Roosevelt, Cornelius N. Bliss, former Secretary of the Interior; John
+Clark Davis, of the "Philadelphia Ledger"; H. H. Kohlsaat, of Chicago;
+Lawrence F. Abbott, of "The Outlook"; and the President's
+brother-in-law, Lieutenant-Commander Cowles, of the Navy. News had been
+received that Panama had separated from Colombia and we were about to
+recognize Panama. In his informal way, as was his custom at luncheons,
+the President began to discuss the situation, referring to the fact that
+our treaty of 1846 was with New Granada, which afterwards became the
+United States of Colombia and then the Republic of Colombia, and that in
+that treaty we had guaranteed to protect the transit route. One of the
+questions raised was whether the treaty still held us to that
+obligation, notwithstanding these several changes of sovereignty.
+
+The President was directing his remarks toward me, which was his way of
+signifying the particular person from whom he wanted to draw comment. I
+answered that it seemed to me, as I recollected the terms of the treaty,
+which I had recently read, that the change of sovereignty did not affect
+either our obligations or our rights; that I regarded them in the nature
+of a "covenant running with the land."
+
+"That's fine! Just the idea!" Roosevelt replied, and as soon as luncheon
+was over, he requested me to express that idea to Hay. He scratched a
+few lines on a correspondence card asking Secretary Hay to go over with
+me the suggestion I had made and to work into the treaty the "covenant
+running with the land" idea.
+
+That evening I called on the Secretary. He seized the idea at once and
+said he would make use of it in a statement he was just preparing for
+the press detailing the whole situation. The following day there was
+reported in the papers of the country the fact that the President,
+following a meeting of the Cabinet, had decided to recognize the _de
+facto_ government of Panama; and then the detailed statement by
+Secretary Hay regarding the terms of the treaty, the history of the
+negotiations, and the subsequent development, covered several newspaper
+columns. It contained this paragraph:
+
+     It must not be lost sight of that this treaty is not dependent for
+     its efficacy on the personnel of the signers or the name of the
+     territory it affects. It is a covenant, as lawyers say, that runs
+     with the land. The name of New Granada has passed away; its
+     territory has been divided. But as long as the isthmus endures, the
+     great geographical fact keeps alive the solemn compact which binds
+     the holders of the territory to grant us freedom of transit, and
+     binds us in return to safeguard for the isthmus and the world the
+     exercise of that inestimable privilege.
+
+A few days thereafter I received a short note from the President
+reading: "Your 'covenant running with the land' idea worked admirably. I
+congratulate you on it." And from my friend John Bassett Moore I
+received an amusing letter:
+
+     So you had a finger in the pie! I find a good deal of amusement in
+     reflecting on the end reached from the premise of my memorandum;
+     and almost as much on the conclusion reached from your suggestion.
+     Perhaps, however, it is only a question of words--that is to say,
+     it is, indifferently, a question of the "covenant running with the
+     land" or a question of the "covenant running (_away!_) with the
+     land"!!
+
+Those luncheons at the White House were always pleasant and interesting
+occasions. One met there all kinds of people, of every station in life,
+but always people who stood for something and who interested the
+President. At the table Roosevelt would speak without apparent reserve
+and free from all official restraint, and I doubt whether these
+confidences were ever abused. By this means, too, he received the frank,
+unreserved statements and criticisms of his guests.
+
+As an illustration of the range of personalities one would meet at the
+Roosevelt luncheons, I remember one day when Seth Bullock, a former
+sheriff of the Black Hills district and an intimate friend of Roosevelt
+during his cowboy days, sat next to Seth Low at the table. And in his
+"Autobiography" Roosevelt himself says:
+
+     No guests were ever more welcome at the White House than these old
+     friends of the cattle ranches and the cow camps--the men with whom
+     I had ridden the long circle and eaten at the tail-board of a
+     chuck-wagon--whenever they turned up at Washington during my
+     Presidency. I remember one of them who appeared at Washington one
+     day just before lunch, a huge, powerful man who, when I knew him,
+     had been distinctly a fighting character. It happened that on that
+     day another old friend, the British Ambassador, Mr. Bryce, was
+     among those coming to lunch. Just before we went in I turned to my
+     cow-puncher friend and said to him with great solemnity, "Remember,
+     Jim, that if you shot at the feet of the British Ambassador to make
+     him dance, it would be likely to cause international
+     complications"; to which Jim responded, with unaffected horror,
+     "Why, Colonel, I shouldn't think of it, I shouldn't think of it!"
+
+Mrs. Roosevelt is a most charming and cultured woman, typically the wife
+and mother. Literary and intellectual matters appeal to her, though her
+dominant note is the domestic one. I am sure she would have been just as
+happy as the mistress of a private household as the leading lady of the
+land in the White House, despite her great tact, sweetness, and simple
+dignity in filling the latter position.
+
+The President was an omnivorous reader. He could read faster and
+remember better than any one I have ever known. On one occasion he
+recommended to me Ferrero's "Greatness and Decline of Rome," which he
+had just finished in the original Italian, and which had been brought
+out in English by the Putnam house. Subsequently, too, I met this author
+at the White House, where he and his wife were the guests of the
+President for several days.
+
+In January, 1904, a large conference was held in Washington of
+representatives of the various peace societies and other persons
+prominently interested in the calling of an international peace
+congress. George F. Seward, of New York, was chairman, and others
+connected with it were the Reverend Edward Everett Hale and Robert Treat
+Paine, of Boston; Henry St. George Tucker, of Virginia, Andrew Carnegie,
+and myself. Resolutions were adopted recommending the negotiation of a
+treaty with Great Britain whereby all differences between us which might
+fail of adjustment through diplomatic channels were to be submitted for
+arbitration to the Permanent Court at The Hague. It was further
+recommended that we enter into like treaties with other powers as soon
+as practicable. We called on the President and the resolutions were
+presented by Mr. Tucker; Mr. Carnegie and I each made a few remarks,
+which the President in turn answered with a brief address. When he had
+finished and we were all standing around him, Mr. Carnegie said to him,
+"I have just been congratulating Mr. Straus on the compliments you paid
+him, and suggested that he get a copy of that portion of your remarks to
+preserve for his children and grandchildren." Roosevelt immediately
+turned to Mr. Loeb, his secretary, and instructed him to send to me that
+portion of his remarks, adding: "And I meant every word I said." I trust
+I may be pardoned for the egotism which prompts me to incorporate it in
+these memoirs:
+
+     I have had from Mr. Straus aid that I can not over-estimate, for
+     which I can not too much express my gratitude, in so much of the
+     diplomatic work that has arisen in this administration--aid by
+     suggestion, aid by actual work in helping me to carry out the
+     suggestions; and Mr. Straus was one of the two or three men who
+     first set my mind, after I came in as President, in the direction
+     of doing everything that could be done for the Hague Tribunal, as
+     that seemed to be the best way to turn for arbitration.
+
+At another pleasant luncheon there was present Alice, now the wife of
+Congressman Longworth, of Ohio, Roosevelt's daughter by his first wife.
+In the course of our discussion about the reciprocity treaty with Cuba
+and the making of more favorable tariff arrangements, I said: "We went
+to war with Spain for the liberation of Cuba, and now if we treat her
+step-motherly and starve her to death, what would the world say?" There
+was hearty laughter all round the table, and Miss Alice turned to me and
+said, in her naïve way and with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes: "Do I
+look starved?" The President had fairly exploded with laughter, and when
+I remarked that I had "put my foot into it," he added, amid another
+outburst, "Yes, both of them!"
+
+The President did not smoke, but always served cigars and cigarettes to
+his guests. When I did not take one, he said, "Straus, you smoke."
+
+"Yes," I answered, "but I certainly want to pay as much respect to you
+as I always did to the Sultan of Turkey. He did not drink, and I never
+took any when it was served."
+
+"You go right ahead and smoke. If Root were here he would smoke and
+always does," replied Roosevelt.
+
+After lunch that day, when the other guests had gone, he and I went into
+an adjoining room and had a general discussion--labor matters, the
+National Civic Federation, the Republican Party, etc., etc. He said he
+had received a number of requests to put into the Republican platform a
+plank protesting against the discrimination made by Russia against
+Americans of the Jewish faith. "You know," he said, "I am prepared to do
+anything that I can for all of our citizens regardless of race or
+creed, but unless we mean to do something further than simply protest it
+would look like an effort to catch votes, for such statements in the
+platform could not be regarded for any other purpose." He added he had
+in mind a different and more effective way of handling the subject when
+the time came. He said he remembered that I had never asked him to take
+action in this or any other question that was not justified on broad
+American principles, but that if anything arose which specially
+reflected upon the Jews he looked to me to bring it to his attention,
+and I was to regard that just as much my duty as the protection of
+American Christian interests in Turkey.
+
+We spoke about the Russo-Japanese War, and I told him that some one had
+said that the Japs were yellow-skinned, but the Russians were yellow all
+the way through. This called forth a hearty laugh. Humor of any kind,
+provided it was clean, he always appreciated, and his own sense of it
+continually served, as it did for Lincoln, to lighten the seriousness of
+his duties.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Like Lincoln, too, Roosevelt combined with that balancing sense of humor
+an innate and always active sense of justice. Time and again in my
+relationship with him I have observed and admired it. I recall in this
+regard the case of an employee named Miller in the Government Printing
+Office, who was discharged because he did not belong to the union, and
+Roosevelt reinstated him. Mr. Gompers and several members of the
+Executive Committee of the American Federation of Labor thereupon called
+upon the President to protest against this reinstatement. They said his
+discharge was based on two points: that he was a non-union man, and also
+that he was an incapable worker. Roosevelt's answer was: "The question
+of his personal fitness is one to be settled in the routine of
+administrative detail, and cannot be allowed to conflict with or to
+complicate the larger question of governmental discrimination for or
+against him or any other man because he is or is not a member of a
+union. This is the only question now before me for decision; and as to
+this my decision is final."
+
+As I was in constant touch with the President by correspondence and
+conferences, I wrote him telling of my gratification to find in his
+decision anent the Miller case such consonance in principle with his
+position regarding the anthracite coal strike, to which I received the
+following reply that brings out the point I have just made about his
+sense of justice:
+
+
+                                             WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON
+                                                _October 1, 1903_
+
+     MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     I thank you heartily for your letter. When you can get on here I
+     should like to tell you for your own information some of my
+     experiences in connection with this Miller case. I feel exactly as
+     you do--that my action was a complement to my action, for instance,
+     in the anthracite coal strike, and that I could no more hesitate in
+     the teeth of opposition from the labor unions in one case, than I
+     could when the opposition came from the big monied men in the other
+     case.
+
+                                        Sincerely yours
+                                                     THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+
+Perhaps no President has had a policy, with regard to labor, so wise and
+far-seeing as that of Roosevelt. Invariably he sought the counsel of
+labor leaders in matters affecting their interests, and always they were
+made to feel that redress for their just grievances, and their rights
+generally, were as much a concern of his and of his administration as
+any rights of the rich. In this connection I recall a remark of P. H.
+Morrissey, then head of the railroad train-men. We were seated in the
+Red Room of the White House for conference after dinner. There were
+present some thirty or more men prominently identified with labor, whom
+the President had invited to discuss labor legislation. Morrissey
+recalled one time several years before when he sat in front of the great
+fireplace in the Red Room waiting for the President; and he said he
+could not help reflecting what a long way it was from the cab of the
+locomotive engine to this stately room in the official residence of the
+President of the United States, an honor and a privilege that Roosevelt
+was the first President to give to men of labor.
+
+On the same evening I saw in clear relief Roosevelt's wonderful tact,
+judgment, and understanding of men as I had never seen it displayed
+before. One or two of the labor leaders showed some bitterness in their
+criticism of certain legislation. Roosevelt showed frank approval of
+just complaints and allayed irritation in a most tactful way where the
+demand was unjust or unreasonable.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the election of 1904 I took an active part and kept in close touch
+with Roosevelt. An unusual amount of bitterness characterized this
+campaign, though it was foreseen that Roosevelt would win by a large
+majority. In this connection I received a characteristic letter from
+him, dated at the White House October 15th:
+
+     I notice that various Democratic papers, including the Evening
+     Post, have endeavored to show that I have appealed to the Jew vote,
+     the Catholic vote, etc. Now the fact is that I have not appealed to
+     any man as Jew, as Protestant, or as Catholic, but that I have as
+     strongly as in me lies endeavored to make it evident that each is
+     to have a square deal, no more and no less, without regard to his
+     creed. I hope that this country will continue in substantially its
+     present form of government for many centuries. If this is so it is
+     reasonable to suppose that during that time there will be
+     Presidents of Jewish faith, Presidents of Catholic faith. Now, my
+     aim as President is to behave toward the Jew and the Catholic just
+     as I should wish a Jewish or Catholic President to behave towards
+     Protestants--in other words, to behave as a good American should
+     behave toward all his fellow Americans, without regard to the
+     several creeds they profess or the several lands from which their
+     ancestors have sprung. Moreover, I am pleased at what Lebowich says
+     at my not having a spirit of condescension or patronizing. I have
+     enough of the old Adam in me to object almost as strongly to being
+     patronized as to being wronged; and I do not intend knowingly to
+     behave toward others in a manner which I should resent if it were
+     adopted toward me.
+
+These sentences bring to mind another and public statement of
+Roosevelt's in which he characterized Americanism; the occasion was an
+address at the unveiling of the Sheridan equestrian statue in
+Washington:
+
+     We should keep steadily before our minds the fact that Americanism
+     is a question of principle, of purpose, of idealism, of character;
+     that it is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of
+     descent.
+
+     Here in this country the representatives of many old-world races
+     are being fused together into a new type, a type the main features
+     of which are already determined, and were determined at the time of
+     the Revolutionary War; for the crucible in which all the new types
+     are melted into one was shaped from 1776 to 1789, and our
+     nationality was definitely fixed in all its essentials by the men
+     of Washington's day.
+
+Soon after the election he invited me to come to the White House for
+dinner one evening and to spend the night; there were a number of things
+he wanted to talk over with me. When I arrived I found Dr. Lyman Abbott
+and his son Ernest had been similarly invited, and there were additional
+guests for dinner: Attorney-General Moody, Senator Knox, Secretary of
+War Taft, and James R. Garfield, chief of the Bureau of Corporations in
+the Department of Commerce and Labor.
+
+At dinner the President announced that we had come together to do some
+business, and he produced from his pocket a slip of paper on which were
+noted the several subjects he wished to consider with us, mainly things
+to be incorporated in his forthcoming Message to Congress. First there
+was the negro question. The South had vilified him because he
+entertained Booker Washington and appointed Crum Collector of the Port
+at Charleston. When Congress assembled, one of the things he intended
+doing was to send in again the name of Crum for confirmation. "The
+Southerners either do not or do not wish to understand it," he said;
+adding that his position plainly was that he would do everything in his
+power for the white man South without, however, doing a wrong or an
+injustice to the colored man. He was sympathetic with the South, for he
+was half Southerner himself, his mother having come from Roswell,
+Georgia. His remarks on this topic were directed mainly to Dr. Abbott.
+
+The conversation then turned to the recent election and became very
+general, every one joining and relating instances or experiences in
+connection with it. Mr. Taft, who had waged a vigorous campaign for the
+Administration, told a joke on himself: he had received a letter from
+Wayne MacVeagh saying that so far as he (MacVeagh) could see, Taft's
+speeches did not do any harm.
+
+When the talk had gone along these general lines for a while, Roosevelt
+interjected with "Now we must get back to business," and proceeded to
+discuss the diplomatic service in relation to his Message. He thought
+civil service too strictly applied would be detrimental, as we had a
+great deal of old timber there that should be gotten rid of.
+
+Next he took up a discussion of Panama. Mr. Taft with several others was
+to leave next day on a mission there to look into the difficulties
+between the native army and the President of Panama, and some one
+humorously suggested that he had better go down and take away the
+weapons from the army and let them muster as much as they wanted to
+without weapons.
+
+After dinner we adjourned to the President's study on the floor above.
+He sat down at his desk and pulled open a drawer as he said: "I want to
+read to you incomplete drafts of portions of my Message which I should
+like to have you criticize, as on some of the subjects I have not yet
+fully made up my mind." The Message was in separate parts, each dealing
+with an important subject. He took up the part dealing with our foreign
+relations, in regard to Russia and Roumania, and addressed me, saying he
+would like me to pay special attention to that as he had consulted me
+all along concerning the action to be taken. He said our Government had
+been criticized as interfering with the internal affairs of other
+nations, and the statement had been repeatedly made that we should not
+like it if other nations took us to task for our negro lynchings in the
+South; but he argued that the lynchings were comparatively few, and,
+though bad enough, were nothing compared to the wholesale murder in cold
+blood under official sanction and perhaps instigation, as in Kishineff.
+"My answer to all these criticisms is this," he said; "only a short time
+ago I received a remonstrance or petition from a society in Great
+Britain regarding the lynchings in this country. I did not reject it; on
+the contrary, I answered it most politely and expressed my great regret
+for these unlawful, unjustifiable acts, with which neither I nor the
+Government had any sympathy. On the contrary the Government does
+everything in its power to prevent these outrages and unlawful acts.
+And I authorize any one to make use of this information whenever the
+occasion presents itself."
+
+To the labor question also he wanted me to pay special attention because
+of my experience with such matters and in the arbitration of labor
+disputes. He began with the statement that he was in favor of organized
+capital and organized labor. I asked him whether right at that point I
+might make a suggestion, which was that he begin with the general
+subject of capital and labor, because organized labor did not comprise
+more than fifteen per cent of the wage-earners of the country. This
+suggestion he accepted.
+
+Roosevelt then expressed himself in favor of the eight-hour law. Messrs.
+Moody, Knox, Taft, and myself did not agree with his statement in the
+form he had it. We explained that there were several bills before
+Congress on the subject, some of which had passed the lower house, but
+were defeated in the Senate; that it was all right for the Government in
+its own yards to adopt an eight-hour day, but when it gave out contracts
+to other shops, while it had a right to say that the work upon that
+contract should be done by eight-hour days, it had no right to require
+work on other contracts to be done in eight-hour days. When we had
+discussed the subject quite thoroughly, it was agreed to omit it from
+the Message.
+
+Next he took up the trust question. He said Mr. Garfield had several
+suggestions to offer for making the interstate commerce law effective.
+It was generally agreed that the law as originally passed fully provided
+the remedy that was intended, but it had been emasculated by the
+decisions of the Supreme Court. Messrs. Knox, Taft, and Moody referred
+to several of these decisions and pointed out that the railroads, under
+subterfuge of switches and free cars--cars that were furnished by such
+shippers as the beef trust--got completely around the law. They allowed
+a mileage charge for the supply of these cars in excess of what should
+be allowed, and under such cover it amounted to a rebate to those
+shippers and was a complete circumvention of the law. Garfield's
+suggestion was that the interstate commerce corporations be compelled to
+obtain a license or charter from the National Government to do business.
+We thoroughly discussed this, but it was disapproved as being an
+interference with the legal rights of States, and that therefore no such
+law could be passed by Congress. The President then turned to the legal
+members of our group and said, "Now here is a great wrong and you
+lawyers have always got a way of preventing us from reaching a remedy."
+
+Knox created a laugh by replying, "The President wants us as usual to
+jump over the Supreme Court."
+
+The work on the Message done, Roosevelt said it was his intention to go
+South and make a few speeches. He would begin at San Antonio and would
+visit Tuskegee and Sewanee Colleges, for he wanted his views in regard
+to the South and the negro question fully understood. He read us a draft
+along the lines of thought he wanted to present, quoting much from
+Lincoln, which seemed highly to the point. When some one mentioned the
+curtailing of suffrage so as to have it based upon educational
+qualifications and property ownership, the President said it would not
+be wise to agitate that subject, and that herein Booker Washington
+agreed with him; but, he added, "There is something inherently wrong
+about a Southern member representing in some instances only a quarter of
+the number of votes that an Eastern member represents, and having an
+equal vote with him in Congress."
+
+It was half after midnight when our little company separated. The
+President then suggested to Dr. Abbott and me that we meet at 8.15
+breakfast, if we did not object to having this meal with him and the
+children. In the absence of Mrs. Roosevelt, who had gone to New York,
+the President next morning took the head of the table, and with the
+coffee urn before him served us each with our coffee, cream, and sugar.
+There were Teddy, Ethel, Kermit, Archie, and Quentin, the governess, the
+tutor, besides Dr. Abbott, his son, and myself. After the meal we
+strolled in the park back of the White House until 9.30, when the
+President left for his work-room in the new office building west of the
+White House.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I did not see Roosevelt again for several months. One day in May I took
+lunch with him upon his return from Chicago where he had had a
+conference with the representatives of the labor unions who were
+carrying on the teamster's strike that paralyzed the commerce of the
+city. He said he had received through his secretary my memorandum
+regarding an adjustment of the trouble, and that it was of great
+assistance to him in discussing the situation and coming to some
+equitable arrangement. He was preparing a Message for an extra session
+of Congress in October, and said he would send me parts of it,
+especially those referring to immigration and the Far East, for my
+advice and suggestion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In 1905, when Roosevelt was busy with negotiations to bring peace
+between Russia and Japan, I received a letter from him stating that he
+had endeavored to get these two nations to go to The Hague, but Russia
+was most reluctant and Japan positively refused; nor would they go to
+either Paris or Chefoo, but they were both willing to come to
+Washington. In his own "Autobiography," which I never tire of reading,
+Roosevelt gives an interesting sketch of his mediation between these two
+countries which finally brought about the conference and treaty at
+Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
+
+Count Sergius Witte, head of the Russian mission to Portsmouth, was
+desirous of meeting some of the representative Jews of our country with
+a view to seeking what might practicably be done to improve the
+condition of the Jews in the Russian Empire. While it was said that his
+wife was a Jewess, his interest in the Jewish question was perhaps
+primarily to improve the relations between Russia and the United States.
+The Russian massacres, with the resultant enforced emigration, the
+public meetings of protest in this country and the press comments, had
+seriously prejudiced public opinion here against Russia.
+
+The Count therefore invited a committee to confer with him and Baron
+Rosen at Portsmouth. There were Jacob H. Schiff, Isaac N. Seligman,
+Adolph Kraus, Adolf Lewisohn, and myself. The Count admitted with much
+frankness the condition of the Jewish population of Russia, and that it
+was an injustice. He expressed his purpose to exert his best influence
+to remedy the just grievances of the oppressed Jews. We assured him that
+we asked for no special privileges for our co-religionists, but the
+same, and no greater, rights for them than were accorded other Russian
+subjects; that the granting of such rights would relieve Russia of the
+Jewish question and of the international ill-will to which this question
+naturally and rightly gave rise. Both the Count and Baron Rosen agreed
+with us, but argued that it was not practicable to grant such complete
+emancipation, but that it should come about gradually. We told them, of
+course, that with that premise we could not and would not agree.
+
+The Count was very much impressed with our presentation of the subject,
+and our statements were corroborated by his own observations later when
+he made a visit to the lower East Side of New York where he spoke with a
+number of the Russian-Jewish immigrants. He said that upon his return to
+Russia he would at once take up the problem with a view ultimately to
+secure equal rights for the Jewish subjects, that he realized the
+necessity for this not only from a humanitarian standpoint, but from the
+standpoint of Russia's best interests and of her relations with the
+leading nations of the world, particularly with the United States.
+
+Before going to Portsmouth on Count Witte's invitation, I conferred with
+Roosevelt. He wanted me in an unofficial capacity to observe carefully
+the progress of the negotiations and keep him advised. Just at that time
+it looked as if the conference might break up, and before that stage was
+actually reached he wanted to be notified, for he would probably have a
+communication to make to the commissioners. On arriving at Portsmouth I
+had a confidential talk with Fedor Fedorovich Martens, the great Russian
+international jurist, who was one of my fellow members at the Hague
+Tribunal, and with whom I had been in personal touch on several previous
+occasions. He was legal adviser to the Russian delegation. I apprised
+him of what I knew to be the desire of the President, and he agreed that
+if a break became imminent, a communication such as the President would
+send would be likely to have the right influence, and he would see to it
+that, should the necessity arise for such a message, Roosevelt should be
+promptly informed. I advised the President of my understanding with
+Martens, but fortunately no rupture occurred and the terms of peace were
+agreed upon.
+
+In his "Autobiography" Roosevelt says, with regard to these Portsmouth
+negotiations: "I had certainly tried my best to be the friend not only
+of the Japanese people but of the Russian people, and I believe that
+what I did was for the best interests of both and of the world at
+large." He refers with characteristic generosity to the help given him
+at St. Petersburg by our ambassador, George von Lengerke Meyer, who
+"rendered literally invaluable aid by insisting upon himself seeing the
+Czar at critical periods of the transaction, when it was no longer
+possible for me to act successfully through the representatives of the
+Czar, who were often at cross-purposes with one another."
+
+And when the Portsmouth Conference was over, the President further took
+a deep interest in bringing about amelioration of the condition of the
+Jews in Russia. When Count Witte came to New York, Roosevelt wrote him
+the following letter, of which he sent me a copy:
+
+
+                                                    OYSTER BAY, N.Y.
+                                                     _September 10, 1905_
+
+     MY DEAR MR. WITTE:
+
+     ... In furtherance of our conversation of last evening I beg you to
+     consider the question of granting passports to reputable American
+     citizens of Jewish faith. I feel that if this could be done it
+     would remove the last cause of irritation between the two nations
+     whose historic friendship for one another I wish to do my best to
+     maintain. You could always refuse to give a passport to any
+     American citizen, Jew or Gentile, unless you were thoroughly
+     satisfied that no detriment would come to Russia in granting it.
+     But if your Government could only see its way clear to allowing
+     reputable American citizens of Jewish faith, as to whose intentions
+     they are satisfied, to come to Russia, just as you do reputable
+     American Christians, I feel it would be from every standpoint most
+     fortunate.
+
+     Again assuring you of my high regard, and renewing my
+     congratulations to you and to your country upon the peace that has
+     been obtained, believe me,
+
+                            Sincerely yours
+                                           THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+
+Early in 1906, when the Algeciras Conference regarding Morocco was in
+session, and the press reported that it was likely to break up without
+an agreement on account of Germany's attitude, Carl Schurz, knowing of
+my close relationship with Roosevelt, wrote to me that the President
+could probably prevail upon the Powers concerned to refer the question
+to the Hague Tribunal. This letter I forwarded to Roosevelt; but
+although he was ever ready to vitalize the machinery of the Hague
+Tribunal, advice coming from Mr. Schurz at this time was not regarded
+with favor, possibly because of their previous differences. In his reply
+to me, however, the President showed what a clear and prophetic insight
+he had into Germany's attitude and purposes:
+
+     Modern Germany is alert, aggressive, military and industrial. It
+     thinks it is a match for England and France combined in war, and
+     would probably be less reluctant to fight both those powers
+     together than they would be together to fight it. It despises the
+     Hague Conference and the whole Hague idea. It respects the United
+     States only in so far as it believes that our navy is efficient and
+     that if sufficiently wronged or insulted we would fight. Now I like
+     and respect Germany, but I am not blind to the fact that Germany
+     does not reciprocate the feeling. I want us to do everything we can
+     to stay on good terms with Germany, but I would be a fool if I were
+     blind to the fact that Germany will not stay in with us if we
+     betray weakness. As for this particular case, when I see you next I
+     shall tell you all that I have done and you will see that I have
+     been using my very best efforts for peace.
+
+In all my relations with Roosevelt, even before I became a member of his
+Cabinet, I was more and more convinced that no consideration of
+political self-interest or partisan advantage ever entered his mind in
+determining his attitude or action in upholding the right or dethroning
+a wrong. He resented nothing more than when some politician or
+inconsiderate person made an appeal to him for action on the plea that
+it would be good politics. He was visioned, but not visionary; and
+withal highly practical, in that he understood the workings and
+tendencies of human forces. Just as he would read a book by absorbing a
+page at a glance, so he would instinctively appraise his fellow men;
+their qualities would impress him just as a brilliant paragraph in a
+book would arrest his instant attention.
+
+Roosevelt would not make an idle gesture or even imply a threat which he
+did not purpose to carry into action. He was more abused by those whom
+he designated as "the interests," and better understood and trusted by
+the masses, than any President in our history with the exception of
+Lincoln. So it is always with real leaders, who seek to guide rather
+than pander to public opinion. The latter course appeals to weak though
+well-intentioned public men; the former requires not only clear vision
+but high courage, and these qualities Roosevelt possessed to an
+extraordinary degree.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+INDUSTRIAL DIPLOMACY
+
+     Trade unions and federated unions--Formation of the National Civic
+     Federation--Notable industrial disputes are settled--Andrew
+     Carnegie dines with fighting labor leaders--Marcus Hanna, general
+     of industry--My chairmanship of the Board of Railway Labor
+     Arbitration--Our findings and recommendations--My chairmanship of
+     the New York Public Service Commission--Military necessities
+     impinge upon industrial relations--The President's Industrial
+     Conference of 1919-20.
+
+
+When our industries were small, a strong human tie bound together
+employer and worker. Following the expansion which began after the Civil
+War, our industries resolved themselves into vast organizations and
+corporations, and the relations between employer and worker became more
+and more impersonal. The workers first organized into trade unions,
+which presently expanded into federated unions similar to those which a
+generation before had begun to be formed in Great Britain.
+
+The rapid growth of our industries and the impersonal relations between
+employer and employed made it apparent that social justice required that
+reciprocal rights be recognized in order to bring about a better
+understanding of a relationship which had already become increasingly
+strained and often embittered, resulting in serious strikes and
+lock-outs. One of the first organizations to meet this need was formed
+in Chicago in 1894, following the Pullman strike. It was called the
+Civic Federation of Chicago and was under the leadership of a number of
+prominent men of that city, directed by Ralph M. Easley.
+
+Six years later the scope of this organization was enlarged, and in the
+name of the National Civic Federation a conference was called in
+Chicago, in December, 1900, and the debate centered round the
+proposition that in American industries voluntary conciliation was
+preferable to compulsory arbitration. At that conference a committee was
+selected whose duty it was to collect information at home and abroad
+regarding measures of arbitration, and to advise with employers and
+workmen in this country whenever and wherever possible.
+
+In the following December, 1901, the National Civic Federation held a
+conference in New York in the rooms of the New York Board of Trade and
+Transportation. I was then president of that Board and was asked to
+preside at the conference. After adjourning the sessions, we organized
+the industrial department of the Federation, with a committee of twelve
+men representing the public, twelve men representing employers, and
+twelve men representing wage-earners. These three groups were headed,
+respectively, by Grover Cleveland, Marcus A. Hanna, and Samuel Gompers.
+All of their colleagues were men of national distinction and were
+recognized leaders in their fields. From this larger committee of
+thirty-six, an executive committee of five was selected, whose members
+were as follows: Marcus A. Hanna, chairman; Samuel Gompers, first
+vice-president; I, second vice-president; Charles A. Moore, treasurer;
+and Ralph M. Easley, secretary.
+
+The scope and plan of the industrial department was to promote
+industrial peace in whatever way might seem best. We planned for a large
+meeting in May, when two public sessions were to be held, one at Cooper
+Union and one in the rooms of the New York Chamber of Commerce. We
+issued a statement of our plan and scope and inaugurated a broad
+educational campaign.
+
+Meanwhile our department proved itself most practical. It actively
+helped settle several disputes, notably the Albany street-car strike,
+the disagreement between the National Metal Trades Association and the
+International Association of Machinists, and the United States steel
+strike. And it was instrumental in averting the threatened anthracite
+coal strike.
+
+The identical ideal that I held up in my opening address at the meeting
+in January, 1901, I should hold up to-day: namely, that industrial
+peace, to be permanent, cannot rest upon force, but must rest upon
+justice, and in essential industries especially, upon a high sense of
+responsibility to the public by both employer and employed. In no other
+country are conditions, by nature and by principles of government,
+better adapted to the equitable adjustment of the reciprocal rights,
+duties, and privileges of labor and capital than in our own, because we
+are a democratic people with no fixed class distinctions to separate us.
+The laborer of to-day may be the capitalist of to-morrow, and vice
+versa. Capital and labor are interdependent, not opponents; and it is on
+the basis of that dependency that adjustments in the relationship
+between them must be made. This ideal is, happily, more widely
+recognized to-day than it was when the National Civic Federation was
+organized.
+
+I gave considerable attention to the work of the Federation for a number
+of years. As the offices were in New York and the president and first
+vice-president were both resident in other cities, the direction of the
+organization between conferences largely fell upon me as second
+vice-president, with the important assistance of the secretary, Mr.
+Easley.
+
+The Federation afforded a neutral forum where, under the chairmanship of
+one of its officers, the disputants could discuss their grievances and
+arrive at an understanding. Many times the growing bitterness between
+them was checked and a strike or lock-out averted. The fact was often
+borne in upon me how many of these industrial disputes grew out of
+misunderstandings which were cleared away when men assembled around a
+table and frankly discussed their differences.
+
+To further the work and interests of the Federation I brought together
+in social relationship, at several dinners at my home, the
+representatives of all three groups; namely, the public, the
+wage-earner, and the employer. One day Andrew Carnegie expressed the
+desire to meet the labor leaders who had instigated the strike in the
+Carnegie works which resulted in the Homestead riots. Accordingly I
+arranged a dinner, to which I invited a number of the men of the labor
+wing of the Federation, as well as some others of the committee,
+together with Messrs. Wighe and Schaeffer, of Pittsburgh, officers of
+the Amalgamated Union, who had led the Homestead strike.
+
+Carnegie knew these leaders well, and they knew him. He called them by
+their Christian names and they called him "Andy." They said that night
+that they and their colleagues in the union had always believed that
+that strike and riot would never have taken place had "Andy" been
+present. As a matter of fact, Carnegie's relations with his men had
+always been very friendly. He was unjustly accused of the responsibility
+for the Homestead riots, which might not have occurred had he, instead
+of Mr. Frick, been in charge of the employers' side. Mr. Carnegie at the
+time was in Scotland.
+
+Only a short while before this Carnegie dinner, Marcus Hanna had died,
+and our executive committee offered to Mr. Carnegie the presidency of
+the Federation, to succeed Mr. Hanna. Mr. Carnegie was gratified and
+very much touched, especially by the implied confidence on the part of
+the twelve labor men of the Federation; but on account of his advanced
+years he felt that he could not give the position the attention it
+deserved. He was, however, glad to become a member of the executive
+committee, and as such revealed himself in a most favorable light.
+Beneath his Scotch nimbleness of mind there was a broad, tolerant, and
+lovable heart. He met the laboring men, not as their superior, but as
+one having a genuine brotherly interest in their welfare. It became very
+evident to us all why he was so highly regarded by his workmen, and why
+he had so much influence with them: they trusted to his fairness and had
+a real affection for him personally. In his Autobiography he makes
+feeling reference to his connection with the Federation.
+
+Marcus Hanna, who was known to the country chiefly through his political
+activities, was looked upon as the leader of a group of rich men who had
+won political power by commercializing our political system; and was
+regarded by many as an evil influence. But in connection with the great
+industrial interests that he had built up in Ohio and elsewhere--coal
+mines, iron works, shipping, street railways--little was known of him.
+He had shown great capacity as an industrial general in the management
+of his men, winning their good-will by fair and equitable treatment; and
+it is said he never had a strike in the industries he administered. He
+was highly regarded by the labor leaders, who had confidence in his
+fairness to the wage-earners. He did not oppose, as did so many of the
+employers of his time, the organization of labor unions. On the
+contrary, he believed that such organizations were necessary adequately
+to protect the rights of the workers.
+
+As chairman of the executive committee of the Civic Federation, Hanna
+displayed this better side of his character and his great ability as an
+organizer and a leader. Here he was not the cunning politician, but the
+genial head of an industry who recognized the just demands of the
+wage-earners and was always generous with them in regard to compensation
+and labor conditions.
+
+The work we did and the experiences we encountered as officers of the
+Federation, each group coming into close contact with the others and
+adjusting with them industrial differences, had a decided educational
+value for us all. For myself, the study I gave during these years to the
+relations between capital and labor, and my active part in the
+conciliation and arbitration of labor disputes, provided me with an
+intensely practical background and preparation for the secretaryship of
+the Department of Commerce and Labor, which later fell to my lot. It was
+this experience and my personal acquaintance with the representatives of
+capital and labor all over the country that induced me, as head of that
+Department, to organize the Council of Commerce and to plan the Council
+of Labor, to both of which I shall refer more specifically later.
+
+The Board of Railway Labor Arbitration of 1912 was perhaps the most
+important labor arbitration body brought into existence up to that time.
+Its decisions affected the whole Eastern district: that is, that section
+of our country lying east of Chicago and East St. Louis, and north of
+the Ohio River to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and of the Potomac River
+to its mouth. Fifty-two railroad lines and over thirty-one thousand
+engineers were involved. The latter negotiated through the Brotherhood
+of Locomotive Engineers.
+
+The representatives of the Brotherhood and the members of the Conference
+Committee of Managers of the railroads held several conferences in
+March, 1912, at which the Brotherhood made certain requests. The
+conferences ended with the refusal of the roads to grant these requests
+or any part of them, whereupon ninety-three per cent of the members
+voted for a strike. Charles P. Neill, United States Commissioner of
+Labor, and Judge Martin A. Knapp, of the United States Commerce Court,
+tendered their friendly offices under the Erdman Act, but were unable to
+mediate, and the contending parties would not agree to arbitrate under
+the provisions of the Erdman Act. It was then decided to submit the
+dispute to a board of arbitration composed of seven members, one to be
+chosen by each side, and those two to agree on the other five within
+fifteen days of their own appointment.
+
+The roads chose Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore and Ohio
+Railroad, and the Brotherhood chose P. H. Morrissey, former grand master
+of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. At the end of fifteen days,
+these two had not succeeded in agreeing upon the other five members of
+the board, though they had agreed upon a list from which the five might
+be chosen. A committee consisting of Mr. Neill, Judge Knapp, and Chief
+Justice White, of the Supreme Court of the United States, then chose
+five names from that list, and the final personnel of the board was as
+follows: Dr. Charles R. Van Hise, of Madison, Wisconsin; Frederick N.
+Judson, of St. Louis; Dr. Albert Shaw, Otto M. Eidlitz, and myself, of
+New York, in addition to Mr. Morrissey and Mr. Willard.
+
+[Illustration: _Copyright by American Press Association_
+
+MEMBERS OF THE RAILWAY BOARD OF ARBITRATION
+
+From left to right: Standing: Daniel Willard, Otto M. Eidlitz, Albert
+Shaw, P.H. Morrissey Sitting: Charles R. Van Hise, Oscar S. Straus,
+Frederick N. Judson]
+
+On July 12th the board met and organized, electing me as chairman. The
+decisions of the board were to be binding for one year and thereafter
+could be terminated by either side upon a thirty days' notice. For two
+weeks we held hearings, morning and afternoon, at the Oriental Hotel,
+Manhattan Beach, New York. When the hearings were over, the board
+adjourned until early September, when the work of making the awards was
+begun. Because of my nomination for Governor by the Progressive Party at
+the time, I found it advisable to relinquish the chairmanship of the
+board to Dr. Van Hise, although I continued my membership and active
+interest to the end.
+
+The hearings were reported and consisted of 1250 pages of testimony. The
+questions that confronted the board were not alone whether or not the
+wages in a given case should be raised, but, if it was found that the
+rate was inadequate, by what margin should it be increased? It was
+fairly difficult to arrive at principles of standardization applicable
+to so many roads, and to fix a basis of differentiation for the many and
+complicated branches of employment. The whole subject, however, had our
+most careful and painstaking consideration. We took up the whole
+intricate problem of the running of railroads, with relation to the
+several kinds of work performed by the engineers, in passenger service,
+freight service, in switching, and in yard work, bearing in mind always
+that railways were public utilities and that the necessities and comfort
+of the whole people depended upon their functioning; and that therefore
+the necessity for uninterrupted service far transcended the interests of
+either the roads on the one side or the employees on the other.
+
+Our decisions as finally printed made a book of one hundred and
+twenty-three pages. One of our chief recommendations was that National
+and State wage commissions be created which should function in relation
+to labor engaged in public utilities as the public service commissions
+functioned toward capital. I quote from the report:
+
+     Especially for the public utilities is it important that labor
+     should have a just wage, and if the existing wages are not
+     adequate, they should be increased. If a just increase in wages
+     places the public utilities in a position that does not enable them
+     to secure a fair return upon capital invested and maintain a proper
+     reserve, they should be allowed to increase their rates until they
+     are in that position.
+
+Another point upon which we laid stress was the limitation of the right
+to strike:
+
+     While it is clear from the public point of view that a concerted
+     strike of railway employees for a great region would be as
+     intolerable as a strike of the postal clerks; on the other hand,
+     the position of the employees is a very natural one. They feel
+     under existing conditions that the power to strike is their only
+     weapon of defense against employers and the only means by which
+     they can enforce a betterment of their conditions of service. They
+     realize, too, that the principle of concerted action, for all the
+     railroads in a great section of the country, gives them a most
+     effective weapon, and they are naturally loath to relinquish or
+     impair it.
+
+     While this is the situation under the present conditions, and the
+     railway employees feel that they cannot surrender their right to
+     strike, the necessity would no longer exist for the exercise of
+     this power, if there were a wage commission which would secure them
+     just wages.
+
+     Finally, it is the belief of the Board that in the last analysis
+     the only solution--unless we are to rely solely upon the
+     restraining power of public opinion--is to qualify the principle of
+     free contract in the railroad service. A strike in the army or navy
+     is mutiny and universally punished as such. The same principle is
+     applied to seamen because of the public necessity involved. A
+     strike among postal clerks, as among the teachers of our public
+     schools, would be unthinkable. In all these cases, the employment,
+     to borrow a legal phrase, is affected with a public use; and this
+     of necessity qualifies the right of free concerted action which
+     exists in private employments.
+
+     However, if the principle be accepted that there are certain
+     classes of service thus affected with a public interest and men who
+     enter them are not free concertedly to quit the service, then these
+     men must be guarded in the matter of wages and conditions by public
+     protection; and this it is believed can best be done through an
+     interstate wage commission.
+
+The report was signed by six members of the board, Mr. Willard adding an
+explanatory statement. Mr. Morrissey wrote a dissenting opinion. For a
+number of years the findings of this board, with slight alterations,
+continued to be effective in adjusting wages for the different kinds of
+service among the engineers, and in governing conditions and number of
+working hours of the employees.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The President's Industrial Conference of 1919-20, of which I was a
+member, was of value chiefly in that it correlated the best ideas in
+practice throughout the country with regard to the prevention and relief
+of industrial unrest and the betterment in general of the relationship
+between employer and employee, and that it published suggestions based
+on these ideas, of which the main points were the following:
+
+     1. The parties to the dispute may voluntarily submit their
+     differences for settlement to a board, known as a Regional
+     Adjustment Conference. This board consists of four representatives
+     selected by the parties, and four others in their industry chosen
+     by them and familiar with their problems. The board is presided
+     over by a trained government official, the regional chairman, who
+     acts as a conciliator. If a unanimous agreement is reached, it
+     results in a collective bargain having the same effect as if
+     reached by joint organization in the shop.
+
+     2. If the Regional Conference fails to agree unanimously, the
+     matter, with certain restrictions, goes, under the agreement of
+     submission, to the National Industrial Board, unless the parties
+     prefer the decision of an umpire selected by them.
+
+     3. The voluntary submission to a Regional Adjustment Conference
+     carries with it an agreement by both parties that there shall be no
+     interference with production pending the processes of adjustment.
+
+     4. If the parties, or either of them, refuse voluntarily to submit
+     the dispute to the processes of the plan of adjustment, a Regional
+     Board of Inquiry is formed by the regional chairman, of two
+     employers and two employees from the industry, and not parties to
+     the dispute. This Board has the right, under proper safeguards, to
+     subpoena witnesses and records, and the duty to publish its
+     findings as a guide to public opinion.
+
+     5. The National Industrial Board in Washington has general
+     oversight of the working of the plan.
+
+     6. The plan is applicable also to public utilities, but in such
+     cases, the government agency, having power to regulate the service,
+     has two representatives in the Adjustment Conference. Provision is
+     made for prompt report of its findings to the rate regulating body.
+     The Conference makes no recommendation of a plan to cover steam
+     railroads and other carriers, for which legislation has recently
+     been enacted by Congress. (Esch-Cummins Bill.)
+
+     7. The plan provides machinery for prompt and fair adjustment of
+     wages and working conditions of government employees. It is
+     especially necessary for this class of employees, who should not be
+     permitted to strike.
+
+     8. The plan involves no penalties other than those imposed by
+     public opinion. It does not impose compulsory arbitration. It does
+     not deny the right to strike. It does not submit to arbitration the
+     policy of the "closed" or "open" shop.
+
+     9. The plan is national in scope and operation, yet it is
+     decentralized. It is different from anything in operation
+     elsewhere. It is based upon American experience and is designed to
+     meet American conditions. It employs no legal authority except the
+     right of inquiry. Its basic idea is stimulation to settlement of
+     differences by the parties in conflict, and the enlistment of
+     public opinion toward enforcing that method of settlement.
+
+Unfortunately nothing came of the painstaking work of this conference
+beyond the publishing of its final report of March 6, 1920.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The chairmanship of the New York Public Service Commission did not at
+all appeal to me when first Governor Whitman offered it to me. The
+commission as it then existed had unfortunately lost public confidence
+to a large extent, and I felt that it was not the kind of service for
+which I was especially qualified. However, it was pointed out to me that
+there was constant danger of strikes on the part of the thousands of
+workmen engaged in the construction of subway and elevated extensions,
+and an added appeal was made to me in view of the considerable
+experience I had had in adjusting labor difficulties. And so, after
+declining, I was finally prevailed upon by the Governor and the late
+George W. Perkins, in December, 1915, to accept this arduous duty.
+
+As soon as it became known that I had accepted the chairmanship, the
+Governor received a communication from William Henry Hodge, the
+distinguished engineer, announcing his willingness to serve on the
+commission, although before my selection he had refused such
+appointment. The other members of the commission were: Charles E.
+Hervey, William Hayward, and Traverse H. Whitney. Messrs. Hayward and
+Hodge left the commission, when we entered the war, to join the army.
+Mr. Hayward was commissioned Colonel, having organized the 15th New
+York, afterward the 369th United States Infantry, a regiment of colored
+men who performed gallant service in France. Mr. Hodge was commissioned
+Major and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, and gave his splendid
+talents to the services of his country in building roads to the battle
+fronts of France. Due to his strenuous labors over there, this gifted
+engineer and exemplary patriot died shortly after the armistice.
+
+The commission had charge of the building of the subways and elevated
+lines then in process, as well as the regulation of traffic and all
+public utilities. As the war progressed, it became clearer that our
+country would inevitably be drawn in, and therefore increasingly
+important that nothing should prevent the functioning of our public
+utilities. And accordingly it was not long before my services as
+adjuster and arbitrator of labor difficulties were needed. The cost of
+living was rapidly rising, and there was great unrest among laborers;
+and the demand for skilled and unskilled labor grew day by day. When our
+country entered the war, it was highly important for the moral effect
+upon our own people, as well as to avoid giving encouragement to our
+enemies, that the transportation system of our greatest metropolis
+should operate without interruption. During the following year and a
+half I was able to adjust a dozen or more important labor disputes and
+to prevent a number of strikes. The situation was complicated by the
+fact that the laborers were not employees of the commission, but of the
+several contractors to whom contracts had been awarded under conditions
+of fierce competition, so that every increase in wages materially
+affected their profits and in the end caused many of them to suffer
+considerable loss. I had to appeal to the patriotism of both sides, and
+it is a pleasure to be able to state that in every instance the response
+was most gratifying.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+IN THE CABINET
+
+     Roosevelt offers me a place in his Cabinet--I retire permanently
+     from private business--I become Secretary of the Department of
+     Commerce and Labor---The scope of the department--My bureau
+     chiefs--At home in the Venetian Palace--Cabinet dinners--What
+     Roosevelt drank--Roosevelt's fondness for terrapin--South Carolina
+     labor immigration--The Japanese question; the "Gentlemen's
+     Agreement"; General Kuroki's visit; the courts and Japanese
+     naturalization--My trip to Hawaii; Viscount Ishii--Japanese
+     transits between Canada and Mexico; Japanese immigration
+     statistics; I suggest a naturalization treaty with
+     Japan--Anti-Japanese agitation renewed in California--The Four
+     Power Treaty of the Washington Conference--Immigration head tax
+     immunity for diplomats--Revision of naturalization laws; prevention
+     of fraudulent naturalization--More frequent steamboat inspection
+     --The Alaskan salmon fisheries--Organization of the Council of
+     Commerce, predecessor to the Chamber of Commerce of the United
+     States--The Council of Labor--Roosevelt's Nobel Peace Prize
+     Foundation--A visit to Georgia; my old homes at Columbus and
+     Talbotton--Quentin Roosevelt--Social life in Washington; Christmas
+     celebration in the White House; the President's New Year's
+     reception; I give the last Cabinet dinner.
+
+
+Before I became a member of President Roosevelt's official family, I was
+in what he termed his "kitchen cabinet." My experiences in both cabinets
+are among the treasured recollections of my life.
+
+We were the unofficial advisers who met round the luncheon and dinner
+table and afterwards in the White House study, where the President spoke
+without reserve of his executive problems and read for our criticism and
+counsel his rough drafts of congressional messages, speeches, and notes
+to foreign governments.
+
+Holding no portfolios of state, these "kitchen cabinet ministers" yet
+gave of their best; were always prepared to toil to any extent to be of
+assistance to the President. He had the quality of vitalizing things--a
+situation or condition coming within his executive ken became so
+charged with life and imagination that men wanted to put their hands and
+minds to it. They served Roosevelt as energetically and loyally as if
+the grave responsibilities of state were upon their own shoulders.
+
+International relations and labor arbitration were the public activities
+which interested me most. The President had appointed me a member of the
+permanent board of arbitration at The Hague to succeed the late Benjamin
+Harrison, and shortly thereafter in his charming manner had designated
+me as a member of his "kitchen cabinet." Thus there had commenced for me
+a memorable series of conferences.
+
+There is much misapprehension regarding Roosevelt's so-called
+impulsiveness. This was evident to those who had an intimate view of the
+man at work. He was quick. He was a prodigious worker. He was so
+constituted and so self-trained that he had to do things immediately,
+get them out of the way. What people called his impulsiveness might have
+been more aptly termed his preparedness.
+
+I had hundreds of opportunities to observe his methods. When he accepted
+an invitation to deliver an address or write an article, he would
+prepare it immediately, even if the occasion were two, three, or six
+months off. He revised considerably, showed his work freely to friends
+and associates for criticisms, but completed it at the earliest
+opportunity. He never waited. This method served to perfect his thought
+and expression on a given subject. His promptness left him free for
+other things.
+
+The President never seemed to be hurried, though he always worked with a
+wonderful driving force. He seemed never to waste any time. It was play
+or work, and both with his whole heart.
+
+His public addresses were almost invariably the result of preparation.
+It was seldom that he spoke extemporaneously. The fire and animation
+which he imparted in the delivery of his speeches certainly conveyed no
+impression that they might have been carefully prepared and considered
+at a desk in a study. The pages of his manuscript were so small and
+inconspicuous that they did not interfere with his natural gestures. The
+effect was almost as if he spoke extemporaneously. The written address,
+printed on sheets about 3 × 6 inches, and held in one hand, was
+completely lost sight of by the audience in those moments when Colonel
+Roosevelt became emphatic. In those moments he also interspersed
+extemporaneous remarks which brought out his arguments more vividly and
+forcefully.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I stopped in Washington and called on President Roosevelt, early in
+January of 1906, on my return from a short vacation in the South. He
+took me into his private room, where we found his personal and political
+friend, James H. Sheffield, and Senator Spooner. He spoke about the
+political changes in New York, the defeat of the machine in that State,
+the election of Herbert Parsons as chairman of the County Committee, and
+of young Wadsworth (now United States Senator), son-in-law of John Hay,
+as Speaker of the House. He took a special delight in the election of
+both of these men; he had a high regard for them personally and for what
+they stood. He said he had written a letter to Parsons which he hoped
+would be helpful to him.
+
+The President asked me to come to lunch with him, which was another of
+those delightful, informal meetings. Besides Mrs. Roosevelt, his
+daughter Alice, and her fiancé, there were William Dudley Foulke, a
+former colleague of the President on the Civil Service Commission and
+friend of mine from my college days; Robert Hitt son of Congressman
+Hitt; and Lieutenant Fortesque, an officer of the Rough Riders.
+
+After luncheon, the President asked me to wait for him in the Red Room,
+as he wanted to have a talk with me. When the other guests had departed,
+he came back to me and with his face beaming with geniality he said: "I
+don't know whether you know it or not, but I want you to become a member
+of my Cabinet. I have a very high estimate of your character, your
+judgment, and your ability, and I want you for personal reasons. There
+is still a further reason: I want to show Russia and some other
+countries what we think of the Jews in this country."
+
+Of course I was gratified, very much gratified. I told him I had heard
+from several persons that he had spoken of this intention, but that I
+had meant to take no notice of it until he should speak to me about it;
+that I should certainly esteem it the very highest honor to become a
+member of the Cabinet, and especially to have the privilege of working
+alongside of him.
+
+"I knew you would feel just that way; therefore I was anxious to let you
+know of my intention as long in advance as possible," replied the
+President. He said all this in such a cordial and affectionate manner
+that I was profoundly touched with this manifestation of close
+friendship for me.
+
+He then added that he could not see that it would do any good, and might
+do harm, to make further protests or utterances regarding the massacres
+in Russia under the disorganized conditions there; and he did not want
+to do anything that might sound well here and have just the opposite
+effect there. He thought it would be much more pointed evidence of our
+Government's interest if he put a man like me into his Cabinet, and that
+such a course would doubtless have a greater influence than any words
+with the countries in which unreasonable discrimination and prejudice
+prevailed.
+
+He told me that it might be July or even later before he could carry out
+his purpose. He would prefer to put me at the head of the Department of
+Commerce and Labor, because of my knowledge in that field, but he could
+not determine the specific position until later. But at any rate, I was
+to regard my appointment to one of the Cabinet positions as certain.
+
+He asked whether I knew Senator Platt, and indicated that it might be
+well for several of my friends to have a talk with the Senator. But he
+quickly added that it would make no difference to him whether it suited
+the New York Senator or not, though it might perhaps be a little more
+agreeable if I did not have the latter's opposition. I preferred to feel
+that my selection was personal, which it really was, and without even
+the semblance of political influence; so I did not ask any of my friends
+to speak to Senator Platt, nor did I think he would oppose me.
+
+My wife and the rest of my family were of course elated at hearing the
+news, particularly my brother Isidor, whose attitude toward me, his
+youngest brother, was always more like that of an affectionate father
+than a brother. I felt no trepidation, especially should I be selected
+for the Department of Commerce and Labor. My past training and interest
+in many of the subjects that came up under that department made me
+conversant with the main questions it had to administer.
+
+Upon my return to New York I began to make arrangements for severing all
+business connections. This I thought wise, particularly if I became head
+of the Department of Commerce and Labor. It was not a necessary step,
+but I wanted it never to be said that I advocated any measure or made
+any decision that might in the remotest way be of advantage to my
+private interests. I spoke to Roosevelt about my intention, and he said
+that while it was not essential, if I could do so it would on the whole
+be advisable; that situated similarly he would do the same thing
+himself. Before assuming office, therefore, I had retired from business
+for good, and I have not since that time been connected with any
+business for personal profit.
+
+My nomination was officially made in September, but it was not until
+early December, 1906, that I received a letter from William Loeb, Jr.,
+the President's secretary, notifying me that the President desired me to
+assume office on December 17th. On that day, accordingly, I appeared at
+9 A.M. at the Department of Commerce and Labor, then located in the
+Willard Building across the street from the Hotel Willard on Fourteenth
+Street. There I met my predecessor, Victor H. Metcalf, who had been
+appointed Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Metcalf welcomed me in a brief
+address and introduced me to the twelve bureau and five division chiefs
+of the department.
+
+The Department of Commerce and Labor was the youngest of the nine
+departments of the Government, the bill creating it having been approved
+by President Roosevelt on February 14, 1903. Roosevelt had done much to
+establish the department and took great pride in it. The first Secretary
+of Commerce and Labor was George B. Cortelyou, who had been secretary to
+the President, and by reason of his intimate relations with the
+officials of the Government was admirably equipped to organize this
+department, which he did with great skill and administrative ability.
+After holding the office for about a year and a half, Secretary
+Cortelyou became Postmaster-General, and Victor H. Metcalf, Congressman
+from California, was appointed, thereby becoming the next Secretary of
+the Department on July 1, 1904; I was therefore the third.
+
+The scope of the Department as constituted then was probably the largest
+of the nine branches of the Government. It was charged with the work of
+promoting the commerce, mining, manufacturing, shipping, and fishery
+industries of the country, as well as its transportation facilities and
+its labor interests; in addition it had jurisdiction over the entire
+subject of immigration. It had twelve bureaus: corporations;
+manufactures; labor; lighthouses; census; coast and geodetic survey;
+statistics, including foreign commerce; steamboat inspection;
+immigration and naturalization; and standards.
+
+In order to coördinate the work of these various bureaus I instituted
+the simple method employed by large business administrators of having
+the several bureau chiefs come together with me twice a month to discuss
+and confer regarding the more important administrative subjects. This
+enabled me to keep better informed and served to make the various heads
+of bureaus conversant with the whole scope of the Department, preventing
+overlapping and duplication of functions. I learned that this simple
+administrative method had never been made use of before in federal
+departments, but thereafter it was adopted by several of the other
+department heads.
+
+Thanks to Mr. Cortelyou's admirable organization of the department, I
+found, almost without exception, a fine and competent set of men in
+charge of its several branches. Some of them were friends of Roosevelt,
+members of his "tennis cabinet," and were thoroughly imbued with his
+spirit and ideals. The assistant secretary was Lawrence O. Murray, a
+capable and conscientious official. James R. Garfield, chief of the
+Bureau of Corporations, devoted himself to the difficult task of
+exposing the abuses and legal infractions of some of the great
+corporations, and did it with judgment and ability, and with conspicuous
+courage. Charles P. Neill, chief of the Bureau of Labor, a laboring man
+in his early days, and afterwards an instructor at Notre Dame, and
+professor of economics at the Catholic University, in Washington, D.C.,
+was eminently qualified for his duties and had the confidence alike of
+labor leaders and employers. Dr. Samuel W. Stratton, a scientist of
+distinction and a fine administrator, was then chief of the Bureau of
+Standards, a veritable institution of science.
+
+Fortunately, when the Department of Commerce and Labor was organized,
+the civil service law applied to all appointments excepting bureau
+chiefs, so that I was able to devote my time to the duties of my office,
+free from claims of patronage, which had been the bane of the older
+departments of the Government before the civil service law became so
+generally operative.
+
+My wife had so promptly put our household in order that in a week after
+our arrival, we were comfortably installed in our Washington home, No.
+2600 Sixteenth Street, a house known as the "Venetian Palace" from the
+style of its architecture. It was a new house, built by Mrs. John B.
+Henderson, and well suited to our needs and for entertaining. The social
+functions in Washington I found most agreeable. During the season we
+either gave a dinner or attended a dinner on an average of five evenings
+a week, but these occasions were not burdensome because they usually
+ended by ten-thirty o'clock.
+
+According to custom, President Roosevelt at the beginning of the season
+designated the date on which each Cabinet member was to give a dinner to
+the President, and the date assigned to me was February 19th. It had
+been usual for each host to invite to this dinner all the other Cabinet
+members and their wives, which left little opportunity to invite others.
+Roosevelt changed this custom so that other friends of the host were
+invited rather than one's fellow members in the Cabinet. Foreign
+diplomats also were not invited, the entire purpose being to give these
+occasions the character of intimate gatherings, not large, usually from
+eighteen to twenty-five guests.
+
+Our dinner went pleasantly. The President was in his usual good humor.
+Wines were served liberally, but it was Roosevelt's habit to drink very
+little. This I had observed on several previous occasions, both at the
+White House and elsewhere. Roosevelt usually took some white wine with
+apollinaris, and perhaps a glass of champagne. For this dinner my wife
+had secured the additional services of a certain colored cook in
+Washington, a woman famous for preparing terrapin, which was one of
+Roosevelt's favorite dishes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Tuesday and Friday mornings, beginning at eleven o'clock, were the
+regular days for the meetings of the Cabinet, then as now. The day after
+taking office, therefore, I attended my first meeting, taking the chair
+assigned to me. It was labeled on the back "Secretary of Commerce and
+Labor, December 17, 1906."
+
+The Cabinet table is oblong, the President seated at the head, and to
+his right and his left the secretaries in the order in which their
+departments were created--Secretary of State first to the President's
+right, Secretary of the Treasury first to the left, and so on. Being
+head of the ninth and youngest Department, my seat was at the foot of
+the table, opposite the President.
+
+The meetings were informal and no minutes were taken or other record
+made. After some brief preliminary talk, in which the President often
+had some incident to relate or some amusing caricature or savage attack
+upon himself to exhibit, the business of the day began. The President
+calls on every secretary, but in no fixed order. He presents such
+matters as he may deem important, and upon which he may want discussion
+and advice.
