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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bought with the income
of the
WILLIAM C. EGLESTON FUND

GEORGE VON LENGERKE
MEYER
HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES

BY
M. A. DeWOLFE HOWE
AUTHOR OV "LIPB AND I/BTTBBS OF OBOBaB BANCROFT," "MPB AND
LABORS OF BISHOP HARB," ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1920

COPTKleHT, 1919, BT
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, IHO.

c

QtK ffiuinn & Bobzn Comvaiip
BOOK MANUFACTURERS
BAHWAY NEW JERSEY

PREFATORY
This book, prepared at the request of Mrs. Meyer,
is based chiefly upon a large collection of papers, in
manuscript and in print, placed by her at my disposal.
To her help at all points of the undertaking I am much
indebted. I would gratefully acknowledge also the
assistance received from many friends of Mr. Meyer in
public and private life, through spoken and written
words about him; from my secretary, Miss Helen M.
Boyer, and from Mr. George B. Ives, who has made
the Index. M. A. DeW. H.
BostoTij October, 1919.

CONTENTS
CHAFTBR PAGE
I Beginnings  1
II Affairs and Politics in Boston and
Massachusetts  10
III Ambassador to Italy  30
IV Ambassador to Russia .... 137
V Postmaster General  352
VI Secretary of the Navy .... 422
VII The Final Years  493

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Photograph of George v. L. Meyer with Fac
simile Autograph .... Frontispiece PAGE
George Augustus and Grace Helen (Parker)
Meyer, Parents of George v. L. Meyer . 4
The House at Rock Maple Farm, Hamilton , 16
Silver Plate presented to Mr. Meyer by the
Massachusetts House of Representatives . 24
Palazzo Brancaccio, American Embassy at Rome,
1901-1905  36
Mr. Meyer and his Daughters, riding to the Hunt,
on the Campagna  50
View from Balcony of Palazzo Brancaccio,
Santa Maria Maggiore in the Distance . 68
King Victor Emmanuel III and the American
Ambassador — San Rossore, November, 1903 76
Group at a Boar Shoot with the King and Queen
of Italy, Castel Porziano .... 82
The Duchess of Aosta  104
Hunting on the Campagna: Mr. Meyer on His
Horse "Ruby"  128
The Kleinmichel Palace, American Embassy at
St. Petersburg, 1905-1907 . . . .144
Mrs. George von Lengerke Meyer . . .170
Mr. Meyer in Cossack Costume . . . .210
The American Ambassador in his Droshky, St.
Petersburg  238
The Opening of the Duma  280

ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE
The Chateau Antoniny, Volhynia .... 310
Hunting Party at Antoniny  314
The Library at Hamilton  328
The Malachite Coq de Bruyhre presented to Mr.
Meyer by Russian Friends .... 336
A Day's Catch at the Restigouche . . . 364
Autograph Greeting and Drawing from Presi
dent Roosevelt  378
The Roosevelt Cabinet, with Autographs . . 414
The Taft Cabinet, with Autographs . . .426
At the Harvard Commencement of 1911, when
Mr. Meyer received the Degree of LL.D. 430
President Taft and Secretary Meyer at Naval
Review, New York Harbour .... 450
Silver Galleon Presented to Secretary Meyer by
Officers of the U. S. Navy . . . .490
An Autograph Memento of the Kaiser . . . 496
Wedding Party at Rock Maple Farm, at the
Marriage of Miss Julia Meyer . . . 504
George v. L. Meyer, with his Son and Grandson
of the Same Name  510
Last Photograph of Mr. Meyer, with His Son at
Hamilton, November, 1917 .... 516

GEORGE von LENGERKE MEYER
HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES

GEORGE VON LENGERKE MEYER:
HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES

beginnings
(1858-1877)
The biography of an American in public life is fre
quently the story of one whose boyhood and younger
manhood have been engrossed with the surmounting
of handicaps. This American has often been bom
poor, with narrowly limited opportunities for educa
tion and that favourable start in life which may count
for much in the opening years of a man's career.
His conquest of these difficulties has served only to
strengthen his fibre for the important work awaiting
him. The life of the public servant whose career is to be
recorded in these pages did not begin in this tradi
tional fashion. But there are other handicaps to be
overcome than those of poverty and obscurity. There
is a positive handicap of good fortune. It is fatally
easy for the young American in comfortable circum
stances, having passed through school and college on
terms involving a minimum of struggle, to drift into
the easy-going ways of a foreordained business or
profession, to feel that he is fulfilling his destiny if he

2 GEORGE VON L. MEYER usss-mr
contents himself with the mere increase of his family
resources, and adorns the society into which he was
born by membership in the best clubs of city and
country, by playing the pleasant game of life indoors
and out, as a gentleman should — and letting it go at
that. It is the rare American who does these things
without leaving the others undone. Those other
things, when they have to do with the useful occu
pancy of public o'ffice, call for character, purpose, and
unwearying effort. Indeed, they are obtained only
through the constant exercise of these qualities. The
story of such a life therefore becomes typical of
American biography in general, not through the pre
cise nature of the struggle to be encountered, but
through the fact that there must be singleness of aim,
self-denying endeavour, unremitting and imsparing,
from the beginning to the end.
The career of George Meyer, in the government of
Boston and Massachusetts, in his ambassadorships to
Italy and Russia, in the cabinets of Presidents Roose
velt and Taft, respectively, as Postmaster General and
Secretary of the Navy, reveals this type of American
life with uncommon clearness. He entered politics
and proceeded in his fruitful participation in public
life, not in the spirit of the born reformer, but rather
in that of the astute and effective man of affairs who
wanted to make himself useful to his community and
his generation, and took a genuine satisfaction in the
carrying out of this purpose. Like other men of
essentially simple and normal natures, he made note
from time to time of phrases and mottoes which

1858-J877] BEGINNINGS 3
appeared to sum up his philosophy of life. " The star
of each man's destiny is in his heart," was one of
these watchwords, suggesting a clearly defined and
guiding purpose of his own making. Another phrase,
quoted in his diary during his ambassadorship in Italy,
and pencil-marked for emphasis in the margin, is still
more significant: " The soul's joy lies in the doing."
This, indeed, sounds the keynote of George Meyer's
career, and seems to reveal the impulse that actuated
him throughout life — to do things, and to do them
well; for so he did them, and, with every occasion
of increasing responsibility and opportunity, did them
better than any, excepting the very few who knew
him best, believed that he could do them. In the eyes
of many his career thus became a series of surprises.
In reality, it was the direct result of obvious causes,
the chief of which was his own employment, to the
top of his bent, of native gifts assiduously cultivated.
These gifts disclosing themselves more and more
clearly as the years went on, and left in this place
for the detailed disclosure which the following narra
tive will make of them, carried him far. The record
of his life becomes, therefore, both typical and
suggestive. George von Lengerke Meyer was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, June 24, 1858. He was the eldest of
his parents' three children, and the only son. His
father, George Augustus Meyer, was a Boston East
India merchant (bom in New York in 1824; died in
Boston, 1899), the son of a New York merchant of

4 GEORGE VON L. MEYER usss-isn
the same name. Both this grandfather and his wife,
Johanna Catharina von Lengerke, were natives of
Germany. The father of the elder George Augustus,
Heinrich Ernst Ludwig Meyer, was Oberamtmaim,
or chief magistrate, of Westen in Hanover. He was
the father of fifteen children, and is reported in family
tradition to have been so stout that a large section of
his dining-table had to be cut away, so that he could
take his food in comfort. One son of this vigorous
parent, a great-uncle of the subject of these pages,
was Lieutenant Colonel F. L. Meyer, of the Third
Hussars, King's German Legion, who fought, and was
killed, under Bliicher at Waterloo.
This strong German stock, traced by genealogists
far beyond the eighteenth-century great-grandfather,
had its counterpart in the pure New England and
English descent of George Meyer's mother, Grace
Helen Parker. Her father, William Parker, was a
Boston lawyer, president of the Boylston Bank, and
a director of the Boston and Worcester Railroad. He
was at various times a member of the Boston City
Government, both in the Common Council and in the
Board of Aldermen. He was a member of that Board
when President Polk visited Boston in 1847, and took
a prominent part in the ceremony of his reception by
the city. At another time, when he was visiting Eng
land, Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, made him
the official bearer of dispatches to the British Govern
ment. His father, Samuel Parker, born in Ports
mouth, New Hampshire, in 1744, of a family estab
lished there since the previous century, embodied

GEOEGE AUGUSTUS AXD GRACE HELEN (pAEKEE) MEYEE : PAEENTS OF
GEORGE VON LENGEEKE MEYEE

i858-i877i BEGINNINGS 5
notably the close relations between New and Old Eng
land. Graduated from Harvard College in 1763, he
was ordained a priest of the Anglican Church, in
London, eleven years later, and served as rector of
Trinity Church, Boston, for more than thirty years.
At the time of the Revolution he was a Royalist, and
offered to resign his parish when the other Royalists
left it. His people wished him to remain, on the con
dition of omitting the prayer for the King from his
reading of the service — which he did, holding his post
as the only Church of England clergyman in Massa
chusetts throughout the Revolution. In 1804 he was
consecrated Bishop of Massachusetts, but died be
fore the end of the year, less than three months after
entering the episcopate. Through the forbears and
descendants of Bishop Parker, the New England
family relationships of George Meyer were extensive
and representative.
The home of his family in Boston was at No.
194, Beacon Street. Like many youths of his time
and place, he was prepared at the local private school
of Mr. G. W. C. Noble for Harvard College, which
he entered, in 1875, with the Class of 1879. The first
decade of President Eliot's long administration of
the College ended with the graduation of Meyer's
class, which was among the earliest to profit by that
extension of the " elective system " in which Harvard,
under its young President, had become the pioneer.
It must be said frankly that the electives Meyer chose
bore no special relation to his later interests, and that
his record in scholarship was not one concerning

6 GEORGE VON L. MEYER U858-W7
which a biographer can play the moralist and say
that it clearly foreshadowed his maturer powers
of apphcation and acquisition; for it did not. If
any inferences are to be drawn, they must be such
as go to strengthen the belief that college stand
ing is after all a fallible index of later success in
affairs. The College, however, afforded him a medium for
the lifelong expression of a loyalty that was charac
teristic of him in a variety of relations. His class and
his college club, the A.D., of which he became
Graduate President, held his devotion always. To the
University itself, he was the donor, only twelve years
after graduation, of the Meyer Gate, erected, in 1891,
one year after the first of the beautiful entrances to
the College Yard, the Johnston Gate, was built.
While Ambassador to Italy and to Russia, in later
years, he enriched the College Library with books
purchased in those countries. In 1911 the University
conferred the degree of LL.D. upon him. In the
same year the Alumni elected him to the Board of
Overseers, of which his fellow-members chose him, in
1914, to be President. He was thus of that company
of " Harvard men " who are so defined because they
have not let the University do more for them than they
have done for it.
In the summer of 1878, between his junior and
senior years in college, George Meyer had his first
experience of Europe, accompanying his father to
Carlsbad, seeing something of the Rhine, London, and
Paris, and establishing the basis of that knowledge

1858-1877] BEGINNINGS 7
of foreign lands and peoples which played so impor
tant a part in his completed education.
An illuminating bit of reminiscence of his college
life is preserved in a letter written by another Har
vard man, of a slightly earlier class: ^ "The late
George Meyer's record of successful achievement
. . . was no matter of chance success or favouritism,
but one illustrating in marked degree the words of
Disraeli, ' The secret of success is constancy to pur
pose.' This is well exemplified by an interesting inci
dent during his college days, well remembered by a
near contemporary at Harvard. In the days when
house crews were in vogue on the Charles, being a
dweller in Matthews, young Meyer felt a desire to
row, and so, with an innate wiU to accomplish his pur
pose, he presented himself at the boathouse as a candi
date for the Matthews dormitory crew, and, although
a light man comparatively, won a seat in the boat, was
tried at stroke, a position in which he made good, was
elected captain, and won his race!
" This trait was later dominant throughout his
political and diplomatic career: 'making good' in
whatever he set out to accomplish."
The mere fact recorded here is doubly significant.
It illustrated Meyer's early addiction to what has been
well called " the habit of victory"; and it speaks for
a devotion to sports and games of many kinds in which
he maintained the interest, and the skill, of a young

1 F. S. Sturgia, in the Harvard Alumm Bulletin, March 28, 1918. The
letter does not refer to the fact that Meyer rowed also Nvunher 2 in the
winning senior Class Crew of 1879.

8 GEORGE VON L. MEYER u^s^-i^ii
man to the end of his busy life. He succeeded as an
oarsman in college just as in later years he established
and held his superiority in the other outdoor pursuits
in which he afterwards engaged : horsemanship, — driv
ing, polo, and hunting, — tennis, golf, fishing, skating,
motoring. When he entered upon a sport, he took it
seriously enough to make himself a master of it. The
same may be said of his dealings with the pleasures of
society, in all their most agreeable forms. The long-
surviving boy in him — the spirit of the college senior
and the young man of the world — gave him a zest in
their enjoyment which men who lose it earlier could
not always understand.
If he took these things seriously, however, his
clear, cool head never failed him in keeping them
in their true relation to the other and more seri
ous interests of his life. When he played, he played
hard; when he worked, he worked hard. Those who
observed him in one of these pursuits sometimes found
it difficult to believe that he could be so effective as
he was in the other. The fact is that he possessed a
native and trained capacity for keeping things where
they belonged, and turning each separate concern of
his life to the best possible account. It was not en
tirely within the comprehension of his native Boston
that the man of society acquires a training in tact,
savoir faire, and other valuable qualities of immense
usefulness in public and political life. The trouble is
that this really valuable technique of human inter
course is too often expended chiefly upon trivialities.
In devoting it both to society and to important affairs.

1858-1877] BEGINNINGS 9
George Meyer illustrated admirably its larger possi
bilities. Under the head of " Beginnings " these observa
tions may seem premature. They are given in this
place, however, for the very reason that Meyer's boy
hood and younger manhood did not obviously fore
shadow his later development. As a matter of fact,
the seeds of it were planted in his inheritances and his
earlier years. The years of conspicuous achievement
may unfold themselves the more intelligibly for this
attempt to relate them to their origin.

II
affairs AND politics IN BOSTON AND MASSACHUSETTS
(1879-1900)
When George Meyer graduated from Harvard in
1879, twenty-one years old, the Boston of which he
became a citizen still retained many of the character
istics, social, intellectual, and commercial, of the dis
tinctive place it had been through the middle years
of the nineteenth century. The word " metropolitan,"
as applied to its activities of many kinds, had not yet
taken the place it was to hold even before the present
day. A vigorous growth in civic and industrial op
portunity, rendered possible, in large measure, by the
astonishing development of electric transportation
which had come into full swing by the nineties, was
at hand. It was a fortunate time for a yoimg man
of energy and ambition to enter upon a career of
commerce and politics. The tradition of the older
training which had given the Boston merchants of the
clipper-ship days their supremacy in commerce was
still potent. It was the best of training for the con
structive work soon to be done in the establishment of
what is known as modern business. After the day's
work the young man of gregarious instincts, if for
tunately placed in the community, could take recourse
to the pleasures of a comparatively small and homo-
10

.1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 11
geneous society — limited, if you will, in the scope
and pace of its enjoyments, when measured by the
standards of a later day, yet sound in its own stand
ards of essential good-breeding. In a word, the place
afforded an admirable training-ground, both for affairs
and for human intercourse.
On quitting college George Meyer entered the
shipping office of Alpheus H. Hardy & Co., a Bos
ton firm engaged chiefly in Mediterranean com
merce. It was still a time when young men entered
such houses, on nominal salaries of $100 or $200 a
year, simply to acquire a training in business habits
and methods. This training, one would suppose,
might naturally have been sought in the shipping office
of Linder & Meyer, in which his father was estab
lished — with East Indian and Russian trade — on
India Wharf from 1848 to 1878, and afterwards at
89 State Street, where the business of the firm is still
conducted. But the young man's course in submitting
to a control other than parental was wise. When he
was Secretary of the Navy, an interviewer asked him
why he " hired out " to a stranger instead of his
father, and received the answer, " Because I feared I
might treat my father as a relative and not as an
employer." His actual employer, Mr. Hardy, found
in him business qualities which gave assurance of suc
cess. A fellow employee bears witness to his willing
ness to undertake any task committed to him, and,
without a suggestion of shirking disagreeable details,
to do the thing well. If his young associates did not
foresee how far his capacities of balance, integrity.

12 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ii879-i9oo.
good manners, and shrewd common sense would bear
him, it was because they did not fully reahze what
these qualities can do for their possessor.
After two years of this apprenticeship to the work
of a merchant, he was admitted, in 1881, to partner
ship in the firm of Linder & Meyer, of which he re
mained a member for the rest of his life. For a few
years business was his chief concern, and he applied
himself to its interests with a thoroughness which
enabled him, after entering politics, to dispatch it
quickly and accurately, and thus to command the time
he required for other pursuits. In these early years,
moreover, he laid the foundations of a well-deserved
reputation for sagacity and acumen in business mat
ters, causing his counsel to be sought and valued in
enterprises of importance outside the affairs of his
own firm. While still a young man, he found himself
associated with many of his elders in the business
world in the directorship of large corporations. As
early as 1890 he became a director of the Old Colony
Trust Company, at its charter meeting, and in 1894
was elected a director of the Amoskeag Manufactur
ing Company. Many other directorships followed in
due course — in the Ames Plow Company, of which
he was president, the Puget Sound Traction, Light
and Power Company, the Fort Hill Chemical Com
pany, the Tampa Electric Company, the Walter Baker
Company, the Provident Institution for Savings, the
Merchants National Bank.
On the day following his twenty-seventh birthday,
June 25, 1885, George Meyer was married at Lenox,

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 13
Massachusetts, to Marian Alice Appleton, a daughter
of Charles Hook and Isabella (Mason) Appleton,
of Boston. Through a Cutler ancestor both of
the Appletons and of Meyer's mother, his wife
and he were third cousins. The Bostonian with
only one Boston parent, however, finds his New
England relationships widely extended when his wife
is of Boston through both lines of descent. So it
was with George Meyer. The happy outward con
ditions of his marriage through all its years stood
clear before the world. An open book is not the place
to say more than that the outward and inward were in
singular harmony; yet Meyer's truly fortunate domes
tic life, his constant, affectionate concern for his wife
and children, and everything that affected their wel
fare, must not pass unmentioned in any comprehen
sive account of him. His daughters Julia and Alice,
now married, respectively, to Signor Giuseppe Bram-
billa, of Rome, now counsellor of the Italian Embassy
in London, and Commander Christopher Raymond
Perry Rodgers, U.S.N., and his third child, the son
who bears his name, had always in their father the
truest friend, counsellor, and comrade.
A friend of George Meyer's has said that he first
came into prominence on horseback. Without at
tempting to establish points of precise order in time,
it may indeed be said that his early association with
the Myopia Hunt Club, permanently established at
Hamilton in Essex County in 1891, ten years after
its origin at Winchester, near Boston, served to bring
his excellent horsemanship to the notice of that con-

14 GEORGE VON L. MEYER l^^s-mo
siderable portion of the public which is interested in
manly sports. What the Meadowbrook Club was to
New York in the early days of hunting and polo, the
Myopia was to Boston; and Meyer's prowess as a
polo-player befbre the game had established itself
more generally afforded one of the instances, to be
found in the eighties and nineties, of young men dis
playing on a field of sport the qualities which made
good cavalry officers in the Civil War out of men in
the next older generation, and good aviators or
artillerymen, let us say, of the " officer material " in
the war of our own day. Spirited young men of every
generation have a way of proving themselves — often
to the surprise of their elders — capable of a dash
and daring to which the life of a city gives no natural
expression. George Meyer belonged to this class.
The Myopia Hunt Club, once settled at Hamilton,
played an important part in making its neighbourhood
in Essex County a centre of agreeable country life
of a type then little known in America. Boston fam
ilies, especially of the younger generation, were be
ginning to take up farms in the vicinity, and to live
on them for the greater part of the year. Hunting,
riding, and other sports occupied much of their time.
Altogether the life bore a closer resemblance to that
of the county families of England than to the cold
and scrambling existence which the early settlers of
Essex County, including in more than one instance the
progenitors of the modern Hamiltonians, led on the
same rolling farm-lands. But the new settlers were
also pioneers in their way — with many advantages of

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 15
circumstance in their favour; and it needed a certain
vigour and hardihood of nature, perhaps of Puritan
derivation, to meet the new conditions, without suc
cumbing to them and permitting the enjoyment of hfe
to defeat its own ends through becoming the primary
instead of the secondary thing.
George Meyer and his family became a part, a vital
part, of all this pleasant life. As early as 1890 he ac
quired " Rock Maple Farm " at Hamilton, which later
became his legal residence. His interest in this country
place, the improvement of its grounds and buildings,
including, near the end of his life, even the removal of
the enlarged house upon it from the bottom to the top
of a hill, was an interest that never failed, whether he
was at home, abroad, or in Washington. Its concerns
were constantly cropping out in his correspondence.
His identification with the life of the region was typi
fied by his presidency of the Myopia Hunt Club for a
number of years, beginning with 1893, the first year
in which a president was elected. Before 1898 he had
served as treasurer and one of the stewards of the club.
A member of it, by the way, has said that, when Meyer
became its president and proposed to do various things
for its betterment, nobody thought he could bring them
to pass; but he did. Wise rules of membership were
adopted; golf was introduced in 1894; and the peace
was kept amongst intensely interested Myopians of
divergent views on matters of club policy. All this
was related to Meyer's principle of the " joy in the
doing," and his capacity to keep things in their true
places. The country gentleman riding to the hounds.

16 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ii879-i900
— with much success and the usual mishaps, — playing
polo, and amusing himself in many other ways, culti
vating flowers, acquiring tapestries and rare china,
kept a perfectly clear distinction in his own mind be
tween the pursuits of vocation and avocation which, in
many persons situated as he was, get themselves con
fused. If he had not, as a sportsman and a lover of
the beauties and amenities of life, so thoroughly en
joyed his avocations, they might almost have been
regarded as deliberate means to an end, for they did
Serve a constant, valuable purpose of health and re
freshment. In reality, they merely embodied his concep
tion of one portion of a well-rounded existence, and thus
acquired a dignity of their own in his scheme of life.
There has been no attempt in the preceding pages
to observe a strict chronological sequence in the affairs
of Meyer's life. The aim has been rather to establish
the background against which the public services with
which most of this book must deal are to be followed.
His place as a member of the community to which he
belonged has been set forth in some detail. The posi
tion which he rapidly made for himself in the conduct
of large business affairs has been indicated. At the
end of about the first decade of his business life, how
ever, he began to add to its interests those of local
politics, beginning on the lowest rungs of the ladder,
and mounting steadily. Nearly an even quarter-
century passed between his becoming a member of a
Republican ward committee in the City of Boston and
his retirement, in 1913, from the post of Secretary of
the Navy. It was a political career in which advance-

oiri1-1

Moo

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 17
ment came — as it must if it is to be justified — through
hard work, joined with the double abihty to recognize
an opportunity when it arose, and then to make
effective use of it. When the results of such a course
bear the outward appearance of good fortune, it is
weU to remember that this fortune is generally among
the inward gifts of the man who profits by it.
Two statements by George Meyer himself with
regard to the obligations and opportunities in politics
for the educated and fortunately placed young man
may appropriately be given at this point. The first
of them is found in a letter, written April 12, 1890,
to the Secretary of the Harvard Class of 1879, printed
in the Class Report of 1890, and reading as follows: —
A year ago last fall I was elected a member of the Com
mon Council of the City of Boston on the Republican ticket.
This last fall received a reelection as a member of the city gov
ernment, and am now serving my second year in the Council.
Last year the body was Democratic by a small majority, while
this year it is Republican by a good working majority. The
matter of municipal government should receive special atten
tion from Harvard graduates and every citizen living in the
large cities. The administrations of many of our large cities
have acquired an unenviable reputation in this country and
abroad. This can only be remedied by the better class of citi
zens generally taking an active part in their city politics, not
only by voting on election day, but by attending regularly the
primaries and caucuses and insisting on the proper candidate
being nominated. Without attention to these matters, " Things
alter for the worse spontaneously unless altered for the better
designedly."

18 GEORGE VON L. MEYER U879-mo
The second statement appears in an interview with
a representative of the Boston Herald while Meyer
was a member of President Taft's Cabinet. When
asked his opinion of the poKtical chances for the well-
to-do, educated young American, he replied : —
Most assuredly such young men should take part in
politics. Those youths who are not dependent upon their own
efforts for their daily bread, and who have had the advantages
of a good education, are under special obligation to the public.
It is doubly incumbent upon them to give the best that is in
them toward the study and solution of civic problems, which
in every generation and in every twelfth month come to the
fore. Once they demonstrate an absolutely disinterested motive,
learn to say " no " to the importunities of influential friends,
and prove their willingness to serve the people, the doors of
political opportunity are wide open for them.
It is well that this is so in our country. I saw it forcefully
illustrated in Italy. Influential young men were a great power
in bringing about the union of Italy. But the Constitution of
1848 prescribed thirty-five years as the minimum age at which
one could become a member of Parliament. The Italian
" patriots " were young men. With this restriction of par
liamentary service, the young men, who ought to have con
tinued in active service, began to fall out.
Cut off the opportunity for wealthy and educated young
men to get into politics and they spend their time at the clubs.
They acquire habits of ease, after which there is less and less
inclination, as the years go by, to assume public duties.
George Meyer was fortunately " caught young " in
politics. He began and continued to the end, a " regu-

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 19
lar " Republican. The strong " Mugwump " sentiment
in Boston attending and following the first election
of President Cleveland — strongest in the very portion
of the community to which Meyer belonged — did
not concern itself so much with local as with national
politics, and Republican candidates for office in nat
urally Republican wards and districts encountered
little serious opposition. From the time of his mar
riage, Meyer's place of residence in Boston was at 54,
Beacon Street, the home of his wife's father and grand
father, one of the beautiful pair of twin houses of
which the historian Prescott had occupied the other.
It lay in what was the Ninth Ward through the period
of Meyer's active participation in local politics. This
was sometimes called the " pepper-and-salt ward," by
reason of its admixture of white and coloured voters,
the first living on Beacon Street and the nearer
parallel streets of Beacon Hill, the second then settled
in large numbers on the northerly slopes of that
eminence. So diverse a constituency called for tactful repre
sentation. " Ead-gloved " and " silk-stockinged " as
pirants for election could not expect to prevail with
out persuading the voters that they possessed other
qualifications for office than a mere desire for it, on
whatever grounds. In caucuses, and especially in the
service of the ward committee, they were obliged to
prove themselves. It was necessary to demonstrate,
not only your willingness to work as a member of the
party organization, but also your standing, on ele
mental human terms, as a "good fellow." The

20 GEORGE von L. MEYER iiS79-i900
spurious in these regards could not long pass current.
Meyer became a member of the Ninth Ward Repubh-
can Committee, won his nomination in the autumn of
1888 for the Common Council of the City Government,
as then constituted, and was duly elected.
During his connection with the Boston City Coun
cil he served on its Finance Committee, and the Com
mittees on Water, on Laying Out and Widening
Streets, on the Charles River Bridges. His third elec
tion, in the autumn of 1890, was to the upper chamber
of the City Government, the Board of Aldermen, on
which, for the following year, he represented the
Fourth of the ten aldermanic districts into which Bos
ton was then divided. Apart from his other service
on this Board, he was a member of its important
Finance Committee, which was entrusted with making
virtually all appropriations for city expenditures. To
all this work at City Hall he brought the sound busi
ness training which he had been rapidly acquiring in
State Street; and from it he carried away an expe
rience in parliamentary, legislative, and administrative
matters which was soon to serve him well.
Political advancement in Boston and in Massa
chusetts, as elsewhere, is in general an orderly process,
passing from recognized step to step. After the City
Government comes the State Government; the State
House follows naturally upon City Hall. After his
year in the Board of Aldermen Meyer accordingly
offered himself as a Republican candidate for Repre
sentative in the General Court of Massachusetts from
the Ninth District of Suffolk County, corresponding

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 21
with Ward 9 of Boston. In the State election of 1891
he was chosen, by his old constituency, to this office,
and was reelected in the four successive years, serving
in the five Legislatures of 1892 to 1896, inclusive. In
his first two years on Beacon Hill he appeared rather
as a faithful and efficient than as a conspicuous mem
ber of the House. He counted for more in work on
committees than in speaking from the floor. When
he became a candidate for the Speakership, at the be
ginning of his third term, even his friends therefore
were somewhat surprised. As on other occasions, they
hardly believed he could accomplish his purpose; but
again he did, and with a success that may fairly be
called notable. His election was brought to pass, not
by his own possession of the " hail-fellow-well-met "
qualities of the politician which are supposed to make
for popularity, but rather through his having estab
lished himself quietly in the friendship and confidence
of the more thoughtful and influential members of the
House, whose good opinion was of positive weight.
Once elected to the guidance of a body fully alive to
the fact that the legislation of Massachusetts often
exerts an influence far beyond the boundaries of the
State, he bore himself in a manner worthy of the best
traditions of the Speakership.
To Meyer's own training of himself in the practice
of public speech must be ascribed a large measure of
the success he attained in this necessary function of a
man in public life. About ten years after his occu
pancy of the Massachusetts Speakership, he wrote
from Russia to his son — apropos of a debate at Gro-

22 GEORGE von L. MEYER \.i879-i900
ton School for which the boy was preparing himself —
a letter which at this point serves an autobiographical
purpose : —
I am very much interested that debating is going to begin,
and I want to give you a few hints which I think will be of
great assistance to you, from my own experience. Unfor
tunately I never took it up until I was about thirty, and there
fore it came much harder. The great secret is to learn to be
able to think on your feet; therefore in order to bring about
that result do not write out what you are going to say and
commit it to memory, for the following reasons : —
1. Because it defeats the main object of thinking and
arguing on your feet while you are talking.
2. It makes one nervous, fearing one may forget what
one has committed to memory, and consequently hampers one.
The main thing before the debate takes place is to read
up sufficiently to be familiar with the subject, take a few notes
of the points which you want to make, then arrange them in
consecutive order. After you have done that, sit down, or
stand up, either, and think out in your own mind what you
want to say. If you find some points you don't express in your
own mind clearly, work out that sentence, writing it if neces
sary, till you have your point clearly made. But do not try
to commit the exact words to memory. After you have done
this two or three times, you will be quite familiar with your
subject and have gained confidence in yourself, which is the
great object before you go into a debate. Try to arrange the
arguments in your mind so that one will suggest the other, as
you are debating. I think if you will follow out these ideas
you will find it not only of assistance but most interesting, and
in time you will be able to enter into these debates without
much, if any, nervousness, if you will follow out conscientiously
my suggestions.

isit9-mo] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 23
At the conclusion of his third and last year in the
Speaker's chair, his fellow-members of the Legislature,
on June 9, 1896, passed a resolution of thanks to their
presiding officer, made and heard a number of lauda
tory speeches seconding the resolution, and presented
him with a loving cup. On occasions of this nature
terms of eulogy are to be expected; but when one of
the speakers is a man whose words are well known to
mean precisely what they say, it is worth while to heed
and recall them. The late Francis C. Lowell, then
representing the Eleventh Suffolk District, and after
wards Judge of the United States Circuit Court,
spoke as follows : —
Between seven and eight years ago I entered upon the
public service at the same time and in the same office with the
gentleman who has been Speaker of this House for the last
three years, in the Common Council of the City of Boston. And
highly as the friends of that gentleman then respected him, I
doubt if all of them then anticipated the success which he has
so honourably won in public life. That has been won, I believe,
in the first place, by untiring patience and industry; in the
second place, by perfect independence and wise judgment and
a firm hold to honest convictions ; and, in the third place, by a
courtesy to all opponents, which has made any difference what
it should be — a difference of principles and not a personal
matter. What success these qualities have shown in that Chair,
every member of this House knows better than my words can
say. The Speaker is the keeper of the traditions of this
House. Those traditions are honoured. But on the floor of
this House there are often times of hard conflict; there are
often times when men of one side or the other, in the temper

24 GEORGE von L. MEYER (i^^-isoo
of controversy, think but little of those traditions and strain
every nerve for success. Proper decision can be reached on
those occasions only, I believe, when that Chair is removed and
is above the waves of controversy. That is what we have known
here this year. However grandly and bravely we might fight
on the floor, we have known that there was an umpire in that
Chair whose decisions would in no sense be affected by his
feelings. I attribute the good temper that has invariably
characterized the proceedings of this House to the absolute
faith of its members that they would receive fairness from its
presiding officer.
I believe that the gentleman who has presided over us this
year has maintained to the full the honourable traditions of the
best of his predecessors, and has set an example which his suc
cessors will do well to emulate. I do not know whether the
gentleman has political ambitions for the future. I believe
he has. But far more important than that, I know this — that
the Commonwealth cannot afford to lose the future services
of the man who has served her so well as he has done in the
past eight years.
In a private letter another fellow-worker with
Meyer in the Massachusetts Legislature, the Hon. S.
W. McCall, whose opportunities to observe him were
often renewed in later years, has written: —
The quality in his mind that struck me was its direct
ness. He faced a situation clearly, and when he had reached
a conclusion to his satisfaction he adhered to it, and was
usually able by his clearness to make others see the thing as
he saw it. His manner helped him greatly. There was noth
ing over-assertive or dictatorial, but while firm, he was per
suasive and willing to give due weight to the opinions of others.

SILYFK PLATE PRESENTED TO MR. MEYEl! BY THK .MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF
HEPR ESENT.ATIVES

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 25
I recall especially a visit of his to Washington when the cur
rency was in issue. He was clear-cut for gold and opposed
to any compromise upon it, and, yet he made no noise about it
but convinced you that he had an opinion and gave good
reasons for it.

The general spirit and results of Meyer's work as
a member and Speaker of the Massachusetts House of
Representatives are fairly indicated by these contempo
raneous and more recent expressions. For the details
of that work it is enough to give a brief summary of
some of the legislation with the advocacy of which he
was specially associated. As Chairman of the Com
mittee on Railroads he introduced a bill compelling
railroads and quasi-public corporations to offer stock
to their stockholders at a fair market price, when the
stock was selling at a high premium. He took an
active part in urging that municipal bonds be free
from taxation, in order that they might be issued at a
lower rate of interest and, therefore, at a saving to
the community. He was instrumental in securing
legislation which preserved the present State House,
and was Chairman of the Commission which placed
the front of the State House in a fireproof condition
— a piece of work the more remarkable for being
accomplished within the appropriation for it. He was
one of the active instruments in securing the passage
of the first subway bill. He favoured measures pro
viding for proper payment to the municipality of
Boston by transportation companies holding franchises
granting the use of streets. While Speaker, he secured

26 GEORGE VON L. MEYER U879-i900
the passage of a resolution directing him to appear
before the House Committee on Rivers and Harbours
in Washington, which resulted in an appropriation for
the establishment of a 35-foot channel in Boston Har
bour. In aU of these measures the future — now the
present — well-being of his city and state were inti
mately involved. Many of them had to do with finan
cial and commercial improvements, of which the results
do not clearly appear on the surface of things. A
strong title to general remembrance in Boston, on the
other hand, lies in his having borne an effective part in
the preservation of the " Bulfinch front " of the Massa
chusetts State House.
It was when Meyer retired from the Massa
chusetts Legislature in 1896 that he established his
legal residence at Hamilton in Essex County. For
the next few years his business interests occupied most
of his working hours. The winter of 1897 he spent
abroad with his family, at Paris and Pau. In 1898
Governor Wolcott appointed him Chairman of the
Massachusetts Paris Exposition Managers. In the
same year he was chosen a member of the Republican
National Committee for Massachusetts, a position
which he held, with special success in the important
function of raising campaign funds, until 1904. At
home he served his party as a member of the Republi
can State Central Committee, and President of the
Essex Club, a political organization in the county
which had become his home. In public discussions of
national politics he appeared as a well-informed de
fender of the principles of sound money and the gold

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 27
standard as against the free-silver agitations of Mr.
Bryan. In the capacity of a private citizen, during
the final years of the nineties, he was thus serving the
public in a variety of ways through the service of the
party in which he so strongly believed.
As a person of consequence in the Republican
counsels, he was present at the party convention at
Philadelphia in 1900, when Theodore Roosevelt, of
the class next below his own at Harvard, was nomi
nated for the vice-presidency. An authentic anecdote
of that occasion should be recorded. The story goes
that while Roosevelt, then Governor of New York,
and reluctant to gratify the party managers in their
attempt to force comparative obscurity upon him, was
discussing the matter with Senator Penrose and Gen
eral Bingham of Pennsylvania, he called George
Meyer into the conference, and asked his advice.
" They're trying to bury you," was Meyer's reply;
"but, with your luck, they won't be able to do it,
and I advise you to accept the nomination." The
sequel is history.
To Meyer also, soon after this, came the necessity
of making a decision of important bearing upon his
subsequent career. In the early days of his residence
in Essex County the Sixth Congressional District of
Massachusetts was represented at Washington by the
late William H. Moody. Before the expiration of his
term Mr. Moody resigned his seat in order to become
Secretary of the Navy, from which post he passed to
those of Attorney-General and Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States. The Republican nominee

28 GEORGE von L. MEYER U^i^-i^oo^
for the vacant place in Congress was virtually certain
of election. Meyer had deserved so well of his party,
and withal had shown himself so competent a public
servant, that his nomination and election as a Con
gressman from Massachusetts, at a fitting opportunity,
would have seemed a natural forward step, on both
political and personal grounds. But another candidate
was in the field, in the person of the late Augustus
Peabody Gardner, also a Boston settler in Essex
County, whose service of two terms in the Massachu
setts Senate after Meyer's retirement from the Gen
eral Court had prepared him for political promotion.
The time had not come for an active contest for
this nomination when Meyer received from President
McKinley, through a message delivered in person by
Senator Hoar at Hamilton in the summer of 1900,
an offer of the ambassadorship to Italy. The latest
occupant of the post had been a Massachusetts man.
General William F. Draper. It had been offered to
another son of the same state. Governor Roger Wol
cott, while he was abroad for several months beginning
in May, 1900; but private considerations had led him
to decline it, and his untimely death occurred before
the end of the year. It was a post of high dignity and
trust; but in deciding to accept it, Meyer must have
asked himself seriously whether a seat in Congress
might not afford an apter scope for his capacities, and
might therefore be worth awaiting and contesting. A
public servant who worked in close association with
him some years later has said that Meyer possessed
the best snap judgment of any man he ever en-

1879-1900] AFFAIRS AND POLITICS 29
countered. In the case of the ambassadorship first
thoughts could be followed by second; and the upshot
of them was that he accepted the President's offer. If
he had felt that he had made any mistake, he would
doubtless have yielded, more than a year later, to the
solicitation of political friends in Massachusetts who
urged his return from Italy to engage in the actual
contest for the Congressional nomination. His later
decision merely confirmed the earlier, and the event
abimdantly proved the wisdom of both.

Ill
AMBASSADOR TO ITALY
(1900-1905)
Meyer's appointment to the Italian ambassadorship
was confirmed by the United States Senate, December
14, 1900. On January 5, 1901, he sailed from New
York with his wife and children, and his sister. Miss
Heloise Meyer, on the Fiirst Bismarck for Italy.
It was at this time that he began a practice which
cannot be too highly commended to men whose con
tacts with persons and events of consequence are
such as to give possible future occasion for a record
of their own lives — the practice of keeping a diary.
For approximately nine years he did this, without any
considerable intermissions. The journal bears none of
the marks of having been written for any purpose
but that of keeping within reach of the writer's mem
ory the experiences through which he passed. Many
of the notes have to do merely with passing occur
rences, " pleasures and palaces," dinners, balls, hunts,
shooting, and fishing parties, the many activities of
society in brilliant courts and capitals. But there
are also many passages relating to affairs of more
general interest, to conversations with monarchs and
other rulers of men, to memorable scenes. Hastily
pencilled and unrevised as they were, they possess a
30

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 31
distinctive quality of faithfulness, of authenticity, so
that a reader of them is convinced that the actual facts
of the matter recorded are spread before him. If
King or Kaiser is set down as saying thus and so, one
rests assured that the report is accurate. Just as one
recognizes true " local colour " in pieces of fiction,
even without any first-hand knowledge of the local
background, so the diaries of George Meyer justify
themselves as remarkably authentic chronicles. In
this and succeeding chapters they will therefore be
freely used, not only as records of his own life, but
for the revealing light they throw upon personalities
and circumstances which in recent years have acquired
an historic importance quite unforeseen when the pres
ent century began. From time to time the narrative
will be supplemented by letters to official friends in
the American Government and to members of his
family. On the night before the Meyers sailed from New
York, some twenty New York and Boston friends
gathered at Sherry's for a farewell dinner to Mr. and
Mrs. Meyer, given by Mr. Charles F. McKim, the
architect, whose wife had been a sister of Mrs. Meyer.
Appropriate words were spoken, and scenes of Rome
soon to become familiar to the guests of honour were
shown by magic lantern, besides ingenious views of
the travellers themselves on their journey. The pro
pitious start was followed by a good passage, via the
Azores, Gibraltar, and Genoa, to Naples. Here the
first day on Italian soil ended unfortunately. Let the
diary describe it.

32 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^'^^
"January 18. 1901. — Arrived at Naples early.
We all got on deck to see the sun rise as we sailed into
the Bay of Naples, and we were much repaid — a
magnificent sight. Vesuvius coughed and puffed out
smoke soon after the sun rose. Met by Iddings,' First
Secretary of the Embassy. Proceed to the Grand
Hotel to lunch. In the afternon Alice, Helo, and self
drive to Pompeii; much impressed by the preservation
of the streets, houses, stucco, etc. It kills time and
space, and brings one's imagination vividly back.
" 111 all night -^ fish poison. Beware of fish in
Naples I"
Suffering grievously from ptomaine poisoning, the
new ambassador pushed on to Rome the next day, too
ill even to speak to American friends who, with the
entire staff of the Embassy, met him and his family
at the station. There were comfortable rooms ready
for them at the Grand Hotel, and here, with good
medical and nursing care immediately summoned, Mr.
Meyer regained sufficient strength in little more than
a week to take his first walk abroad. Even before
this he must have realized that he was in a friendly
land, for on January 23 he had occasion to write in
his diary: "Thanked the King for the boar which he
had sent me and had killed himself."
The formalities of presenting credentials at the
Foreign Office, and seeking and obtaining a first audi
ence with the King, were soon performed. Two days
before this audience Mr. and Mrs. Meyer attended
the memorial service at All Saints (English) Church
iMr. Lewis Morris Iddings.

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 33
in Rome, marking the day, February 2, appointed
for the funeral of Queen Victoria; and he wrote in his
diary: "Lady Currie, English Ambassadress, thanked
me in person for attending, it being my first appear
ance since my illness."
On February 4 came the audience with King Victor
Emmanuel III. From the brief description of it in
the journal of that day it is enough to transcribe,
" The King desired to know if the Philippines were to
be our Transvaal, and how many troops we had in
China; we also talked about game and the preservation
of forests." More than two years later Meyer made a record
in his diary which deals with his introduction to the
Italian court more adequately than the jottings at
the immediate time. Thus it runs: —
" May 30, 1903. — At the request of the State De
partment I reported the formalities for a new Am
bassador. On my arrival in Rome (January, 1901)
I was obliged to take an apartment in the Grand
Hotel, as the palace which had been occupied by my
predecessors, Palazzo Piombino, had been purchased
by the King as a residence for the Queen Mother.
" Having informed the Minister of Foreign Af
fairs [Visconti Venosta] of my arrival, I asked
for an audience with the King. Due de Fragmito, a
Master of Ceremonies, called and notified me that the
King would see me the following day at 1 o'clock.
Two Royal state carriages with outriders in scarlet
were sent to convey me to the Palazzo Reale (Quiri-
nal) ; in the first, myself and Count Bruschi Falgari, a

34 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^^^
Master of Ceremonies; in the second, my Secretaries.
Instructed to appear in uniform — for the American
Ambassador, evening dress. The Ambassador at his
first reception by the King is received with formality
and full official ceremony. Met at the foot of the
stairs by Due de Fraginito. In the anticamera the
King's guard were drawn up — all over six feet. In
the adjoining grand salon the King's household, all
in full uniform, were presented to me by the prefet
of the palace. Count Gianotti, and then I was re
ceived in the throne-room by His Majesty the King.
Before taking my leave I presented my Secre
taries. " It is customary for every Ambassador to send
500 lira gratuities to the Royal Stable and lackeys
on the occasion of the first presentation.
" England, Germany, France, Russia, Austria,
Spain, and Turkey all have their permanent residencies
for the Embassies. I should have been much incon
venienced at not having a house at my disposal, but
for the fact that, the Court being in mourning for
King Humbert, I was not called upon to give my
Ricevimento the first season. It was important to find
a palace sufficiently large for the first formal reception
and in keeping with the scale which had already been
established by my predecessors, and at the same time
to bear favourable comparison with the Embassies of
other countries. (The Italians are much affected by
appearances.) Moved into Palazzo Brancaccio end
of April, 1901. January, 1902, gave my Ricevi
mento. The list must first be submitted to the prefet

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 35
of the Palace, as it is a Court function for which two
Masters of Ceremony are sent by the King to present
the guests to the Ambassador and his wife. The list
is confined to the members of the Court and such per
sons from other countries as have been presented at
Court in Rome. The ceremony commences promptly
at 10 and finishes at midnight. There is never
dancing, but an elaborate supper. The officials and
diplomats are expected to appear in full uniform.
The entrance of the Palace and the streets adjoining
on the night of the entertainment are guarded by a
detachment of Municipal Guards. One guard is
always assigned to each Embassy day and night."
The initial formalities dispatched, a place of resi
dence suitable to the mode of life which the new
Ambassador was prepared to adopt in Rome became
an immediate object of search. It was found in the
Palazzo Brancaccio, a modern dwelling built by the
late Hickson Field of New York for his daughter,
who had married Prince Brancaccio. The first and
second floors of this palace, somewhat forbidding in
its exterior but beautiful and spacious within, were
taken by the Meyers. The lack of bathrooms in such
a house hardly comported with American ideas of
comfort; yet the sense of beauty received its compen
sating stimulus in the charming gardens of the Palace,
with the Colosseum at their foot. Of these Mr. Meyer
secured the use during his tenancy. Altogether the
scene was one which lent itself admirably to the pur
poses of an Ambassador.

36 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^^^
It could not be occupied at once, but on May 17,
1901, Meyer wrote in his diary: "Move into Bran
caccio Palace and we are aU glad to leave the hotel
and get to our own appartement. The garden is per*
fectly beautiful, with green grass, fountains, palm
trees, flowering shrubs, and the most beautiful roses
growing profusely. We dine in our dining-room and
enjoy a meal from our own chef." On the next day
he wrote of the interior arrangements : " The apparte
ment is most extensive and on a grand scale, with a
fine and impressive staircase which opens into a hall;
then a small reception room, my den, after that two
large reception rooms, with ball-room beyond as
large as Papanti's in Boston. Facing the garden is
the dining-room, larger red room, conservatory, small
sitting-room, small library, and larger living-room.
On floor above, eight bed-rooms."
The diary in its completeness for the next four
years would contribute many items to the personal
records of Roman society for this period. The names
of many sharers in the pleasures of that society,
Italians, Europeans of other countries, and Americans,
appear and reappear in its pages. Dinners, bridge,
and other occasions for informal meetings with the
diplomatic circle remind one that statecraft was always
in the background. Days of work at the Embassy,
letters to Washington, dealing with occasional inter
national questions arising between Italy and the
United States, receive their share of record. It was
rather as a " listening-post " in the European world
than as a station for difficult work in diplomacy that

o

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 37
Rome gave Meyer his opportunities for valuable
service through the four years of his ambassadorship;
and in establishing many relations of intimacy and
friendship, he was constantly turning the pleasant life
he led to valuable purposes of his own government.
It is thus, indeed, that diplomats may often serve their
countries best in times of peace in the world. There
is no better way of coming to know men than by
playing with them ; and if Meyer had not been capable
of the all-round sportsmanship which made him so
welcome a companion to the spirited young men of
whom the Italian King and his cousins were the con
spicuous types, the useful knowledge of Italian and
European affairs which he could acquire, as it were,
" in passing," would have been appreciably less. All
this appears, without intention, in the diary.
He had been in Rome less than a month when he
noted in his journal, February 14, his first ride with
the hounds, on borrowed mounts, on the Campagna.
The next day he bought a hunter of his own, " Good
Luck," from the Master of the Hounds; and ten days
later recorded a large turn-out at the hunt : " Had
a good run; the first big stone wall stopped the field;
six of us got over and I got the brush." His enjoy
ment of the hunt at Rome finds many records in his
journal. So, in the early days of his ambassadorship, did
his pleasure in the motor-car with which he supple
mented his Roman stable. Addressing the Essex
Agricultural Society at its annual meeting in 1897,
he had spoken of the automobile in terms which sound

38 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^**"^
to-day archaic, but are good to recall as a reminder
of the strangeness of the new vehicles hardly more
than twenty years ago. " I venture to predict," he
said, " that some of us here to-day will live to see the
time when it will be as rare to see carriages drawn by
horses as it is at present to see street cars drawn by
horses." That time had not come when Meyer went
to Rome, and the uses of the automobile were not
appreciated even by those who might easily command
them. The newspaper interviewer cited in the previous
chapter may be quoted again, to relate the circum
stance of Mr. Meyer's introducing the motor-car to
the favour of the Italian King. Thus he tells the
story : —
" At Castel Porziano King Victor Emmanuel had
a lodge, whither he went occasionally to shoot wild
boars. It was only 25 miles from Rome by a single-
track railroad. His Majesty had been starting on
these shooting trips very early in the morning and
returning late in the evening. Ambassador Meyer
suggested to him that the automobile would be a great
time-saver. To demonstrate it, he took his royal host
to Castel Porziano in the new machine. They started
after breakfast and were back in Rome at 3.30 o'cJock
the same afternoon. That settled it. The King pur
chased an automobile.
" They travelled so rapidly that the King's body
guards, who trailed along behind him as do the secret
service men behind the President, — on bicycles, —
were lost outside the walls of Rome, when the auto
mobile party passed into the Campagna.

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 39
" ' I have broken the law to-day. Your Majesty,'
said Mr. Meyer as they whizzed along the wild coun
tryside. 'I am carrying a revolver.' He had taken
this precaution, because of anxiety about the King's
safety. " ' I have one, too,' was the royal rejoinder.
" The King had little fear of assassination, in spite
of his father's fate. But he went armed on those
occasions, with the intention of putting up a fight
against any possible assailant."
This episode is not related in the diary, but many
occasions of informal meetings with the King and
other members of the royal family are noted. There
are also frequent allusions to points of international
intercourse — the arrangements for Italian participa
tion in the St. Louis Exposition, matters of tariff on
American imports, an unfortunate affair involving a
conflict between American sailors and the civil authori
ties of Venice, complications with Venezuela, naturali
zation questions, and, towards the end ol his Roman
days, the overshadowing menace of the Russo-Japa
nese war. All these matters are chronicled with
greater and less detail in the diary, of which some of
the most interesting pages deal also with meetings
with the Kaiser, in Rome, Berlin, and elsewhere. But
it is superfluous to describe the journal in detail while
certain of its pages may themselves be used. The many
ensuing extracts from it will be given without more of
annotation than the necessities of understanding on
the part of the reader seem to require.

40 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^"^
On May 19 Meyer saw Monsignor O'Connell, now
Cardinal in Boston, consecrated Bishop of Portland
at St. John Lateran. The next day he wrote: —
" May ^0.— Dined vidth MacNutt ' — dinner given
to the new Bishop of Portland; also met Archbishop
Chappelle of New Orleans, who had been for a year
in the Philippines. Had a very interesting talk with
him on the condition of affairs at Manila and in the
Islands generally. The reception was entirely of
'blacks,' Cardinals, Monsignors, Bishops, and Arch
bishops. " May 21. — 11.15, audience with the King of nearly
an hour. It is the custom to ask for an audience when
leaving before the Court.^ They generally last 15 or 20
minutes. He compared and discussed the constitu
tion of Italy and America, the malicious spirit of the
Italians in certain quarters against royalty. I called
attention to the unfortunate limit of age as regards
entering the Chamber of Deputies, that Italy could
never have a Pitt or Alexander Hamilton. The King
said that his powers were much less than President
McKinley's. The King gave me the first cast of the
new 3-lira piece with his head and the new stamps for
my boy. I am to send His Majesty our new set of
stamps of the Pan-American Exposition.
"May 23. — Archbishop Chappelle lunched with
me to-day. He has just come from the Philippine
Islands — went there at the request of the President.
His views are that the Tagalog leaders should be trans-
1 Francis A. MacNutt, an American member of the Papal household.
2 Mr. Meyer was about to leave Rome for Homburg, where he took
the waters, en route to the United States.

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 41
ported to Guam, or any other leader ; the native priest
is our worst enemy; the laws should be changed grad
ually, the friars friendly to Americans (their interest
to be) . The Filipino not friendly to American as yet,
will take time to gain their confidence. The leaders
are natural courtiers, that is, they lie and are treach
erous. Valuable coal deposits. The Islands the key
to the Orient. At present, religious controversies to
be avoided for some time. The Archbishop had
muzzled some, will do all in his power to continue this
and has worked in the interest of the American policy.
General MacArthur an able man — Taft a great
lawyer, man of abihty, a Judge but not a Governor
— the two professors theorists, and  a politician,
but narrow.
" June 1. — We leave Palazzo Brancaccio with re
gret, as we had become very comfortably settled. Leave
on the 9.30 train for Venice. Count of Turin ^ has the
adjoining compartment. At Florence I was handed
a telegram, and at the same moment one was given
to Count of Turin. It was the announcement that
the Queen had given birth to a Princess; she is to be
called Yolanda Margherita."
This day of travel was the first of a journey by
easy stages to Homburg, with much agreeable sight
seeing and many encounters with friends by the way.
At Homburg Mr. Meyer and his family remained
for several weeks, while he took the waters. Thence
they proceeded to London for a week of many pleas-
1 Cousin of the King.

42 GEORGE VON L. MEYER i'""^
ures with American and English friends before Mr.
Meyer himself sailed for America, July 17. In the
journal for the days in London it is interesting to
note a call (July 14) upon Senator Lodge — then
chairman of the Senate Committee on the Philippines
— and "a talk with him about the Philippines and
the situation there as reported to me by Archbishop
Chappelle"; and during the passage to New York
the entry for July 21 : " Captain's night. Usual fuss
and feathers. I am called upon to speak. Speech
well received. Toast to the Kaiser did not receive the
applause one would have expected on a German
steamer, but President McKinley toast received with
enthusiasm." A stay of nearly two months in America enabled
Mr. Meyer to attend to many affairs of business, to
renew many friendships at Newport and Hamilton,
and to refresh his knowledge of national matters. A
visit to President McKinley at Canton, described in
the diary, contributed to this end : —
"August 31. — Arrive at Cleveland at 8 o'clock.
Met at the station by Colonel Herrick. We breakfast
at his house. Take the 11.30 train for Canton, Ohio.
Arrive there at 1.30. Taken to the [hotel] by the
secretary of the President and lunch with General
MacArthur, just arrived from Manila. At 3 o'clock
we call upon President McKinley, who received us
with a charming grace and hospitality. Pass the
afternoon with the President, and am invited to be
present while General MacArthur makes his report
on the Philippine Islands. Most interesting. The

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 43
President invites General MacArthur and myself to
stop to dinner. Spent a delightful evening, long to
be remembered. Charmed by the President, who is a
most lovable man. Impressed with General MacAr-
thur's report. He has been with the Army at Manila
for three years. Had a better opinion of the Filipino
than I expected, and says General Funston's capture
of Aguinaldo was a brave act and required great
courage." Less than a week later, after busy days in New
York and Boston, and a meeting of the Essex Club,
at which he delivered a prepared address, Meyer, at
Hamilton, wrote in his diary, September 6: "At six
o'clock I hear that the President has been shot
at in Buffalo at the Pan-American Exposition —
a dastardly deed. May God spare his life! " On the
following day he wrote: " The attempted assassination
of the President may not turn out to be fatal; the
people incensed and enraged " ; and for the few re
maining days of his stay in America he noted with
hope the favourable items of news from the bedside
of the doomed McKinley. On the very day of his
sailing from New York for England, September 11,
the diary reports: "President continues to improve.
We shall probably get remedial legislation as regards
anarchists. " Then follow brief notes of the unevent
ful passage, with this at the end of it : —
"September 18. — At 5 a.m. the SS. Majestic
reaches Queenstown. The purser comes into my state
room to wake me and announce that the President was
dead! I am terribly shocked and overcome by the

44 GEORGE von L. MEYER

[1901

announcement. The week before he was shot I spent
the day and evening with him at his home in Canton.
I was charmed by the President, a most lovable and
high-minded man, with a wonderful grace of manner.
It seems very strange now that I should have called
his attention that day to the meeting of the anarchists
on July 29 in Paterson, N. J., to celebrate the assas
sination of King Humbert, and one speaker went so
far as to wish there was a Bresci in every country —
a dangerous sentiment to be allowed to be expressed
publicly. "Arrived at Liverpool at 5 p.m., just as the
Germanic was sailing for New York. The paper was
fuU of the death of President McKinley, much Eng
lish sympathy expressed in a touching manner."
That night Meyer noted with happiness the finding
of all his family well in London, and wrote the next
day: —
"September 19. — Alice and I attend the Memo
rial Service at Westminster Abbey for President Mc
Kinley, a most impressive service. The various Am
bassadors and Ministers of the different countries were
present, — Lord Pembroke who represented the King,
now in Denmark, the American Ambassador, Mr.
Choate, Lord Rosebery, Sir William Harcourt, Lord
Mount Stephen, Lord Revelstoke, Lord Cranborne,
Lord Chief Justice of England, the various Bishops,
Charles Francis Adams, Lord and Lady Pauncefote,
Henry L. Higginson, and others. In the evening we
dined quietly with Mr. and Mrs. Choate at their
house. No. 1, Carlton House Terrace."

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 45
The journey back to Rome was broken by a stay
in Paris, where Meyer called upon King Leopold of
Belgium, — "a fine-looking old gentleman who goes
about in a most democratic way," — a shooting visit
to Scotland, — which called forth the suggestive com
ment, " the men know how to live and enjoy life, but
the women are not in it," — and stops on the way
"home" at Turin and Florence. The first note in
Rome, October 22, is one of pleasure : " Glad to have
the sunshine again. Find one grows very attached to
the place." By degrees, as October drew to an end,
the diplomatic and other Roman circles reassembled,
and the engrossing life of the capital was taken up
anew. On November 23 an audience with the King,
" gracious and in good spirits, and grown stout," is
recorded, though without details of the forty-five min
utes' talk. There are notes on the dissatisfaction of
the Itahan Government with the too frequent lynch-
ings of Italians in the Southern states, and the diffi
culties of comprehending the distinction between our
state and federal jurisdiction; also the first of many
references to Meyer's interest in the American Acad
emy at Rome, here shown in his notifying the State
Department that he will act as trustee ew officio for it.
A few longer entries round out the first year in Italy.
"December 7. — At 1 o'clock to-day we arrive at
the Palace of the Quirinal (AUce and myself) to
have our audience with Queen Elena, she having tele
phoned at 11 that she had a sore throat and de
sired Alice not to come decollete. The Queen was

46 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
dressed in a lavender velvet dress trimmed with fur,
similar to Alice's, which was black velvet trimmed with
fur, and each had on a pearl necklace. The Queen
is handsome, tall and good figure. She asked Alice
where she came from. I think the Queen thought I
had married a German, as Alice is so blond. Queen
Elena said she was devoted to automobiling and en
joyed long journeys, can even take a nap. The King
and Queen are hving in the Villa of the Palace. Audi
ence lasted 25 minutes.
"December 19. — Dined this evenmg with Prince
and Princess Doria in the Doria Palace. It was here
that he entertained the German Kaiser in 1893. The
Kaiser in leaving said, ' I hope you will come to Ber
lin, but I shall be unable to entertain you so hand
somely.' Prince Doria's palace is fuU of beautiful
paintings and engravings and tapestries.
" December 30. — Go to the hunt for an hour only,
as Steed ^ was giving me a lunch so as to meet Baron
Sidney Sonnino, a very interesting man, one of the
few public men pointed to in Italy as honest, straight
forward. The other guests were Baron Tucher, Bagot,
Norton, Professor Boni, Count Juliano. In the eve
ning at 9.30, Alice and I left Palazzo Brancaccio to
attend the Court reception given by the King and
Queen of Italy to the Diplomatic Corps. Our Secre
taries followed in another carriage. On arriving at
the Quirinal Palace the Life Guards of the King
were drawn up in front of the entrance inside the
iH. Wickham Steed, correspondent of the London Times, now its
editor.

1901] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 47
door, all over 6 feet and in red uniform. We as
sembled, after passing through several outer cham
bers, in a large salon about 80 feet long and 50 feet
high, when the different Ambassadors and legations
arranged themselves according to length of service at
Rome — the Austrian Ambassador being the dean of
the Ambassadors. The King and Queen came in at
10 minutes after ten o'clock, followed by eight ladies-
in-waiting and two gentlemen-in-waiting. Marquis
Calabrini and  , who moved her train for her as
she stopped and talked with each Ambassador and
Ambassadress. The King commenced with the Aus
trian and the Queen with the Russian Ambassador,
and then worked around the room talking to each in
turn. The Queen looked very handsome in a yellow
dress. . . .
" It was quite an impressive sight. . . . At 11.40
they left the room as we all bowed, the ladies curtsey
ing. Alice had a great many compliments on having
the most beautiful dress and figure at the Court on this
occasion. Lady Currie said that Count von WedeP
and the American Ambassadress were the most striking
people, with the finest uniform and Court dress, at
the reception. As I heard it from many sources the
next day, it made me very proud of my wife, the
American Ambassadress."
Early in the new year the official Ricevimento, to
which reference has already been made, was held at the
Palazzo Brancaccio. The following passage touches
upon it, and an audience early in the day: —
1 German Ambassador at Rome.

48 GEORGE VON L. MEYER

[1902

"January 4, 1902. — Audience with the Queen
Mother [Margherita] at two o'clock. I went in first;
two minutes afterwards Alice was escorted in. The
Queen lives in the Palace now known as Margherita's
Palace, formerly Piombino, and occupied by Mac-
Veagh and Draper^ when they were Ambassadors.
" The Queen was very attractive and charming,
and seemed interested and posted in everything that
was going on. Her son, the King, evidently gets
many qualities from her and looks like her. We had
a most agreeable talk of half an hour. The Ministers
of Roumania and Chili were waiting for an inter
view. . . .
"We gave an official reception in the evening.
The two masters of ceremonies sent from the Court
were the Duca la Rosa and Count Bruschi, who pre
sented all the guests as they entered the room to
Alice and myself. We received from 10 to 11.30,
Count Bruschi standing by Alice and Santa Rosa by
me. After that every one entered the ball-room,
where supper was served. It was very brilliant as the
Ambassadors and Ministers and their suites all came
in uniform, also the officers and the Italians with all
the decorations that they ever owned.
" The Palace and the plan of the rooms with the
ball-room lends itself to a grand reception, and every
one was most complimentary and said it was excep
tionally brilliant.
" January 19. — Dine at the Court. Dinner given
1 Wayne MacVeagh of Pennsylvania, and William F. Draper of Massa
chusetts, Meyer's immediate predecessors.

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 49
by the King and Queen at the Quirinal to the Chiefs
of Mission only.
" We all assembled in the reception-room outside
of the dining-room, or banquet hall. As the King and
Queen entered, the men all bowed solemnly and the
ladies curtsied. After a few minutes' conversation,
the King gave his arm to Baroness Pasetti, the Aus
trian Ambassadress,^ and Baron Pasetti, escorted the
Queen to the table. Baron P. told me that in Austria
royalty never takes the arm of any one but royalty.
" Alice was taken in by Count von Wedel, the
German Ambassador, and again every one said that
they made the most regal-looking couple in the room,
the German in his full uniform and Alice in black
velvet, decollete, with her turquoise necklace across the
front of her dress and all her pearls and diamonds
about her neck.
" The Queen looked very lovely and has sweet and
simple manners. . . . Alice sat within one of the
Queen, as Lady Currie and Mme. de Nelidow^ were
ill. . . . Music played throughout dinner, and a
large toothpick was at every plate, for use !
" After dinner the King and Queen spoke to each
one of us separately; the men were obliged to stand."
The surviving Puritan in George Meyer found
expression not much later in a Sunday note in the
journal: "Played hearts in the evening: first time I
have ever played cards with a clergyman on Sunday."
1 Doyenne of the Diplomatic Corps, who had shown many kindnesses
to Mrs. Meyer on her arrival at Rome.
2 The Russian Ambassadress.

50 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^^^
That the humours of the hunt were not lost upon
him the following entry bears witness: —
"February 10. — Gave Lord Charles Beresford a
mount on Good Luck. He had new spurs, and un
consciously he pricked him, and the horse got away with
him. I thought I should fall off, laughing. It re
minded me of the description of the Captain on horse
back in ' Peregrine Pickle.'
" We had a good run and killed the fox. French
Ambassador ran into an Itahan officer, knocked him
down, and then fell off himself."
The throne and those nearest to it are seen, offi
cially and unofficially, in the two ensuing entries: —
"February ^0. -^The King opens Parhament; sits
on the throne, with the Due d'Aosta^ standing on his
right and Count of Turin on his left; on each side
also stood Due des Abruzzes and Due de Genes. The
Queen was in a box on the first gallery with her ladies-
in-waiting, opposite to the King. When the King
bowed to her, she made a low curtsey.
" The Ambassadors and Chiefs of Mission, with
their wives, were in large box adjoining the Queen.
The King read the speech, which lasted 10 to 15 min
utes. The procession was very fine, the King and
Queen in separate State carriages; the street was lined
with troops.
"February 21. — Hunt at Cecchignola.
" The Count of Turin and Duchess d' Aosta ^ at-
iThe King's cousin, then heir apparent; the Count of Turin and
Duke of the Abruzzi are the Duke of Aosta's younger brothers; the Duke
of Genoa, another cousin.
2 The Princess Elena of Orleans, daughter of the Comte de Paris.

O

O
55

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 51
tended. Was presented to the Count of Turin by
the M. F. H., Marquis Raccogiovini; to H. R. H.
Duchess d' Aosta by the French Ambassador. I found
her most gracious and agreeable, as well as attractive,
and later rode and talked quite a while with her.
" We had a good run with the hounds, but did not
kill. Julia and Alice, my daughters, went out with me
and enjoyed it, as did the Reverend Roland Cotton
Smith, to whom I gave a mount.
" Went out and came back in the automobile."
Through March and April of 1902 many cables
and letters passed between Meyer and his political
friends in Massachusetts regarding the possibility of
his coming home to contest the seat in Congress made
vacant by the appointment of William H. Moody as
Secretary of the Navy. Had he finally yielded to the
strong solicitations of those who believed that the con
test would prove successful, there might well have
been quite a different story to tell in the remaining
pages of this book. It is not often, however, that the
" ifs " and the " might have beens " suggest so clearly
that the decision arrived at was wise. In the work
of a Congressman it is hardly conceivable that Meyer
could have acquired so valuable a training for the
posts he was ultimately to occupy as that which his
European experience afforded. His remaining in
Rome at this time was fully to justify itself, as a
previous reference to the subject has intimated, on
the score of sound judgment.
A test of Meyer's ability to handle a delicate sit-

52 GEORGE VON L. MEYER tiws
nation — though of a somewhat sordid nature — oc
curred at about this time. Near the end of April
Italian and American newspapers had much to say
about the comphcations that followed the arrest of
four officers of the U.S.S. Chicago at Venice, as the
result of an overturned table after too liberal a dinner
at the Cafe Piazza, with property damages and
physical conflict with the civil authorities and imprison
ment ensuing in due course. The Consul-General at
Venice did not notify the Ambassador for two days
after the affair, when the conduct of it had passed
beyond the jurisdiction of the Foreign Office into that
of the Ministry of Justice. Through prompt and
energetic dealings with Washington by cable and with
the Italian authorities in person, Meyer managed to
secure a special pardon, and liberation of the offenders,
from the King himself, and the transfer of the pun
ishment they deserved from the court at Venice to
their superior officers on the Chicago. Though ob
viously not an affair of great moment, it was one of
those from which international ill-feeling and resent
ment are capable of growing, and its tactful, effective
handling by the American Ambassador was an earnest
of his capacity to deal with larger issues as they should
arise. At the conclusion of the matter he wrote in
his diary: —
"May 5. — Had my audience with the King of
Italy at 1 o'clock; found him quite recovered from his
accident to knee and in good spirits and very cordial
— gracious is the expression with royalty. Conveyed
to him the grateful appreciation of the President for

190S] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 53
his prompt and gracious action in freeing the officers
of the Chicago from prison.
" The King and Queen leave for Turin at 7.30."
The occasion of the King's departure for Turin
was the unveiling, on May 7, of a statue of Prince
Amadeo, the King's uncle, father of the Duke of
Aosta and Count of Turin. Meyer, with his wife and
other members of his family, went also to Turin, the
only ambassador at the Italian court — if a newspaper
account of the day is to be credited — who attended
the ceremony. A tournament, as of earlier days, gave
its flavour to the occasion, which was immediately fol
lowed by the opening of an International Exposition
of Modern Decorative Art, with an American section.
A few notes from the diary suggest something of an
ambassador's part in it all: —
" May 7. — Reach Turin at 4.30 a.m. — just day
light. Retire to my room at Hotel Europe, but get
up again at 8 a.m. Call AKce and Helo at 9 a.m. It
was a beautiful day, and soon after we arrived the
Duke and Duchess d' Aosta drove into the enclosure
in state, men in scarlet hvery; next the Princess
Letitia,^ the Duchess of Genoa, and the Duke ; ^ last
of all, the King and Queen and their ladies-in-
waiting, also Life Guards mounted and brought from
Rome. "After the unveiling of the statue the King in-
1 The second wife of Prince Amadfio of Savoy, a sister of Prince
Napoleon. 2 Prince Thomas, Duke of Genoa, and his wife. Princess Isabella of
Bavaria.

54 GEORGE VON L. MEYER [^»<'«
vited me to come up on the royal platform, where I
was received by the King and Queen and invited to
sign the deed with the royal family conveying the
statue to the city.
"In the evening came the tournament in which
the Duke of Aosta, Count of Turin took part, and a
number of noblemen all on horseback, representing the
Duke of Savoy (Amadeo), about 200 years back. All
the royal family present; very brilhant and well done.
" May 9. — At 7 A.M. Alice and I had an audience
with the Duchess d'Aosta. We were there for about
half an hour. She was most agreeable and talkative.
She hoped we were not going to leave Italy, and men
tioned seeing me at the monument, but it was impos
sible to bow from the stage in the presence of so much
royalty. Their palace very attractive; reception-
room on the ground floor with fine tapestries.
" May 10. — Splendid view of the King and Queen
and the royal family as they leave the palace for the
Exposition, with the troops drawn up on both sides
of the street and the buglers playing in a most spirited
way. " When the King and Queen with the royal party
arrived at the American Quarter of the Exposition, I
received them and escorted them over the apartment.
They remarked especially the pictures of the Waldorf,
and also the Exposition of the Gorham Company.
" Attend the dinner given by the Sindaco of Turin.
The Duke of Aosta presided, next to him Count of
Turin, then Duke of Genoa, G. v. L. M., and on my
other side Bianchini, President of the Chamber of

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 55
Deputies; beyond him ZanardeUi, the Premier; Duke
of the Abruzzi was also present. In all 250 guests.
The Duke of Aosta spoke very well and easily."
Other days of ceremonial were soon to follow in
Rome, when the Shah of Persia visited the Italian
King. The diary relates some of the circumstances
and impressions of this visit.
"May 21. — We all go to Countess Gianotti, to
see the King and Shah of Persia on their way to the
Quirinal Palace from the station, escorted by the Life
Guards all mounted on horses seventeen hands high,
the guards themselves over six feet. The street Hned
with soldiers, music playing, crowds shouting.
" May 22. — Get up at 7 a.m. and leave in the
auto to see the parade in honour of the Shah.
"The King, Count of Turin and the Staff, also
military attaches aU on horseback.
" The Queen comes in a carriage with Shah of
Persia. It was a very brilliant parade, the Bersaglieri
being a special feature, who went by the King double-
quick step, the bugles playing as they advanced and
running at the same time. There were also the de
tached balloons with the gun carriages.
"May 23. — Garden party in the palace of the
King — at the Quirinal — given in honour of the
Shah. " The King and Queen and the royal party ad
journed to the pavilion. At first the Ambassadresses
were invited to join them. The King stood beside
AKce a long time and walked with her. She attempted

56 GEORGE VON L. MEYER twos
to stand but [was] told that if she stood he would
leave! The Ambassadors were then invited to come
into the pavilion.
"Barrere' and I talked with the King, and he
told us of the Shah's fear of the cannons, and that
they had to stop them.
" The royal party adjourned into the adjoining
room with the Ambassadresses and had tea. The
Garden is very beautiful and was laid out by Maderna.
"May 24. — ^Attend the dinner at the King's
Palace given in honour of the Shah to the Chiefs of
Mission in the Diplomatic Corps. The only ladies
present were the Queen and her two ladies-in-waiting.
Countess Trigona and Duchess Grazioli Lante.
" The Queen entered the salon on the arm of the
Shah of Persia, the King and the Count of Turin
each following with a lady-in-waiting. After they had
greeted the Ambassadors, we all went into dinner. I
sat in the third seat to the left of the King, between
the French Ambassador, Barrere, and Minister of
Foreign Affairs Prinetti. The dinner lasted less than
an hour. I can usually eat very fast, but my plate
was taken away at each course before I had
finished. "After dinner the King came forward and spoke
to me before the other Ambassadors and talked very
agreeably for some time; told me about the Shah de
clining at the last moment to go and pay his respects
to the Pope, for the reason that Cardinal RampoUa^
1 Camille Barrere, the French Ambassador.
2 Papal Secretary of State.

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 57
would not return the visit until it could be done at a
hotel, declining to enter the house of a Minister Pleni
potentiary accredited to the Quirinal.
" After the King left me, his cousin the Count of
Turin, came forward and talked, but he had to leave
shortly on account of the Shah of Persia coming for
ward to address me.
" The Queen sat on the sofa and had each Ambas
sador and Minister brought up separately, with whom
she talked a few minutes. She addressed me in Ger
man and was most charming and affable, sending
greeting to my wife and also a message to the girls,
saying it always gave her pleasure to see them in
Rome. " May 25. — The Shah of Persia leaves Rome this
morning, much to the relief of the King and Queen.
The Shah could speak no language except his own,
and is in reality a brute, and, the King tells me, a
coward as well."
In Naples a few days later Mr. Meyer paid
official visits to American vessels of war, then at that
port, took note of officers on the Chicago involved in
the unfortunate affair at Venice a month before, and
met Bishop Brent and Governor Taft, returning from
the Philippines, the Governor on his way to Rome to
treat with the Vatican regarding the friars and the
disposal of their property in the Islands. " A most
companionable man," was Meyer's description of him
when they met at lunch in Rome on June 7, — the
day of the Ambassador's summer departure for Hom-

58 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
burg and the United States, — and discussed the
ambitions of other Americans for ambassadorial ap
pointments. The King and Queen Mother, with whom he had
farewell audiences on the day before, each expressed
the hope that he would surely return, for there were
rumours that a change was impending in the American
Embassy at Rome. Rumours of this kind, with little
or no foundation, were of somewhat frequent recur
rence, and such a visitor as Governor Taft could often
throw light upon their origin.
The journey to Homburg was broken by a pleas
ant stop at Turin, where the races of a Concours
Hippique were in progress, and the Count of Turin
and Duke of Aosta welcomed the travellers with much
hospitality. After a fortnight of application to the
" cure " at Homburg, the yacht races at Kiel afforded
Mr. Meyer the first of a number of opportunities that
were to fall to him within the coming five years to
meet and talk with the Kaiser. All these interviews*
are recorded, with some detail, in his European
journals. On June 28, 1902, he noted his arrival at
Kiel, where he was met at the station by Captain
W. H. Beehler, United States Naval Attache for
Rome and other capitals, and was put up at the
Kaiserhchen Yacht Club. The diary for the ensuing
days is as follows: —
" June 29. — At 11 o'clock go out in Mrs. Klem-
perer's steam launch to see the Meteor * race. At the
start we passed the Empress in her launch, to whom
iThe Kaiser's American-built yacht.

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 59
we all rose and bowed, the Empress returning the
salute. " Later in the day, one of the Committee came on
our boat and used it to notify the first two boats that'
the course was changed; then we notified the Kaiser,
but he declined to accept the change. The two first
boats had already turned the stake-boat, and this left
the Committee man in a humiliating situation, as he
had to go back and teU the other two boats to con
tinue the old course, which they did under protest.
" The wind died out and the boats did not get
back until 2 a.m.
" Mr. Armour of the Utowana and Mr. Robinson
of the Wanderer called.
" Ju/ne 30. — Called on Mr. Robinson on the
Wanderer. Marion Story and his wife, also Miss
Gray, on board. Left a card on the Utowana.
"At 7 o'clock went to the Yacht Club, where the
Kaiser distributed the prizes to the officers. Was
presented to the Kaiser by the Chancellor von Biilow.
The Kaiser is not as tall as I expected to find him,
but he impressed me as a very strenuous man, with
the faculty of giving you his entire attention while
he is speaking to you. After the prizes were given
out, the Kaiser again spoke to me before going to
dinner. " At dinner I sat beside Admiral Eisendecker, who
went to America with Prince Henry. After dinner
we adjourned to the garden, where cigars, beer, and
coffee were served. While we were standing around
Prince Henry arrived, having come from England

60 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
direct to Kiel in his man-of-war. I was impressed
with the incident of Prince Henry's arrival, for at
that moment the Kaiser was talking with Vice-Com
modore Robinson of the New York Yacht Club. The
Kaiser went on talking, and Prince Henry stood with
out speaking, and waiting for his brother to recognize
him before saluting. Then the Kaiser and his brother
stood for some time talking. Afterwards the Kaiser
came over and joined Chancellor von Biilow and
myself. We had been smoking and talking together
for some time. I had a most interesting talk with His
Majesty for nearly half an hour about the Marconi
System and the gifts he is sending to Harvard.
" Later in the evening was presented to Prince
Henry and was invited to sit down while we smoked
and talked. I note he drank whisky and soda; all
the other Germans took beer.
"July 1. — Alice and I went on board the steam
yacht Wanderer belonging to Vice-Commodore Rob
inson, in order to follow the race to Eckernforde.
" The Kaiser on the Meteor got in 20 minutes
ahead of all the other yachts, but the time allowance
that he has to give is so great that he only got thdl
third prize.
" In the evening we went ashore to a little hall
which corresponds to a village town hall. While we
were waiting outside, Alice and myself, the Kaiser
came along and shook hands with me, recognizing me
in the crowd. Inside were the yachtsmen, the dif
ferent members of the Cabinet, von Biilow, and the
admirals. The Kaiser invited me to sit beside him

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 61
on right; on the other side was Grand Duke of S axe-
Weimar, and the Prince of Monaco. Later in the
evening Grand Duke Michel of Russia arrived unex
pectedly and I gave my place up to him. The Grand
Duke Michel is at present heir to the throne.
" Prince Henry had an extraordinary experience
that evening. The Kaiser sent him to receive the
Grand Duke, [who] was on his man-of-war which had
just come from London. Prince H. could find no
launch, and therefore took a row-boat with four fisher
men in it to go out to the Russian man-of-war. When
he got there in this peculiar conveyance, the man-of-
warsmen would pay no attention to him, not even
allowing him to come on board. He then got quite
excited and said that he was an admiral of the Ger
man navy and they must recognize him, which was
reluctantly done, probably with fear.
" The Kaiser greeted the Grand Duke Michel
when he arrived and, speaking in English, said that
it must have been a peculiar experience for the Grand
Duke to find himself in such a place and under such
conditions !
" July 2. — The Kaiser took on the Meteor the
four owners of yachts, Robinson, Armour, Griscom,
and Widener.
" The Kaiser's boat, the Meteor, again came in
first, but on time allowance the first prize went to the
Empress's yacht, the Vicuna, the Meteor receiving
second prize. We got back to Kiel at 12.
"At 1.30 we lunched on board the Nahma, Mrs.
Goelet's boat. It is the finest yacht that I have ever

62 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^02
seen — hke a beautiful chateau inside, and surpasses
the HohenzoUern, belonging to the Kaiser.
"July 3. — In the morning Alice and I took a
walk and found that the Corsair with J. Pierpont
Morgan, had arrived. Alice and I went out and
called. On board were Dr. and Mrs. Marcoe, Mrs.
Douglas, Mr. Lanier, Robert Bacon, and Miss
Morgan. " Mr. Morgan lunched on the HohenzoUern. In
the afternoon the Kaiser, von Biilow, etc., called on
the Corsair.
" In the afternoon we went through the Kiel
Canal. It was commenced in 1889 and finished in
1895. " July 4. — The Morgan-Griscom- Widener party
aU leave for Homburg. There is a big deal on includ
ing some traffic agreement of German SS. lines in
the Atlantic Ocean Trust which is being formed.
" We leave for Paris at 11.25.
"Reach Cologne at 10 o'clock; have time to walk
around the Cathedral, which is now entirely finished.
I had not seen it since 1878, when I was travel-
hng alone between my junior and senior year at
Harvard." After a short stay in Paris Mr. Meyer sailed for
America, where he passed nearly two months, un
marked by signal events. Ten days in hospital for
an operation — the prospect of which had helped him
to decide against running for Congress — consumed
a portion of the vacation. On one of its days of free
dom, July 25, he lunched with President Roosevelt

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 63
at Oyster Bay, and made record of the meeting.
" The President most cordial. Talk over his affairs
and the situation as to his renomination; go over the
question very thoroughly." Here is a point on which
more of detail would be welcome.
It was enough to say of another matter which
may have an antiquarian interest some day: "August
4. — Talked with Charley McKim about the 'White
House ' which he is doing over in Washington, and
arranged to have the eagles in the large room of the
Somerset Club copied for him."
On September 13 Meyer sailed again for Europe,
and after stopping in Scotland for a few days of shoot
ing, rejoined his family in Paris on October 1. Visits
to Turin, Milan, and Florence, the more agreeable by
reason of much friendly intercourse with the Duke of
Aosta and the Count of Turin, broke the return to
Rome, where he arrived before the end of October.
A few passages from the diary for the remainder of
the year will suffice to record it.
"November 19. — Audience with the King this
morning at 10 a.m. As I entered the room, the King
announced that the Queen had given birth to another
princess ^ at 1.30 a.m. This was the first that I had
heard of it, the news not having been sent to the press
in time for the morning editions.
" The King was very cordial and expressed grati
fication that I was not giving up my post. We dis
cussed the ' Statuto,' also the disappearance of the
premium on gold, and the Italian colonization in
1 Princess Maf alda.

64 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^''"^
Argentina, which he said he hoped would practically
become eventually an Italian republic.
" November 22. — Leave Rome for Ardea in the
auto; take Waldo Story, Professor Norton, and Lieu
tenant Peruzzi di Medici. From Porta S. Paolo we
went to Ardea in 47 minutes, the distance being 43
kilometres. "We arrived at Story's shooting-box on the
Mediterranean at 1 o'clock, just one hour from the
palace. Kill 35 snipe and 4 teal duck. The duck-
shooting was a novelty. You wait until after dark
in a bhnd, and then, when the ducks fly over your
head, you can see them against the sky and shoot.
The difficulty is to find them after they fall in the
marsh. "November 23. — We have a fox-hunt after rid
ing on little ponies for about 10 kilometres along the
coast, the waves of the Mediterranean breaking on the
beach and the quaint fishing-boats dodging on the sur
face of the ocean in the distance. Occasionally we
pass fishermen up to their waists in water, dragging
hand nets.
" We get three foxes, and late in the afternoon
after the sun has set, I shoot a couple of mal
lard. " December 10. — Preside at Sir R. Rodd's,^ at
meeting of Anglo-American Home. Stormy meeting,
many points of order raised; my experience as
Speaker of the House most useful on this occasion.
1 Sir Eennell Eodd, then Secretary of the British Embassy, now
British Ambassador, at Rome.

1902] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 65
Meeting lasted three hours ; congratulated by both fac
tions for the fairness of my rulings.
"December 15. — Attended the Chamber of Depu
ties at 5 o'clock to hear Minister of Foreign Affairs
Prinetti speak on the Venezuela Affair. Italy will
send two men-of-war to act in the blockade with Eng
land and Germany.
" The Chamber is carried on with very little for
mality and attention to parliamentary rules. Some
of the members labour and take violent exercise in
gesticulations when they speak. They are very voluble
and speak with ease and rapidity, but not always to
the point.
" December 16, — Minister of Foreign Affairs
notifies me of their appreciation of the prospect of
settling Venezuelan difficulties by arbitration of Presi
dent Roosevelt. If, however, the President is unwill
ing to act so far as Italy is concerned, no objection
to submit claims to permanent court at The Hague,
provided her claims receive the same treatment as the
claims of other countries.
" December 24. — Send cable of 72 words to Sec-
¦etary Hay on Italy and the Venezuela matter. Italy
^ds joined with England and Germany in blockading
with their naval forces the Venezuelan ports for not
having satisfied their complaints."
Several passages in the diary for the opening weeks
of the new year have to do with Castro and Venezuela
and the satisfactory results of Meyer's dealings with
the Italian Foreign Office on behalf of the State De-

66 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
partment at Washington. Later possibilities of in
ternational cooperation are suggested in the final
entry : —
" February 8, 1903. — Cable Washington that Italy
does not object to having claims settled through
Mr. Bowen^ at Washington, or, faihng that, refer
ring controversy to the permanent court at The
Hague, on condition that the claim of Italy receives
the same treatment as analogous claims of other
Powers." The minor troubles of an ambassador are suggested
by the first of the following notes upon passing ex
periences. " February 10. — We give in Palazzo Brancaccio a
large dinner for the Austrian and German Ambas
sadors and Bavarian Minister.
" In answer to a letter that I received from John
Hay as to whether there was any truth in the rumour
that any American citizen not received at the Quirinal
was undesirable or would not be welcome at the public
reception of the American Embassy, I was very glad
to have an opportunity to deny it and to say that the
question as to whether an American is received at the
Quirinal or not is not considered or even thought of,
except at the Ricevimento, when the Court supervises
your list and erases all names of Italians who have not
been presented at Court, sending two Masters of Cere
monies to introduce the guests.
" February 14. — ' Midsummer Night's Dream '
given in the ball-room by a number of children under
¦* Herbert W. Bowen, American Minister to Venezuela.

1903] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 67
Sir Rennell and Lady Rodd, at 4.45. ' Bey ' ' takes
the part of Bottom.
" H.M. the Queen of Italy arrived at 4.45 by the
Garden. I went down the steps, followed by Mr.
Iddings, the first Secretary of the Embassy. After
saluting the Queen, I offered my arm, Mr. Iddings
and the Countess di Trinita following. Alice received
the Queen in the salon, and after a few words I
escorted her into the ball-room to her seat.
" After the performance was over, I again escorted
the Queen to the salon, where she received my girls
and Mrs. Iddings, and I presented Mr. Leonard M.
Thomas, the new second Secretary.
" The carriage being announced, I escorted H.M.
to her carriage and she drove off through the Garden
with the Countess di Trinita and Count di Trinita.
The Palace and Garden were surrounded by gen
darmes and detectives.
" April 19. — General Wood came and dined with
us, and we had a long talk after dinner about Roose
velt's prospects of being nominated and elected; also
what men he could trust in Washington.
" Wood told me that the White House was a great
success in the work done by Charley McKim in the
restoration. " April 27. — The King of England arrived to-day.
We took a room on Via Nazionale, with a balcony
which held six people. Great preparations had been
made to decorate this street from the station to the
Quirinal Palace. In driving to join Alice and the
1 Mr. Meyer's son.

68 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^"^
children, I met the King and the House of Savoy
going to the station to receive the King. H.R.H. the
Count of Turin recognized me and saluted. The
street was lined with troops on both sides. The two
Kings drove in a carriage by themselves, the King of
England sitting on the right, the mounted Life
Guards preceding them. In the next carriage was the
Duke of Aosta, the Comte de Turin, Due d' Abruzzi,
and the Duke of Genoa. They all recognized AUce
and myself and saluted.
" The street was crowded and the decorations very
effective, especially in Piazza di Termini; but there
was very little enthusiasm. Surprised to see the King
of England so fit and well.
" The Duke of Aosta came round and took a cup
of tea with us at 5 o'clock.
" April 28. — Gala performance of the Opera at
the Argentina, in honour of King Albert Edward VII
of England. The five Ambassadresses and seven Am
bassadors sit in a large box next to the royal box. In
royal box, King V. E. Ill of Italy, King Edward VII
of England, Queen of Italy, Duke of Aosta, Count of
Turin, Duke of Abruzzi, Duke of Genoa, and several
ladies-in-waiting, Princess Teano, Duchess of Ter-
ranova, Coqntess Guicciardini, and Countess Bruschi,
In the other boxes, of which there are five tiers, were
the Diplomatic Corps, ladies of the Court, and the
nobihty of Rome. Among the most striking and beau
tiful were Princess Trabia, Countess Martini {nee
Ruspoli), Marquise de Bagno, Duchess of Suther
land, Miss Blight. Many people said Mrs. Cornelius

FROM BALCONY' OF PALAZZO BRANCACCIO, SANTA
MARIA MAGGIORE IN THE DISTANCE

1903] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 69
Vanderbilt had the most beautiful jewels and that the
American Ambassadress (Alice) was the most styhsh!
The Opera was not especially good, but the ballet
excellent; it had been imported from Milan and
the costumes, Japanese, new and fresh. The tout
ensemble of the house was very fine and brilliant.
The performance ended at midriight and the confu
sion in getting carriages afterward was disgraceful.
Ladies were obliged to walk into the streets in their
low-neck dresses and slippers and find their carriages
with their escorts.
" May 2. — The Kaiser of Germany, the German
Crown Prince, and his brother arrive in Rome, the
train over one hour late.
" Fortunately the rain held as they drove to the
Palace from the station. In the first carriage the
Kaiser and the King of Italy; second carriage, the
Crown Prince, the Duke of Aosta, and Due d' Abruzzi ;
third carriage, brother of Crown Prince, Count of
Turin and the Duke of Genoa; fourth carriage. Count
von Biilow, Chancellor of Germany, Zanardelli,^ and
Admiral Morin,^ after that the suite of the Emperor
in gorgeous uniforms. All the state carriages were
used and the servants and outriders in red livery. It
was a very fine sight.
" The French and Spanish Ambassadors and
myself viewed the procession from a stand erected in
front of the American Church with the three flags of
our country draped over our heads. Alice, Helo, and
1 Premier of the Italian Cabinet.
2 Minister of Foreign Affairs.

70 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^''^
the children were in a private balcony. The King of
Italy as well as the Kaiser saluted Alice as they
passed. "H.R.H. the Duke of Aosta came to tea in the
afternoon and brought us some photos of himself
jumping his horses.
"May 3. — Attended American Church. After
lunch went to Doria Palace to see the Kaiser leave
the Prussian Legation for the Pope at the Vatican.
We could see directly opposite, in the Odescalchi
Palace, the Kaiser and RampoUa talking together, also
the Crown Prince and his brother. The Kaiser drove
off in an elaborate carriage which he had sent from
Berlin, drawn by four horses with postihons and two
footmen behind, all in gorgeous liveries, and the
Kaiser himself in a splendid uniform followed by four
or five carriages containing his suite. Rome has been
much impressed by the style in which the Kaiser has
done things, and he has increased his popularity. The
King of England did things more simply and showed
his age and effects of his illness. The suite brought
by the Kaiser, all splendid, big men.
" May 4. — Audience with the Kaiser at 7.30. The
Chiefs of Mission assembled at the Quirinal Palace at
the appointed hour. It differed from the audience
with the King of England inasmuch as the Kaiser
gave a separate and private audience to each Ambas
sador. As Nelidow was ill, I was the fourth Ambas
sador received, Austria, Turkey, and France preced
ing me. When I entered the room after being pre
sented by the German Ambassador, Comte de Monts,

1903]

AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 71

the Kaiser shook hands and said, ' How do you do
again!' I had met him several times at Kiel. We
had a most deUghtful and cordial conversation, and
in leaving he said that he hoped to see us again at
Kiel. " After the audience, left the Quirinal with Barrere
and played bridge at the Farnese Palace until 11.30;
then went to reception given by the Countess Somaglia
for the Crown Prince of Germany and his brother.
Was presented to both by the hostess. They are
young and natural.
"May 5. — Kaiser goes to Monte Casino for the
day. Gives 10,000 marks.
" Reception to the Kaiser at the Capitol was inter
esting and impressive, with aU its historic surround
ings and wonderful collections of art. The Diplomatic
Corps and the ladies-in-waiting to the Queen with the
gentlemen-in- waiting stood in the Sala, with its won
derful mural decoration, to receive the Kaiser with the
King and Queen of Italy and their suites. They
marched in state to the adjoining room, where a few
ladies were presented to the Emperor of Germany;
first Mme. Nelidow, the Russian Ambassadress, and
then Ahce. The Kaiser told my wife that he hoped
we were coming to Kiel again this year. After that
Madame Rudini, the three sisters of Prince Doria,
Countess Gianotti, and Madame Ristori were pre
sented. The Emperor, with the Queen of Italy on
his arm, followed by the King with Princess Sonnino,
the wife of Prospero Colonna, syndic, made the grand
tour of the rooms.

72 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^''^
" May 6. —^ Kaiser leaves Rome at 5.50, We had
the same balcony on Via Nazionale, and the King of
Italy and the Kaiser of Germany both looked up and
saluted, and the Kaiser looked back a second time and
waved to me. The Duke of Aosta and the Count of
Turin also saluted."
From the account of several days in May spent in
visiting Milan, Florence, and Venice, the following
description of a picturesque spectacle may be taken : —
"May 15. — Reach Venice at 5.30 a.m. — lovely
morning. Our gondolas are waiting for us and take
us to the Grand Hotel — at 6 a.m. At 8.30 a.m. the
King and Queen pass in their gondola, escorted by
the old gondola beautifully painted, and with men in
ancient costumes, the same as those used by the Doges.
The King afterwards told me it was an ancient custom
to give the King this splendid escort — a really beau
tiful sight. The King and Queen recognized us from
the gondola, and bowed to our balcony. Met the King
and Queen at the Art Exhibition, and the Queen came
over and talked with Alice and the children while I
talked with the King. This was at 3 p.m. The syndic
sent me a box for the opera — gala performance. The
house is really a gem, and only lighted by candles,
most becoming. The royal box is very wide and
handsome. " May 19. — Since the departure of the special St.
Louis Commissioner, I have been working hard to get
the Italian Government to reconsider their adverse
action as to taking part in the St. Louis Exhibition.

1903] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 73
" To-day Admiral Morin, Minister of Foreign Af
fairs, informed me that at the meeting of the Cabinet
they had voted to take part and appropriate 500,000
lire. He also thought that they would assign a naval
vessel for the transportation.
" This was very satisfactory as Mr.  had given
up the job."
The remaining days of May and most of June
were filled with occupations so similar in general char
acter to those already described in passages taken from
the journals that no useful purpose will be served by
further detailed quotations from them. But before
following Meyer to the Kiel yacht races at the end
of June, when he sailed one day with the Kaiser on
the Meteor, and noted a conversation of no small sig
nificance, it is worth while to take a single passage
from the diary at Turin, on June 11, Many gaieties
attending the races, with all the special opportunities
for enjoying them which the cordial hospitality of the
Duke and Duchess of Aosta afforded, were in prog
ress. In the midst of it all this note of ill omen is struck :
" At the race course we hear that the King and Queen
of Servia and all the household have been murdered.
It seemed as though it must be the fourteenth instead
of the twentieth century." The arrangements for a
ball two days later were cancelled; otherwise the round
of pleasures went on, as if Europe were not already
smouldering before the destined conflagration. In the
Kaiser's talk at Kiel there is some intimation of it.

74 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^"*
The journals for the days in Kiel (June 25 - July 1)
record Meyer's first meeting with the German Em
press, — " very handsome, dignified and well dressed,
but appears older than the Kaiser," — the launching
of a German man-of-war, a race on the American
yacht Navahoe, a breakfast with the Emperor and
Empress on the Royal Yacht HohenzoUern, and the
following: —
"June 30. — Reach the Yacht Meteor at 7,09
A,M. The Emperor being behind me in his gig, I go
to the port side and get on deck just before the Em
peror comes alongside, sharp at 7.10 a.m. He shakes
hands and greets all in turn in a hearty spirit. Fine
morning, and everything promises for a splendid
race. On board Prince Henry, Admirals von Tirpitz
and Eisendecker, Mr. Armour, Professor  , and
A.D.C.'s. " As we start I go down into the saloon by invita
tion of Prince Henry while he eats his breakfast; how
ever, get on deck in time to see us go through the
American and German fleet. Admiral Cotton was on
the stern of the Kearsarge to hail the Emperor, and
the Emperor wished him a pleasant voyage and made
a joke as he passed. All the ships, both American
and German, cheered as we passed. As there were
four American and sixteen German vessels, it was
quite impressive.
" Made a good start, and began our race, manned
entirely by German officers and sailors,
" Both the Emperor and Prince Henry were in
great spirits, like two men off for a holiday. We told

1903] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 75
stories, and I found them most appreciative of a good
joke. "Durmg the morning the Emperor sat down
beside me, and we had a long and interesting chat
about various things and matters,
" He spoke of having been down to the Mediter
ranean while Queen Victoria (his Grandmother, he
called her) was reigning, and Salisbury was Premier,
He talked with the English Admiral, and asked what
he should do in case of war, and if the French fleet
should attack him. The Admiral replied, 'Run for
Gibraltar,' Kaiser said that was not his idea. He
said, 'You should make an alliance with Italy,' and
told the Admiral, ' if you hke, I will make a report
on the Mediterranean situation to my Grandmother,'
" This, he told me, he did at great detail and
trouble, and Salisbury practically paid no attention
to it. ' The English,' he said, ' move so slowly. They
should have had a complete scheme how to act, where
to have their base, in case of trouble. As it was, noth
ing was planned. Italy was the nation England should
have made a close alhance with.'
" The Emperor was very amusing about his visit
at the Quirinal and the entertainment at the Capitol."
Meyer's summer of 1903 in America was like the
others for which he had returned from Italy, in its
blending of politics, business, and society. On one of
its days, July 15, he wrote in his journal: " Sit up
until one o'clock, talking with Lodge, giving him the
result of my information obtained by my talking with

76 GEORGE VON L. MEYER I^^"^
the business men, which he is to impart to the Presi
dent next day." A few days later he visited Oyster
Bay himself, and was gratified by the President's ex
pressions of satisfaction with his work as Ambassador.
After rejoining his family in London at the end of
September, many pleasures in London, Paris, and
Turin intervened before reaching Rome less than a
month later. At Paris, on October 13, on the eve of
the arrival of the King and Queen of Italy for an
official visit to President Loubet, he wrote in his diary:
" Receive a telegram from Iddings that the Tsar has
given up his trip to Rome. Nelidow, Russian Am
bassador, suddenly advised his not coming, because
nervous and seems to have lost his head." This matter
formed the topic of some remarks from the King of
Italy a few weeks later, when Meyer and his family
were summoned from Pisa on November 5, to pass
the next day with the King and Queen at the Chateau
at San Rossore, hard by, where Meyer and the King
were to have a " chasse." The diary records an inter
esting day.
" November 6. — The girls are much excited over
our visit. All get up at seven in order to be at the
Chateau at nine prompt, as the King is always on
time. We reach San Rossore at 9 a.m,, but the King
and Queen are already standing outside the door with
their auto and their attendants. General Corsini, and
Calabrini, and Count Brambilla. After we salute and
shake hands Avith the King and Queen, the King gets
into the auto with me, the chauffeur and my daughter
Alice behind; Ahce and my daughter Julia in the auto

king YICTOR EMMANUEL III AND THE AMERICAN AMBASSA
DOR  SAN ROSSORE, NOVEMBER, 1903

1903] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 77
with the Queen. We fly around part of the park,
which is very extensive (20,000 acres) and then go to
the stables. The King, General Corsini, and myself
get on our horses, Alice drives with the Queen in a
two-wheel gig, and the girls in another by themselves.
We proceed to make an excursion through the woods,
which are quite dense and full of game. We drove
aU the way to the sea, seeing Leghorn in the distance,
and at one time Pisa.
" We had no sooner got on our horses than the
King remarked that my colleague (Nelidow, Russian
Ambassador) had made a mess of it in advising the
Tsar not to come to Rome (in consequence of which
Nelidow was no longer persona grata), and he had
asked to have him recalled, and that Prince Our-
oussow, now Ambassador at Paris, had been ap
pointed. The King really felt very strongly on the
matter, as the Italian pohce and the Russian police
had pronounced it safe. Nehdow lost his head and
asked the Government to give a guaranty, and even
went so far as to request that the King should give a
personal guaranty. The King rephed that he was not
the prefet of the police, but that he would place him
self between the Tsar and aU danger, Nelidow an
nounced that it was satisfactory, but a few days later
he went to the Consulta and told the Minister of For
eign Affairs that he had advised his ruler not to come,
as the guaranties were not sufficient. The King went
on to show the difference between Russian and Italian
methods, drawing attention to the fact that Italy was
practicaUy a free and constitutional country; said the

78 GEORGE VON L. MEYER tJsos
Tsar knew nothing about what was going on and did
not even open his own letters. ZanardeUi resigned
on account of iU health, not because of the Tsar's
action, " We aU lunched with the King and Queen, Alice
on his right and Marchesa Calabrini on his left. I
was on the right of the Queen and General Vaglia on
her left. The others at table were General Corsini,
General Brusati, on Alice's left Comte di Brambilla,
on my right my daughters Julia and AUce, Marquis
Calabrini, Count Tozzoni, and two other gentlemen-
in-waiting. " There were as many servants in scarlet livery as
there were guests, and I noticed between the courses
they all went out of the room, which made conversation
much easier than if a servant was standing behind
every chair. The conversation became quite general,
the Queen chaffing the King about getting up at 6.30,
singing and waking every one else up. It was carried
on chiefly in French. After lunch the Queen took
photographs of the different groups. The electric
auto was brought out, the King and Queen taking
turns in running and giving us a ride. Then General
Corsini showed the stallions, which I could see bored
the King and Queen. At 2.30 we went to the wood
and had a pheasant drive. My stand was next to the
King. It was very agreeable shooting. We were
only aUowed to kiU the male birds.
" After that we took the auto, going to the beach
to have afternoon tea; and the two princesses were
brought out, Yolande and Mafalda, very cunning and

1903]

AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 79

healthy. The King took me into his chalet to study
maps. It is very simply furnished, and they live in it
quite alone without any of the Court.
" At five o'clock we took our leave in the auto
mobile. The King and Queen wrote in Juha's auto
graph book."
International and personal affairs are touched upon
in the journal for the rest of 1903, from which a few
of the more interesting passages are the following: —
" November 24. — Call on Tittoni, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, who has just returned from London.
Talk with him about recognizing the new Republic of
Panama, which Italy is quite prepared to do, and
expressed themselves quite in sympathy with the Presi
dent's action and in no way opposed, realizing the
benefit the world's commerce would receive; merely
waiting to act in conjunction with England and
France. " November 30. — Go to the hunt and ride my
horse. Ruby. After 15 minutes the whip gives the
hallo, 'Tally-ho, hark-away!' and one of the best
runs that I have ever seen gives promise by every
indication. The fox makes a straight Hne towards
Albano, with the hounds well bunched and lining out;
Ludovico Lante put his horse at a staccionata of three
bars, and I followed him, which gave us a lead of the
field and we were soon up with the hounds, going
over hUl and dale, taking stone walls and staccionate
as they came. We had run for about half an hour
when we came to a very stiff post and rail (stac-

80 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^'"'^
cionata) which I put my horse Ruby at, as in two
years he had never touched a thing, when^ with a rap
on the top bars, we both turned a somersault, landing
on our heads, the horse falling across my chest and
stomach and pinning me to the ground. He tried to
roll over me, but although almost knocked out, I put
up the one knee that was free and he, feehng resist
ance, rolled the other way, getting up and leaving me
flat on my back on the wet ground. I was unable
to move for minutes, the wind having been knocked
out of me. Count Fraseo fortunately came up, put
my hat under my head and unbuttoned ray coat and
vest. After ten minutes I was able to get up, stiff
and thoroughly shaken by the fall. Captain Bodrero
came along with a groom on Monteondi's horse; the
groom dismounted, and with some difficulty I was able
to get on the horse and have him lead him to the meet,
where, after a glass of brandy, I got into my carriage
and went back to Palazzo Brancaccio and got to bed
so stiff that I could hardly move, thoroughly wet and
chilled, as it was a heavy rainstorm.
"Doctor Montichiari came round and examined
me; nothing broken, only stiff and bruised.
" December 13. — William Jennings Bryan, Dem
ocratic candidate for President against William Mc
Kinley, caUed this morning with his son and Mr.
Curtis, correspondent of the Associated Press. Bryan
looks well and has grown fat. He has an audience
with the Pope at 3 o'clock, and he is coming to lunch.
I told him that, had he let me know that he was com
ing, I could have arranged an audience for him with

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 81
the King; but as he is leaving to-night it would be im
possible. He said, ' Could not I caU on him (the
King) to-night?'"
Before the end of the year premonitory rumbhngs
of war between Russia and Japan began to be heard.
On December 26 Meyer found himself, with the
French and Austrian Ambassadors, dining at the
German Embassy, and wrote in his journal: "Sur
prised to find that their personal and private sym
pathy seemed to be with Japan if war should come
with Russia," Early in the new year, 1904, there are
constant references to the subject — as in the note of
January 18: " Cable Hay that the Russian Ambassa
dor had told the Minister of Foreign Affairs that he
did not consider the questions between Russia and
Japan matters of arbitration or mediation," The im
pending struggle could not be ignored even on a day
such as that of which the record follows.
" January 4, 1904. — Hunting with the King and
Queen. " Was at the Palazzo Reale at 8 o'clock sharp, with
my auto, as was Prince Sonnino with his. At eight
sharp we start. General Euriglio Ponzio Vaglia with
me — second aide-de-camp ; the King and Queen and
Duchess d'Ascoli in another; Calabrini with Prospero
Colonna, and the rest in the King's second auto, which
General Brusati had in charge. We reached Castel
Porziano in an hour, and immediately went to our
stands, the King and Queen in one, I in the next, and
Colonna adjoining. We were the only ones that got

82 GEORGE VON L. MEYER I^^"^
anything; the King killed five boars and six deer, and
I got three very large boars, and Colonna two. After
the shoot the King got into my auto with me and we
went to the beach on the Mediterranean. I had a
walk, talking about the prospects of war between
Russia and Japan. At 12,30 we had lunch in a little
house on the beach. Everything was placed on the
table, the hot dishes in casseroles which had been
brought from Rome. The King sat at the head of the
table, the Queen on his left and I on his right, Pros
pero Colonna on my right, and Duchess d'Ascoli on
the Queen's left. No servants in the way, and we
helped ourselves. The Queen said she liked it better
thus, more like a picnic. Very informal and bright
and gay. The Queen and Duchess d'Ascoli returned
with me to Rome in my automobile."
A few typical entries for ensuing days are the fol
lowing: —
" January 11. — King and Queen opened the ex
hibition of the American Academy. They came
promptly at 10 a.m., accompanied by General Bru
sati, Duke and Duchess d'Ascoli. Prince Sonnino
and Signor Tittoni also attended.
" The King and Queen were received by Mr. Mow
bray,^ myself, and Ahce at the door, and escorted to
the exhibition. They were much interested and stayed
about an hour. Part of the time I escorted the King,
and later the Queen. It has given a great boom to
the Acadeiny, and is the third time that such a thing
I H. Siddons Mowbray, of the American Academy.

