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THE   UNITED  STATES 
IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

(1918-1920) 


By 
JOHN  BACH  McMASTER 

History  of  the  People  of 
United  States 

(From  the  Revolution  to  the  Civil  War. 
In  Eight  Volumes.) 

With  the  Fathers 
The  United  States  in  the 

World  War     (In  Two  Volumes) 


These  Are  Apple  ton  Books 

D.  APPLETON  &  COMPANY 
Publishers  New  York 


T  237 


THE   UNITED  STATES 
IN  THE   WORLD   WAR 

(1918-1920) 


BY 

JOHN  BACH  McMASTER 


PROFESSOR  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

AUTHOR  OF  "A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES" 

AND  "THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR,"  1914-1918 


D.    APPLETON   AND   COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1920 


v. 


COPYRIGHT,  1920,  BT 
JOHN  BACH  McMASTER 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


PAGE 


I.    SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST 1 

II.    WAR  WORK  AT  HOME 32 

III.  FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE 85 

IV.  PEACE  OFFENSIVES 141 

V.    THE  ARMISTICE 194 

VI.  THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD 228 

VII.  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE .  270 

VIII.    THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE 324 

IX.     THE  TREATY  REJECTED 378 

APPENDICES 

A.  TEXT  OF  THE  ARMISTICE 453 

B.  TEXT   OF  THE  RESOLUTION  TO  CREATE  A 

WORLD  LEAGUE 459 

C.  TEXT  OF  THE  PROPOSED  COVENANT       .     .  461 

D.  COVENANT  OF  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS     .  471 

E.  RESOLUTION  OF  RATIFICATION  REJECTED  BY 

THE  SENATE 482 

INDEX  485 


THE  UNITED  STATES 
IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

CHAPTEK    I 
SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST 

Two  visits  to  our  ports  by  the  merchant  submarine  Deutschr 
land,  one  by  the  armed  undersea  boat  U-53,  and  the  torpedoing 
by  her  of  five  ships  off  Nantucket  Island  in  the  autumn  of 
1916  made  it  certain,  now  we  were  at  war,  that  sooner  or  later 
our  Atlantic  coast  would  be  the  scene  of  this  form  of  German 
frightfulness.  E"o  surprise,  therefore,  was  felt  when,  about  the 
middle  of  May,  1918,  rumors  of  the  presence  of  a  submarine 
off  the  capes  of  Virginia  became  current. 

The  master  of  a  British  steamship  which  reached  an  At- 
lantic port  May  22  reported  that  he  had  seen  a  submarine  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  off  the  Virginia  capes,  and  had  fired 
five  shots  at  her.  The  captain  of  a  Clyde  Line  steamer  which 
reached  port  a  few  days  later  had  sighted  three  derelicts  with 
cargoes  untouched,  sides  torn  open,  and  crews  gone.  One,  a 
large  four-masted  schooner,  was  floating  with  her  starboard 
side  up,  and  had  a  great  hole  well  below  the  water  line.  An- 
other, found  in  latitude  37°  north,  longitude  75°  west,  was 
half  submerged  with  bow  down  and  stern  high  in  air.  Four 
small  fishing  vessels  were  standing  by,  examining  her.  A 
search  for  the  missing  crews,  made  by  the  Clyde  liner,  re- 
vealed no  trace  of  them.  Near  the  wreck  were  floating  a  few 
unmarked  cork-ring  life  boats.  Apparently  the  vessels  had 
been  hurriedly  abandoned.  Another,  the  three-masted  schooner 
Edna,  bound  for  Havana  from  Philadelphia  with  a  cargo  of 

1 


2         THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

gasoline,  sighted  off  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  was 
towed  by  the  Clyde  liner  to  a  point  off  the  Delaware  Capes 
and  there  abandoned.  The  report  of  the  British  captain  that 
he  had  fired  at  a  submarine  was  now  believed  to  explain  the 
mystery  surrounding  the  three  derelicts.  Clearly,  they  had 
been  destroyed  by  some  undersea  enemy  craft  off  our  coast, 
though  the  Navy  Department  officials  declared  there  were  no 
signs  of  a  submarine  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  that  the 
British  captain  had  probably  fired  at  a  bit  of  wreckage  or  some 
other  floating  object.  Perhaps  it  was  a  whale,  for  a  captain 
of  a  steamship  which  arrived  at  Mobile  reported  that  he 
sighted  a  large  one  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  May  28  the  Edna,, 
with  her  decks  level  with  the  water,  was  towed  into  port  by  a 
tug  and  beached  on  the  mud  flats  in  the  Delaware  Kiver  off 
Port  Richmond,  and  later  was  brought  to  Philadelphia  and 
repaired.  The  fate  of  her  crew  of  twenty-four  was  still  as 
great  a  mystery  as  ever,  and  in  hopes  that  they  might  be  in 
life  boats  at  sea,  wireless  messages  were  sent  out  to  all  vessels 
asking  if  they  had  picked  up  the  men. 

While  the  mystery  of  the  derelicts  was,  still  unsolved,  the 
Hamburg- American  liner  President  Lincoln,  one  of  the  vessels 
taken  over  after  we  entered  the  war,  and  then  used  as  a  trans- 
port, was  torpedoed  and  sunk  May  31,  while  on  her  way  from 
Brest  to  our  country.  Aboard  were  715  persons,  including  the 
ship's  officers  and  crew,  and  a  few  army  officers  and  soldiers 
on  their  way  home.  Three  officers  and  twenty-three  seamen 
lost  their  lives. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  as  the  President  Lincoln 
with  three  other  transports  was  running  west,  the  convoying 
destroyers  having  left  them  the  previous  evening,  she  was 
struck  by  three  torpedoes  fired  from  a  submerged  submarine, 
the  TJ-90,  which  had  trailed  the  transports  during  the  entire 
night.  A  few  minutes  after  nine  all  hands  were  in  life  boats, 
or  on  rafts,  and  at  half-past  nine  the  President  Lincoln  turned 
over  and  sank.  First  Lieutenant  Isaacs  was  taken  prisoner, 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  3 

carried  to  Wilhelmshaven,  sent  to  the  camp  at  Karlsruhe,  and 
finally  to  Villingen,  from  which  he  escaped  to  Switzerland.1 

And  now  a  Brazilian  steamship  reached  an  Atlantic  port 
where  the  passengers  stated  that,  when  entering  the  Gulf 
Stream  off  the  Florida  coast,  a  wireless  warning  to  look  out  for 
submarines  caused  the  captain  to  make  a  wide  detour.  Sir 
Leslie  Probyn,  Governor  General  of  Jamaica,  one  of  the  pas- 
sengers, said  that  before  leaving  the  Barbados  he  had  heard 
that  a  German  submarine  had  been  sighted  as  early  as  May  16 
near  Bermuda.  All  doubt  was  put  at  rest  June  3,  when  a 
Canadian-Pacific  liner  reached  New  York,  and  her  captain 
announced  that  five  vessels  had  been  torpedoed  off  the  Jersey 
coast.  According  to  his  story,  his  vessel  was  one  of  a  slow 
convoy  when,  about  seven  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  June  2,  a 
wireless  was  received  stating,  "We  are  attacked  by  a  subma- 
rine." The  name  of  the  vessel  and  her  exact  locality  were 
given,  but  were  not  made  known  by  the  captain.  In  a  few 
minutes  came  the  words,  "We  have  been  torpedoed."  He 
thereupon  left  the  convoy  and  made  all  speed  for  New  York. 
Half  an  hour  later,  as  he  sped  through  the  darkness,  a  third 
message  was  received,  reading,  "We  are  attacked,"  and  giving 
the  name  and  location  of  a  second  tanker,  and  finally  a  fourth 
message  from  the  same  vessel,  "We  are  sinking,  S.  0.  S." 
Fuller  details  of  the  work  of  the  submarine  were  brought  to 
New  York,  on  the  morning  of  June  3,  by  the  steamship  Bristol, 
with  eleven  of  the  crew  of  the  four-masted  schooner  Edward  H. 
Cole,  sunk  on  the  evening  of  June  2,  some  fifty  miles  southeast 
of  Barnegat  Light,  New  Jersey.  The  captain  of  the  Cole  re- 
ported that  a  U-boat  appeared  suddenly,  raised  the  German 
naval  flag,  circled  about  his  schooner,  and  fired  a  shot  across 
her  bow ;  that  after  he  came  about  a  boat  put  off  from  the  sub- 
marine ;  that  her  commander  boarded  the  Cole,  and  said,  "Cap- 
tain, you  and  your  men  have  seven  and  a  half  minutes  to  get 
into  your  boats;"  and  that  just  as  they  put  off  the  submarine 

•Lieutenant  Isaacs  has  told  his  very  interesting  adventures  in  a  little 
book,  "  Prisoner  of  the  U-90." 


4         THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

commander  called  out,  "You  will  find  the  Jersey  or  Delaware 
coast  over  there.  It  isn't  far."  The  Cole  was  then  sunk  by 
bombs.  Before  she  was  out  of  sight  the  U-boat  was  seen  to 
sink  a  steamship  believed  to  be  the  Carolina,,  of  the  Porto  Rico 
line.  Towards  eight  o'clock  the  crew  of  the  Cole  was  picked 
up  by  the  Bristol. 

On  the  afternoon  of  June  3  an  American  steamship  came  to 
port  with  forty-eight  survivors  of  vessels  destroyed  by  a  sub- 
marine. They  proved  to  be  from  the  steamship  Winnieconnie, 
and  the  schooners  Edna,  Hattie  Dunn,  Hauppaug,  and  Isabel 
B.  Wiley,  picked  up  some  twenty-five  miles  from  Barnegat. 
About  half  of  them  had  been  prisoners  on  board  the  submarine 
for  eight  days.  The  Hattie  Dunn  left  New  York  on  May  23, 
and  when  two  days  out  met  a  submarine  displaying  the  letters 
A.B.,  meaning  stop  at  once.  After  the  order  was  obeyed,  a 
party  came  aboard,  gave  the  crew  ten  minutes  to  get  into  a 
boat,  put  an  armed  guard  over  them,  and  took  them,  seven  in 
number,  to  the  submarine,  which  at  once  gave  chase  to  the 
Hauppaug,  five  miles  away.  Her  crew  was  also  taken  to  the 
U-boat.  Later  in  the  afternoon  the  Edna  was  overhauled,  and 
bombed,  and  her  crew  made  captive.  Continuing  her  course, 
the  submarine,  on  Sunday,  June  2,  captured  and  sank  the  Wiley 
and  the  Winnieconnie,  and  putting  all  the  prisoners  into  her 
boats,  with  water  and  bread,  left  them  to  shift  for  themselves. 
Next  came  the  Texel,  a  Dutch  steamship  of  7,000  tons,  oper- 
ated by  the  United  States  Shipping  Board,  and  carrying  42,000 
pounds  of  sugar.  Shortly  after  four  o'clock  on  Sunday  after- 
noon, when  the  Texel  was  sixty  miles  from  New  York  harbor, 
a  submarine  suddenly  arose  off  her  bow,  fired  three  rounds  of 
shrapnel,  sent  a  party  aboard,  ordered  the  crew  to  their  boats, 
and  sank  her.  Towards  midnight,  on  Monday,  the  thirty-six 
survivors,  exhausted  by  their  long  row,  landed  near  the  light- 
house at  Atlantic  City.  More  horrible  still  was  the  experience 
of  the  passengers  and  crew  of  the  Carolina,  destroyed  about  six 
o'clock  on  Sunday  afternoon  by  the  same  U-boat,  which,  two 
hours  before,  sank  the  Texel.  From  the  conflicting  stories  told 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  5 

by  survivors  it  appears  that  the  Carolina  was  in  latitude  37°  59', 
longitude  72°,  when  brought  to  by  shell  fire,  and  her  captain 
ordered  to  get  all  hands  into  the  boats  as  soon  as  possible,  as 
the  ship  was  to  be  sunk.  Twelve  boats  were  lowered,  filled 
without  confusion  or  panic,  and  when  all  were  clear  of  the  ship, 
she  was  sunk  by  shell  fire.  Eight  of  the  boats  were  made  fast 
one  behind  another;  but  a  thunder  storm  which  had  long  been 
brewing  soon  burst,  and  fearing  they  might  be  crushed,  they 
were  cut  loose  and  anchored.  About  eight  o'clock,  on  Monday 
morning,  a  schooner  picked  them  up,  and  the  men,  women  and 
children,  244  in  number,  were  safely  landed  at  New  York. 
Boat  No.  5,  when  the  ship  was  abandoned,  rowed  over  to  No.  1, 
a  motor-driven  life  boat,  which  took  it  in  tow,  but  when  the 
storm  came  the  tow  line  parted  three  times,  and  No.  5  could 
not  be  found  in  the  darkness.  The  storm,  meantime,  grew 
worse  and  worse,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  the  motor  boat  capsized. 
When  at  last  it  was  righted,  seven  of  its  twenty-six  occupants 
had  disappeared.  The  survivors,  in  a  water-logged  boat  with 
an  engine  that  would  not  work,  drifted  helplessly  about  until 
picked  up  by  a  British  vessel  some  twenty-five  miles  off  the 
Delaware  Capes,  and  brought  to  Lewes.  According  to  another 
of  the  survivors,  there  were  thirty-five  in  the  boat,  and  nineteen 
were  lost.  Boat  No.  5,  after  the  tow  line  parted  for  the  third 
time,  was  headed  for  shore,  and  about  two  o'clock  on  the  after- 
noon of  Tuesday,  June  4,  made  the  beach  at  Atlantic  City, 
where  its  occupants,  twenty  men  and  eight  women  and  a  girl, 
were  warmly  welcomed  by  the  summer  throng. 

Wednesday,  June  5,  a  Danish  steamship  entered  New  York 
Harbor  with  eleven  men  of  the  crew  of  the  schooner  Mengel, 
sunk  on  Sunday  evening  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  off 
New  York.  She  was  the  eleventh  victim  of  the  U-boats,  for  it 
was  now  said  that  at  least  two,  the  U-37  and  the  U-151,  were 
cruising  off  our  coast.  Tuesday,  June  4,  the  Norwegian  steam- 
ship Eidsvold  was  destroyed,  forty  miles  off  the  Virginia  Capes, 
and  sixty-five  off  the  Maryland  coast  a  submarine,  while  at- 
tacking the  French  steamship  Radioleine,  was  driven  undersea 


6        THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

by  the  approach  of  a  United  States  destroyer  which  rescued 
two  men  from  the  schooner  Edward  H.  Baird,  Jr.  On  the  day 
following,  the  British  steamship  Harpathian  was  sunk,  and  the 
crew,  after  spending  twenty-six  hours  in  a  boat,  was  picked  up 
by  a  steamship  and  landed  at  Cape  Henry.  Fourteen  2  craft 
had  fallen  victims  to  the  Hun  sea  raiders.  The  fifteenth  was 
the  Vinland,  a  Norwegian  schooner  destroyed  off  the  Virginia 
coast  on  the  evening  of  June  6.  Her  crew  of  nineteen  men 
were  brought  to  Cape  May  by  a  United  States  destroyer.  The 
sixteenth  was  the  Pinar  del  Rio,  sunk  on  the  morning  of  June 
8,  seventy  miles  off  the  Maryland  coast.  Sixteen  of  the  crew 
made  land  in  Virginia,  after  thirty  hours  in  an  open  boat.  A 
second  boat,  with  the  remainder  of  the  crew,  was  still  at  sea. 
The  seventeenth  was  the  Norwegian  steamship  Vindeggen, 
whose  crew  were  forced  to  transfer  eighty  tons  of  copper  ingots 
to  the  submarine.  The  small  boats,  with  the  crew,  were  then 
taken  in  tow  until  the  Danish  vessel  HendriJc  Lund  was  sighted, 
when  they  were  cut  adrift.  The  crews  of  both  vessels  were 
picked  up  by  a  steamer  and  carried  to  New  York.  The  steam- 
er Edward  Pierce  now  made  port  after  being  under  fire  from 
a  submarine  for  three  hours,  seventy  miles  off  the  Virginia 
coast. 

When  a  week  passed  without  a  sinking,  it  was  supposed  the 
U-boat  raid  was  over.  But,  June  16,  the  Navy  Department 
announced  that  the  Norwegian  bark  Samoa,  from  Buenos  Aires, 
was  sunk  by  gunfire  from  a  German  submarine  ninety  miles  off 
the  Virginia  coast;  that  the  Norwegian  sailing  ship  Kringsjaa 
had  been  destroyed,  not  far  from  the  spot  where  the  Samoa 
went  down;  and  that  the  crew  had  been  picked  up  by  a  de- 
stroyer. 

The  raid,  it  was  explained,  was  nothing  more  serious  than 

"Schooner  Edna,  325  tons;  schooner  Hattie  Dunn,  436  tons;  schooner 
Hauppaug,  1,500  tons;  schooner  Edward  H.  Cole,  1,791  tons;  schooner 
Isabel  B.  Wiley,  776  tons;  schooner  Jacob  M.  Haskell,  1,778  tons;  steam- 
ship Winniecownie,  1,869  tons;  steamship  Carolina,  5,039  tons;  schooner 
Edward  H.  Bavrd,  Jr.,  279  tons;  tanker  Herbert  L.  Ptott,  7,200  tons; 
steamship  Texel;  Norwegian  steamship  Eidsvold;  schooner  Mengel;  Brit- 
ish steamship  Harpathian,  4,500  tons. 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  7 

a  spectacular  play  to  convince  the  German  people  that  measures 
were  under  way  to  cut  off,  at  their  source,  the  supply  of  Amer- 
ican men  and  material.  Nothing  so  far  done  by  the  U-boats, 
it  was  argued,  indicated  they  were  under  orders  to  attack 
American  transports.  They  had  been  sinking  small  and  de- 
fenseless craft  in  order  to  roll  up  a  large  number  of  victims 
with  which  to  make  a  great  impression  at  home.  No  seashore 
resorts,  no  cities,  were  in  danger.  The  shallow  water  of  the 
coast,  south  of  New  York,  was  a  sure  protection  against  the 
operation  of  submarines  within  a  short  distance  of  the  shore. 
Blame  for  these  sinkings  was  laid  on  the  Navy  Department. 
Lack  of  watchfulness,  failure  to  appreciate  the  meaning  of  the 
Edna  case,  failure  to  send  out  timely  warnings,  were  charged 
against  it.  Why,  it  was  asked,  were  the  authorities  incredu- 
lous of  the  stories  of  pursuits,  captures,  sinkings,  constantly 
brought  in  by  captains  and  crews?  When  the  captain  of  the 
British  tanker,  Cheyenne,  took  refuge  at  Lewes,  May  16,  and 
reported  firing  five  shots  at  a  U-boat,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
off  the  coast,  why  did  the  Navy  Department  say  he  had  seen 
wreckage?  When  the  Edna  was  towed  into  port  with  a  hole 
in  her  side,  why  did  the  Department  say  there  were  no  signs 
of  enemy  war  craft  off  our  coast,  and  that  she  had  been  wrecked 
by  a  storm  ?  How  came  it  that  the  captain  of  the  Bristol  could 
say,  that  so  far  as  he  knew  no  warnings  to  ships  at  sea  had 
been  sent  out  by  the  Government?  Where  were  our  subma- 
rines, scouts,  and  destroyers,  during  the  last  week  of  May  and 
the  first  three  days  of  June?  If  the  presence  of  these  raiders 
was  known,  why  were  our  ships  permitted  to  put  to  sea  without 
warning?  The  assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  replied,  that 
official  notice  of  danger  had  been  sent  out  prior  to  Saturday, 
June  1,  but  did  not  give  the  exact  date.  Why  the  Carolina 
did  not  receive  the  warning  was  past  understanding.  That  the 
schooners  failed  to  get  it  was  because  they  had  no  wireless 
apparatus.  During  a  Senate  debate  on  the  matter,  Senator 
Lodge,  a  member  of  the  Senate  Naval  Committee,  defended  the 
Department.  The  navy  had  acted  as  soon  as  authentic  inf orma- 


8        THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tion  of  the  presence  of  the  submarines  was  received ;  had  done 
everything  that  could  be  done ;  would  do  everything  that  could 
be  done ;  and  had  the  means  with  which  to  do  it.  He  had  gone 
to  the  Department,  where  everything  had  been  laid  before  such 
members  of  the  Naval  Committee  as  cared  to  investigate,  and 
he  was  entirely  satisfied  that  the  defense  would  be  effective. 
Secretary  Daniels  explained  that  the  Department  could  not 
"take  it  upon  itself  to  warn  all  ships  against  sailing,  or  to  di- 
rect ships  at  sea  to  return  to  port,  on  such  information  as  we 
had  prior  to  Sunday."  Had  such  a  course  been  followed  in 
the  case  of  every  rumor  of  the  presence  of  U-boats  off  the  coast 
during  the  last  six  months,  shipping  would  have  been  demoral- 
ized. Scarcely  a  fortnight  had  passed  without  somebody  re- 
porting having  sighted  a  periscope,  and  if  all  ships  had  been 
ordered  to  remain  in  port  our  vessels  "would  have  been  tied  up 
fast  to  their  piers  practically  for  all  the  time."  Every  report 
had  been  investigated,  "but  all  proved  erroneous,  until  the  events 
of  last  Sunday  brought  indisputable  evidence  that  at  last  an 
enemy  submersible  had  come  over  to  make  an  attack  upon  such 
American  shipping  as  could  be  caught  unawares."  In  a  tele- 
gram published  by  the  London  Times,  the  Secretary  said : 

The  activities  of  the  German  submarines  off  the  American  coast 
have  not  in  any  way  changed  the  policy  of  the  Government.  The 
road  to  France  will  be  kept  open  for  transportation  of  our  troops, 
and  delivery  of  munitions,  and  food  supplies  for  our  troops,  and  those 
of  our  allies.  There  will  be  no  weakening  of  our  naval  forces  in 
European  waters  as  a  result  of  the  new  activity  on  our  coast.  The 
country  has  remained  calm  in  the  face  of  Germany's  attempt  to  bring 
frightfulness  to  our  doors.  In  fact,  this  enemy  effort  has  stimulated 
recruiting  and  strengthened  the  determination  of  our  people  to  use 
every  resource  to  defeat  the  enemy. 

Comments  of  the  German  press  on  the  sinkings  in  May  and 
June  were  cabled  to  Secretary  Lansing,  and  by  his  authority 
made  public  as  amusing  examples  of  the  false  information  the 
German  people  were  allowed  to  receive.  One  journal  described 
us  as  trembling  with  fear  of  attacks  from  the  air ;  declared  the 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  9 

hour  was  near  when  our  ports  might  be  bombarded  by  German 
cannon,  and  asserted  that  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  sub- 
marines off  our  coast  "must  be  a  presage  of  impending  calam- 
ity" ;  and  that  the  Government  was  "trying  to  conceal  its  con- 
cern." Another  asserted  that  the  transportation  of  American 
troops,  and  supplies,  to  France  would  be  cut  off  at  the  very  time 
they  were  most  needed.  "Our  submarines  are  delivering  de- 
cisive blows  to  French  hopes  by  checking  the  delivery  of  Ameri- 
can soldiers  and  supplies.  No  threat  of  increased  war  spirit 
can  prevent  us  from  continuing  the  submarine  attacks,  and  Ger- 
many may  wait  patiently  and  confidently^for  future  submarine 
activity  on  the  American  coast."  They  had  only  made  a  begin- 
ning. "The  real  work  of  the  submarines  begins  when  the  At- 
lantic is  filled  with  ships  assembled  by  America.  Germany 
possesses  submarine  cruisers  which  can  cross  the  ocean,  and 
then  will  occur  scenes  which  will  make  the  marrow  in  Wilson's 
bones  turn  cold." 

Neutrals  did  not  think  so.  The  National  Zeitung,  published 
at  Basle,  Switzerland,  believed  Germany  would  pay  a  heavy 
price  for  the  submarine  attack,  and  said:  "The  submarine 
campaign  on  the  American  coast  will,  like  all  other  similar 
undertakings,  end  in  disappointment  on  the  part  of  the  under- 
takers. American  hatred  will  be  increased,  and  the  war  against 
Germany  will  now  become  a  matter  of  personal  importance  for 
every  American.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  the  attack  will  really 
serve  German  military  interests,  and  not  result  merely  in  a 
momentary  advantage  for  which  too  high  a  price  must  be  paid 
later.  This  naturally  is  beyond  the  comprehension  of  German 
military  leaders  and  people.  Immediate  results  will  be  innu- 
merable American  volunteers.  A  wave  of  hysterical  fanati- 
cism, an  increased  thirst  for  revenge,  will  sweep  America  and 
easily  counterbalance  the  advantage  of  the  attack  for  Ger- 
many." The  Cologne  Gazette  rejoiced  that  Germany  was  mak- 
ing use  of  her  war  power  to  "show  the  friends  of  humanity  in 
their  homeland  what  war  looks  like,  and  what  it  means.  Our 
U-boats  first  visited  the  American  coasts  for  peaceful  com- 


10      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

merce.  The  North  Americans  may  now  feel  the  fist  of  the  war 
lord.  They  need  not  be  surprised.  He  who  sows  the  wind 
reaps  the  whirlwind,  even  when  he  sits  on  the  other  side  of  the 
great  herring  pond  where  he  is  under  the  delusion  that  he  is 
safe  from  storm."  "Those,"  said  the  Cologne  Volks-Zeitung, 
"who  are  prosecuting  a  starvation  war  against  our  wives  and 
children  are  having  revealed  to  them,  off  their  own  shores,  the 
seriousness  of  war.  This,  in  view  of  the  character  of  our 
American  opponents,  evokes  on  all  sides  the  liveliest  satisfaction 
among  the  German  people." 

The  Nord  Deutsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung  said,  concerning  the 
raid:  "It  is  the  first  big  and  carefully  planned  action  of  our 
undersea  warfare  against  the  war  prolonger  in  the  far  West. 
It  is  linked  up  with  our  offensive  on  the  European  battlefields. 
The  U-boats  have  brought  the  war  to  the  American  shores,  to 
catch  American  transports  near  the  point  of  departure,  because 
it  is  not  always  easy  to  deal  with  them  in  the  open  sea  as  in 
European  waters.  The  German  people  wish  their  brave  sailors 
good  luck  and  success  in  their  task." 

His  work  ended  for  the  time  being,  the  captain  of  the  U-boat 
returned  to  Germany  and  gave  an  account  of  his  experience  to 
the  Cologne  Voiles  Zeiiung,  which  published  it  July  31,  1918: 

When  my  U-boat  was  about  500  miles  east  of  the  Bermuda  Islands 
I  was  reported  to  the  American  stations  by  a  steamer  which  was 
equipped  with  wireless  apparatus.  Nevertheless,  I  went  about  my 
task,  and  forthwith  dispatched  three  sailing  vessels,  from  which  I 
was  able  to  disengage  myself,  as  they  were  not  equipped  with  wireless. 
I  took  the  crews  on  board.  The  negroes  were  huddled  together,  the 
Europeans  were  put  in  another  compartment.  The  captains  were 
entertained  in  the  officers'  mess  room. 

We  experienced  a  merry  reunion  in  the  case  of  two  of  the  Captains. 
The  Captains  described  the  attitude  prevalent  in  the  United  States, 
and  were  of  the  opinion  that  people  were  everywhere  opposed  to  the 
war,  and  that  every  one  was  shouting  against  it;  that  it  was  merely 
begun  in  the  interests  of  the  money  magnates;  that  the  press,  how- 
ever, was  agitating  strongly  for  it.  The  extermination  of  all  that 
was  German,  in  language,  etc.,  is  being  brought  about  there.  All 
strikes,  no  matter  where  they  occur,  are  being  attributed  to  German 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  n 

intrigue.  Thereupon,  inquiries  are  being  made  to  find  out  if  the 
guilty  party  might  in  any  way  be  of  German  descent.  In  case  such  a 
one  has  been  found  guilty,  he  has  often  been  assaulted  and  beaten  to 
death  by  the  mob. 

The  appearance  of  the  U-boat  before  their  very  coast  will  hardly 
tend  to  improve  the  morale  of  the  Americans. 

When  things  became  hot  for  the  U-boat  the  people  became  some- 
what frightened.  One  day  we  succeeded  in  sinking  six  vessels.  After 
sinking  the  first  sailing  vessel  the  crew  was  put  on  a  steamer  which 
came  in  sight.  They  spoke  very  gratefully  of  the  treatment  which 
we  accorded  them.  The  Captain,  to  be  sure,  thought  that  they  would 
be  thoroughly  questioned,  at  once,  upon  their  landing;  they  said  that 
what  they  would  report  would  be  of  no  consequence,  however,  as 
everything  would  be  misquoted. 

We  met  another  steamer,  the  Carolina.  It  was  halted  by  wireless. 
It  had  300  passengers  on  board.  In  spite  of  the  warning  signal,  it 
did  not  stop.  On  coming  nearer,  it  became  evident  that  the  steamer 
contained  about  5,000  tons  of  cargo.  When  the  lifeboats,  which  were 
to  carry  the  travelers  to  safety,  were  let  down  two  of  them  which 
were  filled  were  said,  according  to  the  American  report,  to  have  over- 
turned. The  remainder  of  the  passengers  escaped  unhurt.  Great  ex- 
citement prevailed  upon  leaving  the  ship. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  few  days  36,000  tons  were  sunk.  In- 
cluded in  this  were  shipments  of  cotton,  copper  and  sugar.  In 
America  the  scarcity  of  sugar  is  especially  noticeable.  The  Ameri- 
cans are  quite  unhappy  because  there  is  no  more  whisky  to  be  had. 
The  beer,  too,  is  bad ;  it  is  only  rarely  served  at  that. 

The  Captains  of  these  ships  said  that  the  attempts  to  bring  the 
Australian  harvests  to  America  could  not  succeed,  because  of  the 
scarcity  of  ships;  that  the  transportation  difficulties,  in  general,  were 
huge.  One  had  to  rely  upon  exports,  from  elsewhere,  more  than 
usually.  Strangely  enough,  nearly  all  coal  was  transported  along 
the  coast  in  sailing  vessels. 

One  day  we  met  a  Norwegian  ship  that  contained  about  1,000 
tons  of  copper  in  addition  to  another  valuable  cargo.  In  the  mean- 
time another  ship  appeared,  so  that  we  ordered  the  Norwegian  ship 
to  wait  until  we  returned.  This  the  Norwegian  ship  really  did,  quite 
patiently,  for  a  long  time.  The  ship  which  we  had  encountered  in 
the  meantime  was  an  American  steamer,  upon  which  four  men  en- 
tered as  a  prize  crew.  All  passengers  were  saved.  After  .the  steamer 
had  been  sunk  we  went  back  to  the  Norwegian  ship,  and  asked  why 
it  had  not  escaped.  The  Captain  said  he  thought  he  would  not  have 


12       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

been  able  to  go  very  far;  at  any  rate  our  speed  and  our  guns  would 
have  reached  him  soon  enough.  Inclement  weather  had  set  in  in  the 
meantime,  so  that  the  valuable  copper  material  could  not  be  un- 
loaded. Not  until  the  next  morning  could  this  task  be  begun.  The 
copper  was  in  the  handy  form  of  bars. 

The  Captain  of  this  ship  had  taken  another  Captain  who  wished 
to  travel  to  his  homeland,  together  with  his  wife  and  a  two-year-old 
child,  along  with  him.  We  took  the  woman  on  board.  She  was  quite 
a  genteel  lady,  only  she  used  perfume  somewhat  too  freely,  so  that 
it  was  not  long  before  the  whole  U-boat  reeked  with  it.  We  wanted 
to  take  her  below  deck,  but  owing  to  the  rough  weather  this  was  not 
agreeable  to  her.  So  she  stayed  on  the  surface  of  the  vessel,  where 
her  husband  had  some  wicker  furniture  carried  to  her.  The  child 
was  treated  very  considerately  by  the  crew.  Milk  and  chocolate  were 
given  to  it. 

The  overhauling  of  the  copper,  about  70,000  kilograms  were  taken 
over,  was  quite  a  slow  process.  It  was  rendered  more  difficult  by  the 
mass  of  sharks  which  gathered  about  both  sides  of  the  vessel.  The 
Norwegians  began  to  shoot  at  the  sharks  with  revolvers.  But  all  this 
was  useless.  Finally  three  lines  were  let  out,  and  a  large  shark  was 
caught.  Great  joy  prevailed.  We  were  obliged  to  remain  another 
night.  The  next  morning  the  steamer  was  sunk. 

Soon  after  the  sinking  I  saw  a  new  steamer,  which,  after  the  first 
warning  shot,  at  once  put  out  the  lifeboats.  The  Norwegian  Captain 
again  met  an  acquaintance,  and  celebrated  a  reunion.  Finally,  we 
caught  a  little  coastwise  steamer,  which  took  up  the  crew.  The  coast- 
wise steamer  dimmed  its  lights,  but  nevertheless  it  could  be  deter- 
mined that  the  passengers  were  safely  transferred. 

On  the  return  voyage,  again  two  sailing  vessels  with  copper  ore 
were  sunk.  After  the  sinking  of  these  ships  I  sent  wireless  mes- 
sages to  all  that  at  such  and  such  a  point  U-boats  were  active.  To 
prove  that  the  message  was  understood,  I  received  a  reply  asking  if 
the  position  given  were  correct.  An  American  warship  passed,  at 
this  point,  without  noticing  the  incident.  One  just  had  to  learn  how 
to  wage  war. 

Upon  sinking  a  transport,  that  was  put  out  of  commission  by  one 
torpedo,  we  had  an  opportunity  of  studying  the  new  American  swim- 
ming vest.  A  most  charming  fellow  in  a  life  boat,  who  took  up  a 
huge  amount  of  space,  attracted  our  attention.  He  was  stout  by 
nature,  and  by  reason  of  his  giant  swimming  vest  required  even 
more  room.  Therein  was  found  a  whisky  flask,  a  box  of  provisions, 
and  on  the  left  side  a  container  with  compressed  air  so  that  the 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  13 

wearer  of  this  wonder-robe  was  not  even  obliged  to  inflate  the  swim- 
ming vest. 

On  the  return  voyage,  through  the  North  Sea,  we  had  very  bad 
weather.  The  enemy  did  not  fail  in  making  attempts  to  catch  our 
U-boat.  Nevertheless,  they  did  not  succeed.  The  whole  voyage  was 
very  fatiguing,  owing  to  the  dangerous  undertaking,  and  to  the  in- 
clement weather.  The  crew  had  very  little  rest  on  the  trip.  Once 
four  of  my  men  were  washed  overboard.  However,  they  were  all 
soon  rescued.  One  of  the  mates  furnished  us  with  amusement  with 
his  mandolin.  The  machines  were  in  perfect  condition,  and,  defy- 
ing all  difficulties,  brought  us  safely  to  the  home  haven. 

Nearly  a  month  had  passed  after  the  departure  of  the  U-boat 
when,  on  July  12,  a  British  steamer  reached  port  with  the 
crew  of  the  Norwegian  bark  Manx  King,  captured  July  6, 
some  300  miles  off  Cape  Kace.  What  was  done  with  the  bark 
the  crew  did  not  know.  A  week  later  word  was  received  by 
the  Navy  Department  that  two  steamships  were  on  their  way 
to  port  with  1,156  officers  and  men  of  United  States  armored 
cruiser  San  Diego,  sunk  on  the  morning  of  July  18,  ten  miles 
south  of  Fire  Island,  and  some  fifty  miles  off  New  York 
harbor.  According  to  some  of  the  sailors  who  landed  at  Point- 
o-Woods,  Long  Island,  the  sinking  was  due  to  a  torpedo ;  others 
declared  it  was  caused  by  an  internal  explosion;  but  the  com- 
manding officer  was  sure  the  San  Diego  had  struck  a  mine. 
While  the  question  was  still  unsettled,  on  July  21,  a  German 
submarine  attacked  the  tug,  Perth  Amboy,  and  four  barges, 
without  warning,  three  miles  off  the  little  town  of  Orleans  on 
the  elbow  of  Cape  Cod. 

A  thick  fog  bank,  a  few  miles  off  shore,  hid  the  raider,  nor 
was  her  presence  known  until  a  deck  hand  sighted  something 
rushing  through  the  water  astern,  quickly  followed  by  two  more 
torpedoes,  which  went  wide  of  their  mark.  The  sailor  shouted 
a  warning,  and  at  the  same  instant  there  was  a  flash  in  the 
fog,  and  a  shell  struck  the  wheelhouse  of  the  tug,  and  a  frag- 
ment tore  off  the  hand  of  the  man  at  the  wheel.  Coming  out 
of  the  fog  the  submarine,  firing  from  her  deck -guns  as  she 
approached,  continued  her  attack  until  the  barges  were  sunk, 


14       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

one  by  one,  and  the  tug  was  a  burning  wreck.  Forty-one  per- 
sons, including  three  women  and  five  children,  made  their  es- 
cape in  boats  and  landed  in  Nauset  Harbor. 

