than their formal and official statements. A distinguished English judge once said that a little truth leaks out even in the most carefully prepared affidavit. This is especially true of the Diplomatic Corps at parade rest. The unofficial views of diplomats are often their real ones, and it is common knowledge in Washington that the diplomats as a whole were genuinely pleased with Mr. Lansing's appointment; for they saw that he possessed the qualities which are considered to be those of an ideal secretary.

As one accustomed to meet men and to find pleasure in their society, the Secretary should meet the Diplomatic Corps, not as one above them or beyond them, but as one of them, a colleague, a fellow worker in the field of international relations, and as eager as they are supposed to be to introduce into the conduct of nations those principles of justice and of fair play which have approved themselves between man and man. In such a country as ours the government is subordinated to law; and it is natural that an official trained in this atmosphere of law and subordination to it should desire to see the relations of nations conform to international law, which, as the law of the society of nations, should and must in the long run control their conduct. It is to be expected that an American Secretary of State should endeavor so to develop the law of nations as to make it responsive to the needs of nations. 'Justice,' said Mr. Webster, one of Mr. Lansing's most eminent predecessors, 'is the great interest of man on earth'; and Mr. Root laid it down as a rule, when Secretary of State, that we should not only observe justice in our relations with foreign nations, but that we should be just; that is to say, that we should never ask of them what we would not readily grant if the circumstances were reversed, - which is but

-

another way of stating the golden rule,

which Mr. Hay regarded as the foundation of diplomacy.

The lawyer is the servant of the law; the Secretary of State should be the servant of justice. His mind should be well stored, but it should be an open mind. But no charm or grace of manner, no gift of telling speech, no amount of sympathetic consideration for the views of others can, singly or collectively, take the place of character. The word of the Secretary should be, not as good as his bond, it should be his bond; and his character should be so above suspicion that his mere statement should refute an accusation, just as when Lord Althorp in the House of Commons replied to an able and bitter charge of an opponent by saying that he had collected some figures which entirely refuted it, but that he had lost them. Mr. Lansing is an essentially just man. His character is stainless and above reproach, and in his official intercourse, as in private life, he gives the impression of high-mindedness, because he is in fact, and is known to be, a high-minded man and a Christian gentleman.

If it be asked why did this reserved and modest, kindly, and courtly gentleman give up the practice of law at Watertown, where his father was in good practice and where his own success was assured, the answer is that his marriage in 1890 to Miss Eleanor Foster, the daughter of Mr. John W. Foster, a distinguished diplomat and within two years thereafter a no less distinguished Secretary of State, brought him into the atmosphere of foreign relations and determined his career; and it is only fair to say that Mrs. Lansing has helped him to make the career which their marriage determined.

That Mr. Lansing will, as Secretary of State, be successful in handling the questions of law and of fact which are

cratic administrations alike, required, and developed as well, three qualities: skill as an advocate, knowledge of international law, and a thorough understanding of diplomacy and diplomatic procedure.

It would seem that this experience and training were calculated to qualify him for the position of counselor; and Mr. Lansing's success in this position during a period when as counselor he was intimately associated with the Secretary of State and bore a conspicuous part in the conduct of the department relieves us from the necessity of conjecture. He not only met the duties of the office and performed them with tact and loyalty to his chief, but he caused the position of counselor to be known, honored, and respected throughout the length and breadth of the United States, to such a degree that his appointment as Secretary of State appeared rather as the continuance of duties already incumbent upon him and successfully performed, than as the assumption of other and more responsible duties, imposed upon him by the newer and the greater office.