GROUP AT A BOAR SHOOT WITH THE KING AND QUEEN OF ITALY, CASTEL PORZIANO
From left to right: Marchese Brambilla, Duchess d'Ascoli, Mr. Meyer, Prince Corsini, the Queen
of Italy, the King of Italy, Duke d'Ascoli, Prince di Sonnino, General Brusati, Marchese Calabrini.

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 83
has happened in Italy. The heads of the other acad
emies aU attended.
" Very successful dinner in the evening, given by
Mowbray, at which was present the Italian Ambassa
dor at Washington, Mayor des Planches.
"February i. — CaU for H.R.H. the Duchess
of Aosta at the Royal Palace at 10.30, in my automo
bile, to take her to the meet at ' La Pisano.' Looked
very stormy, but stopped raining at 11 o'clock. She
rode my horse, Vieux Marcheur. All the officers of
the Tor di Quinto were presented. Photographers very
busy with their machines. The attendance light on
account of the weather. The Duchess jumped a post
rail in great form, which I had already taken. We
had a short run of 30 minutes and at half-past three
we went back in my auto and arrived at the Royal
Palace at 4.15. She looked beautifuUy on horse
back. " Alice and I in the evening went to a ball in the
Venetia Palace given by Austrian Ambassador ^ to the
Pope. " February 6. — Diplomatic relations with Russia
broken off by Japan. Japan has been very patient
and Russia has been giving evasive answers, and to
Japan's last inquiry has put her off for three weeks.
AU the meantime she has been sending forward troops
and ammunition, which made it evident she was play
ing for time. Japan felt she must strike now or never.
"Russia very much surprised, thought she could
[go] on with her game of procrastination.
1 Count Sz€csen.

84 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^'^^
" Sympathy here with Japan,
" February 8. — Japanese attack Port Arthur,
evidently take the Russians by surprise and torpedo
three of their best battle-ships. This is of the greatest
importance, as it gives them a tremendous advantage
on the seas and will enable them to transport troops
safely to Korea."
On February 9 Mr. and Mrs. Meyer left Rome for
Berlin, in answer to an invitation from the American
Ambassador, Mr. Charlemagne Tower, to meet the
Kaiser at dinner, " I had a long talk with him after
dinner," Mr. Meyer wrote (February 11) in his diary,
" about the Russian and Japanese war — most inter
esting, his view," of which more details are given in
a later entry. Within the next few days the Meyers
saw something of the more sumptuous aspects of Ger
man life, through attending two Court BaUs, described
in the following notes: —
" February 12. — We caUed for the Towers at 8
p,M,, and they took us to the Royal Palace with an
outrider on horseback. The White Room with
the throne, where the ball was held, has been
done over by the Emperor — very handsome — gold
ceiling. Only Ambassadors and their wives and
the most important of the German Court [were
there] ,
"We had supper in the Emperor's room, and I
sat at Chancellor von Biilow's table, and took in
Madame (Griifin) Warlinsleben, Alice was in the
same room, at the Princess Feodora's table, and Ad
miral von Senden-Bibran took her in to supper. The

mi] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 85
room was hung with pictures of aU the Empresses, In
all 800 people sat down to supper at small tables,
" The ball was beautiful — every one in uniforms
of the richest colours. Before the dancing ' commenced,
the Emperor talked with the Ambassadresses, and
then with the Ambassadors. He talked so long with
Tower and myself that the papers mentioned it the
next morning. I danced with the Princess Daisy von
Pless, and the Emperor comphmented me on my
dancing, I had another opportunity to have a long
talk with him, standing beside the throne, and told
him of the intention of the Eastern Yacht Club to
offer a prize for German and American yachts. He
asked me to write. it out. The ball was finished by a
very pretty figure at 1 a,m,, when every one dancing
came forward at the same moment, bowed and curtsied
to the Emperor. Just before the ball ended, the Em
peror came and stood beside Alice and talked to her.
"February 16. — Go to our second Court Ball —
twice as many people there this time, and the entire
Corps Diplomatique; also the Princess Fiirstenberg
and the Princess Fiirstenberg von Fiirstenberg — both
very handsome women, with beautiful jewels — rather
rare at the German Court, Unfortunately the Em
press could not come on account of her health, or
Prince and Princess Henry an account of their child,
iln a letter to her children about this ball, Mrs. Meyer wrote as
follows of some of the dancing: "The quadrilles and minuets, led by the
Crown Prince, were beautifully and solemnly danced. When the Kaiser
came to his seat during the evening, I took pleasure in saying what
enjoyment it was to witness those courtly dances. He said he had them
learned for the deportment of the rising generation — not for pleasure,
but for serious duty."

86 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"^
" The Emperor talked a long time with the Russian
Ambassador ^ at the other end of the room, which de
layed the dancing. The Russian Ambassador left the
baU with his suite as soon as the Emperor stopped
talking with him. The Japanese Legation stayed.
The music started as soon as the old Russian Ambas
sador had left. Later in the evening the Emperor
came and shook hands with Mrs. Tower, and then
nodded for me to come forward, shaking hands and
keeping me beside him. He then commenced to re
late a good deal of his conversation with the Russian
Ambassador, who, he said, was uncertain as to the
wisdom of accepting Hay's proposition of the coun
tries that signed the Pekin protocol to agree to the
neutrality of China. The Emperor told the Ambassa
dor to wire the Tsar and say that he, the Emperor,
thought it most important for Russia. The Emperor
then went on to say that he had advices that Japan
was urging China on through certain channels; Russia
had not yet waked up to the present Oriental power.
" His Majesty also seemed very much pleased with
the President's message — congratulations on his in
itiative in the neutrality of China,
"Later I waltzed with Princess Daisy von Pless
at the Emperor's suggestion, and he told me that he
had never seen a civilian dance so well, (In Germany
they think only Army men can do anything,) "
A series of miscellaneous passages from the diary
may speak for some of Mr, Meyer's chief con-
i Count Osten-Sacken.

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 87
cerns during the months following the visit to
Berlin, "February ^ff. — General Ricciotti Garibaldi, the
son of the great Garibaldi, called upon me, and stated
that he had been with Saranoff while the latter was in
Italy, and that he had said that it would be a gratifica
tion to the Macedonians if the United States would
act as arbitrator in the matters between Turkey and
Macedonia. I replied that, as he had come officially I
could only hear what he might have to say without
giving [formal] expression to his wishes. As a matter
of information, I then inquired if all the parties in
interest to the treaty of Berlin were in accord with
him on the matter. His reply was that England,
France, Italy, and even Russia would accept, but not
Germany or Austria. When I suggested that arbi
tration would be out of the question unless all powers
agreed to it, the point was avoided by his referring
to our government's action as to Chinese neutrality
and limiting the sphere of war between Japan and
Russia. "March 3. — The Chinese Minister, Hsu Keoh,
called on me to-day to express his gratification at the
exercise of the good offices of the Government at
Washington in connection with maintaining the neu-
trahty of China, and to say that he hoped our friend
ship would continue after.
"March 24. — At 10 o'clock receive a telegram
from Hofmarshal von Lyncker to come and dine with
the Emperor at 8 o'clock Friday, on board the Hohen
zoUern in Naples.

88 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
" March 25.— Take the 8,10 train for Naples
and arrive at 1,35. Go straight to the Hotel
Vesuve. "An A.D.C. called to say that we should wear
black ties at dinner. At 7,45 I found the launch
waiting for me at the arsenal, Hofmarshal von
Lyncker was waiting at the head of the gang-way,
and von Chelius escorted me to the Emperor, who
was talking with Monsignor King, the head of the
Monte Casino Monastery, At 8 o'clock sharp we went
in to dinner and I sat on the right of the Emperor
and King on his left. I gave Ahce's message to H.M.
about the beautiful Berlin balls, and later he said,
' I want to send to your wife some of these magnifi
cent Neapolitan pinks which are on the table,' and
later in the evening he remembered to do it. The
Emperor seemed in splendid health again and his
voice as strong as ever. We had quite a talk about
the war, the growth of Berlin, and the deceptive policy
of Russian diplomacy. No one sat down after dinner,
but I have got used to that.
" Among those at dinner : Prince Fiirstenberg,
General von Plessen, and von Griimer.
"March 27. — Leave Naples in auto (Hotel
Vesuve) at 8.30 a.m. Arrive at Monte Casino at
12, having taken eighteen minutes to ascend the hill
into the Monastery. Monsignor King had invited me
as we were leaving the HohenzoUern, My card being
taken up, we were escorted to the Cathedral and led
up to the choir, where the Prior came out and invited
me to stay to breakfast and informed me that Mon-

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 89
signor King would be out shortly, as soon as Mass

was over.

The breakfast was most interestuig, as the monks
were seated around the room with the chairs backed
up to the wall and the table in front. One sees every
one in the room at a glance. A prayer was chanted
before we began to eat, and did not finish untU a bell
was rung. Then we began to eat and talk. The same
thing happened at the end of the meal except that we
stood up. Passed three hours in the Monastery. Left
at 3 P.M.; arrive in Rome at 8 p.m.
" April 20. — Have an audience with the King,
in order to present him with the new rifle of our army
and with the compliments of President Roosevelt. His
Majesty found the rifle too heavy, short in the stock,
and a poor style of bayonet, which he said was also
the faidt of the Italian army rifle. He was much
interested in the work which was to begin on the
Panama Canal, and wanted to know if the plans were
to be changed materially; asked what was to be done
about Hayti, and said a few of our troops there would
settle the country. Complained of the actions of the
Venezuela Government and their treatment of Bowen;
also called to my attention that Indians in our coun
try were now increasing.
" April 24. — President Loubet arrived.
" Saw the entrance into Rome, which was very
weU done, in beautiful carriages even better turned
out than when the Emperor arrived. The suite of
Loubet, however, is not to be compared with the
Emperor's.

90 GEORGE von L. MEYER

[1904

"I was surprised however to find what a small
man the French President is, not as tall as the King
of Italy. " Quite a representative body at the American
Church: English Ambassador^ and Lady Feodore
Bertie, the Japanese Minister, some Russians, the Ser
vian Minister, the Austrian Ambassador to the Pope,
and his wife. Count and Countess Somssich.
" May 21. — The French Ambassador to the Vati
can, Nisard, was recalled on account of the protest
of the Vatican to the French Government and the
Roman CathoHc powers upon Loubet's (the French
President's) visit to the King of Italy in Rome.
Merry del Val, the Secretary of the Vatican, is blamed.
"May 25. — Had an audience with the King of
Italy which lasted three-quarters of an hour. He
talked very interestingly about the Japanese and Rus
sian War. Spoke of the corruption in Russia and
the wonderful progress of the Japs and their organi
zation. Public sentiment and publicity were a great
safeguard to public morale in England, America, and
Italy. No such publicity existed in Russia, conse
quently corruption was concealed and the country suf
fered thereby. Expected to see Russian army anni
hilated." The Repubhcan National Convention of 1904, at
which Theodore Roosevelt was renominated for the
presidency, brought Mr. Meyer, still the Massachu-
iSir Francis Bertie, afterwards Lord Bertie, British Ambassador to
France during the war.

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 91
setts member of the Republican National Committee,
to America earlier than in the previous summers of
his term abroad. The second half of June was crowded
with political and other engagements; in July there
was escape from pressure in salmon-fishing at the
Restigouche Club in Canada; in August at Newport,
in the midst of many pleasures, he was making ar
rangements with his brother-in-law, Charles F. Mc
Kim, and Mr, Walter Mowbray for the purchase of
the VUla Mirafiori on behalf of the American Acad
emy in Rome, Altogether it was a busy and profitable
summer, of which the chiefs events are related with
some detail in the diary.
"June 14. — Arrive at quarantine at 7,30. Gov
ernor Odell takes me in the government tug up to 23d
Street, and I arrive at the Knickerbocker Club at
9 p.m. Dine with Bob Bacon, Whitney Warren, and
Winty Chanler at Martin's.
" Decide to take the ' 20th Century ' express next
day for Chicago.
" Ju/ne 15. — Lunch at Sherry's with Winty Chan
ler, Whitney Warren, Bordie Harriman, L. Beeck-
man, and Charley Wetmore.
" Take the 2,45 ' Century ' for Chicago. On the
train Charley Dawes and John Barrett, Minister to
Panama. Dawes teUs me that they want me to go
on the Executive Committee of the National Com
mittee. "Ju/ne 16. — Reach Chicago at 9.45 a.m. Leave
my luggage at the Auditorium and go direct to the
meeting of the Republican National Committee in the

92 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^"^
Coliseum. Payne was presiding. Consider the con
tested question of Louisiana and Mississippi.
"Dine in the evening with Governor Herrick of
Ohio, Governor Murphy, and Mr. George Peck.
After dinner go to the theatre, to see the ' Wizard of
Oz.' In the play there is a very amusing song called
' Sammy ' which is always sung to some one in a box.
This time it was Governor Herrick, which amused the
audience. "Ju/ne 17. — We heard the Wisconsin case at 10
o'clock and listened to the evidence until 6 p.m. The
evidence was very much in favour of Senator Spooner,
and we unanimously threw out the Governor La Fol-
lette delegation and seated the Spooner delegation.
" Called up the WTiite House on the long distance,
and talked with the President about the opposition to
Cortelyou, advised Bliss coming on as soon as possible.
"Jime 18. — Heard New York and Ohio cases
before the Committee.
"Dined with Nicholas Murray Butler and Elihu
Root, who is to be temporary chairman and make the
opening speech.
" Got a long telegram from the President: ' Please
wire me in full about opposition to Cortelyou. People
may as well understand that if I am to run for Presi
dent Cortelyou is to be chairman of the National Com
mittee. I will not have it any other way. Please give
me names of people opposed to him, and you are wel
come to tell each of them what I have said. The
choice of Cortelyou is irrevocable, and I will not con
sider any other man for the position, and shall treat

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 93
opposition to him as simply disguised opposition to
the Republican party. In other words I regard oppo
sition or disloyalty to Mr. Cortelyou as being simply
an expression of disloyalty to the Republican party,
precisely as the same would have been true of Mr.
Hanna four years ago. — Theodore Roosevelt.'
"June 19. — Mr. Kohlsaat gives a lunch at the
Saddle and Cycle Club on the lake, a charming place
— Mr. Root, Butler, General and Mrs. Grant, Mr.
Smith, former postmaster [general]. Governor and
Mrs. Herrick of Ohio, Chauncey Depew, and Walter
Wellman, There were many good stories told about
President Roosevelt,
" Held an important meeting about Cortelyou —
5.30. "June 20. — Yesterday afternoon the Massachu
setts delegation arrived, headed by Senator Lodge; ex-
Governor Crane, ex-Governor Long, Collector Lyman,
Bob Bacon, and others.
" I distributed the tickets for the Convention to
the delegation.
" Go to the station and meet Mr. Bliss, Treasurer
of the Finance Committee, and post him as to the op
position to Cortelyou for chairman, and ask him to
remain absolutely firm as to the choice of Cortelyou.
"June 21. — Convention called at 12 o'clock. Sec
retary Root, the temporary chairman, makes a re
markably eloquent and powerful speech which is
received with satisfaction and also admiration.
" Go to a dinner of about 70 people at the Grand
Pacific, given by Tom Walsh of Colorado to his dele-

94 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^^^
gation. The table was the shape of a star, with a
Governor at each end. On the right of the host was
Speaker Cannon, and on his left myself. The dinner
was much delayed, and we only sat down at 9 p.m.
Cannon speech excellent, the others very duU.
" June 22. — Second day of the Convention.
Speaker Cannon, permanent chairman, makes a speech
of one hour and a half. Very little excitement, as
everything is cut and dried and no opposition what
ever to Roosevelt.
" Senator Lodge reads the platform — which is
well received. Tariff plan satisfactory. Reciprocity
not very liberal form.
" June 23. — Reach Washington at 5,30 and go
straight to the Metropolitan Club ; find a telegram
from President Roosevelt, asking me to dine at
8 p,m. " Take a ride in the electric car with Dick Peters
— into the country. At dinner in the White House
was Mrs. Roosevelt and the President, Miss Alice,
Paul Morton, the new Secretary of the Navy, and
Miss Carow, sister of Mrs. Roosevelt. Dinner very
pleasant. The President was most interested in every
thing that took place at Chicago, specially about the
opposition which had started and which we overcame,
I told him, on account of his firm and decided tele
gram that he sent me.
" Left at 10.30. He then asked me to come round
to lunch the next day,
" Jwne 24. — Call on John Hay, Secretary of
State; found him looking much older, but in better

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 95
health and spirits. Found the Secretary of War,
Governor Taft, in his office, m great form.
" Lunch with the President in the White House at
1.30 — Secretary Moody, young Garfield, Gus Jay,
Miss Alice Roosevelt, and myself.
" After lunch the President took me into an ad
joining room and said that he intended in March to
make me a Cabinet officer, or, if this should not work
out, to give me another ambassadorship. He said, ' I
do not want you to consider this a promise, because a
change in the slate often makes an appointment impos
sible; but that is my present intention and wish.' He
added, ' I am very much pleased in the way that you
have represented the country.'
"June 28. — The Class of 1879 (Harvard) lunch
in the Harvard Union given by Henry Higginson.
We sit down a little over 100.
" There was a lunch in the room below, of the
Harvard Law School Association, at which Taft and
Olney spoke.
" Our class visit the Stadium ^ and have their photo
graph taken.
"Dine in the evening at the Country Club; it was
our 25th anniversary of graduation. I was called upon
to speak, and received several compliments for my
speech from several classmates. Many shocked me by
looking so old.
"Ju/ne 29. — Commencement Day at Cambridge.
I. T. Burr, Chief Marshal; Templeman Coolidge and
myself marched in the procession on each side of him.
1 Given to the University by the Class of 1879.

96 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
President Eliot and Bishop Lawrence behind us, and
next in line. Governor Bates.
"At dinner Bishop Lawrence made an effective
speech on the needs of the University and the thirty-
year service of President Eliot. Mr. Eliot responded
in an exceptionally weU-worded address, and then was
foUowed by Cabot Lodge, who expressed himself in a
very statesmanlike manner.
" In the evening we had a dinner at the Somerset
Club of 123 '79 men. . . . The dinner was a great
success. We had a piano and an accompanist and
some excellent songs, especiaUy by Nat Brigham and
George Sheldon. The sad part is that we aU will
never be together again.
"July 14. — Talk with Ex-Governor Murray
Crane about the Finance Committee [of National Re
pubhcan Committee] over the long-distance telephone
to New York.
" July 15. — Robert Bacon, J. J. Storrow, and E.
Draper consent to act on the Committee, with Murray
Crane and myself.
"July 25. — Received a cablegram this morning
from the Emperor of Germany, dated Trondhjem,
Norway, Royal Yacht HohenzoUern : ' Your wife and
children lunched with me to-day on board Hohenzol-
lern, all well. (Signed) William I. R.'
" I answered as follows : ' Permit me to thank Your
Majesty for cable and kindness to my family, which
is much appreciated. Von Lengerke Meyer.' "
A letter from Mrs. Meyer, from the German ship
Meteor, on which she was visiting the Norwegian

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 97
coast with her chUdren, gives a characteristic ghmpse
of the Kaiser on a summer cruise in Norway just ten
years before the momentous July of 1914, when he
was simUarly employed : —
July 24, 1904.
This morning at quarter before eight we came into the
Trondhjem Harbour and there passed the HohenzoUern, the
Emperor's yacht.
Every one was on deck to see all they could, as the night
before the Captain had put up a notice saying the time we
should probably get into harbour. The girls had on their red
coats, and we got a good position and saw His Majesty
saluting. It is customary to send over the list of passengers to
the Emperor, and launches were steaming back and forth all
the morning. Orders came for the eight cadets and their lieu
tenant to go to the Royal Yacht for prayers, and it was amus
ing on deck to see the lieutenant drill the lads, and look them
over, to see if they were all clean and presentable. The head
steward appeared on deck to tell me that the purser had a
message for me. I went down and found a messenger from His
Majesty who told me that I was expected to lunch on board
the yacht at one o'clock, and also all the children. You can
imagine that in our small cabins confusion and excitement
reigned. What to wear.'' was the cry, for our trunks held but
little that was fit for royal criticism. Fortunately the girls
had some nice white flannel suits. At a little before one the
launch was ready, and we started over, accompanied by the
German doctor from Bonn, who was also invited. The deck
of the Meteor was well covered with the passengers to see us
off, and I overheard one woman ^xclaim with shocked surprise
at my dress, " What, without a train! "
On arriving at the yacht, we were ushered up the com-

98 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
panionway to an inner hall where we left our furs, and the
master of ceremonies. Captain Grumm, took us out on the deck
and presented several of the gentlemen. Almost immediately
the Kaiser appeared, laughing and calling to us, " Where did
you come from ? " in a most informal manner. The Emperor
shook us aU cordially by the hand, with a most friendly grip,
and we aU walked in to lunch.
The Emperor was dressed in undress yachting suit. He
looked remarkably well and was in wonderful spirits. There
were twenty-two at the table. On His Majesty's right, I sat;
on his left the Consul from Trondhjem; Prince Albert^ oppo
site the Kaiser, and on either side Julia and Alice, Many of
the gentlemen who were on the yacht I had already met in
Berlin, at the balls last winter: Admiral von Seiden, also Cap
tain Grumm, and Count von Smithers,
Lunch was very jolly — Prince Albert fuU of jokes, and
the Emperor teased him, calling across the table constantly to
him. The Emperor spoke of Kiel and inquired how and where
you were. He also spoke of automobiles and considered them
most injurious for the nerves.
Lunch was quickly served by men in sailors' suits. I
noticed the Emperor drank from silver mugs which stood in a
line, varying in sizes. He told me the only healthy diet was
fish, much fruit, and but little drink.
After lunch we went on deck, our furs were brought us,
and the Emperor told me that his orchestra should play all
American airs for our benefit. The music was of the best, and
we enjoyed the concert immensely, which lasted over an hour.
It was bitterly cold, and the gentlemen who were on the
yacht told me they hoped daily the Emperor would give orders
to move South. The Emperor at every new tune asked me
tha name, and I had to confess that for some, although Ameri-
1 Of Schleswig-Holstein.

1904]

AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 99

can, I was ignorant of their names. He said he should cable
you that I was a poor American and did not know my American
tunes. The Emperor told us a very good story on our national
tune. In Kiel he said there was a divided opinion which of
the eight tunes should be national, so that it was decided for
the morning that the band on the American man-of-war should
play " The Star Spangled Banner," and in the evening " Hail,
Columbia! " The Kaiser enjoyed that arrangement and laughed
heartily over it. Boats came from shore to hear the music,
which was delightful, and the Emperor appreciated my remark
when I said that the band on the Meteor would be most painful
to listen to, after this music. At the close the Kaiser ordered
the old German national air, standing near the orchestra, and
leading himself. He then asked us if we would see the yacht,
which is a beautiful one in every detail without being over
grand. The Emperor showed us himself the Empress' suite, a charm
ing salon, furnished in chintz, and a grand piano.
The Emperor's private room was lined with photos, and
a charming group of the Princes and the little Princess, of
whom the Emperor spoke with affection and admiration. At
the gangway His Majesty said he regretted he had nothing
more to show us, and we, thanking His Majesty for his extreme
kindness, curtsied to take our leave. The Emperor shook hands
again and honoured me by kissing my hand.
Captain Grumm gave the girls and boys each a box, with
HohenzoUern souvenirs, and we went down the gangway to the
launch, the Emperor standing on the landing until we pushed
off. This is indeed a day to be remembered by us all. As the
Emperor had advised us to see the Cathedral at Trondhjem,
we went ashore and found it most interesting. In such a far
away place it is strange to find such architecture — partly
Roman, and partly Gothic.

100 GEORGE VON L. MEYER "^"^
At seven o'clock we sailed out of the harbour, passing
quite close to the HohenzoUern, and again seeing the Emperor,
who was saluting the crowd.
Of other royal personages in whom Meyer had
good reason to be interested, there are the following
notes in his diary.
" August 12. — The Tsarina of Russia gives birth
to an heir to the throne of Russia. The Tsar an
nounces that he is more pleased than if it had been a
Russian victory over the Japanese. There are four
daughters alive, and one or two in addition died prema
turely. I believe all the world is glad for the Tsarina,
for the reason that if the last had been a girl, I beheve
there would possibly have been a demand for the Tsar
to take another wife in order to obtain an heir.
" I hope the Queen of Italy may have a son also
this next September.
"September 16. — Alice cables that the Queen of
Italy has given birth to an heir, to be called the Prince
of Piedmont. Very politic not to call him Prince of
Rome, as it would have only embittered the Vatican
at this time when they and the House of Savoy seem
to be coining nearer together. This event is very im
portant to the dynasty. Of course it is hard on the
Duke of Aosta, of whom I am very fond.
" I cable General Brusati, A.D.C., at Racconigi,
to express my felicitations, etc., to the King."
When Meyer sailed for Europe about two weeks
later he had received the President's assurances of high
satisfaction with his work in Italy and on the Republi-

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 101
can National Committee, together with the promise —
as the diary has shown — of a place in the Cabinet,
perhaps to be preceded by another ambassadorship
than the Itahan. Throughout the autumn there were
many rumours that he would be sent to Berhn or
Paris — either of which posts would have appealed to
him more strongly than St. Petersburg before he
fully realized what the appointment to Russia would
mean. This was to be made clear through correspond
ence, from which, as from his diary for the remaining
months in Italy, some representative passages wiU be
drawn. Frequent jottings in his journal reveal his
close attention to the progress of the war in the East.
There are longer entries iUustrating the close relations
of friendship he had formed in Italy. Two such pas
sages have to do with a visit to the Duke of Aosta in
Turin on his way from Paris to Rome.
"October 15. — Arrive in Turin at 2.25 p.m.
Fmd the Duke's A.D.C. waiting for me, with the
carriage, to drive me to the Palazzo Cisterna. I am
escorted immediately to the Duke's private room and
received without any formal ceremony, as I have been
there so often. The Duchess comes m, in a few
moments, and is most cordial.
" Aosta suggests that I go riding with him at 4
o'clock, which is most agreeable after the long journey
from Paris. We return at 6.30 after a delightful ride
in the country accompanied by two A.D.C's. and two
detectives on bicycles.
" On returning we have a cup of tea with the
Duchess in her private salon, and I am presented to

102 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
the Comtesse de Paris (her mother), and meet again
the Princess Louise. The Comtesse de Paris dresses
very simply but with dignity. . . .
" We aU dine at 8 p.m. — no one except the gen
tleman-in-waiting of the Comtesse de Paris. After
dinner we go to the opera, the Duchess, the Princess
Louise and myself in one carriage; Baron and
Baroness di San Martino, in waiting to the Duchess,
and the gentleman-in-waiting to Princess Louise in
the second carriage. We sat in the royal box and the
opera was the first performance of Adrienne Lecou-
vreur, not very good. ... It was in the theatre
which Vittorio Emmanuele II used for a circus.
" We got back about midnight and had some
' grog ' in H.R.H. the Duchess' private salon, where
the Duke joined us, he having been studying an ora
tion that he had to make next day. On retiring the
Duchess invited me to ride horseback with her Sunday
at 8,30 A.M.
"October 16. — At 8.30 I was in the courtyard
of the Palace where the horses were already standing,
two greys, and a bay for the groom. In about five
minutes the Duke and Duchess of Aosta walked in,
having attended mass together. In less than five min
utes she was down again, aU dressed for the saddle.
It was a beautiful morning, a slight mist which the
sun was rapidly driving away, which gave a sort of
Corot effect to the fields and trees. We went straight
across the country, fording streams and jumping
ditches and having long canters down some of thel
aUeys of Stupmigi, where the Queen Mother was com-

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 103
ing later, and in which palace we had breakfast just a
year ago. The Duchess was in great spirits and most
charming. She said she envied me and my family
traveUing so much, and that now that her husband was
no longer heir presumptive, she hoped that they would
travel about more, adding that it was a delicate matter
before, as it would look as though they were tryuig
to give themselves special prominence. This was the
only reference made to the Prince of Piedmont, born
to the Queen a month ago.
" We never got back until nearly 11.30, after a
charming ride. It is such a pleasure to see her in the
saddle and handling her horse — so graceful and such
wonderful hands with a horse.
" After a dehcious bath in a bath-room, up to
date with porcelain tub, we had breakfast at 12.30, no
one present except the family and the two young
princes (sons of the Duke of Aosta) about four and a
half and six years. The King has given them each a
title, one of the Duke di Spoleto, the other the Duke
degli Puglie.
" After lunch Aosta had the coach round and we
drove off into the country — H.R.H. the Countess of
Paris on the box; behind them the Princess Louise,
Duchess of Aosta, and myself, on the back seat, the
di San Martinos, who are in waiting, and Captain
R., A.D.C. We drove almost to the mountains
and then went to the Medici Palace, which formerly
belonged to Victor Emmanuel II. There we had tea.
As I was taking the train at 8 o'clock for Rome, a
special dinner was served me at 7 p.m. The Duke

104 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^''^
and Duchess came and sat with me while I was at
dmner, the Duchess remarking that they came to be
sure I got something to eat.
" I never received more charming hospitality. I
was sent to the station in a Royal carriage with Cap
tain R., the A.D.C."
Returned to Rome, where his family a\7aited him,
Meyer went on with his journal: —
"October 18. — I wrote the State Department
that Parliament was dissolved to-day. The decree
fixes November 6 for the General Election, and No
vember 13 for those candidates who did not receive
the prescribed two-thirds vote required for election.
" It is thought that the Sociahsts organized strikes
and demonstrations the morning after the birth of the
heir to the throne, hoping there would be bloodshed
in order to make the birth of the Prince a day of
misfortune. Giolitti had the troops out, but they were
ordered not to use their arms. In Milan, Venice, and
Genoa the strikes were severe, but no bloodshed. It
was in a way a rehearsal also by the Socialists to test
their organization and power. It has, however, dis
gusted the people as a whole and caused a reaction
against the Socialists. It was rather clever to dissolve
Parliament and have an election while these dis
turbances are still in mind.
"November 4. — The Tsar has decorated, and
raised the rank of, the Russian Admiral who fired on
the English fishing fleet. He believes the Russian
statement that there were Japanese torpedo-boats

THE DUCHESS OF AOSTA

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 105
among the fishing boats. The Russians are demoral
ized and frightened to death of the Japanese torpedo-
boats. The general opinion seems to be that the
Russians fired on their own boats!
"November 9. — At 8 o'clock this morning re
ceived the foUowing cable from Mr. Bliss, Treasurer
of the National Repubhcan Committee: 'Probable
plurality of Roosevelt in New York State 200,000;
Higgins, Governor, 75,000. Electoral vote over 300.
' Bliss.'
"Wired at once the foUowmg:
"'President Roosevelt, Washington: — The elec
tion shows the people appreciate your administration;
also splendid about New York State ; hearty congratu
lations. George Meyer.'
" On account of difference in time, the President
would receive my cable at the same hour at which I
received the above.
"November 10. — It appears that Roosevelt has
carried every doubtful state and has an electoral vote
of 317. Pennsylvania goes Republican by 300,000,
and New York by 200,000 — the pluralities being
greater than those of McKinley, and Parker has fallen
behind Roosevelt [Bryan?].
" The most astounding thing is that in this Re
publican landshde Massachusetts has elected a Demo
cratic Governor, Douglas by name, a shoe-manufac-
;turer known as the ' $3.00 shoe man.' I await the
papers with great interest, to analyse the vote and to
learn the causes.
" C. F. McKim cables that the American Academy

106 GEORGE VON L. MEYER l^^"^
accepts the offer, and wiU purchase the ViUa Mira-
fiore. " November 14. — Received letters from State De
partment, dated 20th and 24th October; the former,
invitation of the President to nations for a second
Peace Conference at The Hague; the latter inviting a
Treaty of Arbitration with Italy on same lines as were
made between England and France one year ago.
" Tittoni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, absent, and
everybody had left the Foreign Office, celebrating the
success of the elections.
" The result of the elections very satisfactory and
gratifying. They have had no issue since 1870; this
time the lines were drawn : ' those for order and those
against.' It seems to signify that in an issue of impor
tance, i.e., the welfare of the nation, the sober judg
ment of the people can be relied upon.
"November 15. — CaUed at the Foreign Office
and talked with Fusinato, 1st Under-Secretary of For
eign Affairs. He told me that I could cable my
government that Italy was favourable to an arbitra
tion treaty, same as England and France had made
a year ago. As to a second Peace Conference,
they would reply to the President's invitation this
week. "November 19. — Cable the State Department
that Tittoni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, officially in
forms me that His Majesty's Government will par
ticipate with pleasure in the invitation of the Presi
dent to a second Peace Conference, reserving the fol
lowing points: —

1904] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 107
" {a) Subjects which might come before the Con
ference. " (&) The time at which it should be held.
" The course coincides with England's, I had
urged Italy to do this at once, without waiting for
the other countries,
" November 30. — The King opens Parliament, at
tended by the royal family. Count of Turin on one
side and the Duke of Genoa on the other, Duke of
Aosta could not come on account of the sickness of the
Duchess. The Queen and her ladies in the royal box,
the Chiefs of Mission and their wives in the adjoining
one on the right; on the floor were the Senators and
Representatives .
" The speech of the King was well received. The
main point was liberty and freedom as long as they
are within the law. The great question was the better
ment and uplifting of the working classes.
" December 7. — Audience with the King at 11.40.
Presented the President's autograph letter acknowl
edging the birth of the Prince of Piedmont. The King
spoke of the enormous money we were appropriating
for a Navy, prophesied that we would take or control
all the country north of the Panama. Asked what
we were going to do to discipline Hayti and
Venezuela. "December 8. — In the morning I went to the
Vatican celebration of the Immaculate Conception at
St. Peter's. This Pope^ was carried in for the first
time. He rose in his chair with righteous indignation
iPiusIL

108 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^'^"^
when the people attempted to applaud. . . . About
60,000 people in the Cathedral.
"December 29. — Received a cable from Henry
Cabot Lodge, saying 'Do not answer the President's
letter until you get mine.' Rather mysterious, and
wiU be interesting to see what the President has
written, and to know why Lodge has cabled as above.
Undoubtedly concerns my future after March 4.
" December 30. — The King and Queen receive the
Corps Diplomatique at 9.30. . . .
" The King asked me if I was going as Ambassa
dor to Paris, and said of course it was considered an
advance. I told him I should be sad to leave, but knew
nothing official. After Captain Howard^ was pre
sented to the King, His Majesty told me an amusing
story of one of their vessels which had only done 9
knots an hour, ran on the rocks, broke off one of its
blades, and immediately accomplished 10 knots.
"December 31. — The Queen Mother (Marghe
rita de Savoie) received the Diplomatic Corps — at 5
the Embassies, and at 6 o'clock the Legations. . . .
" The Queen asked me if it was true that I had
been appointed Ambassador to Paris. I was obliged
to say that I had received no official notice and only
knew what I saw in the papers, and added that I
should be very sad to leave Rome, every one had been
so kind to us and made our life deUghtful. She added,
' Rome will be more sad to lose you.'
" January 7, 1905. — Get Cabot Lodge's letter of
December 27, The President had intended to send
1 Newly appointed Naval Attache at the American Embassy.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 109
me to Paris, but now desu-es me to go to St. Peters
burg. Considers it the most important post at the
moment. I am sorry on account of my family.
"January 8. — Wrote Cabot Lodge yesterday,
and told him that the papers on the Continent and
the Court here believe I am going to Paris. My
answer was, ' I only know what I see in the papers.'
Bismarck once said, ' If you do not want to be be
lieved, teU the truth,' I fully realize the importance
of the post, especially now that war is raging. On re
ceipt of the President's letter I shall cable 'Accept
with pleasure; appreciate the compliment.' My boy I
shall send to Groton. How the climate suits my girls
remains to be seen.
" January 14. — Received a long cable from Hay,
took one hour and forty-five minutes to translate it;
concerning the integrity of China and the open door
policy in the Orient.
" Italy entirely in accord with us on both these
points in case of peace between Japan and Russia, and
cable to that effect to Washington. Received cable
from Charley McKim, in which he said my cable of
felicitation added much to the success of the dinner of
the American Architects in Washington, at which the
President was present and the purchase of a perma
nent home in Rome was announced."
President Roosevelt's letter, shrewdly anticipated
as concerning Meyer's future after March 4, did not
reach him until January 20. It was dated December
26. A considerable portion of it revealed the Presi-

110 GEORGE VON L. MEYER I^^''^
dent's keen interest in the Far Eastern situation; the
final paragraph spoke clearly for one point of his gen
eral policy : " Our Navy is year by year become moret
efficient. I want to avoid any blustering or threaten
ing, but I want to be able to act decidedly when any
turn of events menaces our interests, and to be able to
make our words good once they have been spoken; and
therefore I need to know each phase of any new situa
tion." It is the first long paragraph of the letter that
has its appropriate place in the record of George
Meyer's life; for besides stating with characteristic
vigour President Roosevelt's conception of the func
tions of an ambassador, it gives forcible expression to
his confidence that Meyer was the man to perform
them in the difficult Russian post. Thus he wrote : —
I desire to send you as Ambassador to St, Petersburg.
My present intention is, as you know, only to keep you for a
year as Ambassador; but there is nothing certain about this,
inasmuch as no man can tell what contingencies will arise in
the future; but at present the position in which I need you is
that of Ambassador at St, Petersburg. St, Petersburg is at
this moment, and bids fair to continue to be for at least a year,
the most important post in the diplomatic service, from the
standpoint of work to be done ; and you come in the category
of public servants who desire to do public work, as distin
guished from those whose desire is merely to occupy public
place — a class for whom I have no particular respect. I
wish in St, Petersburg a man who, while able to do all the
social work, able to entertain and to meet the Russians and
his fellow-diplomats on equal terms, able to do aU the necessary
plush business, — business which is indispensable, — can do, in
addition, the reaUy vital and important things. I want a man

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY in
who wiU be able to keep us closely informed, on his own initia
tive, of everything we ought to know; who wUl be, as an Ambas
sador ought to be, our chief source of information about Japan
and the war — about the Russian feeling as to relations between
Russia and Germany and France, as to the real meaning of
the movement for so-called internal reforms, as to the condition
of the army, as to what force can and will be used in Man
churia next summer, and so forth and so forth. The trouble
with our Ambassadors in stations of real importance is that
they totally fail to give us real help and real information, and
seem to think that the life-work of an Ambassador is a kind
of glorified pink tea-party. Now, at St, Petersburg I want
some work done, and you are the man to do it. It happens to
be the only Embassy at which I do want work done just at
present. There is at St. Petersburg, in the English Embassy,
an Englishman whose name I will not give you, but whom I
shall ask to call on you and talk freely over the situation,
alluding to what he has written me. I have gained the most
valuable information from him — better information than I
have ever gained from any of our own people abroad, save only
Harry White, Our First Secretary, Spencer Eddy, has also
written us continually and given us good information, . . .
Meyer made immediate reply, in a letter iUustrat
ing his readiness both to give the President whatever
information he could obtain, and to work as he had
been " accustomed to work at home " : —
To President Roosevelt
Rome, January 20, 1905.
My deak Mb. President, —
Your letter of December 26th in the United States Em
bassy bag, reached Rome yesterday (January 19th). This

112 GEORGE VON L, MEYER t^^"^
gives you a good idea of the time it occasionally takes for
dispatches to reach me. It was handed to me this morning, as
I had been duck-shooting on the coast for the day. After
reading it carefully, I cabled you as follows : " Letter received
to-day; appreciate the compliment, accept with pleasure,"
I did this for the reason that as so much time had been
consumed before getting the note, it was only proper that you
should have an acknowledgment at once, as this letter will
probably take two weeks more, before it is received by you. I
fully realize the compliment you have paid me, and will en
deavour to carry out your wishes to the best of my ability, and
will lose no opportunity to post myself.
Day before yesterday  [an American newspaper
correspondent] called on me. He had just arrived from Yoko
hama and has been with the Japanese army. To identify
himself, he presented a circular letter of introduction issued by
the State Department and addressed to the Diplomatic Corps
and Consular Service,
The object of his call was to get advice about Macedonia,
as he received a dispatch stopping his return home and in
structing him to go to Macedonia and write up that question.
To my surprise, I found in talking with him about the Russian
war, that his sympathies were no longer with Japan. In fact,
he seemed quite antagonistic and remarked that it was almost
the universal feeling of English and Americans in the East.
To express it in  's own words : " The Japs are play
ing a big game before the world and for the moment are playing
it straight and for all it is worth. They at heart do not care
for any whites, not even for the English or Americans, who
are useful to them now, and are working them for all they can.
They laugh in their sleeves about the open door in Manchuria,
for when the time comes they can beat us in manufacturing,
due to cheap labour, and therefore get the trade. They are most

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 113
untruthful and deceitful as weU as tricky in business transac
tions, and think nothing of breaking a contract if not profit
able. The banks and bankers, for a position of trust and con
fidence, never think of employing Japanese clerks but employ
Chinese." This last statement I had heard before from a most
reliable source.
When I asked  if he thought Russia's word could be
relied upon, his answer was " no," but their competition in trade
would have been very mild, compared to what Japanese wiU
probably be.  went so far as to say that the Japanese
officers realized that, when their army was at its best and nearly
double that of the Russian army, they had not been able to
defeat or put to route Kuropatkin's army, and he,  , be
lieves that they would never defeat the Russian army in Man
churia. I quote this merely as an illustration of an American news
paper correspondent who has been with the Japanese army.
As to the integrity of China and the open door in Man
churia, Italy is willing and ready to follow our lead. Last
Sunday evening the King informed me that they were going to
remove their remaining troops in China, leaving only a small
guard at the Legation in Peking, and that they should keep but
two men-of-war in Chinese waters. He then asked me how the
theory originated that new possessions might, under certain
circumstances, be given to neutrals in case of peace between
Russia and Japan; and on my professing ignorance he said,
with almost a twinkle in his eye, " It certainly could not be a
German thought."
I find that many leading Italians look with confidence to
our Government for the future policy in China, as the influence
which can best be trusted in the Orient.
Barrere, the French Ambassador here, whom I know very
well, had told me, before this last Russian loan was announced.

114 GEORGE VON L. MEYER twos
that the Berlin bankers had demanded a part of the new Rus
sian loan and the French financiers allotted one-third to
Berlin. This was in order that the German bankers might
make their commission; but it was felt that only a smaU part
would be subscribed in Berlin and that the over-subscriptions
in Paris would take care of it. However, on the contrary, it
was several times over-subscribed in BerUn.
This is not necessarily a sign of sympathy towards Rus
sia, as, where investments are concerned, sympathy generaUy
goes to the winds, but it is a strong evidence of a belief,
as far as Berlin is concerned, in the future stability of the
Russian Government and a final settlement of the war, which
will not weaken her resources to the extent of affecting the
public credit. Last winter, when I was in Berlin, there seemed
to be a fairly strong under-current of sympathy with Japan.
Now there is one point on which I would like your support,
if I may have it.
All the important Governments send their bag by a courier,
so that it is not out of their possession until they cross the
frontier. If I am to write freely and give such information
as I can acquire, it is valuable that secrecy should be main
tained as far as Russia is concerned, for two reasons: one is
that otherwise I might soon lose my usefulness if I became in
a way persona non grata; second: the sources of obtaining
information, with all freedom of the press abolished and a strict
censorship of all literature, must naturaUy be limited and
therefore [it would be] unwise to take chances of having the
remaining sources discovered and possibly cut off. My idea is,
if it has not already been adopted, of having a reliable courier
(American) transport the bag to either the American Embassy
in Paris or Berlin, and from there have it transported in the
usual manner. The courier, on returning to St. Petersburg,
would convey the pouch coming from Washington,

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 115
An Austrian Secretary from St, Petersburg (I wiU not
mention his name now) told me this week that their Ambas
sador had just obtained a conge for three months, feehng that
[there] was going to be a revolution. An Ambassador that
leaves his post from fear of revolution must have lost his use
fulness. It is possible, however, that the Balkans may have
something to do with it.
In conclusion I would say, Mr. President, that you are
quite correct in thinking that I prefer a position where there
is something of real importance to be done, as I was accus
tomed to work at home. Believe me.
Respectfully yours,
George v. L. Meyee,
Passages from Meyer's diary, supplemented by let
ters to President Roosevelt and Senator Lodge, will
sufficiently tell the story of his final weeks in Rome.
It is possible only to present typical bits of evidence
of the careful preparation he was giving himself for
the important work awaiting him, and of the many ex
pressions from Italian friends testifying to the place
he had made for himself in their esteem and affection.
The complete chronicle of farewell dinners, private and
semi-public, as the day of departure drew near, would
alone fiU many pages.
" January 22. — A great strike in St. Petersburg.
Father Gapon made a pathetic appeal to the Tsar to
receive a petition of the workmen in front of the Win
ter Palace, guaranteeing his personal safety. He also
warned the Tsar, if they should not be allowed to hand
it to him in person. They assembled in front of the

116 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
palace and were fired upon by the troops, causing
much bloodshed. Probably the commencement of a
revolution, and possible fate of the Tsar as ruler of
Russia. " January 23. — The affairs in Russia look very
serious and conflicts between the troops and the work
men are increasing. It is said that the Tsar and his
family have left St, Petersburg. The troops continu
ing to fire on the crowds.
" Dine at Marquis Rudini's, son of the former
Premier. The principal topic of conversation is the
condition of affairs in St. Petersburg and other parts
of Russia. Little or no expressions of sympathy are
made for the Tsar or the Grand Dukes of Russia.
Possibly the scene in front of the Winter Palace will
entirely change the future history of Russia.
To President Roosevelt
Rome, January 28, 1905,
My dear Mr, President, —
Since my letter of a week ago important and tragic
events have taken place in St. Petersburg and other parts of
Russia. Possibly the future of the Muscovite Empire has been
seriously affected by the scenes which took place before the
Imperial Palace. The historical relations between the people
and the Tsars explain how it was possible that those unarmed
Russians should have entertained the hope that they would be
permitted to see the Tsar in person and lay their petition at
his feet. The pathetic trust the people have put in the Tsar
has failed them, and they have lost their blind faith in him,
and they are now ripe for socialistic agitations.
What an opportunity the ruler of Russia has lost! He

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 117
might have gained the love of his people and respect of the
world, A prominent Italian said to me : " Your President would
not have hesitated a moment to receive the delegation." I re
plied : " No indeed, or met them in the open square."
The appointment of General Trepoff, as Governor General,
wiU result in putting down the strikes in St. Petersburg
by acts of the greatest severity. He has a long record
of brutality, cruelty, and bad faith. The orders to fire on the
crowd have aroused the opinion of the world against a gov
ernment which shoots down unarmed people, without actual
necessity. I find this sentiment already among the diplomatic
representatives of the various countries. I take pains, how
ever, to express no criticism, for obvious reasons.
The strikes have now spread to other cities. It is the first
time in Russia that a strike has been organized in a compre
hensive manner, as is done in other countries, so as to consoli
date the working-men.
The view seems to prevail among the best informed that,
while the spirit of revolution is awake throughout Russia, it
is not in such a shape as to give practical expression to the
voice of the people, due to geographical conditions, lack of
ammunitions, financial support, and proper leadership.
It is felt by some that, if the Tsar has only the moral
courage, it is not too late for him to lead the way to a peaceful
solution of the internal troubles by granting certain of the
most needed reforms.
The position of France, a republic, is a peculiar one, as
she has united her destinies with Russia by an alliance, and
has furnished her with almost unlimited supplies of money.
The French Ambassador here shows signs of nervousness, and
is quite frank before me in criticizing the mis-management
and blunders of the Russian Government. He told me just
after the war broke out that he had the refusal for the Rus-

118 GEORGE VON L, MEYER t^sos
sians of two Argentine and two Chilian cruisers, all of about
9,000 tons (two of which were being finished in Genoa and finally
secured by the Japanese). When the Russians did not avail
themselves of this opportunity, he felt sure it was for the
reason that they did not believe war would take place. He has
since discovered that the real cause was that a certain Grand
Duke insisted that fifteen per cent was to be added to the
price and the same paid back to him. This was refused and
the transaction fell through.
Prince Ouroussow, the Russian Ambassador here, was
this week transferred to Vienna; it was rumoured that Cassini
might come here, but I have since learned that the Minister of
the Interior in St. Petersburg is to be appointed Ambassador
in Rome. His name I cannot recall at the moment.
The Japanese Minister, Mr. Ohyama, informed me that
he considered the present conditions in Russia equivalent to
another victory, as far as Japan was concerned, and must tend
to hasten peace, RespectfuUy yours,
George v. L. Meyer.
[Diarz/]
"February 1. — Wrote to the State Department
tendering my resignation to the President as Ambassa
dor to Italy, to take effect March 4, or on the appoint
ment of my successor, as may suit the President's
convenience. " On the election of a President or even reelection,
it is customary to tender your resignation as Ambassa
dor, also as member of the Cabinet.
" The Civil List of about $3,700,000 was approved
this week, by a vote of 253 to 32. This was the annual

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 119
aUowance made to King Humbert. Some of the lib
eral papers have urged reduction; the vote shows
demonstration of V. E. Ill's popularity. He is very
democratic, and some Roman princes speak of bun as
being socialistic.
"February 4. — Received a letter from Cabot
Lodge, saying President was much gratified by receiv
ing my cable accepting Ambassadorship at St. Peters
burg. Said my name would be sent to the Senate soon
after March 4; that the President would want me to
go in March, as soon as possible; that Harry White
was to succeed me here. To Senator Lodge Rome, February 9, 1905.
Dear Cabot, —
Day before yesterday I had an opportunity to have a long
talk with M. Bemoff, Lieutenant Colonel aux chevalier-gardes
de S. M. rimperatrice douariere, and now attache in Rome. In
speaking of the disturbances in Russia, he talked quite freely.
He assured me that he knew officially that the number of killed
and murdered had been greatly exaggerated. He acknowledged
that there had been serious strikes, and that they had spread to
other cities and towns in Russia ; but he said : " They have been
confined to the workmen. You have had serious strikes in
America and so they have had in France. In Russia they are
attracting the attention of the world at the time, for two rea
sons: one is that a certain socialistic element had endeavoured
to use the strikes to help their cause and make it appear to the
world that it is a revolution; the other is that, due to the
fact that we are at war with Japan, any internal trouble
attracts great attention at this time. Now we are not an indus-

120 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ti905
trial country, and the fact that our working classes in factories
of certain industrial centres are on a strike is not serious, as
far as a revolution is concerned; they make up too small a
part of the population of Russia. If you should tell me that
the peasants had risen and were in revolt, then it would be
serious and might mean a revolution. I know our peasants, my
property is so situated that I live among them in the summer.
They do not want a constitution, they do not even know what
it means. They do, however, desire certain reforms and powers
given to the Zemstvos, some of which are desirable; but they
are not ripe for a revolution nor are they a party to it."
It so happened that the next day I met at lunch M. le
Commandant de St. James, the French attache militaire. He
was in Peking during the time that the various Legations were
besieged. He informed [me] that three days ago he received a
letter from his brother, who is the managing director of the
Wagon-Lits Company in Russia. He has occasion to travel a
great deal in all parts of the country, including the important
cities. He was in St. Petersburg at the time of the disturbances.
It was impossible for him to report accurately as to the number
of kiUed and wounded; but outside of that he stated that the
accounts that had been sent out were not exaggerated ; if any
thing they had been understated. The crowd that approached
the Winter Palace was not a dangerous one, and he believed
could have been held under control without the use of fire-arms.
Women, children, and innocent people were shot down without
fair warning The action of the Government had alienated a
large class of people, had shattered their faith in the Tsar,
which, rightly or wrongly, had heretofore existed, and now so
much feeling and sentiment had been aroused that it was his
belief that sooner or later a revolution would come about.
What makes me believe personally that public sentiment
is stronger than ever before and that it is realized in Russia,

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 121
is the fact that the Grand Duke Vladimir and one or two others
have allowed themselves to be interviewed on the matter. They
are not really disturbed by the sentiment in America or
England, but the fact that a certain element in France has
been aroused is causing them some uneasiness, as it might
affect the French Cabinet and finaUy the relationship between
that country and Russia.
In fact, Barrere, the French Ambassador, tells me that
Loubet had seen certain signs of this movement, and had inti
mated to the Tsar that Russia would do weU to take heed, and
take into account what public sentiment might bring about
under certain conditions.
I shall take pains to see that Colonel de St. James
arranges to have this gentleman call on me in St. Petersburg,
as he can be very valuable in giving me, later, on, information
as to the true sentiment and state of affairs in various parts
of Russia. ' Sincerely yours,
George v. L, Meyer,

To President Roosevelt
Rome, February 14, 1905,
My dear Mr, President, —
In my letter of January 20 I stated that the Russian loan
in Berlin had been several times over-subscribed. That was
the information officially given out after the manner of certain
industrial trust combinations, which were supposed to have
been put out on the public successfully by Wall Street people.
History sometimes repeats itself. The Russian loan, it turns
out, went very badly in reality, and had to be taken up by the
underwriters. My authority is the new English Ambassador,
Sir Edwin Egerton, with whom I dined last night. The source

122 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"^
of his information he considered most reliable; he added that
it was almost inconceivable that in the last twenty years, with
the world advancing, Russia makes no progress, and even de
teriorates. His wife is a Russian woman.
To-day I went shooting with the King, and he corrob
orates what Egerton has said about the Russian loan. As we
were walking to the shooting-stands, he stopped suddenly and
said : " I see it is officiaUy announced that you are going to St.
Petersburg ; of course it is a promotion and a compliment, but
you have got a difficult task. I wiU even make a prophecy that
your country sooner or later wiU have trouble with Russia over
China. Russia with everything tumbling down, as to her
internal affairs, cannot continue the war with Japan. She
will hope to make up by taking from China the equivalent of
what she loses to Japan. Russia's diplomacy is based on mis
representations and lies, and she cannot be trusted. In addi
tion to her alliance with France, I feel sure that she has made
some agreement with Germany, even in writing. The fact that
Russia is replacing her modern guns on the frontier with
obsolete ones is additional proof."
The King stated that he was in Russia once for three
months, and that all his letters had been previously tampered
with and opened. There is no doubt that it is regularly done,
and individuals frequently send their letters across the frontier
before they are posted, in order to insure their being un
opened. Within three months an employee of the Italian Embassy
in St. Petersburg had been bribed for certain information, and
at another Embassy (I was asked not to mention which),
30,000 roubles were offered for the combination of the safe, in
order to get at the cable code.
I have mentioned this to show the importance of the Em
bassy having its own messenger to convey the Government's

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 123
bag to the frontier, i.e., if my dispatches are to be in any way
confidential. Believe me,
' Respectfully, George v. L. Meyer.
As your representative I had to keep up the reputation of
a sportsman. I shot three wild boar and one white deer.
IDiaryJi
"February 17. — Gave a dinner to the English
Ambassador, Sir Edwin Egerton, and Lady Egerton.
The English Ambassador upset the dinner by an
nouncing the death of the Grand Due Serge by a bomb
in Moscow just as we were going in. This was very
tactless, as there were several Rusians present. The
guests included the Turkish Ambassador, Duchess of
Sermoneta, Mme. LeGhait, Mme. Mechin, Mrs.
Travers, Princess Frasso, Countess Telfener, Count
Moltke, Hon. Reginald Lister, Prince Frasso, Colonel
Bemoff, Mr. Roukavichnikow.
" The Grand Due Serge was actuaUy blown to
bits. He was the most hated of them aU, on account
of his severity, cruelty, and reactionary spirit. What
will be the outcome of this in Russia? I am going
there at a critical time.
" Febrvury 18. — Write our names in the books of
Russian Embassy, on account of the assassination of
the Grand Due Serge. Everything seems to be going
to pieces. No real head, no fixed purpose, except stub
bornness, which is the worst kind of stupidity. They
got ready for war too late, sent reinforcements too late.

124 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^'^<^^
supplies too late, second fleet too late, smaU reforms
given too late. Emperor received the workmen too
late, and now they may ask for peace too late."
To President Roosevelt
Rome, February 21, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
I beg leave to report a conversation that I had last night
after dinner at the German Embassy with the English Ambas
sador. In speaking of the conditions in Russia and the con
sternation due to the assassination of the Grand Duke Serge,
he remarked that it is now thoroughly recognized by Russians
that the present attitude of the Tsar, as to the war and
internal affairs, cannot continue, and that radical changes will
be brought about or forced upon him. The trouble was that
the Tsar had no fixed or decided policy ; that Witte, whom he
considered the best man in Russia for the present crisis, was
holding off, because he does not want to take up matters until
affairs are in such shape that he can be sure to bring about
certain reforms and changes that he has long desired.
The Ambassador then went on to teU me of his last inter
view (December, 1904) with the Japanese Minister in Madrid,
whom he considered a very level-headed man.
The Minister intimated that, under certain conditions,
i.e., with a guaranty from England that it should not revert
to Russia, they might concede Port Arthur to China; that in
reality it was a port difficult to keep well dredged (there were
other ports that were more valuable and accessible as far as
they were concerned) ; that the Island of Sakhaline, of which
they were deprived about 1870, was of considerable importance
to them, due to the fishing banks (it has the fog-like character
of Newfoundland) ; and that it was a matter of pride to them
to regain this.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 125
Whether there was any method in this outburst of the
Japanese Minister at that time, I do not know; of course cir
cumstances have changed greatly since. The fact that he was
speaking to an English Ambassador with a Russian wife may
have accounted for the apparent frankness — provided he
desired the information to percolate in two directions.
Believe me.
Respectfully yours,
George v. L. Meyer.

A visit to Berlin in February is described both in
the diary and in letters to President Roosevelt and
Senator Lodge. In the diary Mr. Meyer records an
evening in Munich with his warm friends, the Count
and Countess Somssich of the Austrian Embassy in
Rome; a jocose reference of the Kaiser's, as on his
yacht in Norway, to the confusion of American
national airs; his suspicions of the purposes of Eng
land in China; and two meetings with Cecil Arthur
Spring-Rice, the English diplomat, for whose friendly
offices in St. Petersburg President Roosevelt was al
ready making provisions. But the letters to which
aUusion has just been made give the salient facts of
the Berlin excursion. To President Roosevelt Rome, March 5, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
I desire to acknowledge your favour of February 6. It
followed me and came to hand the morning after I reached
Berlin.

126 GEORGE von L, MEYER f^^"^'
In my letter of February 14 I referred to a conversation
with the King of Italy, in which he stated his suspicions of an
agreement between Russia and Germany. Therefore I desired
to get my impressions from the Emperor himself.
I left here on the 24th of February, and announced that
I was going to Berlin in order to consult Mr. Tower about
houses, etc., in St. Petersburg; my real object was to obtain
an informal meeting with the Emperor, and to hear what he
might have to say as to Russia, as he can apparently be very
frank at times. This came about quite naturally, by his invit
ing me to a ball at the palace, where I had an opportunity of
a long and private talk, or rather hearing him.
I gave His Majesty the message from your letter of Feb
ruary 14, which I was to deliver to the German Ambassador at
St. Petersburg, i.e., how pleased you had been at the position
taken by the Emperor, and that it was your belief that the two
countries will be able to work together as regards our policy
in the Far East.
The Emperor instantly replied : " Position ! Tell your
President that I am foUowing his policy." He then went on
very freely and fully about the importance of the neutrality and
integrity of China — how the Tsar never expected war himself
and could not be made to believe that it would take place until
Japan struck her decisive blow at Port Arthur. He referred
to Russia being unprepared and the terrible corruption that
existed. At the end of our conversation, that there might be
no misunderstanding on my part, I said: "Your Majesty,
then I may report to the President that you are in favour of
both the neutrality and integrity of China? " " Yes," he re
plied, " most assuredly ; if there should be any partition now
of China there is no knowing where it would end. Also say
that I believe that neither Russia or Japan should be inter
fered with in any way ; but," he added, " tell the President to

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 127
keep his eye on Delcasse ; I have my suspicions as to his plans
and the action of France under certain possible circumstances."
Every great power on the continent is more or less sus
picious of the others at the moment. While they do not love
us, but envy our success politically and commercially, they
respect us for the reason that, although the poUcy of the Gov
ernment may not meet their views, yet they realize it is con
sistent, straightforward, and that our statements can always
be relied upon.
I know of no greater compliment that could be paid to you
and Mr. Hay than this recognition by the world of the high
plane upon which you both have placed American diplomacy.
' Believe me.
Respectfully yours,
' George v. L, Meyer,

To Senator Lodge Rome, March 5, 1905,
My dear Cabot, —
... I was fortunate in finding Spring-Rice in Berlin,
and also had a very satisfactory talk with him; he was most
kind and cordial, and will be a great comfort and assistance,
especiaUy this summer. He, like most Englishmen, is very sus
picious of the Emperor, — taking into consideration what has
transpired the last few years, this is not surprising, — yet at
the moment possibly biassed in his judgment. The Emperor,
on the other hand, has not the most cordial feelings for England
and, in turn, is suspicious and prejudiced. The man, however,
who, he thinks, requires the most watching at the moment is
Delcasse. I find the tone of the French diplomats utterb dif
ferent than at the commencement of the war. They do not
hesitate to criticize in plain language the incapacity of the
administration of the Russian army and navy, and state that

128 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^^
it is utterly futile for Russia to continue the war. One impor
tant Frenchman said to me that it was his impression that after
the present loan of 800,000,000 roubles was floated, it would
be very difficult to place another in France if the war
continued. lDiary'\
" March 6. — Received a telegram from Washing
ton, saying the President had appointed me Ambas
sador to St. Petersburg and that my name had been
sent to the Senate.
" Court Ball. The Court, having been in mourn
ing on February 20 for Grand Duke Sergius, gave
only one ball. We arrived at 10.15, found every one
in place and all the Diplomatic Corps present, except
the British Ambassador and his wife. Lady Egerton.
I was the dean of the Diplomatic Corps, as the Turkish
Ambassador, Rechid Bey, and Barrere, French Am
bassador, were not present. The heat and the crowd
were terrible.
"At eleven o'clock the King and Queen entered,
foUowed by the Master of Ceremonies and ladies-in-
waiting. Countess della Trinita, Princess Teano, and
Donna Franca Florio, looking exceedingly handsome.
Had a long talk with the King. Again expressed his
regret at my leaving. Told me of his experience in
Russia, When he was in a port, he gave 20 roubles
to a man. Shortly there was great fight over it. One
man bit the tongue out of another, and he called the
poUce, fearing his Italians would be injured. The
police took the offending man, three stood on him, and

HUNTING ON THE CAMPAGNA: MR. METER ON HIS HORSE

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 129
a fourth beat him, and later took and held his head
imder water. His Majesty said it made him sick.
It surprised the Russian that he stopped it. The
King pointed out a man that he had arrested when an
officer and put in prison for lying — was now a
deputy !
" The Queen spoke first with the two Annunziate,
then with the Ambassadresses, and then made the
round of the room. After she had returned to her
seat, as I was the dean, she sent for me first among
the Diplomatic Corps, Asked how soon I was leav
ing, and said what a pity it was. The Russian defeat
was referred to, and she said the King's sympathies
were for Japan and that at table they were always
talking about it. The heat was so great Julia had to
leave the ball. Her mother and Alice received many
compliments, " Take Alice hunting with me; poor sport, but
beautiful day,
" March 8. — Senate confirms my appointment as
Ambassador to St, Petersburg, Wire Eddy to hire
the Countess Kleinmichel house ^ for an Embassy.
" Kuropatkin seems to be retreating, but in some
order." To Senator Lodge Rome, March 12, 1905.
Dear Cabot, —
Yours of the 25th ultimo received. I am much obliged
for the hint as to the treatment McCormick ^ received from
* Formerly occupied by the Spanish Embassy.
2 Robert S. McCormick, of Illinois, Meyer's predecessor at St. Peters
burg.

130 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^^^
the Russians when the war broke out. I do not expect to be
received with the glad hand or smUing countenance, but I
shall insist upon receiving such recognition and courtesies as
are due to me officially as Ambassador of the United States of
America. The Government, however, puts me in an awkward
situation by not furnishing a courier, as is done at the other
Embassies, to convey the pouch across the frontier. Imagine
if the United States Senators secretly read each others' letters ;
the relations between some of them would certainly become
strained, or at least, not be as cordial as they are now. Neither
would it conduce to agreeable or better legislation.
As I do not expect to go to Russia again, after I am
through being Ambassador, it is really immaterial to me per
sonally whether they read my dispatches or not, except for
the fact that their knowledge of the instructions sent to me
or of my answers to the Department and private letters to the
President will certainly restrict my usefulness and make it very
hard to carry out his wishes.
In order to obtain any results I should be put in a posi
tion to forward confidential reports that should not be read by
the Foreign Office in St, Petersburg before they reach
Washington. I mention this to you because, in my letter of January
20 to the President, I asked if the question of a courier might
have his support. In his favour of February 6 he does not refer
to it. Now, I do not want to make this demand to the State
Department if it does not meet with his approval. Therefore,
if you could let me know it would be much appreciated,^
I quoted the opinions of the Russian attache and the
French director in St. Petersburg, in order to show how far
apart they were. While there is no question about the Russians
lying, they are at the same time very stubborn and apparently
unable to see the handwriting on the wall.
1 Meyer's request fot a special courier was granted.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 131
Yesterday I had a half an hour caU at my apartment
from the Chinese Minister, who came with his French inter
preter. He informed me that in Peking they realized that we
were the only country that was absolutely sincere, when we
asserted that we desired no territory in their Kingdom, but
were for the neutrality and integrity of China. He asked what
we intended to send to Manchuria when the open door was
established, and if Alaska joined Russian territory.'' I related
to him that, in the last few years, we had taken in gold from
Alaska as much if not more than we had paid Russia for the
entire territory. I have never heard him laugh out loud before,
but he threw himself back in his chair and seemed immensely
amused by this.
Barrere has written his coUeague, the French Ambassador
in St. Petersburg, to give me whatever assistance he can.
The day after I was confirmed in the Senate, I cabled
the State Department to send my letters of recall, official pass
ports for myself and family, and letters of credence, all
together, direct to Rome, as it will assist me and expedite
matters to have it done in that way.
Very sincerely yours,
George v. L. Meyer.

[Diary']
" March 19. — Farewell dinner given to us by sixty
Italians at the Grand Hotel. They included the Ser-
monetas, Teanos, Bruschis, Terranovas, Viggianos,
Patemos, Caetanis, Sinninos (Colonna), Orsinis,
Donna Franca Florio, Rudinis, Tittonis, Ruspoli,
Grazioli, Gughelmis, Mazzoleni, Lecca Cappelh,
Bourbon del Montis, Belmonti, ApoUonj, Cavriani,
Sforza, Pietromarchi, etc.

132 GEORGE von L. MEYER "^"^
" It was a i*emarkable gathering of the Court; the
'Blacks,' the Cabinet were aU represented. It was
given in the library, beautifully decorated, in all seven
tables, about ten each. The Duke of Sermoneta made
the toast of the evening, being most cordial and com
plimentary in his remarks, and ended by saying that
whenever we returned, we would find our welcome
most cordial and their hearts as warm towards us as
ever, and that our departure was a great loss to them
and to Rome.
" The young Marquis Guglielmi then spoke for the
young Italians, in the same cordial and hearty man
ner, and was most complimentary to Alice and the
girls. The speeches had been made in French, so
I answered as follows : ' Mes amis, permettez-moi
d'employer cette expression a votre egard. Je suis
tres flatte et touche meme de votre attention ce soir.
Dans toute ma vie je n'ai jamais ete plus content ni
plus heureux que pendant mon sejour a Rome. Je
pars maintenant, ou bientot, et ce n'est pas sans
regret, je vous assure. Je me souviendrai ton jours
avec affection de vos bontes et de votre hospitalite.
Je desire vous remercier pour moi meme d'abord, et
puis au nom de ma famille.'
" The Duke thanked me for my remarks, and said
that such a dinner had never before been given to
any ambassador of any country!"
From a letter to President Roosevelt, dated March
25, a single sentence should be quoted: " This morning I
received a letter from Eddy, in which he informs me

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 133
that the German Emperor has sent an autograph
letter to the German Ambassador there, asking him
to show me every courtesy and attention, and to be
of as much assistance as possible,"
The diary proceeds : —
"March 27. — Have asked for audience with his
Majesty, as I intend leaving Saturday, April 1, and
to be allowed to take my conge without presenting
my letters of recaU, which are to be presented by Mr.
White ;^ also for an audience for Alice and myself with
the Queen. Wired the Department that I had asked
for fareweU audiences and that Mr. White would
present my letters of recall. ShaU start for Paris,
Saturday, April 1, and then proceed to St. Petersburg
as soon as my letters of credence arrive. They are
on the Lucania, which sailed from New York for
Bremen, Saturday, March 25.
"March 28. — Farewell audience with the Queen
Mother at 2.30. Received us most cordially, talked
a good deal about Russia. She spoke of him [the
Tsar] as a man who had not kept his word about
Finland and treated the people abominably. I also
recaUed the fact that he had done so in regard to his
returning the visit of the King of Italy. Gave me a
list of very interesting books on Japan, which she
wrote herself on my card.
" March 29. — It is said that the Japanese are
surrounding and cutting off the retreat of General
Linevitch. If true, it will be a terrible defeat for the
Russians. The talk for peace continues; the Japanese
1 Henry White, Meyer's succeBSor as United States Ambassador to Italy.

134 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"^
have placed a loan in London and New York, and
the French have given out that they will not make
another loan unless peace is made. Meantime the
Tsar has declined the good offices of the Emperor
for peace. He cannot, and will not, be enlightened as
to the terrible disaster awaiting his Empire abroad
and at home.
" March 30. — Farewell audience with the King at
11 o'clock. Expressed great regret at my departure
and hoped I would come back. I complimented His
Majesty on the advance in prosperity which had taken
place since my sojourn in Italy. I said I wished
baccarat could be stopped at the clubs, as it was
ruining so many young men. ' There is a law against
it.' ' Yes,' I replied, ' but it is not enforced, and
public sentiment should be aroused in the matter.'
After a talk of half an hour the King ended the audi
ence by saying, ' The Queen and myself will have
the pleasure of seeing you at dinner to-night.' He
told me that he would guarantee to copy the seal on
our pouch in two minutes, and was very glad to hear
that I had obtamed a messenger from my Govern
ment. " The King and Queen give us a farewell dinner
at the Royal palace at 8 o'clock. I gave my arm to
the Queen and the King escorted Alice, to my sur
prise going behind. The dinner was served in the
room with five tapestries, that is used as a supper-
room after a reception to the Corps Diplomatique.
The King was not very talkative at dinner, but the
Queen talked a good deal in French. She told me a

1905] AMBASSADOR TO ITALY 135
good deal of Russian hfe. As usual talked of her
children. Was amazed when I told her that I had
sold my auto for 35,000 francs; told the Kmg about
it across the table and said ' I wish you would stay
and seU mine for that.'
" After dinner Gianotti took me to another room,
where we smoked our cigars.
" March 31. — My first and farewell audience with
the Pope. Alice, the girls, myself, and Bey had our
audience at 12. He received us in his library and
made us aU sit down whUe he sat at his desk. He
talked very clearly and distinctly in Italian, and I
answered him in French. He told me that he was
corresponding with the Tsar and prayed for peace.
He noticed that Julia had a photograph of him in her
hand, which he offered to sign.
" Afterwards we paid our respects to Merry del
Val, Secretary of State, in the Borghese apartment of
the Vatican. We joked about young men getting in
office both in America and in the Vatican. He is very
clean-cut looking.
"April 1. — FareweU audience with H.R.H. the
Duchess of Aosta, at the Quirinal Palace, at 10
o'clock. She received me in a most cordial and
friendly manner. Looked very well. She was very
outspoken about the Russians and the Grand Dukes,
saying they were such terrible thieves. Another
winter they were to live in Naples, and she hoped to
get some riding, which I told her would be very easy
if she lived in Capo-di-Monti. She was now going
to join the Queen of England. After nearly an hour's

136 GEORGE VON L, MEYER f^»^^
call, she wished me good-bye, asked me to send her
mine and Alice's photographs,
" Leave Rome at 1,40, on the train for Paris, All
the Chefs de Mission were down to see me off, also
Tittoni, Fusinato, Malvano, Gianotti, and a host of
Italians. It was most flattering, and I felt really
touched by their kindness and expressions, as thou^
I was parting from old friends who have made my
stay in Italy among the most delightful of my hfe,
both for me and my family."

IV
AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA
(1905-1907)
The physical contrast between Rome and St. Peters
burg is accurately symboUc of the differences between
the life and woris of Mr. Meyer as Ambassador in
Italy and in Russia. In changing the sunlight of his
first post for the snows of his second, he changed the
background of a peaceful and happy country for that
of a land at once engaged in a losing fight with a
foreign foe and distracted with internal troubles of a
most sinister nature. He left a modern democracy,
under the temperate leadership of a constitutional
monarch, and went to the European capital at which
autocracy was to be seen at its worst. In the nature
of the case, his duties — and with them his responsi
bilities and opportunities — were enormously multi
plied. There were still many pleasures to be seized
and enjoyed as they passed — pleasures of society,
more intensively national, less cosmopohtan, outside
the circle of diplomats, than in Rome; and of sport,
distinctively Russian in many of its forms, and there
fore novel and noteworthy to an American.
But the pleasures, the indispensable " plush busi
ness " of an ambassador — as President Roosevelt
137

138 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^''^
had so weU defined it — could occupy but a secondary
place in the concerns of the representative of a great
country and a great President in such a crisis of
world-politics and history as that which coincided in
point of time with the period of Meyer's service in
Russia. Within two months of his arrival at St.
Petersburg, it fell to him to conduct in person the
negotiations with the Tsar which led to the Peace
Conference at Portsmouth on the conclusion of the
Russo-Japanese War; a Uttle more than two months
later, he secured from the Tsar, again in person, the
agreements upon terms which brought about the sign
ing of the treaty; he followed with shrewd eyes the
inward disturbances of Russia, watched the unpro-
pitious openmg of the Duma, and, further afield, the
personal and international differences which the con
ference at Algeciras sought to adjust. As during his
years at Rome, there were several meetings with the
Kaiser, and, on his way home from Russia, audiences,
besides, with the Kings of Italy and Great Britain.
For all these reasons his diaries and letters in
1905, 1906, and 1907, written in a Russia which since
1914 has in many respects gone the way of Nineveh
and Babylon, possess an uncommon interest and his
torical value. They deal with events and personalities
so familiar and important that little explication is re
quired. Through the years of his ambassadorship in
Russia, his family, because of the climate and condi
tions of the country, was with him less than in any
period of his public life. For this very reason it may
be that his own record of his daily experiences is the

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 139
more complete. It is so abundant that, more than in
any other portions of this biography, it will of itself
tell the story to be told.
The diary, first of all, describes a few days in
Paris, where on April 4 Meyer had an interview with
Delcasse, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, who
" tells me that no pourparlers have commenced for
peace and cannot until both are ready to do so." The
next day he took the train for St. Petersburg.
"April 6, 1905. — Arrive at the frontier at 9
o'clock. Immediately shown to a waiting [official].
Fortunately I spoke German, as they only understood
that language and Russian. Impressed by the pe
culiar costumes — the coats having skirts and tied
around the waists by a cord. The porters wear
aprons. On handing in my passports and laissez
passer, which had been vises, there was very little
delay. "April 7. — The Russian sleeping-car is the most
comfortable that I have travelled in, being wider and
higher than the ordinary, with electric lights, well ar
ranged, and comfortable beds, chairs, and weU up
holstered. " The country was covered with snow, and the
houses of wood; the forests and the fields reminded
me of Canada, the architecture of the churches, how
ever, being absolutely different.
" Arrived in St. Petersburg on time, at 2,25. Met
at the station by Mr. Eddy,^ Mr. Bliss," the Consul
1 Spencer Eddy, counsellor of the American Embassy.
2 Robert Woods Bliss, Second Secretary.

140 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^"^
General, Mr. Watts,^ Mr. de FrescheviUe, head clerk,
and Mr. Vezey, my secretary. Went first to Hotel
Europe, to see my rooms, which were very comfortable
and spacious, with a modern bath-room and American
fixtures. Then to the Chancery, where I found my
credentials awaiting me. Cabled Washington that I
had taken possession of my post."
The diary proceeds with many details of the first
days in St. Petersburg, summarized in the following
letter to Mr. Meyer's uncle in New York: —
To Thomas Meyer
St. Petersburg, 3/16 AprU, 1905.
My dear Uncle Tom, —
It may interest you to hear something about my arrival
in St. Petersburg and presentation to Their Majesties the Tsar,
Tsarina, and the Dowager Empress.
After leaving Italy in the full bloom of springtime, with
all the blossoms and flowers in the fields, it was rather a sur
prise to wake up after crossing the frontier and find myself
in the midst of winter, with a severe snow-storm raging on all
sides. I left Paris by the Nord-Express at two o'clock
Wednesday, April 5, and arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday,
April 7. The country between the frontier and St. Peters
burg, with its forests and fields covered with snow, and wooden
farmhouses, reminded me very much of Canada, yet I realized
how far off I was when I entered St. Petersburg and found the
streets full of these little droshky sleighs, without any bells.
I was met at the station by my secretaries and the Consul-
General and suite of the Embassy, and after inspecting my
rooms at the Hotel d'Europe, went direct to the Chancery and
1 Ethelbert Watts, of Pennsylvania.

1995] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 141
took the oath of office. The foUowing day I called on Count
Lamsdorff, Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented a copy of
my letter of credence and asked for an audience, in order that
I might present the original to His Imperial Majesty. Count
Lamsdorff does not suggest the typical Russian. He is rather
a small man, with cordial manners, and not the type of the
European diplomatist, except that he never expresses a decided
opinion. Wednesday, April 12, was the day appointed for my
audience with Their Imperial Majesties. A special royal train
was assigned to take me from St. Petersburg, at 1.40, in which
there were four masters of ceremony and my own suite. Arriv
ing at the station, which is only half an hour distant from St.
Petersburg, I was received by the master of ceremony and his
assistant at the station, where there were four gilded royal
coaches assigned to convey me to the palace. In the first there
were two masters of ceremony; in the second, which consisted
of the royal coach swung on ancient C-springs, with coach
men, footmen, and outriders in royal livery, and drawn by six
white horses, myself and the master of ceremony ; in the third,
the secretaries of the Embassy, and in the fourth, the remaining
aides-de-camp. The procession proceeded slowly, on account of the snow,
to the park and palace of Tsarskoe Selo. The Emperor was not
living in the great palace, but in the Alexander Palace, which
is about four times the size of the White House, the exterior
architecture being of that character, with a porch and columns
at each end of the palace, the interior being Empire style of
the best period.
After we had alighted and entered the palace, and the
members of the royal household had been presented, we formed
in procession and marched slowly and solemnly to the reception-
room hall of the Dowager Empress. She reminded me very

142 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
much of the Queen of England, due to her coiffure, a style
which is rather peculiar to the present Queen of England and
the Princesses. She expressed much interest in my sojourn in
Italy, where she had never been, and also in the present trip
of her sister, the Queen of England, throughout the Mediter
ranean. After the audience was completed, I presented my
secretaries to Her Majesty and the procession formed again,
marching to the other end of the palace, where the Imperial
Guard was drawn up, giving the salute in honour of the
Ambassador. On entering the reception hall, I was received at the same
time by the Emperor and Empress, who were standing in the
centre of the room. I made the customary three bows, one on
the threshold, one halfway, and the other as I shook hands
with the Emperor, and saluted and kissed the hand of the
Empress. She had a very triste and restrained air, and has
grown much stouter, as she has been nursing the Tsare-
vich. The photographs of the Emperor give one an exceUent
idea, as he resembles them strongly. He appears to be rather
retiring and a little embarrassed in talking, but he looked in
better condition than I expected. The conversation progressed
rather hesitatingly, or without much fluency, until I happened
to remark that I had met His Imperial Majesty's brother, the
Grand Duke Michel, at Kiel, when I was racing there with the
Emperor of Germany. He quite waked up then, and wished to
know all about it, and as the incident* was rather amusing, it
broke the ice and made my audience pass off very pleasantly.
It happened that I was at Kiel the summer of the King of
England's coronation and had been racing the entire day on
the Meteor with the Kaiser and Prince Henry. That evening
we had gone into a little port called Eckernforde, where the
iSee ante, p. 61.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 143
Emperor each year has a smoke-talk and beer evening at the
little town hall, to which all the owners of the different yachts
are invited. In the middle of the evening, while I was sitting
next to the Emperor, Prince Henry came up and announced
that His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Michel had just
entered the harbour on the Russian yacht, having come straight
from England, and that he desired to have an audience with
His Majesty. The Emperor replied that that was impossible
on account of his costume and the entertainment of the evening,
but that he would be pleased to see him if he would come
informally. Prince Henry disappeared, and returned in about
an hour afterwards with the Grand Duke and his suite, who
must have been surprised. The Emperor, as he entered the
room, remarked to me : " I imagine this is the first time a Grand
Duke has seen a King receive in such an informal way as this."
I moved away, after being presented to the Grand Duke, in
order to give him my place, and Prince Henry then told me of
his experience. He had found it impossible to get hold of a
launch, as they were all out at the yachts, not having been
ordered to be at the docks until an hour later, so he hailed a
fishing boat and was rowed out to the Russian yacht by three
fishermen. When he approached, the flash-lights were thrown
on him and he was forbidden to come on board. He said : " That
incensed me for the moment, but I realized the situation and
that it would be foolish for me to announce that I was Prince
Henry, as it would not have been believed, but I stated that I
was a German Admiral and insisted upon coming aboard. After
some hesitation, I was allowed to approach the boat, and con
fusion reigned for a moment when they recognized who I was,
and explanations and excuses on both sides were the order of
the day."
The Emperor and Empress laughed over the description,
and after further conversation of about fifteen minutes, the

144 GEORGE VON L, MEYER t^^^^
audience was closed by the Emperor asking me to present my
secretaries. The stories that he attempted suicide are foolish news
paper gossip. I was also surprised to see that the palace was
not guarded, but there seemed to be simply two sentries at the
gates. It is surrounded by a beautiful park with trees and
drives and walks, and looks brilliant from the sun shining on
the snow,
AU talk of peace seems to have evaporated for the present,
a different aspect and condition of affairs being established by
the arrival of Rodjestvensky's fleet in Chinese waters. They
have great expectation of what he may be able to accomplish.
The vital issues are, however, not in the East, but in the
country itself, where the agitations are spreading in every
direction among the people for a constitution or representative
government. Unfortunately, the reactionists seem to have the
ear of His Majesty, and while many promises are made for
reforms, no progress is really made and nothing actuaUy accom
plished. It seems to be a policy of drifting and postponing.
The people are beginning to realize that it is a matter of words
with the Government and not of action, and unless something
is really done, the tendency in the land is towards revolution.
The reformists, as well as the Government, are at a disad
vantage, because there are no real leaders ; but it is very sad to
see this country drifting towards chaos from a lack of appre
ciation of the real situation and the necessity of reforms.
I have nothing to criticize in the way of my reception. The
Russians that I have met have been extremely courteous and
in some cases hospitable, and there is nothing to complain of
except the climate. I have leased the Countess Kleinmichel's
house, which was formerly the Spanish Embassy, when Prince
Pio of Savoy was here, a little over a year ago. My family
are leaving Rome to-morrow and wiU work up slowly to Paris.

THE KLEINMICHEL PALACE, AMERICAN EMBASSY AT ST. PETERSBURG, 19(-5-0r

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 145
I have not quite decided when to let them come up here, as I
am watching the trend of events. There is a good deal of
nervousness among the people, though as far as the eye is con
cerned, the city is in a normal condition. There is a feeling
that there may be a movement on the first of May throughout
Russia, but I should be surprised if anything is really accom
plished, because the Government and the troops will be pre
pared, such a long notice having been given.
I hope this finds you weU after the severe winter that you
have had in New York. I suppose by the time this reaches you,
you will be thinking of running down to the Suffolk Club, and
I envy your casting a fly for the trout.
Sincerely your nephew, George v. L. Meter.

In a letter to President Roosevelt, written three
days earlier, Meyer had written thus of his first inter
view with the Emperor and Empress : —
I had hoped I should see the Emperor alone, as the English
Ambassador had told me that the young Empress was influencing
her husband to continue the war and gain a victory.
I delivered your instructions as cabled by Adee on March
27, and she drew nearer and never took her eyes off the Tsar.
When I pronounced the words : " At a proper season, when the
two warring nations are willing, the President would gladly
use his impartial good oflices towards the reaUzation of an
honourable and lasting peace, alike advantageous to the parties
and beneficial to the world," His Majesty looked embarrassed,
and then said, " I am very glad to hear it " ; but instantly
turned the conversation on to another subject, never alluding to
it again.

146 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^os
A postscript to this letter adds : —
It is already said by a certain Grand Duchess that the
Tsarina was present on purpose to prevent the Tsar commit
ting himself in any way or my having an extended conversa
tion. In his diary for April 12 Meyer, moreover,
had written:
" Delivered my special instructions from the Presi
dent about offering to use his good offices for peace.
He seemed embarrassed, merely said, ' I am glad to
hear it.' The Empress watched him like a cat. She
is for continuing the war,"
It was obvious enough that difficulties lay ahead.
Meanwhile there were many signs that agreeable per
sonal relations would soon be established in the portions
of St, Petersburg society with which Meyer was to be
come most familiar. Cordial audiences with the Grand
Dukes foUowed in rapid succession before the end of
April. Almost immediately upon his arrival he wrote
in his diary : —
" As yet I have received only politeness from the
Russians, and in the most well-bred manner. CaUed
on the different Ambassadors, but found only three
at home: M. Bompard [the French Ambassador], who
told me that he had already received a letter from
Barrere about me (I envied the Government tapes
tries that he had in his house) ; Baron d'Aehrenthal,
the Austrian Ambassador, who impressed me as a
clean-cut, able man, high-bred looking; and Chevalier

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 147
Melegari, the Itahan Ambassador. Although we had
never seen each other before, we met as old friends,
having so many in common in Italy. Late in the
afternoon drove to the Belosselskys. She was a Miss
Whittier of Boston, and is one of the smartest women
in St. P., and belongs to the most agreeable set. Polo
is played in their grounds,"
Meyer himself was soon taking part in the game,
and in many ways rapidly extending his acquaintance
in St. Petersburg. The British Ambassador, Sir
Charles Hardinge, and the German, Graf von Alvens-
leben, begin to figure in his journal. The Turkish
Ambassador tells him one day that he was in Paris
during the Siege of 1870, and the Commune, " Dur
ing the Commune," the diary reports, " food got very
scarce, and one day his cook said that he had been
able to get a hare only with great difficulty; but two
days later he noticed that his cat was missing, and
found that he had eaten it." Employments of many
kinds were soon filUng the days as fuU as they had
been at Rome. In a letter to his wife he described
his first capercailzie, or " cock-of-the-woods," shoot,
mentioned also in a letter of the next day to the
President. To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, 21/4 May, 1905.
. . . Last Monday I went out with Csekonics^ to
shoot the capercailzie. At the Club House we joined Prince
Belosselsky and several other Russians. No Ambassador has
1 Count Ivan Csekonics, Attache, late Secretary of the Austrian Bm-
baaey.

148 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^''^
been out there shooting since the Duke of Montebello was here
as French Ambassador. They were all exceedingly polite, and
I enjoyed it very much; but it is different from any sport that
I have ever engaged in and very hard work. We sat up tUl mid
night playing bridge, and then had to start off for the woods,
over the worst roads I have ever struck, in wagons with no
springs. After going as far as possible, you get down and walk
in leather boots up to your hips through the woods. That I
enjoyed very much, because it was so weird and attractive.
When we got near the rendezvous, in order not to disturb the
game, I had to sit down and wait for the coming dawn, and it
was so interesting hearing the different wood sounds. First,
about 2 A.M., was the screech of the night-owl, and strange to
say, the first bird that sang before the break of dawn was the
grey partridge. Then came the call of the moose, and later
on the signal of the capercailzie to his mate, for which we were
waiting. Then we began stalking, so to speak, the bird, which
is sitting in some high tree giving the peculiar sounds. You
can only take about three steps at a time, and must stop
instantly when he stops singing. Otherwise he takes alarm
before you can get within gun-shot. The difficulty is to locate
the tree in the midst of the forest, and to be able to outline the
bird against the sky, because it is stiU dark, with a slight grey
dawn, when you begin to shoot. I was very fortunate and
killed two, which was the limit last year for one morning, and
could have shot a third, but my guide prevented it, not knowing
the regulations had been changed this year to three, which
Belosselsky managed to obtain. We got back to the Club
House between five and six, and then had coffee and eggs, and
I turned in later and slept till noon. In the afternoon we went
woodcock shooting but had very poor sport. It was the most
difficult walking, as the roads are impossible, even for walking.
One sinks almost to one's knees and slips, and we finaUy took

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 149
to the fields. That night we went through the same routine,
only the birds would not give the call the next morning, as it
was a day like the first of June at home. I never saw such a
wonderful sunset, and I have never seen such neglected and
undeveloped country. Great possibilities, but no organization
and no energy.
That day we got into St, Petersburg at eight o'clock in
the morning, having been up all night, and I was indeed glad
to jump into bed for three or four hours, as I was obliged to
lunch at one and call at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the
afternoon, where all of my colleagues assembled. The English
and Spanish Ambassadors, however, are both away on leave.
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, 22/5 May, 1905.
My nEAE Me, Pkesident, —
Yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs received the
Diplomatic Corps. There is always a reception of Ambassadors
and Ministers in the ante-camera while they await their turn.
Great interest and curiosity was expressed in the report that
you had shortened your trip, and also in the coincidence of the
German and English Ambassadors at Washington taking leave
at the same time.
Everything in St. Petersburg has been very quiet the past
week, and Count Lamsdorff expressed ignorance as to whether
the Rodjestvensky Fleet and the Third Baltic Fleet have united,
or even as to their exact whereabouts. It is thought here that
the Admiral has a free hand.
The Ukase of the Emperor, granting practically religious
freedom to aU sects, except the Jews, makes a great concession
to the party of reform, and if carried out in all its complete
ness, the greatest concession to individual liberty since the
liberation of the serfs.

150 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"^
The conditions in the Caucasus and in Poland, especially
Warsaw, are very unsatisfactory.
I went out for a day's shooting of capercailzie with some
Russians. It was only an hour and a half outside of St. Peters
burg and yet the road from the station to the Club, which, by
the way, was a county road, was almost impossible. In America
we would not think of attempting such a road with anything
except a team of oxen. We, however, drove in a wagon with
out springs drawn by a pair of horses, and nearly upset, as it
was, several times. The Russians acknowledge that this was a
fair sample of their country roads. A characteristic feature,
which exemplifies the extravagance and absolute lack of admin
istration in Russia, was observable in the fact that piles of
crushed stone were on each side of the road. I asked why they
had not been used to build the road with and make it passable,
" Oh," was the reply, " those stones have been there for over
five years — you see they are almost concealed by grass and
weeds. The county officers have done nothing about it and the
farmers or peasants are too lazy to do it themselves."
The same want of system and lack of preparation has
apparently existed in the War Department. A wounded officer
who has lately returned from the war in Manchuria related that
owing to procrastination the Department had neglected to make
proper surveys and furnish the army with the necessary maps
in order to familiarize the officers with the best roads and exact
character of the country in which they were fighting, thus put
ting them to great disadvantage as compared to the Japanese.
There seems to be a feeling here among some of the diplo
mats (on what it is based I do not know), that after the naval
encounter the question of peace will be agitated and taken up
in Washington. Schwab and Flint have both been here. The former has
now left, but the latter still stays. They were in the same hotel

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 151
with me, I know as a fact that they had several interviews with
the Grand Duke Alexis, nominal head of the navy. Schwab is
supposed to have made two separate offers, one to build and
supply a fleet of battle-ships of most approved model and up-
to-date, delivered within three years, the other to set up ship
yards in Russia. The propositions are supposed to have
attracted the Russian Government and met with a favourable
reception. Nothing was absolutely settled, and Flint has stayed
on in the hopes of consummating a deal. The Emperor's
approval has not yet been obtained, and it is probable that
nothing will be concluded until after the naval encounter, if
then. In my dispatch to the State Department, No. 16, dated
15/28th April, I have reported fully the result of my pour
parlers with the Ministry of Finance in relation to the discrim
inating duties against American commerce.
I remain. Respectfully yours,
Geosge v. L, Meyer,
Before the end of May Mr. Meyer's wife and
daughters joined him in St. Petersburg. Passing
events are noted in the diary.
" May 31. — Lamsdorff sends word that he will be
unable to receive the Diplomatic Corps. Probably on
account of the defeat of the Russian fleet, he wishes
to avoid the ordeal of seeing us all.
"All the papers cry out in consternation in
St. P. this morning at the catastrophe which has
overtaken the Russian fleet. All the indignation and
wrath is poured out freely upon the bureaucracy
alone, which is held responsible for all the misfor
tunes of the war, and there is a general demand for

152 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^^^
the immediate assembly of the representatives of
Russia. " Jum,e 1. — The Russian fleet, it seems, was com
pletely shattered, and it has been an extraordinary
victory for the Japanese. They attacked the Russian
Squadron, southeast of Tsu Shima, sinking all but two
battleships, the Orel and Nicolai, which they have
captured, together with two cruisers. One cruiser,
Almaz, one destroyer, and one hospital ship reach
Vladivostok. The three Russian admirals are pris
oners of war in Japan, and about 3,000 of the crews
and officers. The damage to the Japanese fleet very
slight, one cruiser, and ten torpedo boats. This finishes
Russia as a naval power at sea.
" June 2. — Alice and the girls have their audience
with the Grand Duke and Duchess Vladimir, The
audience was at 2,30 with the Grand Duchess only,
but the Grand Duke, who had met Alice and the girls
at Homburg, two years ago, came in and joined them.
He asked the girls what they thought should be done
now and Julia said, ' Peace ! ' He said, ' Why, and
how would you bring it about? ' quite abruptly. They
had been to a birthday lunch at Grand Duke Alexis',
and I think he was a little excited. Contrary to cus
tom, he escorted Alice out of the room, to the surprise
of his attendants, to the head of the stairs. He has
given up going to the wedding of the Crown Prince at
Berlin. The Grand Duke Michel is going instead.
" Jwne 3. — Count and Countess Trauttmansdorf *
1 Count Charles Trauttmansdorf was Secretary of the Austrian Em.
bassy.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 153
and Eddy lunched with us. They were lately married.
She is quite pretty, but very shy like aU Austrian
women when first married; but they get over
that. " It appears that Admiral Togo waited for three
months in the Tsu Shima Straits without its being an
nounced. Imagine the press in our country being wiU-
ing to keep such a thing secret for even three days.
The secrecy was remarkable and assisted materially
in helping to make the surprise and destruction of the
Russians so complete. Imperfect battle formation,
wasting ammunition, and marked inferiority of the
Russian gunnery caused defeat.
" June 5. — Baron Rosen, the new Russian Am
bassador to Washington, and his wife lunched with us
en petit comite, the Danish Minister, Mr. de Lovenorn,
Eddy, and Bliss. The Rosens are leaving on Wednes
day, saiHng June 28 on the Kaiser Wilhelm II. He
wiU be much liked, I think, and is a great improve
ment over Cassini, who has never understood the
American people or been in sympathy with them.
" Every one is in the dark as to what is to be the
future pohcy of the Emperor here. He should caU a
meeting of the Representatives at once, but as usual
there is procrastination, no fixed policy, and matters
drifting." The policy for which Russia was to pay so bitter a
penalty at the end of another decade is indicated in
the following letter to the President: —

154 GEORGE von L. MEYER tisos
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, 23/5 June, 1905.
My seab Ma. Pkesident, —
I cabled the Department June 2, in order to inform you as
to the conditions and state of mind in St, Petersburg. The
press here were not aUowed to announce the defeat with any
particulars until three days after it was known to the outside
world. It is almost impossible to obtain any authentic news as
regards the conference held last week at Tsarskoe Selo. It is
known that Witte, Lamsdorff, and Kokovtzoff (Minister of
Finance) were not present. It is pretty well assured that the
Tsar is for continuing the war and the grand Duke Vladimir
for peace. However, sentiment is quite united against paying
a large money indemnity to Japan, and if the Mikado insists
upon anything excessive, it may end in driving almost a united
Russia into supporting the Tsar in continuing the war. Peace
at any price is not desired, even by those who are disgusted at
the way that the bureaucracy have conducted affairs since the
war broke out. When it is a matter of roubles, there is no
question as to their patriotism.
I have spoken, in a previous letter, of the corruption that
goes on in some of the departments. I quote the following from
the Nasha Jizn:
"It is affirmed that in ordering ships a big commission
(40 millions from a credit of 400,000,000) goes to the officials
of the Navy Department ; and if the question were put to the
manufacturers and furnishers, ' How much do you pay to the
various persons who have to do the transmitting of orders and
payments on orders?' that would give some idea as to how
many extra ships could be built."
The paper then goes on to imply that the best means of
increasing the resources of the government and strengthening

1,905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 155
its credit and abUity to pay, would be to secure expert, honest
men, institute thorough supervision, publicity, and prosecution
of guilty persons, without regard to their position.
In connection with the corruption above referred to, I
notice that the Kassuga and Nisshin, with their long-range
artillery, were the first to inflict damage to the enemy's fleet.
These two armoured cruisers sank three Russian vessels and
received no injury in return. The Kassuga and the Nisshin
were buUt at Genoa for the Argentine Government, and are the
vessels that Barrere had the refusal of for the Russian Govern
ment. There being no commission in it for certain Russian
individuals, the sale feU through.^ If a true history could be
written of the misfortunes that have befallen Russia due to cor
ruption and graft, the world would be astounded.
A discouraging report has got about that Monsieur Pobe-
donostzeff at the last moment was able to persuade the Emperor
not to sign the manifesto announcing that an assembly of the
representatives of the people freely elected would immediately
be convoked. It is stUl hoped that other influence wiU be
brought to bear. Notwithstanding the naval defeat and great
loss of life, I hear the theatres have been crowded throughout
the week, as though nothing had happened.
I am enclosing an article headed " What Now," which
appeared in a Russian paper. It may interest you, as it refers
to you, the Emperor William, and Admiral Evans.
Since writing to Mr. Hay in Paris, I have again addressed
a letter to him in London, which should reach him to-day, and
in which I have gone into the question of discriminating duties
imposed by Mr. Witte in 1901. Notwithstanding this disad
vantage, our exports to Russia were 32 miUions. They could
be doubled in value in a year if we could come to an under
standing with Russia. They are very anxious and ready to
1 See OMte, p. US.