Reports  of  sinkings  now  followed  in  quick  succession.  Four 
men  came  ashore,  from  a  dory,  at  Cape  Porpoise  some  twenty- 
five  miles  south  of  Portland,  Maine,  and  reported  that  their 
fishing  schooner,  the  Robert  and  Richard  of  Gloucester,  had 
been  sunk  by  a  U-boat  on  Cashe  Bank,  sixty  miles  southeast  of 
the  Cape,  and  that  other  dories,  carrying  23  men,  were  coming 
in  behind  them ;  the  British  schooner  Dornfontein,  loaded  with 
lumber,  was  stopped,  looted  of  food,  and  sunk,  twenty-five  miles 
southwest  of  Brier  Island,  and  three  American  schooners  were 
destroyed  off  Seal  Island  on  the  Nova  Scotia  coast  by  a  U-boat, 
whose  crew  claimed  to  have  placed  the  mine  which  sank  the 
San  Diego.  That  a  mine  destroyed  the  cruiser  was  the  opinion 
of  the  Naval  Court  of  Inquiry.  "On  the  day  subsequent  to 
this  disaster,"  said  the  Court,  "six  contact  mines  were  located 
by  the  naval  forces  in  the  vicinity  of  the  position  where  the 
disaster  to  the  U.  S.  S.  San  Diego  occurred."  Because  of  this, 
and  other  reasons,  the  Court  decided  that  the  cruiser  was  de- 
stroyed by  a  mine. 

August  5,  the  crew  of  a  fisherman,  the  Nelson  A.  of  Yar- 
mouth, came  ashore  in  their  dories  at  a  port,  not  named,  and 
reported  that  their  vessel  had  been  sunk  August  4  by  a  bomb 
placed  in  her  hold  by  men  from  a  submarine  five  miles  south 
by  west  of  Loch,  Nova  Scotia. 

Continuing  her  depredations  the  U-boat,  August  5,  when 
forty  miles  west  of  Halifax,  fell  in  with  the  Standard  Oil 
Company's  tanker  Luz  Blancha  and  sank  her  after  a  three 
hours'  fight.  On  the  day  following  the  British  schooner  Gladys 
M.  Hollett  was  encountered  on  her  way  to  New  York  with 
herring,  was  stopped,  ransacked  from  stem  to  stern,  sunk  by 
a  bomb  placed  in  her  hold,  and  the  crew  left  to  row  ashore. 

Meantime  the  presence  of  a  second  U-boat  off  our  coast  was 
made  known  by  wireless  calls  for  help.  They  came  from  the 
0.  B.  Jennings,  a  Standard  Oil  Company  tanker,  which  sailed 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  15 

from  Plymouth,  England,  on  July  20  for  Newport  News. 
All  went  well  until  a  quarter  past  nine  on  Sunday  morning 
August  4,  when,  some  seventy  miles  off  the  Virginia  coast,  the 
captain  of  the  tanker  saw  the  wake  of  a  torpedo  coming  to- 
wards the  port  beam.  The  helm  was  at  once  put  over,  the 
Jennings  swung  to  port,  and  the  torpedo  barely  missed  her. 
The  four-inch  gun  in  the  stern  was  quickly  put  into  action, 
and  the  fight  began.  At  a  quarter  before  twelve  a  shell  struck 
the  main  steam  pipe  in  the  engine  room,  and  the  tanker  was 
helpless.  The  crew  went  over  the  starboard  side  into  their 
boats,  and  about  one  o'clock  pulled  away  from  the  ship.  The 
submarine,  which  by  that  time  had  ceased  firing,  and  was  cir- 
cling around  the  Jennings,  changed  her  course  and  headed  for 
the  third  boat  commanded  by  the  second  officer,  Mr.  Eene 
Henry  Bastin.  When  a  hundred  feet  away  some  one  sang  out, 
"Where  is  your  captain?"  Nobody  answered,  whereupon  the 
guns  of  the  submarine  were  pointed  at  the  little  boat,  and  the 
question  repeated.  Mr.  Bastin  replied,  in  English,  "The  cap- 
tain is  dead."  Again  the  question  was  repeated,  and  suppos- 
ing the  questioner  did  not  understand  English,  Mr.  Bastin  re- 
plied in  Flemish,  that  the  captain  was  on  the  deck  of  the 
Jennings  under  the  flag.  "If  you  do  not  know  where  the  cap- 
tain is,  you  come  here,"  was  the  order  now  received.  On  board- 
ing the  submarine,  which  proved  to  be  the  UK-1J+0,  the  captain 
said,  "You  are  an  officer  of  the  ship,  so  I  must  keep  you  as 
a  prisoner  of  war."  The  Jennings  was  then  bombarded  until 
about  a  quarter  to  five  o'clock  when  she  turned  bottom  up,  but 
did  not  sink.  Finally,  two  torpedoes  were  fired,  and  at  half 
past  five  she  went  down. 

The  UK-140  was  the  finest  and  latest  of  the  German  sub- 
marines. She  was  finished  in  1918,  and  put  in  commission 
in  June.  She  was  380  feet  in  length,  carried  a  crew  of  102 
men  and  six  officers,  was  armored  with  two  and  a  quarter  inch 
plate,  and  had  a  diving  depth  of  four  hundred  and  ninety-five 
feet.  Her  armament  consisted  of  two  six-inch,  and  two  four- 
incli,  guns  and  twelve  machine  guns.  In  her  hold  were  thirty- 


16      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

five  torpedoes,  each  twenty-four  feet  long ;  four  thousand  rounds 
of  ammunition;  and  enough  oil  to  cover  thirty-two  thousand 
miles  at  a  speed  of  three  knots.  Submerged,  she  could  make 
twelve,  and  on  the  surface,  twenty-six  knots. 

One  of  the  two  remaining  hoats  from  the  Jennings  was 
picked  up  hy  a  patrol  boat.  The  other  reached  Norfolk  in 
safety.  On  the  morning  of  August  5,  (Mr.  Bastin  heard  firing 
from  nine  until  ten  o'clock,  and,  during  the  afternoon,  learned 
from  other  prisoners  that  the  submarine  had  sunk  a  four-master 
schooner,  the  Stanley  W.  Seaman  of  Boston.  An  account  of 
what  happened  to  the  Seaman  was  given  by  her  captain  when  a 
British  vessel  reached  Newport  News  with  the  crew  of  the 
destroyed  vessel.  She  was  fired  on,  the  captain  said,  without 
warning  when  about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  east  of  Cape 
Hatteras.  Her  crew  at  once  took  to  their  small  boats,  but 
were  allowed  to  return  for  provisions,  and  then  put  off  in  the 
gasoline  launch.  After  three  days  in  the  Gulf  Stream  the 
men  were  rescued  by  the  British  vessel.  Before  the  Seaman 
was  sunk,  by  a  bomb,  she  was  looted  in  the  good  old-fashioned 
pirate  way.  "While  below  that  day,"  says  Mr.  Bastin,  "I  saw 
a  lot  of  stores,  provisions,  clothes,  and  various  things  brought 
aboard  from  the  Seaman."  Strangely  enough,  the  Captain  of 
the  Seaman  described  the  submarine  as  the  U-132,  with  four 
guns,  one  fore,  one  aft,  and  one  on  each  side. 

Cruising  westward,  the  UK-140  fell  in  with  the  small  un- 
armed steamship  Merak,  three  miles  north  of  the  Diamond 
Shoal  Lightship  11,  anchored  twelve  miles  off  Cape  Hatteras. 
What  then  happened  was  described  by  an  officer  of  the  Merak,  a 
Dutch  vessel  taken  over  by  the  Shipping  Board  and  at  the  time 
of  her  destruction  under  the  American  flag. 

We  were  fired  on  by  the  submarine  at  1.40  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. We  were  within  three  miles  of  the  lightship,  and  we  took  up 
a  zigzag  course  toward  the  shore,  hoping  to  escape.  We  hit  on  the 
shoals,  however,  and  as  shells  from  the  submarine  were  falling  all 
about  us,  some  striking  the  bridge,  we  abandoned  the  ship,  taking 
to  the  boats. 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  19 

The  submarine  then  desisted  in  her  fire  on  us,  turned  its  attention 
to  the  lightship,  and  with  a  few  shots  put  the  wireless  out  of  com- 
mission. A  boat  with  several  men  was  then  sent  from  the  submarine 
to  the  Merak,  and  in  a  few  moments  she  blew  up.  The  Germans 
then  began  shelling  the  lightship,  and  soon  sank  her. 

As  we  were  rowing  away,  the  U-boat  started  after  us  and  hailed 
us  to  stop.  The  submarine  came  to  within  a  boat's  length,  and  an 
officer,  speaking  perfect  English,  asked  our  name,  nationality,  cargo, 
and  where  we  were  from.  He  did  not  seem  to  place  us,  and  he  told 
one  of  his  men,  speaking  in  English,  to  go  below  and  get  him  Lloyd's 
register.  Examining  the  book,  he  said: 

"Oh !  Your  ship  was  a  Hollander,  was  it  ?"  He  then  asked  if  we 
had  a  sail,  and  on  being  told  we  did,  he  advised  us  to  hoist  it,  with 
the  remark  that  the  coast  was  only  ten  miles  to  the  westward. 

He  wished  us  good  luck,  waved  his  hand,  and  then  started  after 
two  ships  that  were  visible  about  four  or  five  miles  away.  He  soon 
came  within  shooting  distance,  and  we  could  see  shells  falling  about 
both  vessels,  and  puffs  of  smoke  from  both  guns  on  the  deck  of  the 
submarine. 

The  crews  of  the  MeraJc  and  the  Lightship  reached  the  shore 
in  safety.  Again  a  wrong  description  of  the  UK-140  was 
given.  There  were  no  numbers,  nor  marks,  on  the  submarine 
by  which  it  could  be  identified,  the  officer  reported.  It  was, 
he  said,  200  feet  long,  was  very  rusty  and  slimy,  had  no  peri- 
scope in  sight,  and  nothing  on  deck  save  a  chain  railing,  a 
range  finder,  and  two  six-inch  guns,  one  fore,  and  one  aft,  the 
conning  tower. 

Mr.  Bastin,  in  his  account  of  the  attack  on  the  Lightship, 
says: 

In  the  afternoon  everybody  of  the  crew  was  on  deck,  and  heavy 
gunfire  was  heard.  Different  shells,  from  other  ships,  I  suppose, 
were  bursting  around  the  submarine.  As  we  sat  inside  we  could  hear 
the  shells  bursting  around  us.  We  were  called  on  deck  (five  prison- 
ers), lined  up,  and  the  first  thing  I  saw  that  struck  me  was  Diamond 
Shoal  Light  Vessel  at  a  distance  of  about  150  yards.  At  the  same 
time  I  saw  three  steamers  on  fire,  and  the  submarine  was  shelling  the 
Light  Vessel  with  her  two  6-inch  guns  at  150  yards. 

I  noticed  the  smoke  of  these  shells  was  yellow,  and  I  think  the 
shells  fired  on  the  0.  B.  Jennings  were  smokeless.  I  concluded,  there- 


20      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

fore,  that  the  submarine  was  firing  gas  shells  at  the  Diamond  Shoal. 
I  think  she  did  that  in  order  that  none  of  the  Light  Vessel  crew 
might  escape.  The  Light  Vessel  blew  up  in  a  few  minutes,  and  I 
saw  her  lee  boat  pulling  away  at  a  few  hundred  yards'  distance.  The 
submarine  was  shelling  the  boat  with  a  four-inch  gun,  but  missed 
it,  and  the  submarine  could  not  go  any  further  in  as  it  was  shallow 
water. 

During  nearly  three  months  Mr.  Bastin  was  a  prisoner  on 
UK-140,  and  finally  reached  Kiel  late  in  October.  These 
months  were  full  of  adventure.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  on 
which  the  Light  Ship  was  destroyed,  the  submarine  was  sighted 
by  destroyers,  and  forced  to  dive. 

In  twenty  seconds  I  heard  a  rush  of  waters  around  the  sides.  The 
submarine  went  down  by  the  head,  and  in  a  few  seconds,  in  the 
room  where  we  were,  we  saw  that  there  was  a  big  water  depth  in  the 
gauge  glasses.  I  noticed,  after  a  minute,  she  was  a  hundred  feet  deep 
in  the  gauge  glasses ;  at  the  same  time  we  heard  concussions  of  depth 
charges  which  were  repeated  at  very  short  intervals. 

Suddenly,  a  depth  charge  burst.  It  seemed  to  be  right  on  her 
stern,  because  she  got  a  lift,  and  went  head  first,  and  in  a  few  sec- 
onds I  saw  the  depth  was  415  feet.  More  bombs  exploded  right  on 
top  of  us,  blowing  up  the  middle  hatch,  putting  out  the  lights,  and 
giving  the  submarine  a  list  of  40  degrees.  Twenty-eight  depth 
bombs  were  fired.  Followed  by  the  destroyers  the  UK-140  ran  under 
water  for  six  days,  leaving  behind  a  trail  of  oil  that  came  from  her 
leaking  tanks.  Now  and  then  the  submarine's  periscope  came  to  the 
surface  to  take  bearings  of  the  destroyers  searching  for  her,  some- 
times ahead,  sometimes  astern.  On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  day  she 
rose  to  the  surface,  and  after  an  exciting  chase,  escaped.  August 
27,  the  British  steamer  Diomed  was  sunk  and  another  prisoner 
brought  aboard.  August  28  a  Brazilian  steamer,  convoyed  by  our 
destroyer  O'Brien,  was  attacked.  September  20,  she  was  attacked  by 
an  American  destroyer,  and  forced  to  submerge.  Again  depth  bombs 
were  used;  but  once  more  she  escaped,  and  when,  next  morning,  the 
prisoners  were  allowed  on  deck,  they  found  the  aft  deck  smashed, 
one  of  the  6-inch  guns  gone,  the  wireless  completely  wrecked,  and 
part  of  the  conning  tower  bent  to  pieces. 

Steaming  slowly,  leaving  a  big  oil  track  behind  her,  the 
UK-140,  on  September  28,  fell  in  with  the  U-117 ;  accompanied 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  21 

her  for  a  week,  until  off  the  coast  of  Scotland  where  the  UK-140 
ran  out  of  oil.  For  "two  days  and  nights  everybody,  even  the 
prisoners,  were  busy  passing  oil  cans  on  ropes  from  117  to  140, 
until  43  tons  were  received."  She  then  signalled  that  she 
would  go  on  to  the  Faraway  Islands,  wait  "for  the  other  sub- 
marines which  were  the  102 f  156,  100  and  111 ,  and  that  they 
all  would  then  go  through  the  mine  fields  in  the  North  Sea, 
and  through  the  nets."  During  the  run  the  156  struck  a  mine 
and  "was  blown  500  feet  in  the  air."  October  23,  when  near 
the  Norwegian  coast,  destroyers  were  sighted,  and  the  sub- 
marines scattered.  On  the  night  of  the  24th  the  UK-140  again 
ran  out  of  oil,  and  lay  on  the  surface  off  the  Danish  coast;  but 
fortunately  for  her,  before  morning,  she  was  met  by  a  German 
destroyer,  and  given  oil,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day 
made  Kiel. 

For  a  week  Mr.  Bastin  remained  a  prisoner  on  the  U-boat; 
was  then  sent  on  to  Wilhelmshaven ;  was  a  witness  at  both 
places  of  the  revolt  of  the  German  navy,  early  in  November; 
saw  the  troops  returning  from  the  front;  was  sent  to  the  camp 
at  Karlsruhe;  and  then  to  Villingen,  whence  he  escaped  to 
Switzerland.3 

While  Mr.  Bastin,  during  August  and  September,  was  on 
his  way  to  Germany,  the  U-boats  continued  their  depredations 
off  Nantucket  Island,  and  on  the  Banks.  Early  in  August  an 
American  schooner  brought  to  port  eighty-five  of  the  crew  of 
the  Japanese  freighter  Tokuyama,  Maru,  torpedoed  two  hundred 
miles  off  the  Nova  Scotia  coast  on  August  1.  August  11  the 
captain  of  a  fishing  schooner  reported  that  while  sword-fishing, 
160  miles  southeast  of  Eace  Point  with  four  other  schooners, 
a  U-boat  suddenly  came  to  the  surface  in  the  midst  of  the 
fleet.  He  was  some  distance  away,  but  saw  several  of  the 
schooners  disappear.  The  enemy  craft  was  the  U-117,  the 
same  which  met  the  UK-140  with  Mr.  Bastin  a  prisoner  on 
board.  The  U-l  17  was  a  large  mine  laying  submarine,  was  275 

*The  adventures  of  Mr.  Bastin  are  told  by  him  in  The  Lamp,  a  Stand- 
ard Oil  Company  publication,  for  April,  1919. 


22       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

feet  long,  carried  two  guns,  forty-six  mines,  and  twenty  tor- 
pedoes. She  left  port  on  July  15,  passed  north  of  the  Shetland 
Islands,  made  for  the  American  coast  and  carried  on  her 
depredations  between  Nantucket  and  Cape  Hatteras. 

And  now  the  fishing  schooner  Helen  Murley  reached  New 
Bedford  with  four  survivors  of  the  crew  of  the  Kate  Palmer 
who  reported  that  a  submarine  came  to  the  surface  in  the  midst 
of  the  fishing  fleet  and  sank  nine  of  them.  The  men  on  the 
Palmer  were  kept  prisoners  for  one  hour  and  then  set  adrift  in 
a  dory.  The  U-boat  was  described  as  300  feet  long,  with  a 
6-inch  gun  in  the  bow,  and  a  smaller  one  in  the  stern.  Georges 
Banks,  where  the  sinkings  occurred,  is  sixty  miles  off  Nantucket 
Island. 

The  crews  of  these  captured  vessels  were  ordered  aboard  the 
TJ-boat  where  ten  of  them  were  lined  up  before  the  conning 
tower  and  photographed.  When  asked  why  a  photograph  was 
taken,  a  member  of  the  submarine  crew  said :  "That  goes  back 
to  Germany  to  show  what  we  do  over  here.  We  have  quite  a  lot 
of  them.  They  look  good  in  Berlin."  The  captain  of  the 
raider,  with  an  American  flag  around  his  shoulders,  gave  "a 
grotesque  exhibition  of  dancing,"  while  his  crew  cheered  loudly, 
and  more  loudly  still  when  he  flung  it  on  deck  and  stamped 
on  it.  Six  men  of  the  sword-fishing  schooner  Cruiser  rowed 
180  miles  in  their  dory  before  they  were  rescued  off  Great 
Round  Shoal  Lightship  six  miles  from  Nantucket  Island.  Six 
members  of  the  crew  of  the  schooner  Earl  and  Nettie  reached 
Nantucket,  and  reported  their  vessel,  the  tenth,  sunk.  August 
11,  the  British  steamer  Penistone  was  destroyed  near  Georges 
Bank.  Nine  of  the  crew  reached  Nantucket,  and  twenty-nine, 
after  suffering  great  hardship  for  four  days,  landed  at 
Provincetown.  The  executive  officer  reported  that  the  torpedo 
was  fired  at  close  range,  tore  a  hole  in  the  vessel  amidships, 
wrecked  the  engine,  scattered  burning  oil  over  the  firemen,  and 
killed  one  man.  The  Captain  ordered  his  men  into  the  boats, 
and  stood  by  watching  the  work  of  the  submarine.  Finally, 
he  called  for  eleven  volunteers  to  go  with  him  to  the  Penistone 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  33 

and  attempt  to  save  the  ship's  papers  and  personal  effects.  All 
were  captured  by  the  Germans.  The  men  were  ordered  back 
to  their  boats,  but  the  Captain  was  held  prisoner.  The 
Penistone  was  then  sunk  by  bombs,  an  hour  and  a  half  after 
the  torpedo  struck  her. 

The  Swedish  steamship  Sydland  was  torpedoed  August  8, 
a  hundred  miles  southeast  of  Nantucket  Island,  and  on  the 
thirteenth  a  patrol  boat  of  the  Coast  Guard  entered  New  York 
harbor  towing  a  life  boat  in  which  were  thirty-one  of  the  crew 
of  the  Norwegian  freighter  Sommerstad,  torpedoed  twenty-five 
miles  southeast  of  Fire  Island.  Said  the  captain: 

We  were  bound  from  Norway  to  New  York,  in  ballast,  under  char- 
ter to  the  United  States  Government,  and  had  called  at  Halifax  for 
examination  by  the  British  officials.  The  Sommerstad  was  steaming 
along  the  Long  Island  coast,  about  eleven  knots  at  8  o'clock  yester- 
day morning,  when  the  lookout  man  forward  reported  that  he  saw  the 
wake  of  a  torpedo  coming  toward  the  ship  from  starboard.  The  tor- 
pedo missed  the  bow  by  a  narrow  margin,  and  sped  on  for  several 
yards,  and  then  made  a  half  circle  and  returned  toward  our  ship 
which  it  struck  on  the  port  side  amidships,  exploding  with  terrific 
violence.  Several  of  the  watch  on  deck  were  knocked  down  by  the 
force  of  the  explosion,  and  the  cook  was  blown  clean  out  of  the  galley. 

I  saw  the  Sommerstad  would  not  be  afloat  long  and  ordered  the 
crew  to  lower  the  two  boats. 

We  saw  no  sign  of  a  periscope,  or  a  U-boat,  and  nothing  disturbed 
the  surface  of  the  sea  after  we  got  into  the  boats. 

The  Sommerstad  filled  so  quickly,  after  the  torpedo  struck  her, 
that  in  four  minutes  she  had  settled  so  deeply  that  her  funnel  was 
awash.  The  steamship  began  to  sink  by  the  stern,  and  as  we  got 
the  boats  clear  her  bow  was  pointing  skywards.  There  was  a  slight 
fog  hanging  over  the  water  which  was  calm,  and  scarcely  any  breeze. 
We  made  towards  the  Long  Island  shore,  and  rowed  all  day. 

Toward  sundown  we  heard  Fire  Island's  siren  and  made  directly 
for  the  shore.  Soon  afterward  we  were  sighted  by  the  naval  patrol 
vessel  which  brought  us  to  this  city.  The  men  were  tired  with  row- 
ing all  day,  and  were  taken  care  of  for  the  night  on  the  patrol  boat, 
and  this  morning  we  got  into  the  lifeboat.  There  was  no  time  to 
save  any  of  our  effects,  and  every  member  of  the  crew  left  her  with 
only  what  we  had  on. 


24,      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Still  cruising  south  the  U-117  laid  mines  at  intervals  of  120 
miles  between  Sandy  Hook  and  Cape  Hatteras,  and  destroyed 
all  vessels  she  met.  A  coastwise  steamer  reached  New  York 
August  14:  with  thirty-five  survivors  of  the  crew  of  the  tanker 
Frederick  E.  Kellogg,  torpedoed  ten  miles  off  Barnegat,  New 
Jersey.  She  was  struck  at  six  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the 
thirteenth,  while  on  her  way  from  Tampico  to  Boston  with 
crude  oil.  No  warning  was  given,  and  so  terrific  was  the  ex- 
plosion that  seven  of  the  crew  lost  their  lives.  According  to 
the  statement  of  the  Captain  the  explosion  of  the  torpedo  burst 
open  the  vessel,  and  she  sank  in  four  minutes.  A  boat,  on 
the  davits  on  the  port  quarter,  was  smashed  to  splinters,  and 
the  life  boat,  further  forwards,  dashed  against  the  ship  and 
wrecked.  This  left  a  life  boat,  and  a  motor  boat  which  had 
scarcely  been  lowered  and  made  clear  when  the  Kellogg  sank. 
The  crew  had  to  jump  overboard  and  swim  for  the  boats. 
"Like  most  motor  boats,"  said  a  member  of  the  crew,  "sup- 
plied to  ocean-going  steamships,  ours  could  not  be  made  to  go, 
so  we  had  to  tow  it  with  the  lifeboat,  which  was  slow  work. 
The  mate  rigged  up  a  lateen-shaped  sail,  like  they  use  in  the 
Mediterranean,  which  helped  us  a  little.  Most  of  our  fellows 
were  in  a  hurry  to  get  off  the  tanker,  because  they  were  afraid 
the  Hun  boat  would  turn  his  guns  on  us,  but  we  saw  no  signs 
of  him  until  we  got  clear  away. 

"As  the  rail  of  the  Kellogg  was  just  awash  we  saw  a  peri- 
scope appear  above  the  surface  of  the  calm  sea,  close  to  her 
side,  and  then  the  whole  of  the  TJ-boat  came  into  sight." 

From  later  reports  it  appeared  she  did  not  sink,  but  two  days 
later  was  still  afloat  off  Barnegat. 

The  captain  of  the  steam  trawler  Walrus  now  reported,  that 
when  seven  miles  off  the  Highland  Light,  Cape  Cod,  on  his 
way  to  the  fishing  grounds,  he  sighted  the  conning  tower  of  a 
submarine  dead  ahead.  The  U-boat  submerged  immediately, 
and  a  few  minutes  later  the  Captain  saw  the  wake  of  a  torpedo 
which  missed  his  vessel  by  twenty  feet.  Aided  by  a  light  fog 
and  calm  sea  he  escaped. 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  25 

The  five-masted  schooner  Dorothy  Barrett,  bound  for  a  New 
England  port,  was  set  on  fire  by  shells  from  a  submarine, 
August  14,  twenty  miles  from  Cape  May,  New  Jersey,  where 
the  Captain  and  crew  landed. 

"We  were  startled  by  a  shot  fired  across  our  bow,"  said  the 
Captain.  "That  was  the  first  warning  we  had  of  a  submarine. 
We  saw  nothing  even  then,  but  we  went  ahead  and  prepared  to 
leave  the  vessel  when  the  submarine  appeared,  and  fired  four 
more  shots.  Then  it  submerged,  and  came  up  again  a  hundred 
yards  away,  and  circled  about  us.  We  were  not  hailed,  and 
the  U-boat  apparently  was  waiting  for  us  to  leave. 

"By  this  time  we  had  launched  the  dory,  and  all  had  gotten 
aboard.  We  tried  to  follow  the  periscope  of  the  submersible, 
but  the  Germans  apparently  were  not  anxious  for  us  to  ap- 
proach, and  really  wanted  us  to  get  away.  Finally,  we  started 
to  row  toward  shore. 

"We  rowed  in  about  ten  miles  when  we  met  a  submarine  de- 
stroyer coming  out,  attracted  by  the  shots.  I  sent  the  crew  on 
in,  and  returned  on  the  destroyer  to  the  spot  where  I  had  left 
my  ship.  When  we  got  back  to  the  place  there  were  no  signs 
either  of  our  boat  or  the  .submarine.  The  last  we  saw  of  our 
vessel  she  was  in  flames,  and  fast  sinking,  but  whether  the  Ger- 
mans had  boarded,  and  fired  her,  or  she  had  taken  fire  from  the 
shells,  I  do  not  know." 

Two  seaplanes  gave  chase,  but  the  submarine  sighted  them 
and  submerged.  Depth  bombs  were  dropped  where  bubbles 
from  the  U-boat  were  seen,  but  no  wreckage  appeared,  and  the 
submarine  was  not  seen  again. 

On  reaching  Cape  Hatteras  the  U-117  turned  northeastward 
and,  August  16,  fell  in  with  the  Norwegian  four-masted 
schooner  Madrugada,  off  Winter  Quarters  Shoal  on  the  Virginia 
coast,  shortly  after  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Nobody  came 
on  deck,  but  a  gun  at  once  appeared  forward  of  the  conning 
tower,  and  opened  fire  on  the  Madrugada.  While  the  gunners 
were  firing  at  the  port  side,  the  crew  lowered  the  lifeboat  on  the 
starboard  side,  pulled  away  to  a  safe  distance,  and  waited  to 


26       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

see  what  would  happen.  After  firing  eleven  shots  the  sub- 
marine circled  around  the  Madrugada,,  came  close  to  the  life 
boat,  and  when  the  schooner  sank,  followed  her  under  water. 
As  a  conservation  of  food  measure  the  Navy  Department  now 
decided  to  guard  the  fishing  grounds. 

A  report  reached  Beaufort,  North  Carolina,  August  16,  that 
an  oil  tank  steamer  was  afire  some  twenty-five  miles  off  Cape 
Hatteras  and  that  a  submarine  was  standing  by.  After  fuller 
reports  were  received  it  appeared  that  the  British  oil  tanker 
Mirlo  when  a  few  miles  off  Cape  Hatteras  was  struck,  on  the 
evening  of  Friday,  August  16,  by  two  torpedoes  and  destroyed. 
Burning  oil  spread  over  the  sea  and  in  it  ten  of  the  crew 
perished.  The  captain  was  brought  ashore  in  a  seaplane  and 
reported : 

We  did  not  have  a  chance.  The  fact  that  so  many  of  us  got  away 
is  beyond  any  explanation  I  can  make.  We  did  not  see  the  subma- 
rine, and  we  did  not  know  one  was  anywhere  near  us.  Two  torpedoes 
hit  us  in  rapid  succession.  Oil  poured  out  of  the  ship  and  ignited. 
The  whole  sea  was  covered  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half.  We  had 
no  time  to  think  about  anything.  We  had  to  decide  quickly.  There 
were  two  things  to  do:  take  chances  in  a  small  boat  in  the  burning 
sea,  or  go  down  with  the  ship.  A  tanker  is  a  difficult  boat  to  sink. 
They  may  turn  over,  and  they  may  partly  fill  with  water;  but  there 
are  so  many  compartments,  so  many  bulkheads  that  it  is  a  hard  mat- 
ter to  send  one  to  the  bottom  unless  you  destroy  jfehe  ship  entirely. 
The  Mirlo  was  struck  in  two  places,  and  the  ship  began  to  break. 
Both  parts  remained  afloat  for  some  time,  and  I  cannot  say  now 
that  they  have  sunk  completely.  The  ship,  however,  is  virtually 
destroyed.  We  faced  death  for  more  than  an  hour  after  we  left  the 
ship.  Oil  burned  around  our  lifeboats,  and  my  men  suffered  untold 
tortures.  Nearly  all  of  us  were  burned,  some  severely.  Seven  of  my 
men  are  in  a  hospital  with  burned  legs,  arms,  eyes  and  backs.  They 
got  first-aid  treatment  on  the  American  patrol  boat  which  reached 
us  a  few  hours  after  we  left  the  ship. 

Forty  survivors  of  the  crew  were  aided  by  boats  sent  out  by 
the  Coast  Guard ;  but  were  picked  up  by  a  patrol  boat  and  taken 
to  Norfolk,  Virginia.  Seven  were  badly  burned. 

One  of  the  sailors  said: 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  27 

After  we  got  into  the  lifeboats  our  condition  became  worse.  The 
sea  was  on  fire  for  more  than  two  miles.  There  was  a  fairly  high 
sea  and  sometimes,  when  the  waves  beat  against  the  sides  of  our 
boats,  it  threw  burning  oil  in  on  us.  We  fought  the  fire  as  best  we 
could.  It  could  not  be  extinguished  with  water.  We  tried  that, 
and  it  only  added  to  our  danger.  We  took  off  our  coats  and  beat  the 
flames  around  the  boats.  When  our  coats  caught  fire,  anfi  we  could 
no  longer  hold  them  in  our  hands,  we  took  off  our  trousers,  and  beat 
the  flames.  When  our  trousers  burned  up  we  took  off  our  shirts. 
We  kept  this  up  for  nearly  two  hours  before  we  got  out  of  the  flaming 
surface  of  the  ocean.  We  lost  our  clothes  fighting  the  fire.  We 
saved  only  a  few  of  them  as  it  was,  but  we  would  have  presented 
a  better  appearance  than  we  do  had  we  not  had  to  sacrifice  our  coats 
and  trousers  to  fight  the  flames.  We  did  not  see  any  submarines.  Re- 
ports that  a  submarine  came  alongside  and  took  off  our  oil  is  false. 
We  had  no  warning  whatever.  A  lookout  reported  sighting  what  he 
thought  was  the  wake  of  a  torpedo;  but  it  exploded  against  our  sides 
almost  at  the  same  time  that  he  made  his  report.  Two  of  our  crew 
were  on  fire  in  the  lifeboats.  One  of  the  boats  caught  fire  several 
times,  and  our  hands  were  terribly  burned  in  extinguishing  the 
flames.  In  my  boat  three  men  were  completely  exhausted  from  fight- 
ing the  flames.  Eight  of  us  were  burned,  four  seriously. 

The  captain  of  the  British  steamship  Penistone,  held  for 
eight  days  a  prisoner  on  the  submarine  that  sank  his  vessel, 
reached  Boston  August  19.  With  him  came  eight  of  the  crew 
of  the  Norwegian  steamship  San  Jose,  sunk  by  the  U-117 
somewhere  off  Nantucket  Island.  Another  Norwegian  vessel, 
the  hark  Nordhave,  was  sunk  a  hundred  miles  off  Cape  Henry 
August  17.  Her  crew  of  twenty-six  escaped  in  their  boats  and 
were  brought  to  one  of  our  ports  in  a  war  vessel. 

Strange  stories  were  now  told  by  captains  of  vessels  that 
made  port.  One  declared  that  when  off  the  Virginia  coast, 
near  Winter  Quarters  Shoals,  he  rammed  a  submarine  until 
the  crew  of  the  U-boat  cried  out  that  they  were  friends;  that 
replying  they  were  no  friends  of  his  he  kept  on  his  way  and 
pointed  to  a  badly  damaged  how  in  proof  of  his  statement. 
Another,  an  officer  on  a  British  tanker,  told  of  a  fight  with  a 
submarine,  of  the  firing  of  twenty-six  shots,  and  was  sure  the 
U-boat  was  sunk.  This  story  was  corrected  by  the  Captain 


28       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  the  Penistone,  then  a  prisoner  on  the  submarine.     All  shots, 
he  said,  fell  short  and  no  damage  was  done  to  either  party. 

Dories,  containing  crews  of  fishermen  destroyed  on  the  banks 
off  K"ova  Scotia,  reached  a  Canadian  port  August  21  and  re- 
ported that  the  Germans  had  captured  and  armed  the  steam 
trawler  Triumph.  She  left  Portland,  Maine,  a  few  days  be- 
fore. After  her  capture  and  armament,  with  a  crew  of  sixteen 
Germans,  she  became  a  raider,  attacked  the  fishing  fleet  and 
sank  four  vessels.  Swift  patrol  boats  and  destroyers,  the  Navy 
Department  at  once  announced,  would  be  sent  and  a  cordon 
drawn  around  the  place  of  her  activity.  Meantime  the  raid 
continued  and  in  a  few  days  she  was  known  to  have  destroyed 
seven  fishermen,  almost  the  entire  fleet  of  the  Maritime  Fish 
Corporation. 

Still  going  north  the  U-117  bombed  a  schooner  on  August  24, 
and  sank  an  American  fishing  vessel  on  the  26th,  a  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  from  Cape  Canso.  The  crew  were  ordered  aboard 
the  submarine  and  sent  below  while  their  vessel  was  destroyed. 
They  were  then  put  into  their  boats,  were  picked  up  by  a  fishing 
vessel  and  were  landed  at  Cape  Canso.  On  August  27,  U-117 
torpedoed  a  steamer,  without  warning,  south  of  Cape  Kace. 
So  quickly  did  it  sink  that  all  the  boats  could  not  be  lowered 
and  many  of  the  crew  were  compelled  to  jump  into  the  water. 

The  U-117  now  turned  homeward,  cruised  around  Cape  Kace, 
sank  two  schooners  on  August  30,  and,  September  9,  was  re- 
ported in  company  with  UK-140.  During  her  cruise  the 
U-117  sank  twenty  ships  and  ten  sailing  vessels,  most  of  which 
were  American,  aggregating  19,913  tons.  After  the  end  of 
the  war  she  was  surrendered  to  the  British,  went  to  Harwich, 
and  in  May,  1919,  in  charge  of  American  officers  and  crew,  was 
brought  to  Washington,  moored  to  a  wharf,  and  opened  to  in- 
spection by  the  public. 

While  the  U-117  was  on  her  way  home,  the  U-152  left  Kiel, 
and  September  30  fell  in  with  the  transport  Ticonderoga  some 
1,700  miles  from  our  coast.  The  Ticonderoga  was  bound  to 
France  with  a  cargo  of  railway  cars,  and  carried  besides  her 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  29 

crew,  113  officers  and  men  of  the  army.  She  had  fallen  he- 
hind  her  convoy  when  sighted  by  the  U-boat,  which  at  once 
opened  on  her  with  shrapnel,  and  destroyed  the  bridge  and 
radio  house,  and  killed  four  members  of  a  gun  crew  before  the 
cruiser  Gaheston  hove  in  sight  and  forced  the  U-152  to  sub- 
merge. An  hour  later  she  rose  to  the  surface,  renewed  the 
attack,  and  finally  reached  the  engine  and  fire  rooms.  A 
sheet  was  then  hoisted  on  the  Ticonderoga,  as  a  sign  of  sur- 
render, but  the  firing  continued  and  the  Captain,  the  executive 
officer  and  the  first  assistant  engineer,  having  been  wounded, 
the  order  was  given  to  take  to  the  boats.  Most  of  them  were 
riddled  with  shrapnel,  but  the  Captain  and  21  soldiers  and 
sailors  were  put  into  the  only  uninjured  boat,  and  15  others 
found  refuge  on  a  raft.  The  Ticonderoga  now  sank  and  the 
U-boat  came  alongside  the  life  boat  and  enquired  for  the  cap- 
tain, but  not  finding  him,  took  off  two  sailors.  Later  she 
picked  up,  from  the  wreckage,  the  executive  officer,  and  going 
alongside  the  raft,  took  off  the  first  assistant  engineer,  and  put 
the  two  seamen  on  the  raft.  Those  on  the  raft  begged  to  be 
taken  aboard  the  submarine,  but  the  commander  answered,  he 
had  room  for  no  more,  and  left  them  to  their  fate.  After  drift- 
ing four  days  those  in  the  boat  were  picked  up  by  the  Moorish 
Prince,  and  carried  to  a  port  in  the  United  States. 

