said Mr. Lansing, "have repeated rumours that you are planning to
resign. These have been brought to the President's attention, and both
he and I have denied them. Still these rumours persist, and they cause
both the President and me great anxiety. We cannot believe that they are
well founded.

"In view of the fact that they are so persistent, we have thought it
well to inform you of them and to tell you how earnestly we hope that
they are baseless. We trust that you will set both our minds at rest."

If Page had ever had any compunction about addressing the President in
blunt phrases these expressions certainly convinced him that he was a
free agent.

Yet Page himself at times had his doubts as to the value of this
correspondence. He would frequently discuss the matter with Mr.
Laughlin. "That's a pretty harsh letter," he would say. "I don't like to
talk that way to the President, yet it doesn't express half what I
feel."

"It's your duty to tell the President the real state of affairs," Mr.
Laughlin would urge.

"But do you suppose it does any good?" Page would ask.

"Yes, it's bound to, and whether it does or not, it's your business to
keep him informed."

If in these letters Page seems to lay great stress on the judgment of
Great Britain and Europe on American policy, it must be remembered that