156 GEORGE von L, MEYER ^''""^
come to some arrangement, and claim that if we wiU make
some smaU concessions they will make big ones. In other words,
they want to save their face. They are as stubborn as children
and quite equal to doing nothing if we refuse to make any con
cessions whatever. The duties on machinery and tools have
been advanced in the new treaty with Germany, which goes into
effect the first of March, 1906 ; and unless we are able to come to
some understanding, the discriminating duties will then be
assessed on the new rates, which will probably kill American
trade and Germany wUl be the country most benefitted. My
dispatch to the Department of April 28 went into this question
fully and I asked for instructions. It is nearly six weeks since
I wrote, but I have not as yet received any reply. The Minister
of Finance called at my residence about a week ago, and said
that he realized the importance of our coming to some agree
ment in order to remove the restrictions on American trade, and
he wished to assure me personally of his friendly feeling and
willingness to do everything possible to bring about the desired
results. Every one is really in the dark as to the Emperor's future
policy. Procrastination, lack of decision, no plan of action
appear to be the order of the day.
Believe me, ' RespectfuUy yours,
George v. L. Meyee.'
On the very day after the writing of this letter
the Tsar was called upon, through the American Am
bassador, to render an immediate decision upon a
matter of supreme moment. Meyer's diary of June
6 and 7, 1905, tells in brief of the cabled instructions
from President Roosevelt to seek an interview with
the Emperor Nicholas II, and of the circumstances

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 157
attending the securing and the happy issue of the audi
ence. A letter to the President, written a few days
later, deals more thoroughly with this achievement of
a diplomatic task of extreme delicacy: —
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, June 9, 1905.
!My dear Me. President, —
Tuesday morning, on receipt of the cable of June 5, I
hastened to the Foreign Office and was fortunate enough to
catch Count Lamsdorff as he was leaving in fifteen minutes to
take the train for Tsarskoe Selo. When I asked for an audience
with His Majesty, he said it would be difficult to arrange for
several days. I offered, if it were feasible, to go down that
afternoon or evening — that at any moment I was at his com
mand. He seemed surprised and almost offended at my urgency
and replied, " You must realize that every hour of the Emper
or's time is taken up with engagements for several days, and to
morrow wUl be Her Majesty's birthday; there will also be a
family breakfast in the Palace, and His Majesty has never
granted an audience on that day." As time had flown and he
was obUged to leave for the station, I said : " Your ExceUency,
wUl you deliver a message to His Majesty from the President.'' "
He looked rather surprised and answered, " Yes." Then I said,
" It is this ; that the President requests personally that I have
an audience in order that I may lay before His Majesty a
proposition which I have received this morning by cable." His
only answer was that I should have a reply before five o'clock
that afternoon. At a quarter to five I received a message, that
the Tsar had appointed 2 o'clock the next day (Wednesday,
the birthday of the Empress !) for my audience at Tsarskoe
Selo. I caUed at the Foreign Office that evening and thanked

158 GEORGE VON. L. MEYER ^isos
Count Lamsdorff personaUy for his promptitude in the matter.
He assured me that a great exception had been made by the
Emperor, and I assured him in turn that I appreciated it and
that I realized it was out of compliment to the President.
I left St. Petersburg at one o'clock Wednesday with Baron
Ramsay, Master of Ceremonies, as my escort; a private car
had been attached to the train. On the way down, Ramsay
said, " I understand you are going on an important mission ; I
hope you will be successful, but the Emperor is so weak and
stubborn that I fear you have a difficult task." I said
nothing. ...
I arrived at Tsarskoe Selo shortly before two o'clock,
entered the Palace by a private entrance, and was taken, with
out any formality, to the waiting-room adjoining the Emperor's
study. Promptly at two o'clock the door of the study was
opened and the Tsar came forward to meet me and received me
very cordially. I thanked His Majesty in your behalf for
receiving me on such a day, saying I realized it was the birthday
of the Empress. He invited me at once to be seated near him
at his desk.
I stated first that you felt it was of the utmost importance
that war should cease, and that this was also the opinion of all
outsiders, including Russia's most ardent friends. The plan that
you wished to propose for his consideration was that you should
privately, on your own initiative and with absolute secrecy, ask
both Powers whether they would not consent to meet, without
intermediaries, in order to discuss the whole peace question. If
Russia would consent, the President would try to get Japan's
consent, not saying that Russia had consented. Russia's
answer would be kept strictly secret as well as all that had so
far transpired, nothing being made public until Japan also
agrees. His Majesty said it was difficult for him to give a reply

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 159
at this time, because he felt he must ascertain what his people
really wanted; he was in receipt of hundreds of letters daUy,
urging him to continue the war and offering money towards it.
His Majesty added that he referred to the plain people as well
as the nobUity. He wished to be sure of what the nation really
desired. When he finished, I said: " WiU Your Majesty allow me to
read my instruction.'*" (which I had previously paraphrased).
Then I proceeded, laying stress on certain points. As I got no
reply, I went on and endeavoured to appeal to him. I told him
I had waited several days after the naval battle before I made
any decision ; I had then reported to my Government that, while
the shock was severe and the disappointment very great, there
was no cry for peace at any price, and that I believed that, if
Japan demanded absolutely unreasonable terms or excessive
indemnity. His Majesty would have almost a united Russia
behind him. At which the Emperor rose from his chair, started
to put out his hand, and said : " That is my belief, and I think
you are absolutely right." I continued, saying that I had
known you for thirty years, had watched your career, that you
had won the absolute confidence and respect of the people of
the United States, and that what you were doing now was from
the highest motives, without ajiy ulterior motive whatsoever.
He assured me that he believed it and had every confidence in
you. I told him that I realized how much harder it was in
adversity to make a decision contrary to one's pride and ambi
tion, yet he would have the consolation, if he consented to your
plan, of saving possibly hundreds of thousands of lives and
doing in reality what was best for his people and his vast
Empire, and at the same time winning the respect of the
world. I called his attention to the fact that the war was not a
popular one, yet his soldiers had shown themselves brave beyond

160 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
question — that I did not believe there was any army at the
moment that could stand up against the Japanese army. Why?
Because they have no fear of death, but court it. Every Chris
tian soldier, no matter how brave he may be in his heart, hopes,
when the battle is over, to return to his home and family. The
Japanese soldier's family glories in his death and considers it
an honour. At the present moment the internal affairs of the country
required his entire attention. While it was my belief (and I
had so reported) that there would be no revolution, yet there
were many reforms which would come about by evolution, and
which, I had seen by the Ukases, His Majesty had promised.
His Empire had unbounded resources, and possibly unlimited
mineral wealth which remained undeveloped and would, if war
continued, remain so. No one knew better than himself how
timid capital was, and how all progress and enterprise would
be thwarted under present conditions. Finally, I said Russia's
credit has been maintained in an extraordinary manner, as
shown by the quotations of Russian bonds, as compared to
United States securities during our war, or to Italy's in her
war with Austria. It was an open question if Russia's Consols
would not be seriously affected, as the financiers of the world
were adverse to further loans if war continued ; and finally, aU
Russia's friends honestly and seriously believed the war should
end. What would have been the fate of the House of Savoy if,
after the battle of Novara, when Carlo Alberto abdicated in
favour of his son, Victor Emmanuel II, had not had the courage
to make peace instead of endeavouring to continue the war?
The King of Italy and the Emperor of Germany had both ex
pressed themselves to me in favour of peace.
He said, " I know that. I have a letter on my table now
from Emperor William, just received, in which he tells me he so
expressed himself to you." At last His Majesty said, " If it

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 161
wUl be absolutely secret as to my decision, should Japan decline,
or until she gives her consent, I will now consent to your Presi
dent's plan that we (Russia and Japan), have a meeting mth-
out intermediaries, in order to see if we can make peace. Do you
suppose," he added, " that President Roosevelt knows, or could
find out in the meantime and let us know, what Japan's
terms are? "
I immediately repHed that I had no means of knowing,
nor did I think that the President would be willing to undertake
to find them out, as that could be ascertained at the first meeting
of the plenipotentiaries (without intermediaries !) of Russia and
Japan. Having accepted, he said he wanted to be informed about
Japan before the President gave out the public invitation, after
having gained the assent of both countries. He then went on
to say to me that " You have come at a psychological moment :
as yet no foot has been placed on Russian soil; but I realize
that at almost any moment they can make an attack on
Sakhaline. Therefore it is important that the meeting should
take place before that occurs."
This gave me the opportunity to say to him that, as days,
or even hours, might be an important factor, if he was willing
to trust President Roosevelt, it would be better not to put any
conditions as to your giving out the public invitation after you
had secretly obtained the consent of the two nations. His
Majesty agreed to this, laying stress on the importance of
secrecy, and on the fact that the whole movement for peace was
on your initiative; he was evidently anxious that the world
should not in any way, even for a moment, think that the idea
had emanated from Russia,
His Majesty was also relieved and pleased that your prop
osition distinctly said that the Plenipotentiaries of both Russia
and Japan should meet without intermediaries.

162 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f'^"^
My audience had already lasted an hour, and having
gained his consent without any conditions other than those in
your instructions, contrary to all customs I asked leave, before
His Majesty made the move, to depart in order to cable at once
to Washington, fearing that on further consideration the Tsar
might make some changes in the plan. The Emperor then
shook hands warmly and said with some feeling : " Say to your
President I certainly hope that the old friendship which has
previously existed and united the two nations for so long a
period will be renewed. I realize that whatever difference has
arisen is due to the press, and in no way to your Government."
While the Emperor is not a man of force, I was impressed with
his self-possession. Yours respectfuUy,
George v. U. Meter.
The press of the world was soon ringing with the
accomplishment of the American plan to bring Russia
and Japan to an understanding upon which peace
might be restored. Washington, Tokyo, and St.
Petersburg became the spots on the surface of the
globe on which the eyes of mankind were most
solicitously fixed — St. Petersburg, perhaps, first of
all, for the reason that Russia, virtually defeated, was
under the rule of a weak, obstinate, and iU-advised
autocrat who might at any moment frustrate the good
work of others. There was no teUing what a day
might bring forth. In Meyer's diary and letters the
progress of events was completely recorded by one in
a position of rare advantage to observe them. As a
contribution to the annals of a critical epoch in inter
national affairs these records for about three months

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 163
after the interview with the Tsar which has just been
described may be presented in some fulness.
" Ju/ne 8. — Considerable interest and excitement
over my visit to Tsarskoe Selo to see the Emperor, as
it is known that President Roosevelt has taken the
initiative in order to bring about peace if possible.
" Called on the German Ambassador and told him
that I was not at liberty to repeat the conversation
which I had had with the Emperor (Nicholas II), yet
he might wire Emperor William and say that he would
receive word from Washington and that I was very
hopeful. " I refused to-day to see any members of the press,
saying that matters were in too delicate a state to say
anything. " Played polo this afternoon and enjoyed getting
some out-door exercise and air.
" Jv/ne. 9. — Received two cables from the State
Department — one stated that Japan had consented
to pourparlers with Russia without intermediaries,
and that I was to notify the Foreign Office to that
effect at once and cable as soon as I had done so, in
order that the President may be in the position now to
make pubhc invitation to both Russia and Japan. This
was attended to at 11 a.m. The other cable was to
thank the Tsar for his expression of good will and
wishes that the old friendship between the United
States and Russia should be restored, etc. Lamsdorff
suggested that I write an autograph letter to the Tsar,
conveying the expressions of the President, which he
would hand to H.M. at 4 p.m. It was so arranged,

164 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
as Lamsdorff said it would only excite surprise and
envy of the other members of the Diplomatic Corps.
"Jwne 10. — It was announced in the press to
day that the President had publicly invited repre
sentatives of Russia and Japan to meet, in order to
see if they could agree on peace. This was done in this
way according to agreement, although Russia and
Japan had already both agreed privately that they
would do so. This is a great victory for the Presi
dent, who has brought this about by his own initiative.
The press and the diplomats had been very skeptical
about it all. It now rests with Japan and Russia if
they can come to an agreement, as they are to meet
without intermediaries.
" June 11. — Received cable this morning from
Department in Washington, saying Cassini had asked
to see my dispatch, as he thought I had misinterpreted
the Tsar! The State Department refused to let him
see it, on the ground that it was the office of his Gov
ernment to inform him or not as they saw fit. This
was jealousy on his part because he had not been used
to transmit the knowledge and information. They
notified [me] merely because he might try to embarrass
situation. German Emperor sent me a message
through his Ambassador that he was very pleased with
what had been accompUshed by me and that he was
hopeful of the outcome. Alvensleben also said that
Lamsdorff had [said] that the meeting of Russia and
Japan was assured. Cabled this to my Government,
and also that there was no sign of any hitch in nego
tiations.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 165
" Jwne 12. — Associated Press and Renter's Agency
started a story to-day that, while Japan had agreed to
meet and name plenipotentiaries, Russia would only
name representatives who would not have full powers
but merely to hear what Japan had to say. They also
imphed that Russia was holding back, and that there
were hkely to be obstacles as to a meeting. WhUe
this was going on, received the formal acceptance from
the Foreign Office, in which they agreed with Japan
to name plenipotentiaries. That naturally kiUed the
rumours. " The British Ambassador and Lady Hardinge
dined with us — also Eddy, Foster, Csekonics, and
Franckenstein.^ " Cabled the Government the text of Russian
answer. " Hardinge told me of a secret dossier he had seen
(dated the same day that the Japs attacked Port
Arthur), which showed that the Russian fleet was to
attack if they, the Japs, crossed the 38th degree.
"Jwne 13. — The German Ambassador, von Al
vensleben, called on me this morning, to know if it
was true that the Russians were unwiUing to name
or call their delegates plenipotentiaries. Assured him
there was no truth in it, that I had the Russian answer
and they had agreed to name plenipotentiaries. Asked
him to notify the Emperor of this confidentially.
" The French Ambassador called after lunch ; said
it was his first caU since his return from Paris, and
that he came to get posted and to say his Govern-
1 Attache of the Austrian Embassy.

166 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^"^
ment was in accord and ready to assist towards peace
in any way that they could.
"Jwne. 16. — Received cable this a.m. from State
Department, instructiag me to see Lamsdorff and
notify him that cable was received too late about The
Hague,^ as Washington had been agreed upon, Cas
sini having stated that it was agreeable to his govern
ment; Japan also having assented, it had been pub-
hcly announced that Washington was chosen; that the
President could not now reverse his decision, as Japan
would probably not consent. Lamsdorff said that he
much preferred The Hague to Washington for many
reasons — too far, too hot, and they were changing
Ambassadors. I claimed their action extraordinary in
trying to make the President reverse his decision after
their representative had consented to it; also danger
ous. Lamsdorff to consult the Tsar and cable Cassini.
" JuMe 17. — Received a cable signed by the Presi
dent instructing me to see Minister of Foreign Af
fairs and explain that Washington had been decided
upon with consent of the Russian and Japanese repre
sentatives in Washington, and that the President had
announced it to the pubhc. As far as he was con
cerned, the incident was closed and he could not re
verse his action. If the Foreign Office did not
acquiesce, I was to take the matter before the Em
peror hunself. I had quite a heated argument with
Lamsdorff, and made him acknowledge that Cassini
had been instructed, with the consent of the Tsar, to
1 The Russian Government had tried to transfer the Peace Conference
finally held at Portsmouth, N. H., to The Hague, from Washington, which
bad first been agreed upon.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 167
accept Washington. Now he, Lamsdorff, wanted to
reconsider. I told him it was too late. If he was
unwiUing to stand by Cassuii's instructions, I should
have to take it before the Tsar. This did not please
him; however, he agreed to send my memo of instruc
tions to the Emperor that afternoon and let me know
his decision. "June 18. — At 12.30 a.m. sent a cable to the
President, having received a note from Lamsdorff
saying that the Emperor made no objection to Wash
ington as the place of meeting of the plenipotentiaries
of Russia and Japan. The note read as follows:
' Monsieur I'Ambassadeur, Je m'empresse d'inf ormer
Votre Excellence que Sa Majeste I'Empereur ne voit
aucune obstacle au choix de Washington pour la re
union et les pourparlers des Plenipotentiares Russes
et Japonais. Je viens de telegraphier dans ce sens au
Count Cassini. — Mflle hommages tres sinceres. —
(Signed) Lamsdorff.'
" Why could he not say simply he agrees to Wash
ington? The Foreign Office cannot write a straight
forward direct letter — it is contrary to the habit of
the Bureaucracy."
To President Roosevelt
' St. Petersburg, Sunday, June 18, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
At midnight last night I received a letter from Count
Lamsdorff informing me of the Emperor's decision. I ordered
out my automobUe, going to the cable office myself and getting
off the dispatch at 12.30 a.m., repeating in French the con-

168 GEORGE von L. MEYER I^^"^
tents of the note. Lamsdorff also added : " I have just tele
graphed in the same sense to Count Cassini."
In wording a note Lamsdorff is never able to be emphatic
and straightforward. The statement that he gave out for the
press in answer to your invitation, and which was printed in
the Official Messenger, caused some criticism, the diplomats not
knowing that the Tsar had previously assured me at Tsarskoe
Selo that Russia would accept, and [that] if Japan accepted
also, you were to go through the form of a public invitation,
and in the event of their refusal, everything that transpired
was to be kept secret. The attitude of the Foreign Office in
its communication is absolutely different from the tone of the
Tsar, and is undoubtedly for effect on the public and a foolish
endeavour to save their face.
Yesterday and the day before I had two heated discus
sions with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, as we
carry them on in French, it makes them seem always more
polite. The fact that you cabled me the Lamsdorff instruc
tions to Cassini was a great assistance, because I could not get
it out of him the day before, when he implied that Cassini had
made a mistake and gone beyond his instructions, I said it
was time that he recalled Cassini at once, if the President could
not rely on what he said. I could not make Lamsdorff realize
that, after Washington had been decided upon, it was out
rageous of him endeavouring to force you to reverse your action,
your decision having been made on the instructions to Cassini
and which I compelled him to acknowledge had been approved
by the Tsar, Even then he said : " Why should we not recon
sider, as The Hague is better for many reasons ? " As it made
no impression on him that Japan had refused and you had an
nounced it to the world, I was obliged to tell him that in
America when we gave our word we abided by it, and that if
he did not decide to abide by Washington, I should be compeUed

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 169
to carry it personally before the Emperor, This did not meet
with his view at all, and he answered that it was not customary
for the Emperor to give audiences weekly to an Ambassador.
I have discovered that the bureaucracy was not at all
pleased that I was able to carry through so quickly with the
Emperor the question of accepting your invitation; and as I
have been up against them the last two days, I realize now how
the Emperor is hampered and how much is kept from him.
While Lamsdorff practicaUy intimated that he would not
ask for an audience until he had a reply from Cassini in answer
to his cable, he realized that unless, in the end, he gave a de
cision in favour of Washington, I should demand the privilege
in your name of taking the matter before the Tsar. So it
finally was agreed that he would send a copy of my instructions
to the Emperor that same day, and he would immediately write
me the Emperor's decision, although the formal reply would be
forwarded by Cassini.
We parted finally on excellent terms, he adding : " I am not
accustomed to be hustled so, and cannot see the need of such
terrible haste ! "
The English Ambassador told me confidentially last night
that, in his talk that afternoon at the Foreign Office, Lams
dorff had said to him that, if he only knew whom Japan was
going to appoint as plenipotentiary, it would be of great assist
ance to him in deciding whom to name as plenipotentiaries to
represent Russia. For instance, if Ito is to be sent by Japan,
he would appoint as Russia's first representative Witte. This
would be an excellent appointment, as it would strengthen the
commission before the world. The Minister of Foreign Affairs
also stated that his idea was to have a bouquet of three, as he
called it : Witte, Nelidow as a diplomat, and a general to repre
sent the army, who would be broad-minded and fair in his ideas.
Nelidow was a colleague of mine at Rome. I hope he will

170 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
not be appointed, as he is too old and nervous, and is the
present Ambassador at Paris, He made a mess in Rome of the
Tsar's faUure to return the visit of the King and handled it
in such a way that it gave umbrage to the King and the Italian
people, and he and Ouroussow exchanged their posts only be
cause the King of Italy sent word that Nelidow was no longer
persons grata.
Rosen would reaUy be a much better man, as I understand
Japan thinks well of him and he has a great respect for them ;
but Lamsdorff does not want to name him if he can help it, the
Foreign Office feeling a little sore with him as he is in a position
to say : " I told you so ! " ' June 20,
Yesterday the Emperor gave an audience to a deputation
of fourteen earnest representative men from all parts of the
country, I think it was very advantageous both to the Tsar
and to the deputation, as they were much impressed by his
reply. I cabled details to the Department to-day.
This afternoon at three o'clock Lamsdorff telephoned for
me to come and see him surely before five. I got to the Foreign
Office at four o'clock. The result of my interview and his sug
gestions and requests I cabled at once in full to the Department.
It was evident from his whole tone that the Emperor had taken
the matter finally in charge himself, and that he was acting
under direct instructions. I am thankful that they have waked
to the necessity of prompt action. I only trust that they
have not delayed too long.
Believe me. Respectfully yours,
George v. L. Meter.
For the remainder of June the diary was filled with
entries about the choice of Russian plenipotentiaries

MRS. GEOBGE VON LENGERKE MEYER

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 171
and the many cables that passed between Meyer and
the State Department on this and related subjects.
On the 25th he wrote, more personally, " The 20th
anniversary of my wedding day — a happy day for
me — I have had more than my share of blessings, a
good wife, and a charming family." On the 26th
appears one of several items of the same kind : " Played
polo in the afternoon — could not live here if I did not
get this exercise." The grave state of Russia, clearly
foreshadowing its disasters under the strain of a gen
eral war, is constantly observed.
" Jwne 29. — Mutiny in Odessa. The crew takes
possession of a man-of-war, kills several of the officers
and imprisons the rest. The harbour of Odessa is prac
tically destroyed by fire. This is very serious, as it
may spread to the rest of the fleet which has been
ordered from Sebastopol. The men-of-war in the
harbour of Odessa threaten to fire on the town if they
are attacked. It is difficult to get authentic news, as
there is a strict censorship.
" Go out to call after dinner on the Swedish
Consul, who has a charming place opposite to
Belosselsky's. " Jwne 30. — The Marines in Libau revolted, burnt
their barracks, — six companies in all, — and then went
to a wood outside of the town, where they have been sur
rounded by troops. Their complaint was bad food —
same as on the man-of-war. It looks as though there
was concerted action between the men of the Black
Sea and those of the Baltic.
" Get a commimication from Lamsdorff sayuig that

172 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
the Tsar had appointed Mouravieff, former Minister
of Justice and now Ambassador at Rome, in place of
Nelidow, as First Plenipotentiary, Rosen as Second
Plenipotentiary, and that they reserved the right to
appoint delegates who might talk on special Eastern
subjects as experts.
"At midnight received a second communication
saying that now that the time and place of meeting
had been decided upon, also the Plenipotentiaries, he
begged me to communicate with the President, follow
ing out his ideas, and ascertain if the Japanese did not
consider that there were grounds for an armistice, and
that the matter might be arranged directly between the
Commanders-in-Chief of the two armies.
" The sailors that mutinied on the Knyaz-Potemkin
have complete possession of the battleship. They com
peUed a vessel loaded with coal to give up half her
cargo. They pointed the guns on the town, and then
went ashore and buried the sailor that the officer shot
— carrying the motto on a red flag, ' All for one and
one for all ' ; then they returned to the vessel and are
awaiting the arrival of the fleet from Sebastopol. It
is feared that the mutiny may spread to the other ves
sels, as this has been organized by the Socialists.
"July 1. — Received the sudden and sad news of
Mr. Hay's death. He had lately returned from Mann
heim, and it was supposed the cure had reestablished
his health. I received a letter from him in Paris,
dated June 1, in which he seemed in excellent spirits.
He took up the Department's work at Washington,
June 20, for a week, and then went to his place in

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 173
New Hampshire, where he died. The President, the
nation, and the world lose an able statesman and an
upright man who believed in speaking the truth in
diplomacy. "Alice and the family left at 6 o'clock for Paris.
I shall miss them fearfully, but it is a relief to have
them out of the country, as affairs begin to look very
bad again. The German Ambassador, Swiss Minister,
and several diplomats come down to see them off."
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, 18/1 July, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
The troubles at Lodz, Odessa, and Libau look very serious,
especiaUy in the last two places. I am unable to get detailed
information as yet, on account of the strict censorship, but
the fact that the sailors on board the Knyaz-Potemkin mutinied,
killed several of the officers, and took possession of the ship,
and about the same time the marines in Libau rebeUed and
destroyed their barracks, gives the appearance of concerted
action between the men of the Black Sea fleet and those of the
Baltic. yhe danger is that these actions and doings may prove
an example and suggest possibilities to the soldiers. As yet I
have heard of no disloyalty among the troops.
The prevarications, misrepresentations, and procrastina
tions that go on in the Foreign Office would have seriously tried
the patience of Job. The Emperor no sooner makes an advance
or a step in the right direction than immediately its force is
weakened by a communication to the press from the Foreign
Office, or obstacles are put up by the bureaucracy in the way
of dilatory tactics. For example, nothing was plainer and

174 GEORGE von L. MEYER I^®"^
clearer than the Emperor's acceptance of your invitation, there
being no condition other than secrecy if Japan declined; yet
the note from Lamsdorff, with a tone of superior indifference,
was foreign to the Emperor's acceptance. As another instance
of bureaucratic ways, when the Emperor, on the 19th of June,
received the committee of fourteen, representatives of different
parts of Russia, the Tsar declared his firm intention to summon
a national representative assembly. He also said : " I hope
from this day forward that the relations between me and my
people wUl enter upon a new phase." AU this was modified in
St. Petersburg when printed, and the text of the speeches
altered so as to conform with less advanced ideas, the
bureaucracy not relishing the tenor of the Peterhof speeches.
The Russ, a St. Petersburg journal, was suppressed for a
month, the offense consisting in publishing the text of the
Zemstvo address, which, although it was received by the Em
peror, is considered by the bureaucracy an Ulegal document,
because it was passed and adopted by an unauthorized gath
ering. The Emperor is somewhat in the position that a weak,
but honest mayor might be in in New York, with Tammany in
absolute control, the difference being that the Emperor can
remove any one instantly without any reasons or excuses, but
unfortunately he lacks the force; yet I believe his intentions
are honest and well-meant, but he is surrounded by men who are
not in sympathy with needed reform, nor are they to be relied
upon. On account of the illiteracy in Russia, it will take a gen
eration to raise the standard of citizenship. What is needed is
primary schools in the country and town districts, trial by jury,
freedom of the press, and a national representative assembly.
From the cables that I sent off to the Department early
-this morning, it will be seen that the Foreign Office has finally

19051 AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 175
waked up to the necessity of action and the great desirability of
an armistice. The Tsar recognized it the day he accepted your
invitation, when I was at Tsarskoe Selo ; yet two weeks ago I
urged upon Lamsdorff the necessity of appointing plenipo
tentiaries promptly and arranging with as little delay as pos
sible aU preliminaries.
The appointment of Mouravieff I hope wUI turn out to be
a good one. The German Ambassador told me before it was
decided that he considered him to be the best man that they had
in the diplomatic service. He is also spoken of as the future
Minister of Foreign Affairs, to succeed Lamsdorff.
Believe me. Yours respectfully,
' George v. L. Meyer.

[Diary]
" Jidy 2. — Received a cable from the President sat
8.30 A.M.', in which he announces both countries having
agreed to the plenipotentiaries. He will announce that
they have been appointed as with full powers to make a
treaty of peace, the same to be ratified by the home
governments. "As to an armistice, which Lamsdorff asked the
President to take up, they object to the idea that they
are asking this of Japan, but only personally of the
President, for his advice and action if possible. I
cabled this to the President and asked him to keep
secret whatever they do. It is a small point and the
distinction typically Russian, always trying to save
their face.
"July 3. — Cabled early this morning the names

176 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
of the five special delegates whom the Tsar has ap
pointed, saying that he did this showing that he wanted
to make a lasting agreement. They wiU accompany
the First Plenipotentiary.
" Cabled the President that heretofore I have
thought Revolution improbable, but the events of the
last week (the increasing strikes, the disturbances at
Lodz, the Marines revolting at Libau, the successful
mutiny at Odessa, which resulted in the officers being
killed and the vessel, Potemkin, battleship, captured),
have entirely changed the aspect of affairs. Should
Japan refuse an armistice and inflict a defeat on the
Russian army, impossible to foretell event, due to the
public state of mind and the incompetency of the
Government. "July 4. — Had no celebration to-day on account
of Mr. Hay's death. Received a cable from the Presi
dent, saying that he had notified Japan that proposi
tion for an armistice came from him and not from
Russia. He had also notified Japan of the five dele
gates named, givuig the names.
" The mutiny on board the Potemkin took place
during the manoeuvre of the fleet, when the sailors
complained of the soup and said that they could not
eat it. The officers ordered those who could eat it to
stand on one side. These outnumbered the complain
ants, but the latter ran for the guns. The officer
ordered the men to shoot at the mutinous crew, and
they refused. The officer then fired his pistol, and
was killed by the crew. They also shot the Captain
as he came out of his cabin, and hunted down the offi-

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 177
cers like rats, and even the men who refused to take
part. "July 5. — Mr. Hay buried today.
" The Potemkin put into the port of Roumania
and demanded provisions and coal, which were not
granted. They have given out (the crew) a proclama
tion that they are at war with Russia, that foreign
vessels will not be touched or attacked. It seemed
they notified the foreign vessels to move out of the har
bour of Odessa, where they are in danger of their
storming and firing on the city.
"July 7. — Battleship Potemkin still at large in
the Black Sea. What an example to Russian Navy
and Army!
" Busy all day writing dispatches for the pouch
which leaves to-morrow via Berlin.
"Receive an important letter from the President;
very confidential, and shows conclusive reason why
Russia for her own good should make peace. Shall
endeavour to get this to the Emperor's attention, but
will be difficult.
" July 8. — Yacht Greta arrives, with Mr. and
Mrs. C. L. F. Robinson, Miss Robins, Stuyvy LeRoy,
Frank Griswold. They have been at the Kiel Regatta.
Robinson said that the Emperor sent his regards to
me, and also the message that he was sorry that this
summer he would not be at Bergen to entertain my wife
and children.
" Send a confidential letter dated to-day, on the
situation here, to the President in the pouch by our
special messenger via Berlin."

178 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^*"*^
To President Roosevelt
' St. Petersburg, July 8, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
In acknowledging your letter of the 19th of June, which
came to hand last evening, I want at the same time to assure
you how much I appreciate what you said.
Now as to Russia and peace, I think the Emperor really
desires it, but your arguments are so clear and conclusive, and
you strike the nail so squarely on the head, that I desire to
bring your letter to the Tsar's attention, if possible without
Lamsdorff's assistance, as he is tricky and not absolutely
reliable. It is about as difficult to see the Emperor as it is the
Sultan. The Foreign Office and some of the members of the
bureaucracy have not yet got over the fact that the Tsar
accepted your invitation on the basis of your cablegram with
out referring the matter to them.
I cabled you confidentially July 3 the state of internal
affairs, as they were very serious. I find that some of the
Russians that I know have returned from their country places,
realizing that it is no longer safe for them, which shows that
the peasants are being affected. The condition of the Black
Sea fleet is lamentable and pitiable, and if mutiny once spreads
to the army, the present dynasty is doomed.
The Tsar promises reforms and the bureaucracy puts up
hindrances and delays, and the worst of all is the prospect of
further delay. However, since the marines rebelled at Libau,
and the sailors of the Black Sea fleet mutinied at Odessa, it
has finally dawned on almost all the officials (though they may
not express it openly), that peace is a necessity, especially as
the last mobilization of troops has proven so unpopular, that
in St. Petersburg they have discontinued it and have sent many
of the men back to their various occupations.
What is needed most of all, as I said in my last dispatch

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 179
to the Department, is a regime of discussion, publicity, and
action, in place of mystery, duplicity, and inaction.
Ten days ago I dined with a certain Russian Prince who
is an aide-de-camp of the Emperor and a great favourite.
Thinking that it would get to the Emperor's ear, I took this
opportunity to call the Prince's attention to the tone that the
Foreign Office had assumed in their communications concerning
the Peace Conference, and stated that Japan had made capital
with all the powers by her straightforward, frank, and manly
responses. A few days later I noticed a marked change in
Lamsdorff and a decided anxiety for an armistice; and then
came the communication (July 3) from the Foreign Office, in
which it said that: " The Emperor, as an evidence of his sincere
desire to come to a lasting agreement between Russia and
Japan, and in view of the importance of the negotiations to
be opened at Washington, has named as special delegates, etc.,
etc.," which is the first flat-footed statement that I have received
from the Foreign Office.
Believe me, Mr. President, Respectfully yours,
George v. L. Meyee. ^
[Diary]
" July 9. — The papers say that the Japanese are
attacking Sakhaline. It would be unfortunate for
the Russians should they lose this island before the
Plenipotentiaries meet.
" Mouravieff, Ambassador to Rome, and now First
Plenipotentiary for the Peace Conference, arrives in
St. P.
" It is reported that the Potemkin has surrendered
in a Roumanian port, and the crew gone on shore.

180 GEORGE von L. MEYER "^"^
"July 11. — Receive cable from State Depart
ment, saying that the President sends me word that
he does not believe he wiU be able to arrange an
armistice with Japan before the Plenipotentiaries meet
(August 1), partly on account of the imfortunate
reading of Lamsdorff's communique, given to press
about the Plenipotentiaries and the acceptance of the
invitation for them to meet. Called on Lamsdorff at
10 A.M. by appointment. He did not enjoy my re
ferring to his so-called unfortunate commu/nique; said
Japan was only using that as an excuse: she really
wanted to go on improving her position until the last
moment. He again added that the wording he used
in his commwnique should not have been misunder
stood, as he only used, ' if Japan desires it,' as Russia
did not know, officially, then, or was not supposed to,
what Japan would say, and [it] could not be done
without her consent. He promised to show a confi
dential letter I had received from the President to the
Tsar. To my mind Lamsdorff expressed his com
mu/nique to give a false impression to the pubhc.
" July 12. — De Witte has been appointed First
Plenipotentiary in place of Mouravieff — an excellent
move. " July 13. — Cabled the State Department of the
appointment of de Witte in place of Mouravieff, who
is not in good health. Also sent a cable at noon quot
ing the Edict of the Emperor in which he appoints
Admiral Birileff Secretary of the Marine; speaks of
the serious lack of discipline among the officers and
the grave events which have taken place in the Black

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 181
Sea fleet, and asks his assistance to bring the Navy
up to a proper basis and stand.
" July 14. — The Japanese are continuing the con
quest of Sakhalme by changing the names of the capes
and towns. Evidently they want to make it an assured
fact that it is Japanese territory before the meeting of
the Conference at Washington.
" Heretofore the Russians have prided themselves
on the fact that the Japs had not put a foot on Russian
soil. " July 16. — Witte called on me this afternoon at
4 o'clock. He impressed me as a man of force and
character. He spoke most frankly and directly, more
so than any man that I have met in Russia. He said
that he had been adverse to the war from the first and
had been for peace.
"July 17. — A beautiful summer's day, everything
seemed so peaceful. One does not imagine that bombs
are being made in almost any house, and that the coun
try is at war with Japan, and internal strife going on
among the workmen, Jews, and reactionists."
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, July 18, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
A week ago to-day I sent for the same aide-de-camp that
I have before spoken of, and who was staying with the Tsar, to
come and see me, as I wanted him to know, in order that he
might inform the Emperor, that I was giving your letter the
next morning to Lamsdorff to carry to Peterhof.
I had heard that Mouravieff's health and indisposition might

182 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
prevent his going to Washington. Therefore it was of the
utmost importance that the Emperor should realize the neces
sity of appointing their best man in place of Mouravieff. I felt
nothing would bring it so forcibly before him as your letter to
me. It is only fair to Lamsdorff to say that he had wanted
Witte from the first.
Two days later Witte was appointed, and I have a strong
feeling that your note was instrumental in assisting to bring
this about. The naming of Witte as First Plenipotentiary has
had a marked effect in this country, and has given a feeling of
confidence as to the manner in which the pourparlers wUl be
carried on with Japan. It is recognized as a decided move in
favour of peace by the English and Continental press.
Witte came and caUed on me yesterday afternoon, and I
cabled to the Department my impressions. I also arranged an
interview with him for the Associated Press representative, Mr.
Thompson, which wiU be published this week. Witte did not
hesitate to teU me that he had been opposed to the war from
the first and had counselled making peace on two previous occa
sions. He said, however, it must be understood that he was
going as the representative of the Tsar, and should work under
his instructions to the best of his ability to bring about peace.
Therefore everything depended upon whether the Japanese
would offer such terms as could be accepted. He added that
he did not understand why Japan was not wUling to announce
the basis on which peace should be considered before their meet
ing in Washington. He regretted extremely that Marquis Ito
was not to be in America, as he had a great admiration and
respect for him and felt that they could have come to some
understanding within an hour. Whatever the result may be,
he expressed great pleasure in having the opportunity to visit
America, I am enclosing translation of an article from the Novoe

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 183
Vremya, which is always hostile to the United States, entitled :
" The Secret AUiance between America and Japan,"
Poland continues in a state of unrest, and an increased
number of Bombs are constantly being found by the police in
the various cities of Russia.
Believe me, Mr, President, ''Respectfully yours,
. ' George v, L. Meyer,
July 19.
P. S. Mouravieff's inabiUty and unwillingness to serve,
for various reasons, developed so rapidly that there was not
sufficient time for me to arrange for a private audience with
the Emperor. Therefore I gave your letter to the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, It reached the desired destination and was
returned next day with thanks by Count Lamsdorff. I called
on Witte yesterday afternoon, in order to wish him success and
bon voyage; he told me that the Emperor was writing a letter
to you which he would be charged to carry.
PersonaUy I am much relieved that Mouravieff is not to
serve. You may remember his address at The Hague, which
gave great offense to the Japanese.
The papers have just come to hand with your speech at
Commencement (Cambridge). I was very glad you spoke as
you did concerning the standard which the lawyer and business
man should take. Since the disgraceful disclosure of the Equi
table, a campaign of education as to business morals and
standards seems to be as necessary as was at one time the cam
paign of education for an honest doUar. What gain has the
nation made if the standard of men holding positions of trust
has been lowered and debased?
G. y. L. M.

184 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^"^
[Diary]
" July 21. — Received interesting letter from Pres
ident Roosevelt, in which, among other things, he told
me that one of the last things John Hay told him was
' that he was very glad that I had made such a success
of my mission to St. Petersburg.' Wrote to the Presi
dent about Witte and the good impression which it had
made everywhere (his appointment as First Plenipo
tentiary). The Russians are putting up a tremen
dous bluff about wanting the war to go on, but with
the condition of internal affairs, there is but one thing
for Russia to do, — make peace before it is too late.
If they do not do so, I cannot foreteU what the out
come will be,
"July 22. — Reports have come through the for
eign papers of the condition of the Russian fleet as
reported by Rodjestvensky and Nebogatoff. It is
said that the armour plate was not of required thick
ness, many shells did not burst, and the crews on some
of the vessels under Nebogotoff mutinied and refused
to fight. He was obliged to train his guns on some
(two) of the ships to make them fight. On these two
vessels lots of ammunition was found. Rodjestvensky
had hoped to slip through the straits in the fog, but
it lifted two hours too soon.
" July 23. — Passed the day with Csekonics at the
Wishaw, very attractive place near Strelna. Rained
so that we could not play tennis.
"Went from there to Tsarskoe to dine with the
d'Aehrenthals. He told me that the Tsar had gone over

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 185
on his yacht to the Swedish coast to have a conference
with the German Emperor.^ The yacht left Peterhof
at 10 A.M. He had with him Grand Duke Michel
Alexander, the Minister of the Marine, Baron Fred
ericks, and German Naval Attache, Captain Hintze.
Has created much interest.
" The disturbances expected to-day did not take
place, everything quiet.
" July 24. — As to the conference between the two
Emperors. It is thought by some it referred to in
ternal affairs, by others that Russia is not pleased with
the French AUiance, since she [France] refused to
continue to loan her money last winter, and also looks
with doubt at the new aUiance between France and
England. Therefore, it may be on the cards for Ger
many and Russia to come to some agreement.
"July 25. — The Tsar is returning to-day from
his audience with the German Emperor. Alvensleben,
the German Ambassador, called on me to-day to say
that he knew nothing about it until last Saturday, the
day before the Tsar started. It is cruel that they do
not keep him posted, and very embarrassing, as it be
littles him among his colleagues.
"July 26. — Receive word from the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Count Lamsdorff, that he will not be
able to receive the Diplomatic Corps. I hear he has
1 See Americam Biatorical Review, October, 1918, for article " Kaiser
and Tsar, 1904-5," dealing with Tsar's conference at BjSrke, and the
secret treaty between the two Emperors, aimed at solidifying Germany
and Russia, at the instance of the Kaiser, against France and England —
a treaty subsequently annulled by the Foreign Ministers of Prussia -^nd
Germany. See also "The Willy-Nicky Correspondence," by Herman
Bernstein (1918).

186 GEORGE von L. MEYER i^""^
had another of his famting fits — I am afraid that
some day they wUl carry him off.
" The papers continue to guess what was the cause
of the meeting between the Kaiser and the Emperor.
"July 27. — The fog between Southampton and
Cherbourg prevented the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
from reaching Cherbourg yesterday. She, however,
got to Cfierbourg to-day and Witte sailed at 1.30.
The Japanese plenipotentiaries are already in America,
as usual, always ahead of the Russians.
"July 30. — Lunch at the British Embassy at 1"
o'clock. Baring ^ and Lord Cranley ^ were there. We
discussed the chances of peace. I think Sir Charles*
believes it very doubtful.
" I said, unless ' the gods have made them mad '
they wiU make peace for three reasons: 1st. The
bankers will give them no more money if they con
tinue the war; 2nd. The internal disturbances require
their attention — entire; 3rd. The Japanese have an
army of two men for every Russian.
"July 31. — The Russians, it seems, fear that
eventually Norway, Sweden, and Denmark will make
an alliance, so that Russia in the Baltic will be in the
same position as they are in the Black Sea. Mean
time, however, it looks as though the union of Norway
and Sweden would be dissolved without bloodshed,
although Sweden feels it keenly. Some think that the
Kaiser wanted to talk Norway over with the Tsar, on
iHon. Maurice Baring of the British Embassy at Rome while Meyer
was there.
2 Third Secretary of the British Embassy.
3 Sir Charles Hardinge, British Ambassador, Viceroy of India, 1910-16.

i905i AMBASSADOR tO RUSSIA 187
the possibUity of a Prince of HohenzoUern being put
on the throne.
"August 1. — It appears that an important con
ference is going on at Peterhof, at which the Emperor
is presiding. Grand Duke Vladimir, Michel, and all
the important ministers are present. They have taken
up the Bulygin report, and are considering the question
of a national assembly and certain reforms. The Em
peror and Grand Dukes went on record as favouring
reforms and a National Assembly. But Lamsdorff
and certain ministers against. It is evident why they
are against it, as they do not want to have interroga
tion as to their action and administration.
" Receive letter from Groton School that ' Bey '
must be reexamined in September in Algebra and
Enghsh. Cable Ahce to arrange for lessons at once."
To President Roosevelt
' St. Petersburg, August 1, 1905.
My dear Mr; President, —
I beg leave to acknowledge your kind letter of July 7,
and to assure you how much I value the words said to you by
the late John Hay. Both you and the country are fortunate to
be able to command the services of such a man as Elihu Root.
The Moscow Congress has attracted great interest and
attention throughout the country, — even more than the war
for the moment, — and it has already resulted in a tentative
promise from the Tsar to give more land to the peasants, and
the government scheme of a national assembly is being revised
on a more liberal basis than Bulygin proposed. The longer
the Tsar delays, the greater will be the reforms which, he wiU
finally have to grai.t.

188 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^"^
St. Petersburg is practically a bureaucratic city, and it
is the last place to realize the requirements of the country or
the demands of the people.
The sudden and unexpected meeting of the Emperors on
July 24 threw the Continental press almost into hysterics.
The English diplomats here were much aroused, being sus
picious of the Kaiser's motives, one going so far as to say it
was another case of the Kriiger telegram. The French saw a
second Morocco incident. The Austrians shook their heads,
but thought the Kaiser desired to warn the Tsar against mak
ing too great concessions to the reformers or revolutionists.
The French press, in some instances, feared it would result in
lessening the chances of peace, as the Tsar would not be less
wiUing to make concessions, having German support, while, on
the other hand, some English correspondents pointed out that
it was an attempt for a Russian-French-German aUiance on
Eastern affairs. And so it ran. But now the excitement has
passed off and the nervousness has disappeared. The German
Ambassador called on me and assured me that the meeting had
been arranged by the Emperors themselves; that twenty-four
hours before the Tsar left, he knew nothing about it. His
naval attache had reported that the conference had been satis
factory and agreeable. He did not consider that it meant any
change of policy, or that it was of any great importance, other
than that he knew that his Emperor was very much in favour
of peace and therefore he believed it could not but be beneficial
in that respect.
Lately, in Paris, a part of the press and some of the poli
ticians not members of the government, have intimated that
the Franco-Russian alliance had been very expensive to France
and was losing its usefulness ; but as soon as the Emperors met
and they imagined Germany was trying for an alliance with
Russia, the tone instantly changed and statements were made

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 189
everywhere in France that the alliance between Russia and
France was as strong as ever.
General Barry ^ has written me from Manchuria of the
necessity of a miUtary attache in St. Petersburg at the present
time, for the reason that a great deal of the information re
quired can be obtained much more easily and better at the War
Office in St. Petersburg, where the reports are now being
received and filed, than in the field. He has sent a long list of
items required for information from the War Office, Now
Captain Mott supplements this with an additional list from
Paris. I have written to the State Department endorsing Gen
eral Barry's recommendation and urging the assignment of a
military attache here. It is of great importance that he should
speak French,
When this reaches you, the world will probably know defi
nitely whether Russia and Japan are to come to terms, I sin
cerely hope that this may be brought about, for the reason that,
if war continues, I have grave doubts as to the future outcome
of events in this country.
Believe me, ' Respectfully yours,
' George v, L. Meyer,
P.S. WhUe there is undoubtedly a great deal of bluff going
on, in order if possible to affect Japan, there is still, incom
prehensible as it may appear to you, quite a war party. Prince
Hohenlohe, the Austrian military attache, tells me he has talked
with several of the old generals, who labour under the delusion
that their army has a chance of victory under Linevich, Only
yesterday a petition was received by the Emperor from the
clergy and people of five districts of the Orenburg Government
(representing 38,000 people), asking him not to sign a dis-
iMaj.-Gen. T. H. Barry, U. S. A., and other American army officers,
had recently passed through St. Petersburg, where the Tsar had received
them, on their way to the front as observers.

190 GEORGE von L, MEYER ^^^'^^
graceful peace. I fear that all this may have quite an effect
on the Emperor and very little on the Japanese. G. V. L. M.
[Diary]
" AuguM 3. — Send cable to Washington on the
present conditions and state of affairs. The war
party have been doing a good deal in order to in
fluence the Emperor to continue the war, petitions
coming from the officers of the army, from different
towns, and from even the clergy in some instances!
Also the reformers and so-caUed revolutionists would
prefer to see peace postponed for a while, because they
think that in the present condition of affairs they can
force the calling of a national assembly, and at a very
early date. On the other hand, if peace was declared,
it would postpone the assembly and the needed reform.
It is not that they are against peace, but want reforms
more. " August 5. — Call at the Ministry of Finance.
Timiriaseff informed me that Russia was favourably
disposed to accept the proposition of the United States
to make a commercial agreement under Section 3 of
the Act of 1897; this to be used as a bridge to cross,
and that in anticipation of this agreement he favoured
the abolition of the discriminating duties against the
United States, not in the next few days, but very soon,
as they did not wish to appear to be influencing Ameri
can opinion during the pourparlers for peace.
" The Plenipotentiaries are to be received by the
President to-day on the government yacht Mayflower,

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 191
and presented to each other. Cabled the President that
I had received the information that the Tsar had signed
a constitution. "August 6. — Met the British Ambassador, Sir
Charles Hardinge, coming from church as I was going
to the Chancery. He returned with me and we com
pared notes as to the situation and the chances of
peace. I claimed that if, as the French papers were
saying, it dated from the time that the German Em
peror and Tsar met, and it was based on the Emperor
William having advised the Tsar not to make peace,
then it was nonsense and the movement against peace
was bluff on the part of the Russians; but, unfortu
nately, it would not affect the Japanese, and might
unfortunately affect the Tsar against peace. We both
agreed that the outlook for peace was a little better.
'' August 7. — Courier arrives from Berhn with
pouch and letters from President Roosevelt dated July
18. Cable Washington that the reformists were so
confident of getting a national assembly that they now
no longer were opposed to peace, and had even urged
the Tsar to make peace.
" The President is receiving praise from all sources
on the manner in which he received the plenipoten
tiaries on board the yacht Mayflower at Oyster Bay on
Saturday, August 5. He gave the following toast
which he said was not to be answered: * Gentlemen, I
propose a toast to which there will be no answer, and
which I ask you to honour in sUence and standing. I
drink to the welfare and prosperity of the sovereigns
and peoples of the two great nations whose representa-

192 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^^^
tives have met one another on this ship. It is my most
earnest wish and prayer, in the interest of not only
these two great Powers, but of all mankind, that a just
and lasting peace may speedily be concluded between
them.' " August 8. — Witte continues to be received with
enthusiasm in America. He has made an excellent im
pression, being tall, blunt, and straightforward. He
got off the boat at Newport and went to Boston by
train,^ and later to Magnolia, and then on to Ports
mouth."
To Present Roosevelt
St, Petersburg, August 9, 1905,
My dear Mr. President, —
I beg leave to acknowledge your letter of the 18th of July.
Since my last, of the 1st inst., the conference presided
over by the Tsar at Peterhof has actually accomplished some
thing, spurred on, and even alarmed, by the effect that has been
produced throughout the country by the discussions of the
Moscow conference.
The final vote which decided the Emperor to grant a na
tional assembly, which it is believed will be announced August
13, is interesting to analyse. The Minister of Foreign
Affairs, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Court,
and the Minister of Agriculture all voted against. They
naturally dread the power of interrogation which will be given
to the assembly, and the consequent publicity of their acts,
Kokovtzoff, Minister of Finance, and Glasoff, Minister of Pub
lic Instruction, refrained from voting. General Trepoff, to
1 It was at the end of this journey, according to American newspaper
reports, that Witte, after shaking hands with the engineer and fireman
of the train, outdid the practice of President Roosevelt by kissing the
conductor.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 193
the surprise of every one, voted for reform and a national as
sembly. This is the first time in his life that he has appeared
in the r61e of a liberal or reformer. He is probably the best-
informed man in Russia as to internal conditions and the dis
turbances throughout the country, and therefore realizes the
necessity of the Tsar granting reforms promptly.
Ignatieff, who had been down to Odessa, delivered a speech
warning the Tsar that, unless reforms and a national assembly
were granted, he considered the Romanoff dynasty in actual
danger of being overthrown by a revolution which would spread
throughout the land. This speech, it is said, made a great
impression, as Ignatieff has until lately been a reactionist.
The Moscow reformers, whUe in principle they were not
averse to peace, dreaded it as an occasion for the autocracy
to delay reforms. Within three days they have come out
strongly_for peace, feeling sure now of a national assembly.
The revolutionists have been working on the peasants in
various parts of the country, and have even made arrange
ments to distribute literature among the soldiers in the army
at the front, urging them to lay down their arms in case peace
is not made.
I have just come from the Foreign Office, where Lamsdorff
told me that the Emperor was exceeditigly pleased by the recep
tion accorded in America to Witte. He added that you had
made a tremendous impression on Witte, and that he had
cabled the Emperor to that effect.
Lamsdorff spoke of the probabUities of getting the dis
criminating duties removed, which coincides with what the
Minister of Finance had already intimated to me, details of
which I communicated to the Department,
Believe me, my dear Mr. President,
'RespectfuUy yours,
'' George v, L. Meyer.

194 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
[Diary]
"August 10. — Nice long letters from the family
in Hamilton. They are delighted with the house and
the changes on the place, which delights me also.
" The feeling that peace wiU not result from the
meeting of the Plenipotentiaries at Portsmouth con
tinues. Russia, it is thought, will not pay an indemnity
nor yield Russian territory to Japan. Japan, it is
thought, will demand not only territory but indemnity.
"Received word this evening that the terms have
been cabled to Russia by Witte.
" August 16. — The pourparlers at Portsmouth
are progressing with more promise of success. They
have so far agreed upon four articles: exclusive in
fluence of Japan in Corea, recognizing the sovereignty
of the ruling House; the Russians and Japanese agree
to evacuate Manchuria and to renounce aU privileges
and to recognize it as Chinese territory, with the open
door; Russia cedes to China the railroad from Harbin
south ; Port Arthur and Dalny with privileges ceded to
Japan. " Call on Count Cassini, find him at home. Assures
me that he did not leave Washuigton without regret.
Spoke very nicely about Mr. Hay, and told how he had
received from him two books as a memento.
"August 17. — Associated Press cables that dis
criminating duties are to be removed as the result of
my conference with the Foreign Office and Department
of Finance, but will be announced by Witte or Rosen
in America. These discriminating duties have been in

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 195
force since the beguining of 1901, and have been very
detrimental to commerce between Russia and America.
The bridge used to come together on this subject is
Article 3 of Dingley Tariff. Does not benefit Russia
much, but serves her as an excuse. The plenipoten
tiaries are coming down to the hard nuts to crack, and
unless Japan gives way now in certain matters peace
will not come about. Each appears to be firm and
unyielding. "August 18. — Norway votes 368,200 to 184 in
favour of secession.
" German Ambassador calls to learn how peace is
progressing. " To-day the Austrian Ambassador lunched with
the Emperor and Empress at Peterhof. In conversa
tion with Hohenlohe, their military attache, the Tsar
said that the Japanese were evidently trying to humil
iate Russia in endeavouring to limit his naval strength
in the East and asking for the interned vessels in neu
tral ports. He added that he would never make a
peace that would require an indemnity to be paid or
the giving up of Russian territory. Cabled this to the
President. Called on Minister of Finance to corrob
orate the fact that discriminating duties wiU be
removed. '' August 19. — To-day the Tsar announced the
plan for a national assembly with full particulars, —
this should prove a great event in Russia's history and
is a tremendous step forward, besides being a decided
victory for the reformists throughout Russia, Call on
Lamsdorff. He seemed quite pleased with the fish

196 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
that I had sent him and which I got at Imatra.* Was
much delighted with the impression and success that
Witte had made in America.
" The Russian plenipotentiaries arriving with full
powers and the Japanese with limited powers was a
great surprise and made a good impression. Cabled
the Department that Witte had been authorized by the
Tsar to announce to the President the removal of the
discriminating duties. Will probably wait untU he can
announce it personally to the President.
"August 21. — The project of the national as
sembly which is now assured has not aroused any en
thusiasm in St. Petersburg. In some of the foreign
papers there is criticism of the limited scope of the
parliament, but it should be remembered that there
are 99,000,000 of illiterates in Russia. They must first
show their ability to legislate before their powers are
too large. As the Emperor said, ' Experience will
show what is required.' Play tennis at Krestovsky
with Grand Duke Boris, Fiirstenberg, and Hohenlohe.
Lady Hardinge goes back to St. P. with me in my
auto, and we arrange to go to the review next morn
ing. Dine at the Spanish Embassy with Duke and
Duchess de Arcos; she was bom Laurie. Dinner was
given for Count Cassini."
The diary of August 22 and 23 is filled with the
record of Meyer's face-to-face dealings with the Tsar,
under cabled instructions from President Roosevelt,
1 A few days of salmon-fishing were described in the diary, in passages
omitted here.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 197
on the conclusion of peace by the Portsmouth Confer
ence. Meyer's part in aU this enterprise was an indis
pensable element in its success. It is only fair to say
that without his admirable conduct of the negotiations
in St. Petersburg the work for which President Roose
velt so justly received the plaudits of the world could
hardly have been accomplished. This was indeed the
opinion, and the testimony, of the best-informed in
Russia at the time. Again a letter to the President
affords the more finished record of these momentous
days.
To President Roosevelt
St, Petersburg, August 25, 1905,
My dear Mr, President, —
I cabled at midnight on the 23rd the outcome of my
audience with the Tsar. Yoyr cabled instructions reached me
at eight o'clock in the morning (Tuesday) the 22nd, but only
one-sixth of the message. The rest was held up for nearly two
hours. Of course I am ignorant whether it was sent piece
meal or all at once from Oyster Bay. I have strong suspicions
that this was done here designedly. It was known that I was
going early Tuesday morning to the manoeuvres with the Belos
selskys, at a place between Peterhof and Tsarskoe Selo, to
which none of the military attaches had been invited this year.
The Emperor was to be present, and we were to lunch with the
Grand Duke Vladimir. Just enough of the message was
brought to me from the cable office to show me, after translat
ing it, that it was of great importance and impossible for me
to leave before the receipt of the balance of the cable. I
therefore wrote a note explaining why I could not get away,
and that I was asking, through Lamsdorff, for an audience at

198 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^^^
t
once. I begged the Grand Duke Vladimir to use his judgment
in showing this to the Emperor, which I learned afterwards
he did. It was unfortunate that the entire cable was not given
to me at eight o'clock, as I then should have had time to
translate it and leave for the manoeuvres, where I should have
seen the Emperor immediately after my arrival, without any
formal appointment and before any of the war party or any
of the bureaucracy had had time to know the contents of your
dispatch, or to have warned the Emperor thereof, because, you
know, they have our code. You may think me over-suspicious
of the bureaucracy's methods, but I think when we next meet
I can satisfy you that I have good reasons. As it was, they
had a conference at Peterhof that night, Tuesday, over your
cable, Lamsdorff never getting back to St. Petersburg until
eleven p.m., and he even telephoned me that evening at half-
past nine from Peterhof that my audience was for four p.m.
the next day. It was very evident to me in the interview that
the Tsar was famiUar with the cable, for he knew just where
to turn in my translation for the phrase " substantial sum."
He was absolutely prepared for certain questions, and seemed
at a loss and even perplexed at other unexpected ones. He
appeared to me this time as a man of no force, without any
breadth of mind; he has the Russian capacity of passing by
misfortunes that have taken place and seeing things in the
future as he would have them, and instead of reasoning, resorts
to the subterfuge that his conscience tells him that he must
do thus. On my arrival at the Emperor's brick cottage in the park
of Peterhof, I was instantly shown into his study, where he
received me. From the windows one could have thrown a stone
into the waters of the Gulf of Finland, and as we sat at the
table, I could see Kronstadt in the distance.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 199
I went through the form of reading your cable instruc
tions, and then the Emperor read me a part of his telegram
sent that morning to the Kaiser, saying that, much as he
wanted peace, it must be an honourable one for Russia and
therefore he could not give up Russian territory, or pay a
war-indemnity in any form. The Tsar then remarked that it
was quite a coincidence that each time I came to see him he
had had a telegram from the German Emperor (in their pri
vate code) urging him to make peace.
I discussed Sakhaline and the payment of a " substantial
^m," from aU points of view. He even got out the map and
,1 believe, if I had managed to have seen him before he had
any conference, I would have obtained from him, not an exces
sive amount, but a Uberal amount in payment as purchase
money. He acted to me as though he had made a promise,
or committed himself previously, not to pay for Sakhaline.
When I asked him to realize that possession was nine points
of the law, and that the entire island of Sakhaline would be
come Japanese territory, commanding the entrance to the
Amur River, if division was not accepted, he answered that
the straits were frozen over in winter and that troops could
cross over on the ice, — " and be surrounded by the Japanese
fleet," I replied, " after the ice breaks." He acknowledged it
might take twenty years before they could bring a Russian
navy up to a formidable point in every respect.J
The Tsar next took the ground that a oivision would
only be a constant source of irritation and strife, and if peace
was not to be a lasting and durable one, it was much better,
sad as it might be, to continue war and finaUy make a lasting
peace, even if in the interim they ghould lose territory, which
he felt sure in the end they would win back 8(.s Japan's re
sources were such that they co^ld not carry on the war '"defi
nitely, continually getting further from their base of supplies.

200 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
I begged him to turn to the map of the New England States
and showed him how the natural boundary-line was the St.
Lawrence River, yet the actual boundary-line was an imaginary
one to the south and east of it. Nevertheless, since the treaty
had been signed, we had had no disturbances over it, which
seemed to make quite an impression upon him.
His Majesty having agreed to the division of Sakhaline,
on the ground that the lower half was originally Japanese
territory,^ I struggled for a " substantial sum." This he said
" was simply a different form of paying a war-indemnity to
Japan. He knew and realized that, after the war, the Japanese
would need money. " I have always felt that they commenced
the war in a manner which was open to a good deal of criticism.
Russia is not a vanquished nation. The Japanese are making
claims not based alone on their victories, but as though they
were at the gates of my Capitol. Why have they not attacked
the army for nearly four months? They are also banking on
the internal disturbances for compeUing us to pay a war-
indemnity, so as to obtain peace for the purpose of settling
our troubles within the Empire, I believe, now, that it has
come down to a question of money, the people will prefer to
have the money used in their country rather than in Japan,
and wiU show their loyalty in supporting my actions, and if
necessary I wUl go to the front myself and join my army,"
When I called his attention to the fact that Japan was
actually in possession of Sakhaline and could hardly be ex
pected to give up half of it without at least full payment of
its real value, he asked: " But how can that be ascertained.'' "
My reply was : by negotiation through his plenipotentiaries at
1 Meyer wrote in his diary, August 23 : " As we had the map in front
of us, and I called to his attention how important the upper half fof
Sakhalinel ya- .o Kussia, opposite \the mouth of the Amur, and having
prov"i! - 1'6 ''him that the northern half was more Japanese territory, his
torically,, than Russian, as it had heell Japanese previous to 1870, there
fore it was not really Russian territorjf more than Port Arthur, it could
consistently go to the Japanese."

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 201
Portsmouth. In my second cable I touched on this, and inti
mated that there was a possibility in this direction. The con
ditions under which the Tsar would make peace, at the end of
my two-hours' audience, I cabled in my first dispatch.
The Emperor's manner throughout the entire time was
cordial and agreeable, and he instructed me to cable how much
he appreciated the spirit that had prompted you and also the
efforts that you had made, in which he appeared to be abso
lutely sincere.
There is no doubt that the feeling in Russia has gained
ground that it has come down to a question of indemnity, or
a matter of roubles, as they say here, all the other points
being settled or in such state that they can be solved. In one
of my previous letters I stated that when it came down to a
matter of roubles, there was no question as to Russia's
patriotism. In our presidential campaign after the McKinley
tariff, the Democrats, as you remember, made the campaign
on the issue that the people's pockets were going to suffer,
and the Democrats won out, to be sure on misrepresentation,
but the Republicans had not the time to prove the contrary.
Now the war party here are in a fair way of winning over the
people by showing that if a war-indemnity has to be paid, it
wiU have to come out of them and wiU prove a heavy extra
burden, which in the end will only be used against them and
the country by the Japanese.
As to the discriminating tariff, which I expect to hear
any day Witte has announced to you is to be removed, the
inside history is as follows: The Minister of Finance agreed
that in view of the United States Government's offer to take
up the consideration of a commercial agreement under Article 3
of the Dingley Tariff, the Russian Government would recom
mend removal of the discriminating duties in anticipation of
the above agreement. He wanted, however, to await Witte's

202 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^'^^
return, as a courtesy to a former Minister of Finance who
had put on these duties and who might want to be heard in
opposition. After I saw what a splendid reception Witte had
received in America, and how much he seemed to be pleased by
it, I suggested to Mr. Kokovtzoff to cable Witte for an expres
sion of his opinion, as I felt that he would be less likely to
oppose the removal at the height of his popularity; and so
it turned out, as he cabled in reply, withdrawing all opposition,
I am enclosing to you various extracts from several Rus
sian papers, showing a great change of sentiment and that
they are finally appreciating the spirit and motive that
prompted your action.
Your second cable instructing me to make it clear to His
Majesty concerning the retrocession of North Sakhaline, and
that the amount could be settled by further negotiation, I
'orwarded at once, but as yet have had no acknowledgment.
Believe me, my dear Mr. President,
RespectfuUy yours, George v, L. Meyer,
P.S. If the bankers should refuse to loan Japan any more
money in case of war, as the French bankers some months ago
did with Russia, peace will of necessity be made.
In writing on the same day, August 25, to his
wife, Meyer referred again to the private correspond
ence between the Kaiser and the Tsar : " It is rather
remarkable that since I have been here I have seen
the Emperor three times, and between these meetings
there has been a period of two months. He opened
the conversation by saying: ' It is rather a coincidence
that each time you have been to see me, I have had
a telegram from the German Emperor in relation to

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 203
your visit.' He said: ' You know we have a special
code and correspond directly.' In his last dispatch
the Kaiser strongly urged on the Tsar peace, I men
tion this to show how the newspapers have misrepre
sented the German Emperor in his attitude on this
war for the last year,"
For a few days more there was a lively interchange
of cable messages between Meyer and President
Roosevelt regarding the possible modification of the
terms of peace to which the Tsar had consented. Then
the following letter was written: —
To President Roosevelt
' St. Petersburg, August 29, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
Monday night at eleven o'clock the Associated Press rep
resentative called me up on the telephone and read me a tele
gram which had just come to hand, stating that you had been
authorized on behalf of Japan to waive all claims of any war-
indemnity and to cede back to Russia the northern half of
Sakhaline, the redemption price to be left to the arbitration
of a mixed commission, foUowing the precedent Great Britain
established in the Dogger Bank incident. I wired you at once
asking if this was authentic, and if the proposed commission,
in determining the price of Sakhaline, would be absolutely re
lieved from taking into consideration Japan's war expenses.
I thought this important to know, because it has not been so
understood by the Tsar, If I had been authorized to say that
Japan waived all claims of a war-indemnity and that, in
deciding upon a price for the northern half of Sakhaline,
Japan's war expenses were not to be taken into consideration,
but merely the strategic and land value, I believe I could have

204 GEORGE von L, MEYER ^^^'^^
pulled off peace with the Emperor on the 23rd of August ; be
cause, after he absolutely refused to pay a " substantial sum,"
I tried to commit him to the maximum amount which he would
give, and after that failed, to agree to pay the real value of
Sakhaline, It was then that he turned to me and inquired if
I was asking that officially, under instructions. I replied that
I had no instructions other than those contained in the cable
which I had read him, but that I was endeavouring to find out
exactly what he could and would do, in order to give you some
thing to work upon, as your object was to find a way out of
the present impasse. Immediately after, he remarked : " How
can the value be ascertained.'"' This information I cabled you
through Adee, in order to use the secret code.
I am enclosing you an extract of an article on the finan
cial condition of Japan, which is supposed to have paused
Russia to act so decidedly and firmly in refusing to pay any
war-indemnity. It was originally placed before the Govern
ment here by a French banker, who had been much in Japan
and was familiar with conditions there. He was presented to
the Foreign Office by Monsieur Bompard, the French Ambas
sador, There is also an article of the same purport in the
September Scribner's.
The difficulty has been that, while both Russia and Japan
are desirous of peace, each has felt, aside from any victories
or defeats, that they have the other at a disadvantage, Japan
believing that Russia would be forced to sign peace and pay
a war-indemnity on account of the internal disturbances, while
Russia, on the other hand, thinks that financial ruin is staring
Japan in the face if she continues the war.
" Admiral Birileff, when he returned last month to St,
Petersburg, repeated to the Tsar that he had found Linevich's
army in splendid condition, and that in his belief there was no
necessity at this moment for peace, and certainly not to pay

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 205
an indemnity. This had a great effect on His Majesty, as
the Admiral is considered a conservative man of good judgment,
BeUeve flie, my dear Mr. President,
' RespectfuUy yours, George v. L. Meyer.

P.S, August 30. — This letter I dictated before leaving the
Chancery late yesterday afternoon. Last evening at ten
o'clock I received a telegram from Thompson, Associated Press
representative at New Castle, stating : " Peace comcluded,"
which was confirmed shortly afterwards by a dispatch from
MelviUe Stone to the press agent here.
I immediately wired, congratulating you and the world
upon your great achievement. You have probably saved the
lives of a quarter of a million of men and have placed humanity
under a lasting debt of gratitude to you. Your success is also
most gratifying, as the press representatives here on the Con
tinent have all prophesied that you had undertaken the im
possible.
G. v. L. M.
" August 30. — Mr. Stead, of the London Review
of Reviews, called on me this morning and I had an
exceedingly interesting conversation with him about
the Tsar and the Duma and what it may accomplish
for Russia. Asked him to dine with me to-morrow.
"Dined at the British Embassy; about the same
people as were there last time. Asked Sir Charles to
cable to Japan to their minister, to find out the name
of the French banker that came from Japan and gave
to the Russian Government the condition of Japan's
finances and caused the Tsar to be so firm against an

206 GEORGE VON L. MEYER c^^''^
indemnity, knowing Japan's needs and [that she was]
therefore unable to continue the war for a long
period. /"August 31. — Mr. Stead dined with me last
night, told me of his interview with Alexander III,
and how he showed the British public that he was a
peace Emperor; also described his work at the first
peace conference.
" The Russians are already beginning to say that,
if they had only held out, they would have got the
whole of Sakhaline; also regretting that they did not
have one more battle, as they say this time they would
have defeated the Japanese. Yet the evidence of all
the military officers who are with the army from for
eign countries is to the contrary. Prince Hohenlohe,
the Austrian miUtary attache, says he does not want
to read Russian papers for a week as they wiU now
for the first time be winning battles! The President,
while he has won the admiration of the world by his
actions, must not expect gratitude from the Russians,
as they will say they would have won but for him."
A portion of a letter of August 31 to Mrs. Meyer
touches thus upon the terms of peace and Meyer's
part in securing them : —
In fact the terms accepted were those I obtained from the
Emperor in my memorable audience of the 23rd, and in regard
to which, two days after, on a further appeal from the Presi
dent, he again stated through Count Lamsdorff that the terms
which he had given to me personally, and with which I was
thoroughly acquainted, were his ultimatum. At the Emperor's

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 207
request, I had written them out the next morning and signed
them, forwarding them through the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
who told me the next day that the Emperor was very much
pleased, for the reason that they agreed with his understanding
to a word. He had at first asked me to write them down before
leaving his presence; but as it was so late, he expressed his
confidence in me by saying it would do if I would send them
down the next morning. It was a responsibility after I left,
which I almost regretted having accepted, because it was so
easy to make a slip in a word or meaning, even with the best
intentions and care.
There were no demonstrations of any kind here on the
arrival of the news, any more than there were when it became
universally known that Rodjestvensky's fleet had been de
stroyed. Thompson, of the Associated Press, was very nice
and cabled me the news instantly from New Castle, N. H.,
which I found on my desk as soon as I got home. I have also
had cables of congratulation from Robert Bacon, Count
Scheibler, Charles R. Flint, Frank Appleton, and others.
After the achievement of peace, Meyer had not
long to wait for the conge he greatly desired for the
purpose of joining his family in America. A few
passages from the diary, and a letter to President
Roosevelt, wiU complete the record of the months in
St. Petersburg during which it fell to him to perform
one of his most distinguished pieces of public service:
"September 4. — Dine with the Grand Duke and
Grand Duchess Vladimir. . . .
" The dinner was very simple. I took the Duchess
in; the Belosselskys, Hohenlohe, Grand Duke Andre,
two ladies-in-waiting, and A.D.C.

208 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
" The Grand Duchess again said how pleased she
was about peace, but the young lady-in-waiting on my
right mentioned how interested she had been in my
work, yet she wished peace had not come now, as she
felt Russia had been disgraced and discredited before
the world, and at this moment she should have made
one more effort to redeem her reputation and her
prestige before the world. This fairly represents the
feelings of a great many Russians in St. Petersburg.
Reports are coming, however, from inland cities and
towns showing the relief and satisfaction that peace
has been concluded and war finally ended.
"September 6. — Baron d'Aehrenthal, Austrian
Ambassador, lunched with me and congratulated me
upon the successful part that I had played in the peace
issue. Count and Countess Trauttmansdorff also
came. They are to go to Berlin in October.
" Called on Countess Kleinmichel, my landlady.
She is at the Hotel Europa and leaves to-night for
Paris. She remarked that peace was a great blessing
and much needed by the country after all that had
happened. She knew, she said, the real feeling as
she had been travelling through it. Called at Lams
dorff's and congratulated him that Witte had been
appointed through his efforts. Seemed very happy
over the issue, and that the country was beginning to
appreciate it.
" Called on Mme. Melegari, the Itahan Ambas
sadress. " September 7. — Spring-Rice caUed this morning
at 10 o'clock. Said W. T. Stead dined with him, was

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 209
most complimentary about the Emperor and myself.
Spring-Rice was delighted at the President's success,
and also for the part that I had taken in it. He stUl
sees a great spectre in the German Emperor, and
thinks Germany wanted to force France either to be
come her ally or to fight. Rouvier, now Prime Min
ister, says he will give up Morocco rather than have
war with Germany, as their ally, Russia, is too weak
now to be of any assistance.
" September 8. — A httle after midnight last night
received a cable granting me leave of absence, with
privilege to visit the United States. Started Gennaro
packing this morning, and shall try to get off to
morrow night by the Nord Express to Berlin, where
I shall stop over for a day or two.
" Pouch arrives from Berhn. Very busy at the
Chancery as I am getting the courier to leave again
to-night. " Go out to Krestovsky late in the afternoon, to
get some exercise and tennis with Princess Susie and
Prince Hohenlohe, and Bliss. Baroness Ramsay joins
us later."

To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, September 8, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
I received last night a cable from the State Department
granting me leave of absence with privilege of visiting America,
for which I desire to thank you, as there are several private
matters which require my attention.

210 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^^^
AU the Ambassadors are now asking for leave, and as one
lady said, " It will be the reign of the Charges d'A^ aires."
St. Petersburg (where the war party predominates) was
not at first wholly pleased that peace had been concluded; but
now that reports have come in from different parts of Russia
showing satisfaction at the result, the bureaucracy is more
reconciled. Many of those who had no friends or relations at
the front stUl feel that one more attempt should have been made
to redeem the reputation of the Russian army. Lamsdorff,
however, for once tells me frankly that he is delighted and con
tented. There is a strong friendship between him and Witte,
which has lasted for many years.
There are serious troubles in Baku, and it is rumoured
that there were disturbances yesterday again in Moscow, due
to strikes; but I can learn nothing official, owing to the
censorship. I was more than pleased to hear of the appointment of
Robert Bacon as Assistant Secretary of State, in place of
Loomis. Bob is a first-class fellow, conscientious, painstaking,
and reliable.
I hope to sail September 27th on the Kaiser Wilhelm II,
and on my arrival shall report to you at once, either at Oyster
Bay or Washington, as the case may be.
Believe me, my dear Mr. President,
RespectfuUy yours,
' G. V. L. Meyeb.'
"September 9. — Write my 200th dispatch since
I arrived, on the 7th of April, in St. Petersburg.
This does not include my weekly letter to the Presi
dent, posting him as to the conditions and course of
events in Russia. Ever since Mr. Hay's death the
President has been his own Minister of Foreign Af-

ME. METER IN COSSACK COSTUME

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 211
fairs, often cabling me and signing his own name.
The last part of the negotiations I cabled direct to
President Roosevelt at Oyster Bay.
" Leave the Kleinmichel house in charge of a
butler, chef, chamber-maid, and an under-man, at an
expense of 278 roubles per month. Take the six
o'clock Nord Express for Berlin. Princess Susie
Belosselsky and her sister-in-law Princess Kotschoubey
on the train, with their children. Quite a number of
people came down to see us off."
The diary of Meyer's few days in Germany on
his way home to America is notable for its long ac
count of an illuminating interview with the Kaiser.
It records also his report to the Japanese Minister in
Berlin upon the important work of the American
Embassy in Russia, — not hitherto mentioned among
the service performed by Mr. Meyer, — in caring for
the Japanese prisoners of war. It follows him to
Munich for a brief visit to his friends, the Somssichs;
it shows him, as often on his travels, seizing oppor
tunities for exercise at golf; it notes his appointment
to meet and lunch with the Kaiser at Homburg on
Saturday the 16th. That day is recorded minutely.
" September 16. — Reached Homburg at 8.45 and
went direct to Ritter's Park Hotel. A few minutes
after I got to my rooms, which were the ones the
King of England always occupied when he came here
as Prince of Wales, a messenger arrived from the
Ober-Hofmarshal, Freiherr von Lyncker, enclosing an
invitation to breakfast at the Schloss at 1 o'clock and

212 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^"<'^
also granting me an audience at 12. This showed me
that he wanted to have an extended conversation.
" I presented myself promptly at 12, having timed
the drive from Ritter's very carefuUy. I was received
by Graf von Lyncker, and in a couple of minutes the
door was thrown open and the German Emperor came
forward and received me very cordiaUy, saying he was
glad to see me ; then, laughing, he said, ' If you are not
dressed too well' (I had come in frock coat and top
hat under instructions), 'we wiU walk in the garden
of the Schloss mit dem Cedern.' Then he started
right off by saying, ' I want to congratulate the Presi
dent and you on making peace.'
" ' Your Majesty,' I replied, ' I am glad of the
opportunity to assure you that I realize that, without
your assistance and active interest, it would not have
been accomplished.'
" I then told him how the Tsar said the last time,
that it was quite a coincidence that each time I came
to see him he had a telegram from the German Em
peror. The Emperor stopped walking, laughed, and
said, ' It was a remarkable instance, was it not?
Would you like to hear the history of the first part of
the peace movement, and how I prepared the Tsar's
mind? Well, you remember that his brother, the
Grand Duke Michel, came to Berlin at the wedding
of the Crown Prince? I took him to drive, and began
talking about the war and asked him what he thought.
He answered very quickly, " It ought to stop. The
condition of the country is so disturbed that my
brother should be able to give it his entire attention.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 213
But the difficulty is to know how to bring this about."
I said, "England cannot do it, because she is the
ally of Japan. France can't because Japan will not
have it, as she is your ally. I would be considered
too interested a party. There remains the President
of the United States, Mr. Roosevelt. He is a man
of his word, active, of high ideals, and will have the
confidence of Japan, and they also fear America, and
your brother." " But we do not know him weU enough
to ask it, and how is it to be brought about? " " Why,
have your brother send for the President's Ambas
sador, Mr. Meyer; I know him, he is a friend of the
President, and you can depend on him." The Grand
Duke assured me that he would not only inform his
brother, but he would say as weU that it was his
firm conviction that this should be done now and
quickly. " ' I informed your President of this and sent a
long letter, which I wrote myself, by the Grand Duke,
to His Majesty the Tsar, giving my reasons and be
lief why it was important and necessary to conclude
peace at the earUest possible moment.'
" ' You know the rest, and I congratulate you upon
your work; and express to the President my con
gratulations upon the benefits he has conferred upon
the world by his action. I have written the President
quite fully as to my opinions and beliefs as to the
outcome of this war and its probable results commer
cially. Already a part of it has commenced, in the
formation of a Japanese trade syndicate to control and
extend their trade and commercial relations. AU our

214 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^"^
trade will in the end suffer, but England's most of all
because they are not as industrious and painstaking
as the Germans and neglect their work at times for
sport. The trouble of it all is this foolish alliance,
which will prove on each occasion to be to Japan's
advantage. They will also get English capital to
exploit with, and with their cheap labour and low
standard of requirements will conquer English for
eign competition.'
" By this time it was after one o'clock, and I could
hear the sound of voices of the royal family and
their attendants through the open windows on the
garden; but the Emperor started on another turn
about the garden, talking continuously. Lunch had
been fixed for 1 o'clock, but it was not until 1.15 that
we entered the palace.
" In the Grand Salon there were about forty
people waiting for us, includhig the Empress, the
Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, the Crown
Prince and Princess of Greece, the Prince and
Princess of Hesse, the brother of the Crown Prince
of Greece, apparently an embarrassed lad, and Prince
Adalbert, a charming young prince with delightful
manners, in the Navy. The Empress came forward
and greeted me, and I bowed and kissed her hand,
and she very politely referred to my work at St.
Petersburg, which permitted me to say it would have
been futile unless the Emperor WiUiam had prepared
the way, which apparently pleased her. Then the
Emperor came forward and asked me if I had met
his daughter-in-law, referring to the Crown Princess,

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 215
and presented me himself. She is very tall and slight,
with charming manners.
" The Crown Prince looked at me with an air as
much as to say, ' You have kept lunch waiting long
enough.' He had been playing tennis, and was
probably quite hungry. The doors were at that mo
ment thrown open, the Empress leading the way
alone, the princesses and ladies-in-waiting following,
then the Emperor, the Crown Prince, the Crown
Prince of Greece; at the same time His Majesty
turned and nodded for me to follow. The Empress
sat down, with the Crown Prince of Germany on her
right and Crown Prince of Greece on her left. On
the right of the Crown Prince was the Princess of
Hesse, next to her was the Prince of Greece, then
myself, and on my right a pretty Griifin, lady-in-
waiting to the Empress. Opposite to the Empress sat
the Emperor, with the Crown Princess of Germany
on his right; on the other side of her was Prince
Adalbert. On the left of the Emperor was the
Crown Princess of Greece, and on her left the Prince
of Hesse. There were about forty at table, including
General von Plessen, who went to America with
Prince Henry, and Hofmarshal von Lyncker.
" The breakfast was beautifuUy served — French
cooking and dehcious MoseUe wine. During the lunch
the Emperor looked across the table, smiled, and drank
my health. I rose in my chair and drank in return,
holding up my glass afterwards, as is the German
custom. After lunch the ladies retired to the salon,
and the men stayed in the dining-room, the Emperor

216 GEORGE VON L. MEYER "^''^
and Princes going on the balcony and lighting their
cigarettes. In about fifteen minutes the Emperor
came back, beckoned to me and we went down to the
end of the dining-room, and going out on the balcony
we stood there talking for another hour.
" I told his Majesty that the morning I was to
have an audience with the Tsar in connection with
the President's invitation to send plenipotentiaries, my
secretary informed [me] that Delcasse had resigned.
I remarked then, 'Thank God! I may now have a
chance of getting the Tsar to accept the President's
invitation to the Peace Conference.'
"At that the Emperor launched out and said
Delcasse was riding straight for war with Germany
or a fall, counting on England's support. ' I did not
care anything about Morocco, but I was bound to
bring it to an issue and either force Delcasse to show
his hand or resign. Mr. Bourgeois went to the Presi
dent, Loubet, and said, " Do you realize that you are
on the eve of a war with Germany?" — at which the
President was astounded and said, " What do yoi'
mean? You are crazy." " Not at all," replied Bour
geois; "Delcasse had made his plans and, relying on
English understanding, is headed that way. May I go
to Rouvier and call his attention to the facts ? " Per
mission being granted, he went to Rouvier, who was
much surprised and disturbed, whereupon he called a
meeting of the Cabinet and questioned Delcasse as to
his policy, etc. Delcasse showed indifference as to
German feeling, and, when asked as to his policy as
to Morocco, and if it was true he intended sending a

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 217
fleet of ironclads to Morocco, said, " Yes; " and, when
asked if Germany should take it as a hostile demon
stration, shrugged his shoulders and spoke of the Eng
hsh Entente. As a result of this, he was not upheld
by Rouvier and the Cabinet. Delcasse handed in his
resignation, going out and slamming the door after
him.' " The Emperor ui part blames the King of Eng
land for Delcasse's attitude; said that Edward was
mixing up and prying into things; had attempted
through the Emperor of Austria to break the Triple
Alliance and weaken Germany's friendship with Italy,
and had endeavoured to strengthen his relationship with
Spam by offering the daughter of the Duke of Con-
naught to the King of Spain, which was refused.
" In addition to whatever strained relations may
exist between England and Germany, I observed to
myself that it was augmented at present by a family
jealousy between the Emperor and the King of Eng
land. In the first place, the Emperor felt very sore
that the King of England came to Marienbad with
out calling on him, especiaUy after the papers had
announced it was gomg to take place; the King of
England in a most rude way told the German Ambas
sador that he had no idea of seeing his nephew. The
Emperor referred to his going to England for a week
when Queen Victoria died; and also, a year ago, to
the splendid reception the King of England had re
ceived at Kiel and Homburg, which Edward said
could not have been warmer if he had been in Liver
pool. The King of England had invited the Crown

218 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
-Prince, when he was engaged, to go to England, and
then agaui lately. He had told his son that he could
not have him accept an invitation from the King when
that Kmg showed such rudeness to his father. How
ever, there would be no war, as the feeling between the
people of England and Germany was better than be
tween the rulers.
"I then had an opportunity to speak about the
proposed German and American races between the
Kiel and Eastern Yacht Club of Boston, for small
boats of about thirty feet, — that it would go far to
promote and increase friendly feeling. He was much
interested in it and is to take it up with Admiral
von Linden.
" It was then that Prince Adalbert came and
announced that the Crown Prince of Greece and their
party were about to leave in their automobile. We
all went downstairs and saw them off, the Emperor
presenting me to the Crown Princess of Greece, who
in turn congratulated me upon my work in St. Peters
burg. The Empress then bade me good-bye, as did
Prince Adalbert. The Emperor then shook me
warmly by the hand and said, ' Be sure and take my
congratulations to the President ; ' asked after my wife
and daughters, and asked also by what steamer I was
sailing; smUed when I said, 'As always, by the Nord
Deutscher Ime Kaiser WUhelm II.' It was then
3.15, and I had been there at 11.45.
" I left delighted with the attention and charming
hospitality that I had received and much impressed
with the Emperor's knowledge not only of national

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 219
affairs, but his grasp and intimate acquaintance of
commercial conditions throughout the world."
Mr. Meyer proceeded immediately from Homburg
to Paris, and after a short motor trip in northern
France with friends, sailed for home on September 27.
On the day after landing he reported to the President
in Washington, and wrote in his diary: —
"October 4. — Arrive in Washington at 7 a.m.
Go to the New WiUard Hotel, an_excellent^m^ern
hotel, up to^dHeT I call on Root, who is just about
to take the train for New York, but wants me to
lunch with bun the next day. Called on Adee, who
was very complimentary about my work at St. P. —
also Robert Bacon, who . has not yet taken the oath
as Assistant Secretary of State and was having
Loomis coach him; then on Governor Taft, who was
in great spirits.
" Lunch with the President at 1.30. Admiral
Bronson was there, and a Mr. Tucker from the South,
also Mrs. Roosevelt. The President was very flat
tering about the work done in St. Petersburg, and
said that later he wanted me to enter his Cabinet, but
could not say the exact date. Asked me to come
round to dinner in the evening, as he wanted to talk
further with me. Spent the afternoon with Robert
Bacon; we called on Rosen, who seemed glad to see
me again. He amused me by explaming, as all Rus
sians do now, how they would have won the next
battle if there had been one!
" The President that evening told me, to my sur-

220 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
prise, that the Japanese had asked him to make peace
for them, and that he had from the first told them
that they could not expect an indemnity unless they
got to Petersburg or Moscow. Said that he had given
to Witte copies of his letters to Kaneko, and to the
Japanese copies of his cables to the Tsar through me.
A very wise thing for him to do.
"The President said that he desired me in his
Cabinet, but could not say 'which post it would be,
possibly Secretary of Navy. Then he asked me point
blank, ' Tell me if you thhik you could fiU the place
of Secretary of the Treasury? ' I hesitated and said
that I should like to talk it over with some friends;
that it would be conceited for me to say right off that
I could, yet I believed I could. Moody, he thought,
was going out either next July or a year from March.
He, the President, wanted me to have at least two
years — it was only right. I thanked him and said
nothing would give me more pleasure, and that I
should be very proud, naturally, to serve.
"When I called again on Taft, his first words
were, ' Well, when are you coming into the Cabinet? *
My answer was, ' I imagine when Moody decides
about his resigning.' ' I do not see any reason,' he
said, ' why there should not be two men from one
state, certainly for a while.'
" October 5. — Breakfast with Secretary Root, and
afterwards we take a drive. Make many suggestions
to him about improving the efficiency of our Diplo
matic Corps abroad and the necessity of keeping the
Chiefs of Mission better posted, the desirabUity of a

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 221
new code and also a French code, a uniform system
of keeping the books, and having the Secretaries serve
in the State Department for a while before going to
their posts, having a special clerk who should pay at
tention to collecting information and cabling the same,
etc. Mr. Root is going to try and reorganize the
State Department and bring up the efficiency."
During Meyer's stay of seven weeks in America,
he received many tokens of appreciation for what he
had done in Russia — none more gratifyuig than the
dinner at which sixty members of his Class at Harvard
did him honour. In the unsettled state of Russian
affairs, he would have returned more promptly but for
the illness of one of his daughters. About a week be
fore sailing he paid a second visit to Washington,
recorded in his diary: —
"November 13. — Arrived in Washington at 8.15
A.M. Whitney Warren ^ went on with me. Received
word at 10.15 from the White House that the Presi
dent would see me at once in his office. Was very
cordial and really seemed glad to see me. Found
Governor Winthrop ^ of Porto Rico with him when I
entered. He at once said, ' I hope your dear wife is
not put out with me, but as, during the Commune,
the American Minister was the only Chief there, so
I think now you should be there as soon as possible.
My wife was ill when I went to Cuba, but there come
times when one has to do one's duty and leave the
1 One of the closest of Meyer's friends in New York.
2 Beekman Winthrop, afterwards Assistant Secretary of the Navy
under Meyer.

222 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^***
family, and I realize that it is awfuUy haxd on the
wife.' He then asked after Juha. I informed him
that I intended to sail on the 21st by the Kron Prmz,
and consulted him as to the advisability of stopping at
London and Berhn, to see in each case the Minister
of Foreign Affairs, and possibly Emperor WiUiam.
He thought well of it, but said, ' Consult Root.'
" Next went over to the State Department. Root
also believed in my getting in touch with the Foreign
Office, both in London and Berlin, but thought it
would not do to leave out France. Suggested my
seeing if I could not get Witte to say something that
would reassure the Jewish element and quiet public
sentiment. Realized that it was a dehcate matter for
us to interfere in any way and that certain Jews in
America were merely striving for notoriety. The
President had asked me to dine at the White House
at 3 P.M., — 'in old clothes, and we will take a walk;
bring Bob Bacon with you.' We assembled at 3 p.m.
Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of State, took Pinchot
and myself in the auto, and an African hunter and
Sheldon went with the President. We reach the Park
and there we walked for three hours, going over hiUs,
climbing cliffs on which if we had slipped we would
have surely broken a leg or an arm, then crossing
brooks, fields, and brushing through thick woods. We
got back to the White House after six o'clock.
" The dinner at eight o'clock was made up of the
same men who had been on the walk, with the addition
of Garfield and a Dr. Wheeler of Cahfornia, Mrs.
Roosevelt and Miss Alice being away. The conversa-

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 223
tion was most general — big game, poUtics, diplomacy,
Russia, and railroad rates. At half past ten I had to
leave to pack my things as I was going back to New
York on the 11.30 with Whitney Warren. The Presi
dent on my leaving said, ' Say to the Emperor that I was
impressed with his combined wisdom and judgment in
making peace, and his decision to return to Japan the
Japanese part of Sakhaline, without which peace could
not have been concluded ' ; also that I might say that he
had told Takahira that in his judgment they could not
expect Russia to pay an indemnity."
On the way back to Russia Meyer met with no
experiences more significant than those encountered at
London, Paris, and Berlin in fulfilment of the plan
upon which he had agreed with Secretary Root. They
are related in the diary.
"[London] November 28. — Lunch with Mr. Reid*
and his daughter at Dorchester House. Some very fine
paintings. At 2.45 the Ambassador and I leave for the
Foreign Office, to call by appointment on Lord
Lansdowne. I found that Lansdowne did not see any
necessity of their ambassador hurrying out to St. P.,
as there was nothing that he could do. His Govern
ment was satisfied that the Russian Government Was
doing all that it could to protect hfe and property
of British citizens. He thought things looked very
badly, but hoped, as there appeared to be no organized
leaders, that this revolutionary movement would spend
its force. There had been no disturbances of a reaUy
iWhitelaw Reid, American Ambassador in London.

224 GEORGE von L. MEYER

[1905

serious character as yet in Petersburg. They had
taken no special precautions for their Embassy. As
to Sebastopol and Odessa, they had arranged with
the Turkish Government that a government vessel
should go through the Straits and rescue their na
tionals in case of need. They had also sent a naval
officer to superintend the embarkation. Many of the
wives and daughters of the factory hands had been
sent out of the country for safety. Lord Lansdowne
added that he would be very glad to have Spring-Rice
act in concert with me.
" [Paris] November 29. — . . . CaU at the Em
bassy and arrange for the four marines who have arrived
in Paris, and are under the charge of Captain Smith, to
leave Saturday on the Nord Express for St. Peters
burg. Cable Root the result of my conversation with
Lansdowne, and wire Eddy to have the four men met
at the frontier.
" Go at six o'clock to keep my appointment at the
Palais d'Orsay with M. Rouvier. Found him in ap
pearance older than I expected and quite bent, but
quite frank and outspoken. He seemed quite worried
by the outlook and course of events — France is a
tremendous holder of Russian securities — and could
not understand the people's actions, what they were
finaUy driving at, and where it would end. He wanted
to congratulate the President of the United States on
his great achievement and was kind enough to add,
'Your part also.' He added his admiration for the
President's energy and spirit, and after saying he was
pleased to make my acquaintance, escorted me into the

19051 AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 225
oufer room, added that Mr. Bompard would be
pleased to act in concert with me.
" I called on the Grand Duchess Vladimir, who
was staying incog at the Continental. She had left
St. Petersburg last Monday, and assured me that
none of the things at present Were exaggerated about
the affairs in Russia, and was most discouraged about
the outlook or prospects of improvement. They had
all thought that Witte would have a following. The
Grand Duke had resigned, and therefore had nothing
more to say. She had urged that he come with her.
Thanked me for coming round, and would like to send
a letter by me.
"I asked the Grand Duchess if it was true that
the Socialists were sending men in officers' uniforms
into the country, who in turn assembled the peasants
with their horses and carts and then read them the
Ukase of the Emperor which promised the division of
crown lands. Then they would designate an estate,
and tell the peasants to go and divide it up. When
they arrived there, the owner or agent would say that
it did not apply to them, as it was not crown lands.
The peasants would then say that they had just re
ceived orders direct from the Emperor's agent, and
therefore they would seize the property; which they
proceeded to do, destroying and burning when they
were opposed. H.R.H. the Duchess Vladimir in
formed me it was quite true.
" [Berhn] December 2. — Arrive in Berlin at 7.30
A.M., clear and cold. Receive word that Prince von
Biilow, the ChanceUor, wiU receive me at 7 p.m. The

226 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^^^
first Secretary, Mr. Dodge,^ of the American EmTiassy,
notifies me that the Emperor cannot receive me untU
after the 4th, as he is off shooting.
" The Russian Charge d' Affaires at Berlin came
to my room in the Bristol to have a private talk.
He said they are quite discouraged and alarmed about
affairs in his country; that the naval revolt had been
exaggerated, but it was serious enough any way. Said
his Emperor was kindly and well-meaning but lacked
force and action. ' Why, the Emperor, the other day
remarked that, " we are having strange experiences,"
quite calmly and almost unconcernedly.' The Em
press, Mr, B. said, had an evil influence over the
Emperor and had brought ill luck to his country.
They could not find out who was back of the SociaUsts
and revolutionary movement, and did not understand
who was conducting it. Witte had the confidence of
no one except his feUows in the bureaucracy.
" Lunch at the Bristol with Garrett.^
" Call on von Biilow at 7 o'clock, and am received
in the house which Bismarck occupied in Wilhelm-
Strasse. Bismarck W^ould not recognize it, except on
the outside, as Princess von Biilow, who was the
daughter of Donna Laura Minghetti, has given an
Itahan touch to every room, and as to her salon —
you imagine yourself back in Rome. I had only to
wait five minutes, but the Chancellor sent even then a
messenger to excuse him keeping me waiting a mo
ment. He received me very cordially, calling me by
iH. Percival Dodge.
2 J. W. Garrett, Second Secretary at the American Embassy.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 227
middle name, Mr. von Lengerke, as he always has,
and remarked that the Emperor would regret being
away, ' as he is very fond of you.'
" I thanked him and said I might be here until the
7th, that I had seen Lord Lansdowne in London and
Rouvier in Paris, and without abusmg any confidence,
said that I found the latter very nervous as to the affairs
in Russia, but for some reason I found them much
more optimistic in Berlin, and that I wanted to ask him
the cause of it. He answered, ' I wiU tell you aU I
know. France has very much at stake, holding 15 mil
liards (francs) in Russian notes, which naturally wor
ried Rouvier, as he watches the finances very carefuUy.'
Germany had about 3 milliards. Then he had advices
from mUitary attaches, who assured them that, while the
navy could not be rehed upon and was in a deplorable
condition, it was their opinion that the army could be de
pended upon to stand by the Tsar, and that we had seen
the worst. We both agreed, however, that Witte was
between two fires — the Ducal party not trusting him,
and the Liberals and Zemtsvos having no confidence in
his integrity. What Russia needed now was a strong
hand which would inspire confidence and respect. He
never remembered in the history of any country a revo
lutionary spirit which heretofore had not developed a
leader. No one could ascertain who was back of it,
I remarked that the trouble was that there were no real
leaders on either side. There was general discontent
and a spontaneous movement of strikes throughout the
country. "I thanked von Biilow for the kind offer of the

228 GEORGE VON L. MEYER I^^"^
Navy Department — which was, if R.R. communica
tions should stop again, they would then do as they
had before for a short time, send their dispatches and
courier by torpedo service; they would be very glad
to carry any communications to me or convey our own
courier. " December 5. — Go out to Potsdam on the 7 p.m.
train, where I am met at the Emperor's station of wUd
park by a royal carriage, which drives me quickly, and
in a few minutes to the so-called New Palace, which,
however, was built by Frederick the Great. I httle
thought in 1878, when I went over (I was then a
junior at Harvard), that later in life I should be the
honoured guest of the evening, entertained by the
Emperor and Empress of Germany. I was received
by a lady-in-waiting of the Empress. Later an
A.D.C. told me my seat at dinner, having a plan to
designate the seat, which was second from the Em
peror, the Duchess of Holstein (sister of the Empress)
sitting between the Emperor and myself.
"We went in to dinner informally, the Empress
leading with her sister and her daughter and the
ladies-in-waiting; then the Emperor, Prince Henry,
Prince Eitel, myself, and the others. At dinner the
conversation was quite general, the Emperor quite
often leaning forward and talking across the Duchess
of Holstein about the new steamer, Amerika, which
runs between Hamburg and America, describing the
five decks which were each named after a president
and connected by elevators and with a Ritz restaurant
on the upper deck. I had a peculiar discussion with

, 1905]

AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 229

the Duchess of Holstein about the advisabihty of in
troducing Christianity in the East — which I con
tended against as being detrimental to those races,
which seemed to strike her as very sad.
"After dinner the Emperor came forward and
said, * Come, we wUl have a smoke together,' I then
told him that the President had instructed me to ask
him if he had observed the difference hi the tone of
the cable to him and that to the King of England, He
said, ' Not only did I notice it and appreciate it, but
it had an instantaneous effect all over the world,
especially in England and France,' where he had been
designedly misrepresented. He added that it was a
very generous thing for the President to do. I also
told him that, as a result of our conversation and my
representations, the President told me to say that he
had changed his opinions as to Delcasse. Finally I
told His Majesty that the President wanted to make
clear that the questions of the Commercial Treaty did
not depend upon him, but rested entirely with the Sen
ate, who were not at the moment in a very favourable
mood. The Emperor said he quite understood the
situation. " He then went on to teU me about the gravity of
the situation in Russia, and did not think that the
Tsar appreciated it, had doubts as to the reliability of
the army; thought the strikes were trying to force a
republic. Had lately heard that they were trying to
mobihze 450,000 Cossacks. If such is the case, the
Kaiser said, ' Possibly the Emperor mtends to en
deavour to reconquer the country.'

230 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"^
" Referring to England, he said, ' I see symptoms
of reaction against the bitter feeling in Germany. On
the King's birthday, knowing that he loves fine porce
lain, I sent him two beautiful vases, requesting that
they be put on his birthday table. I also took the pre
caution to say that they had been sent, and with them
my felicitations. Wire came back from the King that
he thanked me for them, but they had not come to hand.
On investigation, it was found that Lord KnoUys ^ had
had them sidetracked to Buckingham.' The Emperor
said KnoUys was always hostile to Germany in every
possible way, and greatly influenced the King. The
King, however, wired that they were brought down on
a special train and displayed at the birthday dinner.
" It was at 10.30 that Count Eulenburg came up
and said the Ambassador had only fifteen minutes to
catch the train ; we had been talking steadily since din
ner. I went to take my departure of the Empress,
and she said to me that she had hoped to have a Uttle
chat with me, but the Emperor 'kept you the entire
evening,' She wished me a bon voyage. The Emperor
added, ' Aufwiedersehen,' and Prince Henry said,
*With your permission the Princess Henry wiU send
you a letter for her sister, the Empress, which she begs
you to deliver by a trusted messenger after your ar
rival in St, Petersburg.' "
Meyer's diary for the few remaining weeks of 1905
touches upon the many disturbances of a revolutionary
character throughout Russia, on changes in the Diplo-
1 Private Secretary to King Edward VII.