Continuing  her  voyage  the  U-152  entered  the  Gulf  Stream 
in  search  of  Allied  shipping,  and  while  so  engaged  received  a 
radio  message  "Engage  men-of-war  only.  The  merchant  war 
is  ended."  Nevertheless,  October  12,  the  Norwegian  bark 
Stifinder  was  destroyed  off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  and  the 
crew  left  in  their  boats  hundreds  of  miles  from  shore.  Several 
duels  with  armed  ships  occurred  between  that  day  and  October 
20,  when  the  radio  order,  "All  submarines  return  to  Kiel,"  was 
received  and  obeyed.  November  11  U-152  reached  the  North 
Sea  mine  barrier,  passed  through  it  on  the  surface,  and  the  crew 
having  voted  not  to  interne,  the  armistice  having  been  de- 
clared, she  entered  Kiel  harbor,  and  November  15' made  fast 
to  the  mother  ship.  The  terms  of  the  armistice  required  the 


30       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

surrender  to  Great  Britain  of  all  German  submarines,  Novem- 
ber 20 ;  therefore,  a  number  of  them,  one  column  led  by  U-155, 
the  old  Deutschland,  and  the  other  by  the  U-152  with  her 
former  prisoners,  Lieutenants  F.  L.  Muller  and  J.  H.  Fulcher 
of  the  United  States  Navy  on  board,  set  off  for  Harwich. 

Since  April,  1917,  our  navy  which  then  consisted  of  three  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  vessels  fit  for  service  and  sixty-eight  thou- 
sand officers  and  men  had  been  increased  to  two  thousand  vessels 
of  all  sorts  and  more  than  five  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
officers  and  men.  The  Marines  numbered  nearly  seventy-three 
thousand  and  the  Coast  Guard  more  than  six  thousand  officers 
and  men.  Vessels  of  the  navy  had  been  in  the  White  Sea, 
on  the  Moravian  coast,  in  the  North  Sea,  off  the  British  Islands, 
in  the  Mediterranean,  in  the  Adriatic,  in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  off 
South  America,  had  covered  the  Atlantic  and  had  been  on  the 
Pacific  from  our  own  coast  to  Vladivostok.  The  little  fleet 
of  destroyers,  which  twenty-eight  days  after  the  declaration  of 
war  reached  Queenstown  under  Admiral  Sims,  had  been  added 
to  until  he  now  commanded  more  than  three  hundred  vessels 
of  all  sorts  and  more  than  seventy-five  thousand  men. 

Six  battleships  under  Rear  Admiral  Rodman  crossed  in  De- 
cember, 1917,  and  became  part  of  a  division  of  the  British 
Grand  Fleet.  Others  under  Rear  Admiral  Rodgers  had  their 
base  at  Berehaven,  on  the  coast  of  Ireland.  Vice  Admiral 
Wilson  at  Brest  commanded  the  American  forces  on  the  French 
coast;  Rear  Admiral  Niblack  at  Gibraltar  commanded  our  ves- 
sels in  the  Mediterranean;  and  Rear  Admiral  Dunn  was  in 
charge  of  our  naval  base  in  the  Azores.  Naval  air  stations  were 
established  on  the  coasts  of  England  and  Ireland  and  in  France 
from  the  Spanish  border  to  the  Channel  at  out  of  the  way 
places  and  on  uninhabited  islands  and  the  whole  line  covered 
by  seaplanes  and  dirigibles.  Naval  aviators  bombed  the  Ger- 
man submarine  bases  at  Ostend  and  Zeebrugge,  and  fought 
enemy  seaplanes  over  Heligoland  Bight. 

No  piece  of  work  done  by  the  navy  during  the  war  surpasses 
the  laying  of  the  mine  barrage  from  the  Orkneys  to  Norway, 


SUBMARINES  OFF  OUR  COAST  31 

across  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles  of  the  North  Sea.  Sug- 
gested by  Rear  Admiral  Earle  in  the  early  days  of  the  war,  the 
plan  was  carried  out  in  1918.  One  hundred  thousand  mines 
of  a  new  type  were  made;  a  fleet  of  mine  layers  and  trans- 
porters was  built  and  manned;  bases  were  established  in  Scot- 
land at  Inverness  and  Invergordon,  and  Rear  Admiral  Strauss 
placed  in  charge.  Of  seventy-thousand  two  hundred  mines 
used  more  than  fifty-six  thousand  six  hundred  were  laid  by 
our  Navy.  The  transportation  of  more  than  two-million  men 
with  the  loss  of  but  a  few  hundred,  and  the  transportation  of 
supplies  to  the  army  and  navy  overseas  with  the  loss  of  but  a 
few  cargo-carrying  ships  was  another  well-done  task  and  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  the  navy.  During  the  height  of  the  movement 
of  troops  and  supplies  in  July  and  August,  1918,  American 
destroyers  convoyed  into  French  ports  two  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  troops,  and  furnished  three-fourths  of  the  escorts  for 
more  than  three  hundred  vessels  to  British  ports,  steaming 
nearly  sixteen  thousand  hours  and  covering  two  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  miles. 

Concerning  the  work  of  the  battleships,  Rear  Admiral  Rod- 
man said,  aln  our  operations  in  the  North  Sea  we  were  fre- 
quently attacked  by  submarines,  and  our  battleships  had  numer- 
ous escapes,  often  only  by  prompt  and  skillful  handling.  On  one 
occasion  a  submarine  rammed  the  flagship  New  York,  dented 
the  bottom  and  demolished  the  starboard  propeller.  But  there 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  blows  from  the  propeller 
sank  the  submarine.  En  route  to  drydock  to  make  repairs  and 
instal  a  new  propeller  three  torpedoes  in  rapid  succession  were 
fired  at  her  by  hostile  submarines,  but  again  she  avoided  them 
by  clever  maneuvering  and  escaped."  On  another  occasion,  off 
the  Norway  coast  in  midwinter,  six  torpedoes  were  fired  at 
her;  but  again  she  escaped  them.  In  April,  1918,  when  the 
Italians  destroyed  the  Austrian  naval  base  at  Durazzo,  Amer- 
ican submarine  chasers  took  part  in  the  bombardment,  sank  one 
submarine  and,  it  was  said,  probably  damaged  another. 


CHAPTER  II 

WAR  WORK  AT  HOME 

LONG  before  the  submarine  had  finished  its  work  of  destruc- 
tion, in  June,  one  of  the  many  effects  of  its  depredations  was 
clearly  shown  in  the  eagerness  of  young  men  to  help  win  the 
war.  Day  after  day  enlistment  stations  were  crowded  with 
men  seeking  service  in  the  army,  the  navy,  the  merchant  ma- 
rine. None  of  draft  age  were  accepted  for  the  army ;  yet  each 
day  in  the  great  cities  scores  of  men  under  21  or  over  31  joined 
the  colors.  No  such  restriction  applied  to  the  navy,  or  to  the 
marines,  and  in  these  branches  of  the  service  hundreds  enlisted. 
Reports  from  the  Sea  Service  Bureau  showed  that  even  the 
Merchant  Marine  had  felt  the  good  effects  of  the  German  chal- 
lenge to  merchant  shipping,  and  that  all  previous  records  of 
enlistments  had  been  broken  during  the  first  week  in  June. 
"The  enemy  is  at  our  gates,"  one  applicant  was  reported  to 
have  said,  aand  it  is  up  to  us  to  hit  back."  To  these  volunteers 
were  now  added  all  men  who  came  of  age  between  June  5,  1917, 
and  midnight  of  June  4,  1918,  for  they  had  been  summoned  to 
appear,  June  5,  before  their  respective  boards  and  register.  On 
the  eve  of  registration  Provost.  Marshal  General  Crowder  ad- 
dressed to  them  a  message. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  1917,  just  one  year  ago  to-morrow,  occurred 
one  of  the  most  memorable  events  in  the  history  of  democratic  insti- 
tutions. 

On  that  day  10,000,000  self-governed  young  Americans  marched 
quietly  to  the  polls,  and  in  a  voice  that  was  heard  around  the  world, 
registered  their  invincible  determination  to  preserve  for  themselves, 
and  their  posterity,  the  blessings  of  the  liberty  with  which  they  have 
been  so  richly  endowed. 

A  year  has  passed.  Many  of  these  men  are  now  on  the  battlefields 

32 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  33 

of  France,  and  on  to-morrow,  the  5th  of  June,  that  voice  will  have 
found  its  echo  when  1,000,000  more  will  rally  to  their  support. 

The  nation  is  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  its  existence.  Our  activi- 
ties have  been  diverted  from  the  normal  peacetime  channels,  and 
the  energy  of  those  who  remain  at  home  is  being  directed  more 
closely,  every  day,  toward  the  accomplishment  of  the  things  upon 
which  our  armies  must  depend,  and  without  which  success  is  impos- 
sible. 

Every  American  must  do  his  duty  in  this  great  crisis,  even  though 
he  remains  at  home.  Those  who  are  of  such  an  age,  and  condition 
in  life,  that  they  may,  without  detriment  to  the  economic  support 
of  the  army,  actively  oppose  themselves  against  our  enemy  on  the 
European  battlefields,  are  indeed  privileged. 

Most  of  the  men  who  register  to-morrow  will  be  so  classified,  and 
I  have  no  hesitancy  in  predicting  that  their  services  will  win  for 
them  the  undying  affection  of  a  proud  and  grateful  nation. 

At  least  1,011,598  men,  it  was  expected  by  the  Census  Bu- 
reau, would  register ;  but  when  returns  from  the  eight  and  forty 
States  ani  the  District,  of  Columbia  were  received  the  number 
was  found  to  be  744,868,  or  266,724  short  of  the  estimate  of 
the  Census  Bureau.  But  the  number  of  men,  twenty-one  years 
old,  who,  during  the  year,  enlisted  in  the  army,  navy,  and 
marine  corps  was  208,588,  and  when  to  these  was  added  the 
number  of  aliens  who  need  not  register,  the  figures  rose  to 
998,551,  or  but  13,000  below  the  Census  Bureau  estimate. 

June  27  was  the  day  fixed  for  the  draft,  which  was  conducted 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  great  one  of  1917.  The  place  was 
again  a  room  in  the  Senate  Building,  where,  in  the  same  glass 
jar  used  the  year  before,  were  deposited  1200  master  numbers 
concealed  in  black  capsules.  As  each  was  drawn  from  the 
bowl  it  was  broken  by  an  attendant,  the  number  announced 
and  verified  by  two  men,  and  then  written  on  tally  sheets,  and 
on  a  blackboard  of  which,  in  time,  a  photograph  was  taken  and 
kept  as  a  record. 

Since  the  great  registration  of  June,  1917,  a  new  system 
of  classification  of  registrants  had  gone  into  effect.  In  Novem- 
ber a  questionnaire  had  been  sent  out,  and  in  accordance  with 
his  sworn  answer  each  registrant  had  been  placed  in  one  of  five 


34>       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

classes.  The  effect  of  classification  in  Class  I  was  to  make  him 
liable  to  be  called  for  service  at  an  early  day,  for  in  it  were 
included  single  men  without  dependent  relatives ;  married  men 
who  habitually  failed  to  support  their  families;  married  men 
dependent  on  their  wives  for  support;  married  men  supported 
by  income  independent  of  labor;  unskilled  farm  laborers;  un- 
skilled industrial  laborers;  and  registrants  who  did  not  claim 
deferred  classification,  or  did  not  answer  the  questionnaire,  or 
were  not  included  in  any  other  class.  Classification  in  Class 
II  granted  the  draftee  temporary  discharge  from  draft  until 
Class  I,  in  the  jurisdiction  of  his  Local  Board,  was  exhausted. 
Class  III  became  liable  only  when  Classes  I  and  II,  in  the 
jurisdiction  of  their  Local  Boards,  were  exhausted,  and  Class 
IV  when  Classes  I,  II  and  III  were  spent.  Classification  in 
Class  V  was  equivalent  to  exemption,  or  discharge  from  draft, 
and  in  it  were  included,  legislative,  executive  and  judicial 
officers  of  the  United  States,  the  States,  the  territories,  and  the 
District  of  Columbia;  ministers  of  religion;  students  of  the- 
ology on  May  18,  1917;  all  in  military,  or  naval  service  of  the 
United  States;  alien  enemies;  resident  aliens  claiming  exemp- 
tion; all  permanently  physically  unfit  for  military  service;  all 
morally  unfit  to  be  a  soldier  of  the  United  States,  and  pilots 
actually  engaged  in  their  vocation. 

Nearly  every  man  drawn  on  June  5,  1918,  was  able  bodied, 
unmarried,  without  dependents  and  not  engaged  in  an  essen- 
tial industry.  It  was  announced,  therefore,  that  they  would  be 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  Class  I,  now  almost  exhausted.  Day 
after  day  thousands  of  the  old  registrants  were  moving  into 
the  cantonments  to  take  the  place  of  those  already  sent  across 
the  sea. 

That  men  in  Class  I  should  be  trained  to  fight,  while  those 
in  the  deferred  class  should  be  free  to  follow  occupations  which 
counted  for  nothing  in  our  effort  to  win  the  war,  seemed  neither 
just,  nor  good  policy.  Provost  Marshal  Crowder,  therefore, 
with  the  approval  of  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of  War, 
issued  what  was  popularly  known  as  his  "work  or  fight"  order, 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  35 

requiring  all  men  of  draft  age,  who  were  habitual  idlers  or 
engaged  in  non-essential  industries,  to  appear  before  their  Local 
Boards  before  July  1,  1918,  and  explain  why  they  were  not 
working  in  essential  industries,  or  find  occupation  therein. 

Idlers  were  defined  to  be  "gamblers  of  all  descriptions,  bucket 
shop  and  race  track  attendants,  fortune  tellers,  clairvoyants, 
palmists,  and  the  like."  Men  in  non-essential  occupations  were 
clerks  and  salesmen  in  stores  and  mercantile  houses;  persons 
in  domestic  service,  doormen,  footmen ;  and  attendants  at  clubs, 
hotels,  apartment  houses,  office  buildings;  persons  engaged  in 
games  and  sports,  and  amusements,  save  actual  performances  in 
operas  and  plays,  and  all  who  served  food  or  drink  in  hotels, 
clubs  or  public  places.  Direct  industrial  conscription,  it  was 
explained,  was  not  possible  at  this  time.  But  the  effect  of  the 
new  regulation  would  be  to  force  men  out  of  occupations  not 
essential  to  winning  the  war,  and  put  them  into  war  work 
that  was  essential.  It  meant  a  greater  number  of  men  avail- 
able for  the  production  of  war  material  or,  if  drawn  into  im- 
mediate service,  the  prevention  of  any  drain  on  men  engaged 
in  war  industries,  and  the  postponement  of  any  call  on  the 
deferred  classes  until  the  advanced  classes  were  exhausted. 
Non-essential  workers  would  not  be  permitted  to  seek  exemption 
because  they  had  drawn  a  late  order  number,  or  had  been  placed 
in  Class  II,  III  or  IV  on  the  ground  of  dependency.  The 
fact  that  they  were  not  usefully  employed  would  outweigh  all 
other  considerations.  To  take  men  from  the  farms,  from  the 
mills  and  factories,  and  out  of  essential  employments,  and 
march  them  away  to  training  camps,  "past  crowds  of  idlers 
and  loafers,"  was  worse  than  foolish.  We  were  not  fighting 
armies,  but  nations  in  arms.  Civilization  was  facing  life  or 
death,  and  we,  too,  must,  as  a  nation,  drop  idleness  and  vain 
pleasures. 

At  least  half  a  million  men,  it  was  estimated,  would,  by  the 
order,  be  made  available  for  the  army,  and  another  half  million 
be  turned  into  necessary  industries. 

In  June,  General  Crowder  told  the  Senate  Committee  on 


>36       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Military  Affairs  that  an  extension  of  the  draft  age  would  be 
necessary,  because  all  men  in  Class  I  would  be  exhausted  before 
June,  1919.  Of  the  2,248,000  men  in  that  class  1,347,000 
had  already  been  called  to  the  colors.  Some  400,000  more 
would  be  secured  from  those  who  registered  on  June  5,  and 
200,000  would  be  obtained  from  the  re-examination  of  the 
questionnaires  and  reclassification.  Thus  by  the  first  of  August 
3,000,000  men  would  be  under  arms. 

He  urged,  therefore,  that  the  draft  age  limits  be  extended 
from  eighteen  to  forty-five,  not  only  to  obtain  more  fighting 
men,  but  to  apply  the  "work  or  fight"  rule  to  slackers  above 
thirty  years  of  age.  There  was  no  intention  to  call  into  the 
army,  at  once,  all  eligible  men  between  these  ages,  but  to  enable 
the  Government  to  draft  older  single  men  with  no  dependents, 
and  leave  untouched  the  younger  married  men,  with  children, 
then  in  the  deferred  Class.  When,  therefore,  towards  the  close 
of  June,  the  Senate  had  under  debate  the  army  appropriation 
bill,  carrying  appropriations  amounting  to  $12,000,000,000, 
Senator  Fall,  of  New  Mexico,  introduced  an  amendment  fixing 
the  age  limits  at  20  and  42,  and  Senator  France,  of  Maryland, 
an  amendment  providing  for  the  industrial  enrollment  of  men 
and  women  between  18  and  45  years  of  age  that  they  might 
be  drawn  into  occupations  for  which  they  were  best  suited. 
The  President  approved  of  both,  but  did  not  wish  them  adopted 
at  that  time,  nor  made  part  of  the  appropriation  bill.  The 
Fall  amendment  was  accordingly  defeated. 

The  Allies  now  called  on  the  United  States  to  maintain  an 
army,  of  120  divisions  of  40,000  men  each,  overseas,  and  a 
reserve  force  of  1,000,000  at  home  under  arms.  This  com- 
pletely changed  the  plans  of  the  War  Department,  and  led  it 
to  adopt  a  program  calling  for  80  divisions,  or  3,200,000  men 
overseas,  and  a  reserve  of  eighteen  divisions,  or  720,000  men 
under  arms  and  in  training  at  home.  Lack  of  ships  to  trans- 
port and  maintain  120  divisions  had  forced  the  modification. 
To  get  men  for  so  great  an  army  it  was  necessary  to  extend 
the  draft  age  limits  at  once,  and  August  5  a  bill,  submitted 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  87 

by  the  Secretary  of  War,  was  introduced  into  both  houses  of 
Congress.  It  provided  for  the  extension  of  the  limits  to  eigh- 
teen and  forty-five.  Under  such  a  law,  General  Crowder  be- 
lieved, that  13,200,644  men  would  register;  that  10,028,973 
would  be  between  the  ages  of  thirty-one  and  forty-five,  and 
3,171,671  between  eighteen  and  twenty,  making  the  total  num- 
ber of  men  registered  since  June  5,  1917,  some  23,000,000. 
There  were  then  abroad,  he  said,  1,300,000  troops,  and  the 
plan  was  to  add  to  them  250,000  men  a  month  until  the  end 
of  the  year,  when  there  would  thus  be  overseas  an  American 
army  of  2,300,000  men.  If  this  program  were  to  be  carried 
out  the  bill  must  be  passed  before  the  end  of  August.  In  that 
event  the  President  could  issue  his  proclamation  fixing  regis- 
tration day  as  early  as  September  5.  If  the  new  men  in  Class 
I  were  to  be  in  camp  in  October,  registration  day  must  not  be 
later  than  September  15.  Believing  that  Congress  when  it 
reassembled,  after  a  short  recess,  August  26,  would  pass  the 
bill,  steps  had  already  been  taken  to  act  at  once.  State  head- 
quarters, local  boards  and  other  officials  in  all  the  States  had 
been  notified  to  be  ready.  The  situation  was  urgent,  for,  by 
October  1,  Class  I,  under  the  ages  fixed  by  the  draft  act  of 
1917,  would  be  exhausted,  and  must  be  replenished  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment.  During  the  discussion  of  the  bill 
several  amendments  were  offered,  but  the  struggle  was  around 
that  known  as  the  "work  or  fight"  amendment  which,  in  its 
final  form,  read: 

That  when  any  person  shall  have  been  placed  in  a  deferred  or  ex- 
empted class  for  any  of  the  reasons  in  this  paragraph  set  forth,  he 
shall  not  be  entitled  to  remain  therein  unless  he  shall  in  good  faith 
continue,  while  physically  able  so  to  do,  to  work  at  and  follow  such 
occupation,  employment,  or  business,  and  if  he  fails  so  to  do,  he  shall 
again  become  subject  to  the  draft.  The  President  shall  make  regula- 
tions for  enforcing  this  provision. 

This  proviso  shall  not  apply  in  the  case  of  a  strike,  if  the  strikers 
have  submitted,  or  will  at  once  submit,  the  dispute  to  the  War  Labor 
Board,  agree  to  abide  and  do  abide  by  its  decision,  and  do  at  once 
resume  work  and  continue  work  pending  such  decision.  The  said 


38       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

board  shall  take  up  and  decide  all  such  disputes  as  speedily  as  prac- 
ticabla 

To  any  such  provision  Mr.  Gompers  objected.  It  was  a  re- 
flection on  the  services  and  loyalty  of  the  workers  of  our  coun- 
try. Here  and  there,  he  said,  a  few  might  have  failed  to  do 
their  full  duty,  but,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  workmen  were  doing 
their  full  duty,  and  rendering  every  aid  possible  to  win  the  war. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  adopted  by  the  Senate,  was  stricken  out 
by  the  House,  was  abandoned  in  conference,  and  the  bill  was 
passed  without  it.  August  31  the  act  was  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent who  immediately  issued  a  proclamation  requiring  all  men 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  not  already  regis- 
tered, or  not  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United 
States,  to  register  on  September  12. 

In  this  proclamation  the  President  said: 

Fifteen  months  ago  the  men  of  the  country  from  twenty-one  to 
thirty-one  years  of  age  were  registered.  Three  months  ago,  and 
again  last  month,  those  who  had  just  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one 
were  added.  It  now  remains  to  include  all  men  between  the  ages  of 
eighteen  and  forty-five. 

This  is  not  a  new  policy.  A  century  and  a  quarter  ago  it  was 
deliberately  ordained  by  those  who  were  then  responsible  for  the 
safety  and  defense  of  the  nation  that  the  duty  of  military  service 
should  rest  upon  all  able-bodied  men  between  the  ages  of  eighteen 
and  forty-five.  We  now  accept  and  fulfill  the  obligation  which  they 
established,  an  obligation  expressed  in  our  national  statutes  from 
that  time  until  now.  We  solemnly  purpose  a  decisive  victory  of  arms, 
and  deliberately  to  devote  the  larger  part  of  the  military  man-power 
of  the  nation  to  the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose. 

The  younger  men  have  from  the  first  been  ready  to  go.  They  have 
furnished  voluntary  enlistments  out  of  all  proportions  to  their  num- 
bers. Our  military  authorities  regard  them  as  having  the  highest 
combatant  qualities.  Their  youthful  enthusiasm,  their  virile  eager- 
ness, their  gallant  spirit  of  daring  make  them  the  admiration  of  all 
who  see  them  in  action.  They  covet  not  only  the  distinction  of  serv- 
ing in  this  great  war,  but  also  the  inspiring  memories,  which  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  them  will  cherish  through  years  to  come,  of  a 
great  day  and  a  great  service  for  their  country  and  for  mankind. 

By  the  men  of  the  older  group  now  called  upon,  the  opportunity 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  39 

now  open  to  them  will  be  accepted  with  the  calm  reassurance  of 
those  who  realize  to  the  full  the  deep,  the  solemn  significance  of 
what  they  do.  Having  made  a  place  for  themselves  in  their  re- 
spective communities,  having  assumed  at  home  the  graver  responsi- 
bilities of  life  in  many  spheres,  looking  back  upon  honorable  indus- 
trial records,  they  will  realize,  perhaps,  as  no  others  could,  how  en- 
tirely their  own  fortunes,  and  the  fortunes  of  all  whom  they  love, 
are  put  at  stake  in  this  war  for  right,  and  will  know  the  very  records 
they  have  made  render  this  new  duty  the  commanding  duty  of  their 
lives.  They  know  how  surely  this  is  the  nation's  war,  how  impera- 
tively it  demands  the  mobilization  and  massing  of  all  our  resources 
of  every  kind.  They  will  regard  this  call  as  the  supreme  call  of  their 
day  and  will  answer  it  accordingly. 

Only  a  portion  of  those  who  register  will  be  called  upon  to  bear 
arms.  Those  who  are  not  physically  fit  will  be  excused;  those 
exempted  by  alien  allegiance;  those  who  should  not  be  relieved  of 
the  present  responsibilities;  above  all,  those  who  cannot  be  spared 
from  the  civil  and  industrial  tasks  at  home  upon  which  the  success 
of  our  armies  depends  as  much  as  upon  the  fighting  at  the  front. 
But  all  must  be  registered  in  order  that  the  selection  for  military 
service  may  be  made  intelligently,  and  with  full  information. 

This  will  be  our  final  demonstration  of  loyalty,  democracy,  and 
the  will  to  win;  our  solemn  notice  to  all  the  world  that  we  stand 
absolutely  together  in  a  common  resolution  and  purpose.  It  is  the 
call  to  duty  to  which  every  true  man  in  the  country  will  respond 
with  pride  and  with  the  consciousness,  that  in  doing  so,  he  plays 
his  part  in  vindication  of  a  great  cause  at  whose  summons  every  true 
heart  offers  its  supreme  service. 

So  rapidly  were  young  men  sent  to  the  training  camps,  that, 
by  the  middle  of  August,  Class  I  was  almost  exhausted.  To 
meet  the  call  for  200,000  men  for  the  camps  during  September, 
it  must  be  replenished.  Therefore,  the  President,  by  proclama- 
tion, summoned  all  men  who  came  of  age  between  June  5  and 
August  24  to  register  on  the  latter  day.  General  Crowder  be- 
lieved that  they  would  number  at  least  150,000,  and  that  one- 
half  of  them  would  be  available  for  Class  I.  The  day  chosen 
was  a  Saturday.  All  who  observed  that  day  as  a  Sabbath  were 
to  register  on  the  following  Monday. 

There  would  be  no  drawing  at  Washington  to  determine  the 


40       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

order  in  which  they  were  to  he  called;  they  would  he  treated 
as  helated  registrants.  "It  will  not  he  necessary,"  said  Gen- 
eral Crowder,  "to  hold  another  drawing  in  Washington  to  de- 
termine the  order  of  liability  to  service  of  those  who  will  regis- 
ter on  August  24.  The  same  method  will  he  followed  as  that 
adopted  for  helated  registrants  whose  names  went  on  the  hooks 
after  June  5  last.  In  other  words,  advantage  will  he  taken 
of  the  fact  that  enough  numhers  were  drawn  in  the  official 
drawing  of  June  27,  1918,  to  fix  the  orders  of  liability  not 
only  for  all  who  registered  June  5,  1918,  hut  for  all  who  are 
expected  to  he  enrolled  on  August  24.  Altogether,  1,200  num- 
hers were  drawn  at  that  time,  although  the  total  number  of 
registrants  in  any  one  registration  district  on  June  5  did  not 
exceed  two-thirds  of  that  number.  Thus,  one-third  of  these 
numbers  are  available  for  distribution  among  the  new  regis- 
trants. 

"This  distribution  will  be  made  by  the  Adjutant  General,  or 
draft  executive,  in  each  State,  for  each  of  the  registration  dis- 
tricts under  his  jurisdiction,  copies  of  all  registration  cards, 
with  blank  spaces  for  the  numbers,  having  been  furnished  him. 
He  will  pick  the  available  numbers  at  random  and  assign  them 
according  to  the  order  in  which  he  takes  up  the  registration 
cards.  When  a  registrant  has  thus  received  his  number  he  will 
be  able,  by  reference  to  the  official  drawing  of  June  27,  1918, 
to  which  he  will  have  access,  to  determine  the  order  in  which 
he  will  be  called." 

Preparations,  made  in  the  great  centers  of  population  for 
speedy  registration  in  September,  were  most  interesting.  In 
New  York  City,  where  upwards  of  900,000  men  were  expected 
to  register,  the  registration  districts  were  189 ;  the  registrars, 
clerks  and  interpreters,  for  fifty-two  foreign  languages  are 
spoken  in  that  city,  appointed  to  aid  the  District  Boards  num- 
bered 12,000,  or  one  for  every  80  registrants,  and  extra  regis- 
trars and  interpreters  were  gathered  at  the  headquarters  of 
the  Director  of  the  Draft  ready  to  be  sent  by  automobile  to 
any  district  where  the  registration  became  unexpectedly  large. 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  41 

On  the  appointed  day  the  Stock  Exchange,  the  Cotton  Ex- 
change, the  Public  Schools  were  closed,  and  corporations  em- 
ploying large  numbers  of  men  of  draft  age  gave  them  time  to 
register  in  order  to  decrease  as  much  as  possible  the  last  minute 
rush  at  night. 

When  the  returns  from  all  the  States  were  made  it  was 
found  that  13,228,000  men  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
twenty-one  and  thirty-one  and  forty-five  had  registered.  In 
all  registrations  the  number  of  men  registered  for  selective 
service  was  23,709,000.  Nothing  now  remained  but  to  fix 
upon  the  time  when  the  great  draft  should  be  made.  Monday, 
September  30,  was  chosen,  and  on  that  day  the  President,  blind- 
folded, in  the  Caucus  room  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Senate 
Building,  drew,  from  the  historic  glass  bowl  used  for  the  draft 
of  1917,  one  of  the  17,000  black  capsules  it  contained.  The 
number  was  322 ;  whereupon  each  man  who  had  received  that 
number  in  each  of  the  4557  registration  districts  where  there 
were  so  many  as  322  registrants  became  No.  1  in  order  of  lia- 
bility to  be  called  for  service  by  his  district  board.  Each  of 
the  10,500  master  numbers  drawn  from  the  bowl  in  July,  1917, 
were  announced  by  the  press.  On  this  occasion  only  the  ;first 
one  hundred  were  made  public.  The  others  were  to  be  an- 
nounced to  the  registrants  by  their  district  boards  when  they 
received  their  questionnaires. 

Drafting  young  men  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  it  was 
clearly  foreseen,  would  seriously  affect  the  education  of  those 
in  High  Schools  and  Colleges.  Section  Seven  of  the  Act, 
therefore,  provided  that  the  Secretary  of  War  might  "assign  to 
educational  institutions,  for  special  and  technical  training,  sol- 
diers who  enter  the  military  service  under  the  provisions  of  this 
Act,  in  such  numbers  and  under  such  regulations  as  he  may 
prescribe;  and  is  authorized  to  contract  with  such  educational 
institutions  for  the  subsistence,  quarters  and  military  and  aca- 
demic instruction  of  such  soldiers."  Every  student,  from  18 
to  21,  it  was  explained,  who  wished  to  continue  his  studies  at 
High  School  or  College,  might  enter  the  Students  Army  Train- 


42       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ing  Corps,  have  all  his  college  expenses  paid  by  the  Govern- 
ment, receive  $30  a  month  pay,  and  become  a  soldier  in  the 
United  States  Army,  uniformed  and  subject  to  military  disci- 
pline and  training. 

The  course  of  study  and  the  time  were  prescribed  by  the 
Military  Authorities,  whose  aim  it  was  to  have  the  students 
trained  as  officer  candidates  and  technical  experts  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  service.  Upwards  of  five  hundred  universities, 
colleges  and  technical  schools  were  called  on  to  state  how  many 
they  could  take,  and  145,012  were  finally  accepted.  At  noon 
on  October  1  this  splendid  body  of  young  Americans  was  duly 
mobilized,  and  standing  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  at  the 
respective  institutions,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  listened 
to  the  reading  of  messages  from  President  Wilson,  the  Acting 
Secretary  of  War,  and  the  Chief  of  Staff. 

The  step  you  have  taken,  said  the  President,  is  a  most  significant 
one.  By  it  you  have  ceased  to  be  merely  individuals,  each  seeking 
to  perfect  himself  to  win  his  own  place  in  the  world,  and  have  become 
comrades  in  the  common  cause  of  making  the  world  a  better  place 
to  live  in.  You  have  joined  yourself  with  the  entire  manhood  of 
the  country  and  pledged,  as  did  your  forefathers,  "your  lives,  your 
fortunes,  and  your  sacred  honor"  to  the  freedom  of  humanity. 

The  enterprise  upon  which  you  have  embarked  is  a  hazardous  and 
difficult  one.  This  is  not  a  war  of  words;  this  is  not  a  scholastic 
struggle.  It  is  a  war  of  ideals,  yet  fought  with  all  the  devices  of 
science,  and  with  the  power  of  machines.  To  succeed  you  must  not 
only  be  inspired  by  the  ideals  for  which  this  country  stands,  but 
you  must  also  be  masters  of  the  technique  with  which  the  battle  is 
fought.  You  must  not  only  be  thrilled  with  the  zeal  for  the  common 
welfare,  but  you  must  also  be  masters  of  the  weapons  of  to-day. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  issue.  The  spirit  that  is  revealed, 
and  manner  in  which  Americans  responded  to  the  call,  is  indomitable. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  you  will  use  your  utmost  strength  to  maintain 
that  spirit,  and  to  carry  it  forward  to  the  final  victory  that  will 
certainly  be  ours. 

The  Acting  Secretary  of  War  said: 

As  college  students  you.  are  accustomed  to  contests  of  physical 
force.  You  are  familiar  with  the  tedious  training  and  self-sacrific- 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  43 

ing  discipline  that  are  required  to  develop  a  team  that  can  win  the 
game.  You  know  that  the  contest  is  won  by  team  work,  push, 
enthusiastic  cooperation  with  one  another,  and  coordination  of  every 
individual  talent  to  the  single  purpose  of  common  success. 

In  the  military  struggle  in  which  you  are  about  to  enter,  the  same 
conditions  prevail.  In  order  to  succeed,  many  weeks  of  thorough- 
going training  and  drill  are  essential  to  develop  the  coordination  of 
skill  and  imagination  that  is  essential  to  achieving  the  vast  and 
vital  end  to  which  the  country  has  pledged  its  every  effort.  The 
fighting  machine  will  come  into  effective  working  order  more  rapidly 
in  proportion  as  each  individual  in  it  devotes  his  full  attention  to 
the  particular  service  for  which  he  is  best  qualified.  In  entering 
upon  this  training  as  student  soldiers  you  have  the  opportunity  of 
developing  your  abilities  to  the  point  where  they  will  be  most  effec- 
tive in  the  common  struggle. 

I  am  sure  that  you  will  do  this  in  the  same  spirit,  and  with  the 
same  enthusiasm  that  you  have  always  exhibited  in  the  lesser  struggles 
to  which  you  have  been  accustomed  to  devote  your  energies.  I  am 
sure  that  you  will  rise  to  this  opportunity  and  show  that  America, 
the  home  of  the  pioneer,  the  inventor,  and  the  master  of  machines, 
is  ready  and  able  to  turn  its  every  energy  to  the  construction  of  an 
all-powerful  military  machine  which  will  prove  as  effective  in  liberat- 
ing men  as  have  the  reaper,  the  airplane,  and  the  telephone. 

General  Peyton  C.  March,  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Army,  re- 
minded the  boys  of  the  great  opportunity  that  opened  before 
them. 

The  Students  Army  Training  Corps  has  been  organized  to  assist 
in  training  a  body  of  men  from  whom  the  United  States  will  draw 
officer  material  in  large  numbers.  The  need  for  these  officers  is  one 
of  the  most  imperative  orders  connected  with  our  large  army  program, 
and  patriotic  young  men  will  be  given  an  opportunity  to  acquire 
this  training,  with  the  knowledge  that  they  will  thus  be  enabled  to 
better  serve  their  country  in  the  great  drive  which  is  to  come. 
Superior  leadership  spells  success  in  war,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
member  of  the  Students  Army  Training  Corps  to  do  his  utmost  to 
qualify  as  a  leader  of  men. 

While  preparations  for  the  draft  were  under  way,  renewed 
efforts  were  made  to  reach  the  slackers,  the  men  who  had  not 
registered  for  the  previous  draft,  and  those  who  had  not  an- 


44       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

swered  the  questionnaire.     For  months  past  not  only  the  De- 
partment of  Justice  but  the  American  Protective  League,  the 
secret  service  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  and  scores 
of  private  local  organizations  had  been  busy  seeking  for  men 
who  shirked  the  call  of  their  country.     Since  registration  day, 
June  5,  1917,  some  25,000  had  been  captured.     In  June,  1918, 
ball  parks,  theaters,  moving-picture  houses,  bar  rooms,  pool- 
rooms, restaurants,  parks,  railway  stations,  steamboat  docks, 
every  place  where  young  men  were  likely  to  gather,  were  raided 
by  police  officers  and  agents  of  the  American  Protective  League, 
and  300  who  had  not  registered  and  4,000  who  had  not  filed 
questionnaires  were  arrested.     In  Ohio  1,000  were  found  in 
one  day.     And  so  it  was  the  country  over.     Hundreds  had 
fled  to  Mexico  where  life,  according  to  General  Crowder,  was 
far  from  pleasant.     Even  there  the  man  with  the  yellow  streak 
was  heartily  despised.     Such  as  had  means,  and  had  "estab- 
lished a  sort  of  colony"  in  Mexico  City  were  "ostracized  com- 
pletely, not  only  by  other  American  residents  above  draft  age, 
but  by  the  natives  as  well."     Those  without  funds  were  in 
desperate  straits.     "Native  and  foreign  business  houses  alike 
refused  them  employment.     At  Guanajuato,  for  example,  not 
only  a  crowd  of  these  slackers,  applying  for  work  at  the  mines, 
was  refused  employment  in  spite  of  a  labor  shortage,  but  a 
committee  of  Americans  living  there  is  reported  to  have  waited 
on  them  with  a  demand  that  they  leave  the  town  in  a  specified 
number  of  hours."     In  this  work  the  women  "in  all  communi- 
ties, particularly  those  having  relatives  who  have  gone  to  the 
front,"  according  to  General  Crowder,  had  been  most  helpful, 
"in  ferreting  out  young  men  who  failed  to  register."     To  en- 
courage them  in  this  good  work,  Dr.   Anna  Howard  Shaw, 
chairwoman  of  the  Woman's   Committee  of  the   Council  of 
National  Defense,  now  made  an  appeal. 

