330 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-XXIV 



ister of finance and prime minister of the Netherlands, 

 to our delegation and to his colleagues of the Dutch 

 ministry. Everything passed off well, Mr. Piersoon 

 proposing a toast to the health of the President of the 

 United States, to which I replied in a toast to the Queen 

 of the Netherlands. In the course of his speech Mr. 

 Piersoon thanked us for our tribute to Grotius, and 

 showed really deep feeling on the subject. There is no 

 doubt that we have struck a responsive chord in the 

 hearts of all liberal and thoughtful men and women of 

 the Netherlands; from every quarter come evidences of 

 this. 



A remark of his, regarding arbitration, especially 

 pleased us. He said that the arbitration plan, as it had 

 come from the great committee, was like a baby: ap 

 parently helpless, and of very little value, unable to do 

 much, and requiring careful nursing ; but that it had one 

 great merit: it would grow. 



This I believe to be a very accurate statement of the 

 situation. The general feeling of the conference becomes 

 better and better. More and more the old skepticism has 

 departed, and in place of it has come a strong ambition 

 to have a share in what we are beginning to believe may 

 be a most honorable contribution to the peace of the 

 world. I have never taken part in more earnest dis 

 cussions than those which during the last two weeks have 

 occupied us, and especially those relating to arbitration. 



I think I may say, without assuming too much, that our 

 Grotius celebration has been a contribution of some value 

 to this growth of earnestness. It has, if I am not greatly 

 mistaken, revealed to the conference, still more clearly 

 than before, the fact that it is a historical body intrusted 

 with a matter of vast importance and difficulty, and that 

 we shall be judged in history with reference to this fact. 



July 6. 



At 5.30 P.M. off in special train with the entire confer 

 ence to Amsterdam. On arriving, we found a long train 