.1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 231
matic Corps at St. Petersburg, and on personal mat
ters, including the note on December 18, " It is thought
that we may have trouble later on, so I have ordered
200 cartridges for my rifle and 200 cartridges. No. 2
buckshot, for my guns." The chief points of general
interest are covered in the foUowing letters : —
To Senator Lodge
St, Petersburg, December 12, 1905,
My dear Cabot, —
... In London I talked with Lansdowne, in Paris
with Rouvier, and in Berlin with von Biilow and also the Em
peror. I cabled Mr, Root the gist of what happened, and have
since written the President, as well as the Secretary of State.
Conditions here have entirely changed; the Government
is showing the same incompetency as to handling the internal
situation that they did in the late war. The reactionists are
plotting against Witte, and the liberals do not believe in his
integrity, and they themselves are divided up into groups work
ing at cross purposes.
The Socialist and Labour Unions are working in common,
and although they have not developed any leaders, they have
a very complete organization for establishing strikes when and
wherever they like. Their aim is to cause the overthrow of the ;
existing government and bring about a republic. They are
quite intoxicated with their success and taste of power, and are i
likely to overdo it, causing a reaction and possibly bringing
about a military dictatorship, which would mean a return to old
methods and great bloodshed. Every one is excited and
nervous, and no one goes out on the street without being armed.
The financial situation of the Government is a very diffi
cult one. Twice they have been on the point of closing great
loans, and each time they have been indefinitely postponed : once

232 GEORGE von L, MEYER ti?05
during the war, when the French bankers withdrew, and again
only lately, when the papers were practically drawn up for a
350,000,000 rouble loan and the general strike prevented it.
Now great quantities of money are being withdrawn from the
banks and savings-banks and transferred out of the country,
Witte is going to try and hold on if possible until the
Duma meets ; but the election day has not been named nor the
date of the meeting of the Duma fixed. As a matter of fact the
Constitution has never yet been signed — merely the Manifesto
of the Tsar, which could be revoked at any moment. One of
Witte's intimate friends came to see me yesterday,'' Can you
imagine — Witte has made no arrangements for an organiza
tion in order to ensure himself a group of representatives on
whose support he could count when the Duma met. He is a
financier, not a statesman, or even a practical politician. The
people are all nearly crazy here, and are not contented with any
concessions ; having got started, now they want all the reforms
in one fell swoop, which the other nations have taken generations
to accomplish; and to cap the climax, they demand universal
suffrage for women as well as men, notwithstanding that there
are a hundred miUion illiterates in the Empire, One day we
are told that there will be a general strike, and then that Witte
is to resign and a military dictator to succeed him. Everything
in fact is rumoured, from the flight of the Tsar down.
To show the importance and seriousness of the Grand
Dukes, they had a shooting party of two days during the time
of the most alarming strike.
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year, believe me. Sincerely yours,
G, v. L. Meyer.
iThe diary of the preceding day records a visit from Dr. E. J. Dillon,
of the London Daily Telegraph.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 233
To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, December 19, 1905.
.... To-day was the Emperor's name-day and there
was a great service at the St. Isaac's Cathedral. All the Diplo
matic Corps went — I was the doyen, as the only other Am
bassador there was the new Spanish one, the Turk not going, as
they won't let him wear his fez in the Cathedral. We were on
a raised platform next to the altar. Neither the Emperor nor
any of the Russian Grand Dukes were there — I think they
were afraid to come. Witte and all the officials and a great
many officers in their gala uniforms were there, and it was a
very impressive sight. There were wonderful bass voices in
the choir, and magnificent gold costumes worn by the priests.
The service lasted about from 12 to 1. . . .
The Government evidently has got tired of these strikes,
and they are now arresting the leaders right and left. The
labour unions have issued a manifesto against the arrests, and
we are liable to have a big strike; but I have laid in an addi
tional supply of food and candles, and there is no occasion for
you to worry about me. In all the disturbances that have taken
place in the out-of-the-way cities and towns, none of the con
sulates have ever been touched or even foreign property of citi
zens ever been molested. This has always been the history in
all troubles, and even in revolutions. There may be times when
we cannot cable you on account of a strike, but I hope to be
able to keep you closely informed.
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, December 20, 1905.
My dear Mr. President, —
History seems to be repeating itself, and there is a strange
resemblance between certain events in France during 1789 and
that which is now taking place here:

234 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"*
1. The discontent of the people.
2. The delaying of the date of meeting of the Duma,
and whether it will develop into a real national assembly, as
did the Third Estate, and bring forth such men as Mirabeau
and Robespierre, remains to be seen.
3. The position of Witte as compared to that of Neckar ;
the former capable, but no statesman, the latter lacking in the
same respect, but honest and more popular.
4. Now, as then, loyalty to the Sovereign exists among
the people, and even soldiers ; but will it not also later on die
out here if reforms are too long delayed and merely promised
on paper? At present the faith in the Tsar continues because the
people believe it is the bureaucracy and certain Grand Dukes
that hamper the Emperor in carrying out what he has promised.
In one of my letters last year I wrote you that, if the
army remained loyal, changes would come about by evolution
rather than revolution. Since then, however, the navy has
shown itself absolutely rotten, and there has been insubordina
tion in the army at Vladivostok, Harbin, Odessa, Sebastopol,
Kieff, Moscow, and even St. Petersburg. Rumours have reached
us lately that it is very serious among the troops in Man
churia. Now, after the trouble has actually begun, an Ukase
has been issued stating that the rations and clothing for the
army are to be improved and their pay increased. Like every
thing else that has been done here the last two years, it comes
possibly too late.
Reaction, during the last few days, has set in. Newspaper
offices are being closed, editors arrested and placed in the
prison of Peter and Paul, the BastUle of St. Petersburg, and
labour-union leaders are run in by the police and Cossacks in
great numbers. Unfortunately for the Government the Social
istic unions appear to be admirably organized, in which respect

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 235
the Witte Government is woefully lacking. Matters must soon ;
come to a crisis and unless aU signs fail, the strength of the 1
Government wiU be tested by further strikes which are liable j
to end in revolution.
On the 19th of January is the celebration of the blessing
of the waters of the Neva. It wUl be just a year since the
cannon ball was fired into the Winter Palace from across the
river. It is rumoured that the Emperor's entourage have per
suaded him not to attend the fete but to have it at Tsarskoe
Selo, where he is living like a caged animal, in a park surrounded
by a high iron raUing and barbed-wire fence. It wiU be a fatal
mistake if His Majesty does not come to St. Petersburg and
show himself on this occasion to his people, thereby winning
their admiration and gaining the respect of the world. If he
fails to come, he will be branded a coward, and the socialists
and revolutionists will surely make capital out of it. . . .
Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year; believe me,
my dear Mr. President, ' Respectfully yours,
' George v. L. Meyer. •
To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, Xmas, December 25, 1905.
. . . Sunday I was at a place named Tosno to get some
shooting. It was wonderful in the country — there was a foot
of snow which had got trampled down on the road and made
the sleighing perfect. I went out Saturday night, arrived there
at half-past nine after a sleigh ride of about three-quarters
of an hour. It was a beautiful night and perfectly still, and
in my felt shoes and new fur cap and coat I was as warm and
comfortable as if I had been in a room. Next morning I went
to the place in the woods where we had the " drive," with two
Russians, and in the afternoon I shot a moose — a great big

236 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^''^"^
feUow. Got back to the Kleinmichel house at six o'clock Sun
day afternoon. That evening being Christmas Eve, the Prince
and Princess Fiirstenberg, Prince and Princess Belosselsky, and
Prince Hohenlohe dined with me. After dinner we went to the
ballet, where I had a box next to the Imperial one.
This is certainly an extraordinary country. There was
shooting and firing going on in the streets of Moscow, yet here
was the ballet being given in a theatre as large as the Boston
Theatre, except that the balconies consist of tiers of boxes,
given in all its splendour with the theatre crowded; ladies in
evening costume with all their jewels, and really a most brilliant
affair. The ony significant feature was that no royalty was
present. It was the most beautiful ballet that I have ever seen,
and consisted of three acts, in a variety of costumes, one act
being made up of dances from different countries — Hungary,
Poland, etc., and many of the women on the stage being really
handsome. To my mind the most attractive dance was given
by eight women in long ball-room dresses, holding fans in their
hands, and all the women of same height and good figure. The
performance was over at a very sensible hour — half-past ten.
Among the people there were Mrs. Whishaw and her daughter,
who were with the Spring-Rices. I also met the WTiishaws walk
ing on the Quay this afternoon.
The troubles in Moscow have been certainly serious, but I
believe the loss of life is very much exaggerated. A reaction
has set in with the Government and they are determined now in
the future to put down any revolutionary movement. I do not
anticipate any serious trouble in Petersburg. If you were
living here, you would not know that anything out of the way
was going on, except for what you read in the papers taking
place in other cities and towns throughout the Empire.

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 237
To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, December 30, 1905.
. . . The situation in Moscow, from advices that we
received to-day, is gradually improving. It has got down to a
guerilla warfare with the revolutionists who build barricades
and then shoot at the troops out of the windows. The troops
have remained loyal, fresh troops have arrived from St. Peters
burg, and consequently this attempt will prove a failure. The
country, however, is so agitated and disturbed that it will take
months and possibly years, before order is established through
out the Empire. Petersburg remains quiet. There have been
some very amusing hooligan stories. They come up to people
and demand money, and in one instance a lady gave all she had
and thereupon asked how she was to get home. The hooligan
replied: "Allow me. Madam, to have the privilege of paying
your fare." And he put her in a droshky and sent her home. In
another instance a hooligan asked the privilege of kissing a
lady's hand, which she reluctantly allowed, and then he said:
" Now you can kiss mine." But the best of all was the case of
the man who, on a cold night, was accosted by two hooligans,
who demanded his watch and overcoat. He thereupon said,
" I'll give you my watch, willingly, but if I give up my coat, I
shaU take my death cold." The hooligans said : " That's easily
remedied, we wUl swap coats," On getting home the gentleman,
out of curiosity, looked through the tattered coat and, to his
surprise and pleasure, found a hundred roubles and another
watch. You would be amused if you saw me driving in my sleigh,
with my Russian fur coat, collar turned up, and my Russian
fur cap, so that no one can see anything but my eyes and,
possibly, red nose. The coachman In front is so big and so
padded that I cannot see out on either side. My pair of grey

238 GEORGE VON L. MEYER I^^"^
horses have blue nets, so that the snow cannot be thrown up,
and Otto stands up in majestic grandeur behind. I will try and
have a photograph taken. I am using the open sleigh both
night and day, because I prefer it to the closed carriage now.
Otto has a loaded revolver In one pocket, and I also in one of
mine. I think it unnecessary, but it is the habit of the place
now. To Secretary Root
St. Petersburg, December 30, 1905.
My dear Mr. Secretary, —
Fighting has been going on in the streets of Moscow for
a week. It has finally reached the guerilla stage. Barricades
are quickly made every night by the revolutionists, and then
snow and water poured over them, which freezes, and a red
flag in each instance is stuck into the barrier. Under strict
orders of the Revolutionary Committee, no one is allowed to
remain behind them. When the soldiers come to destroy these
barricades, half a dozen revolutionists fire at the officers from
some adjoining house, and then escape by a prearranged plan.
The soldiers attack the house and not infrequently shoot down
and kill innocent people. This condition of affairs may drag
on for several days, but from what advices I can obtain, the
troops have remained loyal and the present revolution in Mos
cow will prove a failure.
I have an acquaintance in St. Petersburg who is on very
friendly terms with one of the leaders of the Union of Unions.
He asked him what they expected to gain by their action in
Moscow. He replied that their object was to capture Moscow,
and set up a provisional government ; that they expected some
of the troops would come over to them ; this would attract
others from all over the country and ensure the final overthrow
of the Government. "And If you fail in Moscow.?" Then

THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR IN HIS DROSHKV, ST. PETERSBURG

1905] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 239
answered the revolutionist, " We wUl possibly make another
attempt in Kieff, Harkoff, or Odessa ; otherwise we shall resort
to a form of terrorism greater in extent that has ever been
attempted In Russia. The lives of twenty have been decided
upon. First of all, the Tsar, and among the others is Witte."^
Two days ago in Moscow the house of the Chief of the
Secret Police was entered by five men, who warned him that
they were about to kill him and that he must take leave at once
of his children. This privilege was alone allowed to him, and a
few minutes later he was taken out into the court-yard and shot.
The Jews have undoubtedly to a large extent furnished'
the brains and energy in the revolution throughout Russia.
The students are generally revolutionists, and throughout the
summer and autumn they have travelled and worked among the
peasants in many parts of the country, showing them the injus-,
tices under which they were living and the remedies which should
be applied by a constitutional assembly, promising also a great*
distribution of land.
Baroness Huene, the daughter of the former American
Minister Lothrop,^ who has lived here for over twenty years,
and is the wife of a Russian who has an estate in the Baltic
Provinces, informs me that they expect any day to hear of the
burning of their property In Livonia, which means total loss to
her husband. Seventy large estates, to her knowledge, have
already been devastated and as many more have been burnt In
Kurland, which means ruin to these famflies.
Disturbances are so general throughout the Empire that
it is not a matter of weeks, but months, and some even say years,
before order can be restored and established.
There are two factors yet to be reckoned with: one the
returning troops from Manchuria, now arriving and quite de
moralized, ajid the other the Duma, There are those who seem
1 Minister to Russia under Cleveland.

240 GEORGE VON L, MEYER f^^"^
to consider that the Duma will be a panacea for all grievances.
They appear to forget how difficult it is, and what time it
requires, for the parliamentary body (which in this case has had
no experience whatever) to agree on necessary legislation. To
my mind the autocratic power of the Tsar, if he only knew how
to use it and had the courage to do so, could be employed to
great advantage at the present moment ; since by a mere stroke
of the pen he could institute reforms and establish laws, with
out legislative delay, which the better element of the nation
have been crying for for over a generation. As it is, nothing
is actually done, mere promises given, which have so often later
on been withdrawn, and In the history of Finland actually
broken. The danger to-day Is the weakness and incompetency
of the Government. The extreme measures and excesses of the
revolutionists may cause a terrible reaction to set in, which
will result in much bloodshed and cruelty.
For foreigners I do not anticipate any great danger as far
as the revolutionists are concerned, for in no instance can I
ascertain that they have attached or disturbed a consulate, or
even killed a foreigner. The only risk is from the hooligans or
irresponsible mob, which might take the opportunity, during
the conflicts that are taking place between the revolutionists
and the troops, to obtain plunder. . . .
I do not seriously anticipate danger to life and property
in St. Petersburg, as there are so many troops stationed here,
and the Tsar and the Grand Dukes have so much at stake in
this city that protection is apparently well-organized; but In
Russia that does not mean all it should. It is possible that we
may be cut off from all communication, as the revolutionists
in the Baltic Provinces are gaining ground, and they threaten
to blow up some of the railroad bridges between St. Petersburg
and Eydtkuhnen (the Berlin route), but I believe it would soon
be reopened.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 241
It Is a pity that the Emperor, instead of reviewing favour
ite regiments and shutting himself up in Tsarskoe Selo, twenty
mUes from St. Petersburg, as did also Louis XVI in Versailles,
does not study the causes and results of the French Revolution
of 1789 and profit by the events which are rapidly being re-i
peated in his own Empire.
Believe me, my dear Mr. Secretary,
Faithfully yours,
George v. L. Meyer.

Were the primary object of this chapter to present
a picture of Russian affairs during the period of
Meyer's ambassadorship at St. Petersburg, the mate
rial to be found in his diary and letters would be
ample for the purpose. It must be remembered, how
ever, that the year 1906 in Russia, despite its fore-
shadowings of the tragedies of recent occurrence, held
no single event of such importance to the world as the
conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905; and
also that this book is, first of all, a biography of
George Meyer. For the year and a month of his
further stay in St. Petersburg, therefore, a somewhat
more rigorous selection must be made from his own
record of what he saw and did. Even so, there is
much to be told, if only because the Algeciras Confer
ence and the first meeting of the Russian Duma
occurred in 1906.
"January 1, 1906. — Very cold, and good sleigh
ing. The trees and shrubs are a wonderful sight, the
snow having frozen on the branches and twigs.
" St. Petersburg, as far as the eye is concerned.

242 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^"*
shows no signs on the streets of the disturbances and
revolutions going on in the country, except for the
beggars and hooligans on the sidewalks. The Ameri
can Consul in Moscow telephoned to-day that the bar
ricades were being removed from the streets, shops are
being opened again, and matters were getting into
normal state, and that the Consulate had not been dis
turbed or molested; that where he Uved, except for
the sounds of the cannon, they would not have known
that anything was going on. Rather different from
what the papers were describing.
" January 3. — Called on Count Lamsdorff at the
Foreign Office. It was his day for receiving the Dip
lomatic Corps. The ministers of Roumania and Bel
gium were in the room and Mr. Lovenoon ^ just com
ing out from seeing Lamsdorff as I entered, so that I
was able to go right in.
" He told me that they had had no communications
with General Linevich for weeks; that even a telegram
signed by the Tsar himself the strikers had not aUowed
to be forwarded to Vladivostok. Imagine last year
such an acknowledgment being made. He also de
nied the rumour that Dournovo would be made Prime
Minister in place of Witte. Lamsdorff seemed to
think that the worst is now over, but I cannot agree
with him in this respect.
" Send a pouch off by the English courier. It is
rather remarkable that John Quincy Adams, writing
from here to the State Department in January, 1810,
refers to the disturbances of the communications be-
iThe Danish Minister.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 243
tween here and other parts of the world, so that he
fears his letters would be received very irregularly. I
quote it in my dispatch to Mr. Root, Secretary of
State, as it is so apphcable to the present time.
"January 9. — Send a confidential cable to the
State Department. In the absence of the French Am
bassador, their Minister [Charge?] sent word to Witte,
that while the French Government had, or knew, the
instructions to the delegates ^ from England, America,
Spain, Italy, and Russia, they did not know those of
Germany and Austria. They now wanted not only
the moral support of Russia, in case Germany by ex
cessive demands might cause the failure of the Con
ference, but they wished for the Tsar as friend to
friend to urge the Kaiser [against] asking for such
things as would be unreasonable. France realized that
they could not expect anything from Russia's army at
this time, but feared Germany might take advantage
of these circumstances. I added to my cable that the
President, of all people under certain circumstances,
might have the greatest moral effect and influence with
both Germany and France in this Conference.
" January 10. — Dine at Baroness Ramsay's, din
ner given for Sir Charles Hardinge, who presented
his letters of recall to the Emperor to-day at Tsarskoe
Selo. Sir Charles told me that he spoke to the Tsar
about the Morocco Conference and said to him that,
notwithstanding the improved relations between Eng
land and Germany and the latter's advances, England
would remain in the Conference loyal to France and
iTo the Algeciras Conference.

244 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f'^""
would stand by her agreement. The Tsar expressed
gratification at this." To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, January 15, 1906.
. . . Yesterday was the first of January, Russian, and
the Emperor and Empress received the Diplomatic Corps in
the Alexandra Palace at Tsarskoe Selo. We aU left St. Peters
burg at half-past two, in a royal train which ran over the Em
peror's special road to Tsarskoe. Six Ambassadors were pres
ent — those absent were the English and Austrian. On account
of the changes the order of precedence was as follows : Turkey,
France, Italy, America, Spain, Germany, with Austria and
England at the foot of the line, after the Ministers, as only
Charges were in charge. At half-past three, after the Master
of Ceremonies had arranged us in a circle, very much as was
done in Italy, the doors were thrown open and the royal house
hold marched in, with Count Benckendorff and Baron Korff
leading, the Empress being followed by four young maids of
honour, none of whom had any pretensions to looks, with the
exception of the young Princess Dolgorouky.
The Emperor, when it came my turn, was most cordial,
remarking that it was some time since he had seen me. He
asked after you, and I told him that it was Julia's illness, and
not fear, which had kept the family from coming here. He then
asked me if I hadn't found things quite different from what the
newspapers had led me to believe, saying that he thought things
looked better and that the worst was over. I expressed the
wish that 1906 might prove advantageous to Russia in solving
the many problems which were before the country. He thanked
me for my expressions and said that he should never forget
what my President had done, and repeated it later on very
emphatically, showing that he meant it. I presented Captain

.1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 245
Roy Smith, the Naval Attache, and he immediately asked about
our fleet, which had just arrived at the Mediterranean, saying:
"I suppose you are sending vessels into warmer waters during
the winter, as we do " ; and then corrected himself : " as we used
to when we had a fleet." It was almost pathetic. . . . As he
took leave, the Emperor again shook ha,nds and thanked me
for my expressions of good wishes.
His Majesty had hardly left when the Empress advanced,
and I bowed low and saluted her hand. She had a much more
attractive expression this time than when I first met her last
year in April. She immediately asked after you and the girls,
and was shocked to hear of Julia's operation and expressed
great interest in it, speaking of it [appendicitis] as one of the
terrible new diseases. She was glad also to hear that you were
all coming in the spring. I took the occasion to express the
hope that the Tsarevich was In good health, and she said that
he merely had a cold and occasional coughs that babies are apt
to have, but that she personally was very glad that they were
staying at Tsarskoe, as it is so much healthier for the children.
She informed me that he could not speak yet, but understood
everything; and related how she had taken him to the review
of one of the regiments and that he had shown the greatest
interest and excitement. I suggested that he would soon be
acknowledging in the military way the salutes. The whole con
versation reminded me very much of talks on similar occasions
with the Queen of Italy. After a few minutes more of general
conversation, I presented the different members of the Embassy
in turn, but she only granted them the permission of kissing
her hand and said nothing.
The incident with the Ambassador of  , who was next
to me, was very amusing. It is extremely difficult for anybody
to understand him — he has a neck like a bull, from which the
words never are entirely articulated. In addition to that, he

246 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ti.9oe
is about knee-high to a grass-hopper. It had one advantage
that, when the Empress gave him her hand, he was able to
salute it without leaning over. He at once, after making the
proper salutations, immediately, evidently, commenced the his
tory of his life. The Empress looked puzzled and his First
Secretary looked wUd, Still the account went on. Three times
the Empress tried to break away, but it was no use. His head
was up in the air and each time he failed to see the proffered
hand, FinaUy, while he was catching his breath, she raised
her hand and moved away, and the incident became closed. She
merely bowed to the First Secretary, evidently being afraid to
approach another  , and moved off to Germany, where
stood the new Ambassador, von Schoen.
The whole reception lasted about two hours, and was
without any further marked incident. I only had time to get
back to St. Petersburg, change my clothes and return to
Tsarskoe Selo to dine with the Grand Duke Vladimir again.
Count and Countess Benckendorff were there, as well as Hohen
lohe and the members of the household.
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, January 15, 1906.
My dear Mr. President, —
I cabled the Department last week concerning the nervous
ness of the French Embassy here as to the probable demands of
the German Emperor at the Morocco Conference. The nervous
ness must be contagious, because even Sir Charles Hardinge,
who has presented his letters of recall, ajid Spring-Rice, have
also become worked up. It is quite true that France has left
no stone unturned to impress Russia and the Tsar with the
importance of using every influence to urge the Emperor
WiUiam not to precipitate a crisis at Algeciras, In talking,
within the last two days, with Prince Fiirstenberg, an intimate

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 247
friend of the German Emperor, he assured me that it was his
belief that the German demands would not be excessive and
this talk of war was uncalled for. Schoen, the new Ambassador,
who has lately come from Berlin, confirmed this impression, I
see also that von Biilow and von Radowitz have each come out
publicly with a statement, on the 12th of January, to the effect
that neither His Majesty the Kaiser, nor anybody else in Ger
many, dreams of exercising the slightest pressure upon France
at the expense of French national dignity. The question, to my
mind, that may cause some debate is the question of policing.
Should matters unexpectedly get strained, I am satisfied that
you, of aU people, could have the greatest moral influence with
the Emperor and with the French Republic.
Yesterday being the Russian 1st of January, the Tsar
and the Tsarina received the Diplomatic Corps at the Alex
andra Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. The Emperor appeared in ex
cellent health, notwithstanding what he has been through with
regard to the war and internal affairs. No matter how black
the aspect may look or how badly things are mismanaged, he
has a sublime faith in God and his people, not at aU appre
ciating that God prefers to help those who try to help them
selves. During his conversation with me, which was very cordial,
he said that on our New Year's day he had received a very nice
cable from you, which he appreciated, and added : " I shall never
forget all your President has done," and later repeated it with
emphasis and impressed me that he reaUy meant it and felt it.
By the same courier I sun writing a letter to Mr, Root,
posting him as to the present conditions, etc.
Believe me, my dear Mr. President,
Respectfully yours,
George v. L. Meyeb.

248 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^""
To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, January 19, 1906.
I got off our courier with the pouch last Monday evening.
I had managed to get half an hour's exercise in the morning
skating on the Fontanka with the Princess Fiirstenberg, and
when I got home found a telegram from Princess Olga Orloff
asking me to dine there, Tsarskoe Selo, Tuesday night. This
I was unable to accept, because I had planned to go off that
afternoon bear-hunting. I left by the three o'clock train for
Moscow, and got off at a station about four hours outside of
Petersburg. There I found a couple of sleighs waiting for me
In order to take Otto^ and myself to the village where I was to
pass the night. The sleighs were nothing but rough peasant
sleighs with hay thrown in the bottom. The horses are rigged
up like a tandem, but the leader is guided only by the voice and
the whip. We started at half-past seven at night, I well
wrapped up in my Russian fur coat and a fur rug over my feet,
which were enveloped primarily with three pairs of stockings
and long felt boots. It was a most beautiful drive, not
excessively cold, and the distance we had to cover was 35 versts,
or about 25 English miles. We drove across steppes and again
through forests, with some of the tallest trees in them that I
have ever seen. The spruces looked as though they were pow
dered with sugar, and there being no wind, the beeches and
ashes looked as though they had baskets of snow and white
baUs attached to them. A little before midnight we reached our
destination, which was a small Dorf consisting of half a dozen
houses. I was afraid to sleep on the bed, as the peasants are
supposed not to change their shirts until they are ready to drop
to pieces; so I had some hay brought in and thrown on the
floor, which I covered with my fur rug and wrapped myself up
in my fur coat, which comes to the ground.
1 His chasseur.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 249
Next morning we started off for the woods where the bear
was supposed to be located. Fortunately I had hunted and
shot sanglier, as you know, with the King of Italy, and I soon
recognized that the drive and beat of the beaters was a fake
one, so I sent for the head man and the Jager and rated them
roundly through Otto as an interpreter, telling them that I
was satisfied that there was no bear In those woods, and saying
I intended to return. They finally, seeing I was determined,
acknowledged that the owner had deceived them. It was a put-
up job in order to get me to put out money.
When we got back to our sleigh, the beaters, who had
consisted of forty men and about as many women, got very
excited and evidently used threatening language to Otto, because
they were not satisfied with the pay that the Jager said was
coming to them, and I could see that Otto was nervous. It is
singular how indifferent one feels when one has a loaded pistol
in each pocket and a rifle in one's lap. They saw that I did
not appear disturbed and merely smiled, and finally some of
them began to smUe, and so I told Otto to pay them the differ
ence, which was merely ten roubles, the full amount being forty
in place of thirty, to be distributed among eighty people.
Otto then got into his sleigh and our drivers cracked
their whips and we were off for 35 versts more, to look for
another bear. I noticed my driver looked around several times
to see if we were followed, but nothing of the sort occurred.
This time I was sure of finding a bear, because I had taken
the precaution, having been warned by Count Nerod, to send
Otto (the week before) to ascertain If it was a fact that the
bear had been located. Count Nerod tells me that this trick
has been played before, even on Russians. I only made the
first attempt wishing to avoid a drive of 70 versts across
country. Our journey led us through some wonderful forest roads.

250 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
which appeared in winter like private avenues, and we at last
reached our destination at five o'clock, pitch dark. It was
necessary for me to kill the time In a primitive peasant's log
cabin until seven o'clock next morning. The chef had only
put up in a basket what he called enough food for one day. It
consisted of a quail, a chicken, four rolls, a small piece of choco
late, and a tumbler of apple-sauce. I divided it up so that it
was quite sufficient. The food that the peasants eat would
be impossible to taste even, and they don't even always have
sufficient. I again slept on the floor and was disturbed in the
night by feeling what I think was a rat under me, and got up
and tried to sleep on three chairs, but finally went back to the
hay, rat or no rat. Otto came in and caUed me at what I sup
posed was the middle of the night, but it turned out to be
seven a.m.
At a quarter of eight, after a frugal breakfast, we were
off again, driving down a steep forest hill which I did not know
existed in this part of Russia. The " drive " was again arranged,
and this time it was evident that it was a genuine thing. Finally
I could hear the bear coming along, but could not see him on
account of the dense wood. He suddenly broke through the
trees right beside the son of the Jager, who turned as white as
the snow from fear. I hesitated a moment before shooting, as
the bear was practically beside the boy. I fired an instant after
and the bear dropped within, I should think, three feet of the
boy. I rushed forward, but fell in a hole, and as I was getting
up the bear got up and made away, much to the relief, evi
dently, of the boy. As he disappeared I fired again and
wounded him for a second time. I then endeavoured to follow
his tracks, which were marked with blood and showed he was
going on three legs. The Jager said that he would not be able
to go far, and as it was almost Impossible to get through the
woods, I retraced my steps, and then shot two young bears

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 251
about the size of Newfoundland dogs, which were good-sized
cubs belonging to the she-bear I had wounded. I left instruc
tions to forward the big bear to St. Petersburg, as it was sure
that she would die and would be unable to get any distance with
two rifle holes through her, one near the front shoulder and
one in the back. We had a long drive of seventy versts before
us, and it took us from ^en o'clock in the morning until six In
the evening, when I just caught the train to St. Petersburg,
having been away two days.
[Diary]
" January 19. — Courier arrives from Berlin with
letters from the family, the State Department, and
Lodge. He said the President was talking with him
as to whom to send in my place when I entered his
Cabinet! " I wrote Lodge that of events outside of St. P.,
they knew them through the press in Washington 24
to 48 hours before we did here, due to the interrupted
post and telegraph connections and the suppression
of the press; that in no case had any Consulate been
disturbed in any city, and that these disturbances were
not directed against foreigners, or the Diplomatic
Corps as in Pekin, but were for reforms or even a
repubhc, and that a diplomat could only look on. If
I were fighting for my country or endeavouring to
carry out some pohcy, I should feel compensated for
being separated from my family, , . ."
"January 24. — A party of us go to Yukki for
lunch and skiing. We have taken a small house and
made a sort of Club out of it. They have made me

252 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
the president and Csekonics secretary. It is about
half an hour on the raUroad to Finland, and then
another half over in sleighs. We all took lunch with
us. It is quite difficult going down the steep hills, and
then most tiresome climbing up again. The women
and men had some amusing falls, but one is especially
dressed for it, with felt shoes and leather breeches
and jacket. The party consisted of the Ramsays,
Belosselsky, Hohenlohe, Schoen, Aguera, Wrangel,
etc. "An extraordinary plot was discovered in Mos
cow. The daughter of the late General Count KeUer
and niece of Countess Kleinmichel, my landlady,
was discovered, in the house of a nobleman named
Oznobishin, to be in possession of several bombs of
great explosive power and infernal machines. In a
muff was found a paper planning to kill Governor
General Dubassoff, the Police Prefet and the City
Governor, and their houses were to be blown up at
the same time by infernal machines. There were to
be in addition six bomb-throwers. It turns out that
the lady is not the daughter of General Keller.
"January 30. — Have my audience at 3 o'clock
with the Grand Duke Constantine, and later with the
Duchess in the Marble Palace. The Grand Duke said
my name was very German, and that he had met one
of my relatives in one of the courts of Germany
where he was the Master of Ceremonies. He also
spoke of his trip to America with the Grand Duke
Alexis in a naval vessel, and that he had enjoyed it
very much. I spoke of his translation of Shakespeare

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 253
into Russian, and he told me that it had taken him
twelve years. The Grand Duchess asked aU about the
education of girls and boys in America, and [said]
how she regretted the lack of exercise and outdoor
sports for children here. She was most agreeable and
struck me as very un-Russian.
" January 31. — Paid my respects yesterday after
noon to Lovenorn, the Danish Minister, on account of
the death of the King of Denmark.^ In my interview
with Lamsdorff, he said that he was very glad for the
Empress [Dowager] that she had decided to remain
through January in Denmark, as it would always have
been a matter of remorse to her if she had not been
with her father, the King, during his last moments,
and then added what an ideal death it was. About an
hour before death he had felt weary so that they put
him to bed, and a little later he expired without any
pain. " I also requested Lamsdorff to see if he could not
find out if the Japanese prisoners had been returned,
and the plans of the mines in eastern waters, now that
communications had been opened with Linevich and
Vladivostok. " The Minister of Foreign Affairs told me that
mourning for the Court here had been prescribed for
three months on account of King Christian being the
Grandfather of the Emperor. If he had been no blood
relation, it would have been one month. I told him
of my experiences bear-shooting, and he said formerly
he had very good shooting within 60 versts of St. P.;
1 Christian IX, died January 29.

254 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^oe
if he only had them now, he would have offered them
to me — for which I thanked him."
To his Daughter Julia
St. Petersburg, February 13, I9O6.
. . . Quite a number of people have taken to skating
every morning on the Fontanka, We do fancy skating and
waltzing. The young Countess Benckendorff, daughter of the
Russian Ambassador to London, and Baroness Ramsay are
exceptionaUy good. Last Sunday we all went out to Yukki,
spent the day and lunched in our little datcha. Everybody
brings something for lunch, and the things taste exceptionaUy
good after skiing and climbing up the hill.
In the evening I went to an official dinner at the Austrian
Embassy, given for Schoen, the new German Ambassador. I
met a number of Russian officials, some of them very agreeable
and interesting. One interested me exceedingly, as after dinner,
having grown a little mellow from the numerous wines that were
served, his tongue became untied and he showed how the Rus
sians reaUy feel about the war. He said war never would have
taken place but for England and America, and that Witte
should never have given up half of Sakhaline! Whether he
really knew that that was settled by the Tsar and myself, I
don't know, but in his entire talk he was neither rude nor
offensive. It interested me very much to get his real impression
and feeling upon the subject, because it is the first direct case
that I have experienced. When I said to him, " Of course the
world realizes that Japan would never have dared to declare
war but for her alliance with England, but in what way did
America assist Japan ? " " Oh," he said, " with money, ships,
and urging her on." When I caUed his attention to the fact
that that was never done officIaUy by the government, but by the
independent press of America, influenced by the fact that

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 255
Cassini would never state that Russia would ensure the open
door in Manchuria, his answer to it all was that Cassini was a
fool, and that the press had undoubtedly been influenced by the
Jews, who were always acting in whatever they thought would
be best for their moneyed interests. The Russian always puts
the blame on some one else, and never learns by experience.
To Senator Lodge
St, Petersburg, February 14, 1906.
Dear Cabot, —
. . . Russia now is beginning to get very nervous over
the Morocco Conference, because on that outcome a great deal
depends as to their getting a further credit and increased loans
both in Paris and Berlin. Schoen, the German Ambassador,
the other day told me that they would not be satisfied to allow
France and Spain to do the policing jointly. With the open
door and the bank question settled, it was a matter of indiffer
ence to Germany if everything else remained in statu quo.
All the Ambassadors here get copies of the correspondence
that is going on with their governments as to this question, and
in other important questions, but the American Ambassador is
kept in blissful ignorance. This I do not say in criticism of
Mr. Root, as I have the greatest respect and admiration for his
ability. Heretofore, when we were not a world-power, it was
of no great importance whether our representatives were kept
au courant or not, as they only had to look after any matter
which might refer to their own country; but in the future, if
they are to hold a dignified position in the eyes of their col
leagues, the system of keeping our representatives informed wiU
have to conform to some extent with those of the other great
powers, I talked this matter over with Mr, Root, and he agreed
with me and fully appreciated It; but I imagine that with all
that is going on at home, it has been impossible for him as yet

256 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^"®
to change the old methods which he found in vogue in the State
Department. I read your speech made in the Senate in defense of the
President and the San Domingo Treaty, as well as the Morocco
Conference, with a great deal of interest and pride. To my
mind your argument was unanswerable. I was also very glad to
learn from you that there Is no real friction between the Senate
and the President. From the accounts in the Paris New York
Herald, you would think they were at daggers drawn.
Spring-Rice lunched with me to-day and he seems almost
alarmed over the Morocco question. He fears that Germany
may irritate France so that public sentiment may get so
aroused that it will force her Into attacking Germany, I take,
personally, a less alarming view of the situation, because I
think Germany at heart does not really want war, and that no
nation will go blindly into attacking another in these days,
after England's experience with the Boers and Russia's unfor
tunate results with Japan, The expense is so overwhelming
and the drains so terrible on any country now, no matter how
great its resources may be. There is no doubt that Germany
is taking advantage of Russia's weakness and Austria's internal
troubles in order to force France's hand. While Rouvier re
mains Premier, I think France will steer clear of any actual
combat. The meeting of the' Duma is now being talked of as poe-
sibly taking place early in May, but Russians hate to work in
summer most of all, therefore people think that, if it does meet,
it will only organize and adjourn at once until the autumn.
Agrarian troubles continue in different parts of Russia
and land-owners are much discouraged over the situation, be
cause It is not known yet whether or not the peasants will con
sent to till the soil without a further distribution of land.
Business is at a stand-still, manufacturing companies are work-

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 257
ing their mills with about 20 to 40 per cent of the usual number
of workmen. AU the prisons are said to be full and revolu
tionists are being sent to Siberia. The City of St. Petersburg
remains apparently tranquil, and little or no news gets Into the
papers, as the censorship is nearly as severe, in some respects,
as in former times. There is a rumour that Russia has a secret
treaty with China as regards parts of Turkestan, granting her
large concessions, but I have not been able to get It actually
corroborated. I have turned over the effects of the Japanese
Legation to the Third Secretary who has arrived here, and the
Minister Is to follow him early In March. This relieves us of a
great deal of work.
[Diary]
" February 16. — CaU on Madame Witte with the
Austrian Ambassador, Baron d'Aehrenthal. They are
living in an end of the Winter Palace. She was never
received at Court until last autumn. He was made a
Count and became Premier. She is, I beheve, over
50, but has considerable charm of manner and is more
like a French woman than a Russian in her manner
of speaking and moving her hands. She appeared to
day extremely well and talked most agreeably and
with much spirit. She referred to the newspapers,
how they exaggerated and put all sorts of things in
the paper. She was originally a Jewess and she re
lated an anecdote which seemed to amuse her as well
as us. A certain Princess called on her the other day
and asked if it was true that she had turned orthodox.
Madame Witte replied, ' Yes.' ' I suppose it was for
political reasons.' ' Yes.' And the old Princess went

258 GEORGE voN L. MEYER ^^^"^
off satisfied. As a matter of fact, Madame Witte in
formed us that she had become orthodox twenty-four
years ago, after she had married her first husband."
To Judge Francis C. Lowell
' St. Petersburg, February 19, 1906.
My dear Frank, —
Your interesting letter of January 22nd duly received.
Moran ^ must be a thorn in the Governor's side, but I think he
will turn out merely to be the comet of the season.
The copy of the Atlantic Monthly " reached me about a day
after your letter, and I read your article with a great deal of
pleasure. I quite agree with your conclusion, but would add
even still another reason, that If we had men in the service per
manently, many of them would become un-American, due to
the modes and habits of life being so absolutely different from
ours. Our diplomats would also get out of touch with American
ideas and sentiment, as we progress so much more rapidly at
home, and our objects and aims in life are so very different.
The English of late years have been adopting a system of
appointing ambassadors occasionally from the Foreign Office,
and then again, at other times, taking secretaries and recaUing
them to do active service in the Foreign Office in London. This
system has many advantages, as it has men in the Foreign Office
thoroughly familiar with the customs and habits of the foreign
courts, and cabinets. In your grouping of prominent American
diplomats you placed Andrew D. White in a class, to my mind,
far above his attainments, as I have always considered him a
much over-estimated man and without much tact. I think he
showed very bad taste In publishing his memoirs and making
1 John B. Moran, District Attorney at Boston.
2 For January, 1906, containing an article on "American Diplomacy"
by Judge Lowell.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 259
personal criticisms within a few years after he had resigned
from the service. It is contrary to all regulations and custom,
and sometimes makes it embarrassing to his successors. I do
not think they should have been published until at least after his
death, or a proper time had elapsed. . . . Many of the
things which he describes and relates about Russia are incorrect,
as I have found from personal observation and experience. His
articles on Berlin and Germany, were, however, excellent, and
showed a familiar and correct knowledge of what he was
describing. I was quite amused at your referring to my abode as a
palace. The house is about the size of the Fred Ames house in
Boston. I have an apartment up one flight, with a Russian
famUy living underneath me and two above me. I remember
seeing a photograph In one of the American papers of one of
the ducal palaces; underneath it was written, " The Palace of
the American Ambassador." Hence I suppose the idea which has
got abroad of my supposed palatial residence. This is on a
par with many of the misrepresentations and exaggerations
sent out from Russia !
To his Daughter Alice
St. Petersburg, February 20, I906.
I got your letter last week and was delighted to see that
you had been enjoying yourself. You must have made some
progress also in skating this winter. I myself skate regularly
every morning, and have got quite a number of people to take
it up also.
Sunday the Chefs de Mission of the Diplomatic Corps
were invited to attend the requiem held In the private chapel of
the Great Palace at Tsarskoe Selo. We left on a special train
at 11.10, arriving in Tsarskoe at a quarter to twelve. At the
station were a great number of royal carriages, one of which

260 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^^^
was assigned to each Ambassador, but only one to every two
Ministers. In the ante-chamber of the palace, adjoining the
chapel, all the dignitaries and officers attached to the Emperor
and to the Grand Duke were assembled, waiting our arrival and
that of the royal family. It was a very brilliant sight, for
they were all In uniform, wearing every decoration that they
possessed. We marched through the hall to the chapel. There
are no seats or chairs, and we were assigned to one side with
a few of the highest officials at the end.
At twelve o'clock the Master of Ceremonies rapped his
cane on the floor three times and the doors at the end of the
hall were thrown open, and the Emperor and Empress entered,
followed by the Grand Duchess Pierre Nicolaievitch, sister of the
Queen of Italy, and the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, also her sister.
After them followed the Grand Duke Vladimir, Nicolas Nicolaie
vitch, Pierre Nicolaievitch, Nicolas MIchailovitch, George
MIchailovItch, and the Duke of Leuchtenberg. They assembled
on the other side of the chapel, opposite to the Ambassadors.
The Empress was all In black and looked very handsome,
as it becomes her more than any color. The Emperor, however,
I did not think looked as well as when I saw him a month ago.
The chapel is In bright blue and gold, rococo style, a decoration
which I do not at all care for. The service was conducted by
six high priests in rich robes and caps resembling cardinals'
hats. The service was all chanted, assisted by a choir of men
and boys, beautifully trained, and greatly superior to any
church music that I heard while in Rome. The service lasted
about half an hour. In the middle of It, candles were handed
round to each one of us, being lighted from that of the priest,
and we held them untU the end of the service. You cannot
imagine what a strange sight It was, with the little Chinaman
holding a lighted taper and looking as though he was wondering
what it all meant.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 261
It was a most brilliant and impressive sight and one long
to be remembered. At the end of the service the Emperor and
Empress marched out, followed by the Grand Dukes and Duch
esses. We foUowed a moment afterwards and assembled in one
of the large banquet halls on the floor above, where a breakfast
was served at which the Princess Galltzine and Baron Korff,
Acting Master of Ceremonies, presided. There were twenty-
eight Chefs de Mission, so that we sat down thirty at table, in
the form of a horse-shoe. On the right and left of the Princess
Galltzine, were the Turkish and Austrian Ambassadors ; I sat
on the right of the latter, and next beyond me was the German
Ambassador. Baron Korff sat opposite the Princess, with the
French and Italian Ambassadors on each side of him. The
breakfast was, sensibly, a short one and excellently served.
After a short talk, during which the Princess asked after Ma
and you and Julia and when you would be back, we returned
to the station, reaching Petersburg about half-past three. It
was a wonderful bright, sunny day, such as we have in New
England, I sleighed out in the afternoon to Krestovsky to see the
Belosselskys, and after that returned to St, Petersburg and
called on the Princess Troubetzkoy, She was leaving the next
day for Moscow to meet her husband, who has been in the war
and whom she has not seen for over a year. She is considered
by some the handsomest woman in St. Petersburg. She was a
Princess Dolgorouky — I don't think you met her when you
were here.
I can't teU you how much we aU enjoy our little club at
Yukki, where we try to go twice a week. It is real work and
exercise climbing up the hills after one has sklled down rapidly,
and as the darky said, it does one " a power of good."
To-night the Belosselskys are going to dine with me
informally, only Hohenlohe and BUss, and to-morrow night I am

262 GEORGE von L. MEYER t'»<'«
giving a dinner to the Grand Duke Vladimir, chez mot, with
zakuskis galore before dinner.
I wish you were all here with me and am looking forward
to seeing you again in May. [Diary]
"February 24. — Meet the Austrian Ambassador
on the Quay, and get out of sleigh to join him; he
informs me confidentially that his Foreign Office has
communicated to the Foreign Office in Berlin, offering
their friendly offices to bring about an understanding
on the two disputed points at the Algeciras Conference
between France and Germany — but with no results
as yet. D'Aehrenthal seemed to think that the outlook
was discouraging. I claimed that the Tsar was in a
position to approach the Emperor personally as no
other person could. It was the Emperor's amour
propre which had to be considered.
" Later called at the German Embassy, on Schoen,
nominally to talk about the claim of a German firm in
Odessa in which one of the partners was an American
citizen (naturalized) and owned 10 per cent interest.
We agreed to act together in the matter. Then, in
referring to the Morocco Conference, he spoke of
French nervousness, and added that they try to make
out that it has become a personal matter of the Em
peror's, which is not so. Germany was placing it on
international grounds and broad principles. I send a
cable to the State Department about the Austrian For
eign Office making offer to the German Foreign Office
to intercede, and that there was a possibUity that the

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 263
Tsar might cable personally to the German Emperor,
as Russia was disturbed over the aspect of the
Morocco Conference.
" February 26. — Ukase has been published to-day
saying that the Duma wiU meet on May 10.
" Lunch with the Austrian Ambassador, d'Aehren
thal, and afterwards we call on the French Ambassador
personally and together.
" D'Aehrenthal thought that we might get the lat
est news of the Morocco Conference, but Bompard
told us that he received nothing to-day as yet. He
said France had made concessions; that she no sooner
does this than Germany makes some new demands;
that she was now trying to make the Bank an inter
national one and would not accept French and Spanish
officers to regulate the police of the ports, which was
necessary for the safety of foreigners. France would
make no more concessions. The whole trouble was
that the Emperor of Germany had personaUy taken
such a prominent part in this entire question that his
amour propre was at stake and everything depended
upon him personally now."
To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, March 1, 1906.
My dear Mr. President, —
Thanks for your letter of February 1. I can weU appre
ciate, even at this distance, that you are " having difficulties of
your own," and McKinley weU expressed it when he said " Gov
ernment is always a crisis." No one knows that better than
the Tsar.

264 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^''^6
The feeling at the Foreign Office and among the leading
diplomats here is that If the Morocco Conference comes to a
dead-lock, you are the man to be the arbiter. Count Bencken
dorff, Russian Ambassador at London, called on me last Sun
day afternoon. He discussed the Algeciras Conference and said
that they were worried over the outlook, asking what could be
done. This gave me the opportunity to say to him that his
Emperor was the man, on account of the relationship existing
between him and his brother-Emperor; that he had a special
private code which permitted him to personally advise and urge
the German Emperor, privately, to lessen his demands or leave
them to arbitration. " Yes," replied the Ambassador, " but we
must consider what his answer might be." But that objection
Benckendorff was obliged to withdraw when I called to his
attention that the German Emperor did not stop to consider
that when he advised the Tsar to make peace. The Count then
asked me if my President would consent to act as arbiter, add
ing, " AU the world respects him, and it is well known that the
German Emperor admires him." I assured Benckendorff that
I could not answer that either officially or even unofficially. I
suspected that he had been sent to me by the Foreign Office,
and found out afterwards, on pretty good authority, that my
inference was correct.
Of course the Russians did not go ahead in the right way.
Instead of letting the Emperor act quietly on his own volition,
Lamsdorff, being afraid that the German Emperor might not
accept his Emperor's suggestion, made advances through their
Ambassador in Berlin, and von Biilow, it is said, turned him
down. Russia is especially concerned, for the reason that they
are in great need of a large loan, and without a satisfactory
termination of the Algeciras Conference it will be impossible to

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 265
float one In Paris and Berlin, and it may mean an inflation of
paper currency and a departure from the gold basis.
I have been much impressed with the investigations of
the insurance companies in New York and the amount of money
that individuals have had at their disposal.
One of the great questions in coming presidential elec
tions is the campaign fund, and yet It is a necessity with our
eighty millions of Inhabitants and our ever-increasing number
of naturalized citizens. They enjoy the privilege of voting,
and a campaign of education, as It were, should be carried on
at each presidential election. I wish you would consider the
advisability and possibility of recommending a million dollars
being appropriated by Congress for each presidential election,
to be divided between the parties. This would be much more
democratic and would stop the cry of the populace that cor
porations are controlling elections by their subscriptions to
the campaign fund. The act could so be drawn as to impose a
severe fine on any individual soliciting campaign subscriptions
from any corporation, and the same fine on the corporation
making the subscription. It would permit the two parties to
start the campaign on an equal footing; and after the election
a detailed statement of expenses should be furnished to the
proper authorities. This may appear Utopian, but possibly
you can thrash something practical out of it, as I beUeve it is
the psychological moment for such a reform.
' RespectfuUy yours,
George v. L, Meyer,
[Diary]
"March 9. — It looks better to-day for a final
arrangement of the Morocco situation. Now that Ger
many has had a favourable vote in the Reichstag for

266 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
six new battleships and five armoured cruisers, she
will probably be more willmg to meet French views if
France makes some concessions as to the bank.
" The Japanese Minister, Motono, recently ap
pointed, arrives from Paris, where he has been Min
ister. I sent Bhss, Second Secretary, to the station to
meet him. He reported him as a small man, speaks
French hke a Parisian. Expressed his appreciation of
all the Embassy had done.
" March 15. — Go over the Imperial stables in
order to see the horses, with Baron Huene. There are
about 500 in all, counting those at Tsarskoe Selo also.
Some of the Arabs and staUions are very fine, but as
coach horses for state carriages they were not equal
to the King of Italy's.
" Lunch with the Huenes, and after a heavy meal
go back to the stables in order to see the carriages,
harnesses, etc. I left at 4 o'clock, quite tired out.
There was a strong smell of ammonia. The Russians
are afraid of ventilation and have not studied drainage.
" March 17. — Maurice Baring lunches with me.
He was at Moscow through aU the troubles and revo
lution. The real leaders had not intended that it
should start at that time, but it got beyond them and
broke out without being properly organized. The
movement counted on the troops in Moscow joining,
at least to some extent. In this they were disap
pointed, and [that] was the cause of the faUure of the
movement. " Regarding the present elections for the Duma, at
Moscow the labourers were showing very little inter-

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 267
est; the peasant member had been arrested by the
police and thrown into prison because he had made a
very sensible speech which created some enthusiasm,
and therefore the police considered that he was dan
gerous 1 The power which the police have whUe at
tending elections is bound to be outrageously abused.
"March 18. — Dinner given by Count Lamsdorff
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was supposed
to be in honour of the Japanese Minister, but Bompard
sat on Lamsdorff's right and I on his left; opposite
Lamsdorff was Prince Obolensky, who, I have always
felt, is not over friendly to America; on his right was
the Spanish Ambassador, and on his left Motono from
Japan. It was a very trying moment for the Japa
nese Minister, as he arrived after practically aU the
guests were assembled. The Russians were not lack
ing in courtesy to him, but very formal with the excep
tion of Witte and Lamsdorff, the former having a long
talk with Motono after dinner. PracticaUy all the
members of the Cabinet were present, with the Master
of Ceremonies of the Court. Dournovo,^ who was
beside the Spanish Ambassador, I thmk, had some
difficulty in understanding him. There was too much
food and not very well selected, and a quantity of dif
ferent wines. Lamsdorff whispered to me towards the
end of the dinner, ' The Frenchman does not even eat
his own dishes or drink his wine.' This evidently pro
voked the Minister of Foreign Affairs in that the
French Ambassador showed so little appreciation of
the good things which were offered.
i Minister of the Interior.

268 GEORGE VON L. MEYER

[1906

"Attended the horse show, which was very good,
especiaUy the Cossacks, who ride marveUously weU.
"April 4. — Call on Lamsdorff, it being his offi
cial reception day. He happened to be quite com
municative, very rare for him, concerning the famous
Temps article which printed his now famous instruc
tions to Cassini at Algeciras. It seems that a few min
utes after Nelidow, Russian Ambassador at Paris, had
received an official copy, he was talking with a French
gentleman in his Embassy about the alliance between
Russia and France, and as proof of Russia's fidelity
to France mentioned the recent instructions to Cas
sini. This same gentleman went direct to the Temps
office, and they were published so promptly that Bour
geois, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, read them in
the Temps before he saw the official copy. Germany
at once took offense and asked for an explanation.
Lamsdorff gave the above, and said, as a proof that
the original had not been given out, that they were an
imperfect version.
"April 5. — Constitutional Democrats carry the
election in Petersburg, elect all their candidates.
" Witte tells a friend that he expects any day that
an attempt will be made on his hfe. Letters from
Ahce tell of her talk with Mrs. Cowles, which were
complimentary, of what her brother, the President, had
said — that I sent him the best all-round information,
and that he realized how much I had accomplished!
"Witte is not only nervous about his personal
safety, but also about his political future. He will
have no following in the Duma among the Constitu-

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 269
tional Democrats, now known as the Cadets over
among the majority. It is said that Witte wants to
get out before the Duma meets, and apparently break
with Dournovo. This he feels would help bun poht-
ically ; but the Tsar will not accept his resignation, and
evidently it is realized that on account of the loan that
is being negotiated in London and Paris it is better to
have him continue in office at least until that is out of
the way or placed.
"April 8. — At the Concours Hippique it was
rumoured that there was to be an attempt on the life
of the Grand Due Nicolas Nicolaievitch. Nothing
happened. " AU the trams, electric, were stopped running
across the river on the ice to-day. People were also
stopped walking or driving across, so that aU traffic is
stopped. " Close of the Morocco Conference yesterday. The
Inspector General proposed for mUitary police is to
be a superior officer of the Swiss Army, and the dif
ferences between the Maghzen and the State Bank
should be referred to the Federal High Court of
Lausanne. " The United States through its representative,
Henry White, stated [that], while accepting the ap
plication of the Conference for its own citizens, [it]
could not assume any responsibility for their enforce
ment. " It is just about a year ago that the German Em
peror made his sensational caU and visit to Tangier
which resulted in the Conference just closed.

270 GEORGE VON L. MEYER l^^***
" April 12. — Send a letter by the EngUsh courier
for Washington via London, one to the Department
concerning Russo-China affairs in the Far East, and
another to Lodge with my article on ' Our Inelastic
Currency.' ^ I asked him for his judgment on it, as I
had intended to have it published either in the Atlantic
Monthly or the Review of Reviews, but decided to
send it for his use. I am curious to hear what he
thinks of it.
" The eruption of Vesuvius continues, several
towns having been deserted, a few destroyed, which I
have been through a little over a year ago in my auto.
I see that the King and Queen visited the places
threatened, much to the joy of the inhabitants, who
felt, with what was happening, God and the Saints had
deserted them.
"April 14. — Went to the mass at St. Isaac's
Cathedral. Only part of the Diplomatic Corps were
there, including the French Ambassador. The service
begins at 11 p.m. and it lasts for hours. At midnight
they march out of the Church, walking round the en
tire building. Then they come and knock on the door,
march through the Church, and announce that Christ
has risen. The cannons thunder at the same moment
from the Fortress across the river. Why they have
Christ rising to the peal of the cannons is not quite
explained by the Russians. The Church was crowded,
but the service was not impressive after the first few
1 This article, published in the Atlantic Monthly for July, 1906, was a
statistical comparison of the financial methods of the United States with
those of England, France, and Germany.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 271
moments, as there is a constant and tedious repetition
of the same doleful chant.
"April 15 (Russian Easter Day). — At half -past
one A.M. I went from the Cathedral to a Russian
supper at the Bobrinskoys. It did not differ much as
to food from an old fashioned New England dinner
in the middle of the day (twelve hours later). There
was turkey, gelinotte, salads, cranberry sauce, cake,
fruits, and a special dish of hard cream with currants
in moulded form. It takes several days to make it
properly and, to my surprise, [it] was very good. All
the Russians kissed each other three times. The Fiirst-
enbergs ^ and myself, the only strangers, were not
included in this ceremony; however, they were all most
cordial, hospitable and charming in their manners, and
I was glad to have a chance of seeing this deUghtful
side of Russian fete celebration in their home life.
The young girls and men sat at one end of the table,
the hostess and her friends at the other end. The con
versation was animated, and good feehng predomi
nated and made itself felt throughout the evening.
Countess Bobrinskoy presented me with a fascinating
little enamelled Faberger egg. The guests were Belos
selskys, Fersens, Warashoff, Dashkoff, Ivan Orloffs,
Orloff Dernidoff, Benckendorff, Nieroth, Troubet-
skoy, etc. Eating, drinking, talking, and merry-mak
ing were kept up until 4 a.m.
" Lunch at the Austrian Embassy with Prince and
Princess Fiirstenberg; the latter gives me a Faberger
Easter egg with her best wishes.
1 Of the Austrian Embassy.

272 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^^
"April 16. — Rumours of the death of Grand
Duke Michel, also that the Dowager Empress was
ill, and that something had happened to Dournovo.
This is the city of potins, and rumours and stories
spread with the rapidity of prairie fires. It was all on
account of the prefet of the city havuig neglected to
say that on Easter they might put out flags as well as
having illuminations. Therefore the police ordered
down the flags. People said at once something had
happened, and then the above rumours started.
" The telegram which the German Emperor sent
to Count Golerchowski is attracting considerable at
tention; is evidently meant as a slap at Italy for her
lukewarm support at Algeciras. The fact that Em
peror WiUiam said to Austria that ' you proved your
self a brilhant second at the scene of struggle,' may
not entirely please Austria, though undoubtedly it was
meant to be complimentary.
"April 17. — Maxim Gorky, who arrived in
America with Andreiva, an actress who was attempt
ing to pass off as his wife, has since been turned out
of three hotels; every one has cancelled engagements
with him, even Mr. MitcheU, the head of one of the
labour unions. So that Gorky, who received a favour
able reception when he first arrived — and even Mark
Twain and Howells attended a dinner — is now dis
credited. " President Roosevelt, in his speech at the laying
of the corner-stone of the new Congressional Building,
attacked the magazine articles which were attacking
and maligning all pubhc men alike and trying to

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 273
discredit them before the public. He also touched on
the possible necessity of luniting in the future by a
progressive tax all fortunes above a certain amount.
This has excited a world-wide interest.
"April 21. — Have a small lunch for young Mr.
Harper of Chicago and Guy Scull of Boston.* After
ward take them with Miles ^ and Thompson of the
Associated Press to see the Duma. It is in the palace
of the Tauride Garden, the one which Catherine gave
to Potemkin. A year ago I saw there the private
collection of paintings of Catherine and some of the
men and women of her time. Now it has been
adapted for the use of the Duma, with considerable
taste, and the haUs and antecamera with their many
columns are most dignified. The chamber itself is dif
ferent from any that I have seen, part of it being
divided off by columns back of the speaker, which I
should think would affect the acoustic properties. The
aisles are very narrow, and when voting is going on
may cause confusion, as I believe it is not to be done
by the members sitting in their seats and answering
the roll-call, but by a division of the house, the mem
bers passing back of the speaker or president on either
side. The decorations are in excellent taste. The
press are in seats by themselves on the floor of the
house, being on each side of the presiding officer. Ar
rangements have been made to feed the members of
the Duma in the building.
1 American newspaper correspondents in St. Petersburg, to see the
opening of the Duma.
2 Basil Miles, who had come to St. Petersburg in December with Mr.
Meyer, as his Diplomatic Secretary.

274 GEORGE von L. MEYER tisoe
"April 27. — The London Times comes out with
an article from their correspondent, which intimates
that the Tsar is about to give a constitution which
limits the powers of Duma and retains many auto
cratic ones for himself. The London Times cor
respondent is so much in sympathy with the Revolu
tionists and so prejudiced against the Government
that he can never credit the Emperor with a good
motive and scarcely ever places the issues fairly and
impartially to the English pubhc. Think he should
be removed if England and Russia wish to come to a
good entente.
" April 28. — Dine at Count and Countess Witte's
in the Winter Palace — dinner given for the Grand
Duke Vladimir. . . . The guests were the Fiirsten-
bergs, Belosselskys, Orloff-Davidoff, Fersens, Goudo-
vitch, Worouzow, Dashkoff. Neither Witte nor his
wife seemed at their ease, he distrait and she watching
the servants. After I had tasted the white wine he
said, " TeU me frankly, is the wine good? " I sat on
her left and had on my left Princess Susie Belosselsky,
Grand Duke Vladimir being on her right. Princess
Fiirstenberg on the right of Witte, and Countess
Goudovitch on his left.
"After dinner, instead of allowing the Grand
Duke to choose his players for bridge, as is customary.
Countess Witte arranged that Vladimir, her husband.
Countess Fersen, and Coimtess Orloff-Davidoff play
at one table. Princess Belosselsky, Savinsky, Fiirsten
berg and myself at another. The Duke did not look
very pleased with the arrangement as he likes to have

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 275
the best players at his table. We played until mid
night. I spoke to Witte about the palace that had
been arranged for the Duma, how well it had been
done and in what good taste; my only criticism was
that they had given too good a place to the press. It
would have been better to have them in the gallery
and not on the floor where they can talk to the
members. "April 29. — Dine at Prmcess Olga Orloff 's in
Tsarskoe Selo. Dinner given for Grand Duke
Vladimir. Among other guests was General Trepoff,
who had been Governor General of St, Petersburg.
After dinner I had an opportunity to have a chat with
him. I complimented him on the ability he had shown
in governing St. Petersburg after the disturbance of
January 22, 1905, and the order that he had main
tained. He told me that he was on his way to Man
churia and was to have had his audience with the
Tsar when he was suddenly named Governor General
of St. P. It had been a very difficult and trying
position, and it was a real pleasure and comfort
when he was relieved. He spoke of how much some
newspaper journalists did by misrepresenting condi
tions and circumstances; then, speaking of the Duma,
he assured me that he considered it a serious time for
the Government, as aU the members elected practicaUy
were opposed to the administration. The Duma re
quired a leader of force and character, combining tact
and skill, able to meet the emergencies which would
surely arise. Would that man rise, and what line
would be taken? At that moment the Grand Duke

276 GEORGE VON L. MEYER twos
sent for me to make up a partie de bridge; for once
I was sorry to have to play.
" May 2. — Cable the Department that Witte has
resigned and the. Emperor has accepted his resigna
tion — Goremykin his probable successor.
" Drive Major Gibson * out to Krestovsky to see
my polo ponies which have been wintering there. On
returning, caU at the Foreign Office, it being the day
for Lamsdorff to receive the Diplomatic Corps. Rus
sianlike they knew nothing about Witte's resignation,
and I was able to inform the diplomats myself that it
would be official by to-morrow. This knowledge was
due to special official information which I had received.
"Among other things which I saw Lamsdorff
about was the export duty on old and worn-out rubber
shoes, which we buy in America for making rubber
tires. Lamsdorff remarked, ' What an extraordinary
matter for diplomatic pourparlers! ' and then laughed.
" Play bridge at Countess Mengden's, Palace of
the late Grand Duke Serge. Nothing but Russians
present; I being the only stranger, I felt quite com
phmented. I played with Madame Orloff and Prince
Youssoupoff. At half past 12 we stopped and had a
sit-down supper.
" May 5. — Play bridge at Prince Youssoupoff 's.
His palace is on a par with the great palaces of Rome.
The white marble escalier is more dignified than any
I remember in Rome. One room is about 80 feet
long; the walls are covered with tapestries that were
given to the Youssonpoffs by the King of France
1 Military Attache of the American Embassy.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 277
when Comte du Nord (Emperor Paul) was visiting
Paris. The salon in which the Princess was serving
tea was full of Greuzes, and there is also a remarkable
gallery with Rembrandts and other chefs d'oeuvre, be
sides a unique little theatre."
To Senator Lodge
' St. Petersburg, May 7, 1906.
My dear Cabot, —
. . . Witte, as I prophesied in my letter, has resigned,
and his resignation has been accepted, as well as that of Dour
novo, the Minister of the Interior.
The formal ceremonies of inaugurating the Duma will
follow the custom in BerUn and Vienna, of having the members
assemble in the PsJace, where the Emperor will make his ad
dress from the throne. The Duma will be in the control of the
Constitutional Democrats and their candidate for President of
the Duma is a certain Professor Muromtseff, a man of ability
and character. The trouble wUl be, however, that none of the
members will have had any parliamentary experience, and it
remains to be seen whether they will develop the power of self-
control and the necessary judgment to enact wise legislation,
so needful to the country.
Everything is at present an unknown quantity as to what
action the Duma will take, the Government hoping that they
will simply organize and perform the necessary perfunctory
legislation and then adjourn until the autumn; but such action
would be very unsatisfactory to the peasants and aU people
interested in reform.
I am happy to say my wife and daughters apparently
escaped any serious injury from the railroad accident which
occurred on their way from Cherbourg to Paris.'^ It might
1 They arrived safe in St. Petersburg, May 14.

278 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^''^
have been most serious, and Is thought to be the result of the
strikes which are going on In France.
Very sincerely yours,
George v. L. Meyer.
[Diary]
"May 10. — Beautiful bright summer's day. Open
ing of the Duma.
"Drive to the Winter Palace at 1 p.m., as the
invitation instructed me to be there at 1.15. The car
riage enters the gate of the garden from the Palace
Square, to a special door for the diplomats. We, the
Chefs de Mission, assemble in a circular room, and,
while waiting, several of the Russians pass through in
their Court costumes, the ladies with their headgear
and court trains, most striking and fine-looking — the
Princess Troubetskoy, nee Dolgorouky, the hand
somest. All the dresses were off the shoulders and a
beautiful neck was seen to great advantage and occa
sionally generously displayed. At half-past one, one
of the masters of ceremonies gave the signal and we
marched two by two through several great haUs and
salons to the St. George's Hall. The Turkish and
French Ambassadors led off, then the Italian and
myself, behind us the German and the Spanish, on
account of the Austrian and Enghsh not being present.
All the Russian officials and ladies of the Court were
in their places, and we walked through lines of beau
tiful ladies on one side and officials and officers in bril
hant costumes and uniforms, until we reached St.
Greorge's HaU. A number of ladies and officers

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 279
greeted me in a very charming manner as I passed;
the Russians, when you get to know them well, are the
most informal and affable people in the world.
" In St. George's Hall the space allotted to the
Ambassadors and Ministers was a raised stage, but
on the right side of the hall near the entrance. The
stage on the other side of the entrance directly oppo
site to where we stood was not occupied and might
have been assigned to the ladies of the Diplomatic
Corps. " The entire left side of the Hall was occupied
by the members of the Duma, and they were peasants,
shopkeepers, priests, merchants, lawyers, even a den
tist and a Catholic bishop. Perhaps a third were in
dress-suits, half a dozen in uniform, and many in
simple peasant costume and rough clothes. AU this
made a strange contrast with the officers in their silver
or gold-lace uniforms, members of the CouncU with
decorations, and members of the Court. On one side
were the representatives of the people and on the
other those of the bureaucracy past and present.
Those on the right had shown themselves unequal to
the task of satisfactorily governing the nation. Would
the left be equal to the occasion? Judging simply
from appearances, it was not encouraging. It would
have been interesting to have been able to compare
them with the Assembly of Louis XIV.
" At a quarter of two one heard in the distance the
national anthem, played by the trumpeters, growing
gradually louder as the Emperor and his courtiers
approached. Finally the doors were thrown open, and

280 GEORGE von L. MEYER t^^*"^
first came richly attired court servants, then two mas
ters of ceremonies, each bearing an Imperial golden
eagle, followed by others carrying the Sword of State,
the Seal of the State, the Imperial Banner, the globe,
the sceptre, and finally the crown, glittering with beau
tiful jewels. Directly behuid the crown came twelve
Palace grenadiers, wearmg uniforms of a century ago.
Immediately after came His Imperial Majesty, with
the Empress Alexandra on his left and the Empress
Dowager on his right. The Grand Dukes Michel and
Vladimir and the remainder of the Imperial family
foUowed in order of precedence. Half-way, down the
hall the Emperor stopped and kissed the cross in the
hands of the High Priest, and then the religious cere
mony commenced with chanting and choir. That fin
ished, the Emperor proceeded alone to the throne,
where he seated himself while the two Empresses
walked to the right of the throne and remained stand
ing. The Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses assem
bled further to the right, but not on the steps of the
throne. " In watching the deputies I was surprised to note
that many of them did not even return the bows of
His Majesty, some giving an awkward nod, others
staring him coldly in the face, showing no enthusiasm,
and even almost sullen indifference. As he rose again
from the throne, there was an absolute stillness. He
then proceeded in a firm voice to read his address.
When he finished there was a tremendous outbreak
of applause, but limited almost entirely to the right
side of the hall, the deputies remaining quiet. As he

H
O -J
CMOW

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 281
descended from the throne and the members of the
royal household formed in line according to their
rank, the applause and shouting on the right con
tinued and increased, but the marked silence on the
left was ever noticeable. The Emperor carried him
self with dignity under the trying ordeal, and should
receive credit for what he said in his address to the
members of the Duma. Judging merely from appear
ances, it was difficult to recognize any marked abUity
or distinguishing trait among the members of the
Duma which would specially fit them for the great
task that is before them; but the contrast between
those on the left and those on the right was the great
est that one could possibly imagine, one being a real
representation of different classes of this great Em
pire, and the others of what the autocracy and
bureaucracy have been.
" The peasants have come here for the reforming
or even the repealing of the laws of property, in order
that they may gain by a division of the land. It is
said that they desire to go so far as to introduce laws
forbidding the land-owners to possess more than a cer
tain amount of land. When land is thus given up, it
is to be divided among the peasants of the district and
paid for at a certain price.
" On the other hand the Democratic party has been
making a great many promises which it wiU be unable
to fulfil. Whether an eventual conflict can be avoided
between the Crown and the Duma remains to be seen;
but with the overwhelming majority of the Constitu
tional Democrats in the Lower House, it would appear

282 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"''
wise for the Tsar to select a Cabinet at once from
their number, in order that they should be held respon
sible to the people for the acts of the Duma.
"May 11. — Went to the first session of the re
organized Council of Empire, held in the HaU of the
Noblesse, a very dignified and handsome hall with pil
lars and columns which go round the hall leaving a
broad corridor and perfect circulation. It is located
on the Place Michel.
" It is now made up of 90 Senators elected and 90
named by the Emperor. The personnel is very dif
ferent from that of the Duma. The 90 chosen by
the Emperor are naturally members of the former
bureaucracy, but some have seen Ught and have Uberal
tendencies; of those chosen, practically aU are liberal
or so inclined with conservative tendencies. I met one
elective senator. He impressed me very favourably, but
they are all very ignorant of parliamentary procedure
and practical constitutional government. Nothing was
done at this session beyond organizing.
" It is quite remarkable what interest all the Rus
sians take in Gorky having been turned down in
America and how much it pleases them. It is very
noticeable that in all the salons now pohtical discus
sions take place with absolute freedom and no re
straint, and great interest shown, as well as doubt as
to the future. There is a great awakening in Russia.
"May 12. — Comte Lamsdorff calls and leaves a
p.p.c. card, with a Une drawn through Minister of
Foreign Affairs,
" Iswolsky, former Minister at Copenhagen, named

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 283
officially as Lamsdorff's successor. The Duma has
its second meeting, Muromtseff, the President, an-
noimces that he has reported his election to the Em
peror. It is said that he was much impressed by the
Emperor and that the Emperor found the President
of the Duma sympathetic. This is very important, if
true, for the reason that if they understand and trust
each other, they will then be able to accomplish much
in the way of reform and future progressive actions.
" The Duma spent its time on the questions and
petitions for amnesty.
'' May 14. — A workman in the Navy Yard stabs
the Admiral with an old rusty file because he would
not give them a holiday. The common people are
very barbaric and unruly. Yet amnesty is said to be
desired for all political prisoners, whether they have
committed murder or not. The Duma'-may come to a
deadlock with the Emperor on this question. He
might as well abdicate if he includes those guilty of
murder or bomb-throwing.
" To-day is Russian 1st May, but there have been
practically no disturbances throughout the country,
" It is reported that the body of Father Gapon has
been found.^
"May 15. — At half -past four Alice and I go to
the palace of the Grand Duke Vladimir to pay our
respects to the Grand Duchess — it being her fete day.
" The reply to the speech from the throne was sub
mitted to the Duma to-day. It demands complete po-
iGapon's murder is dramatically described in The BcUpse of Rtmia,
by E. J, Dillon, pp. 168-171.

284 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^^
litical amnesty as the first pledge of understanding
between the Tsar and the people; also deals with the
agrarian question. A peasant deputy compared the
Council of the Empire to old rotten beams used in
the buUding of a new edifice.
"May 19. — The bag brought a letter from the
President enclosing aU the correspondence, letters, and
cables, for the last year, over the Morocco Conference.
This includes the President's personal correspondence
with the Emperor WiUiam. Feel very flattered that
he should have taken the trouble to do this, and shall
consider it confidential as requested.
" The President quotes a cable last summer dated
July 22, from Emperor William, in which he says : ' I
have just seen the Emperor of Russia. He is tranquil
and peaceably inclined, appreciates your efforts, likes
your Ambassador, Mr. Meyer, and trusts him, and
hopes with your influence over Japan that you will be
able to induce Japan to make reasonable terms for
peace.' This, the President says, he forgot to read me
last autumn.
"May 20. — The Emperor has refused to receive
the delegation appointed to present the address in
answer to the speech from the throne. Informs the
Duma that it should be sent through the minister of
the Court."

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 285

To President Roosevelt
St. Petersburg, 3/21 May, 1906.
My dear Mr. President, —
I beg leave to acknowledge your letter of AprU 30, enclos
ing copies of letters and cables covering over a year in connec
tion with a certain conference.
I appreciate very much your taking this trouble, as it
interested me immensely, and shall naturally consider it confi
dential. What an insight it gives into the character of a cer
tain individual playing a most prominent part on the world's
stage !
The reception given by the Tsar in the Winter Palace
to the members of the Duma, and his address from the throne,
made a strong impression upon me. On the right were all the
members of the bureaucracy and autocracy in their gala uni
forms, and on the left the members of the Duma, a few in dress
clothes but many in simple and rough attire, including the
peasants in their long boots and shock hair. The address was
received with enthusiasm on the right and absolute silence on
the left, and even the salute, in many instances, received no
recognition or response, which was most surprising to the Rus
sians, as one has always been told that the pea.sants would faU
on their knees in the presence of their Emperor.
Some of the papers have been criticizing the following
sentence In the Emperor's address as reactionary — although to
my mind It might have been said by a President of the United
States without criticism : " Not only is liberty necessary, but
also order, as the basis of law."
The Duma as at present constituted contains practically
but one party, the Cadets. The minority is infinitesimal and
without any leaders. The majority is so overwhelming that
debate is all one-sided. The choice of the presiding officer.

286 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
known as President, Mr. Muromtseff, is in all probability a
happy one. The part which he Is to play will require not only
ability but amiability, coupled with tact and patience.
Russia is entering upon a great experiment. Ill-prepared
and really uneducated. Will this great majority in the Duma
formulate legislation only after due consideration and without
precipitation ?
In its address In reply to the speech from the throne the
Duma states that It expects a full political amnesty as the first
pledge of a mutual understanding and agreement between the
Tsar and his people. To meet the needs of the peasantry, it
affirms that the Duma would not be doing its duty if it did
not make a law for the satisfaction of agrarian needs by the
aid of crown domains, monastic lands, and by the compulsory
expropriation of land belonging to owners of estates. It con
siders that the death penalty is not advisable as a basis for
judicial sentences. Popular education is another task that lies
before the Duma, and emphasis is placed upon the absolute
necessity of passing definite laws assuring inviolability of per
son, liberty of conscience, speech, the press, association, meet
ing, and strikes.
No Imperial Council, the Duma thinks, composed of ap
pointed dignitaries and persons elected by the highest classes
of the population, should stand between the Duma and the
Throne. At the same time, the principle of responsibility of
the administration to the representatives of the nation must be
adopted. It is pointed out that only when Ministers are made
responsible to the people, can the idea of absolute responsi
bility of the Monarch take root in the hearts of the people,
and therefore only a Ministry enjoying the confidence of the
Duma can strengthen the confidence In the Government.
In order to perfect the principles of popular representa-

1906]

AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 287

tion, the Duma will submit a bUl on universal suffrage in ac
cordance with the unanimously expressed will of the people.
As showing the differences of opinion, I quote the foUow
ing as an expression from a member of the Duma : " An amnesty
Is Indispensable, because all Russians who endeavoured to over
turn the Government are patriots, and those who risked their
lives in taking the lives of the oppressors are the most heroic
of all. For these, therefore, an amnesty is more necessary
than for the men in prison for lesser offences."
On the other hand an aristocratic dignitary said : " If the
Tsar admits even implicitly that one Russian may murder
another and merit approval because his motives are political,
then the Tsar has virtually signed his abdication. Likewise,
If the Emperor allows the principle of private property to be
violated in favour of the peasants against the gentry, he can
not prevent the application of the same rule in favour of the
indigent against the well-to-do peasant."
It Is difficult to see how the Emperor will consent to the
suppression of the Council of Empire, created by himself, and
constituting an upper chamber.
The desire of the Duma to secure a monopoly of legis
lation. If pressed, is likely to cause a crisis. Then again, can
the transfer of land which is already personal property, to the
Russian peasant, be affected without a struggle?
The Court party appears to be labouring under the
delusion that the Duma misrepresents the nation. They
apparently are as blind to the storm that is gathering as
they were to the evidences which foretold a naval defeat to
Rodjestvensky. I cannot help but take a pessimistic view as to the future,
when I see evidences almost everywhere of a communistic spirit
among the workmen and peasants. Added to this is the fact
that the Government throughout the year has been driving even

288 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
the moderate element, which now are unorganized, over to the
Extremists. From the above I do not mean to imply that a crash is
coming at once, but that sooner or later a struggle on these
questions between the Crown and the Duma, unless aU signs fail,
is more than probable. To-day the Government is in posses
sion of funds and the Army, but within three years the entire
Army will have been recruited, and with the new ideas and doc
trines that are permeating the minds of the people who can
tell if the Government can then rely upon the troops to obey
the officers and quell disturbances.
BeUeve me, Mr. President, Respectfully yours,
George v. L. Meyer.
P.S. Monsieur Iswolsky, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs,
was a secretary at the Russian Legation In Washington under
Mr. Struve. He has also held posts in Rome, Darmstadt,
Tokyo, and lately was Minister at Copenhagen. His expe
rience in the diplomatic service has been quite extensive and is
always most useful to a Minister of Foreign Affairs. I think
the office will be run with more expedition. This task, how
ever, will prove more difficult than that of his predecessor, as
he will have to follow the proceedings of both the Duma and the
reorganized Council of Empire. I have found him very prompt
in attending to matters that I have brought to his attention
so far.
[Diary]
"May 26. — Took Alice and the girls to the
Duma. It was a memorable day, as the Prime Min
ister, Goremykin, announced from the Tribunal that
amnesty would not be granted or expropriation con-

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 289
sidered. At the conclusion of the Prime Minister's
remarks there was not a sign of approval of any sort.
Then speeches were made by several of the members
criticizing in very strong language the announcement,
finally demanding the resignation of the Cabinet in
which the Duma had lost all confidence, and demand
ing that it be selected from the Duma. Many Rus
sians of prominence were present, showing much
interest and some resentment at the Duma's action
and final resolution.
"June 8. — Give a dinner of 22 for the German
Ambassador and Madame de Schoen and the British
Ambassador and Lady Nicolson. Mr. de Lovenorn,
the Danish Minister, sent word at half -past two that
the Grand Duchess Vladimir had sent for him to come
to dinner and therefore he would not be able to keep
his engagement. The Grand Duchess never invites
her guests until the day of a dinner, and consequently
continuaUy upsets dinner parties, which is most trying
to the host and no comphment to the people that she
invites at the last moment. On two occasions I re
fused to throw over the French Ambassador's dinner
and on another occasion the German Ambassador's —
I felt it was only due to my colleagues as Ambas
sadors. "June 13. — Colonel Bryan (WiUiam Jennings
Bryan) and his wife arrive in St. Petersburg. He
and his wife lunch with us. Bryan said to me, ' I see
that the papers say I have grown more conservative,
I am, as a fact, more radical now than I was four
years ago. It is the sentiment in the United States

290 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
that has changed. The people look differently at some
of the things that I advocated and now no longer con
sider them dangerous.'
"Mrs. Bryan is a quiet, ladylike, simple person
with nice eyes. I arranged that we would go to the
Duma to-morrow morning, and would call on Mr.
Iswolsky by appointment at the Foreign Office to
morrow afternoon at 5 o'clock.
" Bryan was in very good spirits after his travels.
He has become broadened and more the man of the
world. " He told a very good story at the table about the
man out West who went into a smaU baker's shop
and asked if they had pies such as mother used to
make. ' Yes,' they replied. ' Exactly the same as
mother made? ' ' Yes.' ' Well, then,' he said, ' give
me something quite different! '
" June 14. — Colonel Bryan arrived with his wife
at 11 A.M., in coupe with a smart pair of grey horses,
coachman in hvery and a cockade in his hat. Bryan
himself wore a silk hat. If some of his Western ad
mirers could have seen him, they would have had a
surprise. " I put my wife in the coupe with Mr. Bryan.
We somehow had changed places. I was hi a rough
suit and he in frock coat. As our wives drove off I
said to him, 'We will be democratic and get into a
droshky,' ' AU right,' he replied with a twinkle in
his eye, showing that he caught on to my point,
" I presented Bryan to Count Potocki and Prin
cess Galltzine,

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 291
" At 5 o'clock we called on Iswolsky, Minister of
Foreign Affau-s, who appeared to be posted as to Mr,
Bryan's career and even to his movements lately.
Iswolsky was exceptionally frank as to the situation
and the Duma. Believed the Duma was not in sym
pathy with the present Cabinet in any way, and as it
was taken from the bureaucratic element he felt that
it could not work with this Duma, He was prepared
to resign, and even advocated it and selecting a
Cabinet from the Cadets in the Duma: this would
make them reahze more fuUy the difficulties and in the
end cause them to be more conservative. He also
spoke very strongly on expropriation of private land
and the payment of about half-value, as out of the
question; that the Government was formulating a
scheme which it had not yet fully announced. Colonel
Bryan spoke of the safety of letting off steam, which
he compared to allowing people to speak and say what
was on their minds, and that when people were put in
power and made responsible they became more con
servative and reasonable. Expressed the behef that
later the Duma would line up with two or three
parties, and in leaving said to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs that he hoped the Duma and the Government
would find a common ground on which they could
work together understandingly,
" June 20. — Call on Goremykin, the Prime Min
ister, by appointment at 1 o'clock. Receives me very
cordially, I tell him that I appreciate his giving me
time when he must be terribly busy. He goes on to
say how difficult his task is; that the Duma is nothing

292 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^"^
more than an organized revolutionary body; that ex
propriation is merely a platform with them ; that noth
ing the Government might offer would satisfy; and as
a proof of this tells me that the Government is work
ing out a land scheme which the Duma refuses even
to consider. He complains of the press, especially the
English, misrepresenting the actual condition of af
fairs ; says he does not understand it, does not want to
think that England desires to see Russia weakened,
but prefers to believe it is due to the Jews who own
so many influential journals in England. Informed
me that there was an active propaganda going on dis
tributing revolutionary literature among the troops.
He reahzed that Russia was passing through a crisis
which would have to spend its force, much as an epi
demic of measles. He did not impress me as a man
of force or equal in any way to the present situation.
Does not appreciate the new sentiment which has per
meated the people, nor does he understand the Duma
or take into account that representative government
has now got a footing, and that consideration of the
Duma's wishes must hereafter receive attention, and
not be thwarted or scorned if the Tsar wishes to keep
his throne.
"June 24. — My 48th birthday — time and years
are flying!
" Receive a cable from the State Department say
ing, ' The President wishes you to take the earliest
occasion to informally ascertain whether the reports of
the acquiescence of local authorities in the recent de
plorable massacre of Jews at Byalostok are imfounded

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 293
or not,' etc. I wrote to Iswolsky and asked him kindly
to name the earliest moment to-day or to-morrow that
he could see me conveniently. Word came back to
caU at the Foreign Office at 4.30 this afternoon. I
know perfectly well that the Russian Government has
our code, so I went with a typewritten copy of the
translation of the cable. Mr. Iswolsky seemed rather
nervous when he received me and I said I would like
to read a cable message; got quite excited and said,
' What sort of a message? I do not understand.' All
of which was unnatural and unnecessary had he not
already known of my cable through code in their pos
session. When I said it was about the Jews and the
massacre at Byalostok, he said he must decline to dis
cuss it, as it was an internal affair, even informally or
for information; that he could only refer to the com
munique of the Minister of the Interior which had
been published and sent to aU the Governors and
prefets, instructing them to take the greatest precau
tions and not to delay, as quick action would prevent
further disturbances, etc.
"June 25. — English Ambassador, Sir Arthur
Nicolson, caUed on me by appointment at 11 a.m.
Informed me that he has also called on Iswolsky to
obtain information informally as to the Government's
attitude on the Jewish Massacre. The Minister of
Foreign Affairs apparently was quite put out and de
clined to talk on the subject and referred him, as he
did me, to the official communication of the Minister
of the Interior. Nicolson assured him, as I had done,
it was not the desire to criticize the Government or

294 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^isoff
seem inquisitorial (as I had also stated), but merely
to put his government, if Russia desired to, in such a
position as to prevent public opinion becoming incensed
through the exaggerated accounts of the press.
"June 26. — Yesterday Count Westphalen^ said
at polo, ' I hear you and the English Ambassador re
ceived a refusal at the Foreign Office.' I merely
replied, ' Where did you get that idea? ' He hesitated
and said, ' I think my Ambassador told me.' This
morning I met the British Ambassador, Nicolson, and
told him the remark of Westphalen, at the same time
asking him if he thought that Iswolsky could have
talked about it to one of our colleagues; that it would
be bad for public sentiment if it got into the American
papers. He acknowledged having mentioned it him
self to the French and German Ambassadors, but felt
sure he had not spoken of my experience. Asked if
I thought Bompard or Schoen would repeat it.
" June 28. — The British Ambassador, Sir Arthur
Nicolson, called this morning at 10,30 to inform me
that it was evidently Schoen, the German Ambassador,
who had been told by Iswolsky that the British Am
bassador and myself had spoken informally on the
Russian-Jewish massacres and that he had refused to
discuss it, etc. It is rather strange that Iswolsky
should repeat this to Schoen, and is not quite good
form. They have, however, been former coUeagues,
and the course of events is throwing Germany and
Russia together. It is greatly to Germany's interest
that the revolution should not make too much progress.
I Counsellor of the Austrian Embassy.

.1906} AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 295
Russia assisted in the past to put down the revolution
in Hungary. Germany or Austria may in a similar,
event slip in and attempt the same thing hi order to
discourage Socialism.
" July 8. — Alice, the girls, and myself go with a
party to the Princess Orloff's at Strelna. Just as we
reached there a tremendous thunder-storm came up
and lasted for an hour. At half -past four we all drove
to the boat-landing and went out to their steam yacht,
reaching it as the clouds parted and the sun came out.
We steamed all around the ' Bay,' and finaUy,
through the stupidity of the Captain, got aground,
and after much difficulty got off. It was a very good
example of Russian incapacity as mariners. Later we
steamed in and around Kronstadt, saw the new royal
yacht, which has fine hues. We dined on board our
yacht at 7.30, 13 in all — Belosselskys, Cantacuzenes,
Count and Countess Nieroth, Prince Gahtzine, Prin
cess Olga Orloff. Vladimir at the last moment could
not get away from the Emperor.
" Came home on the yacht by the ship canal ; lovely
night, but damp. The canal is much larger than I
imagined, and becomes after a while very monotonous.
It is in reality a channel, with artificial banks on each
side on which scrub trees have been planted.
"July 11. — Write a letter to President Roose
velt on the situation here. Send it by Conger of the
Associated Press, who leaves for Berlin at 11 a.m.
" Go down to Tsarskoe Selo to dine with the
Countess Orloff-Davidoff and play in bridge tourna
ment.

296 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^^^
" In my letter to the President I tell him of Iswol
sky 's refusal to discuss Byalostok or the Jewish ques
tion, and that the British Ambassador received the
same refusal. I tell him of the doctor ordering me to
take a cure at Kissingen on account of catarrh of the
stomach. I should have done it in June, but was
unable to on account of Eddy's continued absence,
but must in August. The family will probably sail
for home in August, and I should like to follow in
September on leave, if the President has no objec
tions. " July 12. — Festa, hohday of Peter and Paul.
Great many drunk on the street, as so many Russians
have that name, and they are all celebrating.
" Go to the Kleinmichel House with Alice. Nearly
everything packed up in cases; have decided to store
them at the Embassy, and eventually to ship them to
America, as under no circumstances shall I take a
house again here.
" The President sent word through Cabot this
spring that he intended to take me into his Cabinet
either this July, or failing that, in January or March,
1907, at the latest. He also told me that verbally last
November. Consequently, after I have taken my
cure, if the conditions prevent or the President does
not wish me to come to America in the meantune on
leave, I shaU take rooms at a hotel.
" July 15. — The peasants have begun again in
different parts of the country burning and pillaging.
They get drunk on vodka, and then go round burning
and destroying estates. Their object is either to drive

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 297
away the proprietors or make it impossible for them
to return. In this way they imagine themselves able
to force the division of land among themselves. The
bureaucracy have imagined that they could continue
to govern 100,000,000 peasants by keeping them un
educated and hving almost like animals. The peasants,
having become aroused and dissatisfied, are acting like
animals and without any judgment or reason. The
Government and proprietors are now reaping the re
sult of their bluid and foolish policy. A thorough
reorganization of the Government and a compulsory
education of the people is necessary, which will require
more than one generation.
" There is only one thing impossible in Russia, and
that is to understand Russia. The Tsar is stronger
in ideals than in achievements. The education of the
masses has been shamefully neglected. The Jews have
been persecuted and massacred. The bureaucracy is
corrupt and unpatriotic. There are no leaders on
either side. The revolutionists want capital punish
ment abolished, but freedom to use the bomb.
" July 16. — The agrarian disturbances are in
creasing. The Orloff estates with the famous stud and
stables have been destroyed, also one of the Schiri-
metew estates; and there is trouble on the Mistchisky
property. " The Russian peasants' union has issued a circular
among the peasants. It claims that they should have
land, liberty, and justice. In order to gain their ends,
peasants who are not day labourers must therefore take
no part ui harvest work, so that landlords may under-

298 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^''^
stand their wealth is due to the peasants' work alone.
Day labourers must work carelessly so that landlords
get no profits; they must demand higher wages, better
food, and longer periods of rest. They must support
the demands of the Labour Party. It ends with
' Strike while the iron is hot. The Government fears
only you. It wiU be compelled to fulfil your
demands.' " July 18. — Send a dispatch on the present situa
tion to the State Department by the English courier.
It looks to-day as though the Cadets and the Crown
were drifting farther apart again, and that the present
Cabinet would be compelled to stay in. This woidd
be unfortunate from my point of view. I beheve the
Tsar would do weU to take a Cabinet from the Con
stitutional Democratic Party, put them in power, and
make them responsible. It is the only way to make
them conservative and for the Crown to gain support
in the Duma while they are still loyal and in a
majority. " The Austrian Ambassador, who has been quite
pessimistic, to-day felt more encouraged. He looks
at it from a different point of view. Does not believe
in recognizing the Democrats, thinks the Duma should
be dissolved and have the struggle now, which he be-
heves would be short-lived as the majority of the
troops are now loyal. This, as I think, would not
solve the problem before the coimtry and would mean
a greater and worse strife later on. Go to the Foreign
Office. Find the Turkish, French, English, and Ger
man Ambassadors aU calling. I also pay a call on

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 299
Goubastow, who was formerly in Rome, accredited to
the Vatican.
"At 4.30 we all leave for Finland, the Govern
ment having assigned a private car for my use.
D'Aehrenthal was on the train."
For several days Meyer and his son fished for
salmon on the lake at Imatra. The journal pro
ceeds : —
"July 21. — Rained early in the morning. Stopped
at 10 o'clock. ' Bey ' and I went fishing. He had
great sport, kiUed five salmon in all; the last one a
large one, weighing 15 lbs.; took him down the rapids,
but he saved it and landed it safely in the boat, much
to his satisfaction and mine. I only kiUed one good-
sized one, but he gave me great sport. Csekonics tele
graphed, advising us not to travel on Sunday. Some
thing must have occurred. I had already decided to
leave Imatra at 4.30. Found our private car all ready
for us, arrived in Petersburg at 11.15 p.m. Hibben,
Third Secretary, waiting to receive us at the station;
also an officer and several soldiers, who escorted us to
the royal waiting-room and from there to our auto
mobile. "When we reached our Villa on Krestovsky, my
private watchman informed me that the Government
desired to send out six soldiers as a special guard. I
wonder if the Emperor has decided to dismiss the
Duma and they anticipate disturbances. The town of
Sysran was totally destroyed yesterday by fire. The
population, about 33,000, has fled to the fields. Many

300 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^^
lives have been lost, mostly chUdren. The bulk of
the population are without food or shelter.
" July 22. — The doctor arrives at 9 a.m. to see
Julia, and informs my chasseur that the Duma has
been dismissed. Hibben arrives at 11 a.m., but has no
news to that effect. Posts me as to what has tran
spired the past three days. As a result of the increased
popularity of the labour group, due to agitation and
propaganda, the Cadets have not been able to prevent
the Duma the last few days from taking on a com
plexion rather of a revolutionary character, which
would tend to incite one part of the people against the
other, and as such is regarded as an unconstitutional
course. Thus an opportunity is given to the Emperor
to dissolve the Duma with the possible support of the
conservative classes.
" Csekonics arrived after lunch and informed me
that it was not published in the morning papers, only
the official messenger had announced that the Emperor
was dissolving the Duma and announcing the assem
bling of the Duma, March 5, 1907. It appears that
the Tsar considers the Duma's projected national
manifesto on the agrarian question an act of open
revolution, and he even reprobates the modified reso
lution which the Duma has finally adopted. The vote
was 124 to 53, 101 of the Sociahsts, etc., refraining
from voting. The report rejects the government agra
rian proposition and appeals to the peasants to remain
calm, pending the carrying out of the Duma scheme.
It strongly favours expropriation of landowners.
Petersburg quiet.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 301
" July 23. — Goremykin's resignation has been ac
cepted, as weU as that of the Minister of Agriculture,
and that of the Holy Synod also. Stolypin has been
made Premier, and it is thought that the other mem
bers of the Cabinet will be requested to hold their
portfohos. " Send off a courier to Berlui with dispatches to
Washington. The English, German, and Austrian
Embassies also avail themselves of our bag.
"July 25. — Receive a cable from State Depart
ment, in which it says, ' In view of the present situa
tion as described in your cablegrams, the President is
strongly of the opinion that you should not leave Rus
sia except for some place from which you can return
at short notice.' To which I rephed: ' On dissolution
of Duma gave up going to Kissingen for cure in order
to await results. Petersburg continues quiet; general
strike now considered improbable.'
" Took the family down to Peterhof to see the
Park and Palace. The Park is really lovely with its
fine trees, walks, and drives running right down to the
water. The fountains were all playing, and the canal
extends from the Palace through the Park in a straight
line to the water edge ; suggests VersaUles, but here all
the statues are gilded, which is very barbaric. The
excruciatingly bad taste displayed in the Palace and
the dripping gold decorations are most offensive to the
eye. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed the outing,
specially the little house of Peter the Great on the
water's edge. Paravicini,^ de Stumm,^ and Hender-
1 Secretary of the Swiss Legation. 2 Attache of the German Embassy.

302 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^o^
son^ went with us. We remarked what a contrast it
aU was, the present normal conditions, to the descrip
tion that was going on in the English and American
papers. " July 26. — Give a dinner of sixteen to celebrate
Julia's birthday on the 30th, as the family leave on
that day. Petersburg continues quiet, without dis
turbances. A rumour has started that the Emperor in
a Ukase will announce that aU people will be equal be
fore the law. This act, if it were estabhshed, would
break the backbone of the revolution and stop the
sinews of war coming in from the Jews, and also cause
Consols to advance. Knowing, however, how deep-
rooted is the prejudice against the Jew in Russia and
in the government circles, it is hardly conceivable that
such wisdom will be shown at this time. Something
more than promises have got to be given to save the
throne and the nation from revolution. It wiU only
be effected by great concession and sacrifices. Has he
the courage and strength to do so?
"July 28. — Play polo at Krestovsky; have four
on a side. The Grand Duke Boris arrives, but is only
too glad not to play on account of his clothes having
been taken away. Plays tennis with Princess Susie
Belosselsky against Schoen and Alice. They have to
let him win, as he gets so cross if he loses. Count
Westphalen^ and Count Csekonics give the family a
dinner in their datcha. Excellent dinner; Henderson,
1 Nevile Henderson, Attache of the British Embassy.
2 Coimsellor of the Austrian Embassy.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 303
Schoen, and Csekonics's cousin, the new Austrian At
tache, also present.
"August 8. — Cable Washington that the Com
mittee that ordered the general strike have caUed the
strike off. The failure is due to the non-participation
of the railroads and the opposition of the majority of
labourers to join. This makes it probably possible for
me to get off to Kissingen early next week. The Gov
ernment has now had considerable experience and un
derstands better how to handle the situation.
" Dinner at the Japanese legation. Consists of
British Ambassador, and Lady Nicolson, Sir Donald
Mackenzie Wallace,^ la Marquise de Belloy,^ Comte
de Grelle Rogier,^ his daughter, Mr. and Madame
de Grelle, Mr. Martin,* and the Japanese staff. I took
in the wife of the Japanese secretary, the only Japa
nese lady in Petersburg. She was very difficult to talk
to, as she was very nervous. She was apparently about
twenty-one years old. There was an old Japanese at
the table and I asked who he was. Her reply was,
' II est mon marif I should have been much less sur
prised if she had said, ' Mon pere.'
" August 14. — Leave Petersburg with BasU Miles
at noon, on conge for Berlin and Kissingen; at the
latter place I am to take a cure. Cable the Depart
ment that I go out of the Empire to-morrow morn
ing; Eddy in charge.
"After we had got an hour from Petersburg I
1 A new edition of his Russia, first published in 1877, had been
issued in 1905.
2 Wife of the French naval attach^.
3 The Belgian Minister.
* Secretary of the French Embassy.

304 GEORGE von L. MEYER l^^""
discover that I have not my passport with me. The
afternoon before I left I had asked  to look
through the safe to see if there was anything of mine
in it. Had he done so, he would have found my pass
port in an envelope with my name written on it. How
ever, we telegraphed Iswolsky, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, in Russian, as the operator would not take it
in any other language. Later, at another station, I
telegraphed the Embassy to see the Foreign Office,
and have them wire to Wirballen to pass me. How
absurd that an ambassador cannot get out of the coun
try without a permit from the Foreign Office! It is
barbaric. "August 15. — Arrive at Wirballen at 6.30 Rus
sian time, 5.30 a.m., German. No telegrams. Little
later the wagon-lits conductor informed me that a tele
gram has come with instructions to pass me over the
frontier. . . .
" Bad Kissingen, August 27. — The courier arrives
from Petersburg via Berlin. Brings the bag from
Washmgton; in it was a letter from the President,
dated July 28. It had evidently just lost the other
bag, and then came on a slow steamer. He says, ' Most
Ambassadors go through their terms with only the
chance to do respectably what any fairly good man
can do respectably. Now the greatest piece of good
fortune that can befall any man is to have the chance
to do, at no matter what cost of personal inconvenience
and risk, something worth doing; and you have had
this great good fortune. Of course the most impor
tant part of your work was during the peace negotia-

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 305
tions, when you did so admirably; but it is evident that
until things settle down the position of Ambassador hi
Russia is a working position with small certainty of
hohday for the man who fills it. But, my dear George,
you have at least the cold comfort of feeling that when
next winter you come into the Cabinet, you have quite
as hard and as irritating work here!
" ' Always yours, Theodore Roosevelt.'
" I wired Stolypin,^ ' Please accept my heartfelt
sympathy for your affiiction, and also permit me to ex
press my relief in hearing of your miraculous escape.'
His little girl had both her feet blown off and his boy
of a few years a leg broken.
" September 1. — I am taken to call, and pre
sented by Mr. Adami to Prince Christian of Schleswig-
Holstein. He married the sister of the King of Eng
land. He lives in England most of the time, I be
lieve in Cumberland House. He was most agreeable,
asked many questions about Russia. Asked if the
Emperor was not a weak man. This I avoided by
saying that he struck me as a man wanthig to do the
best for his country, but that he was terribly handi
capped by his advisors and surroundings.
" Prince Christian had just come back from Ber
hn, where he had represented the King of England at
the christening. He had seen the Grand Duke Vladi
mir and thought he looked very badly; asked if he had
kidney trouble,
"September 2. — Lunch at the Kurhaus with
1 His assassination had been attempted August 25.

306 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^""
Prince Christian and M. and Madame Adami. The
Prince is 76, but very hale and hearty. He was very
frank at lunching at not hking the domination of
Prussia in Germany. This is evidently due to two
causes, one living in England, and the other that
Prussia has so overshadowed the other German king
doms and principalities that it has undoubtedly aroused
their jealousies." To President Roosevelt
Bad Kissingen, September 2, 1 906.
My dear Mr. President, —
Thanks for your letter of July 28. It only reached me
August 27 (delay in Washington and slow steamer).
I agree with all you say, and in addition I appreciate very
much having had the good fortune to have been associated with
you during the peace negotiations and to have been your rep
resentative at Petersburg.
It is not the work at the Embassy that is hard now, but
the task of guessing the outcome of events.
I should welcome your caU next winter to come into the
Cabinet, to say nothing of the honour, although you speak of
cold comfort on account of the work being as hard and irritat
ing as in St. Petersburg. No comfort can be so cold as this
climate of Petersburg. As for the irritation, I had an expe
rience in a small way while several years Speaker of the
Massachusetts House, but hard work I have always Uked. . . .
The terrible and dastardly attempt on Stolypin's life
which resulted In the killing and mutilation of thirty or forty
people, including two of his innocent children, shows you what
any future leader will have to contend against. The great mass
of the Russian people are not much superior to animals with

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 307
brutal instincts. For many generations they have been op
pressed and taxed, uneducated, living without any comforts,
barely existing. This I have seen with my own eyes. I slept
two nights on the floor of different peasant cabins, while bear-
shooting, only halfway between St. Petersburg and Moscow.
If the Socialist or Anarchist can once disabuse the minds of
these eighty miUion peasants of the idea that the Tsar is their
Little Father, and that they can expect no further assistance
from him, but must look to the people for redress, then events
which have so far transpired would appear legitimate in com
parison to what would probably take place throughout the
land. One must live in Russia to understand it. It is impos
sible to draw any conclusion from experiences and results in
other countries.
Every step or attempt that has been carried on In a revo
lutionary way has been made without reference to what has
gone on before or what is to follow. They do not know what
they want, except that they want everything at once — what
has taken other nations generations to acquire.
Professor Vinogradoff said the other day : " The Russian
Nation will realize as other nations have done before, that a
living organization cannot transform bones and sinews at
pleasure ; that the future has deeper roots in the past, than the
present is inclined to grant."
The Revolutionists have not grasped the fact that it is as
necessary for them to have organization as for established gov
ernment, and strange to say, the events have not developed on
either side a single man who could be pointed to as a leader or
[who] stood noticeably above and superior to those about him
sufficiently to impress himself upon the national mind as the
man for the occasion. Consequently each reform or revolu
tionary party has worked for an object in its own way.