A  new  and  imperative  call  comes  to  the  women  of  our  land  from 
which  at  first  there  may  be  a  spirit  of  shrinking,  but  the  splendid 
response  which  the  patriotic  women  of  America  have  made  to  every 
call  of  their  country  assures  us  of  a  willing  and  courageous  compli- 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME 


45 


ance  with  this,  the  greatest  and  most  important  demand  made  upon 
the  loyalty  of  our  people  since  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Every 
woman  is  equally  in  honor  bound  to  inspire,  encourage,  and  urge  the 
men  of  her  family  to  perform  their  patriotic  duty. 

To  inspire  us  in  our  task  we  have  but  to  remember  this!  we 
must  win  the  war.  We  must  win  it  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 
It  can  be  done  only  with  a  sufficiently  large  army  to  break  the 
military  power  of  Germany.  This  army  can  be  obtained  if  we  do 
our  duty. 

Every  consideration  of  honor,  of  patriotism,  of  love  of  justice,  and 
hope  for  the  future  peace  of  the  world  calls  us  to  this  sacred  sacrifice. 

In  Chicago  during  four  days  in  July,  1918,  in  a  drive  to 
round  up  slackers,  over  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  were 
stopped  and  summoned  to  show  their  registration  cards.  Ball 
games  and  motion  picture  shows,  bathing  beaches  and  cabarets, 
saloons  and  factories,  were  visited  and  searched.  On  the 
streets,  at  the  gates  of  railroad  stations,  on  the  platforms  of  the 
elevated  roads,  at  steamboat  landings,  in  the  theaters  and  in 
motor  cars  men  were  stopped  and  some  twenty  thousand  who 
could  not  give  satisfactory  replies  were  hurried  to  the  Municipal 
Pier,  to  the  Bureau  of  investigation,  to  court  rooms,  jails  and 
vacant  store-rooms  for  further  examination  and  fourteen  held 
for  service.  In  September,  in  the  Federal  Districts  of  South- 
ern and  Eastern  New  York  and  Northern  New  Jersey,  upwards 
of  fifty-one  thousand  suspects  were  seized,  temporarily  detained 
and  each  given  a  yellow  card  to  fill  out.  The  answers  thus 
obtained  were  telephoned  to  the  various  draft  boards  for  veri- 
fication. When  truly  given,  the  yellow  card  was  exchanged 
for  a  white  slip  which  was  an  honorable  discharge  from  cus- 
tody. By  nightfall  on  the  third  day,  several  hundred  slackers 
had  been  sent  to  Governor's  Island  and  Camp  Upton. 

The  raid,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted,  the  fact 
that  nobody  knew  by  whose  authority  it  was  made,  aroused 
great  indignation  in  the  United  States  Senate.  Senator  Cald- 
well  announced  that  be  was  in  New  York  at  the  time  and 
witnessed  the  proceedings.  He  saw  a  street  car  stopped,  a 
sailor  enter  and  take  out  men,  some  of  whom  were  accompany- 


46       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ing  women.  Armed  soldiers,  he  said,  went  into  business  offices 
and  took  men  from  behind  their  desks,  went  into  theaters  and 
took  men  away  from  the  ladies  they  were  escorting.  Men  were 
stopped  on  the  streets,  seized  on  the  corners  and  packed  into 
vans  like  sardines,  were  hurried  to  the  police  stations  and  kept 
under  observation  until  they  could  send  for  some  one  to  prove 
they  were  not  slackers.  Even  men  over  the  draft  age  were 
arrested  and  required  to  furnish  evidence  that  they  were 
exempt. 

Senator  Smoot  offered  a  resolution  to  the  effect,  that  the 
daily  newspapers  having  announced  the  seizure  and  temporary 
incarceration  of  many  thousands  of  citizens  in  New  York,  and 
the  participation  in  this  so-called  "round-up,"  of  sailors  and 
soldiers  in  uniform,  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  be 
directed  to  investigate  and  report  who  was  responsible  for  their 
presence,  and  who  issued  orders  resulting  in  their  participa- 
tion in  the  arrests,  if  they  were  present  and  did  participate. 
The  resolution  was  placed  on  the  Senate  calendar  after  a  long 
and  stormy  debate.  Meantime,  the  President  requested  the 
Attorney-General  to  investigate  and  report  to  him. 

Beginning  with  a  statement  why  such  raids  were  necessary, 
the  Attorney-General,  in  his  report,  assumed  entire  responsi- 
bility for  putting  them  into  effect,  but  condemned  the  manner 
in  which  that  in  New  York  had  been  carried  out,  as  unlawful, 
contrary  to  his  express  instructions,  and  due  to  excess  of  zeal 
for  the  public  good.  "In  order,"  said  he,  "to  set  forth  intel- 
ligently the  proceedings  at  New  York  it  is  necessary  to  touch 
on  a  serious  national  problem.  There  are  many  deserters  and 
slackers  at  large  in  this  country." 

The  Secretary  of  War  referred  to  this  condition  "as  an  in- 
dictment against  the  honor  of  the  nation."  To  permit  it  to 
continue  would  weaken  substantially  the  nation's  fighting  power 
and  do  grievous  injustice  to  the  great  body  of  the  youth  of 
the  land  who  so  gallantly  met  their  military  obligations.  Ener- 
getic measures  were  required.  The  Secretary  of  War  naturally 
looked  to  this  department  for  assistance.  To  attempt  to  appre- 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  4,7 

hend  so  great  a  number  of  offenders  by  running  down  individ- 
ual cases  obviously  would  have  been  futile.  Some  form  of 
dragnet  process,  within  the  law  of  course,  was  absolutely 
essential. 

It  was  accordingly  decided  to  adopt  the  plan  of  canvassing, 
or  rounding  up  in  the  large  cities,  on  particular  days  all  men 
apparently  within  the  draft  age  and  arranging  for  a  an  Ternary 
and  immediate  investigation  of  their  status  through  their  local 
draft  boards.  Of  necessity  this  involved  detaining,  pending 
investigation,  all  men  who  did  not  have  registration  or  classifi- 
cation cards  (which  registrants  are  required  by  the  regulations 
to  keep  always  in  their  personal  possession),  or  who  were  not 
able  to  establish  by  satisfactory  evidence  that  they  were  outside 
the  draft  ages.  It  was  expected  that  for  the  most  part  such 
men  would  voluntarily  go  to  the  places  of  detention,  which  were 
usually  armories,  while  the  investigation  of  their  status  was 
being  made.  Where  arrests  were  necessary  it  was  never  con- 
templated that  they  should  be  made  by  any  but  police  officials 
of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  States  and  municipalities  where 
the  canvass  was  being  conducted.  The  making  of  arrests  in 
such  cases  by  the  military,  or  by  the  members  of  any  private 
organization,  would  have  been  contrary  to  law  and  contrary  to 
the  express  directions  of  the  Attorney  General,  except  in  the 
case  of  deserters,  where,  of  course,  the  military  authorities  had 
the  power  to  make  arrests.  It  was  expected,  however,  that 
where  the  number  detained  was  large  this  department  in  making 
the  necessary  investigation,  would  have  the  aid  of  the  American 
Protective  League,  a  private  organization  of  established  stand- 
ing which  had  long  been  participating  in  the  enforcement  of 
the  selective  service  law  by  express  invitation  of  the  Provost 
Marshal  General ;  and  that  in  guarding  the  persons  taken  into 
custody  it  would  have  the  aid  of  units  of  the  military  and 
naval  forces. 

While  this  plan  was  evolved  in  discussion  with  a  representative  of 
the  Provost  Marshal  General's  office,  I  take  full  and  entire  respon- 
sibility for  adopting  it  and  for  putting  it  into  effect.  I  know 


48       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

that  some  such  dragnet  process  is  necessary  unless  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  deserters  and  slackers  are  to  remain  at  large;  I  be- 
lieve the  plan  adopted  is  authorized  by  the  regulations ;  I  believe  also, 
judging  by  the  results  at  a  number  of  different  points,  that  the  great 
body  of  our  people  will  cheerfully  submit  to  the  minor  inconven- 
iences which  the  execution  of  any  such  plan  of  necessity  entails, 
to  the  end  that  this  indictment  of  the  nation's  honor,  this  drain  on 
the  nation's  strength,  may  be  removed.  I  shall,  therefore,  continue 
to  employ  the  plan  unless  you  give  directions  to  the  contrary. 

Coming  to  the  city  of  New  York,  I  again  accept  full  and  entire 
responsibility  for  putting  into  effect  there  the  general  plan  of  round- 
ing up  deserters  and  slackers  which  I  have  described.  Contrary  to 
my  express  instructions,  however,  instructions  which  I  have  repeated 
over  and  over  again,  and  contrary  to  law,  certain  members  of  the 
investigating  force  of  this  department,  without  consultation  with  me 
or  with  any  law  officer  of  the  department,  used  soldiers  and  sailors 
and  certain  members  of  the  American  Protective  League,  I  am 
satisfied,  in  making  arrests.  I  am  convinced  by  the  inquiries  which 
I  have  made  that  they  were  led  into  this  breach  of  authority  by 
excess  of  zeal  for  the  public  good.  While  this  extenuates,  it  does 
not  excuse  their  action. 

During  the  three-day  canvass  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx,  11,652 
persons  were  apprehended  and  temporarily  held  at  places  of  detention. 
Of  these,  about  300  were  inducted  into  the  military  service,  and  at 
least  1,500  turned  over  to  their  local  boards  as  delinquents.  In 
Brooklyn,  9,750  were  detained,  of  whom  252  have  been  held  by  order 
of  court,  and  at  least  1,000  turned  over  to  their  local  boards  as 
delinquents.  These  figures  do  not  include  a  large  number  of  persons 
who,  on  being  accosted,  made  a  satisfactory  showing,  and  were  not 
detained;  nor  do  they  include  a  smaller  number  who  were  taken 
to  the  police  station,  and  required  to  give  further  information  before 
being  released. 

Simultaneously  with  the  canvass  in  New  York,  one  was  made  in 
the  cities  of  Northern  New  Jersey,  where,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
there  was  little  if  any  criticism.  The  canvass  in  Northern  New 
Jersey  was  carried  out  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  and 
known  policy  of  the  department.  In  the  city  of  Newark,  for  example, 
the  canvass  was  made  by  groups  of  men  composed  of  one  regular 
police  officer,  who,  in  every  instance,  made  the  arrest  aided  by 
members  of  the  American  Protective  League  and  uniformed  unarmed 
members  of  the  State  militia,  who  assisted  in  the  work  of  accosting 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  49 

and  making  inquiries.     No  soldiers,  sailors,  or  members  of  private 
organizations  were  employed  in  making  arrests. 

There  were  apprehended  in  the  five  cities  of  Northern  New  Jer- 
sey— Newark,  Jersey  City,  Hoboken,  Paterson  and  Passaic — a  total  of 
28,875  persons.  Out  of  this  number  749  men  have  been  ordered 
inducted  into  the  army,  and  in  addition  12,515  were  delinquents, 
whose  draft  records  of  classifications  were  corrected  by  the  local 
boards.  These  delinquents  were  persons  who  at  one  time  had  been 
given  a  temporary  classification  by  reason  of  illness,  exemption,  &c., 
but  who  had  failed  to  report  for  a  corrected  classification,  or  else 
persons  who  had  failed  to  register,  failed  to  appear  for  physical 
examination,  or  failed  to  file  questionnaire,  &c. 

All  told  50,271  persons  were  apprehended  and  temporarily 
detained,  of  whom  15,015  were  turned  over  to  their  local  boards 
as  delinquents,  1049  sent  to  camps,  and  252  held  by  order  of 
court. 

By  this  time  our  troops  were  going  abroad  by  hundreds  of 
thousands  each  month.  Beginning  with  the  departure,  on 
May  8,  1917,  of  Base  Hospital  No.  4,  and  the  nurses'  reserve 
corps,  those  dispatched  each  month  rose  so  steadily  in  number 
that  during  March,  1918,  83,'811  sailed  and  at  the  end  of  the 
first  year  of  our  participation  in  the  war,  366,522  had  been 
safely  landed  over  seas. 

Then  came  the  great  German  drive,  and  the  call  of  the  Allies 
for  men  and  more  men.  "I  shall  never  forget  that  morning," 
said  Lloyd  George,  speaking  at  Leeds  during  the  parliamentary 
elections  in  December,  "when  I  sent  a  cable  message  to  Presi- 
dent Wilson  telling  him  what  the  facts  were  and  how  essential 
it  was  that  we  should  get  American  help  at  the  speediest  possi- 
ble rate,  and  inviting  him  to  send  120,000  infantry  and  ma- 
chine gunners  to  Europe.  The  following  day  there  came  a 
cablegram  from  President  Wilson,  'Send  your  ships  across  and 
we  will  send  the  120,000  men/  Then  I  invited  Sir  Joseph 
McKlay,  the  Shipping  Controller,  to  Downing  Street  and  said, 
'Send  every  ship  you  can.'  They  were  all  engaged  in  essential 
trades  because  we  were  down  and  out  right  to  the  bone.  There 
was  nothing  that  was  not  essential.  We  said:  'This  is  the  time 


50       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

for  taking  risks/  We  ran  risks  with  our  food,  and  we  ran 
risks  with  essential  raw  materials.  We  said :  'The  thing  to  do 
is  to  get  these  men  across  at  all  hazards.'  Ajnerica  sent  1,900,- 
000  men  across  and  out  of  that  number  1,100,000  were  carried 
by  the  British  mercantile  marine.  The  good  old  ships  of 
Britain  have  saved  the  liberty  of  the  world  many  times.  They 
saved  it  in  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth;  saved  it  in  the  days 
of  Louis  XIV;  saved  it  in  the  days  of  Napoleon;  and  have 
saved  it  in  the  days  of  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II." 

When  the  shipping  Controller  was  questioned,  he  said : 

Ships  were  gathered  from  every  source,  with  the  result  that,  in  the 
six  months  between  April  and  September,  850,000  American  troops, 
or  60  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  carried  within. that  period,  were 
transported  in  British  bottoms.  In  all,  of  the  2,079,000  American 
troops  transported  to  France,  well  over  a  million  were  carried  in 
British  ships.  The  whole  of  this  million  were  escorted  to  the  United 
Kingdom  danger  zone  by  ships  of  the  Royal  Navy.  British  shipping 
at  that  time  was  in  a  perilous  situation,  but  in  order  to  further  the 
movement  of  American  troops  we  were  prepared  to  make  every 
sacrifice. 

From  South  Africa  was  taken  every  passenger  ship,  from 
India  and  Australia  were  taken  all  fast  steamers,  and  a  danger- 
ous sacrifice  of  meat  supply  for  the  British  army  was  made  by 
their  transfer  to  the  North  Atlantic.  One  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  British  vessels  of  more  than  1,500,000  tons  dead  weight 
were  used  to  carry  our  men,  and  even  fighting  ships  were  fitted 
up  for  that  service. 

During  April,  May  and  June  more  than  600,000  were  hur- 
ried across  to  help  the  hard  pressed  Allies,  for  new  victories 
had  been  won  by  the  Germans,  Paris  and  the  Channel  ports 
were  in  danger  of  capture,  and  a  new  Austrian  drive  was  under 
way  in  Italy.  Our  forces  abroad  then  numbered  1,019,115,  or 
more  than  700,000  fighting  men.1 

1When  the  armistice  was  signed  in  November,  1918,  the  number  of  men 
Bent  over  seas  was  2,079,880.  Of  these  912,082  were  carried  in  American 
naval  transports;  40,499  in  other  American  cratt;  1,006,987  in  British 
vessels;  68,246  in  Italian  ships  leased  by  Great  Britain;  and  52,066  in 
French  and  Italian  bottoms. 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  51 

Before  the  first  of  August  more  than  1,300,000  men  of  all 
sorts  were  under  the  command  of  General  Pershing.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  German  press  these  statements  were  untrue. 
"Mr.  Baker,"  said  the  Koelnische  Zeiiung,  "thinks  he  will  be 
able  to  dissipate  all  doubts  about  the  correctness  of  his  figures 
with  his  recitations.  It  is,  however,  only  the  usual  American 
bluff.  We  know  from  reliable  sources  that  the  figures  in  ques- 
tion are  inordinately  exaggerated,  and  in  no  way  correspond 
to  the  truth."  Vice  Admiral  von  Capelle  belittled  our  aid 
both  in  men  and  ships : 

The  military  help  of  America  in  the  first  year  of  the  war  was  very 
little  regarding  troops  and  airplanes.  The  expectation  of  our  ene- 
mies has  been  greatly  disappointed.  If  America  wants  to  maintain 
half  a  million  troops  in  France  it  will  need  permanently  a  freight 
space  (in  steamships)  of  about  2,000,000  tons,  which  would  be  taken 
from  the  service  of  supplying  her  allies. 

According  to  American  and  British  statements,  the  participation 
of  such  a  large  army  is  no  longer  involved  in  this  campaign. 

In  order  to  carry  out  the  gigantic  American  program  of  shipping 
construction,  the  shipyards  must  first  be  built.  In  1917  America, 
following  all  her  huge  promises,  built  750,000  gross  tons  of  sea-going 
ships.  The  large  merchant  fleet  which  America  has  ordered  is  not 
being  built  for  the  war,  but  in  order  to  take  the  place  of  England  as 
the  world's  shipper  after  the  war,  when  the  ships  will  have  been  com- 
pleted. 

Our  ship  building  was  no  subject  for  contempt.  Stimulated 
by  the  work  of  the  submarines  in  foreign  waters,  and  by  the 
growing  demand  for  an  American  Merchant  Marine,  our  ship 
yards,  while  we  were  still  neutral,  had  been  pressed  with  orders, 
and  had  so  expanded  their  capacities  that,  by  the  close  of  1916, 
some  fifty  thousand  gross  tons  of  wooden  ships,  and  a  million 
and  a  half  tons  of  steel  ships  were  under  construction  and 
likely  to  be  finished  within  two  years.  When  we  entered  the 
war  two  million  eight  hundred  thousand  dead  weight  tons  of 
steel  shipping  was  under  way  in  private  yards.  This  the  Presi- 
dent could  commandeer;  but  it  was  far  below  our  need,  and 
by  midsummer  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation,  by  encour- 


52      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

aging  the  expansion  of  old  and  the  building  of  new  yards,  had 
been  able  to  contract  for  a  million  eight  hundred  thousand  tons 
more,  and  it  seemed  possible  to  finish  at  least  three  million  tons 
in  eighteen  months.  Even  this  was  not  enough.  To  feed  and 
maintain  every  man  sent  to  France  would  require  five  tons  of 
shipping  space  per  annum.  Three  million  tons  more  were 
needed  at  once,  if  we  were  to  send  an  army  of  several  million 
men,  and  to  get  them  in  the  shortest  possible  space  of  time,  the 
Fleet  Corporation  adopted  the  fabricated  ship.  Almost  every 
ship  built  since  the  world  began  had  been  made  to  order.  Now 
ships  must  be  standardized,  their  parts  made  by  hundreds  in 
shops  scattered  over  the  country,  and  assembled  and  put  to- 
gether in  the  shipyards.  ISTot  all  the  yards  in  the  country  could 
build  the  needed  ships  as  quickly  as  required.  To  hasten  the 
work,  therefore,  the  greatest  shipyard  in  the  world  was  con- 
structed. The  site  chosen  for  it  was  Hog  Island,  on  the  Dela- 
ware Eiver  near  Philadelphia.  On  the  September  day,  1917, 
when  the  contract  for  the  ships  was  signed,  the  Island  was  a 
scrubby  wooded  tract  unconnected  by  rail  or  trolley  with  any- 
where. Yet,  on  this  island  in  ten  months'  time  were  built,  side 
by  side,  for  a  mile  and  a  quarter  along  the  river,  fifty  ship 
ways;  and  stretching  along  another  mile  and  a  quarter,  outfit- 
ting basins,  with  seven  great  piers  each  a  thousand  feet  long 
and  berths  for  twenty-eight  ships;  a  barracks  for  six  thousand 
workmen ;  hundreds  of  buildings  for  every  sort  of  use,  a  hotel, 
a  hospital,  indeed,  a  city  of  no  mean  size. 

August  5,  1918,  the  first  steel  cargo  carrier  built  at  Hog 
Island  was  launched.  But  others  had  been  built  elsewhere, 
and  from  a  few  tons  of  shipping  completed  and  delivered  to 
the  Shipping  Board  in  January,  1918,  the  output  grew  steadily, 
month  by  month,  until,  in  May,  two  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand tons  of  shipping  were  delivered.  Among  the  forty-three 
steel  ships  then  completed  was  the  Agawan,  the  first  fabricated 
vessel  in  the  world.  Another,  the  tanker  Tuckahoe,  launched 
at  Camden,  New  Jersey,  was  finished  and  in  the  water  27  days, 
3  hours  and  43  minutes  after  the  workmen  began  to  lay  the 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  53 

keel.  Ten  days  later,  complete  in  every  part,  her  trial  trip 
over,  she  was  delivered  to  the  Shipping  Board  and  one  week 
from  that  day  began  her  maiden  voyage. 

Even  this  fine  record  was  outdone  in  the  case  of  the  destroyer 
Ward,  whose  keel  was  laid  at  the  Mare  Island  Navy  Yard,  in 
California,  and  whose  hull,  eighty-four  per  cent,  completed,  was 
launched  seventeen  and  a  half  days  later. 

As  the  fourth  of  July  drew  near  the  Chairman  of  the  Ship- 
ping Board  appealed  to  the  ship  huilders  to  make  their  cele- 
bration of  Independence  Day  the  launching  of  as  many  ships 
as  could  possibly  be  ready.  None  were  to  be  held  back;  only 
such  were  to  go  into  the  water  on  the  Fourth  as,  by  extra 
exertion,  were  finished  ahead  of  schedule  time.  The  response 
was  hearty;  the  workmen  gave  up  their  usual  Saturday  half 
holidays,  worked  over  time,  accepted  only  regular  pay  instead 
of  time  and  half  time  for  extra  hours,  and  so  speeded  the  build- 
ing that  on  Independence  Day  ninety-five  vessels,  destroyers, 
transports,  cargo  carriers,  forty-two  of  steel  and  fifty-three  of 
wood,  in  fifty-nine  shipyards  scattered  along  our  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  coasts,  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  all 
destined  to  help  win  the  war,  stood  on  their  ways  ready  to  be 
launched.  Eleven  were  held  by  a  freshet  on  the  Columbia 
Kiver;  two  stuck  on  the  ways,  but  eighty-two  went  into  the 
water  and  474,464  tons,  dead  weight,  were  added  to  our  marine, 
an  amount  far  in  excess  of  all  our  tonnage  destroyed  by  Ger- 
man U-boats  since  the  war  began  in  1914.  This  was,  indeed, 
a  declaration  of  independence  of  German  ruthlessness,  and  as 
such  it  was  hailed  abroad  and  at  home.  "I  have  just  heard 
that  one  hundred  ships  have  been  launched  in  the  United 
States,"  Lloyd  George  telegraphed  to  President  Wilson,  "Heart- 
felt congratulations  on  the  magnificent  performance."  From 
our  fighting  men  in  France  came  the  words,  "The  launching  of 
one  hundred  ships  on  the  Fourth  of  July  is  the  most  inspiring 
news  that  has  come  to  us.  With  such  backing  we  cannot  fail  to 
win.  All  hail  the  American  shipbuilders  I"  To  the  workers  in 
every  shipyard  where  a  launching  took  place  the  Chairman  of 


54      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  Shipping  Board  sent  the  message :  "Our  historic  launchings 
to-day  are  a  new  Declaration  of  Independence."  When  the 
month  ended  236,130  tons  of  shipping  had  heen  delivered  to 
Government  account,  and  September  1  found  340,145  tons 
added,  which  raised  the  output  since  January  1,  1918,  to 
1,650,000  tons. 

As,  month  after  month,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  our  boys 
were  sent  to  fight  in  France,  the  need  of  food  conservation  at 
home  grew  greater  and  greater.  Not  only  must  they  have 
ample  supplies,  but  our  Allies  must  be  aided  as  heretofore. 
The  demand  for  our  beef,  Mr.  Hoover  said,  was  beyond  present 
supply.  It  would,  therefore,  be  a  real  service  to  our  army, 
and  to  the  Allies,  if  our  people  would  substitute  pork,  bacon, 
and  ham  for  beef  products. 

The  public  will  realize  that  the  changing  conditions  of  production 
from  season  to  season,  the  changing  situation  in  shipping  and,  there- 
fore, of  the  markets  available  to  the  Allies,  and  the  increasing  demand 
for  our  growing  army,  with  the  fluctuating  supply  of  local  beef  in 
France,  all  make  it  impossible  to  determine  policies  for  a  long  period 
in  advance.  We  have  recently  asked  for  economy  in  all  meat  con- 
sumption; we  wish  now  to  emphasize  further  reduction  of  beef  by  the 
substitution  of  pork.  It  is  anticipated  that  this  program  will  hold 
good  until  September  15,  and  the  cooperation  of  the  public  is  most 
earnestly  requested. 

Two  ounces  of  Victory  bread,  and  four  ounces  of  cornbread 
containing  not  more  than  one-third  of  wheat,  might  be  served 
each  person,  each  meal;  but  when  this  allowance  had  been 
given  no  other  bread  or  cereal  product  of  which  wheat  was  a 
part  could  be  eaten  at  the  same  meal.  No  hotel,  no  restaurant 
or  club  could  consume  more  than  six  pounds  of  wheat  flour 
for  each  ninety  meals  served,  nor  could  any  wheat  products  be 
served  unless  ordered,  nor  bread  or  rolls  be  placed  on  the  table 
until  the  meal  was  served  and  then  only  in  individual  portions. 
Boiled  beef  was  to  be  used  at  but  two  meals  each  week;  roast 
beef  at  but  one,  and  beef  steak  at  but  one.  No  sugar  bowls 
were  to  be  placed  on  the  tables.  All  sugar  must  be  served  in 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  55 

individual  portions  of  not  more  than  two  lumps,  or  one-half 
ounce  per  person,  with  tea  or  coffee,  or  one  ounce  with  cereals 
or  fresh  fruit,  and  must  not  be  used  for  icings  or  coatings  of 
cakes,  or  in  sherbets  or  water  ices. 

In  obedience  to  this  order  it  was  arranged  that  at  clubs, 
hotels,  restaurants  and  public  eating  places,  roast  beef  should 
be  served  at  the  midday  meal  on  Mondays;  stewed  and  boiled 
beef  on  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays,  and  steaks  on  Thursdays 
at  midday.  No  restriction  was  placed  on  the  use  of  such  by- 
products as  liver,  tongue,  sweetbreads  and  kidneys. 

By  July  the  scarcity  of  sugar  became  a  matter  of  very  serious 
concern,  and  new  regulations  were  issued.  Householders  were 
asked,  as  a  patriotic  duty,  not  to  use  more  than  three  pounds  per 
person  each  month,  and  as  much  less  as  possible.  City  re- 
tailers were  not  to  sell  more  than  two  pounds  to  any  one  person 
at  any  one  time,  and  country  retailers  not  more  than  five 
pounds,  save  for  canning  purposes.  Commercial  users  of 
sugar  were  arranged  in  five  classes;  makers  of  candy,  soft 
drinks,  chocolate,  cocoa,  syrup,  sweet  pickles,  operators  of  soda 
fountains;  hotels,  restaurants,  clubs,  hospitals,  dining  cars, 
steamships,  boarding  houses  caring  for  more  than  twenty-five 
persons;  bakers  and  cracker  makers;  retail  stores.  Persons  in 
each  class,  before  July  15,  must  make  a  report  of  all  sugar  on 
hand,  or  in  transit,  July  1.  Whatever  was  in  excess  of  three 
months'  supply  was  to  be  taken  over  and  redistributed.  Con- 
sumption was  to  be  limited  to  fifty  per  cent,  of  normal. 

Shortage  of  sugar  was  due,  to  the  needs  of  the  army  for 
transports  which  reduced  the  number  of  ships  bringing  sugar 
from  Hawaii  and  the  West  Indies;  to  smaller  crops  in  sugar 
producing  countries;  to  shortage  in  the  Louisiana  cane  supply 
and  in  the  domestic  sugar  beet  crop;  to  destruction  of  beet 
sugar  factories  in  France  and  Italy,  and  to  the  sinking  of  sugar 
carrying  ships  by  submarines.  July  24,  therefore,  the  ration 
was  cut  to  two  pounds  per  person  each  month  for  the  next  five 
months.  To  keep  down  the  price  of  sugar,  the  President 
created  a  Sugar  Board  with  authority  to  buy,  even  at  a  loss 


56       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  the  Government,  the  output  of  all  sugar  beet  factories  that 
could  not  be  sold  at  a  reasonable  price,  and  resell  it  at  a  sta- 
bilized price. 

Wonderful  were  the  results  of  this  voluntary  rationing. 
During  the  fiscal  year  ending  with  June,  1918,  more  than  three 
billion  pounds  of  meats  and  fats,  an  increase  of  eight  hundred 
and  forty-four  million  pounds  over  the  year  previous ;  more  than 
three  hundred  and  forty  million  bushels  of  cereals,  an  increase 
of  eighty-one  million  bushels  over  the  shipments  of  1916-1917, 
were  sent  overseas  to  the  Allies  and  our  army.  Nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  million  bushels  of  these  foodstuffs  were  for 
the  Allies,  and  over  and  above  this,  in  response  to  their  appeal 
for  an  extra  seventy-five  million  bushels  of  wheat,  we  sent  them 
eighty-five  million  at  the  very  time  our  surplus  was  more  than 
exhausted,  for  the  wheat  crop  had  been  very  short,  and  corn 
had  largely  failed  to  mature.  Wheat  shipments  to  the  Allies, 
therefore,  represented  savings  from  our  wheat  bread  consump- 
tion. When  July,  1918,  ended,  the  Allies'  food  crisis  had 
passed  away,  and  the  Food  Administrator,  then  in  London,  by 
cablegram,  released  hotels,  restaurants,  and  the  dining  car  ser- 
vice from  their  voluntary  pledge  to  use  no  wheat  until  the 
harvest  was  gathered.  After  August  1  they  need  observe  only 
the  Food  Administrator's  baking  regulation,  and  serve  Victory 
bread.  In  the  course  of  his  conference,  at  London,  with  the 
Food  Administrators  of  the  Allied  Nations,  Mr.  Hoover  agreed 
to  adopt  an  international  Victory  loaf  containing  eighty  per 
cent,  of  wheat  and  twenty  per  cent,  of  substitutes.  This  new 
regulation  went  into  effect  on  September  1,  1918,  when  wheat- 
less  days  and  wheatless  meals  were  abolished. 

This  did  not  mean  that  food  saving  was  ended.  Before  the 
close  of  September  Mr.  Hoover  was  forced  to  make  another 
appeal.  "There  is,"  he  said,  "no  prospect  of  an  end  to  the 
war  before  the  campaign  of  the  summer  of  1919.  To  win, 
even  then,  we  must  put  three  and  a  half  million  troops  in 
France.  To  accomplish  this  we  must  not  only  find  the  men, 
the  ships,  and  the  equipment  for  our  army,  but  our  army,  the 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  57 

Allied  armies,  and  the  Allied  civil  population,  must  have  ample 
food  meantime.  The  food  problem  is  no  small  part  of  our 
efforts  to  win  the  war.  To  carry  our  army  to  France  we  must 
not  only  build  all  the  ships  we  can,  but  the  Allies  must  help, 
and  to  help  they  must  take  food  ships  from  the  more  distant 
markets.  We  must  cut  down  our  imports  of  sugar,  coffee,  and 
tropical  fruits  and  feed  the  Allies  more  generously  than  ever 
before.  We  must  send  for  our  army,  the  Allied  armies  and 
civilians,  for  Belgian  relief,  and  for  certain  neutrals  who  de- 
pend on  us,  two  million  six  hundred  thousand  tons  of  meat 
and  fats;  ten  million  four  hundred  thousand  tons  of  bread- 
stuffs;  one  million  eight  hundred  thousand  tons  of  sugar;  and 
two  million  seven  hundred  thousand  tons  of  feed  grains,  in  all, 
seventeen  million  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  tons  as 
against  eleven  million  eight  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  tons 
during  the  year  ending  July  1,  1918."  Under  directions  from 
the  President  the  Food  r  Administrator  had  assured  the  Allies 
that  "in  this  common  cause  we  eat  at  a  common  table."  At  best 
the  Allied  table  would  be  less  than  ours,  for  the  Allies  were 
denying  themselves  more,  in  order  to  provide  ships  to  carry 
our  soldiers.  Of  sugar  there  was  enough,  at  the  then  rate  of 
consumption,  for  ourselves  and  the  Allies  without  forcing  them 
to  send  ships  to  the  Far  East.  What  coffee  we  needed  could 
be  brought  in  sailing  ships  if  no  one  made  "an  over-brew." 
Home  products,  bread  cereals,  beef,  pork,  poultry,  dairy  and 
vegetable-oil  products,  must  be  conserved.  We  must  cut  off 
half  a  pound  per  person  from  our  six  pounds  per  week  per 
person  of  breadstuff,  and  our  four  pounds  a  week  a  person  of 
meats  and  fats.  Not  every  one  could  do  this,  for  many  with 
small  incomes  could  not  provide  even  all  the  food  they  ought  to 
have.  But  many  could  save  more  by  living  more  simply  than 
last  year,  and  hotels,  restaurants,  boarding  houses  and  clubs 
could  save  much  by  adopting  "a  more  strict  program"  for  the 
nine  million  people  who  ate  at  such  places.  This  was  not 
rationing.  It  was  an  appeal  to  the  people  in  their  homes,  and 
to  the  proprietors  of  public  eating  places,  to  work  out  for  them- 


58       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

selves  the  manner  and  means  of  saving.  It  was  necessary  that 
every  family  in  our  country  study  its  food  budget,  "buy  less, 
serve  less,  return  nothing  to  the  kitchen,  and  practice  the  gospel 
of  the  clean  plate." 

Food  stuffs  were  not  the  only  articles  conserved  during  the 
summer  of  1918.  Early  in  July  the  War  Industries  Board 
announced  that,  "It  is  necessary  that  all  newspapers  put  the 
following  economies  into  effect  Monday,  July  15,  1918.  Dis- 
continue the  acceptance  of  the  return  of  unsold  copies;  discon- 
tinue the  use  of  samples  or  free  promotion  copies ;  discontinue 
the  arbitrary  forcing  of  copies  on  newsdealers;  discontinue  all 
buying  back  of  papers  at  either  wholesale  or  retail  prices  from 
newsdealers  or  agents;  discontinue  the  payment  of  salaries  or 
commissions  to  agents,  dealers,  or  newsboys  to  secure  the 
equivalent  of  return  privileges ;  discontinue  all  free  exchanges." 
Everywhere  the  newspapers  complied. 

To  conserve  fuel  for  winter  use  the  Fuel  Administration 
directed  that  on  and  after  July  10,  the  nights  of  Monday, 
Tuesday,  Wednesday  and  Thursday  of  each  week  were  to  be 
lightless,  and  that  on  and  after  July  15,  all  elevator  service  was 
to  be  cut  down.  In  buildings  where  there  were  five  passenger 
elevators  one  must  be  cut  out ;  where  there  were  ten,  two  must 
be  disused.  All  must  stop  from  half-past  six  in  the  evening 
until  half  past  seven  in  the  morning,  and  from  three  o'clock 
on  Saturday  until  half-past  seven  Monday  morning.  The  first 
stop  up,  and  the  last  down,  was  to  be  the  third  floor;  when  none 
ran  above  the  third  floor  they  were  to  be  abandoned.  None 
were  to  leave  the  first  floor  during  the  off-rush  hours  unless 
loaded  to  fifty  per  cent  of  their  capacity.  Passengers  when 
entering  must  call  the  number  of  the  floor  to  which  they  wished 
to  be  carried,  for  no  return  trip  was  to  be  made  after  once  pass- 
ing a  floor.  By  this  means  a  saving  of  twenty  per  cent,  in  the 
use  of  power  was  expected.  Trolley  lines  were  required  to  cut 
down  the  number  of  car  stops  and  thus  save  electricity  and 
fuel,  and  that  there  might  be  plenty  of  coal  the  President,  on 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  59 

August  11,  called  on  "all  engaged  in  coal  mining"  to  do  their 
utmost  to  increase  the  supply. 

