BERLIN, OXFORD, ST. ANDREWS -1901-1903 209 



There was, indeed, one slight mishap. Being called 

 upon to speak in behalf of the guests at the great dinner 

 in Christ Church Hall, I endeavored to make a point 

 which I thought new and perhaps usefully suggestive. 

 Having referred to the increasing number of international 

 congresses, expositions, conferences, academic commem 

 orations, anniversaries, and the like, I dwelt briefly on 

 their agency in generating friendships between men of 

 influence in different countries, and therefore in maintain 

 ing international good will ; and then especially urged, as 

 the pith and point of my speech, that such agencies had 

 recently been made potent for peace as never before. In 

 support of this view, I called attention to the fact that the 

 Peace Conference at The Hague had not only established 

 an arbitration tribunal for preventing war, but had gained 

 the adhesion of all nations concerned to a number of ar 

 rangements, such as international &quot;Commissions of In 

 quiry, the system of Seconding Powers, and the like, 

 for delaying war, thus securing time during which better 

 international feelings could assert themselves, and rea 

 sonable men on either side could work together to bring 

 in the sober second thought ; that thereby the friendships 

 promoted by these international festivities had been given, 

 as never before, time to assert themselves as an effective 

 force for peace against jingo orators, yellow presses, and 

 hot-heads generally ; and finally, in view of this increased 

 efficiency of such gatherings in promoting peace, I urged 

 that they might well be multiplied on both sides of the 

 Atlantic, and that as many delegates as possible should be 

 sent to them. 



&quot;A poor thing, but mine own.&quot; Alas ! next day, in the 

 press, I was reported as simply uttering the truism that 

 such gatherings increase the peaceful feeling of nations ; 

 and so the main point of my little speech was lost. But 

 it was a slight matter, and of all my visits to Oxford, this 

 will remain in my memory as the most delightful. 1 



The visit to St. Andrews was also happy. After the 



ir rhe full speech has since been published in the &quot; Yale Alumni Weekly.&quot; 

 II. 14 



