The Days of a Man 1:1902 



their deed of gift was received at Washington, the 

 President of the United States had been shot by an 

 insane ruffian. In the confusion which followed, the 

 document had doubtless been misplaced, and Mr. 

 Roosevelt always thoughtful in such matters 

 had probably never seen it. I would, however, tell 

 him all about it, and he would certainly do the right 

 thing an assurance which left them quiet and 

 expectant. 



I at once prepared a full statement of the situation 

 for the President, who acted promptly, as on reach- 

 ing home I noticed in the press that he had sent gold 

 response watches to Mauga and Paa Vei, with a flag to the 

 fita-fitas, and that Pago Pago had put in "a red-letter 

 day of rejoicing." 



On my next visit to Washington, Roosevelt told 

 me that the deed of gift had been filed away under the 

 head of " Docks," Pago Pago from the official point 

 of view being merely the water front of a naval sta- 

 tion; while fear of establishing a troublesome prece- 

 dent had prevented any acknowledgment of the 

 A ques- transaction. For if we were formally to accept Tutuila 

 r as a gift from the people, it might be impossible to 

 justify our retention of the Philippines obtained 

 through conquest and purchase from Spain, the 

 native inhabitants having been in no wise consulted, 

 and being, moreover, actively opposed to American 

 control. McKinley's advisers emphasized this point, 

 but Roosevelt, as we know, cared not a rap for prece- 

 dent; he simply made it right with the islanders. 

 And to me he said: "It always pays for a nation to 

 be a gentleman." 



On the same occasion he solved a quite different 

 problem in equally characteristic fashion. Rival 

 C 126 ] 



