In a democratic community like the United States it is
not possible to overestimate the value of accessibility. The etiquette observed in British Embassies on the Continent may be suitable to local conditions, but in the United States, where the occupant of the White House is so accessible, both to his own countrymen and to visitors, European exclusiveness is out of place. Mr. John W. Davis, Dr. Page's successor at the American Embassy in London, set- a good example in this respect. During his tenure of office he frequently used to ring me up at the English-Speaking Union to discuss some problem of common interest, and he was always accessible on the telephone. Imagine an ordinary American trying to ring up a British Ambassador in a foreign country ; it is extremely improbable that he would ever get past one of the secretarial watchdogs.
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