+
+At this meeting I intended not to bring up anything, preferring to wait,
+as the saying is, until I got "warm in my seat." But an important matter
+had come up that very morning upon which I had made a decision, based on
+the carefully reasoned opinion by the solicitor of the department, Mr.
+Charles Earl. The State of South Carolina, under one of its recent laws,
+had authorized its State Commissioner of Immigration to go to Europe and
+select a number of skilled factory hands for the industrial
+establishments of the State. There were about four hundred and fifty of
+these immigrants, and there was some question about admitting them. The
+Immigration Law of 1903, as well as previous laws, excepted the State
+from its contract labor clauses, and I therefore decided upon their
+admission.
+
+Indeed, no subject in the department occupied my daily attention to the
+extent that immigration did. Fortunately, at the chief port of entry,
+Ellis Island in the New York Bay, there was a capable, conscientious,
+efficient commissioner, Robert Watchorn.
+
+[Illustration: _Copyright by Clinedinst_
+
+THE ROOSEVELT CABINET
+
+Left to right: The President, Root, Straus, Garfield, Metcalf,
+Cortelyou, Taft, Meyer, Wilson, Bonaparte]
+
+The right of the immigrant to land, after his medical examination, was
+based upon the decision of a board of inquiry. This board often made
+hurried and ill-considered decisions, especially when the immigration
+was large. In the case of exclusion, the immigrant has the right to
+appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Labor. Of
+course, cases coming under certain portions of the exclusion provisions,
+such as contract labor, mental deficiency, affliction with loathsome and
+contagious diseases, were easily enough disposed of; but under the
+provision "Likely to become a public charge" there was room for the
+personal attitude of the members of the board, and the fate of the
+immigrant then depended on whether or not these men were
+restrictionists. I felt that there was a domestic tragedy involved in
+every one of these cases, and as the law placed the ultimate decision
+upon the Secretary, I decided this responsibility was one that should
+not be delegated; so day by day I took up these decisions myself,
+frequently taking the papers home with me and carefully reviewing them
+before retiring.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Important among the immigration subjects were those which presented
+phases of the Japanese question, the immigration _en masse_ of Japanese
+to the Pacific Coast States, California in particular. The question was
+brought up by Secretary Root at one of the Cabinet meetings. The city of
+San Francisco had taken action excluding Japanese from the public
+schools. It was deemed detrimental for the white children of tender ages
+to be in the same classes with older and even adult Japanese who came to
+these schools to learn English. My predecessor, who was a resident of
+California, had investigated and was conversant with all aspects of the
+case.
+
+The President insisted that, as it directly affected the relations
+between the two nations, it was a national concern. Several members of
+the Cabinet also regarded the subject as one having serious
+probabilities. Secretary Root asked me whether I could furnish some data
+as to the use made of Hawaii by Japanese immigrants for circumventing
+our contract labor law, as many of the Japanese immigrants were coming
+to the mainland via Hawaii. Upon looking into this question I found
+during the year previous fully two thirds of the Japanese came via
+Hawaii. The President took the situation in hand and had the mayor of
+San Francisco and other leaders of the Japanese agitation come to
+Washington.
+
+The obnoxious matter was finally adjusted with Japan in a manner to
+allay irritation by a "Gentlemen's Agreement," by which that country
+itself was to prevent the emigration of its laboring classes. It was, of
+course, much better that the Japanese interdict emigration of their own
+people than that we offend that nation's pride by preventing their
+entrance, although it was made clear that we should pass an exclusion
+law if they did not take prompt and effective action.
+
+With some exceptions, this plan worked well. The whole Japanese
+question, however, was still smouldering. A few months later, during a
+call at the Department, the Japanese ambassador mentioned to me that in
+some parts of the Pacific Coast the Japanese were being molested in the
+streets and that, of course, such things made bad blood and stirred up
+the people in Japan, with which I had to agree. I admitted that this was
+an outrage, stating that I was sure our respective governments would do
+all in their power to maintain good relations, to which he replied that
+he did not see how those good relations could be disturbed.
+
+Ambassador Aoki then referred to the naturalization of his countrymen in
+the United States. I told him that on that question I agreed entirely
+with the President, who in one of his recent speeches had dwelt
+emphatically on it, advocating laws for the naturalization of Japanese
+the same as accorded to other aliens. He then mentioned the Executive
+Order of the President with reference to Japanese immigration and the
+regulations for the enforcement of it. I told him I had these
+regulations in hand and he could rely upon me to make them so as to
+avoid every possible friction and reflect in every way the broad and
+liberal spirit of the administration; also that under the immigration
+act the matter was to a large extent in the control of Japan in issuing
+limited passports to the special classes affected, namely, skilled and
+unskilled labor.
+
+After one of the Cabinet meetings I had a conversation with Secretary
+Root and submitted to him redrafted regulations for any suggestion or
+amendment that might appear to him desirable, for I was anxious that the
+Secretary of State should give the regulations critical examination, in
+view of their affecting our relations with Japan. He returned them to me
+within a few days with one or two slight changes, which I adopted, and
+out of them grew the "limited passports" provision of the Immigration
+Act of 1907.
+
+From time to time I brought up the Japanese situation and emphasized
+that I regarded it in a most serious light. Meanwhile, whenever the
+opportunity presented itself I did whatever was possible to promote
+good-will between the two countries. Japan's great military chief,
+General Tamemoto Kuroki, paid a visit to the United States, and was
+given a gala dinner at the Hotel Astor in New York, following ovations
+to him all the way across the continent from the time he landed at San
+Francisco. There were over a thousand guests. Admiral Dewey was
+presiding officer; John H. Finley was toastmaster, and it was felt he
+was particularly chosen, being president of the College of the City of
+New York, because of the protest this would imply against the exclusion
+of Japanese children from the San Francisco public schools. I was
+invited to deliver an address, in which I said:
+
+     The Government and people of Japan, not unmindful of the good-will
+     and early friendship of our country, are too wise to permit the San
+     Francisco school incident, which was fostered by ignorance and
+     propagated by injustice, to cloud their just appreciation of the
+     enlightened spirit of American institutions.
+
+Captain Tanaka, of General Kuroki's staff, had handed me in translation
+a message that the General had prepared for the American people, which I
+read in the course of my address. It was as follows:
+
+     The Japanese people love peace. They fought for peace. My nation
+     wants peace in which to develop the opportunities that are hers. We
+     have no other desire.
+
+     The profession which I have the misfortune to follow is noble only
+     because sometimes it is necessary to establish conditions in which
+     peace may be maintained and in which the arts of peace may
+     flourish.
+
+To this I added that nobler sentiments never fell from the lips of a
+conquering hero, and they would stand beside those uttered by our hero
+of the Appomattox: "Let us have peace." This was received with much
+enthusiasm.
+
+Early in June, 1907, there was another outbreak in San Francisco against
+the restaurant keepers, and telegrams from Tokyo told of the irritation
+this caused among the people in Japan. At the Cabinet meeting I took the
+subject up again with considerable emphasis. I pointed out that these
+incidents were accumulating and were bristling with grave consequences;
+that Japan had come into the front rank among nations and could not
+afford to permit us or any other nation to slap her, as it were, in the
+face, or to treat her even in small things as a nation of inferior race.
+I brought up the subject of Japanese naturalization. As the law stood,
+a Japanese could not be naturalized, according to the rulings of one or
+two judges of the United States courts; but the subject had never been
+finally decided. A short time previous to this a Japanese seaman in
+Florida had filed a petition for naturalization which was granted, and I
+referred the matter to the Attorney-General to see whether that would
+not afford an incident wherewith to test the law. But no action was
+taken.
+
+At first the President did not seem to attach to the subject the
+importance that I did, but Secretary Root immediately spoke up that he
+agreed with my view of it, and as the discussion went along, the rest of
+the Cabinet, as well as the President, gradually came over to my view.
+At the end the President remarked: "I am very glad you brought up that
+subject."
+
+During the discussion I reviewed the whole legal aspect of the matter,
+and referred to the fact that the several decisions made had been based
+on Chinese precedents. I also touched on the ethnological aspect, that
+it was doubtful whether the Japanese could be classed as Mongolians.
+This phase appealed to Roosevelt, who seemed well informed in
+ethnological studies. I felt rather gratified with this thorough
+discussion of the subject. It had interested me for years, and I had
+been ruminating on it for several weeks.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the last Cabinet meeting before the vacation season, each member
+referred to his plans for the summer. I had decided to combine business
+with pleasure by taking a trip along the Canadian border from Montreal
+to Vancouver to inspect the lighthouse and immigration services, then
+down the Pacific Coast and to Hawaii, where I might acquaint myself with
+regard to immigration as it affected the Japanese question. The
+President thought this would be a useful trip and urged me to take it.
+
+In the administration of a department such as that of Commerce and
+Labor, it was important to familiarize one's self as much as possible
+with its outlying branches, to become personally acquainted with the
+various officers and the details of their work and surroundings, thereby
+to enable one better to do the administrative work than by remaining at
+one's desk.
+
+After leaving Vancouver we stopped a few days each at Seattle, Portland,
+and San Francisco, where I conferred with the officials of the
+Department. From San Francisco we took a steamer to Hawaii, on board
+which we met George R. Carter, Governor of Hawaii, returning from a
+vacation in the United States, and Congressman and Mrs. Nicholas
+Longworth. It made a very pleasant party.
+
+The authorities and the population gave us a rousing welcome, cannons
+saluted, and the militia was out to escort us. Only once before since
+the island became United States territory had a Cabinet official paid a
+visit, and that was two years before when Secretary of War Taft stopped
+there for a few days _en route_ to Japan. We were comfortably installed
+in the Hotel Moana, in the suburb of Waikiki.
+
+The islanders showered upon us bounteous hospitality in every
+conceivable form. We participated in rounds of dinners and receptions.
+Governor and Mrs. Carter entertained the Longworths and us in the
+official residence, the former palace of the Hawaiian rulers, in the
+throne room of which hung the portraits of those rulers from earliest
+times to the deposed Queen Liliuokalani. The reception was a brilliant
+occasion. The leading officials and the _élite_ of the population were
+there; the grounds were beautifully illuminated; and the Royal Hawaiian
+Band played the soft, plaintive music so typical of the mild
+temperament of the people and the luxuriant foliage of the island. My
+time was much taken up with official and semi-official duties. The
+island residents impressed me with the great need for better shipping
+facilities between the mainland and the islands. The coastwise shipping
+laws applying to them since annexation penalized the carrying of
+passengers or freight in other than American bottoms. Foreign ships
+accepting either passengers or freight to American ports on the coast
+were heavily fined. The result was, not only inconvenience to residents
+who for one reason or another needed to leave the islands, but the loss
+of much perishable freight, principally fruit, which rotted on the
+wharves waiting for American ships. I promised them that I would do
+everything in my power to help them get the shipping facilities they
+needed.
+
+A delegation of Japanese editors, representing the four Japanese
+newspapers of Honolulu, called to ascertain my views regarding Japanese
+matters in the islands, what my policy was with regard to Japanese
+immigration, and whether I believed that the preponderance of Japanese
+people in Hawaii was inimical to the interests of the territory. I
+answered them:
+
+     An ideal condition for the future welfare of these islands would be
+     that there should not be too great a preponderance of any one race,
+     but that an equilibrium be maintained.
+
+     I would impress upon you, and upon each of the several races here,
+     to have a care not to exploit these islands and their resources for
+     the benefit of the country from which they come, but to act in the
+     spirit of loyalty to the government under which they live; of
+     loyalty to the interests of the islands which afford such happy and
+     ideal homes for them and their children. I am gratified that the
+     public school system has such a great influence upon the young, who
+     grow up with the American ideals and respect for the liberty of the
+     individual. I would like to see an increasing number of Americans
+     from the mainland come and settle in these islands, if for no other
+     reason than to guarantee for all time to come the continuance of
+     the American spirit for the benefit and welfare of all peoples who
+     have made and will make their homes here.
+
+Unfortunately the time at my disposal did not permit my visiting the
+various islands. We did, however, see everything to be seen at Oahu, the
+island upon which Honolulu is situated. Rear-Admiral Very took us on the
+U.S.S. Iroquois to visit Pearl Harbor, the famous landlocked bay large
+enough to shelter the battle fleets of several nations. We also visited
+the Waialua pineapple plantation and cannery, where twenty thousand cans
+of the large, luscious fruit were put up daily. The processes of paring,
+coring, slicing, and canning were done by machinery with great speed,
+and we enjoyed tasting the fruit as much as any school children might.
+
+In Honolulu I met Viscount Ishii, who was then Japanese under-Secretary
+of State. He has since been ambassador at Washington and at this writing
+is ambassador at Paris. We had frequent conferences and went over the
+whole Japanese question. He had fully informed himself upon all phases
+of the subject, as well as regarding the idiosyncrasies of the Pacific
+Coast States in opposing the immigration of Japanese laborers. Ishii's
+thorough understanding of the situation at that time did much to smooth
+ruffled feelings in Japan. The Viscount returned to the States on the
+steamer with us.
+
+As we sailed out of the harbor on the Asia, bedecked with Hawaiian
+flowers, the Royal Hawaiian Band played its farewell music. The last
+words we heard from the Hawaiian shore were "Aloha Nui," the Hawaiian
+farewell.
+
+I had satisfied myself that, so far as concerned the carrying out of
+the President's Executive Order of March 14, 1907, the Japanese
+officials in both Hawaii and Japan were doing everything in their power.
+Hawaii at the time had a population of about 160,000, in round figures,
+of which about 80,000 were Japanese, 20,000 Chinese, and 25,000 native
+Hawaiians. Of the white element the biggest percentage were Portuguese,
+who numbered about 22,000, while all other Caucasians together,
+principally American, British, and German, numbered 14,000. It therefore
+behooved our officials on the islands, in the Pacific ports, and along
+the Mexican border, to be especially watchful to carry out the
+regulations which the Department had formulated with regard to the
+admission of Japanese or Korean skilled and unskilled labor.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Soon after my return I had a conference with the President at Oyster
+Bay. The President informed me that Secretary Taft was about to leave
+for Japan, to go from there to Russia by the Siberian Railroad. He said
+he had authorized him to see what could be done toward overcoming the
+difficulties in our relations, and what might be the effect in Japan if
+we were to endeavor to pass a law giving naturalization to Japanese
+exclusive of the laboring classes and the small traders who practically
+belonged to the same class. This subject the President had urged in his
+last Message to Congress.
+
+On October 25th I brought up in the Cabinet meeting, for the information
+of the President, statistics regarding Japanese immigration up to
+October 1, 1907, which showed that the immigration for the twelve months
+then ended was almost double that of the preceding twelve months, and
+also that there had been an appreciable increase since April 1, when the
+President's Executive Order went into effect, compared with the
+previous months. The statistics regarding the transit of Japanese
+between Mexico and Canada showed that something like six hundred and
+seventy registered from April to September, but only about one third
+that number actually made the transits. It was presumed, therefore, that
+the rest got off within United States territory.
+
+The President seemed very much annoyed with this condition of things. I
+recalled to his mind that when the regulations under his Executive Order
+were originally presented by me, they contained a clause, along the
+lines of the Chinese regulation on the subject, to prevent the abuse of
+transit privileges, but that he and the Cabinet had decided it to be
+unwise to put in that clause. A few months thereafter, when we first
+suspected the abuse of transit privileges, I directed an accurate
+account to be taken of these transits, the result of which I now
+presented.
+
+The first impulse of the President was to direct that all transit be
+denied, but I pointed out that that would raise considerable objection,
+as it would place the Japanese in a special class in that respect. He
+insisted that something must be done. I suggested that the problem
+needed careful thought and I would take it up and prepare regulations
+similar to those for the Chinese. This I did, and the Japanese
+regulations differ only in that we do not require the photographing of
+the person to make the transit.
+
+I did not propose to drop the matter of Japanese immigration and
+naturalization. Again and again I brought it up in Cabinet meetings. I
+believed the best way of adjusting the difficulties was to try to
+negotiate a treaty with Japan permitting the naturalization of Japanese
+other than laboring classes, and in return excluding all who came within
+the category of skilled or unskilled labor. The belief that such a
+treaty could be negotiated was confirmed by my talks with Ishii both at
+Honolulu and later when he visited Washington. The right to
+naturalization would be taken advantage of by only five or six thousand
+and would not, of course, be granted to the laborers then resident in
+the United States.
+
+There were about seventy-three thousand Japanese in the United States,
+and it was fair to assume that two thirds of these were of the laboring
+class. Of the remainder there was a small percentage of women and
+children, and then there were those born in America. Japanese eligible
+for citizenship would therefore not exceed ten or twelve thousand, and
+it was reasonable to assume that not more than half of them would be
+willing to throw off their native allegiance. My belief was that such an
+adjustment of the problem would leave no irritation behind it.
+
+The President did not think such a treaty would be confirmed by the
+Senate, and to have it rejected would make matters worse. Secretary
+Metcalf thought the California members would not agree to such an
+arrangement. Notwithstanding these objections I was of the opinion that
+such force of argument could be found in favor of the arrangement that
+even representatives from California would not fail to see its
+advantage.
+
+The whole question simmered along for a year or more, during which our
+understanding with Japan in regard to the "Gentlemen's Agreement" and
+the regulations under it were put into concrete and final shape; that
+is, a letter was written by the Japanese ambassador to our Secretary of
+State setting forth the understanding of Japan, to which the Secretary
+replied accepting that understanding and setting forth the amicable
+relations existing between the two countries.
+
+In late January, 1909, there was a recrudescence of anti-Japanese
+legislation in California. There were introduced in the State
+legislature three bills: (a) to exclude Japanese from ownership of land;
+(b) to segregate the Japanese in special districts of the city; (c) to
+prohibit Japanese from attending the public schools. With his usual good
+judgment the President telegraphed the Governor of California saying he
+was writing him and asking that he withhold any legislation affecting
+the Japanese until the receipt of that letter. For the time being this
+action had the desired effect.
+
+The legislature of California was somewhat under the influence of
+agitators, like the Japanese and Korean Restriction League and some
+labor bodies. It was believed that the general sentiment of California
+was against such legislation, but either to avoid conflict, or from
+indifference or lack of public spirit, such sentiment did not make its
+influence felt. I had given out figures from month to month showing the
+number of immigrants from Japan as compared with previous figures. I
+then made public statistics which showed that for the calendar year 1907
+the number of immigrants was 12,400, whereas for the calendar year 1908,
+after the Japanese Government had taken the matter in hand in accordance
+with the "Gentlemen's Agreement," the number of immigrants was 4400.
+Deducting the figure for the emigration from that 4400 left a total
+increase of Japanese population of only 185 for the year. The California
+agitators claimed my figures were erroneous, and that hordes of Japanese
+were surreptitiously coming from the Canadian and Mexican borders. I
+gave out several interviews to the press to the effect that the figures
+were absolutely correct; that it was absurd to deny their correctness as
+I had proofs in my hands; and that if the Californians still doubted
+them a committee might call on me and I should gladly lay my proofs
+before them. I had sent a copy of these figures, certified by me, to the
+California authorities.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Happily our relations with Japan are now more peaceful than they have
+been for some time, and to a large degree this has been accomplished by
+the Four Power Treaty negotiated at the Washington Conference on the
+Limitation of Armaments in December, 1921. The various vexatious
+instances that I have referred to were stimulated by German officers
+stationed in the Far East and fostered by the sensational press in both
+Japan and our own country. By this means these happenings were
+exaggerated far beyond their significance. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance
+of 1911 came into being because of the aggression of Germany and Russia
+in the Far East. After the World War, of course, this condition no
+longer obtained, and as the _raison d'être_ of the alliance had
+therefore vanished, there was a justified feeling in America that the
+continuance of the treaty was a menace to our country. This fact was not
+unrecognized in Great Britain itself. As Mr. Balfour stated at the
+Washington Conference, it was necessary to "annul, merge, destroy, as it
+were, this ancient and outward and unnecessary agreement, and replace it
+by something new, something effective, which should embrace all the
+powers concerned in the vast area of the Pacific." By the Four Power
+Treaty the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was automatically discontinued, and
+Great Britain, the United States, France, and Japan became associated in
+friendly partnership as guardians of the peace in the Far East.
+
+So far as concerns the relationship between our country and Japan, the
+transcendent importance of this treaty has been to supersede and
+overshadow all these minor matters that before were continually
+menacing our good relations. By the reservations prepared by the
+American delegates, and accepted by the other powers, it is provided
+that the treaty "shall not be taken to embrace questions which according
+to principles of international law lie exclusively within the domestic
+jurisdiction of the respective powers." Verily this treaty stands out as
+one of the great achievements of the Washington Conference.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+To return to immigration problems during my incumbency as Secretary of
+the Department of Commerce and Labor, a minor though nevertheless
+annoying matter needing adjustment was the regulation with regard to the
+head tax. After the passage of the Immigration Law of 1903 a head tax of
+two dollars was levied upon all alien passengers, including even
+officials of foreign governments. In 1905 Attorney-General Moody had
+given an opinion to the effect that the tax applied to all alien
+passengers, whether officers of foreign governments or not. I thought
+this contrary to the law of nations and to well-established diplomatic
+usages recognized throughout the world.
+
+As the subject also came within the province of another department,
+namely, the Department of State, I naturally brought it up at a Cabinet
+meeting. The President recommended that I issue orders in accordance
+with my suggestion, and Secretary Root agreed that it was an outrage to
+levy such a tax upon the representatives of foreign governments.
+Informally I took the matter up with Attorney-General Bonaparte, but as
+the decision against this immunity had been made by his Department he
+felt himself bound by the decision of his predecessor. He suggested that
+I issue the order on my own responsibility, but I decided for the time
+being not to do so. At a later Cabinet meeting I again brought up the
+matter, this time reading the order as I proposed it. The President and
+Secretary Root, also Secretary Taft, agreed that it should be issued,
+and this I did.
+
+At the same time I discussed a provision of the Immigration Act of 1906
+requiring masters of all vessels bringing in aliens, without exception,
+to fill out a blank or manifest giving the age, sex, calling,
+nationality, race, of each alien, and whether able to read or write, and
+whether anarchist or not. These blanks then had to be signed by the
+aliens. I prepared two circulars, one ordering the discontinuance of the
+head tax and the other discontinuing the filling out of these blanks so
+far as concerned diplomatic or consular officials and other persons duly
+accredited from foreign governments to the United States, in service or
+in transit.
+
+At dinner at the British ambassador's home some weeks thereafter Lady
+Bryce mentioned having to sign a blank asking whether she believed in
+the practice of polygamy. Of course, she brought it up in a humorous
+way, but it was apparent that she had felt humiliated at such
+questioning. I told her I fully appreciated her feelings and was happy
+to be able to say that that stupid practice had been discontinued.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The subject of naturalization had occupied my attention for years past.
+Under the law then existing, as well as under older laws, a person could
+be naturalized not only in the United States courts, but in any State
+court having a seal. And the naturalization laws prior to the Act of
+1906 were most carelessly administered. In the larger cities of many of
+the States naturalization applications were hurried through in bunches
+at the direction of some political boss. In that way many persons were
+naturalized who would have been found, had time been taken to sift the
+applications, not entitled to citizenship. The effects of so careless a
+method I saw in Turkey, and in my dispatches to the State Department I
+repeatedly pointed out the evil.
+
+Largely growing out of my presentation of the subject, Mr. Gaillard
+Hunt, chief of the passport division of the State Department, had taken
+it up in his thorough manner and made a report to President McKinley,
+upon which the President appointed a commission to study the subject.
+The commission was renewed by President Roosevelt. Its report, known as
+House Document 326, 59th Congress, 2d Session, and entitled "Citizenship
+of the United States, Expatriation, and Protection Abroad," was the
+basis of the Act of 1906. This act went far in preventing fraudulent
+naturalization as well as in withdrawing protection from those who were
+using United States citizenship not with the intention of becoming part
+of the new country in which they had chosen to reside, but as a means to
+escape their duties as subjects of the country of their origin upon
+returning there to live, as had happened so often in Turkey.
+
+For the proper carrying out of this law additional examiners were
+needed, and also about eleven additional assistant district attorneys. I
+therefore arranged with Attorney-General Bonaparte to appear with him
+before the Appropriations Committee of the House to explain the
+necessity of an appropriation to cover the enlargement of the corps for
+the enforcement and administration of the new law. During my experience
+abroad much of the time of our diplomatic representatives was taken up
+with questions relating to the protection of our citizens, and often
+this protection was invoked by persons who should never have been
+naturalized.
+
+The exclusion and deportation of criminals and anarchists was another
+phase of the immigration service to which I had given considerable
+study. I found the law provided for arrest and deportation of criminal
+aliens only up to three years of the time of their landing, and that
+there was gross misconception regarding the scope of the law. There was
+no coöperation between our immigration officials and the local police
+departments for the detection of such persons. The police departments of
+most of our cities were disposed to assume that by virtue of the
+immigration law the whole subject was under the jurisdiction of the
+Federal Government; and on the other hand our officials did not confer
+with municipal officials to make use of the immigration law. It is one
+thing to provide for the exclusion of criminals and anarchists, but it
+is quite another to discover, on entry, whether a person belongs to
+either class. They are usually neither illiterate nor lacking in cunning
+and deception, but within three years they may be detected, as "birds of
+a feather flock together."
+
+I decided to issue a circular to all commissioners of immigration and
+immigration inspectors, with a view to bringing about coöperation with
+the local officials. I took the subject up in the Cabinet and the
+President approved. It so happened that while this circular was being
+prepared, an Italian immigrant, recently arrived, killed a Catholic
+priest in Denver while the latter was officiating at a mass in his
+church, and a day or two thereafter another recently arrived immigrant,
+a Russian, attacked the chief of police of Chicago and his family with a
+dagger. Both of these men would have come under the deportation
+provisions of the immigration law had the police been aware of these
+provisions, as in both instances they had been suspected, by their
+affiliations and their talk, of being anarchists, as that term is
+defined in the Immigration Act of February 20, 1907. Under the local
+criminal laws this suspicion was not enough to justify arrest.
+
+Appearing as it did immediately after these two incidents my circular
+had much publicity and brought about the deportation of a number of
+undesirables upon evidence supplied by the police and detective
+officers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In a Department which covered so many and such varied subjects, the
+conflict between human and property interests was often apparent. I
+recall a remark by the President, as we were speaking about this, that
+whenever within my jurisdiction there occurred this conflict he was sure
+I would lean on the human side, and I could always count on his support.
+
+A striking example of this conflict grew out of an order I issued for
+the inspection of excursion and ferry boats at least three times a year
+instead of once. The summer before I took office the boiler of the
+General Slocum, a large excursion boat on the Long Island Sound, blew up
+and caused the death of over a hundred women and children. As spring
+approached and the excursion season drew near, I made up my mind that I
+should make all possible provision to prevent the recurrence of any such
+disaster.
+
+I accompanied the supervising inspector-general, George Uhler, to
+witness the inspection of some passenger boats plying between Washington
+and Norfolk, to get personal knowledge of the details of inspection. I
+carefully studied a report made to me by Mr. Murray, the assistant
+secretary of my Department, who had been a member of the board of
+inquiry into the Slocum disaster and later the Valencia wreck. I called
+a meeting of the board of supervising inspectors of steamboats and
+impressed upon them the importance of great care in inspection. I urged
+that no man be retained in the inspection service who was not thoroughly
+competent and efficient, since they had to deal with the protection of
+human life.
+
+My order for more frequent inspection brought forth many objections from
+the steamboat owners, and, as is usual in such cases, a committee came
+to Washington and presented their grievances and objections direct to
+the President, in the hope of inducing him to overrule my instructions.
+They were patiently heard, but their main objection was that it would
+cost a little more and be a little more inconvenient to have three
+inspections instead of one, and the President gave them little more
+comfort than to make it quite clear that he was thoroughly in accord
+with my action for the provision of greater safety to human life. He
+told them he felt he was fortunate in having at the head of the
+Department of Commerce and Labor a man who was a humanitarian besides
+having large business experience, for while it was his purpose to
+harmonize human and business interests, always when they conflicted he
+would lean toward the human side, as I had done in issuing that order.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The President was deeply interested always in the natural resources of
+the country and their preservation, and asked me to take up the question
+of the Alaska salmon fisheries. It was certain that unless some drastic
+action was taken, the salmon would be destroyed in the Alaskan waters
+just as they had been in the Columbia River. Roosevelt was familiar with
+the problem and believed that Wood River ought to be closed. I devoted
+parts of two days to a hearing on the subject. The cannery interests
+were represented by their counsel and the Fishermen's Union by several
+of its officers. Senator Fulton, of Oregon, as well as the two Alaskan
+delegates in Congress, pleaded for the closing of the rivers.
+
+After hearing all sides and studying the question I signed an order
+directing the closing of both the Wood and Nushagak Rivers to trap and
+net fishing, and if the law had permitted, I should have directed the
+closing also of Nushagak Bay, where extensive trap fishing was carried
+on.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When I was president of the New York Board of Trade and Transportation I
+was impressed with the importance of establishing a closer relationship
+between the commercial bodies of the country and the Government. Shortly
+after I became Secretary of Commerce and Labor, therefore, I sought to
+accomplish that end. I had a study made by Nahum I. Stone, tariff expert
+of the Bureau of Manufactures, of the relations between the European
+governments and their commercial bodies, especially in such countries as
+Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium. I sent invitations
+to about forty of the leading chambers of commerce, boards of trade, and
+other commercial organizations throughout the country to send delegates
+to Washington for a two days' conference, with a view to bringing about
+an organization of these bodies for the purpose of coöperation between
+them and the departments of the Government having to do with commerce
+and manufactures.
+
+Accordingly on December 5th a representative gathering of over one
+hundred delegates met in my Department, and I put before them a plan for
+organization. I invited Secretary Root, who took a deep interest in the
+scheme, and he made a thoughtful address, in which he impressed upon the
+gathering the things that ought to be done, and could be done only
+through organization and the power of concerted effort. Andrew D. White,
+our experienced ambassador at Berlin, had sent to the President a letter
+containing the proposal that a method of instruction in commerce be
+applied at the instance of our Government as had been done in
+agriculture; this interesting proposal I read to the meeting.
+
+I then went with the delegates in a body to the White House where the
+President addressed them. In the afternoon Gustav H. Schwab, of the New
+York Chamber of Commerce, was elected temporary chairman and the
+organization of the council proceeded. A committee on organization and a
+committee on rules were appointed, and it was decided that an advisory
+committee of fifteen members was to have headquarters in Washington. The
+number of meetings to be held per year was fixed, as well as the annual
+dues. On December 5, 1907, the National Council of Commerce came into
+being.
+
+A year later the first annual meeting was held in my Department. The
+Council now had permanent offices in the Adams Building, with William R.
+Corwine in charge. In my address to the delegates I stressed the
+importance of the development of our commercial relations with the South
+American republics, particularly in view of the rapidly approaching
+completion of the Panama Canal. At that time we had only twenty-three
+per cent of the foreign trade of South America, and one of the main
+requirements for increasing our share was the establishment of better
+shipping and postal facilities. To that end I recommended in my annual
+report that the Postal Subsidy Act of 1891 be extended to include ships
+of sixteen knots and over, and my colleagues, the Secretary of State and
+the Attorney-General, made similar recommendations.
+
+A month after the change of Administration the executive committee of
+the Council held a meeting, again in the Department of Commerce and
+Labor, at which they passed the following resolution:
+
+     Resolved, by the members of the Executive Committee of the National
+     Council of Commerce in meeting assembled in the office of the Hon.
+     Charles Nagel, the present Secretary of Commerce and Labor, That
+     they tender their heartiest thanks to the Hon. Oscar S. Straus, the
+     former Secretary of Commerce and Labor, for his constant and
+     well-directed efforts in forming and promoting the National Council
+     of Commerce, expressing their appreciation of his far-sightedness,
+     his patriotism, his energy, his fairness, and his friendship,
+     assuring him of the high personal esteem in which he is held by all
+     of them, and asserting that in their judgment he has laid the
+     foundation for a movement which will redound not only to his credit
+     as a Cabinet officer, but one which will ultimately be productive
+     of incalculable benefit to the business interests of our country,
+     the development of which he has so deeply at heart.
+
+Later that year the Council was reorganized and called the Chamber of
+Commerce of the United States, which to-day is an important institution
+in the commercial life of our country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+To bring about a similar relationship between the Department and the
+labor bodies, I called another conference in February, 1909, to which I
+invited the leading labor representatives throughout the country, and
+about fifty attended. Unfortunately my term of office was drawing to an
+end and there was not time to organize this wing, but I urged the men to
+insist upon the continuance of the conferences and the coöperation with
+the Department thus established.
+
+The matters discussed at this meeting were mainly how best to lessen
+unemployment, how the Division of Information under the Bureau of
+Immigration might be administered for the greater benefit of labor in
+general, and how the Nobel Peace Prize, which President Roosevelt had
+set aside for a foundation for the promotion of industrial peace, could
+be made most effective. There were addresses by Samuel Gompers,
+president of the American Federation of Labor; Warren S. Stone, grand
+chief of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; William F. Yates,
+president of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association; and Terence
+V. Powderly, chief of the Division of Information in the Bureau of
+Immigration. The presiding officer was Daniel J. Keefe,
+Commissioner-General of Immigration and Naturalization.
+
+During my term of office repeated efforts were made in Congress, backed
+by organized labor, to divide my Department and make two of it--the
+Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor. I successfully
+opposed this plan, my idea being that labor and capital were the two
+arms of industry, the proper functioning of which could best be secured
+by coöperation, which in turn could best be promoted by administering
+their interests together. In this I had the support of President
+Roosevelt. During the Taft Administration, however, the bill was passed
+creating the Department of Labor.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I have mentioned Roosevelt's Nobel Peace Prize. As received by the
+President, it consisted of a medal and diploma, and a draft for
+$36,734.79. He decided not to keep the money, but to turn it over in
+trust for a foundation for the promotion of industrial peace. In
+January, 1907, he called me to the White House and told me that he would
+forward the draft and the papers to Chief Justice Fuller, with the
+request that he communicate with the other trustees, of whom there were
+four: James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture; John Mitchell, president
+of the Anthracite Coal Operators; ex-Mayor Seth Low, of New York, and
+myself.
+
+Later the Chief Justice came to my Department with the papers to go over
+them with me and to arrange for their safe-keeping until we could have a
+meeting and formulate a plan of action. Subsequently he informed me that
+before preparing the draft of the act granting the foundation it was
+necessary to write a preamble setting forth its objects and purposes,
+and this he found it difficult to do. I relieved his mind by offering to
+prepare the bill with the preamble. I consulted with Dr. Cyrus Adler, of
+the Smithsonian Institution, who had had considerable experience in
+drafting documents for the creation of trusts of this nature. With his
+assistance I prepared the draft of the preamble and the bill, which the
+Chief Justice approved. I then took them to the President, who also
+approved them and requested me to call a meeting of the trustees, of
+whom there were to be nine instead of five as originally.
+
+At the meeting of January 27, 1907, a few slight changes were made and
+adopted in the bill. Thus redrafted, with a report attached giving a
+history of the award, it was introduced in the House by Congressman
+Richard Bartholdt, of Missouri, member of the Committee on Labor; and in
+the Senate by John W. Daniel, of Virginia. It was promptly passed. The
+board of trustees as finally constituted included: Archbishop Ireland,
+Samuel Gompers, Daniel J. Keefe, Seth Low, Marcus M. Marks, Dr. Neill,
+Warren S. Stone, James Wilson, and myself.
+
+The foundation was in existence for about ten years, and in that time
+the interest on the money merely accumulated, because the trustees were
+unable to find a proper means for employing it. In July, 1917, Mr.
+Roosevelt requested Congress to repeal the bill and return the money to
+him, that he might distribute it among the different charitable
+societies in the United States and in Europe which were affording relief
+to the sufferers from the war. The request was granted, and the sum with
+its accrued interest, amounting to $45,482.83, was thus distributed by
+him.
+
+Roosevelt always encouraged the members of his Cabinet to make speeches
+in various parts of the country on subjects uppermost in the mind of the
+public, with due regard, of course, to the duties of office. I accepted
+a number of the many such invitations that came to me. At the banquet of
+the National Association of Manufacturers, held in the Waldorf Hotel,
+New York, in May, 1907, I was asked to be the principal speaker. I made
+careful preparation of an address, part of which I devoted to advocating
+a moderate tariff reform, with a view to providing a maximum and minimum
+tariff to meet discrimination against us by some European nations. I
+consulted with the President about it. While he agreed with my premises,
+he thought the time not ripe to project that issue, so I redrafted my
+speech and devoted it to such topics as the development of our
+manufactures, the work of the Bureau of Corporations, and the relations
+of employers and workers.
+
+On April 3, 1908, the Savannah Board of Trade celebrated its
+twenty-fifth anniversary, and I was asked to be one of the speakers. Two
+others were Governor Hoke Smith and Representative J. Hampton Moore,
+president of the Atlantic Deep Waterways Commission. It was a special
+occasion and was widely advertised for several weeks. I prepared an
+address in which I outlined also some of the activities carried on by my
+Department for the benefit of the commercial interests of the country.
+On this trip my wife and younger daughter accompanied me. During our
+stay at Savannah we were the guests of the Board of Trade, who showed us
+every possible attention, in true Southern fashion, and we thoroughly
+enjoyed our stay.
+
+The Mayor and prominent citizens of my former home, Columbus, upon
+learning of our presence in the South, sent us a pressing invitation to
+visit that city. A committee met us at the station, and in the evening a
+dinner was given at the Opera House, at which about a hundred of the
+leading citizens were present. The dinner was served on the stage, and
+while the toasts were being responded to, the curtain was raised,
+disclosing an auditorium crowded with people. I was quite touched by
+this fine attention by the citizens of my former home, who took great
+pride in the fact that one of their former townsmen was a member of the
+Cabinet. In the audience were several of my schoolboy friends and those
+of my brothers, and I found several friends and companions of my parents
+still among the living.
+
+In the South at that time it was still rare for a person to change his
+politics, and one of the questions that was put to me was why had I, a
+member of a Democratic family, once a Democrat myself, and even having
+held office under a Democratic President, changed over to the Republican
+side. In other words, why had I been on both sides of the political
+fence, though they were too polite to ask the question in that direct
+form. I told them that perhaps no one had a better right than they to
+ask the reason for my political affiliations. It was true, I said, that
+I had been, as it were, on both sides of the fence, but that was not my
+fault; the fence had been moved. This produced great merriment and
+applause.
+
+Talbotton, the first American home of my family, also extended an
+invitation to us, which I accepted with pleasure. A dinner and reception
+were given in my honor at the public hall known as the Opera House, at
+which the Mayor of the town made an address, as well as several other
+prominent citizens. While in Talbotton we were the guests of the
+Honorable Henry Persons, former member of Congress and an old friend of
+our family. He gave me my first rubber ball, when I was six years old. I
+visited all the scenes of my boyhood; it was forty-five years since I
+had lived there. The population of the town was about the same, equally
+divided between the whites and the blacks. The little Baptist church
+where I went to Sunday school was much smaller than it had loomed up in
+my imagination. Collinsworth Institute was abandoned, and only the
+recitation hall was left standing. The several houses wherein my family
+had lived brought back vivid memories of the toils and pleasures of my
+parents. The little frame cottage with the green blinds especially
+impressed upon me how little is required for happiness where there is
+the love and contentment which always blessed our family. All who
+remembered my father and mother spoke of them in the highest terms. I
+met a number of my boyhood friends, grown gray and old. On the whole the
+little town had not changed much, though it had fewer signs of
+prosperity. Before the Civil War it was the center of a rich
+slave-holding county. The people, however, seemed contented and happy.
+
+From Talbotton we went to Atlanta, and then made one or two more stops
+on the way home. At each place we met friends of former years and were
+given a thoroughly royal welcome. In fact, the reception given us
+throughout the whole tour was in the nature of an ovation. Wherever we
+stopped our rooms were decorated with an abundance of the most
+beautiful flowers. The Southerners have ever been known for their
+hospitality, and in this respect the New South has lost nothing.
+
+Later in the year the Southern Commercial Congress, representing ten
+States, assembled in Washington, and I was asked to preside at the
+opening session in the large ballroom of the New Willard Hotel. There
+were three or four hundred people present. I devoted my address to a
+comparison between the old agricultural South and the new industrial
+South, pointing out that as the economic interests of the South were no
+longer sectional but national, it must follow that politically there is
+no longer a reason for "the solid South."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On leaving the Cabinet one day at about this time the President's
+youngest son, Quentin, came up to me. I had a great affection for this
+bright, attractive boy. He was eleven years old, and he informed me he
+weighed one hundred and fourteen pounds. He was full of animal spirits,
+frank, charming. "You gave my brother Kermit some coins," he said to me.
+
+"Yes; are you interested in them?" I asked.
+
+"I am making a little collection," was his answer.
+
+I invited him into my carriage and to come to lunch with me. He accepted
+readily, and I reminded him that he had better let his mother know. He
+did so by hurriedly running into the White House and returning in a very
+few minutes saying his mother said he might go. He behaved like a
+perfect little gentleman and showed that under his sparkling vivacity
+there was serious, intelligent hunger for knowledge. After lunch I took
+him into my library and showed him my collection of Greek and Roman
+coins. I told him he might pick out what he liked. To the several he
+chose I added a gold stater of Philip. He was overjoyed. From that time
+onward we became still greater friends, and he came to see me whenever
+he got a new coin for his collection.
+
+In 1909, when I was going through Paris, I met him there with his
+mother. During this visit he and I were quite steadily together. We
+visited the museums and other places of interest. I found him a most
+sympathetic and delightful companion, notwithstanding the immense
+difference in our ages. What a record of glory and patriotism this
+lovable boy has left to his country! And with what fortitude his parents
+bore their most painful loss! Their example strengthened the anguished
+hearts of many patriotic fathers and mothers of the land who suffered
+like affliction.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On Christmas Day Mrs. Straus and I received an invitation by telephone
+to come to the White House between three and four o'clock to see the
+Christmas tree. Some thirty or forty guests were there, mainly friends
+of the family. In one of the side rooms in the basement of the house was
+assembled a large company of children. The room was darkened, that the
+lighted tree might stand out. There were presents for all the children,
+and Mrs. Roosevelt played Lady Bountiful to see that each child got its
+gift. Upstairs in the Red Room the gentlemen sat smoking. It was a
+genuinely joyful and memorable day.
+
+The social season in Washington is usually begun with the President's
+New Year's reception, which lasts from eleven o'clock until half-past
+two on New Year's Day. At a few minutes before eleven o'clock the
+officials and their wives assembled upstairs, and promptly at eleven the
+President and Mrs. Roosevelt led the march to the Blue Room. The
+procession advanced toward the main stairway, where the line divided,
+the ladies going to the left and the gentlemen to the right, reuniting
+at the first landing; then through the main hall where the passageway
+was roped off through a crowd of specially invited guests.
+
+The order following the President was: the Cabinet officers; the doyen
+of the diplomatic corps, the Italian ambassador and his staff; the
+ambassadors and ministers of the other nations, according to rank. After
+them, grouped in more or less regular order, the justices of the Supreme
+Court, headed by the Chief Justice; Senators; Representatives; Army and
+Navy officials; the officers of the Government.
+
+On New Year's Day every one is accorded the right to pay his or her
+respects to the President. The officials come straight to the White
+House and the uninvited guests form a line on the grounds. On the
+particular day of which I speak the line stretched through the grounds,
+along Pennsylvania Avenue and down by the State Department Building,
+probably more than half a mile long, and the President received about
+sixty-five hundred people in all. At two o'clock the iron gates of the
+White House grounds were closed, and those who had not reached that
+point by that time were barred out. The reception had to end promptly,
+as the Cabinet ladies who assisted had to be present at the receptions
+at their own homes from half-past two until six, in accordance with a
+custom that has been in vogue probably since the days of Washington. Our
+buffet in the dining-room was kept well replenished, and there were
+champagne and punch served. We had in all about four hundred guests.
+
+The official functions at the White House during the Roosevelt
+Administration were agreeable and in stately form. They were usually
+followed by an informal supper to which were invited personal friends
+and visitors.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. OSCAR S. STRAUS]
+
+Our series of official dinners began with the one to the
+Vice-President and Mrs. Fairbanks and ended with the dinner to the
+President and Mrs. Roosevelt. In addition we followed the pleasant
+custom of the President and had guests to informal luncheons three or
+four times a week. These luncheons we gave in the sun parlor back of our
+dining-room, which was one of the attractive features of our Venetian
+palace.
+
+It was my privilege to give the last Cabinet dinner to the President, on
+March 2d, two days before the close of the Administration. The event had
+been postponed for a week on account of the death of the President's
+nephew, Stewart Robinson, whose mother was the President's sister.
+Governor and Mrs. Hughes, who were among our invited guests, stayed over
+when it was found that the dinner had to be postponed. Mrs. Roosevelt
+later informed me that she planned that our dinner be the last, knowing
+that I had some sentiment about it which she and the President shared.
+
+I have made several references to the wonderfully human touch
+characteristic of Roosevelt. On February 5th, the day beginning the last
+month of his Administration, a messenger from the White House brought me
+a package containing a large folio, a handsomely illustrated memorial
+volume describing the Castle of Wartburg in Saxony, in which Luther was
+confined and where he worked on his translation of the Bible. The book
+had been prepared by official direction, and Roosevelt had received two
+copies of the royal edition, one from the Kaiser personally and one from
+the Chancellor, which latter he sent to me with this inscription:
+
+"To Mr. and Mrs. Oscar S. Straus, in memory of our days together in the
+Administration; days which I have so much enjoyed and appreciated.
+Theodore Roosevelt. February 5, 1909."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE TAFT CAMPAIGN OF 1908
+
+     Roosevelt favors Taft to succeed him--I visit Taft at
+     Cincinnati--Roosevelt plans for his African trip--I take part in
+     the Taft campaign--Roosevelt's method of preparedness--Election
+     evening at the White House--Roosevelt rebukes a bigot; his letter
+     on religious liberty--Taft tells Roosevelt he will retain Wright,
+     Garfield, and me in his Cabinet--Roosevelt's speech at the dinner
+     to Vice-President-elect Sherman--Looking toward the end of my term;
+     the last Cabinet meeting--Closing the administration of Roosevelt
+     and ushering in that of Taft.
+
+
+Early in September, 1907, in a conversation with Roosevelt at Oyster
+Bay, we touched on matters political and the forthcoming national
+convention of the Republican Party for the nomination of a President.
+Roosevelt had again publicly made the statement he gave out at the time
+of his election, that he would not accept a renomination, and had made
+known his desire that the party nominate Taft.
+
+I had just returned from Hawaii, and told him that throughout my trip to
+and from the Pacific Coast I observed an almost universal determination
+to force the nomination upon him. I had met many people and addressed
+several merchants' organizations and other bodies, and again and again
+the sentiment of prominent Republicans was: "We know Roosevelt is
+sincere in his statement that he would decline the nomination, but what
+can he do if he is renominated? He is a patriotic man, and how can he
+refuse to obey the unanimous wish of his party and the people at large?"
+The President knew of this strong sentiment for him, and that was one of
+the main reasons why he made the public and definite statement that he
+favored the nomination of Taft, whom he regarded as best qualified to
+carry forward the measures and policies of his Administration.
+
+Some of Roosevelt's closest friends counseled him not in any way to
+interfere with the selection of his successor. He practically agreed to
+that, but in order to escape the nomination himself he felt compelled to
+throw his influence toward Taft. I think it was Secretary Root at the
+time who remarked that it would be impossible for Roosevelt to let the
+tail of the tiger go without some such plan. Notwithstanding his
+positive statements that he would not accept a renomination at the end
+of his term, and his constant reiteration of this determination, the
+pressure throughout the country was overwhelming.
+
+The people naturally resent the selection of a candidate for them by the
+President in office, and in the past have shown their resentment by the
+defeat of such candidates. But the conditions surrounding the Taft
+campaign were somewhat different. Roosevelt was committed heart and soul
+to the moral principles for which his Administration had stood in face
+of the mighty opposition of the "interests." How the force and might of
+this opposition had grown until Roosevelt took up the "big stick" can
+perhaps hardly be measured except by those who were with him in the
+bitter fight. No one was more conversant with the principles and
+policies of the Administration than Taft, and, all things considered,
+perhaps none better qualified than he to carry them forward in a firm
+and constructive way.
+
+The logic of the situation was, of course, that Roosevelt stand again
+for the Presidency, especially as that would not in reality have been a
+third term. But he would not under any circumstances recede from the
+decision announced on the night of his election. It required great
+firmness not to be swept off his feet by the tremendous pressure to
+induce him to consent to be renominated. In the face of these facts the
+people were less inclined to resent his indicating his preference for
+the successor whom he regarded as best qualified to carry forward the
+policies he had inaugurated by such reforms as the rebate law against
+railroads, the anti-trust laws, and child labor legislation, and other
+progressive measures.
+
+At the Cabinet meeting just before the summer vacation Taft came in
+radiantly happy. He had been nominated the day before; it had been
+understood for some time that he would be nominated on the first ballot.
+Reflecting at the time upon the qualifications of Mr. Taft as a
+successor to Roosevelt, I put down among my random notes that I thought
+he possessed the very qualifications for constructively carrying forward
+the principles Roosevelt had stood for, and which only Roosevelt could
+have so courageously vitalized. Taft always appeared to be jovial and
+kept, at least outwardly, a genially good-natured equilibrium. He
+possessed to a marked degree a fund of spontaneous laughter--a valuable
+asset in the armor of a public man. The power to create a good laugh has
+at times not only the elements of argument, but of avoiding argument;
+with it a man can either accede to a proposition or avoid acceding; it
+can be committal or non-committal; it conceals as well as expresses
+feelings, and acts as a wonderful charm in avoiding sharp and rugged
+corners, in postponing issues and getting time for reflection. In the
+practice of the law I was once associated with a very able man who had
+the ability to laugh his opponent out of court. And his was a jeering
+laugh where Taft's laugh was contagious and good-natured. Not that he
+lacked the ability at times to be fearless and outspoken; he had shown
+himself to be that in a number of speeches prior to his nomination.
+
+Withal I could not help feeling sad that Roosevelt's plan had so well
+succeeded, and in an intimate chat with the President after the Cabinet
+meeting I told him so. He would not have been human if, amid the
+satisfaction he felt in having his choice for the Presidency respected,
+there was not some feeling of regret in stepping down from the greatest
+office in the world, which he had administered with so much satisfaction
+and success, and the duties and responsibilities of which he had enjoyed
+more than perhaps any one of his predecessors. To use his own words as I
+so frequently heard them: "I have had a bully time and enjoyed every
+hour of my Presidency." Another four years in office would doubtless
+have prolonged that enjoyment.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Early in September I went to Cincinnati to meet Taft at his headquarters
+in the Hotel Sinton, and Terence V. Powderly, head of the Information
+Division of the Bureau of Immigration, formerly president of the Knights
+of Labor, accompanied me. I brought to Taft's attention some
+correspondence that had been conducted by Louis Marshall, of New York,
+with Charles P. Taft, his brother, and with the candidate for
+Vice-President on his ticket, Sherman, regarding some narrow and
+prejudiced editorials on Russian immigration appearing in the Cincinnati
+"Times-Star," owned by Charles P. Taft. I pointed out that not only were
+these editorials untrue and unjust, but they did not reflect his policy
+and yet were so interpreted. Secretary Taft then asked the editor of the
+paper, Mr. Joseph Garretson, and his nephew, Hulbert Taft, to call on
+me. With them I went over the whole subject, and upon my return to
+Washington young Mr. Taft sent me a double-column article from the front
+page of the "Times-Star," together with a double-column editorial,
+forcefully and clearly written, embracing the whole matter as we had
+covered it during my visit to Cincinnati.
+
+Samuel Gompers had come out strongly in favor of Bryan, and no one could
+tell what effect that might have on the great labor element of the
+country. Mr. Powderly, who was very broad-minded and independent in his
+politics, said it would have little if any effect on the labor vote, as
+it is not a group vote, and no leader, however powerful, can make it so.
+This statement later proved to be entirely correct. The Democrats among
+the labor men went their way, and the Republicans went theirs.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Cabinet met again after the summer vacation on September 25th. The
+President wanted to talk with me afterward about several matters, so I
+waited and sat with him while he was being shaved. He spoke about the
+arrangements he had made for his African trip, and said several
+taxidermists of the Smithsonian Institution were to accompany him. I
+told him that Dr. Adler of the Institution had spoken to me of the
+matter, and my particular concern was that one of the men in his party
+on this African expedition should be a physician. He assented, saying
+that after all he was fifty years old and ought to be more careful about
+his health than when he was younger. He seemed to know that I had had
+something to do with enabling the Smithsonian Institution to supply
+these men, but I did not let it appear that I knew much about it. When
+his book "African Game Trails" appeared he sent me a copy with the
+inscription:
+
+                      To Oscar Straus
+                      from his friend
+
+                          THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+                Nov. 1^{st} 1910.
+
+In the Appendix he makes acknowledgment to several of his friends
+including myself, "to all of whom lovers of natural history are
+therefore deeply indebted."
+
+He mentioned that he had had an invitation to give a lecture at Oxford
+University upon his return, which he felt like accepting because it was
+a course in which some of the most prominent men of the past, including
+Gladstone, had lectured, and it appealed to him to speak at this ancient
+university. I encouraged him to do so. He said he did not intend,
+however, to accept invitations to other European countries, because he
+did not wish to be fêted. This lecture would be more in line with his
+work.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the request of Roosevelt and the urgent solicitation of Taft, I took
+an active part in the campaign, making scores of speeches in the leading
+cities of the East and Middle West. I made the first on September 26th,
+the day after the first Cabinet meeting of the season, under the
+auspices of the Interstate Republican League, in Washington. It was one
+of the largest political meetings ever held there. I addressed myself to
+a recent speech by ex-Secretary of State Olney, in which he had endorsed
+Bryan. I pointed out how much more had been done under the Roosevelt
+Administration than by the Democratic Administration with which Mr.
+Olney was connected, in bringing suits against the trusts under the
+Sherman law; that in Mr. Olney's time nearly all such suits were brought
+against labor combinations, while in Roosevelt's time they were brought
+against the offending corporations.
+
+I had been in close touch with Roosevelt during his own campaign four
+years before, but I must say he threw himself with greater energy into
+Taft's campaign, watching every phase of it with great care and
+circumspection to counteract every unfavorable tendency and to push
+promptly every tactical advantage. On Sunday afternoon, September 27th,
+I received a telephone message to come to the White House. When I
+arrived I found present Secretaries Cortelyou and Meyer, Lawrence F.
+Abbott, of "The Outlook," and William Loeb. Roosevelt was dictating a
+letter to Bryan, in answer to the latter's attack upon the
+Administration's policies, and invited each of us to make suggestions.
+Those that seemed good he immediately incorporated. I had brought with
+me some facts and figures that I prepared for campaign use, and all of
+this material he embodied. When the dictation was finished, he asked us
+to return at nine o'clock in the evening to go over the finished
+product, as it was important that the letter be given to the press for
+next morning's papers.
+
+When we arrived in the evening, the President was already at his desk
+correcting the typewritten pages, of which there were about twenty. The
+duplicates were handed to us, and we passed them from one to another for
+reading and suggestions. At one point I suggested changing an expression
+to a more dignified form, which the President vetoed with the
+characteristic remark: "You must remember this letter is not an etching,
+but a poster." That was an apt illustration of his purpose, namely, to
+attract and fix popular attention; and I withdrew my suggestion.
+
+The published letter occupied three and a half newspaper columns. It was
+powerful and effective and nailed some of the main fallacies that Bryan
+had been expounding. This was the third such letter by Roosevelt, and
+some people were inclined to criticize them as having the appearance of
+overshadowing Taft and other campaign orators. This might have been true
+to an extent, but it was of little consequence in comparison with the
+tremendous effect of the letters in enlightening the people with regard
+to the greater national principles for which Taft stood.
+
+The following week I started on a campaign tour. I made speeches at
+Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago. In accepting the pressing
+invitation of the National Republican Committee to make a series of
+speeches, I made one condition, which was that I would not speak at any
+meeting gotten up on sectarian or hyphenated political lines. It was,
+and I regret to say still is, customary, in political campaigns,
+especially among local managers in smaller cities with large
+foreign-born populations, to appeal to their former national sympathies.
+I regarded this method as un-American and inimical to the solidarity of
+our Americanism. My letter to the chairman of the speakers' bureau,
+Senator Joseph M. Dixon, was by him given to the press and widely
+published. It had a very good effect, and through that campaign at least
+put an end to advertising and meetings based on race or creed appeal.
+Upon my return to New York I spoke at a number of meetings in Brooklyn
+and New York with Mr. Taft, the last and largest of these being the one
+at Madison Square Garden, at which General Horace Porter presided.
+Charles E. Hughes, who was candidate for Governor, also spoke on that
+occasion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The President and Mrs. Roosevelt invited Mrs. Straus and me to return to
+Washington with them in their private car on election day, after we had
+voted in our respective districts. _En route_ the President again
+mentioned the arrangements for his African trip and told me he had also
+accepted an invitation to speak at the Sorbonne, Paris. He was already
+preparing his Oxford address, the draft of which when ready he wanted
+me to read. It is generally believed that Roosevelt did things hurriedly
+and impulsively. But those of us who were acquainted with his methods
+knew the contrary to be true. Preparedness was one of his outstanding
+characteristics. He was a most industrious worker, and as soon as he
+made up his mind to do something, whether it was to deliver an address
+or to bring forward some reform, he set to work at once making
+preparations, so as not to leave it until the time for the event was at
+hand. In the case of his Oxford and Sorbonne addresses, for instance, he
+prepared them long in advance and gave himself plenty of time to correct
+and polish them. He told me he pursued this method because it freed his
+mind and enabled him to be ready for the next thing to come before him.
+That is certainly not the way an impulsive man works.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Election evening in Washington we were invited to the White House to
+receive the returns. The twenty-five or thirty other officials who were
+in the city were also there with their wives. The returns began to come
+in shortly after eight o'clock and were being tabulated by Secretary
+Loeb and his assistants. It was soon evident that Taft was elected, so
+that by eleven-thirty we were able to send congratulations to the
+successful candidate and Frank H. Hitchcock, chairman of the National
+Committee.
+
+The greatest strength of Taft proved to be what many supposed would be
+his weakness, namely, that he was the choice of Roosevelt and stood for
+his principles. The masses had understood the President and appreciated
+his policies, though the big interests, the "ledger patriots," had been
+too blinded by their selfish objects to recognize the permanent value of
+the principles and policies of America's greatest reformer.
+
+I felt convinced then, as I do now, that the Roosevelt Administration
+will go down in history as marking the beginning of a new era in our
+history--an era marking the end of aggression upon our political
+structure by corporate greed and the beginning of larger opportunities
+for the individual, in which the moral principles of our public life
+were rescued from the danger of domination by an unprecedented onrush of
+commercial power.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the first Cabinet meeting after the election Roosevelt was buoyant as
+usual. He made a few preliminary remarks about the approaching end of
+the Administration: he and his Cabinet, especially the last one, had
+worked in perfect harmony, and he felt sure we had all had a "bully"
+time of it; he would retire at the end of his term without any regrets,
+for he had the satisfaction of knowing that he and his Cabinet had done
+all in their power for the greatest good of the Nation. I think it is
+safe to say we all felt a little sad, I know I did, to think that in
+four months we should separate, and that we should lose the inspiring
+companionship and guidance of our leader, to whom each of us felt tied
+by bonds of warm friendship and a sense of profound esteem and highest
+respect, personally as well as officially.
+
+It seemed to me then that it required no prophet's vision to see that,
+if Roosevelt kept his health, in four or eight years the people of the
+country would again demand, with unmistakable and overwhelming voice,
+that he become President. At the end of eight years, even, he would be
+only fifty-eight, younger than most Presidents at the time of assuming
+office.
+
+The President now brought up a question that he had been carrying over
+from the campaign period. He had received several letters regarding the
+religion of Mr. Taft. Some orthodox ministerial organizations had
+endeavored to use the fact that Mr. Taft was a Unitarian as a reason for
+prejudicing people against him. Roosevelt had been tempted to answer
+these letters, but when he presented the matter to the Cabinet it was
+the general consensus of opinion that he should not do so, that the
+issue intimately concerned Taft, and information regarding it had better
+be given out or withheld at Taft's discretion. To this the President
+agreed, but he was incensed at this un-American attempt to bring
+religion into politics, especially as Taft was every bit as good a
+Christian as Washington, and a better one than either Jefferson or
+Franklin; and his church was the same as that of Adams and Webster.
+
+The election being over, Roosevelt was still desirous of expressing his
+views in this matter, and he brought with him to the Cabinet meeting the
+draft of a letter to be sent to one J. C. Martin, of Dayton, Ohio, who
+had asked for a public statement concerning the faith of Mr. Taft. As
+usual, he invited criticism and discussion. Several of us made
+suggestions, and Secretary Root made one which the President asked him
+to write out so that he might incorporate it. When the corrected version
+of the letter was read, we all agreed that it was a remarkable document
+for effectively rebuking the spirit of bigotry and upholding the basic
+principles of the American Government, and that it should therefore be
+published. It appeared in the papers of the country three days later.
