A young Texan has been there, whose legs are gone at the thighs and one arm at the elbow.  God pity us for not having organized the world better than this!  We’ll do it, yet, Mr. President—­you’ll do it; and thank God for you.  If we do not organize Europe and make another such catastrophe impossible, life will not be worth being born into except to the few whose days happen to fall between recurring devastations of the world.

     Yours sincerely,

     WALTER H. PAGE.

“I hope that the English people,” Colonel House wrote to Page about this time, “realize how successful Mr. Balfour’s visit to America really was.  There is no man they could have sent who could have done it better.  He and the President got along marvellously well.  The three of us dined and spent the evening together and it was delightful to see how sympathetic their minds were.”

A letter from Mr. Polk also discloses the impression which Mr. Balfour made upon Washington: 

     From Frank L. Polk

     Washington, May 25, 1917.

     MY DEAR MR. PAGE: 

     I just want to get off a line to catch the pouch.

You probably know what a wonderful success the British Mission has been, but I do not think you can realize what a deep impression they have made on all of us.  Mr. Balfour really won the affection of us all, and I do not know when I was more sorry to have a man leave than I was to have him go last night.  He expressed himself as having been very much impressed with his reception and the way he was treated.  He was most fair in all discussions, and I think has a better understanding of our point of view.  I had the good fortune of being present at the financial and the diplomatic conferences, and I think we all felt that we were dealing with a sympathetic friend.

He and the President got on tremendously.  The best evidence of that was the fact that the President went up to Congress and sat in the gallery while Mr. Balfour addressed the House.  This is without precedent.

The difficult problem of course was the blacklist and bunkering agreement, but I think we are by that.  The important thing now is for the British to make all the concessions possible in connection with the release of goods in Rotterdam and the release of goods in Prize Court, though the cases have not been begun.  Of course I mean cases of merely suspicion rather than where there is evidence of wrongdoing.

The sending of the destroyers and troops abroad is going to do a great deal toward impressing our people with the fact that we really are in the war.  I do not think it is thoroughly borne home on the majority yet what a serious road we have chosen.

     With warm regards,

     Yours faithfully,

     FRANK L. POLK.