The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-16
Active Until the Last

l hCtifc U HUI tne LaSI
 In fact, until the last he was very
 active in literary pursuits. One If the
 reasons he desired to give up the am basSadorship and return home was that
 he might be enabled to write his memoirs,
 for which he had a mass of material and
 which his friends continually asked him | to give his time to.
 One of the last of the ambassadors $ | letters was written December 6. to Rob | ert Donald, editor of the Daily Chronicle
 and a member of the committee of the ] Anglo-American peace centenary 1t began
 '1 am finding once more this week that there is never a convenient moment for being ill., but nothing has troubled me so much since the breakdown three or
 four weeks ago that followed my over
 work in the autumn and early winter ds to learn now that the physicians will not consent to my attending the public meet ing at the hundredth anniversary of peace between our two countries l especially wish to be present because l regard this as an event of enormous importance, and think that failure to give it such cele-
 bration as should challenge the attention of the whole world would be crime"
 After congratulating Mir Donald on his work, and writings in behalf of the
 celebration, the letter continued: 'If dared to promise to be present at
 the Lord Mayors meeting I would, and if by the time 1t comes I can escape
 so far from the thralldom of the phys-
 clans. l surely shall be.
 Tn the meantime. l hope that the work
 is in as forward and promising q statt is my own country as here. 1 am sure that the centenary could not have come
 at moment more helpful for the peace of the world"
 Whitelaw Reid was in his seventy
 sixth year, having been born October 27. 1887, in Xenia, ohio. He became
 a newspaper writer as young man
 and never broke off his connection
 with the public press. He was editor in
 chief of the New York Tribune for
 many years and afterward became pro-
 prietor of that journal
 In the meantime. however. his career
 had been varied one. He served in the first campaigns of the civil war in 1861 and then as war correspond ent in which capacity was present at many of the important battles. Al one time he was librarian of the House of Rep resentatives; at another time he was a cotton planter in Louisiana.
 Later in life he went Into the dip- lomatic service and was sent to France as United States minister in 1889, re- l maining until 1892. During that period | he did some important diplomatic work l in securing the resembling of the de-
 cree prohibiting the importa ation of
 American meats into France and also l in negotiating the reciprocity and ex- 1 tradition treaties between the United States and France. l He came back to the United States | to run as the republican candidate for vice president on the ticket with Pres | ident Harrison.
 Some years later, in 1897. he was sent | f,1 .I I,rf4 to attend the celebration of the dia- mond jubilee of Queen Victoria. His next important work was as spe- cial commissioner to the Paris confer ence which negotiated peace between the United States and Spain. In 1902 he was again appointed spe- cial ambassador to Great Britain for l the coronation of King Edward VII with whom he was always on the most
 friendly terms.
 He was chosen in March, 1905, United l States ambassador to Great Britain in l succession to Joseph H. Choate. Since l that date his popularity in England which was always very great, augment I ed from year to year, for he identified himself with all the social, education- al and other movements of the United
 Kingdom. He was chosen on many oc- casions as a speaker at the inaugural ceremonies of great public institutions
 and was a great favorite owing to his profound knowledge of English history He had always been d student of Eng fish life, probably inherited his wish for knowledge on this subject from his parents, who descended from the Scot tish covenanters.
 Whitelaw Reid married in 1881 EHz-
 abeth Mills. daughter of the late Darius l Ogden Mills of New York. His son. I Ogden Mills Reid, is president of the Tribune association and mana aging ed
 itor of the Tribune. His daughter. Jean, | is the wife of Hon. John Hubert Ward
 cquerry in waiting to Queen Alexandra