The  existing  scarcity  of  coal  is  creating  a  grave  danger,  in  fact, 
the  most  serious  which  confronts  us,  and  calls  for  prompt  and  vigor- 
ous action  on  the  part  of  both  operators  and  miners.  Without  an 
adequate  supply,  our  war  program  will  be  retarded;  the  effectiveness 
of  our  fighting  forces  in  France  will  be  lessened;  the  lives  of  our 
soldiers  will  be  unnecessarily  endangered,  and  their  hardships 
increased,  and  there  will  be  much  suffering  in  many  homes  through- 
out the  country  during  the  coming  Winter. 

I  am  well  aware  that  your  ranks  have  been  seriously  depleted  by 
the  draft,  by  voluntary  enlistment,  and  by  the  demands  of  other 
essential  industries.  This  handicap  can  be  overcome,  however,  and 
sufficient  coal  can  be  mined  in  spite  of  it,  if  every  one  connected 
with  the  industry,  from  the  highest  official  to  the  youngest  boy,  will 
give  his  best  work  each  day  for  the  full  number  of  work  hours. 

The  operators  must  be  zealous  as  never  before  to  bring  about 
the  highest  efficiency  of  management,  to  establish  the  best  possible 
working  conditions,  and  to  accord  fair  treatment  to  everybody,  so 
that  the  opportunity  to  work  at  his  best  may  be  accorded  to  every 
workman. 

The  miners  should  report  for  work  every  day,  unless  prevented  by 
unavoidable  causes,  and  should  not  only  stay  in  the  mines  the  full 
time,  but  also  see  to  it  that  they  get  more  coal  than  ever  before. 
The  other  workers,  in  and  about  the  mines,  should  work  as  regularly 
and  faithfully,  so  that  the  work  of  the  miner  may  not  be  retarded 
in  any  way.  This  will  be  especially  necessary  from  this  time  for- 
ward, for  your  numbers  may  be  further  lessened  by  the  draft,  which 
will  induct  into  the  army  your  fair  share  of  those  not  essential  to 
industry. 

Those  who  are  drafted,  but  who  are  essential,  will  be  given  deferred 
classification,  and  it  is  their  patriotic  duly  to  accept  it.  And  it  is 
the  patriotic  duty  of  their  friends  and  neighbors  to  hold  them  in 
high  regard  for  doing  so. 

The  only  worker  who  deserves  the  condemnation  of  his  community 
is  the  one  who  fails  to  give  his  best  in  this  crisis;  not  the  one  who 
accepts  deferred  classification  and  works  regularly  and  diligently 
to  increase  the  coal  output. 

A  great  task  is  to  be  performed.  The  operators  and  their  staffs 
alone  cannot  do  it,  nor  can  the  mine  workers  alone  do  it;  but  both 


60      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

parties,  working  hand  in  hand,  with  a  grim  determination  to  rid 
the  country  of  its  greatest  obstacle  to  winning  the  war,  can  do  it. 

It  is  with  full  confidence  that  I  call  upon  you  to  assume  the 
burden  of  producing  an  ample  supply  of  coal.  You  will,  I  am  sure, 
accept  this  burden,  and  will  successfully  carry  it  through,  and  in 
so  doing  you  will  be  performing  a  service  just  as  worthy  as  service 
in  the  trenches,  and  will  win  the  applause  and  gratitude  of  the 
whole  nation. 

Unskilled  labor,  also,  must  be  conserved.  Shortage  in  cer- 
tain classes  of  such  labor ;  increasing  shortage  of  unskilled  labor 
needed  for  war  industries ;  the  competition  of  essential  and  non- 
essential  industries  for  laborers;  the  constant  shifting  of  work- 
men lured  from  one  city  to  another,  had  caused  a  labor  turn- 
over which  had  become  alarmingly  great,  and  brought  about  a 
situation  which  was  unbearable.  A  remedy  must  be  found, 
and  was  sought  in  a  plan  prepared  by  the  War  Labor  Policies 
Board  and  put  in  operation  by  a  proclamation  forbidding  pri- 
vate recruiting  of  unskilled  labor  after  August  1.  The  Pres- 
ident said: 

There  has  been  much  confusion  as  to  essential  products.  There 
has  been  ignorance  of  conditions,  men  have  gone  hundreds  of  miles 
in  search  of  a  job  and  wages  they  might  have  found  at  their  doors. 
Employers,  holding  Government  contracts  of  the  highest  importance, 
have  competed  for  workers  with  holders  of  similar  contracts,  and 
even  with  the  Government  itself,  and  have  conducted  expensive 
campaigns  for  recruiting  labor  in  sections  where  the  supply  of 
labor  was  already  exhausted.  California  draws  its  unskilled  labor 
from  as  far  east  as  Buffalo,  and  New  York  from  as  far  west  as  the 
Mississippi.  Thus  labor  has  been  induced  to  move  fruitlessly  from 
one  place  to  another,  congesting  the  railways  and  losing  both  time 
and  money. 

Such  a  condition  is  unfair  alike  to  employers  and  employee,  but 
most  of  all  to  the  nation  itself,  whose  existence  is  threatened  by  any 
decrease  in  its  productive  power.  It  is  obvious  that  this  situation 
can  be  clarified  and  equalized  by  a  central  agency,  the  United  States 
Employment  Service  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  with  the  counsel 
of  the  War  Labor  Policies  Board  as  the»voice  of  all  the  individual 
agencies  of  the  Government.  Such  a  central  agency  must  have 
sole  direction  of  all  recruiting  of  civilian  workers  in  war  work;  and, 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  61 

in  taking  over  this  great  responsibility  must,  at  the  same  time,  have 
power  to  assure  to  essential  industry  an  adequate  supply  of  labor, 
even  to  the  extent  of  withdrawing  workers  from  non-essential  pro- 
duction. It  must  also  protect  labor  from  insincere  and  thoughtless 
appeals  made  to  it  under  the  plea  of  patriotism,  and  assure  it  that 
when  it  is  asked  to  volunteer  in  some  priority  industry  the  need  is. 
real. 

Therefore,  the  President  urged  all  employers  engaged  in  war 
work  "to  refrain  after  August  1,  1918,  from  recruiting  un- 
skilled labor  in  any  manner  except  through  this  central 
agency" ;  appealed  to  labor  to  respond  as  loyally  as  heretofore 
to  any  calls  issued  by  this  agency  for  voluntary  enlistment  in 
essential  industry,  and  asked  "them  both  alike  to  remember 
that  no  sacrifice  will  have  been  in  vain  if  we  are  able  to  prove 
beyond  all  question  that  the  highest  and  best  form  of  efficiency 
is  the  spontaneous  cooperation  of  a  free  people." 

How  the  plan,  thus  to  be  put  in  force  on  August  1,  1918, 
was  to  be  carried  out  was  explained  by  the  Director  General 
of  the  United  States  Employment  Service.  The  work  of  sup- 
plying war  industries  with  common  labor  would  be  centralized 
in  the  United  States  Employment  Service,  and  all  independent 
recruiting  of  common  labor  by  manufacturers  having  a  payroll 
of  more  than  100  men  would  be  diverted  to  the  United  States 
Employment  Service.  In  each  community  would  be  a  local 
labor  board,  with  jurisdiction  over  recruiting  and  distributing 
labor  in  its  locality.  No  laborers  were  to  be  transported  out  of 
any  community  by  the  United  States  Employment  Service 
without  the  approval  of  the  State  Director;  nor  any  removed 
from  one  State  to  another  without  the  approval  of  the  United 
States  Employment  Service  at  Washington.  Every  effort 
would  be  made  to  discourage  any  movements  from  community 
to  community,  or  state  to  state,  by  any  other  service.  In 
Pittsburgh,  there  were  advertisements  calling  for  men  to  go 
to  Detroit,  and  in  the  Detroit  street  car  posters  asking  men 
to  go  to  Pittsburgh.  The  same  condition  was  apparent  over 


62      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

all  the  United  States,  and  in  the  consequent  shifting  of  labor 
a  great  part  of  our  war  effort  was  dissipated. 

Nothing,  it  was  determined,  should  be  allowed  to  interfere 
in  any  way  with  the  efforts  of  the  Government  to  win  the  war. 
When,  therefore,  early  in  July,  a  threatened  strike  of  the 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  operators  bade  fair  to 
paralyze  the  business  of  the  country,  Congress  rushed  through  a 
resolution  giving  the  President  power  to  take  over  all  telephone, 
telegraph,  cable  and  radio  systems,  and  "to  operate  the  same  in 
such  manner  as  may  be  needful  or  desirable  for  the  duration 
of  the  war." 

A  little  later,  when  the  workmen  in  an  arms  factory  in 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  refused  to  abide  by  the  decision  of 
the  National  War  Labor  Board  and  struck,  the  President  told 
them  their  act  was  disloyal.  "If,"  said  he,  "such  disregard  of 
the  solemn  adjudication  of  a  tribunal  to  which  both  parties 
submitted  their  claims  is  temporized  with,  agreements  become 
mere  scraps  of  paper.  If  errors  creep  into  awards,  the  proper 
remedy  is  submission  to  the  award  with  an  application  for 
rehearing  to  the  tribunal.  But  to  strike  against  the  award  is 
disloyalty  and  dishonor."  They  must,  therefore,  return  to 
work  or  be  barred,  for  a  year,  from  employment  in  any  war 
industry,  and  lose  all  claim  to  exemption  from  military  service 
based  on  "alleged  usefulness  in  war  production." 

Continuing  the  policy  of  conservation,  the  Fuel  Adminis- 
trator requested  that  on  Sunday,  September  1,  and  on  every 
Sunday  until  further  notice,  all  owners  of  automobiles  east  of 
the  Mississippi  River  should  not  use  them  for  pleasure  riding. 
There  were  in  that  vast  region  at  least  four  million  automobiles, 
of  which  two  hundred  thousand  were  trucks.  Should  the  three 
million  eight  hundred  thousand  pleasure  cars  cease  to  run  on 
Sunday  and  save  at  least  two  gallons  of  gasoline  each,  seven  and 
a  half  millions  of  gallons  would  be  conserved.  Each  owner 
must  decide  for  himself,  or  herself,  whether  or  not  the  request 
would  be  obeyed.  During  seven  consecutive  Sundays  this  vol- 
untary restriction  was  fully  observed.  Taxicab  companies 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  63 

agreed  to  do  no  unnecessary  business.  Motor  bus  lines  reduced 
the  number  of  their  trips ;  the  people  willingly  kept  their  cars 
in  the  garages;  and  in  the  great  cities  thoroughfares,  usually 
crowded  on  Sundays,  were  deserted.  Along  the  country  high- 
ways leading  to  summer  resorts  the  people  in  many  places 
stopped  the  few  motorists  who  came  along  and  suffered  none 
to  pass  who  could  not  give  a  good  reason. 

The  Director  General  of  Railroads  appealed  to  the  people 
to  travel  as  little  as  possible.  The  movement  of  our  boys  from 
their  homes  to  the  cantonments,  and  from  the  cantonments  to 
the  seaboard,  and  the  demand  for  track  and  terminal  facilities 
for  transportation  of  the  great  amount  of  coal,  food,  raw  mate- 
rial needed  by  the  army  and  navy  made  it  necessary  to  cut 
down  the  number  of  passenger  trains.  It  was  a  patriotic  duty, 
therefore,  to  refrain  from  unnecessary  traveling,  and  thus  liber- 
ate all  means  of  transportation  for  war  use  and  save  money  for 
the  buying  of  Liberty  Bonds. 

Into  Liberty  Bonds  went  also  the  cash,  and  proceeds,  of  the 
sale  of  stocks,  bonds,  property  of  every  sort  belonging  to  alien 
enemy  persons,  firms,  corporations,  taken  over  by  the  Custodian 
and  sold  at  private  sale  or  public  auction.  Provisions  in  the 
trading-with-the-enemy  act  of  October,  1917,  created  the  office 
of  Alien  Property  Custodian  and  made  it  the  duty  of  all  per- 
sons having  the  care  or  control  of  property  of  any  sort  belonging 
to,  or  held  for,  or  owing  to  an  enemy,  to  report  it  to  the  Alien 
Custodian  who  must  hold  such  property  and  administer  it  as 
would  a  common  law  trustee. 

Neither  Congress  nor  the  people,  when  the  act  was  passed, 
had  any  idea  of  how  serious  was  the  German  industrial  menace 
to  our  country.  But,  little  by  little,  as  more  and  more  German 
property  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Custodian,  the  hostile  ob- 
ject of  Germany  in  planting  in  the  "United  States  an  industrial 
and  commercial  host  became  clear,  and  in  March,  1918,  the  act 
was  amended.  Then  the  Custodian  was  given  authority  to  sell 
enemy  property  at  auction  to  loyal  American  citizens,  unless 
the  public  interest  would  be  better  served  by  private  sale. 


64       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Under  the  power  thus  bestowed  the  mills  and  factories  of 
scores  of  German  owned  or  German  controlled  concerns,  cot- 
ton mills  in  New  England,  woolen  mills  in  New  Jersey,  brew- 
eries and  mines  in  the  West,  the  Bosch  Magneto  Company,  the 
Faber  pencil  factory,  the  ships  of  the  American  Transatlantic 
Company,  and  the  Foreign  Transport  and  Mercantile  Corpora- 
tion ;  the  factories  of  firms  making  printers'  ink,  colors,  chem- 
icals, patent  medicines,  and  a  host  of  other  going  concerns, 
were  taken  over  by  the  Custodian  and  sold  to  Americans.  By 
the  close  of  the  year  the  money  realized  from  such  sales  ex- 
ceeded five  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

All  alien  enemies  were  required  to  file  with  the  Custodian 
a  statement  of  the  property  they  held.  Among  the  aliens  who 
made  such  returns  was  the  vice-president  and  publisher  of 
the  New  York  Evening  Mail.  His  statement  set  forth  that 
the  Mail  was  an  American  owned  newspaper;  but  the  Govern- 
ment was  in  possession  of  documents  which  went  to  show  that 
it  was  really  owned  by  the  Imperial  German  Government ;  that 
it  was  purchased  in  June,  1915;  that  the  money  was  drawn 
from  deposits  standing  in  various  banks  to  the  credit  of  von 
Bernstorff  and  Dr.  Heinrich  Albert;  that  the  change  from 
pro- Ally  to  pro-German  cut  down  subscriptions  and  advertise- 
ments; and  that,  up  to  the  time  of  our  break  with  Germany, 
the  venture  had  cost  the  Imperial  Government  $1,361,000. 

None  of  these  facts  were  made  known  to  the  Alien  Property 
Custodian,  and  because  of  this  the  vice-president  of  the  Mail 
and  another  were  arrested,  one  afternoon  in  July,  and  indicted 
for  perjury  and  conspiracy.  Perjury,  because  they  had  made 
false  statements  to  the  Custodian ;  and  conspiracy,  because  they 
had  combined  to  conceal  the  true  ownership  of  the  Mail. 

Further  investigation  of  German  activities  in  our  country 
before  the  war  revealed  the  work  of  George  Sylvester  Vierick, 
editor  of  the  pro-German  weekly  Fatherland.  Placed  on  the 
witness  stand,  he  admitted  that  when  the  Fatherland  was 
started  von  Bernstorff  made  the  initial  contribution  of  a  thou- 
sand dollars ;  that  for  a  long  time  he  had  received  two  hundred 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  g5 

and  fifty  dollars  a  week  from  Dumba;  and  that  other  large 
sums  were  paid  him  by  Dr.  Carl  A.  Fuehr,  paymaster  of  the 
German  propaganda  bureau  of  which  Dernburg  and  Albert 
were  the  heads.  Questioned  as  to  the  propaganda  council  of 
which  Dernburg,  von  Papen,  Boy-Ed,  Dr.  Fuehr  were  members, 
he  admitted  he  was  concerned  in  the  circulation  of  a  large 
number  of  pro-German  books  and  pamphlets  which  cost  during 
1914  some  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  Seven  of  these,  "The 
Truth  About  Germany";  "The  German  White  Book";  "Ger- 
many's Just  Cause" ;  "Germany  and  the  War" ;  "The  Case  of 
Belgium" ;  "Germany's  House  of  Destiny" ;  "Current  Miscon- 
ceptions About  the  War,"  had  a  combined  circulation  of  six 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  copies.  Count  Keventlow's  book, 
"Vampire  of  the  Continent,"  sent  by  the  German  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment, came  to  this  country  in  the  submarine  Deutschland. 
After  our  entrance  into  the  war,  when  it  was  no  longer  possible 
to  obtain  money  from  Berlin,  Vierick  organized  the  Agricul- 
tural Farm  Labor  League  under  the  pretense  of  relief  of  un- 
employed labor,  and  through  agents  collected  upwards  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  Some  of  this  money  he  admitted  hav- 
ing spent  in  the  publication  of  books  and  pamphlets  and  salary 
to  himself.  As  the  examination  went  on  from  day  to  day,  it 
appeared  that  he  had  urged  the  expenditure  of  thirty  millions 
of  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  thirty  morning  newspapers  in  as 
many  cities  scattered  over  the  country,  but  had  opposed  the 
purchase  of  the  Evening  Mail  because  it  was  a  dying  evening 
newspaper. 

From  a  written  statement,  made  by  the  president  of  the 
Association  of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers,  the  Federal 
authorities  learned  that  he  was  concerned  in  the  widespread 
advertisement,  in  1915,  urging  alien  workmen  to  quit  munition 
factories.  In  the  spring  of  1915,  he  said,  there  was  laid  before 
him  a  plan  for  stopping  the  manufacture  of  munitions;  that 
he  agreed  to  send  out  an  appeal  through  the  foreign  language 
press  provided  it  appeared  in  the  English  dailies  also;  that 
he  ascertained  the  cost  of  the  advertisement  in  newspapers 


66      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

printed  in  thirty  languages  would  be  two  hundred  and  five 
thousand  dollars;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  was  handed 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  cash.  The  advertisement 
was  then  written  by  the  vice-president  of  the  Association  of 
Foreign  Language  Newspapers,  and  the  vice-president  of  a 
well  known  advertising  company  in  Chicago  which  received 
the  contract  for  the  English  newspapers  and  was  paid  forty- 
eight  thousand  dollars.  Sometime  later  he  was  paid  the  re- 
maining five  thousand  dollars,  and  the  request  made  that  the 
receipts  for  payments  to  the  newspapers  be  delivered  to  Dr. 
Albert.  Another  newspaper  bought  by  Count  von  Bernstorff 
with  funds  obtained  from  Dr.  Albert,  was  Fair  Play. 

There  were  other  means  of  spreading  propaganda  far  more 
insidious  than  a  few  newspapers,  and  against  these  popular 
feeling  ran  high.  There  was  the  "whispering  campaign"  in- 
tended to  arouse  religious  animosity,  race  prejudice,  class  feel- 
ing, and  spread  rumors  and  falsehoods  of  every  sort  regarding 
the  war.  It  was  "a  rich  man's  war,"  a  "business  man's  war." 

Slanders  on  the  Eed  Cross  and  its  officials  were  put  afloat, 
to  discourage  loyal  citizens  from  giving  money  or  work. 
Sweaters  knitted  by  patriotic  women,  it  was  said,  were  sold  to 
Department  Stores,  were  used  at  the  front  to  pack  guns  in, 
were  unraveled  abroad  by  peasants  who  wanted  the  yarn.  The 
War  Department  was  attacked.  Our  boys  in  the  camps  it  was 
charged  were  trained  with  wooden  guns  because  we  had  no 
rifles ;  there  was  a  shortage  of  machine  guns  and  heavy  ordnance 
at  the  front;  bayonets  were  so  defective  that  they  bent  double 
when  driven  into  the  dummies  in  the  training  camps ;  the  War 
Department  did  not  know  who  were  saved  and  who  were  lost 
when  the  Tuscania  was  torpedoed ;  the  metal  identification  tags 
worn  by  the  men  were  not  numbered,  were  blank;  eighteen 
major  generals  had  been  sent  on  one  ship  to  France;  drunken- 
ness and  immorality  were  shockingly  prevalent  among  our 
troops ;  and  the  Secretary  of  War  was  deliberately  holding  back 
the  number  of  our  killed  and  wounded.  ~Not  one  of  these 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  67 

charges  was  true,  but,  with  scores  of  other  pro-German  lies, 
were  spread  by  word  of  mouth. 

With  the  result  of  such  propaganda  in  Russia  and  Italy  in 
plain  sight  a  drive  against  everything  German  soon  became 
country  wide.  School  boards  were  forced  to  drop  the  German 
language  from  courses  of  study.  Public  libraries  withdrew 
German  books  from  circulation;  hotels,  restaurants,  insurance 
companies,  dropped  their  German  names,  and  governing  bodies 
in  many  cities  and  towns  adopted  resolutions  which  drove  Ger- 
man and  pro-German  publications  from  the  news  stands  and 
the  streets.  In  this  work  the  American  Defense  Society  for 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America  took 
an  active  part.  German  education,  text  books,  subsidized 
teachers,  preachers,  language  press  and  rumor  mongers,  they 
demanded,  must  go,  and  a  campaign  was  begun  to  obtain  "fif- 
teen miles  of  signatures"  to  a  protest  to  the  President  against 
the  publication  of  newspapers,  magazines,  books  in  the  German 
language. 

The  treatment  of  German  subjects  resident  in  our  country 
had  been  mild.  Less  than  six  thousand  had  been  interned  as 
dangerous  alien  enemies.  One  of  them,  Captain-Lieutenant 
Franz  von  Rintelen,  once  more  rose  to  public  notice.  His  ne- 
farious work  in  our  country  finished,  von  Rintelen  attempted 
to  return  to  Germany  in  a  Dutch  vessel,  was  taken  from  her 
deck  by  the  British,  held  in  custody,  and  after  we  entered  the 
war,  was  turned  over  to  the  Government  to  answer  for  the 
crimes  for  which  he  had  been  indicted,  and  for  which,  after 
conviction,  he  was  sent  to  the  Atlanta  penitentiary  for  a  year 
and  a  half.  Germany  now  demanded  his  exchange  for  an 
American  prisoner,  and  a  note  verbale  presented  April  20, 
1918,  by  the  Swiss  Minister,  threatened  retaliation  if  the  de- 
mand were  not  granted. 

On  December  20,  1917,  the  merchant  and  interpreter,  Siegfried 
Paul  London,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  was  condemned  to  death 
by  court-martial  at  Warsaw  from  war  treason  as  a  spy.  The 
Governor  General  of  Warsaw,  exercising  judicial  clemency,  on 


68      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

January  19,  1918,  commuted  this  sentence  to  ten  years'  penal  servi- 
tude. According  to  facts  established  at  the  court-martial,  London 
obtained  citizenship  in  the  year  1887.  He  is  married  to  an  American 
citizen,  Mary  Leonard. 

London  was  found  guilty  because,  for  the  period  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  until  about  May,  1915,  he  served  the  enemy  as 
a  spy.  He  was  arrested  on  this  account  as  early  as  August  27, 
1915.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  escaping,  but  was  recaptured  on 
September  24,  1917;  for  this  reason  the  chief  proceedings  against 
him  took  place  only  recently. 

ITp  to  the  present  time  the  efforts  of  the  German  Government  to 
effect  an  improvement  in  the  situation  of  Captain  Lieutenant  Rin- 
telen,  who  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  American  authorities  by 
reason  of  acts  of  the  British  Government,  contrary  to  international 
law,  have  been  unsuccessful.  The  attempt  to  bring  to  a  halt  the 
criminal  proceedings  brought  against  him  in  America  and  to  secure 
his  release  have  likewise  been  without  result.  In  order  to  lend 
greater  emphasis  to  the  protests  which  have  been  lodged  with  the 
American  Government,  the  German  Government  contemplates  some 
appropriate  measures  of  reprisal.  It,  however,  prefers  to  avoid  the 
contingency  that  persons  be  taken  and  made  to  suffer  because  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  was  apparently  not  sufficiently 
cognizant  of  its  international  obligations  toward  a  German  subject. 

Before  making  a  definite  decision  the  German  Government  believes 
it  should  propose  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  that 
Captain  Lieutenant  Rintelen  be  set  at  liberty  by  exchange  for  the 
American  citizen,  Siegfried  Paul  London,  who  was  condemned  to 
death  for  espionage,  and  who  since  was  commuted  to  ten  years7  penal 
servitude,  and  that  Captain  Lieutenant  Rintelen  be  permitted  forth- 
with to  return  to  Germany.  Should  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  agree  to  this  proposal,  the  German  Government  would  take 
steps  that  London's  uncompleted  term  of  imprisonment  be  remitted 
and  that  he  be  set  at  liberty  in  order  that  he  may  immediately  leave 
the  country. 

Secretary  Lansing  replied  that; 

The  threat  of  the  German  Government  to  retaliate  by  making 
Americans  in  Germany  suffer,  clearly  implies  that  the  Government 
proposes  to  adopt  the  principle  that  reprisals  occasioning  physical 
suffering  are  legitimate  and  necessary  in  order  to  enforce  demands 
from  one  belligerent  to  another.  The  Government  of  the  United 
States  acknowledges  no  such  principle,  and  would  suggest  that  it 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  69 

would  be  wise  for  the  German  Government  to  consider  that  if  it  acts 
upon  that  principle  it  will  inevitably  be  understood  to  invite  similar 
reciprocal  action  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  with  respect  to 
the  great  numbers  of  German  subjects  in  this  country.  It  is  assumed 
that  the  German  Government,  before  acting,  will  give  due  reflection 
and  due  weight  to  this  consideration. 

I  beg  that  you  will  be  good  enough  to  bring  the  foregoing  state- 
ment to  the  attention  of  the  German  Government. 


At  the  time  of  our  entrance  into  the  war  only  the  property 
of  interned  aliens  in  this  country,  or  the  property  in  this 
country  of  persons  resident  within  the  enemy's  lines,  was 
taken  over  by  the  Alien  Property  Custodian.  In  May  the 
President  by  proclamation  added  five .  new  classes.  In  the 
first  were  placed  the  wives  of  officers,  officials,  agents  of  the 
German  and  Austro-Hungarian  Governments;  the  wives  of 
persons  within  the  territory  of  Germany  and  Austria- 
Hungary  and  the  military  areas  occupied  by  their  forces, 
and  the  wives  of  persons  resident  without  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  and  doing  business  in  enemy  countries.  In 
this  class  were  scores  of  American  women  of  wealth  who  mar- 
ried titled  Germans  and  Austrians.  In  the  second  class  were 
placed  persons  who  were  prisoners  of  war,  or  who  had  been 
or  might  be  interned  by  any  ally  of  the  United  States;  in 
the  third,  persons  who,  since  our  entrance  into  the  war,  had 
spread,  or  might  spread,  propaganda  injurious  to  the  cause 
of  the  United  States  or  its  allies,  or  had  aided  or  might  aid 
in  plots  or  intrigues  against  our  country  or  its  allies.  In  the 
fourth  were  all  those  who  at  any  time  since  August  4,  1914, 
had  resided  on  enemy  soil.  The  fifth  included  a  great  num- 
ber, for  in  it  were  placed  all  persons  then,  or  who  thereafter 
might  be,  on  the  enemy  trading  list. 

That  more  money  would  be  needed  to  meet  the  growing 
cost  of  war  was  well  known  to  everybody.  Nevertheless  Con- 
gress was  much  surprised  when  on  May  27,  1918,  the  Presi- 
dent appeared  before  the  Senate  and  House  and  stated  the 
country's  needs. 


70      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

It  was,  lie  said,  with  unaffected  reluctance  that  he  appeared 
before  them  to  ask  that  the  session  be  prolonged  "to  provide 
more  adequate  resources  for  the  Treasury."  The  President 
fully  appreciated  "how  arduous  the  session  had  been."  Sum- 
mer was  coming,  when  lassitude  and  fatigue  made  labor  twice 
arduous.  The  elections  were  at  hand,  when  the  members 
should  render  accounts  of  their  trusteeship  to  the  people. 
But  would  they  dare  go  to  the  elections  with  a  duty  unper- 
formed, and  a  duty  to  be  done  was  that  of  providing  more 
revenue.  To  raise  too  large  a  porportion  by  loans  would  be 
unsound  policy.  Additional  taxation  must  be  resorted  to  for 
the  four  billions  already  provided  for  by  taxation  would  not 
be  enough,  and  these  taxes  should  be  levied  on  war  profits, 
incomes  and  luxuries.  "But  the  war  profits  and  incomes  upon 
which  the  increased  taxes  will  be  levied  will  be  the  profits 
and  incomes  of  the  calendar  year  1918.  It  would  be  mani- 
festly unfair  to  wait  until  the  early  months  of  1919  to  say 
what  they  are  to  be.  It  might  be  difficult,  I  should  imagine, 
to  run  the  mill  with  water  that  had  already  gone  over  the 
wheel.  Moreover,  taxes  of  that  sort  will  not  be  paid  until 
the  June  of  next  year  and  the  Treasury  must  anticipate  them. 
It  must  use  the  money  they  produce  before  it  is  due.  It  must 
sell  short-time  certificates  of  indebtedness.  In  the  autumn 
a  much  larger  sale  of  long-time  bonds  must  be  effected  than 
has  yet  been  attempted.  What  are  the  bankers  to  think  of 
the  certificates  if  they  do  not  certainly  know  where  the  money 
is  to  come  from  which  is  to  take  them  up  ?  And  how  are  the 
investors  to  approach  the  purchase  of  bonds  with  any  sort 
of  confidence  or  knowledge  of  their  own  affairs  if  they  do 
not  know  what  taxes  they  are  to  pay,  and  what  economies 
and  adjustments  of  their  business  they  must  effect?  I  can- 
not assure  the  country  of  a  successful  administration  of  the 
Treasury  in  1918  if  the  question  of  further  taxation  is  to  be 
left  undecided  until  1919. 

"The  consideration  that  dominates  every  other  now,  and 
makes  every  other  seem  trivial  and  negligible  is  the  winning 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  71 

of  the  war.  We  are  not  only  in  the  midst  of  the  war,  we  are 
at  the  very  peak  and  crisis  of  it.  Hundreds  of  thousands 
of  our  men,  carrying  our  hearts  with  them  and  our  fortunes, 
are  in  the  field  and  ships  are  crowding  faster  and  faster  to  the 
ports  of  France  and  England  with  regiment  after  regiment, 
thousand  after  thousand,  to  join  them  until  the  enemy  shall 
be  beaten  and  brought  to  a  reckoning  with  mankind.  There 
can  be  no  pause  or  intermission.  The  great  enterprise  must, 
on  the  contrary,  be  pushed  with  greater  and  greater  energy. 
The  volume  of  our  might  must  steadily  and  rapidly  be  aug- 
mented until  there  can  be  no  question  of  resisting  it.  If 
that  is  to  be  accomplished,  gentlemen,  money  must  sustain 
it  to  the  utmost." 

How  much  would  be  needed  to  meet  the  cost  of  war  was 
not  known  until  June  6,  when  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
announced  to  Congress  that  twenty-four  billion  dollars  was 
his  estimated  expenditure  for  the  fiscal  year  beginning  July 
I,  1918.  At  least  one-third  of  this  sum,  he  thought,  should 
be  raised  by  taxation,  and  three  suggestions  were  made  as  to 
how  it  should  be  raised.  There  should  be  "a  real  war-profits 
tax"  levied  on  all  war  profits  "superimposed  upon  the  existing 
excess  profits  tax."  There  should  be  "a  substantial  increase  in 
the  amount  of  the  normal  tax  upon  so-called  unearned  incomes," 
and  heavy  taxation  should  "be  imposed  upon  all  luxuries." 

The  Government  was  not  alone  in  appealing  to  the  people 
for  money.  The  Ked  Cross  must  have  another  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  towards  the  close  of  May  the  drive  to  get 
it  began.  In  the  Philadelphia  District  where  many  organi- 
zations were  constantly  asking  for  money  to  help  win  the 
war,  a  plan  was  adopted  to  form  a  War  Chest,  appeal  to 
the  people  of  Philadelphia,  Bucks,  Delaware,  Chester  and 
Montgomery  Counties  to  contribute  twenty  million  dollars, 
divide  this  sum  among  the  organizations  according  to  their 
needs,  and  make  no  further  call  for  money  for  a  jear.  The 
drive  began  on  May  20,  and  on  that  day  men  and  women 
earning  two  thousand  dollars  a  year  were  asked  to  sign  a 


72      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

pledge  to  contribute  one  day's  pay  each  month  during  a  year, 
and  "31  to  1"  became  the  slogan  of  the  campaign.  "One 
day's  pay  each  month  for  the  boys  who  are  fighting  your 
fight/'  it  was  said.  "They  give  thirty-one  days  a  month  for 
your  liberty;  you  must  give  one  for  their  comfort."  "We 
have  made  a  lot  of  money  out  of  the  war  in  Philadelphia, 
more  than  any  other  city.  Yet  compared  with  other  cities 
we  have  given  less  to  war  relief  than  any  other  city  of  our 
size.  We  have  given  $1.42  per  head;  other  cities  have  given 
more  than  five  dollars  per  head,  cities  that  have  in  some  cases 
had  no  war  contracts  in  their  factories.  Our  plants  are 
bulging  with  these  contracts.  Can't  we  afford  to  be  liberal? 
And  we  will  be  liberal  if  we  give  according  to  this  schedule.2 
While  all  giving  must  be  optional,  contributors  are  reminded 
that  unless  this  table  is  generally  followed  it  will  be  impossi- 
ble for  the  War  Chest  to  meet  the  growing  needs  of  the  war 
relief  agencies  at  the  front  with  the  increasing  number  of 
troops.  Remember  that  the  War  Chest  must  care  for  the 
French  and  Italian  soldiers  as  well  as  our  own  boys.  These 
armies  have  no  Y.  M.  C.  A.  We  must  give  them  ours.  So 
follow  this  table  if  you  possibly  can,  even  if  you  have  to  make 
a  sacrifice.  That  is  what  our  boys  are  doing  for  us." 

Every  dollar  of  the  War  Chest  Fund,  the  War  Welfare 
Council  stated,  would  be  devoted  to  war  work  and  to  noth- 
ing else.  "The  United  States  Government  has  selected  cer- 
tain national  agencies  as  best  fitted  to  carry  on  war  relief 
work.  Each  of  these  national  agencies  has  created  a  sepa- 
rate board  to  carry  on  this  war  work.  The  American  Red 
Cross  has  its  National  War  Council;  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  its  Na- 
tional War  Relief  Council;  the  K.  of  C.  its  Training  Camp 

2  Men  and  women  with  incomes  of  $2,000  and  $3,000  were  asked  to  con- 
tribute four  per  cent,  in  twelve  monthly  installments;  those  with  incomes 
of  $3,100,  $4,000,  $5,000,  five  per  cent.;  with  $5,100,  $6,000,  $7,000,  $8,000, 
$9,000,  $10,000,  six  per  cent.;  with  $11,000,  $12,000,  $13,000,  $14,000, 
$15,000,  seven  per  cent.  Incomes  from  $15,000  to  $25,000  should  con- 
tribute seven  per  cent.;  from  $26,000  to  $40,000,  eight  per  cent.;  from 
$41,000  to  $50,000,  nine  per  cent.;  from  $51,000  to  $99,000,  ten  per  cent.; 
from  $100,000  up,  twelve  per  cent. 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  73 

Commission ;  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  its  National  War  Relief 
Council,  and  the  Y.  M.  H.  A.  its  War  Relief  Board. 

"The  National  War  Board,  by  whatever  name  it  may  be 
known,  of  each  organization  then  decides  what  amount  is 
necessary  to  do  the  work  assigned  to  it  by  the  government 
and  asks  the  country  as  a  whole  for  that  sum. 

"Each  state  and  large  city  is  given  proper  quota  based 
upon  its  population,  banking  resources,  etc.  The  only  func- 
tion of  the  War  Chest  Board,  therefore,  is  to  determine  that 
the  quota  assigned  to  the  five  counties  is  in  just  proportion 
to  the  total  amount  to  be  raised. 

"No  part  of  the  fund  goes  to  any  of  the  general  work  of 
these  organizations,  but  it  is  applied  wholly  to  war  work 
approved  by  the  United  States  Government.  There  are,  of 
course,  a  number  of  necessary  local  relief  bodies,  but  they  will 
require  much  smaller  sums.  In  the  case  of  such  of  these 
as  desire  to  participate  in  the  fund,  the  amount  to  be  given 
to  each  will  be  appropriated  by  the  War  Chest  Board  after 
full  investigation." 

Every  means  possible  to  stimulate  subscriptions  were  used. 
Posters,  placards,  calls  through  the  newspapers,  speeches, 
mass  meetings,  street  parades,  a  house  to  house  canvass,  ap- 
peals by  women  workers  at  the  street  corners,  were  every- 
day features  of  the  campaign.  In  scores  of  workshops  and 
factories,  stores  and  corporations,  banks,  trust  companies,  busi- 
ness houses,  every  employee  signed  the  31  to  1  pledge  and 
bound  himself  to  give  one  day's  pay  each  month  to  the  War 
Chest,  and  wore  the  button  inscribed  "I  helped." 