+
+I made bold to ask the President for the draft of this letter, which he
+gladly signed and gave to me, and Secretary Root also signed his
+penciled insert. As I consider this document worthy of a permanent place
+among American annals, I herewith set it forth from the original in my
+possession:
+
+
+                                                THE WHITE HOUSE
+                                        WASHINGTON, _November 4, 1908_
+
+     MY DEAR SIR:
+
+     I have received your letter running in part as follows:
+
+     "While it is claimed almost universally that religion should not
+     enter into politics, yet there is no denying that it does, and the
+     mass of the voters that are not Catholics will not support a man
+     for any office, especially for President of the United States, who
+     is a Roman Catholic.
+
+     "Since Taft has been nominated for President by the Republican
+     party, it is being circulated and is constantly urged as a reason
+     for not voting for Taft that he is an infidel (Unitarian) and his
+     wife and brother Roman Catholics.... If his feelings are in
+     sympathy with the Roman Catholic church on account of his wife and
+     brother being Catholics, that would be objectionable to a
+     sufficient number of voters to defeat him. On the other hand if he
+     is an infidel, that would be sure to mean defeat.... I am writing
+     this letter for the sole purpose of giving Mr. Taft an opportunity
+     to let the world know what his religious belief is."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     I received many such letters as yours during the campaign,
+     expressing dissatisfaction with Mr. Taft on religious grounds; some
+     of them on the ground that he was a Unitarian, and others on the
+     ground that he was suspected to be in sympathy with Catholics. I
+     did not answer any of these letters during the campaign because I
+     regarded it as an outrage even to agitate such a question as a
+     man's religious convictions, with the purpose of influencing a
+     political election. But now that the campaign is over, when there
+     is opportunity for men calmly to consider whither such propositions
+     as those you make in your letter would lead, I wish to invite them
+     to consider them, and I have selected your letter to answer because
+     you advance both the objections commonly urged against Mr. Taft,
+     namely: that he is a Unitarian, and also that he is suspected of
+     improper sympathy with the Catholics.
+
+     You ask that Mr. Taft shall "let the world know what his religious
+     belief is." This is purely his own private concern; it is a matter
+     between him and his Maker, a matter for his own conscience; and to
+     require it to be made public under penalty of political
+     discrimination is to negative the first principles of our
+     Government, which guarantee complete religious liberty, and the
+     right to each man to act in religious [affairs] as his own
+     conscience dictates. Mr. Taft never asked my advice in the matter,
+     but if he had asked it, I should have emphatically advised him
+     against thus stating publicly his religious belief. The demand for
+     a statement of a candidate's religious belief can have no meaning
+     except that there may be discrimination for or against him because
+     of that belief. Discrimination against the holder of one faith
+     means retaliatory discrimination against men of other faiths. The
+     inevitable result of entering upon such a practice would be an
+     abandonment of our real freedom of conscience and a reversion to
+     the dreadful conditions of religious dissensions which in so many
+     lands have proved fatal to true liberty, to true religion, and to
+     all advance in civilization.
+
+     To discriminate against a thoroly upright citizen because he
+     belongs to some particular church, or because, like Abraham
+     Lincoln, he has not avowed his allegiance to any church, is an
+     outrage against that liberty of conscience which is one of the
+     foundations of American life. You are entitled to know whether a
+     man seeking your suffrages is a man of clean and upright life,
+     honorable in all his dealings with his fellows, and fit by
+     qualification and purpose to do well in the great office for which
+     he is a candidate; but you are not entitled to know matters which
+     lie purely between himself and his Maker. If it is proper or
+     legitimate to oppose a man for being a Unitarian, as was John
+     Quincy Adams, for instance, as is the Rev. Edward Everett Hale, at
+     the present moment Chaplain of the Senate, and an American of whose
+     life all good Americans are proud--then it would be equally proper
+     to support or oppose a man because of his views on justification by
+     faith, or the method of administering the sacrament, or the gospel
+     of salvation by works. If you once enter on such a career there is
+     absolutely no limit at which you can legitimately stop.
+
+     So much for your objections to Mr. Taft because he is a Unitarian.
+     Now, for your objections to him because you think his wife and
+     brother to be Roman Catholics. As it happens they are not; but if
+     they were, or if he were a Roman Catholic himself, it ought not to
+     affect in the slightest degree any man's supporting him for the
+     position of President. You say that "the mass of the voters that
+     are not Catholics will not support a man for any office, especially
+     for President of the United States, who is a Roman Catholic." I
+     believe that when you say this you foully slander your fellow
+     countrymen. I do not for one moment believe that the mass of our
+     fellow citizens or that any considerable number of our fellow
+     citizens can be influenced by such narrow bigotry as to refuse to
+     vote for any thoroly upright and fit man because he happens to have
+     a particular religious creed. Such a consideration should never be
+     treated as a reason for either supporting or opposing a candidate
+     for political office. Are you aware that there are several States
+     in this Union where the majority of the people are now Catholics? I
+     should reprobate in the severest terms the Catholics who in those
+     States (or in any other States) refused to vote for the most fit
+     man because he happened to be a Protestant; and my condemnation
+     would be exactly as severe for Protestants who, under reversed
+     circumstances, refused to vote for a Catholic. In public life I am
+     happy to say that I have known many men who were elected, and
+     constantly reëlected, to office in districts where the great
+     majority of their constituents were of a different religious
+     belief. I know Catholics who have for many years represented
+     constituencies mainly Protestant, and Protestants who have for many
+     years represented constituencies mainly Catholic; and among the
+     Congressmen whom I knew particularly well was one man of Jewish
+     faith who represented a district in which there were hardly any
+     Jews at all. All of these men by their very existence in political
+     life refute the slander you have uttered against your fellow
+     Americans.
+
+     I believe that this Republic will endure for many centuries. If so
+     there will doubtless be among its Presidents Protestants and
+     Catholics, and very probably at some time Jews. I have consistently
+     tried while President to act in relation to my fellow Americans of
+     Catholic faith as I hope that any future President who happens to
+     be a Catholic will act towards his fellow Americans of Protestant
+     faith. Had I followed any other course I should have felt that I
+     was unfit to represent the American people.
+
+     In my Cabinet at the present moment there sit side by side
+     Catholic and Protestant, Christian and Jew, each man chosen because
+     in my belief he is peculiarly fit to exercise on behalf of all our
+     people the duties of the office to wich [_sic_] I have appointed
+     him. In no case does the man's religious belief in any way
+     influence his discharge of his duties, save as it makes him more
+     eager to act justly and uprightly in his relations to all men. The
+     same principles that have obtained in appointing the members of my
+     Cabinet, the highest officials under me, the officials to whom is
+     entrusted the work of carrying out all the important policies of my
+     administration, are the principles upon which all good Americans
+     should act in choosing, whether by election or appointment, the man
+     to fill any office from the highest to the lowest in the land.
+
+                                       Yours truly
+                                           THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+It is amusing sometimes to contemplate the matters that occupy the
+attention of certain zealously inclined religious persons or groups. I
+recall the flurry caused the year previous by the appearance of the new
+five, ten, and twenty-dollar gold pieces without the legend, "In God We
+Trust," which by Roosevelt's direction had been omitted. As a matter of
+fact that legend was not used on our coins prior to 1866, when a law was
+passed permitting it subject to the approval of the Secretary of the
+Treasury. The issuance of these coins, artistically designed by
+Saint-Gaudens, without the legend was merely a return to the precedents
+of the fathers of the Republic. I had a small collection of early coins
+at the time, none of which bore the legend. However, when these new
+coins appeared several religious bodies passed resolutions disapproving
+of the President's action. Roosevelt gave out a statement to the effect
+that he had always regarded that legend as connecting God and mammon,
+and therefore not as religious, but as sacrilegious. But the opinion
+against the omission was so strong that in subsequent coinage it was
+restored. The agitation had been somewhat anticipated by the President,
+and he was not the least perturbed by it. At a dinner one evening he
+remarked to me, concerning it, that it was sometimes a good thing to
+give people some unimportant subject to discuss, for it helped put
+through more important things.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+After a Cabinet meeting toward the end of November, 1908, I was talking
+with the President regarding various phases of the administration of my
+Department, and I mentioned one or two matters that I hoped my successor
+would carry to completion. Roosevelt said to me: "Well, I can tell you
+one thing that Taft told me; you will be head of the Department under
+the next Administration, if you will accept, and I want you to accept."
+He had indicated this once or twice before, but had never stated it so
+definitely. I had been perfectly content to finish my term of office
+with the close of the Administration, but I felt if it was the wish of
+both Roosevelt and Taft that I continue I should be happy to remain.
+
+Taft had evidently intended retaining several of the Cabinet officials,
+but subsequently changed his mind, which was one of the things that
+caused the break between Roosevelt and him. Mr. Lawrence F. Abbott has
+embodied in his excellent book, "Impressions of Theodore Roosevelt," an
+article he contributed in January, 1912, to the Cornwall, New York,
+local press, covering the Roosevelt-Taft relations. Before publication
+this article was sent to Roosevelt, and by him annotated and returned to
+Mr. Abbott. The part regarding the retention of Cabinet members reads as
+follows:
+
+     Mr. Taft on his election no doubt wished to carry on the work of
+     his predecessor, and, if not publicly, often privately said that it
+     was his desire and intention to retain those Cabinet colleagues of
+     Mr. Roosevelt who had contributed so much to the re-creation of
+     the Republican Party. [Note by Mr. Roosevelt: "_He told me so, and
+     authorized me to tell the Cabinet, specifically Garfield, Straus
+     and Luke Wright._"] But this intention became gradually modified
+     during the winter of 1908-09.
+
+On December 16th I attended the dinner of the Ohio Society in New York,
+at which President-elect Taft made his first public address. There was a
+notable gathering of the leaders of finance and commerce and of the
+Republican Party, and great expectancy was evident as to what Mr. Taft
+would say. Ex-Senator Spooner, a brilliant speaker, also made an
+address, which contained some pointed criticisms of Roosevelt policies.
+He extolled the Constitution and in a veiled way indicated a deviation
+from it on the part of Roosevelt. Spooner had made other speeches along
+these lines, and I confess to some exasperation that this occasion
+should have been used to attack Roosevelt and his policies.
+
+Taft was the last speaker, and I hoped that when he arose he would
+resent these attacks, or at any rate uphold the policies of the
+Administration of which he had been an important member. But I was
+disappointed. He took no notice of what Spooner or one or two of the
+other speakers had said. To some of us this was the first evidence that
+there was a rift in the relationship between Roosevelt and Taft.
+
+Mr. Taft invited me to return to Washington on the train with him next
+morning. _En route_ I spoke of Spooner's speech, and said it appeared to
+me as an attempt to drive a wedge between him (Taft) and the Roosevelt
+policies, and that the attack was received by the great financiers who
+were present, Harriman, Ryan, and others, with great favor. Taft said he
+had observed it and did not like it. He thought first that he might say
+something in reply, but on second consideration he decided to let it
+pass. I told him that usually I enjoyed such an occasion more when I did
+not have to speak, but on that evening I very much regretted not having
+the opportunity to answer that attack.
+
+We talked of a number of things, but he said nothing about desiring to
+have me continue in the Cabinet, though Roosevelt had mentioned the
+subject to me several times. I then concluded that while in New York a
+change of mind had come to him in this matter, and what occurred at the
+dinner seemed to emphasize this conclusion. He was going down to
+Augusta, Georgia, for a short vacation and asked me to come and see him;
+but when I reached Washington there was much to be done in my
+Department, and, as he was besieged by politicians and I had nothing
+special to bring to his attention, I thought the more considerate thing
+was not to take up his time needlessly.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In January the New York delegation in Congress gave a dinner to
+Vice-President-elect Sherman at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington. There
+were present all the New York Congressmen, Speaker Cannon, the junior
+Senator from New York, Depew, and Senator-elect Root. Along about ten
+o'clock the President arrived. As usual on such occasions, there was
+informal speaking, and of course the President was called upon. His
+offhand remarks that evening were so inspiring that I regretted they
+were not taken down that they might have been preserved. In my random
+notes I have incorporated the substance of some of them; to the effect
+that our highest purpose should be to perform the duties before us. He
+said he had been in public life twenty-six years (as I understood), and
+nearly eight years of that as President, and he had enjoyed it all;
+adding, humorously, "even the scraps I have had."
+
+Referring to the presidential duties, it was not always possible to
+spell out from the words of the Constitution what those duties imposed
+upon the occupant of the office. He instanced the anti-Japanese outbreak
+in California. There was nothing in the Constitution that either
+permitted or conflicted with his taking the position he had in his
+communications to the Governor of California. It was his purpose to call
+the attention of the people at large in that State and throughout the
+country to the dangers of the situation if the contemplated legislation
+were put through. He referred to the impractical attitude of the peace
+societies and other peace advocates in objecting to all appropriations
+for naval expenditures. They could render a better service by agitating
+to prevent a condition of international irritation that had all the
+possibilities of war; the good effect of the well-considered
+"Gentlemen's Agreement" with Japan had been negatived by the
+unreasonable legislation proposed in California.
+
+Making reference in a general way to the work of the Administration, he
+said it was important to look to the future, but to fix one's eyes on
+the future and neglect the present was as unwise as to limit one's view
+entirely to the present. He hoped the people would not trouble
+themselves as to what to do with the ex-President; so far as he was
+concerned he was able to take care of himself; upon his return from
+Africa they would find him working not as an ex-President, but as a
+private citizen in the ranks, and coöperating with his party
+representatives for the best interests of the country.
+
+He closed by saying that what may become of one's personal reputation,
+one's fame as an individual, is of no consequence. The individual
+disappears. Oblivion will engulf us all. Only results count. In order to
+achieve results there must be coöperation. He was always ready to
+coöperate with men whose tendencies were forward, even if such
+coöperation led only one step forward where he would have liked ten; but
+he would refuse to coöperate with men whose tendencies were backward.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In my Department I continued to push matters forward without allowing
+the approaching close of the Administration to influence me. Under date
+of January 22d I received a letter from President-elect Taft, in answer
+to my inquiry, indicating that in all probability I should not be
+retained in the Cabinet. He said he would have written sooner, but had
+not decided in what capacity he wished me to serve his Administration,
+though he thought perhaps I might be willing to accept an embassy.
+However, he had not definitely decided not to retain me in the Cabinet.
+He found Cabinet-making quite a difficult job.
+
+Three days later I received another note from him mentioning the embassy
+to Japan. He hoped to suit whatever preference I might have in the
+matter after he had had a chance to talk it over with me in Washington.
+
+At the last Cabinet meeting there was very little business transacted.
+The President talked to us informally and very impressively, saying he
+wished to repeat, what he had said before, that a President usually
+receives credit for all the good work done in his Administration, but,
+speaking for himself, his co-workers had an equal share in that credit;
+no President, he said, had had a more effective, able, and coöperative
+Cabinet than he. Then he added humorously that he wanted no response to
+modify that statement. Some of us, however, could not resist expressing
+in brief the sentiments we felt, and I answered him: If we have
+performed our duties to your satisfaction and to the satisfaction of the
+country, it is due in no small degree to the fact that around this table
+we have caught the contagion of your fine spirit which has enabled each
+of us to rise to our highest level of efficiency because we felt we were
+coöperating in furthering those moral issues which you have vitalized in
+our economic and national life, I wish to add that our President in his
+boundless generosity has always given to each one of us not only the
+fullest credit for what we have done, but a recognition far beyond our
+individual merits.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On March 4th, at nine-thirty in the morning, the members of the Cabinet
+assembled in the White House and accompanied the President to the
+Capitol. We went to the President's room on the Senate side and there
+awaited the bills to be brought in for the signature of the President.
+That is usual at the closing of a session, and many bills that had been
+passed in the last few days came from the engrosser for the signature of
+the President. Each bill was handed to the Secretary whose department it
+affected, and upon reading it over the Secretary advised the President
+whether or not to sign it. There were three bills affecting my
+Department, two of which I approved, and those he signed. Of the third I
+had no knowledge and so stated; that one the President passed to become
+law without his signature.
+
+At eleven o'clock President-elect Taft came into the room, and we all
+extended our congratulations to him. Precisely at noon President
+Roosevelt went into the Senate Chamber and we followed. Both he and the
+President-elect took a seat before the Vice-President's desk, and we
+were seated in the front row, where were also the ambassadors of the
+foreign powers. Vice-President Fairbanks opened the proceedings with an
+appropriate address, whereupon Vice-President-elect Sherman was sworn in
+and made a brief address. The new Senators were then sworn in in groups
+of four. President-elect Taft next took the oath of office, which was
+administered by Chief Justice Fuller.
+
+Roosevelt then left the Senate Chamber to go to the station. In our
+carriages we followed him, and at either side marched over a thousand
+Republican delegates from the City of New York. One could observe on all
+sides evidence of a feeling of depression and regret at the departure of
+the man who had endeared himself to the country at large as no President
+had since the days of Lincoln. It was apparent then, as the years have
+proven, that he had the largest personal following ever attained by any
+man in this country. By personal following I mean one that is not
+dependent on office, but persists out of office as well. People were
+attracted to him because he appealed to their idealism. They had faith
+in him; they had an affection for him. They believed he would lead them
+where they ought to go and where, therefore, they wished to go. It was
+the fact that the mass of the people throughout the land regarded him
+with love and admiration as the embodiment of their ideals of
+Americanism which enabled him to exercise such a tremendous power for
+the welfare of the country and which is destined to enshrine his memory
+among the greatest men in our history.
+
+When we reached the station, the large room reserved on special
+occasions for officials was closed, and only such persons admitted as
+were identified by Secretary Loeb--members of the family, members of the
+Cabinet, and a few intimate friends. When I bade the President, now
+ex-President, good-bye, he said we should meet often and should still
+work together.
+
+Roosevelt at the age of fifty was once more a private citizen, having
+been the youngest President in our history. I am sure I speak for my
+colleagues as well as for myself when I say we felt we were parting not
+only from our official chief, but from one of our nearest and dearest
+friends.
+
+We returned in our carriages to the White House where we took buffet
+lunch with President and Mrs. Taft; then to the stand erected in front
+of the White House to witness the review.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+MY THIRD MISSION TO TURKEY
+
+     A surgical operation delays my departure--Roosevelt in Africa
+     delighted with my return to Turkey under Taft
+     Administration--Received by another Sultan--A royal weakling--The
+     invisible power of the new régime--Foreign concessions and
+     political intrigues--Turkish funeral customs--The Mohammedan
+     indifference to death--Roosevelt urges me to meet him in Cairo--We
+     visit Salonica and Athens--Received by King George of Greece
+     --Roosevelt's arrival at Cairo--The Kaiser's invitation--Roosevelt
+     condemns assassination of Premier despite warning to avoid subject
+     in his address--Roosevelt declines an audience with the Pope--At
+     tea with Prince and Princess Eitel Friedrich--A distinguished Arab
+     on international relations--Rumblings in the Balkans--The brilliant
+     Venizelos--My objections to "dollar diplomacy"--Former
+     Vice-President and Mrs. Fairbanks visit us--Other distinguished
+     Americans visit the Embassy--We visit the King and Queen of
+     Roumania--How the Queen adopted the pen-name "Carmen Sylva"--The
+     cell-like study of the Queen--Vienna and London--Two Rothschilds
+     express their views of the Triple Entente--"The greatest pleasure
+     of going abroad is returning home"--Reflections of the rift between
+     the Roosevelt policies and the Taft Administration.
+
+
+My return to private life in 1909 did not prove a disturbing transition
+for me, notwithstanding the fact that, on entering the Cabinet in 1906,
+I had terminated all of my professional and business interests, I had no
+plans for the future. I had always entered public office not without
+some trepidation, and had always retired from such an office with a
+certain sense of relief and satisfaction. But my past training and
+natural disposition had by no means prepared me to be content with a
+life of "elegant leisure," I soon found much to occupy my energies, and
+again took part in numerous semi-public activities, and my coöperation
+seemed all the more welcome because of my experience in office both at
+home and abroad.
+
+Soon after my return to New York, I was formally welcomed at a banquet
+at the Hotel Astor, under the auspices of a number of prominent
+citizens, led by William McCarroll, who had succeeded me as president of
+the New York Board of Trade when I had left for Washington. It was, of
+course, gratifying to me to receive this attention from my fellow
+citizens, irrespective of party, among whom I expected to pass my
+remaining years. Among the speakers were John Mitchel, St. Clair
+McKelway, Richard Watson Gilder, poet and editor of the "Century
+Magazine"; the Reverend Leander Chamberlain, and Dr. Lyman Abbott. Dr.
+Abbott, one of America's foremost intellectual and spiritual leaders, is
+the only surviving member of this group, and I am happy to be able to
+record that he is still in good health, with his pen, which has lost
+nothing of its charm and vigor, ever inspiring.
+
+I quite dismissed from my mind any idea of holding office in the Taft
+Administration, especially after Taft had reconsidered his statement or
+promise to Roosevelt to retain me in the Cabinet. Shortly after my
+return from Washington, however, on March 13, 1909, President Taft wrote
+me that he would be glad to have me accept the embassy at
+Constantinople, and that in time he would transfer me to some other post
+that might be more acceptable. He concluded: "I hope this will meet your
+view, because I should like to have you in my administration."
+
+My personal relations with Mr. Taft had of course always been most
+cordial and agreeable. I wrote him that, naturally, I had no desire to
+return to a post which I had occupied twice before, unless extraordinary
+conditions developed which particularly required my past experience
+there and made it imperative that I accept as a public duty, and even
+then I should accept only for a short time.
+
+The President wrote me that he would be glad to have me accept the post
+at Constantinople (which had been raised to an embassy since my last
+mission), and that in time he would transfer me either to Japan or to
+some acceptable post in Europe, and I soon received the following letter
+from the State Department:
+
+
+                                                 _April 29, 1909_
+
+     MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     The President now desires me to make to you the formal offer of the
+     post of Ambassador to Turkey. The epoch-making events now occurring
+     in the Turkish Empire bring with them difficulties and
+     opportunities which make that post take on even greater importance,
+     and the President feels that your past service and keen knowledge
+     of the Near East make you peculiarly qualified to take charge at
+     this time of the important Embassy at Constantinople.
+
+     Adverting to your previous conversations with the President and
+     with me, relative to your disinclination to accept a post which you
+     have previously held, I would add that the President would be glad
+     to consider your transfer from Constantinople to some other post if
+     an opportune time should arrive when this was practicable and when
+     you wished to relinquish the important mission which is now
+     tendered to you.
+
+         I am, my dear Mr. Straus,
+                             Very sincerely yours
+                                                  P. C. KNOX
+
+In June, while I was getting ready for my departure, I was compelled to
+undergo an operation for appendicitis. I therefore wrote the President
+asking him to relieve me of my appointment, as my illness would delay me
+for another month or more. The President promptly advised me not to be
+disturbed by the delay, that he would be glad to wait until my health
+was entirely restored before having me start, and that it was not
+possible, because of the troubled conditions in Turkey, at that time to
+find any one to replace me.
+
+At this time I received a letter from Roosevelt, addressed from the
+heart of British East Africa, expressing pleasure at my again going to
+Turkey:
+
+
+                                        SAIGO SOI, LAKE NAIVASHA
+                                            _16th July, 1909_
+
+     MY DEAR MR. AMBASSADOR:
+
+     Your letter gave me real pleasure. Mrs. Roosevelt had written of
+     you, and your dear wife, and two beautiful daughters, coming out to
+     see her; and she told me how much she enjoyed your visit. As for
+     the address at the dedication of the memorial window, my dear
+     fellow, you said the very things that I would most like to have
+     said about me, especially coming from a man whom I so much respect
+     and who is my close personal friend.
+
+     I am delighted that you have accepted the Turkish Embassy. The
+     situation was wholly changed by the revolution, and at this moment
+     I think that Constantinople is the most important and most
+     interesting diplomatic post in the world.
+
+     I shan't try to write to you at any length, for I find it simply
+     impossible to keep up with correspondence here in camp, and am able
+     to write my letters at all at the moment only because a friend has
+     turned up with a typewriter.
+
+     I can't say how I look forward to seeing you. I know nothing
+     whatever of American politics at the present moment. We have had a
+     very successful and enjoyable trip.
+
+     With love to Mrs. Straus and with hearty congratulations not to you
+     but to our country for your having gone to Turkey, I am
+
+                          Faithfully yours
+                                        THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+The first paragraph refers to an address I had made in May. The Reverend
+J. Wesley Hill, of the Metropolitan Temple, had one of the windows of
+his church dedicated to the Roosevelt Administration and I was asked to
+deliver the principal address. I took for my subject "The Spirit of the
+Roosevelt Administration," and reviewed the leading progressive acts of
+the Administration and pointed out how they were all aimed to secure
+the rights and enlarge the opportunities of the plain people. I had in
+mind counteracting the influence then current to belittle the work of
+the Roosevelt Administration. For with the beginning of the Taft
+Administration, the reactionaries in and out of Congress had become more
+bitter and outspoken in their opposition to the Roosevelt policies; it
+seems that they were encouraged by the report that a break had taken
+place between Roosevelt and Taft, and by the fact that certain Senators
+and members of the House who had fallen out with Roosevelt seemed to be
+specially welcomed at the White House. My address was therefore widely
+quoted in the press and subsequently circulated in pamphlet form. I
+quote one of its salient paragraphs:
+
+     All the Roosevelt measures and policies were based not only upon
+     moral convictions, but upon a statesman's forethought for the
+     welfare of the country. That he would encounter the powerful
+     opposition of the offending corporate interests was to be foreseen
+     and expected. All reforms and reformers no less in our country than
+     in others have encountered the reactionaries of privilege and
+     power, who persuaded themselves that their so-called vested
+     interests, however acquired and however administered, were their
+     vested rights. These trespassing reactionaries when not checked and
+     made obedient to the legitimate needs and righteous demands of the
+     many produced a spirit of revenge which broke out into revolution
+     at the extreme opposite end of the social system.
+
+On August 18th Mrs. Straus and I left New York on the S.S. Prinz
+Friedrich Wilhelm for Cherbourg. A week later we were in Paris, where we
+met Mrs. Roosevelt with three of her children, Ethel, Archie, and
+Quentin. During the fortnight of our stay we saw a great deal of them
+and several times we went to the theater or sight-seeing together. Mrs.
+Roosevelt told me that her husband had solicitously inquired about us
+in several of his letters and suggested that I write him.
+
+When we reached Constantinople on September 18th, the month of Ramazan
+had begun, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rifaat Pasha, informed
+me that the Sultan, now Mohammed V, brother of Abdul Hamid, would
+probably delay receiving me for a week or ten days, until the middle of
+Ramazan, and not at the end, as was customary with the former Sultan.
+Accordingly I was received on Monday, October 4th.
+
+The residence of the new Sultan was in the Palace of Dolma Bagtché. As
+my rank now was that of ambassador, this audience was a more ceremonious
+one than those of my former missions. Eight royal carriages came from
+the Palace to conduct me and my staff to the residence of His Royal
+Majesty. The first of these, in which I rode, was a most gorgeous
+affair, with outriders and two postilions in uniforms of brilliant
+colors standing on a platform in the rear of the carriage. The streets
+of Pera were crowded with spectators as these dazzling equipages went
+by, in spite of a light rain that was falling. As we entered the Palace,
+a large troop of soldiers arranged along each side of the main gate
+presented arms. I was met by the Chief Introducer of Ambassadors and
+several other officials, who conducted me to the audience chamber above.
+With my dragoman, Mr. Gargiulo, I then proceeded with the Chief
+Introducer of Ambassadors into the presence of the Sultan while the rest
+of my staff were detained in an anteroom.
+
+The Sultan was a man of about sixty-five, short and very thick-set. He
+was dressed in military uniform, but appeared physically inert and
+clumsy. During the whole thirty-three years' reign of his brother, Abdul
+Hamid, he had been imprisoned in a palace on the Bosphorus and kept
+under constant guard. He grew up in ignorance and his appearance clearly
+indicated mental backwardness. His eyes were dull and his appearance
+almost that of an imbecile, except when an occasional spark of animation
+was noticeable. Withal he seemed kind and good-natured.
+
+When I made my address, I felt as though I were speaking to an image
+rather than a human being, and I went through it as quickly as possible,
+omitting some parts for the sake of brevity, realizing that it was
+simply a form and that the Introducer of Ambassadors would presently
+read the whole of it in Turkish. The Sultan was then handed the Turkish
+reply to read, which he did haltingly, even consulting the Introducer at
+times to decipher a word. That being over, the doors to the anteroom
+were thrown open and my staff entered, also the consul-general and his
+staff, and each man was presented to the Sultan. We were then conducted
+back to the anteroom and served with cigarettes and coffee, even though
+it was Ramazan, when Mohammedans do not drink or smoke until after
+sundown. In a few minutes more we were conducted back to our carriages.
+The whole function was more in the nature of mimicry on the stage than a
+serious diplomatic performance.
+
+With my dragoman I paid my official calls upon the Grand Vizier and the
+Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Porte, both of whom received me in
+full-dress uniform and immediately returned the calls.
+
+The Government of Turkey under the new régime, with a Sultan who was
+merely a figurehead, was in the hands of the ministry, and the ministers
+in turn were appointed and controlled by the Young Turks, or so-called
+party of "Union and Progress" which had brought on the revolution of
+1908 and deposed the late Sultan in April, 1909. It required no great
+insight to see that a government thus controlled by an invisible power
+without official responsibility could not be one of either liberty or
+progress; yet the leading ministers were men of ability and some of them
+men of considerable experience. Rifaat Pasha, for instance, was formerly
+ambassador to London, an intelligent and thoroughly enlightened
+statesman. Hussein Hilmi Pasha, the Grand Vizier, was the former member
+of a joint committee charged with the government of Macedonia. Talaat
+Bey, the Minister of the Interior, had previously held an inferior
+position. He was one of the leading representatives of the Young Turk
+Party and was believed to be the one mainly responsible for the terrible
+slaughter and martyrdom of Armenians during the World War. After that
+war he fled to Berlin, where, in 1920, he was assassinated by a young
+Armenian. Djavid Bey, Minister of Finance, was a remarkably brilliant
+young man, about thirty-four years old, from Salonica. It was said he
+was a Donmeh; that is, a member of a sect of apostate Jews also known as
+Sabbatians from the name of its Messiah or prophet, Sabbataï Zevi, who
+gave the sect its romantic origin in the middle of the seventeenth
+century. Professor Graetz gives a full and interesting description of
+this whole movement in his "History of the Jews."
+
+Among my colleagues were Gerard Lowther, who represented Great Britain;
+Marquis Imperiali, Italy; and Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, Germany.
+Because of the lack of general society in Constantinople, the members of
+the diplomatic corps became very intimate with one another, and this was
+so with my colleagues generally and especially between the German
+ambassador and myself, for we were also fellow members of the Hague
+Tribunal, and in 1907 he was chairman of the German delegation at the
+Conferences. He was by far the ablest and most forceful diplomat in
+Constantinople at this period. During his term of office there, German
+influence in the Ottoman Empire entirely overshadowed the British. This
+influence started its ascendancy following the visit of the Emperor in
+1898, when he obtained the promise of the concession for the building of
+the Bagdad Railway.
+
+When first the Ottoman Government granted this concession, the
+financiers of Great Britain, France, and Germany had come to a tentative
+agreement for the joint construction of the road. The Germans then
+wanted more than an equal control in the enterprise, and the
+negotiations fell through. Had the interests of Great Britain and
+Germany been united in the Near East, there probably would have been
+quite a different alignment of Powers on the chessboard of Europe, and
+perhaps the World War would have been prevented. The Bagdad Railway, if
+jointly constructed, would have contributed to a better understanding
+between Great Britain and Germany instead of accentuating more and more
+their differences as the road proceeded toward the Persian Gulf.
+
+I could plainly see evidences, both in social life in the Turkish
+capital and in the unmistakable trend of diplomatic alignments, of a
+rapidly developing entente between Great Britain, France, and Russia.
+Since the Russo-Japanese War, and with the coming of the new régime in
+Turkey, Russia had changed her attitude toward Turkey and had become
+extremely friendly. Italy maintained a neutral attitude as between Great
+Britain and Germany. Austria, as always, if not controlled by, was in
+close sympathy with, Germany.
+
+Abdul Hamid had developed into the most autocratic ruler of modern
+times. With the overthrow of his régime and its colossal system of
+secret agents, there was hope for a gradual development of a
+parliamentary government, especially as some of the officials in the
+Turkish ministry were forward-looking men, of considerable ability and
+honesty of purpose. However, just as the jealousy between the Great
+Powers had prevented the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire for a
+hundred years or more, so the same jealousy prevented rehabilitation.
+Great Britain favored the building up of Turkey; the policy of Russia,
+Germany, and Austria was to keep Turkey weak and disorganized.
+
+With the establishment of the new régime Germany, England, France, and
+Italy sought concessions from the Government for the development of
+mines and the building of railroads, docks, and other public utilities.
+The country was rich and undeveloped, and the Turks themselves had
+neither the capacity nor the money for such undertakings. But the effect
+of these concessions was undermining the sovereignty and was
+foreshadowing conflict.
+
+With the passing of the old régime and the beginning of the new, an
+appalling massacre of Armenians had taken place in Cilicia; and it was
+believed that this massacre, which cost the lives of twenty thousand or
+more victims, was engineered by the old régime to discredit the new.
+
+The first fall of the new ministry was brought about by what was known
+as the Lynch affair, which concerned a steamship monopoly of an English
+company on the Tigris and Euphrates. The Lynch Company had a perpetual
+concession to navigate two steamers from the Persian Gulf to Bassora,
+and from there to Bagdad on the Tigris and as far as navigable on the
+Euphrates. There was also a Turkish company with a similar concession,
+and the English company undertook negotiations with the Grand Vizier for
+the consolidation of the two companies, by which the Lynch Company was
+to pay the Ottoman Government £160,000 in cash. The new company was to
+have a grant for seventy-two years, with the right given to the Ottoman
+Government to buy it all out at the end of thirty-six years on a basis
+to be agreed upon. The new company was to have the monopoly of the
+navigation, and it was to have an English president with a board of
+directors composed half of Englishmen and half of Turkish subjects.
+
+The arrangements were made on behalf of the ministry by the Grand
+Vizier, Hilmi Pasha, and the matter was then brought up under
+interpellation in the Parliament. The first vote taken was against
+confirmation of the transaction. This amounted to an expression of lack
+of confidence in the ministry, whereupon the Grand Vizier stated that
+unless the transaction was confirmed, he and his colleagues would
+resign. Two days later, on motion of Djavid Bey, the eloquent Minister
+of Finance, the whole matter was reconsidered and an equally large vote
+cast confirming the transaction. Aside from registering confidence or
+the lack of it in the ministry, the vote against confirmation would also
+have been interpreted as an act of hostility toward England. For the
+time being the problem was settled.
+
+Shortly thereafter, however, there arose in the Bagdad vilayet such
+opposition to this transaction that the deputies from that province
+threatened to withdraw from Parliament. The negotiations were regarded
+as a victory for England in the strengthening of her influence along the
+Persian Gulf, and a defeat for the Germans, whose railway terminus would
+be at Bassora, at the junction of the two rivers. The Persian Gulf, on
+the other hand, was of strategic interest to Great Britain because it is
+the corridor to India. German influence proved the stronger with the
+Young Turks, and the consolidation of the Lynch Company with the Turkish
+company was not confirmed.
+
+This vote resulted in the fall of the ministry, for a month later the
+Young Turks forced the resignation of the Grand Vizier. In giving his
+resignation to the Sultan, the Grand Vizier stated his reason as poor
+health, but that was merely for public consumption. Talaat Bey and
+Djavid Bey were known to be prominent members of the Young Turks, and
+the Grand Vizier, who had been Minister of the Interior and then Grand
+Vizier under the former Sultan, was not fully trusted as being in accord
+with the régime of the Young Turks. To bridge over this ministerial
+crisis the Young Turks offered to Hakki Pasha, ambassador at Rome, the
+grand viziership, which he accepted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Early in the year 1910 the diplomatic circle in Constantinople was
+thrown, if not into gloom, at least into official mourning. The Grand
+Duke Nicolaiovich, uncle of Czar Nicholas of Russia, and King Leopold of
+Belgium, died. At Constantinople, more than at any capital in the world,
+ceremonies of any kind were exaggerated to make an impression upon the
+Turkish mind. And so in both these instances elaborate funeral services
+were held which the diplomatic representatives attended in full uniform,
+loaded with all decorations. The service for the Grand Duke lasted about
+two hours, although no one apparently listened to any part but the
+singing, and there was a general sigh of relief when it was over. The
+service for the Belgian king was of a similar nature, with the addition
+of a huge catafalque, surmounted by a crown, erected in the center of
+the church, which was so cold that most of us kept on our overcoats.
+
+Shortly thereafter I attended a third funeral, this time a Turkish one.
+Hamdy Bey, director and organizer of the Imperial Museum, had died on
+February 24, 1910, at about sixty-eight years of age. I had known him
+for twenty years; he had always been courteous and obliging to American
+visitors, and had shown many special favors to me, notably in regard to
+the permit for the Babylonian excavations. The services took place at
+eleven in the morning in front of the entrance to the Sophia Mosque. The
+funeral cortège consisted of about a dozen dervishes clad in long black
+robes with high conical head-coverings made of rough yellowish-gray
+woolen material, and about three times the height of an ordinary fez.
+They chanted in plaintive tones, "Allah! Allah! Allah!" Next came the
+coffin-bearers, six in number. As is the custom among the Mohammedans,
+the coffin was of plain boards, covered with shawls, over which was
+draped a black covering with some phrases from the Koran worked into it.
+On top of the coffin was the red fez or head-covering of the deceased.
+Behind the coffin walked many of the leading officials of the Government
+and other prominent people. The entire ministry was present. I joined
+the procession shortly before reaching the mosque and was asked to walk
+beside Rifaat Pasha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I was the only
+representative of a foreign power present, and my attendance was warmly
+appreciated by the Turkish officials and by the relatives of the
+deceased.
+
+When the procession reached the mosque, the coffin was placed upon the
+pediment of a Greek column near the entrance, an appropriate place for
+it to rest, I thought. All the mourners having gathered round, one of
+the imans or priests standing by the coffin recited a prayer of about
+six minutes' duration, in the midst of which he put the following
+questions in Turkish to the bystanders:
+
+"You all knew Hamdy Bey; what kind of a man was he?"
+
+And the audience replied "Eyi," meaning "good."
+
+"If he has done any wrong to you, do you forgive him?"
+
+Their reply in Turkish signified, "We do."
+
+The body was then borne on the shoulders of the carriers to the museum
+enclosure which was near by, in front of the Chinili Kiosque. Djavid Bey
+then mounted the marble portico and from there delivered a funeral
+oration lasting about twelve minutes, in which he referred to the
+excellent work accomplished by the deceased under the most trying
+circumstances during the reign of corruption and oppression, and pointed
+to the buildings surrounding the enclosure as the most fitting and
+lasting memorial.
+
+A funeral among the Mohammedans is not regarded as a cause for mourning.
+Death is looked upon as a matter of course. Every respect is shown the
+memory of the deceased, but there is neither sanctimony nor suppressed
+sorrow at the funeral service. This is doubtless due to the spirit of
+fatalism deeply embedded in their religion, and which colors so deeply
+the life and philosophy of a Mohammedan.
+
+The attitude of prayer on the part of the bystanders during this
+ceremony was one I had never observed at the ordinary services in the
+mosques. They all stood erect, arms horizontally extended forward from
+the elbow, palms turned upward. The simplicity of the whole service
+impressed me very much. The entire dramatic scene, in its picturesque
+surroundings, was unforgettable. The day was bright and beautiful, and
+the Bosphorus wore its most attractive coloring. Turkish functions,
+whether official or ceremonial, are always arranged with quiet dignity
+and precision.
+
+Among the pleasant things during this sojourn in Constantinople was a
+trip to Cairo to meet Roosevelt. On New Year's Day, 1910, I received a
+note from him scribbled off in pencil, asking that I meet him if
+possible about March 22d at Cairo; he would wire me later from the upper
+Nile a more exact date. He could not come to Constantinople because he
+had to include Christiania in his itinerary, which made it a little
+difficult to carry out his plans.
+
+In due time I received a telegram from him from Gondokoro, on the lower
+Nile, to meet him on March 23d. Accordingly Mrs. Straus and I started
+from Constantinople on March 7th in the embassy dispatch boat, Scorpion,
+a ship of about seven hundred and fifty tons, manned by a crew of
+seventy-five or eighty bluejackets. We left a little early in order to
+be able to make stops at several ports on the way, notably Salonica,
+which in many respects was the most advanced city of the empire. It had
+about 135,000 inhabitants, of whom some 20,000 were Greek, 15,000
+Bulgarian and other Balkan peoples, and the rest chiefly Jews. The
+ancestors of many of the latter had settled there centuries before as
+refugees from Spain at the time of the Inquisition. As was the case with
+many of the other Jews of Turkey their language was Ladino, a Spanish
+dialect.
+
+We stayed at Salonica three days and visited the principal institutions
+of the city, and the Jewish hospitals and schools, all of which I found
+superior to any I had seen in Turkey proper. They were conducted on
+modern scientific lines. The leaders of finance and industry were the
+Jews and the Greeks, while at the same time the hewers of wood and the
+drawers of water, those who loaded the ships and did the hauling, were
+also principally Jews.
+
+Next we stopped at Athens, where we met my brother Isidor and his wife,
+who were making a tour of the Orient. Our six-days' stay in Athens was
+made delightful for us by the courtesies of our minister, George H.
+Moses, now and for some years past United States Senator from New
+Hampshire. We visited the Boulé, or Greek Chamber, one afternoon. What
+mainly impressed one was the lack of decorum and dignity. The Minister
+of War, who also represented the military league, was the dominating
+power. I thought then how unfortunate it was for a country to be ruled
+by the sabered politician. Then truly does the army become a curse to
+the Government, as well as inefficient for the protection it is supposed
+to give. When the army enters politics, then politics also enters the
+army, a double calamity for any state. But that seemed to be the
+lamentable condition of Greece as I saw it at that time.
+
+We were received in audience by King George, who spoke perfect English.
+I had met him before, on my visit to Athens in 1888. He conversed freely
+and with the objectiveness of an outsider about the disturbed political
+conditions of Greece, which was at the time dominated by a military
+league, a secret organization of army officers. Referring to this
+league, the King said that outsiders probably regarded him as weak in
+giving way to its demands, but that they did not appreciate conditions;
+he did it to prevent a revolution, and he hoped that unity among the
+people might be promoted by the approaching meeting of the Assembly for
+the revision of the constitution.
+
+He seemed remarkably well informed regarding our system of government
+and American affairs generally. He said that Greece needed a council of
+state with coördinate legislative power, rather than a senate. He
+appeared to favor a small appointed body rather than an elective
+senate. He said he had been in Greece for fifty years; he had come there
+when he was eighteen and was educated for the navy. He added drily that
+it might have been better if he had stuck to the profession of his
+training.
+
+He knew I was on my way to Egypt to meet Roosevelt for whom he expressed
+the greatest admiration. He said he had read several of Roosevelt's
+books and had always had a desire to meet him.
+
+We went on to Alexandria by the Roumanian boat. The sea seemed rough, so
+we thought best to send the Scorpion on ahead so that we might make the
+trip leisurely, and on March 21st we arrived in Cairo, where
+Consul-General Iddings had reserved rooms for us at the Shepheard Hotel,
+adjoining the suite reserved for the Roosevelts.
+
+The Roosevelt party arrived from Luxor at about nine o'clock on the
+morning of March 24th. We went to the station to meet the train, and
+there was quite a gathering, including the consul-general and his wife,
+an aide of the Khedive, an aide of the Sirdar, a number of American
+missionaries, and several others. Cairo was astir. American flags were
+flying on many buildings, and at the hotel a great crowd cheered as
+Roosevelt entered.
+
+After breakfast the first morning, Roosevelt wanted me to read several
+letters he had dictated, among others a reply to the invitation that had
+been extended by the Kaiser asking Roosevelt to be his guest in the
+palace in Berlin. The invitation did not include Mrs. Roosevelt, and
+this he resented. He therefore dictated a letter to Ambassador David J.
+Hill saying he would be pleased to call on the Emperor on the day
+designated, but could not accept the invitation to be his guest, as he
+did not purpose to separate from Mrs. Roosevelt. He asked Ambassador
+Hill to be sure to submit the message to the Emperor's chamberlain in
+such a way that it could not be construed as a hint for an invitation
+for Mrs. Roosevelt. I advised against sending this letter and asked him
+to let me handle the matter. This I did, and Ambassador Hill soon
+discovered, what I had suspected, that the Emperor was not aware at the
+time the invitation was sent that Mrs. Roosevelt was with her husband.
+The omission was immediately corrected.
+
+Roosevelt was, of course, anxious for news from home. He spoke again of
+Taft's having told him he would retain Garfield and myself, and said
+Taft was aware that he (Roosevelt) was specially attached to us both. I
+showed him an article in a current "North American Review," entitled
+"The First Year of Taft's Administration," which plainly showed that
+much ground had been lost.
+
+Roosevelt was to deliver an address before the Egyptian National
+University. He handed me the draft of it and asked me to criticize it
+freely. I suggested a number of changes, which he promptly adopted. He
+had been asked not to refer to the recent assassination of the Premier
+of Egypt, Budros Pasha--a deed that had probably been inspired by the
+Nationalists, a party composed chiefly of young students, half-educated
+theorists, and a few others whose shibboleth was "Egypt for the
+Egyptians." Roosevelt considered that it would be cowardly and evasive
+to avoid this subject, and that usually the subjects one is asked not to
+refer to are the ones uppermost in the minds of the people. Besides, if
+he did not openly condemn such an act, his silence might be interpreted
+as an approval. In view of all the circumstances I fully agreed with
+him. The speech was delivered in a large hall filled to capacity; the
+consular body and many Egyptian ministers were present. About one third
+of the audience understood English, and the address was
+enthusiastically received, and had an excellent effect, as I afterward
+learned, upon law and order in Egypt.
+
+Roosevelt gave a luncheon at the hotel to Sir Gaston Maspero and
+Professor Sayce, the eminent Egyptologists, which we attended. There
+were about fifteen people present, among them Mr. Lawrence F. Abbott, of
+"The Outlook," who had joined the Roosevelt party at Khartum. It was a
+delightful occasion and reminded us of the old days at the White House.
+Roosevelt always had the faculty of surrounding himself with people who,
+whether from prominent or humble walks of life, were worth while. There
+were so many facets to his nature that he could make interesting
+contacts with all sorts of folk, those of the forest as well as those of
+the closet.
+
+From Gondokoro, Roosevelt had written Ambassador Leishman at Rome saying
+he would be glad of the honor of presentation to His Holiness Pope Pius
+X. At Cairo he received the following cable reply from Ambassador
+Leishman:
+
+     The Rector of the American Catholic College, Monsignor Kennedy, in
+     reply to inquiry which I caused to be made, requests that the
+     following communication be transmitted to you: "The Holy Father
+     will be delighted to grant audience to Mr. Roosevelt on April 5,
+     and hopes nothing will arise to prevent it, such as the
+     much-regretted incident which made the reception of Mr. Fairbanks
+     impossible."
+
+     I merely transmit this communication without having committed you
+     in any way to accept the conditions imposed, as the form appears
+     objectionable, clearly indicating that an audience would be
+     canceled in case you should take any action while here that might
+     be construed as countenancing the Methodist mission work here....
+
+Mr. Fairbanks, it may be remembered, was granted an audience with His
+Holiness, but on the same day accepted an invitation to lecture before
+the Methodist body in Rome whose propaganda was inimical to the Vatican.
+This displeased His Holiness and the audience was thereupon canceled.
+
+Roosevelt answered Leishman's cable to the effect that while he fully
+recognized the right of the Holy Father to receive or not to receive
+whomsoever he chose, he could not submit to conditions which would in
+any way limit his freedom of conduct. But the Vatican stood firm on the
+conditions set forth:
+
+     His Holiness will be much pleased to grant an audience to Mr.
+     Roosevelt, for whom he entertains great esteem, both personally and
+     as President of the United States. His Holiness quite recognizes
+     Mr. Roosevelt's entire right to freedom of conduct. On the other
+     hand, in view of the circumstances, for which neither His Holiness
+     nor Mr. Roosevelt is responsible, an audience could not occur
+     except on the understanding expressed in the former message.
+
+Consequently, while Roosevelt did not go to the Vatican, he was received
+with great cordiality at the Quirinal by King Victor Emmanuel III. In
+order not to have the Vatican incident misunderstood at home, Roosevelt
+sent a message regarding it to the American people, through the pages of
+"The Outlook" of April 9, 1910. Mr. Abbott makes detailed mention of the
+episode in his "Impressions of Theodore Roosevelt."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs. Straus and I were invited to luncheon with Sir Eldon and Lady
+Gorst, British consul-general at Cairo, where we met Professor Oscar
+Browning, of Cambridge, among others. Sir Eldon was the successor of
+Lord Cromer, and had had many years of experience in Egypt in official
+capacities. He spoke of the unrest among the natives, especially those
+who had lived abroad as university students. These were in fact the
+leaders of the Nationalist Party, a movement stimulated by the
+establishment of the new régime in Turkey and the parliamentary form of
+government in Persia. Some of the Arabic papers were encouraging, if not
+actually inciting, opposition to the British protectorate. He said the
+British policy was to grant by degrees an always larger share of local
+self-government, but it was feared that if the national spirit was too
+much encouraged there would be a reversion to conditions that prevailed
+prior to the British occupation of the country. He explained that Lord
+Cromer's administration covered the period of national improvements,
+such as the reform of taxes, and the building of railways and irrigation
+works; and that now had come the desire for political changes.
+
+I have referred to that part of Roosevelt's speech at the National
+University in which he condemned the assassination of the premier. Sir
+Eldon said he had been consulted in regard to the speech before its
+delivery, and that if he had expressed any objection he was sure Mr.
+Roosevelt would either have omitted that part of the address or declined
+to speak altogether, for he knew Mr. Roosevelt would not do anything to
+embarrass British interests. He had had no objection, and made this
+clear to Mr. Iddings, who made the inquiry.
+
+We were all invited to a tea at the German Diplomatic Agency, to meet
+the Prince and Princess Eitel Friedrich, who were on a visit to Egypt.
+Eitel Friedrich is the second son of William II of Germany. I had little
+opportunity to speak with him because he and Roosevelt were engaged
+almost the entire time in an animated conversation, during which both
+remained standing. My impression of the Prince was that he seemed
+tremendously impressed with his own importance. I had a pleasant chat
+with the Princess, whom I found very charming. She seemed to me of a
+type more Austrian than German.
+
+On March 30th we left Cairo, going with the Roosevelt party as far as
+Alexandria, where they boarded a ship for Naples, and we went aboard the
+Scorpion. Our little ship was dressed in its complimentary flags, the
+band was playing, and the commander had drawn up the bluejackets on the
+main deck to present arms, so that the Roosevelt party was being saluted
+with all the form, splendor, and dignity that our ship could muster. The
+sea was much calmer than when we came, and we reached Constantinople in
+a little less than three days. I had intended stopping at several other
+ports to confer with our consuls, and to visit Jerusalem, Beirut, and
+Smyrna; but as my instructions were to hasten my return I did so.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During my third mission in Turkey I saw quite a good deal of Mahmoud
+Chevket Pasha, the generalissimo of the Turkish army, who was at the
+same time Minister of War. He was fifty-two years old, of spare frame,
+medium height, with a full beard that was turning gray. He was an Arab,
+born in Bagdad. He told me that, when he was a younger man and a major
+in the army, he spent ten years in Germany studying the German military
+system and training. It was evident to every observer that under his
+generalship the Turkish army had vastly improved both in appearance and
+in discipline.
+
+I found him a well-educated, modern man. At that time he enjoyed a
+world-wide reputation as the most important and dominating official in
+the empire, because, as general of the Third Army Corps, stationed at
+Salonica, he had marched his men to Constantinople, dethroned the late
+Sultan, and established the new régime. Within a few months he had made
+visits to Austria, France, and Germany, and was received with great
+honors. In the leading cities of these countries he made addresses that
+were statesmanlike and internationally tactful. Throughout he
+represented his country with admirable tact and judgment.
+
+During one of our conversations the generalissimo told me that the only
+cloud on the horizon was the effort of the Greeks to make the Island of
+Crete a part of their country. He thought the general conditions in
+Turkey were good and that there was no danger of internal troubles,
+because the Government had things well in hand. Should Greece make any
+hostile move, he knew Turkey could easily defeat her. He did not think
+that any of the Balkan Powers would join Greece, since they could not do
+so without drawing in some of the big Powers, and the latter would not,
+as a matter of self-interest, allow the Balkan States to join Greece in
+a war.
+
+We were speaking rather frankly, and I asked him whether he thought
+Russia desired the advancement of Turkey and its steady growth under the
+new régime. He realized that Russia was then entirely friendly, but said
+it was not because she favored a progressive Turkey, but because since
+her war with Japan she was in no position to take advantage of the
+misfortunes of Turkey. I asked him what he thought of the real attitude
+of Germany. He answered that he thought Germany entirely friendly; that
+her desire was, of course, to advance her commercial interests in the
+Ottoman Empire, but that in this respect she was perhaps not different
+from other nations who regarded Turkey as a good field for commercial
+operations.
+
+Shortly thereafter the political atmosphere was considerably disturbed
+by the Crete affair, just as Chevket Pasha had foreseen. The Greek army
+had entered politics and dominated the Government. It caused several
+changes of ministers and forced the King to consent to the summoning of
+a National Assembly consisting of twice as many delegates as there were
+members in Parliament. Crete also insisted upon sending delegates, which
+would have been tantamount to incorporating itself as part of Greece
+politically.
+
+The Minister of Foreign Affairs frankly told the ambassadors of all the
+leading Powers, as well as the Greek minister, that if the Greek
+National Assembly admitted delegates from Crete, Turkey would regard
+that as a _casus belli_. There was a rumor at the same time that
+Bulgaria was preparing to take advantage of the crisis to make war on
+Turkey, either by uniting with Greece or in conjunction with some of the
+other Balkan States. The Minister of Foreign Affairs had managed well,
+and the four big Powers, England, Russia, France, and Italy, bestirred
+themselves and the situation was allayed for the time.
+
+Greece had purchased from Italy a man-of-war of about ten thousand tons,
+which was being fitted and armored for delivery within six months. To
+offset this augmentation of the Greek navy, already stronger than the
+Turkish, Turkey wanted to purchase a man-of-war of sufficient size to
+outclass the one being fitted for Greece. The Minister of Foreign
+Affairs called on me with a memorandum of the size of the ship and the
+strength of the armament desired, together with a statement that the
+object of the Ottoman Government in the purchase of it was not to make
+war, but to safeguard the peace of Turkey and possibly of Europe. It was
+thought that the moral effect upon Greece of such a purchase would
+prevent her from taking any action that would cause war.
+
+I cabled this proposal in detail to Secretary Knox, and requested a
+reply by cable. I knew that we had several ships that would probably
+answer the requirements of Turkey, and I thought that, aside from the
+moral effect this might have in preventing a war between Turkey and
+Greece, it would enable us to substitute a new ship of our own for an
+old one. It was not a question of price, as Turkey had put aside
+sufficient money to pay for such a ship.
+
+A few days later Chevket Pasha also called on me, and again assured me
+that the purchase was designed to have an immediate effect upon the
+maintenance of peace, and that the people of Turkey would be forever
+grateful to the United States if we should sell them the ship.
+
+But after the lapse of a week or more, I finally received a negative
+answer from the State Department, saying that such a sale could not be
+made without the authority of Congress. This, of course, I knew; but
+since the transaction would have given us the opportunity to add a new
+ship to replace the other, I thought such legislation might readily have
+been obtained. The Turkish Government then made application to Germany,
+and that country seized the opportunity further to cement its friendly
+relations with the Ottoman Empire, which later had such an important
+bearing in the World War.
+
+About a year after this Crete affair, Chevket Pasha was assassinated as
+he was coming out of the Sublime Porte. No greater loss could have
+befallen Turkey than the removal at that time of her greatest general
+and most enlightened statesman. He was the best-informed Turkish
+statesman I have ever known, with a clear and correct view of the entire
+European situation. What the conspiracy was behind this shooting was
+never brought to light.
+
+The affairs of Crete at that time were in the hands of the energetic
+and brilliant leader who has since come to be regarded as one of the
+foremost statesmen of all Europe, Eleutherios Venizelos. At the Paris
+Peace Conference his recognition was complete. The Greeks, however, have
+always shown themselves to be a fickle and ungrateful people, and from
+the time of Socrates have turned against their foremost philosophers and
+statesmen, and their attitude toward Venizelos is the most recent
+illustration of those traits. Venizelos is practically a refugee from
+his own country and at this writing is visiting our country to study
+American institutions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The main reason I accepted the post at Turkey for the third time was to
+secure the legal status and rights of American institutions under
+definite laws in the new régime. The Turks had promulgated a law, known
+as the "Law of Associations," under the ingenious restrictions of which
+they sought to place all foreign institutions. That would have given the
+Ottoman authorities, both civil and judicial, the power so to impede the
+work of these institutions as to prevent them from functioning. I
+pointed out to the Grand Vizier that the Law of Associations was
+contrary to the acquired rights of the institutions, which had been
+legally recognized for many years, and taking section by section I
+showed him the inapplicability of it to these institutions. After months
+of negotiations, as usual in Turkey, I succeeded in getting a decision
+from the Council of Ministers exempting foreign institutions of a
+religious, educational, or benevolent character.
+
+There were three or four other matters that I succeeded in bringing to a
+successful close. Contrary to the real-property laws of 1868, our
+institutions were being denied the right to hold in their names real
+property necessary for their operation, and this right I was able to
+secure for them. Among other things I obtained a charter for the Syrian
+Protestant College at Beirut, and I got an iradé or permit for the
+construction of new buildings for Robert College. The American College
+for Girls, at Scutari on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, wanted to
+transfer the institution over to Arnaoutkeui on the European side, its
+present location, and I secured permission for this transfer and for the
+construction of its buildings.
+
+While these various negotiations were in progress, I received an
+instruction from Secretary Knox at which I took umbrage. It contained
+the following paragraph: "If I am correct in understanding that American
+educational and missionary interests in Turkey are in fact receiving
+treatment in substance entirely satisfactory, I conclude that the chief
+influence should at present be centered upon a substantial advancement
+of our prestige and commerce."
+
+This had no other meaning than that instead of vigorous effort for the
+protection of American colleges, schools, and hospitals, whose rights
+under the new régime were being seriously threatened by new laws and
+regulations, I was to transfer my efforts to securing shipbuilding and
+railway concessions. I promptly advised the Department that this
+understanding was not correct, that the interests of our institutions
+were being seriously threatened, and that the proper protection of these
+interests in no way conflicted with the advancement of our commercial
+interests.
+
+I continued to push the negotiations on behalf of our institutions, for
+I knew that a let-up at that time would, instead of benefiting our
+commercial interests, convey the impression of weakness on the part of
+our Government in looking out for American interests. In several
+dispatches I pointed out to the Department that to exert official
+pressure for railway concessions in Turkey would likewise require the
+protection of such concessions, when obtained, by strenuous official
+action which might at some time even involve the use of force, and could
+not fail to enmesh us in the intricate political problems of the Near
+East. I asked the Department to weigh carefully the possible advantage
+of concessions to a few American exploiters, against the serious
+disadvantages that the protection of these concessions would impose. I
+pointed out that invariably the Turkish Government, of its own accord or
+through outside pressure, failed to live up to its contracts if not
+compelled to do so, and that the situation would be further complicated
+by the conflicting interests of the other Powers whose commercial
+dealings were subordinate to their political strategy. To ordinary
+commercial transactions, such as export and import, these risks did not,
+of course, apply; but they were particularly troublesome with regard to
+the building and running of railways on Turkish territory.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Among our distinguished visitors during this mission were former
+Vice-President and Mrs. Fairbanks, who were on their tour round the
+world. They were our guests for a week, and we gave a series of dinners
+to have them meet the leading diplomatic and Turkish officials. Among
+the latter was Ahmed Riza Bey, president of the Chamber of Deputies, who
+had for twenty years been a refugee in Paris, where he edited a Turkish
+paper. He spoke French fluently. He was said to be practically the head
+of the Young Turks Party. He was blue-eyed, handsome, and thoroughly
+modern. His father was one of the chamberlains of Sultan Abdul Aziz, and
+his mother, an Austrian, once told Mrs. Straus that she had almost
+forgotten the German language because she had not used it in so long a
+time, for she was only seventeen when she was married.
+
+Riza Bey was very much interested to learn from Mr. Fairbanks the rules
+of parliamentary procedure. The Chamber of Deputies had not as yet
+adopted any such rules and its proceedings lacked system and order.