308 GEORGE VON L, MEYER f^^""
The Tsar does not seem yet to realize that in the long
run the will of the people will eventually assert itself. Every
thing that he grants is done either too late or when it is self-
evident that it is forced from him. Unless he changes his
course and adopts a policy satisfactory to the nation, it is
merely a question of how long the army remains loyal,
I am taking the cure here very conscientiously, getting up,
every morning at 6.30, drinking three glasses of water that
taste as though they had a rotten egg broken in, and taking
a stiff walk of an hour up a mountain before breakfast. All
walks, however, seem tame after that one you took me outside
of Washington last November.
After the cure is completed here (15th September), the
doctor wants me to go to the mountains for a short time, as
the waters let one down.
Rest assured, Mr. President, that if the occasion is such
that my presence is required in Petersburg, I shall not take an
after-cure and am prepared also to leave here in the middle
of my cure at a moment's notice.
Believe me, ' Faithfully yours,
G. v. L. Meyer.
[Diary]
" September 5. — Grand Duke Paul of Russia
arrives with his wife. She was the wife of an officer
in one of the guard regiments. The Grand Duke feU
in love with her. She leaves her husband and goes
with the Grand Duke Paul. The Emperor banishes
him from Russia. They get divorced from their re
spective wife and husband and are then married. The
Emperor has since allowed Paul to enter Russia, but

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 309
not with his wife. They should go to New York; they
would find plenty of company there.
[St. Petersburg] "September 26. — Dine with Sir
A. Nicolson and Lady Nicolson at the British Em
bassy. Interesting talk after dinner with Sir Donald
Mackenzie [Wallace]. As I had been absent for five
weeks in Germany taking my cure, I was not sure on
my return, whether it was my imagination or not, but
Petersburg appeared calmer and more tranquil. He
assured me that it was reaUy a fact. He knew from
good authority that the workmen had shown decided
evidences of being tired of being used for political pur
poses, and they were becoming unwilling to obey the
order of political agitators ; that some of the local elec
tions were returning candidates that were conservative
and defeating Extreme Left candidates; that the
' black hundred ' were increasing their influence, which
goes to show people are tired and disgusted with all
this destruction of property and murder by bombs, etc.
If only the Government would keep its head now and
not commit some action which would drive back to the
ranks of the revolutionists those who were begmning
to leave them!
"September 27. — Call by appointment at the
Foreign Office at 12 o'clock on Mr. Iswolsky, the main
object bebig to put before bun the U. S. Government's
plan to have Consul-Generals at large, who wiU be
appointed over several countries. ... I told Iswol
sky that I expected early in October to go to An
toniny in Volhynia, and from there later on to Odessa.
I then congratulated him on the changed atmosphere

310 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
of Petersburg, there being practically no disturbances
now. He became quite frank and spoke of the English
and French press, how unjust they were in the atti
tude they took in almost sympathizing with the terror
ists and bomb-throwers. Very probably the Govern
ment had made mistakes, but how imwisely the Cadets
had behaved in attempting to work with the revolution
ists and then having that Viborg meeting, which action
put them outside the pale of official recognition. He
also praised Stolypin, who, notwithstanding that
dastardly attack, had not deviated since from the
course he had previously laid out. He thought he saw
signs of improvement. In leaving he begged me not
to go to Odessa or travel without first notifying him."
Before taking the trip to Volhynia foretold in the
preceding entry, Meyer related in a letter to his wife
some experiences of Russian society and sport which
are worth recording. To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, October 5, 1906.
. . . Last Friday morning I again got a message from
the Grand Duchess to come down and dine that evening. I had
Intended leaving for Narva on the five o'clock train, but
could not again say that I was off shooting, so postponed leav
ing until next morning and went to dinner at Tsarskoe. Prince
Dolgorouky and myself were bound for the same destination,
and Prince Youssoupoff ^ was also on the train ; he told me
that he had wonderful wolf-shooting outside of Moscow, and
1 It was in the Petersburg palace of this Prince — see p. 276, ante —
that the monk Kasputin was murdered, December 31, 1916.

o

o < w o H

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 311
later on, if conditions would permit, that he intended to invite
me to go shooting there with him.
At the Vladlmirs' the guests were all assembled awaiting
our arrival, and consisted of Grand Duke Andre, the Fersens,
the Annenkoffs, Knorring, Hohenlohe, and one or two ladies-
in-waiting and aides-de-camp. The dinner was informal and
no champagne served, which is always the way when the Grand
Duchess is there, as she realizes how bad it Is for her husband.
The ladies all walked in first, the men following after, every one
stopping, however, in the first antecamera, in order to have
zakuski, which consists as usual of caviar, raw fish, smoked fish,
pate-de-foie-gras, a few petits verres of vodka, and the whisky
which I sent the Grand Duke, which seems to be much appre
ciated. After dinner the Grand Duke formed his bridge tables
as quickly as possible, as Dolgorouky and I had to return on
the 11.07 train. The two Royal Highnesses, during the game
of bridge, had a spat, and while they were having it out, I
found it necessary to go and select a cigar, which took me some
time, Countess Fersen claiming that I deserted her in the midst
of trouble. At eleven we left for the station, and we had
hardly got there when I saw the train approaching and another
one coming in the opposite direction. It was necessary to get
across the track, and as there is a drop of three feet, I without
any ceremony jumped down and went over on to the other side.
Poor old Prince Dolgorouky, with his long coat and sword, did
not dare to attempt it, and it was necessary for him to go
under the track by the tunnel. He consequently lost the train,
the station-master refusing to hold it, and the poor old man
had to wait tiU twenty minutes to one for the next train. I
met him this morning, and he told me that he had been per
fectly furious and succeeded in having the station-master dis
missed. The next morning I started for Narva in the Baltic

312 GEORGE VON L. MEYER [^^^e
Provinces, where I went shooting with a Mr. Medhurst and
Admiral Wirenius, Chief of Staff in the Marine Service, and
who was also in command of the volunteer fleet that started
from the Baltic Sea in the late war. He was a most charming
old man — on one hand had only a thumb and two fingers, but
he was able to manipulate his knife and fork In a most capable
way, but turned out to be a very poor shot. We did not
manage to do very well, it hailing one minute and later blowing
very hard, and a little while later the sun coming out.
However, we had a good outing in the woods and some
sport. A most amusing incident took place. We had about forty
girls and women for beaters, and such costumes you never saw ;
boots that came to their knees, a soiled flannel petticoat which
reached to the tops of their boots, a waist that was made, in
most cases, out of an old hed comforter, no hat, but frequently
a small shawl puUed over their heads. They worked very hard
and were very willing. In the middle of the day we all lunched
in the woods, a fire being made, and the beaters surrounded
us as we sat at the fire, in order to get some benefit, and without
any ceremony or embarrassment commenced eating their black
bread. Ours was also frugal, but tasted very well, being sliced
ham, potatoes cooked in the fire, bread and butter, beer and
whisky and soda. When we had finished, we gave what was left
to the old women among the beaters, and then Medhurst said
to me : "I will show you something that wiU amuse you ; " so
he called out in Russian that the four oldest women should each
have a glass of vodka; whereupon they assembled and danced
a weird, oriental step, crossing themselves and kneeling to re
ceive the glass of vodka, which they poured down their throats
as a hackman throws a glass of whisky, keeping, however, the
last drop to anoint their heads. As soon as they had felt the
warming effects, they again commenced to dance in the greatest

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 313
spirit, a step which resembles in some respects the Hungarian
national dance. Although the women had been tramping all
the morning, they started off again as fresh as could be, and
kept it up till six. Then, when their labours were over, they
were all obliged to assemble in pairs, one standing directly be
hind the other, in order that they might be counted and ac
counted for. Their pay is only 30 kopecks a day. I told Mr.
Medhurst to tell them that I would also give them, as a
douceur, ten kopecks apiece additional; whereupon they all
made a rush and formed a circle — and for a moment I dreaded
that they were going to attempt to salute my hand, as is so
common among the peasants. But they took it out in running
around me and screaming in Russian : " Oh, but he is a great
and good man ! " Admiral Wirenius, not to be outdone, then
announced that he would make the same present to each of
the beaters. Their joy was unbounded, and, feeling that he
was of the same race, they made a rush for him and lifted him
in the air, throwing him up as one tosses a man in a blanket.
This they did several times, to my astonishment, and to his
amusement. It exemplified, Medhurst told me, the good feeling
that existed at one time between the peasants and the Russian
landowners in the districts where they had always been weU-
treated. Shortly afterwards, they dispersed, chanting a song
which you have heard the boatmen sing on the Krestovsky
Canal. . . .
To-morrow evening I am leaving in a private car for
Antoniny, Potocki's place, and Stumm is going on the train
with me. I may decide, after staying a week there, to go on
to Odessa and Sebastopol. Should I carry out that plan, I
shall wire Major Gibson to meet me at Odessa.
The hunting party which Meyer joined at Anto
niny, an estate of Count Potocki in Volhynia, is de-

314 GEORGE von L. MEYER [^»««
scribed with much detail in the diary — the cosmo
politan group, Russian, Austrian, German, Brazilian,
American, the luxurious establishment, including even
a photographer, — " There is one man apparently on
the place that does nothing else," — the gaiety of it all,
undimmed by any thought that the house itself would
be one of the many in Russia of which not one stone
would be left standing on another at the end of the
war that was to come only ten years later. Meyer
had already visited the place in the previous July, when
he had thus described it in his journal: —
"Antoniny is in Volhynia. None of the estates
have very old houses, as the country was continually
swept and burnt by the Tartars. This place was estab
lished in 1803. The house has been continually added
to, the last and principal addition being only two
years ago. It is something like a French chateau with
Kttle pretensions to architecture exteriorly. You enter
a great hall two stories high; wings run off from this
like the two sides of a triangle. The decorations are
French style, Louis Quinze, etc. Everything very
comfortable, with modern improvements in the way of
plumbing, also every other luxury in the way of ex
cellent chef and fine wine, stable of sixty horses, two
packs of hounds, pheasant shooting in the autumn, and
riding to hounds across country.
" The peasants have not the sad and sullen looks
which one sees now in Russia and were very respectful,
always taking off their hats, and when the Count
stopped to speak to them, kissing the sleeve of his coat.
He has a great estate with fivfe beet-sugar factories

HUNTING PARTY .VT .VNTONINY
'I'he firoup includes Count and Countess Joseph Potocki, the Austrian Ambassador and Countess
d'Aerentlial, C'ounte.ss Gizycka, Countes.s Roman Potocka, the two Counts Piezezarieeki, Countess
Paul Zapory, Mme. Regis de Oliverira, Count Laszlo Szechenyi, and Mr. Meyer.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 315
and one up-to-date refinery, aU of which must be very
profitable, as he keeps a tremendous estabhshment,
very well carried out and well done in every detail,
which must consume a great deal of money, although
wages here are almost nothing. The peasants hve in
houses with no comforts, except those of squalor.
Great contrast to what you see in Germany."
The October days of hunting at Antoniny must be
passed over for Mr. Meyer's summary of his entire
trip in a letter written to his wife on the day of his
return to the capital. To Mrs. Meyer
St. Petersburg, October 28, 1906.
As Petersburg was very quiet and conditions improving
throughout the country, I took the opportunity, early in Octo
ber, to travel in Russia for the purpose of seeing for myself
the actual state of affairs. I went by one road to Odessa, via
Vilna, passing through Russian Poland, and returned by
another road from Sebastopol to Petersburg via Moscow. In
this way I covered a great portion of the country from the
60th degree of latitude to the 43rd.
In passing through Vilna I saw about a hundred poor
devils being escorted by Cossacks with drawn swords to a train
of cars with grated windows. They were about to be trans
ported to Siberia. If they were a fair sample of revolutionists
they were certainly not prepossessing-looking — the greater
number being Jews.
In Volhynia ther^ had been some apprehension as to
whether the peasants would haul the beet root to the various
sugar factories, but on my arrival they had begun, as usual,
to do the necessary work in that connection, to the relief of

316 GEORGE VON L, MEYER I^^'^
the proprietors. I stopped a few nights with the Potockie and
had to drive forty versts across country at midnight. The
Government insisted upon furnishing an escort of four Cos
sacks in relays. It was quite unnecessary, but I could not help
admiring the way they rode their horses and the endurance
that the animals showed. The next day I rode across country
with Potocki and his pack of hounds, after hares, and the kill
was in a peasant's field many mUes away from his home. A
number of the peasants assembled around us, but without any
demonstrations of displeasure. The following day we had a
pheasant shoot on his estate, and killed over a thousand (seven
guns).^ I shot to my own gun 235.
All the way to Odessa the country shows that the peasants
were ploughing their fields and hauling loads of the beet-root
to the station. In the city of Odessa there are more than
150,000 Jews, being fully one third of the population. The
first night I walked about the city with Major Gibson, our
MUitary Attache, and found the streets quite deserted. The
watchmen in the middle of the streets were placed at intervals
of every few hundred feet, and gendarmes with loaded rifles and
fixed bayonets were at nearly every corner. The streets were
absolutely quiet in consequence and I saw or heard no signs of
disturbances. The Prefect had placed two police officers at the
door of my hotel and desired them to follow me about, but I
requested to be spared that annoyance. The next day I wan
dered about the docks and found them teeming with commerce,
steamers loading and unloading merchandise. The Jews here
are not confined to any special quarters, although they are
naturally more prevalent In some parts than others.
I dined with General Baron Kaulbars, the Military Gov
ernor, in his palace. He had had a command in the last part
1 " I asked Potocki what became of them all. He replied that they
had an order for 500 from Moscow, the rest would go to Odessa and
Warsaw." ( Diary. )

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 317
of the war in Manchuria, After the Boxer troubles he re
turned home from China by the way of San Francisco, Chicago,
and New York, and became an ardent admirer of America, He
is an active, energetic man of about sixty years, but fine ap
pearance, and impressed me as an honourable man, endeavour
ing to do his duty. He told me that he intended to establish
law and order and should punish all alike, whether Jew or
Russian, when guilty of crime or creating disturbances. His
energy, I think, must be due to his English mother. He was
exceedingly frank and talked most openly. He mentioned a
society that had been formed, "Russia for Russians," its object
being to arouse patriotism and oppose the revolution. He
stated in rather a pessimistic way, that if Russia was to be
saved, it must be through patriotism, then referred to American
progressiveness and the lack of initiative or love of work among
the Russians. At dinner his wife described the attempt on the
life of her husband a short time ago. It appears that the
daughter of a General^ and the former schoolmate of his
daughter, came to see him. She had the day before lunched
with the family. She spoke of her father's death and her
troubles. General Kaulbars expressed so much sympathy for
her that she broke down when he told her that she should look
to him as her future father. Immediately after, she left the
house, dropping a bomb on the sidewalk which only partly ex
ploded. She then fled to her hotel next door and shot herself
in her room.
It appears that she had arrived in Odessa with her lover.
In several instances the revolutionists, In these attempts, have
hidden behind women's skirts. They gain the affection of a
young woman and then bind her to commit the crime. In this
case again, the man escaped. Baroness Kaulbars said that she
had evidently been unnerved by the General's sympathy and
either dropped the bomb by mistake, or hoped it would destroy

318 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
her, because, as she had failed to make the attempt, she knew
that she would be condemned to death by her own society.
I asked Kaulbars about the class of Jews that were to sail
shortly for America. He smiled and replied that they had seven
million in Russia that we were welcome to. I informed him that
I had that morning warned the steamship agent that of the
thousand that were shortly to be shipped from Odessa to New
York, if any had criminal records or were unable to pass our
medical inspection, they would have to be brought back to
Odessa at the expense of the steamship company.
The Military Governor showed me the whips made of
twisted wire with a lead ball on the end which had been taken
away from revolutionary students. They carry them hooked
to their sleeves on the Inside of their coats. He also showed
me the Cossack whip, which is almost equally cruel, but without
the lead ball or wire. The Prefet of the city, who was at the
dinner, extended me the use of his box at the opera. General
Kaulbars sent his A.D.C. and excused himself, as he had re
ceived a letter that morning assuring him that he was to be
killed. He added that he did not feel it was right to expose us,
as his would-be assassins were indifferent to the lives of others
when using the bomb.
At the opera General Kaulbars's brother assured me that
while his brother was in command of Odessa there would be no
pogroms. I found Cohen in Odessa. I had previously met him in
Petersburg. He is investigating, as you know, the emigration
and Jewish question. He wiU be able to gather a good deal of
Information, but not always absolutely reliable, as he is not able
to stay in a place long enough to verify everything, and in most
cases he will only hear the Jewish side. The Government offi
cials, in reporting disturbances, often leave out evidence that
would be detrimental to them, and the Jews also frequently make
statements based on rumours [of events] which have never

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 319
actually taken place. The facts are generally bad, without
requiring exaggeration on either side.
From Odessa I took the steamer to Sebastopol, which is
a closed port, but England and Turkey still continue to hold
their Consuls, to the annoyance of the Russians. The British
Consul's name is Erskine. His grandfather was Minister to
Washington in the early part of our history, and married Miss
Cadwalader, of Philadelphia.
We were met as our steamship came up to the pier by an
A.D.C. of Admiral Skrydloff's and an A.D.C. of the General
of the fortifications. They never left our sides ; whether it was
entirely courtesy, or due to the fact that I had a Military
Attache with me, I will not say. They took us in the Admiral's
steam launch about the harbour, which seemed as dead as that
of Salem. I supposed that they were going to show us the forti
fications and barracks, and consequently Major Gibson's in
terest was getting aroused. We landed, but ended in the ceme
tery only — there we were permitted to walk about freely.
Not many years ago the harbour was the scene of an at
tempted revolution, which resulted in the sinking of a transport
and the burning of a new cruiser which had just been on a trial
trip and constructed as fireproof. On that occasion the red
flag suddenly appeared in the streets of Sebastopol, and who
ever met it was compelled to raise his hat. About three months
ago Admiral Skrydloff succeeded Admiral Chuknin, who had
been shot in the garden of his villa, by a sailor whom he had
befriended and made his gardener. The present commander. In
speaking of the disturbances, remarked that they would never
succeed as long as the mutineers were unable to induce the
officers to join. Admiral Skrydloff was the officer sent out to
Vladivostok to take command of the flying squadron. He got
drunk out there (nothing very rare in the Russian Navy) and
was not permitted to take command.

320 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
The previous British Consul had taken rooms in the top
of the highest dwelling-house. Soon afterwards he was re
quested to change his domicile because it commanded a view of
the fortifications. The Panorama BuUding, containing a paint
ing of the French storming the fortifications, is on the highest
point of land adjoining the city. The officers who accompanied
us politely opposed my ascending to the top of the building, but
as I insisted, they could say no more, I found that when I got
up there it gave a complete view of the fort and the new forti
fications constructed in late years, which explained their objec
tions. The next day we drove eighty versts to Yalta, on the
Crimean coast, stopping at the battlefield of Balaclava. I can
now understand why Lord Cardigan made that charge — it
was an ideal, long, smooth field, for a hunting man such as he
was, accustomed to ride to hounds.
The coast, after one passes the Gates of Baidai, is much
finer than the Riviera, and reminded me somewhat of the drive
from Sorrento to Amalfi. Much attention is being paid to the
cultivation of the grape and they are producing an excellent
wine, in which the royal family have a very large interest.
At Yalta I was escorted by a company of Tartars dressed
as Cossacks to the Palace of the Emperor at Livadia. It is an
ideal place, beautifully laid out, and formerly belonging to the
Potockis. From there I drove over the mountains to Bakchi-
seral, an ancient Tartar capital on a military road 80 versts
long ; and for the first time in Russia I saw a road reaUy prop
erly constructed and such as one might find in France. The
ascent Is very gradual and through beautiful forests, but one
rises finally to the height of 4,000 feet. From Simferopol,
where my car was awaiting me, I proceeded to Moscow. There
I had the good fortune to be invited to lunch by the Grand
Duchess Serge,* who is living in the Kremlin Palace. She in-
1 Born Princess Elizabeth of Hesse.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 321
formed me that her interests were no longer English or German,
but she had become entirely Russian in her sympathies and
ideas. You will remember that she was born German and her
mother was English. She is very beautiful and has great charm
of manner. The amount of money which was expended on the
addition to the Kremlin Palace after Napoleon's departure
from Moscow, which took sixteen years to construct, must have
been something stupendous. This expenditure, and the in
numerable treasures in gold and silver in the various Moscow
churches would go very far towards paying the war debt. One
cannot help feeling what a pity it is that some of this money
has not been spent in educating and improving the conditions
of the hundred miUions of peasants, many of whom live in a
manner fit only for animals.
Except for the armed gendarmes in the cities of Moscow
and Odessa, and troops stationed in two of the railway depots,
nowhere had I seen the slightest sign of disturbances or evidence
of revolution. The people appeared peaceable and Industrious,
according to their mode of life, and we were treated with cour
tesy and consideration wherever we went. By this I do not mean
to imply that disturbances or troubles are over. I think it is only
a lull and that now the minds of the people are taken up and
occupied with the coming elections. My own impression Is that
the Duma, when it assembles next March, wUl be fuUy as radical,
if not more so, than the last one.
With a great deal of love for the girls and yourself, ever.
Your affectionate.
Husband.
[Diary]
"October 28. — Arrived in Petersburg at 10 a.m.
It was quite cold, water in the fields had frozen during
the night.

322 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^"®
" It struck me as I drove to the hotel through the
Nevsky that the street seemed very deserted for that
time in the morning. When I reached the hotel I
learned that while 600,000 roubles was being trans
ported through the city, Saturday a.m:., some men sur
rounded the wagon, which was being guarded by half
a dozen soldiers and threw a bomb, and in a few sec
onds a second. This smashed aU the windows in the
opposite houses and caused a stampede. In the con
fusion the money was seized by the conspirators and
handed to a woman, who drove off instantly in a car
riage. Shots were exchanged, but the thieves escaped
with half the money, about 300,000 roubles.
" I visited the place in the afternoon and found
very little damage was done except to the windows,
and evidently the bombs that were used were meant
to frighten rather than to injure, which was exactly
the result accomplished.
" Call on Lady Nicolson and find the Ambassador
and Sir Donald MacKenzie [Wallace] there also.
They all wanted to know if it was true that they were
going to lose me and I was going home to enter Presi
dent's Roosevelt's family.
"November 5. — The American papers arrive an
nouncing that it is ofiicial — the changes in the
Cabinet. Cortelyou to become Secretary of the
Treasury; Bonaparte, Attorney General; myself Post
master General; Metcalf, Secretary of Navy; and
Straus, Commerce and Labour. The latter is a Jew,
and [it is] the first time a Jew has been in a Presi
dent's Cabinet. I had imagined that I was to be

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 323
Secretary of the Navy, as that was the original plan,
Bonaparte to Moody's place, and I to slip into that
of Bonaparte. Postmaster General outranks Secre
tary of Navy, but I do not believe it will be as inter
esting. The cost of maintenance is about $200,000,000,
and I believe the deficit for the year [is] about
$11,000,000, due chiefly to the second-class matter.
"November 16. — Dine with Mrs. Napier and
Colonel Napier.^ Prince von Biilow, in his speech at
the Reichstag on the modern diplomat, said the diplo
matist who keeps in touch with banking and commer
cial circles, who knows how to deal with the press, who
numbers influential members of Parliament and men
of affairs among his friends, wiU have a great advan
tage over his colleagues. The man who succeeded was
more commonly the man who could turn the situa
tion to best account. There was such a thing as
' mimickry ' in diplomacy, and he sometimes advised
young diplomats to take for their model Alcibiades,
who was inteUectual with the Athenians, ate black
broth with the Spartans, and wore flowing garments
among the Persians, The profligacy of Alcibiades
need not be imitated, but faculty of adaptation did
not imply lack of character or exclude real patriotism.
The diplomatist ought not to be guided by precon
ceived notions or fixed sympathies or enmities,
" November 23. — The German Emperor the other
day at Munich, in talking with the novehst Ganghofer,
spoke in praise of optimism : ' I myself work on with
out being disheartened and I believe I actually make
1 Military Attache to British Embassy.

324 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^"^^
progress.' He praised Ganghofer's remark in a novel
that ' the man who is suspicious wrongs others and
injures himself.'
" Clemenceau a few days later in an interview said,
' I do not want any war and if one does not want war
one wants good relations.'
" Pichon, the new minister of Foreign Affairs, said
the next day, ' I really do not see why we should not
have good relations with Germany.' All this may
have a good effect.
" December 3. — Dine at the Marquise de Belloy's.
" Gurka, assistant Minister of the Interior, dis
missed — on account of the scandal of [$?] 10,000,000
food contract for delivery of wheat in the famine dis
trict. The contract was given to one Lyndal to fur
nish the grain, and $400,000 advanced. The party had
never dealt in grain before, but in plumbing materials.
It is a severe crack at the Cabinet, and much political
capital is being made out of it. The Emperor has
appointed a committee to investigate.
" December 4. — Find a cable when I return to
my room this evening from T. Jefferson Coolidge
reading, * Heartiest congratulations.' I suppose this
means that the President has sent my name to the
Senate for the Cabinet position of Postmaster General.
"December 5. — Conger of the Associated Press
informs me that he has a dispatch saying that the
President sent to the Senate all the names of the
members — the new members — of his Cabinet, in
cluding myself, and that of Moody for the Supreme
Bench.

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 325
" December 11. — Meeting of the Yukki Club. I
was reelected President, and we increased the mem
bership to 40.
"Receive a very nice letter from the President,
m which he thanks me for interesting letter and says
I know Russia so well now that when I enter the
Cabinet (not later than March 4) he wiU no longer
have to give it a thought. It is most satisfactory writ
ing bun; he is so appreciative. With the State De
partment you get a three-hne acknowledgment, with
not even contents noted."
Before leavmg Russia Meyer, in his capacity of
sportsman rather than diplomat, had experiences of
elk-hunting and wolf -shooting, in company with Prince
Youssoupoff, of which the diary made full record.
The second, and more elaborate of these is described
in a letter home. To Mrs. Meyer
St, Fetersburo, December 28, I9O6.
, , . We had a most Interesting trip on our shooting
expedition. We left Petersburg on the evening of the 19th,
arriving in Moscow the next morning. Prince Youssoupoff and
I went to his house, a wonderful palace built in the time of John
the Terrible. The walls are about four feet thick and the rooms
are all vaulted. It takes up an entire block, with a garden sur
rounding it. You enter the courtyard, which Is bounded on
three sides by the house and stable, and drive under an arch
where the formal entrance is, by an outside stairway with
stone steps. There we inspected the house and freshened up
our toilets, previously to proceeding to the dog show, of which
he is President. We attended the formal breakfast in the expo-

326 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
sition haU, and I saw a new class of Russians, made up of only
sportsmen, who are always good fellows.
In the afternoon we visited the antiquary shops, dined at
the Metropole, and left by the night train for the heart of
Russia, the Grand Duchess Serge having left word, as she was
then at Tsarkoe Selo, that on our return we were to lunch or
dine with her In the Kremlin Palace.
The Government had furnished me with a private car and
Prince Youssoupoff had his also. The entire party consisted
of ten. Prince Youssoupoff, Trepoff (the brother of the
General who died this summer), and myself, lived together in
Youssoupoff's car, where we also had our meals, he having his
chef along with him ; and the rest of the party were domiciled
in my car, so-called.
We arrived beyond Briansk in the afternoon of the foUow
ing day, and there we hunted for three days without any suc
cess, driving through the most magnificent forests, the trees
laden with snow and the aspect at times really superb. We
were so warmly clad that one never suffered from the cold.
Sometimes we lunched in a peasant's house and sometimes in the
open forest. We came across wolf tracks but never were able
to surround them, and finally found that some of the Govern
ment foresters were doing what they could to hinder our suc
cess, on account of enmity to Youssoupoff's head chasseur.
On the fourth day we visited another section of the coun
try and met with success, kilUng three wolves — the largest and
finest specimen I had the good fortune to shoot; and I am
having the same sent to Moscow to be stuffed and mounted.
The next day they shot two more, but I was laid up
in the car and unable to leave. I thought for twenty-four hours
that I was in for pneumonia. The cause, I think, was that, the
night before, the Prince had given a ball to the peasants; the
atmosphere in the so-called hall was something fearful, and I

1906] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 327
think I inhaled a germ, because the next night I thought I
should suffocate and burn up, and it seemed difficult to breathe.
For the first time, I think, in my life, I really was frightened
for a few hours. It is an awful feeling to be so far from home
and so far from civilization when taken ill, as I was on that
occasion. However, Youssoupoff was one of the nicest of men,
and aU those with him were most sympathetic. I fortunately
had with me my little medicine case which you had given me
and which contained phenacetine and quinine. . . . and
arrived in Petersburg again with a normal temperature. Of
course as we passed through Moscow yesterday, although my
temperature was then back to almost normal, I knew it would
be unsafe to go out, and remained in the car, and consequently
was unable to attend a lunch at the Grand Duchess Serge's.
... I forgot to say that, while on our shooting expedition,
they gave me a very pleasant surprise, which quite touched me,
in the way of a little Christmas tree decorated for Christmas
Eve, after dinner. It was very well done and reminded me of
home and all of you and what you were doing at that same
time. . . .
Meyer's eagerness to return to America, once the
conclusion of his Russian service was in sight, did not
blind him to the good reasons for his prolonged term.
On January 7, 1907, he wrote to Mrs. Meyer : —
I think it would interest you very much to read Theodore
Roosevelt's " Gouvemeur Morris," — you will find it in my
American Statesmen Series; the part which covers his visit to
France, his sojourn in Paris as Minister, and his life in Paris
afterwards, considering the time in which he lived, make it full
of interest. Some of the events have repeated themselves in
Russia, and I can understand how anxious the President was
to have me here in case of trouble, when one recalls how, in his

328 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"'^
book, Morris stayed at Paris through the Reign of Terror and
Washburne in Paris during the Commune. The press had fiUed
the minds of the public and the people in Washington with the
idea that the same events were going to transpire here, and
consequently his desire to have me on hand.
On the 16tii he wrote again to his wife: —
I cannot realize that I am reaUy getting away. Schoen,
the German Ambassador, is to notify the German Emperor that
I arrive in Berlin the first of February, in order to arrange an
audience for me. Captain Hintze, the German Naval Attache,
and Aide-de-Camp of His Majesty, told me he was sure the
Emperor would want to see me, as he always spoke so friendly
of me. Day before yesterday the Diplomatic Corps were received
by the Emperor and the two Empresses, the whole Diplomatic
Corps being taken down in a special Imperial train to Tsarskoe
Selo, over the Emperor's private line. At the station a special
court carriage was waiting for each Ambassador, and we drove
in single state to the palace, the rest of the Diplomatic Corps
being doubled up. We all ranged up in the oval salon in a circle*
and at half-past three the doors were thrown open and the
Emperor entered, with the Dowager Empress on his right and
the Empress on his left. The Empress was en gra/nde beaute,
and I would not have known her as the same person as a year
ago. The Emperor talked for a long time with the American
Embassy and told me how much he admired the President's
forcible, straightforward way of expressing himself in his mes
sages.* With the Empress I had quite a long conversation,
1 " While talking with the Emperor," Meyer wrote in his diary for
January 14, " I said I hoped that the bright sunshine of this New Year's
Day was a happy omen for the events of the New Year. ' You know," he
said, ' I believe a good deal in these signs, especially of nature.' This
shows somewhat the simplicity of his character and disposition."

o1^

< Pi Pi

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 329
joking and laughing. When one considers the different state
of affairs existing here from a year ago, it is not surprising
that she should appear like a different woman. Then revolution
was rampant and the disruption of the Empire openly talked
of. Conditions are not perfect yet, and the terrorists are
singling out special individuals, but conditions as a whole have
improved. " Not perfect yet " seems mildly to describe Rus
sian conditions as reported by Meyer in a letter to
Senator Lodge a few days before those words were
written : " For the last few weeks there have been as
sassinations by the terrorists every six days, and there
is curiosity, as well as anxiety, among the Russians,
to know who will be the next. Between February,
1900, and November, 1906, the terrorists have killed
or injured by bombs, revolver, or assault, 1,937 officials
and important persons, including one Grand Duke;
67 Governors General, Governors, and town prefects;
985 pohce officers and policemen ; 500 army officers and
soldiers; 214 civU functionaries; 117 manufacturers;
and 53 clergymen."
The full record of Meyer's last days in St. Peters
burg would disclose an extraordinary round of fare
wells. It need not be foUowed in detail. A statement
of his plans and engagements in a letter to Mrs.
Meyer, vn-itten January 19, will suffice to indicate
what occurred. To Mrs. Meyer January 19, 1907.
I shaU try and sail on the 16th or 17th of February.
The Department having sent my letters of recall so late gives

330 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f'^'"'
me very little time to turn round in. They should arrive next
week, Wednesday or Thursday, 23rd or 24th. Nothing can
be done about my final audience with the Emperor until they
have actually come to hand, and I am to notify Iswolsky imme
diately on their arrival. The Ceremonies know the whole story,
and they are to have their letters all ready to send out to the
necessary officials at a moment's notice. I shall probably
arrive in Berlin February first, and in that case shall go to
Tower's fancy-dress ball that evening. There is a ball at the
palace the night before, which I have no desire to attend, as I
would much prefer to have my audience privately with the Em
peror of Germany, if it can be so arranged.
Night before last was the Vapahofsky dinner-dance, which
was a great success. The Bohemian band from Ernest's played
divinely. Last night the Huenes gave me a farewell dinner.
To-night the Princess Youssoupoff. Sunday night a party at
the ballet. Monday night the members of the Austrian Em
bassy give me a dinner at Ernest's, and my Russian friends
give me a dance and supper afterwards at the same place.
Tuesday night Baroness Ramsay gives a dinner. Thursday
night the German official reception. Also a lunch in my honour
• by the Japanese Legation. Friday night dinner at the Fursten-
bergs. Saturday night at the British Embassy. Sunday
Countess Bobrinskoy has a domino party. To-morrow we all
hope to go out to Yukki for Sunday,
Though not hterally fulfiUed, these were the chief
items in Meyer's private programme. There were, be
sides, his final audience with the Tsar and an inter
view with Iswolsky, Minister of Foreign Affairs, of
which the journal makes record as foUows: —
"January 26. — Leave the Hotel at 1.20, in order
to take the train at 1.50 for Tsarskoe Selo. At the

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 331
station (Imperial) in Petersburg, Prince Dolgorouki,
Baron Korff, Baron Ramsay and his assistant were
waiting at the station to receive me. We entered a
special Imperial train, and were taken over the Em
peror's private line direct to Tsarskoe Selo. At the
station, a gilded coach with four chestnut horses, an
outrider, and two footmen on behind were waiting for
me. We started without any delay, and I noticed that
a mounted guard rode on each side of the coach; this
was for style on this occasion and not for safety.
"At the Little Palace (the same one where I was
first received by His Majesty, and also on a memora
ble occasion when I entered privately by his own
entrance direct to his study in order to give him con
fidentially the President's invitation to send Plenipo
tentiaries to Washington for a peace conference with
Japan) masters of ceremonies had assembled, and
again, as on the first occasion, we marched in formal
procession to the Emperor's apartment. In the ante
room Princess Gahtzine and Count Benckendorff ^ re
ceived me, and after a short salutation the two black
servants in Oriental costume threw open the doors,
and for the last time I was in the presence of the Em
peror and Empress.
" I bowed in the doorway and again after I had
approached halfway. The Emperor put out his hand
and then the Empress. In the latter case I kissed
hers, according to the custom. The Emperor and Em
press then sat down and the Emperor signified for me
to sit on the Empress's right. Before we sat down,
1 Marshal of the Imperial Court.

332 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^""^
however, I had handed my letter of recaU to His
Majesty and informed him that the President had seen
fit to recall me to Washington in order to enter his
Cabinet. He asked me about my new post, and said
that he was sorry to have me leave, but was glad to
feel that there would be in the President's Cabinet not
only a friend, but one who understood Russia and how
difficult the problems were to solve. He thought that
in the United States the Secretary of the Interior
would one day be, as in Russia, one of the most im
portant Cabinet positions. He seemed much interested
in the future decision of our Courts as to the right
of the State of California to make its own school
regulation, and thought the decision would be far-
reaching. He also spoke of the elections in Germany
and of their importance. A decided victory by the
Socialists would encourage the Socialists everywhere.
I remarked what a part the German Sociahst had
taken in the first great strikes in this country more
than a year ago.
" We talked for half an hour on various subjects,
in which the Empress joined, and asked about the
height of our buildings in New York. They seemed
incomprehensible and unnatural to her. In taking
leave the Emperor asked to be remembered to the
President, and the Empress to my wife. They both
expressed the hope of seeing us again and our return
some day to Russia.
"January 27. — On my return from Tsarskoe
Selo yesterday afternoon I found a letter from
Iswolsky and a box. The latter was addressed to

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 333
'G. von Lengerke Meyer, Esqr.,' and said that the
Emperor had conferred the Grand Cordon of St,
Alexander Nevsky upon me. As I was now a simple
citizen, I was able to accept it, and wore the decora
tion that Saturday evening, but not the Grand Cor
don, to the dinner at the Embassy, as it would have
been too gala to have put on the ribbon too. I found
Benckendorff, the Russian Ambassador to London,
had done the same way. . . .
" Sunday, by appomtment, I caUed on Iswolsky
at the Foreign Office to express my appreciation of
the honour conferred upon me. I found him most
frank and interesting about the situation in Russia.
Speaking of the Emperor and Empress, he said,
' They are over-sanguine ; I am continually trying to
combat the influence of the Empress and the Grand
Duchess Serge. They do not appreciate the actual
conditions or understand them. They do not believe
in further concessions, nor do they realize that this
hberal movement for Constitutional Government is
very far-reaching and must be recognized. I know
and understand that we cannot go backwards.
" ' As you know, I am liberal, but they say in
the Cabinet to me, " You have lived so much abroad
that you have got permeated with foreign ideas and
therefore cannot see and understand the Russian situa
tion." I feel that our troubles are far from being
over; the new Duma may be an improvement over the
first, but it wiU be radical, and it is doubtful whether
the Government will be able to work in conjimction
with it.

334 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
" ' Now as to our negotiations with Japan, as you
are no longer Ambassador I am going to be very
frank with you and tell you what I would probably
not say to you if you were stUl in your official capacity.
But I should like you to consider it confidential and
only to be repeated to the President, Throughout the
entire negotiations the Japanese have been most exact
ing, and I find myself in a very embarrassing situa
tion and almost helpless, as our army has practically
evacuated Manchuria, which is not the case with
Japan, We are ready to carry out our agreements at
Portsmouth; nor have we any desire now for aggres
sions of countries in the East; but our aim is to have
conditions in statu quo, so that the balance of power
shaU remain unaffected,
" ' Our two principal contentions with Japan are
the fishing rights, which they claim beyond what could
naturaUy be expected, and the claiming of open navi
gation on the Sungari River, which was not raised at
Portsmouth.' " He reahzed that Japan, claiming open naviga
tion, was apparently taking a position that was popu
lar, but that Russia could not grant she had the right
to this on account of the Portsmouth Treaty. Now
then Japan was demanding that Russia should concede
the privilege to Japan of making special commercial
treaties with Korea and countries beyond the Malay
Straits, which should not apply to the most favoured
nation clause of treaties with other nations, this not to
become effective until treaties with other nations ex
pired and this principle [should be] accepted by them.

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 335
Now,' he went on, ' I have in my position got
to make the best bargain that I can, and I am going
to give in on this point and, although it is not effec
tive until agreed to by the other nations, yet it is the
smaU end of the wedge, and it shows the world that
Japan proposes to reserve for herself a portion of
the Eastern trade; and where, then, will be the Open
Door of which so much has been said by Japan?
" ' I have seen about the school question raised by
Japan on the Pacific Coast, and the change of feeling
there Rosen has reported to me fuUy. I would now
like to have you report to the President not only the
position in which Russia finds herself in these pour
parlers with Japan, but also the evident intention of
Japan to reserve for herself in trade and commerce
certain sections of the East, that is, the portion beyond
the Malay Straits.'"
On Tuesday, the 29th, having made his official fare
weU to the Dowager Empress and Grand Duke
Michel, and having dined with the Grand Duke and
Duchess Vladimir on the 28th, Meyer took his depar
ture from Russia. " Left at noon for Berlin," he
wrote in his diary ; " the Diplomatic Corps and a host
of my Russian friends who presented me at the station
with a beautiful coq de bruyere carved from malachite,
and on a paper the names of the donors (38) .* I
1 The list of the donors accompanied this gift, The names it contains
are given here for their suggestion of Mr. Meyer's personal friendships
in Russia: Prince and Princess S Belosselsky, Prince and Princess Orloff,
Prince and Princess Youssoupoff, Prince and Princess M. Cantacuzfene,
Comte and Comtesse Fersen, E. Orloff, S. Orloff, M. Schevitch, Princess
Mestchersky, Prince P. Mestchersky, V. Annenkoff, M. Annenkoff, S, Hall,
A. Hall, Princess V. Galltzine, Comte and Comtesse Mengden, Comte and

336 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^'"'
leave devoted and charming friends with feeluigs of
strong attachment and with regret."
Before taking ship from England to America, on
February 20, three weeks and a day later, Meyer had
seen and talked with the German Emperor, the King
of Italy, and the King of England. These interviews,
following his audience with the Tsar on the Saturday
before his leavhig St. Petersburg, provided what may
weU be the unique experience of personal meetings
with the four leading monarchs of Europe, each in his
own capital, within the space of three weeks and three
days. It was the part of the helpful ambassador to
return to his country as well informed as he possibly
could be, from the most authentic source of informa
tion, regarding European affairs. This is what Meyer
accomplished in his last month in Europe. In Berhn,
Rome, and London — especially in Rome — he re
newed many personal friendships. The record of these
experiences in his diary, however, must give place to
his accounts of the interviews with Kaiser Wilhelm,
King Victor Emanuel III, and King Edward VII.
As in St. Petersburg his interview with the Tsar had
been followed by a talk with Iswolsky, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, so in London, it should be noticed, he
talked with Sir Edward Grey, Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, before his audience with the King.
" [Berlin] February 3. — Lunch with the Em
peror and Empress at the Palace in Berlin at
Comtesse G. Bobrinskoy, Baron and Baronne Huene, Comtesse S.
Woroutzoff, A. Balacheff, Comte and Comtesse T. Nieroth, C. Warpak-
hovsky, Prince S. Dolgorouky, Baron and Baronne Bamsay, O. SSrfi-
briakoff, M. S6r6briakoff, D. de Benckendorff, A. Nicolaeff.

THE MALACHITE COQ DE BRUYERE PRESENTED TO
MR. MEYER BY RUSSIAN FRIENDS

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 337
1 o'clock. Arrive at ten mmutes before 1. The
guests were assembled in one of the ante-rooms; sev
eral of them I had met before, the Hatzfeldts, Eulen
burg, Flotow, also the ladies-in-waiting. Prince Adal
bert came in before 1, and while we were talking, as
my back was to the door, he suddenly said, ' The
Emperor.' I turned round and His Majesty was just
entering the door. He shook hands with me as he
passed and went on to greet the ladies. Then the Em
press entered by another door. She went round the
room, saying a few words with each person, and the
gentlemen kissing her hand. When lunch was an
nounced the ladies went in first, the Emperor, the
Princes, and the rest of us following.
" I found my seat was next to the Princess Alex
andra Victoria of Holstein, engaged to the fourth son
[August WiUiam], Oscar, who was on the other side,
being on the left of the Empress, Adalbert being on
the right. On the right of the Emperor were Princess
Hatzfeldt, and on the left Princess Oetingen. There
were twenty-four people at lunch, including the sixth
son^ of the Emperor and the young daughter,^ who
must be about fourteen now, grown quite tall.
" Lunch being finished, the Empress led the way
to one salon while the Emperor indicated that the men
were to follow him to his smoking-room. I noticed
that the young Pruices went with the Empress.
After we entered the smokmg-room I stayed near the
door as I did not want to be the first to talk with
1 Prince Joachim.
2 Princess Victoria-Louise.

338 GEORGE von L. MEYER "^"^
His Majesty, but preferred to be the last. He looked
round the room and immediately beckoned me to come
forward, saying, ' You always used to smoke,' and then
offered me a cigar. I then took the opportunity to
congratulate him on the result of the elections. His
eyes became very bright, and tapping me on the
chest he said, ' We caught the Socialists this time.
It became not only the question of a Colonial policy
but a patriotic one, and they did not take this into
account. This morning I received telegraphic infor
mation that the Socialists have lost four more on the
second elections.'
" I then informed the Emperor that I had my
fareweU audience with the Emperor of Russia a week
ago yesterday and I had spoken of the elections in
Germany which were taking place, and that I hoped
the Socialists would receive a set-back as their success
would encourage the revolutionary element in Russia.
" The Emperor asked me my opinion of Iswolsky,
saying, 'Can he be trusted?' I answered that I did
not know him as weU as I had known Lamsdorff, but
that my relations had been very agreeable and satis
factory; that Schoen,^ his Ambassador, was quite inti
mate with him and should be able to judge. I men
tioned that I had been impressed by Russia's clever
move in ordering the withdrawal of Russian troops
ahead of the Japanese, but that I thought in that
action I saw the influence of some one outside of Rus
sia. The Emperor smiled and said, —
" ' The Tsar did ask my advice, and I thought it
1 Baron Schoen, afterward German Ambassador to France (1910-14)

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 339
very unportant for Russia to keep China, her neigh
bour, good-natured and not aUowed to become too
friendly with Japan. As a matter of fact, Russia will
lose Siberia, and the Tsar agrees with me. The
Japanese are so much more active that they wUl over
run it with colonists and traders and commerciaUy
own it. You are certain eventually to have a war with
Japan; they will attack you through the Phihppines
by sea, and Europe by land through Siberia, etc.
Russia was attacked by the Japanese just as she had
completed the Siberian Railroad and you, the United
States, wiU be attacked as you are about to complete
the Canal. You should have fortified Hawaii, and
must get your fleet on the Pacific side. The Japanese
have spies everywhere, disguised as servants, etc., they
know aU about your fleet and fortifications. I have
furnished through Speck ^ statistics about the Japanese
for your President. The school question in California
is only an excuse. You see how they feel on your
Pacific slope; it is a racial question.'
" Then the Emperor suddenly changed the topic,
saying, ' You know that the King and Queen of Eng
land have gone quite unexpectedly to Paris. Clemen-
ceau's Cabinet is not as strong as it was; the King
bought him and owns him, and he had gone on to
Paris to hold him up and strengthen him. Iswolsky
was invited on to London during his trip this autumn,
but the Emperor instructed him not to accept. Eng
land does not like to see Germany increasing good
1 Baron Speck von Sternburg, German Ambassador in Washington.

340 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^
feeling with France and the tendencies which are
brmging Germany and Russia together. They should
really have an alhance.
" ' England made an alhance with Japan which
will prove to her final disadvantage; dissatisfaction is
already showing commercially. If her treaty with
Japan should compel her to fight with Japan for in
stance against you, you would lose almost at once the
Phihppines, but in revenge you would take Canada.
The natural people to come together in such a conflict
would be the Germans and Americans.
" ' It is not time to consider disarmament; if that
is to be forced at The Hague, I wiU not send repre
sentatives. Stead, of the Review of Reviews, is trying
to force it before the Conference and asked for an
audience, but I have refused it. When I saw the King
of England last summer, it was arranged beforehand
what we were to discuss. Lascelles ^ and Hardinge
were present. Unexpectedly the King talked of The
Hague Conference and said, "We do not want it,
there is no need of it, it interferes with our royal
prerogatives." You should have seen the expression
on Hardinge's face. Evidently the King and the
Cabinet are out of accord on The Hague questions, as
Grey wishes disarmament discussed.'
" The Emperor referred to the conscript system
which began in Prussia when Germany was overrun
by Napoleon and has existed and been perfected since
that time. Other countries are now copying but have
1 Sir Frank Cavendish Lascelles, British Ambassador to Germany,
1895-1908.

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 341
not made the same success of it. , . . He then asked
what steamer I was going on. When I said Kaiserin
Augusta Victoria, ' Oh! She is a wonderfully fine
boat. I will send you a letter for the President if I
can get it finished in time. Now we had better join
the ladies.'
" The entire time had been taken up talking to
gether; I am afraid that some of the other gentlemen
were not very pleased, not getting a chance to say a
word to him. We were only a moment with the ladies.
As I left he said, ' Do not forget my regards to your
wife and the young ladies, and if you are starting for
Rome take food and a pistol in case the train is blocked
by the snow and you are attacked.' "
" [Rome] February 7. — Had my audience with
the King of Italy in Rome at 2.15 to-day. Arrived
at the palace at 2.10, but I was not kept waiting a
minute. The doors were instantly thrown open and
the King came forward to the door and shook hands
very cordially. He sat down on the sofa and beck
oned me to sit down. I took the second chair, but he
insisted on my sitting in the arm-chair next to him.
He at once spoke of my going into the Cabinet and
added, ' I understand that it [the Postmaster General
ship] has more political influence than any other
Cabinet office.' I thanked him for his congratulations
and assured him that I beheved it should be run on
business principles in order to give the best serv
ice. . . ,
" He wanted to know if I had met his two sisters-

342 GEORGE von L, MEYER t^»«^
in-law^ and added that they used to be very hand
some. He was much interested in the Russian situa
tion, but did not hesitate to express his opinion of the
Emperor, which is not of the highest. He has not for
given the Tsar for breaking his promise and not visit
ing bun. Again he told me how he promised Nehdow ^
that when in pubhc he would never leave the Tsar's
side in order to protect him by his presence, Nelidow
wanted the papers suppressed, as was done in Peters
burg, This, the King said, could not be done, as his
was a constitutional monarchy and anything of that
sort must proceed in the regular way through the
courts. " When I told the King of my two-hour talk with
the Emperor he said, ' I saw considerable of him when
in Russia, and it was often his habit after a person
had left him to snap his fingers and even make fun
of what had transpired.' He also criticized his having
been influenced by that spiritualist Phillipe.^ Fortu
nately he was dead, as his influence was very detri
mental to the best interests of the country. ' He (the
Tsar) shuts himself up from fear, and how can he
form any real judgment when he comes in contact
with no men of affairs or liberal spirit? '
" He agreed with me that affairs could not go back
wards, and said, ' In '48 we had troubles and granted
a constitution, but our people were more enlightened
iThe Bisters of Queen Helena, Melitza and Anastasie, princesses of
Montenegro, the wives, respectively, of the Grand Dulse Peter-Nikolaie-
vitch, and George, Duke of Leuchtenberg.
2 Bussian Ambassador to Italy, 1897-1903.
3 A French spiritualist, who preceded Basputin in the favor of the
imperial family.

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 343
and knew what they wanted,' I referred to the small
amount spent by Russians for pubhc education. The
King replied, 'We spend in proportion a great deal
more than Russia,'
" On the question of disarmament he thought Ger
many would make a mistake to oppose the considera
tion of it at The Hague, but would be wiser to get
France or some other country to take that attitude, as
the German Emperor was already suspected of being
warlike and so disposed.
" The King then asked me if it was true that I
was taking an autograph from the Kaiser to the
President. I said that I had not received it as yet,
but the Emperor, if he had the time to finish it, was
going to send it to the German steamer, Kaiserin
Augusta Victoria, for the Captain to hand me. I
should take the boat at Cherbourg or Southampton
the 17th.*
" I then told the King that I had felt I could not
go home without coming down to Italy to take leave
of my friends, that I had a tremendous attachment for
Rome and the Campagna, and for me Rome was the
most beautiful city in the world. He smiled with a
certain expression that is peculiar to him when he is
pleased. The King was very amusing about the Par
hament and the new constitutional government in
Montenegro; said the Cabinet had fallen on an ap
propriation of $62.50. At the end of half an hour,
and after a most agreeable conversation, he excused
himself as he had another appointment, and then
1 Mr. Meyer sailed several days later, on another ship.

344 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"'
wished me every success in my new position at home
in the Cabinet."
" [ London] February 15. — Called at 11 a.m. at
the Foreign Office, Downing Street, on Sir Charles
Hardinge, now permanent Under-Secretary of Foreign
Affairs, formerly my coUeague at St. Petersburg. He
was not down yet — his secretary said that he would be
in a little before 12 ; not very early hours, — if I should
attempt to keep such hours in Washington, it would
not be appreciated. Return at 12 and am received
almost instantly. Found Hardinge looking very well
and most cordial. I told him what Stead had said in
Berlin and in what an emphatic way he was quoting
Sir Edward Grey. Whereupon Hardinge asked if I
would like to meet Sir Edward and talk with him
myself. He went upstairs and in two minutes re
turned, escorting me himself to the Minister of For
eign Affairs and introducing me.
" Grey did not look over 40, although I believe he
is about 45, clean-shaven, clean-cut face with a very
straightforward manner and an attractive personahty.
I told him that I had not wanted to quote his words
to the President about disarmament, coming as they
did at Berlin through Stead, without being sure (from
him direct) that they were absolutely correct and not
exaggerated, and knowuig as I did that the Emperor
of Germany was opposed to the subject being brought
up at this time in the Hague Conference.
" Grey said that in the first place he did not like
the expression * disarmament,' but rather ' limitation

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 345
of expenditure for armament.' He did not expect
anything practical to be accomplished in that respect
at the Hague Conference more than publicity and edu
cation of pubhc sentiment. In England the matter
had received considerable attention, and it was there
fore important that the movement should be taken
into account and receive some sort of recognition. If
the Hague Conference neglected even to consider the
question, the impression would go out in the world,
that the hands of the clock had been set back and no
earnest endeavour had been made. Consequently he
did not think any one nation should hold back the Con
ference from considering the question.
" Of course if Germany should refuse to send dele
gates, provided the question was to be considered,
it would lose its principal object; for while they rec
ognized Germany's right to build as large a navy as
their commerce required, at the same time they were
stronger considerably than the German navy, and they
intended to continue to be so. That was a policy which
either party recognized as necessary, for they had a
smaU army and Germany a very big one, magnifi
cently organized. If Germany also got a larger or
even equally powerful navy, they [Great Britain]
would be, in their isolated position, accessible by sea,
at the mercy of Germany provided any adverse wave
of sentiment or incident should bring on a war. Thus
this continual striving of Germany to increase her
navy, and England's necessity to continuaUy keep her
navy stronger, must have its effect on the other na
tions' expenditure. If Germany would agree to limit

346 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
her expenditures to what they had been, England
would agree to keep hers to a limit, so that the pro
portion would not change and each would keep to the
present ratio of force.
" I told Grey that in my hour's conversation with
the German Emperor [he never?] showed any suspi
cion of England on account of urging disarmament,
but was [alive?] to a genuine feeling of uneasiness
of a future yellow peril by the ascendancy of the
Japanese and a possible coalition with the Chinese.
Consequently he did not think the present the time to
discuss disarmament.
" On leaving he asked to give his compliments to
the President and to be remembered to Mr. Root. On
returning to Hardinge we chatted together about
Russian affairs, and we both agreed that Russia
by her game of bluff on Eastern matters could only
blame herself for England finally making an alhance
with Japan. Hardinge then called my attention to
how much better England had kept herself informed
in the past as to Japan; in fact in '93, when matters
became strained, their naval experts said to fix it up,
as they were in no position, so far from their base of
supplies, to contend against the Japanese navy, and
matters were therefore arranged. If Russia had been
as well informed she would not have aUowed the war
to take place. Hardinge agreed that Japan will be
a much more dangerous competitor commerciaUy than
even Russia would have been in the East, and that it
was already beginning to be felt.
" February 19. — Go to Dorchester House at

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 347
11.30 in order to go to the Levee with Carter* and
the MUitary Attache; the Ambassador^ bemg in his
room with influenza. We drove at once in the Am
bassador's carriage to St. James's Palace, where in the
ante-room were assembled the Diplomatic Corps and
the members of the Government attending the Levee.
(St. James's Palace has not been used as a dwelling
since the Georges.) I found a number of the Diplo
matic Corps were old acquaintances. Sir Edward Grey
was there. Lord Lansdowne, Sir Charles Hardinge,
etc. — with each of them I had a short chat. Carter
presented me to Monsieur Cambon,^ who as Doyen
was to present me to the Ejng in the absence of the
American Ambassador. I spoke of how much his
brother had been hked in Washington and congratu
lated him on his brother's advance to Berlin. M. Cam-
bon, being the Doyen, led the procession and I fol
lowed, by his instructions, directly behind him. After
he had made his bow and shaken hands with the King
he presented me. After I had made my bow the King
nodded a second time as I withdrew — the King,
standing, shaking hands with each ambassador, with
out making any remarks, and they passed on, standing
to the left of the throne in the corner of the room.
After the last ambassador had passed, the King sat
down and bowed to each minister without shaking
hands, and they passed on to the end of the room.
Then came the members of the government, army,
ij. R. Carter, First Secretary of the United States Embassy in
LaBd«B,r 2 WhitelaW Reid.
3 Paul Cambon, French Ambassador in London.

348 GEORGE von L. MEYER E^^"^
navy, and those who were attending the Levee, so that
there was a constant stream of people always moving
on till the last was presented. The name in each case
was announced by the master of ceremonies. While
all this was going on I had quite an extended talk with
Poklewski, the Conseiller of the Russian Embassy,
who wanted to know what was to be the attitude of
our government on disarmament and if there had been
any changes. I told him that I could not give him
any official information, as it was three weeks since
I left St. Petersburg, and since then I had not been
in communication with my government.
" At 2.45 the Ambassador's carriage arrived to
take us to Buckingham Palace. J. R, Carter, First
Secretary of the Embassy, went with me. We were
met by Lord K[nollys?]. In about two minutes
word came down that the King would see us. Im
mediately after we had reached the King's sitting-
room. His Majesty entered unaccompanied. I bowed
as the King came forward and shook hands with me.
Turning to the other gentlemen he said, ' I should like
to have a talk with Mr. Meyer,' and they retired in
stantly. He then led the way to the other end of the
room, invited me to sit, taking an easy chair him
self, " ' So you have just left St. Petersburg, and are
going out of the Diplomatic Corps. I suppose you
are sorry: it is a fascinating life,' This gave me an
opportunity to say that while I had been Ambassador
and in the diplomatic [service] we had all looked uj*
to him, if I might say so, as the ideal diplomat and

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 349
the greatest of ambassadors. He seemed quite pleased
with the compliment and smiled with a certain pleas
ure and probably with satisfaction as he thought of
the Entente Cordiale (for which he had done so much)
between England and France,
" He asked me about the Emperor, how he looked,
and if it was true that the Empress and her sister,
the Grand Duchess Serge, had a bad influence over
the Emperor as far as reforms, etc, were concerned;
also inquired if the two Montenegrins were intimate
with the Empress, adding, ' I hear they are always
scheming,' His Majesty knew of the divorce of the
Duchess of Leuchtenburg, but wanted to know if they
would reaUy be married (she and Grand Duke
Nicolas,)* " Finally, after we had discussed conditions for
some time, he said suddenly, ' What opinion did you
form as to the outcome, and what would happen? ' I
replied that I had informed my government for some
months that I believed the Duma would be radical,
that I did not think that it would work in unison with
the Cabinet, that probably the Duma would profit by
the experience of the first Duma, because they realized
that the Government dared to dissolve the Duma, and
the troops as a whole were loyal; that the country was
one of great resources, but capital was timid and enter
prise restricted, I had confidence in the final out
come: it could not go backwards, but it would take a
long time.
" His Majesty then spoke of the Hague Confer-
1 Thoy were married about two months later.

350 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^07
ence, and said he had no confidence in its accomplish
ing anything, evidently having no high opinion of it,
whick coincides with what the Emperor of Germany
had told me.
" I told him how well Nicolson * was doing in St.
Petersburg, and also called His Majesty's attention to
how Durand^ had developed after he had announced
his retirement and what good speeches he had made.
' Yes,' said the King, ' It was quite remarkable. I
hope Bryce ^ wiU do well. I believe you aU like him.
It seemed best to make a change. I have never met
your President, but I have a great admiration for him,
for his friendly and cordial feeling for Great Britain,
which she heartily reciprocates for America. I know
that Germany is making up to your country and is
more than anxious to make and create the closest ties ';
whereupon he laughed. I, recognizing what was im
phed, answered that while America desired to be on
friendly terms wiljh aU nations, it was contrary to our
policy to form ally alliances.
" ' Yes,' he added, ' good understanding and bonds
of friendship are much wiser.'
" After asking me to extend his cordial greeting to
the President and saying he was glad to have had
the opportunity to renew our acquamtance. His
Majesty rose and said good-bye, wishing me a bon
voyage."
iSir Arthur Nicolson (now Baron Carnock), British Ambassador to
Russia, 1905-10.
2 Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, British Ambassador to the United
States, 1903-6.
3 British Ambassador to the United States, 1907-13.

1907] AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA 351
Meyer took the Teutonic the next day at Liver
pool, and arrived in New York, March 1, with an
equipment of European experience of rare value to
one whose work for the next six years was to be that
of a Cabinet Officer in the admuiistrations of Presi
dent Roosevelt and President Taft.

V
POSTMASTER GENERAL
(1907-1909)
It was on Friday, March 1, that Meyer landed in
New York on his return from Russia. He imme
diately communicated by telephone with the White
House in Washington, and learned, as his diary puts
it, that " the President wishes me to come on to
Washington this evening and report to him and get
acquainted with my new duties, which I shaU have to
take up on Monday." This energetic programme, be
fitting a member of the Roosevelt Cabinet, he put into
effect. The new duties awaiting him were in marked con
trast with those of an ambassador. The mastery of
detail inseparable from an administrative task of the
first magnitude was essential to its successful per
formance. Hardly less important was the exercise of
a political sagacity for which " wisdom " may be the
better term, since it concerned relations, not only with
an army of office-holders, subject to a great variety
of political influences, but also with the entire public
in its most nearly universal point of direct contact with
the Government. It is only necessary to observe how
every failure of postal administration is seized upon for
352

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 353
complaint, to reahze the importance of its satisfactory
conduct. For both of these elements in his new work Meyer's
experience had well prepared him. His earlier busi
ness training, of general rather than specific value
to him in his ambassadorial posts, was now to be
brought into vital play. His years abroad had trained
his capacity to see things in the large, to appreciate,
for a single example, the far-reaching public advantage
of such an institution as the postal savings-bank, to
the establishment of which his energies were so largely
devoted. The detailed record of his actual work in
this and other directions of improvement in the postal
service — through speeches, writings, and appearances
before Congressional committees — is of limited gen
eral interest. Some of the results of his labours, and
the methods employed for their achievement, wiU be
related in due course. His own record of the years
now under review, especially his diary, afford many
passages in which the operations of the Roosevelt Cab
inet — and " tennis cabinet " — are significantly re
vealed. Beside their suggestions of the personality of
the chief whose character and example meant more to
Meyer than any similar influences in his life, they
show a dehghtful relation of friendship and confidence
between the two men, to be counted to the credit of
both. On Meyer's first day in Washington, March 2, his
diary contains the first of many entries of the same
character: " Call on the President at 10,30 and have
a long and interestmg conference with him; go over

354 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^"^
the situation at Petersburg, Berhn, and London, re-
portmg the conversations that I have had with
Iswolsky, the German Emperor, Sir Edward Grey,
and the King of England. Desired me to come and
dine in the evening and repeat the same to Root.
. . . The President and I dine in the White House
at 8 alone. . . . Root comes in after dinner and
we talk over disarmament, or rather, as Grey
prefers the expression, the limitation of armament
expenditure." On the third day, March 4, Meyer formally took
over the Post Office Department from his predecessor,
Mr. George B. Cortelyou, who then became Secretary
of the Treasury. On the 5th he attended his first
Cabinet meeting, and commented upon it : " There was
great humour shown at times in the meeting, which
made it most interesting and relieved the stiffness of
what would naturally be a most formal occasion."
On the 6th he noted his first entire day at his new
work, and added: "At noon message comes from the
White House that the President wants me to walk
with him at 4.30 and to put on old shoes. I know
what that means ! " The walk of more than two years
before was not forgotten — nor was all the vigorous
exercise to come foreseen. On this day also he noted
the fact of moving into 1709, New Hampshire Avenue,
the house he was first to occupy in Washington, where
his wife and family joined him on the next day, March
7. Later they lived at Connecticut Avenue and S
Street, and during Meyer's secretaryship of the Navy,
on Scott Circle.

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 355
Mr. Taft, his colleague as Secretary of War in the
Cabinet he joined, and his chief when he himself be
came Secretary of the Navy, has said in conversation,
that a striking characteristic of Meyer ui the admin
istrative posts in which he had occasion to observe
him was his thorough learning of the job he had to do
before he undertook to do it. His first months in
Washuigton were devoted in large measure to this
process of getting at the essentials of his task. His
lopping off of the unessentials is indicated by the two
foUowing passages from his diary: —
" April 16. — I informed the President jokingly
that it was a constant embarrassment to me to be called
* General Meyer ' merely because I was Postmaster
General. Why was not ' Secretary of the Posts '
much better? 'By George!' he cried, 'I beheve I
will recommend that the Attorney General be known
as Secretary of Justice and you Secretary of the
Posts.' I wish he would.
"April 17. — Called my Assistant Secretaries to
gether to-day. ShaU probably establish the custom
of having joint meetings (like a coimcil meeting) once
a month. Have also arranged that they can see me
individuaUy between 12 and 1 every day. Gave out
an order that I was not to be addressed as ' General ' :
no more right to the title than a cabman or any other
individual not in the army."
The next day he wrote: "The papers have taken
up and approved my order stopping the use of the
title of ' General ' for the Postmaster General or his
assistants." Meanwhile the noting of a newly awarded

356 GEORGE von L. MEYER "^"7
contract for the making of stamped envelopes, at a
large saving to the Government, gave evidence of
early results from the labours to which he was apply
ing himself with a diligence indicated by the entries:
" The work I find very confining and exacting. Stay
down at my office untU about 6.30 every day"; and
" Get away for the first time before 6 p.m." With
the coming of warm weather he wrote : " Begin riding
every morning at 8 a.m."; and tennis at the White
House and afternoon rides with the President and his
intimates in Rock Creek Park began to figure in the
daily routine.
Immediately on his arrival in Washington he had
noted his thanking the Japanese Ambassador for the
honour the Mikado had paid him, in recognition of his
work in Russia, by conferring upon him the Order of
the Rising Sun; and about two weeks later had re
corded his receiving from the Italian Ambassador the
insignia of the rank of " Cavaliere di Gran Croce deco-
rato del Gran Cordone dei SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro,"
bestowed by the King of Italy motu proprio — the
highest honour he could confer upon a foreign citizen.
Now, the duties of a citizen with large responsibilities
in his own country confronted him, and into these and
their attendant pleasures, he plunged with character
istic zest. The abundant record of it all, in diary,
private and official correspondence, and public state
ments, leaves one with the clear impression that a cab
inet officer may occupy himself quite as fuUy as an
ambassador with social pursuits, and at the same time
must perform a vastly greater amount of hard work.

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 357
None but the most vigorous could compass it, and
the constant regard to physical fitness which Meyer
and other colleagues of the President shared with him
stands self-explained. A few extracts from the diary
wiU speak for the active months before the heats of
midsummer dispersed the official society of Wash
ington. "May 11. — Ride with the President, Root, and
Lodge ; go way out on the Potomac. The French Am
bassador and Madame Jusserand were out in the park
near the hurdles. The President put his horse over
the 3-foot stone wall and the 4-foot hurdle. Then he
turned to me and said that we would jump them
together, which we did. Lodge said my horse jumped
in much better form. He was carrying, however,
about 30 pounds less. After that, without realizing
what effect it would have on the President, I put my
horse over the 5-foot jump. I had no sooner done it
than the President went at it. His horse refused, so
he turned his horse, set his teeth, and went at it again.
This time his horse cleared it well forward, but
dragged his hind legs. Lodge was very much put out
that the President had taken such a risk with his
weight. I appreciated that it was my fault, for the
President said, ' I could not let one of my Cabinet
give me a lead and not follow.'
" May 12. — Ride in the afternoon with the Presi
dent, Mrs. Roosevelt, and Cabot Lodge, We took a
long ride of nearly two hours and a half, I rode most
of the time with the President, He spoke of our work
since graduating at Harvard, and said, ' We both will

358 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^"^
be able to retire at fifty, having really done and accom
pUshed something, and can look back with satisfaction.
I have the greatest contempt for certain men' —
mentioning names — ' who have done nothing in their
lives and never will.' He showed me to-day that he
had never wavered in his intentions to retire at the end
of this term as President. I got him to promise that
in his fareweU address to Congress he would not say
anything which would so commit him that later in life,
if the people called him, he could not consistently
accept a nomination after one or two terms had inter
vened. I have a conviction that the country wUl want
him again."
Meetings with the Duke of the Abruzzi, then visit
ing America, gave occasion for many entries in the
diary through May and June. As a former Ambassa
dor to Italy it was but natural that Meyer should
extend to him the hospitahty of his houses both in
Washington and in Hamilton, It is enough in this
place to accompany them only on visits to Mount
Vernon and to the Jamestown Exhibition on " Georgia
Day," when Meyer, leaving Washington on the Dol
phin as the guest of Mr, Metcalf, Secretary of the
Navy, joined the President's party on the Mayflower
and witnessed an impressive ceremony.
"May 21. — Go to Mount Vernon on the May
flower — arranged by Secretary of the Navy for the
Duke of the Abruzzi. I arrived at the Navy Yard at
the appointed time, 12,30. The soldiers were drawn up
by the Commandant, and as I ahghted from the car-

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 359
riage they presented arms, and on reaching gangway
the bugle-caU was sounded. In addition to the Duke
there were the Italian Ambassador and his staff, the
Andersons, WUsons, Cowles, Miss Elkins, Alice, Mrs.
Metcalf, Julia, my daughter Alice not being expected.
" The saU down was delightful, part of the time
being occupied with lunch. When we reached the tomb
of Washington, the Prince placed at the head a large
wreath of orchids. I was much impressed with the
simplicity of Washuigton's tomb and the fine trees
that surround it. At the Mansion House we were
received by the Regents. The Duke gave his arm to
the presiding lady, and on the lawn a ceremony was
performed of H.R.H. planting a tree. Next we were
taken over the house and then to the garden with its
beautiful box hedge, its fragrance actuaUy perfuming
the air.
" The day was completed by a lovely sail up the
river to Washington on board the Mayflower to the
Navy Yard. When it was buUt it was supposed all
vessels would be able to come up, as the channel is
twenty feet deep. But no big cruiser or battleship
will ever see it now.
" June 11. — Yesterday, 10th, quite a strenuous
day. CaUed at 6 a.m. in order to be transferred to the
S.S. Yankton, which was to take us down the bay
eight miles below Point Comfort in order to board the
Mayflower with the President and his party. This
was accomplished at 8 a.m. Besides the President and
Mrs. Roosevelt the Mayflower carried the Cowleses,
Douglas Robinsons, the Lafarges. Our party con-

360 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^''^
sisted of the Metcalfs, French Ambassador and
his wife, the Dutch Muiister and Madame van
S[winderen], and the George Vanderbilts.
"As the Mayflower was sighted by the fleet, a
salute was given of 21 guns. As we approached the
fleet, it was a sight which made a great impression
and was reaUy grand, the magnificent line of sixteen
battleships which appeared to be anchored from a rope
drawn from one end to the other, so carefully had the
anchors been dropped. These huge machuies of war,
looking immaculately white with the sailors in white
duck strung out from bow to stern, gave only a slight
idea of [their] might and power. It was the French
ships that saluted first (21 guns), the President
acknowledging the same from the bridge, at the same
time the ' Star-Spangled Banner ' being played, and
so on, as we went down the lines, each vessel (nearly
40) firing 21 guns. We had all taken the precaution
to put cotton in our ears. When we passed the Bra
zilian ships, they did not wait and fired directly at the
President's boat (the Mayflower). They say that the
Captain of the Brazihan man-of-war while here in
tended to pump water into his engines, but made a
mistake and pumped it into the ship!
"As soon as the Mayflower came to anchor, the
admirals of our ships, according to their ranks, and
those of the foreign fleets, came on board in full uni
form and paid their respects to the President, returning
to their ships in a few minutes. After that we in turn
departed and all proceeded to the Jamestown Expo
sition, which is now caUed by every one ' the Imposi-

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 361
tion.' Still nothing finished, and does not look as
though it would be before the Exposition is over. We
were conveyed in carriages to the grand stand. On
the President's arrival, the Governor opened the cere
monies and introduced the President, who made a most
exceUent address of about an hour. Then came the
review of the cadets, midshipmen, sailors from the
foreign fleets, and about 3000 from our own ships; at
the end the state troops or mihtia.
" This had taken until 2 o'clock. The next move
was to the Georgia building, where we were told we
were to lunch with the President as the guest of the
State of Georgia. The confusion was beyond words,
no one in control, and what was worse, no signs of
lunch. Finally a room was opened large enough to
hold about 20 people and seats for 12 ! The President
told the ladies to sit down, and seeing that there were
only about six loaves and two fishes and no baskets, I
took the Duke of the Abruzzi and his aides, with the
Italian Ambassador, to the Swiss restaurant, where,
after some difficulty, I managed, with the help of a
naval officer, to obtain a table and from a waiter some
ham sandwiches and excellent beer. I told Abruzzi
that there was just as much difference in the way
things were done in the North and South of my coun
try as in the North and South of Italy. He smiled
and said he quite understood,
" Late in the afternoon it began to rain and blow,
and I got to the S.S. Varese [of the Itahan Navy]
from the Dolphin with some difficulty. The Duke's
guests at dinner were the Elkinses, General Grant and

362 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
his wife, and Mrs. Kernochan and the Itahan Ambas
sador. During dinner the band played selections from
' Tosca ' and other Italian operas. The Duke makes
a most charming host.
"The illummations on aU the battleships were
superb, but one could not sit on deck and enjoy it on
account of the rain."
Later in the month a significant meeting with the
President at Oyster Bay is recorded.
"June 27. — Arrive in New York at 7 a.m.
Breakfast at the Knickerbocker Club, take the 10.50
train for Oyster Bay. On the tram was the Chinese
Minister, the Norwegian Minister and his naval cap
tain, a sculptor, and an author. At the house we found
Secretary Metcalf, Captain Wauiwright of the Naval
Board, and Captain Witherspoon of the General Staff
of the Army.
" After lunch, when the other guests had left, with
the exception of the Chinese Mmister, who was led
away to a parlour by Mrs. Roosevelt, the President took
the Secretary of the Navy, Captain Wainwright, Cap
tain Witherspoon, and myself to his study. Handing
me a report he said, ' Read that to begin with.' It
was a report of the General Staff as to our fortifica
tions, etc., and naval bases, in case of war with Japan.
The first matter discussed was the transferring of our
battle fleet of 16-18 ships to the Pacific, which was
decided as advisable. It was also agreed that our
armoured cruisers in the East should be joined to the
battleship fleet in the Pacific; Subig Bay should be

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 363
fortified, and not Manila. FinaUy the President an
nounced that ' if war does come after I am out of the
presidency, I have decided just what sort of a regi
ment I shaU raise of rifle men from the Rockies.' He
meant it. DetaUs were gone into and instruction given
as to acquiring supphes for the Army and Navy, the
President saying, ' I propose that the country shall
not be caught imprepared if a war should come on.'
" I returned with Secretary Metcalf on the Yank
ton. Raising anchor at 4.30, we reached the N.Y.Y.C.
pier in the East River at 7,30. Found Bey waiting
for me at the Knickerbocker Club, where we aU dined
together. He left for Boston on the midnight and I
for Washington."
Returning again to Washington a few weeks later,
Meyer was met at the station by his private secretary.
Dr. John A. Holmes, who showed his own pleasure
in handing him a letter just received from the Presi
dent, containing the following paragraph, which must
indeed have encouraged the new Cabinet Officer: —
And now, my dear George, I trust it is not necessary for
me to say what a keen satisfaction and comfort I have taken
out of your being Postmaster General. You are one of the
Cabinet Ministers upon whom I lean. You always spare me
trouble, you never make a mistake, and you are a constant
source of strength to the administration. Ever yours, Theodoke Roosevelt.
Before Meyer met the President again he had taken
a vacation in Canada, at the salmon-fishing club on

364 GEORGE von L. MEYER ti907
the Restigouche, where he often sought and found his
most refreshing holidays. Even there he seems not to
have forgotten what he had recently said to an inter
viewer, — " Only the poor can limit their labours to
eight hours a day," — for on his return he had so far
formulated his plans for the Post Office Department,
to be embodied ui his first Annual Report, that he
could announce them to the public. On the eve of so
doing he paid a visit to Oyster Bay, thus reported in
his diary : —
"August 12. — Leave for New York on the one
o'clock train, Hon, Wm, H, Taft gets on at Provi
dence and joins me,
" Dine on the terrace at Sherry's together at 7,30.
[Taft] explains the details of his speech which he is
to make en route to the Pacific, previous to saihng for
Manila. " To-morrow we are to go down to Oyster Bay to
see the President, Taft arranges to call for me at
the club at 10,30 a,m,, the train leaving at 10,45,
" Tuesday, 13th. — We reach Oyster Bay at noon,
and we are immediately surrounded by newspaper re
porters and innumerable questions slung at us, which
we avoid answering directly. Fortunately we are hur
ried away in an automobile; but cameras snap us at
almost every corner.
" The President greets us with great cordiality,
and without any delay we sit down before lunch and
talk politics.
" The financial situation is considered, as well as
the political, as regards the future. The President

Mooo

R

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 365
stated that Lodge had covered the case when he said
that Roosevelt's friends could not make him accept
another nomination, but his enemies might!
" The President went on to say that he thought
things were shaping themselves so that Taft would be
nominated by the Republicans. As regards New York
State, he thought the serious question was the can
didacy of Hughes. If Hughes were nominated he
would not carry out the so-called Roosevelt pohcy
because it was known as Roosevelt. As to Cortelyou,
he did not consider it as a serious movement. Of
course, he was in a delicate situation. If he said to
Cortelyou he ought not to be a candidate, then Cor
telyou would have the feeling that he had been pre
vented by the President from possibly becoming Presi
dent of the United States. This was best to avoid,
especiaUy as he did not consider it imminent.
" Root arrived at 7 o'clock, and as there were sev
eral matters to be gone over, the President asked Taft
and myself to stop to dinner and return to New York
by automobile. The Japanese situation was thor
oughly canvassed. Japan, it is believed, has made
some arrangement with Colombia as a base, in case
of war with us. Root thinks we must from now on
show a courteous but firm attitude to Japan, or else
she wUl misunderstand and think that we are afraid
of her. He does not like the spirit that she is show
ing towards us in connection with the seal fishermen
that were shot poaching,
" The President congratulated himself on the fact
that he had ordered the battle-fleet to proceed this

366 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^7
autumn (probably in November) to San Francisco, as
it has stopped the war talk. It will sail via the Straits
of MageUan, and when it returns, which wUl probably
not be for a year, it will come by Suez and the Medi
terranean, thus giving a world-wide demonstration of
our naval strength.
" The President reported that Sternburg had been
to see him and announced that the Emperor author
ized him to say that in case of trouble with Japan,
they (Germany) would furnish us with a base of
supplies. " It was decided that Taft should return over the
Siberian R.R., stop over a day at St. Petersburg and
a couple of days at Berlin, see the Emperor, and saU
from Bremen or Hamburg for New York.
" Taft and I left in the auto from the President's
house. Oyster Bay, at 9,30 p.m., and arrived in Jersey
City at 11 P.M., when we were met by a number of re
porters. I informed them that the Postmaster of New
York would be announced the next day — Mr. Mor
gan, the present Assistant Postmaster of New York."
On the next day Mr. Meyer, visiting the New York
Post Office, gave out a programme of improvement
in postal matters which represented the serious study
he had been devoting for more than five months to the
problems of his office. It was the very programme
elaborated in his first Report, pubhshed in the follow
ing December. Its chief points were an extension of
the usefulness of the parcel posts, especiaUy on rural-
delivery routes, the establishment of a postal-savings-

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 367
bank system, the reduction of foreign letter-postage
from five cents to two. Besides these conspicuous re
forms, there were other proposals of obvious advan
tage to the public in its deahngs with the mails. It
could not be expected that all of the changes advo
cated would instantly come to pass. " Penny post
age " between England and the United States had
long been an object of international desire. Its
accomplishment, through the cordial cooperation of the
British authorities, in a httle more than a year from
the time of Meyer's announcement of his intention to
work for it, was a signal achievement of his administra
tion. In his plans for the extension of the parcel post
he had to encounter the serious opposition of express
companies and country merchants, who thought they
foresaw the destruction of their business through the
encouragement of the mail-order houses ui large cities.
Much misapprehension of facts through a large portion
of the public had to be removed by means of a cam
paign of education, to which Meyer applied himself,
through all the means at his command, with great as
siduity and effectiveness. Since 1907 national legisla
tion has greatly reduced the cost, and increased the
limit of permissible weight, for the transmission of
merchandise through the mails. Meyer must be cred
ited with the foresight and energy which imparted to
this great improvement in general business and public
convenience much of the impetus which has brought
about the existing results. His correspondence,
speeches, and pubhshed writings on this subject alone
constitute a notable monument of telling work.

368 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^"^
But of aU the improvements in the postal service
with which he was identified, the establishment of the
national system of postal savings-banks stands most
clearly to his credit. Since 1871 successive Postmaster
Generals had urged the adoption of this plan in various
forms, without avail. Meyer's own observation of the
workings of the system in the countries of Europe in
which it had long been established had shown him its
value. On taking charge of our ovm postal service,
he caused the successful operation of the system in
Canada to be made the subject of expert investigation.
He brought together figures showing the amount of
savings which immigrants from various European
countries were sending home annuaUy to the postal
savings institutions of their native lands. He saw the
value of encouraging thrift in this element of the popu
lation, and of taking advantage of its natural trust in
the agencies of our government. As a man of business,
he realized also the advantage of capitalizing for the
public treasury the large sums of money otherwise
hoarded or sent out of the country. The merits of his
plan were obvious, but the powerful interest of the pri
vate savings banks, fearing curtailment of their own
appeal to the savers of small sums, opposed it for a
time with vigour. Here again there was a crying
need for education, Meyer made himself the man who
could best meet it. He mastered the subject thor
oughly, presented it with tact and force to Congres
sional committees and public meetings of many kinds,
took every occasion to present it to the readers of the
country, engaged the President and his colleagues of

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 369
the Cabinet in its support, overcame the opposition of
Speaker Cannon and others to its endorsement in the
Republican party platform, and had the satisfaction
of seeing his foundations for this piece of work so
securely laid that, not long after the end of his term
as Postmaster General, the Postal-Savings System was
established by authority of an Act of Congress ap
proved June 25, 1910,
During the months whUe Meyer was formulating
the policies of his postal administration, he was also
establishing his own methods of daily work in the De
partment. It has been seen that he did not spare him
self in making it hard work. For his dealings with his
subordinates there is direct testimony to the effect that
in controlling an organization shot through with the
complexities of personal political ambitions he dis
played a fairness, firmness, and consideration which
won him the hearty support of the army of postal
employees of which he was commander-in-chief. There
was a notable absence of complaints from the carriers'
and other associations, and from the public. The work
of the office went forward without congestion. There
were frequent consultations with responsible chiefs
whom he trusted, and did not nag,
A significant episode in personal relationships oc
curred one summer in his entertainment of his private
secretary at his fishing club in Canada. The secretary
was introduced to his friends there as merely another
friend, who said to his chief, before the holiday was
over, "Why, Mr. Meyer, people would think you
were my secretary from the way you have treated

370 GEORGE von L. MEYER "^"^
me." It is easy to understand that the atmosphere
in which such relations could exist was conducive to
the best results in the accomplishment of work. These
results, according to a characteristic personal habit of
Mr. Meyer's, were most surely achieved when he did
his own work on his feet, instead of sittmg at a desk.
Before the end of his first year in Washington the
furnishings of the Massachusetts State House, then
undergoing alterations, were sold at auction. Mr.
Meyer bought the high carved desk which he and many
a predecessor had used as " Speaker of the House,"
had it moved to Washington, and habitually used it,
first in the Post Office, then in the Navy Department,
as the " stand-up " table at which most of his daily
work was done — a symbol both of association and of
vigour. The multiform processes by which the work on
behalf of Postal Savings and aU the other tangible
performances of the Postmaster Generalship were
brought to pass do not lend themselves readily to bio
graphical record. They must rather be assumed as a
substantial background of arduous labour than pre
sented in detail. For the immediate purpose it is better
to turn to Meyer's diary and a few of his letters.
These wiU reflect many episodes of his daily life, and
its close relations to national affairs and the conspic
uous personal figures engaged in their conduct.
"September 22. — Got my morning ride at 8
o'clock, before the rain which commenced at 9.30.
Lunch at Chevy Chase and call on Mr. Root at 5 P.M.
We discuss our relations with Japan. He said he felt

19071 POSTMASTER GENERAL 371
that the President at one time this summer really con
sidered a Japanese attack imminent or liable. He had
not anticipated one, for the following reasons: their
financial condition and their desire not to be considered
barbaric in the eyes of Western civilization if they
should commence war without a proper pretext or one
that would justify them in the eyes of Europe and Eng
land. If, later, that should be found before the Canal
was completed, their first act after taking Hawaii,
which would not be difficult, would be to seize the
Canal and then offer to build, or complete it rather, as
an international canal, which would find approval with
Europe and demolish the Monroe Doctrine. Japan's
advances to Colombia and the appointment of a min
ister point to the idea of a possible base of supphes in
case of need."
To President Roosevelt September 23, 1907.
My nEAB. Mb. President, —
I desire to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 19th
instant, and to take this opportunity to ask your consideration
of the suggestion that the designation of the Postmaster Gen
eral be changed to that of Secretary of Posts. The Postmaster
General's present title results in his being designated chiefly as
" General," a misnomer if ever there was one. The Post-Office
Department is, I believe, at present the largest one in the Gov
ernment, the expenditures exceeding two hundred million
dollars ; it Is made up of post offices, the railway-mail service,
star-route service, steamboat service, rural delivery, the money-
order and registry systems, the domestic and foreign parcels
post (the former being limited to 4 pounds and the latter to 11

372 GEORGE von L. MEYER tf907
pounds in the case of most foreign countries) ; the inspection
service, etc., etc. The head of the Department is no longer in
any sense a postmaster. He has the administration of this
enormous Department, and is secretary of a Department just
as much as the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
War, the Secretary of the Navy, of the Interior, of Agricul
ture, of Commerce and Labour, and the same is equally true
of the title of the Attorney General.
If it should be your pleasure to recommend to Congress
that the Attorney General be known as the " Secretary of Jus
tice," and that the Postmaster General be known as the " Secre
tary of Posts," the head of every Department in your Cabinet
would then have a uniform title, that of " Secretary," which
would seem most fitting for the head of each Department.
Commending this suggestion to your kind consideration,
and looking forward to seeing you again on the 25th, believe
me, always, Faithfully yours,
George v. L. Meyer,
Postmaster General.*
[Diary]
" September 26. — President telephoned for me to
come to the White House this a.m. There were so
many people waiting to have a word with him, that
he suggested my coming round at 10 p.m. so that we
would not be interrupted, as he had a number of things
that he wanted to go over with me.
1 Though the President was sympathetic with this suggestion, the
change of titles was not made. It should be noted, however, that in his
next Message to Congress, December 3, 1907, he recommended the adoption
of the plan proposed by Meyer (see ante, p. 265), that in national political
campaigns Congress should appropriate funds for the legitimate campaign
expenses of each of the great national parties.

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 373
" I arrived at the White House at 10 p.m., found
the Assistant Secretary of State (Bacon) upstairs with
the President. The situation at Panama, in the East,
and the attitude of Japan were gone over. At 11 p.m.
Bacon left, and after I had reported matters in con
nection with the Department, the President suddenly
said, ' I want to talk politics with you. How do you
size up the present situation? ' I told him that at
present Hughes was growing in New York and the
East, but not in the West. Cortelyou was out of it.
In the West people were Roosevelt, if anything more
than ever, but there was also a growing sentiment
among a certain class of voters that were for him, who
were saying, ' Well, if Roosevelt won't run, then we
shall vote for Bryan, because next to Roosevelt he has
the interest of the people most at heart and will fight
these monopolies and corrupt corporations ! ' The
President said, ' You are quite right. I think that is
the situation at the present time. Lodge in his last
letter was not so emphatic about not running under
any circumstances.' I think I saw signs that the
President begins to realize that under certain condi
tions he may be forced to run against his own wishes,
in order to ensure the present policies being continued
and to avoid a Democratic victory.
"October 25. — First Cabinet Meeting since last
June, Taft, and Straus absent. President tells a
story why Root, according to a certain general, is the
greatest Secretary: 'The trouble with Taft was that
he had once been a Judge, and if he came up against
the law in a pohcy which he wanted to pursue, he had

374 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^^^
such a respect for the law that he gave in, while Secre
tary Root was such a great lawyer that he always
could find a way to get around it.'
"The reporter of the Record-Herald of Chicago
asked me if I was going to Berlin as Ambassador. I
replied, ' No, I have only just come home.' He then
informed me that he had heard it at the German Em
bassy, and evidently it would be very agreeable to the
Emperor, and as much had been intimated. Later,
it seems, this same correspondent asked the President
if it was true and the President had answered that he
needed me in the Cabinet.
"President sends for Bob Bacon and myself to
consult us about a letter he has been requested to write
to New York to restore confidence. I get bun to put
in the expression, ' the imderlying conditions of the
country are soimd and honest.' *
" November 1. — Important Cabinet meeting. Dis
cuss the present crisis and financial condition. The
President had been in-ged by some to call Congress
together. Asked our advice, which was unanimous
against such action.
" The question of Taft's trip home was brought up,
as to the advisabUity of his returning by the way of
St. Petersburg, Berlm, Paris, etc. The President
cabled, saying that he must decide for himself, but if
he stayed on it would be wiser to return by San
Francisco. " Cortelyou has come into prominence again for
iThe Knickerbocker Trust Co. in New York had suspended payments
a few days before, and the financial panic of 1907 had begun.

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 375
President by the financial troubles in New York and
the important part that the Treasury has played in
advancing money to the banks.
"November 14. — President sent for me at 9.30
.A.M., gave me his message to Congress which he wants
me to read and have back at 9 p.m. the same day.
Return it in person at the White House at the ap
pointed hour. The President recommends Postal Sav
ings Banks and extension of Parcel Post, especially
on rural routes and to benefit the farmer. His meas
ure is conservation; quotes from his former ones and
shows conclusively that he is not hostile to weU-man-
aged corporations or successful and honest men. It
is an able straightforward document.
" November 15. — Cabinet meeting. Mr. Barney,
President of the Knickerbocker Trust, shoots him
self. " After the Cabinet meeting the President invited
Root, Cortelyou, and myself to stay. The financial
situation was reviewed and means considered to aUe-
viate the situation and restore confidence. Adjourned
at 1.30 to meet again at 6 p.m.
" At 6 o'clock the President read the draft of a
letter addressed to Cortelyou as Secretary of the
Treasury, approving the $50,000,000 Panama bonds
and $100,000,000 notes for one year bearing interest.
These can be issued under the act of 1898 (at the time
of the Spanish war).
" The wording of the letter was discussed, and the
question whether both should be announced at once. I
favoured this strongly, in order to get the moral effect

376 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^»»^
and if possible restore confidence and reassure timid
people. " Met at the White House to discuss and review
the President's message. Root and myself present,
later Cortelyou.
"November 16. — President caUed a meeting at
the White House at 6 p.m. of the same sub-committee
of the Cabinet, Root, Cortelyou, and myself, to decide
finally on the bond and note issue and the exact text
of the President's letter to the Secretary of the Treas
ury, to be made public Sunday morning.
" Decide to issue both the bonds and the notes, and
the exact phraseology of the President's letter intended
to restore confidence, and call attention to the strong
gold reserve, etc, of the Treasury and underlying con
ditions of business, which were sound,
" November 24. — Take a three-hours' walk in the
afternoon with the President and Robert Bacon. We
climb chffs and do all sorts of stunts, going along the
banks of Rock Creek, If he had slipped, any one or
all of us might have broken our legs or neck, I hon
estly think it is taking a foolish chance, as we are all
within a year of 50,
"November 25. — The papers announce that
Speaker Cannon will oppose Postal Savings Banks
and extension of parcel post, notwithstanduig the pop
ular demand.
" Had an hour's conference with the Speaker in
his private room over the matter, but made practically
no headway. He is seventy years old and does not
believe in new ideas, besides being very egotistical and

19071 POSTMASTER GENERAL 377
narrow, and with no experience outside of the House.
"November 29. — Cabinet Meeting, (iood deal
of discussion about the Japanese. Russian officers are
offering their services, in case of war with Japan, in
Philippine Islands. The President does not think that
we will have war; if they should have such a purpose,
they will have to attack before the fleet reaches San
Francisco. We know that the Japs are buymg ammu
nition in large quantities. I think they merely want to
be ready in case the unexpected should occur.
" Play tennis at 3.30 with the President, French
Ambassador, and Nick Longworth."
The diary for December 3 reveals an amusing
aspect of Meyer's relation with his chief and at the
same time points to material for illustration. It reads
as follows : " Cabinet meeting. Although it was snow
ing, the President suggested tennis for the afternoon.
Later this was changed to a walk at 3.30 p.m. I was
obliged to give out, as there is such a mass of work to
be attended to. Later, at 6 p.m., I receive the enclosed
letter from the President." It came in a White
House envelope, addressed ui Roosevelt's own hand
writing, —
" To the Postmaster General
(Secretary of Posts)
" Immediate, and highly unimportant.
" No cup from the Tennis cabinet for you!!!! "
The first of its two sheets reproduced herewith was
signed with the initials of the President, the French

378 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^07
Ambassador, M. Jusserand, and Mr. Beekman Win
throp, at that tune Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
The second sheet is notable for the President's Lear-hke
portrait of himself leading his feUow " scramblers."
Altogether it is one of the informal documents testify
ing to the " buUy time " of the Roosevelt admin
istration. Early in the Christmas month of 1907, Meyer
issued an order to postmasters throughout the country,
which resulted in a wide dissemination of pleasure
through the holiday season. A young lady in Phila
delphia had written to the President suggesting that
something be done for the trusting children, especially
of the poorer sort, who mailed letters to Santa Claus
telhng him what they " wanted for Christmas." The
idea appealed to Roosevelt, who committed its execu
tion to Meyer, with the result that the postmasters,
before the middle of December, received the foUowing
instructions : —
Ordered, that hereafter and until the close of the first day
of January, 1908, postmasters are directed to deliver all letters
arriving at their respective post-offices addressed plainly and
unmistakably to " Santa Claus," without other terms or ex
pressions identifying the person for whom such letters are in
tended, to any regularly organized charitable society in the
city or town of address, to be used exclusively for philanthropic
purposes. In the event that claim should be made by more than
one such society for letters so addressed, such letters will be
equally divided according to number, between or among the
societies making such claim.

1907] POSTMASTER GENERAL 379
It was an order which met with universal approval.
Under such headings as " Squelching ' Old Scrooge',"
the press commended it warmly; and from cities in all
parts of the country came reports that " Santa Claus
Letters," hi numbers aggregating tens of thousands,
had been received and answered by deputies of the
Christmas Saint. In the foUowing year the order was
not renewed. The Postmaster General, who had re
ceived nothing but praise in this matter from the news
papers in 1907, was now blamed by many of them for
heeding the reports that the very publicity accorded
to the plan had led to its abuse in many unworthy
quarters. This was apparently the fact. Had the
practice been continued to the present day, the Post
Office and the charitable societies might well have at
tained a monopoly of Christmas.
The diary proceeded to touch upon many matters
of greater moment.
"December 11. — CaU at the White House at
10,30. The Cabinet room crowded with people. Went
into the President's room, where he at once called me
over to bun and said, 'What do you think of my
issuing a letter at once, saying that I have not been
and shall not be a candidate? ' I replied that within
the last forty-eight hours I had come to the conclusion
that it would be the best thing to do, and to do it at
once. The meetmg of the National Committee lately
at Washington, and the action of certain Federal office
holders in the South, had placed the President before
the public in the eyes of some people as though he
were playing with the question and was in doubt as to

380 GEORGE VON L, MEYER "^'"^
his final action. I suggested that he also get the
opinion of Root. He then informed me that Root was
to ride with him at 3.30, and asked me to come also.
" We met at 17th and Park Row, and the Presi
dent in his direct way took up the subject at once.
Root agreed that it was a proper time to make a state
ment, the call for the conventions having been made
and the place decided upon. After some discussion it
was agreed that the President should not write a letter
but give out the same statement that he made Novem
ber 8, 1904, with this addition : * Under no circum
stances will I be a candidate for or accept another
nomination.' " December 12. — President's statement printed in
all the morning papers that he would not be a candi
date again. His action is commended by the press of
both parties all over the country. This clears the air
and will force the hand of the third-termers to say
exactly whom they are for.
" Cortelyou is being criticized, and his friends are
supposed to have been hiding behind the third-term
movement, Taft's support has suffered from the fact
that he has been out of the country.
" December 13. — Cabinet meeting. . . . The
President . . . requested me to come round to the
White House at 9.30 in the evening.
" The business and commercial outlook for the
future is not encouraging and the prospects are not
encouraging. This is liable to affect elections next
November if hard times come on and continue.
"9.30 P.M. The President seemed much pleased

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 381
by the way that his statement has been received, and
it must also be a relief to have the public finally under
stand that he will not stand again. I went over the
standing of the different candidates, and he appreciates
that it will be too embarrassing having two candidates
from the Cabinet, Taft and Cortelyou. He mentioned
that he might ask them both to resign. I suggested
that, if they both insisted on remaining candidates it
might be well to compromise on Mr. Root as the ad
ministration candidate. This seemed to impress the
President as a possible outcome.
" January 11, 1908. — Have a long walk with the
President. Jusserand, the French Ambassador, was
with us. We were taken over impossible places, climb
ing as best we could at considerable risk of falling.
At one place, where we had to go along a narrow
ledge with nothing to hold on to and every chance of
falhng into Rock Creek, the French Ambassador
funked it, and I told him that now he had become the
President of the MoUycoddles, which quite depressed
him the rest of the afternoon.
" January 21. — Cabuiet meeting, an exceptionally
short session; get through at 12.30 and return to the
office, as the President wants Root and me to ride with
him and have our horses at the end of 17th St. at 3.30.
" We get mounted at 3.45, and go at once into
Rock Creek Park. While riding we discuss the Japa
nese immigration question and the French tariff.
Coming home, the President said, ' Lodge wants me to
go abroad for a year or two when I leave the White
House ; but I have no idea of doing it, because I should

382 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^^^
have to call on the crowned heads and act, in a way,
as though I were still President, which I am not wiU
ing to do and have no desire to. Then others want me
to return to the Senate as Senator from New York.
If I had never been President, I would be very glad
to; but I think it would be not only unwise but in bad
taste for me to go to the Senate, where I would at
tunes not appear to be giving my successor a free hand
or would be accused of trying to shape a policy. No,'
he added, ' I should keep quiet and out of sight as
much as possible and not embarrass the next Presi
dent.' Then, turning to Root, he asked, ' How would
you like to be Senator from New York? ' * I would
not go across the street to get it,' replied Root, ' but
I suppose I would accept it, if it was offered me.'
The President then said, ' George, I have had a mighty
good time, and it has been fine to have been President
at an age when I could enjoy it, and we have had some
good walks and rides together of a kind which former
Presidents have been too old to do.'
" February 8. — The President sends word that he
wants me to walk with him at 4 o'clock and to join
him at the White House. Find Rev. Endicott Pea-
body, Robert Bacon, and one of his "former Rough
Riders. We started at 4.15 p.m. with two secret
service men foUowing. We go across the White
House lot, and then over the Potomac by the long
bridge — smooth going, but once over the river the
President strikes downstream through frozen marshes,
thick canes, and underbrush, picking out always the
roughest going, at a four-mUe pace. We get back to

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 383
the White House at 6.30. I tumble into a hot bath
and then wrap myself up in blankets for a quarter
of an hour, as we are dining at the Shoreham — Ahce,
James Lawrence, and Violet Vivian and myself, and
then going to the theatre.
"February 13. — Root and I go to ride (on horse
back) with the President at 4.30 p.m. The ren
dezvous is 17th Street; turn into the Park and have a
fine ride, the first one for a week on account of the
snow. The President tells of a letter received from
Tower, Ambassador at Berlin, in which he relates an
audience with the Emperor, who tells him of 10,000
Japanese in Mexico who have been driUed and ready
at a moment to enter the U. S. armed!! Root replied
that there were hardly any Japs left in Mexico, and
the President said that it was one of the Kaiser's ' pipe
dreams.' " February 14. — Cabinet meeting. Interesting
discussion about Japan. Root made the statement
that thirty-five per cent of the taxes in Japan went
for Army and Navy purposes; that they were increas
ing their Army and keeping up their Navy; that the
nation had almost come to the point of breaking down
under the heavy burden; that sooner or later it meant a
choice of revolution or war with a foreign country.
The Japs had concealed from their country the real
cause of peace, which was that the expense had used
up almost all their resources. The President said, not
withstanding our exact information as to Japan's prep
aration there were certain ' sublimated sweetbreads '
who closed their eyes to any chance of trouble with

384 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^^
Japan. It was possible that she intended inroads or
China, but on the other hand the treaties with Eng
land, France, and Russia caUed for the integrity of
China. '' February 15. — The President asked me to go to
walk, but I excused myself on the ground that I was
to have a talk with Taft on the long distance, and with
Hitchcock before he left the Department. Heard
later that they swam the River (Rock Creek) as a
stump. "February 16. — Ride in the afternoon with the
President, Root, and Douglas Robinson, at 4 p.m.
Meet at the corner of 35th Street and T Street.
" The President said to Root, ' George Meyer,
when I ask him to go to walk, refuses, but with an air
which is as much as to say, " I have been several times
and I am able to do it, therefore I can refuse "!! ' The
President told this with one of his smiles which showed
aU his fine teeth.
" When the ride was over, and we finished at Sheri
dan Circle, he said, ' I am so glad that you have not cut
off riding with me as yet.'
"February 21. — At Cabinet meeting to-day the
President spoke of the Japanese situation and the sup
posed dangers to our fleet in Eastern waters. Strictly
confidential instructions have been sent to Admiral
Evans and the commanding officers to be on their
guard as in time of war against any torpedo or mine
attack, although the President added, ' It is extremely
improbable that any attempt will be made, yet any
thing of that sort would be so disastrous that we should

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 385
take every precaution. The German Emperor sends
stories of aU sorts of rumours, and if we believed them
our fleets would be in the same nervous condition as
that of Rodjestvensky on the way to Japan through
the Baltic' Some unforeseen event may cause Japan
to strike us, but the President did not believe it likely
and beheved that China was much more likely to be
the scene of war, if any, than our Pacific Coast.
" February 29. — Had a delightful ride alone with
the President. We mounted at 17th near the Park
at 4.30, got back at 6.30.
" I reported conditions in New York and informed
him that I had told the ' reactionists ' that if they
continued their opposition to Taft and prevented his
being nominated on the first baUot, the Convention
was liable to bolt for Roosevelt. He felt this very
condition might be the cause of their eventually sup
porting Taft, in order to avoid him.
"March 20. — Cabinet meeting. All present.
Decide to accept the invitation from Japan to have
the fleet visit their ports. Attention was brought to
the publication of a Socialistic journal in Paterson.
The President much incensed. It urged the use of
dynamite to destroy the troops and the police. Under
instructions from the President, I am to stop the
transmission through the mails.
" The President read his intended message to the
entire Cabinet. It was amusing to hear Taft and
Bonaparte disagree as lawyers as to the meaning of
certain phrases. It pleased the President and gave
him the opportunity to say, ' Well, gentlemen, if you

386 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^''^
cannot understand, how in the world wUl Congress
be able to? '
"March 27. — Cabinet meeting. The Attorney
General informed the Cabinet that, under the strict
construction of the law, I probably had not the author
ity to keep certain anarchistic papers out of the mail,
as the Courts had previously defined what ' immoral '
was. " I informed the Attorney General that it had
already been done, and the President added that we
had public sentiment with us, and that he should con
tinue this policy towards the papers which threatened
hfe and property until the Courts stopped us.
"April 7. — Cabinet meetuig. Taft and Cor
telyou both absent.
" The President in meeting turned to me and said
that he had Imperial information that I was not quite
satisfied or contented being in the Cabinet, and that
he, the Emperor, would be very pleased to have me
come as Ambassador to Berlin; reminded the Presi
dent that he had sent Speck to please him."
During all this time Meyer was making frequent
excursions to New York and Boston and many cities
at a greater distance, especially for the purpose of
stimulating sentiment in favour of the reforms he was
advocating, notably in the system of Parcel Posts and
through the establishment of Postal Savings-Banks.
His self -training as a public speaker had greatly im
proved his capacity to plead a cause with good effect.
His speeches in general were arsenals of fact, the

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 387
arguments of a business man with business men. He
could turn to good account, however, the American
practice of illustrative anecdote, as, for example, when
he hkened the persistent seekers of flaws in the Postal
Savings-Banks project to an old librarian who looked
carefully through a book returned to his hbrary, and
glaring through his spectacles said, " Page 89 — a
hole; " and then, turning the leaf, added, " Page 90 —
another hole." In the great mass of his printed ad
dresses, in pamphlet form and newspaper files, these
lighter bits are infrequent. Whether on Department
or party themes, the speeches are rather the serious,
fact-fortified considerations of the subjects in hand.
Early in April of 1908 one of Meyer's excursions
took him to Boston, to serve as chairman of the Re
pubhcan State Convention. The diary touches upon
his reception there and immediately takes the reader
back to Washington, where plans for the next presi
dential campaign were constantly in the making.
" [ Boston] April 9. — Find Taft sentiment very
strong in the state. Have a conference at my office,
Cabot Lodge, Eben Draper, Otis WardweU, and
Langtry, representing Murray Crane. Later Lodge,
Crane, Draper, and Langtry and I dine at the Union
Club. They leave at 8, to attend reception at the
American House.
" It was 3 o'clock a.m. before they came to an
understanding, which was that, whUe it was acknowl
edged that a majority of the delegates of the Conven
tion favoured the nomination of Taft, it was believed
that in the interests of harmony it was advisable not

388 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^«
to pass any instructions or resolutions of prefer
ence. " April 10. — Convention met at 10.30. Mr. Doty
acted as temporary chairman and caUed the organiza
tion to order. Later, a committee was appointed to
wait on me and escort me to the chair. I was given
an enthusiastic and cordial reception. My address
took about 40 minutes, and was well received.
" The platform foUowed, which was read by Mr.
Smith, former President of the Senate. I was sur
prised by the strong endorsement that it gave me, asso
ciating my name with President Roosevelt in the
Peace Conference between Russia and Japan, and up
holding the pohcies favoured by me as Postmaster
General. " Lodge followed in an able speech, and the Con
vention unanimously endorsed and supported the re
port of the Committee on Resolutions.
" April 19. — Easter Sunday. The President tele
phones to meet him for a ride at 17th Street, 4 o'clock,
to bring any member of my family. Sixteen of us
in all — Cabot Lodge, Mr. and Mrs. Bacon, Martha
Bacon, Mr. and Mrs. Austin Wadsworth, Ethel
Roosevelt, Del Ames, Phillips, Fitzhugh Lee, Juha
and myself.
" The President started off in a canter right
through Rock Creek Park, untU Ethel said, ' Pa, if
you don't walk, some of the horses will drop dead.'
It was a long but lovely ride down Sligo Creek and
back through Soldiers' Home, The party got sepa
rated, but jomed again on the other side of Soldiers'

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 389
Home. I do not think the President liked it, as it
is etiquette to let him always lead the way.
"April 24. — Cabinet meeting. Taft consulted
the President, Root, and myself about his trip to
Panama in order to straighten matters with Colombia,
etc. The President asked if Bacon could not go in
his place, but Root was most decided that it would
not do. I suggested that, if the Associated Press
were given an article clearly showing the necessity of
it, and if it would only require about three weeks'
time, I did not believe it would hurt his candidacy,
" April 28. — Cabinet meeting. Root brought up
the matter of diplomatic uniforms, on account of a
letter which he had received from HUl as to what he
should do in Berlin, Tower having adopted a uniform
of his own. The President asked me what I had done.
I related that in Italy I had worn at all state and
official functions, no matter what the time of day, an
evening suit. On arrival I had requested through the
proper official the privilege of wearing a frock coat
on the occasion of my audience with the King, but
it had been denied by the prefet of the palace. In
Russia, when I arrived, I had worn an evening dress
suit at my first audience with the Emperor, which
was at noon, and the same with all the other members
of the royal family. Later I heard that the Emperor
would appreciate it if I should continue to wear a
uniform as my two predecessors had done. There
fore I made up my mind to do so in the future with
out consulting the State Department, as it meant
nothing to me, and it was important to make a good

390 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^^^
impression and overcome prejudices, in order to ac
complish the results for which I was sent there by the
President. The law prohibits the State Department
from prescribing a uniform, but it permits each am
bassador and minister to wear whatever is appropriate.
I added that if HiU now took to wearing a dress suit
on aU occasions, they would think that he was trying
to show how much better he knew than Tower, and
might be in bad taste at this time. The President
agreed with me, and instructed Root to inform HiU
to wear whatever he thought was appropriate.
" May 1. — Cabinet meeting. The President said
it is evident that Congress is not in sympathy with the
Administration and intends to do nothing, or as little
as possible. This wUl make it hard to reelect some
of them, or explain Congress's lack of action on the
platform this autumn. I called attention to the fact
that the Congressmen were taking their cue from the
Speaker, and he should be held accountable for their
omissions. "May 4. — Call on Senator Carter [of Mon
tana] and warn him about the attempt that may be
made to stop a vote being taken on the Postal Savings-
Bank Bill, which is now on the Senate Calendar.
Then go to the White House and have an interview
with the President behind closed doors, while about
50 people are kept waiting, including Senators and
Representatives. " The President is to send for Senator Carter to
encourage him on his work for Postal Savings. The
President stated, in connection with his work as Presi-

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 391
dent, [that] there was a tune quite lately when he felt
sorry to give up, but that he was quite reconciled and
had become tremendously interested in his proposed
African trip. He should let his son have his freshman
year at Harvard, but then he should take bun away
to go into Africa with him.
" Jum.e 1. — Arrive at 11.32 from PhUadelphia.
Go straight to the White House to see the President.
. . . Informed me that Reid* had cabled that the
present Cabinet were very anxious to announce my
decision as soon as possible, and that Reid wanted it
to take effect July 4. Informed the President I had
been waiting for Congress to adjourn, and that I
would probably send a cable this afternoon to Buxton,
the Postmaster General in England.
" Five P.M. this afternoon cabled the P.M.G., Lon
don, that we would adopt two-cent an ounce postage
with Great Britain and Ireland, to take effect Octo
ber 1. This, I beheve, will lead to closer relations
commercially and otherwise. I telephoned Ambas
sador Bryce at 7 p.m. of my message to Buxton.
"June 2. — Cabinet meeting. Taft rather de
pressed to-day because the papers have been jumping
on him for having referred to General Grant as having
overcome the tendency to drink hard. I do not think
it will do any harm, and told him so.
" We got into a general debate as to the future of
the negro, and how httle was open to him. The Presi
dent spoke of the bitter feeling that must come to them
iWhitelaw Reid, Ambassador to Great Britain: the subject of his
message was the agreement which Meyer had been negotiating for two-
cent postage to England.

