ELIHU BOOT 437 policy of truth-telling won the day, and from that time till the present our relations with those countries, both political and conmiercial, have been increasingly satisfactory. Scarcely more than a month after Mr. Boot left the State Department, in 1908, he was elected United States Senator from New York, being the unanimous choice of the represent- atives of his party in the General Assembly of the state. As a United States Senator, of course, he is not so much of a national figure as he was as a member of the President's cab- inet. Nevertheless, he occupies a high rank as a member of
- the greatest deliberative body on earth. In the judgment
of many, he is the greatest intellectual force in the Senate to- day. Although at present his party is in the minority, he is held in the highest esteem by his political opponents, and his counsel and advice are sought on all important national ques- tions. In this recital of Elihu Boot's life and services many im- portant things have been touched but lightly, and some have not even been mentioned. Enough has been said, however, to give emphasis to Mr. Boot's dominant characteristics: his in- lectual superiority, his capacity for hard work, his honesty, and his purity of character. A few words touching his person- ality in some other respects may be added. Mr. Boot is always cool and collected, and never loses con- trol of himself. Some think him cold-hearted, but that is a mistake. He often performs a kindly service in his own simple way. He is cautious by nature, and never acts until sure of his ground ; but when he has made up his mind and sets out to do a thing, he does it speedily and correctly. He is not only a hard worker himself, but he is also a great stimulus to others. He has high ideals — ideals of a type which through hard work can be realized, not those of the impractical visionary. Many honors have been showered upon Elihu Boot. The degree of Doctor of Laws has been conferred upon him by various institutions, as follows : Hamilton College, 1894 ; Yale University, 1900 ; Columbia University, 1904 ; New York Uni- versity, 1904; Williams College, 1905; Princeton University, 1906 ; and Harvard University, 1907. In 1913 Oxford Univer-