On  May  28,  with  two  days  of  the  campaign  left,  the  War 
Chest  Fund  was  four  million  dollars  short.  It  was  then  pointed 
out  that  three  cities  had  tried  the  War  Chest  plan  with  re- 
markable results.  In  Columbus,  Ohio,  thirteen  dollars  was 
subscribed  for  each  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  city;  in 
Rome,  New  York,  fifteen  dollars  a  person;  in  Syracuse, 
New  York,  nine  dollars  a  person.  What?  it  was  asked,  will 
Philadelphia  and  the  five  counties  do?  "So  far  our  best 


74      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

record  (to  the  Ked  Cross)  is  this  lamentable  showing:  less 
than  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  person."  The  quota  was  obtained  and 
from  the  people  the  country  over  $169,575,598  were  collected  by 
March  1,  1919,  as  the  result  of  this  great  drive.  Forty-three 
million  people  it  was  estimated  had  subscribed.  Both  drives 
brought  to  the  treasury  of  the  Ked  Cross  $283,500,000. 

Scarcely  was  this  drive  over  than,  in  June,  another  was 
begun  for  the  sale  of  War  Savings  Stamps.  There  were  two 
kinds  of  such  stamps,  the  Thrift  Stamps,  and  the  War  Sav- 
ings Certificate  Stamp.  The  Thrift  Stamp  costing  twenty- 
five  cents  earned  no  interest  When  sixteen  were  affixed  to 
a  Thrift  Card  it  might  be  surrendered,  on  payment  of  from 
sixteen  to  twenty-three  cents,  for  a  War  Savings  Certificate 
Stamp  which  earned  four  per  cent,  compound  interest  until 
its  maturity,  January  1,  1923.  When  the  sale  of  these 
stamps  began  on  January  1,  1918,  the  War  Savings  Stamp 
cost  four  dollars  and  twelve  cents,  and  was  to  increase  in 
value  one  cent  a  month,  until  December,  1922,  when  it  would 
cost  four  dollars  and  seventy-one  cents  and  be  redeemable 
January  1,  1923,  at  five  dollars.  Nobody  could  invest  more 
than  one  thousand  dollars  in  such  stamps.  They  were  sold 
at  all  post  offices  the  country  over,  at  banks,  at  street  booths, 
by  boy  scouts  and  solicitors,  and  to  stimulate  the  sale  still 
more  a  week  was  set  apart,  in  June,  for  a  great  drive.  The 
twenty-eighth  of  the  month  was  designated  Thrift  Day  and 
May  29  the  President  appealed  to  the  people  to  save  and 
invest. 

This  war  [he  said]  is  one  of  nations,  not  of  armies,  and  all  of 
our  hundred  million  people  must  be  economically  and  industrially 
adjusted  to  war  conditions  if  this  nation  is  to  play  its  full  part  in 
the  conflict.  The  problem  before  us  is  not  primarily  a  financial 
problem,  but  rather  a  problem  of  increased  production  of  war  essen- 
tials and  the  saving  of  the  materials  and  the  labor  necessary  for  the 
support  and  equipment  of  our  army  and  navy.  Thoughtless  ex- 
penditure of  money  for  non-essentials  uses  up  the  labor  of  men,  the 
products  of  the  farm,  mines  and  factories  and  overburdens  trans- 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  $5 

portation,  all  of  which  must  be  used  to  the  utmost  and  at  their 
best  for  war  purposes. 

The  great  results  which  we  seek  can  be  obtained  only  by  the 
participation  of  every  member  of  the  nation,  young  and  old,  in  a 
national  concerted  thrift  movement.  I  therefore  urge  that  our  people 
everywhere  pledge  themselves,  as  suggested  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  to  the  practice  of  thrift;  to  serve  the  Government  to 
their  utmost  in  increasing  production  in  all  fields  necessary  to  the 
winning  of  the  war;  to  conserve  food  and  fuel  and  useful  materials 
of  every  kind ;  to  devote  their  labor  only  to  the  most  necessary  tasks, 
and  to  buy  only  those  things  which  are  essential  to  individual  health 
and  efficiency,  and  that  the  people,  as  evidence  of  their  loyalty, 
invest  all  that  they  can  save  in  Liberty  Bonds  and  war  savings 
stamps. 

The  securities  issued  by  the  Treasury  Department  are  so  many 
of  them  within  the  reach  of  every  one  that  the  door  of  opportunity 
in  this  matter  is  wide  open  to  all  of  us.  To  practice  thrift  in  peace 
times  is  a  virtue  and  brings  great  benefit  to  the  individual  at  all 
times;  with  the  desperate  need  of  the  civilized  world  to-day  for 
materials  and  labor  with  which  to  end  the  war.  the  practice  of 
individual  thrift  is  a  patriotic  duty  and  a  necessity. 

I  appeal  to  all  who  now  own  either  Liberty  Bonds  or  war  savings 
stamps  to  continue  to  practice  economy  and  thrift  and  to  appeal  to 
all  who  do  not  own  Government  securities  to  do  likewise  and  purchase 
them  to  the  extent  of  their  means.  The  man  who  buys  Government 
securities  transfers  the  purchasing  power  of  his  money  to  the  United 
States  Government  until  after  this  war,  and  to  that  same  degree 
does  not  buy  in  competition  with  the  Government. 

I  earnestly  appeal  to  every  man,  woman  and  child  to  pledge  them- 
selves on  or  before  the  28th  of  June  to  save  constantly  and  to  buy 
as  regularly  as  possible  the  securities  of  the  Government;  and  to  do 
this  as  far  as  possible  through  membership  in  war  savings  societies. 
The  28th  of  June  ends  this  special  period  of  enlistment  in  the  great 
volunteer  army  of  production  and  saving  here  at  home.  May  there 
be  none  unenlisted  on  that  day. 

To  each  city  and  town  was  assigned  a  quota,  and  its  people 
urged  to  reach  the  goal.  Each  citizen  was  urged  to  sign  a 
pledge  to  buy  as  many  as  he  could  each  month  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  "Limit  Clubs"  were  formed,  and  each 
member  bound  to  buy  the  two  hundred  War  Savings  Stamps 


76       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

beyond  which  he  could  not  go.  In  New  York  City  a  day, 
"Soldiers  in  France  Bay,"  was  set  apart  during  the  drive, 
and  an  effort  made  to  match  every  American  soldier  in 
France  with  a  stamp  buyer  in  the  city.  Hundreds  of  towns 
went  over  their  quotas,  and  the  sale  of  stamps  since  January 
1,  1918,  was  thus  raised  to  over  five  hundred  million  dollars. 
By  the  middle  of  August  the  sales  amounted  to  $697,578,000, 
or  over  one-quarter  of  the  two  billion  dollars  authorized.  At 
the  end  of  the  year  they  reached  $966,269,370. 

While  the  drive  for  the  sale  of  War  Savings  Stamps  was 
still  going  on,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  announced  that 
the  campaign  for  the  Fourth  Liberty  Loan  would  begin  on 
Saturday,  September  28th,  and  continue  during  three  weeks, 
but  made  no  statement  concerning  the  rate  of  interest,  the  life 
of  the  bonds,  or  the  amount  to  be  offered.  Not  until  the  twenty- 
third  of  the  month  was  it  known  that  the  rate  of  interest 
would  be  four  and  a  quarter  per  cent.,  that  the  bonds  would 
run  for  twenty  years,  and  that  the  minimum  amount  asked 
for  was  six  billion  dollars. 

Preparations  for  the  campaign  were  then  well  under  way. 
Every  form  of  appeal  known  to  man  was  to  be  employed,  ap- 
peals to  the  eye,  to  the  ear,  to  patriotism,  to  humanity,  to 
the  feelings  excited  by  the  brutality  of  the  Huns,  to  the  sense 
of  imperative  duty  to  provide  everything  needed  by  our  army 
and  navy.  One  poster  bore  the  imprint  of  a  bloody  hand 
and  the  words,  "The  Hun,  His  Mark.  Blot  it  out  with  Liberty 
Bonds."  Another  was  a  pair  of  blood-stained  boots  and  the 
words,  "Keep  these  off  the  United  States."  Automobiles, 
motor  trucks,  trolley  cars,  carried  long  strips  of  cotton  bear- 
ing such  inscriptions  as,  "What  do  you  think  of  the  U-boats  ?" ; 
"Ask  his  Mother  how  many  Bonds  you  should  buy";  "My 
boy,  I  backed  you";  "iMy  boy  and  your  boy";  "Bonds  buy 
Bullets";  "One  $50  Bond  will  buy  12  shirts";  "One  $50 
Bond  will  buy  18  bayonets";  "One  $50  Bond  will  buy  110 
grenades." 

New  York  City  opened  her  campaign  on  the  evening  of 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  77 

September  27th,  with  the  noise  of  the  ten  great  sirens  of  the 
Police  Department,  sirens  provided  when  the  U-boats  were  off 
our  coast,  to  warn  the  citizens  should  an  air  raid  happen. 
As  their  shriek  rose  shriller  and  shriller  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment sirens,  steamboat  and  factory  whistles,  motor  horns  and 
church  bells  made  answer,  thousands  of  red  flares  blazed,  thou- 
sands of  young  men  began  to  distribute  copies  of  the  Stars 
and  Stripes,  the  soldiers'  newspaper  in  France,  and  thou- 
sands of  speakers  scattered  over  the  country  began  their 
appeals  in  behalf  of  the  loan.  On  the  morning  of  Saturday, 
September  28th,  there  was  a  parade  down  Fifth  Avenue, 
twenty-four  blocks  of  which  were  named  the  Avenue  of  the 
Allies.  At  each  end,  and  suspended  midway  of  each  block, 
was  a  large  banner  bearing  the  name  of  the  Ally  to  which  it 
was  dedicated.  From  the  windows  of  the  second  and  fourth 
stories  of  buildings  along  the  block  hung  flags  of  that  Ally, 
and  from  the  third  stories  the  Liberty  Loan  banner.  In  the 
window  of  each  shop  was  some  suitable  display,  and  at  Madi- 
son Square  was  the  great  Altar  of  Liberty,  where  day  after 
day  appropriate  ceremonies  were  held  by  the  people  of  some 
one  of  our  Allies. 

Never  before,  in  a  Liberty  Loan  campaign,  had  so  many 
speakers  been  employed.  A  hundred  and  ten  thousand  men 
and  women,  some  four  minute  men,  some  volunteers,  some 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Central  Loan  Organization,  spoke 
in  theaters,  churches,  in  schools,  before  audiences  at  the 
movies,  at  street  corners,  and  from  automobiles  in  the  rural 
districts.  In  nearly  every  county  and  township  the  country 
over  was  a  staff  of  speakers  who  traveled  from  town  to  town, 
from  village  to  village,  appealing  to  the  people  to  buy  bonds 
and  more  bonds.  Twenty-four  trains  loaded  with  war  tro- 
phies, rifles,  shells,  helmets,  mine  throwers,  captured  by 
Pershing's  men,  guns,  trench  mortars,  went  about  the  country, 
each  with  speakers  and  American  soldiers  who -had  been 
wounded  or  gassed  on  the  fighting  front  in  France.  Even 
France  was  drawn  upon,  and  from  her  came  twelve  officers  and 


78       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

one  hundred  and  ten  men.  Sixty  were  members  of  the  far- 
famed  Foreign  Legion.  The  rest  were  interpreters  and  men 
who  had  been  wounded.  They,  too,  traveled  the  country  from 
the  Atlantic  Coast  to  Oklahoma,  from  New  Orleans  to  the 
Great  Lakes.  The  flag  carried  by  the  men  of  the  Foreign 
Legion  was  the  first  in  the  French  Army  to  receive  the  decora- 
tion of  the  Military  Medal,  had  repeatedly  been  decorated 
with  the  palms  of  the  War  Cross,  and  had  received  the  Cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  So  many  had  been  the  deeds  of  valor 
done  by  the  Legion  that  its  members  wore  on  the  left  shoulder 
the  cord  known  as  the  fourragere,  having  the  three  colors  of 
the  French  national  emblem. 

On  the  evening  of  September  27th,  at  New  York  City,  the 
President  opened  the  campaign  with  a  speech.  He  had  little 
to  say  concerning  the  loan,  but  much  concerning  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  peace,  for  he  spoke  to  a  far  greater  audi- 
ence than  that  gathered  to  hear  him  in  the  Opera  House, 
to  his  countrymen  everywhere. 

"I  am  not  here,"  he  said,  ato  promote  the  loan.  That  will 
be  done,  ably  and  enthusiastically  done,  by  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  loyal  men  and  women  who  have  undertaken  to 
present  it  to  you  and  our  fellow  citizens  throughout  the  coun- 
try, and  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  of  their  complete  success, 
for  I  know  their  spirit  and  the  spirit  of  the  country."  He  had 
come  rather  to  present  some  thoughts  which  might  give  a  more 
vivid  sense  of  the  great  issues  involved,  that  his  hearers  might 
appreciate  the  grave  significance  of  the  duty  of  supporting  the 
Government  by  their  men  and  their  means  "to  the  utmost 
point  of  sacrifice  and  self-denial.  No  man  or  woman,"  he 
said,  "who  has  really  taken  in  what  this  war  means  can  hesi- 
tate to  give  to  the  very  limit  of  what  they  have,  and  it  is  my 
mission  here  to-night  to  try  to  make  it  clear  once  more  what 
the  war  really  means.  You  will  need  no  other  stimulant  or 
reminder  of  your  duty."  With  these  remarks  the  President 
turned  to  that  part  of  his  speech  which  related  to  peace  and 
the  issues  involved. 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  79 

Despite  the  great  effort  made,  subscriptions  to  the  loan 
lagged.  At  the  end  of  the  first  week  but  $1,323,716,050 
had  been  reported  to  the  Treasury  Department.  With  one- 
third  of  the  time  gone  and  but  twenty-seven  per  cent,  of  the 
loan  taken,  the  prospect  was  discouraging.  Blame  for  the 
apparent  indifference  was  laid  on  the  Austro-German  peace 
offensive.  An  epidemic  of  influenza  and  pneumonia  which 
was  sweeping  over  the  country,  and  was  especially  acute  in 
Boston  and  Philadelphia,  where  hundreds  of  citizens  died 
each  day,  and  where  parades,  public  gatherings,  meetings  and 
demonstrations  in  behalf  of  the  loan  were  forbidden  by  the 
Public  Health  authorities,  was  believed  to  be  another  cause 
of  failure  to  respond.  When  half  the  time  had  expired  and 
but  $1,791,463,200  subscribed,  new  and  urgent  appeals  were 
made  in  the  advertising  columns  of  the  newspapers,  and  by 
men  of  national  distinction;  loan  workers  redoubled  their 
efforts,  and  at  the  close  of  the  business  day  of  October  10  the 
Treasury  Department  reported  $2,024,037,050  subscribed. 
President  Wilson  now  appealed  to  the  Nation. 

Kecent  events  have  enhanced,  not  lessened,  the  importance  of  this 
loan,  and  I  hope  that  my  fellow-countrymen  will  let  me  say  this 
to  them  very  frankly.  The  best  thing  that  could  happen  would  be 
that  the  loan  should  not  only  be  fully  subscribed,  but  very  greatly 
oversubscribed.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  exercise  of  the 
power  of  this  country  that  has  ever  been  witnessed  or  forecast,  and 
a  single  day  of  relaxation  in  that  effort  would  be  of  tragical  damage 
alike  to  ourselves  and  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  Nothing  has  happened 
which  makes  it  safe  or  possible  to  do  anything  but  push  our  effort 
to  the  utmost.  The  time  is  critical,  and  the  response  must  be 
complete. 

William  Jennings  Bryan  urged  the  American  people  to 
stand  back  of  the  President  and  oversubscribe.  "There  are 
but  two  sides  to  a  war,  our  country's  side  and  the  side  of  the 
enemy/7  he  said.  "The  patriot  is  wholly  on  the  side  of  his 
country,  heart,  voice,  pocketbook,  and  life,  if  necessary. 

"War's  heaviest  burden  falls  upon  those  who,  in  the  army 


80       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  navy,  offer  their  all,  not  some  of  their  income,  but  life 
itself.  "No  one  else  is  in  their  class.  The  burden  imposed 
by  war  taxes  comes  next,  because  the  money  collected  is  not 
returned,  and  yet  no  one  should  complain  of  war  taxes  while 
one  mother's  son  is  required  to  offer  himself  on  his  country's 
altar. 

"Those  who  lend  money  to  this  Government  have  the  easiest 
task  of  all.  This  money  they  advance  is  returned  with  interest. 

"The  money  needed  should  not  only  be  furnished,  but  fur- 
nished promptly.  The  moral  force  of  a  loan  reaches  its  maxi- 
mum when  it  is  subscribed  immediately.  The  Fourth  Loan 
comes  at  a  time  when  our  soldiers  are  advancing  victoriously 
and  when  the  retreat  of  the  enemy  assumes  more  and  more 
the  nature  of  a  rout.  Germany  is  so  hard  pressed  that  she 
proposes  peace. 

"A  failure  of  the  people  to  respond  to  the  call  for  money 
now  would  be  disastrous.  It  would  encourage  the  enemy  more 
than  a  successful  battle.  The  supreme  moment  has  come,  no 
one  can  fail  to  see  the  importance  of  prompt  action.  Over- 
subscription at  once  will  be  an  announcement  to  Germany 
that  the  American  people  stand  back  of  the  President,  the 
Government,  and  the  army,  and  are  ready  to  furnish  the 
money  necessary  to  win  the  war." 

Premier  Clemenceau  was  pressed  into  service  and  sent  a 
message  made  public  by  the  Liberty  Loan  Publicity  Bureau  at 
Washington. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  preparing  to  win  a  new 
victory.  I  send  them  the  cordial  greetings  of  France.  You  know 
what  has  to  be  accomplished.  Fighting  does  not  bring  victory. 
Gold  is  needed.  France,  invaded  and  mutilated,  has  done  its  best. 
The  French  people  during  the  war  have  drawn  on  their  own  re- 
sources to  the  amount  of  twenty-four  billion  dollars.  You  have 
subscribed  over  ten  billion  dollars  to  the  loans.  You  have  advanced 
almost  seven  billion  dollars  to  the  Allies.  To-day  a  new  appeal  is 
made  to  you.  I  feel  certain  of  your  response.  You  will  bring  the 
billions  which  your  Government  is  asking  for  the  service  of  your  flag 
so  recently  glorified  on  the  plains  of  Lorraine.  This  is  the  hour  of 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  81 

supreme  effort  for  the  crushing  of  military  despotism.  Now,  on  all 
fronts,  behold  the  dawn  of  victory.  Your  soldiers  are  ready  for  the 
attack.  Be  ready  for  the  loan! 

In  Philadelphia,  where  five  thousand  persons  had  died 
of  influenza  and  pneumonia  during  the  week,  where  parades 
and  public  gatherings  of  every  sort  were  forbidden,  where 
subscriptions,  in  consequence,  had  lagged,  three  days  were  set 
apart  in  hopes  of  rousing  the  people.  On  Thursday,  October 
10,  Flag  Day,  every  patriotic  citizen  was  expected  to  see  to  it 
that  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  displayed  outside  or  in  the 
windows  of  his  house,  and  add  to  it  the  four-striped  Liberty 
Loan  flag,  that  showed  he  was  a  subscriber.  Friday,  Octo- 
ber 11,  was  Preparation  Day,  when  direct  appeals  were  made 
to  the  slackers  to  prepare  to  subscribe  on  Saturday,  which 
was  Emblem  and  Conscience  Day.  From  five  o'clock  to  half 
past  six  in  the  afternoon  four  minute  men  appealed  to  the 
crowds  in  the  Heading  Terminal,  and  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Kailroad  Stations,  and  in  all  subway  stations  from  15th  Street 
to  the  Delaware  River.  Between  four  and  seven  o'clock  con- 
ductors on  the  Philadelphia  Rapid  Transit  cars  read  to  the 
passengers  these  words :  "President  Wilson  expects  every  Phila- 
delphia home  to  display  the  four-striped  Liberty  Loan  honor 
emblem  to-morrow.  Get  busy  and  buy  bonds."  At  seven 
o'clock  every  noise-making  device  in  the  city,  automobile  horns, 
whistles  of  factories  and  steamboats,  church  bells,  broke  forth, 
as  a  clarion  cry  to  slackers.  Fifteen  minutes  later  from  every 
police  district  there  went  forth  twenty  squads  of  men,  headed 
by  a  town  cryer  in  Continental  uniform,  a  Boy  Scout  carry- 
ing a  flag,  and  men  and  women  speakers,  to  march  through 
the  chief  streets  and  deliver  messages  to  the  people  in  the 
language  of  the  district.  In  Little  Italy,  the  cryer  was  an 
Italian;  in  Chinatown,  a  Chinese,  and  so  for  each  of  the 
twenty  or  more  nationalities  in  the  city.  On  Conscience  and 
Emblem  Day,  October  12th,  Liberty  Day  throughout  the  land 
as  proclaimed  by  the  President,  it  was  left  to  every  one's 
conscience  to  subscribe  to  the  limit.  Sunday  was  designated 


82       THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

"Pershing  Day"  by  the  Loan  Committee,  a  day  when  the 
people  shut  from  their  churches  by  the  dreadful  diseases  which 
ravaged  the  city,  should  dedicate  it  to  the  individual  soldier 
or  sailor  in  whom  each  was  personally  interested.  Said  the 
Committee:  "The  slogan  of  the  day  is,  Tor  Your  Boy  and 
Mine.'  Every  one  has  been  doing  his  share  for  the  'boys  over 
there,'  but  Sunday  will  be  the  first  chance  to  do  your  share 
in  a  general  public  move  for  'THE  BOY  over  there.' 

The  day  should  be  opened  with  prayers  for  YOUK  BOY.  The 
balance  of  the  day  should  also  be  devoted  to  YOUR  BOY.  You  are 
asked  to  give  only  this  short  time  in  return  for  his  entire  time  given 
for  you. 

You  are  called  on  to  support  him  in  every  way.  The  one  way 
in  which  you  can  do  it  best  is  to  join  with  the  rest  of  the  city 
in  sending  him  the  best  news  that  he  could  want,  that  this  city 
is  with  him  to  the  limit,  and  that  it  leads  the  country  in  this 
respect. 

Imagine  the  happiness  of  your  boy  as  he  gets  the  following  news 
in  the  trenches:  'Philadelphia  leads  the  country  in  oversubscribing 
the  fourth  Liberty  Loan,  and  in  the  number  of  persons  subscribing. 
I  helped  to  do  this  for  you.' 

And  by  devoting  Pershing  Sunday  to  your  boy  you  can  make  this 
message  possible. 

After  your  prayers  in  the  morning,  whether  they  be  at  church 
or  at  home,  you  are  asked  to  go  to  the  nearest  drug  store  and  sub- 
scribe every  cent  you  can  to  the  Liberty  Loan.  If  you  have  already 
subscribed,  take  another  bond,  'for  him/  if  you  can  arrange  to  do 
so  in  any  way. 

Then  wear  your  button  and  place  the  emblem  in  your  window.  Be 
sure  that  your  house  is  decorated  outside  in  some  manner. 

Following  this,  make  a  careful  canvass  of  your  friends  and 
neighbors,  and  see  that  their  houses  are  decorated,  get  them  each 
to  take  another  bond,  'for  him/  and  see  that  they  wear  their  button, 
and  have  their  honor  emblem  displayed. 

This  is  for  your  boy.  He  is  calling.  Will  you  refuse  to  sup- 
port him  to  the  limit  by  giving  the  few  hours  required  by  the  program 
for  Pershing  Sunday? 

Again  the  Loan  Committee  were  sorely  disappointed. 
Again  the  slacker  was  dead  to  appeals,  and  on  Saturday,  in 


WAR  WORK  AT  HOME  88 

the  Philadelphia  Federal  Keserve  District,  but  $16,238,600 
were  added,  and  the  total  subscription  for  two  weeks  raised 
to  $166,948,200,  or  just  one-third  of  its  quota  of  five  hundred 
million  dollars.  In  New  York  City,  on  Saturday,  President 
Wilson  marched  at  the  head  of  a  great  parade,  and  reviewed 
it  from  the  Altar  of  Liberty,  and  Secretary  McAdoo  addressed 
a  mass  meeting  at  Chicago. 

Subscriptions  from  all  of  the  Twelve  Federal  Keserve  Dis- 
tricts, which  covered  the  entire  country,  amounted,  when  the 
third  and  final  week  opened,  to  $2,798,419,950. 

In  hopes  of  overcoming  so  much  of  the  apathy  as  was  due 
to  the  belief  that  peace  was  near,  the  President  now  made  a 
second  appeal  to  the  people. 

The  reply  of  the  German  Government  to  my  note  of  inquiry  dated 
Oct.  8  gives  occasion  for  me  to  say  to  my  fellow  countrymen  that 
neither  that  reply,  nor  any  other  recent  events  have,  in  any  way 
diminished  the  vital  importance  of  the  Liberty  Loan.  Relaxation 
now,  hesitation  now,  would  mean  defeat  when  victory  seems  to  be 
in  sight;  would  mean  years  of  war  instead  of  peace  upon  our  own 
terms. 

I  earnestly  request  every  patriotic  American  to  leave  to  the  Gov- 
ernments of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Allies,  the  momentous 
discussions  initiated  by  Germany,  and  to  remember  that,  for  each 
man,  his  duty  is  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  these  Governments,  and 
to  do  it  in  the  most  important  way  now  immediately  presented,  by 
subscribing  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability  for  bonds  of  the  Fourth 
Liberty  Loan.  That  loan  must  be  successful.  I  am  sure  that  the 
American  people  will  not  fail  to  see  their  duty  and  make  it  successful. 

Still  the  loan  lagged.  When  Friday,  October  18,  came 
but  $3,607,597,350  had  been  subscribed.  And  now  the  long 
desired  rally  began.  Subscriptions  large  and  small  poured 
in,  and  despite  the  ravages  of  influenza  and  pneumonia, 
despite  peace  talk  started  by  the  German  note,  and  the  vic- 
tories of  the  Allies  in  Belgium  and  France,  when  the  last 
subscription  was  taken  the  loan  had  gone  "over  the  top,"  and 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $6,989,200,000  had  been  purchased. 


84      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  world  had  such  a  sum  of 
money  been  raised,  in  any  nation,  in  three  weeks. 

No  sooner  was  the  Liberty  Loan  campaign  over  than  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  National  Catholic 
War  Council,  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Jewish  Welfare 
Board,  the  Salvation  Army,  the  American  Library  Associa- 
tion, the  War  Camp  Community  Service  and  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  joined  in  a  United  War  Work 
Campaign  to  raise  $170,500,000.  The  time  was  far  from 
opportune,  for  on  the  day  it  opened,  November  11,  the  armi- 
stice was  declared  and  fighting  ceased,  and  the  celebrations 
which  followed  caused  two  days'  loss  of  work.  The  influenza 
was  still  raging  and  public  meetings  were  forbidden.  Re- 
ports of  immediate  demobilization  led  many  to  believe  that 
the  army  would  be  mustered  out  in  a  few  weeks.  But  it 
made  no  difference,  and  during  the  week  the  campaign  went 
on,  every  possible  sort  of  appeal  was  made  to  the  people,  and 
when  the  week  ended  more  than  two  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  had  been  subscribed.3 

Even  this  did  not  end  the  calls  for  money.  In  the  spring 
of  1919  the  people  were  again  summoned  to  subscribe  to  a 
fifth,  the  Victory  Loan,  of  four  and  a  half  billion  dollars  of 
short-term  Gold  Notes  bearing  four  and  three-quarters  per 
cent,  interest  per  annum.  The  time  was  more  inauspicious 
than  ever.  Fighting  had  ceased,  the  war  had  been  won;  the 
armistice  was  in  force;  German  territory  was  occupied  by  the 
armies  of  the  Allies;  the  Germans  had  received  the  terms  of 
peace,  and  our  boys  were  coming  home.  Many  of  the  old 
incentives  to  subscribe  were  gone.  Patriotism  no  longer 
burned  so  brightly  as  before,  and  the  slacker  was  more  in 
evidence.  Nevertheless,  when  the  Treasury  Department  an- 
nounced the  results,  late  in  May,  notes  to  the  amount  of 
$5,249,908,300  had  been  purchased,  an  over-subscription  of 
nearly  seven  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars. 
•  $203,179,038. 


CHAPTER  III 

FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE 

BEFOBE  our  troops  came  pouring  into  France  the  sector  in 
which  they  should  fight  had  already  heen  determined  by  physi- 
cal conditions  which  must  be  met.  To  land  an  army  of  a  mil- 
lion men  in  the  ports  of  northern  France  was  quite  impossible, 
for  they  were  crowded  with  ships  bringing  supplies  for  the 
British  armies  in  Picardy  and  Flanders.  Even  if  room  could 
have  been  found  for  transports  and  supply  ships,  the  railroads 
leading  thence  to  the  fighting  front  were  taxed  far  beyond 
their  capacity  to  supply  the  British  troops.  There  was  nothing 
to  do,  therefore,  but  use  the  ports  on  the  Bay  of  Biscay  coast 
and  to  Bordeaux,  La  Pallice,  St.  Nazaire  and  Brest,  were  sent 
our  troops,  munitions  and  supplies.1  Use  of  the  railways 
running  northeast  from  these  ports  required  the  great  depot 
for  supplies  to  be  located  somewhere  near  Tours,  Bourges, 
or  Chateauroux,  and  meant  that  the  American  sector,  when 
taken  over,  would  be  somewhere  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
battle  front.  Thus  it  came  about  that  the  first  fighting  done 
by  our  men  in  1917  was  east  of  the  city  of  Rheims.  After 
arrival  in  France  one  month  was  allowed  for  training  in  small 
units;  another  in  the  trenches  in  some  quiet  sector,  and  a 
third  for  training  in  divisions.  Four  divisions  had  reached 
the  trench  stage  when  on  March  21,  1918,  the  great  German 
drive  began  in  Picardy,  and  General  Pershing,  March  28, 

1  Our  troops  sailed  from  Quebec,  Montreal,  St.  Johns,  Halifax,  Portland, 
Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Norfolk.  More  than  a 
million  and  twenty-five  thousand  landed  in  Great  Britain.  The  ports 
used  were  Glasgow,  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Bristol,  Falmouth,  Plymouth, 
Southampton  and  London.  The  French  ports  were  Le  Havre,  Brest,  St. 
JSiazaire,  La  Pallice,  Bordeaux,  and  Marseilles. 

85 


86      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

placed  at  the  disposal  of  Marshal  Foch  all  our  troops  to  use 
as  he  thought  fit. 

In  this  attempt  to  drive  a  wedge  between  the  British  and 
French  armies,  isolate  the  one,  and  force  the  other  to  its  bases, 
the  battle  front  was  carried  eastward  to  Albert  and  Montdidier, 
and  southward  below  Lassigny,  Noyon  and  La  Fere. 

Held  on  this  line,  the  Germans  April  8  opened  a  second 
drive,  this  time  in  Flanders,  between  Armentieres  and  La 
Bassee,  for  the  Channel  ports.  Their  attack  was  along  a  twelve- 
mile  front  from  Givenchy  to  Fleurbaix.  !Near  Neuve  Cha- 
pelle,  where  the  Portuguese  held  the  line,  the  Germans  broke 
through  and  drove  the  British  from  the  low  ground  along  the 
valley  of  the  Lys,  from  La  Bassee  to  near  Ypres. 

The  fall  of  !N"euve  Chapelle  and  Mount  Kemmel  threat- 
ened the  line  of  retreat  from  Ypres,  and  forced  the  British 
to  abandon  all  the  gains  they  had  made  east  of  Ypres  during 
the  autumn  of  1917,  and  before  the  month  of  April  closed  the 
battle  line  was  carried  westward  beyond  Locre,  Bailleul,  and 
Merville  to  La  Bassee.  This  was  the  most  anxious  moment 
of  the  whole  war  and  drew  from  General  Haig  his  memorable 
appeal  to  the  army  to  hold  the  line  to  the  last  man.  "With  our 
backs  to  the  walls,  and  believing  in  the  justice  of  our  cause, 
each  one  of  us  must  fight  on  to  the  end.  The  safety  of  our 
homes  and  the  freedom  of  mankind  depend  alike  on  the  con- 
duct of  each  one  of  us  at  this  critical  moment."  But  again 
the  enemy  was  held  and  until  May  16  stood  on  the  defensive, 
while  the  Allies  by  local  offensives  recovered  some  lost  ground 
and  consolidated  their  lines. 

At  dawn  on  the  morning  of  May  2Yth  the  Germans  began 
a  third  offensive  against  the  Allied  armies  at  two  points  on  the 
long  front.  One,  a  minor  attack,  was  made  between  Locre 
and  Voormezeele  near  Ypres,  and  one  of  great  violence  along 
the  front  from  Soissons  to  Eheims.  In  the  bend  of  the  front 
stretching  across  the  Aisne  River  between  Craonnelle  and 
Bermericourt,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  were  the  British. 
The  right  of  their  line  held  firm  and  kept  in  close  touch  with 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  87 

the  French ;  but  the  left  gave  way  before  the  pressure  of  over- 
whelming numbers,  the  French  were  driven  from  the  Chemin- 
des-Dames,  and  the  enemy  crossed  the  Aisne  along  an  eighteen- 
mile  front  between  Vailly  and  Berry-au-Bac,  crossed  the  Vesle 
east  of  Bazoche  and  west  of  Fismes  on  the  28th,  an  advance 
of  twelve  miles  from  their  old  line  of  May  26;  entered 
Soissons,  pushed  on  towards  Rheims,  took  the  forts  northwest 
of  that  city,  and  captured  large  depots  of  munitions,  rail- 
way trains,  hospitals  and  an  aerodrome  with  machines  ready 
to  fly.  The  night  of  May  31  found  the  Germans  on  the  Marne 
along  a  ten-mile  front  from  Dormans  to  a  point  near  Chateau- 
Thierry,  with  over  45,000  prisoners,  more  than  400  guns  and 
thousands  of  machine  guns,  in  their  hands.  In  five  days  they 
had  advanced  twenty-four  miles. 

In  June  a  fourth  drive  was  begun,  this  time  on  the  Marne 
salient,  and  the  battle  line  was  driven  westward  between 
Chateau-Thierry  and  Soissons,  and  southward  between  Soissons 
and  a  point  south  of  Noyon.  The  fighting  then  extended  along 
a  seventy-four-mile  front  divided  into  three  sectors,  that  from 
N"oyon  to  Soissons  eighteen  miles;  that  from  Soissons  to 
Chateau-Thierry  twenty-eight  miles;  and  that  from  Chateau- 
Thierry  to  Rheims  twenty-eight  miles. 

In  this  desperate  fighting  the  First  Division  of  the  Ameri- 
can Expeditionary  Force  bore  an  honorable  part.  The  first  to 
reach  France,  in  June,  1917,  it  received  its  training  in  modern 
warfare  under  French  officers  in  scattered  camps,  and  in  the 
autumn  began  its  trench  apprenticeship  not  far  from  Nancy, 
and  there  fired  its  first  shell  against  the  Germans,  lost  its  first 
prisoners  to  the  Germans,  took  its  first  prisoners  from  the 
Germans,  and  lost  the  three  men  who  were  buried  with  espe- 
cial honors  as  the  first  American  soldiers  to  be  killed  on  the 
soil  of  France.  In  January,  1918,  the  Division  took  over  a 
sector  northwest  of  Toul  near  St.  Mihiel,  and  was  still  there 
when,  March  28,  General  Pershing  tendered  the  entire  Ex- 
peditionary Force  to  General  Foch.  A  week  later  the  Division 
began  a  most  difficult  journey,  over  roads  in  dreadful  condi- 


88      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tion,  to  Picardy,  and  until  July  occupied  a  place  on  the  Can- 
tigny front  a  few  miles  northwest  of  Montdidier,  at  the  apex 
of  the  great  German  salient.  Its  duty  was  to  hold  the  line, 
for,  if  the  enemy  broke  through,  Amiens  and  its  railway 
system  would  pass  into  German  hands,  and  the  British  army 
could  no  longer  be  supplied  from  its  Channel  port.  Hold  the 
line  it  did  against  repeated  attacks,  and  despite  heavy  casual- 
ties in  killed,  wounded,  gassed  and  missing.  Standing  on 
high  ground,  strongly  fortified  and  dominating  the  American 
front  was  the  village  of  Cantigny.  That  it  should  be  captured 
was  necessary  for  many  reasons,  and  early  on  the  morning  of 
May  28,  1918,  the  First  Division  set  out  to  make  the  capture. 

The  operation  began  [wrote  a  correspondent  of  the  London  Times'] 
with  neutralization  fire  on  the  enemies'  batteries  from  our  heavies. 
This  lasted  one  hour  and  was  followed  by  the  combined  heavies  and 
light  guns  for  another  hour  and  a  half  of  preparation,  diversion  and 
destructive  fire.  Then,  at  6:45  the  Americans  upon  a  front  of  one 
and  one-half  miles  hopped  from  their  trenches  and,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  a  well  directed  rolling  barrage  from  the  light  guns,  with 
the  heavies  concentrated  upon  the  distant  areas,  they  advanced  in 
two  sturdy  waves.  They  crossed  the  intervening  zone  to  their  objec- 
tive, a  depth  of  nearly  a  mile,  in  exactly  40  minutes,  preceded  by 
12  tanks.  There  were  sharp  individual  fights  in  the  town  of  Can- 
tigny. Two  hundred  and  fifty  German  dead  were  counted. 

The  action  was  finely  carried  out;  but  what,  in  that  hour 
of  German  triumph,  was  far  more  important  than  the  capture 
of  Cantigny,  was  the  heartening  effect  of  the  fight  on  the 
Allies.  It  showed  them  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  American 
soldier,  and  proved  that  under  the  worst  of  battle  conditions 
he  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  enemy. 