392 GEORGE VON L. MEYER "^"^
as they realized how they were handicapped, no matter
what their abihty might be.
"Received a cable from Sydney Buxton saying
that he should announce penny postage with the
United States to-morrow at 4 p.m. in the House of
Commons. "June 3. — I announced through the press this
afternoon that two-cent letter postage had been ar
ranged with Great Britain and Ireland, to take effect
October 1, 1908.
" This afternoon received a cable from Sydney
Buxton that the announcement of penny postage with
the U. S. had been received with applause.
" June 4. — The papers have spoken favourably
of the two-cent postage to be estabhshed with Eng
land. Many congratulatory letters, one very nice one
from Mr. James, former Postmaster General, and
another from Lyman Abbott of the Outlook."
As the Republican National Convention, which
nominated Mr. Taft for the Presidency, drew near,
the newspapers contained many rumours that the con
duct of the campaign was to be committed to Mr.
Meyer. His characteristic dealing with this matter
formed the subject of the following portion of a letter
to Mrs. Meyer, who had gone to Europe with her
daughters, for a cure for one of them at Kissingen,
early in May: —
. . . Last evening I went out to see the President on
account of an article which appeared in the Washington Times.

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 393
The statement was made that I was to be Chairman of the
National Committee and run the campaign, and then next year
I was going to reenter the Cabinet and become Secretary of
the Treasury. There had been rumours coming to me from
diflFerent newspaper men, and so I thought It was just as well
to run the matter down and stop it if possible. So I went up to
see Loeb, and he finally acknowledged that he had told Taft
that he thought that I would be the best man to run his cam
paign for him, and intimated to me the President had said the
same. So after dinner, having an appointment at the White
House, I consulted the President, and found that he had told
Taft this: that if he were running again for President, he
should want me, of all men, to manage the campaign for him,
for numerous reasons, which It is unnecessary for me now to
enumerate. I told the President that In my judgment it would
be a political mistake. There had been talk that the Post
Office had been used for political purposes for Taft's nomina
tion ; and now If, on top of that, having made Hitchcock man
ager before the Convention, I should resign from his Cabinet
and go in and take the Chairmanship and run the campaign
with Hitchcock as an assistant, it would be impossible to make
the public believe that we had not been using the Post-Office
Department all along ; also that I felt that the work I had been
putting in on postal savings-banks and parcel post would be
lost if 1 went out of the Cabinet at this time, and that there was
a very good chance of putting it through the Senate next De
cember, and that the sentiment was now changing in the House
favourably to these measures. With additional work I felt I
could probably get the postal-savings bank bill through and
get something done in the way of a local parcel post on rural
routes — that I was very anxious to accomplish this during
his Administration, With a new man in the Post Office, who
would have to play second fiddle to my views and would prob-

394 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^^^
ably not take interest in these measures, the matters would go
by default ; that I considered the postal savings-banks the most
important possible legislation at the present time that had not
been enacted, in which he agreed with me. He said that he had
not looked at it from all those points of view, and felt there
was a good deal In what I said; that of course it was not for
him to decide who should be Chairman, and that he had merely
stated to Taft his feelings, as he felt very strongly the impor
tance of the choice of the man, I am to dine with the Swiss
Minister on Saturday night, Mr, and Mrs, Taft are to be
present, and I shall, if he Is not too tired, go over the whole
matter, later in tlje evening. Having turned cold water on it,
I want to play the hose on the scheme as well.
Three days later the diary records a close match
of doubles at tennis on the WTiite House grounds, and
proceeds : —
"June 8. — . . . The President asked me to
come back at 9.30, to meet Taft and himself and go
over the platform. At 9.30 Taft, EUis, who had written
the rough draft, and myself met the President in his
library. Taft read aloud the manuscript and the Presi
dent made suggestions or slight changes. He compli
mented EUis on the form and language. I was much
pleased to find that both the President and Taft were
decided to have Postal Savings in the Platform.
"We worked until midnight perfecting. The
President was very humorous at times."
In view of the part that submarines have recently
played in the affairs of the world a portion of the
extracts from the following letter, written less than

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 395
ten years before the United States entered the Eu
ropean war, possesses an interest historic in its sig
nificance : — To Mrs. Meyer
Washington, June 15, 1908.
I was unable to get a letter off to you on the Saturday
steamer, for the reason that I went away unexpectedly on the
Mayflower, with Taft and Metcalf, on Friday afternoon at
four o'clock, down the Potomac as far as Norfolk, where we
arrived early the next morning and were present at the attack
on the Florida with a torpedo — the most powerful one that
has been made up to the present iiine. The object of the experi
ment was to demonstrate that, if the compartments on a battle
ship were properly constructed, the ship could not be sunk.
The officials were so confident as to the result of the torpedo
attack that thirty men and officers remained on board the
Florida. When the torpedo struck the Florida, it threw a
volume of water about 150 feet in the air, which concealed the
ship for a few moments, and It was a great relief to see the
Monitor still floating a few seconds later, although she had a
slight list to starboard. We immediately got Into an electric
launch and went on board, and found every one much interested
in the result, with only water in the compartment, although they
said the shock was so great that she seemed to be lifted out of
the water after the concussion. She was then towed to the
Norfolk Navy Yard and put into the dry-dock, and there we
examined the results and found a hole in her, under the armour
belt-line, sufficiently large to put the brougham into; but the
other compartments were not injured. This is the first experi
ment of this kind that has ever been made, and they have only
been able to judge what the effects would be in time of war.'^
1 Meyer wrote in his diary for June 13 : " The experiment will remove
tnuch dread of the torpedo which now ezists."

396 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^'^^^
This attack was made on the most vulnerable part of the ship.
In the afternoon we sailed again for Washington, arriving here
Sunday morning at six o'clock. Each of us had an aide on
board — General Edwards being assigned to Mr. Taft, Lieu
tenant-Commander Clenin Davis to Metcalf, and Lieutenant-
Colonel Charley MacCawley to me. We had two of the most
beautiful nights I ever saw on the water, and coming back, as
it was rather warm, I slept on deck. . . .
Our last Cabinet meeting Is to come this week Friday, the
President leaving Saturday, the 20th, for Oyster Bay. I ex
pect to go on then and join " Bey " and be present at Com
mencement, and arrange with him to sail either on the Maure-
tania, on the 24th, or the Touraine, on the 25th.
I think I have fixed it now so they will not make me chair
man, and It is a great relief to me, as I should have had to drop
the work into which I have been putting so much time.
The new fiscal year begins on the first of July, and there
will be a number of matters that will require my attention that
month, and I do not feel that it would be opportune, for many
reasons, for me to leave and go abroad at this time. Things
might happen which would be unfortunate if I were away. My
plan is to go up, as soon as " Bey " sails, to the Restigouche
and get three weeks of complete rest and fishing, and then,
later, to see just what your plans are. Taft is practically
nominated, and the only interest now is to see who will be made
Vice-President. It would not surprise me if they took Fair
banks over again, although no one has been definitely decided
upon as yet,* The fight as well as the interest at present is on
the resolutions, that is, the platform, and the President, Taft,
and the Cabinet are all backing me up in my efforts to have
postal savings-banks and parcel post made two of the important
planks, i Junes S. Sherman, of New York, was nominated.

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 397
[Diary]
"Ju/ne 16. — Cabinet meeting. Bonaparte, Met
calf, and Garfield absent.
" The President, speaking of very moral and re-
hgious people, said that some Catholics and strict
Episcopalians at the end of Lent were almost impos
sible, having fasted to such an extent that it was im
possible to get on with them. If he were picking out
a husband or wife, for comfort's sake, he would rather
have them a little less moral.
" Signed a parcel-post convention with the Italian
Ambassador. While I was American Ambassador at
Rome there was much complaint at there not being a
parcel-post arrangement between the two countries.
" At the Cabinet meeting to-day Straus an
nounced that Cleveland was very ill, in fact that he
had pretty much lost his mind. Root remarked that
when a man had been exerting great mental force and
then suddenly stopped, it was sure to happen; WUson
added, more surely kill him. This amused the Presi
dent who said, ' I suppose it is about time then to
begui the obituaries on me.' "
For the next few days Meyer's diary foUowed the
Repubhcan National Convention at Chicago in some
detail. On the 18th there was a note of rejoicing that
the "Postal Savings Bank was put into the Repub
lican platform and the platform as reported by the
Committee was adopted by the Convention yesterday.
This is a defeat for Speaker Cannon, who went on to

398 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^^''^
Chicago on purpose to keep it out of the platform."
On the next day he wrote to his wife in Europe:
" As you wiU have seen from the cabled reports, Taft
was nominated on the first baUot and the nomina
tion was made unanunous. We were all pleased, as
there was a little nervousness on account of the ex
traordinary applause and enthusiasm for Roosevelt
the day before, lasting for 49 minutes ; but fortunately
that expended itself on that day and the programme
was carried out as designed and intended." In the
same letter, lamenting his inability to join his family
abroad "in the face of the election," he wrote also:
" It is trying not to be able always to do what one
wants, but somehow or other those unoccupied creatures
who are able to go north, south, east, or west at their
own wiU are not always the happiest."
A few days later Meyer wrote in his diary: —
["Boston] June 24. — Horrors! My 50th birth
day. I wonder if every one has always felt as I do
about it. All youth is over, though Victor Hugo
says it is the youth of old age.
"Ex-President Cleveland died to-day, seventy-one
years old.
" I went out to Commencement to-day — very hot,
dull and depressing. Saw Choate and congratulated
him on looking so well. He asked me what I was
going to be next."
On the next day there was a characteristic note:
" Twenty-third anniversary of my wedding. The best
day in my life was the day I married my wife."
What he was " going to be next " remained an

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 399
unsettled question for some months after Mr. Taft's
nomination. Clearly Meyer could not become " one
of those unoccupied creatures " to whom he had re
cently aUuded. The chairmanship of the Republican
National Committee remained unfiUed until early in
July. On July 2 Meyer wrote in one of his frequent
letters to his wife: "To-day I lunched alone with
Taft and we went over the chairmanship situation,
which is stUl in a snarl; but I think I have got it fixed
so that I shall not be called upon. We hope to solve
it within a day or two." This was accomplished, by
the choice of Mr. Frank Hitchcock, in the following
week, at a conference at Hot Springs, Virginia, to
which Mr. Taft summoned Meyer and other political
advisers. With much relief Meyer went at once to
the Restigouche for the salmon-fishing from which he
always returned in better trim for hard work. There
was plenty of it ahead in connection both with the
campaign and with the conduct of his Department,
The diary recalls many interests of the arduous weeks
following his return to the United States early in
August. " August 9. — Write Taft telling him he must
expect complaints from the various factions through
out the country in the different states until election
day; that I can appreciate how irritating it is, and
that it is therefore aU the more important that he
get his exercise every day, in order to be in good con
dition to withstand the aggravations of the campaign.
"August 19. — Leave Boston on the 10 a.m. train
for New York and take the 4,30 from 34th Street

400 GEORGE VON L. MEYER '^^"^
Ferry for Oyster Bay. The train had attached two
parlour cars, which were used as club cars and were
supplied with newspapers, card-tables for bridge, and
two coloured men who served drinks. I found some
friends on board and was much refreshed by a White
Rock lemonade. Reached Oyster Bay at quarter be
fore six, where the President's carriage waited for
myself and L. Frothingham.
"Mrs. Roosevelt and the President had just re
turned from a sea-bath, and we joined them in a cup
of tea. I proposed having a swim before dinner, and
the President offered to walk down with us to the
beach. When we got there, a distance of about a half
mile, he proposed going in with us although he had
been in the water only an hour previous.
" I found it difficult to keep up with him swimming
out to the raft, and on the way home he brought us
back by a longer route through the woods, about a
mile. I think the idea was to have me see one of the
big oaks on the place, but by the time we reached
the house I was so warm that I had to take a shower-
bath before dinner.
" At dinner all the family were present, including
Mrs. Longworth and Miss Ethel. After dinner I
sat out on the piazza with the President. Mrs. Roose
velt retired early and Alice Longworth and the boys
played bridge whist. The President told me of his
plans and arrangements for his African trip immedi
ately foUowuig his retu-ement from Washington,
March 4. He should sail about the 15th for Naples,
and from there take the steamer to the African Coast,

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 401
arriving at Cauro eleven months later. Specimens
would be collected in Africa for the National Museum,
and some taxidermists would accompany him and
Kermit. Collier's had offered him for his trip
$100,000, but he declined it and accepted $50^000 from
Scribner's. . . . ' I shall only teU about a half-dozen
men my plans — Root, Taft, Cabot, and yourself.'
Then he added, ' I have received a great many offers,
but finally accepted one from the Ouitlook to write,
whenever I wanted to, on public and political ques
tions. This does not refer to any books that I may
pubhsh on other subjects.'
" The President then asked me, if he went to
Rome would he have to have an audience with the
King and the Pope. I assured him he would not be
able to avoid them, and that he would enjoy talking
with the King. The Pope, whom he would also have
to see, only spoke ItaUan. His desire was to do in
each country what was proper and dignified, but he
wanted to avoid official ceremonies and public recogni
tion at banquets, etc., in every possible way. ' In
England,' he added, 'there is a real reason for my
stopping there, as Lord Curzon, the Chancellor of
Oxford, has invited me to make an address, and they
are to confer upon me the highest honorary degree,'
" Next morning we played tennis, the President
and I against Teddy and Kermit. We won, and then
changed sides. At lunch there was present a number
of New York State pohticians who had come down
to consult the President about the Governorship.
"August 22. — Arrived in Washington yesterday

402 GEORGE VON L. MEYER t^^"*
morning early. Worked at the Department until 7
P.M. Left at 11.10 p.m. for Hot Springs, Va. Ar
rived at 8.30 A.M.
" Taft and I went out at 10.15 to play golf. Of
course we did a lot of talking pohtics between the
holes. He is in splendid shape and looks fine, even
if he does weigh 300 lbs. , , , We tied 9 holes and
our score was 91 to 92. I won 1 up in holes as well
as in medal play.
" We were to have ridden at 5 o'clock, but a heavy
thunder shower prevented. So instead we talked and
planned in his room about the campaign untU dinner
time. "August 24. — Played golf with Taft in the
morning; again won 1 hole up, but my score was 89
and his 94. He was off his game.
" In the afternoon went to ride with Taft and John
Warrington of Ohio. He was under Sheridan in the
war, and he related some most interesting anecdotes
about the famous general. Warrington claims that
Sheridan had real genius.
" Got home just in time to have dinner and catch
the 8.00 P.M. express for Washington.
" Taft was most cordial and said he was very glad
that I came down, and asked me to continue to write
him. "September 22. — President Roqsevelt gives an
interview in the press in which he publishes Taft's
letter showing that last winter he refused to compro
mise with Foraker and thus go back on his principles.
President urges Taft as the fitting man to be elected.

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 403
on account of his integrity and experience; points to
Governor HaskeU of Oklahoma and his connections
with the Standard Oil — its methods.
" The President arrives in Washington at 5.55; met
by his Cabinet. I comphmented the President on his
Napoleonic move in the press. Replied that he
thought he would hit Bryan hard and stir up the
campaign. "Bryan sends a telegram to the President, de
manding proof of Governor Haskell's connection with
the Standard Oil, etc. Campaign is now getting inter
esting — apathy disappeared.
" September 23. — President sends for me to hear
his reply to Bryan's telegram. Stay there from 10,30
to 12 o'clock, and he desires Garfield and myself to
return at 3 o'clock and meet him in his study in the
White House, in order to review it in its final form.
" In the afternoon Secretary of War Wright was
also present. I got the President to change the last
paragraph, which rather imphed that some dishonest
men of affairs or unscrupulous corporations would be
found to be on Bryan's side in this election, etc. He
agreed to leave it all out. The article is clear and
powerful, and will convict Haskell in the public mind.
Did not leave the White House untU 7 p.m. The
article given to the press at 7.45 p.m.
" September 24. — The President invited me to go
to the theatre to see ' The Gentleman from Missis
sippi,' and dine beforehand at the White House. At
I dinner — General Young, Miss Hagner, Captain Butt
" — six in all, including Mrs. Roosevelt and myself.

404 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^'>^
" The play was at the National Theatre. The plot
laid in Washington and represents new Socialist
Senator from Mississippi beset by temptation and
graft, etc. Some of the scenes amused the President
and appealed to him just at this time, after the expose
of Senator Foraker.
"September 25. — Cabinet meetuig. AU present
with the exception of Root.
" The general consensus of opinion was that the
President's answer to Bryan's telegram was dignified
and conclusive. It will probably result in Governor
HaskeU being obliged to resign from the treasurership
of the Democratic Committee, as the President has
demonstrated his moral and political unfitness to hold
any political office.
" September 26. — Stopped in at the White House
this morning at 10 a.m. President had not come to
the office. I wanted to make an engagement for Percy
Haughton and Captain Burr of the [Harvard] Foot
ball Eleven. At 10.15 the President said he would
see them gladly at 12 o'clock. At that hour he was
in the middle of an article that he was preparing, to
answer Bryan and HaskeU concerning the granting
of permits to oil companies in Indian Territory. He
stopped and greeted the young men in the most hearty
manner, wished that Ted had been heavy enough to
have played on the eleven. Haughton wants Lieut.
Graves for a short time, to coach the eleven at Cam
bridge. The President asked me to take them to Sec
retary Wright, Secretary of War, and wrote, ' If you
can do this properly I should like it. I was a Harvard

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 405
man before I was a pohtician.' The President asked
me to come back at 3 o'clock in order to read what
he had prepared for the press. Just as I was leaving
the actors of ' The Gentleman from Mississippi ' came
in to be presented. The President assured them that
he had enjoyed the play, which represents political life
and corruption in politics. Ten years ago I would not
bpheve such corruption possible, but now I might be
lieve it.
" At three o'clock I read over the President's state
ment, which is very strong and pointed. Advised not
publishing it until Monday, which was finaUy decided
upon, as it was reported that Bryan would publish his
answer Sunday.
" September 27. — Bryan's answer appears in the
morning papers. . . . Receive word from the White
House to come there at 3 p.m. At that hour I found
Abbott of the Outlook, Cortelyou, and Straus al
ready assembled. The President dictated in our
presence his reply to Bryan. It is interesting to see
his brain work as he walks up and down the room, and
the rapid changes of expression in his face as the
thoughts develop into words. His vigour, earnestness,
and sincerity make themselves evident in every move
ment, and he thoroughly enjoys the effort and action
in his work which would be a nervous strain to most
men. As we were doubtful about the last two pages
and his references to Bryan and the result of his poli
cies, at 6 o'clock he asked us to return at 9, when he
would have it rewritten. I had Abbott and Roland
[Cotton] Smith dine with me, and nine o'clock found

406 GEORGE von L. MEYER f^""*
Abbott and myself back at the White House. Each
was given a page and then passed on to the others for
such criticism as we saw fit. The result was that the
President destroyed the last two pages and condensed
them into a single sentence of a few lines. During
the evening, when Straus criticized certain lines, the
President, quick as a flash, said, ' Remember that this
is a poster, not an etching,'
" September 29. — Cabinet meeting. Root not yet
back and Garfield absent.
" Discussed the general situation when the business
of the meeting was over. The labour vote looks
ominous, and it is very difficult to get money sufficient
to run the campaign.
" As I was leavmg, the President asked me to go
riding with him at 4,30. We were to mount our horses
at 17th and Park Road. During our ride he said,
* Of course, at times I used to be in doubt as to
whether I had not made a mistake to announce that I
would not take a third term, and even regretted it at
moments. So again during this campaign I have re
gretted that I have refused to stump and attack
Bryan's policies; but Bryan's telegram gave me an
opening which I was glad to seize and I feel relieved,
but I do not think I wUl say any more to bun.' Which
I feel is wise.
"September 30. — The President announced that,
as Bryan's answer is a personal attack on him, he would
not reply.
'' October 1. — Dine with the President and Mrs.
Roosevelt at the White House.

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 407
" Two-cent postage went into effect with the United
Kingdom of Great Britain, as agreed between myself
and Postmaster General Sydney Buxton last summer.
Very favourably commented upon by the press in gen
eral. The New York City Post Office prepared for it
by putting on an extra force."
A letter written two days later in London, by
J. Henniker Heaton, M,P,, who in 1898 had carried
the Imperial Penny-Postage Scheme in Parliament and
had also introduced telegraph money-orders in Eng
land and parcel post to France, may well be read at this
point. From J. Henmker Heaton, M.P-
Carlton Club, 13 October, 1908.
My dear Postmaster General, —
I cannot allow the first steamer carrying letters at a
penny-postage rate from the United Kingdom to the United
States to depart without recording my heartfelt thanks to you,
for your splendid action In brushing aside what is well termed
" Red Tape " and circumlocution, and declaring boldly for
Penny Postage with Great Britain and Ireland,
With refreshing candour, unknown to diplomatists, you
wrote to me a year and three months ago (July 17, 1907), and
simply asked to be privately informed of the views of the Postal
Authorities In this Country on the two-cent postage proposal,
and If favourable you Informed me that you would at once pro
ceed to England to settle the question,
I declare my conviction that, had it not been for your
prompt action, Anglo-American penny postage would not have
taken place for ten years. This note is written in no sense of

408 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
condemning any one, but in justice to you and to show that
the credit is yours,
I am perfectly certain that the trade and good feeling
engendered will repay you tenfold.
With high regards. Believe me yours faithfully,
J, Henniker Heaton.
The Hon. George v. L, Meyer.
Postmaster General.
P.S. I shall be glad if you will allow the above to be published.
H. H.
The recognition to which this friend of postal reform
in England gave expression came also from many other
sources of intelhgent opinion. Indeed the establish
ment of transatlantic two-cent postage was an event of
outstanding significance in the development of inter
national relations, and deserved all the praise it called
forth. Like the majority of human beings, Meyer was
habitually pleased to have his good work recognized.
In a letter of praise to somebody else he wrote, while
he was Postmaster General: "A busy man can afford
occasionally to accept a little weU-earned commenda
tion; " and, during the same period, he made the frank
avowal, when he himself was highly praised : " I always
did like molasses much better than vinegar."
At about the same time with the reduction of pos
tage to and from Great Britain a smaller improvement
in the postal service attracted wide attention. This was
instituted through an order from the Postmaster-Gen
eral directing postmasters to confer with the school
authorities of their communities about the practicability

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 409
of giving instruction to the pupils of the schools ui
elementary postal matters. The lack of this knowl
edge, in the simple matter of addressing letters, had
caused more than three million pieces of mail matter to
go to the Dead Letter Office during the preceding year.
Meyer's instinct of the practical — and workable — led
him direct to the pubhc schools as the most promising
distributuig centre for the information he wished to
spread. Another intensely practical order — of which
the results are a daily blessing to automobilists through
out the land, though few of them know that Meyer is
to be thanked for it — was that which required a uni
versal display of signs on post offices indicating the
names of the offices. The traveller generally knows the
name of the city in which he happens to find himself,
but as one is now whirled from smaller place to place
at railroad speed, the frequent orientations by means of
post-office signs are true occasions for gratitude. The
list of more technical changes in postal administration
introduced under instructions by Mr. Meyer would be
more germane to a postal report than to a biography.
For the present purpose it is best to turn again to the
diary. " October 8. — The President told me he enjoyed
immensely the black ducks I sent,* but ate too much.
I quoted Franklux — ' Eat not to dullness, drink not
to elevation.' He said, 'I always did dislike Frank
lin's sayings.'
" October 9. — Cabinet meeting. Wilson and Gar
field absent.
1 After a day's shooting on Long Island.

410 GEORGE VON L. MEYER f^^''^
" The President, speaking of the Balkan troubles,
said he hoped that Austria would hold Bosnia and
Herzegovina; that he distrusted the Servians — they
were a set of cutthroats, as shown by the manner that
they murdered their King and Queen; that England's
pohcy with Turkey, and ever since 1872, had been
error and had bolstered up the miserable Turk.
" October 13. — Cabinet meeting. There was con
siderable discussion about the coming election, the un
popularity of Hughes with the farmers, railroad men,
and horsemen all over the state. This would also hurt
Taft, because the straight ticket was not going to be
voted. Yet he wUl run very much ahead of Hughes.
Then again, Ohio is not looking any too certain on
account of the liquor question, the negro, and labour.
There are a great many local fights going on in the
Repubhcan Party in many states. The Democrats
are more united than usual.
" October 16. — . , . The President read a letter
which he wanted to send to Governor Haskell. All
the Cabinet advised against it. Finally Root said, if
Haskell wrote the President officiaUy, it should be
referred to the State Department for a reply. It was
so referred. " Then the President read a letter to the Cabuiet,
in answer to a clergyman who stated that there were
many who were prejudiced against Taft because he was
a Unitarian. Again the Cabinet felt it unwise to send
the letter. Root made the point that it was such a
personal matter that Taft, who was arriving to-mor
row, should see it, and be consulted as to whether he

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 411
desired it or not. This was agreed to by the President
as wise. He added, 'If it was in my own case and
my own campaign, I have not the shghtest doubt.'
" Sir RenneU and Lady Rodd * arrive to-morrow
morning to make us a visit.
" October 18.— . . . After dinner Rodd and I
leave for the White House, to mtroduce Rodd to the
President and at the same time give him the oppor
tunity to see Taft again. Garfield came ui as we
were entering, and upstairs in the President's study
we found the President, Taft, and Wright. Taft re
called meeting Rodd in Rome. The President de
lighted Rodd by talking about his books and showing
his famiharity with them. We stayed untU after eleven
and had a most informal and delightful evening. Mr.
Roosevelt turned to Rodd, and asked him about going
to Italy and England and merely seemg the Kings
informally in an audience, without any dinner func
tions, saying he had already consulted me. Fortu
nately Rodd assured him, as I had done, that it was
quite feasible. Taft chaffed the President and said,
' Wait tiU you get there. Don't imagine that you are
going to get through those countries as if you were
invisible; you may avoid "pink teas," but I will wait
and let you tell me about it all when you return. It
wiU be nearer my idea than yours.'
" We aU left about eleven o'clock, Taft to return
to his private car and proceed in the morning to
Baltimore."
I Sir Bennell Kodd, now British Ambassador at Kome, was First
Secretary to the British Embassy there, during Meyer's Italian Ambassa-
dorahip.

412 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^^^
Through the final days of the Taft campaign
Meyer, like other members of the Cabinet, contributed
his personal effort to his coUeague's election, and made
political speeches in Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, and
Massachusetts. Here he voted on November 3, and
had the satisfaction of telegraphing the President
elect his heartiest congratulations when the day's work
was done. Some passages from the diary will suffice
to touch upon ensuing events.
"November 13. — Cabinet meeting very short.
After the meeting every Cabinet member stayed to
speak with the President, so I left, intending to re
turn a little before one. At one o'clock found the
President alone, when he told me that Perkins had
informed him that Senator Aldrich of Rhode Island
had said that it would be a mistake to make me Secre
tary of the Treasury, as I could not get along with
the Western senators. The President told Perkuis
that I understood the West very much better than
Aldrich, and that he felt that I was peculiarly fitted
to be Secretary of the Treasury. This is to assist
Cortelyou, and at the same time it would please
Aldrich to have me turned down, as he is opposed to
Postal Savings Banks.
"I played tennis in the afternoon with the Presi
dent, Jusserand, and Winthrop.
"November 28. — The papers announce Hitch
cock is to be Postmaster General in the next Cabuiet,
and it appears to be official. I have been mentioned
for Secretary of the Treasury, which the President
hopes I wiU receive, and some papers have said that

1908] POSTMASTER GENERAL 413
it would be Secretary of State. I know that there is
no chance of the latter, and the former, while at one
time probable, is now less so on account of Hitchcock
beuig from Massachusetts."
On the last day of November the foUowing note
was written: "My second annual report is published;
shows deficit of nearly 17 millions. With the normal
increase and without the 9 milhons' raise in salaries,
there would have been a surplus of $2,000,000," On
December 1 Meyer wrote : " Recommend to the Presi
dent, which he agrees to, signing an executive order
putting aU Fourth Class Postmasters on the Civil
Service hst in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Michi
gan, and Wisconsin. The Congressmen will kick in
some instances, but it will be better for the service."
Notes on the probable make-up of Mr. Taft's
Cabinet foUow from time to time: on December 18,
for example, " Taft told the President that I was just
the man that he wanted for Secretary of the Navy; "
and, on January 4, " The President wrote to Taft
thanking him for his decision [reported by Senator
Lodge] and saying that he was glad it was decided
about me." The uncertainty on this point, however,
was not definitely removed until mid-February. Mr.
Taft himself has more recently said that the personal
knowledge of Meyer's ability which he acquired while
they were fellow-members of the Roosevelt cabinet had
shown him, without the need of further proof, that

414 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
Meyer shoidd be chosen to direct the Navy Depart
ment in his admmistration.
A few more glimpses of the Cabinet and Wash
ington in the final days of President Roosevelt's term
must close the chapter.
" Ja/nuMry 12, 1909. — Cabmet meeting and offi
cial dinner.
" Root explained about the treaties which he had
just completed with Colombia, the Republic of Pan
ama, and the United States; also an important treaty
with Canada concerning the waterways, etc. Root
seemed pleased and gratified with the result. He has
been quite concerned that he would go out of office
without making a settlement between Colombia,
Panama, and the United States. At Cabinet meet
ing some one spoke of the Ananias Club, and I said
that there was quite a waiting list to all appearances;
which amused Root and the others. The President did
not laugh as much as the others.
"January 19. — Cabinet meeting. AU present.
Knox, as is known, will be the new Secretary of State,
and Root was yesterday unanimously named in the
Republican caucus for Senator from New York. The
President stated that a Congressman suggested to
him that, as the two men were going to change places,
so also would their minds and sympathies change con
cerning the executive and legislative rights. * I told
him, said the President, ' that within six months that
might be the case as to Knox, but that if I knew any-
thmg, it would not apply to Root.'
" January 26. — Cabinet meeting. Root takes his

Outgoing CnBiriET or ph-/?s/pen r Roosci/clt, March 4J909
THE ROOSEVELT CABINET, WITH ATTTOC; 1! A IM I S

1909] POSTMASTER GENERAL 415
leave of the President, and after the meeting says
good-bye to his coUeagues. He reported that, after a
meeting with the British Ambassador, the Canadian
representative, and the Newfoundland representative,
lasting from 12 noon on Sunday until midnight, they
agreed upon a fisheries treaty agreeable and satisfac
tory to all. It still has to be ratified by the New
foundland Premier.
"Root finally got aU his treaties in shape. This
is the beginning of the breaking up of the Roosevelt
Cabinet. We shaU miss him very much — especially
the President.
" January 31. — Give a dinner to the German Am
bassador and Countess Bernstorff. Both very at
tractive; will be a great addition to the Diplomatic
Corps. Baron Rosen, the Russian Ambassador, also
a guest. I think he is disappointed at not being made
Ambassador to Rome, though he did not say so.
Iswolsky has named Prince Dolgorouky, the uncle of
Countess Fersen. I used to meet him at the Grand
Duke Vladimir's while I was in Russia. Has not been
in the career for ten years, and his last post was
Persia. " February 2. — Cabinet meeting. The President
speaks of the bills in the California legislature intended
to discriminate against Japanese. Feels that it is
serious and will give naturally great offense to Japan.
Has written the Governor of California and asked
that no legislation be enacted on the question until the
receipt of his letter. Disgusted with Cahfornia's
short-sightedness. Refers to  's remark, 'when

416 GEORGE VON L. MEYER

11909

this state seceded.' Regretted it, because the state was
too small to become a nation, and too large to put into
a lunatic asylum.
"February 5. — At Cabinet meeting to-day, the
President spoke of the seriousness of Nevada's and
California's ill-advised and insulting resolution and
legislation to the Japanese in their states. He thought
it fortunate that the fleet was not on the Pacific Coast, •
as we could never explain to Japan that the actions of
these two state legislatures had not been with the ap
proval of the Federal Government.
" The President, in speaking of his actions while in
office, mentioned the inviting of Booker Washington
to a meal at the White House as a mistake on his part ;
not in the action itself, but the effect on the South was
injurious and misinterpreted.
" Leave on the one o'clock train for Philadelphia,
to attend the Bankers' Dinner and make an address on
Postal Savings Banks.
"February 6. — The Bankers' Dinner last night
was attended by over 600 guests, and the gaUeries were
crowded with ladies. I had to make the opening ad
dress, and was gratified — my arguments well received
and favourably commented upon by some of the
bankers. The speeches continued until midnight.
These occasions are always too extended, yet the eve
ning was not finished — more food and supper at the
Racquet Club for a few of the selected guests, I got
away at 1,30 a,m. No wonder public men wear out
early in life — with us.
"Arrive in Washuigton at 1 a.m. Bishop Law-

1909] POSTMASTER GENERAL 417
rence and Julia Lawrence, Endicott Peabody and Mrs.
Peabody and Amory Lawrence lunched with us.
" February 9. — Cabinet meeting. The President
decides to veto the bill which removes the penalty of
loss of citizenship for desertion in time of peace from
the Army or Navy. He is furious with the peace
crowd, who do not want to keep up the Navy and
say we wiU not have war anyway.
" Root writes me from Hot Springs that he is get
ting on beautifuUy; 'hope to find you in the Cabinet
when I return, with your decks cleared for action in
another Department, a Department that needs the
sound business sense and administrative capacity
which you have exhibited.'
" The papers announce that under the Constitution
Knox is not eligible for the Cabinet, having voted for
a raise in salary from $8,000 to $12,000 during his
term as Senator, which does not expire until 1911.
Comment on the fact that two such eminent jurists as
Taft and Knox should not have thought of this.
"February 10. — Ahce and the girls leave for
Boston, where they will remain for a week.
" Dine with Senator Crane, the Kiioxes, Clarks,
Keans, Foster, Gallinger, Mrs. Slater, etc. All Sen
ators but myself, with the exception of Beekman Win
throp. Knox came up to me after we had finished our
cigars and said, ' You are the ranking man, you must
make the move.' I replied, ' I am looking to the rising
sun.' He answered, ' I am looking at the sun that is
shining.' Again, when we were leaving, Knox said
to his wife, who was talking to me, 'I suppose you

418 GEORGE VON L. MEYER ^^^"^
have told aU the secrets. Did you tell Meyer that he
was going into the Cabinet? ' and they both laughed.
"February 16. — Cabinet meeting. Taft arrived
after the Cabinet adjourned, about one o'clock. Every
one had left but the President and myself. He greeted
me as ' Brother Meyer.' He looked brown and well.
" Meet Carter and Aldrich in the Finance Com
mittee of the Senate, and we agree on a Postal-Sav
ings-Bank biU. This would appear to insure its
passage. " The President telephoned me to be at the White
House at 6.30. Found the President and Taft both
there, fixing up the message to Congress on the
Panama Canal, which is to remain a lock canal. Then
the President turned to me and said, ' I asked Mr.
Taft if he had decided on his Secretary of the Navy,
and he said " Yes, Meyer," and he has consented that
I may talk with you about it in connection with the
Naval Policy.'
" After Taft left, the President and I took a walk
round the White House — discussed naval affairs.
"February 17. — Committee on Post Office and
Post Roads report favourably on a trial in two
counties of parcel post on rural routes. It is attached
to the appropriation bill.
" Taft telephones me to meet him at the Union
Station at 3.30. Get there just as he is getting out of
his automobile. We sit down on a bench in the Union
Station and the secret service men [form] a cordon
about us. I find he wants me to consider Beekman
Winthrop for Assistant Secretary of the Navy, which

1909] POSTMASTER GENERAL 419
is agreeable to me. He teUs me Hale said to him that
a resolution would be introduced, if I were appointed
Secretary of the Navy, investigating my relations with
the Fore River Engine Co. I told him that I never
owned a share or bond in my life.
" February 18. — Sent a cable of condolence to the
Grand Duchess Vladimir on the death of the Grand
Duke. " Last reception of President Roosevelt at the
White House, given for the Army and Navy — very
brUhant affair. Supper lasted later than usual, did
not get home until 1 o'clock. At my table Mrs.
Straus, Mrs, Grant (born Root), Mrs, Wilhams,
Douglas Robinson, Mr, Stickney, and Nicholas Long-
worth, I could not help realizing with a feehng of
sadness that this was the last function of the Presi
dent's term in the White House, His achievements
will be fully appreciated later on, when the nation
realizes his courageous attitude against certain finan
cial powers, which had corrupted business standards
until they felt that with their money they were more
powerful than the Government, and could do what
they might want to do,
" February 19. — Cabinet meeting. We were all
photographed by a flashlight before the meeting. The
President took up the action of Congress in recom
mending that half the fleet should be stationed in the
Pacific and the other half in the Atlantic. Was most
emphatic in his views, that, while there was any chance
of having trouble with Japan, either the entire fleet
should be in the Atlantic or in the Pacific. If one

420 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^^^"^
half were there, Japan would have the opportunity of
crippling us by destroying it before war is declared,
as she did with Russia. Until we can have a suffi
ciently strong fleet for all purposes in both the At
lantic and the Pacific, our men-of-war are safer on the
Atlantic side.
" March 1. — President gives a lunch to his ' Ten
nis Cabinet ' and some of his hunting friends at the
White House.
"A most unique and clever afternoon tea given
by Mrs. Garfield to the President, Mrs, Roosevelt, and
the Tennis Cabinet, A miniature tennis court on the
table, with Teddy bears playing tennis, Booker Wash
ington and a Teddy bear having tea together at a little
table. Secret service men running around the table
with lanterns [?], etc, all very clever,
" Those present were the Jusserands, Bacons,
Pinchots, Winthrops, Knox, Smith, and Alice and
myself, Jusserand made a speech of presentation of a
large silver bowl, by which we were all nearly moved
to tears. I thought Mrs. Garfield would break down.
Some one asked what should he do with it. I sug
gested ' not wash his hands of us,' which relieved the
situation. "March 2. — Final Cabmet meeting. Mr. Roose
velt said, ' Before we take up any business, as this is
our last meeting, I want to say to you that no Presi
dent ever received more loyal support from his official
family than I have received. The work that you have
done I have received the credit for, which is the same
in the Army — credit must go to the general in com-

1909] POSTMASTER GENERAL 421
mand. The only reward you receive is having the
knowledge of doing your work well, I refuse to allow
you to reply;' but Garfield said, 'Whatever we have
done has been inspired by your example.'
" Before the Cabinet meeting the President caUed
me to his desk and said, ' George, it has been a great
comfort having you in the Cabinet, and we have had
a good time. It has also been real pleasure to Mrs.
Roosevelt seeing so much of your wife.' "
On the foUowing day Mr. and Mrs, Meyer lunched
at the White House, and the official relations, with
which so much of true friendship had been mingled,
came to an end. The happy and arduous two years
had conspicuously proved Meyer's capacity for val
uable administrative work. He had gained, moreover,
an intimate knowledge of the workings of the national
government. With this and his previous acquisitions
he stood uncommonly qualified to serve his country in
the new labours on which he was about to enter.

VI
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
(1909-1913)
If Meyer brought to his new task a valuable equip
ment of capacity and experience, it is no less true that
the Navy Department, at the beginning of the Taft
administration, stood sorely in need of the most intelli
gent and devoted leadership that could be found for
it. In the seven years of President Roosevelt's admin
istration there had been six Secretaries of the Navy.
No matter how able each and all of these Cabinet
members may have been, no one of them held his post
long enough either to acquire a grasp of its many and
difficult problems, or to work out completely his own
ideas, of whatever merit, for the improvement of the
Navy. Every Secretary, moreover, must accomphsh
the larger ends he has in view — since appropriations
are indispensable — through the agency of Congress ;
and it is easy to understand that the House and Senate
Committees on Naval Affairs may well have grown
weary and confused by so rapid a succession of Secre
taries, each, despite the fact that he represented a single
President with a definite and vigorous naval policy of
his own, with an individual method of putting it into
effect. Only a few weeks before Meyer's assumption

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 423
of the post, for example, his immediate predecessor,
Mr. Truman H. Newberry, had issued an order radi
cally affecting the conduct of navy yards and the
relations between staff and line officers. The order
occasioned great dissatisfaction in many quarters.
How to deal with the situation it created was but one
of many large and pressing problems with which
Meyer found himself unmediately confronted. The
broad pohcies of naval administration involved a scale
and range of thinking, in terms both national and
international, which the Post Office, in the very nature
of things, could not impose. Here, then, was a task,
for a man prepared to devote himself completely to
it for the term of four years, calling for the very best
he had to give, not only through the mastery of infinite
detail but in the framing of far-reaching plans of vital
concern to the nation and the world.
In the course of the year 1909 Meyer's entries in
the diary from which so many of the foregoing pages
have been drawn became less regular, and before the
end of the year they ceased. From this time forth
there must accordingly be less of personal, intimate
record than during any of his previous periods of
national service. It is surprising enough that in the
crowded life Meyer had led since going to Italy as
Ambassador, he had commanded the time to make so
full a chronicle of his daily experience. It is not sur
prising that the pressure of his work in the Navy De
partment, together with the unflagging continuance
of his participation in the hfe of society, brought his
practice of diary-keeping to an end. Yet for approxi-

424 GEORGE von L. MEYER nsog-iois
mately the first half year there are entries which should
be uicluded in this book. During the months in which
they were written Meyer was foUowing a course sim-
Uar to that pursued through the first part of his postal
administration — namely, learning the job. With few
interruptions, therefore, the more illuminating passages
from his diary, with a few letters, shaU be given at
once. Not far from the time when the last of them
was written his plans for the Department were well
formulated. Their precise nature, and the results of
their application, wiU be considered when these
passages from the diary shaU have been read.
" March 4, 1909. — A fearful blizzard snow-storm,
trains are arriving hours late. Some of the troops
have not arrived at all.
" President and President-elect received, in the
WTiite House, Vice-President and Vice-President
elect and the Cabinet of President Roosevelt. At a
little after 10 A.M., President Roosevelt and President
elect Taft drove off from the White House in an open
landau with four horses, followed by the Vice-Presi
dents and the Cabinet. Arriving at the Capitol about
11 A.M., we all assembled in the President's Room,
where President Roosevelt signed bills until ten min
utes before twelve, consulting his individual Cabinet
officers as to the biUs which affected their depart
ments. The Cabinet then took their seats in the Sen
ate on one side of the Chamber, adjoining the Diplo
matic Corps. The members of the Supreme Bench
were in seats opposite the Diplomatic Corps. The
galleries were fuU of ladies, Mrs. Taft in the front

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 425
row, and Ahce a few seats from her in the same row.
The Vice-President was then announced and given the
oath of office by the out-going Vice-President (Fair
banks). Then President-elect Taft was led to the
chair by Senator Lodge, and the oath administered by
Chief Justice Fuller, who is so old that he did not
quote a part of the oath correctly.
" The President (Taft) then read his inaugural in
the Senate Chamber instead of [on] the Capitol steps,
on account of the blizzard storm. It lasted three-
quarters of an hour. It was rather trying for Theo
dore Roosevelt to sit in the chair in front of the Presi
dent's desk, facing all the Senators during the reading.
As soon as it was completed, T. R. went up to Mr.
Taft and congratulated him, and then went out the
side door followed by his Cabinet. From the Capitol
he drove to the station, escorted by a delegation of
1000 men that had come on from New York for that
purpose. In the President's room Roosevelt received
his friends and bade them fareweU, to the great sorrow
of all of us.
" To my surprise Alice never appeared at the
station until 2,30, and then I found she had been un
able to find the auto and she and Secretary Wright
had walked from the Capitol to the Union Station in
all the snow and mud in order to be able to say good
bye to Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt. We arrived at the
White House in time to get a little lunch and then go
out on the Presidential stand where the President was
reviewing the procession. The best showing was made
by the West Pouit Cadets; the Naval Cadets never

426 GEORGE yoN L. MEYER lisoo-ms
reaching Washington on account of the storm. After
Governor Draper of Massachusetts, with an escort
of 3000 troops, passed by, Cabot Lodge and I walked
home to his house, where we had tea with Mrs. Lodge
and Dr. Bigelow, and also had a heart-to-heart talk
about the President that was leaving Washington bcr
hind him, the hole that it made, and the changed
atmosphere as far as we were concerned.
" In the evening the girls, Alice, and I attended
the Inauguration Ball at the Pension Building. I was
very agreeably disappointed, and it was quite an inter
esting sight. We were leaving at 10 o'clock when
Captain Butt* informed us that we were expected at
the President's table at supper. There were six tables
in aU; at President Taft's, Mrs. Taft, Charley Taft,
Vice-President Sherman, Mrs. Sherman, Mrs. Bacon,
Miss Boardman, and myself. We got home before
twelve. "March 6. — The Cabinet, with the exception of
MacVeagh ^ and Dickinson,^ take the oath of office in
the presence of the President at the White House, the
oath administered by Chief Justice Fuller.
" March 9. — First Cabinet Meeting. All present
but Dickinson. Secretary Wright continued to fiU his
place. " It seemed like a dream at first, with Taft in Roose
velt's chair, with Knox* on his right and MacVeagh
on his left. There was quite a judicial air to the whole
I Captain Archibald W. Butt, U. S. A., military aide to President
Taft; drowned on the Titanic in 1912.
2 Franklin MacVeagh, Secretary of the Treasury.
3 Jacob M. Dickinson, Secretary of War.
4 Philander C. Knox, Secretary of State.

1909-191S] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 427
meeting. I was favourably impressed with Wicker-
sham as Attorney General. He expresses an opinion
in a concise and emphatic manner.
" March 10. — Have asked an opuiion of the At
torney General as to the constitutionality of Congress
having instructed that eight per cent of the comple
ment on men-of-war vessels shall be marines,
" Went to ride with Lodge, and then called on the
President by appointment at 7.15. He came down to
the Red Room in evening dress (with smoking coat).
Seemed in good spirits; is rather concerned about his
expenses, since Congress cut off his travelling fund.
He told me, if they do not restore it, that he will prac
ticaUy do none.
"Went over the marine matter; he advises doing
as Congress instructed until the Attorney General
gives an opinion.
" March 12. — Cabinet Meeting. We discussed
the troubles in Central America. The Navy Depart
ment has placed its vessels on each coast at the only
sea-ports in such a way as to prevent Nicaragua from
attacking San Salvador. Our Navy is much respected
in South America since the voyage of the fleet.
" The question of Speakership and what the in
surgents combining with the Democrats will be able
to accomplish. It is very close, but the administration
having taken a hand. Cannon will be reelected. What
action wiU be taken as to this cannot be known until
after Congress assembles.
"March 16. — At Cabinet meeting to-day the Sec
retary of State read a paper which defined our policy;

428 GEORGE von L. MEYER Ii909-i9is
in Central America in the future — all action to be in
conjunction with Mexico. It ensures the neutrality
of Honduras and contemplates establishmg its credit
by their suggesting that we put in a financial agent
such as we furnished to San Domingo.
" Much tact and diplomacy has got to be exercised
in order to accomplish results and prevent armed in
terference on our part. President Taft endorsed the
Secretary Knox action, and said he would even make
a show of force in order to maintain peace and stop
revolutions. " March 20. — Went down to Oyster Bay to lunch
with Ex-President Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt.
Lovely day, so I walked from the station to Sagamore
Hill. Took me just an hour.
" Theodore came to the door himself and greeted
me. ' Well, this is nice of you, I am perfectly delighted
to see you.' Mrs. Roosevelt was sitting in the study
and was as charming as ever. She is showing a great
deal of courage over the President's departure within
a few days. They laughed over Alice and Secretary
Wright walking down to the station Inauguration
Day, and remarked how nice it was of her.
"At lunch aU the family were present with the
exception of Alice Longworth. We aU made it a point
to be gay, Mr. Roosevelt saying that he had been so
busy that he had not missed the Presidentship a single
moment. After lunch we adjourned to the big library.
The President's chair, which he had used in Cabinet,
arrived. There was an amusing discussion as to where
it should be placed m the room. After that the beau-

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 429
tiful Turkish rug which had been presented by the
Sultan of Turkey was considered, as to whether it
should be cut or not. Mrs. Roosevelt thought she
should be allowed to do as she hked, while young
Teddy, who is in the Hartford Carpet Co., looked at
it as injuring its commercial value. At three I said
good-bye to the President, wished him good health and
good sport, and walked backed to the station, arriving
in New York at 6 p.m.
" March 30. — Cabinet Meeting. All present but
Nagel.* Decide to send two fast cruisers to meet the
S.S. Guadaloupe at Trinidad, with Castro on board,
in order to watch his movements and moraUy to sup
port the present government of Venezuela.
" Secretary of War speaks of the trial by jury of
negroes in Tennessee. They asked to have coloured
juries, but it was found later that they were always
convicted. When asked the foreman [said], 'We
know the rascals they bring before [us], and the white
folks thought that we were going to whitewash our
own people, so we always convict them.' The coloured
asked to be tried by white jurors.
"March 31. — Harvard dinner given to President
Eliot at the Raleigh ; about 250 present, I sat on the
left of President Eliot. President Taft, Root, Lodge,
and others. Eliot made a speech of half an hour, won
derful diction, never repeats or hesitates. Speaks of
what Harvard has done, and how she has done it,
through groups of men working in harmony.
" Root made one of the best speeches that I have
1 Charles Nagel, Secretary of Conuneice and Labour,

430 GEORGE VON L, MEYER U909-i9is
heard him make, and ended by referring to Eliot as a
man, a gentleman, equal to filling any position in any
court of any Emperor or King, to which the Presi
dent may choose to call him.
" This rather forced President Taft's hand, who
ended his speech by endorsing what Root had said
about Eliot."
The diary may here be interrupted by a reference
to another Harvard dinner, at which Meyer was one of
the speakers. In 1909 President Eliot was succeeded
at Harvard University by President Lowell. At a
dinner in his honour at the Harvard Club of New York
City, Meyer set forth the value of coUege training,
and used the following words, strongly autobiographic
in their suggestions : —
Then comes the power to judge and control men, the
aspect of the executive, which is perhaps the most important
of all — the ability to choose capable and trustworthy assist
ants as lieutenants and advisers. No executive officer, in busi
ness or in government, can even attempt to attend to everything
himself. It is. In fact, the very essence of a good executive
that he should know how to delegate certain powers and so to
arrange his work that his time may be given to the larger
projects and the more important policies. It is ridiculous to
suppose that the college man can plunge into the world and
immediately begin to exercise executive functions. My con
tention is, however, that the training which a man receives at
college makes him far better fitted for utilizing his first expe
riences in practical life, preparing him all the more quickly to
be a leader of men, either In a great or a small way. His life

AT THE HARVARD COMMENCEMENT OF 1911, WHEN MR. MEYER
RECEIVED THE DEGREE OP LL.D.
From left to right: Secretary Meyer; his classmate. Professor F. W. Taussig;
President Eliot; Bishop Lawrence.

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 431
In college has fitted him with a mental grasp — has given him
the tools, so to speak, with which to attack the job of life. It
is his own fault If he misuses those Implements, for the world
to-day Is more filled with opportunities than It ever was.
To this should be added, for what it signifies, a
single sentence from a letter written by Meyer to a
business associate only a few weeks after his first com
ing to Washington: "The longer I live, the more I
realize that frequently the turning-point in business
or life is the ability to seize the opportunity."
To return to extracts from the diary: —
" April 4. — Take a long ride with Lodge in the
afternoon. He says Hay was given the Grand Cordon
Legion of Honour by France, and the Senate refused
to grant him leave to accept it. Hay was furious and
never got over his resentment.
" April 7. — The Attorney General, Wickersham,
gives a dinner to Mr. Choate. He has grown very
stout, his waistcoat has become very well padded, the
result of aU the dinners in England. He evidently
still has some feeling agamst President Roosevelt, who
recalled him and appointed Reid.
" During dinner Jusserand was talking about what
a wonderful worker Roosevelt was, and how he could
write upon several subjects the same morning, and
Choate asked if President Roosevelt could write
poetry. "April 8. — The President sent word for [me]
to come to the White House first thing. I found a
crowd waiting in the outer rooms. Inside were Lodge

432 GEORGE von L. MEYER U909-i9i3
and Secretary of the Treasury MacVeagh. We talked
about the tariff, the prospect of free hides and
lumber. " The President wants an inheritance tax. Lodge
said the states were against it and favoured tax on
checks and on proprietary medicines.
"April 9. — Cabinet meetuig. Knox jokes about
the President's speech that he is to make to the new
Cuban minister. Taft recalls the address that some
years ago he was to make to the Pope on his arrival
at the Vatican : ' Payne,* who was Postmaster General
and rather Presbyterian in his tastes, objected to the
expressions and the flowery style. President Roosevelt
looked up and quickly said, " I might say. How are
you, Mr. Pope? I knew your father the Pope." '
" The tariff biU passes the House.
"April 30. — Wickersham, the Attorney General,
goes to New York, and in a public speech defines the
administration pohcy as to trusts, R.R. magnates, etc.
He said among other things that there could be no
longer any excuse of any one by pleading ignorance of
the ' Sherman act ' ; that obedience to the laws would
ensure people from being sued. There had been in the
past some cases that were taken up without sufficient
evidence, too hurriedly, and those would be dropped.
Where there was a case they would be continued.
" May 1. — Had a long talk with Admiral Sperry
about the consolidation in Navy Yards. Newberry
started the matter without giving sufficient thought to
details, and effect it would have on ordnance equip-
X Henry C. Payne, of Wisconsin.

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 433
ment and steam engineering. The result now has been
that the efficient men in those branches of the Navy
Yards are inspectors without power. Everything has
been thrown into the bureau of construction and re
pairs and the line officers put into the background. I
can see that sooner or later I shaU have a struggle
with Senator Hale* on this whole subject, who is
against the fleet and the line officers.
" May 28. — President goes to Pittsburg this eve
ning and then on to Gettysburg. Had a talk with him
this afternoon before he started, and urged upon him
the importance of not attempting to do too much;
that he owed it to the country and to himself. He
promises to let up.
" June 1. — Cabinet Meeting. The President re
turns from Pittsburg, etc. Describes his trip, which
he evidently enjoyed. Tells the story of the tenderfoot
out West who went into a bar where they were playing
cards and saw some cheating at cards, nudged his
neighbour and said, ' Do you see the dealer give him
self four aces? ' * Well,' was the reply, 'he's dealing,
isn't he?'
" Knox read a letter from an American friend hv
ing in England which describes the English hysteria
over Germany at the present time. The friend seems
to have caught it, because he then went on to say
that we have only Germany to fear, and must keep up
our Navy, as she was liable to come out some time and
possibly attack us, as she had a ready-made army of
1 Eugene Hale, of Maine, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Naval
Affairs.

434 GEORGE von L. MEYER U^oo-ms
German emigrants in North and South America. All
of which is absurd, and Taft felt the same way about
it — that all the Germans that he had met in different
parts of the world preferred to do business out of their
own colonies rather than in them, as they could make
more money. In fact, they were underselhng the Eng
lish merchants everywhere.
" June 3. — Call on the President in order to show
my plan this summer and autumn for withdrawing the
retired officers from active service in the Navy and fiU-
ing their places with younger men from the active list.
Also explain in the rough the manner hi which I pro
pose to work out the reorganization of Navy Yards
in conjunction with the bureaus in Washington.
" June 8. — Cabinet Meeting. MacVeagh absent
in Chicago. Made a speech — referred to the Tariff;
said we should have a downward revision, but 'not
down and out.' It has been taken up a good deal in
the press, and the Senator from Michigan said he
was not going to be told how he should vote by one
of the Democratic members of the Cabinet — Mac
Veagh having been a Cleveland Democrat.
" June 15. — At Cabinet meeting to-day the Presi
dent asked each one of us for our opinion as to the
advisability of his sending in a special message to Con
gress [recommending] a tax not to exceed two per
cent on the net income of corporations. It was the
unanimous opinion that it was the psychological
moment to do so; that it would defeat the income tax
of the Democrats who have made a combine with
Cummins of Iowa and a few others, and would be

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY; 435
the first step in government supervision of corpora
tions. " The President stated that it would be most un
fortunate for the prestige of the Court (Supreme)
to have at this time to settle against the constitu
tionality of the income tax. Therefore an amendment
should be submitted to all the states.
"June 18. — Cabinet. Before the meeting I
chaffed the President that, notwithstanding the fact
that he had a special meeting of the members of his
Cabinet, including the Attorney General with the ad
dition of Senator Root, not one of them knew or
remembered that the income tax law had lapsed.
" We discussed the corporation tax and believed it
would be accepted by Congress and would result in a
revenue of about $50,000,000. It would be weU taken
by the public, and eventually advantageous to cor
porations, for the reason that, having government
supervision, it would be reassuring for investors and
encourage foreigners to invest.
" June 30. — Commencement Day at Harvard.
President Abbott Lawrence Lowell, the new Presi
dent, presides at Sanders Theatre, and Eliot receives
degrees of LL.D. and M,D. — the latter rather far
fetched — and is made President Emeritus. I attend
the exercises at Sanders Theatre for the first time since
I graduated thirty years ago! I find a great change.
The students who receive degrees wear gowns and the
professors as weU, with colours of different degrees,
the signification of which I do not understand. Attend
::the spread of the Chief Marshal at University. Con-

436 GEORGE von L. MEYER U^oo-ms
gratulate President Lowell and later take the 3 p.m.
train for New London, arriving at 6.30. Find the
Dolphui's launch waiting for us at the wharf.
" July 5. — Took the family out in the Dolphin
launch and visited the battleship Minnesota lying off
Marblehead. Captain Sims of gun-practice fame took
me over the ship. I had an interestuig talk with him
regarding a board of military experts who shall act
as critics of naval designs. He strongly favours it,
and I believe it would be advantageous to appoint one.
As I left they gave the customary salute of seventeen
guns. " July 8. — At last the tariff bill passes the Sen
ate. I went up to the Capitol after dinner, found the
Senators sweltering in the heat, several of them sitting
smoking in a room that leads directly from the back
of the Senate Chamber. The air was suffocating and,
as there were no windows, lacked ventilation. Senator
Carter of Montana was lying on a sofa and complained
of a headache, when I asked him how he was. I sug
gested it could not improve as long as he stayed in
such a badly ventilated room. He answered, ' I guess
you are right,' got up, and went out. I begged Lodge
to come out with me on the terrace, which we found
delightful and really grand, looking over the city with
its flickering lights and the dim outhne of the Wash
ington Monument shaft on the banks of the Potomac.
Senator  came out for inspiration, walked up and
down in a theatrical manner, impatiently waiting for
 to finish his harangue to an indifferent and un-
listening Senate. I left imimpressed by the debaters

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 437
and assured that it would [end] that evening, to the
rehef of the country."
At about this time Meyer received his first letter
from Colonel Roosevelt in Africa. It was dated May
17, and a portion of Meyer's reply to it will teU more
than his journal has related of the joy he was taking
in his new work and the foundations he was laying to
make it effective. To Theodore Roosevelt July 9, 1909.
My dear President, —
I cannot tell you how pleased I was to get your letter
and to receive word direct from you that you had had really
first-class sport. According to the newspapers, it must have
been extraordinary, and consequently, I was not sure whether
it had been exaggerated or not. Think of getting six lions
and two rhinos, etc., etc! It makes my wolf look sick.
I took Nick and Alice down on the Dolphin from Jersey
City to say good-bye to Mrs. Roosevelt, and expected to pass
Saturday there before she sailed ; but I had been, fighting an
attack of influenza in Washington for a week, and, when we
anchored at Oyster Bay, I did not go ashore, as I felt pretty
slim. In the middle of the night I was taken down with a
severe attack of bronchitis and lost my voice. It was pretty
trying to be unable to go ashore. Mrs, Meyer and my daugh
ters arrived in New York Monday night, so on Tuesday we
stopped at Oyster Bay on our way to Gloucester, in order that
my wife might see Mrs, Roosevelt; but luck was against us,
as she was out.
You are quite right when you say you are sure I am
enjoying my present position. It is the most interesting work
I ever had in my life and the officers are a fine set of men.

438 GEORGE von L, MEYER U909-i9i3
I have been looking into the organization of all ship
yards, and find that, without exception, all the successful com
mercial ship-yards have been organized with a hull division and
a machinery division, Newberry's attempt was to have one
manufacturing department in navy yards, which combined hull
and machinery, and placed everything under the constructor.
It has created great dissatisfaction, and the result was that
the engineers were designing and not executing; consequently,
they were not finding out their own errors and profiting by
the experience, and it meant, in the end, the deterioration of
the engineer, which would be disastrous to the fleet. There
fore, I have amended his regulations so that the engineer has
control of the machine shops for steam engineering, etc. I am
also satisfied that we cannot reorganize ship-yard administra
tion in navy yards without taking up the question of rearrange
ment and reorganization of bureaus at the same time, and that
will be a matter of research throughout the summer. I am
also seriously considering having a Board as critics of the
military efficiency of designs, and who shall be able to give
their undivided attention to the subject and make also a
thorough research into the errors, as well as the improve
ments, that have been made in other countries as to battle
ships, etc.
I realize the important feature is the efficiency of the
fleet — that we must have our navy yards and our fleets in
actual readiness for any emergency, and that this is as impor
tant as it is for a fire-engine to be prepared to quell a fire at
a moment's notice.
Taft has come out for a two-per cent excess tax on the
net Incomes of the corporations, and it has been adopted by
the Senate, which will mean a step towards government super
vision of all corporations. It is entertaining to hear the com
ments and wails of some individuals who thought they were

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 439
going to get an entire change of policy, and that they would
be let alone in the future. . . .
I am enclosing an article which is going the rounds con
cerning an address I made on the Navy in New England.
The fleet is now assembling and the idea is to practise
manoeuvring at speed, 16-17 knots, and gun practice under
unfavourable conditions of weather, etc, and, perhaps,
manoeuvres at night.
My task in making up the estimates for 1911 was a dif
ficult one, Mr. Taft had committed himself to a reduction of
ten millions in the Navy and as much more in the Army. I
went to work at it in a manner which I believed would bring
about the least detriment to the Navy, First, I got together
the bureau chiefs collectively and went over the estimates, and
then took the chiefs individually; after that, I assembled all
the commandants and went over the estimates with them as to
navy yards, and later tackled them individually, with the re
sult that I made a reduction of ten millions from the appro
priations for the fiscal year 1910, When I related what I had
done to Mr, Hale, he said : " It is not possible ; the annual in
crease each year will eat up your reduction," However, on
informing him that the cut was really twenty-four millions and
that after that I had added fourteen millions in order to build
the two battleships of the 26,000-ton type, a machine repair-
ship which shall be able to keep up with the fleet, or the equiva
lent expense in destroyers, and 3,000 additional enlistments,
he acknowledged that the result had been obtained, I thought
this might interest you. You will be surprised when I tell you
that on Mr. Hale's first call he suggested that I had an oppor
tunity to save from five to ten millions by cutting down the
size of battleships! It is needless to say that that was not
done, and I have signed the specifications which call for the
two 26,000-ton battleships of the most modern and approved

440 GEORGE yoN L. MEYER ^1^09-1913
type. The bids will be called for probably on the 15th of
August. You would be surprised, possibly, at the tremendous
interest which is being taken throughout the country in your
trip and the satisfaction everywhere with the good sport that
you are having.
With best wishes for continued good luck, believe me,
Always faithfully yours,
' 6. v. L. Meter.
Congratulations to Kermit.
Hon. Theodore Roosevelt,
Juja Farm,
Nairobi, British East Africa.
Tariff bill passed by the Senate last night. Went to House
this morning. Conference committees appointed. President
got back from Lake Champlain this afternoon,
G. v. L. M.
[Diary]
"July 10. — Took Cabot Lodge out with me to
Fort Myer, in order to see the Wrights fly in their
aeroplane at 7 p.m. A very succLSsful flight and most
interesting. It is the beginning of a new mode of
transportation and the aeroplane of the future, twenty-
five years from now, will be as different from what
we saw to-day as is the present transatlantic steamer
from the Fulton steamer that first plied on the
Hudson.*
lA newspaper interview with Meyer in February, 1911, shows that
even then the rapid development of aviation for war purposes was not at
all foreseen. He was asked about the future of aeroplanes, and an-

.^09-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 441
" July 13. — First Cabinet meeting since the Presi
dent's return from Champlain celebration. He looks
weU and it does not seem to have fatigued him. In
fact I think he rather enjoyed the trip. The French
Ambassador was also on this occasion one of the
speakers at Champlam. There is considerable rivahy
between the French and German Ambassador. They
have both stayed late in Washington on account of the
tariff. " July 16. — Cabinet meeting. Previous to the
meeting, about twenty Congressmen stood in a circle
about the President and endeavoured to commit him to
the higher rates on lumber, paper, coal ores, and a duty
on hides. They left reahzuig that they had not made
any headway with the President. I could see that
some of the remarks of the Congressmen irritated bun
not a little. But he ended up with his smile!
"July 18 (Sunday). — Pass the morning review
ing papers in connection with the Department. Wick
ersham and I lunch at my house and then go out to
Chevy Chase and play fifteen holes of golf. The Pres
ident would hke to play, but does not on account of
pubhc sentunent. He rides on horse-back, which is
not criticized — a fine distinction.
" July 20. — Cabinet meeting. Took up the en
tire morning ui considering estimates for 1911. The
Bwered: "That they will be used as fighting machines is very doubtful.
It has been suggested that they could drop explosives on war vessels and
forts. There are some barbarities, however, that are even prohibited in
war. Besides, Germany has a gun that pumps lead into the air as thick
as rain, and an aeroplane could be shot to pieces bgfore it got near
enough to work any damage."
Evidently Germany foresaw the prohibited "barbarities."

442 GEORGE von L, MEYER f.i309-i9i5
first hour was spent, however, in Mr, Taft statuig his
position on the tariff and his attitude as to articles that
should go on the free list. He favoured free hides,
ore, and oil, reduced duties, especiaUy on lumber and
coal. Asked each member of the Cabinet his opinion.
Ejiox surprised [me] by saying that he did not think
he was sufficiently mformed to give advice. The At
torney General (Wickersham), Hitchcock, and my
self agreed that he should hold to the free articles
which he had enumerated and give a httle if necessary
on the lumber and coal duties.
"July 22. — Representatives of various interests
are in Washington looking to protection of their
goods, etc., thus making it harder to get the Confer
ence Committee to come to a conclusion. The tariff
bill should not be a compromise, the result of pulhng
and hauUng. We should have a tariff commission.
"July 23. — Cabinet meeting. AU present but
Ballinger.* We went over finally the various estimates
and the Secretary of Treasury stated that they showed
a saving of $50,000,000 over the appropriations of
1910. " The President showed less hopefulness about the
tariff biU and the outcome of the Conference. He
appeared for the first time put out and discoiu-aged,
and said that he would like to tell some of the mem
bers that they could go to hell. He is inclined to let
them know that, unless they incorporate free hides,
free oil, and free ore, he wUl not sign the bill.
" Told the President that I was going home for
1 Richard A. Ballinger, Secretary of the Interior.

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 443
Sunday. He hesitated a moment and then said, ' All
right, old man.'
"July 27. — Cabinet meeting. I told the Presi-
dei^t after the meeting that the people I had met in
New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts were
with him on his tariff policy, and that they recognized
the fact of Speaker Cannon's disloyalty in the way
he had made up the Conference Committee on the part
of the House; also his outrageous effort to raise the
glove schedule and prevent the proper reductions. If
he should give in, it would discredit [him] before the
country and be a decided setback for his administra
tion. He replied, ' I shall not give in, and if neces
sary will refuse to sign the bill and call another session
in October.' " July 28. — Mrs. Townsend gives a dinner to the
President at the Country Club: Secretary MacVeagh,
Wickersham, Aldrich, Root, the Longworths, the
Huntington Wilsons, Winthrops, and Woodbury
Blairs, Bob Bacon, Charley MacCawley, and Captain
Butt. After dinner the President caUed Root and
myself to sit beside him on the piazza. He then told
us of his tribulations with the Conference Committee
and what Cannon was trying to do for Littauer by
raising rates on ladies' gloves in order to pay a political
debt. Aldrich came up and asked if he could have
a private talk with the President, as the Conference
Committee had agreed on a report, I had already
warned the President of an attempt to get him to
compromise for a small duty on hides and increase on
lumber.

444 GEORGE von L. MEYER U909-i9is
" July 29. — The President turns down the report
of the Conference Committee on the Tariff. They had
attempted to put him in a hole and he refused to go
there, but stood firm on free hides and a low duty on
ores and coal, with lumber at $1.25 and not $1.50.
" July 30. — Was unable to attend the Cabuiet
meeting, "The President wins out! Senate and House
members in Conference Committee give in on free
hides and decided reductions on coal, ore, and lumber,
with no increase on ladies' gloves.
" This is a great victory for the President, and
very important throughout the country, as feeling was
running very strong,
" The Wrights make their flight to Alexandria and
back from Fort Myer, carrying a passenger and
averaging a rate of 42 miles an hour in their aeroplane.
" July 31. — Call on the President. Congratulate
hun on his tariff victory. Also regret that on accoimt
of illness was unable to play golf with hun on Thurs
day at Chevy Chase.
" As I have an attack of cohtis, he advises me to go
away at once in order to get a rest and change. The
House is to vote on the bill this afternoon and it will
then go to the Senate Monday at 10 o'clock.
" On the motion to recommit it was only defeated
by 5 votes. On the passage it was carried by 11 votes;
not much of a margin, and if the President had not
taken hold, it would undoubtedly have been recom
mitted. " It is felt that Taft lost the opportimity to use the

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 445
big stick on Congress which [T.R.?] would not have
allowed to pass by.
" August 21. — SmaU Cabuiet meeting, lasting
from 3 until 7 p.m., held at Beverly in President Taft's
summer house on Burgess Point.
" Take up the dispute between Pinchot and Bal
linger, Secretary of the Interior, concerning reserva
tion of lands, the formation of the tariff commission,
speeches to be made by the President.
" September 5. — Secretary BaUinger is to lay
his side of the case before the President some time
to-morrow. It looks to me as though Pinchot, in his
zeal for reservation and irrigation, has gone further
than the law warrants, and that Balhnger has pro
ceeded according to the strict interpretation of the law.
Besides, Pinchot forwarded charges of one Glavis
against Ballinger without first thoroughly investigat
ing. It looks to me as though Glavis was trying to
cook up a case against BaUuiger, and I do not beheve
that the President will put up with disloyalty of a
subordinate against his chief (Balhnger). He, the
President, intends to look to his Cabinet officers and
hold them responsible."
After this entry the items in the diary are too few
and unimportant for reproduction. It is unfortunate
that further comments on the Balhnger case by a mem
ber of Mr. Taft's Cabmet are lacking, and, stiU more,
for the sake of pohtical history, that the diary had
long been discontinued when in March of 1912 Theo
dore Roosevelt assumed the leadership of the " Pro-

446 GEORGE VON L. MEYER Iis09-i9i3
gressive movement." Here especially such records of
daUy occurrences as Meyer had long been wont to keep
would have possessed great interest and value. They
might, however, have beguiled the reader from the
central purpose of this chapter — which is, of course,
to present the record of Meyer's administration of the
Navy Department.
Among the voluminous papers, published and un-
pubhshed, bearing upon his conduct of that branch
of the government is found a statement of " Salient
Points in Secretary Meyer's Administration of the
Navy Department from March 4, 1909, to March 4,
1913." The facts which it brings together might be
assembled from a great variety of other sources —
annual reports, newspaper and magazine articles, cor
respondence and speeches, representing in their mass
an extraordinary quantity of individual labour. It
would, however, be idle to attempt another summary,
so adequate and comprehensive, of Mr. Meyer's work
as Secretary of the Navy. The " Salient Points " are
as follows: —

1. After a very careful study and thorough investigation
of business methods of successful commercial organizations, a
complete reorganization of the Navy Department was put Into
effect by Mr. Meyer, on lines which resulted in greatly in
creased efficiency and in considerable reduction In cost. Under
the old system, the numerous chiefs of bureaus each had to
come to the Secretary to get his signature to papers requiring
large expenditure of Government funds, and there had been
no general supervision of such expenditures to bring about

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 447
efficiency and economy. Mr, Meyer organized a council of
aids and divided the business of the Navy Department into
four parts, each part being under the supervision of one of
these aids. The aids were responsible advisers for the Secre
tary and kept him fully Informed on all the affairs that came
under their several departments.
2, The reorganization of the navy yards was then taken
up on the principle that the navy yards ewisted for the needs
of the active fleet, and that the fleet is not for the purpose of
making work for the navy yards. Routine docking and repair
periods were established; yard methods were improved; and the
employment of a steady force of highly-trained and efficient
mechanics and workmen was thereby secured, Mr. Meyer in
stituted quarterly conferences at Washington of the Commemd-
ants of all the navy yards, so that there might be uniformity
of methods and elimination of inefficient conditions at each
yard. He divided the industrial work in the yards in two
departments, — Hull and Machinery, — placing a constructor
in charge of the hull work and an experienced line officer in
charge of the engineering work.
3, In order to increase the efficiency of the yards and
to reduce the cost of work as far as possible, he went abroad
to study the various methods of shop-management in operation
at the big shipbuilding plants. After a thorough study, he
introduced a modification of the Vickers' system, which has al
ready begun to show increased efficiency with reduced cost.
4, The active fleet was reorganized and put on an efficient
war basis. Seventeen battleships were maintained at all times
in cruising condition at sea, the fleet being divided into four
divisions of five vessels each (and an additional vessel for the
flag-ship of the Commander-in-Chief), one ship of each division
being at the yards for repairs.
6. He established reserve fleets on the Atlantic and

448 GEORGE VON L. MEYER uso9-i9i3
Pacific coasts. It had been the custom to place out of com
mission for repairs vessels of considerable military value, and
Mr. Meyer found that this resulted in great deterioration and
considerable expense for extensive repairs from time to time.
He directed that these vessels should be maintained In a state
of material readiness at all times, so that In time of war they
would form the second line of defense. He mobilized the fleets
on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic stations once each year,
and by such mobilization demonstrated the efficiency of the
vessels and also any deficiencies which required remedial action.
6. He advocated a continuous-building programme, with a
minimum yearly construction of two battleships and the cor
responding number of auxiliaries, in order to maintain a fleet
adequate for the country's needs.
7. He urged the Council of National Defense, composed
of Cabinet Officers, Congressmen, and officers of the Army and
Navy, to outline a definite naval policy for the country.
8. The gunnery efficiency of the fleet increased remark
ably under Mr. Meyer's direction. When he took office, the
gunnery practices of the ships were held in smooth water, in
closed harbours, and at very short ranges. At the end of his
administration, the ships were firing at ranges of from six to
nine miles in the open sea, under rough weather conditions and
in battle formations.
9. During Mr. Meyer's administration, engineering com
petitions were introduced in the fleet. These resulted in great
reduction in expenditure of coal and oil, and in greatly in
creased steaming radius of the fleet. They also developed a
spirit of self-dependence in the vessels of the fleet, and they
were encouraged to make their own repairs at sea, thereby mak
ing them practically independent of navy yards. The result
was a very high state of engineering efficiency.
10. He established a system of inspections of ships, with

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 449
the result that useless repairs were discontinued and unserv
iceable ships were sold.
11. He established a central cost-accounting system at
navy yards, which put the record of cost on a practical com
mercial basis.
12. A general storekeeping system was inaugurated on
all vessels of the Navy, with a competition that resulted in
large economies in the expenditure of stores.
13. He studied the subject of the number of navy yards
necessary for the fleet, and found that a great deal of money
was wasted on yards of no military value. He therefore abol
ished several yards whose yearly maintenance cost was over a
million and a half dollars, and advocated, for war efficiency,
the consolidation of certain other yards.
14. Mr, Meyer advocated the extensive use of wireless
for all Government work, and also gave every encouragement
to the development of aircraft and submarines.
16. He enlarged the dry docks at the various navy yards
to meet the requirements of future years.
16. He gave special attention to the commissioned and
enlisted personnel, and issued instructions that were destined to
promote their efficiency and contentment.
17. He established a course of instruction at the Naval
War College, and also a post-graduate school at the Naval
Academy for officers. For enlisted men, he established high-
grade schools for their mechanical instruction in many places
on both coasts.
18. He gave particular attention to the comfort and edu
cation of the enlisted men on board ship, and succeeded in mak
ing them happy and contented.
19. He believed that the punishments in the Navy had
been too severe, and he endeavoured, particularly In the case
of young men and first offenders, to give them another chance.

450 GEORGE VON L. MEYER \.i909-i9i3
With this end in view, he established disciplinary barracks to
which men were sent instead of to prison. The prison stripes
were done away with and the men were encouraged to study and
were taught useful trades. The results were entirely successful,
and a large proportion of the men were returned to the service
in good standing instead of being permitted to degenerate into
hardened criminals.
20. He advocated and secured a naval reserve, a medical
reserve corps, a dental corps, and a dental reserve corps.
21. During the last year of his administration, while at
the annual mobilization at New York, the President of the
United States made the following comment : —
" Fleet Prepared for Battle
" I cannot forbear to congratulate the Secretary of the
Navy and the officers and men of the fleet on the magnificent
appearance which, in this grand review of these two days, the
fleet presents. I am sufficiently advised of the preparedness of
the vessels to know that, when they pass me to-morrow in front
of the Statue of Liberty, they would be ready to meet an
enemy outside of Sandy Hook, both those vessels on the active
list and those on the reserve, with their guns shotted and am
munition enough in store to do effective battle for their country.
"The Secretary of the Navy has consistently laboured to
bring about a system of control in the Navy Department which
shall be military rather than civil, and directed to fighting
rather than merely to manufacture and industrial work. A
navy Is for fighting, and if its management is not efficiently
directed to that end the people of this country have a right to
complain. The Institution of naval aids to the Secretary, re
sembling in some respects the General Staff of the Army, has
brought about a condition adapted to a quick preparation of

^l

1

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^

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^.

I/^

i

PRESIDENT T.-VFT AND SECEETAUT MEYEE AT NAVAL REVIEW, NEW YORK HAKBOUK
Captain A. W. Butt at Secretary Meyer's right.

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 451
fighting units and a quick mobilization of squadrons and fleets
that never has been possible before in the history of that
department. " It is true that there are needed more auxiliary vessels
than we now have, were we to enter upon a war of large pro
portions ; but it is satisfactory to know that the time in which
such auxiliary vessels could be prepared is not prohibitive, and
is much less than would be needed to add battleships. I sin
cerely hope that whatever party comes into power the policy
of two battleships a year will be continued until, through the
Panama Canal and otherwise, the needs of the Pacific coast
for its defence shall be satisfied and our people whose states
abut on that great ocean may feel that they, too, are receiving
the benefit of the sums expended from the National Treasury
for adequate naval defense."
This summary of accomplishment should be fol
lowed by a series of brief statements, made by Mr.
Meyer himself, setting forth the general principles
which his specific changes in the administration of the
Navy were designed to embody: —
The Fleet is the Navy.
In war nothing fails like failure.
In order to have success we must have efficiency.
To have efficiency we must have a definite policy.
To bring about a definite policy we have to have coopera
tion and coordination.
To bring about this cooperation we have to have an intel
ligent understanding.
The Monroe Doctrine Is no stronger than the Navy; the
Navy is no stronger than the Fleet ; and the Fleet is the Navy.
The Navy Yards exist on account of, and for, the Fleet,

452 GEORGE VON L. MEYER nsoo-ms
The value of the objects, both general and specific,
sought and in large measure attained by Mr. Meyer
need not be argued. But important changes in so
complex an organization as the Navy Department
cannot be wrought without opposition. Meyer en
countered his fuU share of this — especially from Con
gressional committees, after the elections of 1910
deprived the Republican party of the entire control
of the Government, and from staff officers of the Na'vy
whose powers were curtailed by the adoption of a new
pohcy. It would be superfluous here to recount the
details of this opposition, as it would also be to study
minutely the score of " salient points " which have
been enumerated. A few of them, however, call for
something more than a mere statement of their es
sence. Among the chief of these were the reorganiza
tion of the Navy Yards, the improved methods of cost-
accounting, and the change in the bureau system
which took as long a step in the direction of a General
Staff for the Navy as existing legislation permitted.
It should be said first of all that, except for a few
matters on which immediate decisions were imperative,
Meyer instituted his new methods in the Department
only after months of deliberation and study. He knew
the value of sound advice, and promptly sought it.
His own attitude toward the need of it was well de
fined in his first Annual Report, dated December 4,
1909: —
In the past seven years there have been six Secretaries of
the Navy, How may the Secretary, lacking expert knowledge

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 453
in the various duties, but with full authority and responsibility
for the complete conduct of the Department, adequately direct
all the varied operations ? It would seem proper that he should
be provided with responsible and experienced expert advisers,
on whom he may rely, but who shall not in any way be able
to assume ajiy of his authority.
The general principles of responsible advice are reason
ably clear. The facility of obtaining advice is in the exact
ratio of its irresponsibility, whereas duly responsible and satis
factory advice is most difficult to obtain. Advice on all sub
jects may be had for the asking; but, as a rule, it would not
be advice that it would be wise to follow. Its authors are not
responsible. For advice that he could follow Meyer turned at
once to responsible advisers; he not only made a care
ful study of the reports and recommendations of
previous Secretaries and special boards of inquiry, but
appointed such boards himself, especially the " Swift
Board," to consider possible improvements in the
organization of the Na'sy, and took counsel of the
Attorney-General with regard to changes that might
be introduced without asking Congress for new legis
lation. This practical approach to the problems before
him was followed by their solution through the issu
ance of obviously practical orders. The whole object
of these orders was to remove a condition which one
of his recent predecessors had defined as that of
" power without knowledge in one place and know
ledge without power in another place."
The changes in the conduct of the Navy Yards
introduced by Secretary Newberry at the very end of

454 GEORGE von L. MEYER naoo-ms
the Roosevelt administration had exalted the influence
of staff officers — construction and engineer — and
diminished that of the line officers, the men under
whom fighting ships must go into battle. Meyer had
not observed the Russo-Japanese war in vain. The
Russian Navy had afforded a tragic example of the
results of staff, or shore, domination; the Japanese
Navy precisely the opposite, both in its superiority and
in the cause thereof. Meyer accordingly determined
to make the Navy Yards quite secondary in impor
tance to the fleet, as a potential instrument of war, and
wholly contributory to its welfare. He divided the
work of the Yards into its two natural branches of
" Hull " and " Machinery," assigned this work to spe
cially trained experts, but gave to the line officers,
constantly practised in handhng their vessels at sea,
a new responsibUity for their structural and mechanical
up-keep both before and after repairs were needed.
The ship afloat and ready for the most effective action
became, as it should be, the object of prime considera
tion. The Yards themselves had the benefit of the
special supervision of Mr. Beekman Winthrop, Assist
ant Secretary of the Navy throughout Mr. Meyer's
administration of the Department.
As a man of business Mr. Meyer soon discovered
that the method of cost-accounting pursued in the
Navy especially in the Yards, left much to be desired.
The Na'vy was, in one of its aspects, a vast industrial
enterprise, to which the best methods of modern busi
ness could be applied with great advantage. Chartered
accountants of large experience were accordingly en-

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 455
gaged to make a thorough investigation of this impor
tant subject, — first at the Boston Navy Yard, —
with the result that the system introduced there was
extended, with large consequent economies, throughout
the Navy.
These measures of management and book-keeping,
Hke many other of the methods of administration intro
duced by Mr. Meyer, had to do with outward organi
zation of the Department, the accomplishment of its
daily business. There was always a larger matter to
be considered, the matter of general naval policy. The
words about responsible advice which have been quoted
suggest with sufficient clearness that Meyer, as a
civilian, was not so confident of his own opinion when
he became Secretary of the Navy as to rely upon it
unaided by expert knowledge. The machinery for
commanding this help was anything but adequate.
Boards of inquiry could be appointed from time to
time, as they had been and continued to be, but there
was no established provision for keeping the Secretary
of the Navy in constant touch with the best thought
in the Department. Since 1842 the general work of
the Department had been conducted by the bureaus,
which had grown from five to eight hi number. The
bureau chiefs lacked ultimate authority, and their
duties frequently overlapped. The imperfect working
of the system under pressure was revealed by the fact
that in the Civil War it was necessary to give an
Assistant Secretary the management of an " Operating
Division," and in the war with Spain to create the
" Strategy Board." The general looseness of organi-

456 GEORGE von L. MEYER liso9-i9i3
zation was entu*ely foreign to Meyer's administrative
standards. He accordingly divided the work of the
Navy into its four essential parts of Operations, Per
sonnel, Material, and Inspections, and appointed a
specially qualified flag officer as aid for each of these
Divisions. A personal aid for his own office was also
created. The bureaus were not abolished. All their
work, however, was found to faU under the headings
of Personnel and Material; and its more adequate
performance was ensured through its direction by the
head of the Department, acting on the expert advice
of an officer not involved ui the daily routine of the
bureau. In the Division of Inspections a desirable
change was effected through transferring the act of
inspection from officials who had themselves been
responsible for the work under scrutiny to others not
thus responsible.
Under Mr. Meyer's conception of the Navy, as an
immediately potential instrument of war, the Aid for
Operations, whose particular subject of study was the
disposition and exercise of the fleet, held a post of
special importance. All four of the aids were estab
lished in close proximity to the Secretary's office, so
that daily consultations were easily possible. They
held a meeting at least once a week with the Secretary.
This new order of things, not requiring special legis
lation, yet creating something very like a General
Staff for the Navy, was set up in December of 1909.
Early in 1910 Congress definitely authorized a year's
trial of the arrangement. Besides the weekly meetings
of the aids, there was a monthly meeting of the bureau

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 457
chiefs and the aids with the Secretary. The yard com
mandants of each coast were assembled for quarterly
consultation. Once a year all the commandants met
with the Aid for Material and the Director of the
Navy Yards, in Washington. The total result of the
new provisions was a system of marked efficiency,
highly approved by the Navy itself, and bearing
notable fruits in its condition.
In January, 1910, the Engineering Magazine pub
hshed an article, " Sanity in Naval Organization,"
which ended with the following paragraph : —
It was hoped and believed that, with the advent of a
President who had been trained as a judge, the spirit emanating
from the Chief of the Administration would actuate his
cabinet officers, and matters of serious moment would be given
careful study and adequate consideration, before action was
taken involving such serious matters as the organization of a
great Department, This anticipation has not been disap
pointed, and the United States is to be congratulated on the
direction of the Navy Department by such a chief as Secretary
Meyer, whose actions thus far have shown a splendid grasp of
the situation and executive ability of a very high order. If
his future conduct of the office should be along the lines which
have been followed thus far, — and we sincerely hope that this
will be the case, — ^we predict that his name will go down as
that of one of the great Secretaries and great administrators
in the history of the United States Navy,
When Mr. Meyer went out of office in 1913,
nobody imagined that the Navy would have so early
an opportunity to prove its mettle in the most crucial

458 GEORGE von L. MEYER nsoo-ms
of tests. Between 1913 and 1917 many friends of the
Navy deplored changes in its organization which ap
peared to do away with important elements of his
work. At this moment there is not the slightest occa
sion to raise points of controversy. The issue of the
American participation in the war by sea, left, in the
good naval phrase, " glory enough to go round." But
Meyer should now receive his share of it, for the most
competent naval opinion is strongly to the effect that
the Division of Operations, the direct outgrowth of
the office of Aid for Operations, — the aid who in the
nature of things was expected to fulfil functions of
commanding importance in time of war, — was an
agency of supreme value in the recent conflict. For
this it is but just to bear in mind with special gratitude
the distinctive contribution of Mr. Meyer to the effi
cacy of the Navy in its hour of opportunity. If the
system of aids did not last long enough to accomplish
its full piu-pose, and did not receive the final legisla
tive sanction by which Mr. Meyer hoped to see its
personal responsibilities strengthened, his greater utih-
zation of the line officers of the Navy stands as a per
manent gain. With this achievement in mind Admiral
Sims^ has recently written in a letter from which it
is permitted to quote: —
I admired him very much and believe that his administra
tion of the Navy Department was of lasting benefit to the
iThe interest of Admiral Sims's testimony is not diminished by the
fact that it fpll to Meyer, as Secretary of the Navy, in January, 1911, to
issue the General Order containing President Taft's public reprimand to
Commander Sims, as he then was, for having declared in a speech in
London that " if the time ever comes when the British Empire is seriously
menaced by an external enemy, it is my opinion that you may count upon

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 459
service, . . . Mr. Meyer's great service to the Navy was that
he placed the control of the Navy, and particularly the con
trol of the design of all of our vessels, In the hands of line
officers. Before his time, this design was in the hands of a
combined board of line and staff officers, and was necessarily
dominated to a large extent by the Chief of the Bureau of
Construction and Repair — this because the other members of
the board were intensely occupied men who could not give the
necessary study and attention to the subject.
Determination of the military characteristics of the de
signs of all our vessels is now in the hands of the General
Board, which is a body of officers that, for this purpose, is
composed entirely of line officers. They make a continuous
study of the designs of ships; and since this reform was made,
we have designed ships which are at least the equal, and
probably the superior, of any of those in the world.
In the previous chapter reference was made to
Meyer's selection of competent men for work to be
done under his direction, to his habit of trusting them
and holding them responsible, and to the consequent
enthusiasm of his assistants in their several tasks. This
was precisely as true in his administration of the Navy
as of the Post-Office Department. He thoroughly
enjoyed his association with officers of the Navy, and
they in turn found pleasure in working with him. One
of his personal aids has recalled the standard set by
Meyer's own industry. This aid, now a rear-admiral,
every man, every dollar, every drop of blood of your kindred across the
sea." Admiral Sims's personal part in the fulfilment of this prophecy
will be remembered long after the reprimand is forgotten. It is worth
noting, moreover, that the indiscretion would have passed unnoticed had
it not caused President Taft to receive vehement protests from "German-
American" societies.

460 GEORGE von L. MEYER Ii909-i9i3
remembers travelling frequently with him from New
York to Boston by the ten o'clock train, in which
Meyer, spreading his office papers on a table set up
before his chair in the car, would lose himself so com
pletely in them that lunch was quite ignored until
after the arrival of the train at three o'clock. The
same associate and friend recalls a separate and char
acteristic incident — the pursuit of Meyer into the
South, where he had gone from Washington with
friends for a brief holiday, by a member of his staff
who knew that his chief would want to have his pleas
ures interrupted for the immediate decision, thus in
fact secured, upon an important matter that had unex
pectedly come up. The whole question, says the aid,
would have been laid aside until the return of any
other Secretary.
Still another incident is related by Admiral Leutze,
who was in charge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard while
the battleship Florida was building there in 1910. On
the Saturday — June 18 — of Colonel Roosevelt's
landing in New York after his African hunting-trip,
a violent wind blew over the crane on the government
floating derrick, Hercules, used in lifting heavy armour-
plate for the Florida, Meyer was on the Dolphui
engaged in greeting the former President, On Sun
day, when Meyer was to visit Roosevelt at Oyster
Bay, he received an urgent appeal from Admiral
Leutze to come to the Navy Yard, inspect the damage
¦wrought by the wind, and approve, if he would, the
course the Admiral had taken. Meyer immediately
modified his plans for the day, visited the Yard, and

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 461
learned from its Commandant that, without authority,
he had signed a contract the night before with a wreck
ing company for the immediate repairs without which
both the work on the Florida and the whole building
programme of the Navy would have been seriously de
layed. Meyer instantly approved the Commandant's
action, telling hun that he had saved the Department
a great deal of money. Admiral Leutze went on to
remind the Secretary that the House had just passed
a deficiency bill, which would go to the Senate the
next day, Monday, and that this expense must be
added to it. Meyer began telegraphing vigorously to
Washington, with the result that the item was intro
duced into the biU in the Senate, and agreed upon by
the House on Tuesday — a " record case," as Admiral
Leutze beheves, of expedition in such business. It
can hardly be doubted that the impression Meyer had
produced upon Congressional committees by his ap
pearances before them, prepared to answer intelli
gently, and without promptings from subordinates,
their questions on all manner of naval topics, had pre
pared Congress to act favourably upon this emergency
request as coming from a Secretary who knew what
he was talking about.
It was devotion of this kind to the interests of the
Navy that gave to so many of its officers the warm
feeling which they entertained for him. His devotion
to his friends was of the same nature. A fellow
member of Mr. Taft's Cabmet — gratefully recaUmg
Meyer's appreciation of aU the humours of the meet
ings of that body — relates also a characteristic in-

462 GEORGE von L. MEYER U909-i9is
stance of his thoughtfulness for a friend in distress.
Riding with Meyer one morning before theu* office
duties began, this Cabinet officer lost control of his
horse, which ran away and threw him. Meyer was
greatly concerned for the possible consequences. The
two men motored home together. In the course of
the morning a naval surgeon called, under orders from
Meyer, to examine the victim of the accident. Noth
ing serious was found, but before the office day was
done, Meyer hunself called for his coUeague and in
sisted, against his protestations, upon taking him for
a motor drive and making sure that all was well.
As there is httle of Meyer's diary to draw upon for
the details of his daily life during his four years at
the head of the Navy Department, so his correspond
ence yields less than in other periods. Through most
of this time he was not separated from his family, and
there was far less occasion for reporting by letter to
officials of the Government than, for example, there
had been while he was in Russia. In the files of his
correspondence, however, are found a few letters which
should be given here for what they reveal of the details
of his work and of the tune in which it was done.
They will be presented in chronological order, with the
few words of introduction that may be needed.
To Theodore Roosevelt
March 8, 1909.
"My dear Mr. President, —
' I was terribly put out with myself after I learned that
your train did not leave until five o'clock, and for not going

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 463
down again before three to make sure that you had gotten away
on time. After Governor Draper and the Massachusetts troops
had passed, Cabot and I left and walked to his house and had
a cup of tea, where we talked over everything, with his wife
and Doctor Bigelow, A rather depressed group it was, too.
Yesterday Cabot and I took a ride and went along one
of the paths which we have so often accompanied you on. We
missed you very much. The whole atmosphere has changed,
and it seems that the ginger, for a time, has gone out.
This morning I suspended the order which Newberry,
among a raft of other papers, got you to sign, practically
abolishing the Pensacola and New Orleans Navy Yards. I am
in full sympathy with the policy of only keeping up the Navy
Yards which are important and necessary, and of reducing the
expenditures to a minimum at the other Yards ; but this order
has raised a good deal of feeling in Louisiana and Florida, and
the commercial bodies, as well as citizens, are on the backs of
the Senators. I gave a hearing to the delegations from
Louisiana and Florida yesterday, and McEnery seemed very
much exercised, as was Foster.^ As you know, they have been
your supporters, and it is very important to have their good
will during the next four years in the support of the Navy.
The expenditures last year at New Orleans amounted to only
$20,000, and I saw the importance of going slow there and thus
preserving the good-will of McEnery and Foster for the future.
To all intents and purposes I can carry out the order ,vhich
you signed, although I have suspended it, without an Executive
order, and this will relieve the Senators from the pressure
which is being brought to bear upon them and soothe their
feelings at the same time. It did not require an Executive
order to bring about what Mr. Newberry wished to attain,
1 S. D. McEnery and M. J. Foster, Senators from Louisiana.

464 GEORGE VON L, MEYER iiso9-i9i3
Both Admirals Capps and Pillsbury agree with me now that
it would not be expedient to push the matter through under
the order, but rather to bring about the results in a different
way, I am tremendously interested in the work of the Depart
ment, and am satisfied I shall become very much absorbed in it.
Please give my best regards to Mrs, Roosevelt and believe
me, as always, ' Very sincerely yours,
G. v. L. Meyer.
To President Taft
' Washington, October 5, 1909.
My dear Mr. President, —
... I arrived here last Sunday, having spent two days
in New York for the sole purpose of entertaining on the May
flower the foreign naval officers. Admiral Edward Seymour of
the English Navy, Grosse Admiral von Koester of the German
Navy, and Admiral Perez of the Chilean Navy, were all ex
tremely Interesting men. The attentions shown them seemed
to be appreciated.
Cook arrived here on Sunday and seems to be getting
ahead of Peary in every way as regards the first outburst of
enthusiasm in the different cities over the discovery of the Pole.
I spent Saturday night at Wickersham's, on Long Island,
and he had Laffan ^ and his wife at dinner, Laffan and I had
quite a discussion on the subject of jurisdiction over railroads
and as to the question of issuing bonds and stocks. He asked
me to name a single railroad which had any water in it to-day,
and I mentioned the Southern Railroad, which I remembered
had 120 miUions of common stock. His reply was: " ^ou have
selected the best one you could." He has not the slightest idea
1 Presumably WUliam M. Laffan, editor of the New York Sun.

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 465
that Cook went up to the North Pole. His idea is that he and
his backer, Bradley the gambler, who runs the gambling hells
at Palm Beach, put up a job on the public, and is going to
make anywhere from a half million to a million of dollars out
of it In lectures and copyrights on Cook's book. It is unfor
tunate that Peary has shown so little tact since his return, as
he has played right into Cook's hands.
Mr. Carpenter took me over the executive offices to-day.
They are going to be a wonderful improvement and really very
attractive and well arranged. It seems almost incomprehen
sible how business was transacted heretofore in such small
quarters, , . .
If your digestive organs stand your present trip, I think
you must be copper-fastened and guaranteed against any
future troubles of that kind.
I hope this will find you feeling well and that you will be
able to get some enjoyment and rest during your trip.
' Faithfully yours,
G. v, L, Meyer.
To Theodore Roosevelt
March 10, 1910.
My dear President, —
What wonderful sport you have had, and how much you
must have enjoyed it! I am so glad you had it, and I do not
believe any one else ever had anything like it. How fortunate
Kermit was, to have been able to go along with you, and what
a recollection it will be for him! I have often found that I
have gotten as much pleasure out of my sport in after years.
In recalling the many delightful incidents and experiences, as
I did at the time, I have followed you with the greatest inter
est in Scribner's, and am looking forward to the issuing of your
book, which I understand will contain much more than has been
published in the magazine.