+
+A few days later, while the president of the Chamber was calling on me,
+the palace of the Chamber of Deputies, Tcheragan on the Bosphorus,
+burned to the ground,--an unfortunate occurrence not only because of the
+material loss, but because it was looked upon by the populace as a
+visitation from God against the new régime.
+
+Judge and Mrs. Alton B. Parker and the widow of Daniel Manning,
+Secretary of the Treasury in Cleveland's second Cabinet, also gave us
+the pleasure of a visit. And a little later Cleveland H. Dodge arrived
+in his yacht. He was heartily welcomed by all the missionaries, for he
+was prominently connected with Robert College and was chairman of the
+board of trustees of the College at Beirut. In his party was Mrs. Grover
+Cleveland.
+
+After we had moved to our summer quarters at Yenikeui, Kermit Roosevelt
+and his classmate, John Heard, came to spend about ten days with us. My
+son Roger, then a student at Princeton, was spending his vacation with
+us and was glad to have the company of two young men of about his own
+age.
+
+At this time we saw much of Sir William Willcocks, the eminent British
+engineer, who had just returned from Bagdad where he was employed by the
+Turkish Government in the construction and supervision of irrigation
+works in Mesopotamia. It was he who projected and designed the Assuan
+Dam across the Nile. He told me he was born to his work, as his father,
+Captain W. Willcocks, was engaged in it in India.
+
+In June I wrote the Department of State requesting a leave of absence
+toward the end of September or beginning of October, with permission to
+return home. In answer I received a cable from the assistant secretary
+to the effect that the railway concessions of the Ottoman American
+Development Company were to come up in Parliament in November, and
+asking if it would be convenient for me to take my leave earlier so as
+to be back in Turkey by November 1st. I replied in a confidential letter
+that it was my intention, upon my return to America, to confer with the
+President and the Secretary of State regarding my release from this
+post, in accordance with my understanding when I accepted the
+appointment. I decided to wait until the arrival of the new secretary of
+the embassy, Mr. Hoffman Philip, and before leaving I took pains to make
+him thoroughly familiar with the work of the embassy so that no ground
+might be lost pending my resignation.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On leaving Constantinople we desired a few days' rest in the mountains.
+At the suggestion, therefore, of our minister to Roumania, J. Ridgely
+Carter, we planned to go to Sinaia, the Roumanian summer capital, which
+he thought we should find agreeable in every way, so on September 3d we
+left Turkey for Roumania.
+
+Sinaia we found not only very beautiful, but most enjoyable. We were
+invited to the Palace a number of times. The Court being in mourning,
+all entertaining was informal and more intimate. The King reminded me of
+the late Edmund Clarence Stedman in general appearance. The Queen, known
+to all the world as "Carmen Sylva," was a striking personality, tall,
+rather heavily built, with silver gray hair and a high complexion,
+strong, mobile features, and a very spiritual expression. She spoke
+English, French, and German with equal fluency, so that it was difficult
+to tell which was the most natural to her.
+
+The Queen told me how she happened to choose Carmen Sylva for a
+pen-name: The woods always appealed to her; their stillness and beauty
+inspired her. When she began to publish her work, at the age of
+thirty-five, she asked a certain German writer to tell her the Latin
+word for "woods"; that gave her "sylva." Next she asked the Latin word
+for "bird," but that did not suit her. Then the word for "song"
+suggested itself, "carmen." The combination appealed to her poetic
+sense, and she adopted it.
+
+At luncheon one day our conversation drifted to poetry and American
+poets. The Queen seemed to know all our bards, even the minor ones,
+several of whom I had not heard of myself. I happened to quote, as near
+as I could recall it, a couplet from a little poem that Joaquin Miller
+wrote when Peter Cooper died:
+
+              All one can hold in his cold right hand
+                     Is what he has given away.
+
+She was most enthusiastic about that sentiment and said she considered
+it real poetry. She repeated it several times so as to remember it.
+
+"Whenever any one gives me a beautiful thought, I never forget him," she
+said, turning to me in her unaffected manner. I appreciated her delicate
+compliment.
+
+After luncheon she invited me to the floor above to see her study. She
+explained that she did her best work in a little cell-like room in the
+monastery below the hill near the Palace, which we had visited the day
+before. There she was most free from disturbance of any kind. Her study
+in the Palace was comfortable and attractively furnished; not large, but
+cozy. Looking out of the windows, one saw the terraced Italian gardens
+and the wooded peaks of the Carpathian Mountains beyond. The low
+bookcases which lined the four walls contained English, French, and
+German books in exquisite bindings. At her desk were three typewriters,
+respectively from England, France, and Germany, for use in writing the
+languages of those countries. She used them herself, according to the
+language in which the inspiration of the moment had come. She presented
+me with a volume of poems and one of essays, both in German, "Meine
+Ruhe" and "Mein Penatenwinkel," which she inscribed for me.
+
+We went through the Palace that afternoon. It is modern and very
+beautiful, furnished in excellent taste, and not cold and uncomfortable,
+sacrificed to grandeur, as most palaces seem to be. Then the King and
+Queen invited us to return the next morning at eleven, to a musicale and
+luncheon.
+
+Next day after luncheon the King left the other guests and took me into
+a small adjoining room where we smoked and had coffee. Knowing that I
+had been Secretary of Commerce and Labor, he led the conversation to
+economic questions, which he said interested him most. He expressed
+surprise that we had not come to state ownership of railways, which he
+believed was the only way to regulate them. I explained our method of
+regulating them, but he thought that method more socialistic and
+arbitrary than in his own country. We talked of the Roosevelt policies
+and their general aim at social justice. He said he regretted very much
+that Roosevelt had not visited Roumania, for he had the greatest
+admiration for him, both as man and as statesman.
+
+Our conversation ran on to the Jewish question, and the King spoke most
+sympathetically of the Jews, saying that they were patriotic subjects
+and good soldiers, that there was no religious prejudice against them,
+and that the Jewish question in Roumania was purely economic. The Jews
+who came in from Russia and Poland constituted separate communities in
+the country, with foreign methods of living, foreign language, and
+foreign views. I told him that in the most enlightened countries there
+was an absence of the Jewish problem because no problem was created by
+treating the Jews as separate groups with restricted rights. He saw that
+point, but explained that Roumania was right next to Russia where the
+Jews were most oppressed. If, therefore, Roumania accorded them full
+rights, there would be a flood of immigration much larger than they were
+then getting. I pointed out that it would be much better to restrict
+immigration than to restrict the natural rights of the Jews of Roumania.
+That thought impressed him, and he said he realized that, under the
+system they then had, much injustice was done which brought disgrace to
+the kingdom, but he hoped a remedy would be worked out.
+
+We spoke of the United States Postal Savings legislation, of which he
+requested an outline, and thought it could be adopted by Roumania with
+advantage.
+
+A few days later we again lunched with the King and Queen. The Queen
+mentioned the bit of poetry I had given her a few days before and asked
+whether I could give her another. Something had been said about Hay's
+Roumanian note that brought to mind the last stanza of Hay's hymn:
+
+  Wherever man oppresses man,
+    Beneath the setting sun,
+  O Lord, be there, thine arm make bare,
+    Thy righteous will be done.
+
+The Queen admired these lines and begged me to write them out, which I
+did on the back of one of my visiting-cards. She put the card in her
+reticule, saying that the lines would inspire a poem some day, and that
+she would then send it to me.
+
+Referring to her work generally, she spoke of her indebtedness to
+Professor Michael Bernays, the distinguished Jewish scholar, who was a
+frequent and welcome visitor at the home of her parents. She said he was
+the most modest and intellectual person she had ever known, and his
+conversations and teachings had greatly influenced her intellectual and
+spiritual life. She asked me to read her estimate of this wonderful man
+in her book of essays that she had given me. I have since read it
+several times, and it would surprise many to read such a eulogy and
+vindication of the Jews and Judaism by the Queen of a country where the
+Jews were so sorely oppressed by drastic discrimination.
+
+Before we left Sinaia, the Queen sent me a large photograph of herself,
+inscribed: "Never mind deep waters, there are pearls to be found.
+Elizabeth. Sinaia, September, 1910."
+
+In Vienna, we were guests at a tea given by Dr. Sigmund Münz, of "Die
+Neue Freie Presse." Among those present was Baroness Bertha von Suttner,
+the great peace advocate and authoress of "Down With Your Arms," who had
+received the Nobel Peace Prize the previous year. I had met her before
+in the United States, where we spoke from the same platform during the
+sessions of the Interparliamentary Union and the International Peace
+Societies.
+
+Next we went to London, where we enjoyed the pleasant hospitalities of
+our ambassador, Whitelaw Reid. At one of the luncheons at the embassy I
+was pleased to make the acquaintance of Dr. Luis M. Drago, the Argentine
+international jurist and author of the Drago Doctrine, who had just
+returned from the Anglo-American Fisheries Arbitration at The Hague.
+
+We dined one evening with the Right Honorable Sir Ernest Cassel at his
+charming home, Brooke House, and afterward went with him to the theater.
+Sir Ernest, one of England's leading financiers, was constantly being
+referred to in the press in connection with the negotiations pending in
+Paris for a new loan to the Turks. He told us that these international
+financial negotiations, because of their international importance, did
+not appeal to him, for he had no ambition to be in the limelight or to
+become a conspicuous international personage. He preferred quiet and
+obscurity, for constant publicity disturbed his peace of mind. This
+attitude was not one of assumed modesty; he really said what he meant
+and felt.
+
+On another evening we dined with Postmaster-General Herbert Samuel and
+his wife. Mr. Samuel was only thirty-nine years old and gave every
+promise of the distinction which he has since attained in the service of
+his country. At this writing he is British High Commissioner in
+Palestine.
+
+Lord Rothschild had written me to call on him when in London; and I went
+to the banking house to see him. In speaking of the Triple Entente of
+Great Britain, France, and Russia, I told him I thought that, from a
+British point of view, it was unwise. He, on the other hand, regarded it
+as good because it offered the best security for peace. A few days
+thereafter I mentioned the subject to his brother, Alfred. The latter
+said that he and his brother usually agreed, but in this matter they
+took opposite views. Alfred considered it a great mistake, from the
+point of view of civilization, for England to be aligned with Russia,
+and beyond that he considered it detrimental to the relationship between
+England and Germany, which was none too friendly. In the light of all
+that has since taken place, it is interesting to note how the
+international alignment of 1910 was reflected in the minds of these big
+international financiers.
+
+On September 8th we boarded the Lusitania at Liverpool, reaching New
+York on the 13th. My brother Isidor and our children met us, and we were
+made to appreciate the real truth of the bull that "the greatest
+pleasure in going abroad is returning home."
+
+Soon afterward I went to Washington. First I called at the State
+Department and had an informal talk with Secretary Knox. I told him I
+did not wish to return to Turkey. The important negotiations had been
+brought to a favorable conclusion, and I felt that I had spent enough of
+my time there. He referred to the understanding with which I had
+accepted the post, that when I desired to be relieved, another post that
+might be available and acceptable to me would be tendered me. However, I
+purposely did not comment on this understanding. I simply said that I
+did not wish to cause the Administration any embarrassment, and was
+content to stay at home. He said he would have a talk with the President
+and confer with me later.
+
+When I called on the President, I told him that since all the questions
+for which I went to Turkey had been adjusted, I did not wish to return.
+Subsequently I received a very cordial and complimentary letter from
+him, but, as it contained no intimation of his earlier promise to
+transfer me to a post more to my liking, I did not refer to it. The rift
+between the Roosevelt policies and the Taft Administration had by this
+time grown considerably, and I was known to be in thorough accord with
+Roosevelt and his policies.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE PROGRESSIVES
+
+     The Progressive spirit is kindled and shaped into a cause--My
+     speech at the banquet of the New York Chamber of Commerce in
+     1910--Roosevelt's hostility to boss rule--Liberals impatient with
+     Taft Administration--Governors demand Roosevelt--He advocates
+     recall of judicial decisions--This stand believed to have caused
+     his defeat--New York State Progressive Convention is
+     deadlocked--"Suspender Jack" nominates me for Governor and
+     stampedes convention--I decline to consider Republican
+     nomination--Sulzer's "non-Jewish but pro-Jewish" slogan--I stump
+     the State--Bainbridge Colby "impersonates" me--Roosevelt, shot by a
+     lunatic, heroically addresses Milwaukee mass meeting--I am needed
+     in national campaign--The dramatic Roosevelt speech in Madison
+     Square Garden--His tribute to me--Election returns--Progressives
+     poorly organized--Their cause a crusade.
+
+
+In the torrential flood of American politics, two main currents are
+continuously perceptible. There are, of course, innumerable permanent
+and temporary cross-currents, eddies, and other variations, but the two
+main currents are ever present. One may be generally described as
+professional, mechanical, and ruled by the accomplished and consummate
+selfishness of invisible forces. The other, while more genuine in
+spirit, is often amateurish in effort; it is more spontaneous; it is
+kindled by emotions of revolt; it sees mankind not as masses to be
+exploited, and profited by, but as individuals to be set freer to
+express themselves socially and economically. It strives to restate the
+better aspirations of men generally, and to mitigate some of the
+pressure that civilization imposes upon them.
+
+It is not the province of the historian to moralize. It is his business
+to trace the changing currents of human thought and to produce accurate
+pictures of men in action. And so, in touching on the Progressives, I
+shall endeavor to give some indication of the mental processes that
+shaped their cause, and to depict some of the dramatic scenes that
+carried their cause into action. Many of these scenes I was able to
+observe closely. In a sense, I may have figured more definitely than I
+realized at the time, in kindling their cause into smoke and flame.
+
+On November 17, 1910, the New York Chamber of Commerce held its one
+hundred and forty-second annual banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
+The speakers were Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts; Governor
+Horace White, of New York; Mayor William J. Gaynor, of New York City;
+and myself. The president of the Chamber, the late A. Barton Hepburn,
+presided. My subject was "American Prestige," and I could not refrain
+from referring to the great extent to which American influence and
+prestige had been advanced by Roosevelt, both as President and during
+his tour through Europe. There was instant and prolonged applause at the
+mention of Roosevelt's name, clearly showing that his political
+influence was not dead, contrary to the ideas of many who thought so
+because the election of a few days before had shown sweeping Democratic
+gains and the defeat of Roosevelt's candidate for Governor, Henry L.
+Stimson. When the banquet was over, Senator Lodge said to me that if the
+political opponents of Roosevelt could have seen the enthusiasm with
+which his name was applauded, they would realize that even in New York
+he was as much alive as ever.
+
+When I had met Roosevelt in Cairo on his way back from Africa, we had
+talked frequently about politics at home. It was clear to me from his
+conversation that he did not propose to be enticed or forced into
+accepting any nomination, although there was talk, yes, I may say a
+demand, that he reënter public life as either Governor of New York or
+United States Senator.
+
+Roosevelt was so loyal a Republican that his opponents constantly chided
+him for going along with the bosses, like Senator Platt, for instance,
+and at the same time advocating reforms. He used to reply that he did
+and would continue to coöperate with the bosses so long as they went his
+way. His aim from the time he entered public life as a member of the New
+York State Assembly was to make the party always more responsive to its
+highest ideals; and from the beginning he worked against the "invisible
+powers" or boss rule. By word and deed all through his life he showed an
+independence and moral courage that careless observers might often have
+mistaken for headlong impetuosity. No one could know him without
+recognizing that he was broad-minded, liberal, and inherently
+progressive.
+
+When he arrived home from abroad in June, 1910, he found the Republican
+Party disrupted. The dissatisfaction and impatience of the liberals was
+distinctly evident. By 1912 Taft had allowed himself to become so
+thoroughly identified with the reactionaries that the large independent
+element had not only become unenthusiastic, but decidedly hostile to the
+Administration. In his Winona speech President Taft had ranked himself
+on the side of those leaders in the party who opposed real tariff
+reform. In his famous Norton letter he had even gone so far as to imply,
+if not to expressly admit, that federal Patronage had been used against
+the Progressives in Congress.
+
+The Progressive element both in and out of Congress was therefore
+casting about for a candidate who represented the liberal wing of the
+party, for nomination at the National Republican Convention at Chicago
+in June. Roosevelt's office at "The Outlook" was daily crowded with
+liberal leaders who had come to consult with him and to urge him to
+"throw his hat in the ring," to use one of Roosevelt's own picturesque
+expressions. This demand grew and spread until finally came the
+following appeal from the Governors of the States of Kansas, Michigan,
+Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Wyoming:
+
+     We feel that you will be unresponsive to a plain public duty if you
+     decline to accept the nomination coming as the voluntary expression
+     of the wishes of a majority of the Republican voters of the United
+     States through the action of their delegates in the next National
+     Convention.
+
+To this message Roosevelt replied:
+
+     One of the chief principles for which I have stood and for which I
+     now stand, and which I have always endeavoured and always shall
+     endeavour to reduce to action, is the genuine rule of the people;
+     and, therefore, I hope that so far as possible the people may be
+     given the chance, through direct primaries, to express their
+     preference as to who shall be the nominee of the Republican
+     Presidential Convention.
+
+During this period I called on Roosevelt one day at the offices of "The
+Outlook," and he handed me the galley-proof of a speech he was to make
+before the Constitutional Convention at Columbus, Ohio. He called it
+"The Charter of Democracy." His room was full of callers, so I went into
+Dr. Abbott's office and there carefully read the speech. In it Roosevelt
+advocated, among other reforms such as the short ballot and the
+initiative and referendum, the recall of judicial decisions. When I came
+to that subject I confess I was shocked, and so expressed myself to one
+of the editors of "The Outlook"; as I remember it, it was Dr. Abbott
+himself. Compelled to keep another appointment, I left the office when I
+had finished reading the speech, saying that I should return later.
+
+Upon my return I met Roosevelt just as he was going out to keep an
+engagement.
+
+"I hear you don't like my speech," he said to me.
+
+"I like your speech; I think it is fine; all but that portion of it
+which refers to the recall of judicial decisions," I answered. I started
+to give my reasons, but seeing that he was pressed for time, I said: "I
+should like to discuss that matter with you, provided your mind is open
+on the subject." To my great surprise he said that he had thought the
+subject over very carefully, and frankly told me that he had come to a
+definite decision on it.
+
+That was so unlike the Roosevelt I knew in the many discussions I had
+had with him, when invariably I found his mind responsive, that I was
+quite disappointed and somewhat taken back. But I did not want him to
+feel that I had joined the ranks of the many who had parted political
+company with him because he had made it known that he would accept
+another nomination for President, and so, on reaching my office, I wrote
+him a letter, briefly explaining why I objected to his statements
+regarding the recall of judicial decisions. I assured him that on that
+account I did not part from him politically, for after all I agreed with
+him more than with any other candidate who might possibly be named.
+
+The birth and development of the Progressive Party is, of course, an
+element of national history that has often been detailed. William Draper
+Lewis, in his "Life of Theodore Roosevelt," and Lawrence F. Abbott, in
+his "Impressions of Theodore Roosevelt," both give clear accounts of it.
+Roosevelt's candidacy and defeat have been variously analyzed, but I
+believe now, as I believed in 1912, that but for this unfortunate
+statement regarding judicial decisions, Roosevelt would have been
+re-elected President in 1912. It is true that he afterwards clarified
+the meaning of his use of the word "recall"; that its application was
+limited to such decisions as held legislative acts unconstitutional, and
+that such decisions might at the following election be submitted to
+popular vote, in accordance with the method employed by a State for the
+adoption of its constitution. But his clarification never overcame the
+effects of the Columbus speech. William Draper Lewis, who was one of
+Roosevelt's closest advisers at the time, says in his biography:
+
+     Looking back now over the events leading up to the Republican
+     National Convention of 1912, it would appear almost certain that
+     had he, in his address before the Ohio Convention, either refrained
+     from making the proposal or had he called it a new method of
+     amending the constitution, and carefully explained it so that it
+     could not have been misunderstood, it is most probable that he
+     would have been nominated at Chicago, and that the whole course of
+     the recent history of the United States would have been other than
+     it has been.
+
+[Illustration: NATHAN, OSCAR, AND ISIDOR STRAUS
+
+1912]
+
+Shortly after the Columbus speech, Roosevelt delivered, on March 20,
+1912, at Carnegie Hall, New York, what was in many respects the most
+forceful and eloquent address I ever heard him make. He graphically
+described his dedication to his ideals of democracy:
+
+     Our task as Americans is to strive for social and industrial
+     justice, achieved through the genuine rule of the people. This is
+     our end, our purpose. The methods for achieving the end are merely
+     expedients, to be finally accepted or rejected according as actual
+     experience shows that they work well or ill. But in our hearts we
+     must have this lofty purpose, and we must strive for it in all
+     earnestness and sincerity, or our work will come to nothing. In
+     order to succeed, we need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to
+     whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to
+     make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the
+     fire from their own burning souls.
+
+     The leader for the time being, whoever he may be, is but an
+     instrument, to be used until broken and then to be cast aside; and
+     if he is worth his salt, he will care no more when he is broken
+     than a soldier cares when he is sent where his life is forfeit in
+     order that the victory may be won.
+
+     If on this new continent we merely build another country of great
+     but unjustly divided material prosperity, we shall have done
+     nothing; and we shall do as little if we merely set the greed of
+     envy against the greed of arrogance, and thereby destroy the
+     material well-being of all of us. To turn this government into
+     government by plutocracy or government by a mob would be to repeat
+     on a larger scale the lamentable failures of the world that is
+     dead. We stand against all tyranny, by the few or by the many. We
+     stand for the rule of the many in the interest of all of us, for
+     the rule of the many in the spirit of courage, of common sense, of
+     high purpose, above all, in a spirit of kindly justice towards
+     every man and every woman.
+
+A month after the meeting of the National Convention of the Progressive
+Party, popularly called the "Bull Moose Convention," which nominated
+Theodore Roosevelt for President and Hiram W. Johnson for
+Vice-President, the New York State Convention of the Progressive Party
+met at Syracuse, in the Arena. The convention met on September 5th.
+
+All during the first day and night, amid lively discussion as to the
+selection of candidates for Governor, committees urged me for permission
+to present my name as a candidate; but I steadfastly declined, since the
+governorship, being so largely a political office, did not appeal to me.
+I was neither by training nor by temperament a politician, although I
+had taken active part in campaigns for many years, both local and
+national. The next day I was asked to take the permanent chairmanship of
+the convention. This I was willing and glad to do; I wanted to be of
+service to the party; also it was a foregone conclusion that acceptance
+of the chairmanship would preclude my being considered a candidate for
+the nomination for Governor.
+
+The Arena was filled with about seven thousand delegates and members of
+the new Progressive Party. The air was surcharged with the spirit of the
+new movement--the genuine enthusiasm of men and women of character and
+standing from every county in the State, and among them a great many
+ministers, professors, reformers, and leaders of benevolent and
+charitable movements. There was a conspicuous absence of the
+professional politician. Indeed, that convention had more the character
+of a town meeting than of a cut-and-dried political convention. Instead
+of having decisions made for them, this great body of enthusiasts were
+called upon to make their own. The candidates had not even been agreed
+upon.
+
+On September 6th I took my gavel in hand and called the meeting to
+order. The first business before the convention was the nomination of a
+candidate for Governor. The secretary called the counties of the State
+in alphabetical order, and the chairman of each delegation made his
+nomination. The outstanding candidates for nomination were William H.
+Hotchkiss, one of the organizers of the Progressive Party and chairman
+of the National Committee, and William A. Prendergast, comptroller of
+the City of New York, who had made the speech nominating Roosevelt for
+President at the Chicago Convention. A deadlock between these two
+candidates ensued.
+
+After Yates County had been heard from, a tall, gaunt young man towered
+to his feet and asked to be heard; he was from the Fifteenth Manhattan
+District, and he had a nomination to make. It was not quite in order,
+though the spirit of the convention was to give each man a chance. While
+I was hesitating about recognizing him, there seemed to be a general
+desire that he be given an opportunity to speak, so I gave him five
+minutes.
+
+He looked fantastic as he strode to the platform and faced the audience.
+His manner was somewhat bizarre. He burst forth in dramatic fashion as
+follows:
+
+     Fellow citizens, ladies and gentlemen: I have just come down from
+     Vermont. I ask you people at this convention to make no mistake.
+
+     We want to put a man up for Governor that no man will be afraid to
+     cast his vote for, against whom there can be no charge leveled of
+     misconduct of any kind, one who can sweep the State from Montauk
+     Point to Lake Erie, and carry every man of every race, religion,
+     and creed; a man whose name is known throughout the civilized
+     world; a man the mention of whose name brings a tear of sympathy to
+     the eye of almost every man and woman in the civilized land; a man
+     whose name, wherever men are found with red blood in their veins,
+     irrespective of race, religion, and creed, will be carried
+     thundering throughout the State to victory.
+
+     There is no chance for defeat with this man at the head of the
+     ticket--
+
+"Who is your candidate?" cried impatient listeners.
+
+"What's his name?"
+
+"Name your candidate!"
+
+In sudden answer to these cries from the convention, the speaker
+exclaimed:
+
+     I nominate the illustrious and honorable Oscar S. Straus.
+
+During the long, terrific applause that followed, the delegate stood
+awkwardly waiting for a chance to finish. Finally he went on:
+
+     We should take no chances in this fight. I could not say one
+     undeserved word if I used the entire dictionary in praise of the
+     other nominees, Mr. Hotchkiss and Mr. Prendergast; but, gentlemen,
+     Mr. Prendergast or Mr. Hotchkiss would cause friction in the State.
+     We want no friction in this election. We want success and victory.
+
+     Gentlemen, there is not a newspaper editor in the State of New York
+     that would any more assassinate the character of Oscar S. Straus
+     than he would assassinate the character of his own mother.
+
+     Gentlemen, remember! Remember that Rome was saved by the cackle of
+     geese. I have no political prestige, but I warn and charge you, put
+     up a man for candidate for governor who cannot and will not be
+     defeated.
+
+     Gentlemen, gentlemen, heed me! Make no mistake about Oscar S.
+     Straus. You will make no mistake in putting him up as your
+     candidate, and you will capture victory and success. No man has had
+     better distinction at home and abroad than Mr. Straus. I ask you to
+     vote for him.
+
+The moment he finished, a stampede started. The entire hall assumed the
+aspect of a good-natured bedlam. There was cheering and applause, and
+many of the delegates began marching round that big auditorium,
+brandishing the banners of their counties, singing "The Battle Hymn of
+the Republic" and "Onward, Christian Soldiers," and breaking out in the
+end with "Straus! Straus! We want Straus!"
+
+I pounded the desk with the gavel, I shook my head in the negative, but
+to no avail. The noise lasted fully twenty minutes.
+
+The picturesque young man who had precipitated this scene was John G.
+McGee, known among his colleagues as "Suspender Jack." He had been a
+member of the mounted police of New York City.
+
+Meanwhile Mr. Hotchkiss and several other leaders came to the platform
+and insisted upon my accepting. They even brought Mrs. Straus up with
+the hope of getting her to exert her persuasive powers. There was no
+alternative; I had to accept.
+
+Mr. Hotchkiss announced my acceptance, and immediately former
+Lieutenant-Governor Timothy L. Woodruff announced the withdrawal of Mr.
+Prendergast and moved to make the nomination unanimous by acclamation.
+That produced more shouting and cheering, accompanied by much applause
+and the waving of banners. It was a touching manifestation and an
+unexpected honor. I made a brief speech of acceptance, during which I
+found it difficult to hide the effect of all this demonstration. And
+with more applause and cheering, the session closed with the singing of
+"The Star-Spangled Banner."
+
+The next morning the convention named for Lieutenant-Governor Frederick
+M. Davenport, who was Professor of Law and Politics at Hamilton College
+and had made an admirable record in the State Legislature. The ticket
+was then quickly completed and the convention closed.
+
+The nominations were received with great favor all through the State and
+in the press. Roosevelt at the time was in the Far West conducting his
+own campaign, and wrote me from Spokane as follows:
+
+
+                                                       THE SPOKANE
+                                                   SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
+                                                   _September 8, 1912_
+
+     DEAR STRAUS:
+
+     When I left New York I had expected Prendergast to be nominated and
+     there were certain reasons, which I think you know, why I felt
+     that, as a matter of principle, his nomination should be made.
+
+     But there was a still further principle involved, and that was that
+     in this Convention the people should have their own way; and, upon
+     my word, I am inclined to think that it was a new illustration of
+     the fact that the wisdom of _all_ of us is better than the wisdom
+     of any of us. Having in view the effect, not only in New York but
+     the country at large, I think that your nomination stands second
+     only to that of Hiram Johnson as Vice-President, from the
+     standpoint of strengthening the ticket. If the only result of the
+     next election were to place you in as Governor of New York, I
+     should be inclined to think that the Progressive Party had
+     justified itself.
+
+     My dear fellow, I am overjoyed; I congratulate you with all my
+     heart. Give my love to dear Mrs. Straus and to Roger and your two
+     daughters and all the grandchildren.
+
+                                        Ever yours
+                                                  THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+A few days thereafter he gave out the following interview:
+
+     Next in importance to the nomination of the Vice-President is the
+     nomination for Governor of New York. And it seems to me that Hiram
+     Johnson and Oscar Straus symbolize what this movement stands for.
+     One is an ex-Republican, the other an ex-Democrat; they both stand
+     for what is highest in American citizenship.
+
+     Mr. Straus is not merely a high-minded and able man, a man of
+     incorruptible integrity and great ability, but also a man who has
+     kept abreast of the great movement from which sprang the
+     Progressive Party. He is eminently fitted to be one of the leaders
+     in this movement. On every point of our platform he represents an
+     intense earnestness of conviction for all the things for which we
+     stand. His attitude toward business, his attitude toward the
+     complicated, and the vitally important social and economic problems
+     which are dealt with in our plank concerning social and industrial
+     justice; in short, his whole position on governmental matters has
+     been such as to warrant our saying that he is already in practice
+     applying the very principles which we preach.
+
+     New York State has a right to be proud of the fact that in this
+     first State Convention of the people themselves Mr. Straus's
+     nomination was, in the most emphatic sense, a nomination by the
+     people themselves, a nomination representing the desire of the
+     people to have the very best man take the office, although that man
+     was himself sincerely desirous to escape having to take it.
+
+     I have known Mr. Straus intimately ever since I was Governor of New
+     York. When he was in my Cabinet I leaned much upon him, and a more
+     loyal and disinterested friend no man could have, and, what is
+     more important, no man could have a more loyal, disinterested, and
+     sanely zealous supporter. As head of the Department of Commerce and
+     Labor Mr. Straus himself, by study and administration of the law,
+     was one of those who reached conclusions as to the needs of our
+     handling of the anti-trust and interstate commerce and similar
+     laws, which I set forth in message after message to Congress, and
+     which were substantially embodied in the Progressive platform; and
+     in his attitude toward labor, toward immigration, toward the duty
+     both of public and private employees, he foreshadowed that part of
+     the Progressive platform which has dealt with these same matters.
+
+     Moreover, by his disinterestedness, his unselfish devotion to the
+     cause of good government and of sound progressive doctrine for
+     economic and social reform, and by his willingness personally to
+     sacrifice his own interests to those of the cause he espouses, he
+     is, I am happy to say, typical of all men who are in the new
+     movement.
+
+     Exactly as it is a real sacrifice for Hiram Johnson to accept the
+     nomination for Vice-President, so it is a real sacrifice for Oscar
+     Straus to accept the nomination for Governor of New York. Each has
+     accepted because he is not thinking of himself. He is thinking of
+     his duty to the people as a whole; of his duty to the great Nation
+     to which he belongs. Oscar Straus's nomination is not only a most
+     fortunate thing for the New York Progressives, but it is also a
+     piece of real good fortune for the Progressive movement throughout
+     this Nation.
+
+When the Republicans had their convention at Saratoga a short while
+after my nomination at Syracuse, several of their prominent State
+leaders telegraphed me to inquire whether I would accept the Republican
+nomination. They feared that with three candidates in the field the
+State would go Democratic. One of my managers favored my acceptance,
+which would without doubt have meant election. But my chief adviser,
+Chairman Hotchkiss, agreed with me that my accepting the Republican
+nomination, without the endorsement by the Republicans of the
+Progressive platform, would destroy the Progressive Party in the State,
+if not throughout the country. I therefore sent an immediate reply that
+while I should welcome the support of any group or party that chose to
+give it, I could not accept a nomination that did not mean an
+endorsement and acceptance of the platform on which I stood. On hearing
+of this, Roosevelt telegraphed me from Memphis: "Three cheers for you.
+You are a perfect trump and you always do the right thing."
+
+The Republican candidate was Job E. Hedges, a brilliant member of the
+New York Bar. The Democrats nominated William Sulzer, and Tammany Hall
+sanctioned the selection because he was considered a good opponent who
+would attract the Jewish vote. But our politicians make no greater
+mistake than to believe that there is such a thing as a Jewish group
+vote. Of course, a candidate who by word or action has shown prejudice
+against or hostility toward the Jews could not expect their suffrage;
+but beyond that the Jews are not controllable as a group at the polls.
+However, as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House,
+Sulzer had taken a prominent part in the abrogation of our treaty with
+Russia, and during the campaign the slogan, "non-Jewish but pro-Jewish,"
+was designed to bring him the support of the mass of Jewish voters in
+addition to the regular Democratic vote.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the whole the campaign was conducted with dignity on all sides. There
+was a noticeable absence of vilification of candidates and general
+mud-slinging between the camps, as is too often the case in keenly
+contested elections. My campaign managers arranged for me to make
+addresses in every county and almost every city throughout the State. I
+had a special car in which traveled, besides Mr. Davenport, my wife and
+me, and several other speakers, a dozen or more reporters from the
+leading papers.
+
+I made my first speech in Getty Square, Yonkers, and from there I
+traveled for seven weeks, making ten to fifteen speeches every day
+except Sundays, including short talks at stations and from the rear
+platform of my car. Sometimes I made speeches before breakfast, to
+crowds that had gathered at the station, and there were always two or
+three, and often more, formal addresses a day in some public hall, to
+which I would be escorted from the train with a band of music, and
+sometimes with a fife and drum corps, invariably playing "Onward,
+Christian Soldiers." So many clergymen took part in the campaign that
+frequently the meetings were opened with a prayer. Many of the meetings
+were spontaneous, emphasizing the crusading spirit which was so
+characteristic of the campaign.
+
+One of my slogans was that I was the "unbossed candidate of the unbossed
+people." One day up in the northern part of the State I was speaking on
+a raised platform in the open, and, as usual, my time was limited by the
+train schedule. A member of the committee told my wife, who was sitting
+behind me, that the train would leave in a few minutes, and that it was
+time for me to stop, and just as I got to the middle of the phrase,
+"unbossed candidate--" she pulled my coat-tail as a signal for me to
+stop. At that moment I was quite evidently not the "unbossed candidate"
+that I professed to be, and the audience laughed and cheered with
+amusement. I think that bit of bossing, however, did not cost me any
+votes.
+
+Mr. Davenport proved himself a most effective campaign speaker. Another
+effective orator in our party for a short time was Bainbridge Colby, who
+discharged with great distinction the important duties of Secretary of
+State during the last year of the Wilson Administration. At Oneonta and
+at one or two other places, while I was taking a much-needed rest, the
+crowds had gathered and were calling for me. Mr. Colby, without being
+introduced, responded for me, and the audiences were left with the
+impression that they had listened to me. My cause certainly did not
+suffer by my being so admirably represented, or perhaps I should say
+advantageously misrepresented.
+
+Roosevelt in the meantime had flung himself into the campaign with all
+the force of his tremendous vigor and energy, and gave to it a dynamic
+impulse that grew in intensity as he progressed through the country. He
+went out to the Pacific Coast, returned through the Southern States to
+New York City, speaking at every important center. In September he went
+through New England. In October he started on his final tour through the
+Middle West, and it was while on this trip that he was shot by a lunatic
+just as he was leaving his hotel to make a speech in the Auditorium in
+Milwaukee. The incident, tragic in itself, was made dramatic by his
+heroism. With the bullet in his breast and his clothes soaked with
+blood, disregarding the entreaties of his companions, he went on to the
+Auditorium and spoke for more than an hour. To him nothing counted
+except the triumph of the principles for which he was fighting.
+
+In consequence of this accident the national managers had me leave the
+State of New York and take up the national campaign, which I did
+cheerfully. No one, of course, could fill Roosevelt's engagements, but
+the plan was to rescue the cause so far as possible, and I spoke in
+several of the larger cities where meetings had been scheduled for
+Roosevelt, principally Chicago, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. My intense
+anxiety regarding the condition of my chief during this time was greatly
+relieved by assuring telegrams from Mrs. Roosevelt and his nephew,
+George Emlen Roosevelt, who were both at his side.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two final rallies were arranged in Madison Square Garden, New York--one
+on Wednesday, October 30th, for the national ticket, and the second on
+Friday, November 1st, for the State ticket. Roosevelt, though not well,
+considered himself sufficiently recovered to appear. His physicians,
+Doctors Lambert and Brewer, had prescribed no more campaign speeches, in
+fact, did not want him to go to these meetings; but he brushed aside
+their injunctions and left Oyster Bay for Madison Square.
+
+His presence at the national rally was his first public appearance since
+the shooting, and keyed-up the meeting to a high dramatic pitch. Fully
+eighteen thousand persons were in the auditorium and a few thousand more
+were outside clamoring for admission. When Roosevelt appeared on the
+platform, a roar of applause broke loose and continued for forty-five
+minutes.
+
+Roosevelt's speech, characteristically, was confined to a plea for the
+Progressive cause and for the State ticket; no word for himself. He
+appeared in good form and to possess his usual vigor, although it was
+observed that he did not use his right arm. His speech was earnest,
+calm, and exalted, closing with what he called his political creed:
+
+     I am glad beyond measure that I am one of the many who in this
+     fight have stood ready to spend and be spent, pledged to fight
+     while life lasts the great fight for righteousness and for
+     brotherhood and for the welfare of mankind.
+
+At the rally for the State ticket two nights later the crowd inside the
+Garden was as large as at the national rally, though there were fewer
+people outside. The enthusiasm was at the same high pitch. When I arose
+to speak, the cheering began and lasted twenty-seven minutes before it
+could be checked. Roosevelt was expected during the evening. His
+physicians had reminded him when he started from home that he had
+promised not to speak any more in the campaign, to which he humorously
+replied that he had promised not to speak for himself, but that this
+time he would talk for Oscar Straus and Fred Davenport and the
+candidates on the judiciary ticket!
+
+At the close of my thirty-minute address, Roosevelt appeared. The crowd
+went wild, and stopped cheering only when Mr. Hotchkiss, who was
+presiding, besought them to stop out of consideration for the Colonel.
+Roosevelt spoke for an hour and held that vast audience in rapt
+attention. He devoted the first half of his speech to outlining the
+Progressive cause, its meaning and purpose, and the second half to
+advocating the State ticket. He referred to my public career in terms of
+unmeasured praise, beginning with my first mission to Turkey. He told
+the crowd that everywhere he spoke, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf and
+from the Atlantic to the Pacific, he had "found that the name of Oscar
+Straus was a name with which to conjure," and that it "helped the
+Progressive cause in California and in New Mexico, in Illinois and in
+Kansas, that we here in New York had named such a man as our candidate
+for Governor." He then gave accounts of the personal services and
+qualifications of the other members of the ticket, and with this meeting
+the Progressive campaign of 1912 closed with a blaze of unforgettable
+enthusiasm.
+
+On election day I received the following letter from Roosevelt:
+
+
+                                                        YSTER BAY
+                                                   _November 5, 1912_
+
+     DEAR OSCAR:
+
+     I count myself fortunate in having run upon the same ticket with
+     you and in having had the privilege of supporting you. You are the
+     kind of American who makes one proud of being an American; and I
+     wish also to say that I feel just the same way about all your
+     family, your dear wife, your two daughters and son. It is just such
+     a family, and just such a family life, as I like to think of as
+     typical of our citizenship at its best.
+
+         With affectionate regard and esteem
+                                       Faithfully yours
+                                              THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+
+The Progressives, as might have been expected, had been poorly
+organized. The time had been too short for intensive development of our
+forces. We had no machine, and in a number of the counties there was
+scarcely a skeleton of an organization. It was, in fact, not a party in
+the ordinary sense of the word at all, but rather a crusade, and what we
+lacked in organization we made up by an abundance of spontaneous ardor.
+We did not really expect victory, although Roosevelt several times said
+that while he knew he would be defeated, he thought I would be elected.
+As a matter of fact, I believe I was the only candidate of the
+Progressive cause for Governor in any State who ran ahead of Roosevelt.
+In New York State he got 389,000 votes, in round numbers, while I had
+393,000.
+
+I knew from observations during my campaign from one end of the State to
+the other, how poorly, from a political standpoint, the Progressives
+were organized, and I confess I did not see the slightest chance of
+being elected. I was not disappointed, and I think that the men
+generally who ran for offices on the Progressive ticket were not
+disappointed. They realized that their contest was waged for a cause
+and not for office, and from an educational point of view the campaign
+was eminently successful.
+
+Considering the vastness of the undertaking and the shortness of the
+time, we did as well as any of us could have anticipated, if not better.
+We were confident that the cause would triumph, in a degree at least, no
+matter what party was in power, and I think the facts amply justify our
+belief that the Progressive ideals made a definite impression upon the
+country, and have given strength, if not dominant influence, to
+Progressive principles in both of the old parties.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THREATENING CLOUDS OF WAR
+
+     Sinister tension in the international air--The Hague
+     Treaties--Germany's opposition to satisfactory understandings--New
+     spirit of international good-will gains popular momentum--A
+     conference with Secretary Hay--The Senate jealous of its authority;
+     the treaties are not submitted--My address before the New York
+     Peace Society--Other addresses on world peace--Carnegie's notable
+     efforts--My lectures at the United States Naval War College at
+     Newport--Conflicts of sovereignty respecting naturalized
+     citizens--The Lake Mohonk Conferences--The American Society of
+     International Law is founded--Distinguished speakers at first
+     annual meeting--The Society's growth and permanence--Roosevelt
+     astounds the world by sending the fleet around the world--The
+     homecoming of the fleet--Opposition to free tolls for American
+     ships in coastwise trade--The Mexican problem and my suggestions to
+     the President as to how to meet it--Italy makes war on Turkey for
+     Tripoli--Other Powers fail to grasp their opportunity to effect
+     peaceful adjustment--My protests and warnings are published by "The
+     Outlook"--The outburst of wars in the Balkans--Germany's ruthless
+     aggressive policy is disclosed.
+
+
+The ominous clouds, visible from time to time on the diplomatic horizon
+during my last mission to Turkey, had latterly expanded from only local
+significance into implications of greater and more sinister magnitude.
+It had accordingly grown more and more apparent to me that the tinder
+box of Europe, the Eastern Question, was likely to burst into flames at
+almost any moment; and, in common with other close observers, I was not
+unaware of an inscrutable and widespread tension in the international
+air.
+
+It seemed to many of us that America, which had so long remained wrapped
+rather complacently in its cloak of isolation, might have a stern duty
+to perform, not only to itself, but to the rest of the world. That duty
+seemed to us to involve the immediate need of a more vigorous promotion
+of world peace and of the specific and definite designing and
+constructing of a proper machinery of enforcement.
+
+In 1899, and again in 1907, to be sure, we had taken a leading part in
+the two Hague Peace Conferences, at the first of which twenty-six, and
+in the second of which forty-four, nations participated. These nations
+had signed and ratified the various treaties formulated by the two
+conferences. The first conference was called by the Emperor of Russia.
+Its main purpose, as stated in the Russian note proposing the
+conference, was by means of international discussion and agreement to
+provide the most effective means for ensuring to all peoples the
+benefits of a real and lasting peace, and, above all, to limit the
+progressive development of armaments.
+
+Soon after the conference assembled, it was found that no agreement
+could be reached respecting the limitation of armaments, whereupon the
+attention of the delegates was chiefly directed to formulating plans for
+the peaceful settlement of international disputes. This resulted in the
+adoption of a treaty of arbitration entitled: "Convention for the
+Pacific Settlement of International Disputes." The American, the
+British, and the delegates of several other leading Powers favored an
+agreement for compulsory arbitration of all matters of a juridical
+nature; but this was opposed at the first conference by Germany,[2] and
+again at the second conference. The treaty, however, in a modified and
+purely optional form, was adopted, though it fell short, by reason of
+Germany's opposition, of much that it was hoped to attain; yet it was a
+distinct gain in providing definite machinery for the maintenance of
+peace and the adjustment of international differences by peaceful means.
+
+  [Footnote 2: Andrew D. White, chairman of the American delegation,
+  states in his diary: "It now appears (June 9, 1899) that the German
+  Emperor is determined to oppose the whole scheme of arbitration, and
+  will have nothing to do with any plan for a regular tribunal whether as
+  given in the British or the American scheme. This news comes from
+  various sources and is confirmed by the fact that in the sub-committee
+  one of the German delegates, Professor Zorn of Königsberg, who had
+  become very earnest in behalf of arbitration, now says that he may not
+  be able to vote for it. There are also signs that the German Emperor is
+  influencing the minds of his allies, the sovereigns of Austria, Italy,
+  Turkey, and Roumania, leading them to oppose it." (_Autobiography of
+  Andrew Dickson White_, vol. II, pp. 293-94.)]
+
+In the development of international relations, in case of the threat of
+war or of actual war, it was regarded as an unfriendly act for outside
+Powers to tender good offices or to mediate in the cause of peace. This
+unfortunate and unrighteous condition was radically changed and indeed
+reversed by the treaty; the signatories agreed not only to have recourse
+to the good offices or mediation of friendly Powers, but agreed also
+that such Powers should on their own initiative tender such good offices
+to the States at variance, and that such overtures should never be
+regarded as an unfriendly act by either of the parties in dispute.
+Especially in our country and in Great Britain, these treaties awakened
+anew the spirit of international justice and good-will, and there ensued
+many meetings designed to inform and stimulate popular interest in the
+cause of world peace.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+John W. Foster, former Secretary of State, who had been in New York a
+short time before as a member of a committee to provide for a public
+meeting urging the ratification of the arbitration treaties, had made an
+appointment for me to meet Secretary Hay for a conference regarding
+them. I met Mr. Foster at the Cosmos Club and went with him to meet Mr.
+Hay at the latter's residence. Hay, as usual, met us in his gracious way
+and we discussed the subject from all sides. My main concern was that
+these little arbitration treaties, which excepted questions of "vital
+interest and national honor," should not have the effect of abridging
+the broader provisions of the Hague Treaty. I had brought with me a
+draft of a treaty which guarded against such contingencies, with which
+Mr. Foster seemed to be in agreement.
+
+Hay said he fully caught my idea, but that it had been desired to make
+all of these treaties alike and to conform with the one between France
+and Great Britain. He said it would be difficult enough, as it was, to
+get these treaties through the Senate, as there was considerable
+opposition, and therefore it was advisable to have these treaties with
+the several Powers identical; otherwise separate arguments would be made
+against each of the treaties. The Secretary asked me, however, to leave
+with him the draft I had prepared, saying that it might prove very
+useful to him.
+
+The final upshot was that these treaties, to which Hay had devoted so
+much care and thought during his last months in Washington, and by which
+he hoped to lessen the likelihood of war throughout the world, were
+violently opposed in the Senate on the ground that they deprived it of
+its constitutional rights. Senators Knox and Spooner and their followers
+took the view that every separate agreement to arbitrate under these
+treaties must be submitted to the Senate. An amendment to this effect
+emasculated the main purposes of the treaty and left the subject of
+arbitration substantially as it would be without any treaties. As Hay
+stated, Roosevelt saw the situation plainly enough and decided not to
+submit the treaties for ratification by the other Powers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On my return home from Turkey, the New York Peace Society, of which I
+had been the president until I entered the Cabinet in 1906, and whose
+membership and activities had been very much enlarged under my
+successor, Andrew Carnegie, gave me a reception on January 7, 1910, at
+the Hotel Plaza, in New York. Mr. Carnegie, who was earnestly and
+intensely devoted to the cause of international peace, and who had
+donated the necessary money for the construction of the Peace Palace at
+The Hague, presided at this reception, and made one of his
+characteristic addresses. The subject of my talk was "The Threatening
+Clouds of War," as they appeared to me to be gathering in the Near East
+and in the Balkans.
+
+It seemed to me that the most timely public service I could possibly
+render during this period was to help arouse public opinion to a sense
+of the imperative need of a newer view of world relations, and a genuine
+public demand for an international understanding and machinery with
+which peace might be maintained.
+
+"World Peace" was therefore my subject when, on April 13th of the same
+year, the Authors' Club tendered me a dinner "in recognition of my
+public services at home and abroad." It was presided over by the veteran
+author and publisher, Henry Holt, who nominated Mr. Carnegie as
+toastmaster. Speeches were made by our ambassador to Berlin, David Jayne
+Hill, by Rev. Dr. Thomas R. Slicer, Edward M. Shepard, Professor William
+P. Trent, of Columbia University, and several others.
+
+Though the Authors' Club has a comparatively small membership, limited
+to members of the craft, yet there have sprung from its ranks a number
+of our most eminent diplomatists, such as John Hay, Andrew D. White,
+General Horace Porter, David Jayne Hill, Dr. Henry van Dyke, Seth Low,
+and Frederick W. Holls. The last two were delegates to the First Hague
+Peace Conference.
+
+Determined to make the most of the growing popular agitation for the
+promotion of international arbitration and peace, Mr. Carnegie soon
+afterwards organized a great peace meeting which was held in Carnegie
+Hall, New York City. The big hall was packed from pit to dome, and
+thousands were unable to gain admission. The meeting was opened by Mr.
+Carnegie, as presiding officer, and he was followed by Baron
+d'Estournelles de Constant. In my address I specially emphasized neutral
+duties in time of war and the inhibition upon neutrals to lend money to
+belligerents pending war as being quite as much an unneutral act as the
+selling of ships of war and armaments, as had been usually the case in
+the past when money thus borrowed was used for that very purpose.
+
+During the years 1903, 1904, and 1905, I devoted much attention to
+questions affecting international relations. I was invited by Admiral
+Chadwick, president of the United States Naval War College at Newport,
+to deliver several lectures during the summer of 1903, and took for my
+subject the protection of our citizens abroad, and surveyed the entire
+subject of citizenship, native-born and naturalized. I pointed out that
+by the law of July 27, 1868, it was specifically provided that
+naturalized citizens while in foreign states shall receive from our
+Government the same protection as to their persons and property that is
+accorded to native-born citizens in like circumstances. All the European
+countries denied the right of expatriation, while America from the
+beginning had insisted upon that right as one of its basic elements of
+liberty.
+
+In several notable instances, our Navy had taken prompt action to uphold
+American rights. One such case was that of Martin Coszta, a Hungarian
+insurgent in the revolution of 1848-49, who escaped to Turkey and from
+there came to the United States and made the usual declaration
+preparatory to being naturalized under our laws. He returned to Turkey
+in 1854, and at Smyrna he was seized while on shore and taken up by the
+crew of an Austrian frigate and put in irons. Before the boat got under
+way, an American frigate arrived and threatened to sink the Austrian
+vessel unless Coszta was released. This led to an agreement under which
+he was put in the custody of the French consul-general.
+
+It is of the highest importance that the men of our Navy, especially
+those in command of ships, should be conversant with the principles of
+international law, as they are frequently called upon to act promptly.
+This conflict of sovereignty respecting naturalized citizens caused the
+war between us and Great Britain in 1812. Beginning with 1868, we
+concluded treaties of naturalization with the German States and
+Austria-Hungary, and subsequently with most of the other States.
+
+My address was subsequently published in the quarterly proceedings of
+the College of March, 1904. The following year I delivered another
+address before the College on international relations specifically with
+reference to Russia and the United States. This address was likewise
+published in the proceedings of the Naval War College, and with some
+modifications appeared in the "North American Review" of August, 1905.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+For a number of years many of the leading men of the country who were
+interested in international relations were annually, at the beginning of
+the summer, the guests of Messrs. Smiley at their noted hotel at Lake
+Mohonk. These gatherings were known as the Lake Mohonk Conferences on
+International Arbitration, lasted several days, and addresses were made
+upon various international subjects.
+
+At the conference of 1905, it occurred to some of the members who were
+in attendance, who had long entertained the idea that an American
+society devoted exclusively to the interests of international law should
+be formed, that, in view of the large attendance that year of many
+prominent men interested in the subject, it would be a propitious time
+to organize. James Brown Scott, Professor of International Law at
+Columbia University, and Professor George W. Kirchwey, Dean of the Law
+School of the University, were most active in promoting the idea. A
+preliminary meeting was called, and about fifty of the gentlemen in
+attendance at the conference took part. They elected me as chairman,
+Professor James Brown Scott as secretary, and appointed a committee of
+twenty-one to effect a permanent organization. The committee so
+appointed consisted of the following: Chandler P. Anderson, James B.
+Angell, Professor Joseph H. Beale, Jr., David J. Brewer, Charles Henry
+Butler, J. M. Dickinson, John W. Foster, George Gray, Professor Charles
+Noble Gregory, John W. Griggs, Professor George W. Kirchwey, Robert
+Lansing, Professor John Bassett Moore, W. W. Morrow, Professor Leo S.
+Rowe, Professor James B. Scott, Oscar S. Straus, Everett P. Wheeler,
+Andrew D. White, Professor George G. Wilson, and Theodore S. Woolsey.
+
+The American Society of International Law was formally organized on
+January 12, 1906. Back of its founding was the firm belief that the
+influence of an association of publicists and others, organized along
+the lines indicated, would count for much in the formation of a sound
+and rational body of doctrine concerning the true principles of
+international relations.
+
+The following editorial comment regarding this organization is quoted
+from the January, 1907, issue of "The American Journal of International
+Law":
+
+     While the necessity of such a society was felt by many, no serious
+     steps were taken until the summer of 1905. It occurred to some of
+     the members of the Mohonk Lake conference on international
+     arbitration, that a society devoted exclusively to the interests of
+     international law as distinct from international arbitration might
+     be formed and that the members of the Mohonk Conference would
+     supply a nucleus membership. Accordingly a call was issued to the
+     members present at the conference, and as the result of the call
+     and meeting of those interested a committee was appointed with
+     Oscar S. Straus as chairman and James B. Scott as secretary, to
+     consider plans for a definite organization and for the publication
+     of a journal exclusively devoted to international law as the organ
+     of the Society. On December 9th, 1905, a meeting of the committee
+     was held at the residence of Oscar S. Straus in New York City, and
+     as the result of favorable reports of the members present it
+     appeared feasible to proceed immediately to the definitive
+     organization of the Society. Accordingly a call was issued by the
+     chairman for a meeting of those interested in international law and
+     its popularization, to be held at the New York Bar Association, on
+     Friday, January 12th, 1906.
+
+     At this meeting it was decided to organize upon a permanent basis a
+     society of those interested in the spread of international law with
+     its ideals of justice and therefore of peace; a constitution was
+     adopted; officers were elected and the Society took its place, it
+     is hoped, permanently among the learned and influential societies
+     of the world.
+
+On April 19 and 20, 1907, was held the first annual meeting of the
+American Society of International Law, at Washington, which was attended
+by an unexpectedly large number of members. The society had grown, in
+the short time since its organization, to a membership of over five
+hundred. The various sessions were devoted to discussions of
+international topics, and closed with a banquet presided over by
+Secretary Root, and addresses were made by several speakers, including
+two former Secretaries of State, namely, Richard Olney and John W.
+Foster, as well as by James Bryce, General Horace Porter, and the
+writer.
+
+To-day the society has more than twelve hundred members, and since 1907
+it has regularly held annual meetings and issued its quarterly
+publication, "The American Journal of International Law." Since the
+beginning, Elihu Root has been the president, with whom are associated
+as vice-presidents and members of the executive council more than forty
+of the leading writers and authorities, Senators and judges, including
+the Chief Justice of the United States. I still am the chairman of the
+executive committee, of which Professor Scott has from the beginning
+been the recording secretary, as well as the editor-in-chief of the
+"Journal." An analytical index of the fourteen volumes of the "Journal"
+(1907-20) has recently been prepared by George A. Finch, secretary of
+the board of editors.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+While these various groups were pressing forward on their respective
+avenues of approach to a better understanding between nations, President
+Roosevelt was applying his energies to the problem in his own way. His
+method was in this instance characterized by a strikingly objective and
+dramatic treatment. He firmly believed that the greater power a peaceful
+nation has to make war in a world threatened by war, the greater becomes
+its power to command peace. The peace societies will not endorse this
+contention; but the history of international relations gives force to
+that proposition. Such are international amenities, paradoxical as it
+may appear.
+
+Roosevelt's terse message to a world threatened by war was to send a
+great fleet of battleships on a voyage round the world.
+
+The fleet was scheduled to return to Hampton Roads on Washington's
+birthday, February 22, 1908. It was to be reviewed on its arrival by the
+President. Admiral Adolph Marix, the chairman of the Lighthouse Board in
+my Department, in the tender Maple took my wife and me, Mr. and Mrs.
+Leonard Hockstader, my son-in-law and daughter, and several officials of
+the Department to Hampton Roads, and we steamed out to the tail of the
+Horse Shoe some ten miles from Old Point Comfort. At the appointed time,
+eleven o'clock that day, Admiral Sperry in his flagship Connecticut
+passed in review before the President, and following him came the
+twenty-four battleships consisting of the sixteen ships that went around
+the Horn, and eight additional ones, most of which had been completed
+since the squadron had left the Atlantic on this voyage sixteen months
+before. These ships had steamed 42,000 miles without any hitch or any
+casualty, or any untoward circumstance.
+
+When the President first decided that this trip should be made, all
+kinds of hostile criticism bristled in the press of the country. But the
+President, with his usual alertness, had several far-sighted purposes in
+view. He says in his "Autobiography": "At that time, as I happened to
+know neither the English nor the German authorities believed it possible
+to take a fleet of great battleships around the world, I made up my mind
+that it was time to have a show-down in the matter; because if it was
+really true that our fleet could not get from the Atlantic to the
+Pacific, it was much better to know it and be able to shape our policy
+in view of the knowledge."
+
+The great show of naval strength on the part of the United States that
+this voyage illustrated naturally had its effect throughout the world. A
+strength that is not menacing tends to allay menace. And in this
+instance the visit of the fleet to Japan was promptly interpreted by
+the Japanese as one of courtesy and good-will. The President, again and
+again in his public utterances, as well as in his private statements at
+Cabinet meetings, had emphasized his view that a strong navy makes for
+peace. And toasting the admirals and captains in the cabin of the
+Mayflower, he exclaimed:
+
+"Isn't it magnificent? Nobody after this will forget that the American
+coast is on the Pacific as well as on the Atlantic!"
+
+The home-coming of the fleet was a most imposing sight. The weather was
+beautiful, and altogether the function appeared as calm and peaceful as
+if it had been a magnificent pleasure excursion, which indeed it had
+proved to be.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On my return to America in the fall of 1913, there were two notable
+questions that occupied the attention of President Wilson and Congress,
+in which as a private citizen I had taken some part. I was soon invited
+by the National Republican Club to take part in a luncheon discussion of
+"Present World Problems," and this enabled me to discuss a subject that
+had resulted in a plank in the National Platform of the Progressive
+Party, "that American ships engaged in coastwise trade shall pay no
+tolls." As this question did not arise in the New York State campaign, I
+had had no occasion to discuss it except on one occasion when I was
+asked what my stand was upon that subject, and I plainly stated that I
+did not favor the remission of tolls, as it conflicted with the spirit,
+if not with the express wording, of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, and that
+I would only favor it in the event the question were left to arbitration
+and decided in our favor. In this discussion I went somewhat fully into
+the subject, making it clear why I was not in favor of free tolls, and
+why I supported the President in the stand that he had taken for repeal
+of the act that freed our coastwise ships from such tolls.
+
+Others who spoke at this luncheon on various phases of the general
+problem were William L. Mackenzie King, at this writing the Premier of
+Canada, and Miss Mabel T. Boardman, representing the American Red Cross.
+
+In April the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals held hearings upon
+an act to amend the Panama Canal Act repealing the provision providing
+for freeing coastwise American ships from tolls. Upon invitation I
+appeared before this committee and supported the position that the
+President had taken, in opposition to the provisions of the platform of
+his party, for the repeal of the free tolls clause. Upon the urgent
+request of the President, the repealing act was passed. Some of our
+ablest Senators, regardless of party, took opposing sides upon this
+question. Elihu Root, who was then Senator, presented, in my judgment,
+the most convincing argument and the ablest speech of his distinguished
+career in the Senate, advocating the repeal of the free tolls clause.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Another international subject which I was carefully studying at this
+time was our relations with Mexico. I felt then, as I do now, that our
+Government has often been badly served and wrongly advised in regard to
+affairs in Mexico. I suggested to the President that he should send to
+Mexico a commission of experienced men who could in a comparatively
+short time lay before him the true conditions as a guide for our
+governmental action. I pointed out that under circumstances different,
+but no less perplexing, this plan had been adopted by Cleveland during
+the Venezuela trouble, and that the appointment of that commission, of
+which Justice Brewer of the Supreme Court was chairman, had hastened
+the solution. When the idea of the United States sending a commission
+such as I recommended became publicly known, it was favorably received
+by General Huerta, the then President of Mexico, as well as by Carranza.
