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Show H jI SECRETARY JOHN HAY. HK With the death of Secretary Hay, one of the K. : UP very great men of this world passed on. ! ifii v; s death is a great national loss, a world's 1 9H misfortune. Could his health have been spared un- Hr :1W til the Russian and Japanese plenipotentiaries met 9 'n Washington, within a week after negotiations lj began, both the agents of Russia and of Japan HKj Wm, would have leaned upon him for counsel, for he IHI 'Iff' was the world's foremost diplomat, and the H' Hi! charm of his diplomacy, which, consciously or un- Bg 'wBbi consciously, all peoples and nations and tongues Hu realized, was the absolute truthfulness of the HRr I ' 'iff or centuries the art of diplomats has seemed Mil jiff t0 e to wor out tner designs by concealing the nj , fjm To all such Secretary Hay was a new revela- ffE ' B tioh. He was never backward in insisting upon K!' ' his demands, but he always coupled with them the WBt SH reasons for preferring them and through those b' Wm reasons the purpose shone out, and it was clear Bl 1 ' SB that what he wanted was only a square deal. The Hl I B mantle of Abraham Lincoln's- austere integrity HH ; fj descended upon John Hay, and it wrapped him Hgr sB around with a dignity which gave a perpetual NKjji j Wm Beyond his diplomacy he was in the very high- Kfff ! i IH! est sense a Breat statesman. He knew the needs ffB ; JBR' of the world's peoples and his thought was to pro- HrcP faff duce a closer walk among men and to make ab- ff ?flP solute justice the arbiter of their differences, be lieving that to be the sure path to progress and to peace. His subtile brain was always steadied by a heart th. in its impulses, was great enough to brood a world under sheltering wings. He was a gifted writer and author. There was a rhythm and power in his pen which gave to his written words a charm which was an enchantment to all classes of readers, from kings to peasants. As a journalist he was perfect in the higher walks of the profession. Knowing the influence which the press ought to wield, and how much people are prone to lean upon editorial opinions, he gave to his editorial writings the same care that he later bestowed upon his state papers and the inherent in-herent truthfulness and sincerity of the man shone out through his editorials that have since illustrated il-lustrated his work as a diplomat and statesman. He was at home in every intellectual field. He made one campaign speech last autumn in New York City. We can recall no other campaign speech so effective in all our nation's history. His picture of the nature of President Roosevelt was a letter of credit sufficient to cause the whole nation to be anxious to honor him. There were only gentle gen-tle and courteous words in the speech, but vhen finished Mr. Parker had not orte inch of ground to stand upon, while he was so stripped intellectually that considering him one thought instinctively of a second-hand clothing store. For forty years he stood in the full glare of the world's light, but he steadily grew in the estimation estima-tion of his countrymen, until their verdict was that in all our history no brighter nor more perfectly balanced intellect than his has appeared. He was a watchman on the heights, and when at the call "O watchman what of the night?" he answered, "All is well," the world slept the sweeter for the assurance his words gave. His death is a national, a world's great loss. More than once with his words of peace he drove war away. His grave ought to be with the glorified ones in the nation's mausoleum at Arlington, for not one sleeper there was a more illustrious American, not one a truer bearer of the nation's standard, not one carried down to the grave a higher or more just renown. The overwhelming grief of his family is shared by the whole nation, and tens of thousands of his countrymen are murmering:. "Art thou dead? Could not the grave forget thee and lay low Some less majestic, less beloved head?" Art thou indeed sunk in that sleep profound, That does not waken at a world's lament? Could not thy country's love that wrapped thee round A respite plead to make e'en Death relent? In his glorious life his most earnest prayer was for the world's peace. May that peace now make a pillow for his head in the final sleep that ha3 come to him. |