466 GEORGE von L. MEYER usoo-ms
It may interest you to know that the Duchess of Aosta
has gone way up the Congo River, with an English woman
companion, and is to write five articles for Harper's Weekly.
It sounds like an unhealthy trip,
I am so glad for Mrs, Roosevelt's sake that she is about
to meet you again. She, as women often do, has had the hard
end of it, and must have passed through a good deal of anxiety
at times. But it is all over now, and you and she will have
such a delightful time in Rome, Paris, Berlin, and London,
I think you will be surprised at the interest people have in
you abroad, which I have always told you is tremendous,
I am having a very stiff fight for the two battleships,
which is pretty contemptible, considering that I have kept them
in the programme and yet made a reduction of nearly ten mil
lions of dollars in the present appropriation biU, as compared
with the appropriations for the previous year. In other words,
t have really saved the price of one battleship, and there should
not be any question about appropriating for two. But the
old crowd are doing all they can to defeat it. President Taft
is most anxious that the two battleships be appropriated for,
and is appealing to certain members on the ground that this is
the one Roosevelt policy, of all others, as to which there should
not be the slightest question.
I have had a big fight on this winter with the Committee
over reorganization. When I went into the Navy Department
I was very much impressed with your letters to Congress of
January 27 and February 27, 1909, in which you called atten
tion to the fact that the Department was not organized so as
to bring about the best results, and that it failed to coordinate
the work of bureaus to make the Department serve the one pur
pose for which It was created, that is, the development and
handling of a first-class fighting fleet; in other words, the
highest military efficiency. With that in view, I went to work

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 467
to see what could be done. I saw that my predecessors had
made recommendations, but that Congress had never taken any
action. I studied the reports for the past twenty years, and
finally decided to do just the opposite from what Newberry
stated before the Committee he had done — worked out a plan
without consulting any one. Therefore, I got together some
of the best minds in the Navy and referred to them all the
documents and reports which I had collected together, including
the able one which was made by the Commission of which
Moody was the head during the last two months of your admin
istration. The Board to which I put up these problems for
enlightenment was known as the Swift Board, and was com
posed of: —
Rear Admiral Wm. Swift, Senior Member,
Captain C. E. Vreeland, Member,
" S. A. Staunton, "
" F. F. Fletcher, «
Commander Roy C. Smith, "
« G. W. Logan "
Lieutenant Commander L. H, Chandler, Member,
Commander J. M, Poyer, Recorder.
I myself, without waiting for Congress, and after assur
ing myself through the Department of Justice that I was
acting within the statutes, put into force a digested plan of
reorganization, on the first day of December, 1909, which car
ried out practically the principles of the Moody-Dayton-
Mahan Board.
In your letter of February 27, 1909, you state that, to
supplement and finish the work of the Moody Commission,
another commission must eventually be designated, to take up
the proposed plan and complete it as to details, and that no
plan can be satisfactory if there is deviation from the essen-

468 GEORGE VON L. MEYER U909-ms
tial military principles specified in this report. This I fully
recognized. Under the present plan of reorganization the work of
the bureaus continues as heretofore, but they have been
grouped Into four logical divisions — Military Operations of
the Fleet; Personnel; Material; and Inspection (ashore and
afloat). In addition to the bureau chiefs, whose duties have
not been changed, there is for each of these divisions an aid,
or counsel, as follows : Rear Admiral Wainwright, for Military
Operations of the Fleet; Rear Admiral Potter, for Personnel;
Rear Admiral Swift (who is to be succeeded on March 17 "by
Captain Fletcher) for Material; and Captain Ward, for In
spection, These four, when called upon by me, act as a mili
tary council, and are held responsible individually for advice
with regard to their divisions. This organization ensures for
the future a continuity of policy, with knowledge and experi
ence in a digested form, for the Secretary of the Navy, In
other words, " an advisory board, equipped not merely with
advice but with reasons," It also enables the Secretary to
obtain a clear understanding and a firm grasp of leading mili
tary considerations through public responsible advisers, who
can be changed In any instance if they are not making good.
In the navy yard organization I retained all the con
solidations of shops which Newberry brought about, but found
that it was impracticable and costly to have a constructor as
manager of the entire yard and assistant constructors at the
head of the various departments of which they had not expert
knowledge, thus making the Steam Engineers, Ordnance men,
and Civil Engineers, mere inspectors. I have changed the
manufacturing department Into two divisions, instead of one;
that is, a hull division and a machinery division, with a con
structor as the expert head of the hull division, and a steam
engineer as the expert head of the machinery division. In

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 469
doing this I have followed what has been shown to bring about
the best results in the English and German navies, and in our
own successful private ship-yards, such as the Newport News
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, the New York Ship
building Company, and Cramps.
I was thankful that I had put all this in force December 1,
1909, because as soon as Congress assembled I found opposi
tion and an endeavour to overthrow what I had done. I found
that the movement was led by Hale, Foss,^ Navy Constructor
Capps, Paymaster-General Rogers, Admiral Goodrich, and
supported quietly by Newberry. At one time it looked as
though everything would be upset, but I finally won over the
committee to leave everything in operation until Congress con
venes again, so that they may be able to judge by actual re
sults. Besides, " Possession is nine points of the law," and I
had the reorganization in force and they had nothing to sub
stitute for it, and would have done nothing if I had gone to
them in the beginning and asked for authority. Foss was put
out that he had not been consulted, and so was Hale. They
preferred to have the constructors in control, as it keeps down
the line and the miUtary side of the navy yards.
I am sending you my hearing of February 17, before the
Committee, and am going to ask you, as a great favour, to
read pages 679 to 705, inclusive, in which I review the
situation. I should not have gone into this matter so fully in this
letter, but I know that there Is nothing which interests you
more than the Navy, and I wanted you to know just what had
been done, and what is being done. In order that you might
be posted and get the Information from me first-hand. The
plan has the support of the entire line; I know of but two
exceptions. . . .
1 George Edmund Foss, of niinois. Chairman of the House Committee
I on Naval Affairs.

470 GEORGE VON L. MEYER U909-i9i3
I am tremendously interested in the work and have never
put as much time into anything as I have done in the last year
in the Navy. It is gratifying to know that I have the loyal
support of the officers, and that the President is approving
absolutely every move.
To show you how closely Japan follows everything: I put
into force at the Boston yard, July 1, a system of cost-
accounting, which was absolutely lacking in the Navy, and
without which it is impossible to know what we are accomplish
ing in the way of economy, or what the work is costing us.
Japan has already asked to be permitted to send a naval officer
over to study the system. I have also received word from a
mutual friend that Sir Arthur Wilson, who studied the re
organization, spoke in the highest terms of it. It has also
recently been endorsed by the National Marine Engineers'
Association, representing 11,500 members, and by ex-Con
structor Nixon. I mention this only to show that unprejudiced
experts are approving the reorganization plan.
In a poU of the House just made, we find that we lack
26 votes for the two battleships, which are to be of 26,000 —
27,000 tons, with ten 14-inch guns. However, the President
is to send for certain members and we hope to pull a sufficient
number of members over to get the appropriation through.
The postal savings bank bill passed the Senate on the
Sd instant. I hope this will find you and Kermit perfectly well, and
with my love to dear Mrs. Roosevelt, in which my wife joins
me, believe me, always, Faithfully yours,
G. V. L. Meyer.
In the autumn of 1910 Meyer paid an unportant
visit of naval inspection to the Atlantic and Pacific

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 471
coasts, and to Cuba. It is unnecessary to accompany
him from point to point, but the foUowkig letters to
Mrs. Meyer and President Taft will serve to suggest
the nature of the undertaking.

To Mrs. Meyer
Seattle, Wash., October 11, 1910.
We arrived here Sunday night, having left Livingston at
2.30 Saturday afternoon. We went through the Yakima dis
trict, Washington, where they have established great apple
orchards, and I was very much interested in looking at them
from the car window. When we reached North Yakima they
were selling enormous, perfect, yellow apples at five cents
apiece. They have not the flavour, however, of an eastern
apple. We were met at the station in Seattle by Senator Piles
and the President of the Chamber of Commerce ; but they were
considerate enough to leave us to ourselves at the hotel, giving
us an opportunity to have a bath, supper, and retire. The
next day, Monday, I spent at the Bremerton Navy Yard. It
is a run of an hour and a half from Seattle in the Navy tug.
I am surprised to find it really colder here than in Boston
at this time of the year, due to the dampness in the air. How
ever, I have still stuck to my open mesh, and up to the present
have avoided a cold. Poor Andrews ^ has suffered from one a
good deal of the time, but is much better.
I was met at the Bremerton Navy Yard by the marines
drawn up on the dock and the officers in their uniforms, and
escorted formally to the Commandant's office, where they were
presented. 1 Captain (now Rear-Admiral) Philip Andrews, Secretary Meyer's
personal Aid.

472 GEORGE von L. MEYER ^i909-i9i3
After a thorough inspection of the work there, I find it
was very important that I got out here to make changes.
We lunched at the Commandant's house, which is on a
high bluff overlooking Puget Sound, and beautifully located,
returning to Seattle at the end of the afternoon. In the eve
ning they gave me a dinner at the Club here, at which were
present prominent gentlemen of Seattle, and of course there
was the usual speech-making. I find that on naval matters
now I do not mind whether they call on me or not, as I am
getting to be familiar with the subject.
They are very much aroused on the Pacific coast as to
their safety from Japanese attack; in fact, they are in about
the same frame of mind that our people were In when they
dreaded the onslaughts of the Spanish cruisers at the beginning
of the Spanish-American war.
To-day I am receiving delegations and inspecting ship
ping plants, and this afternoon the proposed torpedo station.
I hope to get a quiet evening.
To-morrow at eleven o'clock we start for San Francisco
and the Navy Yard at the Golden Gate, known as Mare
Island. I got your telegram this morning, acknowledging mine,
and teUing me that Bey was with you, and the Beaches also.
How pleased Bey must be to get on the first crew! I hope
he will be able to stay there and I think he will, barring acci
dents. I found letters here from you, Julia, Alys, and Bey. The
mail takes about as long to reach here as it takes to London,
but the telegraph, of course, is much quicker than the
cable. The people are certainly very hospitable out here and are
very much pleased that I have taken the trouble to visit the
Pacific slope myself, to learn from my own observations the

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 473
requirements and needs of the country. I think it may help
in legislation this winter.

To President Taft
En route to New Orleans,
" October 22, 1910.
My dear Mr. President, —
Since writing you from St. Paul I have visited Seattle,
Bremerton Navy Yard, San Francisco, the Mare Island Navy
Yard, Goat Island (training station), Angel Island (quaran
tine station), the coaling station at Tiburon, Cal., (on a
peninsula), Hunter's Point (two drydocks belonging to the
Union Iron Works), Los Angeles, San Pedro (the harbour of
Los Angeles), and San Diego, where there is a coaling station
which has never been used and probably never will be, and
which has cost the Government $200,000.
Spaulding, of San Diego, who won out in the primaries
for the senatorship, was in the East, so I did not see him;
but there is a movement on foot among a number of Republican
insurgents to overlook the decision of the primaries and de
feat Spaulding for senator. Wright, the State senator,
thought it would not succeed, but there is no question that the
effort is being made. Senator Wright said the sentiment in
the south of California for you is very strong, and added that
his judgment was that by a year from now it will have spread
all over the state.
In San Francisco I attended a banquet that was given
for me by the Chamber of Commerce, at which Governor
Gillett, Senator Perkins, the Congressmen, and the Mayor of
the city were present. Gillett Is endeavouring to get together
the Governors of the States on the Pacific slope to inaugurate
a movement demanding that the battleship fleet be kept on
the Pacific coast. In my address to the Chamber of Commerce

474 GEORGE VON L. MEYER usoo-ms
I endeavoured to show that, In order to have a battle fleet on
the Pacific, the coast must be in a position to maintain it, and
that there were no docks belonging to the Government at the
present time which would accommodate aU the battleships now
in commission, due either to a lack of water in the channel or
the size of the dock, I informed them [that] by 1912 the
large dock would be completed at Puget Sound, but that at the
present time there is only 20 feet of water at low tide in front
of the dock at Mare Island, although the dock Itself Is large
enough to receive any battleship; that in the channel over
the Pinola Shoals the depth at low tide is not more than 22
feet, and that it would require an expenditure of $500,000 by
the War Department to make that a channel 30 feet deep at
low tide and 500 feet wide ; also, that one million dollars would
be necessary for dredging, building dikes to overcome the silt
that filters in the channels, and to make sufficient depth for the
berthing of the battleships at the Navy Yard pier. The Mare
Island Navy Yard has 900 acres of high land and 1,800 acres
of marsh. There are very complete shops there and two dry
docks, the large one having just been completed a few months
ago. Fourteen million dollars have been expended in establish
ing that station, A Board of Engineers, made up of Army and
Navy officers, has recommended an expenditure of one million
dollars in order to give a depth of 80 feet of water at Mare
Island. If that expenditure will bring about the necessary
results, it is well worth it, provided the War Department will
at the same time complete the channel over the Pinola Shoals.
There is an alternative proposition which appeals to me
very much, provided it can be satisfactorily brought about:
the Government owns an Island known as Goat Island, directly
in the harbour of San Francisco, and opposite the terminals
of the Southern Pacific, Sante Fe, and a third (electrically
equipped) railroad. It Is very desirable as a terminal, in that

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 475
it would reduce the distance from San Francisco one-half and
make the ferry about the same as It Is from New York to
Jersey City. Goat Island is now used by us as a training sta
tion for blue jackets and a small number of marines, which
could be transferred advantageously to the Mare Island Navy
Yard. I have approached the Southern Pacific and the
Atchison Railroad officials, to know if they desired to make a
tentative offer for the island, which, of course, would be sub
ject to your approval and the action of the Congress, I
believe that sufficient money could be obtained for Goat Island
to enable us to buy Hunter's Point, where there are already
two well-equipped dry-docks — one large enough to dock any
battleship that we have In commission or In contemplation.
There is abundant water there, and it will never require any
dredging. It is also quite accessible to San Francisco, while
Mare Island is thirty miles from the city. If a satisfactory
price should be offered for Goat Island, the purchase of
Hunter's Point would make unnecessary the million-dollar ex
penditure for dredging and the building of dikes, etc., at Mare
Island, nor would it be necessary for the War Department to
dredge Pinola Shoals, at an expense of $500,000, because the
plan then would be to maintain Mare Island only for the dock
ing of smaller cruisers, torpedo destroyers, as a station for
naval supplies for the Pacific and Asiatic stations, as a training
station for blue jackets and marines, and as a manufacturing
plant, where the shops are already equipped for the require
ments of the fleet. Hunter's Point would be merely a docking
station, with a kitchen repair-shop.
At Los Angeles I made the same arguments against a fleet
being on the Pacific at the present time as I did at San Fran
cisco, adding that there was no probability of the battle fleet
coming to the Pacific coast until the Canal Is completed. The
argument seems to have been well received, and many of the

476 GEORGE von L. MEYER usoo-ms
San Francisco citizens told me that I had smashed Governor
Gillett's scheme by making a plain statement of conditions as
they existed in the harbours and Navy Yards on the Pacific
coast. At Puget Sound there is plenty of water, and by 1912 it
will be able to accommodate the fleet with two docks. The
trouble has been that money has been expended in different
localities and locations, probably due in many instances to
political influence, which time has shown was not well advised
or necessary. For instance, some miles from Bremerton Navy
Yard a location has been acquired and a magazine station estab
lished. It is impossible for any ship to get to it, and the ammu
nition must be moved by barges. It is, however, an ideal picnic
ground! Also, a torpedo station has been located on another
island, which might have been placed to advantage within the
Bremerton navy yard.
San Francisco, if we acquire Hunter's Point, would be in
an equally good condition, but otherwise it would take from two
or three years before sufficient dredging could be accomplished,
with the dikes required to overcome the silt, to put Mare Island
in a condition necessary for the maintenance of the fleet.
Los Angeles and San Diego also wanted naval stations,
but I explained that the policy of the future would be to con
centrate in two Navy Yards all the requirements of the Pacific
coast, and bringing those stations up to the highest perfection,
keeping the fleet at sea and having it visit the important ports
of the Pacific during maneuvres.
San Diego has a natural harbour but requires a bar to be
dredged three feet more before it will be accessible to the battle
fleet. Los Angeles has a harbour made by hand, as it were,
with a long breakwater on which the Government has expended
three millions of doUars. It will be useful as a harbour of
refuge for the torpedo fleet, cruisers, and a limited number of

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 477
battleships. There are great expectations of commerce, and
even immigration from Mediterranean ports, when the Canal
is completed ; In fact, the Canal may be the means of solving the
labour problems in California, as the climate is such that it will
undoubtedly attract Italians to the Pacific coast, which re
sembles their own climate, rather than the Argentine. At
present the cost of bringing them across the continent by rail
is too great.
I am now on my way to New Orleans, Pensacola, and Key
West, in order to see the Navy Yards there. The first two
should be abolished, but I shall be prepared to report more in
detail after inspecting them. From Key West I am to go over
to Havana and from there to Guantanamo, in order to learn
the possibilities of that harbour, which is already used as the
winter base of the fleet and will increase in importance as a
base when the Canal is opened. I feel that an effort should be
made to put that station on a basis commensurate with its
future strategic importance, I shall return in time to vote.
Please present my best regards to Mrs. Taft, and believe
me, always, ' Faithfully yours,
George v. L. Meyer.
To Mrs. Meyer
On board U.S.S. Dolphin
en route Miami, Fla., from Cuba
November S, 1910.
We sailed from Miami on the 29th of October, headed
for Guantanamo, Cuba, However, we ran into such rough
weather that we changed our course and headed for Key West,
as the winds were more favourable and the ship behaving badly.
I was feeling mean as dirt, though this passed off not long
after we changed our course. It was our original plan to

478 GEORGE von L. MEYER liso9-i9is
inspect Key West station before Guantanamo. We arrived at
Key West at night, and at six the next morning we were up
and dressed, landing upon the coral deposits which now form
the naval station at Key West. There I found old Commodore
Beehler in charge. You may remember he was my naval at
tache when I was at Rome, and he also served me during my
first visit to Kiel, when I first met the Emperor there. By half-
past eight we had completed the inspection, and at nine we
sailed for Havana. It was beautiful overhead but the roughest
sea that I ever encountered on so small a boat. I had my chair
lashed to the mast, and there I stayed for seven hours, reading
part of the time and watching the angles that we were taking.
We dipped several times to the extent of 33 degrees, which
beats the record for the Dolphin's rolling. Those guns that
are on the poop deck I saw several times dip their noses into the
sea, and once it nearly carried away one of the boats, as she
was lifted by the water from her davits. Strange to say, I
felt perfectly well, but it was very fatiguing balancing one's
self. It was impossible to serve any meals, or to have anything
on the table, even with racks. Fortunately, it was only a seven
hours' run and we entered Havana at 3.45 in the afternoon. It
was a wonderful entrance, with the old forts and the masts of
the Maine sticking out of the water, the surf beating on the
Esplanade, the bright sun and the quaint buildings, which gave
it such a foreign aspect that it was impossible to believe one's
self in the western hemisphere. We were met immediately by
the Secretary of their Marine, who is called a Lieutenant
Colonel (their navy consists of one small gunboat and two tugs),
who came on board, as well as the Collector of the Port and the
Secretary to the President. We saluted the fort as we passed,
and they returned the salute to me of nineteen guns. We
landed where quite a number of people had assembled, and
there was the usual amount of photographing by the would-be

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 479
Cuban-American press men. We were then taken in automo
biles to the Hotel Plaza, where clean rooms were furnished us
and a nice bath.
It Is a singular fact that none of the windows have
glasses In them, merely blinds and shutters, so that if there is
a storm it Is necessary to close the shutters and light the electric
light. The rooms are very high-studded, — twice as high as
, anything in America, — so there is sufficient air.
That night we dined at a hotel called Miramar, in the
courtyard of which were balconies and scenes which reminded
one of pictures of Spain, and suggested, with the music,
the opera of Carmen. It was all weird and interesting. The
hotel is situated at the corner of the Esplanade and the Prado,
and is the only hotel with a good chef.
The reporters and the people In Cuba were rather amusing
in one respect: the day after our arrival was election day and
they got it into their heads that I had come down to give moral
effect to the Cubans ; to show that the American navy could
appear at any moment, and to remind them that they were to
do their duty or we would step in.
The next morning I called formally on the President by
appointment, accompanied by Minister Jackson ^ and my aid,
and the Military Attache, Colonel Barber, where we were re
ceived in the palace that Governor Taft lived in, and Bob
Bacon. Later we lunched at an Inn which might have been in
Italy or Spain, where they had a very good chef, to which
Captain Kelley, who is the New York Herald representative
and a former naval officer, ciceroned us. We brought him
with us from Miami as Bennett's personal representative, of
the New York Herald, to report the Inspection at Guantanamo.
We also have Weightman, of the New York Sun, and an Asso
ciated Press representative met us at Guantanamo.
1 John Brinckerhoff Jackson, of New Jersey.

480 GEORGE von L. MEYER woo-ms
That night we dined with Minister Jackson, at the lega
tion. He has a charming house, really a very large villa, with
courtyard, closed staircase, and ante-chamber. After dinner,
we took the train at ten o'clock for Santiago, having ordered
the Dolphin around to meet us there. The journey to Santiago
is of twenty-four hours and gave us a splendid idea of the
fertility of the soil and of the vast sugar-cane fields. Every
thing looks prosperous and the elections went off quietly.
As we reached Santiago (10 p.m.) we learned from the
Consul at the station that the Dolphin had not arrived, so we
were taken to the Venus Hotel, which is on the ancient square
adjoining the Governor's palace, where the American flag was
first raised after the Cuban war, when peace had been declared.
On the other side of the square Is the old cathedral. Santiago
is supposed to be the most ancient town In the western hemi
sphere. The hotel at which we passed the night was formerly
the Club, and it is said that it was here that Admiral Cervera
and his officers gambled for high stakes, and probably In
desperation, the night before they sailed out from Santiago.
The rooms at the hotel were peculiar, to say the least. Parti
tions between the rooms went up about ten feet and then
stopped; the doors were partially screened, were made of glass
and could be flung open or almost looked over. The floors were
of tiles and the beds not the most comfortable. I got little
sleep, as I could hear  snoring In the next room and people
talking throughout the night, and was twice awakened by wire
less messages from the Dolphin. Still, it was a wonderful expe
rience, and I got up with the sun and looked out upon the weird
and attractive scene from my window.
The Dolphin had arrived outside of the harbour at eleven
o'clock in the night. It was the entrance to this harbour which
Hobson tried to block, and It Is rather difficult to navigate at
night. We found our launch at the custom-house pier at half-

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 481
past seven a.m. and joined the Dolphin again at eight. We then
weighed anchor and started out of this wonderful land-locked
harbour, with mountains on all sides, like the volcanic lake of
Nemi, only on a larger scale. Suddenly we came upon the cork
screw exit, with the deserted forts, and as we passed over the
spot where the Merrimac was sunk, our compass veered a whole
point. The sail to Guantanamo, which we entered at eleven o'clock
In the morning, is about forty miles. Here is another extraordi
nary harbour, only not so picturesque as Santiago, but well
adapted for the entire battle fleet to anchor within its sheltered
confines, with great natural advantages and greater possibilities
as a future naval base for the defense of the Panama Canal.
While at Guantanamo I received your cable from Funchal, tell
ing me of your safe arrival, but I regretted to hear that you
had had a stormy passage. Every one tells me that Madeira is
charming, and I have also heard like accounts of Teneriffe. I
cabled you at once.
At Guantanamo we discontinued our inspection at noon
to take lunch, and then continued it in the afternoon, so as to
sail at five; and we are now skirting the Island of Cuba, which
Is 600 miles, and making for Miami again, where I hope to catch
the express and arrive in Washington on Sunday morning, the
6th. At this moment, noon, we are 340 miles from Miami, 840
from Charleston, and 1400 from Washington. Expect to take
the train from Miami to-morrow, reach Washington Sun
day A.M.
In August and September of 1911 Meyer visited
England " primarily for the purpose " — as his Annual
Report for that year expressed it — "of examining
into the systems of organization and the methods em
ployed in the Enghsh dock yards and in leading ship-

482 GEORGE VON L. MEYER Ii909-i9i3
building establishments in Great Britain." The Report
sets forth the results of his observations in some detail,
and well illustrates Meyer's readuiess to learn at the
most fruitful sources of information. Again the more
personal aspects of the experience are found in letters
to President Taft and Mrs. Meyer.
To President Taft
[London], August 14, I911.
Dear Mr, President, —
I feel as though I had got out of the frying-pan into the
fire. In other words, the heat here is as great as in America.
All the country Is completely burnt up, and the green sward of
England has disappeared.
On the steamer with me I found ex-Governor Herrick.
. . . Brown, President of the New York Central, was on
board also, . . . He had just come from the West, — Iowa
and other insurgent states, — and he assured me that there
was a very large change in the sentiment, and that you were
stronger with the people and growing so every day. That
seemed also to be the opinion of some business men residing in
New York State who were on board.
I find that in Germany the heads of the railroads meet
the head of the Army and the head of the Navy twice a year, in
order to consider the question of transportation of troops as
well as supplies, in case of an emergency. This has never been
done in our country. I broached the subject to Brown, and
asked him if he felt that the representatives of the great trans
portation lines in America — namely, the Hill, Harriman, Penn
sylvania, New York Central and Atchison systems — would be
willing to meet quietly the head of the Army and the head of
the Navy, and take up the matter of transportation and the
requirements In the way of the Government should any emer-

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 483
gency ever arise, the information to be absolutely confidential
and filed away should the occasion ever occur. If there had
been annual meetings of that character previous to the Spanish-
American war, there would not have been that congestion which
showed the necessity for preparations and plans well conceived.
Brown is to consider our talk absolutely confidential, and I
shall do nothing further until my return, when I shall take it
up with you and the Secretary of War.
Mr. Reid was most kind in giving me a dinner the day
after my arrival and putting me in touch with the Government
and the Admiralty In a way which has been most advantageous
to me. They have received me with the most cordial and frank
manner and have put everything at my disposal for study In
the way of administration and shop management. I have
already had several consultations with the different Sea Lords,
and have visited Chatham Navy Yard, spending the entire day
there. I am much impressed with the manner In which they are
handling their deserters. They have camps of detention instead
of prisons. They have no prison guards and nothing to humil
iate the offender beyond strict training and reduced rations. I
am strongly of the opinion that we should make an entire change
in our system of punishment for those who desert, as in many
instances it Is done In great ignorance on the part of the blue
jacket. I am to inspect some of the great private shipyards, and
later shall go to the Portsmouth Yard.
I am much concerned to think that you are being detained
in Washington during all this heated spell and that Congress
is still In session. I know how unlimited your patience is ; may
your strength be fully equal to the occasion !
With sincere regards, ' Respectfully yours,
George v. L. Meyer.

484 GEORGE von L. MEYER Ii909-i9i3
To Mrs. Meyer
' Wrest Park, Ampthill, Bedfordshire,
Sunday, August 13, 1911.
It is my sixth day in England, but it seems longer, I have
been doing so much. . . . Reached Liverpool at 8 o'clock
a.m. and took the train a^ 9, reaching London at 1 o'clock, in
time for lunch.
We were met at the station by Elliot Bacon and the Naval
Attache, and taken in autos to Dorchester House, where we
had a formal lunch with the Ambassador and Mrs. Reid.
After lunch I picked up Whitney [Warren] at Ritz, saw
Mrs. Vanderbilt (Grace), who told me I should have come a
week earlier and accepted her invitation to stay on the North
Star and have met the King and Queen of England, and King
of Spain, and several other celebrities. It makes a much better
impression at home for me to go to the Admiralty as soon as
I get here, than to spend a week on arrival at, Cowes flitting
about — bowing from the waist !
Tuesday afternoon Whit and I called on Mr. Morgan at
Princess Gate, found him in, and he personally conducted us
and showed his entire collection. It is marvellously fine. He
wants to bring it to U. S. Later he insisted upon our going to
Dover House, his father's farm In the outskirts of London, 250
acres, and dining there. We found Mr. and Mrs. Marcoe.
Wednesday morning I spent at the Admiralty calling on
the First Lord, which corresponds to the Secretary of the Navy.
He sent for the different Sea Lords to meet me, and they gave
me a very cordial reception and showed a willingness to let me
see whatever I wanted. In the afternoon went to the House of
Lords, sat in the Diplomatic Gallery with Benckendorff, Rus
sian Ambassador, Count Wrangel, and the Italian Ambassador,
Imperiali. The feeling has been very intense over the House of
Lords bill.

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 485
That night Reid gave his big dinner — all men. I had
Lord Kitchener on my right and the First Lord of the
Admiralty on my left — Sydney Buxton, P.M.G., Winston
Churchill, Sir Edward Seymour, Lord Paget, Harcourt,
etc., etc. Kitchener was very Interesting and asked me to come
and visit him some time while he was head [?] of Egypt at
Cairo. When the cigars were brought, Reid asked me to change
seats with him, and that put me between Sir Edward Grey
and Lord Bristol. Grey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, is one of
the interesting men of England.
It was a memorable occasion and I had interesting con
versations with many present. McKenna said to me, " You know
you have a big reputation in this country " — rather a nice
bouquet, even if it was exaggerated.
Thursday, Whitney and I had an ideal day together;
automobiled to Cambridge and spent the day in the University,
and got back in time for dinner.
The Ambassador and I went to the House of Lords, where
the excitement was intense ; heard Rosebery, Curzon, Halsbury,
and Lansdowne speak; then saw the division, which will be
historical and has resulted in the disposition of the House of
Lords and a one-chamber government.^
Friday I spent the day at the great Chatham Navy Yard,
later arriving at Cliveden at 7 p.m. Nancy ^ Is In the same won
derful spirits. . . . Present Crown Prince of Roumania,
Lord Winterton, Mrs. Drew (Gladstone's daughter), . . .
WInterton very agreeable, sense of humour, and wide awake.
Nancy very amusing. . . . Astor is now an M.P. I should
have liked to stay on, the Connaughts were coming, but I had
promised the Relds. . . . The heat has been Intense — every
1 The division in the House of Lords on the Parliament Bill occurred
August 10.
2 Mrs. Waldorf Astor.

486 GEORGE von L. MEYER U909-i9is
day at Cliveden we dined on the terrace; have every door and
window closed.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and I have struck up a
friendship! '

To Mrs, Meyer
Sunday. August 28, 1911-
Millden Lodge, Edzbll, Forfamhirb,
Here I am, after four days of delightful weather and fine
shooting, and now I am trying to get away to Glasgow, but I
am afraid that I am tied up by the great strike. It looks as
though no trains would be allowed to move. The government
seems helpless. . . .
Last Monday Sydney Buxton, a member of the Cabinet,
gave me a dinner on House of Commons Terrace: the First
Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Gilbert Parker, Mr. Birrell, Secre
tary for Ireland, Loreburn, Harcourt, T. P, O'Connor, and
several members of Parliament. It was most Interesting.
Tuesday night I left for Scotland, as the heat had been
intense ever since I got to England. Mrs. Vanderbilt has asked
me to join them on the yacht at TrouviUe, and we were to dine
one night with Princess Daisy Pless and the next with Duchess
of Marlborough; but I decided shooting on the moors would
be the best.
The Somssichs asked me to stay with them In Paris, but
one is more independent In a hotel; and Princess May
Fiirstenberg has asked me to visit them in Austria near
Salzburg, but I do not see how I can arrange to spare the
time. The Reids have shown me unbounded hospitality, put the
house, automobile and everything at my disposal, Mrs, Jones
and her daughter Trixey, Dr. KInnlcutt, Bertie Hay, Victor
Sorchon and Willie Hoffman are all here.

1909-1913] SECRETA.RY OF THE NAVY; 487
To the pohtical perplexities which in March of
1912 began to assail the friends of Theodore Roosevelt
who were also friends of President Taft — and most
of aU the members of the Taft administration —
Meyer was by no means unmune. It was a period
of much difiiculty for any one holding the personal
relations m which Meyer stood toward the two con
spicuous figures of the Republican party. Had he not
so completely retained the friendship of Roosevelt,
even to the point which made him one of the chief
advocates of Roosevelt's nomination by the Repub
licans in 1916, his attitude toward the occurrences of
1912 would be a pauiful topic of discussion. As it is,
some idea of his position at the time should be given.
It was a position of genuine distress. His private let
ters show how strongly he felt that Colonel Roosevelt
would not have announced his candidacy for the presi
dential nomination had he consulted his best friends.
The correspondence shows also that before this an
nouncement was made Meyer was virtually certain that
nothing of the sort would occur. A feUow-member of
Mr. Taft's cabinet reports that about two weeks be
fore the unexpected announcement Meyer went to
Roosevelt and expressed his readiness to resign from
the Cabinet and to support him if he decided to
run for the presidency. Assured that this was not
to be, he naturally determhied to remain where he
was, and throughout the campaign gave his complete
and loyal support to the candidacy of President
Taft. A letter to President Taft in the campaign sum-

488 GEORGE VON L. MEYER Ii909-i9i3
mer of 1912 will speak for Meyer's interest in the
impending election.

To President Taft
' Hamilton, Massachusetts,
August 6, 1912.
My dear Mr. President, —
Thank you for your letter of recent date. I have read
your speech of acceptance with great interest. I wish there
was some way that we could compel every individual voter in
the country to read every word of it. If that could be accom
plished, there would be no doubt in my mind as to the result
of the November election. It should be the principal campaign
document from now on. In addition to that, I wish a digest
might be made by the National Committee of the principal
points and the same distributed as leaflets throughout the coun
try, with the following heading from Root's speech with his
name ad4ed : " Your title to the nomination is as clear and unim
peachable as the title of any candidate of any party since
political conventions began." The constant assertion by the
Insurgents that your nomination was stolen is having some
effect among voters who do not follow politics carefully — for
instance, the Boston Journal, owned by Munsey, has quite a
circulation in Vermont and northern New England and has, I
learn, prejudiced a number of voters. I have talked with
Easterbrook of New Hampshire about arranging to have
Williams counteract that in Vermont before the State election.
I asked Captain Palmer ^ to go and see you about arrang
ing to have you attend the mobilization of the fleet at New
York about the middle of October, There will be thirty battle
ships there instead of twenty-five last year and a great demon-
1 Captain (now Rear-Admiral) Leigh C. Palmer, Secretary Meyer's
personal Aid at the time.

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 489
stration; also that I was very desirous to have you attend the
launching of the battleship New York in the Brooklyn Navy
Yard at the same time. It will please the workmen and have a
very good effect in Brooklyn before election. Palmer has not
yet reported to me, so I am not sure that he found you.
I was sorry to hear of the death of Mrs. Taft's father.
Please express to her my sympathy in her affiiction.
Believe me, ' Faithfully yours, George v. L. Meyer.
In a vein not hitherto touched, a letter written
after the national election of 1912 had resulted in
disaster to the Republican party reveals something of
the cheerful spirit in which Meyer was carrying on the
work of the Department.

To Mrs. C. A. Goss November 19, 1912.
My dear Madam, —
In compliance with your request of the 21st instant for
an autograph letter for the Bazaar of the First Methodist Epis
copal Church of Omaha, I venture to cite the fact that the
wisest of men and the greatest of administrators. King Solomon,
maintained a Navy nearly three thousand years ago, as shown
in 1 Kings, x, 22-23: —
" For the king had at sea a navy. . . .
" So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for
riches and for wisdom."
Wishing success for your enterprise, believe me.
Very truly yours, G. v. L. Meyeb.

490 GEORGE von L. MEYER U909-i9is
Another note, to his successor in office, may be
taken to remind one that the good sportsman's instinct
did not desert Meyer as he was about to quit the work
he had so greatly enjoyed.
To Hon, Josephus Daniels February 27, 191S.
Dear Mr. Daniels, —
Allow me to congratulate you on the prospect of becoming
Secretary of the Navy.
It would give me great pleasure to extend to you the
courtesy of the Department and to enable you, before the
fourth of March, to familiarize yourself with such duties of the
office as you desire. I should also like to have the opportunity
of presenting to you the various Aids and Bureau Chiefs.
It has been my privilege to serve as Secretary of the Navy
for four years, and I have never worked with men who have such
unselfish and patriotic motives as the officers of the United
States Navy. Yours truly,
6. V. L. Meyeb.
There are no further words of Meyer's own that
need to be added to this account of his work in the
Navy Department. A few words from others will
complete the story. A widespread admiration of what
he had done found many expressions — none more
gratifying, it may well be imagined, than a portion
of a letter from a retired rear-admiral, writing in
the last yeg,r of Meyer's administration: "Permit me
to take the hberty to add that, in my opinion, you are,
in every respect, the most efficient Secretary of the

w H
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J?;oH1-1<)

1909-1913] SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 491
Navy who has held the office during my service therein,
covering more than 49 years. I know that, in saying
this, I am voicing the opinion of most of the older
officers, some of whom saw service long before the
Civil War."
From Meyer's kinsman and friend. Bishop Law
rence of Massachusetts, came a note, dated March 2,
1913: "Now that you are laying down pubhc office,
at least for a time, I cannot help sending you this line
of congratulation upon the way in which you have
filled every office that you have held ui city and in
state, as Ambassador, and as member of the Cabinet.
With industry, ability, and dignity you have done
yourself, your family, and your country honour."
A later estimate of Meyer's work for the Navy, by
Rear-Admiral Richard Wainwright, the first of
Meyer's Aids for Operations, appeared in the Boston
Transcript immediately upon his death. In it these
sentences are found: " Some Secretaries of the Navy
have had more opportunities to show their administra
tive abUity, but none have made better use of their
opportunities. Under Mr. Meyer, for the first time
since the establishment of the bureau system in the
Navy Department, the fleet was placed under the
control of the military branch of the Navy, and his
tory will record that the high standing of the Ameri
can fleet during this war was partly due to the firm
foundation established by George von L. Meyer when
Secretary of the Navy."
Apart from the testimony of words Meyer received
as a parting gift from officers of the Navy — limited

492 GEORGE von L. MEYER U^oo-wis
in their subscriptions toward it to the sum of one dol
lar apiece — a silver model of a galleon. This token
of appreciation was most dearly prized, for its genuine
representation of a feeling that corresponded with
Meyer's own for the personnel of the Navy.

VII
The Final Years
(1913-1918)
When the Repubhcan party passed out of power in
1913 — after a tenure of office unbroken, save by the
two terms of President Cleveland, since the inaugura
tion of Lincoln in 1861 — Mr. Meyer became again, for
the first time in many years, a mere private citizen.
His pubhc career had been closely identified with his
political party, to which his entire loyalty was given.
It would not be strange if the political historian of the
United States in the first quarter of the nineteenth
century should find in the year 1913 the ending of an
old order, the beginning of a new. It was only a year
later that the entire world began to imdergo the
transformation which since then has faUen upon it.
The Germany, and, stiU more, the Russia which Meyer
had known could hardly be recognized by a re-visitant
to-day. In the new period of universal change our
own country can hardly expect to escape unaltered,
and it is by no means beyond the bounds of possi-
bihty that the American public life in which Meyer
held so conspicuous a place wiU never again be quite
what it was in the years between 1900 and the out
break of the great war.

494 GEORGE von L. MEYER U9i3-ms
Certainly Meyer himself was in many respects a
typical figure of his period — a remarkably efficient man
of affairs applying his energies and his keen intelli
gence to the public service, putting into useful prac
tice the principle embodied in the maxim to which
attention was drawn in the early pages of this book,
" The soul's joy lies in the doing," Typically Ameri
can as his career was in these aspects, there were others
— notably those of its social background and affiha-
tions — in which more frequent precedents for it would
be found in England than here. Perhaps still more
for this reason it represented what is coming, in spite
of its nearness in point of time, to be known as the
old order — an ante bellum order which in future may
seem to make of the year 1914 as clear a line of divi
sion as 1861 has hitherto been, Meyer did not live
to see the transition accomplished. The first steps ui
it, however, fell under his observation, and since he
had become of necessity more an observer of national
affairs than a participant in their control, with the
" joy of doing " thus curtailed, the spectacle could
hardly have yielded him much satisfaction.
There were nevertheless many things to be done.
Freed from the cares of office, Meyer soon began to
concern himself more actively with the affairs of his
own business and his various directorates. The num
ber of these was increased in 1913 by his election as a
director of the Merchants National Bank in Boston.
His service on the Board of Overseers of Harvard
College, to which he had been elected in 1911 for the
term of six years, claimed an increasing measure of

1913-1918] rpjjj, Fijj^AL YEARS 495
his attention from the time of his election to the presi
dency of that body in 1914, But from March of 1913
until the outbreak of the war in Europe his life was
chiefly that of a man of affairs and society, readjust
ing himself to new conditions of leisure and oppor
tunity. The war changed all that — as it did for
every one.
In the summer before the war began Meyer had
one outstanding experience, of which he himself made
a complete chronicle. This was his final meeting with
Kaiser Wilhelm. Meyer was visiting Europe in the
summer of 1913 with his wife, for a cure at Kissingen,
when he received an invitation to lunch with the Kaiser
on his yacht, the HohenzoUern. The conversation
which took place on this occasion, not only with the
Emperor but also with the officers attending him, was
interesting enough at the time; in the hght which sub
sequent events have thrown upon it, the significance
of it aU has become extraordinary. This is Mr,
Meyer's record of the day: —
On August 7, 1913, I took the train from Berlin at 7.30
A.M. for Swinemiinde, arriving at 11 a.m., and, not being
expected on the HohenzoUern until 1 o'clock, I went to the
hotel. As it was not very inviting, I walked in the park belong
ing to the town, which delighted me because it had been left
wild, with alleys cut through the woods meeting from four
directions at circles, and an unexpected simple little inn with
roses climbing the walls.
At five minutes before one I approached the Royal White
Yacht, lying beside the pier. It was a brilliant day with a sun
which reminded one of Italy. Only a rope and a couple of senti-

496 GEORGE von L, MEYER f-i9i3-i9i8
nels kept the good-natured and interested crowd about 200 feet
from the ship. I was not challenged or stopped by the guard
although I presented no card; probably my garb showed that
I must have been an invited guest, and not a bomb-thrower. I
found all the guests were in uniform — as is usually the case
in royal parties in Germany,
I was the last to arrive, with every one already assembled
on the main deck, the Kaiser being further forward talking
with Admiral Muller,
One of the Masters of Ceremony went up and called His
Majesty's attention to my arrival. He came forward at once
in a most cordial way, shook hands and said he was glad to
see me again, asked after my family, then added : " I want to
congratulate you on your administration of the American Navy
for the past four years. I consider you the American von Tlr-
pitz.'^ What is your successor going to do with the Navy.? "
" I am worried," I replied, " because he seems to be more inter
ested in the civil than the military end." I recalled to His
Majesty's mind a remark that he made when I lunched at the
Palace in Berlin nearly seven years ago as I was returning home
from St. Petersburg to enter President Roosevelt's Cabinet:
" You are liable some day to have trouble with Japan, and if It
does happen it will probably occur just before your Panama
Canal opens." " Last winter," I added, " when the Japanese
land-owning difficulty began in California, I remembered your
1 It need only be said that in 1913 the Kaiser had no higher praise
to hestow upon a naval official than this. He was quoting from himself
when he called Meyer " the American von Tirpitz," for about two months
earlier he had written this phrase on a luncheon menu and handed it to
an American naval oflScer, Captain A. P. Niblack, who on September 4,
1913, wrote to Mr. Meyer as follows: "I see by the newspapers that you
were in Germany recently and dined or lunched with the German Emperor
on board the HohenzoUern. You have therefore probably heard in person
the nice things he has to say to you. However, you may value the
enclosed ' testimonial.' I lunched on June 12, 1913, at DSbnitz near Berlin
with the Emperor at a review of a cavalry brigade, and he wrote on the
back of a luncheon menu his compliments to you. I enclose the menu."
The Emperor's autograph note is reproduced herewith.

CO< Oo E-i%H WW II,<!P4 O&

191S-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 497
prophecy. Sire, but I had been working to obtain the highest
military efficiency through a council of aids, the fleet had been
kept intact and had shown good marksmanship." " Yes," re
marked the Emperor, " and as long as you keep your fleet de
cidedly more powerful than theirs, you will not be attacked, and
at present they are very hard up and short of funds."
I related to His Majesty how we (my wife and daughter,
Julia) had automobiled from Cherbourg to Kissingen, via Paris,
and later to Berlin; that we had passed through innumerable
German cities and towns, and that I was much impressed with
the signs of prosperity everywhere, never any sign of squalor.
" I was much impressed," said the Emperor, " on the twenty-
fifth anniversary of my reign ; in Berlin there were no hooligans,
and the crowds were well-to-do looking."
Breakfast was then announced by Count L. and I was
told to follow the Emperor. General von Plessen joined me
and recalled a dinner that former Ambassador Tower had given
the Emperor in Berlin at the American Embassy, and at which
he (von Plessen) had taken my wife into dinner.
The General in command of the Military Division of
Stettin sat on the Emperor's right and I on his left, although
the Chief of Staff, Count von Moltke, and the Minister of War
were both at the breakfast. Admiral Muller was on my left,
and the company was entirely composed of about twenty-two
officers, military and naval.
For the first few minutes the Emperor talked with the
General, and after that turned to me and conversed in a most
animated and interesting way for the remainder of the breakfast.
First of all he wanted to know about the new American
Ambassador — Judge Gerard. As I had known him for several
years (although not as weU as his brother, Sumner) I could
say that I knew him, and had lately met him in Paris, and the
day before in Berlin; that he wanted to take a proper house

498 GEORGE von L. MEYER usis-wis
for an Ambassador, yet he was timid about doing so without
consulting his Chief In Washington on account of the much
exaggerated, so-called Jeffersonian simplicity of the Diemo-
cratic party. The Emperor hoped he would keep up the pres
tige of an Ambassador, adding that in no Court was so much
attention paid to an Ambassador as in Berlin, " In a monarchy
there must naturally be more attention paid to formality; it
has been our custom," Evidently if Gerard takes a house that
compares favourably with the other Embassies, and does his
share (he personally has the means to do so) it will please
the Emperor and surely smooth the way for him, . , .
The feeling between England and Germany was touched
on, I stating that I thought it had improved in the last six
months. " Yes," he said, " because England in these Balkan
troubles realizes that we are more her friend than any of the
other nations. The King of England's visit to Germany (on
the occasion of my daughter's wedding) has opened his eyes."
The Emperor added, " I cannot understand Sir Edward Grey
having been made Minister of Foreign Affairs; he does not
speak any foreign language, and therefore is useless to travel
around with the King in foreign countries, as he would be
unable to discuss policies ; besides he is absolutely dependent on
Nicolson and others in their Foreign Office." Evidently the
Emperor did not like him, but I could not help saying : " Yet
Grey really has a charming personality."
The Kaiser then suddenly said, "I have never forgotten
a remark you made In the garden of the Schloss at Homburg
on your way home (in 1907) from St. Petersburg. Do you
remember? We had an interesting talk over the Russian-Japa
nese war, and the bringing about of the Peace Conference at
Portsmouth, N. H., which you arranged with the Tsar, and
which I was able to assist from the Berlin end." " I have for
gotten. Sire," I replied. " Why, I told you of my uncle's (the

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 499
King of England) feeling towards me, due in part to the Ger
man world invasion commercially, and you said that Edward
VII felt that he was — on account of his age — what we call in
America ' a has-been ! ' "
I then referred to the King of England sending me word
in London after I had been in Berlin (1907) that he would like
to see me, and in my audience at Buckingham Palace I realized
that there was a certain curiosity on his part about my meeting
the German Emperor before I came to London; but being so
much of a gentleman he did not press it.
The Kaiser, speaking of having reigned twenty-five years,
called attention to the continuance of peace throughout his
Empire ; — " and yet In the past the world has believed me war
like." " But," I added, " history with the eyes of unprejudice
will judge otherwise."
I then mentioned my visit to England two years ago when
I was there In the summer to study the English Navy, and how
I found the topic of conversation everywhere after dinner was
the German invasion, and its probability, which was even being
seriously considered in the Admiralty.
" Why, we never Intended such a thing," quickly responded
the Emperor. " We intend and will continue to increase in
every way possible the efficiency of our army, and build up a
strong navy — not to make war, but to ensure peace, which my
reign — extending over twenty-five years — demonstrates and
proves." He then called attention to the English-Japanese Treaty
— "a most unwise action on England's part : it was brought
about by fear of Russia, England not realizing that Russia had
been bluffing. Why, Russia would not have been a dangerous
commercial competitor in the East; and Japan is, and will
seriously and finally Impede English trade. But for that treaty
Japan would not have dared to attack Russia."

500 GEORGE VON L. MEYER H^is-ms

u ¦

Yes, Sire," I answered, " I have always felt that England
was in a great part responsible for Japan's present prominence
as a world power. I used to embarrass Sir Arthur Nicolson —
the British Ambassador in St. Petersburg — by asking him if
England would be obliged to attack us in case of war between
the United States and Japan."
I took this opportunity to tell His Majesty that his Mili
tary Attache — Major von Herwarth — at Washington was as
well posted as any diplomat there, and that he had a better
understanding of our problems than was usual.
Breakfast was served with despatch, and the food was
evidently prepared by a French chef or with French training —
certainly not typically German cooking. The strawberries
served were so delicious that I longed for a second helping, but
I refrained from asking for any, as — much to my regret —
the Emperor did not invite it. The Kaiser giving the signal,
every one rose and I held back as he went out on the deck, not
desiring to appear as trying to monopolize his attention.
I walked out with General von Plessen, who related some
of his experiences in America with Prince Henry. " Most
agreeable," as he added, " but rather strenuous ! "
After lighting his cigarette the Emperor addressed a few
words to some of his suite, and then came over and joined the
Minister of War, General von Falkenhayn, and myself. He
dwelt on the importance in the future of the Teutonic races
pulling together, and not fighting among themselves and weak
ening their resources for the struggle with the yellow races
which must come some day.
He then called over the Chief of Staff of the Army —
General Count von Moltke — and from time to time helped
himself from the General's cigarette case. Probably In addi
tion to being Chief of Staff he is Keeper of the Royal Cigarette
Case!

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 501
Up to this time the Emperor had spoken in English; now
with von Moltke and the Minister of War he enlarged in Ger
man on the history of the Teutonic races and what they had
accomplished. I referred to a quotation from Chamberlain's
" Foundations of the 19th Century," with which His Majesty
agreed, and spoke also in the most complimentary manner of this
work by Chamberlain, whom he practically considered a German.
The Emperor added, " His chapter on the Jews is also worth
reading." It was evident in the course of conversation that he had a
very poor opinion of Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and said he was
the greatest intriguer in Europe, and had only been surpassed
by the late Leopold of Belgium.
They all discussed the ammunition used in the late Balkan
war, and how the French manufacturers had instigated and
circulated false stories concerning the German guns, etc., used
by the Turks. As a matter of fact the German projectiles had
brought about the best results. The Greeks had demonstrated
that, and it was the German projectiles, the Emperor said,
that had been so successful against the Bulgarians. Constan
tine had reported this direct to the German Emperor.
Count von Moltke asked me where I had just come from,
and when I replied, Kissingen, the Kaiser said : " The former
Secretary of the Navy thinks nothing of distance. When he
was Ambassador at Rome he ran down In his automobile at my
invitation to Naples — just to dine with me on the Hohen
zoUern." AU this time we had been standing in a group leaning
against the gunwale. It was then 3 o'clock and Count L,
came up and announced that it was time to start for the
train. The various guests drew their heels together and sfiluted
the Emperor, and as I was about to take my leave His Majesty

502 GEORGE VON L. MEYER [^s^^-^s^s
turned to me and asked me to wait : " I want to show you my
maps." We went below, and in his saloon were arranged maps
showing the positions of the various armies when the Balkan
war opened, the advances of the different armies, and their
present location. In this way he had kept continuaUy posted
and in touch with the events of the war. The Emperor be
lieves that it is not advantageous to Europe to have Turkey
annihilated, that they will serve as a barrier to Eastern nations
in the future. He was evidently much pleased that the King
of Greece - — Constantine, his brother-in-law — had gone to the
front: an example not foUowed by the other rulers.
As I left I mentioned that my son-in-law — Lieutenant
Raymond Rodgers — might some day come to Berlin as Naval
Attache. He replied that he hoped he would, and then as we
parted he shook hands, saying that he had enjoyed seeing me
again. At the station I found the Minister of War and von
Moltke. The latter was disturbed, having lost his overcoat. I
was able to describe a coat which had been offered to me as I
was leaving, and which he realized was his. The HohenzoUern
being connected with the pier by telephone, he was able to send
word for it, and it was brought by a sailor just as the train
was leaving.
They invited me to go in their carriage to Berlin, and I
was delighted to break the tedious trip in their company.
When I had been presented on board the HohenzoUern
to the Minister of War I congratulated the German Army on
having a young man at their head. He bowed and was evidently
pleased, but retorted : " You say that to me, and yet you have
already been Ambassador to Rome, St. Petersburg, a member
of Roosevelt's Cabinet, and finally Secretary of the Navy for
four years : " a retort courteous. He asked if General Wood

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 503
would be able to come out to the manoeuvres on account of the
Mexican condition, and added : " It looks as though you would
finaUy have to go Into Mexico some day." I told him the story
that the Kaiser told me at lunch of the occasion when Roose
velt was at the manoeuvres, and his son, Kermit, said to the
daughter of the Emperor after the skirmish was over, " And
now I suppose they will begin killing the prisoners."
We discussed for some time the Panama Canal and the
effect it would have. He said : " I wonder how long it will be
before the locks of the canal will have to be enlarged. We have
just completed widening the entire Kiel canal. Transatlantic
ships are rapidly reaching the 1,000-foot limit of your Panama
locks." In speaking of the growth and splendour of Berlin 1 com
plimented them upon the attractiveness fif the city, and how it
was beginning to rival Paris In certain ways. " Ah ! but Paris,"
he said, " has a charm of its own." " Yes, quite true," I added,
" and I suppose the Emperor has never been there." I saw
them glance at each other, but the Minister replied : " As far as
we know, he has not." I apologized at once and said that I had
not meant it in an inquisitive way. Evidently the story that
got out some years ago that the Kaiser had been there incog.
was true. Von Moltke pointed out at that moment the country
which was the Emperor's game preserve. Then he told me of
his having marched, after the siege of Paris, with the German
Army into the city, through the Bois, around the Arc de
Triomphe (the French having fiUed it with debris so that they
could not march through it), down the Champs Elysees to the
Place de la Concorde — a great experience. The then young
Lieutenant — the nephew of the great Moltke — is himself
at the present time Chief of Staff of the Army,
We were now entering Berlin — our journey was over —
and as we separated I wondered if these two men would ever be

504 GEORGE von L. MEYER aais-ms
called upon to fulfil the requirements and accomplish the feats
of the German War Office of two generations ago.
In the year between this glimpse of Germany as
Meyer had long known it and his next experience of
it, at the very moment when war was beginning, his
life was that of a man much occupied with busuiess
and society in his own country. When the memorable
summer of 1914 came, Meyer, with his wife and
daughter Julia (now Mme. Brambilla), sailed for Eu
rope, June 27, on the Imperator, with dehghtful plans
for visits and other pleasures. The ship's wireless
brought the iU-boding news of the murder at Sarajevo
on June 28. Landing at Hamburg the Meyers went
at once to Berhn, where they dined with the American
Ambassador, Mr. Gerard, and enjoyed seeing many
friends in the German capital. It will soon be seen
that there was no more fortunate circumstance of their
week in Berlin than Meyer's calling upon von Jagow,
Secretary of State, who had been counseUor of the
German Embassy in Rome ten years before, and von
Jagow's returning of this call. When the week was
done Mr. and Mrs. Meyer proceeded to Kissingen,
where they were to take the cure, and Miss Meyer, to
an Italian friend near Milan, a contemplated visit to
the Duchess of Aosta having been postponed by reason
of the Duke's iUness from typhoid fever. Of their
experiences through the distracted weeks that followed
Mrs. Meyer has written the following account: —
The three weeks of cure were nearly over when war
rumours reached the town. Dr. Dapper cursed and swore,

WEDDIXG PARTY AT ROCK MAPLE FARM, AT THE MARRIAGE OF MTSS
JULIA MEYEK
The group includes M. and Mrae. Brambilla, Mr. and Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. C. R. P. Rodgers,
Miss Julia Appleton, Miss Camilla Lippincott, Mrs. Colville Barclay, Mr. and Mrs. Sumner
Gerard, Mrs. Fulton Cutting, Mrs. William G. Wendell, Mrs. Henry G. Gray, Gen.
Guglielmotti, Capt. Vannutelli, Baron Valentino, Basil Miles, Leland Harrison.

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 505
knowing it was the death knell to his business, and said it was
nonsense and to pay no attention to these rumours. Yet on
many trees and In the windows of shops were posters, flaming
with the hideous word, " Krieg." People began to leave very
quietly: one missed them at meals. Countess von Wedel, whose
two sons had been called, left for Weimar. H.E. Mme. Leghait,'^
advising us to follow suit, also left at once for Switzerland,
Anxious to finish our cure, and not as anxious as we should
have been over the " mobilization," we remained until July 30,
and then we were glad to leave, for the troops marching by
sang Die Wacht am Rhein all night, and filled me with fear,
A great comfort was that a telegram came from Julia,
where she was visiting Gladys Szechenyi ^ In Hungary, that she
had left on the first rumour of war — and on the last express
out of Hungary. So we knew she was then safe in England
with the McCooks, and we must get to her as soon as possible.
George decided on Friday evening, July 29, that we should
leave early the following day. The sanitarium by this time
was almost empty — in fact was closing — servants having been
called to their regiments. Dapper was closing some of his
houses and planning to keep some for hospitals, if they were
needed. On Saturday we were of course ready early. Kissingen
was quite demoralized, trains uncertain, trunks piled high in
the station, as there were no baggage men now. Money was
difficult to get, but George had got all that we needed the day
previous. While waiting in the station for our train to be
ready to take us away with a crowd of excited people, we saw
a private train pull out, and recognized Prince Youssoupoff
in the window. We read later In the paper that he and his
family received harsh treatment passing through Germany on
their journey to Russia, particularly in Berlin,
1 Wife of the Belgian Minister to Portugal
2 The Countess Szechenyi, formerly Miss Gladys Vanderbilt.

506 GEORGE VON L. MEYER usis-ms
In the compartment with us were the Spanish Secretary
and his wife on their way back to their post In Paris, We were
glad to have such congenial travelling companions. They got
much excited at discovering that one of their trunks had not
been put on the train. We felt very proud that our lot — five
in aU — had been surely put on at Kissingen. We were to have
a fall yet!
We reached Stuttgart at midnight, and expected to be
able to proceed to Paris, but learned that no trains were run
ning. Rails were up for miles across the border of France.
Here we looked for our trunks — nowhere to be found ! How
ever, we had suit-cases and a few clothes, and trunks seemed
now merely extra trouble of which we had been relieved. So
we went Into the noisiest hotel ever built — right over the station
— but both of us were very weary and glad to get to bed, as it
was then after midnight. The night was a hideous one, with
the combination of electric cars, trains, and passing troops.
We had an early breakfast, and George thought we might
go into Switzerland and thence to France. So, with Marie and
faithful Andrew,^ we started for Switzerland on a train that
left at 7 A.M. We travelled with no Interruption as far as
Carlsruhe, and there we were side-tracked and left. While
George was out investigating and consulting any official that
could be found I talked with a woman In the same car. She
was rushing home to Switzerland with her two little boys, who
were so excited and delighted over the idea of war. The mother
ielt very differently about It.
George came soon and got me, with our bags, and said he
had found we were balked again. To get into Switzerland
would be next to impossible, and a good train would be coming
through soon bound north for Cologne; we would take that
and go across Holland, to England, and there meet Julia. This
1 Maid and valet.

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 507
sounded wise. I sat on a valise and waited. George wandered
about, and to his surprise found two of our lost trunks piled
high In the station with others. The train did come through
about noon, and George of course got first-class seats for us
with his usual quick cleverness.
In the train, in one compartment, was a typical English
man who had just come from a fishing trip somewhere in the
wilds, for he had heard no war rumours and was much more
keen over his fishing tackle than war.
The trip to Cologne was uneventful: we reached there
about six. Here indeed one realized there must be trouble of
some kind. The place was crowded In every direction, private
motors were being seized and lined up in the Cathedral Square
for government use, regardless of ownership. In the high tower
of the Cathedral were cannon already. Indeed, this looked like
real trouble. We got supper In the hotel and inquired as to
trains. One was scheduled for nine o'clock to the Hook. We
decided that would be best, for this was the last day that trains
would be free for passengers at all — the troops would require
all after that. However, we had no trunks to check, as the two
George found had already been side-tracked, but this seemed
almost a relief!
We asked why the crowd outside seemed especially excited,
and heard that Russian spies were about, that a man dressed as
a woman had just been shot nearby.
So it had begun.
In the hotel were groups of people having tea. Officers
smartly dressed in their gay uniforms would soon be in the field,
and nothing would be gay there — far from it. We went to
the station, and indeed it was in confusion. Crowds and crowds
of people packed on the platforms, largely made up of relatives
of these poor young men off to the unknown. I recall a young
woman, seemingly a widow, pacing the platform holding the

508 GEORGE von L. MEYER uois-ms
arm of a young man whom I supposed her son, I have often
wondered if he ever came back to her.
Officials were evidently all gone to join the troops. One
could get little satisfaction and nothing definite. We and a
small crowd of Britishers, all anxious to get home and more so
to leave Germany, were waiting for that promised train to the
Hook. But train after train came in and out of the station all
loaded with soldiers, cheering, cheering, and the silent crowd
would only then cheer, too. A train did come In empty at about
10, and we all clambered in and felt relieved to be moving once
more nearer England and Julia.
This was the thirtieth of July, and I could not In any way
wire Julia, as no telegrams were permitted, even if this was her
birthday. At a time like this when every one is excited and
fearful, it is a relief to talk to one's neighbour, in the train or
wherever one may be, and In the same compartment was a little
old German and his wife. They had been to Switzerland for a
holiday. There they had got a telegram that their two sons
were called to arms, and they had already left home before they
could get back to see them. This couple got off at  ,
and no sooner were they out of sight than we saw soldiers run
through the station, a pistol shot, — another " spy " gone. This
was indeed gruesome, and we were all glad that the train pulled
out of the station quickly. We were not detained and on we
went. Bridges were all carefully guarded and all stations.
Indeed, war had begun.
At about 11 we reached Cleves and were told the rails
stopped there, that we must pass the night at Cleves and take a
trolley to the border in the morning. It was a mystery to me
how. In so short a time, rails had been ripped up, trolleys sub
stituted, and new arrangements organized. No town In sight,
a few wagons, lots of men standing about. The travellers all
took various traps and disappeared. George and I seemed the

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 509
last. He had told a taxi to return for us after taking the first
load, as he wished to go to the hotel out of town. I was sitting
on a bag, pretty weary after our two days' travel and a good
deal of excitement, and anxious to hear from and see Julia. I
whistled (our family notes) for George, who had wandered off.
I think this must have aroused suspicion, for an officer seemed
to spring from the earth. He asked us to get Into the taxi,
which had just returned, servants and bags. He got on the
box and we drove into the town and to the Police Station !
We were conducted across a courtyard to a small room,
and requested, In a very peremptory manner, to open all our
bags. Nothing was found to excite them until George's pouch
came to light, and that, they felt sure, must be fuU of Informa
tion. George had kept some of his cards of visitors during our
stop in Berlin, and when the officer came across von Jagow's
card it acted like a talisman. Our bags were closed. We were
put In the cab and sent on to the hotel, situated out of town,
on the hlU, the officer saluting most politely.
How glad I was to fall Into bed. Clank, clank — an offi
cer's- step along our passage ! A knock at the door ! My heart
stood still — what now? Marie had left all our keys and the
officer himself had brought them to us out of town. This was
an unspeakable relief. My nerves were soon at rest.
The hotel was really situated in a lovely place on the side
of the hill, and must have been a charming resort and Kurhaus.
In the morning we had breakfast on the big piazza early, and
then drove to the town to take a tram which was the only
means then of crossing the border and getting Into Holland.
The car was supposed to start at 8, but we never got off until
much later. The officer who had examined our bags the night
before came to see us off and evidently believed that George
had known H.E. von Jagow in Rome while U. S. Ambassador,
and that there was no deception.

510 GEORGE VON L. MEYER U9is-i9i8
A funny crowd was packed into that little electric car —
mostly English and Americans. We learned from some what a
difficult time they had had getting accommodations at Cleves
for the night. Many slept out of doors, some In cars, so it was
due to George's intelligence In going out of town that we had
nice quarters and quiet. The car stopped at a small village on
the German border, about two hours from Cleves, and we were
all told to get out and the women requested to go into a house
and be searched. I took Marie with me and they seemed to
think I might be a man in disguise! Letters and lunch boxes
were taken from people, but nothing was taken from us, and
across the border we walked, by a double Une of soldiers with
guns, into Holland. I never thought I could be so glad at ieav-
ing Germany behind me.
Mrs, Meyer's narrative goes on to tell of meetings
with American and other friends in England and Scot
land, where Mr. Meyer carried out the plan formed
in America to join a shooting party of his friend Mr.
Clarence H, Mackay's near Aberdeen, and of the com
fortable saihng of the three thv^arted traveUers, after
the rush of returning Americans had spent itself, on
the Mauretania from Liverpool at the beginning of
September. Among the earliest letters written by Meyer on his
return was one of September 11 to the Hon. WiUiam
J. Bryan, then Secretary of State. " I have just re
turned from Europe," it said, " and I believe that at
the psychological moment the President and you will
have to play a most important part in the bringing
about of peace among the warring nations. I found
that in England and France men irrespective of party

GEORGE V. L. MEYER, WITH HIS SON AND GRANDSON OF THE
SAME NAME

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 511
were working together to better conditions; therefore
I am taking the liberty of assuring you, if at any time
I can be of any service, on account of my acquaintance
abroad with the leading ministers and ambassadors hi
Europe, and England, combined with experience that
I had in persuading the Tsar to agree to appoint
plenipotentiaries with full power to meet Japanese
plenipotentiaries, that you will feel at liberty to com
mand me." This letter, which went on to enumerate
some of Meyer's personal relationships in Europe, re
ceived a courteous acknowledgment.
About a month later, in a letter of October 15 to
Mr. Erving Winslow of Boston he wrote: " I sympa
thize with Belgium and France, but cannot be blind to
the misrule of Russia in the past, and her methods of
government. I do not believe that Russian militarism
and Russianized German provinces would be a step
forward if the outcome of the present war depends on
Russian victories. I also believe in the attitude of our
President regarding strict neutrality of this country."
In this final sentiment it will be remembered that
in October of 1914 Meyer and Roosevelt were at one.
This is by no means to say that even at that time
Meyer was in general sympathy vrith the administra
tion. His attitude, on the contrary, was hostile to it,
and became more and more that of a vigorous critic
of its policies. Especially in the matter of " pre
paredness," he felt that the Government was seriously
at fault, and employed every means at his command
to inform and stimulate the public in the direction of
a greatly enlarged programme of national defense.

512 GEORGE VON L. MEYER Ii9is-i9i8
Naturally the Navy was the chief object of his con
cern. He was entirely out of sympathy with his suc
cessor's conduct of the Department, and, with all the
sincerity and conviction of a strong believer in the
policies to which he had devoted four years of hard
work, combated the new policies from which he was
firmly persuaded that a general deterioration of the
service would result. Unsparing as he was in his
criticisms of the existing naval administration, espe
cially for its jeversals of the emphasis he had placed
upon the more strictly military aspects of the Navy,
and for its sacrifice of the benefits he had foreseen
from the firmer establishment of his system of naval
aids, he did not fail to point out the shortcomings of
Congress, for many years past, in making adequate
provisions for the naval forces.
His appeals to the public took a variety of forms.
He responded to many requests for addresses to public
gatherings. He contributed articles to such periodicals
as the Yale Review, Harper's Weekly, the North
American Review, and the Metropolitan Magazine.
He reached the newspaper reading public through the
Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and other
journals. He identified himself with organizations
promoting the objects he had at heart — the National
Security League, the American Defense Society, the
National Allied Relief Committee, the Navy League,
and the like. The needs and responsibilities of the
Navy afforded the field in which his special knowledge
and strongest interest could be brought into most ef
fective play. Thus in the agitation for universal mili-

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 513
tary training, it fell to him to plead the necessity of
preparing young men for the Navy as well as for the
Army. " Hacking away over preparedness in the
Navy," was his own description, in a letter, of the
course to which he was committed before the end of
1915. In another letter of the same time he defined
the two chief points on which he was trying to educate
the pubhc as " mUitary organization in the administra
tion at Washington, which means a General Staff and
a National Council of Defense, and a sufficiently edu
cated personnel, both active and reserve, for, as you
say, ships without men are of no use," To these and
nearly related matters he was steadily and system
atically devoting his energies.
All these activities, begun early in the war and con
tinued to the end of his hfe under the altered condi
tions that arose when the United States joined in the
conflict with Germany, represented an interest in na
tional affairs closely akin to that of Theodore Roose
velt, Meyer's affection and admiration for this friend
of many years was one of the constant elements in his
life. It was entirely natural, therefore, that when the
time came, in 1916, to nominate a Republican candi
date to contest the reelection of President Wilson,
Meyer believed that Roosevelt most clearly embodied
the sentiment with which the President might be suc
cessfully opposed, and that to Roosevelt the direction
of national policies could be most advantageously en
trusted. This belief, with its roots in personal, po
htical, and patriotic considerations, was not of sudden
growth. Even before the war began, Meyer had

514 GEORGE von L. MEYER U9i3-i9i8
written to Roosevelt, in June of 1914, expressing the
hope that he would be "in the pink of condition for
the great contest which will come off two years hence
against the Democratic administration," and declaring:
" If the presidential elections were to come off next
autumn and there were to be presidential primaries
throughout th^ country, I am sure you would get both
the Republican and Progressive nominations." In the
spring of 1916, when some of Roosevelt's more impul
sive friends in Massachusetts, were bent on sending
a delegation to the Chicago Convention, pledged to
the nomination of their candidate, Meyer strongly
favoured an unpledged delegation, beheving that, after
the failure of the Convention to choose any single
" favourite son " out of all the minor political groups,
there would be a general demand for Roosevelt as
the leader who might bring the party back into power.
Meanwhile there was much uncertainty about the
willingness of Mr. Justice Hughes to heed the desires
of the more " regular " Republican politicians, quit the
Supreme bench, and become a candidate. The whole
situation was dehcate in the extreme, and Meyer fully
realized how difficult it would be to persuade a Na
tional Republican Convention that the Progressive
candidate of 1912 could with any propriety whatever
become the Republican candidate of 1916. Neverthe
less he was one of a voluntary group of Roosevelt's
supporters who came together about three weeks be
fore the Convention and decided to make an appeal
to the country on the ground of offering a candidate
who should represent quahties and policies squarely

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 515
antipodal to those of President WUson. Should the
plans of the Republican leaders go awry through a
final refusal by Mr, Justice Hughes to accept the
nomination, these supporters of Roosevelt believed that
many would flock to their side and insist on the selec
tion of their candidate.
The leadership in this movement was offered to
Meyer, and accepted. In the short period before the
Convention he was the prune mover in the organiza-
zation of Roosevelt Repubhcan Clubs throughout the
country. He conducted a brilliant but fore-doomed
fight, carried to Chicago itself, where he established
convention headquarters. The fight faUed, if for no
other reason, because Mr. Justice Hughes finally broke
his silence on the subject of his possible nomination
by deciding to run for the presidency, and thus
enabled the " regulars " to carry out their programme.
A colleague of Meyer's in the endeavour to secure the
nomination of Roosevelt has ascribed the ensuing
" disaster to the party " mainly to the fact that " the
country at large could see but slight difference between
the views of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Hughes, and, that
being so, preferred not to ' swap horses,' " Another
fellow-worker in this enterprise has expressed the
opinion that " the only cause for the failure to
nominate the Colonel was that the Meyer plan was a
hundred days too late in getting into the field"; and
has said of Meyer's own part in the undertaking that,
" like aU of his efforts in life, it was clean and above
board, and when it was done he could look every man
straight in the eye."

516 GEORGE VON L. MEYER U9is-m8
Meyer showed himself no less devoted a Republican
in the campaign of 1916 than in that of 1912. He
provided Mr. Hughes with campaign material to be
used in the interest of the Navy, rendered valuable
service in the collection of campaign funds, and exerted
all his influence for the restoration of his party to
power. The result of the election in November was
a bitter disappointment to him. In a letter to Mrs.
Meyer, written on November 11 from New York, he
expressed his true feelings : " It has been a most disap
pointing and trying election — disappointment in the
people and discouragement for the Navy during the
next four years. It was bad enough to see all my
work undone, but it is terrible to think what might be
accomplished with the vast appropriations, and actually
what will not be done. I am tired of answering peo
ple's questions of ' how did it happen? ' "
For most Americans with minds and hearts these
were indeed days of perplexity and travail of spirit.
The final decision of the country to enter the war came
like a fresh wind that blew away many clouds of doubt,
and gave to persons of all varieties of political con
victions a clear vision of a united purpose. To those,
like Meyer, who had rendered genuine service to the
cause of preparedness came a reassuring sense of hav
ing accomplished something, though less than they de
sired, towards fitting the country for the physical part
of the struggle. There were many works of foresight
and mercy to be done, and it is good to record of
George Meyer that, besides entering heartily into such
immediate matters as the projects for ampler food

LAST PHOTOGRAPH OF MR. MEYER, WITH HIS HON AT HAMIL
TON, NOVEMBER, 1917. FROM A SNAPSHOT
BY MRS. MEYER

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 517
production in Essex County and the forwarding of
local Red Cross enterprises, he made his last appear
ance in pubhc early in February of 1918, slightly more
than a month before his death, as a speaker at a mass
meeting on behalf of Italian war rehef at the Tremont
Theatre in Boston, By this time his personal interest
in the conduct of the war was keenly sharpened by the
fact that his son, having entered the Army through the
Harvard Regiment and Plattsburg, was serving his
country as a Captain of Infantry and aide to General
Leonard Wood, that one son-in-law was in the active
service of the Navy, and another in the Diplomatic
Corps of the Italian Government, Thus for those
nearest to him, and consequently for himself, the war
was anything but an abstract or remote affair.
Meyer's domestic life during these final years was
singularly happy. To his great satisfaction, he could
pass more of his time at Hamilton than in any of his
periods of office-holding. In April of 1913, his daugh
ter Alice was married in Washington to Lieutenant
(now Commander) C. P. R. Rodgers, of the Navy.
Before the end of this year the marriage of his son,
and namesake, with Miss Frances Saltonstall, took
place. In the winter there were holidays at Aiken, in
the summer on the Restigouche, where the salmon-
fishing delighted and refreshed him as in earlier years.
Near the end of 1916 he began the formidable under
taking, mentioned near the beginning of this book, of
moving his house at Hamilton from its original road
side position to a commanding site on a nearby hill,
establishing himself and Mrs. Meyer meanwhile in a

518 GEORGE von L. MEYER usis-ms
smaller house in the neighbourhood in order to follow
the work, which greatly interested him. This was ac
complished in August of 1917, and on October 1 his
daughter Julia was married, at the transplanted
mansion-house, to Signor Giuseppe Brambilla.
Those who saw him at this time, gay, apparently
well, interested in everything, bent on giving pleasure
to his family and friends, could hardly have realized
that in the previous winter he had undergone what was
called a " slight operation " but was in reality the occa
sion of a grave illness. From time to time in the
course of the preceding narrative it has been seen that
physical ailments had called for " cures " and vaca
tions. These effects of a Russian diet for two years
and the strain of intense activities for many more
would doubtless have made themselves more frequently
felt but for Meyer's constant practice of physical
exercise. By its means he kept himself in a state of
bodily " fitness " which made any semblance of disease
quite foreign to him. While Secretary of the Navy
he had continued to go about his work through an
attack of " walking typhoid." So now, through the
last year of his life, he hid the suffering of a fatal
iUness from all but the most penetrating eyes, enjoy
ing and causing others to enjoy whatever pleasures
were to be had — until for a few last weeks the hand
of pain closed his door to the outer world. The ideal
of the sportsman — to " do your job " and " take your
punishment " without flinching or complaint — is after
all an ideal to which true men and women must always
turn with admiration and respect. It was in this spirit
that Meyer faced and met his end. He died March 9,

1913-1918] THE FINAL YEARS 519
1918, at his home in Boston, 54 Beacon Street, of
tumour of the liver. He had not quite attained the
age of sixty. " In a comparatively few years," a
friend weU said of him, " he lived a long life."
Many other friends said many other things in ap
preciation and praise. Out of all these expressions it
is enough at this point to take but one — the word
that came immediately to Mrs. Meyer from Theodore
Roosevelt: —
There is nothing I can say that will in any way lighten
your grief ; and that I dearly loved George you already know.
Yet I cannot forbear writing you a word of deep sympathy.
You have been a staunch friend; your sorrow would be our
sorrow in any event ; and In this event we mourn George as we
would mourn very, very few outside our own family. He was
as loyal and devoted a friend as ever lived; he possessed that
fine courage and fearless uprightness of character which mark
only the few among all whom we meet on our way through
life; and he was a singularly useful public servant, I prized
his friendship greatly; I felt honoured by my association with
him in public work.
It Is Idle to try to comfort you; and yet, my dear Mrs.
Meyer, as we of our generation draw near the Inevitable, it
is a fine thing to meet it with the gallant heroism your husband
showed ; and you yourself have " warmed both hands at the fire
of life " ; much, very much, has been yours.
"As loyal and devoted a friend as ever lived" —
"a singularly useful public servant." The record of
George Meyer's life and work cannot be brought to a
more fitting conclusion than with these words from
one who knew whereof he spoke.

INDEX

The black letter initial M stands throughout for the subject of the work.
Because of the length of the index, some other abbreviations, easily under
stood, have been used.

A. D. Club, 6.
Abbott, Lyman, 392, 405.
Abruzzi, Duke of the, entertained
by M. in U. S., 358 f.; at James
town Exposition, 361; 50 and n.,
55, 68, 69.
Adami, Mr., 305, 306.
Adami, Mme., 306.
Adams, Charles Francis, 44.
Adams, John Quincy, 243, 343.
Adalbert, Prince, 314, 218, 337.
Adee, Alvey A., 145, 304, 219.
Aehrenthal, Baron d', on the pros
pects of the Algeciras Confer
ence, 262; on Russian situation,
298; 146, 184, 208, 261, 278, 399-
Agii^ra, 252.
Agiunaldo, Emilio, 43.
Alaska, 131.
Albert, Prince, of Schlesvng-Hcl-
stein, 98.
Alcibiades, as a model for diplo
mats, 333.
AldrichjlSTelson W., 418, 443.
Alexander III, Tsar, 206.
Alexander, King of Servia, murder
of, 73, 410.
Alexander Palace, at Tsarskoe Sel6,
141^.
Alexandra, Queen of Edward VII,
135, 142, 339, 484.
Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina,
gives birth to an heir, 100; M.,
received by, 143; first impression
of, 142; her alleged influence over
the Tsar, 145, 146, 236, 333,. 349;
M.'s farewell audience with, 331,
332; fails to understand condi
tions, 333; 140, 143, 157, 195, 260,
261, 280, 329.

Alexandria Victoria, Prindess, of
Holstein, 337.
Alexis, Grand Duke, 151, 152, 252.
Alexis, Tsarevitch, 142, 245.
Alfonso XIII of Spain, 217, 484.
Algeciras Conference over Moroc
can situation, 138; preliminaries
of, 243; attitude of France and
Great Britain toward, 243, 246;
feeling in Russia concerning, 255;
Lodge's speech on, 256; d'Aehren
thal on prospects of, 262; France
and Germany at, 263; Roosevelt
looked to as mediator in case of
deadlock, 364; Russia how con
cerned in outcome of, 264, 365;
prospects of satisfactory conclu
sion of, 265, 366; LamsdorfiTs in
structions to Cassini, 369; close
of, 369; Kaiser on Italy and Aus
tria at, 373; U. S. dossier con
cerning, 284.
Alvensleben, Graf von, 147, 163,
164, 165, 173, 185.
Alverstone, Lord, 44.
Amadeo, Duke of Savoy, unveiling
of statue of, 53, 54.
American Academy at Rome, open
ing of exhibition of, 82, 83; pur
chase of Villa Miraflori for, 91;
45, 105.
American Architects, Society of,
109.
American Defense Society, 512.
American Historical Review on con
ference of Tsar and Kaiser at
Bjorke, 185 to.
Amerika, Hamburg-American liner,
238.
Ames, Adelbert S., 388.

531

522

INDEX

Ames Plow Co., 12.
Amnesty for political prisoners, in
the Duma, 283, 384; Goremykin
announces denial of, 288, 289.
Amoskeag Mfg. Co., 12.
Ananias Club, 414.
Andr6, Grand Duke, 307, 311.
Andreiva, Gorky's pseudo-wife, 272.
Annenkoff, M. and V., 335 n.
Andrews, Philip, U. S. N., 471
and n.
Antoniny, hunting at, 313, 314, 316;
description of, 314; conditions of
peasants at, 314, 315.
Aosta, Duchess of, quoted on Rus
sians and Grand Dukes, 135, 136;
60 and n., 61, 63, 54, 73, 83, 101,
102, 103, 104, 107, 466, 604.
Aosta, Duke of, ceases to be heir
presumptive to Italian throne,
100, 103; 50 and n., 63, 64, 66,
58, 63, 68, 69, 70, 73, 100, 101,
104, 107, 504.
Appleton, Charles H., 13, 19.
Appleton, Frank R., 207.
Appleton, Isabella (Mason), 13.
Appleton, Marian Alice, M.'s wife.
See Meyer, Marian A. (Apple-
ton).
Arcos, Duke and Duchess d', 196.
Ardea (Italy) : duck-shooting and
hunting at, 64.
Argentina, a possible Italian repub
lic, 64.
Armistice, proposed in Russo-
Japanese War, 175, 176.
Armour, J. Ogden, 59, 61, 74.
Ascoli, Duchess of, 81, 82.
Ascoli, Duke of, 82.
Astor, Nancy (Langhorne), 485.
Astor, Waldorf, 485.
Atlantic Monthly, 258 and n., 270
and n.
Atlantic Ocean Trust, 62.
August William, Prince, 337.
Augusta Victoria, German Empress,
74, 85, 214, 215, 218, 228, 230,
336, 337.
Austria and the Kaiser, 272.
Automobiles: M.'s prophecy con-
corning, in 1897; and Victor Em
manuel III, 38, 39.
Aviation: beginnings of, 440 and n.

Bacon, Elliot, 484.
Bacon, Martha, 388.
Bacon, Robert, 62, 91, 93, 96, 307,
210, 319, 222, 373, 374, 376, 381,
388, 389, 420, 479.
Bacon, Mrs. Robert, 388, 430, 436.
Bagno, Marchioness of, 68.
Bagot, 46.
Baku, trouble in, 310.
Balacheff, A., 336 n.
Balaclava, battlefield of, 330.
Balkan War: German ammunition
in, 501 ; Kaiser's maps of, 602.
BaUinger, Richard; controversy with
Pinchot over conservation, etc.,
445; 442.
Bankers' dinner: M.'s address at.
416.
Barber, C9lonel, U. S. A., 479.
Baring, Maurice, on affairs in Mos
cow, 266, 267; 186.
Barney, Mr., Pres. of Knicker
bocker Trust Co., commits suicide,
375.
Barrfere, Camille, criticixes Russian
government, 117, 118; 51, 56, 69,
70, 71, 81, 113, 114, 131, 138, 131,
146, 155.
Barrett, John, 91.
Barry, T. H., U. S. A., 189 and n.
Bates, John L., 96.
Bear-hunting in Russia, 248-351.
Beeckman, L., 91.
Beehler, W. H., U. S. N,. 58, 478.
Belloy, Marquise de, 303, 324.
Belosselsky, Prince, 197, 307, 236,
252, 261, 271, 274, 295, S36n.
Belosselsky, Princess, 147. 307, 336,
271, 274, 295, 302, 385 n.
Benckendorff, Count von, on Alge
ciras Conference, 264; 244, 246,
271, 331, 333, 335 n., 484.
Benckendorff, Countess von, 246,
254.
Bennett, James Gordon, 479.
Beresford, Lord Charles, 50.
Berlin: court life at, 84-86; royal
palace at, 84, 85; M.'s visit to in
February, 1905, 125 ;f,, and De
cember, 1905, 225-230.
Bernoff, M., on disturbances in
Russia, 119, 120, 123.
Bernstorff, Count, addition to

INDEX

523

Diplomatic Corps,_4rl5; and Jus
serand, rivalry between, 441.
Bernstorff, Countess, 415.
Bersaglieri, the, 65.
Bernstein, Herman, The Willy-
Nicky Correspondence, 185 n.
Bertie, Lady Feodora, 90.
Bertie, Sir Francis, 90.
"Bey." See Meyer, George von
L., Jr.
Bianchini, Signor, 54.
Bigelow, WiUiam S., 463.
Bingham, Henry H., 27.
Birileff, Admiral, 180, 204, 205.
BirreU, Augustine, 486.
Bismarck, Prince Otto von, 109,
226.
Bjorke, conference of Tsar and
Kaiser at, 185 and m., 188, 191.
"Black Hundred" (Russia), reviv
ing influence of, 309.
Black Sea fleet. See Odessa.
"Blacks": gathering of, at farewell
dinner to M. in Rome, 132.
Blair, Woodbury, 443.
Blair, Mrs. Woodbury, 443.
Blight, Miss, 68.
Bliss, Cornelius N., 92, 93, 105.
Bliss, Robert W., 139, 153, 209, 261,
266.
Bliicher, Gebhard L. von, 4.
Boardman, Mabel T., 426.
Bobrinskoy, Count, 271, 335 to.
Bobrinskoy, Countess, 271, 330,
335 k.
Bodrero, Captain, 80.
Bonaparte, Charles .T., 322, 323,
385, 386, 397.
Bompard, M., 146, 166, 166, 204,
261, 263, 267, 270, 278, 294, 298.
Boris, Grand Duke, 196, 302.
Boston, in 1879, 10, 11; Mugwump
sentiment in, 19; Ninth ward of,
19; City Council of, M's service
in, 17, 20.
Boston Harbour, 35-foot channel
in, 25.
Boston Herald, interview with M. in,
18.
Boston Journal, 488.
Boston Navy Yard, 4S5.
Boston Transcript, 491.
Bourgeois, L^on, 216, 268.

Bowen, Herbert W., 66 and n., 89.
Bradley, backer of Dr. Cook, 465.
Brambilla, Giuseppe, marries Julia
Meyer, 5, 8, 13, 76, 78.
Brambilla, Mme. Julia (Meyer),
604, 605, 506, 608.
Brancaccio, Palazzo, Rome, M.'s am
bassadorial residence, 34, 35, 36.
Bremerton Navy Yard, 471, 472,
473, 476.
Bren1^ Bishop Charles H,, 67.
Bresci, assassin of King Humbert,
44.
Brigham, Nathaniel M., 96.
Bristol, Lord, 485.
British-Japanese treaty. Kaiser on,
499.
Bronson, Admiral, 219."
Brown, William C, 482.
Brusati, General, 78, 81, 82, 100.
Bruschi, Count, 48.
Bruschi, Countess, 68.
Bryan, William J., and the free-
1 silver agitation, 27; in Rome, 80,
I 81; in St. Petersburg, 289, 290,
29i; and Gov. Ha,skell, corre
spondence with Roosevelt, 403 ^y
letter of M. to, on affairs in Eu
rope (July, 1914), 610, 611; 105,
373.
Bryan, Mrs. W. J., 289. 290.
Bryce, Viscount, 350, 391, 415.
Bulygin Report, 187.
Billow, Prince Bernhard H. von:
M.'s interview with, 226-28; on
affairs in Russia and her needs,
227; disavows purpose to put
pressure on France at Algeciras,
247; on the modern diplomat,
323; 59, 60, 63, 69, 84, 226, 231,
264.
Bureaucracy, in Russia, evil influ
ence of, 173, 174, 178; methods of,
197, 198.
Burr, Francis H., 404.
Burr, I. Tucker, 95.
Butler, Nicholas M., 92, 93.
Butt, Archibald W., U. S. A., 403,
426 and n., 443.
Buxton, Sydney, and "penny post
age," 391, 392, 407; 485, 486.
Byalostok, massacre of Jews at.
292.

524

INDEX

Cadets. See Constitutional Demo
crats.
Cadwalader, Miss, 319.
Calabrini, Marchioness, 78.
Calabrini, Marquis, 47, 76, 78, 81.
California: Tsar on school regula
tion in, 332; school question,
339; Roosevelt on discrimination
against Japanese in, 415.
Cambon, Jules, 347.
Cambon, Paul, 347.
Campaign funds in presidential
elections, 265.
Canada, postal savings bank system
in, 368; 340.
Cannon, Joseph G., opposes postal
savings banks, 376, 377; and Con
gressional talk of sympathy with
Roosevelt administration, 390;
and the Conference Committee on
Payne-Aldrich Tariff Bill, 443;
94, 369, 397, 398, 427.
Cantacuzfene, Prince, 296, 335 ?i.
Cantacuzfene, Princess, 296, 335 n.
Caperculzie shooting, 147, 148, 160.
Capps, Washington L., U. S. N.,
464, 469.
Cardigan, Lord, 320.
Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia,
160.
Carow, Miss, 94.
Carpenter, Mr., 465.
Carter, J. R., 347 and n., 348.
Carter, Thomas H., 390, 418, 436.
¦Cassini, Count, 118, 153, 164, 166,
167, 168, 169, 194, 196, 255, 268.
•Ceustro, Cipriamo, 65, 428.
Catherine, Russian Empress, 273.
Caucasus, conditions in, 150.
'Cecchignola, hunting at, 60, 51.
Cecilia, German Crown Princess,
214, 216.
Central America, troubles in, 427;
policy of U. S. toward, defined by
Knox, 427, 428.
Cervera y Topete, Pascual, 480.
Chamberlain, Houston S., his Foun
dations of the Nineteenth Cen-
twry, 601; "practically a Ger
man," 501.
Chandler, L. H., U. S. N., 467.
Chanler, Winthrop, 91.
Chappelle, Mgr., Archbishop of New

Orleans, and the Philippines, 40,
41, 42.
Chatham Navy Yard, 483.
Chelius, Herr von, 88.
Chicago, U. S. S.: arrest of ofBcers
of, at Venice, 52.
Chicago Becord^Herald, 374.
Chicago Tribune, 612.
China, neutrality of, in Russo-
Japanese War, 86; integrity of,
109, 113, 384; Kaiser on her neu
trality and integrity, 126; feeling
for, in U. S., 131; and the nego
tiations between Russia and Ja
pan, 194; rumours of secret treaty
with Russia, 267; Kaiser on Rus
sia's proper attitude toward, 339,
and a possible coalition of .Tapan
and, 346.
Choate, Joseph H., and Roosevelt,
431; 44, 398.
Choate, Mrs. Joseph H., 44.
Christian IX, of Denmark: death of,
253 and n.
Christian, Prince of Schleswig-Hol
stein, 306, 306.
Christianity in the East, 229.
Chuknin, Admiral, 319.
Churchill, Winston S., 485.
Clark, Clarence D., 417.
Clark, Mrs. Clarence D., 417.
Class of 1879, H. C, 17, 95, 96,
221.
Clemenceau, Georges, quoted, 324;
"Edward VII has bought and
owns him," 339.
Clemens, Samuel L. ("Mark
Twain"), 272.
Cleveland, Grover, last illness and
death, 397, 398; 19, 493.
Cohen, Mr., 318.
Collier's Weekly, 400.
Cologne Cathedral, 62.
Colombia and Japan, 365, 371; re
lations of U. S. with, 389; treaty
with, 414.
Colonna, Prince Prospero, 71, 81, 82.
Commune, the (1871), 328.
Conger, Seymour B., 295, 324.
Connaught, Arthur, Duke of, 217,
485.
Connaught, Duchess of, 485.
Constantine, Crown Prince, after-

INDEX

525

wards King, of Greece, 214, 215,
218, 501, 602.
Constantine, Grand Duke, 262, 263.
Constantine, Grand Duchess, 252,
253.
Constitutional Democrats (Cadets)
win in election at St. Petersburg,
268; Witte and, 269; wiU control
Duma, 277, 285; their candidate
for President, 277; and Crown,
drifting apart, 298; Tsar should
take a Cabinet from, 298; unwise
methods of, 310; 291, 300.
Cook, Frederick A., and Peary, 464,
466.
Coolidge, J. Templeman, 96.
Coolidge, T. Jefferson, 324.
Corea, exclusive influence of Japan
in, 194.
Corporations, tax on net income of,
favored by Taft, 434, 436, 438,
439.
Corsini, General, 76, 77, 78.
Cortelyou, George B., Roosevelt's
candidate for chairman of Repub
lican National Conunittee, 92, 93;
Roosevelt's letter to, on issue of
bonds; etc., 376, 376; 322, 354,
366, 373, 374, 380, 381, 405, 412.
Cost-accounting in Navy Depart
ment, 454, 455, 470.
Cotton, Charles S., U. S. N., 74.
Council of Empire (Russia), reor
ganized, first session of, 282; how
constituted, 282; how described by
a peasant deputy, 284.
Cowles, William S., U. S. N., 359.
Cowles, Mrs. WiUiam S., 268, 359.
Cramps' Shipbuilding Co., 469.
Cranborne, Viscount, 44.
Crane, W. Murray, 93, 96, 387,
417.
Cranley, Viscount, 186.
Crimea, The, 320.
Csekonics, Count Ivan, 147 and n.,
165, 184, 252, 299, 302.
Cuba: M.'s visit to, 477-481; people
of, 479.
Cummins, Albert B., 434.
Currie, Lady, 33, 47, 49.
Curtis, Mr., 80.
Dagmar, Dowager Empress of Rus

sia, 140, 141, 253, 272, 280, 328,
335.
Dalny, 194.
Daniels, Josephus, M. disagrees with
his conduct of Navy Department,
612. Letter of M. to, 489.
Dapper, Dr. (Kissingen), 504.
Dashkoff, M., 271, 274.
Davis, Clenin, U. S. N., 396.
Dawes, Charles G., 91.
Dead Letter (Mce, 409.
Delcass^, Th^ophile, Kaiser's suspi
cions of, 127; M.'s interview with,
139; resigns, 216; Kaiser on, 216,
217; 229.
Democratic Party, more united than
usual in 1908, 410.
Depew, Chauncey M., 93.
Dernidorff, Orloff, 271.
Dickinson, Jacob M., 426, 429.
Dillon, E. J., 232 »; The Eclipse of
Russia, 283 n.
Diplomatic uniforms, M. on, 389,
390.
Disarmament, at the Hague Con
ference, Kaiser on, 340; Victor
Emmanuel on, 343; Sir E. Grey
on, 343, 344.
Discriminating duties (Russian)
against U. S., history of, 201, 202.
Dodge, H. Percival, 226.
Dogger Bank incident, 203.
Dolgorouky, Prince, 310, 311, 331,
335 TO., 416.
Dolgorouky, Princess, 244.
Doria, Prince, 46.
Doria, Princess, 46.
Doty, George H., 388.
Douglas, WiUiam L., elected Gov
ernor of Mass. in 1904, 105.
Douglas, Mrs. 62.
Dournovo, M., resigns, 277; 242,267,
269, 272.
Draga, Queen of Servia, assassi
nated, 73, 410.
Draper, Eben S., 96, 387, 426, 463.
Draper, WiUiam F., 28, 48 and n.
Drew, Mrs., 485.
Dubassof, M., Governor-General of
Moscow, 262.
Duma (first). Tsar decides to sanc
tion convoking of, 192, 193; prep
arations for meeting of, 232;

'526

INDEX

meeting of, delayed, 234; outlook
for meeting of, 256; a factor to
be reckoned with, 239; regarded
as a panacea for all grievances,
240; elections for, in Moscow,
266, 267; opening of, in Tauride
Garden, 273, 278-281, 285; Tre
poff quoted on, 275 ; practicaUy aU
members-elect opposed to govern
ment, 275; controUed by Cadets,
277, 281 ; uncertainty as to its ac
tion, 277; Tsar's reception by,
280; his address, 280, 281; general
impression of members of, 281;
purposes actuating different ele
ments of, 281, 282; its second ses
sion, 283; Muromtseff chosen
President, 283; question of am
nesty for poUtical prisoners, 283,
284; reply to the speech from the
throne, 283, 284, 286, 287; Tsar
refuses to receive delegation vrith
the reply, 284; constitution of,
285; varying ideas of members of,
287; coUision with Crown prob
able, 288; Goremykin announces
denial of amnesty, 288, 289; Is
wolsky on, 291 ; not understood by
Goremykin, 292; dismissed, and
why, 300; its projected manifesto
on agrarian questions, 300.
Duma (second): date fixed for
meeting of, 300; Iswolslqr on
probable attitude of, 333, 349.
Durand, Sir H. Mortimer, 350.
Eastern Yacht Club, 85, 218.
Eddy, Spencer, 111, 129, 132, 139,
153, 165, 224, 296, 303.
Edward VII, at home, 67-69; criti
cized by Kaiser for attempting to
weaken Triple AUiance, 217, 218;
and the Kaiser's birthday present,
230; Kaiser on his relations with
Clemenceau and his government,
339; and the Hague Conference,
340, 349, 350; M.'s audience with,
384-386; his visit to Germany, 498;
44, 70, 138, 142, 211, 305, 336, 347,
354, 484. And see Great Britain.
Edwards, Clarence R., U. S. A., 396.
Egerton, Sir Edwin, 121, 122, 123,
124, 128.

Egerton, Lady, 123, 128.
Eisendecker, Admiral, 69, 74.
Eitel, Friedrich, Prince, 228.
Elena, Queen of Italy, M.'s impres
sion of, 41, 45, 46, 49; gives birth
to a son, 100; 47, 60, 63, 64, 55, 57,
67, 68, 71, 72, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81,
82, 107, 108, 128, 129, 134, 135,
246, 260, 270.
Eliot, Charles W., dinner given to,
in Washington, 429, 430; his
speech, 430; dinner given by Har
vard Club of N. Y. on his retire
ment, M.'s speech at, 430, 431;
given degrees of LL. D. and M.
D., and made president emeritus,
435; 6, 96.
Elizabeth of Hesse, Grand Duchess
Serge, 320, 321, 333, 349.
Elkins, Stephen B., 361.
Elkins, Mrs. Stephen B., 361.
Elkins, Miss, 359.
EUis, Mr., 394.
Engineering Magazine, quoted, in
M.'s administration of Navy De
partment, 457.
England: M.'s visit to (1911), 481 ;f.
And see Great Britain.
Equitable Life Assurance Co., 183.
Erskine, David M., 319.
Essex Agricultural Society, 37, 38.
Essex Club, 26.
Essex County (Mass.), and the Mi
opia Hunt Club, 14.
Eulenberg, Count, 230, 337.
Evans, Robley D., U. S. N., Roose
velt's special instructions to, in
Eastern waters, 384, 385; 155.
Expropriation of private land
(Russia), 288, 291, 292, 300.
Fairbanks, Charles W., 396, 424,
425.
Falgari, Count Bruschi, 33.
Falkenhayn, General von, 497, 500,
601, 602, 603.
Feodora, Princess, 84.
Ferdinand, Tsar of Bulgaria, 501.
Ferdinand, Crown Prince (now
King) of Roumania, 486.
Fersen, Count, 271, 274, 311, 336 to.
Fersen, Countess, 271, 274, 311, 415.
Filipinos, The, Abp. ChappeUe on.

INDEX

527

41; MacArthur's opinion of, 43.
Financial panic of 1907, beginning
of, 374 and to., 376; measures of
Cabinet to reUeve, 375, 376.
Fisheries treaty with Great Britain,
415.
Fletcher, F. F., U. S. N., 467, 468.
FUnt, Charles R., 150, 151, 207.
riorio. Donna Franca, 128.
Flotow, Herr von, 337.
Foraker, Joseph B., Taft and, 402,
404.
Fore River Engine Co.: M.'s aUeged
relations with, 419.
Foreign letter postage: reduction of,
sought by M., 367; proposed re
duction, approved in Great Brit
ain, 391 and ra.; adopted as be
tween U. S. and Great Britain,
392, 407, 408; letter of J. H. Hea
ton on, 407.
Fort HiU Chemical Co., 12.
Foss, George E., 469 and n.
Poster, John W., 165.
Foster, Murphy J., 417, 46a
Fraginito, Duke of, 33, 34.
France, aUiance with Russia, 117,
118, 121, 185, 188, 189, 268; feeling
of diplomats of, toward Russia,
127, 128; alliance with Great
Britain, 185; attitude of press of,
in conference of Tsar and Kaiser,
188, 189; and the dispute over
Morocco, 216, 217; her great stake
in Russia, 227; attitude of gov
ernment toward Algeciras Con
ference, 243; wishes moral sup
port of Russia, 243; fears Ger
man demands, 243, 246; designs
antagonistic to, disavowed by von
Biilow, 247; Spring-Rice on dan
ger of irritation with Germany,
256; Schoen on nervousness of,
262; and Germany, at Algeciras,
262, 263, 266, 268; signs of good
feeling with Germany distasteful
to Great Britain, 339, 340; and the
integrity of China, 384.
Francis Joseph, Emperor, 217.
Franckenstein, Herr von, 165.
Franklin, Benjamin, 409.
Fraseo, Count, 80.

Frasso, Prince, 123.
Frasso, Princess, 123.
Frederick the Great, 228.
Fredericks, Baron, 185.
Free list (tariff), Taft's position on,
442.
French Revolution, parallel between,
and events in Russia in 1905, 233,
234; 241.
French tariff, 381.
FrescheviUe, M. de, 140.
Frothingham, Louis A., 400.
Fuller, MelviUe W., Chief Justice,
425, 426.
Funston, Frederick, 43.
Furstenberg, Prince, 88, 196, 236,
246, 247, 271, 274, 330.
Furstenberg, Princess, 85, 248, 271,
274, 330, 486.
Fiirstenberg von Fiirstenberg, Prin
cess, 85.
Fusinato, Signor, 106, 136.
Galltzine, Princess, 261, 290, 295,
331, 335 TO.
Gallinger, Jacob H., 417.
Ganghofer, Herr (noveUst), 323,
324.
Gapon, Father, murder of, 283 and
TO.; 115.
Gardner, Augustus P., 28.
Garfield, James R., 95, 222, 397, 403,
406, 409, 411, 421.
Garfield, Mrs. Helen N., 420.
Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 87.
Garibaldi, Ricciotti, and the Mace
donian question, 87.
Garrett, J. W., 226.
Genoa, Duchess of, 63 and to.
Genoa, Duke of, 50 and to., 63 and
TO., 54, 68, 69, 107.
" Gentleman from Mississippi, The,"
403, 404, 405.
George Michailovitch, Grand Duke,
260.
Gerard, James W., Kaiser curious
about him, 497, 498, 604.
Gerard, Mrs. Mary, 604.
Gerard, Sumner, 497.
Germany: feeling in, toward Russia,
114; bankers in, and the Russian
loan of 1905, 114, 121; Victor
Emmanuel on probable agreement

528

INDEX

of, with Russia, 122, 126; provi
sions of new treaty with Russia,
156; rumors of agreement be
tween Russia and, 186 and to.,
188; and France, 209; and Great
Britain, relations why strained,
217, 218; optimism in, concerning
Russian affairs, 227; feeling to
ward, in Great Britain, 230;
French distrust of, in advance of
Algeciras Conference, 243, 246;
disavows purpose of putting pres
sure on France, 247; Spring-
Rice on danger of French irrita
tion with, 256; and France, at
Algeciras, 263, 266, 268; election
in (1907), 332, 338; signs of good
feeling between France and, dis
tasteful to Great Britain, 339,
340; and Russia, 340; natural aUy
of U. S. in case of war with
Japan, 340; and disarmament,
346, 346; "making up" to U. S.,
350; hysteria over, in Great Brit
ain, 433, 434; her merchants un-
derseUing British everywhere,
433; and the "barbarities" pro
hibited in war, 440 to./ relations
between railroads and army and
navy in, 482; in 1913, 493; Kaiser
on increasing her army and navy
— to insure peace, 499, 600; ex
perience of the Meyers in, in July,
1914, 605-610.
Gianotti, Count, 34, 136.
Gianotti, Countess, 71.
Gibson, Major, U. S. A., 313, 316.
GiUett, James N., 416, 473, 476.
GioUtti, Signor, 104.
Glasoff, M., 192.
Glavis, Mr., and the BaUinger-
Pinchot controversy, 445.
Goat Island (San Francisco), 474,
475.
Goelet, Mrs., 61.
Goleschowski, Count, 272.
Goodrich, Caspar F., U. S. N., 469.
Goss, Mrs. C. A., letter of M. to,
489.
Goremykin, M., appointed Prime
Minister of Russia, 276; an
nounces denial of amnesty to po
litical prisoners, 289; M.'s inter

view with, 291, 292; his complaint
of British press, "owned by
Jews," 292; M.'s impression of,
292; does not grasp the situation,
292; resigns, 301.
Gorky, Maxim, in U. S., 272, 282.
Goubastow, M., 299.
Goudovitch, Countess, 274.
Grant, Frederick D., 293, 361.
Grant, Mrs. Frederick D., 93.
Grant, Ulysses S., 391.
Graves, Lieut., U. S. A., 404.
Gray, Miss, 69.
Great Britain, Kaiser's feeling
toward (1905), 127; and the com
mercial results of Russo-Japanese
War, 214; strained relations with
Germany augmented by jealousy
between King and Kaiser, 217,
218; feeling toward Germany in,
230; and the Algeciras Confer
ence, 243; system of appointing
ambassadors in, 258; relations
with Russia compromised by
Times correspondent, 274; Go
remykin complains of press of,
292; signs of good feeling between
France and Germany distasteful
to, 339, 340; aim of her aUiance
with Japan, 340 ; Hardinge on rela
tions with Japan, 346; disarma
ment in, dependent on Germany's
policy, 345, 346; and the integrity
of China, 384; Roosevelt_on her
Turkish policy, 410; fisheries
treaty with, 415; hysteria in, over
Germany, 433; ParUament biU
(1911), 484, 485 and n.j Kaiser
on feeling between Germany and
(1911), 498.
GreUe, M. de, 303.
GreUe, Mme. de, 303.
GreUe, Rogier, Comte de, 303.
Grey, Sir Edward: M.'s interview
with (1907), 344-346; his person
ality, 344; quoted, on disarma
ment, 344, 345; Kaisfer on, 498;
336, 347, 354, 485.
Griscom, Lloyd C, 61, 62.
Griswold, Frank, 177.
Groton School, 21, 187.
Griimer, Herr von, 88.
Grumm, Captain, 98.

