But, in these reflections on the British commonwealth, the Ambassador was thinking of his old familiar figure, the "Forgotten Man"-- the neglected man, woman, and child of the masses.

In an address delivered, in June, 1914, before the Royal Institution of Great Britain, Page gave what he regarded as the definition of the American ideal.

"The fundamental article in the creed of the American democracy--you may call it the fundamental dogma if you like--is the unchanging and unchangeable resolve that every human being shall have his opportunity for his utmost development--his chance to become and to do the best that he can." Democracy is not only a system of government--"it is a scheme of society." Every citizen must have not only the suffrage, he must likewise enjoy the same advantages as his neighbour for education, for social opportunity, for good health, for success in agriculture, manufacture, finance, and business and professional life.

The country that most successfully opened all these avenues to every boy or girl, exclusively on individual merit, was in Page's view the most democratic.

He believed that the United States did this more completely than Great Britain or any other country; and therefore he believed that we were far more democratic.