Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1911-10-11

Madam said Mr. Calhoun. I'VE
can not spare you yet"
| She flashed upon him keen look.
| 1T is young country said she, but
| it raises statesmen. You foolish, dear
Americans! One could have loved you
ALL"
"Eh, what?" said DR.. Ward, turn
ing to her. my dear lady, two of us
are too old for that; and as for the
other"
He did not know how hard this
chance remark might smite, but as
usual Helena Won Ritz was brave and
smiling
you are men," she said, "such as
we do not have in our courts of Eu-
| rope. Men and women-that is what
this country produces"
Madam" said Calhoun, 'I myself
am very poor sort of man. l am
old, and fail from month to month.
cannot live long, at best. What you
| see in me is simply purpose-a pur-
pose to accomplish something for my
country-a purpose which my country
| itself does not desire to see fulfilled
Republics do not reward us. What
| you say shall be our chief reward. |
| have asked you here also to accept
! the thanks of all of us who know the
| intricacies of the events which have
| gone forward. Madam, we owe you
| Texas! Twas not yonder lady, but
| yourself who first advised of the dan
| ger that threatened us. Hers was,
| after all, simpler task than yours,
because she only matched faiths with
| Van Zandt, representative of Texas,
who had faith in neither men, women
nor nations. Had all gone WELL we
might perhaps have owed you yet
more, for Oregon
would you like Oregon?" she
asked, looking at him with full
| glance of her dark eyes.
more than my life! More than
all my fortune!" His voice rang
clear and keen as that of youth.
'All of Oregon?" she asked.
"All? We do not own all! Perhaps
we do not deserve it. Surely we could
not expect it. Why, if we got one
half of what that fellow Polk is claim
| ing, we should do well enough-that
is more than we deserve or could eX
pect. With our army already at war
on the southwest England, as we all
know, is planning to take advantage
| of our helplessness in Oregon"
Without further answer, she held
out to him document whose appear
] ance /, at least, recognized
! or L, 1I,.0 ,osl I1,,k
it chances that have been able to do
this country perhaps something of
| favor. Your assistant, Mr.. Trist, has
! done me in turn a favor. This much
| l will ask permission to do for him."
Calhoun's long and trembling fin
gers we're nervously opening the doc
ument He turned to her with eyes
blazing with eagerness. sit is Ore
gon!" He dropped back into his chair
eyes, said Helena Won Ritz, slowly
| ''It is Oregon 1t is bought and paid
| for. 1t is yours!"
So now they all went over that doc
ument, signed by none less than
Pakenham himself, minister plenipo-
| tertiary for Great Britain. That docu-
ment exists to-day somewhere in our
archives, but do not feel empowered
to make known its full text. I would
! l had never need to set down, as
have, the cost of it, These others
never knew that cost, and now they
never can know, for long years since
both Calhoun and DR.. Ward have been
dead and gone 1 turned aside as
they examiled the document which
within the aYext few weeks was to be-
| come public property. The red waters
which menled it-and which she
smilingly explained at Calhoun's de-
mand-were. as I knew, not less than
red drops OF Alood.
In brief, l may say that this paper
stated that, III case the United States
| felt disposed to reopen discussions
which Mr.. PAlk peremptorily had
closed, Great Britain might be able tc
| listen to a conf ,romise on the line OF
| the forty-ninth parallel. This compro-
mise had three times been offered her
by diplomacy Of United States under
| earlier administrations Great Brit
ain stated that il view of her deep
and abiding love for peace and her
| deep and abiding admiration for
America, she would resign her claim
! of all of Oregon down to the Colum
| bia; and more, she would accept the
forty-ninth parallel; provided she
might have free navigation rights
upon the Columbia In fact, this was
precisely the memorandum of agree
ment which eventually established
the lines of the treaty as to Oregon
between Great Britain and the United
States.