INDEX

529

Guantanamo, harbour of, as a naval
base for defense of Panama
Canal, 481; 477, 478.
GugUelmi, Marquis, 132.
Guicciardini, Countess, 68.
Gurka, M., 324.
Hagner, Miss, 403.
Hague, The, Russia wishes peace
conference with Japan to be held
at, 166 and to.; Kaiser quotes Ed
ward VII on, 340; question of dis
armament at, 340, 343, 344; Ed
ward VII on, 350.
Hale, Eugene, 419, 433, 439, 469.
Halsbury, Earl of, 485.
Hamilton, Mass., home of Myopia
Hunt Club, 14, 16; M.'s residence
at, 16, 26.
Hanna, Marcus A., 93.
Harbin (China), 194.
Harcourt, Lewis, 485, 486.
Harcourt, Sir WUliam Vernon, 44.
Hardinge, Sir Charles, on England's
attitude toward Algeciras Con
ference, 243; on Japan and Great
Britain, 346; 147, 149, 165, 169,
186, 191, 205, 246, 340, 344, 347.
Hardinge, Lady, 165, 196.
Hardy, Alpheus H., 11.
Hardy, Alpheus H. & Co., M. enters
employ of, 11.
Harper, Mr., 273.
Harper's Weekly, 466, 612.
Harriman, J. Borden, 91.
Harvard Alumni Bulletin, 7 to.
Harvard Club of New York, 430.
Harvard Stadium, 95 and to.
Harvard University, M.'s course in,
6, 7; confers LL.D. on M., 6;
M. President of Overseers, 6, 494,
495; Kaiser's gifts to, 60; Com
mencement (1904), 398, (1909),
435; gives degree of LL.D. and
M.D. to President EUot, 435.
HaskeU, Charles N., Governor of
Oklahoma, and Standard Oil,
403, 404, 405, 406, 410.
Hatzfeldt, Prince, 337.
Hatzfeldt, Princess, 337.
Haughton, Percy D., 404.
Havana, 478-480.
Hawaii, 339, 371.

Hay, Adelbert, 486.
Hay, John, death of, 172, 176; M.'s
estimate of, 173; on M.'s work at
St. Petersburg, 484; Senate re
fuses to aUow him to accept
French decoration, 431; 65, 66,
81, 86, 109, 127, 165, 177, 187, 194,
210.
Hayti, affairs in, 89, 107.
Heaton, J. Henniker, letter to M. on
penny postage, 407.
Helena, Princess Christian, 305.
Henderson, Nevile, 301, 302.
Henry, Prince, of Prussia, 69, 60,
61, 74, 85, 142, 143, 215, 228, 230,
600.
Herrick, Myron T., 42, 92, 93, 482.
Herrick, Mrs. Caroline M., 93.
Herwarth, Major von, 500.
Hesse, Prince of, 214, 215.
Hesse, Princess of, 214, 215.
Hibben, Mr., 299, 300.
Higgins, Frank W., elected Gover
nor of N. Y., 106.
Higginson, Henry L., 44, 95.
HiU, David Jayne, 389, 390.
Hintze, Captain, 185, 328.
Hitchcock, Frank H., 384, 393, 399,
412, 413, 442.
Hoar, George F., 28.
Hobson, Richmond P., 480.
Hoffman, WiUiam, 486.
Hohenlohe, Prince von, 189, 195, 196,
206, 207, 209, 236, 262, 261.
HohenzoUern, royal yacht, Mrs.
Meyer lunches on, 97-100; M.
lunches on, 495 f.
Holmes, John A., 363, 369.
Holstein, Duchess of, 228, 229.
Homburg, M.'s interview with Kaiser
at, 211 f.; 41.
Honduras, 428.
Howard, Captain, U. S. N., 108.
HoweUs, WiUiam D., 272.
Hsu Keoh, 87.
Huene, Baron, 239, 266, 330, 335 to.
Hutine, Baroness, 239, 330, 335 to.
Hughes, Charles E., as candidate for
RepubUcan nomination for Presi
dent, 365, 373; candidate for Gov
ernor of N. Y., 410; and the
RepubUcan nomination in 1916,
514, 515; as candidate, supplied

530

INDEX

by M. with campaign material,
616.
Hugo, Victor, 398.
Humbert, King of Italy, 34, 44,
119.
Iddings, Lewis M., 32, 67, 76.
Iddings, Mrs. Lewis M., 67.
Ignatieff, General, 193.
Imatra, salmon-fishing at, 196 and
TO., 299.
Immaculate Conception, celebration
of, 107, 108.
ImperiaU, Marquis, 484.
Income tax, constitutionaUty of, 435.
Insurance companies, in N. Y., in
vestigation of, 265.
Irene, Princess Henry, 85, 230.
Iswolsky, M., succeeds Lamsdorff
as Russian Minister for Foreign
Affairs, 282, 283; M.'s opinion
of, 288, 338; on the situation in
the Duma, 291; and the Byalostok
massacres, 293, 294, 296; on French
and British press, 310; M.'s final
interview with, S33f.; quoted, on
the Tsarina, 333; on the second
Duma, 333; on negotiations with
Japan, 334, 335; 290, 304, 309, 330,
332, 336, 339, 354, 415.
ItaUan Chamber of Deputies, pro
ceedings in, 65.
Italian war reUef, M.'s last public
appearance at meetitng in behalf
of, 617.
Italy, McKinley appoints M. Am
bassador to, 28; M.'s service as
Ambassador to, 30-136; oflice of
U. S. Ambassador to, a " Ustening-
post" in the European world, 36,
37; and the Venezuela affair, 65,
66; and the RepubUc of Panama,
79; Socialist demonstrations in,
104; parliamentary elections in,
106; favourable to arbitration
treaty with U. S., 106; agrees to
participate in second Hague Con
ference, 106, 107; opening of Par
liament, 107; in accord with U. S.
on integrity of China and the
Open Door, 109, 113; M. resigns
as Ambassador to, 118; advance
in prosperity of, during his stay.

134; M. on his ambassadorship,
136; her lukewarm support of
Germany at Algeciras, 272; M.'s
attachment for, 343; parcel-post
convention with, 397. And see
Victor Emmanuel III.
Ito, Marquis, Witte's opinion of,
182; 169.
Ivan the Terrible, 325.
Jackson, John B., 479, 480.
Jagow, Herr von, M.'s interview
with, in July, 1914, and its sequel,
504, 609.
James, Thomas L., 392.
Jamestown Exposition, 360, 361.
Japan, breaks off diplomatic rela
tions with Russia, 83; Italian
sympathy with, 83; Victor Em
manuel III on progress of, 90;
cause of change of feeling of
British and Americans in East
toward, 112, 113; poUcy of, as
to Port Arthur and Sakhaline
Island, 124, 125; loan of 1905,
133, 134; her fleet destroys Rus
sian fleet, 151, 152; her army un
conquerable, 160; consents to
pourparlers with Russia, 163; in
vited to send representatives to
conference in U. S., 164; her
agreement to send plenipotenti
aries announced by Roosevelt,
175; and the proposed armistice,
175, 176, 180; and U. S., aUeged
secret alUance between, 183; prob
able demands of, for territory and
immtmlty, 194; progress of nego
tiations at Portsmouth, 194; is
she trying to humiliate Russia?,
195; waives claim to war-indem
nity, 203; her war expenses, 203,
204; her financial condition, 204;
her attitude toward peace influ
enced by her idea of conditions
in Russia, 204 ; her financial status
and its influence on Russia's
attitude, 205, 206; and the com
mercial results of the war, 213,
214; asks Roosevelt to make peace
for her, 220; Iswolsky on nego
tiations with, 334, 335; her exact
ing demands, 334; and the Open

INDEX

531

Door, 335; Kaiser on prospects of
war between U. S. and, 339; her
scheme of conquest, 339; has spies
everywhere, 339; Kaiser on pos
sible coaUtion of, with China, 346;
Hardinge on relations of Great
Britain with, 346; supposed ar
rangement with Colombia in case
of war with U. S., 365, 371 ; Root
on relations of, with U. S., 371;
possibiUty of war with U. S., 377;
Kaiser's statement as to her troops
in Mexico, 383; Cabinet discus
sion on, 383, 384; expense of her
army and navy, 383; Roosevelt on
" sublimated sweetljreads " who
ignore chance of trouble with,
383; his instructions to Evans as
to precautions, 384, 386; rumours
of her designs circulated by
Kaiser, 385; invites U. S. fleets
to visit her ports, 385; wishes to
study U. S. system of cost-ac
counting, 470; apprehension of
attack by, on Pacific coast, 472.
And see Portsmouth, Russo-
Japanese War.
Japanese, discrimination against in
California and Nevada, con
demned by Roosevelt, 416, 416.
Japanese immigration, 381.
Japanese lady, the only one in St.
Petersburg, 303.
Japanese prisoners of war, M.'s
service in caring for, 211, 253.
Jay, Augustus, 95.
Jews, participation of, in revolu
tionary disturbances in Russia,
239; persecution of, 297; preju
dice against, in Russia, 302; in
Odessa, 316, 318, 319; class of,
who emigrate to U. S., 318. And
see Byalostok.
Joachim, Prince, 337 and to.
Johnston Gate, The (Harvard), 7.
Jones, Beatrix, 486.
Jones, Mrs., 486.
Jusserand, Jules, " President of the
Mollycoddles," 381; on Roose
velt as a worker, 431; and Bern
storff, rivalry between, 441; 357,
360, 377, 378, 412, 420.
JuUano, Count, 46.

Jusserand, Mme. Jules, 357, 360, 420.
Kalserlichen Yacht Club, 68, 69.
Kaneko, Mr., 220.
Kaulbars, Baron, Military Governor
of Odessa, his poUcy, 317; at
tempt on his life, 317, 318; on
Jews of the emigratory class, 318.
Kaulbars, Baroness, 317.
Kean, John, 417.
Kean, Mrs. John, 417.
KeUer, Count, 252.
KeUey, Captain, 479.
Kernochan, Mrs., 362.
Key West, 477, 478.
Kiel, yacht races at, 68 ff.
Kiel Canal, 62, 603.
King, Monsignor, 88, 89.
Kinnicutt, Dr., 486.
Kitchener, Earl, 485.
Kleinmichel, Countess, her house in
St. Petersburg becomes U. S. Em
bassy, 144 ; was it " a palace " ?
259; 208, 252.
Klemperer, Mrs., 68.
Knickerbocker Trust Co., 374 to.
KnoUys, Lord, 230 and n., 384.
Knox, PhUander C, appointed Sec'y
of State by Taft, 414; why in-
eUgible for Cabinet, 417 ; on poUcy
of U. S. toward Central America,
427, 428; 420, 426, 432, 433, 442.
Knox, Mrs. LiUie (Smith), 417.
Knydz-Potemkin, battleship, mutiny
on, 172, 173, 176, 177, 179.
Koester, Admiral von, 464.
Kohlsaat, H. H., 93.
Kokovtzoff, M., 164, 156, 192, 195,
201, 202.
Korea, 334.
Korff, Baron, 244, 261, 331.
Kotschowsky, Princess, 211.
KremUn, The, 320, 321.
Kuropatkin, General, 113, 129.
Labor imions (Russian), leaders of,
arrested, 234.
Lafarge, John, 369.
Lafarge, Mrs. John, 359.
Laffan, WilUam M., 464 and n.,
465.
La FoUette, Robert M., 92.
Lamsdorff, Count, and M.'s request

532

INDEX

for immediate audience with Tsar,
167, 158; prefers The Hague to
Washington for peace conference,
but finally agrees to the latter,
166-169; quoted by Hardinge on
selection of plenipotentiaries, 169;
seeks to frustrate Tsar's good in
tentions, 173, 174; "tridcy and
not absolutely reliable," 178;
change in his attitude, 179; his
unfortunate commurdquS, 180; op
posed to a national assembly, 187,
192; dinner given by, to Motono,
267; his instructions to Cassini
at Algeciras, 268; 141, 149, 151,
164, 163, 164, 170, 171, 172, 175,
181, 183, 185, 186, 193, 195, 198,206,
207, 208, 210, 242, 264, 276, 282,
338.
Langtry, A. P., 387.
Lanier, Mr., 62.
Lansdowne, Marquis of, on affairs
in Russia, 223, 224; 227, 231, 347,
485.
Lante, Duchess Grazioli, 66.
Lante, Ludovico, 79.
La Rosa, Duke of, 48.
Lascelles, Sir F. C, 340 and to.
Lawrence, Amory A., 417.
Lawrence, James, 383.
Lawrence, Julia, 417.
Lawrence, Rt. Rev. William, on
M.'s work in Navy Dep't, 491;
96, 416, 417.
Lee, Fitzhugh, 388.
Leghait, Madame, 123, 605.
Leo XIII, Pope, 66, 70.
Leopold, King of Belgium, 45, 501.
Le Roy, Stuyvesant, 177.
Lester, Reginald, 123.
Letitia, Princess, 53 and to.
Leuchtenberg, Duchess of (Princess
Anastasie of Montenegro), 260,
342 and to., 349 and to.
Leuchtenberg, George, Duke of, 260,
342 TO.
Leutze, Eugene H. C, U. S. N., 4fi0,
461.
Libau, revolt of marines at, 171,
173, 176, 178.
Lincoln, Abraham, 493.
Linden, Admiral von, 218.
Linder and Meyer, M. becomes a
member of, 11, 12.

Linevich, General, 189, 204, 242, 253.
Littauer, Lucius N., and the tariff
on ladies' gloves, 443.
Livadia, Tsar's palace at, 320.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 42, 75, 76,
93, 94, 96, 108, 109, 115, 119, 261,
296, 357, 365, 381, 387, 388, 401,
403, 425, 426, 427, 429, 431, 432,
436, 440, 463. Letters of M. to,
119, 127, 129, 231, 255, 277, 329.
Lodz, disturbance at, 173, 176.
Loeb, WiUiam, Jr., 393.
Logan, G. W., U. S. N., 467.
London, M.'s visit to, in 1905, 223,
224; 41, 42.
London Daily Telegraph, 232 to.
Long, John D., 93.
Longworth, Alice (Roosevelt), 400,
428, 437, 443. And see Roosevelt,
Alice.
Longworth, Nicholas, 377, 437, 443.
Loomis, Francis B., 219.
Lords, House of, biU limiting pow
ers of, 484.
Loreburn, Earl, 486.
Los Angeles, 475, 476.
Lothrop, George V. M., 239 and n,
Loubet, Emile, at Rome, 89, 90; 76,
216.
Louise, Princess, 102, 103.
Lovenorn, M. de, 153, 253, 289.
LoweU, A. L., new Pres. of Har
vard, 435, 436.
LoweU, Francis C, quoted, on M.,
23, 24; his Atlantic paper on
"American Diplomacy," 258 and
TO. Letter of M. to, 258.
Lyman, Geoerge H., 93.
Lyncker, Hofmarshal von, 87, 88,
211, 212, 215.
MacArthur, Arthur, U. S. A., re
port on the Philippines, 42, 43;
41.
McCaU, Samuel W., quoted, 24, 25.
MacCawley, Charles, U. S. N., 396,
443.
McCormick, Robert L., 129 and n.
McEnery, Samuel D., 463.
McKenna, Reginald, 484, 485, 486.
McKim, Charles F., and the restora
tion of the White House, 63, 67;
31, 91, 106, 109.

INDEX

583

McKim, Mrs. Charles F., Mrs.
Meyer's sister, 31.
McKinley, William, appoints M.
Ambassador to Italy, 28, 29; M.'s
interview with at Canton, O.
(1901), 42, 43; shot at Buffalo,
43; his death, 43; M.'s impression
of, 44; memorial service for, at
Westminster Abbey, 44; 105, 263.
McKinley Tariff Act, and Demo
cratic claims, 201.
MacNutt, Francis A., 40 and n,
MacVeagh, Franklin, 426, 432, 434,
443.
MacVeagh, Wayne, 48 and m.
Macedonia, and Turkey, proposed
arbitration between, 87; 112.
Mackay, Clarence H., 510.
Mafalda, Princess, 63 and n., 78.
Malvano, Signor, 136.
Manchuria, in the treaty between
Russia and Japan, 194; 112,
334.
Manila, 40.
Marcoe, Dr., 62, 484.
Marcoe, Mrs., 62, 484.
Marconi system, 60.
Mare Island Navy Yard, 474.
Margherita, Queen-Mother (Italy),
M.'s impression of, 48; M.'s fare
weU audience with, 133; 33, 68,
102, 108.
Marlborough, Duchess of, 486.
Martin, M., 303.
Martini, Countess, 68.
Massachusetts, elects Democratic
governor in 1904, 105; attitude of,
on tariff, 443. ^
Massachusetts House of Repre
sentatives, M.'s service in, 21 f.,
25, 26; M. Speaker of, 21, 22;
passes resolution of thanks to M.,
23, 24.
Massachusetts State House, preser
vation of " Bulfinch front" of, 25,
26.
Mayor des Planches, Signor, 83.
Meadowbrook Club, 14.
Mechin, Mme., 123.
Medhurst, Mr., 312, 313.
Medici, Peruzzi di, 64.
Medici Palace (Turin), 103.
Melegari, ChevaUer, 147.
Melegari, Mme., 208.

Mengden, Count, 335 to.
Mengden, Countess, 276, 336 Ti,
Merchants Nat'l Bank of Boston,
12, 494.
Merry del Val, Cardinal, 90, 135,
Mestchersky, Prince, 336 to.
Mestchersky, Princess, 336 to.
Metcalf, Victor H., 322, 358, 360,
363, 395, 396, 397.
Metcalf, Mrs. EmUy C, 359, 360.
Metropolitan Magazine, 512.
Mexico, rumours as to Japanese
troops in, 383; Falkenhayn on
probable intervention of, in U. S.,
603; 428.
Meyer, AUce, M.'s daughter, marries
C. P. R. Rodgers, U. S. N., 617;
13, 28, 61, 76, 77, 98, 129, 132,
135, 161, 162, 277, 288, 296, 802,
369, 417, 426, 437. Letter of M.
to, 259.
Meyer, F. L., M.'s great-uncle, 4.
Meyer, George Augustus, I, M.'s
grandfather, 3.
Meyer, George Augustus, II, M.'s
father, 3, 6, 11.
Meti;h, George voir Lengeeke.
I. Beginnings. — Birth and an
cestry, 3-5; his course at Harvard,
6, 6; first visit to Europe, 6; rows
on his class crew, 7; his addic
tion to sports, 7, 8.
II. Affairs and Politics. — En
ters oflace of A. H. Hardy & Co.,
11; becomes a member of Linder
& Meyer, 12; director in many
large corporations, 12; marries
Marian A. Appleton, 12, 13; his
children, 13; and the Myopia Hunt
Club, 13, 14, 15; and Rock Maple
Farm, 15; becomes interested in
poUtics in Boston, 16, 17; in the
Common Council, 17, 19; "caught
young" in poUtics, 18; a "regu
lar" Republican, 18, 19; a resi
dent of the Ninth Ward of Bos
ton, 19 ; a member of Ninth Ward
RepubUcan Committee, 20; goes
from Common Council to Board
of Aldermen, 20; his work in the
City Council, 20; elected five times
to Mass. House of Representa
tives, 21; Speaker, 1894-1896, 21;
his success in the Speakership, 21,

534

INDEX

22, 23-25; advice to his son, 22,
23; F. C. LoweU and S. W. Mc
CaU, on his qualitites as a legis
lator, 23-25; summary of legis
lation with which he was specially
associated, 25, 26 ; estabUshes legal
residence at Hamilton, Mass., in
1896, 26 ; Chairman of Mass. Paris
Exposition Managers, 26; poUtical
activities, 26; a "sound-money
man," 26, 27; and Roosevelt's
nomination for Vice-President,
27; contemplates running for
Congress in Sixth Mass. District,
27, 28, 51; offered Ambassador
ship to Italy by McKinley, 28;
and accepts, 29.
III. Ambassador to Italy. —
Appointment confirmed by U. S.
Senate, 30; begins to keep a
diary, 30; faithfulness and au
thenticity of the diary, 30, 31;
arrival at Naples, 32; poisoned
by eating fish, 32; arrival_ at
Rome, 32; first audience with'the
King, 33, 34; moves from Grand
Hotel to Palazzo Brancaccio, 34,
35, 36; his Ricevimento, 34, 35, 47,
48 ; his diary in Rome summarized,
36, 37; 39; his social relations, 37;
hunting in the Campagna, 37, 60,
61, 79; 80, 81, 82, 83; his prophecy
concerning the automobile in 1897,
37, 38; introduces the motor-car
to the King, 38, 39; audience with
the King, 40 ; at Homburg, 41, and
in London, 41, 42; visits McKinley
at Canton, 42, 43; on the shooting
and death of McKinley, 43, 44;
attends memorial service at West
minster Abbey, 44; and Leopold
of Belgium, 46; returns to Rome,
45; audience with the King, 45;
and the American Academy at
Rome, 45; audience with Queen
Elena, 45, 46; at the Doria Palace,
46; at Court reception to Diplo
matic Corps, 46, 47; audience with
Margherita (Queen Mother), 48;
dinner at Court, 48, 49; plays
cards with clergyman on Sunday,
49; at the opening of ParUament,
60; arrest of U. S. naval ofBcers

at Venice, 62, 53; visits Turin, 63-
66; visit of the Shah of Persia to
Rome, 65-57; at Naples, 57, 68;
rumours of a change in the Em
bassy, 68; the Concours Hippique
at Turin, 68; meets the Kaiser at
the yacht races at Kiel, 68/.;
presented to the Kaiser, 69, and
converses with him, 60; visits U.
S. in summer of 1902, 62, 63;
returns to Rome, 63; audience
with the King, 63, 64; shooting
and hunting at Ardea, 64; at meet
ing of Anglo-American Home, 64,
65; on the Italian Chamber of
Deputies, 65; on Italy and the
Venezuela affair, 65, 66; the minor
troubles of an ambassador, 66;
amateur theatricals at Palazzo
Brancaccio, 66, 67; taUis with Gen.
Wood on Roosevelt's prospects of
nomination and election in 1904,
67; gala performance at the opera
in honour of Edward VII, 68, 69;
audience with the Kaiser at Rome,
70, 71; reception to the Kaiser,
71; a picturesque spectacle at
Venice, 72; induces Italian gov
ernment to exhibit at St. Louis,
72, 73; on the murder of King
and Queen of Servia, 73; again at
Kiel yacht races, 74, 75; talk with
Kaiser on Mediterranean situa
tion, 75; again visits America in
summer of 1903, 76; complimented
by Roosevelt, 76; hunting at San
Rossore, 76-79; talk with Tittoni
on recognition of the new Repub
lic of Panama, 79; has a faU while
hunting, 80; W. J. Bryan at Rome,
80, 81; first rumbUngs of Russo-
Japanese war, 81; talks with the
King thereon, 82; opening of
American Academy, 82, 83; on
the break between Russia and
Japan, 83; finds Italian sympathy
with Japan, 83; on the attack on
Port Arthur, 84; talks with Kaiser
at BerUn about the Russo-Japa
nese war, 84, 86; two Court baUs,
84, 85, 86; on the U. S. as medi
ator between Turkey and Mace
donia, 87; Hsu Keoh, and the

INDEX

535

neutrality of China, 87; dines
with Kaiser on HohenzoUern at
Naples, 88 ; at Monte Casino Mon
astery, 88, 89; audience with the
King on Panama Canal, etc., 89;
on President Loubet, 89, 90; audi
ence with the King, on Russo-
Japanese war, etc., 90; in the U.
S. in 1904 for Republican National
Convention, 91 ff.; and the oppo
sition to Cortelyou as Chairman
of National Committee, 92, 93;
dines and lunches at the White
House, 94, 95; Roosevelt proposes
to take him into his Cabinet, or
give him another Ambassadorship,
95, 100, 101; at 25th anniversary
of Class of 1879, 95, 96; on the
birth of Prince Alexis, Tsarevich,
and the Prince of Piedmont, 100;
rumours as to his transference to
Paris or Berlin, 101; visits Aosta
at Turin, 101-104; on Socialist
activities in Rome, 104; on the
Dogger Bank incident, 104, 105;
congratulates Roosevelt, 105; on
the election of a Democratic Gov
ernor in Mass., 105; on Italian
elections of 1904, 106; opening of
Italian Parliament, 107; on the
King's speech, 107; audience with
the King, 107; celebration of the
Immaculate Conception at St.
Peter's, 107, 108; his rumoured
appointment to Paris, 108, 109;
Roosevelt offers him Ambassador
ship to Russia, 110, 111, which
he accepts, 112; on change of feel
ing toward Japan, 112, 113; on the
integrity of China and the Open
Door, 113; on prestige of U. S.
government as to China, 113; urges
upon Roosevelt the need of a spe
cial Americon courier, 114, 122;
on the diplomatist who leaves his
post in fear of revolution, 115; on
the aspect of affairs in Russia as
seen from Rome, 116, 117; the
Tsar's lost opportunity, 116, 117;
on the appointment of Gen, Tre
poff as Governor-Gen. of St.
Petersburg, 117; on France's posi
tion with respect to Russia, 117,
118; resigns as Ambassador to

Italy, 118; on the King's ^ popu
larity, 119; on the increasing
strength' of public sentiment in
Russia, 120, 121; on the Russian
loan, 121, 122; talk with the King
on divers subjects, 122;^ on the
murder of Grand Duke Serge, 123;
conversation with Sir E. Egerton,
reported to Roosevelt, 124, 125;
visit to Berlin, 125 f.; interview
with Kaiser as to Russia, and as
to possible cooperation of Ger
many and U. S. in the Far East,
126, 127; on the feeUng between
Great Britain and Germany
(Kaiser), 127; on French criticism
of Russian administration, 127,
128; appointed Ambassador to
Russia, and confirmed, 128, 129;
attends Court ball and talks with
the King, 128, 129; his anticipa
tions as to his reception at St.
Petersburg, 130; regrets lack of
special courier, 130; secures spe
cial courier, 130 to.; interview with
Chinese minister on sincerity of
U. S., 131; dinner given to him
in Rome, 131, 132; list of hosts,
131; farewell audience with Queen
Mother, 133; on talk of peace, 133,
134; farewell audience with the
King, 134; on the advance in pros
perity in Italy since 1901, 134;
on the playing of baccarat at the
Clubs, 134; farewell dinner by
King and Queen, 134, 135; audi
ence with the Pope (Pius X),
136; fareweU audience with
Duchess of Aosta, 135, 136; leaves
Rome, 136; on the friends he had
made in Italy, 136.
IV. Ambassador to Russia: —
Characteristics of his diaries and
letters during his stay in Russia,
138, 139; interview vrith Delcassd
in Paris, 139; arrival in Russia,
139; on Russian costumes and
sleeping-cars, 139; first days in
St. Petersburg, 140 f.; on Lams
dorff, 141 ; audience with Tsar and
Tsarina at Tsarskoe Sel6, 141 f.,
145; his impression of them, 141,
142, 145; on the prospects of
peace in the East, 144; on condi-

536

INDEX

tions in Russia, 144, 145, 149,
154 f., 173, 174; 176, 178, 190, 229,
231, 232, 233, 234, 236, 237, 238,
239, 240, 242, 251, 256, 257, 296,
297, 302, 309, 316 f., 329; on his
welcome, 144, 146; on the Tsar's
reception of Roosevelt offer of
good ofSces, 145, 146; on the
Tsarina's influence, 145, 146; so
cial amenities, 146, 147; shooting
capercailzie, 147-149, 150; on the
Tsar's concession of religious free
dom, 149; on lack of system and
preparation, 160; on the visit of
Schwab and FUnt to St. Peters
burg, 150, 151; on the destruction
of ttie Russian fleet, 161, 152, 153;
on Rosen and Cassini, 153; on
corruption in Russian govern
ment, 154, 155; on Pobedonost-
zefPs influence, 155; on the dis
criminating duties (Russian), 155,
156, 190, 193, 194, 195, 196, 201,
202; on the Tsar's procrastination,
166; obtains immediate audience
with Tsar to present Roosevelt's
invitation to arrange meeting of
plenipotentiaries, 157, 158; details
of the audience at Tsarskoe Selb,
158-161; obtains the Tsar's assent,
161; diary entries, showing prog
ress of events and negotiations,
163 f.; Cassini thinks he has mis
interpreted the Tsar, 164; con
gratulated by Kaiser, 164; should
the conference be held at Wash
ington or The Hague?, 166, 167,
168, 169; straightforwardness con
trary to the habit of the bureau
cracy, 167, 168; on NeUdow as a
possible plenipotentiary, 169, 170;
on his wedding day, 171; on the
mutinies at Odessa and Libau,
171, 172, 176, 177; on John Hay's
death and character, 172, 173; on
the prevarications, etc., of the
Russian Foreign Oflce, 173, 174;
on the suggestion of an armistice,
175; on Mouravieff, 176, 176, 182,
183; on Lamsdorff, 178; on Lams
dorff's communique, 180; on the
Tsar's promise of reforms, 178;
on the Sakhaline question, 179,
181, 199, 200, 202, 203, 204, 206;

appointment of Witte as first
plenipotentiary, 180 ; impression of
Witte, 181; effect in Russia of
Witte's appointment, 182, 184;
conversation with Witte, 182; on
the insurance scandals in U. S.,
183, 265; Hay's opinion of his
work in Russia, 184; on the con
dition of the Russian fleet, 184;
on the conference between Tsar
and Kaiser at Bjorke, 185 and to.,
186, 188, 191; on the reasons for
peace, 186; on the separation of
Norway and Sweden, 186, 195; on
the Moscow Congress, 187; on the
war party in Russia, 189, 190; on
proposed commercial agreement
between Russia and U. S., 190; on
Witte's reception in America,
192, 193, 196, 202; the Tsar's de
cision to grant a national assem
bly, 192, 193; on the prospects
of peace, 194; on the significance
of the grant of a national assem
bly, 195, and its reception in St.
Petersburg, 196; his face-to-face
deaUngs with the Tsar, on the con
clusion of peace at Portsmouth^
196 if.; his part in the matter,
an indispensable element in its
success, 197; his suspicions of
bureaucratic methods, 198; audi
ence with the Tsar (August 23,
1905), 198-201; on the Tsar's pri
vate correspondence with the
Kaiser, 199, 202, 203, 212, 253; on
f eeUng in Russia as to payment of
indemnity, 201, 204; financial
question, chief obstacle to peace,
204, 205, 206; on the conclusion
of peace, 206; on Russian ingrati
tude, 206; on the terms of peace,
and his share in obtaining them,
206, 207; feeUng in Russia as to
peace, 208, 210; comphmented by
Stead for his part in negotiations,
209; on Robert Bacon, 210; his
work in caring for Japanese pris
oners of war, 211; interviews with
Kaiser at Homburg, 211-218 com
plimented by Kaiser, 212, 213, and
his wife, 214; on Delcass6, 216,
217; on the jealousy between
Kaiser and Edward VII, 217,

INDEX

537

218; on the Kaiser's grasp of
world-affairs, 218, 219; reports to
Roosevelt, 219, 220, who wishes to
have him in his Cabinet, 220; was
he quaUfied to be Sec'y of the
Treasury?, 220; on methods of
improving eflciency of U. S.
diplomatic corps, 220, 221; marks
of appreciation of his work in
Russia, 221; urged by Roosevelt
to return at once to Russia, 221,
222; walking with Roosevelt, 222;
returns to Russia, 223 f.; inter
view with Lansdowne, 223, 224;
interview with Rouvier, 224;
Grand Duchess Vladimir in Paris,
225; interview with von Biilow,
226-228; on the needs of Russia,
227; dines with Kaiser at Pots
dam, 228-230; on Germany and
Great Britain, 229, 230; on the
commercial treaty between Russia
and U. S., 229; on the aims of
the Sociahst and Labor Unions
in Russia, 231, 233, 234, 235, 237.
238; on the financial situation oi
the government, 231, 232; on
Witte's good qualities and de
fects, 232; on the resemblance be
tween events in France in 1789
and those in Russia in 1905, 233,
234; on the persistence of faith
in the Tsar, 234; on army and
navy troubles, 234; Tsar's manner
of Ufe at Tsarskoe Sel6, 236, 241;
shooting at Tosno, 235; Russia
" an extraordinary country," 236 ;
the "hooligan stories," 237; on the
participation of Jews in revolu
tionary outbreaks, 239; on the
Duma as a universal panacea, 240;
on the Tsar's autocratic power,
240; on the preUminaries of the
Algeciras Conference, 243, 244; at
reception of Diplomatic Corps at
Tsarskoe Sel6, 244-246, 247; con
versation with Tsar, 244, and
Tsarina, 245; impression of the
latter, 245; Tsarina and Tsarevich,
245; on probable demands of
Kaiser at Algeciras, 246, 246;
bear-hunting, 248-251; at the
Yukki Club, 261, 252, 261, 325;
audience with Grand Duke Con

stantine, 252, 253; official dinner
at Austrian Embassy, 254, 255;
on Russia's Interest in outcome of
Algeciras, 255, 264, 265; on the
ignorance of the American Am
bassador, 256, 256; on the pros
pect of the meeting of the Duma,
256; on Countess Witte, 257, 258;
on diplomatic service of the U. S.,
258; on Andrew D. White, 268,
259; on the American Embassy as
a " palace," 259 ; attends regular
mass at Tsarskoe Sel6, 259-261;
on France and Germany at Al
geciras, 262, 263; on Roosevelt as
arbiter if Algeciras Conference
comes to a deadlock, 264; on cam
paign funds in national elections,
265; on prospects at Algeciras,
266, 266; on lack of interest of
workingmen in elections for
Duma, 266, 267; victory of Ca
dets in elections in St. Petersburg,
268; close of Algeciras Confer
ence, 269; his Atlantic article on
" Our Inelastic Currency," 270;
attends midnight (Easter) mass
at St. Isaac's, 270, 271; Easter in
St. Petersburg, 271; the Duma in
the palace of the Tauride Garden,
273; on the evil Influence of the
Times correspondent at St. Peters
burg, 274; and General Trepoff,
275; uncertainty as to action of
Duma, 277; at opening of Duma
(May, 1906), 278-281; impres
sions of the members, 279, 280,
285; on the Tsar's address, 281,
285; on the aims of the peasants,
281; can a conflict between Crovra
and Duma be avoided?, 281; the
Cadets and the Tsar, 281, 282,
298; at first session of Council
of Empire, 282; a great awaken
ing in Russia, 282; amnesty of
political prisoners, 283, 284, 287,
288, 289; on the control of the
Duma by the Cadets, 286, 286; on
the address in reply to speech
from the throne, 286, 287; atti
tude of Duma makes a crisis
likely, 287; is pessimistic as to
the future, 287, 288; on the Duma
and the denial of amnesty and

538

INDEX

expropriation, 288, 289; entertains
Mr. and Mrs. Bryan, 289, 290,
291; impression of Iswolsky, 292;
investigates massacre of Jews at
Byalostok, 292-294, 296; on Ger
many's interest in checking revo
lution in Russia, 294, 295 ; on Rus
sian incapacity as seamen, 296;
" slated " for Roosevelt's Cabinet,
296; on the aim of the peasants
in their burning, etc., 296, 297;
the only thing impossible in Rus
sia, 297; on lack of leaders, 297;
on the circular of the peasants'
union, 297, 298; salmon-fishing at
Imatra, 299; the Duma dismissed,
and why, 300; Cadets and the
Duma, 300; will the Tsar decree
equaUty of all persons before the
law?, 302; improved conditions,
303; on passports for ambassa
dors, 304; takes cure at Kissin
gen, 304-308; Roosevelt on his
work in Russia, 304, 305; and
Prince Christian, 305, 306; writes
Roosevelt on entering Cabinet,
306; on the attempt to murder
Stolypin, 306; on the character of
the great mass of Russians, 306,
307; on the blindness of the revo
lutionists, 307, and of the Tsar,
308; improved conditions in St.
Petersburg, 309; visits Grand
Duke Vladimir at Narva, 310, 311;
hunting at Narva, 311-313; the
peasants' dance, 312, 313; visit to
Antoniny (Volhynia), 313 f.;
his trip to Odessa, 315-319, Se
bastopol, 319, 320, and Moscow,
320, 321; the battlefield of Bala
clava, 320; the Tsar's palace at
Livadia, 320; bomb-throwing at St.
Petersburg, 322; his appointment
to the Cabinet as Postmaster Gen
eral announced, 322; on that office
as compared with that of Sec'y
of Navy, 323; scandal in the (Rus
sian) Cabinet, 324; hunting with
Prince Youssoupoff, 325-327; on
Roosevelt's " Gouvemeur Morris,"
in the light of events in Russia,
327, 328; reception to Diplomatic
Corps at Tsarskoe Sel6, 328; on
the change in the Tsarina, 328,

329; his last days in St. Peters
burg, 329 f.; his final audience
with the Tsar, 331, 332; Tsar re
grets his departure, 332; Tsar
confers Grand Cordon of St.
Alexander Nevsky on, 333; final
interview with Iswolsky, 333-335;
leaves Russia, 335; presentation
to, with list of donors, 335 and to.;
his sensations on leaving, 336; on
his way home has interviews with
Kaiser, 338-341; with the King
of Italy, 341-344, with Sir Edward
Grey, 844-346, and with Edward
VII, 348-350; on America's poUcy
not to form alUances, 350; returns
to U. S., 351.
V. Postmaster General. — His
new duties contrasted with those
of an ambassador, 352; his earUer
experience good preparation for
his new work, 363; his first con
ference with Roosevelt, 354; takes
over the Department, 354; his first
Cabinet meeting, 354; his resi
dences in Washington, 354; Taft
quoted on his chief characteristic
as an administrator, 355; suggests
change in title of office, 355; 371,
372 and to.; receives Order of the
Rising Sun from the Mikado, and
the Grand Cordon of SS. Mau
rizio e Lazzaro from the King of
Italy, 356; his constant regard to
physical fitness, 357; and Roose
velt's "stunts," 357, 376, 381, 384;
induces Roosevelt to promise not
to commit himself against pos
sible return to presidency after
interregnum, 358; entertains Duke
of the Abruzzi, 358-362; confer
ences at Oyster Bay as to prepa
rations in case of war vrith Japan,
362, 363, 365, 366; encouraging
words from Roosevelt, 363; Taft's
nomination in 1908 being pre
pared for in 1907, 366; his pro
gramme of improvement in postal
matters, 366, 367; his most im
portant achievement, the estab
lishment of postal savings-banks,
368; his work to that end, 368,
369; his methods of daily work in
the Dep't, 369; his treatment of

INDEX

539

his subordinates, 369, 370; on the
poUtical situation in autumn of
1907, 373; on Hughes and Cortel
you as candidates, and the pos
sible demand for Roosevelt, 373;
rumours of his appointment to
German Ambassadorship, 374,
386; discussion of Roosevelt's let
ter to Cortelyou on methods of
reUeving financial situation, 376,
376; on Cannon's opposition to
postal savings-banks, 376; possi
bility of war with Japan, 377;
his order relating to letters ad
dressed to Santa Claus, 378, 379;
advises Roosevelt to Issue state
ment announcing that he is not a
candidate for renomination, 379,
380; discouraging business outlook
in Dec, 1907, 380; talk with
Roosevelt Cabinet candidates for
nomination, 381; on political con
ditions in N. Y., and the possibil
ity of a bolt to Roosevelt, 385;
on keeping anarchistic papers
from the mails, 385, 386; works
up sentiment in favor of his re
forms in the Dep't, 386, 387;
chairman of Republican State
Convention in Mass., 387, 388; en
dorsed by the platform of the
Convention, 388; on Taft's pro
posed trip to Panama, 389; on
diplomatic uniforms, 389, 390; on
Cannon's influence on Congres
sional lukewarmness toward ad
ministration, 390; announces adop
tion of 2-cent letter postage to
Great Britain, 391, 392; rumours
that he is to "run" Taft's cam
paign, 392, 393, 399; his objec
tions, 393, 394; going over the
RepubUcan platform, 394; writes
Mrs. Meyer (1908) on experi
ments with torpedoes, 396, 396;
signs parcel-post convention with
Italy, 397; obtains endorsement
of postal savings-banks by Re
publican Convention, 397; on
Taft's nomination, 398; on his
50th birthday, 398; urges Taft to
take exercise as a counter-irritant,
399; advises Roosevelt as to au
diences with King of Italy and

Pope, 401, 411; consulted as to
correspondence with Bryan and
Gov. HaskeU, 403, 404, 405, 406;
letter of J. Henniker Heaton on
2-cent postage, 407; its estabUsh-
ment an event of outstanding sig
nificance, 408; instructions to
postmasters to consult authorities
as to teaching elementary postal
matters, 408, 409; forecast of the
election (1908), 410; makes
speeches in campaign, 412; and
the Secretaryship of the Treasury,
412; his second annual report,
413; recommends putting 4th
class postmasters in certain states
on civil-service list, 413; chosen
by Taft for Sec'y of Navy, 413,
414, 418; gives dinner to Count
and Countess Bernstorff, 415;
"both very attractive," 415; ad
dress at Bankers' Dinner, 416;
parcel post on rural routes, 418;
asked by Taft to make Winthrop
Ass't Sec'y, 418; his relations with
Fore River Engine Co., 419; on
Roosevelt's achievement as Presi
dent, 419; the "Tennis Cabinet"
entertained by Roosevelt and by
Mrs. Garfield, 420; Roosevelt's
final Cabinet meeting, 420, 421;
general result of the two years
in the P. O. Dep't, 421.
VI. Secretary of the Navy. —
Nature of his task, 422, 423;
learning the job, 424; Taft's
inauguration, 425, 426; his im
pression of Wickersham, 427;
troubles in Central America, 427,
428, 429; visit to Roosevelt, 428,
429; his speech at Harvard Club
dinner to Pres. EUot, 430, 431;
reorganization of navy yards,
Newberry's plan and Meyer's,
432, 434, 438, 453, 454, 463, 468,
469; his plan for withdrawing re
tired officers from active service,
434; consulted by Taft as to in
come tax on corporations, 434,
435; at Harvard Commencement,
1909, 435, 436; plan for board of
military experts, etc., 436; unim
pressed by tariff debate in Senate,
436, 437; writes Roosevelt on his

540

INDEX

work in the Dep't, 437, 438; on
Taft's corporation tax proposal,
438; on the naval estimates for
1911, 439, 441; discussion with
Senator Hale, 439 ; on the Wrights'
experiments in aviation, 440, 444;
Cabinet discussion on tariff and
free Ust, 442; tells Taft the peo
ple are with him in his tariff
policy, 443; Taft and the Confer
ence Committe on the Tariff biU,
443, 444; sides with Ballinger
against Pinchot in their contro
versy, 445; close of the diary, 445,
446; "Salient Points" in his ad
ministration of the Navy Dep't,
446-460; Taft's laudatory com
ment thereon, 450, 451; his state
ment of principles for changes in
administration of the Dep't, 451;
opposition to his changes, espe
cially after Democratic victory in
the House in 1910, 452; his first
Annual Report, quoted, on the
Secretary's need of advice from
experts, 452, 463; the Swift Board,
453, 467; lessons of the Russo-
Japanese War, 454; change in
method of cost-accounting, 454,
455; dirides work of Navy into
four essential parts, 456; 468,
469; creates "something like a
General Staff for the Navy," 456,
457 ; Engineering Magazine quoted,
on his organization of the Dep't,
457; competent naval opinion that
it was an agency of supreme value
in the world-war, 458; Admiral
Sims, quoted, on his administra
tion, 458, 459; Admiral Sims
reprimanded, through him, 458 ra.;
his pleasant association with naval
officers, 4,59 f.; and Admiral
Leutze, 460, 461; proposed aboli
tion of Pensacola and New Or
leans Navy Yard; 463, 464; on
Cook and Peary, 464, 465; on gov
ernment jurisdiction over rail
roads, 464, 465; on Roosevelt's
African trip, 465 ; fighting for two
battleships, 466; 470; fight over re
organization, 466 f,; leading oppo
nents of his plan, 469; his interest

in his work, 470; Japan asks per
mission to study system of cost-ac
counting, 470; plan of reorganiza
tion approved by Sir A. WUson,
470; postal savings-bank bill
passed by Senate, 470; his visit
of Inspection to both coasts and
to Cuba, 471-481; at Bremerton
Navy Yard, 471, 472; on the ap
prehension on Pacific coast of at
tack by Japan, 472; on the canvass
for U. S. Senator in CaUfomla,
473; movement to demand battle-
snip fleet on Pacific coast, 473,
474; his answer, 474; at Mare
Island Navy Yard, 474; Goat
Island and Hunters' Point, 475;
at Los Angeles, 475, 476; San
Diego, 476, 477; Havana, 478, 479;
Santiago, 480, 481; Guantanamo,
481 ; visits England for naval pur
poses, 481 ;f.; his report, 482; on
Taft's strength with the people,
482; on the relations between rail
roads and the services in Ger
many, 482; could the same idea be
acted upon in U. S.?, 482, 483;
on J. P. Morgan's collection, 484;
meets Lords of the Admiralty,
484; hears debate on ParUament
bill in Lords, 485; difficulty of his
position in the Roosevelt-Taft con
troversy in 1912, 487; is opposed
to Roosevelt's candidacy, but of
fers to resign and support him,
if he desires to run, 487; eventu
ally supports Taft, 487; on Taft's
letter of acceptance, 488; on
Taft's title to the nomination,
488; how he survived the disaster,
489; various opinions of his ad
ministration — Bishop Lawrence
and Admiral Wainwright — 490,
491; receives a parting gift from
naval officers, 491, 492.
VII. The Final Years.— A typi
cal figure of his period, 494; re
sumes business and social actiri-
tites, 494, 495; his final meeting
with the Kaiser on the Hohen
zoUern in 1913, 495-602; "the
American von Tirpitz," 496 and
TO.; on the signs of prosperity in

INDEX

541

Germany, 497; on the "so-called
Jeffersonian simpUcity of the
Democratic party," 498; on the
feeUng between Germany and
Great Brltalan, 498, 499, 500; is
shown the Kaiser's maps of the
Balkan War, 502; conversation
with von Falkenhayn and von
Moltke, on possible intervention
of U. S. in Mexico and on the
Panama Canal, 503; did the
Kaiser visit Paris incog.?, 603;
experiences in Germany in July,
1914, as related by Mrs. Meyer,
504-610; his call upon von Jagow,
604, and its fortunate sequel, 509;
he and Mrs. Meyer finally reach
HoUand, 510; his letter to Bryan
on the probable r61e to be played
by the U. S., and offering his serv
ices, 610, 611; approves Wilson's
poUcy of strict neutrality, 511;
otherwise whoUy out of sympathy
with the administration, 611; cen
sures lack of " preparedness," and
favours enlarged programme of
national defense, 611; especiaUy
concerned about the Navy, 612; his
appeals to the public in periodi
cals, 612; promotes National
Security League, etc., 612; pleads
for necessity of preparing young
men for the Navy as well as for
the Army, 613; favours nomina
tion of Roosevelt in 1916, and
works to that end, 513, 614, 515;
favours unpledged delegation from
Mass., 614; accepts leadership in
movement to spring Roosevelt's
candidacy in case of Hughes'
declination, 515; carries the fight
to Chicago, 516; his part in the
undertaking characterized, 516;
supplies Hughes with campaign
material relating to the Navy, 516;
defeat of Hughes a bitter disap
pointment, 516; his last appear
ance in public, 517; his domestic
life singularly happy, 617; mar
riages of his chUdren, 617, 518;
his last illness and deatii, 618, 519;
Roosevelt's tribute, 619.
Letters— to W. J. Bryan, 510;

Josephus Daniels, 490; Mr. C. A,
Goss, 489; H. C. Lodge, 119, 127,
129, 231, 266, 277; F. C. LoweU,
258; Alice Meyer, 259; JuUa
Meyer, 254; Mrs. Meyer, 147, 202,
206, 233, 235, 244, 248, 310, 315,
326, 327, 328, 329, 395, 477, 484;
WiUiam H. Taft, 464, 473, 482,
488; Theodore Roosevelt, 111, 116,
121, 124, 125, 145, 149, 154, 157,
167, 173, 178, 181, 187, 192, 197,
203, 209, 233, 246, 263, 286, 806,
371, 437, 462, 465; Elihu Root, 238;
Erving Winslow, 511.
Meyer, George von L., Jr. (" Bey"),
M.'s son, in service during the
war, 517; marries Miss Saltonstall,
517; 13, 21, 22, 67, 135, 187, 299,
363, 396, 472.
Meyer, Mrs. Grace Helen (Parker),
M.'s mother, 4, 13.
Meyer, Heinrich E. L., M.'s great
grandfather, 4.
Meyer, Heloise, M.'s sister, 30, 32,
63, 69.
Meyer, Mrs. Johanna C. (von
Lengerke), M.'s grandmother, 3,
4.
Meyer, Julia, marries Giuseppe
BrambUla, 518; 13, 61, 76, 77, 78,
98, 129, 135, 151, 152, 221, 222, 261,
277, 288, 296, 300, 301, 359, 388,
417, 426, 437, 472, 497. Letter of
M. to, 254. And see BramblUa,
Julia (Meyer).
Meyer, Marian Alice (Appleton),
M.'s wife, letter of, on the royal
ball at Berlin, 85 to; letter of,
to M., 97-100; on events of
July, 1914, in Germany, 604-
510; letter of Roosevelt to, on
M.'s death, 519; 12, 13, 31, 32, 44,
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 63, 56, 60, 62,
67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 76, 77, 78, 82,
83, 84, 85, 88, 96, 100, 129, 132,
133, 134, 135, 136, 151, 152, 173,
187, 218, 261, 267, 277, 283, 288,
295, 296, 332, 341, 359, 383, 398,
417, 420, 421, 424, 426, 428, 437,
470, 497, 604, 617. Letters of M.
to, 147, 202, 206, 235, 237, 244,
248, 310, 325, 327, 328, 829, 392,
395, 398, 471, 477, 484, 486, 616.

542

INDEX

Meyer, Thomas, letter of M. to, 140.
Meyer Gate, The (Harvard), 7.
Michel, Grand Duke, 61, 142, 143,
162, 187, 212, 213, 272, 335.
Michel Alexander, Grand Duke, 185.
Mikado, of Japan, confers decora
tion on M., 356; 154.
Miles, Basil, 273 and to., 303.
Minghetti, Donna Laura, 226.
Mirabeau, Gabriel H. R., Comte de,
234.
Mistchisky estate, 297.
MitcheU, John, 272.
Modern Decorative Art, Interna
tional Exposition of, at Turin, 63,
64.
Mohammed All, Shah of Persia,
visits Rome, 55-57; his character,
57.
Moltke, Count Bernhard von (the
Great von M.), 503.
Moltke, Count von, nephew of Count
Bernhard, 123, 497, 600, 601, 502.
Monaco, Prince of, 61.
Monroe Doctrine, no stronger than
the Navy, 461; 371.
Monte Casino Monastery, 88, 89.
MontebeUo, Duke of, 148.
Montenegro, Victor Emmanuel III
on affairs of, 343.
Monteondi, Signor, 80.
Montichiari, Dr., 81.
Monts, Count of, 70.
Moody, WilUam H., appointed
Sec'y of Navy, 27, and Justice of
Supreme Court, 324; 61, 95, 220,
323.
Moody Commission (Navy), 467.
Moran, John B., 268 and to.
Morgan, Edward M., 366.
Morgan, J. Pierpont, his coUection
in London, 484; 63.
Morgan, Miss, 62.
Morin, Admiral, 69, 73.
Morocco, dispute between Germany
and France over, 216, 217. And
see Algeciras Conference.
Morris, Gouvemeur, 327, 328.
Morton, Paul, 94.
Moscow, disturbances in, 210, 236,
237, 238; their object, 238, 239;
conditions becoming normal, 242;
revolutionary plot discovered at,
252; Maurice Baring on affairs

in, 266, 267; elections for Duma
in, 266, 267; M.'s visit to, 320,
321.
Moscow Congress, 187.
Motono, Mr., arrival in St. Peters
burg, 266; dinner given by Lams
dorff to, 267.
Mott, Captain, 189.
Mount Stephen, Lord, 4.
Mount Vernon, visit to, 358, 359.
Mouravieff, M., 172, 179, 180, 181,
182, 183.
Mowbray, H. Siddons, 82, 83.
Mowbray, Walter, 91.
Mugwump sentiment in Boston, 19.
MuUer, Admiral, 496, 497.
Munsey, Frank A., 488.
Muromtseff, M., candidate of Ca
dets for President of Duma, 277;
President-elect, and the Tsar, 283;
choice of, a happy omen, 286.
Murphy, Franklin, 92.
Myopia Hunt Club, 13, 14, 15.
Nagel, Charles, 429.
Napier, Henry D., 323.
Napier, Mrs. H. D., 323.
Naples, M.'s arrival at, 32; M.
poisoned by eating fish at, 32;
M. dines with Kaiser at, 88.
Napoleon I, 340.
Narva, hunting at, 311-313.
Nasha Jizn, quoted, 154.
National AUied ReUef Committee,
612.
National Assembly (Russia). See
Duma.
National Marine Engineers' Asso
ciation, 470.
National Security League, 612.
Navy of the U. S., report of Gen
eral Staff as to disposition of, in
case of war with Japan, 362; de
sertions from, 417; much respected
in South America, 427; relations
of officers of, with M., 461; gift of
officers of, to M. on his retire
ment from the Dep't, 491, 492.
Navy Department of the U. S., fre
quent changes in head of, during
Roosevelt's administration, 422 ;
conditions in when M. liecame
Secretary, 423; problems of, com
pared with those of P. O. Dep't,

INDEX

543

423; estimates for, in 1911, 439,
440, 441; "Salient Points" in M.'s
administration of, 446-460, and
Taft's comment thereon, 450, 451;
M.'s statement of the general prin
ciples which his changes were de
signed to embody, 451; opposition
to M.'s changes, 452 f.; general
naval policy under M.'s adminis
tration, 455; system in vogue in,
during Civil War, and Spanish
War, 455; work of, divided into
four essential parts, 456, 457, 468;
general result of M.'s new arrange
ments, 457 ; Engineering Magazine,
quoted, on M.'s administration,
457; changes in organization be
tween 1913 and 1917, 458; Ad
miral Sims quoted, on M.'s ad
ministration, 458, 459; M.'s fight
with Naval Committee over reor
ganization, 4,66 f.; his plan ap
proved by Sir A. WUson, 470;
Annual Report for 1911, 481, 482;
various opinions of M.'s work in,
490, 491; M.'s criticisms of man
agement of, in the late war, 612,
613. And see Cost-accoimting,
Navy yards.
Navy League, 512.
Navy yards, consolidation of, 432,
433; M.'s plan for reorganization
of, 434, 453 jf.; failure of New
berry's poUcy concerning, 438;
Newberry's policy and M.'s com
pared, 463.
Nebogatoff, Admiral, 184.
Necker, Jacques, 234.
Negro, the, future of, 391; Roose
velt on, 391, 392; in Tennessee,
and colored juries, 429.
NeUdow, M. de, 47, 70, 76, 77, 169,
170, 172, 268, 342.
Nelidow, Mme. de, 49, 71.
Nerod, Count, 249.
Neva, blessing of the waters of, ru
mours concerning celebration of,
235.
New WiUard Hotel, 219.
New York City, Tsarina on high
buildings in, 232.
New York Herald, 479.
New York ShipbuUding Co., 469.

New York State, political conditions
in, 385; "reactionists" in, 385; at
titude on the tariff, 443.
New York Times, 512.
Newberry, Truman H., his poUcy
concerning work in navy yards,
438, 463, 464, 468, 468; 423, 432.
Newport News ShipbuUding Co.,
469.
Nevada, discrimination against Ja
panese in, 416.
Niblack, A. P., U. S. N., 496 to.
Nicaragua, and San Salvador, 427.
Nicolas II, Tsar, decorates Ad
miral Rodjestvensky for Dogger
Bank affair, 104, 105; and the
workingmen's petition, 115, 116;
his lost opportunity, 116, 117; has
no fixed poUcy, 124; Queen Mar
gherita. on, 133; declines Kaiser's
good offices, 134; his blindness,
134; M.'s first audience with and
impression of, 142, 145; reaction
aries seem to have his ear, 144;
M. offers good offices of U. S. to,
145, 146; aUeged influence of
Tsarina over, 146, 146, 349; his
ukase granting religious freedom
to all except Jews, 149; his pro
crastination, 153, 156; influenced
by Pobodonostzeff not to sign
manifesto announcing speedy con
vocation of freely elected assem
bly, 155; M. deUvers Roosevelt's
message to, suggesting that Rus
sia and Japan meet to arrange
terms of peace, 158, 169; accepts,
on conditions, 160, 161; his mes
sage to Roosevelt, 162; and the
bureaucracy, 173, 174; his ad
dress to Committee of 14 emas
culated by press, 174; his position
considered, 174; his intentions hon
est and well-meant, 174; appoints
special delegates to peace confer
ence, 176; really desires peace,
178; promises reforms, but is
blocked by bureaucracy, 178; his
edict concerning the Navy, 180,
181; interview with Kaiser (1905),
186 and to., 188, 191; favours re
forms and a national assembly,
187; promises more land to the

544

INDEX

peasants, 187; signs constitution,
191; decides to grant national as
sembly, 192, 193; declares Japan
trying to humiUate Russia, 196;
announces plan for national as
sembly, 195; M.'s interview with
on peace terms, 197 jf., 204, 206,
207; his private correspondence
with Kaiser, 199, 202, 203; quoted,
on Japan's claims, 200; how the
Kaiser prepared his mind for
peace, 212, 213; Roosevelt's mes
sage to, 223; his ukase concerning
division of crown lands and the
Socialists, 225 ; his attitude toward
affairs, 226; fails to appreciate
the gravity of conditions, 229;
continued faith of people in, 234;
possibilities of his autocratic
power in strong hands, 240, 241;
receives Diplomatic Corps at
Tsarskoe Sel6, 244-246, 247; con
versation with M., 244, 245, 247;
accepts Witte's resignation, 276;
at the opening of the Duma, 279-
281; his address from the throne,
280, 281, 286; and President
Muromtseff, 283; and the question
of anmesty, 283; refuses to re
ceive delegation with reply to ad
dress from the throne, 284; dis
solves first Duma, and summons
second, 300; reported to be about
to decree equaUty of all persons
before the law, 302; M.'s opinion
of, 305; suppose the peasants lose
their faith in him?, 307; fails to
realize the situation, 308; and
Grand Duke Paul, 308; his palace
at Livadia, 320; receives Diplo
matic Corps, 328; M.'s final audi
ence with, 331, 332; confers deco
ration on M., 333; Victor Em
manuel Ill's opinion of, 342; 76,
77, 86, 100, 120, 136, 138, 140, 143,
161, 164, 163, 164, 166, 167, 168,
169, 179, 182, 183, 186, 189, 190,
196, 209, 216, 220, 232, 233, 235,
239, 242, 248, 254, 260, 261, 262,
263, 264, 269, 277, 282, 287, 292,
297, 298, 324, 330, 883, 336, 838,
389, 340, 389, 498.
Nicolas, Grand Duke, 849.

Nicolas Michailovitch, Grand Duke,
260.
Nicolas Nicolaievitch, Grand Duke,
260, 269.
Nicolson, Sir A., and the Byalostok
massacres, 293, 294, 296; M. on,
350; 289, 298, 299, 303, 309,
500.
Nicolson, Lady, 289, 303, 309, 322.
Nieroth, Count, 271, 295, 335 to.
Nieroth, Countess, 295, 335 to.
Ninth Ward RepubUcan Committee,
19.
Nisard, M., 90.
Nixon, Lewis, 470.
Noble, George W. C, 6.
North American Review, 612.
North Pole, discovery of, 464,
465.
Norton, Richard, 46, 64.
Norway, and Sweden, probable dis
solution of imion of, 186; votes
in favor of separation, 195.
Novoe Vrem.ya (St. Petersburg),
charges secret alliance between
Japan and U. S., 183.
Obolensky, Prince, 267.
O'Connell, Monsignor (now Cardi
nal), 40.
O'Connor, T. P., 486.
Odell, Benjamin B., 91.
Odessa, mutiny at, 171, 173, 176,
177, 178, 180; Jews in, 316; con
ditions in, 316, 317, 318.
Oetingen, Princess, 337.
Ohio, in election of 1908, 410.
Ohyama, Mr., 118.
Old Colony Trust Co., 12.
Olney, Richard, 95.
Open Door, policy of the, 109, 113,
336.
Orloff, E., 835 ra.
Orloff, Prince Ivan, 271, 335 to.
Orloff, Princess Olga, 248, 276, 295,
335 TO.
Orloff, S., 276, 836 to.
Orloff-Davidoff, Countess, 274, 275.
Orloff estates, destroyed, 297.
Osten-Sacken, Count, Kaiser's talk
with, 86.
Otto, Chassew, 238, 248, 249, 250.

INDEX

545

Ouroussow, Prince, supersedes NeU
dow at Rome, 77; 81, 118, 170.
Outlook, The, Roosevelt agrees to
write for, on public questions, 401.
401.
Pacific Coast, M.'s visit to, 471-477;
demand for battleship fleet, 473-
474; M.'s answer to tibat demand,
474, 475.
Paget, Lord, 485.
Palmer, Leigh C, U. S. N., 408
and n.
Panama, Republic of, treaty with,
414; 79, 373.
Panama bonds, proposed issue of, to
reUeve financial situation, 376,376.
Panama Canal, and Japan, 339; to
remain a lock canal, 418; and
Guantanamo, 481; 89, 871, 608.
Paravicini, M., 301.
Parcel-post system, proposed exten
sion of, 366, 375; convention with
Italy concerning, 397; report pro
viding for trial of, on R. F. D.
routes, 418; 386, 393, 396.
Paris, Countess of, 102, 103.
Paris, M.'s visit to (1906), 224, 225;
in the Reign of Terror and in
1871, 327, 328; did the Kaiser go
there incog.?, 503; von Moltke on
the siege of (1870-71), 603.
Paris Exposition Managers (Mass.),
26.
Parker, Alton B., 105.
Parker, Samuel, M.'s maternal great
grandfather, 4, 5.
Parker, WiUiam, M.'s maternal
grandfather, 4.
Pasetti, Baron, 47, 49, 66, 70, 81.
Pasetti, Baroness, 49 and to.
Paterson, N. J., meeting of an
archists at, 44; transmission of
Socialist publication by mail pro
hibited, 385, 886.
Patricia, Princess, of Connaught,
217.
Paul, Tsar, 277.
Paul, Grand Duchess, 308, 809.
Paul, Grand Duke, 308, 309.
Pauncefote, Sir Julian (Lord), 44.
Pauncefote, Lady, 44.
Payne, Henry C, 432.

Payne, Sereno E., 92.
Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act. See Dis
criminatory duties. Tariff Act of
1909.
Parker, Sir Gilbert, 486.
Peabody, Endicott, 882, 417.
Peabody, Mrs. Endicott, 417.
Peary, Robert E., and Dr. Cook,
464, 466.
Peasants, Russian, outbreaks of,
296; expect to force division of
land, 297; mistaken method of
governing them, 297; their faith
in the Tsar, 307.
Peasants' Union, circular issued by,
297, 298.
Peck, George, 92.
Pembroke, Earl of, 44.
Penny postage. See Foreign letter
postage.
Penrose, Boies, 27.
Perez, Admiral (Chile), 464.
Perkins, George C, 473.
Perkins, George W., 412.
Persia, Shah of. See Mohammed
AU.
Peter the Great, 801.
Peter Nicolai'^ritch, Grand Duchess
(Princes Melitza of Montenegro),
342 and to., 349.
Peter Nicolaievitch, Grand Duke,
342 TO.
Peter and Paul, Saints, 296.
Peterhof, 301, 302.
Peters, Richard, 94.
PhlUppe, French spiritualist, 842
and TO.
Philippine Islands, Archbishop
ChappeUe on, 40, 41, 42; the "key
to the Orient," 41; MacArthur's
report on, 42, 43; and Japan, 339,
340.
PhiUips, WiUiam, 388.
Pichon, M., quoted, 823.
Piedmont, Prince of, birth of, and
its consequence, 100; 107.
Pierre Nicolaievitch, Grand Duchess,
260.
Pierre Nicolaidritch, Grand Duke,
260.
PUes, Samuel H., 471.
PUlsbury, John E., U. S. N., 464.
Pinchot, Gifford, his controversy

546

INDEX

with Sec'y BaUinger, M.'s view of,
445; 222, 420.
Pinchot, Mrs. Gifford, 420.
Pinola Shoals, 474, 475.
Pio, Prince of Savoy, 144.
Pisano, La, meet of hounds at, 88.
Pius X, M.'s audience with, 135; 80,
107, 401.
Pless, Princess Daisy von, 86, 486.
Plessen, General von, 88, 215, 497,
500.
Pobedonostzeff, M., evil influence of,
156.
Poklewski, M., 384.
Poland, conditions in, 150.
Polk, James K., 4.
Port Arthur, attacked by Japanese,
84; 194.
Portsmouth, N. H., doubt as to suc
cess of pourparlers at, 194; their
progress, 195 ; peace between Rus
sia and Japan concluded at, 197,
205; M.'s part in result, 197; M.'s
interview with Tsar concerning
terms, 197 f.; Iswolsky on per
forming terms of treaty, 334, 336;
498.
Post Office Department of the U. S.,
M. assumes charge of, 854; his
first Annual Report, 364; his pro
gramme of improvements, 366 ff.;
his methods of daily work, 869, 370 ;
M., on administration of, 372; his
second Annual Report, 413; and
Navy Dep't, problems of, com
pared, 423.
Post offices, display of signs on, 409.
Postal matters, question of instruc
tion on, in school, 407, 408.
Postal-savings-bank system, M.'s ef
forts to estabUsh, 367, 368, 369;
recommended by Roosevelt, 375;
opposed by Cannon, 876, 377; 386,
387, 390, 393, 894, 396, 397, 412,
418, 470.
Postmaster General, M. suggests
change of title for, 865, 366, 867.
And see Post Office Department.
Postmasters, Fourth Class, in certain
states, put on civil service Ust,
413.
"Posts, Secretary of." See Post
master General.

Potemkin, Prince, 273.
Potemkin, battleship. See Knydz-
Potemkin.
Potocki, Count, his estate (Anto
niny) in Volhynia, 313-316, 316;
290.
Potsdam, M.'s interview with Kaiser
at, 228-230.
Potter, WUliam P., U. S. N., 468.
Poyer, J. M., U. S. N., 467,
Prescott, William H., 19.
Prinetti, Signor, and the Venezuela
affair, 65; 56.
Provident Institution of Savings, 12.
Prussia, conscript system in, 340,
341. And see Germany.
Puget Sound, dock at, 474, 476.
Puget Sound Traction, Light and
Power Co., 12.
Puglie, Duke of, 103.
Quirinal Palace, garden party at,
65, 56; 45, 46, 48.
Raccogiovini, Marquis, 61.
Radowitz, Herr von, 247.
RampoUa, Cardinal, 66, 67, 70.
Ramsay, Baron, 252, 331, 335 to.
Ramsay, Baroness, 209, 243, 252, 254,
335 TO.
Rasputin, monk, murder of, 310 to,
342 TO.
Rechid Bey, 123, 128.
Reid, Jean, 223.
Reid, Whltelaw, gives dinner-party
for M. (1911), 483, 485; 223, 347,
391 and to., 486.
Republican insurgents (1912),
488.
RepubUcan National Committee
(1908), rumour that M. is to be
chairman of, 292, 293; 91, 379,
488.
Republican National Convention
(1904), nominates Roosevelt, 90,
93, 94; (1908), 897, 898; (1916),
514.
Republican Party, M.'s prominence
in, 27; local fights in (1908), 410;
meets disaster in 1912, 489; long
tenure of office, 493.
Republican platform of 1908, re
vised by Roosevelt, 394; 396.

INDEX

547

Republican State Central Commit-
ttee (Mass.), 26.
Republican State Convention
(Mass.) in AprU, 1908, M. chair
man of, 387, 388; praises M. for
his share in Russo-Japanese set
tlement, 388; expresses no prefer
ence for presidential candidates,
388.
Restigouche, salmon-fishing on the,
364, 399.
Revelstoke, Lord, 44.
Review of Reviews (EngUsh), 205,
340.
Rhode Island, attitude of, on tariff,
443.
Ricevimento (official ambassadorial
reception), given by M., 34, 35;
a court function, 35 ; 47, 48, 66.
Ristori, Mme., 71.
Robespierre, MaximiUan, 234.
Robins, Miss, 177.
Robinson, Charles L. F., 69, 60, 61,
177.
Robinson, Mrs. C. L. F., 177.
Robinson, Douglas, 369, 384.
Robinson, Mrs. Douglas, 859.
Rock Maple Farm, 15.
Rodd, Sir RenneU, 64, and to., 65,
67, 411 and n.
Rodd, Lady, 67, 411.
Rodgers, C. R. P., U. S. N., marries
Alice Meyer, 517; 13, 602.
Rodjestvensky, Admiral, 104, 106,
144, 149, 184, 207, 385.
Rogers, Eustace B., U. S. N., 469.
Roman Campagna, hunting on, 37,
79, 80, 81, 82.
Romanoff dynasty in peril, 193.
Rome, M.'s arrival at, 32; Grand
Hotel, 32, 38; M.'s diary and Ro
man society, 36; visit of Edward
VII to 67-69, and of the Kaiser,
69-72; contrast between St. Peters
burg and, 136; M.'s fareweU to,
136; his admiration for, 343.
And see Brancaccio Palazzo.
Roosevelt, AUce Lee, 94, 95, 222.
And see Longworth, Mrs. AUce
(Roosevelt).
Roosevelt, Mrs. Edith (Carow), 94,
219, 222, 357, 362, 388, 400, 403,
406, 420, 421, 425, 428, 429, 437,
466, 470.

Roosevelt, Ethel, 400. _
Roosevelt, Kermit, 391, 401, 440,
465, 470.
Roosevelt, Theodore, nominated for
Vice-President, 27; suggested as
arbitrator in Venezuela affair, 65;
nominated for President, 90; in
sists on Cortelyou for Chairman
of National Committee, 92, 93;
proposes to take M. into Cabinet,
96; elected President, 106; wishes
M. to go to Russia, 108, 109, 110;
his Interest in Far Eastern situa
tion, 110, 111; his opinion of M.,
Ill; appoints M. Ambassador to
Russia, 128; through M., offers
good offices to Tsar, 145, 146;
instructs M. to suggest meeting
of plenipotentaries to arrange
terms of peace, 156, 167; his char-^
acter, as outlined by M. to the
Tsar, 169; his pubUc invitation to
Russia and Japan to meet, 164;
announces their agreement to send
plenipotentaries, 175; his speech
at Harvard Commencement, 1905,
188; on M.'s work at St. Peters
burg, 184, 219; receives plenipo
tentaries on Mayflower, 190, 191;
his toast on that occasion, 191,
192; applauded by the world for
bringing about conference at
Portsmouth, 197; his own Minis
ter of Foreign Affairs, 210, 211;
Kaiser suggests him as mediator,
213; wishes to have M. in Cabinet,
220; urges him to return to St.
Petersburg, 221, 222; joys of
walking with, 222; his message to
the Tsar, 223; looked to as medi
ator in case of deadlock at Alge
ciras, 264; attacks muckraking
magazines, 272; suggests Umlting
size of individual fortunes, 278;
correspondence with Kaiser
about Morocco, 284; wishes M. to
remain in Russia, 301; on M.'s
achievement andprospects, 304,-305,
325, 357, 358, 363; changes in his
Cabinet, M. Postmaster General,
322, 323, 324; his "Gouvemeur
Morris," and events in Russia, 327,
328; Edward VII on, 360; walk
ing, riding, and tennis with, 354,

548

INDEX

356; takes risks in jumping, 367,
358; never wavered in his purpose
to retire in 1909, 358; M. induces
him to promise not to commit
himself for all time, 358; on naval
preparations for war with Japan,
362, 363; proposes to raise corps
of riflemen, 363; M. and Taft at
Oyster Bay, 364-366; on prospects
of Taft's nomination, 365; on the
projected round-the-world jour
ney of the fleet, 866; on the politi
cal situation, 373; on the pos
sibility of accepting another nomi
nation, 373; his annual message
of 1907, 376; letter to Cortelyou
on method of relieving financial
conditions, 375, 376; his "stunts"
in walking, 371, 381, 382; his
playfulness, 377, 378; advised by
M. to issue definitive statement as
to candidacy (1908), 379,380; ef
fect of his statement, 308; quoted,
as to his plans on retirement, 381,
382; on the Japanese situation,
384; his confidential instructions
to Admiral Evans, 384, 385; reads
his message to Cabinet, 385; his
policy toward anarchistic publica
tions, 386; his name applauded for
49 minutes at Convention of 1908,
398; on Congress, 390; reconciled
to retirement, 391; M.'s talk with
on "mnning" Taft's campaign,
392-394; Ufe at Oyster Bay, 400;
plans for African trip, 400, 401;
arrangement with Scribner's
Magazine, and with the Outlook,
401; his interview urging Taft's
election, 402, 403; Gov. Haskell
(Okla.) and W. J. Bryan, 403,
404, 405, 406; and the Harvard
footbaUers, 404; on Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the Servians,
410; on Great Britain and Tur
key, 410; and Sir R. Rodd, 411; on
M.'s qualifications for Sec'y of the
Treasury, 412; puts Fourth Class
postmasters on civil service Ust in
certain states, 413; on Taft's
choice of M. for Sec'y of Navy,
413; on discrimination against
Japanese in CaUfomla, 415, 416,

and Nevada, 416; on his inviting-
Booker Washington to lunch, 416;
vetoes bill relating to desertions.
from the Navy, 417; furious with
the "peace crowd," 417; his last
reception at the White House,,
419; M. on his administration,
419; his views on location of fleei^
419, 420; gives luncheon to "Ten
nis Cabinet," etc., 420; his fare
weU to his Cabinet, 420, 421; fre
quent changes in head of Navy
Dep't during his term, 422; his
last moments in Washington, 424;
fareweU to his friends, 425; at
Oyster Bay, after leaving office,.
428, 429; Jusserand on, 431; in
terest in his African trip, 440;
his letters to Congress on organi
zation of Navy Dep't, 466, 467;
and the campaign of 1912, 487 f.,-
M. opposed to his candidacy, 487,,
but offers to resign and support
him, 487; M. favors his nomina
tion against Wilson in 1916, 618,,
614, and leads movement in that
direction, 515; his letter to Mrs.
Meyer on M.^ death, 619; 2, 62„
63, 67, 76, 86, 89, 100, 107, 115,
116, 119, 130, 136, 137, 163, 172,
173, 176, 177, 180, 192 to., 195, 196,.
206, 209, 216, 218, 229, 231, 243,
244, 251, 256, 268, 295, 296, 831,
332, 334, 839, 341, 343, 344, "3^6,
351, 352, 353, 355, 359, 360, 361,,
368, 371, 372, 374, 377, 388, 389,,
396, 409, 432, 437, 445, 446, 460,
611. Letters of M. to. 111, 116,,
121, 124, 125, 132, 145, 149, 154,.
157, 167, 173, 181, 187, 192, 193,
203, 209, 233, 246, 263, 285, 306,
871, 437, 462, 465. 
Roosevelt, Theodore, Jr., 401, 404,
429.
Roosevelt RepubUcan Club, 615.
Root, Elihu, on relations of U. S.
and Japan, 365, 370, 371; why he-
was the greatest secretary, 373,
374; adrises Roosevelt to issue
statement as to his candidacy in
1908, 880; on the U. S. senator-
ship from N. Y., 382; treaties
with Colombia and Panama, 414,.

INDEX

549

415; nominated for U. S. Senator,
414; Roosevelt on, 414; negotiates
fisheries treaty with Great Britain
and Canada, 415; his speech at
dinner to Pres. Eliot, 429, 480;
on Taft's title as Republican can
didate in 1912, 488; 92, 93, 187,
219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224,
231, 243, 247, 255, 346, 354, 357,
376, 376, 381, 382, 384, 389, 390,
397, 401, 406, 410, 417, 443; letter
of M. to, 238.
Rosebery, Earl of, 44, 486.
Rosen, Baron, 168, 170, 172, 194,
219, 335, 415.
Rosen, Baroness, 153.
Roukavichnikow, M., 123.
Rouvier, Maurice, on war between
France and Germany, 209; on af
fairs in Russia, 224; on Roosevelt,
224; 216, 217, 227, 231, 266.
Ruby, M.'s horse, 79, 80.
Rudini, Marquis, 116.
Rudini, Mme., 71.
Buss, The, St. Petersburg newspa
per, suppressed, 174.
Russia, Japan breaks relations with,
83; her game of procrastination,
83; Victor Emmanuel III on cor
ruption in, 90, 122; Roosevelt on
importance of U. S. mission to,
110, 111; M. accepts post of Am-
hassador to, 112; Germany and
the Russian loan, 114; serious
condition of affairs in, 116, 117;
alliance of France with, 117, 121,
185; Barrfere on course of, 117,
118; Bernoff and St. James on
disturbances in, 119, 120; the loan
of 1905, 121; general confusion in,
123; Sir E. Egerton on, 124; Vic
tor Emmanuel III on probable un
derstanding of, with Germany,
122, 126; changed feeling of
French diplomats toward, 127,
128; M. appointed Ambassador
to, 128; Victor Emmanuel III on
his experiences in, 128, 129; M.'s
arrival in, and first impressions,
139, 140; confused state of affairs
in, on his arrival, 144, 146; lack
of real leaders, 144; cordiality of
M.'s reception, 144, 145; "lack of

administration," 150; lack of sys
tem in War Dep't, 150; conditions
in, described in letter to Roose
velt, 154-156; corruption in Navy
Dep't, and its result, 154, 166;
and exports from U. S., 155, 156;
provisions of treaty with Ger
many, 156; internal affairs of,
160; inrited by R. to send repre
sentatives to discuss peace, 164;
press rumours as to her purpose,
165; her formal acceptance, 166;
would have conference held at
The Hague, 166 and to., 167;
grave state of, 171, 178; her ple
nipotentiaries at peace conference,
172; bureaucracy frustrates Tsar's
good intentions, 173, 174; UUter-
acy in, 174, 196; what is needed
in, 179; effect of Witte's ap
pointment as first plenipotentiary,
182; and the war, 184; conditions
of her fleet, 184 ; rumours of agree
ment with Germany, 185 and to.;
war party still existent, 189, 190;
state of affairs in, 190; proposed
commercial convention with U. S.,
190; conference at Peterhof re
sults in Tsar's decision to grant
national assembly, 192, 193; fears
aUiance of Scandinavian coun
tries, 186; her attitude in pay
ment of indemnity, 194; Tsar an
nounces plan for national assem
bly — a great event in her history,
195; Russian opinion of M.'s part
in conclusion of peace, 197; feel
ing in, concerning terms of peace,
201, 206, 208, 210; her attitude
toward peace influenced by her
idea of Japan's financial condi
tion, 204; weakness of, 209; Lans
downe and others on affairs in,
223, 224, 225, 226; acts of Social
ists in, 226; von BiUow on her
needs, 227; Kaiser on grarity of
conditions in, 229; revolutionary
disturbances, 230; conditions in,
described by M., 231, 232; ahn of
Socialist and labor unions in, 231;
difficult financial condition of,
231, 232; strike-leaders arrested,
233; conditions compared to those

550

INDEX

in France in 1789, 233, 234, 241;
corruption in navy, 234; insubor
dination in army at many places,
234; period of reaction, 234, 235,
236 ; " an extraordinary country,"
236; participation of Jews in dis
turbances, 239; disorder general
throughout empire, 239; disturb
ing factors to be reckoned with,
289, 240; weakness and incompe
tency of government, 240; her
moral support at Algeciras sought
by France, 243, 246; bear-hunting
in, 248-251; object of organizers
of disturbances, 251; agrarian
troubles in, 256, 267; rumour of
secret treaty with China, 257; how
concerned in outcome at Alge
ciras, Lamsdorff's instructions to
Cassini, and the French aUiance,
268; home celebration of Easter
in, 271; relations with Great
Britain compromised by Times'
correspondent, 274; a great
awakening in, 282; entering on a
great experiment, ill-prepared
and uneducated, 286; M.'s pessi
mistic view of her future, 287,
288; probablUty of coUision be
tween Crown and Duma, 288;
doubts as to loyalty of the army,
288; Iswolsky and Goremykin on
the situation, 291, 292; cormption
of bureaucracy, 297; lack of lead
ers, 297, 807; d'Aehrenthal on
situation, 298; prejudice against
Jews in, 302; great mass of her
people not much superior to ani
mals, 306, 307; revolutionists fail
to grasp the situation, 307; Sir
D. M. WaUace on affairs in, 809;
signs of reaction, 309, 310; one
good road in, 320; outward aspect
of affairs as seen by M. in his
travels, 321; conditions "im
proved, but not perfect," 329;
acts of terrorists, 329; Iswolsky
on conditions in, 333 f.; negotia
tions with Japan, 334, 335; M.'s
fareweU to, 385, 336; Kaiser on
her relations with China and
Japan, 839; and Germany, 340;
M.'s view of affairs in, 349; and

the integrity of China, 384; in
1913, 498; M. on past misrule in,
511. And see Council of Empire,
Duma, Lamsdorff, Nicolas II,
Portsmouth, Russo-Japanese War.
" Russia for Russians," society in
Odessa, 817.
Russian Imperial stables, 266.
Russian officers offer services to U,
S. in case of war with Japan,
377.
Russian Navy, 454.
Russians, character of, 279; their
incapacity as mariners, 295.
Russo-Japanese War: preUminary
rumbUngs of, 81, 82; Japan at
tacks Port Arthur, 84; probable
defeat of Russia, 90; defeat of
Russian fleet, 151, 152, 163; pro
posed armistice, 175, 176; Kaiser
on commercial results of, 213, 214;
naval lessons of, 454; 114, 129,
133, 254, 255, 498. And see Ja
pan, Portsmouth, Russia.
Sagamore HiU, 428.
St. James, Commandant, on disturb
ances in Russia, 120, 121.
St. Louis Exposition: question of
ItaUan representation at, 72,
73.
St. Peter's, celebration of Immacu
late Conception at, 107, 108.
St. Petersburg, great strike in,
115, 116; troops fire on crowds,
116, 117; Trepoff, Governor Gen
eral, his character, 117; contrast
between Rome and, 136; seat of
autocracy at its worst, 186; M.'s
arrival and first days, 139, 140;
his welcome by society, 146, 147;
conditions in, 164; practicaUy a
bureaucratic city, 188; not en
thusiastic over plan for national
assembly, 196; effect of conclu
sion of peace, 210; service at St.
Isaac's Cathedral in honor of
Tsar's name-day, 233; ballet at,
236; Christmas in (1905), 236;
stories of hooligans in, 237; elec
tion in, carried by Cadets, 267;
Easter midnight mass at St.
Isaac's 270, 271; Easter in, 271;

INDEX

551

TrepofPs government of, 276;
opening of Duma at, 278-281;
bomb-throwing and robbery in,
322.
iSakhaUne Island, attacked by Ja
pan, 179, 180; division of, 199, 200
and TO.; payment to Japan for
nortliern half of, 200, 202, 203,
204; feeUng in Russia about, 206;
Roosevelt's message to Tsar on,
223, 264.
Salisbury, Marquis of, 75.
Saltonstall, Frances, marries George
von L. Meyer, Jr., 617.
San Diego, 473, 476.
San Domingo, treaty with U. S.
256, 428.
San Francisco, M.'s visit to, 473-
475.
San Martino, Baron di, 102, 103.
San Martino, Baroness di, 102, 103.
San Rossore, 76, 77.
San Salvador and Nicaragua, 427.
Santa Claus, M.'s order concerning
letters addressed to, 378, 379.
Santiago de Cuba, 480, 481.
Sarajevo, murder of Archduke
Francis Ferdinand and his wife
at, 604.
Saranoff, M., 87.
Savinsky, M., 274.
Saxe-Weimar, Grand Duke of, 61.
Scheibler, Count, 207.
Schevitch, M., 336 to.
Schirlmitew estate destroyed, 297.
Schoen, Baron von, 246, 247, 252,
264, 255, 261, 278, 289; 294, 298,
302, 303, 328, 338.
Schoen, Baroness von, 289.
Schwab, Charles M., in Russia, 160,
151.
Scribner's Magazine, Roosevelt
agrees to write on his African trip
for, 401; 204, 465.
Scull, Guy, 273.
Sebastopol, visited by M., 319, 320;
attempted revolution at, 319.
Seiden, Admiral von, 98.
Senate of U. S., confirms M.'s ap
pointment to Italy, 30; refuses to
allow Hay to accept French deco
ration, 431; passes Payne-Aldrich
tariff bill, 436, 440.

Senden-Bibran, Admiral von, 84.
Serebriakoffs, 335 re.
Serge, Grand Duke, murder of, 123;
128, 276.
Serge, Grand Duchess. See EUza-
beth. Princess of Hesse.
Sermoneta, Duchess of, 123.
Sermoneta, Duke of, 132.
Servians, distrusted by Roosevelt,
410.
Seymour, Sir Edward, R. N., 464,
485.
Sheldon, George, 96, 222.
Sheridan, Philip H., 402.
Sherman, James S., nominated for
Vice-President, 396 to.; 424, 425,
426.
Sherman, Mrs. James S., 426.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act: Wicker
sham on enforcement of, 432.
Shipyards, commercial, how or
ganized, 438.
Sims, WUliam S., U. S. N., " of gun-
practice fame," favors board of
military experts to act as critics
of naval designs, 436; on M.'s ad
ministration of Navy Dep't, 458,
459; reprimanded by Pres. Taft,
through M., 458 re.
Sixth Congressional District
(Mass.), M. and the RepubUcan
nomination in, 27 ff.
Skrydloff, Admiral, 319.
Smith, Charles Emory, 98.
Smith, Roland Cotton, 51, 406, 420,
Smith, Roy C, U. S. N., 224, 244,
246, 467.
Smith, George E., 388.
Smithers, Count von, 98.
Socialist publications. See Pater
son.
Socialists, German, in Russia, 882;
losses of, in elections of 1907, 338.
Socialists, Italian, demonstrations
by, after birth of heir to throne,
104.
Socialists, Russian, an the Tsar's
ukase concerning division of
Crown lands, 225; aim of, 231;
admirable organization of, 234,
235.
SomagUa, Countess, 71.
Somssich, Count, 90, 125, 486.

552

INDEX

Somssich, Countess, 90, 125, 486.
Sonnino, Baron Sidney, 46.
Sonnino, Prince, 81, 82.
Sonnino, Princess, 71.
Sophie, Crown Princess of Greece,
214, 215, 218.
Sorchon, Victor, 486.
Spaulding, Mr., 473.
Speck von Sternberg, Baron, 339
and TO.; 366, 386.
Sperry, Charles S., U. S. N., 482.
Spoleto, Duke of, 103.
Spooner, John C, 92.
Spring-Rice, Sir Cecil A., suspicious
of Kaiser, 127; on the Morocco
question, 256; fears embroilment
of Germany and France, 256; 111,
126, 208, 209, 223, 224, 236, 246,
27«.
Standard OU Co., 403.
Staunton, S. A., U. S. N., 467.
Stead, WUUam T., 205, 206, 208,
340, 844.
Steed, H. Wickham, 46 and to.
Stolypin, M., becomes Prime Minis
ter, 301; attempted assassination
of, 305 and to., 306; his firmness,
310.
Stone, MelviUe E., 205.
Storrow, James J., 96.
Story, Marion, 59.
Story, Mrs. Marion, 69.
Story, Waldo, 64.
Straus, Oscar S., 322, 878, 397, 405,
406.
Strike, general (Russia), failure of,
303.
Stumm, Herr von, 301, 818.
Sturgis, Francis S., 7 and to.
Subig Bay, 362.
Submarines, 394.
Sutherland, Duchess of, 68.
Swanson, Claude A., 361.
Sweden and Norway, probable dis
solution of union of, 186.
Swift, WiUiam, U. S. N., 467, 468.
Swift Board (Navy Dep't), 453,
466.
Swinderen, Mr. von, 360.
Swinderen, Mrs. von, 360.
Sysran, destroyed by fire, 299,
300.

Szechenyi, Countess Gladys (Van
derbilt), 606.
Szecsen, Count, 83 and to.; 90.
Szecsen, Countess, 9&.
Taft, Charles P., 426.
Taft, WiUiam H., at home in 1901,
57, 68; M.'s impression of, 67; on
M. as administrator, 356; Roose
velt on prospects of his nomina
tion in 1908, 366; opposition of
reactionaries, 885; strong senti
ment for, in Mass., 887; proposed
trip to Panama, 389; and Gen.
Grant, 391; M. suggested as the
man to " run " his campaign, 392,
393, 394; nominated on first bal
lot, 398; in the campaign, 399;
Roosevelt urges his election, 402,
403; his prospects of election, 410;
his Unitarianism a source of
prejudice, 410, 411; elected, 412;
forming his Cabinet, 412, 413; M.
for Navy Dep't., 413, 414, 418,
with Winthrop as Assistant Sec'y,
419; his inauguration, 424-26; in
augural address, 425; first meeting
of Cabinet, 426, 427; at the din
ner to Pres. Eliot, 429, 430; would
have an inheritance tax, 432; his
trip to Pittsburg, etc., 433;
recommends tax on income of cor
porations, 434, 436, 438; commit
ted to reduction of army and
navy appropriations, 439; and
Sunday golf-playing, 441; his po
sition on the tariff, 442; on the
work of conference committee on
Payne-Aldrich tariff bill, 442,
443; turns down the committee's
report, which is modified to suit
him, 444; lost the opportunity to
use the "big stick," 444, 445; and
the Ballinger-Pindiot controversy,
445 ; his comment on the " saUent
points " of M.'s administration of
Navy Dep't., 460, 451; and naval
appropriations, 466 ; sentiment
for. In CaUfornla (1912), 473, and
in West generaUy, 482; in the
campaign of 1912, 487 f.; sup
ported by M., 487; M. on his
speech of acceptance, 488; M. and

INDEX

553

Root on his title as candidate,
488; his defeat, 489; 2, 18, 41, 94,
219, 220, 361, 364, 866, 374, 381,
884, 396, 401, 418, 431, 432, 440,
467, 458 TO., 479. Letters of M. to,
464, 473, 482, 488.
Taft, Mrs. Helen (Herron), 394,
424, 426, 489.
Tagalog, the, 40.
Takahira, Mr., 223.
Tampa Electric Co., 12.
Tariff, Taft's position on, 442.
Tariff biU of 1909 (Payne-Aldrich),
passed by Senate, 436; work of
conference committee on, 442,
443; committee how made up,
443; report of committee modi
fied to suit Pres. Taft, 444; report
accepted by House, 444.
Tauride Garden, sessions of Duma
held in, 273, 275.
Teano, Princess, 68, 128.
Telfener, Countess, 123.
Temps, Le, 268.
Tennis at the White House, 356.
"Tennis Cabinet," 420.
Terranova, Duchess of, 68.
Thomas, Leonard M., 67.
Thompson, Charles T., 182, 205, 207,
273.
Times, The, prejudices of Russian
correspondent of, 274.
Timiriaseff, M., on commercial treaty
with U. S., 190.
Tirpitz, Admiral von, 74.
Tittoni, Signor, 79, 82, 106, 136.
Togo, Admiral, 153.
Torpedoes, experiments with, in
1908, 395, 396.
Tosno (Russia), shooting at, 235.
Tower, Charlemagne, 84, 85, 126,
330, 883, 389.
Tower, Mrs. Charlemagne, 84, 86,
497.
Townsend, Mrs., 443.
Tozzoni, Count, 78.
Trabia, Princess, 68.
Trauttmansdorff, Count Charles,
152, 208.
Trauttmansdorff, Countess, 152,153,
208.
Travers, Mrs., 123.
Trepoff, General, Governor General

of St. Petersburg, 117; favors re
forms and a national assembly,
193; and the disturbances in St.
Petersburg ' in 1905, 275 ; on the
Duma, 275; 326.
Trepoff, M., brother of General T.,
326.
Trigonia, Countess, 66.
Trinita, Count di, 67.
Trmita, Countess di, 67, 128.
Triple Alliance, Kaiser charges Ed
ward VII with trying to weaken,
217.
Trondhjem, cathedral at, 99.
Troubetzkoy, Princess, 261 ; 271, 278.
Tsarskoe Sel6: M.'s first visit to,
141 ff.; reception of Diplomatic
Corps at, 244-246, 247; requiem in
private chapel at, 259-261; M.'s
final audience with Tsar at, 330 f.
Tsu Shima, battle of, 152, 158.
Tucker, Baron, 46.
Turin, Count of, 41, 60 and to., 53,
54, 55, 56, 57, 68, 63, 68, 69, 107.
Turin: unveiling of statue of
Prince Amadeo at, 63, 54; Con
cours Hippique at, 58; M. risits
Duke of Aosta at, 101-104.
Turkey, Sultan of, 429.
Turkey and Macedonia: proposed
arbitration between, 87; and
Great Britain, 410; Kaiser on dis
advantages of her annihilation,
502.
Union of Unions, The, aims to cap
ture Moscow, 238, 239.
United States, proposed as arbi
trator between Turkey and Mace
donia, 87; policy of, with relation
to integrity of China and the
Open Door, 109, 113, 126; feeling
in China toward, 131; exports
from, to Russia, 155, 156; Novoe
Vremya charges secret aUiance
between Japan and, 183; pro
posed commercial agreement with
Russia, 190; discriminating Rus
sian duties against, removed by
commercial agreement, 194, 195;
196; disadvantageous position of
Ambassador of, 255; Kaiser on
prospects of war with Japan, 339,

554

INDEX

340; Germany her natural aUy in
such case, 340; Germany wishes
to form close ties with, 350; Root
on relations with Japan, 365, 370,
371; commercial outlook in, not
encouraging, 380; chance of
trouble with Japan, 380; M.
urges strict neutrality of, in early
days of World War, 611; M. a
vigorous critic of war policy of,
611.
VagUa, Euriglia Ponzo, 78, 81.
Vanderbilt, Mrs. Grace, 68, 69, 484.
Vapahofsky, M., 330.
Venezuela, affairs in, 89; policy of
U. S. toward, 429; 107.
Venezuela affair (1902), 65, 66.
Venice, difficulty over arrest of U.
S. officers at, 62, 63; picturesque
spectacle at, 72.
Vesuvius in eruption, 270; 32.
Vezey, H. Custis, 140.
Victor Emmanuel II, 102, 103, 160.
Victor Emmanuel HI, King of
Italy, M.'s first audience vrith, 33,
34; his guard and household, 34;
M. introduces motor cars to, 38,
39; quoted, on his own powers,
40; audiences vrith, 45, 63, 64;
opens Parliament, 50; on Nelidow
and the Tsar, 77, 78; talks on
various American subjects, 89,
and on the Russo-Japanese War,
90; his speech at opening of Par
Uament, 107; on U. S. Navy and
Panama, 107; his popularity, 119;
on M.'s appointment to Russia,
122; his prophecy as to relations
of Russia and U. S., 122; on his
experiences in Russia, 128, 129;
M.'s farewell audience with, 134;
gives farewell dinner to M., 134;
M.'s audience with, in 1907, 341-
344; his opinion of the Tsar, 342;
on disarmament, 343; on Monte
negrin affairs, 343; confers deco
ration on M., 356; 32, 35, 37, 46,
47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 65, 66, 67,
58, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 76, 79, 81,
100, 108, 113, 133, 138, 160, 170,
249, 270, 336, 387, 401.
Victoria, Queen, 33, 75, 217.

Victoria-Louise, Princess, 337 and to.
Viscenti-Venosta, Marquis Emilio,
33.
Vivian, Violet, 383.
Vladimir, Grand Duchess, on af
fairs in Russia, 225; her dinner
parties, 289; 152, 207, 208, 283,
310, 311, 385, 419.
Vladimir, Grand Duke, 121, 162,
187, 197, 198, 207, 226, 246, 262,
274, 276, 283, 305, 311, 385, 415,
419.
Volhynia, conditions in, 316.
Vreeland, C. E., U. S. A., 467.
Wadsworth, Wm. Austin, 388.
Wadsworth, Mrs. Wm. Austin, 388.
Wainwright, Richard, U. S. N., on
M.'s work in Navy Dep't, 491;
362, 468.
Wallace, Sir Donald M., Russia,
303 and to.; on affairs in Russia,
309; 322.
Walsh, Thomas P., 93, 94.
Walter Baker Co., 12.
War, general disinclination among
nations to become involved in
(1906), 266.
Warashoff, M., 271.
Ward, Aaron, U. S. N., 468.
WardweU, J. Otis, 387.
Warlinsleku, Countess, 84.
Warpakhovsky, M., 336 to.
Warren, Whitney, 91, 221, and to.,
223, 484, 486.
Warrington, John, 402.
Washington, Booker T., Roosevelt's
inritation to him to lunch at
White House, a mistake, 416, 420.
Washington, D. C, first chosen as
place of meeting of peace confer
ence (1906), 166 and to., 167 f.
Washington Times, 392, 393.
Watts, Ethelbert, 140.
Webster, Daniel, 4.
Wedel, Count von, 47, 49, 66.
Wedel, Countess von, 605.
Weightman, Mr., 479.
Wellman, Walter, 93.
West Point cadets, 425.
Westphalen, Count, 302.
Wetmore, Charles, 91.
Wheeler, Benjamin I., 222.

INDEX

56>„

Whishaw, Mrs., 236.
White, Andrew D., M.'s opinion of,
268, 259.
White, Henry, succeeds M. at Rome,
119 ; represents U. S. at Algeciras,
269; 111, 133 and to.
Wickersham, George W., defines
policy of Taft administration as
to trusts, etc., 432; 427, 431, 441,
442, 443, 453, 464.
Widener, P. A. B., 61, 62.
William II, German Emperor: M.'s
first interview with, at Kiel, 69 ff.;
at Rome (1903), 69-72; impres
sion produced by, 70; reception to,
at the Capitol, 71; M.'s second
meeting with at Kiel, in 1903, 74,
75; talks on Russo-Japanese War
and other subjects, 84, 86; and the
Russian Ambassador, 86: Mi
dines with, on the HohenzoUern,
at Naples, 88; luncheon with, on
HohenzoUern, described by Mrs.
Meyer, 97-100; M.'s interriew
with, in Febmary, 1905, 126, 127;
on the neutrality and integrity of
China, 126; his suspicions of Del
casse, 126, 127; his feeUng toward
Great Britain, 127; his interview
with the Tsar, 185 and to., 188,
191; his private correspondence
with the Tsar, 199, 203; on Edward
VII, 217, 218; M.'s further im
pressions of, 218, 219; M.'s inter
view with, at Homburg (Sept.
1905), 211 f.; how he prepared
the Tsar's mind for peace, 212,
213; suggests Roosevelt as medi
ator, 218; on the commercial re
sults of the war, 213, 214; on the
Morocco dispute and Delcasse,
216; 217; visited by M. at Pots
dam, 228-230; on affairs in Rus
sia, 229; on British feeling toward
Germany, 230; his amour propre
at stake at Algeciras, 263; his
visit to Tangier in 1905, 269; and
Italy, 272; quotes the Tsar on
Roosevelt and M., 284; on opti
mism, 323, 324; M^'s interview
with, in 1907, 836 f.; on the Ger
man elections, 838; on Russia and
China and Japan, 338, 339; on

the prospect of war between Ja
pan and U. S., 339, 340; on Ed
ward VII and Clemenceau, 339;
Great Britain and Franco-German
relations, 339, 340; on disarma
ment, 346 ; and the " yeUow perU,"
346; would furnish us with a base
of supplies in case of war with
Japan, 366; and the supposititious
Japanese troops in Mexico, 383;
sends out rumours as to Japan's
designs, 385; desires M. as Am
bassador to Berlin, 386; M.'s last
meeting with, in 1913, 495 f.;
calls M. "the American von Tir
pitz," 496 and to.; on relations be
tween Japan and U. S., 497; on
the prestige of Ambassadors, 498;
on the feeling between Great
Britain and Germany, 498; on
Edward VII and Sir. E. Grey,
498, 499; on his peaceful reign,
499; on the increase in German
army and navy, 499; on the
British-Japanese treaty, 499, 600;
his opinion of Ferdinand of Bul
garia, 601; shows M. his maps of
the BaUsan War, 502; on the an
nihilation of Turkey, 602; did he
visit Paris incog.?, 503; 39, 42, 46,
58, 73, 87, 89, 96, 133, 138, 142,
143, 165, 160, 163, 164, 165, 177,
186, 199, 226, 231, 243, 246, 247,
262, 264, 328, 330, 343, 344, 350,
354, 478.
William, German Crown Prince, 69,
70, 71, 162, 212, 214, 215, 218.
WUson, Sir Arthur, R. N., 470.
Wilson, Huntington, 443.
WUson, James, 397, 409.
Wilson, Mrs. Lucy, 448.
Wilson, Woodrow, 498, 610, 611, 613,
515".
Winslow, Erving, letter of M. to,
511.
Winter Palace, St. Petersburg,
opening of Duma at, 278-281, 285.
Winterton, Lord, 485.
Winthrop, Beekman, 221 and to.,
378, 412, 417, 418, 443, 454.
Winthrop, Mrs. Beekman, 443.
Wirenius, Admiral, 312, 313.
Witherspoon, Captain, U. S. N., 362.

OV

iiSDEX

Witte, M.'s Impression of, 181, 182;
opposed to war from the first,
181, 182; effect of his appoint
ment as first plenipotentiary, in
Russia and abroad, 182, 184; his
view of his task, 182; favorable
impression of, in U. S., 192 and
n., 193, 196, 202; between two fires,
227; lack of public confidence in,
226; fears attempts on his life,
268; nervous about his future,
268, 269; resigns, 276, 277; 124,
164, 155, 169, 180, 183, 186, 194,
201, 208, 210, 220, 222, 231, 232,
233, 234, 235, 239, 243, 254, 257,
267, 274, 275.
Witte, Countess, anecdote of, 257,
258, 274.
Wolcott, Roger, 26, 28.
Wood, Leonard, U. S. A., 67, 502,
503, 617.
Woronzow, M., 274.
Worontzoff, Countess, 335 re.
Wrangel, Count, 252, 484.

Wright, Luke E., 404, 411, 425, 426,
428.
Wright, State Senator (Calif.), 473.
Wrights, the, pioneers in aviation,
440, 444.
Tale Review, 512.
Yalta, Crimea, 320.
Yolanda, Margherita, Princess,
78.
Young, S. M. B., U. S. A., 403.
Youssoupoff, Prince, his palace at
St. Petersburg, 276, 277; his
palace at Moscow, 325; M.'s hunt
ing expedition with, 326, 827; as
a host, 327; 310 and to., 335 re.,
505.
Youssoupoff, Princess, 277, 330,
335 TO.
Yukki, club at, 251, 252, 254, 261,
325.
ZanardeUi, Signor, 55, 69, 78.

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