prove adequate in
a world rent by war, only the future could disclose.

It was only in intimate letters and in converse with Gallatin and
Madison that Jefferson revealed his real purposes. So completely did
Jefferson take these two advisers into his confidence, and so loyal
was their cooperation, that the Government for eight years has been
described as a triumvirate almost as clearly defined as any triumvirate
of Rome. Three more congenial souls certainly have never ruled a nation,
for they were drawn together not merely by agreement on a common policy
but by sympathetic understanding of the fundamental principles of
government. Gallatin and Madison often frequented the President's House,
and there one may see them in imagination and perhaps catch now and then
a fragment of their conversation:

Gallatin: We owe much to geographical position; we have been fortunate
in escaping foreign wars. If we can maintain peaceful relations with
other nations, we can keep down the cost of administration and avoid all
the ills which follow too much government.

The President: After all, we are chiefly an agricultural people and if
we shape our policy accordingly we shall be much more likely to multiply
and be happy than as if we mimicked an Amsterdam, a Hamburg, or a city
like London.

Madison (quietly): I quite agree with you. We must keep the government
simple and republican, avoiding the corruption which inevitably prevails
in crowded cities.

Gallatin (pursuing his thought): The moment you allow the national debt
to mount, you entail burdens on posterity and augment the operations of
government.

The President (bitterly): The principle of spending money to be paid
by posterity is but swindling futurity on a large scale. That was what
Hamilton--

Gallatin: Just so; and if this administration does not reduce taxes,
they will never be reduced. We must strike at the root of the evil and
avert the danger of multiplying the functions of government. I
would repeal all internal taxes. These pretended tax-preparations,
treasure-preparations, and army-preparations against contingent wars
tend only to encourage wars.

The President (nodding his head in agreement): The discharge of the debt
is vital to the destinies of our government, and for the present we
must make all objects subordinate to this. We must confine our general
government to foreign concerns only and let our affairs be disentangled
from those of all other nations,