The fitness of a person for the secretaryship of state results from a combination of various elements. That he should be able to handle the business of the department need only be mentioned, as this requirement is so clear that, to use the happy phrase of Lord Mansfield, it can only be obscured by argument. He should be versed in international law and in the practice and procedure of diplomacy, and should have a firm grasp of the foreign policy of the United States. These are the obvious requirements of the office, but others there are, not less necessary, although more subtle and less tangible, and more easily felt than stated and defined. The Secretary should be both easy and dignified in bearing: easy, so as to put the visiting diplomat at ease;

dignified, so as to prevent an undue liberty. He should be sympathetic, so as to court a free expression of views on the part of the diplomat, yet sufficiently reserved, so that a failure to reciprocate may not be regarded either as an unfriendly act or as a mark of opposition. He should know men and men should know him; and he should be able to cooperate with men, just as men should be able to work in harmony with him. It is well that he be familiar with other peoples, that he should have visited the foreign countries where they reside, and that he should know them from personal contact. The attainment of justice should be his aim, whether the principles of justice commend or condemn the proposed policy of the government.

It may be admitted that these are severe requirements. But the circumstances of 1915 - the world at war and in a welter of blood are indeed extraordinary circumstances. Mr. Wilson was not embarrassed by precedent and was free to appoint as secretary the person who, in his opinion, best met the requirements of the position. He did so, and the approval with which Mr. Lansing's appointment was received by the press of the country and by the public at large was at least a present justification of the President's choice. It is not, however, the approval of the moment but that of the future that counts; and the approval so generously given in advance must be based upon Mr. Lansing's training for the position and upon his experience in the office of counselor, which justified, if it did not dictate, his appointment as Mr. Bryan's

successor.

Diplomats have keen eyes and, when not engaged in the performance of their official duties, they not infrequently have sharp tongues. Their unofficial comment is often more enlightening as it is generally more entertaining

than their formal and official statements. A distinguished English judge once said that a little truth leaks out even in the most carefully prepared affidavit. This is especially true of the Diplomatic Corps at parade rest. The unofficial views of diplomats are often their real ones, and it is common knowledge in Washington that the diplomats as a whole were genuinely pleased with Mr. Lansing's appointment; for they saw that he possessed the qualities which are considered to be those of an ideal secretary.

As one accustomed to meet men and to find pleasure in their society, the Secretary should meet the Diplomatic Corps, not as one above them or beyond them, but as one of them, a colleague, a fellow worker in the field of international relations, and as eager as they are supposed to be to introduce into the conduct of nations those principles of justice and of fair play which have approved themselves between man and man. In such a country as ours the government is subordinated to law; and it is natural that an official trained in this atmosphere of law and subordination to it should desire to see the relations of nations conform to international law, which, as the law of the society of nations, should and must in the long run control their conduct. It is to be expected that an American Secretary of State should endeavor so to develop the law of nations as to make it responsive to the needs of nations. 'Justice,' said Mr. Webster, one of Mr. Lansing's most eminent predecessors, 'is the great interest of man on earth'; and Mr. Root laid it down as a rule, when Secretary of State, that we should not only observe justice in our relations with foreign nations, but that we should be just; that is to say, that we should never ask of them what we would not readily grant if the circumstances were reversed, - which is but

another way of stating the golden rule, which Mr. Hay regarded as the foundation of diplomacy.

The lawyer is the servant of the law; the Secretary of State should be the servant of justice. His mind should be well stored, but it should be an open mind. But no charm or grace of manner, no gift of telling speech, no amount of sympathetic consideration for the views of others can, singly or collectively, take the place of character. The word of the Secretary should be, not as good as his bond, it should be his bond; and his character should be so above suspicion that his mere statement should refute an accusation, just as when Lord Althorp in the House of Commons replied to an able and bitter charge of an opponent by saying that he had collected some figures which entirely refuted it, but that he had lost them. Mr. Lansing is an essentially just man. His character is stainless and above reproach, and in his official intercourse, as in private life, he gives the impression of high-mindedness, because he is in fact, and is known to be, a high-minded man and a Christian gentleman.

If it be asked why did this reserved and modest, kindly, and courtly gentleman give up the practice of law at Watertown, where his father was in good practice and where his own success was assured, the answer is that his marriage in 1890 to Miss Eleanor Foster, the daughter of Mr. John W. Foster, a distinguished diplomat and within two years thereafter a no less distinguished Secretary of State, brought him into the atmosphere of foreign relations and determined his career; and it is only fair to say that Mrs. Lansing has helped him to make the career which their marriage determined.

