Evening star., 1925-10-31
Edited by BURTON j. HENDRICK.

Continuing the letter of March = 1918
from Ambassador Page IL President Wilson
Well, a little before that, | met once
a week for three on four weeks at
dinner about a dozen labor leaders.
who good-humouredly WrunSled with
one another and with me. they being
of q di%pUtatiouS turn. It's Il pretty
good world to them, on the whole; but
economic society is organized with
gross injustice and their misfortune
( IS that they must set il right. On
many thing they can't agree with one
another; but on one thing they are of
: like mind: the employer wasn't fair
before the war and he isn't fair now.
The war brings no reason to their
minds why they should surrender. Let
. him surrender, rather. But they
wouldn't desert the country. They II
beat the hog of an employer, but
they'll keep up the war. and a larger
measure of democracy Will follow. Most
Dt these men are keen-ninded, able,
pugnaCiouS and. like all breeds of the
John Bun stock. tenacious. They have
a CASE IN disposed to think, Il good
caSe-WhiCh they urge most often by
bad methods. They viii have 4 larger
measure Of democracy. The first con
crete form that it has taken is the
new franchise act, which doubles the
number Of voters. There Is now an ap-
proXlmation of one vote to every man
over y and for every woman over 30.
Other such concrete changes VIII
come--perhapS labor government.
certainly a labor government il all la
Dor holds together. One of these fell
lows goes on a crutch from a war
wound. They are not for a peace that
will soon end III another war.
As | make it out. it is chiefly in po-
litiCal and phIOsophic circles that
hopeleSsneSS finds Il home. Lord
Bandsduwne belongs To both these
groups. TO one by temperament, the
other by training. | ran across him a
fortnight ago. He had. for an old man
who is far from Well an almost un-
seemly acdiety of spirit. and he insisted
on talking almost wholly about agri-
culture. ! had sent to our Agricultural
Department for certain of its publ
cations, which greatly interested him.
l almost forgive him his vagueness,
cut bias, of political thought because
of his sound agricultural knowledge.
Baftied by Briton.
l set out 30 write YOU, Mr.. Presi-
dent, more about our own affairs here
rather than this weary stuff about
the curious and admirable and Stolld
and eterually battling carnivorouS
and amphibious animal that inhabits
this island. But III tire you with
longer letter. our own affairs here
are. ! think. going well-in most re-
spectS surely. The embassy is war
weary in this senSe--that the staff
has one sick man-one after another
all the while. The London Winter
Ill indoors and the failure of some of
The best workers to take exercise
that's the trouble; but it's not serious.
A week on the South Shore sets the
digestion going again.
| am trying TO get together some
information in an authoritative way
which I hope will be useful to House
IN his preparations for the peace con-
ference. 1t is an interesting task, as
we'll as battling. And much of my
line is taken in making sure that our
several groups of people, such as the
Shipping Board group, the War Trade
Board group, etc, are getting on we'll
with the several departments Of the
Government, as, up To this time, they
have. The British try to play the
game openly and gratefully.
My fears for our future dealings
center about trade jealousies.
Yours faithfully,
WALTER II. PAGE.
Page died in North Carolina De-
cemher 81. 1918; the First two volumes
IF THE Life and Letters of Walter
II. Page" were published in October,
1922. Soon afterward the following
letter, signed by the prime minister
Of Great Britain, three former prime
ministers, and a former secretary of
state for foreign affairs, appeared in
The London Times.
Sir:
The publication Of the two adni-
ably edited volumes of The Life and
Letters of Walter II. Page" has re-
vealed to the world a personality and
I record of achievement of which per-
haps only those who came into init
mate social and official contact with
aim during the term of his ambassa-
torShip in this country We're already
aware.
Lives Again i'm Letters.
In these letters" Mr.. Page lives
again. They give the clearest and wild
est expression we can ever now hope
% receive of his vivid, free-ranging
mind and of that mellow integrity of
character and abounding humanity
which endeared him to us ALL More
particularly, they show him to have
been one of the best friends that Great
Britain ever had, and far-seeing and
practical crusader in the cause Of An.
Slo-AmerlCan cooperation.
Al tilc period Oh C[lG war, De- |
fore the United States had entered ii,
and when many contentious issues in |
evltably arose between the British and
american governments, it was Mr.. |
Pages handling of these issues, as
much as any other factor, that kept |
them within the bounds of reason and |
good temper. Scrupulous, as an Am. |
hassador should be, in presenting his ,
country's case with all the vigor and
persuasiveness at his command, Mr.. |
Pages conduct Of the negotiations In |
trusted to him was informed through
out by his native courtesy, humor and |
straightforwardness; by quick under ,
standing of the nature of the Euro |
pean struggle, and by an intensity of |
for the allied cause and of |
admiration for Great Britain's part in !
IT which was irrepressible. He was /
the happiest, the most liberated, man
in Europe when America entered the |
war.
Says Debt Is Enormous.
For all that Mr.. Page contributed |
toward that supreme DEVELOPMENT. by |
smoothing away friction and mintmiZ- |
ing and removing difficulties and mis-
this country, no less
than his own, owes him an inestima Bile |
debt. There must, moreover, be MANY
hundreds OF our people who used HIS |
services and those of his most efficient
staff TO inquire after the fate of rela-