There were, however, matters of internal policy; along with them
Roosevelt inherited several foreign complications which he at
once grappled with. In the Secretary of State, John Hay, he had a
remarkable helper. Henry Adams told me that Hay was the first
"man of the world" who had ever been Secretary of State. While
this may be disputed, nobody can fail to see some truth in
Adams's assertion. Hay had not only the manners of a gentleman,
but also the special carriage of a diplomat. He was polite,
affable, and usually accessible, without ever losing his innate
dignity. An indefinable reserve warded off those who would either
presume or indulge in undue familiarity His quick wits kept him
always on his guard. His main defect was his unwillingness to
regard the Senate as having a right to pass judgment on his
treaties. And instead of being compliant and compromising, he
injured his cause with the Senators by letting them see too
plainly that he regarded them as interlopers, and by peppering
them with witty but not agreeable sarcasm. In dealing with
foreign diplomats, on the other hand, he was at his best. They
found him polished, straightforward, and urbane. He not only
produced on them the impression of honesty, but he was honest. In
all his diplomatic correspondence, whether he was writing
confidentially to American representatives or was addressing
official notes to foreign governments, I do not recall a single
hint of double-dealing. Hay was the velvet glove, Roosevelt the
hand of steel.

For many years Canada and the United States had enjoyed
grievances towards each other, grievances over fisheries, over
lumber, and other things, no one of which was worth going to war