TOPICS OF THE DAY.
MR. PAGE: AMERICA AND. BRITAIN.
WHAT would Mr. Page have said could he have witnessed the deeply moving scene at the Abbey on Tuesday ? There is little difficulty about giving the answer. I feel sure that, though greatly touched by the wave of emotion that swelled through choir, cloister and transept, he would have asked : "Why should I be so honoured ? What have I done to deserve it ?
I did nothing more than every American with a heart to feel and a brain to understand must have done had he been in my place. My only advantage over the rest of my countrymen was that I was close enough to events that rocked the world to understand their true meaning.
Through the accident of place I could see clearly things which to them were clouded and confused. But since I could see, undisturbed by the storm, it was my duty to make others do the same. That was all."
Words such as these would have been eminently characteristic of the man. But they would have only disclosed half the truth. It is true that full knowledge would have made other Americans take up the attitude that Page adopted. Did not Mr. Gerard in Berlin, Mr.
Whitlock in Brussels, Colonel House in his constant journeys across submarine-haunted seas, and, indeed, all the diplomatic agents of America in Europe do the same ? Again, did not those who for various reasons had the opportunity of knowledge, like Mr. Roosevelt, Mr. Beck, Dr. Murray Butler, Mr. Taft—to mention only a few names almost at random out of thousands—play the part of faith and brotherhood ? Refusing to let their minds be clouded by sophistry and suspicion, they looked into the hidden depth of things and understood their meaning. But though other eyes may have seen as clearly, and other hearts have been as willing to run all risks for the good cause, it was reserved for Page to make greater personal sacrifices and to shoulder heavier burdens than any of his fellow Knights of the Spirit.
It was when the supreme need of the hour called for courage allied with caution, chivalry with wisdom, loyalty with common sense, patience with vigour, under- standing without rashness, goodness of heart without sentimentality, honour without pride or obstinacy, vigilance without hurry or indignation, that Page showed himself the greatest diplomatic statesman of all time.
If there had been in Page even a touch of cynicism, of selfishness, of vanity, or of irritability, the whole history of mankind might have been changed. Happily there was no such flaw in his nature. It was refined gold through- out. He showed, indeed, that mysterious simplicity which is contained in the Divine blessing. His heart was pure. Thus, though we may not know how, and though he may not himself have been aware of his vision, he in the truest sense saw God. Without this purity of heart, this certainty of his duty, this determination never to be driven from what he knew to be the right course, he could not have accomplished his great task. But in that accomplishment he served not only his own country but the whole English-speaking race.
And here it must be said with all possible plainness and emphasis that we should not and could not have honoured Page as we did had not this nation realized that he was essentially and in every fibre of his being a good American. We knew that his action was due to something profound, something elemental—a, realiza- tion that clove like a dividing" spear. He saw that it was of no use to think of America unless you thought of England also, and that, though the destinies of the Countries, loyal, temporary and accidental, were so different, in the highest sphere they were and are one and indi- visible. This Page understood with a clearness of percep- tion and a certainty of touch which were well-nigh miraculous. If ever there was a man who had the sympathy of comprehension, it was he. Incidentally, that was why he was never estranged at heart from Mr. Wilson. Though he differed from him so profoundly, withstood him so boldly, and exposed his sophistries so mercilessly, he yet could understand the President's point of view. It is, indeed, in this sympathy of compre- hension that Page helped us most. He taught the great lesson for both halves of the race. It was because he understood us so thoroughly that Page made no mistakes. He never yielded to the temptation, which so many men cannot resist, to grow angry over trifles or, at any rate, over minor matters and so leave go of the great things. To take a homely example, he did not say : "We can never work with a nation that keeps its sitting-rooms at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, tolerates a Peerage, has a State Church, and yet is without a decimal system." He knew how utterly unimportant are prejudices as com- pared with principles.
Let his example here be followed by his countrymen and by us. We British need it greatly at this very moment. We think that America has made a gigantic muddle of the liquor question. We think that her refusal to help save Europe, by a spirited initiative, is desperately short-sighted. We regard her financial policy in such matters as the tariff, the hoarding of gold, and the squandering of money on shipping subsidies as utterly obscurantist. And so little sympathy of comprehension have we that we are surprised that Americans resent having these somewhat obvious objections to their management of their domestic affairs daily explained to them with a minute though by no means infallible elaboration. Such an attitude is as mischievous as it is absurd. It is not to be defended by declaring that it is true, and that we are only expressing our anxious regret that they are not better managers. Again, we do not improve matters by saying that we are only repeating what the best Americans say of themselves and so support- ing them in their good endeavours. Mrs. Jones grumblee about her husband's selfish habits, but yet does not like to see them gibbeted for his good by her first cousin. Finally, we do not make this better by the obvious and perfectly true in quo que that America says far more disagreeable things about us and in a still nastier temper. No doubt she does, and no doubt she ought to be tho- roughly ashamed of doing so, but that does not excuse us. Courtesy is a home-grown product and not a matter of exchange. Besides, we have always got to remember that a man's duty is to sweep his own doorstep before he remarks on the neglect of his neighbour !
In saying this we are not asking for false and fatuous eulogies on either side. We need not be flatterers because we are friends. All we ask for is comprehension, understanding, insight, and obedience to the behest to think no evil. If we can only cultivate this simple, nay drab, virtue with proper diligence, we shall never be so silly as to quarrel over a three-mile or a twelve-mile limit, or " dry " or " wet " ships, or why claret is to be counted as a medicine and beer not ; as to whether a British Customs seal does or does not retain its sanctity when a ship is tied up against an American quay ; or, again, as to whether the freedom of the seas ought not to imply free liquors in free ships. "Do not grow zealously angry over little things or even comparatively great things." When that becomes the motto for both nations, we shall both be worthy of men like Walter Page —the friend of his own country always ; of ours in our
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