That Mr. Lansing will, as Secretary of State, be successful in handling the questions of law and of fact which are

likely to arise during his tenure of office is manifest by the success with which he has handled such questions as Counselor for the Department; that he possesses the qualities which create and sustain confidence, that he has the tact which marks the diplomat and the loyalty which should- but does not always characterize the diplomat, is evidenced by his relations both with the President and with Mr. Bryan when Secretary of State. Consulted by the President, he was careful to ascertain the views of the Secretary and to represent him in his interviews with the President. When commended by the press, which often attacked the Secretary over the Counselor's shoulders, Mr. Lansing's loyalty was so transparent as never to be questioned. That he possessed and possesses the confidence of his predecessor, Mr. Bryan, we know on the authority of Mr. Bryan himself, who on June 24 wrote the following letter to Mr. Lansing and printed it in The Commoner for July:

MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY:

Allow me to extend to you my cordial congratulations and to let you know how much gratified I am that you have been selected as my successor. The year during which we have been

Mr. Wilson is to be congratulated upon securing the services of a colleague with whom he can work in perfect harmony, as the experience of the past year and more has shown. The country is likewise to be congratulated, because it also knows from the experience of the past year and more that Mr. Lansing is competent to handle the gravest and most delicate questions arising out of the great war, because he has handled these questions since its outbreak. The rare combination of character and loyalty, of ability and tact, suggests that both the President and the country will find in Mr. Lansing a competent public servant and an ideal Secretary of State.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

IRRESPONSIBLE

WOODROW WILSON has been dubbed, in some quarters, 'the psychological President.' This is in ironical reference to his belief that the subtle agency called confidence, which is needed to set the wheels of productive industry a-whir after their long rest, is more a matter of the state of the public mind than a fabric built on visible and palpable facts. Nearly every critic seems to have forgotten that the same belief was entertained by the late John Pierpont Morgan, who certainly would not be classified as an unpractical idealist. A modified phase of it came out in his testimony at a Congressional hearing several months before his death, where he stated his conception of the real basis of credit. It surprised a multitude of people to learn, for instance, that a man of his business experience and acumen was ready to set his judgment of human nature far ahead of any mere inventory of negotiable securities, in determining the question whether an applicant for a large loan ought to be accommodated.

Yet not a few of those to whom this conceit appeared so novel are showing every day, by their own conduct, how little they regard the purely material standards of responsibility. The chief difference between them and Mr. Morgan, indeed, is that he put his esteem for the character of a specific individual here and there above any accounting of that individual's resources, whereas they walk through life with a sort of blind faith that, because a majority of the men and women with whom they

come into frequent contact appear to be honestly trying to do right, the presumption of good motives and a sense of duty should extend to all mankind.

If it were not for some such notion lying in the back of his mind, what a terrifying thing would a railway trip or a sea-voyage be to the average traveler. Not once in a thousand times, it is safe to say, does he know personally the man who runs the engine that is drawing him hither and yon. The dispatcher who starts a train, the signal-man in a tower where tracks cross, the captain who commands his vessel, the light-keeper on a dangerous reef, are strangers to him. He does not know their names, or ages, or antecedents. Any dereliction on the part of one of them would imperil, not only immense values in property, but human lives by the hundred. They receive wages out of which they cannot hope to save even a modest fortune; yet if one were open to a bribe, he could make himself rich in a night. Let a capitalist cause damage to your purse or your person, and you can reach him through the courts and compel him to make good to you as much of the injury as can be estimated in dollars and cents; but from the wage-earner who has no assets subject to levy you are unprotected, except by his realization of his duty and his desire to do it.

Even where there is no moral question immediately involved, but bare carelessness might work incalculable harm, we are daily entrusting 'our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor' to the keeping of what, in the familiar parlance of the streets, would be described as the irresponsible class.