Conclusions rest upon the absolute rock of principle, as morality
for his preacher father rested upon the absolute rock of the Ten
Commandments. There is no doubt, no uncertainty, no nuance, no on
the one hand, on the other, no discursiveness, no yielding to the
seductions of fancy, but a stern keeping of the faith of the
syllogism; a thing is so or it is not so. Mr. Hughes never
hesitates. He never says, "I must think about that." He has thought
about it. Or he turns instantly to his Principle and has the
answer.

You speak of Mr. Hughes to ten men in the Capitol, and nine of them
will say to you, "Of course it is easy to understand; his is the
one real mind in Washington."

Everyone is impressed, for, starting with no other initiation into
the mysteries of foreign relations than having had a father born in
Wales and having spent his vacations in England, probably in the
lake region studying the topography of Wordsworth's poetry,--a
certain oft detected resemblance to Wilson must make Wordsworth his
favorite poet, as he was Wilson's,--in ten days was he not a great
Secretary of State; and in three months the greatest Secretary of
State? To be sure, back of him was the strongest nation on the
earth, left so by the war, the one nation with resources, the
creditor of all the others, to which a successful foreign policy
would be naturally easy if it could only decide what that policy
should be.

It was left to Mr. Hughes to say what it should be. His discovery
of the word "interests," amazed Washington; it was so obvious, so