here has made it impossible for me to do so. I shall be with you in
spirit, and shall applaud to the best that can be said in praise of
one who, in a life of remarkable variety of achievement, has
honored every position he has held.

Faithfully yours,

JOHN HAY.

CANTON, OHIO, February 8, 1899.

_To Chester S. Lord, Lotos Club, New York:_

I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation to attend the
dinner to be given to the Hon. Whitelaw Reid on the evening of the
11th inst. Nothing would afford me more pleasure than to join the
members of the Lotos Club in doing honor to Mr. Reid. It is a
source of much regret that circumstances compel me to forego the
privilege. His high character and worth, leadership in the best
journalism of the day, eminent services, and wide experience long
since gave him an honorable place among his contemporaries. The
Commission to negotiate the treaty concluded at Paris on December
10 had no more valued member. His fellow-Commissioners were
fortunate in being able to avail themselves of Mr. Reid's wide
acquaintance with the leading statesmen and diplomats residing in
Paris. His presence as a member of the Commission rendered
unnecessary any further introduction to those who had known him as
our Minister to France. He gave to the work of the Commission in
unstinted measure the benefit of his wisdom in council, judgment,
and skill in the preparation and presentation of the American case
at Paris. Permit me to join you in congratulations and best wishes
to Mr. Reid, and to express the hope that there are in store for
him many more years of usefulness and honor.

Very truly yours,

WILLIAM R. DAY.

WAS IT TOO GOOD A TREATY?

Obviously the present occasion has no narrow or merely personal
meaning. It comes to me only because I had the good fortune, through
the friendly partiality of the President of the United States, to be
associated with a great work in which you took a patriotic interest,
and over the ratification of which you use this means of expressing
your satisfaction. It was a happy thing for us to be able to bring back
peace to our own land, and happier still to find that our treaty is
accepted by the Senate and the people as one that guards the honor and
protects the interests of the country. Only so should a nation like
ours make peace at a