Meanwhile  the  Germans  were  drawing  nearer  and  nearer 
the  Marne  and  Paris.  Each  hour  the  crisis  grew  more  seri- 
ous, and  again  every  available  American  soldier  was  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  Marshal  Foch.  The  Second  American  Divi- 
sion was  there  in  rest  billets  at  Chaumont-en-Vexin,  northwest 
of  Paris,  and  had  just  finished  the  services  held  on  Memorial 
Day,  May  30tb,  when  orders  came  from  French  Headquarters 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  89 

to  entrain  at  once,  move  to  the  front  to  meet  the  Germans 
advancing  on  both  sides  of  the  Paris-Metz  highway  near 
Chateau-Thierry.  May  31  was  spent  on  the  journey,  and 
June  1  found  most  of  the  men  beyond  Montreuil-aux-Lions, 
ten  kilometers  west  of  Chateau-Thierry.  The  line  finally  taken 
over  ran  from  Bonneil,  near  the  Marne,  to  Le  Thiolet  on  the 
Paris-Metz  highway,  whence  the  6th  Marines  extended  it  to 
Lucy-le-Bocage,  and  the  23d  Regiment  to  Bois-de-Veuilly.  On 
the  right  of  the  line  the  French  164th  Division  held  the  south 
part  of  Chateau-Thierry  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Marne.  Oppo- 
site the  line  was  a  ridge  of  hills  and  beyond  them  the  valley 
of  a  little  stream  along  which  were  the  villages  of  Bouresches, 
Belleau,  Torcy,  Bussiares.  The  steep  hills  along  the  stream 
were  held  by  the  Germans. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  Second  Division  received  orders 
to  move  to  the  front,  the  Third  Division,  at  Chateauvillain 
and  La  Forte-sur-Aube,  was  commanded  to  hasten  to  the  south 
bank  of  the  Marne  near  Chateau-Thierry  and  prevent  the 
crossing  of  that  river  by  the  Germans.  First  to  arrive  was 
the  7th  Machine  Gun  Battalion,  a  motorized  unit  of  the 
Marines  which,  after  thirty-six  hours  without  sleep,  entered 
Chateau-Thierry  at  six  o'clock  on  May  31  under  a  shower 
of  bursting  shells  to  find  the  French  fighting  the  Germans 
in  the  streets  of  the  northern  part  of  the  town  across  the 
river.  Taking  positions,  as  quickly  as  possible,  where  their 
guns  could  sweep  the  banks  up  and  down  the  river  and  the  bridge 
in  the  center  of  the  town,  the  Marines  entered  the  fight,  and 
during  ninety-six  hours  withstood  the  enemy.  Again  and 
again  the  Germans  came  down  to  the  river  bank  in  attempts 
to  cross  only  to  be  driven  back  by  the  splendid  gunnery  of  the 
Americans. 

Chateau-Thierry  [wrote  a  Eeuter  correspondent,  describing  the 
battle]  lies  on  both  banks  of  the  Marne  which  is  spanned  by  a  big 
bridge.  A  little  to  the  northward  a  canal  runs  parallel  to  the  river 
and  is  crossed  by  a  smaller  bridge. 

The  Americans  had   scarcely  reached  their   quarters   when  newa 


90      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

was  received  that  the  Germans  had  broken  into  the  northern  part 
of  Chateau-Thierry,  having  made  their  way  through  the  gap  they 
had  driven  in  our  lines  to  the  left  of  the  town  and  then  pouring  along 
the  streets  to  the  bridge,  intending  to  establish  themselves  firmly  on 
the  south  bank  and  capture  the  town. 

The  American  machine  gunners  and  French  Colonials  were  thrown 
into  Chateau-Thierry  together.  The  Americans  immediately  took 
over  the  defense  of  the  river  bank,  especially  the  approaches  to  the 
bridge.  Fighting  with  their  habitual  courage  and  using  their  guns 
with  an  accuracy  which  won  the  highest  encomiums  from  the  French, 
they  brought  the  enemy  to  a  standstill. 

Already  wavering  under  the  American  fire,  the  Germans  were 
counter-attacked  by  the  French  Colonials  and  driven  from  the  town. 
They  returned  to  the  attack  the  next  night  and  under  cover  of 
darkness  crept  into  the  town  along  the  river  bank  and  began  to  work 
their  way  through  the  streets  toward  the  main  bridge.  At  the  same 
moment  a  tremendous  artillery  bombardment  was  opened  upon  the 
southern  half  of  the  town. 

When  within  range  of  the  machine  guns  the  Germans  advanced 
under  the  cover  of  clouds  of  thick  white  smoke  from  smoke  bombs,  in 
order  to  baffle  the  aim  of  the  American  gunners.  A  surprise,  how- 
ever, was  in  store  for  them.  They  were  already  crossing  the  bridge, 
evidently  believing  themselves  masters  of  both  banks,  when  a  thunder- 
ous explosion  blew  the  center  of  the  bridge  and  a  number  of  Ger- 
mans with  it  into  the  river.  Those  who  reached  the  southern  bank 
were  immediately  captured. 

In  this  battle  in  the  streets,  and  again  at  night,  the  young  Ameri- 
can soldiers  showed  a  courage  and  determination  which  aroused  the 
admiration  of  their  French  colonial  comrades.  With  their  machine 
guns  they  covered  the  withdrawal  of  troops  across  the  bridge  before 
its  destruction,  and  although  under  severe  fire  themselves,  kept  all 
the  approaches  to  the  bank  under  a  rain  of  bullets  which  nullified 
all  the  subsequent  efforts  of  the  enemy  to  cross  the  river.  Every 
attempt  of  the  Germans  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  Americans 
resulted  in  disaster. 

During  the  last  two  days  the  enemy  has  renounced  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  northern  part  of  Chateau-Thierry,  which  the  American 
machine  guns  have  made  untenable.  It  now  belongs  to  No  Man's 
Land,  as,  since  the  destruction  of  the  bridges,  it  is  not  worth  while 
for  the  French  to  garrison  it. 

Against  their  casualties  the  Americans  can  set  a  much  greater 
loss  inflicted  by  their  bullets  on  the  enemy.  They  have  borne  their 

V 


i   H 
V> 

°BRUGES         L-ANTWERP 


AREAS  GAINED  IN  GERMAN  DRIVES,  1918 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  93 

full  part  in  what  a  French  staff  officer  well  qualified  to  judge  described 
as  one  of  the  finest  feats  of  the  war. 

Some  very  fine  work  [said  the  special  correspondent  of  the  London 
Times']  was  done  at  Chateau- Thierry  on  May  31  and  June  1  by 
American  machine-guns,  acting  under  the  command  of  a  well-known 
French  fighting  general.  I  did  not  see  the  general,  who  had  had 
no  sleep  for  four  days.  But  his  Chief-of-Staff  was  most  enthusiastic 
about  the  services  rendered  to  the  division  by  our  new  Allies.  They 
had  only  just  arrived  in  their  billets  south  of  Chateau- Thierry 
when  they  were  rushed  up  to  the  town,  together  with  French  Colonial 
troops  billeted  alongside  of  them,  as  soon  as  it  was  threatened  by 
the  enemy.  They  at  once  threw  themselves  into  the  defense,  taking 
the  bridge  over  the  Marne  especially  under  their  protection,  and 
thanks  to  the  way  in  which  they  supported  the  French  counter- 
attack with  their  machine-guns  the  enemy  were  driven  right  away 
from  the  town. 

The  next  day  at  9  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  Germans  took  advan- 
tage of  darkness  to  steal  up  to  the  bridge  through  the  suburbs  on 
the  west  side  of  the  town,  masking  their  approach  with  smoke 
grenades  which  made  machine-gun  shooting  very  difficult,,  the  town 
meanwhile  being  subjected  to  heavy  bombardment.  The  Germans 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  bridge,  and  some  of  them,  who  were 
promptly  made  prisoners,  even  got  to  the  French  side.  But  the  bulk 
of  them  were  destroyed  by  an  explosion  thoughtfully  arranged  for 
them  by  the  Americans  as  they  were  in  the  act  of  crossing  the, 
bridge,  and  from  that  time  on  this  machine-gun  unit  has  shown 
such  vigilance  in  watching  the  bridge  as  well  as  in  preventing  all 
attempts  to  construct  temporary  substitutes  that  it  has  been  im- 
possible for  the  enemy  either  to  repair  the  bridge  or  to  get  across 
in  any  other  way. 

Before  the  incident  of  the  explosion  the  Americans  had  shown 
extraordinary  courage  in  holding  the  position  and  enabling  the  French 
who  were  evacuating  the  north  part  of  the  town  to  get  safely  over 
to  the  south  bank.  The  Colonials  who  were  pretty  competent  judges 
are  particularly  keen  about  their  coolness  and  courage  under  fire  as 
well  as  their  deadly  execution  and  the  thorough  way  in  which  they 
have  guarded  approaches  to  the  river.  They  have  done  their  work 
so  well  that  the  Germans  prefer  not  to  occupy  the  part  of  the  town 
which  has  been  evacuated.  It  is  not,  say  the  French,  a  healthy  place 
for  a  picnic.  Nor,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  the  American  post  on  this 
side  of  the  bridge.  But  what  they  have  done  was  worth  the  loss  it 


94      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

cost  them,  not  only  because  it  enabled  the  French  troops  to  get  away 
from  the  town  and  has  prevented  the  enemy  from  establishing  him- 
self in  it,  but  because  in  one  action  it  has  earned  for  them  the 
affectionate  admiration  of  the  French  by  whose  side  they  are  fight- 
ing. These  are  allies  worth  having.  That  is  what  the  French  feel 
and  say,  and  every  Englishman  will  agree  with  them. 

Speaking  at  the  Printers'  Pension  Fund  dinner  in  London 
on  June  7,  Premier  Lloyd  George  said  of  the  American  soldiers 
in  France: 

I  have  only  just  returned  from  France  and  met  a  French  states- 
man who  had  been  at  the  front  shortly  after  a  battle  in  which  the 
Americans  took  part.  He  was  full  of  admiration  not  merely  of  their 
superb  valor  but  of  the  trained  skill  with  which  they  attacked  and 
defeated  the  foe. 

His  report  of  the  conduct  of  the  American  troops,  a  division  that 
had  been  in  action  for  the  first  time,  was  one  of  the  most  encourag- 
ing things  I  have  heard,  because  they  are  coming  in  steadily.  There 
is  a  great  flow,  and  we  are  depending  upon  them,  and  the  fact  that 
we  know  that  when  they  appear  in  the  battleline  they  will  fight 
in  a  way  which  is  worthy  of  the  great  traditions  of  their  great 
country  is  in  itself  a  source  of  support  and  sustenance  and  encour- 
agement to  all  of  those  who  with  anxious  hearts  are  watching  the 
conflict  which  is  going  on  in  France. 

On  the  night  of  June  3,  the  Second  Division  took  over  the 
French  lines,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  faced  the  Ger- 
mans from  Belleau  Wood  to  Bouresches  village.  The  first 
work  assigned  it  was  to  drive  the  enemy  from  observation 
points.  At  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  5th,  therefore, 
the  1st  and  3d  Battalions  of  the  5th  Marines,  with  the  167th 
French  on  the  left,  assaulted  the  edge  of  the  wood  and  the  crest 
of  the  hills  near  Veuilly,  captured  them  by  seven  o'clock,  and 
took  a  hundred  and  forty  prisoners.  The  left  having  ad- 
vanced the  center  of  the  Division  started  forward  and  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  5th  and  6th  Marines  with  the  23d 
Infantry  attacked  from  a  point  east  of  Bussiares  to  Bouresches. 
All  night  the  two  armies  went  forward  and  backward  in  the 
thickets  and  among  the  bowlders  of  the  Bois  de  Belleau  and 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  95 

the  Bois  de  Triangle  until  by  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  6th  the  Americans  had  carried  by  storm  Hill  142  half 
a  mile  south  of  Torcy,  and  chased  the  Germans  out  of  Veuilly 
wood.  The  following  day  they  gained  more  ground,  cap- 
tured the  villages  of  Veuilly-la-Poterie,  Bussiare  and  Bour- 
esches,  entered  Torcy,  took  some  200  prisoners  and  extended 
their  line  over  a  front  of  six  miles  and  to  a  depth  of  nearly 
two  and  a  half  miles.  At  midnight  on  the  7th  the  Germans 
counter-attacked,  hut,  despite  their  use  of  gas,  were  completely 
defeated  and  driven  back  before  they  reached  the  American 
lines.  Following  up  these  successes  the  Marines  on  the  10th  en- 
tered the  German  lines  for  a  depth  of  two-thirds  of  a  mile 
along  a  six-hundred-yard  front  in  the  Belleau  wood  just  west 
of  Bouresches  and  south  of  Belleau.  As  the  Germans  still 
held  a  part  of  this  wood  the  Marines  attacked  again  on  the 
llth,  took  it,  and  captured  250  prisoners  and  forty  machine- 
guns  and  trench  mortars. 

Fighting  in  the  woods  was  from  tree  to  tree,  from  rock 
to  rock.  Every  available  spot  was  a  nest  of  German  machine 
guns  not  to  be  destroyed  by  artillery  or  grenade  fire,  but  taken 
with  the  bayonet.  In  these  attacks  the  Marines  suffered  heavy 
losses.  Companies,  it  is  said,  which  entered  the  fight  two 
hundred  and  fifty  strong  were  soon  reduced  to  fifty  or  sixty. 
But  over  the  bodies  of  the  dead  and  wounded  the  boys  came 
on  wave  after  wave.  Time  and  again  the  officers  sent  back 
word  their  men  were  exhausted.  But  the  answer  was  that  the 
lines  must  be  held  and  if  possible  new  attacks  made,  and 
without  water,  with  little  food,  without  rest,  with  men  so 
tired  that  they  fell  asleep  under  shell  fire,  the  lines  were  held 
and  new  advances  made. 

A  captured  German  officer  reported  that  a  fresh  division 
was  to  be  thrown  in  and  a  desperate  effort  made  to  wrest  from 
the  Marines  their  hard-won  territory.  June  13  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning  it  came,  and  under  orders  to  drive  back  the 
Americans  at  all  costs,  to  retake  Bouresches  and  the  wood  how- 
ever great  the  loss  of  life,  the  Germans  launched  an  attack  along 


96      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  whole  front.  The  thin  line  of  Marines  held  fast,  the  drive 
was  checked,  the  Germans  forced  back  and  thousands  of  rounds 
of  ammunition  and  a  score  of  machine  guns  were  captured 
and  used  against  the  enemy.  Time  after  time,  says  Secretary 
Daniels  in  his  account  of  the  fight,  messages  such  as  the  follow- 
ing traveled  to  the  post  command: 

Losses  heavy.  Difficult  to  get  runners  through.  Some  have  never 
returned.  Morale  excellent,  but  troops  about  all  in.  Men  exhausted. 

Still  they  fought  on,  gaining  ground  day  by  day  until  their 
position  was  such  that  they  were  ready  for  the  final  rush  which 
was  to  clear  the  Wood  of  Belleau.  The  objective  was  an 
important  German  position  south  of  the  village  of  Torcy 
northwest  of  Chateau-Thierry.  Stretching  for  three  kilome- 
ters along  a  wooded  hill  north  of  the  Bois  de  Belleau,  it  com- 
manded the  German  line  and  was  dotted  with  machine-gun 
nests  which  gave  our  men  much  trouble.  Just  before  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  of  June  25,  after  a  terrific  bombardment  of 
thirteen  hours,  the  Marines  advanced  through  the  wood,  throw- 
ing hand  grenades  and  shooting  from  behind  trees,  and  by 
nine  o'clock  had  herded  the  Germans  in  the  north  end  of  the 
wood,  captured  200  prisoners  and  practically  destroyed  a  force 
of  twelve  hundred. 

From  the  prisoners  it  was  learned  that  a  German  army 
had  been  landed  in  our  country,  that  it  had  captured  New 
York  and  was  marching  on  Philadelphia ;  that  another  great 
drive  would  be  made  in  August,  that  Paris  would  be  taken, 
the  American  army  destroyed,  and  peace  forced  on  the  Allies. 

The  success  of  the  25th  was  followed  up  on  the  evening  of 
July  1  when,  after  a  heavy  bombardment  which  lasted  all  day, 
our  troops  at  six  o'clock  went  over  the  top,  captured  the  village 
of  Vaux  close  to  the  western  edge  of  Chateau-Thierry,  recov- 
ered a  piece  of  the  Paris  highway  and  entered  the  Bois  de  la 
Eoche.  On  the  2nd  the  Germans  came  back  with  a  strong 
counter-attack,  but  were  defeated.  "Our  own  positions,"  Gen- 
eral Pershing  reported,  "were  advanced  on  a  front  of  a  mile 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  99 

and  a  half  and  to  a  depth  of  a  thousand  yards.  The  enemy's 
losses  in  killed  and  wounded  were  heavy.  His  regiment  hold- 
ing the  sector  attacked  offered  obstinate  resistance  and  was 
practically  annihilated.  The  prisoners  captured  in  the  at- 
tack and  counter-attack  number  over  five  hundred  and  include 
six  officers.  This  increases  the  total  number  of  prisoners  taken 
by  our  troops  in  this  vicinity  during  the  last  month  to  nearly 
1,200." 

In  grateful  appreciation  of  the  splendid  work  of  the  Marines 
the  General  commanding  the  French  Sixth  Army  ordered,  on 
June  30,  1918,  that: 

In  view  of  the  brilliant  conduct  of  the  Fourth  Brigade  of  the 
Second  United  States  Division,  which,  in  a  spirited  fight,  took 
Bouresches  and  the  important  strong  point  of  Bois  de  Belleau,  stub- 
bornly defended  by  a  large  enemy  force,  the  General  commanding  the 
Sixth  Army  orders  that  henceforth,  in  all  official  papers,  the  Bois 
de  Belleau  shall  be  named  "Bois  de  la  Brigade  de  Marine." 

Division  General  Degouiie, 

Commanding  Sixth  Army. 

July  6  what  remained  of  the  brigade  was  sent  back  to  rest 
billets  for  recuperation. 

June  13  was  the  anniversary  of  the  landing  in  France  of 
the  first  American  troops,  and  because  of  the  great  things  done 
by  those  troops,  by  those  who  followed,  and  by  the  people  who 
sent  them,  the  day  was  made  the  occasion  for  expressions  of 
gratitude  and  appreciation  by  men  high  in  public  affairs  in 
France.  President  Poincare  in  a  cablegram  to  President 
Wilson  said: 

The  Allies,  owing  to  the  Russian  Capitulation,  are  living  through 
the  most  difficult  hours  of  the  war,  but  the  rapid  formation  of  new 
American  units  and  the  uninterrupted  increase  in  oversea  transpor- 
tation are  leading  us  with  certainty  towards  the  day  when  the  equili- 
brium will  be  restored. 

President  Wilson  replied: 

Your  telegram  of  yesterday  was  certainly  conceived  in  the  highest 
and  most  generous  spirit  of  friendship  and  I  am  sure  that  I  am 


100    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

expressing  the  feeling  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  well  as 
my  own,  when  I  say  that  it  is  with  increasing  pride  and  gratifica- 
tion that  they  have  seen  their  forces  under  General  Pershing  more 
and  more  actively  cooperating  with  the  forces  of  liberation  on 
French  soil.  It  is  their  fixed  and  unalterable  purpose  to  send  men 
and  materials  in  steady  and  increasing  volume  until  any  temporary 
inequality  of  force  is  entirely  overcome  and  the  forces  of  freedom 
made  overwhelming,  for  they  are  convinced  that  it  is  only  by  victory 
that  peace  can  be  achieved  and  the  world's  affairs  settled  upon  a 
basis  of  enduring  justice  and  right.  It  is  a  constant  satisfaction  to 
them  to  know  that  in  this  great  enterprise  they  are  in  close  and 
intimate  cooperation  with  the  people  of  France. 

General  Pershing  was  congratulated  by  the  President  of 
France,  the  Premier,  and  by  Generals  Foch  and  Petain.  "The 
anniversary  of  your  arrival  in  France,"  said  President  Pom- 
care,  "furnishes  a  happy  occasion  to  address  my  warmest  con- 
gratulations to  you  and  the  valiant  troops  which  you  command, 
and  who  have  so  admirably  conducted  themselves  in  the  recent 
battles.  I  beg  you  to  receive  the  assurance  of  my  best  wishes 
for  their  success." 

On  the  anniversary  of  your  arrival  in  France  to  take  command 
of  the  American  forces,  I  wish  [said  M.  Clemenceau]  to  express 
to  you  once  more,  my  dear  General,  the  greatest  admiration  for  the 
powerful  aid  brought  by  your  army  to  the  cause  of  the  allies.  With 
ever-increasing  numbers  the  American  troops  cover  themselves  with 
glory  under  your  orders  in  barring  the  route  of  the  invader.  The 
day  is  coming  when,  thanks  to  the  superb  effort  of  your  country 
and  the  valor  of  its  persons  the  enemy,  losing  the  initiative  of 
operations,  will  be  forced  to  bow  before  the  triumph  of  our  ideal 
of  justice  and  civilization. 

A  year  ago  [said  General  Foch]  brought  to  us  the  American 
sword.  To-day  we  have  seen  it  strike.  It  is  the  certain  pledge  of 
victory.  By  it  our  hearts  are  more  closely  united  than  ever. 

Your  coming  to  French  soil  a  year  ago  filled  our  country  with 
enthusiasm  and  hope  [said  General  Petain].  Accept  to-day  the 
grateful  homage  of  our  soldiers  for  the  daily  increasing  aid  on  the 
battlefield  brought  by  their  American  brothers  in  arms.  The  last 
battles,  where  the  magnificent  qualities  of  courage  and  military  virtue 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  101 

of  your  troops  were  demonstrated  in  so  brilliant  a  manner,  are  a 
sure  guarantee  of  the  future.  The  day  is  not  far  off  when  the  great 
American  army  will  play  the  decisive  role  to  which  history  calls  this 
army  on  the  battlefields  of  Europe.  Permit  me,  my  dear  general, 
to  express  to  you  on  this  anniversary  day,  my  entire  confidence  and 
assure  you  of  my  feelings  of  affectionate  comradeship. 

Between  Villers-Bretonneux  and  the  Somme  on  July  4  Aus- 
tralian troops  and  American  infantry  surged  forward  at  dawn 
of  day,  behind  a  fleet  of  tanks,  captured  Hamel  village,  drove 
the  Germans  out  of  Vaire  and  Hamel  Wood  and  sent  back 
fifteen  hundred  prisoners  to  the  cages. 

The  victory  was  a  fitting  one  to  mark  the  day,  but  greater 
celebrations  were  held  at  home  and  abroad.  Standing  at  the 
Tomb  of  Washington,  President.  Wilson  surrounded  by  the 
diplomatic  representatives  of  the  Entente  powers  and  neutral 
nations  again  restated  "the  ends  for  which  the  associated  peo- 
ples of  the  world  are  fighting." 

This,  then,  is  our  conception  of  the  great  struggle  in  which  we 
are  engaged.  The  plot  is  written  plain  upon  every  scene  and  every 
act  of  the  supreme  tragedy.  On  the  one  hand  stand  the  peoples  of 
the  world,  not  only  the  people  actually  engaged,  but  many  others 
also  who  suffer  under  mastery  but  cannot  act;  peoples  of  many  races 
in  every  part  of  the  world,  the  people  of  stricken  Russia  still, 
among  the  rest,  though  they  are  for  the  moment  unorganized,  and 
helpless.  Opposed  to  them,  masters  of  many  armies,  stand  an 
isolated  group  of  governments  who  speak  no  common  purpose  but 
only  selfish  ambitions  of  their  own  by  which  none  can  profit  but 
themselves,  and  whose  peoples  are  fuel  in  their  hands;  governments 
which  fear  their  people  and  yet  are  for  the  time  their  sovereign 
lords,  making  every  choice  for  them  and  disposing  of  their  lives  and 
fortunes  as  they  will,  as  well  as  of  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  every 
people  who  fall  under  their  power,  governments  clothed  with  the 
strange  trappings  and  the  primitive  authority  of  an  age  that  is 
altogether  alien  and  hostile  to  our  own.  The  past  and  the  present 
are  in  deadly  grapple  and  the  peoples  of  the  world  are  being  done 
to  death  between  them. 

There  can  be  but  one  issue.  The  settlement  must  be'  final.  There 
can  be  no  compromise.  No  half-way  decision  would  be  tolerable. 
No  half-way  decision  is  conceivable.  These  are  the  ends  for  which 


102    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  associated  peoples  of  the  world  are  fighting  and  which  must 
be  conceded  them  before  there  can  be  peace. 

First.  The  destruction  of  every  arbitrary  power  anywhere  that 
can  separately,  secretly  and  of  its  single  choice  disturb  the  peace 
of  the  world;  or,  if  it  cannot  be  presently  destroyed,  at  the  least  its, 
reduction  to  virtual  impotence. 

Second.  The  settlement  of  every  question,  whether  of  territory, 
of  sovereignty,  of  economic  arrangement  or  of  political  relationship, 
upon  the  basis  of  the  free  acceptance  of  that  settlement  by  the  people 
immediately  concerned,  and  not  upon  the  basis  of  the  material 
interest  or  advantage  of  any  other  nation  or  people  which  may  desire 
a  different  settlement  for  the  sake  of  its  own  exterior  influence  or 
mastery. 

Third.  The  consent  of  all  nations  to  be  governed  in  their  con- 
duct toward  each  other  by  the  same  principles  of  honor  and  of 
respect  for  the  common  law  of  civilized  society  that  govern  the 
individual  citizens  of  all  modern  States  in  their  relations  with  one 
another,  to  the  end  that  all  promises  and  covenants  may  be  sacredly 
observed,  no  private  plots  or  conspiracies  hatched,  no  selfish  injuries 
wrought  with  impunity  and  a  mutual  trust  established  upon  the 
handsome  foundation  of  a  mutual  respect  for  right. 

Fourth.  The  establishment  of  an  organization  of  peace  which 
shall  make  it  certain  that  the  combined  power  of  free  nations  will 
check  every  invasion  of  right  and  serve  to  make  peace  and  justice 
the  more  secure  by  affording  a  definite  tribunal  of  opinion  to  which 
all  must  submit  and  by  which  every  international  readjustment  that 
cannot  be  amicably  agreed  upon  by  the  peoples  directly  concerned 
shall  be  sanctioned. 

These  great  objects  can  be  put  into  a  single  sentence:  What  we 
seek  is  the  reign  of  law,  based  upon  the  consent  of  the  governed  and 
sustained  by  the  organized  opinion  of  mankind. 

In  Philadelphia  there  was  a  great  parade  of  foreign-born 
citizens  and  the  signing  of  a  new  Declaration  of  Independence, 
independence  of  militarism.  At  the  head  of  the  procession 
as  it  passed  down  Broad  Street  to  City  Hall  and  on  to  In- 
dependence Square  marched  marines  and  sailors  from  the 
Navy  Yard,  veterans  of  the  Civil  War  and  wounded  soldiers 
of  the  Allies.  Then  came  the  foreign  born,  many  thousand 
in  number,  representing  four  and  twenty  nations,  dressed  many 
of  them  in  their  national  costumes,  carrying  inscribed  ban- 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  103 

ners  and  accompanied  by  floats.  In  Independence  Hall,  in  the 
chamber  where  the  Declaration  of  1776  was  adopted,  five  rep- 
resentatives of  each  nation  signed  a  declaration  of  intent  to 
wage  relentless  war  on  autocracy.  The  signing  finished  the 
signers  passed  to  a  stage  in  the  Square  where  the  Declaration 
was  read  and  formally  adopted.  The  representatives  of  each 
nation  whose  names  were  affixed  were  then  called  upon  to  give 
a  verbal  pledge,  and  having  done  so,  the  bell  in  the  tower 
struck  once  for  each  nation. 

Abroad  the  day  was  widely  observed.  Lloyd  George  in  a 
message  to  General  Pershing  assured  him: 

We  join  with  our  whole  heart  in  your  Fourth  of  July  celebrations. 
Once  a  bitter  memory,  we  now  know  that  the  events  to  which  you 
dedicate  these  rejoicings  forced  the  British  empire  back  to  the  path 
of  freedom  from  which  in  a  moment  of  evil  counsel  it  departed. 

The  entry  of  the  United  States  army  into  this  great  struggle  for 
human  liberty,  side  by  side  with  the  allies,  is  sure  proof  that  the 
mistakes  and  misunderstandings  which  formerly  estranged  our  two 
countries  are  being  transformed  into  a  genuine  friendship  in  the 
fiery  furnace  of  common  sacrifice. 

The  American  army  in  France  [was  Pershing's  reply]  feels 
special  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  yours  is  beside  it  for  the  anni- 
versary of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  I  have  learned  with 
equal  pleasure  that  the  people  of  England  are  uniting  with  our 
soldiers  and  sailors  to  celebrate  the  Fourth  with  unusual  brilliance, 
uniting  for  a  manifestation  of  sympathy  and  international  concord, 
which  will  remain  a  memorable  date  in  the  history  of  our  two 
nations. 

Field  Marshal  Haig,  the  British  Commander-in-Chief,  sent 
greetings  in  behalf  of  the  British  army  in  Flanders. 

In  behalf  of  myself  and  the  whole  army  in  France  and  Flanders, 
I  beg  you  to  accept  for  yourself  and  the  troops  of  your  command 
my  warmest  greetings  on  American  Independence  Day.  Fourth  of 
July  this  year  soldiers  of  America,  France  and  Great  Britain  will 
spend  side  by  side  for  the  first  time  in  history  in  defense  of  the 
great  principle  of  liberty,  which  is  the  proudest  inheritance  and 
the  most  cherished  possession  of  their  several  nations.  That  liberty 


104    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

which  the  British,  Americans  and  French  won  for  themselves  they 
will  not  fail  to  hold,  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  the  .world.  With 
the  heartiest  good  wishes  for  you  and  your  gallant  army. 

On  the  Chelsea  Football  Ground  there  was  a  baseball  game, 
between  nines  from  the  American  army  and  navy,  to  which 
came  the  King  and  Queen,  the  Eoyal  Family,  and  a  host  of 
titled  personages  and  people  of  distinction.  When  the  game 
was  about  to  begin  the  King  left  the  Koyal  box,  shook  hands 
with  the  Captains  and  presented  a  ball  on  which  he  had  writ- 
ten his  name.  Another  was  used  in  the  match  and  the  auto- 
graphed ball  was  preserved  to  be  sent  to  President  Wilson. 
Our  flag  waa  everywhere  in  London.  It  was  sold  on  the 
streets,  worn  on  the  person,  carried  by  taxicabs  and  mail  vans. 
Lord  and  Lady  Albemarle  presented  a  full  length  portrait 
of  Washington  to  be  hung  in  No.  10  Downing  Street,  to  com- 
memorate our  entrance  into  the  war.  The  portrait  was  painted 
by  Charles  Wilson  Peale,  was  on  a  vessel  captured  on  its  way 
to  Holland  by  the  British  Captain  Keppel,  was  appropriated 
by  him  and  inherited  by  the  Earl. 

From  the  heads  of  the  Allied  Governments  came  congratu- 
lations to  President  Wilson.  President  Poincare  sent  the 
wishes  and  felicitations  of  France. 

The  government  of  the  republic,  at  one  with  all  the  national  rep- 
resentatives and  the  whole  country,  ordained  that  to-morrow,  the  In- 
dependence Day  of  the  United  States,  shall  also  be  a  French  holiday. 
Paris  will  give  your  glorious  name  to  one  of  its  handsomest  avenues 
and  acclaim  to  the  skies  the  parade  of  the  valiant  American  soldiers. 
In  every  department,  in  every  town,  large  and  small,  these  mani- 
festations of  fraternity  will  be  echoed.  Two  peoples  in  communion  of 
thought  will,  one  and  all,  remember  the  fights  of  old  that  won  liberty 
for  America,  and  hope  for  the  forthcoming  victories  which  will 
secure  for  the  world  a  just  and  fruitful  peace  based  on  the  law  of 
nations  and  fortified  by  the  approval  of  human  conscience.  Permit 
me,  Mr.  President,  cordially  to  extend  to  you  on  the  eve  of  that 
great  day  of  union  and  confidence  the  wishes  and  felicitations  of 
France  for  the  United  States  and  yourself. 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  105 

The  King  of  the  Belgians  sent  thanks  for  the  efforts  of 
America  to  relieve  his  stricken  people,  and  expressed  his  ad- 
miration for  the  bravery  of  our  boys. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  memorable  anniversary  occurring  on  the 
Fourth  of  July  I  wish  to  thank  once  more  the  great  American  nation 
for  its  untiring  efforts  toward  ameliorating  the  unfortunate  condi- 
tion of  my  fellow  countrymen  and  to  express  to  it  my  admiration 
for  the  bravery  displayed  by  its  great  army  on  the  battlefields  of 
France.  Be  pleased,  Mr.  President,  to  accept  the  ardent  wishes  I 
make  for  the  greatness  and  prosperity  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

King  Emmanuel  of  Italy  sent  expressions  of  brotherly 
feeling. 

Even  on  proclaiming  their  independence  the  American  people 
affirmed  that  their  mission  in  the  world  was  one  of  liberty  and  justice; 
they  have  nobly  kept  faith  with  that  supreme  ideal,  always  and  more 
than  ever  in  that  ruthless  conflict  of  all  the  people  by  spontaneously 
intervening  in  the  defense  of  right  against  violence.  Wherefore, 
this  anniversary  is  to-day  celebrated  by  all  the  free  peoples  as  it 
were  their  own  gladsome  holiday,  as  a  rite  portending  the  victory 
of  Liberty  and  Justice.  Italy,  unshaken  in  her  resolution  to  bear  and 
do  everything  in  the  great  common  cause,  sends  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  her  expression  of  brotherly  sympathy  at  the  very 
moment  when  she  enthusiastically  and  proudly  welcomes  the  sons 
of  America  who  have  come  to  fight  by  the  side  of  her  own  sons.  To 
you,  Mr.  President,  who,  with  enlightened  wisdom  and  unswerving 
decision,  worthily  preside  over  the  destinies  of  your  very  great 
nation,  I  am  glad  to  manifest  those  sentiments,  those  purposes  and 
that  confidence  of  the  Italian  people. 

King  Alexander  of  Greece  joined  the  Hellenic  people  in 
cordial  felicitations  and  ardent  wishes  for  the  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  our  people. 

On  this  memorable  day  in  which  the  great  republic  celebrates  the 
anniversary  of  its  independence,  I  join  the  Hellenic  people  in  ex- 
pressing to  you,  Mr.  President,  and  to  the  American  nation,  my 
cordial  felicitations  and  the  ardent  wishes  I  make  for  the  happiness 
and  prosperity  of  the  American  people.  The  republic's  participation 


106     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

in  the  world  war  constitutes  all  the  more  valuable  a  factor  in  the 
Allies'  struggle,  as  it  has  for  its  sole  aim  the  defense  of  the  impre- 
scriptible rights  of  the  oppressed  peoples  and  the  restitution  of  their 
spoliated  property. 

• 

The  Mayors  of  Meux  and  nearby  towns  in  a  letter  to  the 

American  commander  said: 

The  civilian  population  will  never  forget  that  since  the  beginning 

of  June,  when  their  homes  were  threatened  by  the  invader,  the 

Division  victoriously  stepped  forth  and  succeeded  in  saving  them 
from  the  impending  danger.  They  were  eyewitnesses  of  the  generous 
and  effective  deeds  of  the  American  army  in  stopping  the  enemy 
advance,  and  send  heartfelt  expression  of  their  admiration  and 
gratitude. 

General  Joffre  wrote  to  the  Echo  de  Paris: 

The  entry  of  America  into  the  war  brought  the  Allies  moral 
strength  of  the  deepest  meaning,  but  the  great  sister  republic  did 
not  want  to  content  herself  with  sentimental  manifestations.  With 
all  her  material  power  she  has  ranged  herself  beside  us.  Thanks  to 
American  assistance,  we  shall  surmount  all  the  perils  of  the  hour  and 
come  out  gloriously  from  the  trials  of  so  long  a  war. 

From  the  Belgian  minister  at  Havre  in  behalf  of  the  Belgian 
army  came  cordial  greetings  to  General  Pershing. 

On  this  memorable  day  I  send  you  the  cordial  greetings  and  re- 
spectful sympathy  of  the  Belgian  army,  which  associated  itself  with 
your  national  fete  with  elan  and  fervor,  the  troops  who  for  nearly 
four  years  have  been  fighting  resolutely  for  the  independence  of 
their  country.  On  this  occasion  detachments  of  all  arms  defiled 
before  the  American  colors  floating  over  the  Flanders  plain.  All 
hearts  are  united  in  the  same  wish,  success  to  the  allied  armies,  and 
look  forward  to  the  glorious  day  when  your  troops,  in  their  turn, 
will  defile  before  our  tri-colored  flag  hoisted  in  our  reconquered  cities. 

Lord  Reading,  the  British  Ambassador,  gave  out  this  mes- 
sage to  the  American  people: 

To-day  the  thoughts  of  all  people  in  my  country  are  centered  on 
America,  and  from  millions  of  hearts  prayers  will  ascend  for  your 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  107 

great  nation  and  for  your  gallant  men  on  sea  and  land,  and  for 
your  brave  "women  who  minister  to  them.  These  men  and  women, 
worthy  representatives  of  the  nation,  have,  as  all  of  you,  that  indi- 
vidual and  passionate  love  of  liberty  which  collectively,  as  a  nation, 
is  your  ideal  and  lodestar. 

