Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-01
EMINENT In DIPLOMACY,
CRAFTSMANSHIP And LETTERS

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| of his service as Secretary had 10 do with
England He brought about a modus
(, vivepdi with Great Britain in 1899, by
| which temporary boundary line was fixed
| with Alaska. This culminated in 1903 with
| the appointment of joint commission on
| the Alaska boundary, which proved a tri-
( umph for this governments contentious
and settled dispute of many years stand
ing.
| He entered upon negotiations in 1899 and
| 1900 for the framing of the Hay-Pauncefote
| treaty to remove objections to the con-
sstruct.on of the isthmian canal. The Sem
| ate. with which MIR. Hay has occasionally
had marked differences. materially amend
| ed the treaty. but another was drawn
which made feasible, from an International
| standpoint. the great engineering project
for the union of the two oceans.
"Open Door" in China
Mr. Hay is perhaps best known TO the
public for his success in urging upon the
great powers the open door, policy in
China His efforts in this direction secured
recognition of the right of the United
States to trade as freely as any other ma
ton with the fiowery kingdom, which up
until that time had been divided into sew
eral clearly defined spheres of influence.
Secretary Hays success IN persuading the
OTHER great powers to make a formal decla-
ration to this effect was regarded as a
great feat of diplomacy.
In 1889 MIR. Hay arranged a settlement
of the vcxed Samoan question by which
Germany ana the United States divided
the island. The United States lost nothing
and obtained fine seaport. In the same
year Mr. Hay interested himself in
strengthening the Monroe doctrine, and
secured from Germany and other European
powers more emphatic recognition of the
doctrine than had heretofore been possible.
Secretary Hay played an influential and
important part in interim tional affairs dur
iYNe, hn pnxn -ftop nyN1 trrbn In,
the powers formed an alliance for the
protection of foreigners in China. 1t may
be said without eXaggeratfon that the eff
forts of Mr.. Hay. seconded and supported
by the American government, prevented the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the Chinese empire. Mr..
Hay was likewise foremost in the long and
tedious negotiations following the entrance
of the allied troops into Picking. and won
the day for a pacific and humane settle
ment.
Limit of War Defined.
At the beginning of the present Russian
japanese war the Secretary was again In
strumental in securing pledges guarantee
ing the integrity of China and defining the
zone of warlke operations. For months
previously he had urged upon Russia the
evacuation of Manchuria. Among his other
diplomatic victories was the settlement In
1901 of the Turkish affair, involving the
payment of indemnity to American mission
aries for outrages.
Ranked High as an Author.
Secretary Hay enjoyed high rank as an
author. He was a master of the English
tongue, both spoken and written. and his
fame in this regard was international. His
Pike County Ballads including Jim
BIudso' and Little Breeches,' which were
written in his collegiate days and shortly
thereafter. have long been famous. But
Mr.. Hay considered them trifieS and some
times even grew irritated when they were
mentioned instead of some of his later and
more serious work. While secretary of the
United States legation at Madrid he wrote
his famous "Castillian Days" a collection
of studies of Spanish life and character,
which are considered to be fine literary
specimens. His most pretentious work was
the Life of Abraham Lincoln, which he
wrote in collaboration with John G. Nico-
lay, and which printed in serial form
in the Century Magazine. 1t is considered
one of the finest biographies In the English
language Mr. Hay is also generally be-
lieved to have been the author of the
Bread Winners a novel which was IA
nous III its day. and which is widely read
at the present time.
After Mr.. Hay became Secretary of State
he delivered many addresses, each one OF
them considered remarkable for its beauty
of expression and purity of language. One
of his most famous addresses was made to
the press parliament of the world al the
Louisiana purchase exposition. and another
that was widely read was his address on
Our Recent Diplomacy before the New
York chamber of commerce. November 49,
1901. Many others made by him in recent
years also deserve equal mention.
A Delightful Companion.
Mr. Hay was often accused of being an
aristocrat but In the language of one of his
friends. ''if the charge is true give US more
aristocrats." AS matter of fact he was a
most accessible man, much more so than
Of I.is-,
partment, and lie WAS always willing to
give aid in any way in his power. He was
without the slightest exaggeration, the most
delightful man TO converse with who has
ever held an official position in Washington
His store of knowledge was remarkably
large and wonderfully accurate although
he could never be accused of being pedantic
In his use of ii. His wit was quiet and
subtle and clean, and a story-teIler he
had no equal In the cabinet or elsewhere
MIR. Hay worked hard and fast and with
out thought of personal gain He was
many times a millionaire, and the small
salary he received Secretary of State
was no incentive to his labors.- He worked
for the country and for the world In gem
eral, and in time to come when his Iabors
come to frution, he will be called "philan-
thropist' as well as diplomat" and States
man
One unusual feature of Mr.. Hays service
in the cabinet lies in the fact that for a
line for the presidency. On the death of
Vice President Hobart, November 81 1899
this responsibility first fell upon him, and
continued until the Inauguration of McKin-
ley and Roosevelt, March 4, 1901. He again
became the next in presidential succession
September II, 1901. when Mckinley died at
Buffalo. and continued in that capacity till
the latest inauguration, when Mr.. Fair
banks became Vice President
When President Roosevelt first entered
the White House there were frequent pre-
dictions that he and his Secretary of State,
men vastly different In many ways would
not get along well together Fortunately
for the country the opposite proved true.
and between the President and his chief adj
wiser the closest friendship existed
He always dreaded the possibility that he
might become President. This was brought
forcibly to him by the fact that had McKin-
ley died seven months earlier he and not
MIR. Roosevelt, would have succeeded him
Nevertheless he felt it his duty to govern
himself according to the decree of chance
and he was careful to be nearly always in
Washington when the President was away
on long trips. So 1t was that soon after the
inauguration of Roosevelt and Fairbanks he
felt free for the first time in over three
years to take a trip abroad.