For there was only one reason why Page did not enter the Cabinet as Secretary of the Interior; and that is revealed in the above letter to "Uncle Henry"; he was so busy planning his new house in the sandhills of North Carolina that, while cabinets were being formed and great decisions taken, he was absent from New York.

A short time before the inauguration, Mr.Wilson asked Colonel House to arrange a meeting with Page in the latter's apartment.

Mr.Wilson wished to see him on a Saturday; the purpose was to offer him the Secretaryship of the Interior.

Colonel House called up Page's office at Garden City and was informed that he was in North Carolina.

Colonel House then telegraphed asking Page to start north immediately, and suggesting the succeeding Monday as a good time for the interview.