+The appointment of such a commission would have had the additional
+effect of offsetting the pressure in Congress for intervention, and
+several of the leading Senators expressed themselves as favoring it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When storm clouds are rushing across the sky, it is very difficult to
+foretell where the lightning will strike. It is needless here to discuss
+the professed but spurious reasons why Italy declared war upon Turkey in
+1911. It was evident that no _casus belli_ existed in any international
+sense. The naked fact was that Italy determined to have a slice of
+northern Africa, and was favored in that craving by several of the Great
+Powers, chiefly to prevent Germany from getting a foothold on the
+Mediterranean. I knew from my observations in Turkey that this
+aggressive action on the part of Italy would far transcend the interest
+of either Italy or Turkey, and would inevitably arouse the restless
+Balkan Powers to action.
+
+In a communication that I sent to Secretary of State Knox on September
+29, 1911, attention was directed to what would probably be the outcome
+of this action on the part of Italy; also that the Hague Treaty not only
+sanctioned, but made it morally incumbent upon Powers that were
+strangers to the dispute, to tender their good offices for the purpose
+of a peaceful adjustment. Just because the United States could not be
+accused of having any direct interest, such an offer could have been
+made with best grace by our country. If ever there had been a war of
+conquest, that was one. One of the London papers had frankly criticized
+Italy's precipitous act as that of "pirate, brigand, and buccaneer."
+
+In an article written for "The Outlook" following a number of public
+addresses upon the same subject, I pointed out that Turkey, both
+immediately before and since hostilities began, had appealed to the
+Christian nations of the world, who were co-signatories with her of the
+Hague Treaty, to use their good offices for peace, but the Christian
+nations had declined to act. In this article I stated:
+
+     So far as it opens an era possibly of the gravest menace to Europe,
+     it is primarily of European concern; but in so far as the
+     provisions of the Peace Treaty are disregarded by neutral Powers,
+     this is a grave moral loss no less for us than for all nations, the
+     magnitude of which is not lessened, but increased by the fact that
+     Christian Italy is making an unprovoked war upon a Mohammedan
+     Power. The efforts to bring about a peaceful adjustment under the
+     circumstances is not only a moral right, but a right under the
+     Convention in which Turkey, Italy, and the United States are
+     equally signatories with the other forty-one nations.
+
+     The international moral damage this war entails is the concern of
+     all nations. The manner in which it was precipitated without first
+     having recourse to the enlightened methods of peaceful adjustment,
+     combined with the concerted refusal of European Powers to attempt
+     mediation, will make peace treaties waste paper, and peace
+     professions of civilized nations sham and hypocrisy.
+
+In quick succession this war was followed in 1912 by the first Balkan
+war against Turkey, and then in 1913 by the second Balkan war, between
+the Balkan nations themselves to divide the spoils. For thirty years the
+Treaty of Berlin (1878) had served to maintain European peace. The first
+breach was the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria. The
+second was the Italian-Turkish war, followed by the Balkan wars. The
+toll of these latter wars entailed a sacrifice of 300,000 dead or
+permanently disabled on the field of battle; and the immediate
+consequence was to upset "the balance of power" so that the Great Powers
+at once heavily extended their armies and navies, and their budgets ran
+wild.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Probably the most illuminating document concerning the conditions that
+led up to the World War is the Lichnowsky Memorandum which is entitled:
+"My London Mission, 1912-1914." I had known Prince Lichnowsky when he
+was one of the secretaries of the German Embassy during my first mission
+to Turkey. He was appointed ambassador to England after the death of
+Baron Marschall in September, 1912. This memorandum was prepared as a
+personal record during the second year of the war, and, after being
+privately circulated, was, by design or otherwise, published. It is the
+most convincing indictment of Germany's ruthless aggressive policy, and
+it naturally brought down upon its author the severest condemnation of
+the Emperor and the militarists. Germany's reiterated claim that Great
+Britain, having designed Germany's destruction, sought to justify the
+large increase of her navy, was disproved by her own ambassador.
+
+The events that resolved themselves into the World War, as well as the
+World War itself, are most convincing proofs that the preservation of
+peace is a matter of common interest to the entire family of nations,
+and that it must not be left to a single member of this group to disturb
+the world's peace at will.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+PERSONAL VIGNETTES
+
+     We motor through northern Africa--The King of Italy discusses world
+     politics--Exploring historical ruins with the Mayor of Rome and
+     Georg Brandes--Two Cardinals--David Lubin, international genius--In
+     London--William Watson, the British poet, considers residing in
+     America and asks about cost of living--Lloyd George curious about
+     Progressives--He guarantees a one-pound note--John Burns discourses
+     on British history--The notable housing experiment at Hampstead
+     Garden Suburb--Earl and Lady Grey--At Skibo Castle with Andrew
+     Carnegie--Indifferent golf, but fine trout fishing--At The Hague
+     Peace Palace--Some eminent Hollanders--Turning the laugh on the
+     cartoonists--Rudyard Kipling on having a daughter in society--An
+     evening with Israel Zangwill--Henri Bergson in an argument with
+     Roosevelt, with Rodin, the sculptor, a bored listener--To Spain to
+     attend Kermit Roosevelt's wedding--Spanish politics--A protégé of
+     Bismarck--Recollections of Disraeli--Evidence of Spanish and Jewish
+     origin of Christopher Columbus.
+
+
+Motoring leisurely through Algiers and Tunis with Mrs. Straus, I was now
+enjoying a delightful holiday, free from cares and responsibility. The
+drowsy tropical air invited complete relaxation, and the lazy African
+days ushered us into a world unbelievably remote from that of American
+politics. Graceful, luminous Algiers, with its brilliant European
+hotels, charming cafés, veiled women, and swarthy men, etched lasting
+impressions upon our minds. My defeat in the tense Progressive contest
+for the governorship of New York had afforded me this opportunity for
+another taste of freedom. It was in the spring of the year 1913, and the
+mountains through which we toured were full of unexpected and beguiling
+scenes. This region is not only rich in historic associations, but the
+engineering skill of the French has in turn modernized it with excellent
+motor roads. From Tunis we crossed to Sicily, where we visited the
+Carthaginian, Greek, and Roman remains of columns and temples that still
+bear tragic witness to the conflict between the armies of Hannibal and
+Scipio, and between the transplanted Asiatic and European civilizations.
+
+We made our way to Rome, where Ambassador Thomas J. O'Brien showed us
+many attentions, and arranged for an audience on April 28th with Victor
+Emmanuel III. The King was most affable and agreeable, and spoke perfect
+English. He referred to my several missions to Turkey, and said he, too,
+was there frequently when he was in the navy. He spoke with an intimate
+knowledge of the men and affairs in the Near East that surprised me. We
+discussed Arabia and the unrest there due to the incompetency of the
+Sultan's Government, and soon the conversation turned to the Balkan
+situation. I said I feared that as soon as the treaty then being
+negotiated, which was to end the first Balkan War against Turkey, was
+signed, a fresh war would break out among the five Balkan Powers. That
+would not surprise him, he said, but considered that it might be best to
+let them fight it out. I answered that the trouble with that course was
+that the fight would involve the Great Powers, as the several Balkan
+States were attached to strings that led directly into the chancelleries
+of the Great Powers--with which the King did not disagree.
+
+We talked of the Jews, and he said in Italy they were not made a
+separate element in the population. "We neither know nor care whether a
+man is a Jew or not," he remarked, adding that the only persons who took
+special notice of the subject at all were occasional clericals.
+Personally he was very fond of the Jews; nearly every ministry had
+contained one or more; and General Ottolenghi, a Jew who had been
+Minister of War a few years before, had been one of his most favored
+instructors. Altogether we had a fine talk of over an hour. The King's
+quick and vigorous mind, his clearness of vision and breadth of
+intellectual grasp I found very refreshing. Unlike some of the monarchs,
+he did not seem detached and weighted down by a sense of his own
+importance.
+
+From my friend Isaac N. Seligman, since deceased, of New York, I had
+received a letter of introduction to Ernesto Nathan, Mayor of Rome, of
+whom I had heard much and whom I was therefore anxious to meet. I sent
+Mr. Seligman's letter, together with my card, to the Mayor. The next
+morning, when Mrs. Straus and I were leaving our hotel for a motor ride,
+a tall, prepossessing gentleman, who impressed me somewhat as a typical
+Englishman, came toward me with a look of recognition which I
+instinctively answered.
+
+"Is this Mr. Straus? I am Mr. Nathan," he said, in perfect English.
+
+His brother was with him, and we were glad to return to the hotel with
+them for a chat. We arranged for a little excursion the next day to the
+ancient Roman commercial city of Ostia, whose ruins were being
+excavated. In the midst of these plans the Mayor remarked that a friend
+of his, Georg Brandes, the Danish savant and critic, was in Rome, and if
+agreeable to us he would like to have him join us. Of course it was
+agreeable, and in our little party next day were Mayor Nathan, his
+brother, his daughter, Georg Brandes, a Signor Cena, editor of a leading
+Italian review, and ourselves. The Mayor acted as guide and showed an
+astonishing familiarity with things archæological in a most delightful
+way; even the occasional spells of rain in no way dampened our enjoyment
+of the trip. Upon our return, the Mayor took us to lunch in a typical
+Italian restaurant, where we spent two hours at a sociable repast.
+
+My introduction to Mayor Ernesto Nathan led to a friendship which I
+prized highly and enjoyed until his death in April, 1921. He was born in
+England of Jewish parents. His father was a banker and a descendant of
+the Frankfort family of Nathans, a collateral branch of the Mayer family
+from whom is descended the great banking family of Rothschild. After his
+father died, his mother took the family to Pisa to live. Here their home
+became a refuge for Italian patriots, as it had been in London. At
+twenty-five Signor Nathan became business manager of "La Roma del
+Popolo," a paper started by Giuseppe Mazzini, a friend of the family,
+whose works he later edited. Nathan remained an editor and publisher
+until he entered politics. He became Mayor of Rome in 1907, elected by
+the anti-clerical party, and during the six years he remained Mayor he
+did much to modernize Rome, especially in the improvement of its
+street-car service and its sanitation, so that the city's death-rate
+became one of the lowest in Europe. He was highly esteemed, and even the
+clericals respected his uprightness and efficiency.
+
+Brandes, when I met him, was nearly seventy years old, but
+intellectually vigorous and brilliant, although cynical, even if at
+times humorously and delightfully so.
+
+Through David Lubin, American delegate to the International Institute of
+Agriculture, whom I had known for many years, we met Professor Luigi
+Luzzatti, Professor of International Law at the University of Rome, a
+leading member of the Italian Chamber, and a convincing orator and
+publicist. He was then in his seventies, a large, statesmanlike figure
+of distinguished appearance. We spent a pleasant hour in his apartment
+on the Via Veneto opposite our hotel. He said he was gratified to find
+my views, as expressed in my "Roger Williams" and in my chapter on the
+development of religious liberty in my "American Spirit," so much in
+accord with his own. He told me about his brochure, "Liberta di
+Consciensa e di Sciensa," which had been translated into German under
+the title "Freiheit des Gewissens und Wissens." In it he makes
+considerable reference to Roger Williams, and pays me the compliment of
+saying that he derived the inspiration for his book from mine. He also
+quotes extensively from Roosevelt's letter on religious liberty, which I
+have embodied in Chapter X of this volume.
+
+I called on Professor Luzzatti a number of times thereafter, which in
+his charming way he had begged me to do because he was confined to the
+house with a cold and therefore could not call on me. In one of his
+notes he wrote that we were friends because our ideas and ideals were
+the same, and he wanted to be sure to see me again before I left Rome.
+He confirmed what the King had told me, that there was no anti-Semitic
+spirit in Italy. He said he was a Jew, but was not brought up
+religiously as such, although he was known to be ready on all necessary
+occasions to stand up for his people.
+
+Professor Luzzatti was largely responsible for improving Italy's
+financial system, and in the establishment of the Banca Popolari, or
+People's Banks. He was also influential in the negotiation of Italy's
+commercial treaties.
+
+Through the offices of P. R. Mackenzie, who for a number of years had
+been Rome correspondent of the "New York Sun," I met Cardinals Rampolla
+and Falconio. We called first on the latter, who knew our country well.
+For nine years he had been papal legate at Washington, during which time
+he became a naturalized citizen. As we entered his reception room, I
+observed two little American flags attached to an ornament on the
+center table. He informed, me as he greeted me that His Holiness was
+quite ill, otherwise he would have advised me to allow Cardinal Rampolla
+and himself to arrange for an audience.
+
+Mr. Mackenzie informed the Cardinal that I had been a member of the
+Roosevelt Cabinet, which recalled Roosevelt's visit to Rome in 1910. Of
+course, I was anxious to learn how both these prelates regarded that
+incident. Cardinal Falconio said that the Holy Father had made no
+conditions as to the visit, but had merely expressed the hope that there
+might be no repetition of the Fairbanks incident; the Holy Father knew
+how broad-minded and well-disposed Roosevelt was toward all creeds and
+had really wanted very much to meet him. The Cardinal said that of
+course Roosevelt could not be blamed; the matter should not have been
+handled through the embassy. His remarks implied that the mismanagement
+had been there.
+
+We now went within the Vatican district, under the arch on the side, to
+the palatial residence of Cardinal Rampolla. On entering, we were led to
+the Cardinal's private room next to the formal reception chamber, where
+the Cardinal greeted us warmly. He has great charm of manner and is most
+gracious; withal he impressed one as a keen, learned, and shrewd
+prelate. He was regarded as the ablest and most distinguished of the
+cardinals eligible to the Holy See, and it may be remembered that he was
+considered the logical successor of Leo XIII, and it was said he would
+probably have been elected Pope but for the opposition of the Emperor of
+Austria.
+
+In referring to the Roosevelt incident, he too held Roosevelt entirely
+blameless, and added that both he and Brother Falconio knew how kindly
+Roosevelt felt toward Catholics and the Holy See, and that there should
+have been nothing official about that message; if he had been in Merry
+Del Val's place, the regrettable misunderstanding would not have
+happened. Evidently he blamed the papal secretary.
+
+David Lubin gave a dinner at the Hôtel de Russie to Mrs. Straus and me
+on May 1st. Among the guests were Mayor Nathan and Marquis Sapelli,
+president of the International Institute of Agriculture, and the
+Marchioness. Professor Luzzatti had accepted, but his cold still
+prevented his going out. Lubin was a rough diamond, so to speak: a man
+of vision, unlimited energy and enthusiasm. It was he who induced the
+Italian Government to recognize the International Institute of
+Agriculture, and he was regarded by that Government as its founder.
+Indeed, he was better understood in Rome than in Washington. He knew
+nothing and cared less about diplomatic amenities. When I was in the
+Cabinet our ambassador at Rome had made an unfavorable report about him
+because of some supposed tactless move which was objected to by our
+ambassador. This report displeased Secretary Root, and the result would
+have been Lubin's recall as our delegate to the Institute, had I not
+interceded for him with the President, explaining what manner of man
+Lubin was, that he had no manners but genius, and that I felt sure the
+King of Italy himself would intercede for him.
+
+As a matter of fact about a year after that there was some question of
+appointing another person as American delegate, and the King did
+intercede for Lubin. For the help and encouragement that I gave this
+worthy man he was always thereafter most grateful to me. It was David
+Lubin, too, who first aroused interest in America in the establishment
+of an agricultural credit system, as well as in the coöperative banks.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From Rome we went direct to London, where I shortly got in touch with
+William Watson, the poet. I had met him the year before in the United
+States. I was chairman of the executive committee of the Authors' Club
+at the time, and as such its president; the Club gave him a reception;
+also he was at my house several times. It was said of him that he was
+better known than Robert Bridges and would have been selected as poet
+laureate in preference to Bridges had he not written a poem called "The
+Woman with the Serpent's Tongue," referring to Margot Asquith, wife of
+the Premier, which spoiled his chances for official recognition. He
+appeared somewhat disappointed and to be considering permanent residence
+in America. He asked me about the cost of living in cities other than
+New York, which he considered too extravagant.
+
+Watson gave me a luncheon at the British Empire Club, where I met a
+number of his friends--Sir Sidney Lee, editor of the "Dictionary of
+National Biography"; Sir William Robertson Nicoll, editor of the
+"Bookman" and of the "British Weekly"; H. W. Massingham, editor of the
+"Nation"; and a few others. Watson told me that Sir Sidney Lee's
+biography of Shakespeare was considered the best extant from an
+historical and critical point of view, and that his biography of King
+Edward had created a sensation in England, but that its aim was to
+portray the human side of King Edward. He told me also that Sir Sidney
+was an Israelite. My own conversation with Sir Sidney was very general.
+He is a mild man with a reserved manner.
+
+Sir Charles and Lady Henry invited us to luncheon at their beautiful
+town house in Carlton Gardens, to meet Lloyd George, who was then
+Chancellor of the Exchequer. The other guests were: Sir Alexander Ure,
+solicitor-general for Scotland; Dr. Thomas J. MacNamara, parliamentary
+secretary to the Admiralty; Robert Donald, editor of the "Daily
+Chronicle," a leading labor daily.
+
+Lloyd George explained the important Liberal measures to me,
+particularly the National Insurance Act of 1911, amendments to which
+were then being considered in the House. He declared that it was
+necessary to curb or reform the House of Lords before social justice
+measures, such as this insurance act, legislation for old age pensions,
+etc., could be put through. He asked about Roosevelt and the status of
+the Progressive Party, and whether the newspapers were favorable to the
+cause; it seems that the newspapers did not give him adequate
+information regarding the Progressives. I had to tell him that many of
+our leading dailies were not with us. I explained to him that I thought
+the Progressive movement could hardly be regarded as a party, but that I
+believed its influence in liberalizing both of the old parties would be
+considerable.
+
+When I was in London shortly after the outbreak of the World War, I
+remember a humorous incident at another meeting with Lloyd George, at a
+small dinner. For emergency use there had been issued one-pound treasury
+notes that looked more like a "shinplaster" of our Civil War days than
+like a dignified British pound. One of the guests brought in a number of
+these, for which some of us exchanged gold. As I took one up I remarked
+about the appearance of it and added that before I accepted it I would
+require the endorsement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lloyd George
+quickly answered, "That can be done," and promptly took the note and
+wrote his name on the back of it. It remains in my possession as a
+souvenir.
+
+The following Sunday, Sir Charles and Lady Henry again invited us to
+luncheon, this time to their country home near Maidenhead, to meet Sir
+Rufus and Lady Isaacs. Sir Rufus is now Lord Reading, and it was then
+quite well understood that he would be appointed Lord Chief Justice. He
+expressed great interest in our parliamentary system as compared with
+that of Great Britain, but thought the British method had an advantage
+over ours in that members of the Cabinet were at the same time members
+of Parliament and could advocate their own measures, and that in England
+a Cabinet member must be not only an administrator, but a
+parliamentarian as well. He was very anxious to know how administrative
+measures in our country are brought forward and enacted into laws. I
+explained our system to him and told him I thought the system of
+questioning in Parliament members of the Cabinet left very little
+opportunity for the Cabinet members to devote themselves to the
+administrative work of their departments.
+
+During this stay in London, I again had several pleasant meetings with
+Postmaster-General Herbert Samuel, whom I had visited when I passed
+through London on my return from Constantinople in 1910. He informed me
+that within a month he intended visiting Canada and then the United
+States. Later in the year I met him in my own country, where he
+delivered several public addresses and made a fine impression.
+
+While we were at tea one afternoon on the terrace of the House of
+Commons with Mr. and Mrs. Samuel, the Right Honorable John Burns,
+president of the Local Government Board, joined us. He knew both my
+brothers and was pleased to meet me. He asked me to accompany him to
+his department, which is only a short distance from Westminster Hall. As
+we passed the entrance to Westminster, he said to me:
+
+"Let us stop here and let me give you a graphic page of British
+history."
+
+So we halted for about ten minutes under the scaffolding of the men who
+were doing some repair work on the edifice, while Burns discoursed
+eloquently on the well-known facts of British history. I was as much
+interested in the man as in the great Gothic structure, and my mind went
+on to review the march of democracy from the booted and spurred Cromwell
+to the radical labor leader John Burns. The radicalism of Burns was at
+one time considered dangerous, but on entering the Cabinet he became
+conservative and reliable, proving the effect of responsibility upon
+even the more radical minds when in office.
+
+Across the Thames Burns pointed to some factories, saying: "There is
+where my father worked as a day laborer, and where I worked." And I was
+indeed impressed with the democracy of Great Britain in our day.
+
+We spent a charming evening with Mr. and Mrs. Harry Brittain, now Sir
+Harry and Lady Brittain, in their cozy home on Cowley Street. The only
+other guest was Earl Grey, former Governor-General of Canada. Earlier in
+the year I had met both Sir Harry Brittain and Earl Grey in New York,
+when they came over respectively as chairman and secretary of the
+British committee for the Celebration of One Hundred Years of Peace.
+
+A few days thereafter Earl Grey invited Mrs. Brittain, Mrs. Straus, and
+me to breakfast with him and then to accompany him to the now famous
+Hampstead Garden Suburb. I was glad of this opportunity to see that
+experiment, because the subject of housing workers in wholesome homes
+and surroundings at a moderate cost was one that interested me very
+much.
+
+Hampstead is only about five or six miles from the heart of London. In
+this beautiful suburb, every house has a garden, and the architecture of
+the houses is varied and attractive. Earl Grey knew several of the
+tenants, and took us into a number of the houses. At that time the
+rental of an entire house per week was six and a half shillings and
+upward; and there were large single rooms with cooking facilities for
+three and a half shillings a week. The population was almost seven
+thousand, and the suburb was being extended. There was an air of
+contentment about the place, and the children looked robust and happy.
+The wonder of it all was that the plan was on an economically sound
+basis and was paying four and a half per cent annually on the capital
+invested. The Earl had much to do with the development of this suburb
+and, if I mistake not, was chairman of the board at the time.
+
+Mrs. Straus and I were also invited to spend a week-end with Earl and
+Lady Grey at Howick, their Northumberland estate. Mrs. Straus, however,
+had planned to take a cure at a German health resort, so my son Roger
+was invited in her stead. The only other visitor was Henry Vivian, M.P.,
+who was associated with Earl Grey in both the Hampstead Garden Suburb
+and the organization of the coöperative societies, of which latter Earl
+Grey was chairman. I participated in a meeting of the Coöperative
+Society of Northern England and saw how practical and inexpensively
+conducted they were, cheapening merchandise of all kinds by eliminating
+the profits of middlemen and the cost of distribution, and to that
+extent lowering the cost of living. Along these lines we have much to
+learn in our own country.
+
+Roger and I spent a delightful few days with Earl and Lady Grey. The
+Earl represented the finest type of English nobleman. He was a man of
+the highest ideals, even regarded by some as rather visionary in his
+various plans for the betterment of economic conditions; a man who
+recognized, as do so many of the British titled people, the patriotic
+responsibilities attached to their position.
+
+I now proceeded to the northern part of Scotland to spend a few days
+with Andrew Carnegie at Skibo Castle in Sutherland. It was what Andrew
+Carnegie called "university week" at Skibo, for in accordance with an
+annual custom he had as his guests the provosts of the several Scotch
+universities.
+
+Every morning we were awakened by the music of several Scotch
+highlanders dressed in their kilts and playing old native tunes on their
+bagpipes. Those were unique and memorable awakenings in the
+steel-master's castle; the bagpipes attuned the mind instantly to the
+Scotch atmosphere and Scotch tradition. We started our day invariably
+with a game of golf, at which we helped each other out as caddies, for
+all of us, Mr. Carnegie included, were indifferent players (beyond which
+stage I have not even since progressed), so that we all felt quite at
+home with one another on the links.
+
+We had hoped to test Carnegie's much-lauded and far-famed salmon pond,
+but that season the fish were late in coming up the run, so we were
+deprived of that pleasure and had to console ourselves with a little
+trout fishing. Two or three were put into each of our baskets for
+breakfast, and the remainder were religiously restored to the pond.
+
+At that time Skibo Castle had but recently been built, but already it
+was noted for its generous hospitality, which both the British and
+American friends of Mr. Carnegie so much enjoyed.
+
+I had promised Mr. Carnegie that I would attend the ceremonies opening
+the Peace Palace at The Hague, to which all the members of the Hague
+Tribunal had been specially invited. From Skibo, therefore, I returned
+to London, to meet my old friend Hakki Pasha, who was one of the Turkish
+members of the Tribunal, and together we went on to The Hague.
+
+A word about the origin of the Peace Palace may not prove tedious.
+Shortly after the close of the first Hague Conference in 1899 the late
+Professor Martens, distinguished Russian international jurist, had a
+talk with our ambassador at Berlin, Andrew D. White, who had been
+chairman of the American delegation at that conference. Together they
+discussed the desirability of a building at The Hague which should serve
+as a "palace of justice" for the Permanent Court and as a place of
+meetings for international conferences. Subsequently Ambassador White
+presented the idea to Andrew Carnegie, and Carnegie invited him to come
+to Skibo to discuss it. Ambassador White records in his "Autobiography":
+
+     The original idea had developed into something far greater. The
+     Peace Palace at The Hague began to reappear in a new glory--as a
+     pledge and sign of a better future for the world. Then there came
+     from Carnegie the words which assured his great gift to the
+     nations--the creation of a center as a symbol of a world's desire
+     for peace and of good will to man.
+
+The programme for the dedication was in keeping with the occasion. The
+city itself was decorated with festive drapery and floral arches. It was
+a beautiful day and great crowds of people had gathered. The great
+conference hall and the galleries of the Palace were filled with
+representatives of the nations: the diplomatic corps; about forty
+members of the Permanent Court; members of the States General of
+Holland; the Queen; Prince Henry; the Queen Mother, and many ladies;
+altogether an imposing assembly.
+
+The ceremony opened with the singing of anthems by the choir from
+Amsterdam. An historical address was made by the former Minister of
+Foreign Affairs, Jonkheer van Karnebeek, president of the Carnegie
+Building Foundation. His son, by the way, is Minister of Foreign Affairs
+at this writing and was Holland's chief representative at the Washington
+Conference of 1921. Mr. Van Swinderen, the retiring Minister of Foreign
+Affairs, made the address accepting the custody of the building.
+
+In the evening a banquet to Mr. Carnegie was given in the Hall of
+Knights at Binnenhof by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the name of
+the Government, to which were invited the nobility and all the high
+officials who had attended the ceremony, and who thereafter were
+received in audience by the Queen at the Royal Palace.
+
+The greatest possible distinction was shown to both Mr. and Mrs.
+Carnegie, who were brimming over with gratification. Well known as
+Carnegie was as one of the greatest captains of industry, he is even
+better known, and will be longer remembered throughout the world, by the
+extent of his benefactions, in the distribution of which he found his
+supreme happiness in the last two decades of his life.
+
+When the World War began, the cartoonists made much sport of the Peace
+Palace as the outstanding embodiment of the irony of fate, and with the
+peace advocates for the failure of their vision. But evidence is not
+entirely lacking that the peace advocates may yet be able to turn the
+laugh on the cartoonists. Some of the most constructive features of the
+League of Nations were formulated by commissions working under the roof
+of the Peace Palace. The International Court of Justice, organized
+under the provisions of the covenant of the League of Nations, has its
+seat within the Palace and will soon be ready to commence its
+constructive work. The Palace is a contribution whose worth to
+civilization can hardly be measured in a single generation.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the fall of that year we returned to New York, but only for a few
+months. When Kermit Roosevelt became engaged to Miss Willard, charming
+daughter of our ambassador to Spain, my wife promised him that unless we
+were unavoidably prevented, we should be present at his marriage in
+Madrid early in the following June. We had become very much attached to
+our young friend, whom we got to know so well during his stay with us at
+Constantinople.
+
+On May 19, 1914, we returned to Europe on the S.S. Lusitania. On board
+we were agreeably surprised to find our long-time friend, Mrs. T. J.
+Preston, Jr., formerly Mrs. Grover Cleveland, seated at our table in the
+dining-saloon. She was traveling alone and was to meet her husband and
+daughter in London. Naturally we spoke of Cleveland and of his qualities
+as they had revealed themselves to her and to his more intimate friends.
+When a man is President and always in the limelight, people get a
+perverted impression of him, a fact true more or less since Washington's
+day, but perhaps to a greater degree in the case of Cleveland. Mrs.
+Preston referred to many incidents that illustrated his gentleness and
+consideration, and she gave credit to his advice and guidance for much
+of the tact she displayed as mistress of the White House, for she was
+scarcely out of her teens when she occupied that important post.
+
+In London I received a letter from Roosevelt saying he would meet us in
+Paris on June 7th, and suggesting that I keep in touch with our embassy
+there. Miss Catherine Page also was going to the wedding to be one of
+the bridesmaids, and Ambassador Page asked us to take her with us, which
+of course we were glad to do.
+
+We stayed in London for several days, and soon after our arrival, there
+was a young people's dance at the embassy to which the ambassador asked
+us to come if only for a short stay. There we met Mr. and Mrs. Rudyard
+Kipling. In the course of a pleasant chat, I asked Kipling in what work
+he was then engaged.
+
+Kipling pointed to the next room at the dancing, and said: "Sitting up
+late nights as I have a daughter in society, which is my principal
+occupation at present."
+
+I spent an evening with Israel Zangwill, during which he unfolded to me
+a plan he was formulating to call a conference of representative Jews
+from various countries to form a central committee which was to be more
+internationally representative than the Alliance Israélite of Paris,
+which is in reality dominantly French and therefore does not represent
+the world of Israel in an international sense. Such a body was to
+protect, defend, and plead for the cause of the Jews wherever necessary
+and to speak in behalf of the Jewry of the world. He said he had talked
+it over with his colleagues and they wanted me to take the presidency of
+such a body because of my experience in statesmanship and world
+diplomacy. I took care not to discourage him, but told him I should have
+to consider the matter, because with me personality sank out of sight
+when an important cause was to be carried forward.
+
+When we arrived in Paris, a note awaited us from Ambassador Herrick
+asking us to come to the embassy, and informing us that Roosevelt was
+there. When I arrived I found Roosevelt in the smoking-room engaged in
+an animated conversation with ex-Premier Hanotaux regarding the physical
+characteristics of the races of Europe, in which Henri Bergson also
+participated, and to which the sculptor Rodin appeared to be a bored
+listener. Roosevelt was talking French, and when he could not find the
+word he wanted, he used an English term for which Bergson would then
+give him the French equivalent.
+
+The next day our party left for Madrid--Roosevelt, his daughter Alice,
+their cousin Philip, son of William Emlen Roosevelt, Miss Page, Mrs.
+Straus, and myself. We were a jolly party.
+
+Roosevelt and I, of course, talked politics, especially the future of
+the Progressive Party. The State campaign for Governor and United States
+Senator was being discussed when Roosevelt left home, and he had given
+out an interview before sailing regarding the sort of men that should be
+chosen, in which he had kindly referred to me as the standard of nominee
+for Senator. The press had commented extensively and favorably upon such
+a choice and there had appeared many articles and editorials giving
+consideration to my name. Roosevelt had, of course, referred to me only
+as the type of man to be chosen, and believed that if the nominee for
+Governor were chosen from New York City, it might be well to choose the
+candidate for Senator from up-State. I told him I had no personal vanity
+in the matter, that what we wanted was the candidates that would best
+embody the cause. He answered that he knew me well enough for that, but
+that every one agreed that next to him I was the most prominent
+Progressive, and in New York State even stronger than he, as shown by
+the election of 1912. Of course I did not agree with this generous
+statement, which was another proof that figures do sometimes lie.
+
+He expressed the hope that the Progressives and the liberal wing of the
+Republicans might unite. He lamented the difficulties for the party in
+the coming election, and said he was reluctant to enter the campaign,
+but, he added: "I must stand by the men who stood by me." If Johnson was
+again to be the candidate of the party for Governor of California and
+needed his help, he would have to go there, though he could not overtax
+his throat, which had been weakened by his fever in the jungles of
+Brazil. He said if that fever had overtaken him two weeks earlier, he
+would not have pulled through; as it was, he had had a narrow escape.
+
+At Irun, the Spanish border, King Alphonso's private car was hitched on
+to our train. From there on to the King's summer palace, where he left
+the train, a small guard of honor was drawn up at every stopping-place
+and the chief officials of the district came to pay their respects to
+their sovereign. The King was only twenty-eight years old, but was
+generally conceded to be a man of ability, with enlightened views, and
+highly regarded by his subjects. However, among the random notes that I
+made at the end of this visit to Spain, I wrote:
+
+     I very much doubt if monarchy will last another score of years in
+     Spain unless the King takes a lesson from Great Britain and is
+     content to have Parliament govern the country. The democratic
+     spirit is rapidly growing, but I very much doubt if the people with
+     their long traditions of monarchical government, will be prepared
+     for many years for a democratic form of government.
+
+The most powerful man in Parliament, though out of the Ministry at the
+time, was the late Premier Maurer. The Conservatives were in power, but
+their tenure was precarious. It was said that Maurer's ancestors several
+generations ago were Jews, which is also true of several members of the
+nobility, whose ancestors were converted during the period of the
+Inquisition.
+
+Our ambassador and his staff of secretaries were at the station in
+Madrid to meet us. The Roosevelts went to the embassy and we went to the
+Ritz Hotel. At eleven o'clock on the morning of June 10th, the civil
+marriage took place in the Prefecture of Police before a district judge.
+It was a simple proceeding, attended only by the immediate family and a
+few intimate friends, perhaps a dozen in all. The ceremony was read from
+a book in which was included the marriage contract. The bride and groom
+and four witnesses then signed the contract, the witnesses on this
+occasion being the father of the bride, the father of the groom, and two
+Spanish noblemen.
+
+The following day at high noon the religious ceremony was performed in
+the chapel of the British embassy. There were about seventy-five persons
+present: the diplomatic corps, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and
+several other Spanish officials, and some friends. After the ceremony,
+there was a wedding breakfast at the embassy. The Roosevelts left that
+same evening for Paris, and I did not see them again in Europe.
+
+This was our second visit to Spain. In 1897 my wife and I had been there
+for about a week, and many of the men with whom we had spent pleasant
+hours at that time were now no longer living. Chief among these were Sir
+Henry Drummond Wolff and Signor Castelar. Sir Henry, who was British
+ambassador to Spain at the time, I had not seen since he was special
+envoy to Turkey in 1888, and I remember how delighted he was to see us
+again and how very much at home he made us feel. We also met Lady Wolff
+then, who, however, was not well. She told us of some of her experiences
+in Persia; also that Sir Henry was very ill there, having been poisoned
+at a dinner given by the Shah.
+
+Another colleague of my first Turkish mission whom I had found at Madrid
+in 1897 was Herr von Radowitz, German ambassador. He invited us to dine
+one evening at the embassy, and after dinner showed us the throne room
+in which hung a picture of the Kaiser. Radowitz explained that it was
+painted by a friend of the Emperor, "somewhat theatrical, you see, but
+he is fond of appearing grandiose." He started to tell me how he came
+into possession of the painting, that he had told the Emperor that the
+embassy had no likeness of him, but he corrected himself by saying: "No,
+I did not ask for the picture, my wife did." He displayed rather a
+slighting estimate of his sovereign. The fact was that he was a protégé
+of Bismarck, and after the latter's retirement Radowitz was transferred
+from Constantinople to Madrid, which was regarded in the nature of a
+demotion, and that perhaps largely accounted for his attitude.
+
+As we conversed after dinner, Radowitz made the remark that in 1878 he
+was one of the secretaries to the Berlin Congress and that there he met
+Disraeli. Disraeli always made specially prepared speeches in English,
+which Radowitz took down in French. Then Disraeli would compliment him
+and say, "Did I really speak in this nice way or did you only write me
+down so elegantly?" When Radowitz replied, "Yes, this is what you said,"
+Disraeli would say, "So let it stand."
+
+This led me to draw out Sir Henry, who was also present, regarding
+Disraeli. He had known Disraeli very well. He told me that at the age of
+twelve he had met Disraeli and had always had access to him. I asked Sir
+Henry whether he had not kept a diary. He said he had not, but wished
+that he had. "Dizzy," he said, was not a compromiser; if he had
+opponents, he recognized them as such and never sought to placate them.
+When he first entered Parliament he was a brilliant, flowery speaker, so
+much so that his party, the Conservative, was afraid of him. Afterward,
+when he became a member of the Ministry, he had trained himself down to
+a rather prosy level, yet now and again his speech would glow with
+brilliant passages excoriating his opponent. He was quick at repartee
+and often held up the other side to ridicule in telling metaphor.
+
+I asked Sir Henry about Dizzy's loyalty to Judaism. He said Dizzy never
+denied it, holding up especially the race idea. I remarked that in
+reading such of Disraeli's novels as "Coningsby" and "Tancred," and in
+the Proceedings of the Berlin Congress, I was impressed with his race
+loyalty and his purpose to secure equal political rights for the
+oppressed members of his race in the newly constituted Balkan States.
+
+Sir Henry answered me: "I don't recall the novels, but what you say was
+true, although of course his loyalty was to England first. Dizzy's idea
+was that the race should amalgamate."
+
+I wanted to know whether he recollected when Disraeli's novels first
+came out. He said he remembered all but "Vivian Grey," which Dizzy wrote
+when he was quite young. He added that Disraeli's writings made him
+quite a lion among the literary set, but did not help him politically.
+He wanted to count among the best socially, and ever pointed his
+political guns toward that target.
+
+When I asked Sir Henry about Disraeli's personal appearance, he said:
+"Lord Dufferin (Frederic Blackwood) looked very much like him; so much
+so that he might have been taken for Disraeli's son. Dizzy and Mrs.
+Blackwood were said to be very good friends. He met her on many of his
+frequent visits to the home of Lady Blessington, during the period when
+he was beginning to gain popularity."
+
+Sir Henry had been rather critical of Disraeli, but he ended by saying:
+"Taking Dizzy all in all, he was the greatest English statesman I have
+ever known." And to me Disraeli had always been a fascinating subject,
+so much so, indeed, that at one time I had the intention to write a
+biography of him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With Emilio Castelar I had come into correspondence following the
+publication of the French edition of my "Origin of the Republican Form
+of Government in the United States," in which he was much interested. He
+expressed the hope that the next time I came to Europe we might meet,
+and when I came to Madrid, Mr. Reed, for many years secretary of our
+legation there, made an appointment for me, and accompanied Mrs. Straus
+and me to his home.
+
+He was a short, rather stout man of sixty-five, bald, with dark skin and
+sparkling brown eyes, and a gray moustache. He was a bachelor. We spoke
+French, and though it was an ordinary conversation he was quite
+oratorical. He said he was a republican and believed thoroughly in
+conservative republicanism such as we had in the United States, but that
+Spain was not ripe for republicanism, and that he had parted company
+with the Spanish republicans because he could not endure their
+principles; they were ready to pull down, but not to build up; they were
+anarchists, and not republicans.
+
+He presented Mrs. Straus with his photograph, and when she asked him to
+autograph it, he returned to his study and wrote in Spanish on the back
+of it a charming sentiment regarding us and our country. He was anxious
+to have us come and take Spanish dinner with him, but unfortunately we
+were leaving that evening for Seville.
+
+I was interested in some articles Castelar had written for the "Century
+Magazine" in 1892-93 regarding Columbus, and especially in those of the
+articles in which he referred to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. I
+asked him whether he had finished the work, and he told me he had
+brought it out complete in book form in Spanish, in which he had dwelt
+more fully on the Jewish expulsion and had published a number of facts
+from original research made for the work, though not by himself. He went
+to his study to give me a copy of the book, but found that he had none
+on hand. He promised to send me one in a few days through Mr. Reed,
+which he did.
+
+The expulsion of the Spanish Jews was of great interest to me, and on
+this second visit to Madrid I took advantage of the opportunity to see
+some of the historical relics from that period. I got in touch with Dr.
+Angel Pulido, life senator of Spain, and together with Professor A. S.
+Yahuda, we visited the historic city of Toledo, about two and a half
+hours by rail out of Madrid. Dr. Pulido had for years advocated measures
+to induce Jews to return to Spain, especially those who still retained
+the Spanish language, as do many in Turkey and nearly all those in
+Morocco who are the descendants of those driven out of Spain.
+
+Toledo is one of the most ancient cities of Spain. It was once the
+residence of the kings of Castile, and under the Moors had a population
+of some two hundred thousand, of whom seventy-five thousand were
+estimated to have been Jews. The population now is about twenty
+thousand, and the city is but the bedraggled remains of its former
+grandeur. In its ancient glory it was noted for its silk and woolen
+industries and for the manufacture of the famous Toledo steel from which
+were made swords and other weapons that rivaled those of Damascus; and
+it was the home of a number of Jewish scholars and noted men, Eben Ezra
+(1119-74), for instance.
+
+There are two old synagogues in the city which I was anxious to see. One
+was erected at the end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth
+century, and was converted into a church in 1405. It is called Santa
+Maria la Blanca. Its architecture is of the best Moorish style; the
+interior has twenty-eight horseshoe arches borne by thirty-two octagonal
+piers, and the elaborate capitals are ornamented with pine cones.
+
+In the same district, near by, is the Sinagoga del Transito, of similar
+style, erected about 1360. It was built at the expense of one Samuel
+Levy, treasurer of Peter the Cruel, who was afterward executed by order
+of his king. The walls of the interior were decorated with Hebrew
+writing, mainly passages from the Psalms. In 1492 this synagogue was
+turned over to the Calatrava Order of Knights, and many members of this
+order lie buried in the body of the building. Later the synagogue was
+consecrated to the death of the virgin.
+
+Near these synagogues also was the Casa del Greco (House of the Greek),
+so called because the famous Greek painter, Dominico Theotocopuli,
+forerunner of the impressionists, lived there. Among his pictures is a
+large one of an "auto da fé" which took place in the main square of the
+city, and the square when I saw it still looked much the same as in the
+painting. The picture shows the balconies of the houses surrounding the
+square filled with eager and gay spectators who had come to witness and
+enjoy the burning of Jewish heretics. They must have assembled in about
+the same spirit as fashionable people of a later day came to the bull
+fights. In the picture the procession is entering the enclosure where
+are seated the members of the Holy Office, or inquisitors, at whose side
+stand the officers holding torches with which to light the pyre on which
+the condemned victims were bound. As I gazed at the square, I could
+graphically visualize the scene portrayed in the picture. Such cruelty
+and perversion inevitably presaged the spiritual as well as the material
+decadence of the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By the courtesy of Senator Pulido, I met and had several conferences
+with the Marqués de Dosfuentes, who several years before, as Fernando de
+Antón del Olmet, had written an article entitled "La verdadera patrio de
+Cristóbal Colón," which was published in "La España Moderna," a leading
+monthly of Spain.
+
+I was very much interested in the data that several of the historians of
+Spain had unearthed regarding the ancestry and place of origin of
+Columbus. The article by the Marquis just mentioned was based on the
+research made by Celso Garcia de la Riega, and both Olmet and Riega came
+to the conclusion, based upon their examination of records, that
+Columbus was not an Italian, but a Spaniard, and that he was born in
+Pontevedra, Galicia, in the northern part of Spain; that his father's
+name was Colón (the Spanish for Columbus), and his mother's name
+Fonterosa; and that he was of Jewish ancestry.
+
+In his article Olmet says, after going into detail regarding the
+nationality of Columbus according to the documents which he was able to
+examine:
+
+     Nothing seems more logical than the preceding reasoning, and,
+     moreover, this is the simplest method of explaining that the
+     Admiral's parents were a Colón and a Fonterosa, which gives us a
+     clue to the mystery of his life. From the document under notice it
+     is to be inferred that Domingo de Colón named was a modest trader.
+     If the admiral was his son, it would not be absurd to suppose that,
+     given the social prejudices of the times, this should have been a
+     sufficient motive for hiding his origin and country. But there is
+     still another reason that fully justifies his secrecy and clears up
+     all mystery. The patronymic "Fonterosa" appears in the Province of
+     Pontevedra connected with the names of Jacob the elder, another
+     Jacob, and Benjamin; Colón's mother was called Susana. "If the
+     admiral belonged to this family, doubtless Jewish," says Sg. La
+     Riega, "since we may draw this inference from the Biblical names,
+     or if he belonged to a family of new Christians, should we not
+     forgive his action in the matter and declare him fully justified in
+     his resolution not to reveal such antecedents? We must bear in mind
+     the then existing hatred toward the Hebrew race and the merciless
+     fury let loose against it in the latter half of the fifteenth
+     century."
+
+In another part of the article Olmet says:
+
+     Colón never mentioned any relative, paternal or maternal. Even when
+     Colón was at the zenith of his fame no one in Italy came forward to
+     claim relationship with him, although he was the most famous
+     personage of that time. Thus everything goes to corroborate Don
+     Fernando Colón's affirmation in his "Life of the Admiral" that his
+     father wished his origin and birthplace to remain unknown.
+
+The research of La Riega was continued to 1914 and published in that
+year. The author died early in the year, shortly before I arrived in
+Madrid. Other Spanish historians also have published conclusions similar
+to those of La Riega. There was, for instance, a brochure by Enrique de
+Arribas y Turull, entitled "Cristóbal Colón, Natural de Pontevedra,"
+which was originally delivered as a lecture before the Madrid Historical
+Society. This also sums up, in nineteen points, the reasons for the
+conclusion that Columbus was a Spaniard, and of Jewish ancestry.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE WORLD WAR
+
+     Paris throbs with the _Marseillaise_--A British railway conductor
+     refuses a five-pound note--Americans panic-stricken in London--A
+     special committee to aid Americans in Europe--The embassy
+     committee--Mr. and Mrs. Herbert C. Hoover--Impressions of Earl Grey
+     and Waldorf Astor--England's "White Paper" is issued--Sir Edward
+     Grey--Russian autocracy's effect on Allied cause--I am urged to
+     state British views to American newspapers--We return home--James
+     Speyer gives a dinner--I broach the subject of mediation to
+     Bernstorff--A flying trip to Washington; mediation interviews with
+     Bryan, Spring-Rice, and Jusserand--A letter from Earl
+     Grey--Germany's insincerity is exposed--New Year messages to
+     warring nations--Roosevelt's warnings--An effort to persuade
+     President Wilson to confer with ex-Presidents--Prominent Jews of
+     German origin condemn Germany's attitude--America enters war--Final
+     visits with Theodore Roosevelt--His death--Pilgrims to Sagamore
+     Hill.
+
+
+Touring through Normandy late in July, 1914, we met some friends who had
+just come from Paris who told us that war was imminent and from best
+reports would break out within a very few days. Accordingly we hurried
+to Paris and in the course of twenty-four hours the whole aspect of the
+city had changed. From the windows of our hotel on the Place Vendôme and
+on the principal boulevards of the city we saw youths of military age
+marching to headquarters. The air throbbed with the _Marseillaise_.
+Everywhere there were crowds, but they were neither boisterous nor
+hilarious. Everywhere there was an air of tension and determination,
+vastly unlike the usual mood of jovial, happy Paris.
+
+Starting at once for London, we found the trains so overcrowded that it
+was impossible to get accommodations, so we motored to Dieppe and
+reached there in time to take the boat that left at three o'clock in the
+morning for Newhaven. The ordinary capacity of the boat was five hundred
+passengers, but it was packed from stem to stern with some two thousand
+persons on this voyage, mainly Americans. The Calais-Dover crossing of
+the Channel had already been suspended.
+
+On board the train from Newhaven to London, a curious incident occurred
+that indicated the derangement of things. I had four fares to pay,
+amounting to about three pounds. I handed the conductor a five-pound
+Bank of England note. He took it, but shortly returned with it, saying
+he could accept nothing but gold. I expostulated with him, told him I
+had no gold, and since a bank note was valid tender I insisted upon its
+acceptance. But the upshot was that he preferred to take my card with my
+London address!
+
+It would appear that my credit at that moment was better than that of
+the Bank of England.
+
+We arrived in London on Sunday, August 2d. At the Hyde Park Hotel, to
+which we went, a typewritten notice was posted announcing a meeting on
+the following day at the Waldorf Hotel on the Strand. The persons who
+signed the notice were unknown to me, and at first I was inclined to pay
+no attention to it. However, I did go, and found gathered inside and in
+front of the hotel several thousand stranded Americans. The main hall
+and all approaches to it were packed. Several persons in the crowd
+recognized me and made a passageway so that I could get into the room
+where the meeting was being held. Upon my entrance I was lifted upon a
+table that served as a platform, and was asked to speak. I made a short
+address to the panic-stricken assembly, assured them they had nothing to
+fear and were as safe in London as if they were in New York, and that
+our committee would remain with them and help them get suitable
+transportation as early as practicable. There was loud cheering and my
+words seemed to have a comforting effect.
+
+Immediately thereafter a group of us came together and organized a
+special committee for the aid of Americans in Europe. There were
+Frederick I. Kent, one of the vice-presidents of the Bankers' Trust
+Company; W. N. Duane, another vice-president of the Bankers' Trust
+Company; Theodore Hetzler, a vice-president of the Fifth Avenue Bank;
+Joseph P. Day, a prominent real estate auctioneer of New York City;
+William C. Breed, an officer of the Merchants' Association; Chandler P.
+Anderson and James Byrne, prominent American lawyers, several others,
+and myself. We arranged for headquarters at the Hotel Savoy, where
+several of the largest salons were placed at our disposal so that we had
+room for the various departments that needed to be formed to attend to
+the wants of the many terrified Americans who were pouring into London
+from all over the Continent. Mr. Hetzler was chairman of the general
+committee, Mr. Duane secretary, and Robert W. DeForest, vice-president
+of the American Red Cross, was member _ex-officio_. I was made chairman
+of the embassy committee of which Ambassador Page was honorary chairman,
+and the American ambassadors to France, Germany, Austria, and the
+ministers to Holland and Belgium were made advisory members. We found
+many willing helpers, including a number of professors from American
+universities and other public-spirited men and women.
+
+The necessary sub-committees were speedily formed: Mr. Day was made
+chairman of the transportation committee and got in touch with the
+managers of all the transatlantic steamship companies. Mr. Kent was
+chairman of the finance committee, and through his banking connections
+was able to get a limited amount of gold to advance to those who could
+not convert their foreign money, notwithstanding the moratorium that had
+been declared which made it impossible for several days to get ready
+money; foreign bills were not being accepted by the banks. With the
+declaration of the moratorium we at once called a meeting of the
+managers of the hotels where most of the Americans were stopping, and
+without exception these men were very accommodating. They agreed not to
+require payment from their American guests for the time being, and as
+far as possible to advance them a little money to meet their immediate
+requirements.
+
+Our embassy was crowded from morning to night with hundreds of citizens,
+most of whom wanted to make application for passports, for the steamship
+companies required the exhibition of passports before arranging for
+transportation. The rooms at the embassy were not large enough to
+accommodate the crowds that filled them, so we transferred the passport
+division to the Hotel Savoy, and Ambassador Page assigned to me several
+clerks to facilitate the handling of our business. I am sorry to say
+there was a tendency on the part of many American travelers to find
+fault with our ambassador and the embassy. This was not at all
+justified, and I took every occasion to assure them that the ambassador
+was doing all in his power with his limited staff, and that our
+committee had his fullest coöperation and was getting his aid in every
+possible way. I consulted with Ambassador Page almost every day, and
+together we planned for arranging for money and the many other
+requirements of our citizens.
+
+In those first hectic days, some of us worked all day and far into the
+night, or rather into the next morning. Many British friends who visited
+our rooms marveled at the promptness and efficiency with which we
+dispatched business under the circumstances, and were solicitous for
+the health of "the unofficial ambassador," as I was being called, and
+his staff.
+
+After the committee had been going a few days, it secured the
+coöperation of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert C. Hoover. He was chairman of an
+American benevolent society, of the woman's committee of which Mrs.
+Hoover was at the head. As the members of our relief committee returned
+home, the work was by degrees turned over to Mr. and Mrs. Hoover and
+their associates, until by August 27th we put all of the remaining work
+and funds into the hands of their society.
+
+One day Earl Grey paid me a visit at our headquarters, and with him was
+Mrs. Waldorf Astor, now Viscountess Astor, who reminded me that "all
+work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and insisted that Mrs. Straus
+and I spend the week-end at Cliveden, their residence, a short distance
+by rail out of London. Other guests were Earl Grey, Geoffrey Robinson,
+editor of the London "Times," and several others connected with the
+editorship of "The Round Table," a political quarterly.
+
+Mr. Waldorf Astor was an earnest, modest young man, then about
+thirty-four years old, unspoiled by his enormous wealth. On the
+contrary, he was and still is devoting much of his wealth as well as his
+parliamentary activities to philanthropic work, including the treatment
+and prevention of tuberculosis, and in this connection had been in touch
+with my brother Nathan in regard to milk pasteurization.
+
+There were several subsequent week-ends at Cliveden. On one of these
+visits, a dozen or more young men were there, members of England's
+foremost families. They enjoyed themselves at tennis and other games and
+on Monday were to join the colors. It is sad to record that most of
+these fine fellows, with the exception of two or three, were killed or
+seriously wounded within the next few months.
+
+When England entered the war, the diplomatic correspondence was
+published in what was called the British "White Paper." Sir Edward Grey,
+now Viscount Grey, had made a speech in Parliament, of which I read the
+published version in this "White Paper." It happened that on that very
+day Earl Grey, cousin to Sir Edward, was lunching with me at my hotel,
+and I took the occasion to point out to him the necessity of making
+clear, especially for the American public, that the reason England had
+joined the Allies was not only on Belgium's account, but to uphold the
+sanctity of international obligations. This concerned not alone the
+belligerent nations, but all the nations. Without the sanctity of
+international obligations the war, no matter how it ended, would cause a
+reversion to a state of international barbarity. Earl Grey suggested
+that I discuss the subject with his cousin, and arranged for a meeting.
+A few days later we three sat down to a simple and informal luncheon at
+Earl Grey's home on South Street, in Park Lane.
+
+Sir Edward Grey spoke earnestly and frankly. He felt the great
+responsibility of the decision that brought England into the war, and
+said he had often asked himself whether he could have done otherwise.
+There was nothing chauvinistic in either his attitude or his arguments.
+It was plain that he had weighed the entire issue carefully. His
+open-mindedness, his simplicity and straightforwardness of manner, his
+great ability and humanitarian zeal, impressed me very much.
+
+I called his attention to the importance of having Russia grant civil
+and religious rights to her subject nationalities; the failure of such
+action would weaken the moral cause of the Allies, and also from an
+American point of view it was important that Russia give some evidence
+of a liberal spirit, otherwise it might be feared that victory for the
+Allies would redound mainly to the advantage of autocracy in Russia. I
+contended that it was not a question of humanity, but plain state
+policy, and that it was important that the Governments of Great Britain
+and France bring Russia, as their ally, into line. I had received
+several cables from prominent men in New York and Boston who had thus
+expressed the American point of view.
+
+The conversation ran on for an hour and a half in a very informal way.
+Earl Grey then made the suggestion, in accordance with my remarks of a
+few days before about the necessity of making clear England's position
+in entering the war, that I give out an interview to the American press
+covering the substance of our conversation. I demurred. Naturally I
+hesitated to state publicly the delicate and critical questions that the
+British Minister of Foreign Affairs had so frankly discussed with me.
+However, Sir Edward himself said he would appreciate my doing so, for he
+had perfect confidence in my doing it without embarrassment to his
+country. I therefore agreed to it, with the proviso that he approve the
+interview before it was released for publication.
+
+I got in touch with the representatives of the American papers in London
+and that evening gave out the interview. The next morning I sent a copy
+to Sir Edward, who returned it to me without a single change, saying he
+approved both its form and content. The matter was then cabled to
+America, published in our leading papers on August 15th, and cabled back
+for republication in the British papers.
+
+Thereafter the London papers came to me for further interviews, and in a
+subsequent statement I dwelt more specifically on the importance of
+Russia's fair treatment of her subject nationalities, particularly the
+Jews, who had suffered most. The press representatives asked whether
+they might show my interview to Lord Weardale and if possible get his
+comment, to which I gladly consented.
+
+Lord Weardale had been head of the Parliamentary deputation that visited
+Russia the year before and had an intimate knowledge of Russian
+conditions. He told me later that he had already written the Russian
+Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sazonoff, along the identical lines of my
+interview. He supplemented what I had stated, with an interview, saying,
+among other things:
+
+     It would be an immense step in the path of progress of Russia
+     herself and would create a profound sentiment of satisfaction in
+     the civilized world if the Tsar at such a juncture were to give
+     emphatic endorsement to his already declared intention to give full
+     religious liberty to all his peoples. It is not enough to be
+     powerful in the battlefield; it is even more important to conquer
+     the approval of the human conscience.
+
+The Government and people of Great Britain were very solicitous at that
+time regarding public opinion in America and the probable attitude of
+our Government. In many quarters there was a feeling of uncertainty and
+even of misgiving toward the statement by President Wilson respecting an
+offer of mediation at the opportune moment, in accordance with the
+provisions of the Hague Treaty. Because of this and other
+considerations, Sir Edward Grey and others recognized the importance of
+having Russia give evidence of a more enlightened spirit.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We left London at the end of August, and upon arrival home went up to
+Hartsdale, a short distance out of New York, to visit with our son. A
+few days afterward Mr. James Speyer, whose summer home was but a few
+miles distant, at Scarboro, telephoned, inviting Mrs. Straus and myself
+to dine with him. Mrs. Speyer had not returned from abroad; the guests
+were Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Vanderlip and Count von Bernstorff. As Mrs.
+Straus was rather worn out by her London experience, I went alone. There
+were several other neighbors, Mr. Frank H. Platt and Mr. Frank Trumbull
+and perhaps one other, about eight of us, of whom Mrs. Vanderlip was the
+only lady.
+
+Bernstorff I had known for a number of years. I had first met him in
+1888 when I was on my first mission to Turkey and he was attaché of the
+German embassy. Later he came to Washington as ambassador when I was in
+the Cabinet, and we met frequently there.
+
+The conversation at dinner was general, although it was inevitable that
+we discuss the war. Bernstorff voiced the usual claim of the Germans,
+that they did not want war, and that the Kaiser and the German
+Government stood for peace. When he had dilated upon that theme I asked
+him:
+
+"Is that the present sentiment and attitude of your country?"
+
+He replied that it certainly was when he left Berlin only two weeks
+before, on returning to America from his leave of absence.
+
+Knowing how anxious President Wilson was to use any proper opportunity
+that might present itself for ending the war, I asked Bernstorff whether
+his Government would entertain a proposition for mediation.
+
+He answered me promptly: "Speaking for myself, I certainly would
+entertain such a proposition." But he added that he could not speak
+officially, since cable communication with his Government had been cut
+off for a week or more.
+
+I asked him whether in his opinion his Government would give favorable
+consideration to such a proposal. He said that before leaving Berlin he
+had discussed with the Chancellor the possibility of mediation,
+following the report of President Wilson's statement that he was ready
+to offer his services as mediator to both parties, and the Chancellor
+had said that the war had but begun and it was too early to instruct
+regarding mediation until the offer was presented. On my questioning him
+further, the ambassador said his personal opinion was that his
+Government would accept an offer of mediation. I remarked that I could
+not but regard his statement as significant, and asked him if I might
+use it in such a manner as I saw fit. He replied that he had no
+objection.
+
+As we rose from the table, I made sure of my understanding of his
+statements, and then the thought occurred to me that the best thing to
+do was to report the conversation to Secretary of State Bryan, so that
+he might, if he saw fit, bring it before the President. I so informed
+Bernstorff, and again he told me he had no objection.
+
+I looked at my watch. It was ten-fifteen. I announced that I would go to
+Washington on the midnight train. My host suggested that I "sleep on it
+and don't hurry"; but I concluded that if there was anything I could do
+to shorten the war by even a few hours I would have to charge myself
+with neglect of duty if on account of personal convenience I had
+refrained from doing so. The next day was Sunday; the day after was
+Labor Day; and all the while thousands were falling on the battlefield.
+Several of the guests agreed with my decision, so I bade them
+good-night, called my motor, and caught the midnight train for
+Washington.
+
+Sunday morning I telephoned to Mr. Bryan at once and made an appointment
+to meet him at his home. I repeated my conversation with Bernstorff
+precisely as it had occurred, and Bryan believed, as I did, that it
+might pave the way to mediation. I suggested that he have the German
+ambassador come to Washington and speak with him. He communicated with
+the German embassy, and Bernstorff arrived the following morning.
+
+Bryan presented the subject to the President, who expressed himself as
+pleased with the possibility of a favorable outcome. The Secretary
+advised me to have a conference with the British ambassador, Sir Cecil
+Spring-Rice, and with the French ambassador, M. Jusserand. He had
+already informed them what had taken place and of my presence in
+Washington. Sir Cecil asked whether I would kindly come to the embassy,
+and I replied I would do so, and suggested that he arrange to have the
+French ambassador also present. This he did.
+
+When I reached the embassy, M. Jusserand had not yet arrived, and Sir
+Cecil and I indulged in reminiscences. He too had been in Constantinople
+during my first mission, as secretary of the British embassy. Soon we
+were joined by M. Jusserand, whom also I had known well for many years,
+for he had been in Washington since 1902, and I had seen much of him
+during my Cabinet days.
