20 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 



DIRECTOR OF THE CLASSIC COLUMBIAN 



4. It has not been the fortune of many Americans to rise from 

 the ranks of agriculture to highest influence in the diplomatic 

 world, hut in recent years this was indeed the achievement of the 

 Hon. W. I. Buchanan. Bom on an Iowa farm, he was grounded 

 firmly in the fundamental cycle of the corn belt, "to grow more 

 com, to feed more hogs, to buy more land," and so on, ad infini- 

 tum. Mr. Buchanan's experience particularly stressed the com 

 item, and after becoming connected with the banking business in 

 Sioux City, he organized and staged the first purely com show 

 ever held. This was founded in the early nineties and was held 

 in a "com palace" especially constructed for the purpose. His 

 success here led to his being appointed chief of agriculture at the 

 World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Numerous important 

 acquaintanceships originated here, and stress was brought to bear 

 on President Cleveland to secure the secretaryship of agriculture 

 in the new cabinet. But previous political promises prevented 

 this, and he was appointed Minister to the Argentine. His service 

 here was so eminently satisfactory that in spite of repeated 

 attempts to resign. President McKinley forced him to continue 

 in office under the republican administration. Mr. Buchanan 

 rendered an invaluable service in the establishment of broader 

 trade relations with the South American republic, and developed 

 such a degree of confidence among Latin-Americans that he was 

 selected to establish definitely the Venezuelan border line after 

 The Hague had completed its arbitration of the border claims. 



On his return from Buenos Aires, he was appointed Director 

 General of the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, and con- 



