d for the President's handling of a
difficult task. He said that never for a moment had he doubted the
President's wisdom in the course he was pursuing. He had the profoundest
admiration for the manner in which he had promptly broken with Germany
after receiving Germany's latest note. Nor had he ever entertained the
slightest question of the American people's ready loyalty to their
Government or to their high ideals. One of his intellectual pleasures,
he added, had long been contemplation of the United States as it is and,
even more, as its influence in the world will broaden. 'The world,' said
Mr. Balfour, 'will more and more turn on the Great Republic as on a
pivot.'"

Occasionally Mr. Balfour's discussion of the United States would take a
more pensive turn. A memorandum which Page wrote a few weeks after the
above touches another point:

March 27, 1917.

I had a most interesting conversation with Mr. Balfour this
afternoon. "It's sad to me," said he, "that we are so unpopular, so
much more unpopular than the French, in your country. Why is it?
The old school books?"

I doubted the school-book influence.

"Certainly their influence is not the main cause. It is the
organized Irish. Then it's the effect of the very fact that the
Irish question is not settled. You've had that problem at your very
door for 300 years. What's the matter that you don't solve it?"

"Yes, yes,"--he saw it. But the plaintive tone of such a man asking
such a question was significant and interesting and--sad.

Then I told him the curious fact that a British Government made up
of twenty individuals, every one of whom is most friendly to the
United States, will, when they act together as a Government, do the
most offensive things. I mentioned the blacklist; I mentioned
certain complaints that I then held in my hand--of Americans here
who are told by the British Government that they must turn over to
the British Government's agent in New York their American
securities which they hold in America!

There's a sort of imperious, arrogant, Tory action that comes
natural to the English Government, even when not natural to the
individual Englishman.

* * * * *

On April 5th, the day before the United States formally declared war,
Page notified Washington that the British Government wished Mr. Balfour