+
+When we took up the proposal regarding which we had come together, both
+of these gentlemen agreed that it was deserving of serious attention,
+but Sir Cecil had little confidence in Bernstorff, who had been his
+colleague at Cairo, where they had represented their respective
+Governments. He asked whether I thought an ambassador would make such a
+statement as Bernstorff's without authority from his Government. I
+replied that both he and M. Jusserand were better qualified to answer
+that question, upon which M. Jusserand said that he knew that no
+ambassador under the German system would dare make such remarks without
+previous authority from his Government.
+
+"That is so much the better," I commented.
+
+Sir Cecil declared that German diplomacy was peculiar and that the
+Foreign Office had no conscience in disavowing statements by its
+ambassadors if it suited Germany's purpose.
+
+After we had gone over the whole subject, both ambassadors stated that
+if it held one chance in a hundred of shortening the war, it was their
+duty to entertain it. I replied that I hoped they would entertain it
+cordially.
+
+Jusserand in his usual happy manner said, "'Cordially,' that is a little
+too strong."
+
+"Well, sympathetically, then," I said.
+
+"Yes, sympathetically, yes." And with that we parted, both ambassadors
+expressing their thanks and appreciation of my services.
+
+I had been scrupulously careful to be absolutely accurate in all my
+statements, and it was therefore gratifying, after the Bryan-Bernstorff
+conference, to have the Secretary tell me that the ambassador's report
+of the Scarboro incident was in every detail in accord with mine, and to
+have the ambassador also confirm the correctness of Mr. Bryan's
+understanding from my report. Naturally I was anxious to avoid
+misunderstandings or misconceptions of any kind. The issue was too
+important.
+
+Both Secretary Bryan and Ambassador Bernstorff cabled to Berlin, and for
+the time the subject rested there. My remaining in Washington was
+unnecessary, and I returned to New York. But before leaving, I called by
+appointment at both the French and British embassies, which also had
+communicated events in detail to their Governments. Both ambassadors
+expressed their high appreciation for my services and hoped I would keep
+in close touch with them regarding the matter, both for their sake and
+for the sake of our respective Governments. I told them I would regard
+myself as "messenger boy" for mediation. Sir Cecil replied, "Ambassador
+extraordinary." He promised to keep me informed, and two days later
+wrote me:
+
+     I have not yet received any intimation from my Government, nor do I
+     expect one unless something definite is before them. But I need not
+     tell you how heartily my sympathy is with your humanitarian
+     efforts, and you know Grey well enough to be sure that, while
+     scrupulously faithful to all his engagements, he will do everything
+     possible in the cause of peace.
+
+Throughout these negotiations we took great care to keep the matter
+secret. Despite that fact it leaked out in some way, and the
+correspondent of the London "Times" reported it in such a way as to give
+the impression that I had been duped by the wily German ambassador; and
+there were one or two other papers which took that view. Sir Cecil
+Spring-Rice was incensed at this interpretation and wrote me on October
+3d:
+
+     I am sure no one who knows you and knows the facts would ever think
+     that you were either duped or the secret agent of Germany. I am
+     quite positive that Sir Edward Grey would never have such an idea.
+     What you did--and what I hope you will continue to do--is a work of
+     pure philanthropy.
+
+On October 15th he wrote me again on this subject, saying that when the
+London "Times" representative returned to Washington from New York, he
+would set him right as to the facts with a view to having the report
+corrected, and adding:
+
+     We used to say at school, "Blessed are the peace makers, for they
+     get more kicks than half-pence!" It represents a melancholy truth,
+     but, however, I am sure every well-thinking person must appreciate
+     your beneficent efforts.
+
+But in general the press of Great Britain expressed its appreciation of
+the services I had rendered in lifting the latch of the door to
+mediation.
+
+A letter from Sir Edward Grey concerning the negotiations sheds
+important light upon the British attitude:
+
+
+                                        FOREIGN OFFICE, LONDON, S.W.
+                                       _Saturday, 26 September, 1914_
+
+     DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     Thank you for your letter of the 9th. I am so busy that I have not
+     time to write at any length; but do not let that make you suppose
+     that I am out of sympathy with what you say.
+
+     First of all, however, we must save ourselves and the West of
+     Europe, before we can exercise any influence elsewhere. The
+     Prussian military caste has dominated Germany, and the whole of the
+     West of Europe is in danger of being dominated by it. The German
+     Government, in the hands of this military caste, prepared this war,
+     planned it, and chose the time for it. We know now that the war has
+     revealed how thoroughly the German preparations had been made
+     beforehand: with an organization and forethought which is
+     wonderful, and would have been admirable had it been devoted to a
+     praiseworthy purpose. Not one of the other nations now fighting
+     against Germany is prepared in the same way.
+
+     Now, we wish to have three things: Firstly, to secure our own
+     liberty as independent States, who will live and let live on equal
+     terms; secondly, the establishment somehow of a Germany not
+     dominated by a military caste; a nation who will look at liberty
+     and politics from the same point of view as we do, and who will
+     deal with us on equal terms and in good faith; thirdly, reparation
+     for the cruel wrongs done to Belgium; to get that is a matter of
+     honour and justice and right.
+
+     The statements made by Wolff's Bureau in Europe deny that Germany
+     is yet ready for peace. If she is ready for peace, then I think
+     that her ambassador in Washington ought not to beat about the
+     bush. He ought to make it clear to President Wilson that he is
+     authorized to speak on behalf of his Government; and state to the
+     President that Germany does wish to make peace. In that case,
+     President Wilson could approach all the others who are engaged in
+     this war and bring them into consultation with one another and with
+     him. But at present we have no indication that Germany wishes to
+     have peace, and no indication that she would agree to any terms
+     that would give reparation to Belgium and security to the rest of
+     Europe that the peace would be durable.
+
+                                 Yours very truly
+                                                       E. GREY
+
+The history of those negotiations is presented somewhat at length
+because my friend of many years, the late Ambassador Page, in his
+recently published letters also expressed the feeling that I had been
+used as a dupe to throw the blame for continuing the war upon Great
+Britain, though he expressed great confidence in me and friendship for
+me. I may say I was not unmindful of this contingency; but I felt that
+if the negotiations did not result as we hoped, they would serve to
+expose the insincerity of the German Government with regard to its peace
+professions. And this is precisely what happened, as the answer of the
+German Chancellor, received by the State Department on September 22d,
+confirms:
+
+     The Imperial Chancellor is much obliged for America's offer.
+     Germany did not want war, it was forced upon her. Even after we
+     shall have defeated France we shall still have to face England and
+     Russia. England, France, and Russia have signed a convention to
+     make peace solely in mutual agreement with each other. England,
+     that is, Mr. Asquith, the London Times, and English diplomatic
+     officers, have on various occasions ... [sic] that England is
+     determined to conduct the war to the utmost and that she expects
+     success from it lasting a long time. It is therefore up to the
+     United States to get our enemies to make peace proposals. Germany
+     can only accept the peace which promises to be a real and lasting
+     peace and will protect her against any new attacks from her
+     enemies. If we accepted America's offer of mediation now our
+     enemies would interpret it as a sign of weakness and the German
+     people would not understand it. For the nation which has been
+     willing to make such sacrifices has a right to demand that there
+     shall be guarantees of rest and security.
+
+Secretary Bryan, in his instruction to Ambassador Page on September 8th,
+had anticipated Germany's refusal to accept mediation. The instruction
+concluded:
+
+     We do not know, of course, what reply the German Emperor will make,
+     but this war is so horrible from every aspect that no one can
+     afford to take the responsibility for continuing it implacably. The
+     British and French ambassadors fear that Germany will not accept
+     any reasonable terms, but even a failure to agree will not rob an
+     attempt at mediation of all its advantages because the different
+     nations would be able to explain to the world their attitude, the
+     reasons for continuing the war, the end to be hoped for and the
+     terms upon which peace is possible. This would locate the
+     responsibility for the continuance of the war and help to mould
+     public opinion. Will notify you as soon as answer is received from
+     Bernstorff.
+
+On September 29th all the British papers served by the Central News War
+Service carried a cable from New York detailing the negotiations, which
+ended:
+
+     It is believed by those concerned that an important step has been
+     taken to pave the way for mediation, when the opportune moment
+     arrives. In other words, the bolt on the door of mediation has been
+     thrown back so that it will be possible for the door to be opened
+     without either side being forced to take the initiative. Time will
+     doubtless show that the initiative so fortuitously taken by Mr.
+     Straus will prove of real service in the interests of ultimate
+     peace negotiations, and any endeavors to deprecate those services
+     as having been made in Germany's interests are not only contrary to
+     all the facts, but are most unfortunate.
+
+     _Note_: The censor does not object to the publication of the
+     foregoing details, but insists that publication should be
+     accompanied by a footnote pointing out that since these
+     occurrences took place the German Government have disavowed their
+     ambassador.
+
+Had Germany's oft-reiterated peace professions been sincere, she would
+have accepted this offer for mediation. By her refusal the falsity of
+her professions was exposed not only in Great Britain and in our own
+country, but in all the neutral countries; and the _exposé_ served as
+added proof to all peace-loving and neutrally-minded persons that the
+responsibility for the war and its continuance rested upon the German
+Government.
+
+In America many of us continued to hope that some way might be found to
+bring the representatives of the warring nations into a conference,
+thereby removing misunderstanding and misconception and paving the way
+for an early peace. On December 31st the New York representative of the
+Central News of London asked several Americans to write New Year's
+messages to the warring nations of Europe, to be cabled to all the chief
+newspapers of the continent. Messages were given by Dr. Nicholas Murray
+Butler, Andrew Carnegie, Bishop David Greer, and myself, and they were
+all substantially of the same tenor, as a passage from each will show:
+
+     _Bishop Greer_: It is the earnest hope and prayer of all Christian
+     people in America that the awful and deplorable war now raging may
+     soon reach an end which will insure lasting peace and one
+     satisfactory in character to all the nations involved.
+
+     _Andrew Carnegie_: I am convinced that the next effort of lovers of
+     peace should be to concentrate the world over in demanding that
+     this unparalleled slaughter of man by man shall be the last war
+     waged by civilized nations for the settlement of international
+     disputes. War dethroned--Peace enthroned.
+
+     _President Butler_: May it be in America's fortunate lot to bind up
+     the wounds of the war and to set the feet of her sister nations
+     once more in the paths of peace, international good-will and
+     constructive statesmanship.
+
+     I said: For the past five months each of the nations has been
+     seeking victory in the trenches of death; but it has not been found
+     there. Only through wise counsels can the victory of permanent
+     peace be obtained. President Wilson and His Holiness the Pope have
+     offered their offices to open the door of mediation. Will not the
+     Kaiser and King George give the mandate so that the door may be
+     opened and this delusion be dispelled, thereby earning the
+     blessings of a bleeding and suffering world?
+
+These statements are cited as evidence of how slowly we in America came
+to realize the ruthless designs for conquest which the German
+militarists had prepared and fostered for forty years, not only
+strategically, but even in shaping the psychology of the child in school
+and the man in the street to conform to their design.
+
+For a year or more events marched on, tragically, like a malignant
+disease. On February 2, 1917, I lunched with Roosevelt at the Hotel
+Langdon, on Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Sixth Street, where Roosevelt was in
+the habit of stopping when in New York. The German Government two days
+before had announced her submarine blockade of the British, French, and
+Dutch coasts, and our own entrance into the war seemed likely.
+
+We were discussing the crisis, and Roosevelt said he did not think we
+should be involved; the President would probably find some way out and
+arrange to have Germany's pledge, not to destroy merchant ships of
+neutrals or belligerents without warning, whittled down so as to apply
+only to ships flying the American flag. He told us that he had engaged
+passage on one of the United Fruit Company steamers to Jamaica for Mrs.
+Roosevelt and himself. Mrs. Roosevelt needed a change, and they would
+start in a few days. Regarding the war, he could do nothing more. He
+had done all he could. He had made an offer to the Secretary of War to
+raise a division, and had a whole card catalogue of names of men who had
+volunteered to serve in it.
+
+His relations with the President were far from friendly. He had
+violently criticized him in articles contributed to the "Metropolitan
+Magazine" and in several public addresses had urged preparedness and
+compulsory military training. I asked him, in view of the German
+blockade, what he would do if he were President. He said he would
+promptly assemble our fleet, put marines on the interned German ships,
+and show Germany that we were in dead earnest; that unless she recalled
+her decision to sink merchant ships without observing the rules of
+modern warfare we should take immediate steps to protect our rights.
+
+"If we continue to back down we will become Chinafied, without any
+rights that other nations will respect," said Roosevelt emphatically.
+
+In such critical times, personal differences might be laid aside, I
+suggested, and I wanted him to write the President and let him have the
+benefit of his views. I went further: I suggested that I could write the
+President about it. But in Roosevelt's opinion, Wilson would conclude
+that Roosevelt had himself urged me to do this because of my close
+association with Roosevelt.
+
+My own relations with the President were always agreeable, I might even
+say most friendly. He had written me sometime before, that he would
+consider it a favor if I would keep him informed of developments that
+came under my observation regarding important matters. It occurred to me
+that on the eve of war it would be a fine thing if he consulted with his
+two surviving predecessors, as Monroe had done in consulting with
+Jefferson and Madison before issuing the doctrine which bears his name.
+In the crisis we were facing such a step would allay partisan
+differences and serve to solidify the Nation. With these ideas in mind I
+sent the President the following telegram:
+
+     Every patriotic American should support you in this great crisis in
+     the history of our country. May I suggest the course followed by
+     Monroe under a crisis involving many of the same principles, to
+     confer with the two surviving ex-Presidents, whose advice, I feel
+     sure, will be most helpful and serve to patriotically solidify the
+     country behind you?
+
+I informed Roosevelt of my action. He felt sure the President wanted
+neither advice nor cooperation, though he himself was ready to give him
+the fullest coöperation should Wilson desire it. He thought the same was
+true on the part of Mr. Taft. The telegram, to my surprise, was given
+out at Washington to the press a day or two later, but nothing ever came
+of it.
+
+On February 7th the country was more or less agreeably surprised by the
+fact that Count von Bernstorff had been given his passports and
+Ambassador Gerard at Berlin had been instructed to demand his. I say the
+country was surprised because the President had so long delayed and
+avoided such a step--even after the sinking of the Lusitania and the
+Sussex following his "strict accountability" and other strong
+statements--that it was generally believed he did not mean to take it.
+
+Roosevelt, of course, thought that we should have taken such action long
+before. His contention was always that had we taken prompt and decisive
+steps after the Lusitania tragedy, we should have been spared the
+submarine invasions. In fact, he thought we should have acted when
+Germany announced her submarine blockade and possibly saved ourselves
+from the Lusitania horror. Now that diplomatic relations were broken
+off, he canceled his trip to Jamaica, not wishing to be out of the
+country when war was likely to be declared at any moment.
+
+At about this time the impression was current that the Jews of America
+were anti-Ally, a fact that had a prejudicial effect in France and
+England. It probably grew out of the fact that three of the largest
+Jewish banking houses of the country were of German origin, and further
+that the Yiddish press was anti-Russian in its sympathies as a result of
+the treatment of Jews in Russia.
+
+After a careful investigation of these reports, a group of us met at the
+home of Eugene Meyer, Jr., later chairman of the War Finance
+Corporation. Among those I recall at this meeting were: Fabian Franklin,
+of the "New York Evening Post"; George L. Beer, the historian; Rabbi
+Stephen S. Wise; Professor Richard Gottheil, of Columbia University. M.
+Stephane Lauzanne, editor of "Le Matin" of Paris, and Professor Henri
+Bergson, both of whom were then in New York, had also been consulted. It
+was decided that the most practical way of correcting this erroneous
+impression was for me to write to the French and British ambassadors at
+Washington.
+
+Accordingly I wrote to Ambassadors Spring-Rice and Jusserand that the
+impression was unfounded, that our investigations and observations
+showed a large preponderance of pro-Ally sympathy among the Jews, and I
+cited a number of leading citizens in business and the various
+professions, who were representative of their class, whom I knew
+personally to be pro-Ally. I stated further that in one of the largest
+Jewish clubs, whose membership consisted almost entirely of Jews of
+German origin, the pro-Ally sentiment was so strong as to be practically
+unanimous.
+
+The ambassadors were grateful for this information, which they
+communicated to their Governments; and through the agency of M. Lauzanne
+and with the consent of the ambassadors, the letters were given in full
+to the French and British press.
+
+On the very day that Congress declared war against Germany, April 6,
+1917, we were giving a dinner at our home to Professor Henri Bergson.
+Among our guests were James M. Beck, author of "The Evidence in the
+Case" and "The War and Humanity"; ex-Senator Burton of Ohio; former
+Governor and Mrs. John M. Slaton, of Georgia; Adolph S. Ochs, of the
+"New York Times," and Mrs. Ochs. Bergson was regarded as the unofficial
+representative of France in our country at the time. Of course, our
+thoughts and conversation were dominated by the great event of the day.
+Professor Bergson and Mr. Beck drank and responded to toasts with
+eloquent fervor. It was felt by all that the entrance into the war of
+the United States would prove a decided factor in winning it for
+democracy and constitutional liberty.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Just before Christmas, 1918--to be specific, on December 22d--I called
+on Roosevelt at the Roosevelt Hospital, where he was convalescing from
+his seven weeks' illness, believed to have been inflammatory rheumatism.
+He was dressed in his _robe de chambre_ and was seated in an armchair
+with a pile of books before him. He looked neither enfeebled nor
+emaciated, though he showed signs of illness. When I asked him how he
+had been since my last visit, for I had called on him frequently during
+his illness, he told me that he had had an attack of embolism--I think
+that was the ailment--which showed in his wrists, and that his fever had
+gone up to 104. But that was all gone and he was again feeling fine. He
+was planning to return to Sagamore Hill to spend Christmas, which he
+subsequently did.
+
+He inquired particularly about my son Roger, of whom he was very fond,
+and who was then in Siberia, where he had served for some months as
+captain and assistant intelligence officer on the staff of General
+William S. Graves, in command of the American Expeditionary Forces. I
+told him we had had a cable from Roger from Blagoveschensk that he was
+well. In his last letter he had expressed a desire to come home, since
+the war was over. Roosevelt agreed that that was right. He would not
+want his own sons to endanger their lives in the civil war raging in
+Russia, and he would not have Roger do so. "Let the Russians settle
+their own internal affairs; that is not our business," he added.
+
+By way of amusing and interesting Roosevelt, I told him of a curious
+incident narrated in one of Roger's letters. He had been sent as the
+official representative of the army into the Amur Province, of which the
+governor was Alexandre Alexiefsky, who had been a member of the
+Constitutional Assembly of the Kerensky Government. When Roger called,
+the governor repeated his name familiarly and then asked: "Are you
+related to His Excellency by that name in the Cabinet of President
+Roosevelt?" When Roger told him he was my son, the governor immediately
+expressed a readiness to help him in every possible way, because as the
+latter said he owed his life to me. As Roger expressed it, "He was
+courteous before, but after that he was ready to give me his
+undershirt."
+
+[Illustration: ROGER W. STRAUS
+
+First Lieutenant, afterwards Captain, on the Staff of General W. S.
+Graves, American Expeditionary Force in Siberia. Now Major in the
+Reserve Corps, U. S. A.]
+
+Alexiefsky had told Roger the story of his case. In the autumn of 1908,
+several Russians whom the Czar had exiled to Siberia as political
+prisoners made their escape and came to the United States. The Russian
+Government discovered this and engaged one of the leading New  York law
+firms to secure the extradition of the refugees, which was demanded on
+the specious charge of murder. Secretary Root, in the midst of his many
+important duties, favored the extradition, and the papers were referred
+by the State Department to Attorney-General Bonaparte. Application for
+deportation was also made to me under the immigration laws.
+
+Meanwhile several prominent men and women interested in the case--Miss
+Lillian Wald, of the Henry Street Settlement House, New York, and James
+Bronson Reynolds, chairman of the American Society for Russian Freedom,
+foremost among these--supplied the intelligence and the proof that these
+men were not criminals in any sense, but political refugees. When
+Roosevelt spoke to me about them, I told him that I had declined to
+deport them because it was clear to me that they were political
+refugees. At that moment Bonaparte joined us. Roosevelt requested him to
+return the papers in the case, and shortly directed that the men were
+not to be deported.
+
+Roosevelt said he vividly recalled all this. His face beamed as he said:
+"Is n't that fine! Very fine! I'm delighted to hear it!"
+
+"You did that," I said to him; "without your sustaining me these men
+would have been either extradited or deported, which would have meant
+death."
+
+"Both of us did it; it's fine! I'm delighted to hear it," he commented,
+his face glowing with its usual vivacity.
+
+The next day Roosevelt left the hospital to return to his home in Oyster
+Bay. He apparently gave every indication that soon he would be entirely
+well again and be with us for many years. Certainly that is what we all
+expected. He was only sixty.
+
+Exactly two weeks later, on January 6, 1919, I received a telephone call
+at seven o'clock in the morning from Miss Striker, secretary to Mr.
+Roosevelt, announcing that he had died early that morning. For thirteen
+years or more he had had a large and affectionate share in our lives and
+thoughts, and Mrs. Straus and I felt as though we had been stricken with
+the loss of a member of our immediate family. I can truly say that I
+never had a more loyal or a dearer friend. He always treated me and mine
+as if we were among his nearest relatives.
+
+On January 8th my wife, my son's wife, and I motored to Oyster Bay to
+attend the funeral in the little Episcopal Church. It had been
+Roosevelt's wish that he be buried from the little church that was the
+place of worship of his family. The building held only about three
+hundred and fifty persons, so that none but his family and close friends
+could be present. There was a committee from the United States Senate
+headed by Vice-President Marshall; a committee from the House; several
+former members of the Cabinet--Elihu Root, Truman H. Newberry, Henry L.
+Stimson, James R. Garfield, Mrs. Garfield, ex-President Taft, Governor
+Hughes. William Loeb, Jr., and Captain Archie Roosevelt were ushers. The
+other sons, Theodore and Kermit, were still in France. The church was
+filled with a company of sincere friends and bereaved mourners. The
+regular Episcopal service was begun at twelve-forty-five, and lasted
+about twenty-five minutes, when we all accompanied the body to the
+little cemetery on the side of the hill half a mile away.
+
+Hardly a day passes without its scores of pilgrims to that grave. They
+come from near and far. Many lay flowers on the grave. On holidays and
+Sundays they come by the hundreds. Two years ago the intimate friends of
+Roosevelt, who had been officially or personally associated with him,
+formed the Roosevelt Pilgrimage, an association whose purpose is to keep
+alive the ideals and personality of Theodore Roosevelt by an annual
+visit to his grave and a simple ceremony. The idea and organization
+originated with Mr. E. A. Van Valkenburg of the Philadelphia "North
+American." On January 6, 1922, some sixty persons made the pilgrimage,
+headed by Dr. Lyman Abbott, permanent chairman of the association. James
+R. Garfield read Roosevelt's Nobel Peace Prize address, delivered in
+Christiania in 1910, at the conclusion of which some wreaths were laid
+on the grave. Mrs. Roosevelt invited us all to luncheon, and the
+old-time hospitality and friendliness of the Roosevelt home brought many
+memories of our departed leader.
+
+After luncheon the annual meeting of the Pilgrimage took place in the
+great North Room, where Roosevelt had so often received his friends and
+guests. Dr. Abbott made a brief and feeling address, and Mrs. Richard
+Derby (Ethel Roosevelt) read from original manuscript Roosevelt's
+proclamation of 1912 which called into being the Progressive Party.
+Hermann Hagedorn read a poem entitled "The Deacon's Prayer," by Samuel
+Valentine Cole, which had especially appealed to Roosevelt. The last
+stanza of this poem is as follows:
+
+  "We want a man whom we can trust
+    To lead us where thy purpose leads;
+  Who dares not lie, but dares be just--
+    Give us the dangerous man of deeds!"
+  So prayed the deacon, letting fall
+    Each sentence from his heart; and when
+  He took his seat the brethren all,
+    As by one impulse, cried, "Amen!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
+
+     The League to Enforce Peace goes into action--Taft recalls that
+     Roosevelt favored a League of Nations--I sail for Europe as
+     chairman of the overseas committee--England's youthful Lord
+     Chancellor--Bryce at the age of eighty-two--On to
+     Paris--Conferences with Colonel House--House declares that the
+     League of Nations is "on the rocks"--Bourgeois comes to our
+     apartment--He is persuaded to accept and support the Covenant as
+     provisionally presented--Wilson congratulates me--The President
+     addresses the correspondents--At the Plenary Session--An imposing
+     spectacle--Clemenceau brusquely opens the session--President Wilson
+     speaks for 1,200,000,000 people--Significance of the term
+     "Covenant"--Bourgeois accepts text as drafted, but offers
+     amendments for political effect--Japan voices her ancient
+     grievance--The golden chapter in the history of
+     civilization--Impressions of General Smuts--Sir Robert Borden opens
+     fire on Article X--At a Washington's Birthday luncheon with General
+     Pershing--The General's nervousness at prospect of having to make a
+     speech--Sazonoff tells me about the Czar--A luncheon to Ambassador
+     Sharp and myself--Concerning the side-tracking of Secretary
+     Lansing--Taft's efforts at home on behalf of a League of
+     Nations--Conferences with Venizelos--Serbia's claims--Meeting in
+     London of allied societies for a League of Nations--Religious
+     liberty resolution offered and adopted--I confer with President
+     Wilson in Paris--A luncheon with Russian refugee
+     statesmen--Excitement regarding the Monroe Doctrine article--My
+     address at the Sorbonne--The Covenant of the League of
+     Nations--Colonel House urges me to return to America--Alexander
+     Kerensky--United States Senate vigorously debates the Covenant--Our
+     efforts to secure its adoption--World policies are subordinated to
+     home politics--Conclusion.
+
+
+Now that the curtain of armistice had descended upon the world's most
+devastating war, the League to Enforce Peace was endeavoring to
+coöperate in every possible way with President Wilson and the official
+delegates to the Peace Conference, and with similar organizations in
+Europe, to bring into existence a League of Nations.
+
+I had been made chairman of the overseas committee, and on the afternoon
+of Theodore Roosevelt's funeral, former President Taft and I met to
+confer regarding the work to be done. Both of us were very much
+depressed by the death of our friend. Taft felt grateful that
+"Theodore" (as he always called Roosevelt) and he had some months
+earlier reëstablished their long-time former friendship, which had
+unhappily been interrupted by political events.
+
+Mr. Taft courteously told me that he was glad that I was going to Paris,
+and that he believed I might render a great service in helping to secure
+an effective League of Nations. He hoped I would have conferences with
+Balfour, Lloyd George, and Léon Bourgeois, and that I would be able to
+show them what kind of a League we, and as we thought, the American
+public generally, wanted. At my request, Taft agreed to write me a
+letter, signed by himself as president of the League to Enforce Peace,
+and by A. Lawrence Lowell, chairman of the Executive Committee, giving
+me full authority to take whatever action in Europe I might consider
+wise. I told Taft that I wanted a letter which should expressly state,
+among other things, that I was to support our official delegates, as it
+would not do for America to show a divided front. He told me, what I
+also had known from conversations with Roosevelt, that Roosevelt had
+latterly expressed himself in favor of such a League of Nations as we
+stood for. I reminded Taft that Roosevelt had been the first in recent
+years to emphasize the subject of a League of Nations, having done so in
+his Nobel Peace Prize address.
+
+The committee to represent at Paris the League to Enforce Peace
+consisted of myself as chairman, Hamilton Holt as vice-chairman, and
+such other members of the League as might be in Paris at that time. Mr.
+Holt, after consulting me as to methods and plan of action pending my
+arrival, had left New York on December 28th. I had postponed my
+departure for Paris until I could learn of my son Roger's departure from
+Siberia.
+
+On January 25, 1919, I left New York, reaching London on February 4th,
+where I promptly conferred with the members of the British League of
+Nations Union. Sir Willoughby Dickinson, M.P., gave me full details of
+the meetings that had been held by the English, French, and Italian
+leagues in Paris, at which our League was represented by Hamilton Holt.
+I also had a consultation with Lord Shaw, the chairman of the conference
+of delegates, who gave me a copy of the resolutions that had been
+adopted.
+
+We remained in London several days, and while there dined with our new
+ambassador, John W. Davis, formerly the Solicitor-General of the United
+States. Both he and Mrs. Davis, in the short time they had been in
+London, had won the esteem of official England. At this dinner I had a
+long conversation with the new Lord Chancellor, Birkenhead, formerly Sir
+Frederick Smith, who held a distinguished position at the British Bar,
+and had been Attorney-General in the last Cabinet. In the latter part of
+1917 he had visited the United States, where I had met him, and where he
+had made a number of addresses in the leading cities, as well as in
+Canada. He was then only forty-seven years of age, but looked much
+younger, and therefore quite unlike the typical Lord Chancellor robed in
+venerable dignity. He told me that he was the youngest Lord Chancellor,
+with one exception, that had ever sat on the woolsack. He had the
+youthful and vivacious face of a man in the thirties. He said that
+nothing would please him more than, when he was no longer Lord
+Chancellor, to practice law in America, but he said that precedent would
+not permit a former Lord Chancellor to return to the bar and practice
+his profession.
+
+Birkenhead was very outspoken in his opposition to a League of Nations,
+saying that it was a Utopian idea. He asked whether I had seen his book
+which had recently appeared, describing his visit to America. I told him
+I had not, and on the next day he sent me a copy bearing his
+inscription.
+
+The following day we lunched with Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Samuel. He had
+held several Cabinet positions, and had been Secretary of the Home
+Office in the last Cabinet. He was defeated as candidate for Parliament
+in the last election. He told me he had recently returned from Paris
+from a Zionist Conference where his views and advice were desired. He
+stated that he was not a Zionist, but was in full sympathy with the
+Balfour Declaration to secure a homeland in Palestine with equal civil
+and religious rights for all nationalities. I told him that was
+precisely my position. His son was present, who was about twenty years
+of age, and had been in the British army, and was later transferred to
+the Zionist Corps.
+
+That evening I dined with Sir Arthur Steele-Maitland, M.P.,
+Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office, where I met my old friend
+Viscount Bryce, who was then about eighty-two years of age. He was still
+in the best of health and his mind was as alert as ever. He brought me a
+copy of his recent brochure, "Proposals for the Prevention of Future
+Wars," Maitland strongly favored a League of Nations, and told me that
+after I arrived in Paris, if I found it necessary for the committee of
+the League of Nations Union to return there to reënforce the official
+delegates, I should write or wire him, and several of the members would
+go over to coöperate with our committee; and that he would write Lord
+Robert Cecil so that we might have a conference. I had similar letters
+from Lord Shaw and Sir Willoughby Dickinson.
+
+We arrived in Paris on February 9th, where our friends, Mr. and Mrs.
+Edward Mamelsdorf, had generously placed at our disposal their
+comfortable apartment in the rue Montaigne, which was most conveniently
+and centrally situated, and saved us the necessity and difficulty of
+securing accommodations, all the hotels being jammed full. The following
+morning I met Mr. Holt, who had admirably represented our committee at
+the several conferences that were held prior to my arrival; also Judge
+William H. Wadhams, Mrs. Fannie Fern Andrews, Arthur Kuhn, secretary and
+legal adviser of our committee, besides several other members of our
+League.
+
+With Mr. Holt I went to the Crillon Hotel, headquarters of the American
+Delegation, and had a conference with Colonel House, with whom
+arrangements were made for the fullest coöperation between our League
+and the Official Commission. We also conferred with Mr. Gordon
+Auchincloss, the son-in-law and secretary of Colonel House, who, after
+consulting with the latter, gave me in confidence a typewritten copy of
+the Articles of the League entitled: "Draft as Provisionally Approved."
+He said that the Colonel wanted me to have this, so that I might study
+it. I was told at the same time that the outlook for the adoption of a
+League was very discouraging because the French Delegation, of which
+Léon Bourgeois was the head, insisted upon the inclusion of two
+additional clauses, (1) the control by the League of the manufacture of
+all armaments and of all war industries, and (2) an international
+military force to defend the French frontier, which, Bourgeois insisted,
+quoting from a former speech of President Wilson, "was the frontier of
+civilization."
+
+President Wilson had emphatically objected to the proposed additions.
+
+When I informed Colonel House that I was about to call on Léon Bourgeois
+at his home across the Seine, he said, "By all means, go," and added
+that Bourgeois's attitude "had put the League on the rocks."
+
+Mr. Holt, Mr. Kuhn, and I proceeded to Bourgeois's house, but when we
+arrived there late in the afternoon, we were told that M. Bourgeois was
+out, that he was then in the Senate and would not return until late.
+While there, however, I met my friend and colleague on the Hague
+Tribunal, Baron d'Estournelles de Constant. He said he would see to it
+that we met Bourgeois that evening. Mr. Holt, Mr. Kuhn, and I then
+returned to my apartment, and had hardly arrived there when my telephone
+rang and I was informed that M. Bourgeois and Baron d'Estournelles were
+on their way to my residence. They arrived promptly at seven o'clock.
+
+In the course of the discussion, Bourgeois presented the interposing
+difficulties to which I have referred, giving the divergence of views
+between him and President Wilson and Colonel House. I explained to him,
+more fully than he seemed to have appreciated before, that the
+war-making power was lodged by our Constitution exclusively in Congress,
+and that even if the President should agree to the additional articles,
+if these articles would in any way conflict with the war-making power as
+provided for in the Constitution, President Wilson's assent would be
+without effect, and would never be ratified by our Senate.
+
+At this point in our conversation, the telephone rang and M. Bourgeois
+was informed that the President of the Ministry, M. Clemenceau, desired
+to see him at once. Bourgeois said he would shortly return and hurriedly
+left us. In the meantime we continued the conversation with
+d'Estournelles, who, being familiar with our American system, was better
+able to appreciate the problem. I told him plainly that Colonel House
+had said to me that afternoon that "the League of Nations was on the
+rocks."
+
+Bourgeois returned in half an hour and we resumed the discussion. After
+explaining more at length our constitutional provisions, I told him that
+if the proposed League were made too strong it would be useless, so far
+as America was concerned, since it would not be ratified by the Senate.
+Knowing what a strong advocate he had always been of the League of
+Nations, as he was and had been for years past the president of the
+French League of Nations Society, I asked him whether he would prefer
+having no League rather than a League as drafted, without the two
+articles he had proposed.
+
+He frankly replied that if that were the alternative, he would prefer to
+have the League as drafted. He then referred to the fact that at our
+last Congressional election, the Administration had been defeated, and
+therefore, as he understood it, the President represented a minority
+party. I told him that, while such would be the case under the European
+system, it was not so under our system, and then read to him from my
+letter of credence "to support the President," explaining that the
+president of our League, Mr. Taft, along with Dr. Lowell, myself, and
+many others, was not of the President's party, yet I was authorized and
+instructed to support the President.
+
+Bourgeois replied that at the Plenary Session of the Conference, which
+was to be held on the Friday following, namely, on the 14th, at the Quai
+d'Orsay, in view of the American position which I had made clear to him,
+he would support the "Draft as Provisionally Approved," but that he
+wanted me to appreciate that they had politics in France as well as we
+had, and that therefore he would, at any rate, have to present at the
+Conference the two articles referred to, if for no other reason than for
+their popular effect; but that I could rely on it that his Government
+would in the final analysis accept the covenant or draft as
+provisionally presented by the representatives of the fourteen nations
+which had participated in its preparation and had preliminarily agreed
+to it.
+
+When Bourgeois and d'Estournelles departed, which was at about ten
+o'clock, I called up Colonel House, and, after briefly informing him
+what had taken place, I told him that the League was "off the rocks." He
+expressed his great gratification, and on the following morning when I
+met him he said that he had informed the President, who desired heartily
+to congratulate me.
+
+When Colonel House had informed me that "the League was on the rocks,"
+it was more real than figurative; for at the session of the Commission
+on the League held the evening before, the French members having
+insisted among other provisions upon an international army to guard the
+frontier, and President Wilson having point-blank refused to agree to
+it, an _impasse_ had been reached, since neither side would give way.
+The Commission thereupon adjourned, apparently without any possibility
+of coming to an understanding. Considerable bitterness was developed in
+the discussion, as I learned, between the President and M. Bourgeois. It
+was at this stage that I fortuitously arrived at the Crillon to report
+that our committee, by calling on M. Bourgeois, had been able
+unofficially to take up and discuss with him the situation, which
+officially had apparently passed beyond the stage of further discussion.
+Therefore it was, as Holt and I were subsequently informed, a great
+relief to the President and Colonel House, as well as to Clemenceau and
+Bourgeois, that we had been able to remove the _impasse_ by inducing the
+French delegates to agree to support the Covenant as preliminarily
+drafted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Some months before, there had been organized in Paris a luncheon club,
+the Cercle Interallié, as a comfortable and convenient meeting-place for
+many officials and others. Immediately upon my arrival, I was introduced
+at the club, where I frequently took lunch and met many people,
+officials and delegates of the allied nations. The day following our
+conversation at my apartment, I met Baron d'Estournelles by appointment
+at lunch, and he informed me that Bourgeois had expressed himself
+gratified with the clarification I had given him and that I could rely
+upon the Covenant being adopted as we had agreed.
+
+On the morning of the 14th, while I was at Colonel House's office, I
+received a copy of the Covenant which had just been put in print, as
+reëdited by the Sub-Committee of the League of Nations under the
+chairmanship of Lord Robert Cecil. While I was there, President Wilson
+came in to meet the representatives of the American press. When he saw
+me, he expressed his high appreciation for our services and helpfulness.
+The President made a brief address to the correspondents, beginning in a
+semi-humorous vein, and then giving a general description of the
+Covenant as finally drafted, explaining that where so many nations were
+involved, no one's individual ideas could be fully satisfied, and that
+there had to be yielding on all sides. Wilson added that he would have
+liked to see some definite declaration regarding the protection of
+religious minorities, and referred to several of the other outstanding
+provisions.
+
+Colonel House asked me to see Bourgeois again before the Plenary Session
+which was to take place that afternoon, saying that he had heard that
+Bourgeois was going to oppose the Covenant. I immediately called on
+Bourgeois again, and told him precisely what the Colonel had said, but
+Bourgeois assured me that there had been no change, and that the
+Covenant, or as it was styled in French, _Le Pacte_, would not be
+opposed.
+
+That same afternoon, I went with former Ambassador Henry White, one of
+our official delegates, to the Session of the Plenary Conference at the
+Quai d'Orsay which convened at 3.30 o'clock. I accompanied him into the
+Conference room, a large, vaulted, ornate chamber known as the Clock
+Room, where were seated, at the tables arranged along three sides of a
+square, with an inner row of seats arranged in the same way, the
+delegates of the thirty nations.
+
+On the outside of the square were the tables for the secretaries of the
+several nations. At the head of the table sat M. Clemenceau; to his
+right was President Wilson, and on his left was to be Lloyd George, but
+as he was not present, Lord Robert Cecil sat in his place. Next on the
+right was Mr. Lansing, and next on the left was Mr. Balfour, and so on
+in order. In the rear of the chamber were a number of distinguished
+persons and other officials of the Powers. To one side was another large
+room with arched entrances, occupied by the correspondents of the press
+of the world. The proceedings began at four o'clock. The ushers closed
+the large entrance doors leading out into the foyer, and all was still
+and in expectancy when Clemenceau rose and, in his usual brusque and
+unceremonious manner, announced that "Monsieur Wilson" would have the
+"parole," meaning the floor.
+
+President Wilson arose, calm, dignified, and entirely self-possessed,
+and, after a few preliminary words, stated that the representatives of
+the fourteen nations which composed the League of Nations Committee had
+unanimously agreed to the Covenant consisting of twenty-six articles to
+be presented to the Conference, representing, according to the estimate,
+1,200,000,000 people.
+
+He read the articles of the Covenant, one by one, interpolating here and
+there brief explanations. The title "Covenant" had been given the
+document by Wilson, a designation he had previously used in one of his
+speeches. This was regarded as most appropriate, since the pact was not
+a treaty or convention, but something higher and more sacred, hence the
+scriptural designation "Covenant," such as God had made with Israel.
+
+After reading the articles, Wilson made an address of about thirty
+minutes. It was clear, forceful, and in his inimitable style. In closing
+he said: "Armed force is in the background in this programme, but it is
+in the background, and if the moral force of the world will not suffice,
+the physical force of the world shall. But that is the last resort,
+because this is intended as a constitution of peace, not as a League of
+War. Many terrible things have come out of this war, gentlemen, but some
+very beautiful things have come out of it. Wrong has been defeated, but
+the rest of the world has been more conscious than it ever was before,
+of the majesty of right."
+
+Lord Robert Cecil then spoke briefly, and I will quote a single passage
+from his address: "Finally, we have thought that if the world is to be
+at peace, it is not enough to forbid war. We must do something more than
+that. We must try and substitute for the principle of international
+competition that of international coöperation."
+
+Signor Orlando of Italy followed with a brief address, then M. Léon
+Bourgeois rose and spoke somewhat at length in French. He said that he
+proposed amendments which he thought he ought to mention; that while his
+country had accepted the text which had been read, the amendments were
+mentioned so that, as the text went before the world, the amendments
+might also be considered, to the effect that we ought to have a
+permanent organization to prepare military and naval means of execution
+and make them ready in case of emergency.
+
+Baron Makino, speaking with persuasive eloquence in perfect English,
+maintained his previous amendments which were as follows: "The equality
+of nations being a basic principle of the League of Nations, the High
+Contracting Parties agree to accord, as soon as possible, to all aliens,
+nationals of States, members of the League, equal and just treatment in
+every respect, making no distinction either in law or in fact on account
+of their race or nationality." He then added: "I feel it my duty to
+declare clearly on this occasion that the Japanese Government and people
+feel poignant regret at the failure of the Commission to approve of
+their just demand for laying down a principle aiming at the adjustment
+of this long-standing grievance, the demand that is based upon a
+deep-rooted natural conviction. They will continue in their insistence
+for the adoption of this principle by the League in the future."
+
+George Barnes, the English labor leader, then spoke, upholding the
+argument of Bourgeois for an international force. After him Venizelos
+spoke, referring to the amendments of France which had been held back
+because of constitutional barriers of acquiescence on the part of
+certain countries. He thought those countries should make an effort to
+remove those barriers, but that, if they could not do so, then France
+should recede from her position. Mr. Hughes of Australia interposed a
+question, demanding to know when and where the discussion of mandatories
+would take place, to which Clemenceau replied that the document would
+rest on the table and would be discussed at a distant date. Thereupon,
+he abruptly adjourned the session.
+
+As the delegates moved out, I met President Wilson, who asked me for my
+opinion about the Covenant. I replied that it was much more
+comprehensive and forceful than I had believed it possible for the
+nations preliminarily to agree upon. He expressed himself as much
+gratified. I believed then, and do yet, that but for Wilson's prestige
+and dominant leadership of the Conference, so far at least as the
+Covenant was concerned, it would perhaps not have been formulated, if
+ever, until after the Treaty of Peace was concluded. At any rate, I very
+much doubt if an agreement could have been arrived at.
+
+After my conversation with Wilson, Bourgeois said to me that he hoped I
+was satisfied with his remarks in support of the Covenant, that he had
+to refer to the amendments he presented so that they might receive
+consideration. I told him that he had followed the course he had agreed
+to when he spoke to me two nights before, that while he would refer to
+his amendments, he would nevertheless support the Covenant.
+
+When I had returned to my apartment, I wrote in my "Random Notes": "I
+regard this day and its happenings as the golden chapter in the history
+of civilization." Notwithstanding what has since happened, I have not
+abandoned hope that such may yet prove true.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two days before the meeting of the Conference, Hamilton Holt and I had
+tea with General Smuts, the distinguished South African delegate. He is
+a man of very pleasant appearance, rather short in stature, and with his
+florid complexion looks like a veritable Dutchman. He was then
+apparently about fifty years of age. He would hardly, from his
+appearance, be taken for a soldier, but rather for a student. He had
+given much detailed study to the subject of a League of Nations, and
+from his brochure "The League of Nations--A Practical Suggestion"
+(1918) more of his suggestions as there set forth entered into the
+articles of the Covenant than those proposed by any other of the
+delegates, including Wilson. Smuts advocated in this brochure that "the
+League should be put in the very forefront of the programme of the Peace
+Conference," the same position that Wilson afterward successfully pushed
+forward. In the preface of his brochure, dated December 16, 1918, Smuts
+says:
+
+     To my mind the world is ripe for the greatest step forward ever
+     made in the government of man. And I hope this brief account of the
+     League will assist the public to realize how great an advance is
+     possible to-day as a direct result of the immeasurable sacrifices
+     of this war. If that advance is not made, this war will, from the
+     most essential point of view, have been fought in vain, and great
+     calamities will follow.
+
+Several days after the Conference, on February 17th, my wife and I, Mr.
+and Mrs. Holt, and Arthur Kuhn of our committee, attended the French
+Senate with Baron d'Estournelles, who is a member thereof. He introduced
+us to a number of Senators, with whom we had tea. I had a talk with the
+venerable Alexandre Ribot, head of the group of the Moderate Republican
+Party, a refined gentleman of the old school, and of thoroughly
+statesmanlike appearance. We also met Senator Paul Strauss, whom I had
+known when he and his wife visited our country some eighteen years
+before. He is the editor of the "Revue Philanthropique," and is a member
+of the Academy of Medicine. He said that he believed his family and mine
+were connected. This may be so, but I have no definite record.
+
+Dining with Sir Robert Borden, then Premier of Canada and one of the
+British delegates, the following evening, we met several of his
+colleagues. Balfour was expected, but he had been compelled to return
+to London that day. Sir Robert was an important member of the British
+Delegation and made some very helpful suggestions. He opposed Article X
+of the Covenant which provides that "the High Contracting Parties
+undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the
+territorial integrity and existing political independence of all States,
+members of the League," etc., the same article that eventually met with
+so much opposition in our Senate, and doubtless was the principal cause
+for the Senate's failure to ratify. At that time it was generally
+rumored that Borden would be selected as ambassador to the United States
+to succeed Lord Reading. He would doubtless have made a most acceptable
+representative in Washington of the British Government, exceptional as
+it would have been to have the British Empire represented by a colonial
+official. No one could have been sent who understood our country and our
+people better.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Washington's Birthday was celebrated by the American Society, which gave
+a luncheon at the Hôtel Quai d'Orsay, which I attended. There were
+present about one hundred and fifty Americans. It was a notable
+assembly, and I had the pleasure of sitting next to General Pershing,
+with whom I had a lengthy talk. We spoke, among other things, of the
+proposal that our country should take a mandate to govern the Ottoman
+Empire or any part of Europe. Great propaganda had been made that we
+should take a mandate for the Ottoman Empire. Pershing agreed with me
+that this would lead to endless complications and would not be approved
+at home. I also talked with Colonel House upon the subject, who was of
+the same opinion. Pershing was evidently quite nervous, for he was
+expected to speak, and he was making some notes. It appeared to me he
+was more disturbed than if he were about to enter into a serious
+military engagement.
+
+I had lunch the next day with Boris Bakhmeteff, the Russian ambassador
+to the United States, at which I met Sazonoff, former Minister for
+Foreign Affairs under the Czar's régime. We naturally spoke about
+affairs in Russia and the possibility of reconstruction. I was told that
+the late Czar was kindly and humane, but that he had been completely
+misled and dominated by crafty ministers who were plotting and
+intriguing one against another; that Russia was not, by reason of the
+ignorance of its people, fitted to become a republic, but that it must
+have a government powerfully centralized, and that its best hope would
+be the restoration of the monarchy under Grand Duke Nicholas as
+constitutional ruler. Sazonoff said it was a pity that Petrograd was not
+taken by the Allied fleet. I am told that, under the Czar, Sazonoff was
+the leader of the liberal wing.
+
+A few days later I gave a little dinner at my apartment to enable Mr.
+Vance McCormick, chairman of the War Trade Board, to meet several
+prominent Russians, including Ambassador Bakhmeteff and Sazonoff. Mr.
+Hoover was also present. We discussed the rehabilitation of commerce
+with Russia.
+
+On the 26th of February the Union of Associations for the Society of
+Nations, together with the European Bureau of the Carnegie Peace
+Foundation, gave a luncheon in honor of Ambassador Sharp and myself at
+the Cercle Interallié, at which M. Léon Bourgeois presided. There were
+present some seventy-five guests, mostly delegates and French officials,
+including Sir Robert Borden; Venizelos, the Greek delegate; the
+Roumanian minister; M. Vesnitch, the Serbian minister; and the Brazilian
+ambassador. At the conclusion, M. Bourgeois arose, and, although there
+were to be no set speeches, he expressed the regret of the French nation
+that Ambassador Sharp would in the near future relinquish his post, and
+complimented his Administration upon its work of the past four trying
+years. He praised my effective helpfulness in regard to the League of
+Nations, and stated that he not only greeted me as a twin, because he
+was born in the same year as I was, but also as a Frenchman, since my
+father, who was born in 1809, was a Frenchman by birth, and because my
+great-grandfather was a delegate to the Conference which was summoned by
+Napoleon during the first decade of the past century.
+
+In reply, I stated that an American, to be truly patriotic, should
+understand our early history, and that no American with this knowledge
+could fail to have a love and sense of gratitude for France, our ally in
+the establishment of democracy, as we had so recently been her ally for
+the liberation of the world.
+
+My various conferences regarding the League of Nations, while it was
+under discussion and formulation by the Committee of the Conference
+having charge of that subject, were held with Colonel House and his
+secretary, Mr. Auchincloss. On February 27th, I had lunch with Secretary
+Lansing. It had been quite obvious to me that even before this he had
+been practically side-tracked, and that Colonel House had replaced him
+from the beginning, doubtless by direction of the President. This was
+very evident so far as the League of Nations was concerned. Mr. Lansing
+informed me that he had pointed out a number of technical objections to
+the Covenant as formulated, which, he was sure, would prove a fruitful
+source of difference and would make trouble. It seemed to me that he was
+evidently not conversant with the various stages of discussion regarding
+the articles of the Covenant. I referred to the entire omission in the
+second draft of the section respecting civil and religious liberty and
+the protection of minorities, which was contained in the tentative
+draft, but was finally omitted because Japan had insisted that the
+equality of races be included, whereupon the whole subject had been
+omitted. I suggested that the entire subject, which was in fact a Bill
+of Rights, now that it had been excluded from the Covenant, should be
+incorporated in the treaties to be made with each of the new nations.
+Lansing agreed with me that that should be done and would under the
+circumstances be the best plan.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At this time, during February and March, 1919, the League to Enforce
+Peace had organized numerous meetings throughout the country from New
+York to San Francisco, advocating a League of Nations. Mr. Taft had
+spoken at many of these meetings for months past, traveling untiringly
+and making most effective addresses. At these meetings the Covenant was
+approved and resolutions to that effect were passed. On February 25th
+and 28th I received cables briefly describing such meetings and the
+substance of the resolutions passed. I received cables to the same
+effect from Salt Lake City, from San Francisco, and from New York. These
+I gave to Colonel House, who in turn gave them to the press, and
+sometimes they were cabled back through the Associated Press to American
+newspapers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From time to time a number of the representatives of the Balkan and East
+European nations came to my apartment to confer with me, doubtless
+because of my diplomatic experiences in that part of the world, and
+because of my relationship with Colonel House and our official
+Commission. Among others who conferred with me was M. Venizelos, who
+came to discuss the claims of Greece to additional territory to the
+north, and on the western littoral of Asia Minor, and to the islands
+adjacent. He explained, as an ethnological basis for such a claim, that
+the Greek race was purer and less mixed in that part of Asia Minor and
+in the islands than in Greece proper. He placed before me several
+brochures containing studies of these points and sent me maps
+illustrating those claims, also a document in English entitled: "Greece
+Before the Peace Congress." He told me that, unless his presence was
+imperatively demanded in Paris, he would attend with me the London
+Conference of the Peace Societies of the various nations which was to be
+held there March 11th.
+
+On March 7th M. Vesnitch, the chief delegate of Serbia, came to see me
+about Serbia's claims to two towns, Verschatz and Weisskirchen, which
+the sub-committee of ten, under the chairmanship of M. Tardieu, had
+awarded to Roumania. He claimed they were predominantly Serbian as to
+sympathies and population, and that because they happened to be on the
+railroad running through Roumania was no valid reason for transferring
+them under Roumanian sovereignty. He said Serbia could never consent to
+such transfer, which would cause not only dissatisfaction, but constant
+trouble.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The day after the Plenary Session of the Conference and the preliminary
+adoption of the Covenant, President Wilson returned to America. I talked
+with M. Bourgeois, M. Vesnitch, M. Venizelos, and several of the
+chairmen of the allied societies for a League of Nations, and we agreed
+to hold a conference of the delegates of the various societies. Chiefly
+because of our desire of having with us Sir Edward Grey, who was the
+chairman of the British Society, and Lord Bryce, both of whom at that
+time were not entirely well, we decided to hold the conference in London
+instead of in Paris. It was subsequently decided to hold it March
+11th-13th for the purpose of discussing the draft of the Covenant as
+preliminarily adopted, and to consider such changes and amendments as
+might be deemed advisable, which when acted upon and adopted were to be
+presented to our respective official delegates prior to the next meeting
+of the Plenary Conference, to be held after President Wilson's return.
+
+Accordingly, on March 11th, the delegates representing America, Great
+Britain, France, Greece, China, Jugo-Slavia, and Roumania assembled in
+London, in all about fifty in number. Besides myself as chairman, there
+attended, from America, Hamilton Holt, Arthur Kuhn, Dr. Henry Churchill
+King, Mrs. Fannie Fern Andrews, Raymond V. Ingersoll, Dr. Frederick
+Lynch, and Edward Harding. Great Britain was represented by Lord Shaw of
+Dunfermline, Sir W. H. Dickinson, Major David Davies, M.P.; J. H.
+Thomas, M.P.; J. R. Clynes, M.P.; Sir A. Shirley Benn, M.P.; Sir Arthur
+Steele-Maitland, M.P.; Professor Gilbert Murray; Aneurin Williams, M.P.;
+H. Wickham Steed, and others. From France came M. Léon Bourgeois,
+Vice-Admiral Fournier, General Léon Durand, Baron d'Estournelles de
+Constant, and others. Greece was represented by M. Venizelos and
+Professor Andreades. China was represented by Mr. Chang and Mr. Cheng;
+Jugo-Slavia by M. Yovanovitch; and Roumania by Professor E. Pangrati,
+Professor Negulesco, and Miss Helene Vacaresco.
+
+A preliminary consultation was held on the 10th, with Professor Gilbert
+Murray in the chair, and next morning the first meeting of the
+conference was held at Caxton Hall, Westminster. Lord Shaw was elected
+chairman, and W. J. T. Griffith, secretary. The various articles of the
+Covenant were discussed, together with the amendments and changes
+proposed by the delegates from the several countries. On behalf of our
+delegation, I offered a resolution regarding the free exercise of
+religion as well as freedom from civil and political discrimination
+because of religion, which resolution after discussion was unanimously
+adopted. Nine separate resolutions were offered by the British
+delegates, some ten resolutions by the French delegates, and others by
+the Roumanian and the Chinese delegates. In all, there were three
+sessions, and the resolutions that were adopted M. Bourgeois was
+authorized to present to the allied prime ministers.
+
+On the evening of the 12th, Major David Davies, on behalf of the League
+of Nations Union, gave a dinner at the Criterion Restaurant to M.
+Bourgeois, Dr. Nansen, M. Vandervelde, M. Venizelos, and me. Right Hon.
+H. A. L. Fisher, Secretary for Education, was toastmaster. Besides the
+delegates, a number of other prominent men were present. Several
+speeches were made laudatory of the Covenant and expressing high hopes
+for the new world order. Emphasis was laid upon the necessity of
+building up a body of opinion throughout the world to support the ideals
+of the League and of international peace.
+
+After adjournment, I returned to Paris, and on March 24th made a report
+to President Wilson, who, a few days before, had returned from America,
+and sent him the resolution proposed by the American delegates, namely,
+to add a new article to the Covenant as follows:
+
+     The High Contracting Parties, realizing that religious
+     discriminations give rise to internal dissatisfaction and unrest
+     which militate against international concord, agree to secure and
+     maintain in their respective countries, as well as in states and
+     territories under the tutelage of other states acting as
+     mandatories on behalf of the League, the free exercise of religion
+     as well as freedom from civil and political discrimination because
+     of adherence to any creed, religion or belief not inconsistent with
+     public order or with public morals.
+
+To this proposal President Wilson replied, saying: "I am indeed
+interested in a religious liberty article in the Covenant, but am trying
+to reach the matter in another way." He doubtless had in mind to cover
+it in treaties with the new nations for the protection of minorities, as
+was subsequently provided in the treaty with Poland and with the Balkan
+States.
+
+At a luncheon on April 6th with the Russian group of refugee statesmen
+in Paris, I again met M. Sazonoff; M. de Giers, formerly ambassador at
+Constantinople; M. Bark, formerly Minister of Finance under the
+Government of the late Czar; and M. Boris Bakhmeteff, the Russian
+ambassador to the United States. They all spoke most disparagingly of
+Russian conditions at the time. M. Sazonoff criticized and complained of
+the Peace Conference, which, as he stated, had in no way condemned
+Russian Bolshevism, and its failure in so doing had encouraged the
+Bolsheviki. He said that had the Allies taken Petrograd, which could
+have been done with very little sacrifice, that would have been the
+beginning of the end of Bolshevism and would have rallied the Russian
+people, who would themselves have destroyed the Bolsheviki. He added
+that Russia's cruel treatment of the Jews under the Czar's Government
+was an indefensible wrong, and doubtless contributed to driving some of
+those who had suffered most into the ranks of the Bolsheviki.
+
+While Sazonoff was talking, I wondered why he and some of his
+colleagues in the Ministry had not prevented the outrages against
+defenseless Jews, which resulted in the horrible pogroms which shocked
+the moral sensibility of the world.
+
+It is true that Sazonoff belonged to the so-called liberals of Russia,
+and they did not have the courage to stand up for the basic principles
+of humanity when in office, which they now, doubtless, sincerely
+proclaim. Such is the withering and dispiriting effect of autocratic
+government upon its own highest officials, who often lack the courage,
+even if they have the vision, to correct abuses; and because of this
+moral cowardice they prepare the way and supply the motive that sooner
+or later expresses itself in revolution. Napoleon is reputed to have
+said that the treatment of the Jews in every country is the thermometer
+of that country's civilization.
+
+Several times a week, during this period, conferences occurred in my
+apartment with representatives of the Eastern and Balkan States.
+Information had reached Paris that serious persecution of Jews was
+threatened in Prague and throughout Tchecko-Slovakia; and on March 25th
+a conference was arranged between M. Edouard Benès, Minister of Foreign
+Affairs of the Tchecko-Slovak Republic, and several gentlemen
+representing the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish and
+Zionist Committee, consisting of Julian W. Mack, Judge of the United
+States Circuit Court; Professor Felix Frankfurter, of Harvard
+University; Aaron Aaronson, head of the Agricultural Experiment Station
+of Palestine; Lewis L. Strauss, the assistant of Herbert Hoover; and
+myself. Letters from Prague from two of the Food Administration
+officials reported that a press propaganda was carried on against Jews,
+and that several attacks upon them had been made; that a movement was on
+foot to deport a number of them to Pressburg, the hot-bed of
+Bolshevism.
+
+M. Benès pointed out that if any pogroms occurred, which these reports
+foreshadowed, it would seriously prejudice his country and would
+alienate American sympathy, which in turn might result in discontinuing
+food shipments to his country. He stated that he was a disciple of
+President Masaryk and always shared his liberal social and political
+views; he said he would at once telegraph President Masaryk, who he knew
+would do everything in his power to suppress the anti-Semitic agitation.
+We were very much impressed with the enlightened statesmanship of M.
+Benès, who, since then, has shown himself to be one of the foremost
+statesmen in middle Europe. He assured us at the time that any
+persecution of minorities in his country would be contrary to its
+organic laws, and in direct violation of the principles and policies
+upon which it had been determined to organize the State, and that we
+could rely on it that no efforts would be spared in securing equal
+justice for all without regard to race or religion.
+
+From Sir Robert L. Borden, the Premier of Canada and one of the
+delegates of the British Empire to the Peace Conference, I received on
+March 21st a copy of his memorandum on the several articles of the
+Covenant. I found them well conceived and in the main admirable. He
+opposed Article X as drafted. He wanted it either stricken out or
+clarified. I sent him a copy of a speech of Mr. Taft's of March 5th
+referring to the same subject.
+
+At the request of Colonel House, on April 11th, I had another conference
+with M. Bourgeois. The Commission on the League of Nations of the
+fourteen nations, under the chairmanship of President Wilson, had the
+night before held a protracted session discussing the revision of the
+Covenant, at which President Wilson offered the revised Article XXI
+containing the special provision regarding the Monroe Doctrine, as
+follows:
+
+     ARTICLE XXI
+
+     Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of
+     international engagements such as treaties of arbitration or
+     regional understandings like the Monroe Doctrine for securing the
+     maintenance of peace.
