126 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-XIV 



the most just of British statesmen had approved many 

 years before. 



During this Venezuela work in Washington I made ac 

 quaintance with many leading men in politics ; and among 

 those who interested me most was Mr. Carlisle of Ken 

 tucky, Secretary of the Treasury. He had been member 

 of Congress, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 

 senator, and was justly respected and admired. Per 

 haps the most peculiar tribute that I ever heard paid to a 

 public man was given him once in the House of Represen 

 tatives by my friend Mr. Hiscock, then representative, 

 and afterward senator, from the State of New York. 

 Seated by his side in the House, and noting the rulings of 

 Mr. Carlisle as Speaker, I asked, &quot;What sort of man is 

 this Speaker of yours 1 Mr. Hiscock answered, l As you 

 know, he is one of the strongest of Democrats, and I am 

 one of the strongest of Eepublicans ; yet I will say this : 

 that my imagination is not strong enough to conceive of 

 his making an unfair ruling or doing an unfair thing 

 against the party opposed to him in this House. 



Mr. Carlisle s talents were of a very high order. His 

 speeches carried great weight ; and in the campaign which 

 came on later between Mr. McKinley and Mr. Bryan, he, 

 in my opinion, and indeed in the opinion, I think, of every 

 leading public man, did a most honorable thing when he 

 deliberately broke from his party, sacrificed, apparently, 

 all hopes of political preferment, and opposed the regu 

 lar Democratic candidate. His speech before the work 

 ing-men of Chicago on the issues of that period was cer 

 tainly one of the two most important delivered during 

 the first McKinley campaign, the other being that of Carl 

 Schurz. 



Another man whom I saw from time to time during this 

 period was the Vice-President, Mr. Stevenson. I first met 

 him at a public dinner in New York, where we sat side by 

 side ; but we merely talked on generalities. But the next 

 time I met him was at a dinner given by the Secretary of 

 War, and there I found that he was one of the most ad- 