+
+M. Larnaud and M. Bourgeois, the French representatives, both objected
+to specific reference to the Monroe Doctrine, and made long speeches in
+support of such objection. Colonel House desired me to impress upon M.
+Bourgeois the reasons for this amendment and why it was necessary
+specifically to mention the Monroe Doctrine, because, without it, it
+would not be possible to have the Covenant confirmed by the Senate. As I
+did not know M. Larnaud, I thought it best to discuss the subject with
+M. Bourgeois so that he might confer with his colleague. In company with
+Baron d'Estournelles de Constant, I called on M. Bourgeois at his
+residence. I soon learned that M. Bourgeois did not object to specific
+reference to the Monroe Doctrine, but he desired, in return for his
+assent, to obtain President Wilson's assent to the amendments Bourgeois
+had offered respecting a general staff and control or supervision of the
+military force that each of the States was to supply to support the
+League. As the Commission was to meet again to finish the consideration
+of the Covenant, he agreed to confer with M. Clemenceau, saying he would
+have to learn the other's views. He further said it must be determined
+how best to formulate the article especially referring to the Monroe
+Doctrine so as not to conflict with the general provisions.
+
+At the session of the Commission that evening at the Crillon Hotel,
+which lasted until after midnight, the article as quoted above,
+specifically mentioning the Monroe Doctrine, was adopted. Colonel House
+gave me the exact wording of the article, which I at once cabled to the
+League to Enforce Peace in New York, with the request that Mr. Taft be
+informed. The same day I received a cable from Mr. Taft and Dr. Lowell,
+forwarded by Acting Secretary of State Frank L. Polk, to the effect
+that, in the opinion of the Executive Committee of the League, specific
+reference to the exclusion of the Monroe Doctrine from the jurisdiction
+of the Covenant of the League was absolutely necessary to secure
+confirmation by the Senate. On the following day Taft cabled me that the
+Monroe Doctrine amendment was "eminently satisfactory."
+
+I immediately advised President Wilson, sending him a copy of the cable.
+The following day, I received the following letter from him:
+
+
+                                                     _18 April, 1919_
+
+     MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     I have been very much cheered by your kind letter of yesterday,
+     with the message which it quotes from the League to Enforce Peace
+     and from Mr. Taft personally, and I want to thank you very warmly
+     for your own kind personal assurances of satisfaction with the
+     results of our work on the Covenant.
+
+                                  Cordially and sincerely yours
+                                                          WOODROW WILSON
+
+On April 23d, on the invitation of Professor Stephen Hayes Bush, of the
+State University of Iowa, who was in charge of the Free Lecture Course
+of the American Expeditionary Force, I delivered an address in the Grand
+Amphitheatre of the Sorbonne. The great hall was filled with about one
+thousand of our officers and men who were taking courses at this ancient
+institution of learning. There were two lectures that afternoon, the
+other by M. Ferdinand Buisson, the noted educator. His subject was "The
+Educational System of France," which he had done so much to develop
+since the educational system had been secularized by the separation of
+Church and State in France. He described why education had been taken
+from the control of the Catholic clergy, not out of hostility to the
+Church, but in order not to prejudice the religious scruples of
+non-clericals and non-Catholics.
+
+I took as my subject "America and the League of Nations," and showed in
+what respect the Covenant provided definite sanctions to make peace
+decisions effective. I pointed out that following the war, for the first
+time in history, the dominant power of the world rested in
+democratically governed nations, and that theirs was the opportunity and
+the responsibility to make provisions that such a war shall never be
+waged again; and that now it was the duty of statesmanship to translate
+the victory won in war into greater security for the future peace and
+happiness of the world. I quoted from the speech of President Poincaré
+in welcoming the Peace Delegates, in which he had described the reasons
+why America entered the World War. He had said: "It was a supreme
+judgment passed at the bar of history by the lofty conscience of a free
+people to rescue her mother from the humiliation of thralldom and to
+save civilization."
+
+That same evening, M. Nicolas W. Tchaikovsky, president of the Archangel
+Government of Northern Russia, called at my apartment to discuss with me
+conditions in Russia. I had met him before when he was in Washington in
+1907, after his escape from prison in Siberia. During several periods
+before that time he had lived in western United States, where he had
+engaged in farming. He had formerly belonged to the group of social
+revolutionists. I spoke with him about the Hoover plan of sending food
+into Russia, to which he replied that if an armed force could be sent
+there it would be better, but that without an armed force the Bolsheviki
+would use the provisions for their own red guard. I explained to him
+that that could not be done, since the agents of the Food Administration
+would themselves supervise the distribution, just as was done in Belgium
+during the German occupation. He did not seem to think well of the whole
+plan and considered that it would be of advantage to the Bolsheviki
+politically, and would make their people believe it was a recognition of
+their régime. He seemed to think that the Bolsheviki authorities could
+not stop fighting in Russia even if they wanted to, as their several
+generals acted independently.
+
+He spoke of Lenin as an honest, strong-headed, misguided fanatic, who he
+believed would in time discover his error and would have the moral
+courage and honesty to throw up his hands. Trotsky, he said, was quite
+another sort--an ambitious adventurer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Plenary Session of the Conference was called to order at the Quai
+d'Orsay on April 28th, at 3 P.M. I again attended with our official
+delegate, former Ambassador Henry White. The representatives of the
+thirty nations were seated as before. I was given a seat just behind the
+American Commission. The Session was presided over by M. Clemenceau, who
+showed no signs of the effects of his recent wound by an assassin's
+bullet. He opened the session with a few words, then called on President
+Wilson, who declared in a matter-of-fact way that, since he had read the
+articles of the Covenant to the Conference at the previous session
+(February 14th), and since all the delegates had the Covenant as amended
+before them, he would confine himself to pointing out the amendments and
+the reasons therefor.
+
+The immense hall was packed as on previous occasions. After President
+Wilson had made his statement, which was rendered into French by the
+official interpreter, he moved several resolutions, one nominating Sir
+James Eric Drummond as Secretary-General of the League, and one that
+Belgium, Brazil, Greece, and Spain should be members of the Council
+pending the selection of the four additional States by the Assembly of
+the League.
+
+As chairman of the League to Enforce Peace, I wrote a letter to the
+President on the following day offering my congratulations upon the
+adoption of the Covenant. To this I received the following reply:
+
+
+                                                 PARIS, _1 May, 1919_
+
+      MY DEAR MR. STRAUS:
+
+     Thank you with all my heart for your generous letter of the 29th.
+     It has given me the greatest pleasure and encouragement, and I want
+     to take the opportunity to say how valuable in every way your own
+     support of and enthusiasm for the League of Nations has been. It is
+     a real pleasure to receive your unqualified approbation.
+
+                            Cordially and sincerely yours
+                                                            WOODROW WILSON
+
+After the Plenary Session on April 28th and the adoption of the Covenant
+of the League of Nations, I felt that my duties in Paris were at an end.
+The winter had been very strenuous, and the weather had been very
+inclement--much rain and very little sunshine. I decided to take a rest,
+and was advised, because of some slight ailment in my left leg due to
+impeded circulation, to take the baths at Bagnoles de l'Orne. The usual
+régime there is to take twenty-one baths. After I had taken eight, I
+received a letter from Colonel House saying that he would regard it most
+helpful if I would return to America at as early a date as possible. He
+informed me that the counsel for the American Commission, David Hunter
+Miller, was also returning; that passage had been secured for both of
+us on the U.S.S. Mount Vernon which was sailing from Brest on June 2d.
+He stated that it would be rendering a valuable service if I would
+confer with some of the Senators, so that they might be fully informed
+regarding the discussions and details of the negotiations as they
+progressed.
+
+I accordingly returned to Paris, and on May 27th had a conference with
+Colonel House, who again impressed upon me the services I might render
+in returning to the United States, since no one was more familiar than
+Mr. Miller and I with the meaning and significance of the articles of
+the Covenant; no one, therefore, was better qualified to answer the
+criticisms and objections that had been made.
+
+In the course of conversation, he said that in his opinion Woodrow
+Wilson would not become a candidate again for President unless the
+treaty were rejected, which might force him to run against his will in
+order to save the treaty; should the treaty, however, be ratified, there
+would be no occasion for him to become a candidate.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The day before this, while I was paying a visit at the Hotel
+Continental, I met Jane Addams and Lillian Wald, and with them was
+Alexander Kerensky, the former Premier of Russia, They asked me to meet
+Kerensky, which I did. He proved to be not at all the kind of man in
+appearance that I had pictured. He did not resemble the Russian type. He
+was clean-shaven, rather spare, a little above medium height, and seemed
+about forty years of age. He looked more like a student than like a
+leader who had stood in the storm-center of political turmoil.
+
+Kerensky told me that he did not believe in Kolschak, principally
+because he regarded him as a tool of the Britain and Russian nobility.
+Kerensky expressed himself as opposed to having the Allies recognize
+Kolschak unless it was conditioned on definite guarantees that a free
+democratic election be held so that the people might decide what form of
+government they desired.
+
+The following day, Dr. Dluski, the Polish peace delegate, together with
+M. Lieberman, a Jewish member of the Polish Diet, called upon me to
+explain, if not justify, the Polish pogroms, evidently because of the
+great publicity that had been given thereto by the mass meeting in New
+York. The resolutions passed by that meeting, and presented to the
+President, had appeared in dispatches to European papers.
+
+We left Paris for Brest on May 30th. The Mount Vernon, which was
+scheduled to sail on the following day, had postponed sailing until June
+3d. It carried some five thousand officers and men of the Sixth
+Division. Dr. Mezes and his wife were also on board. Dr. Mezes, who is a
+brother-in-law of Colonel House, organized the group of experts, of
+which he was chairman, which had rendered such valuable service to the
+Commission. We were all very comfortably provided for on the ship, and
+it was most interesting to observe the system and order with which the
+five thousand officers and men were taken care of. They were a jolly
+lot, happy to return home, and without exception conducted themselves in
+a correct and orderly manner. We had a delightful crossing; the weather
+was fine and the sea was calm.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Shortly after my return to the United States, the League to Enforce
+Peace called a meeting of the Executive Council to determine what action
+it could best take to further the ratification of the treaty which was
+now being vigorously debated in the Senate. It was decided that Mr.
+Vance McCormick and I should be a committee to confer with the
+President. We subsequently desired to add Dr. A. Lawrence Lowell,
+president of Harvard University, to our number, provided it would be
+agreeable to the President, which Mr. McCormick was to ascertain when
+arranging for the appointment. The President designated August 6th as
+the day on which he would see us, and accordingly Dr. Lowell, Mr.
+McCormick, the Secretary of the League, Dr. Short, and I went to the
+White House.
+
+President Wilson assured us that, while he was somewhat tired, he felt
+in good condition. He said he had had a number of conferences with
+individual Senators who had objected to the ratification of the treaty,
+and that he had given them explanations regarding the main points in
+dispute, namely, Article X, guaranteeing against external aggression;
+Article XXI, providing that nothing in the Covenant should be deemed to
+affect the validity of the Monroe Doctrine; and Article I, providing
+that any member of the League may, after two years' notice, withdraw
+from the League. These were the main subjects covered by the
+reservations formulated by the moderate group headed by Senators Kellogg
+and McCumber.
+
+We suggested that it might be of good result if the President could in
+some public and formal way make his explanations and interpretations
+regarding these points. The question was how this could best be done.
+The President believed it would be preferable if one of the Senators of
+the opposition addressed to him a letter of inquiry, so framed as to
+enable the President to give his views. It was then understood that Dr.
+Lowell, Mr. McCormick, and I should confer with Senator Hitchcock, the
+Democratic leader of the minority of the Committee on Foreign Relations,
+who could advise us as to what member of the Republican majority on the
+committee it would be best for us to confer with.
+
+After our conference with the President, we went to the Senate and found
+the Committee on Foreign Relations in session, examining Secretary of
+State Lansing. Senator Hitchcock suggested that we call on Senator
+McCumber, but as he was not then in Washington, Dr. Lowell and I called
+on Senator Kellogg. The latter told us what we already knew, namely,
+that he was in favor of the League and was scheduled to make his speech
+in the Senate advocating the ratification of the treaty with the
+reservations his group had formulated, which reservations he felt
+confident were not in the nature of amendments, but interpretative only,
+and therefore would not require resubmission either to the Plenary
+Session or to Germany. Dr. Lowell and I outlined our plan regarding the
+letter to the President, asking for his interpretation of the articles
+above referred to. While Senator Kellogg personally favored this plan,
+he said he would first have to confer with the members of his group, and
+he believed they would be favorably inclined. We then inquired whether
+the President's interpretations and clarifications might not serve the
+purpose of making the reservations unnecessary. The Senator said "no,"
+but that the reservations could recite the fact that they were based
+upon the President's interpretations. We arranged that Senators Kellogg
+and Hitchcock should confer upon the subject with a view of preparing
+such a tentative letter of inquiry which might be shown to the President
+in advance, and to which the President could reply, giving his
+interpretations.
+
+After leaving Senator Kellogg, we again called on Senator Hitchcock. In
+all of these conferences between the Senators of the various groups, we
+acted as the "honest brokers" for the League. Senator Hitchcock thought
+very favorably of our plan and believed it would work out
+advantageously. Dr. Lowell and I felt gratified with our day's work,
+though, as matters developed, nothing came of this plan.
+
+In this connection I cannot refrain from quoting a story which Dr.
+Lowell told apropos of the problem. The story, as I recall it, was that
+a noted colored preacher was holding a service in which he read a
+chapter from Isaiah referring to the Seraphim. After the service one of
+the colored brethren asked the preacher what was "the difference between
+a Seraphim and a terrapin." The latter, rubbing his head, replied: "My
+son, I grant you there is a difference, but they have made it up."
+
+Unfortunately, while there was, in words at least, if not in context, a
+difference between the reservations offered by the Administration group,
+the group of mild reservationists, and the majority group, yet, for
+reasons that I need not enter into here, they did not "make it up."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In concluding this chapter and in closing these memoirs, I cannot resist
+reflecting how much wiser the Allied Powers and America were in the
+conduct of the war than in the making of peace, and afterwards. In war
+they finally pooled their strength and won; in the peace terms they
+again drew measurably apart. The men who framed the peace terms
+subordinated world policies to home politics. The United States, by
+reason of a contest between the Administration and the majority group in
+the Senate, allowed its sense of world responsibility to be negated by
+partisan differences. Reconstruction is being halted. And why? Because
+the leading statesmen of the Entente Powers still lack the economic
+wisdom, or, what is the equivalent, the courage, to shape their
+international policies along world economic lines. My own country, in
+withholding its coöperation, is equally culpable. The result is tension
+and derangement in the relationship of nations.
+
+As the malady from which this and other countries are suffering is
+world-wide, so must the remedy be world-wide. And America cannot free
+herself from the responsibility by isolating herself and refusing to do
+her part in applying the remedial measures necessary to restore normal
+conditions. The remedy does not consist in the lessening or weakening of
+sovereignty by individual states. It consists in the enlargement of
+their sovereign functions in concert with and in just relations to other
+states for the administration of common interests. It requires no
+surrender of sovereignty for individual states to conform their policies
+to the world's common needs.
+
+
+                              THE END
+
+
+                               Index
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+Throughout the index, _S._ stands for the author.
+
+
+  Aaronson, Aaron, 418.
+
+  Abbott, Ernest, 183, 188.
+
+  Abbott, Lawrence F., _Impressions of Theodore Roosevelt_, 263, 264,
+        290, 311; 174, 254, 289.
+
+  Abbott, Lyman, 122, 183, 184, 188, 272, 311, 395.
+
+  Abdul Aziz, Sultan, 298.
+
+  Abdul Hamid II, Sultan, difficulty of obtaining audience with, 58, 59;
+    at Selamlik, 63, 64;
+    feared assassination, 64;
+    _S._'s long-delayed audience, 67-69;
+    physical aspect of, 68;
+     and Baron de Hirsch, 93;
+    _S._ again received by, 99;
+    permits excavations in Babylonia, 100;
+    his obligation to _S._, 100, 101;
+    _S._'s farewell audience, 102, 103;
+    decorates Mrs. Straus, 104;
+    welcomes return of _S._, as minister, 134;
+    does not favor raising U.S. mission to embassy, 135;
+    "the whole show," 136;
+    receives German Emperor, 137, 138, 139;
+    and the indemnities due to missionaries, 141, 142;
+    and Mohammedans in the Philippines, 143 _ff._;
+    instructs them to submit to U._S._ army, 146, 159;
+    and foreign visitors, 152;
+    increased power of, 153;
+    his gift to _S._, 155, 156; 72, 97, 98, 157, 276, 277, 279, 282, 292.
+
+  Abraham, 157.
+
+  Adams, John, 258.
+
+  Adams, John Quincy, 260.
+
+  Addams, Jane, 425.
+
+  Adee, Alvey A., 48, 91, 98.
+
+  Adler, Cyrus, 240, 252.
+
+  Africa, Northern, Italy seeks territory in, 340.
+
+  Aguinaldo, Emilio, fails to arouse Sulu Mohammedans to revolt, 146.
+
+  Ahmed Riga Bey, 298, 299.
+
+  Alaska salmon fisheries, protection of, 235, 236.
+
+  Alaskan boundary question, 173, 174.
+
+  Alexiefsky, Alexandre, 392, 393.
+
+  Algeciras Conference, 192.
+
+  Algiers, motoring through, 343.
+
+  Alliance Israélite (Paris), 167, 359.
+
+  Allied Societies for a League of Nations, conference of, 415, 416.
+
+  Alphonso XIII, of Spain, 361.
+
+  American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and _S._'s
+        appointment to Turkey, 45, 49.
+
+  American citizens, naturalized, rights of, in foreign countries, 163,
+        332, 333.
+
+  American College for Girls, 297.
+
+  American diplomats, meager salaries of, 102.
+
+  American Jews in Turkey, 80, 81, 82.
+
+  _American Journal of International Law_, quoted, 335; 336.
+
+  American politics, two main currents in, 307.
+
+  American Society of International Law, 334-336.
+
+  Americanism, Roosevelt quoted on, 183.
+
+  Americans, stranded in London, committee for relief of, 371 _ff._
+
+  Ames, James B., 160.
+
+  Amos, Morris S., 172.
+
+  Anarchists, exclusion and deportation of, 231, 232;
+    defined in Act of 1907, 232.
+
+  Anderson, Chandler P., 372.
+
+  Andreades, Professor, 415.
+
+  Andrews, E. Benjamin, 120.
+
+  Andrews, Fannie Fern, 400, 415.
+
+  Angell, James B., resigns Turkish mission, 124, 125; 131, 134.
+
+  Anglo-Japanese Alliance, automatically ended by Four-Power Treaty, 229.
+
+  Anthon, Charles, 24.
+
+  Aoki, Mr., Japanese Ambassador, 218, 227.
+
+  Arbitration, as a remedy for industrial disputes, 195.
+
+  Arbitration treaties, failure of, 329, 330.
+
+  Armenians, massacres of, 139, 148, 280.
+
+  Artin Effendi, 157.
+
+  Asquith, Herbert H., 350, 384.
+
+  Asquith, Margot, 350.
+
+  Astor, Waldorf, 374.
+
+  Astor, Mrs. Waldorf (Viscountess), 374.
+
+  Astor, William, 113.
+
+  Athens, _S._'s visits to, 152-154, 285, 286.
+
+  Athletics in the universities in 1870, 26.
+
+  Auchincloss, Gordon, 400, 412.
+
+  Augusta Victoria, German Empress, in Constantinople, 136 _ff._
+
+  Austria-Hungary, and the Keiley episode, 46, 47;
+    in sympathy with Germany (1909), 279;
+    annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina, 341.
+
+  Authors' Club, dinner to _S._, 331.
+
+  Avigdor, Isaac S. d', 3.
+
+  Avigdor, Jules d', 3.
+
+
+  Babylonia, excavations in, 97 _ff._
+
+  Bacon, Rev. Dr., 24.
+
+  Bagdad railway, concession for building, and the World War, 279.
+    And _see_ Persian Gulf.
+
+  Bakhmeteff, Boris, 411, 417.
+
+  Balfour, Arthur J., Palestine for the Jews, 399; 229, 397, 409.
+
+  Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913), 341, 342, 344.
+
+  Baring, Sir Evelyn, 79.
+    And _see_ Cromer, Lord.
+
+  Bark, M., 417.
+
+  Barlow, Joel, 145.
+
+  Barnard, Frederick A. P., 26, 27, 28.
+
+  Barnes, A. S., 45.
+
+  Barnes, George, 407.
+
+  Barnum, H. S., 103.
+
+  Baron de Hirsch Fund and Trade School, 96.
+
+  Bartholdt, Richard, 420.
+
+  Bates, General, 146.
+
+  Bavaria, Jews of Palatinate of, 1 _ff._
+
+  Bayard, Thomas F., and the Keiley episode, 47;
+    quoted, 126; 44, 85, 91, 93, 94.
+
+  Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of, at the Berlin Congress
+       (1878), 363;
+    Sir H. D. Wolff on, 364, 365;
+    his loyalty to Judaism, 364;
+    his novels, 364.
+
+  Beale, Joseph H., 334.
+
+  Beck, James M., 391.
+
+  Beecher, Henry Ward, urges appointment of _S._ to Turkey, 45, 46,
+        116; 40.
+
+  Beer, George L., 290.
+
+  Beiram, feast of, 59, 60.
+
+  Beirut, schools in, 73.
+
+  Belmont, August, 40.
+
+  Benedict XV, Pope, 387.
+
+  Benès, Edouard, 418, 419.
+
+  Benn, A. Shirley, 415.
+
+  Bent, Theodore, 100.
+
+  Bergson, Henri, 360, 390, 391.
+
+  Berlin, Treaty of, violated by Roumania, 166, 167; 241.
+
+  Berlin, Congress of (1878), 363, 364.
+
+  Bernays, Michael, and the Queen of Roumania, 304.
+
+  Bernstorff, Count von, on the origin of the war, 378;
+    on U.S. mediation, 378 _ff._;
+    _S._ said to have been duped by, 382, 384;
+    given his passports, 389.
+
+  Berr, Michael, 3.
+
+  Bethmann-Hollweg, Chancellor von, reply of, to offer of mediation,
+        384, 385.
+
+  Beveridge, Albert J., 122.
+
+  Bible societies, troubles of agents of, 74.
+
+  Biddle, James, 87.
+
+  Bien, Julius, 171.
+
+  Birkenhead, F. E. Smith, Baron, sketch of, 398;
+    opposed to League of Nations, 398, 399.
+
+  Bissinger, Erhard, 73.
+
+  Blaine, James G., and Dr. Burchard, 38, 39.
+
+  Blanc, Baron, 72.
+
+  Bliss, Cornelius N., 174.
+
+  Bliss, Daniel, 75.
+
+  Bliss, Edwin E., 103.
+
+  Bliss, George, 21, 22.
+
+  Bliss, Howard S., and the Syrian Protestant College, 76.
+
+  Bliss, Isaac, 72.
+
+  Bliss, William G., 103.
+
+  B'nai B'rith Order, 167, 171.
+
+  Boardman, Mabel T., 339.
+
+  Boker, George H., 51, 90.
+
+  Bonaparte, Charles J., 230, 232, 237, 393.
+
+  Bonetti, Monsignor, 149.
+
+  Bonney, Mr., 158.
+
+  Borden, Sir Robert L., 409, 410, 411, 419.
+
+  Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by Austria, 341.
+
+  Bosphorus, the, 57, 155.
+
+  "Bosses," the, Roosevelt's attitude toward, 309.
+
+  Boulanger, Georges E. J. M., "the second Napoleon," 52, 53, 54.
+
+  Boulangist movement, collapse of, 54.
+
+  Boulé (Greek Parliament), 286.
+
+  Bourgeois, Léon, proposes additional articles in League Covenant,
+        400-403, 406, 408; 404, 407, 411, 412, 419, 420.
+
+  Brandes, Georg, 345, 346.
+
+  Brann, Father, 149.
+
+  Breckenridge, Clifton R., 125.
+
+  Breed, William C., 372.
+
+  Brewer, David J., 334, 339.
+
+  Bridges, Robert, 350.
+
+  British League of Nations Union, 398.
+
+  Brittain, Sir Harry, 353.
+
+  Brittain, Lady, 353.
+
+  Brown, William Haig, 120, 121.
+
+  Brown University, gives _S._ honorary degree, 120.
+
+  Browning, Oscar, 290.
+
+  Bryan, William J., letter of Roosevelt to, 254;
+    and the offer of U.S. to mediate, 379, 380, 381;
+    his instructions to Mr. Page, 385; 252, 253.
+
+  Bryce, James, Viscount, 177, 231, 336, 399, 415.
+
+  Bryce, Lady, 231.
+
+  Buchanan, James, 31.
+
+  Budros Pasha, Roosevelt's denunciation of murder of, 288.
+
+  Buisson, Ferdinand, 421, 422.
+
+  Bulgaria, 294.
+
+  Bullock, Seth, 176, 177.
+
+  Bülow, Prince Bernhard von, 136, 247.
+
+  Burchard, Samuel D., and his "rum, Romanism, and rebellion" speech,
+        38, 39.
+
+  Burns, John, 352, 353.
+
+  Burton, Theodore E., 391.
+
+  Bush, Stephen H., 420.
+
+  Butler, Charles H., 334.
+
+  Butler, Nicholas M., 121, 386.
+
+  Buyukdereh, 57.
+
+  Byrne, James, 372.
+
+
+  Cabinet, routine of meetings of, 215, 216.
+
+  Cairo, _S._'s visit to, 77-79;
+    with Roosevelt at, 287 _ff._
+
+  Calice, Baron de, 60, 135.
+
+  California, Japanese in, 218;
+    outbreak against Japanese in, 220;
+    anti-Japanese legislation in, 228,
+    nullifies "Gentlemen's Agreement," 266;
+    general sentiment of, 228.
+
+  Cambon, Jules, 135.
+
+  Cambon, French Ambassador to Turkey, 135.
+
+  Campbell, Timothy, anecdote of, 115.
+
+  Canadians, and the Alaskan boundary, 174.
+
+  Cannon, Joseph G., 265.
+
+  Capitulations, the, 86 _ff._
+
+  Cardwell, John, 78.
+
+  Carlisle, John G., 115, 127.
+
+  Carlisle, Mrs. John G., 115.
+
+  "Carmen Sylva." _See_ Elizabeth of Roumania.
+
+  Carnegie, Andrew, and the Homestead Labor leaders, 197;
+    President of National Civic Federation, 197;
+    his character, 198;
+    his _Autobiography_, 198;
+    entertains _S._ at Skibo Castle, 355;
+    and the Peace Palace, 356, 357; 178, 331, 332, 386.
+
+  Carnegie, Mrs. Andrew, 357.
+
+  Carol, King of Roumania, _S._ entertained by, 300;
+    on economic questions, 302;
+    admired Roosevelt, 302;
+    his attitude toward Jews, 302, 303.
+
+  Carranza, President of Mexico, 340.
+
+  Carter, George R., Governor of Hawaii, 222.
+
+  Carter, Mrs. George R., 222.
+
+  Carter, J. Ridgely, 300.
+
+  Cassel, Sir Ernest, 305.
+
+  Cassini, Count, 173.
+
+  Castelar, Emilio, sketch of, 365;
+    on the expulsion of Jews from Spain, 366.
+
+  Catholics, Roosevelt's attitude toward, 182, 183, 259-262.
+
+  Cavass, the, functions of, 58.
+
+  Cecil, Lord Robert, quoted, 406; 399, 404, 405.
+
+  Cena, Signor, 345.
+
+  Central News War Service, 385, 386.
+
+  _Century Magazine_, 151, 366.
+
+  _Cercle Interallié_, 404.
+
+  Chadwick, French E., 332.
+
+  Chaffee, Adna R., 166.
+
+  Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., 238.
+
+  Chamberlain, Leander, 272.
+
+  Chang, Mr., 415.
+
+  Chapman, John, 51.
+
+  Chapman, Mrs. John, 51.
+
+  Charterhouse School and Roger Williams, 120, 121.
+
+  Cheng, Mr., 415.
+
+  Chevket Pasha. _See_ Mahmoud.
+
+  Chicago, campaign to purify primaries in, 121, 122.
+
+  Chicago _Record_, 143.
+
+  China, and the open door, 161.
+
+  Choate, Joseph H., _S._'s friendship with, 36.
+
+  Christianity, few conversions to, in Turkey, 75.
+
+  Christians, in Turkey, resent visit of German Emperor, 139.
+
+  Cilicia, massacre of Armenians in, 280.
+
+  Cincinnati _Times-Star_, 251, 252.
+
+  Civic Federation of Chicago, 121, 194.
+
+  Civil service, Roosevelt on, 184.
+
+  Civil War, the, results of, 20.
+
+  Clemenceau, Georges, 53, 401, 403, 405, 407, 420, 423.
+
+  Cleveland, Frances (Folsom), 48, 116, 118, 299.
+    And _see_ Preston, Frances.
+
+  Cleveland, Grover, elected President (1884), 38, 39, 40;
+    _S._ recommended to, as minister to Turkey, 44-46,
+      and appointed, 46;
+    and the Keiley episode, 47;
+    interview of _S._ with, 48, 49;
+    letters of, to _S._, 110, 111, 113;
+    and the silver question, 108, 109, 110;
+    his tariff message (1887), 109;
+    popular esteem for, 109, 110, 119;
+    relations with _S._, 110;
+    at Lakewood, 112, 118;
+    on Isidor Straus, 112;
+    and the Van Alen appointment, 113, 114;
+    and the bond loans, 116;
+    his address at the Beecher Memorial, 116;
+    and C. F. Murphy, 117;
+    failing health, 118;
+    his death and burial, 118, 119;
+    quoted, 126;
+    address at meeting of protest against Kishineff massacre, 170;
+         42, 43, 89, 99, 102, 195, 339, 358.
+
+  Cleveland-Blaine campaign, the, 38, 39.
+
+  Clynes, J. R., 415.
+
+  Coastwise shipping and Canal tolls, 338, 339.
+
+  Colby, Bainbridge, 321, 322.
+
+  Cole, Samuel V., "The Deacon's Prayer," 395.
+
+  Collinsworth Institute, 11, 243.
+
+  Cologna, Abraham de, 3.
+
+  Colombia, Republic of, and the Panama revolution, 174-176.
+
+  Columbia College, _S._ a student at, 25-29.
+
+  Columbia Grammar School, _S._ a pupil at, 22-24.
+
+  Columbia Law School, _S._ a student at, 29, 30;
+    faculty of, 30, 31.
+
+  Columbus, Christopher, was he a Spaniard, of Jewish ancestry? 368, 369.
+
+  Columbus, Ga., Straus family settles in, 17;
+    life in, 18;
+    captured and looted by Union forces, 17;
+    dinner to _S._ at, 242.
+
+  Commerce and Labor, Department of, _S._ appointed head of, 212;
+    its scope, 213;
+    _S._'s method of conducting, 213;
+    his staff, 213, 214;
+    civil service in, 214;
+    division of, opposed by _S._, 239.
+
+  Commercial bodies, relations of, with the Government, 236-238.
+
+  Commission to investigate treatment of Jews in Russia, report of,
+        107, 108.
+
+  Congress, jingo agitation in, 124.
+
+  Constantinople, first impressions of, 58;
+    custom regarding official calls at, 60;
+    conditions of life in, 61, 62;
+    ceremony of Selamlik in, 63, 64;
+    second arrival at, 133;
+    visit of German Emperor to, 136-139;
+    visitors to, 149-152, 298, 299;
+    in 1909, 276.
+
+  Contract labor law, 216.
+
+  Coons, Joseph D., 171.
+
+  Cooper, Peter, 301.
+
+  Coöperation Society of Northern England, 354.
+
+  Corbin, Henry C., 166.
+
+  Cortelyou, George B., 212, 213, 254.
+
+  Corwine, William R., 237.
+
+  Coszta, Martin, case of, 332, 333.
+
+  Coudert, Frederick R., 38.
+
+  Cowles, Lieut.-Commander, 174.
+
+  Cox, Samuel S., 42, 43.
+
+  Cramp Shipbuilding Co., 138, 142.
+
+  Cravath, Paul D., 170.
+
+  Crete, Greek designs on, 293, 294;
+    Venizelos in charge of affairs in, 295, 296.
+
+  Criminals, exclusion and deportation of, 233, 234.
+
+  Croker, Richard, 110.
+
+  Cromer, Evelyn Baring, Lord, 79, 290, 291.
+
+  Cromwell, Oliver, 353.
+
+  Crum, Mr., colored, appointed Collector at Charleston by Roosevelt, 184.
+
+  Cuba, trouble with Spain over, 122, 123.
+
+  Cullom, Shelby M., 163.
+
+  Curley, Captain, 7, 8, 15, 16.
+
+  Curtis, William E., 143, 144.
+
+  Cutting, Robert F., 25, 26.
+
+  Cyprus, 157.
+
+
+  Daniel, John W., 240.
+
+  Davenport, Frederick M., 317, 321, 324.
+
+  Davies, David, 415, 416.
+
+  Davis, Cushman K., 128.
+
+  Davis, John C., 174.
+
+  Davis, John W., 398.
+
+  Davis, Mrs. John W., 398.
+
+  Day, Joseph P., 372.
+
+  Day, William R., 128, 130.
+
+  De Forest, Robert W., 372.
+
+  Democratic State Convention (N.Y., 1891), silver question in, 108, 110;
+    adopts sound-money plank, 110.
+
+  Depew, Chauncey M., 265.
+
+  Derby, Ethel (Roosevelt), 395.
+
+  Dewey, George, 219.
+
+  Dews, Dr., 17, 18.
+
+  Diaz, Porfirio, 160.
+
+  Dickinson, J. M., 334.
+
+  Dickinson, Sir Willoughby H., 398, 399, 415.
+
+  Dillon, Count, 52, 53.
+
+  Dillon, Countess, 52, 53.
+
+  Diplomatic corps, at Constantinople, official calls among, 60, 61.
+
+  Diplomatic romance, a, 143-148.
+
+  Diplomatic service of U.S., suggestions for improving, 105.
+
+  D'Israeli, Mrs. Benjamin, the elder, 3.
+
+  Disraeli, Benjamin. _See_ Beaconsfield.
+
+  Dixon, Joseph M., 255.
+
+  Djavid Bey, 278, 281, 282, 284.
+
+  Dluski, Dr., 426.
+
+  Dodge, Cleveland H., 299.
+
+  Dodge, William E., 131.
+
+  Donald, Robert, 351.
+
+  Dosfuentes, Marqués de. _See_ Olmet.
+
+  Dougherty, Daniel, 40.
+
+  Drago, Luis M., 304, 305.
+
+  Draper, William F., Ambassador to Italy, 131, 132, 158.
+
+  Draper, Mrs. William F., 158.
+
+  Drummond, Sir J. Eric, 424.
+
+  Duane, W. N., 372.
+
+  Dufferin, F. T. H. Blackwood, Earl and Marquis of, 79, 364.
+
+  Dunnell, E. G., 48, 49.
+
+  Durand, Léon, 415.
+
+  Dwight, Charles A. S., 103.
+
+  Dwight, Henry O., 72, 103.
+
+  Dwight, Theodore W., 30.
+
+
+  Earl, Charles, 216.
+
+  Easley, Ralph M., 121, 122, 194, 195, 196.
+
+  Eastern Question, possibilities of trouble in, 327 _ff._
+
+  Eben Ezra, 367.
+
+  Edward VII, 350.
+
+  Egypt, status of, 77 _ff._;
+    conditions in, 290, 291.
+
+  Eidlitz, Otto M., 200.
+
+  Eight-hour law, favored by Roosevelt, 196.
+
+  Einstein, G. F., 43, 44.
+
+  Eitel Friedrich, Prince, _S._'s impression of, 291, 292.
+
+  Eitel Friedrich, Princess, 291, 292.
+
+  Electoral reform, campaign for, 121, 122.
+
+  Eliot, George. _See_ Evans, Mary Ann.
+
+  Elizabeth, Queen of Roumania, aspect and accomplishments of, 301,
+        302;
+    genesis of her pen-name, 301;
+    her study, 301, 302;
+    her gifts to _S._, 302, 304;
+    and Hay's hymn, 303, 304;
+    on Prof. Bernays, 304.
+
+  Employer and employees, change in relations between, and the result,
+        194.
+
+  English chapel, Constantinople, service in, 66.
+
+  Erb, Professor, 154.
+
+  Erdman Act, the, 200.
+
+  Estournelles de Constant, Baron d', 332, 401, 403, 404, 409, 415, 420.
+
+  Eulenburg, Count, 138.
+
+  Evans, Mary Ann, 51.
+
+  Expatriation, right of, 332, 333.
+
+  Ezekiel, Moses, 158.
+
+
+  Fairbanks, Charles W., Vice-President, and Pius X, 289, 290, 348;
+    at Constantinople, 298, 299; 247, 269.
+
+  Fairbanks, Mrs. C. W., 247, 298.
+
+  Falconio, Cardinal, 347, 348, 349.
+
+  Federated unions, 194.
+
+  Ferrero, Guglielmo, _Greatness and Decline of Rome_, 177.
+
+  Ferrero, Madame, 177.
+
+  Filipinos, McKinley and _S._ on granting independence to, 161.
+
+  Finch, George A., 336.
+
+  Finley, John H., 219, 220.
+
+  Finley, John P., quoted, 146, 147.
+
+  Fish, Hamilton, 25.
+
+  Fish, Stuyvesant, 25.
+
+  Fisher, H. A. L., 416.
+
+  Flour, question of shipments of, to Turkey, 147, 148.
+
+  Flower, Walter C., 122.
+
+  Flynn, Mr., 17.
+
+  Fort, Governor, of New Jersey, 119.
+
+  Fortescue, Lieutenant Granville, 210.
+
+  Foster, John W., 329, 330, 334, 336.
+
+  Fouad, Pasha, 134.
+
+  Foulke, William D., 209.
+
+  Fournier, Vice-Admiral, 415.
+
+  Four-Power Treaty (1921) effect of, on relations of U.S. with Japan, 229;
+    and the Anglo-Japanese alliance, 229.
+
+  France. _See_ Great Powers.
+
+  Frankfurter, Felix, 418.
+
+  Franklin, Benjamin, 258.
+
+  Franklin, Fabian, 390.
+
+  Frederic, Harold, _The New Exodus_, 107; 51.
+
+  Frederick III, German Emperor, 138.
+
+  French delegation to Peace Conference. _See_ Bourgeois.
+
+  French Senate, _S._ attends session of, 409.
+
+  Freycinet, Charles L. de S. de, 53.
+
+  Frick, Henry C., 197.
+
+  Frye, William P., 128.
+
+  Fuller, Melville W., 119, 239, 240.
+
+  Fulton, Senator Charles W., 236.
+
+  Furtado, Abraham, 3.
+
+  Furth, Jacob, 171.
+
+
+  Gage, Lyman J., 122.
+
+  Gager, O. A., 45.
+
+  Garfield, James R., 184, 186, 187, 214,
+  264, 288, 294, 395.
+
+  Gargiulo, dragoman, 57, 58, 69, 99, 136, 155, 276.
+
+  Garretson, Joseph, 251.
+
+  Gates, C. F., 140.
+
+  Gaynor, William J., 308.
+
+  General Slocum, steamboat, explosion on, 234.
+
+  George V, 387.
+
+  George, King of Greece, receives _S._ in audience, 286, 287;
+    admired Roosevelt, 287; 294.
+
+  Georgia Military Academy, 16.
+
+  Gerard, James W., Ambassador to Germany, demands his passports, 389.
+
+  German Government, and U.S. offer of mediation, 380 _ff._;
+    its insincerity exposed, 384, 386.
+
+  German influence in Turkey, 279.
+
+  Germany, and Venezuela, 174;
+    Roosevelt on attitude of, 192;
+    Chevket Pasha on attitude of, 293;
+    sells warship to Turkey, 295;
+    attitude of, at Hague conferences, 328 and _n._, 329; 280.
+
+  Ghika, Prince and Princess, 65.
+
+  Giers, N. K. de, 417.
+
+  Gilder, Richard W., _Grover Cleveland_, quoted, 108; 272.
+
+  Gillman, Henry, 81, 82.
+
+  Gilmore's Garden, 33.
+
+  Gladstone, William E., 253.
+
+  Gneist, Rudolf von, 94.
+
+  Gompers, Samuel, and the reinstatement of Miller, 180, 181; 195, 239,
+        240, 252.
+
+  Gorman, Arthur P., and the Turkish
+  mission, 42, 43; 38, 39.
+
+  Gorst, Sir Eldon, _S._ entertained by, 290, 291.
+
+  Gorst, Lady, 290.
+
+  Gottheil, Richard, 390.
+
+  Gould, Jay, 39.
+
+  Government Printing Office, and non-union printers, 180, 181.
+
+  Governors, the, of certain States, appeal to Roosevelt to accept
+        renomination
+        (1912), 310.
+
+  Grace, William R., Mayor of New York, 38, 42.
+
+  Graetz, Heinrich, _History of the Jews_, 278.
+
+  Grant, Ulysses S., 28, 89, 220.
+
+  Graves, William S., 392.
+
+  Gray, George, 119, 128, 334.
+
+  Great Britain, and Venezuela, 174;
+    remonstrance from society in, against lynchings, 185;
+    and the Lynch affair, 281;
+    her reasons for entering the war, 375, 376;
+    solicitude in, regarding action of U.S., 377.
+    And _see_ Great Powers.
+
+  Great Powers, the, alignment of, in 1909, 279;
+    effect of jealousy of, on Turkey, 280;
+    seek concessions then, under new régime, 280;
+    and the Crete affair, 294;
+    and the Balkan disturbances, 344.
+
+  Greece, conditions in (1910), 286;
+    designs of, in Crete, 293 _ff._;
+    buys warship from Italy, 294;
+    territorial claims of, 414.
+
+  Greeks, fail to appreciate Venizelos, 296.
+
+  Greene, Joseph K., 103.
+
+  Greer, David H., 386.
+
+  Gregory, Charles N., 334.
+
+  Grenfell, Sir Francis, 79.
+
+  Grey, Albert H. G., Earl, entertains _S._, 353, 354, 355; 374, 375, 376.
+
+  Grey, Lady, 354, 355.
+
+  Grey, Sir Edward, on England's reasons for entering the war, 375, 376;
+    and the proposed mediations of the U.S., 382;
+    letters of, to _S._, on the negotiations, 383; 377, 415.
+
+  Grey of Fallodon, Edward, Viscount. _See_ Grey, Sir Edward.
+
+  Griffith, W. J. T., 416.
+
+  Griggs, John W., 128, 334.
+
+  Griscom, Lloyd C., 155.
+
+  Grosvenor, Edward A., _History of Constantinople_, 77.
+
+  Günzburg, Baron, 133.
+
+  Gutmann, Ritter von, 133.
+
+
+  Hagedorn, Hermann, 395.
+
+  Hague, the, opening of Peace Palace at, 356, 357.
+
+  Hague Court of Arbitration, _S._ appointed to, by Roosevelt, 164, 165;
+    Russia and Japan decline to go before, 188;
+    Moroccan question and, 192.
+
+  Hague Peace Conferences, participation of U.S. therein, 328;
+    results of, 322, 329.
+
+  Hakki Pasha, Grand Vizier, 282, 356.
+
+  Hale, Edward E., 178, 260.
+
+  Hale, Archdeacon, 120.
+
+  Hamburg-American S.S. Co., 152.
+
+  Hamdy Bey, and the proposed excavation in Babylonia, 98, 100;
+    his death and funeral, 283, 284; 151.
+
+  Hamlin, Cyrus, 76.
+
+  Hampstead Garden Suburb, 353, 354.
+
+  Hanna, Marcus A., career and character of, 198, 199; 195, 197.
+
+  Hannibal, 344.
+
+  Hanotaux, Gabriel, 360.
+
+  Harding, Edward, 415.
+
+  Harlan, John M., 160.
+
+  _Harper's Weekly_, 113.
+
+  Harpoot, massacres at, 139, 141;
+    building at, rebuilt, 142.
+
+  Harriman, E. H., 264.
+
+  Harrison, Benjamin, President, appoints commission on condition of Jews
+        in Russia, 106-108; 101, 164, 165, 208.
+
+  Harrison, Charles C., 160.
+
+  Haupt, Professor, 157.
+
+  Havelock, Sir Henry, 120.
+
+  Hawaii, use of, by Japanese immigrants, 217, 218;
+    visited by _S._, 222-225; conditions in, 223;
+    distribution of population of, 225.
+
+  Hay, John, _S._ confers with, in London, 130;
+    and _S._'s resignation, 159, 161;
+    letter of, to _S._, 161, 162;
+    his Roumanian note, 168, 169;
+    and the Kishineff protest, 171, 172;
+    and the treaty with New Granada, 175, 176;
+    and the arbitration treaties, 329, 330; 129, 140, 143, 144, 146, 150,
+          160, 174, 209, 331.
+
+  Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, 338.
+
+  Hayward, William, 205.
+
+  Head-tax, representatives of foreign governments relieved from, 230, 231.
+
+  Heard, John, 299.
+
+  Hedges, Job E., 320.
+
+  Heilprin, Michael, 95, 96.
+
+  Henderson, Mrs. John B., 214.
+
+  Henry, Prince (Holland), 357.
+
+  Henry, Sir Charles, entertains _S._, 350, 351, 352.
+
+  Henry, Lady, 350, 352.
+
+  Hepburn, A. Barton, 35, 308.
+
+  Hepburn Committee, 35.
+
+  Herrick, Myron T., 122, 359.
+
+  Hertzl, Theodor, on Zionism, 156, 157;
+    his character, 157, 158; 81.
+
+  Hervey, Charles E., 205.
+
+  Herzegovina. _See_ Bosnia.
+
+  Hetzler, Theodore, 372.
+
+  Hewitt, Abram S., 121.
+
+  Hill, David J., 287, 288, 331.
+
+  Hill, J. Wesley, 274.
+
+  Hinricks, Frederic W., 126.
+
+  Hirsch, Baron Maurice de, Turkey's claim against, 92-94;
+    his philanthropy, 95, 96.
+
+  Hirsch, Baroness de, 94, 95, 96, 132, 133.
+
+  Hitchcock, Frank H., 256.
+
+  Hitchcock, Gilbert N., 427, 428, 429.
+
+  Hitt, Robert, 210.
+
+  Hockstader, Leonard, 337.
+
+  Hodge, William H., 205.
+
+  Hofmann, Josef, 55.
+
+  Holls, Frederick W., 331.
+
+  Holt, Hamilton, 397, 398, 400, 401, 403, 408, 409, 415.
+
+  Holt, Mrs. Hamilton, 409.
+
+  Holt, Henry, 331.
+
+  Homer, 57.
+
+  Homestead (Pa.) riots, responsibility for, 197.
+
+  Honolulu, 222 _ff._
+
+  Hoover, Herbert, his plan for sending food into Russia, 423;
+    374, 411.
+
+  Hoover, Mrs. Herbert, 374.
+
+  Horowitz, Leopold, 133.
+
+  Hotchkiss, William H., 314, 315, 319, 324.
+
+  House, Edward M., at the Paris Conference, 400, 401, 403, 404, 410,
+        412, 413, 419, 420, 421, 424, 425, 426.
+
+  House of Lords, proposed reform of, 351.
+
+  Howick Castle, 354, 355.
+
+  Hudson, James A., first law partner of _S._, 32, 34.
+
+  Hudson and Straus, 32.
+
+  Huerta, President of Mexico, 340.
+
+  Hughes, Charles E., 34, 247, 255.
+
+  Hughes, Mrs. Charles E., 248.
+
+  Hughes, William Morris, 407.
+
+  Humphreys, Andrew B., 121.
+
+  Hunt, Gaillard, 232.
+
+  Hussein Hilmi Pasha, Grand Vizier, 277, 278;
+    Lynch affair causes his resignation, 280-282.
+
+
+  Iddings, Mr., Consul-General at Cairo, 287, 291.
+
+  Iddings, Mrs., 287.
+
+  Ignatieff laws, 80, 95.
+
+  Immigration, questions relating to, 216, 217. And _see_ Head-tax,
+        Japanese immigration.
+
+  Immigration acts: of 1903, 216, 230;
+    of 1906, questionnaire of aliens under, 231;
+    1907, "limited passports" provision of, 219;
+    anarchists defined in, 234.
+
+  Imperiali, Marquis, 278.
+
+  "In God We Trust," omitted from gold coins, and restored, 262, 263.
+
+  Ince, Howard, 120.
+
+  Industrial Conference (1919-20), work of, 203, 204.
+
+  Industrial peace, and the National Civic Federation, 195 _ff._;
+    Roosevelt dedicates Nobel Prize to promotion of, 239, 240.
+
+  Ingersoll, Raymond V., 415.
+
+  International arbitration, results of Hague Conferences concerning,
+        328, 329. And _see_ Lake Mohonk.
+
+  International Court of Justice, 357, 358.
+
+  International law, naval officers should be conversant with, 333.
+
+  International peace congress, conference regarding, 178.
+
+  Interstate Commerce Commission, 35.
+
+  Interstate Commerce law, and the trusts, 186.
+
+  Ireland, John, Archbishop, 240.
+
+  Isaacs, Isaac S., 33.
+
+  Isaacs, Meyer S., 33;
+    96.
+
+  Isaacs, Sir Rufus, 352. And _see_ Reading, Earl.
+
+  Isaacs, Lady, 352.
+
+  Ishii, Viscount, _S._'s interview with, 224.
+
+  Ismail Pasha, Khedive, 78.
+
+  Italy, and A. M. Keiley, 46;
+    neutral attitude of, in 1909, 279;
+    her purpose in declaring war on Turkey, 340, 341;
+    and Prof. Luzzatti, 347. And _see_ Great Powers.
+
+
+  Jackson, Andrew, 87.
+
+  James, Darwin, 121, 122.
+
+  Japan, and Russia, Roosevelt negotiates peace between, 188, 189;
+    "Gentlemen's Agreement" with, 218, 227;
+    nullified by legislation in California, 266;
+    danger of strained relations with, 220, 221;
+    proposed treaty with, 226, 227;
+    present relations of U.S. with, 229, 230;
+    voyage of U.S. fleet, how interpreted by, 338;
+    amendments of League Covenant desired by, 407, 413.
+
+  Japanese, in California, question of naturalization of, 219, 221, 225,
+    226, 227;
+    outbreak against, in San Francisco, 220;
+    transit of, between Mexico and Canada, 226.
+
+  Japanese immigration to Pacific coast, 217-221;
+    the "Gentlemen's Agreement," 218;
+    executive regulations concerning, 219;
+    question of, studied by _S._ in Hawaii, 222 _ff._;
+    further consideration of, 225 _ff._;
+    statistics of (1907), 228, 229.
+
+  Jefferson, Joseph, 115.
+
+  Jefferson, Thomas, 258, 388.
+
+  Jerusalem, _S._'s visit to, 82-84;
+    restrictions on sojourn of Jews in, 84, 85.
+
+  Jessup, Henry H., _Fifty-Three Years in Syria_, 75.
+
+  Jewish Colonization Association, 167.
+
+  Jewish question in Roumania, King Carol on, 303.
+
+  Jews, persecution of, in Alsace, etc., 2;
+    council of, convened by Napoleon I, 3, 4;
+    foreign, in Turkey, negotiations concerning, 80 _ff._;
+    in Russia, persecution of, 106-108;
+    and the Kishineff massacre, 170-173;
+    Count Witte and, 189, 190, 191;
+    troubles of, in Roumania, 167;
+    and emigration of, to U.S., 167-169;
+    immigration of, into Palestine, 156, 157;
+    Roosevelt's attitude toward, 179, 180, 182, 183;
+    Victor Emmanuel on, 344;
+    Zangwill's project concerning, 359;
+    expulsion of, from Spain, 366, 367;
+    in U.S., unjustly charged with being anti-Ally, 390, 391;
+    Balfour Declaration regarding home in Palestine for, 399;
+    threatened persecution of, after the war, 418, 419.
+    And _see_ American Jews.
+
+  Johnson, Hiram W., nominated for Vice-President by Progressives, 313,
+        317, 318, 319; 361.
+
+  Johnstown flood, Abdul Hamid contributes to relief fund, 103.
+
+  Jones, George, 43, 107.
+
+  _Journal of Race Development, The_, 146, 147.
+
+  Judaism, Disraeli's loyalty to, 364.
+
+  Judson, Frederick N., 200.
+
+  Jussen, Edmund, 56.
+
+  Jussen, Mrs. Edmund (Schurz), 56.
+
+  Jusserand, Jules, and mediations by U.S., 380, 381; 390.
+
+
+  Kaufmann, Isidor, 133.
+
+  Kaufmann Brothers, 5.
+
+  Keefe, Daniel J., 239, 240.
+
+  Keiley, Anthony M., and the Austro-Hungarian mission, 46, 47;
+    in Egypt, 78.
+
+  Keiley, Mrs. A. M., 46, 78.
+
+  Kellogg, Frank H., 427, 428, 429.
+
+  Kempster, Walter, 107.
+
+  Kennedy, Monsignor, 289.
+
+  Kent, Frederick I., 372.
+
+  Kerensky, Alexander, interview with, 425, 426.
+
+  Kiamil Pasha, Grand Vizier, and the mission schools, 71, 72;
+    and the Bible society agents, 74;
+    unofficial negotiations with, 77;
+    and foreign Jews in Turkey, 80, 81, 83;
+    and the proposed Bagdad railroad, 96, 97;
+    and the excavations in Babylonia, 98, 99;
+    his character and political views, 153; 92.
+
+  King, Henry C., 415.
+
+  King, Pendleton, 57, 58, 71, 99.
+
+  King, W. L. Mackenzie, 339.
+
+  Kipling, Rudyard, quoted, 359.
+
+  Kipling, Mrs. Rudyard, 359.
+
+  Kirchwey, George W., 334.
+
+  Kishineff massacre, and its sequel, 170-173;
+    and lynchings in U.S., 185.
+
+  "Kitchen cabinet," the, 207, 208.
+
+  Knapp, Martin A., 200.
+
+  Knox, Philander C., letter of, to _S._, 273;
+    _S._ offended by instructions from, 297, 298; 183, 186, 227, 295,
+          306, 330, 340.
+
+  Kohlsaat, H. H., 174.
+
+  Kolschak, General, 426.
+
+  Kraus, Adolph, 189.
+
+  Kuhn, Arthur, 400, 401, 409, 415.
+
+  Kuroki, Tamemoto, entertained in New York, 219, 220.
+
+
+  La Follette, Robert M., 122.
+
+  Labor, Roosevelt's attitude toward, 181, 182, 186.
+
+  Labor, Department of, created, 239.
+
+  Labor representatives, conference with, 238, 239.
+
+  Labor unions, and the teamsters' strike, 188.
+
+  Lake Mohonk Conferences on international arbitration, 333, 334.
+
+  Lamont, Daniel S., 48.
+
+  Langley, S. P., and his flying machine (1900), 159.
+
+  Lansing, Robert, side-tracked, 412;
+    his objections to the Covenant, 412, 413;
+    334, 405, 428.
+
+  Larnaud, M., 420.
+
+  Lauzanne, Stephane, 390.
+
+  Lavanburg, Hannah S., mother of Mrs. Straus, 37, 50.
+
+  Lavanburg, Sarah, marries _S._ And _see_ Straus, Sarah (Lavanburg).
+
+  Laveleye, Emile L. V. de, 41, 42.
+
+  Law of Associations (Turkish), all foreign institutions subject to, 296;
+    _S._ secures certain exemptions from, 296.
+
+  Lazar, Jacob. _See_ Straus, Jacob I.
+
+  Lazard, Eli, 56.
+
+  Lazard Frères, 56.
+
+  League to Enforce Peace, committee to represent, at Peace Conference,
+       397;
+    meetings of, in U.S., approve League Covenant, 413;
+    seeks to secure ratification of the treaty, 426-429.
+
+  League of Nations, a, American desire for, 397;
+    initial discouraging outlook for, at Paris, 400.
+
+  League of Nations, the, and the Peace Palace, 357;
+    "Draft of, as Provisionally Approved," 400;
+    additional clauses insisted upon by France, 400;
+    and discussed by Bourgeois, 401-403;
+    Covenant of, discussed in Plenary Conference, 405-407;
+    Lansing's objections to Covenant of, 412, 413;
+    no provision concerning civil and religious liberty, and why, 413;
+    Article X, objections to, 410, 419;
+    Article XXI, revised by Wilson, 420;
+    these two articles in U.S. Senate, 427.
+
+  Lebowich, Mr., 183.
+
+  Lecky, W. E. H., _Democracy and Liberty_, 107.
+
+  Lee, Robert E., 19.
+
+  Lee, Sir Sidney, his lives of Shakespeare and Edward VII, 350.
+
+  Leishman, John G., 142, 289, 290.
+
+  Leo, Simeon N., 33.
+
+  Leopold II, of Belgium, death of, 282.
+
+  Levi, Leo N., 167, 171, 172.
+
+  Levy, Samuel, 367.
+
+  Lewes, George H., 51.
+
+  Lewis, William D., _Life of Theodore Roosevelt_, quoted, 311, 312.
+
+  Lewisohn, Adolf, 189.
+
+  Lichnowsky, Prince, _My London Mission_, the most convincing indictment
+        of Germany, 342.
+
+  Lidhold, Dr., on William II, 133, 139.
+
+  Lieber, Francis, his life and character, 30, 31.
+
+  Lieberman, Mr., 426.
+
+  Liliuokalani, Queen, 222.
+
+  Lincoln, Abraham, 180, 193, 269.
+
+  Littauer, Lucius N., 168.
+
+  "Little White House," at Lakewood, 112, 118.
+
+  Lloyd George, David, on divers Liberal measures, 351;
+    397, 405.
+
+  Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of, 199, 200.
+
+  Lodge, Henry Cabot, 308.
+
+  Loeb, William, Jr., 178, 212, 254, 256, 269, 394.
+
+  London, _S._'s visits to, 50-52, 304, 305, 350-354, 359;
+    from Paris to (July, 1914), 370, 371;
+    August 2 in, 371.
+
+  Long, Albert L., 76, 77.
+
+  Long Island Historical Society, _S._'s address before, 41.
+
+  Longworth, Alice (Roosevelt), 222, 360.
+
+  Longworth, Nicholas, 179, 209, 222.
+
+  Low, Seth, 170, 177, 240, 331.
+
+  Lowell, A. Lawrence, 397, 402, 421, 427, 428, 429.
+
+  Lowther, Gerard, British Ambassador to Turkey, 278.
+
+  Lubin, David, character and career of, 349, 350;
+    346.
+
+  Lusitania tragedy, the, 389.
+
+  Luther, Martin, 247.
+
+  Luzzatti, Luigi, _S._ and, 346, 347;
+    his _Liberty of Conscience_, 347;
+    349.
+
+  Lynch, Frederick, 415.
+
+  Lynch Company, affair of, and its result, 280-282.
+
+  Lynchings in the U.S., and Kishineff, 185;
+    remonstrance against, from Great Britain, 185.
+
+
+  McCarroll, William, 272.
+
+  McCormick, Vance, 411, 427.
+
+  McCumber, Porter J., 427, 428.
+
+  McGee, John C., nominates _S._ for Governor, 314-316.
+
+  Mack, Julian W., 418.
+
+  McKelway, St. Clair, 126, 160, 272.
+
+  Mackenzie, P. R., 347, 348.
+
+  McKinley, William, President, advises
+    with _S._ on Cuba, 123, 124, 126;
+    and on Turkey, 124, 125;
+    letter of _S._ to, 123;
+    appoints _S._ ambassador to Turkey, 124, 125;
+    quoted, on the appointment, 127, 128;
+    and _S._'s resignation, 159, 162;
+    commends his services, 160, 162;
+    thinks of offering him State portfolio, 160;
+    on granting independence to the Philippines, 161;
+    why he did not appoint _S._ on Hague Tribunal, 164, 165;
+    appoints a commission on naturalization, 232; 122, 128, 134, 135,
+          147, 149, 150.
+
+  McLane, Robert M., 52.
+
+  MacNamara, Thomas J., 351.
+
+  MacVeagh, Wayne, 184.
+
+  McVickar, Rev. Dr., 26, 27.
+
+  Madison, James, 389.
+
+  Madrid, Kermit Roosevelt married at, 362.
+
+  Mahmoud Chevket Pasha, Turkish Minister of War, impressions of, 292,
+        293, 295;
+    on conditions in Turkey, and her foreign relations, 293;
+    and the Crete affair, 293;
+    urges sale of warship by U.S., 295;
+    assassinated, 295.
+
+  Maine, battleship, blown up, 124.
+
+  Makino, Baron, quoted on the League Covenant, 407.
+
+  Manning, Mrs. Daniel, 299.
+
+  Marash, massacres at, 141.
+
+  Margherita, Queen of Italy, 158, 159.
+
+  Maria Christina, Regent of Spain, 122.
+
+  Marix, Adolph, 337.
+
+  Marks, Marcus M., 240.
+
+  Marschall von Bieberstein, Baron, _S._'s relations with, 278, 279;
+        135, 342.
+
+  Marshall, Louis, 251.
+
+  Marshall, Thomas R., 394.
+
+  Martens, Fedor F., 190, 356.
+
+  Martin, J. C., letter of Roosevelt to, on Taft's religion, 258-262.
+
+  Masaryk, Thomas G., 419.
+
+  Maspero. Sir Gaston, 289.
+
+  Massingham, H. W., 350.
+
+  Matthews, Brander, 25, 26, 28.
+
+  Maurer, Señor, 361.
+
+  Mavroyeni Bey, 84.
+
+  Mazzini, Giuseppe, 346.
+
+  Mediation of neutral powers and the Hague Conferences, 329, 340.
+
+  Mehmet, _cavass_, 58.
+
+  Merry del Val, Cardinal, 349.
+
+  Mesopotamia, as a place for colonization of Jews, 157.
+
+  Metcalf, Victor H., 212, 213, 227.
+
+  Methodist missions in Rome, 289, 290.
+
+  _Metropolitan Magazine_, 388.
+
+  Mexico, relations of U.S. with, 339, 340.
+
+  Meyer, Eugene, Jr., 390.
+
+  Meyer, George von L., U.S. Ambassador to Russia during Japanese war,
+        Roosevelt quoted on, 191; 254.
+
+  Mezes, Dr., 426.
+
+  Mezes, Mrs., 426.
+
+  Miller, Charles R., 44.
+
+  Miller, David H., 133, 424, 425.
+
+  Miller, Joaquin, 37, 301.
+
+  Miller, non-union printer, discharge of, 180;
+    reinstated by Roosevelt, 180, 181.
+
+  Mission schools in Turkey, negotiations concerning closing of, 70 _ff._;
+    visited by _S._, 73.
+
+  Missionaries, relations of, with Turkish government, 71, 73, 74;
+    ground of government's hostility to, 74, 75;
+    and Turkish passport regulations, 139, 140;
+    question of indemnities due to, 141, 142.
+
+  Mitchell, John, 240, 272.
+
+  Mitchell, S. Weir, in Constantinople, 150, 151;
+    attends Mme. Tewfik, 151;
+    his "Ode to a Lycian Tomb," 151.
+
+  Mitchell, Mrs. S. W., 150.
+
+  Mohammed V, Sultan, receives _S._ in audience, 276;
+    described, 276, 277; 282, 344.
+
+  Mohammedans, and Christianity, 75;
+    funerals of, 284.
+
+  Mohammedans in the Philippines. _See_ Sulu Islands.
+
+  Mohsin Khan, 101.
+
+  Monroe, James, 41, 388, 389.
+
+  Monroe Doctrine, why specifically referred to in Covenant of League,
+        420, 421, 427.
+
+  Montebello, Comte de, 72, 85.
+
+  Moody, William H., 186, 230.
+
+  Moore, Charles A., 195.
+
+  Moore, John Bassett, quoted, 176; 47, 48, 127, 128, 334.
+
+  Moore, J. Hampton, 241.
+
+  Morgan, J. P., & Co., 116.
+
+  Morocco. _See_ Algeciras.
+
+  Morris, E. J., 88.
+
+  Morrissey, P. H., quoted, 182; 200, 203.
+
+  Morrow, W. W., 334.
+
+  Morse, Samuel F. B., 24.
+
+  Moses, Adolf, 171.
+
+  Moses, George H., 286.
+
+  Munir Pasha, Grand Master of Ceremonies, 58, 99.
+
+  Munkacsy, Mihaly, 55, 56.
+
+  Munkacsy, Madame, 55.
+
+  Münz, Sigmund, 304.
+
+  Murphy, Charles F., 117.
+
+  Murray, Gilbert, 415.
+
+  Murray, Lawrence O., 213, 234.
+
+
+  Nagel, Charles, 238.
+
+  Nansen, Dr., 416.
+
+  Napoleon I, and the Jews, 2;
+    convokes council of Jews at Paris, 3, 4, 412.
+    Nathan, Ernesto, Mayor of Rome, relations of _S._ with, 345, 346;
+    his descent, career, and character, 346; 349.
+
+  Nathan, Mr., father of Ernesto N., 346.
+
+  Nathan, Mr., brother of Ernesto, 345.
+
+  National Association of Manufacturers, 241.
+
+  National Civic Club, 126.
+
+  National Civic Federation, conference of, 194, 195;
+    industrial department of, its scope, and plan, 195;
+    its work, 195 _ff._
+
+  National Council of Commerce, 237, 238.
+    And _see_ Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.
+
+  National Insurance Act (Great Britain), 351.
+
+  National Primary Election League, 121, 122.
+
+  Nationalists, Egyptian, 288, 291.
+
+  Naturalization, careless administration of laws relating to, 231, 232;
+    report of commission on, 232;
+    treaties of, 333.
+    And _see_ Turkey.
+
+  Naval War College, 332, 333.
+
+  Navoni, dragoman, 87.
+
+  Negro question, the, Roosevelt on, 104.
+
+  Negulesco, Professor, 415.
+
+  Neill, Charles P., 200, 214, 240.
+
+  New Granada, treaty of U.S. with (1846), construction of, 175, 176.
+
+  New York Chamber of Commerce, annual meeting of (1910), 308; 35.
+
+  New York Peace Society, reception to _S._, 330, 331.
+
+  New York Public Service Commission, _S._ chairman of, 204-206.
+
+  New York _Sun_, 347.
+
+  New York _Times_, 43, 44, 107.
+
+  New York _World_, 114.
+
+  Newberry, Truman H., 394.
+
+  Nicholas II, Czar, 171, 173, 282, 328, 377, 392, 411, 417.
+
+  Nicholas, Grand Duke, 411.
+
+  Nicolaiovitch, Grand Duke, death of, 282.
+
+  Nicoll, Sir W. Robertson, 350.
+
+  Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Roosevelt, 239;
+    his disposition of the fund, 239, 240;
+    the foundation dissolved, and the fund distributed, 240, 241.
+
+  _North American Review_, "The First Year of Taft's Administration," 288.
+
+  North German Lloyd S.S. Co., 152.
+
+  Nubar Pasha, 79.
+
+
+  Oahu Island, 224.
+
+  O'Brien, Thomas J., 344.
+
+  Ochs, Adolph S., 391.
+
+  Ochs, Mrs. A. S., 391.
+
+  Ochs, George W., 121.
+
+  O'Conor, Charles, 32.
+
+  O'Conor, Sir Nicholas R., British Ambassador to Turkey, asks aid of
+        _S._ in protecting orphanages, 148; 135, 140, 149.
+
+  Offley, David, 87.
+
+  Ohio Society of New York, Taft's address to, 264.
+
+  Olmet, Fernando del, writes on birthplace and nationality of Columbus,
+        368, 369.
+
+  Olney, Richard, 253, 335.
+
+  Orlando, Signor, 406.
+
+  Orphanages, British, in Turkey, closing of, 148.
+
+  Osman Pasha, 63, 68, 134.
+
+  Ottendorfer, Oswald, 44.
+
+  Otterberg, ancestral home of the Strauses, 1, 8, 9.
+
+  Ottolenghi, Israel, 3.
+
+  Ottolenghi, General, 344.
+
+  Ottoman American Development Co., 300.
+
+  _Outlook, The_, 290, 310, 341.
+
+
+  Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, convention for, 328, 329.
+
+  Page, Catherine, 359, 360.
+
+  Page, Walter Hines, on _S._'s activities in project of mediation, 384;
+    Bryan's instructions to, 385; 359, 372, 373.
+
+  Paine, Robert Treat, 178.
+
+  Paine, Thomas, _Common Sense_, 41.
+
+  Palestine, restriction on residence of Jews in, 80 _ff._, 84 _ff._;
+    immigration of Jews into, 156, 157;
+    the Balfour Declaration, 399.
+
+  Panama, revolution in, and the treaty of 1846 with New Granada, 174-176;
+    question of freedom of transit, 175, 176;
+    army of, 185.
+
+  Panama Canal, question of remission of tolls, 338, 339;
+    tolls-exemption bill repealed, 339; 237.
+
+  Pangrati, E., 415.
+
+  Pansa, Signor, 135.
+
+  Paris, _S._'s visits to, 52-56, 275;
+    in July, 1914, 370.
+    And _see_ Peace Conference.
+
+  Parker, Alton B., 299.
+
+  Parker, Mrs. A. B., 299.
+
+  Parliamentary systems of Great Britain and U.S., compared, 352.
+
+  Parsons, Herbert, 209.
+
+  Peace Conference at Paris, proceedings of, 400 _ff._;
+    failure of, to condemn Bolshevism, 417.
+    And _see_ League of Nations, Plenary Conference.
+
+  Peace Palace, at The Hague, opening of, 356, 357;
+    future of, 358.
+
+  Peck, Ferdinand W., 131.
+
+  Pepper, William, favors retention of _S._ as minister to Turkey, 101,
+        102; 97.
+
+  Pera, conditions in, 61, 62.
+
+  Perkins, George W., 205.
+
+  Pershing, John J., 410.
+
+  Persia, Shah of, 101.
+
+  Persian ambassador to Turkey, 61.
+
+  Persian ambassadress, a former Circassian slave, 61.
+
+  Persian Gulf, proposed railroad to, from Constantinople, 96, 97.
+
+  Persons, Henry, 243.
+
+  Peter the Cruel, 367.
+
+  Peters, John P., and the proposed excavations in Babylonia, 97 _ff._;
+    _Nippur_, 100.
+
+  Pettibone, I. F., 103.
+
+  Phelan, James D., 121.
+
+  Phelps, Edward J., 50, 151.
+
+  Philip, Hoffman, 300.
+
+  Philippines, _S._'s advice concerning, 127;
+    Mohammedans in the, 143 _ff._;
+    ignorance in U.S. concerning, 144;
+    proposed punitive expedition against Mohammedans, 165, 166.
+
+  Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Co., 147.
+
+  Pineapples, in Hawaii, 224.
+
+  Pius IX, 46.
+
+  Pius X, why he did not receive Roosevelt, 289, 290, 348, 349.
+
+  Platt, Frank H., 378.
+
+  Platt, Thomas C., 211, 309.
+
+  Plenary Conference, sessions of, 405-408, 423, 424.
+
+  Pogroms in Poland, 426.
+
+  Politzer, Adam, 133.
+
+  Polk, Frank L., 421.
+
+  Porter, David, 87.
+
+  Porter, Horace, 131, 132, 255, 331, 336.
+
+  Porter, Governor James Davis, 46.
+
+  Portsmouth Conference (1905), 189, 190, 191.
+
+  Powderly, Terence V., 239, 251, 252.
+
+  Prague, attacks on Jews in, 418.
+
+  Prendergast, William A., 314, 315, 317.
+
+  Preston, Frances (Folsom-Cleveland), on Cleveland's character, 358.
+
+  Primaries. _See_ Electoral reform.
+
+  Pringle, J. Lynch, 58.
+
+  Progressive Party, genesis of, 309 _ff._
+    National Convention of, nominates Roosevelt and Johnson, 313;
+    New York State Convention of, nominates _S._ for Governor, 313-317;
+    poorly organized, 325;
+    not a party, but a crusade, 325;
+    Roosevelt on the future of, 360, 361; 351, 395.
+
+  Progressive Republicans seat a candidate for nomination in 1912,
+        309, 310.
+
+  Pulido, Angel, 366, 368.
+
+  Pullman Car Co., strike of employees of, 194.
+
+
+  Quail, Egyptian, 79.
+
+  Quincy, Josiah, 121, 122.
+
+
+  Radowitz, Herr von, 363.
+
+  Rafail Meir Panisel, 83.
+
+  Railroads, complaints against, of
+    discrimination, etc., investigated by Hepburn Committee, 35;
+    and the Interstate Commerce law, 186, 187.
+
+  Railway Labor Arbitration Board, jurisdiction of, 199;
+    membership of, 200;
+    _S._ chairman of, 200;
+    hearings and decision of, in matter of Eastern roads and their
+          employees, 200-203.
+
+  Ramazan, month of, 59, 276, 277.
+
+  Rampolla, Cardinal, 347, 348, 349.
+
+  Reading, Rufus D. Isaacs, Earl, 410.
+
+  Reclus, Jean Jacques, 144.
+
+  Reconstruction, why being halted, 429, 430.
+
+  Reed, Mr., at Madrid, 365.
+
+  Reid, Whitelaw, 128, 304.
+
+  Reis Effendi, 87.
+
+  Republican Party disrupted in 1910, 309.
+
+  Republicans of New York offer to nominate _S._ for Governor, 319;
+    why they did not, 319, 320.
+
+  Revolution of 1848, 4.
+
+  Reynolds, James B., 393.
+
+  Rhind, Charles, 87.
+
+  Ribot, Alexandre, 409.
+
+  Riddle, John W., 133, 134, 172, 173.
+
+  Riega, Celso G. de la, on the birthplace and ancestry of Columbus,
+        368, 369.
+
+  Rifaat Pasha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 276, 277, 278, 283, 294.
+
+  Robert College, _S._ presides at Commencement exercises of, 66, 67;
+        57, 76, 77, 297, 299.
+
+  Robinson, Corinne (Roosevelt), 247.
+
+  Robinson, Geoffrey, 374.
+
+  Robinson, Stewart, death of, 247.
+
+  Rockwood, photographer, and Cleveland, 117.
+
+  Rodin, Auguste, 360.
+
+  Rome, _S._'s visits to, 158, 159, 344-349;
+    modernization of, by Mayor Nathan, 346.
+
+  Roosevelt, Alice, quoted, 179; 209.
+    And _see_ Longworth, Alice (Roosevelt).
+
+  Roosevelt, Mrs. Alice Lee, 179.
+
+  Roosevelt, Archie, 188, 275, 394.
+
+  Roosevelt, Mrs. Edith Carow, her character, 177;
+    and the Kaiser's invitation, 287, 288; 174, 188, 209, 244, 245, 247,
+          255, 274, 275, 323, 387, 395.
+
+  Roosevelt, Ethel, 188, 275.
+    And _see_ Derby, Ethel (Roosevelt).
+
+  Roosevelt, George E., 323.
+
+  Roosevelt, Kermit, _S._ attends his marriage to Miss Willard at
+        Madrid, 362; 188, 244, 249, 358, 394.
+
+  Roosevelt, Philip, 360.
+
+  Roosevelt, Quentin, death of, 245; 188, 244, 275.
+
+  Roosevelt, Theodore, appoints _S._ to Hague Tribunal, 164, 165, 208;
+    and the Kishineff massacre, 171-173;
+    and the Alaskan boundary question, 173, 174;
+    and the Venezuelan dispute, 174;
+    and the Panama revolution, 174-176;
+    divers personal traits and characteristics, 176, 177, 179, 180,
+          181, 192, 193, 208, 215, 256, 289, 309;
+    quoted on _S._, 178;
+    his attitude toward Jews, 179, 180;
+    quoted on discharge of Miller, 181;
+    his policy with regard to labor, 181, 182, 186;
+    quoted on religious freedom, 182, 183, 347;
+    and on Americanism, 183;
+    on the negro question, 184, 187;
+    his Annual Message of 1904, 185-187;
+    favors eight-hour law, 186;
+    on trusts, 186;
+    negotiates between Russia and Japan, 188 _ff._;
+    letter of, to Count Witte, on plight of Jews in Russia, 191;
+    letter of, to _S._, on Germany's attitude and purposes, 192;
+    his "kitchen cabinet," 207, 208;
+    his miscalled "impulsiveness," 208, 256;
+    preparedness his outstanding characteristic, 208, 256;
+    his public addresses, 208, 209;
+    makes _S._ Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 210, 211, 212;
+    and Japanese immigration, 217 _ff._, 221, 225 _ff._;
+    reappoints commission on naturalization, 232;
+    awarded Nobel Peace Prize, 239;
+    his initial and final distribution of the prize fund, 240, 241;
+    his parting gift to _S._, 247;
+    favors Taft for President in 1908, 248,
+      and uses his influence in that sense, 249;
+    declines renomination, 249, 250;
+    proposed African trip, 252, 255;
+    _African Game Trails_, 252;
+    invited to lecture at Oxford, 253, 255;
+    in Taft campaign, 253 _ff._;
+    letter of, to Bryan, 254;
+    invited to speak at the Sorbonne, 255, 256;
+    preparing his Oxford address, 255, 256;
+    his relation to Taft's success, 256;
+    his administration again a new era in history of U.S., 257;
+    his relations with his cabinets, 257;
+    on Taft's religion, 257-262;
+    omits motto on gold coins, 262;
+    assures _S._ of Taft's purpose to reappoint him, 263;
+    one cause of his break with Taft, 263, 264;
+    his speech at dinner to Sherman, 265-267;
+    at the last Cabinet meeting, 267, 268;
+    at inauguration of Taft, 268-270;
+    his personal following, 269;
+    letter of, to _S._, on his reappointment to Turkish Embassy, 274;
+    _S._ on administration of, 274, 275;
+    opposition in Congress to his policies, 276;
+    at Cairo with _S._, 287 _ff._;
+    on Taft's failure to reappoint _S._ and others to Cabinet, 288;
+    his address in Cairo, and the murder of Budros Pasha, 288, 289, 291;
+    why he was not received by Pius X, 289, 290, 348, 349;
+    policies of, and Taft's administration, 306;
+    influence of, not dead in 1910, 308;
+    his attitude toward renomination, 308;
+    and the "bosses," 309;
+    appeal of the governors to, 310;
+    agrees to accept nomination if demanded by people, 310;
+    his speech at Columbus, O., 310, 311;
+    did his advocacy of the recall of judicial decisions defeat him?
+          311, 312;
+    his speech at Carnegie Hall, 312, 313;
+    nominated by Progressives, 313;
+    letter of, to _S._, and interview, on _S._'s nomination for Governor,
+          317-319;
+    in the campaign, 322-324;
+    his heroism when shot, 322;
+    speaks at Madison Square Garden, 323, 324;
+    letter of, to _S._, 325;
+    believes in the efficacy of strong armaments to ensure peace, 336;
+    sends a fleet round the world, 336-338;
+    on the future of the Progressive Party, 360, 361;
+    on the probability of the U.S. being involved in the World War, 387;
+    his offer to raise a division, 388;
+    criticizes the President, 388, 389,
+      but is ready to coöperate, 389;
+    his last illness, death, and funeral, 391-394;
+    his Nobel Prize address, 395, 397; 166, 187, 213, 214, 216, 222,
+          225, 230, 231, 234, 235, 237, 241, 245, 246, 247, 253, 272,
+          285, 291, 292, 320, 325, 330, 351, 358, 359, 362, 390, 397.
+    His _Autobiography_ quoted, 177, 191, 337.
+
+  Roosevelt, Theodore, Jr., 188, 394.
+
+  Roosevelt, William E., 360.
+
+  Roosevelt Pilgrimage, the, 394, 395.
+
+  Root, Elihu, and Japanese immigration, 217, 219, 221; 179, 230, 231,
+        236, 237, 258, 265, 335, 336, 339, 349, 393, 394.
+
+  Rosebery, Archibald P., Primrose, Earl of, conversation with, 149, 150.
+
+  Rosen, Baron, 189.
+
+  Rothschild, Alfred, on the Triple Entente, 305, 306.
+
+  Rothschild, Alfred Charles de, Baron, 52.
+
+  Rothschild, Lord, on the Triple Entente, 305.
+
+  Roumania, and the Jews, 80, 81, 303;
+    restrictions on, and oppression of Jews in, 166, 167;
+    emigration of Jews from, to U.S., 167-169;
+    Hay's note to the Powers concerning, and its effect, 169;
+    relations of U.S. with, 185;
+    visited by _S._, 300-304.
+
+  Roumeli-Hissar, 57.
+
+  _Round Table, The_, 374.
+
+  Rowe, Leo S., 334.
+
+  Rush, Benjamin, 41.
+
+  Russia, and Russian Jews in Turkey, 80, 81;
+    and the Jews, 106-108;
+    laws against Jews in, and the Kishineff massacre, 170, 171, 172, 173;
+    relations of U.S. with, 185;
+    and Japan, Roosevelt brings about Portsmouth Conference between,
+          188, 189;
+    Count Witte and the Jews in, 189, 190;
+    attitude of, toward Turkey, after 1905, 279, 293;
+    duty of, at outbreak of war, 375, 376, 377;
+    present conditions in, 411, 417.
+    And _see_ Great Powers.
+
+  Russian emigrants, and Baron de Hirsch, 95, 96.
+
+  Russo-Japanese War, 180.
+
+  Rustem Pasha, 50, 51.
+
+  Ryan, Thomas F., 264.
+
+
+  Sabbataï Zevi, 278.
+
+  Sage, William H., 26.
+
+  Said Pasha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 58, 85, 86, 99.
+
+  Salant, Samuel, 83.
+
+  Salisbury, Robert Cecil, Marquis of, 123, 148.
+
+  Salmon, Adolph, 52, 53.
+
+  Salmon, Mrs. Adolph, 53.
+
+  Salonica, visited by _S._, 285.
+
+  Samuel, Herbert L., 305, 352, 399.
+
+  Samuel, Mrs. H. L., 305, 352, 399.
+
+  Sapelli, Marquis and Marchioness, 349.
+
+  Savannah Board of Trade, 241, 242.
+
+  Sayce, Archibald H., 289.
+
+  Sazonoff, M., 377, 411, 417, 418.
+
+  Schaeffer, Mr., labor leader, 197.
+
+  Schiff, Jacob H., 96, 106, 168, 189.
+
+  Schurman, Jacob G., 170.
+
+  Schurz, Carl, criticizes appointment of Van Alen, 113;  4, 44, 56, 97,
+        122, 192.
+
+  Schuyler, Philip, 150.
+
+  Schuyler, Mrs. Philip, 150.
+
+  Schwab, Gustav H., 237.
+
+  Scipio Africanus, 344.
+
+  Scott, James B., 334, 335, 336.
+
+  Seasongood, Lewis, 106.
+
+  Selamlik, ceremony of, 63, 64, 152.
+
+  Seligman, Isaac, 52.
+
+  Seligman, Isaac N., 189, 345.
+
+  Seligman, Jesse, 96, 106.
+
+  Seligman, William, 55.
+
+  Seligman, Mrs. William, 55.
+
+  Seligman Frères, 55.
+
+  Senate of U.S., refuses to ratify naturalization treaty with Turkey,
+        90, 92;
+    and the Treaty of Paris, 426-429.
+
+  Serbia, claims towns awarded to Roumania, 414.
+
+  Seward, George F., 178.
+
+  Shakespeare, General, 120.
+
+  Sharp, William G., U.S. Ambassador to France, 411, 412.
+
+  Shaw, Albert, 121, 172, 173, 200.
+
+  Shaw of Dunfermline, Thomas, Lord, 398, 399, 415, 416.
+
+  Sheffield, James H., 209.
+
+  Shepard, Edward M., 170, 331.
+
+  Sherman, James S., Roosevelt's speech at dinner to, 265-267; 251, 269.
+
+  Sherman, William T., 53.
+
+  Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 253.
+
+  Sherman Silver Coinage Act, repeal of, 112.
+
+  Short, Dr., 427.
+
+  Sicily, Greek and Roman remains in, 343, 344.
+
+  Sidon, tombs unearthed at, 151.
+
+  Sieghortner, August, restaurant of, 44.
+
+  Sigel, Franz, 4.
+
+  Simon, Sir John, 3.
+
+  Sinaia, summer capital of Roumania, 300 _ff._
+
+  Sinzheim, Joseph, 3.
+
+  Skibo Castle, 355.
+
+  Slaton, John M., 391.
+
+  Slaton, Mrs. John M., 391.
+
+  Slavery, question of, 12, 13.
+
+  Slaves, condition of, 13.
+
+  Slicer, Thomas R., 331.
+
+  Smiley, Messrs., 333.
+
+  Smith, Charles Emory, 122.
+
+  Smith, Hope, 241.
+
+  Smuts, Jan, sketch of, 408;
+    _The League of Nations_, quoted, 409.
+
+  Smyrna, 153.
+
+  Solomon, Solomon B., 33.
+
+  Sonnenthal, Adolf von, 133.
+
+  Sorbonne, the, Roosevelt invited to lecture at, 255, 256;
+    _S._ delivers address at, 421, 422.
+
+  South, the, conditions in, in 1850's, 11 _ff._;
+    in the Civil War, 15 _ff._
+
+  South American republics, development of U.S. relations with, 238.
+
+  South Carolina, imports skilled labor, 216.
+
+  Southern Commercial Congress, 244.
+
+  Southerners, white, Roosevelt's attitude toward, 184.
+
+  Spain, strained relations of U.S. with, 122-124;
+    U.S. at war with, 124;
+    political conditions in (1910), 361.
+
+  Spanish American Peace Commission, 128.
+
+  Sperry, Admiral, 337.
+
+  Speyer, James, 378, 379.
+
+  Speyer, Mrs. James, 378.
+
+  Spooner, John C., criticizes Roosevelt's policies, 264; 209, 330.
+
+  Spring-Rice, Sir Cecil, and proposed mediation of U.S., 380, 381,
+        382, 390.
+
+  Stahl, General, 4.
+
+  Steamboat inspection, 234, 235.
+
+  Stedman, Edmund C., 300.
+
+  Steed, H. Wickham, 415.
+
+  Steele-Maitland, Sir Arthur, 399, 415.
+
+  Stefanovich-Schilizzi, Dmitri, 153.
+
+  Stefanovich-Schilizzi, Paul, _S._ visits, at Athens, 152-154.
+
+  Stein, Adolph, 133.
+
+  Sterne, Simeon, law partner of _S._, 34;
+    counsel for N.Y. Chamber of Commerce before Hepburn Committee, 35.
+
+  Sterne, Hudson & Straus, 34.
+
+  Sterne, Straus & Thompson, 34, 35.
+
+  Stiassny, Wilhelm, 133.
+
+  Stimson, Henry L., 308, 394.
+
+  Stone, Melville E., 122.
+
+  Stone, Nahum I., 236.
+
+  Stone, Warren S., 239, 240.
+
+  Stratton, Samuel W., 214.
+
+  Straus, Aline, _S._'s daughter, 49, 50, 131, 242, 272, 317.
+
+  Straus, Hermina, _S._'s sister, 9, 10, 14.
+
+  Straus, Isidor, _S._'s brother, in Congress, 112, 115; 2, 9, 10, 11,
+        14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 31, 36, 43, 48, 96, 117,
+        118, 131, 154, 155, 211, 286, 306.
+
+  Straus, Mrs. Isidor, 115, 154, 155, 286.
+
+  Straus, Jacob I, _S._'s great-grandfather, 1, 2, 4, 412.
+
+  Straus, Jacob II., _S._'s paternal grandfather, 1, 2.
+
+  Straus, Lazarus I., _S._'s uncle.
+
+  Straus, Lazarus II., _S._'s father, in the troubles of 1848, 4;
+    comes to America, 5;
+    a peddler in Georgia, 5, 6;
+    settles in Talbotton, Ga., and opens shop there, 6, 7;
+    joined by his family, 9;
+    a student of the Bible, 10;
+    views of, on slavery, 12, 13;
+    in business in New York, after the Civil War, 20, 21;
+    his high sense of honor, 21, 22;
+    quoted, 144; his death, 144; 1, 2, 15, 16, 18, 24, 29, 36, 43.
+
+  Straus, Mildred, _S._'s daughter, 50, 131, 155, 274, 317.
+
+  Straus, Nathan, _S._'s brother, 9, 10, 11, 18, 21, 29, 43, 111, 112,
+        118, 131, 374.
+
+  Straus, Oscar S., ancestry, 1, 2;
+      joins his father at Talbotton, Ga., 8, 9;
+      religious instruction, 10, 11;
+      at Collinsworth Institute, 11;
+      memories of life in the South, 11 _ff._,
+        and of the Civil War, 15 _ff._, 19;
+      early schooling in Columbus, Ga., 17, 18;
+      in New York City, 21 _ff._;
+      at Columbia Grammar School, 22, 23;
+      at Columbia College, 25 _ff._;
+      and Dr. McVickar, 27;
+      class poet, 28; decides to study law, 29;
+      in Columbia Law School, 30, 31;
+      practicing law, 32 _ff._;
+      helps to organize Young Men's Hebrew Association, 33;
+      an original poem, 33;
+      friendship with J. H. Choate, 36;
+      abandons the law to enter his father's firm, 36;
+      marries Sarah Lavanburg, 37;
+      enters politics in N.Y. mayoralty campaign, 38;
+       in Cleveland-Blaine campaign, 38, 39;
+      address on the "Origin of the Republican Form of Government," 40,
+            41, 120,
+        published in book form, and translated into French, 41, 42, 365;
+      suggested for appointment as Minister to Turkey, and recommended to
+            President Cleveland, 42-44;
+      favorable attitude of Protestant bodies, and of H. W. Beecher,
+            45, 46;
+      nominated by Cleveland, 46;
+      impressions of the Clevelands, 48, 49.
+    The journey to Turkey: in London, 50-52;
+      interview with Rustem Pasha, 51;
+      in Paris, 52-56;
+      General Boulanger, 52-54;
+      and Munkacsy, 55;
+      in Vienna, 56;
+      arrival in Constantinople, 57, 58;
+      many postponements of audience with the Sultan, 58, 59;
+      official calls among the diplomatic corps, 60, 61;
+      life in Constantinople, 61 _ff._;
+      Selamlik, 63, 64, 152;
+      and Sir H. D. Wolff, 64;
+      at Therapia, 65;
+      presides at commencement of Robert College, 66, 67;
+      his first audience with the Sultan, to present credentials, 67-69;
+      negotiations concerning the Mission schools, 71, 72;
+      visits Palestine, 73;
+      and the agents of Bible societies, 74;
+      unofficial dealings with Kiamil Pasha, 77;
+      in Egypt, 78, 79;
+      Khedive Tewfik, 78,
+        and Nubar Pasha, 79;
+      question of expulsion of foreign Jews from Jerusalem, 80, 81, 82;
+      and the vali, 82, 84;
+      at Jerusalem, 82-84;
+      procures release of Jewish immigrants, 83;
+      memorial presented to, 83;
+      question of limitation of sojourn of Jews in Jerusalem, 84-86;
+      question of Turkish jurisdiction over American citizens under treaty
+           of 1830, 87-90;
+      fails to obtain ratification of Treaty of Naturalization and
+            Extradition, 91, 92;
+      and Turkey's claim against Baron de Hirsch, 92-94;
+      declines honorarium, 94;
+      friendship with the de Hirsches, 95;
+      assists de Hirsch in organizing his philanthropic work in N.Y., 96;
+      and the proposed Bagdad railway, 96, 97;
+      and the proposed excavations in Babylonia, 97-100;
+      the Sultan's obligation to, 100, 101;
+      resigns, after Cleveland's defeat, 101, 102;
+      the question of salary, 102;
+      farewell audience, 102, 103;
+      expressions of regret on his leaving his post, 103;
+      farewell to Turkey, 104.
+    Reënters business in N.Y., 105;
+      on committee of protest against treatment of Jews in Russia,
+            106, 107;
+      delegate to Democratic State Convention (1891), 108, 110;
+      stands for sound-money plank in platform, 110;
+      letters of Cleveland to, 110, 111; relations with Cleveland, 110;
+      on the appointment of Van Alen to Italian mission, 113, 114;
+      letter of Cleveland to, 113;
+      entertains Cleveland, 114-118;
+      _Roger Williams, the Pioneer of Religious Liberty_, 119, 120,
+            121, 347;
+      _Development of Religious Liberty in the United States_, 119, 120;
+      his interest in Roger Williams, 120;
+      places tablet to him in Charterhouse School, 120, 121;
+      president of National Primary Election League, 122;
+      why he voted for McKinley (1896), 122;
+      consulted by McKinley on Spain and Cuba, 123, 127;
+      the suzerainty plan, 124;
+      consulted by McKinley on affairs in Turkey, 124;
+      appointed Minister to Turkey by McKinley, 124-126;
+      the appointment favorably received, 126, 127;
+      and John Bassett Moore, 127, 128;
+      disapproves sending warships to Turkey, 128; McKinley's confidence
+            in, 128, 129.
+    The second mission to Turkey, 130 _ff._;
+      confers with Hay and others in London, 130, 131;
+      suggests need of coördination and coöperation among representatives
+            of U.S. in Europe, 132;
+      and Baroness de Hirsch, 132, 133;
+      in Constantinople, 133;
+      his return welcomed by Government officials, 134;
+      received by the Sultan, 134, 135;
+      diplomatic colleagues, 135;
+      and the visit of the Kaiser, 136 _ff._;
+      negotiations concerning right of American citizens to travel in
+            Turkey, 139, 140;
+      and the question of naturalization, 140;
+      and the question of indemnities due to missionaries 141, 142;
+      and the Mohammedans of the Sulu Islands, 143 _ff._;
+      and the admission of American flour, 147;
+      assists British ambassador in matter of closing of orphanage
+            schools, 148;
+      conversation with Lord Rosebery, 149, 150;
+      secures Dr. Mitchell's services for Madame Tewfik, 151;
+      visits Stefanovich-Schilizzi, in Athens, 152-154;
+      at Therapia, 154;
+      on leave of absence, 155 _ff._;
+      conversation with Dr. Hertzl on Zionism, 156, 157;
+      visits Rome, 158, 159;
+      and Queen Margherita, 158, 159;
+      reports to Secretary Hay, 159;
+      resigns his post, 159-161;
+      commended by McKinley, 160,
+        who contemplates offering him the State portfolio, 160;
+      on the granting of independence to the Philippines, 161;
+      on the open-door policy in China, 161;
+      commendatory letter of Hay, 162.
+    His address on "The United States Doctrine of Citizenship and
+          Expatriation," 163;
+      appointed member of Hague Court of Arbitration by Roosevelt, 163,
+            165, 208;
+      why he was not appointed by McKinley, 164;
+      opposes sending punitive expedition against Mohammedans in
+            Philippines, 165, 166;
+      prepares brief on condition of Jews in Roumania, 168;
+      discusses situation of Jews in Russia with Roosevelt and others,
+            172, 173;
+      advises against arbitration of Venezuela dispute by Roosevelt, 174;
+      interprets the treaty of 1846 with New Granada, 175, 176;
+      impressions of Mrs. Roosevelt, 177;
+      the conference societies in Washington, and Roosevelt's
+            complimentary address, 178;
+      Roosevelt on attitude of, on Jewish questions, 180;
+      in the campaign of 1904, 182;
+      at the conference on Roosevelt's Annual Message (1904), 184-188;
+      on the eight-hour law, 186;
+      at conference with Witte and Rosen, at Portsmouth, on the
+            condition of Jews in Russia, 189, 190;
+      conversation with Martens, 190;
+      impressions of Roosevelt's political action, 192, 193;
+      and the work of the National Civic Federation, industrial
+            department, 195 _ff._;
+      on the method of securing permanent industrial peace, 196;
+      and the Homestead troubles, 197;
+      result of his studies of the relations between labor and capital,
+            etc., 199;
+      on Board of Railway Labor Arbitration, 200-203;
+      member of Wilson's Industrial Conference (1919-20), 203;
+      chairman of New York Public Service Commission, 205;
+      services of, in that capacity, in adjusting labor difficulties, 206.
+    A member of Roosevelt's "kitchen cabinet," 207, 208;
+      on Roosevelt's "impulsiveness," 208, 256,
+        and his public addresses, 208, 209;
+      invited by Roosevelt to join the Cabinet, 210;
+      a personal selection, 211;
+      prepares to quit business, 211, 212;
+      appointed Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 212;
+      plans conduct of the Department, 213;
+      his official staff, 213, 214;
+      social life in Washington, 214;
+      his first official dinner-party, 215;
+      and the importation of skilled labor into South Carolina, 216;
+      action of, on divers questions relating to immigration, 216 _ff._;
+      and Japanese immigration on the Pacific coast, 217;
+      on the naturalization of Japanese, 218, 221;
+      confers with Root on revision of Executive regulations, 219, 226;
+      and the visit of General Kuroki, 220;
+      on anti-Japanese agitation in California, 220;
+      visits Hawaii, to study the Japanese question, 221-224;
+      replies to Japanese editors, 223;
+      confers with Viscount Ishii, 224;
+      suggests negotiation of new naturalization treaty with Japan,
+            226, 227;
+      gives out statistics of Japanese immigration, 228;
+      and the head-tax, 230, 231;
+      and the naturalization laws, 231, 232;
+      and the exclusion and deportation of criminals and anarchists,
+            233, 234;
+      Roosevelt's comment on leanings of, 234;
+      and the inspection of passenger steamboats, 234, 235;
+      orders closing of rivers to salmon fishing, 235, 236;
+      seeks to establish closer relations between commercial bodies
+            and the Government, 236;
+      organizes National Council of Commerce, 237;
+      recommends extension of Postal Subsidy Act, 237;
+      complimentary resolution of the Council, 238;
+      calls conference on coöperation between his Department and labor
+            organizations, 238;
+      draws preamble and bill for creating foundation to administer
+            Roosevelt's Nobel Prize, 240;
+      made a trustee of the foundation, 240;
+      addresses on divers subjects, 240;
+      revisits early homes in the South, 242, 243;
+      his change of politics, 241;
+      addresses Southern Commercial Congress on the old and the new
+            South, 244;
+      and Quentin Roosevelt, 244;
+      gives last Cabinet dinner to Roosevelt, 247;
+      Roosevelt's parting official gift to, 247;
+      impressions of Taft, 250;
+      interview with Taft on articles in his brother's paper, 251;
+      takes part in campaign of 1908, 253, 255;
+      answers Olney on question of prosecution of trusts, 253;
+      on sectarian and hyphenated politics, 255;
+      Roosevelt on Taft's declared purpose to retain _S._ in Cabinet,
+            263, 264;
+      Taft writes of his uncertainty as to retaining him, 267;
+      at the last Cabinet meeting, 267, 268;
+      at Taft's inauguration, 268-270.
+    Banquet to, on returning to New York, 271, 272;
+      Turkish Embassy offered to, by Taft, with promise of transfer,
+            272, 273;
+      letter of Knox to, 273;
+      operated on, for appendicitis, 273;
+      letter of Roosevelt to, on his appointment, 274;
+      address on "The Spirit of the Roosevelt Administration," 274, 275;
+      purpose of the address, 275;
+      in Paris with Mrs. Roosevelt, 275;
+      in Constantinople, 276;
+      received by Sultan Mohammed, 276, 277;
+      diplomatic colleagues, 278, 279;
+      observes signs of development of Triple Entente, 279;
+      goes to Cairo, to meet Roosevelt, 285;
+      at Salonica, 285;
+      at Athens, 286;
+      received by King George, 286, 287;
+      in Cairo with Roosevelt, 287-292;
+      consulted by Roosevelt on his remarks about the murder of Budros
+            Pasha, 288;
+      entertained by Sir E. Gorst, 290, 291;
+      and Princess Eitel Friedrich, 292;
+      relations with Chevket Pasha, 292, 293;
+      advises sale of warship to Turkey, 295;
+      on Venizelos, 296;
+      secures exemption of certain institutions from the Law of
+            Associations, 296;
+      obtains charter for Syrian Protestant College, etc., 297;
+      Knox's offensive instructions regarding a shift of activities
+            from educational to commercial ends, 297, 298;
+      entertains Vice-President Fairbanks and others, 298, 299;
+      requests leave of absence, intending to retire, 300;
+      at Sinaia in Roumania, 300;
+      conversations with "Carmen Sylva," 300-302, 303, 304;
+      discusses Roumanian Jewish question with King Carol, 302, 303; in
+            Vienna, 304;
+      entertained by Ambassador Reid and others in London, 304, 305;
+      interview with the Rothschilds, on the Triple Entente, 305, 306;
+      resigns, 306;
+      purpose to transfer to another post dropped, 306.
+    Speaks on "American Prestige" at dinner of N.Y. Chamber of Commerce,
+          308;
+      arouses enthusiasm by mention of Roosevelt, 308;
+      consulted by Roosevelt on his proposed speech, "The Charter of
+            Democracy," 310;
+      objects to recall of judicial decisions, but not to the
+            breaking-point, 311;
+      believes that that statement caused Roosevelt's defeat, 311, 312;
+      made permanent chairman of N.Y. State Progressive Convention, 314;
+      impressions of the body of delegates, 314;
+      nominated for Governor by "Suspender Jack," 314-316;
+      the nomination made unanimous, 317;
+      letter of Roosevelt to, on his nomination, 317, 318;
+      Roosevelt's interview on the same topic, 318, 319;
+      is offered the Republican nomination, but declines for cause,
+            319, 320;
+      in the campaign, 320-322;
+      fills some of Roosevelt's engagements after the shooting at
+            Milwaukee, 322;
+      Roosevelt's commendatory speech at final rally, 324;
+      letter of Roosevelt to, 325;
+      on the Progressive organization, 325, 326,
+        and the result, 326;
+      attempts to improve arbitration treaties, 330;
+      speaks on "The Threatening Clouds of War," at reception given him
+            by the N.Y. Peace Society, 331;
+      speaks on "World Peace" at dinner of Authors' Club, 331;
+      at peace meeting in Carnegie Hall, 332;
+      on the right of expatriation, denied by European countries, 332;
+      addresses at Naval War College, 332, 333;
+      chairman of conference at Lake Mohonk (1905), 334;
+      which resulted in the formation of the American Society of
+            International Law, 335, 336;
+      favors repeal of act exempting U.S. coastwise shipping from tolls
+            on Panama Canal, 338, 339;
+      urges sending commission to Mexico, 339, 340;
+      writes in _The Outlook_ on the Italo-Turkish War and the Hague
+            Treaty, 341;
+      motor-tour in Algeria and Tunis, 343;
+      in Sicily, 343;
+      in Rome, 344-350;
+      received in audience by Victor Emmanuel, 344, 345;
+      friendship with Mayor Nathan, 345, 346;
+      Professor Luzzatti, 346, 347;
+      interviews with Cardinals Falconio, 347, 348,
+        and Rampolla, 348, 349;
+      relations with D. Lubin, 349;
+      in London, 350-354;
+      entertained by William Watson, 350,
+        Sir Charles Henry, 350, 351, 352;
+      meets Lloyd George, 351;
+      Sir Rufus Isaacs, 352,
+       Herbert L. Samuel, 352,
+        and John Burns, 352, 353;
+      entertained by the Brittains, 353,
+        and Earl Grey, 353, 354, 355;
+      visits the Hampstead Garden Suburb, 353, 354;
+      entertained by Mr. Carnegie at Skibo Castle, 355;
+      attends opening of Peace Palace at The Hague, 356, 357;
+      journeys to Madrid for the marriage of Kermit Roosevelt, 358 _ff._;
+      meets Kipling in London, 359,
+        and I. Zangwill, 359;
+      with Roosevelt in Paris, and travels to Madrid with him, 360;
+      declared by Roosevelt to be the type of man for U.S. Senator, 360;
+      on the prospects of the monarchy in Spain, 361;
+      renews acquaintance with Sir H. D. Wolff, 366,
+        and von Radowitz, 367;
+      interview with E. Castelar, 365, 366;
+      visits Toledo, 366-368.
+    In Paris, in July, 1914, 370; the difficult journey to London, 370;
+      the demand for gold, 371;
+      assists in relieving Americans stranded in London, 371 _ff._;
+      chairman of the embassy committee, 372;
+      at Cliveden, with the Astors, 374;
+      impresses on Sir E. Grey the necessity of making clear Great
+            Britain's reasons for entering the war, 375;
+      on Russia's duty to her subjects, 375, 376;
+      gives out an interview to American correspondents, 376, 377;
+      with Bernstorff at J. Speyer's, 378;
+      negotiations with Bernstorff on the possible mediation of the
+            United States, 378 _ff._;
+      reports to Bryan thereon, 380;
+      consults with Spring-Rice
+      and Jusserand, 380, 381, 382;
+      said to have been duped by Bernstorff, 382, 384;
+      defended by Spring-Rice, 382, 383;
+      Sir E. Grey to, 383;
+      negotiations result in exposure of German insincerity, 384, 385, 386;
+      New Year's message (1915), 387;
+      conversation with Roosevelt on Wilson's course and duty, 387, 388;
+      urges Wilson to seek cooperation of Taft and Roosevelt, 388, 389;
+      and the report that Jews in U.S. were anti-Ally, 390-391;
+      last meeting with Roosevelt, 391-393;
+      at Roosevelt's funeral, 394.
+    Chairman of overseas committee of League to Enforce Peace, 396;
+      confers with Taft, 397;
+      his associates on the committee, 397;
+      conversation with Lord Chancellor Birkenhead, 398, 399;
+      and Sir A. Steele-Maitland, 399;
+      interview with Léon Bourgeois on additional clauses to the League
+            Covenant, 400-403, 404;
+      commended for favorable results of the interview, 403, 404;
+      attends sessions of Plenary Conference, 405-407, 423, 424;
+      on Wilson's prestige and leadership, 408;
+      and General Smuts, 408;
+      attends session of French Senate, 409;
+      talk with Pershing, 410,
+        and with Sazonoff, 411;
+      praised by Bourgeois, 412;
+      talk with Lansing, 412, 413;
+      conferences with divers representatives of Balkan countries, 413,
+            414, 418, 419;
+      at meeting of allied societies for a League of Nations, proposes
+            resolution regarding free exercise of religion, etc., 416;
+      reports to Wilson, 416;
+      Wilson's reply to, 417;
+      discusses with Bourgeois revised draft of Article XXI, 420,
+        which is adopted, 421;
+      letter of Wilson thereon, 421;
+      address at the Sorbonne, on "America and the League of Nations," 422;
+      letter of Wilson to, 424;
+      requested by House to return to U.S., 424, 425;
+      meets Kerensky, 425, 426;
+      confers with Wilson on measures to secure ratification of treaty,
+            427;
+      conferences with Senators on reservations, 427-429;
+      reflections on the failure of the U.S. to act her part in
+            world-reconstruction, 429, 430.
+
+  Straus, Percy, 131.
+
+  Straus, Roger W., _S._'s son, in Siberia, 392, 397; 131, 152, 299,
+        318, 354, 378.
+
+  Straus, Mrs. Roger W., 394.
+
+  Straus, Salomon, _S._'s maternal grandfather, 1, 2, 9.
+
+  Straus, Sara, _S._'s mother, 2, 9, 10, 13, 14, 21.
+
+  Straus, Sarah (Lavanburg), decorated by Abdul Hamid, 104;
+    and William II, 137, 138; 46, 48, 49, 50, 53, 56, 58, 94, 96, 99,
+          111, 115, 131, 136, 211, 214, 215, 242, 245, 247, 274, 275,
+          285, 290, 298, 316, 318, 321, 337, 343, 345, 348, 353, 354,
+          360, 362, 365, 374, 378, 394, 409.
+
+  Straus, Sissy, 131.
+
+  Straus, L., & Sons, _S._ becomes a member of, 36, 37.
+
+  Straus family, the, comes to America, 9;
+    at Talbotton, 9-17;
+    at Columbus, Ga., 17-20.
+
+  Strauss, Lewis L., 418.
+
+  Strauss, Paul, 409.
+
+  Striker, Miss, 294.
+
+  Strong, William L., 121.
+
+  Sublime Porte. _See_ Turkey.
+
+  Sullivan, Algernon S., 40.
+
+  Sultan's mosque, the, 63.
+
+  Sulu Islands, Mohammedans of, submit to U.S. army, 143-146.
+
+  Sulzburger, Solomon, 170.
+
+  Sulzer, William, 320.
+
+  Supreme Court of the U.S., and the trusts, 186, 187.
+
+  "Suspender Jack," _See_ McGee, John C.
+
+  Sussex, the, sinking of, 389.
+
+  Suttner, Baroness Bertha von, 304.
+
+  Syria, mission schools in, closed, 71.
+
+  Syrian Protestant College, 36, 297, 299.
+
+
+  Taft, Charles P., 251.
+
+  Taft, Hulbert, 251.
+
+  Taft, William H., favored by Roosevelt for President, 248, 249;
+    nominated, 250;
+    his qualifications, 250;
+    his contagious laugh, 250;
+    overshadowed by Roosevelt in campaign, 254, 255;
+    elected, 256;
+    his chief source of strength, 256;
+    his religion, attempt to make it an issue, 257;
+    Roosevelt's letter to Dixon thereon, 258-262;
+    his failure to reappoint _S._, and others to the Cabinet, 263, 264,
+          267, 288, 292;
+    his address to Ohio Society, 264;
+    signs of departure from Roosevelt's policies, 264;
+    suggests to _S._ embassy to Japan, 267;
+    his inauguration, 268-270;
+    offers _S._ Turkish mission, 272, 273;
+    _S._'s relations with, 272;
+    rumors of break with Roosevelt, 275;
+    growing rift between his administration and Roosevelt's policies, 306;
+    his position in 1912, 309;
+    the Winona speech and the Norton letter, 309;
+    and a League of Nations, 397;
+    and the Covenant of the League, 413; 166, 183, 185, 186, 222, 231,
+          239, 253, 265, 309, 394, 402, 419, 421.
+
+  Taft, Mrs. W. H., 270.
+
+  Talaat Bey, 278, 282.
+
+  Talbotton, Ga., _S._'s father settles in, 6 _ff._;
+    the Straus family at, 9 _ff._;
+    revisited by _S._, 243.
+
+  Tammany Hall, 320.
+
+  Tanaka, Captain, 220.
+
+  Tardieu, André, 414.
+
+  Tchaikovsky, Nicolas, on sending food into Russia, 422, 423;
+    on Lenin and Trotzky, 423.
+
+  Tcheragan (Turkish Chamber of Deputies), burning of, how regarded, 299.
+
+  Tewfik Pasha (Mohammed), Khedive, 78, 79.
+
+  Tewfik Pasha, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, 134, 140, 141, 142;
+    and the closing of British orphanages, 148; 151, 173.
+
+  Tewfik, Madame, attended by Dr. Mitchell, 151.
+
+  Tezkirahs (passports), 139, 140.
+
+  Thackeray, W. M., 120.
+
+  Theotocopuli, Dominico, 367.
+
+  Therapia, 65.
+
+  Thomas, J. H., 415.
+
+  Thompson, Daniel G., law partner of _S._, 34.
+
+  Tilden, Samuel J., 33.
+
+  _Times, The_, on _S._ as mediator, 382; 148.
+
+  Toledo, Spain's objects of interest in, 367, 368.
+
+  Tombs unearthed at Sidon, 151.
+
+  Toombs, Robert, 19, 20.
+
+  Trade unions, organization of, 194.
+
+  Treaty of Paris, measures to secure ratification of, by Senate, 46-49;
+    reservations offered, 427, 428.
+
+  Trent, William P., 331.
+
+  Triple Entente, development of, 279; 305, 306.
+
+  Tripoli, treaty of U.S. with, 145.
+
+  Trotzky, M., 423.
+
+  Trumbull, Frank, 378.
+
+  Trusts, question of, 186, 187.
+
+  Tucker, Henry H. G., 178.
+
+  Tunis, 343.
+
+  Turkey, mission to, 42 _ff._;
+    _S._ thrice appointed minister or ambassador to, 46, 124 _ff._,
+          272, 273;
+    his arrival in, 57-59;
+    negotiations about mission schools in, 70 _ff._;
+    hostility to missionaries in, 74, 75;
+    negotiations concerning persecution of Jews in, 83 _ff._;
+    permanent settlements with impossible, 86;
+    interpretation of treaty of 1830 with, 87 _ff._;
+    treaty of 1862, 88, 89;
+    slight regard of, for terms of treaties, 89;
+    Treaty of Naturalization and Extradition, 90-92, 140, 141;
+    claim against de Hirsch, 92-94;
+    proposal to send warships to, 128;
+    U.S. mission to, authorized to be raised to embassy, 134, 135, 150;
+    _S._'s negotiations concerning passport regulations in, 139, 140;
+    and the question of indemnities to missionaries, 141, 142;
+    question of shipments of flour to, 147, 148;
+    _S._ resigns as minister, 161, 162,
+    his reception on his third appointment, 276, 277;
+    the government of Young Turks, 277, 278;
+    German influence in, 279;
+    promises Germany the concession for building railroad to Bagdad, 279;
+    attitude of Russia toward, 279;
+    effect on, of mutual jealousy of the Great Powers, 280;
+    Chevket Pasha on conditions in, and attitude of Powers toward, 293;
+    and the Crete affair, 293 _ff._:
+    U.S. refuses to sell warship to, 294, 295;
+    buys one from Germany, 295;
+    Italy's war on, 340, 341;
+    proposed mandate of U. S. over, 410.
+    And _see_ Law of Associations, Young Turks.
+
+  Turks, the, characteristics of, 62.
+
+  Turull, Enrique de Arribas y, on the ancestry and nationality of
+        Columbus, 369.
+
+
+  Uhler, George, 234.
+
+  "Union and Progress," party of. _See_ Young Turks.
+
+  United States, treaty of 1830 with Turkey, interpretation of, 87 _ff._;
+    treaty of 1862 with Turkey, 88, 89;
+    treaty of Naturalization and Extradition, 90-92, 140, 141;
+    attitude of, toward Sulu Mohammedans, 144, 145;
+    Roosevelt's administration the beginning of a new era in history
+          of, 257;
+    attitude of toward international affairs, 327, 328;
+    and the Hague Peace conferences, 328;
+    effect on, of sending fleet round the world, 337, 338;
+    proposed mediation of, at outbreak of World War, 378 _ff._;
+    hopes of bringing about a peace conference between belligerents,
+          386, 387;
+    and the mandate for Turkey, 410;
+    responsibility of, for withholding coöperation in
+          world-reconstruction, 429, 430.
+
+  University of Pennsylvania, confers honorary degree on _S._, 160.
+
+  Ure, Sir Alexander, 351.
+
+
+  Vacaresco, Helene, 405.
+
+  Vali, the, of Jerusalem, 82, 83, 84.
+
+  Van Alen, James J., and the Italian mission, 113, 114.
+
+  Van Dyke, Henry, 119, 331.
+
+  Van Hise, Charles R., 200, 201.
+
+  Van Karnebeek, Dr., 357.
+
+  Van Karnebeek, Jonkheer, 357.
+
+  Van Rensselaer, Henry, 25.
+
+  Van Swinderen, Mr., 357.
+
+  Van Tetz, Baron and Baroness, 65.
+
+  Van Valkenburg, E. A., 395.
+
+  Vanderbilt, William K., 97.
+
+  Vanderlip, Frank A., 378.
+
+  Vanderlip, Mrs. F. A., 378.
+
+  Vandervelde, M., 416.
+
+  Varna, to Constantinople, 56, 57.
+
+  "Venetian Palace," _S._'s home in Washington, 214.
+
+  Venezuelan controversy (1902), 174.
+
+  Venizelos, Eleutherios, his rank as a statesman, 296;
+    maltreated by Greeks, 296; 153, 407, 411, 414, 415, 416.
+
+  Venizelos, Mme., 153.
+
+  Vermilye, Joseph F., 26.
+
+  Very, Rear-Admiral, 224.
+
+  Vesnitch, M., 411, 414.
+
+  Victor Emmanuel II, 46.
+
+  Victor Emmanuel III, Roosevelt received by, 290;
+    _S._ received by, 344, 345, 349.
+
+  Victoria, Queen, Jubilee of, 66.
+
+  Vienna, _S._'s visits to, 56, 156, 304.
+
+  Villard, Henry, 97.
+
+  Vivian, Henry, 354.
+
+
+  Wadhams, William H., 400.
+
+  Wadsworth, James W., 209.
+
+  Wald, Lillian M., 393, 425.
+
+  Wallace, Lew, 43.
+
+  Ward, John E., 31.
+
+  Ward, William H., 97.
+
+  Washburn, George, President of Robert College, 66, 69;
+    _Fifty Years in Constantinople_, 76; 75.
+
+  Washington, Booker T., entertained by Roosevelt, 184, 187.
+
+  Washington, George, 41, 183, 258.
+
+  Washington, Rev. George, 66.
+
+  Washington Conference on Limitation of Armaments (1921), 229, 230.
+
+  Watchorn, Robert, 168, 216.
+
+  Watson, William, why he missed the laureateship, 350.
+
+  Weardale, Philip J. Stanhope, Baron, 377.
+
+  Weber, John B., 107.
+
+  Webster, Charles B., 115.
+
+  Webster, Daniel, 17, 258.
+
+  Westminster, Hugh R. A. Grosvenor, Duke of, 148.
+
+  Westminster Hall, John Burns on, 353.
+
+  _Westminster Review_, 51.
+
+  Wheeler, Everett P., 334.
+
+  White, Andrew D., _Autobiography_, 328 _n._, 356; 132, 138, 237,
+        331, 334.
+
+  White, Edward D., 128, 300.
+
+  White, Henry, 405, 423.
+
+  White, Horace, 308.
+
+  White, Sir William A., British ambassador to Turkey, 60, 65, 72, 74,
+        85, 132.
+
+  White, Lady, 60.
+
+  White House, luncheons at, in Roosevelt's day, 176, 177;
+    Christmas tree at, 245;
+    New Year's reception at, 245, 246;
+    official functions at, 246.
+
+  Whitman, Charles S., 205.
+
+  Whitney, Traverse H., 205.
+
+  Whitney, William C., 113, 114.
+
+  Wighe, Mr., labor leader, 197.
+
+  Wilhelmina, Queen, 356, 357.
+
+  Willard, Daniel, 200, 203.
+
+  Willard, Joseph, 358, 362.
+
+  Willard, Miss, marries Kermit Roosevelt, 358, 362.
+
+  Willcocks, Sir William, 299.
+
+  William II, German Emperor, visit of, to Constantinople, 136-139;
+    his visit resented by Christians in Turkey, 139;
+    and Zionism, 157;
+    and Mrs. Roosevelt, 287, 288; 247, 279, 291, 328 _n._, 363, 385.
+
+  Williams, Aneurin, 415.
+
+  Williams, Roger, _S._ places memorial tablet to, in Charterhouse
+        School, 120, 121, 347.
+
+  Wilson, George G., 334.
+
+  Wilson, James, 240.
+
+  Wilson, James H., 19.
+
+  Wilson, William L., 112, 126, 127.
+
+  Wilson, Woodrow, reappoints _S._ on Hague Court, 165,
+      and Panama Canal tolls, 338, 339;
+    his offer to act as mediator at outbreak of war, 378, 379, 384, 387;
+    Roosevelt on his proper course, 388, 389;
+    _S._'s relations with, 338;
+    _S._ advises him to invite coöperation of Taft and Roosevelt, 389;
+    objects to proposed additions to draft of League Covenant, 400;
+    opposes French demand for international army to guard frontier, 403;
+    address to American correspondents, 404;
+    in the Plenary Conference, 405-407, 423, 424;
+    early adoption of Covenant due to, 408;
+    returns to U.S., 414;
+    letters of, to _S._, 421, 424;
+    on the treaty debate and reservations, 427; 203, 322, 402, 416, 417,
+          420, 425, 426.
+
+  Wilson, Judge, 56.
+
+  Wise, Stephen S., 390.
+
+  Witte, Count Sergius, and the question of Jews in Russia, 189, 190;
+    letter of Roosevelt to, 191.
+
+  Wolf, Simon, 171, 173.
+
+  Wolfe, Catherine L., 97.
+
+  Wolff, Sir Henry D., career of, 64;
+    advises _S._, 65;
+    in Madrid, 122;
+    reminiscences of Disraeli, 363-365; 86, 362.
+
+  Wolff, Lady, 362, 363.
+
+  Woodford, Stewart L., U.S. Minister to Spain, and Sir H. D. Wolff, 122;
+    seeks to avert war, 124.
+
+  Woodruff, Timothy L., 316, 317.
+
+  Woolsey, Theodore S., 334.
+
+  Wordsworth, William, "The Happy Warrior," 119.
+
+  World War, the, outbreak of, 371 _ff._;
+    Sir E. Grey on Great Britain's reasons for entering, 375, 376;
+    proposed mediation of U.S., 378 _ff._
+
+  Wright, Luke V., 264.
+
+  Wu Ting Fang, 160.
+
+
+  Yahuda, A. S., 366.
+
+  Yale College Kent Club, 119, 120.
+
+  Yates, William F., 239.
+
+  Yenikeui, _S._'s residence at, 154.
+
+  Yildis Palace, _S._ received in audience at, 66, 67.
+
+  Young Men's Hebrew Association, founded by _S._ and others, 33, 40, 41.
+
+  Young Turks, government of, 277, 278;
+    fall of their first ministry due to Lynch affair, 280-282.
+
+  Young Women's Hebrew Association, 33.
+
+  Yovanovich, M., 415.
+
+
+  Zangwill, Israel, his project concerning the Jews, 359.
+
+  Zionism, Hertzl on, 156, 157.
+
+  Zorn, Professor, 328 _n._
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Transcriber's note: Punctuation has been normalized and obvious printer
+errors have been corrected. Variations in spelling and hyphenation have
+been retained.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Under Four Administrations, by Oscar S. Straus
+
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