Loving  liberty  and  freedom,  you  have  taken  up  arms  because  the 
freedom  of  the  world  is  in  peril.  With  us  and  our  allies  you  intend 
to  destroy  that  menace,  and  when  there  comes,  as  assuredly  there 
will,  the  end  of  Prussianism,  there  will  arise  a  new  independence 
day  which  will  be  the  glorious  common  heritage  of  all  those  nations 
which  have  set  their  faces  to  the  light. 

Andre  Tardieu,  French  high  commissioner  to  the  United 
States,  sent  a  message  in  the  name  of  France  to  the  citizens 
of  New  York,  Baltimore,  Washington  and  Toledo,  where 
French  soldiers  and  sailors  took  part  in  the  celebrations. 

I  have  been  happy  to  learn  that  detachments  of  our  army  and 
navy  will  participate  in  the  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  in  your 
city.  Our  soldiers  will  be  the  living  messengers  of  the  sentiments 
that  on  this  great  day  fill  all  French  hearts.  France  in  arms,  full 
of  confidence,  sends  to  your  fellow  citizens  her  cordial  greetings. 

At  Rome  there  was  a  celebration  attended  by  officials  of  the 
government  and  the  city  at  the  Victor  Emmanuel  monument 
and  a  procession  to  the  residence  of  the  American  Ambassador 
where  a  speaker  tendered  the  greetings  of  Italy  to  America. 
Demonstrations  were  also  held  in  Turin,  Florence,  Genoa, 
Naples  and  Perugia,  and  the  day  was  made  a  national  holiday 
in  San  Salvador,  Nicaragua,  Brazil  and  Peru.  At  St.  Pierre, 
Martinique,  at  Algiers,  at  Tunis,  the  Fourth  of  July  was  cele- 
brated as  a  national  fete. 

Never  before  had  foreign  nations  taken  note  of  Independence 
Day. 

Ten  days  later,  July  14,  Bastile  Day,  came  our  opportunity 
to  express  admiration  for  France.  By  a  spontaneous  move- 
ment of  our  people,  without  any  official  call,  .the  day  was 
gladly  made  one  of  demonstration  over  all  our  land.  From 
President  Wilson  went  a  message  to  the  people  of  France. 


108     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Congress  sent  greetings  from  the  American  people,  President 
Poincare  and  General  Foch  replied,  and  Samuel  Gompers  in 
behalf  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  addressed  the 
French  people. 

On  all  fronts  where  our  boys  were  stationed  they  wore  the 
French  colors,  displayed  French  flags  on  billets  and  trucks 
and  joined  their  French  comrades  in  celebrating  the  day.  At 
Lyons  a  new  bridge  over  the  Rhone  was  opened  with  due  cere- 
monies and  named  Pont  Wilson.  At  home  more  than  two 
hundred  cities  observed  the  day.  At  New  York  there  were 
salutes  from  warships  in  the  harbor  and  special  services  in  the 
churches,  open-air  meetings  and  a  great  mass  meeting  at  night 
in  Madison  Square  Garden  to  which  the  Ambassadors  of  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Italy  spoke. 

The  celebration  of  Bastile  Day  had  scarcely  closed  in  Paris 
when  the  Germans,  at  dawn  on  July  15,  began  a  fifth  drive, 
this  time  on  both  sides  of  Rheims  from  Chateau-Thierry  on 
the  west,  to  a  famous  field-work,  the  (Main  de  Massiges  in  the 
Champagne  Sector  on  the  east.  The  objective  was  Epernay 
on  the  west  of  Rheims,  and  Chalons-sur-Marne  on  the  east. 
Had  the  attack  succeeded,  had  these  towns  been  captured, 
Rheims  must  have  been  forced  to  surrender,  the  lines  of  com- 
munication at  Epernay  and  Chalons  would  have  been  cut  and 
Verdun  seriously  threatened.  But  it  did  not  succeed.  Tne 
French  stood  firm  as  a  rock  and  were  well  supported  in  the 
fight  by  two  battalions  of  the  165th  Infantry,  better  known 
as  New  York's  "Fighting  69th,"  which  that  day  held  a  small 
part  of  the  front  at  Somme-Py.  It  belonged  to  the  42  d,  "the 
Rainbow,"  Division,  stationed  in  the  rear  to  drive  back  the 
Germans  should  they  break  through. 

West  of  Rheims  and  north  of  the  Marne  the  fighting  was 
especially  severe  and  the  French  and  Italians  were  forced  back 
to  a  line  running  south  through  Bouilly,  Marfaux,  Cuchery, 
Chatillon-sur-Marne.  Between  Chatillon  and  Mezy  the  enemy 
crossed  the  Marne  at  several  places  and,  sweeping  all  before 
him,  drove  the  French  south  of  the  Bois  de  Conde,  south  to 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  109 

St.  Agnan,  and  around  to  Comblizy.  Near  Mezy  was  the 
right  flank  of  the  3d  Division,  which  held  the  south  bank 
of  the  Marne  from  Chateau-Thierry  eastward.  The  Germans 
having  crossed  the  river,  opened  fire  on  Mezy  to  drive  the  38th 
Regiment,  the  right  flank  of  the  3d  Division,  into  their  dug- 
outs, and  under  a  thick  cloud  of  smoke  which  completely  hid 
them  from  view  attempted  to  cross  the  Marne  in  boats.  Had 
the  Americans  gone  into  their  dugouts  the  crossing  would  have 
been  easy ;  but  they  remained  in  the  open,  fired  with  rifles  and 
machine  guns  through  the  smoke  screen  at  the  German  boats 
and  prevented  all  save  one  getting  across.  As  it  touched  the 
bank  its  occupants  were  made  prisoners.  East  of  Mezy  the 
Germans  made  a  landing  and  met  the  men  of  the  38th  Infantry. 
In  the  fighting  which  followed  one  of  its  platoons  was  anni- 
hilated, and  a  second  almost  cut  to  pieces,  but  reinforcements 
came,  the  enemy  were  driven  to  the  railroad  skirting  the  south 
bank,  and  six  hundred  prisoners  were  taken.  Later  the  Ger- 
mans were  driven  across  the  river  as  far  as  Jaulgonne.  Con- 
cerning this  fight  General  Pershing  said: 

A  single  regiment  of  the  3d  wrote  one  of  the  most  brilliant  pages 
in  our  military  annals  on  the  occasion.  It  prevented  the  crossing 
at  certain  points  on  its  front,  while  on  either  flank,  the  Germans 
who  had  gained  a  footing,  pressed  forward.  Our  men,  firing  in  three 
directions,  met  the  German  attacks  with  counter-attacks  at  critical 
points  and  succeeded  in  throwing  two  German  Divisions  into  complete 
confusion,  capturing  six  hundred  prisoners. 

The  victory  was  indeed  a  great  one.  Again  our  army  checked 
a  drive  on  Chateau-Thierry,  the  pivot  on  which  the  Germans 
expected  to  swing  their  army  southward  towards  Paris.  Again 
was  demonstrated  the  splendid  fighting  qualities  of  the  Ameri- 
can soldier.  Our  Allies  were  heartened  and  by  them  the  vic- 
tory was  hailed  with  delight.  The  London  Telegraph  said: 

The  feature  of  the  battle  upon  which  the  eyes  of  all  the  world 
are  fixed,  and  those  of  the  enemy  with  particular  intentness,  is  the 
conduct  of  the  American  troops.  The  magnificent  counter-attack 
in  which  the  American  Army  corps  flung  back  the  Germans  upon 


110    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  Marne  after  they  had  crossed  was  much  more  than  the  out- 
standing event  of  the  first  day's  fighting.  It  was  one  of  the  his- 
torical incidents  of  the  whole  war  in  its  moral  significance. 

The  Graphic  thought  that: 

Our  French  comrades  should  admit  the  chief  honors  in  the  initial 
days  to  the  resistance  of  the  American  troops.  The  Americans 
showed  the  enemy  the  stern  stuff  of  which  they  are  made,  and  also 
proved  by  their  tactics  that  they  have  taken  the  measure  of  Luden- 
dorffs  favorite  method.  They  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  the  policy 
of  hitting  at  an  offensive  as  soon  as  it  shows  itself. 

To  the  Daily  News: 

By  far  the  most  interesting  and  gratifying  event  of  the  battle  was 
the  achievement  of  the  Americans.  They  held,  perhaps,  the  most 
critical  position  and  kept  their  front  intact.  Their  success  was  a 
significance  which  the  enemy  will  best  appreciate.  The  Germans 
have  been  buoyed  up  with  a  belief  that  the  war  would  be  over  before 
the  American  factor  in  the  struggle  became  a  reality.  That  be- 
lief is  now  shattered.  It  never  can  be  restored.  That  is  the  momen- 
tous fact  that  emerges  from  the  battle  of  Fossoy. 

When  Mr.  Bonar  Law  announced  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons that  the  Americans  had  driven  the  Germans  across  the 
Marne  the  good  news  was  greeted  with  cheers. 

North  of  Chateau-Thierry  an  attack  was  made  on  the  Ameri- 
cans, but  they  quickly  broke  it  down,  drove  back  the  enemy 
several  hundred  yards  and  did  not  return  to  their  old  position 
until  the  advance  of  the  Germans  southeast  of  Chateau-Thierry 
made  the  reoccupation  of  their  trenches  necessary. 

Tuesday,  July  16,  found  the  battle  line  south  of  the  Marne 
running  from  Fossoy  through  Crezancy,  St.  Agnan,  La 
Chapelle-Monthodon,  Oeuilly;  but  the  French  and  Americans 
by  a  brilliant  counter-attack  recovered  St.  Agnan  and  La 
Chapelle-Monthodon.  On  the  following  day  the  enemy  made 
gains  between  the  Marne  and  Rheims,  in  some  places  to  a 
depth  of  a  mile  and  a  half.  There  the  advance  stopped,  for, 
on  July  18,  Foch  opened  the  offensive  which  drove  the  Ger- 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  m 

mans  back  to  the  Hindenburg  line  and  never  ended  until  three 
months  later  when  the  armistice  went  into  force.  This  he  was 
able  to  do,  because  the  great  movement  of  troops  from  our 
country  was  well  under  way  and  thousands  were  arriving 
each  week ;  because  what  our  men  had  done  showed  what  those 
coming  would  do,  and  because,  sure  of  an  endless  supply  of 
splendid  fighting  Americans,  he  was  enabled  to  freely  use  his 
reserves.  On  July  18,  therefore,  when  the  great  Allied  of- 
fensive began,  every  available  American  soldier  was  put  in 
the  line,  and  the  First  and  Second  Divisions  with  some  chosen 
French  divisions  were  sent  to  the  front  west  of  Soissons.  The 
line  ran  from  in  front  of  Ajnbleny  to  Laversine,  Cutry  and 
into  the  Foret  de  Eetz.  At  the  northern  end  was  a  French 
Division;  then  came  the  American  1st  Division;  then  a  Mo- 
roccan Division  and  then  the  American  2d  Division,  and 
near  Chateau-Thierry  the  26th  Division.  The  1st  had  marched 
down  from  Cantigny  to  the ''  neighborhood  of  St.  Pierre- 
Aigle-Cutry-Laversine.  During  four  days  and  nights,  now 
on  foot,  now  on  trucks,  over  unknown  roads,  and  through 
woods  lest  the  enemy  should  observe  the  movement,  the  men 
went  on  with  scarce  any  rest  and  at  dawn  on  July  18  advanced 
to  the  attack.  Before  them  lay  the  villages  of  Missy-aux- 
Bois,  Ploisy,  Berzy-le-Sec  and  the  highway  leading  down  from 
Soissons  to  Paris  clearly  marked  by  the  lines  of  trees  on  either 
side.  All  of  these  places  were  to  be  taken  and  the  highway 
crossed  that  day.  Such  was  the  resistance  met  with  that  night 
found  the  division  on  the  Missy-aux-Bois-Chaudun  line  with 
the  right  well  in  advance  of  the  left.  That  night  the  enemy 
was  heavily  reenforced;  but  at  four  o'clock  on  the  19th  the 
1st  Division  again  went  forward  with  a  line  from  Berzy-le- 
Sec  to  Buzancy  as  its  objective.  Neither  village  was  to  be 
taken,  but  merely  the  ground  between,  for  the  one  lay  in  the 
sector  of  a  French  and  the  other  in  the  sector  of  the  Moroccan 
Division.  Desperate  fighting  brought  the  Ajnericans  to 
Chazelle;  but  the  French  were  unable  to  reach  Berzy-le-Sec 
and  the  Americans  were  ordered  to  take  it  early  in  the  after- 


112    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

noon  of  July  20.  At  two  o'clock,  accordingly,  after  a  furious 
barrage,  the  left  of  the  Division  went  forward.  Then  followed 
a  desperate  struggle  which  lasted  until  morning.  Again  and 
again  all  that  afternoon  and  night  the  lines  swept  backward 
and  forward  in  attack  and  counter-attack.  Machine-gun  nests 
were  taken,  lost,  and  taken  again,  and  the  men  fought  with 
bayonets,  trench  knives,  hand  grenades.  So  heavy  were  the 
losses  that  the  expediency  of  relieving  it  was  seriously  con- 
sidered, but  early  in  the  morning  of  July  21  one  last  effort 
was  made  and  the  men  rushed  over  the  ruins  of  Berzy-le-Sec, 
capturing  machine  guns,  a  field  battery  and  hundreds  of 
prisoners.  On  the  right  the  1st  Brigade  was  then  across  the 
Chateau-Thierry  highway.  July  22  the  1st  Division  was 
relieved  and  sent  to  a  rest  area  near  Paris.1 

The  2d  Division,  which  on  the  morning  of  July  18  occu- 
pied a  sector  from  Chavigny  Farm  to  a  point  across  the 
Soissons-Paris  highway,  fought  its  way  through  Vaucastille, 
encountered  desperate  resistance  at  the  village  of  Vierzy,  and 
by  night  was  halfway  between  Vierzy  and  Tigny.  July  19 
Tigny  was  captured  and  the  Bois  d'Hartennes  reached  and 
there,  reduced  to  almost  half  its  strength,  the  Division  was 
relieved  by  the  French.  Further  down  the  front  behind  the 
Savieres  River  near  Troesnes  were  troops  of  the  4th  Division 
fighting  with  the  French.  July  18  when  Foch  began  his  great 
offensive  they  crossed  the  Savieres,  passed  the  village  of  Noroy- 
sur-Ourcq,  and  by  evening  on  the  following  day  were  well 
past  Chouy,  where,  on  the  25th,  they  were  relieved.  Still 
further  south  other  units  of  the  4th,  fighting  with  the  French, 
took  Hautevesnes,  and  Courchamp,  la  Grenouilliers,  and  Som- 
melans,  and  by  the  night  of  July  22  had  crossed  the  Soissons- 
Chateau-Thierry  highway  and  were  in  the  Bois-du-Chatelet. 
That  night  they  were  withdrawn  and  the  whole  4th  Division 
sent  to  reserve  positions.2 

Still  further  south  was  the  26th  Division,  which  relieved 

1  Stars  and  Stripes,  January  3,  1919. 
•Ibid.,  February  14,  1919. 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  113 

the  2d  on  July  10,  and  held  a  sector  from  near  Vaux  to  near 
Bussiares.  July  18  it,  too,  went  forward  and  under  cover 
of  a  heavy  mist  surprised  the  enemy,  captured  Torcy,  Belleau 
and  Givry,  and  was  there  held  by  the  failure  of  the  French 
to  reach  their  objective,  Licy,  Monthiers  and  Hill  193.  Small 
gains  were  made  on  the  20th.  Early  on  the  21st  the  Germans 
withdrew  from  Chateau-Thierry  and  began  a  retreat,  fol- 
lowed all  day  by  the  French  and  Americans  who  by  evening 
had  carried  their  advance  well  across  the  Soissons-Oulchy- 
Chateau-Thierry  highway  to  near  Epieds  and  Trugny.  There 
more  resistance  was  met  until  the  morning  of  the  24th,  when 
it  was  found  the  Germans  were  again  in  retreat.  Once  more 
they  were  pursued  towards  the  Fere-en-Tardenois-Jaulgonne 
highway,  near  which  at  evening  the  advance  was  checked. 
That  night  the  26th  was  relieved  by  the  42 d.3  During  three 
days  no  important  advance  was  made  between  Soissons  and 
Oulchy-le-Chateau ;  but  from  that  town  to  the  Marne  and  along 
it  to  Chatillon  the  battle  raged  fiercely.  Along  the  crests  north- 
east of  Chateau-Thierry,  and  about  the  village  of  Epieds,  our 
troops  met  with  desperate  resistance.  German  infantry,  hur- 
ried forward  to  check  the  advance,  held  our  men  at  bay  for 
thirty-six  hours,  and  three  times  drove  them  from  Epieds. 
During  this  fighting  the  village,  from  ceaseless  bombardment 
by  both  sides,  disappeared.  Meantime  the  Americans  had 
taken  the  slopes  on  either  side,  brought  their  artillery  to  the 
crests,  and  fired  on  the  Germans  until  none  were  left  to  sur- 
render. At  the  edge  of  the  woods  near  the  hamlet  of  Trugny 
German  machine  guns  held  back  the  advance  a  little  longer, 
but,  making  a  feint  frontal  attack,  the  Americans,  in  Indian 
fashion,  crept  around  the  flanks,  captured  the  guns  and  car- 
ried their  line  a  mile  to  the  north  of  Epieds. 

Pushing  on  through  the  Eoret-de-Eere  and  the  Eoret-de- 
Eiz,  filled  with  German  machine  guns,  our  troops  by  July 
25  had  carried  their  front  to  a  line  from  Beuvardes  to  Le 
Channel.  The  3d  Division,  meantime,  from  its  position  at  the 

•Stars  <md  Stripes,  January  10,  1919. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

bend  of  the  Marne  east  of  Chateau-Thierry,  had  fought  its 
way  to  the  line  Frenes-Roncheres,  where  on  July  27  men  from 
the  28th  Division  relieved  it. 

The  Allied  front  then  ran  from  near  Fontenoy  southeast- 
ward to  near  Soissons,  southward  around  Buzaiicy  and  along 
the  Soissons-Chateau-Thierry  highway  to  Oulchy-le-Chateau, 
and  then  eastward  through  Bruyeres,  Courmont,  Roncheres, 
Passy-Grigny,  la  Neuville,  Chaumuzy,  Vrigny,  to  the  old  line 
near  Ormes.  July  28  the  42d  Division  forced  the  passage  of 
the  Ourcq  Eiver  and  captured  the  villages  of  Sergy  and 
Seringes  by  assault.  At  Sergy  the  Americans  met  two  of  the 
best  divisions  of  the  German  army,  the  4th  Prussian  Guards 
and  the  Bavarians,  which  had  been  held  in  reserve  and  then 
hurried  through  the  retreating  Germans  to  attack  the  Ameri- 
cans. Their  first  attack  was  successful  and  our  men  were 
forced  out  of  Sergy,  Seringes-et-RTesles  and  a  few  hamlets. 
In  the  streets  of  the  little  towns,  on  the  slopes  of  the  river 
banks,  in  the  water,  the  fighting  was  often  hand-to-hand. 
Again  and  again  the  line  of  battle  went  backwards  and  for- 
wards until  late  in  the  afternoon  the  42d  Division  for  the 
ninth  time  captured  Sergy  and  held  it. 

As  our  men  swept  through  the  Foret-de-Fere  and  the  Foret- 
de-Riz,  they  found  the  forests  and  the  country  round  about 
a  great  arsenal.  At  some  places  more  than  an  acre  was  cov- 
ered with  shells  of  all  calibers.  Along  the  edges  of  the  woods 
they  were  stacked  in  long  rows;  along  the  roads  and  open 
spots  they  were  camouflaged  with  limbs  of  trees;  they  were 
piled  in  every  clump  of  trees,  under  every  patch  of  shrub- 
bery, while  along  the  edges  of  the  woods,  mile  after  mile  were 
cases  of  cartridges.  July  28  the  55th  Brigade  of  the  28th 
Division  took  over  the  line  between  the  42d  and  the  3d  Divi- 
sions, along  the  Ourcq  in  front  of  the  Bois  de  Grimpettes, 
and  Cierges,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  29th  opened 
an  attack,  but  made  no  progress  during  the  day.  That  night 
the  3d  Division  was  relieved  by  the  32d,  which  took  position 
on  the  right  of  the  28th  and  three  hours  later,  on  the  morning 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  115 

of  the  30th,  went  over  the  top  and  by  dark  had  entered  the 
Bois  des  Grimpettes  and  were  close  to  Cierges.  That  night, 
July  30-31,  the  28th  Division  was  relieved  and  the  32d  occu- 
pied the  entire  front  of  the  sector.  Desperate  fighting  July 
31  and  August  1  brought  the  capture  of  Cierges  and  Hill 
230  north  of  it.  Capture  of  the  Hill  forced  the  Germans  to 
retreat  and  the  advance  to  the  Yesle  at  once  began. 

In  the  opening  days  of  August  the  whole  line  of  the  Allies 
went  forward.  The  French  entered  Soissons,  the  Crise  River 
was  crossed  along  its  whole  length,  and  Goussancourt,  Villers 
Agron,  Coulonges  and  Ville-en-Tardenois  were  taken.  The 
German  retreat  now  became  hasty,  and  by  the  night  of  August 
3  the  Allies  had  advanced  from  Soissons  eastward  along  the 
Aisne  River  to  the  Yesle  and  along  that  river  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Rheims.  The  Americans  were  then  in  the  outskirts 
of  Fismes,  which  on  August  4  the  127th  Infantry,  32d  Divi- 
sion, carried  by  storm.  The  men  of  the  32d  were,  during 
the  night  of  August  6-7,  relieved  by  men  from  the  28th  Divi- 
sion, who  during  the  night  of  the  7th  forced  the  passage  of 
the  Vesle  and  the  next  morning  captured  and  held  the  village 
of  Fismette  until  August  27,  when  they  were  driven  across 
the  river.  To  the  west,  on  August  3  the  4th  Division  relieved 
the  42 d  near  the  village  of  St.  Thibaut,  some  five  kilometers 
west  of  Fismes,  took  it  on  the  morning  of  August  5,  forced 
a  crossing  of  the  river  on  the  night  of  the  6th,  made  their 
way  to  the  Soissons-Bazoches-Rheims  highway,  and  entered 
outskirts  of  Bazoches,  but  August  9  were  driven  back  across 
the  river,  and  during  the  night  of  the  ll-12th  were  relieved 
by  the  77th  Division.  The  Marne  salient  was  gone. 

Three  months  had  now  passed  since  the  British  and  French 
forces  along  the  front  north  of  Montdidier  had  struck  an  im- 
portant blow.  But  their  turn  had  come  and  early  on  the 
morning  of  August  8,  after  a  violent  artillery  preparation,  the 
blow  was  struck,  and  the  German  lines  for  twenty  miles  along 
the  Albert-Montdidier  front  east  of  Amiens  were  vigorously 
attacked.  The  Germans  were  taken  by  surprise.  Neverthe- 


116    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

less  north  of  the  Somme  at  Morlancourt  and  Chipilly  and  south 
of  the  Somme  at  Moreuil  the  fighting  was  desperate ;  elsewhere 
the  enemy  fled  in  haste,  leaving  behind  in  the  ruined  houses 
and  dugouts  personal  belongings,  letters,  official  papers,  books, 
photographs,  and  uniforms.  By  nightfall  the  French  and 
British  had  reached  Plessier,  Beaucourt,  Caix,  Framerville, 
Chipilly,  and  were  west  of  Morlancourt.  This  was  but  the 
beginning.  Day  after  day  the  drive  continued;  day  after  day 
the  enemy  fell  back  until  when  a  week  had  gone  by  the  battle 
front  was  a  little  to  the  west  of  Chaulnes,  Roye,  Lassigny 
and  east  of  Ribecourt,  When  the  month  of  August  closed 
the  British  had  pushed  their  front  eastward  from  near  Arras 
to  La  Bassee,  had  crossed  the  Hindenburg  line  southeast  of 
Arras,  and  taken  Peronne;  the  French,  seven  miles  south  of 
that  city,  had  crossed  the  Somme  canal;  Noyon  had  been 
wrested  from  the  Germans  and  the  Americans  had  captured 
Juvigny  and  advanced  two  miles  east  of  it,  after  an  all  day 
desperate  fight,  and  had  taken  600  prisoners.  During  the 
first  weeks  of  September  the  progress  of  the  Allies  was  slower. 
Nevertheless  gain  was  made  and  by  September  12  the  French 
were  closing  in  on  St.  Quentin  and  La  Fere. 

That  day  will  ever  be  memorable  in  our  history,  for  then 
it  was  our  army  struck  its  first  great  blow  and  began  its  first 
great  drive  in  France.  With  the  destruction  of  the  Marne 
salient  our  period  of  tutelage  ended.  That  American  units 
should  be  scattered  along  the  front  holding  portions  of  the  line 
under  command  of  foreign  officers  was  neither  necessary  nor 
desirable.  We  could  not  consent  to  send  two  million  or  more 
men  to  France  to  fight  under  any  other  than  American  leader- 
ship. August  10  accordingly  the  1st  American  Army,  was 
organized  with  General  Pershing  as  Commander-in-Chief. 

The  work  assigned  to  this  army  was  the  destruction  of  the 
St.  Mihiel  salient,  which  since  1914  had  remained  thrust  into 
the  French  line,  and  from  August  21  to  September  12  prepara- 
tions were  made  with  the  utmost  secrecy  for  the  attack.  All 
divisions  scattered  along  the  west  front,  save  the  27th  and  30th 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  119 

which  were  left  with  the  British,  were  brought  down  to  the 
sector  and  moved  into  the  woods  at  night.  No  unusual  activity 
either  of  traffic,  of  air  service  or  of  artillery  was  allowed.  Even 
the  new  heavy  guns  when  they  came  were  not  permitted  to  fire 
registration  shots,  for  the  attack  if  possible  was  to  be  a  surprise. 
These  preparations  involved  the  movement  of  divisions,  the 
organization  of  corps,  the  assembling  of  artillery,  transports, 
aircrafts,  tanks  and  ambulances,  the  building  of  hospitals,  and 
the  placing  of  some  six  hundred  thousand  fighting  men.  The 
French  loaned  some  divisions  and  artillery  and  placed  their 
Independent  Air  Force  at  Pershing's  command;  the  British 
sent  bombing  squadrons,  and  these,  with  our  own  air  men,  gave 
us  the  largest  aviation  force  ever  brought  together  in  any  one 
sector. 

Along  the  front,  when  finally  taken  over,  from  Ronvaux  to  a 
point  a  few  miles  west  of  St.  Remy,  were  the  4th  American 
Division,  the  15th  French  and  the  26th  American,  forming  the 
5th  Corps.  From  the  right  of  the  26th  southward  around  St. 
Mihiel  and  eastward  to  near  Xivray  were  the  French  Colonial 
troops.  From  Xivray  to  Clemery  were  the  1st,  42d  and  89th 
American  Divisions,  forming  the  4th  Corps,  and  the  2d,  5th 
and  90th  Divisions,  forming  the  1st  Corps,  and  then  the  82d. 

The  German  line  along  the  west  side  of  the  salient  and 
around  its  point  occupied  high  ground,  running  over  the  crests 
of  ranges  of  hills.  On  the  low  ground  at  the  point  of  the 
salient  was  the  town  of  St.  Mihiel,  where  the  Germans  held  the 
inhabitants  to  prevent  the  French  shelling  the  place  and  driving 
out  German  troops.  From  St.  Mihiel  their  line  ran  along  the 
hills  to  Apremont  and  then  across  the  low  valley  of  the  Rupt 
de  Mad  river  to  the  hills  east  of  Pont-a-Mousson.  Dominating 
this  valley  was  the  isolated  peak  known  as  Montsec,  from  which 
the  enemy  observers  could  distinctly  see  all  that  went  on  behind 
the  American  line. 

Defending  the  salient  were  nine  German  Divisions,  two- 
thirda  of  which  were  Landwehr,  Austro-Hungarians  and  second 
class  troops.  According  to  the  plan  of  battle,  the  main  attack 


120    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

was  to  be  made  down  the  open  valley  of  the  Rupt  de  Mad,  the 
5th  Corps  at  the  northwest  end  was  to  advance  into  the  hills 
that  rose  before  it,  and  if  as  a  result  of  this  pinching  the  Ger- 
mans retreated,  the  French  Colonials  were  to  follow  them. 

At  one  o'clock  on  the  dark  and  rainy  morning  of  September 
12,  just  four  years  to  a  day  since  the  Germans  thrust  the  salient 
into  the  French  lines,  the  artillery  preparation  began  and  shells 
were  dropped  on  batteries,  dugouts,  trenches  and  on  Montsec, 
in  particular,  which  was  drenched  with  smoke  shells  to  blind  the 
German  observers. 

At  four  o'clock  the  rolling  barrage  was  laid  and  at  five  o'clock 
seven  American  divisions  moved  forward  to  the  attack  along  a 
ten-mile  front  east  of  St.  Mihiel.  At  six  o'clock  another  attack 
opened  along  a  shorter  front  north  of  St.  Mihiel,  and  at  eight 
the  French  moved  against  the  town  itself  at  the  apex  of  the 
salient.  Following  close  after  the  American  barrage  went  the 
tanks,  then  groups  of  wire  cutters,  then  the  infantry  in  open 
order,  while  overhead  airplanes  in  low  flying  squadrons  dropped 
bombs  on  the  German  infantry.  Taken  by  surprise  the  enemy 
made  but  little  resistance.  Only  here  and  there  was  the  fighting 
stubborn,  and  along  the  southern  front  the  Ajnericans  advanced 
rapidly  to  Thiaucourt,  Pannes,  Montsec.  At  the  northwest 
end  of  the  salient  the  French  in  their  advance  were  retarded 
by  heavy  fire  on  their  exposed  left  flank,  and  so  was  the  26th 
American  Division  by  machine-gun  fire  in  the  hills  south  of 
St.  Remy.  Neither  made  all  its  objectives  that  day,  but  during 
the  night  the  102d  Regiment  in  column  formation  was  marched 
down  a  highway,  through  the  German  lines,  and  shortly  after 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  found  itself  in  the  village  of 
Hattonchatel.  Yet  a  little  while  and  a  patrol  from  the  1st 
Division  entered  the  town  and  to  their  astonishment  found  it 
full  of  Americans.  Thus  was  it  that  in  twenty-seven  hours  after 
the  battle  opened  the  St.  Mihiel  salient,  vanished. 

Besides  liberating  more  than  150  square  miles  of  territory  and 
taking  15,000  prisoners  [said  General  Pershing]  we  have  captured 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  121 

a  mass  of  material.  Over  200  guns  of  all  calibers,  and  hundreds 
of  machine  guns  and  trench  mortars  have  been  taken.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  enemy  during  his  retreat  burned  large  stores,  a 
partial  examination  of  the  battlefield  shows  that  great  quantities 
of  ammunition,  telegraph  material,  railroad  material,  rolling  stock, 
clothes  and  equipment  have  been  abondoned.  Further  evidence  of 
the  haste  with  which  the  enemy  retreated  is  found  in  the  uninjured 
bridges  which  he  left  behind. 

At  the  cost  of  only  seven  thousand  casualties,  mostly  light,  [said 
General  Pershing  in  his  final  report,]  we  have  taken  16,000  prisoners, 
443  guns,  a  great  quantity  of  material,  released  the  inhabitants  of 
many  villages  from  enemy  domination,  and  established  our  lines  in 
a  position  to  threaten  Metz.  This  signal  success  of  the  American 
First  Army  in  its  first  offensive  was  of  prime  importance.  The  Allies 
found  they  had  a  formidable  army  to  aid  them,  and  the  enemy  learned 
finally  that  he  had  one  to  reckon  with.  The  French  took  the  town 
of  St.  Mihiel. 

Among  the  prisoners  were  several  thousand  Austro-Hun- 
garians. 

In  anticipation  of  such  an  attack  [said  the  German  report]  the 
evacuation  of  this  salient,  liable  to  encirclement  on  both  sides,  which 
has  been  under  consideration  for  years,  was  begun  a  few  days  ago. 
We  did  not  therefore  fight  this  battle  to  a  finish,  but  carried  out 
the  movements  contemplated,  which  the  enemy  was  unable  to  prevent 
...  In  the  night  the  evacuation  of  the  salient  was  completed 
without  interference. 

Congratulations  on  this  splendid  victory  now  came  from 
France  and  Great  Britain.  King  George,  in  a  message  to  the 
President,  said: 

On  behalf  of  the  British  Empire  I  heartily  congratulate  you  on 
the  brilliant  achievement  of  the  American  and  Allied  troops  under 
the  leadership  of  General  Pershing  in  the  St.  Mihiel  salient.  The 
far-reaching  results  secured  by  these  successful  operations,  which 
have  marked  the  active  intervention  of  the  American  Army  on  a 
great  scale  under  its  own  administration,  are  the  happiest  augury  for 
the  completion,  and  I  hope,  not  far  distant  triumph  of  the  Allied 
cause. 


122     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mr.  Lloyd  George  telegraphed  General  Pershing: 

I  desire  to  offer  to  you  and  your  brave  Armies  heartiest  congratula- 
tions on  your  great  victory.  The  enemy  has  made  many  mistakes  in 
this  great  war,  and  none  greater  than  when  he  underrated  the  valor, 
determination,  and  intrepid  spirit  of  the  brave  soldiers  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  Now  he  has  tasted  the  mettle  of  the  American 
Armies  the  enemy  knows  what  is  in  store  for  him.  The  news  came 
to  me  on  a  sick  bed.  It  was  better,  and  infinitely  more  palatable, 
than  any  physic. 

General  Sir  Douglas  Haig  assured  General  Pershing  that : 

All  ranks  of  the  British  Armies  in  France  welcome  with  unbounded 
admiration  and  pleasure  the  victory  which  has  attended  the  initial 
offensive  of  the  great  American  Army  under  your  personal  command. 
I  beg  of  you  to  accept,  and  to  convey  to  all  ranks,  my  best  congratula- 
tions and  those  of  all  ranks  of  the  British  Armies  under  my  command. 

In  Paris  the  Stars  and  Stripes  flew  from  the  Hotel  de  Yille 
in  honor  of  the  victory ;  the  President  of  the  (Municipal  Council 
requested  Mr.  Lansing  to  send  to  all  cities  and  towns  in  the 
United  States  the  brotherly  greeting  of  Paris;  and  President 
Poincare,  congratulating  President,  Wilson  on  the  "victory  of 
which  the  first  stage  has  been  so  brilliantly  accomplished,"  said : 

I  express  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  lively  thanks  of 
France.  Allow  me  to  add  the  expression  of  my  deep  personal  esteem. 
I  represented  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  French  Chamber 
the  region  now  delivered.  None  knows  better  how  patriotic  our 
people  are,  how  attached  they  are  to  right  and  liberty.  The  great 
sister  Eepublic  may  be  assured  of  their  eternal  gratitude. 

Having  accomplished  their  objective,  the  Americans  strength- 
ened their  lines  and  the  fighting  became  such  as  was  constantly 
going  on  along  the  whole  front.  Patrols  brought  in  more  pris- 
oners, combats  were  fought  in  the  air,  the  lines  were  shelled  by 
the  Germans  and  their  trenches  were  shelled  in  return ;  quanti- 
ties of  gas  were  sent  over  by  the  enemy ;  here  and  there  a  raid 
was  repulsed  by  the  Americans.  Metz  was  bombarded  by  long 
range  guns,  and  the  Germans,  as  they  had  so  often  done  before, 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE 

threw  high  explosives  round  about  a  clearing  hospital  and 
finally  struck  a  large  tent  and  killed  eight  of  our  men  who  had 
been  gassed.  During  two  weeks,  however,  no  advance  was 
attempted. 

At  this  stage  of  the  struggle  the  Allies  took  the  offensive  in 
Macedonia.  Their  line  then  extended  some  350  miles  from 
the  Adriatic  on  the  west  to  the  ^gean  on  the  east.  North  of  it 
lay  mountains  and  hills  easy  to  defend,  and  not  to  be  penetrated 
save  by  the  narrow  valleys  of  the  rivers  Struma,  Vardar  and 
Cerna.  The  Cerna  was  chosen  and  September  15  the  attack 
was  begun  by  French  and  Serbian  troops  who  fought  their  way 
down  the  valley  anol  having  taken  Prilep  went  on  to  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Cerna  and  the  Vardar,  crossed  that  river  and  cut  off 
communication  between  the  Bulgarian  First  Army  based  on 
Strumnitza  and  the  Second  Army  and  its  German  allies  based 
on  Prilep.  Ishtip  fell  September  25  and  on  the  following  day 
the  British  and  Greek  forces,  moving  along  the  valley  of  the 
Vardar,  captured  Strumnitza.  That  same  day  Italian,  French 
and  Greek  troops  entered  Kichevo,  and  the  Bulgarians  asked  a 
suspension  of  hostilities.  The  terms  of  the  Allies  were  accepted, 
the  armistice  was  signed  at  Saloniki  on  the  night  of  September 
29,  and  at  noon  on  the  thirtieth  hostilities  ceased.  Bulgaria  was 
out  of  the  war. 

On  Germany  and  Austria  the  effect  was  most  depressing. 
But  far  more  depressing  still  was  the  steady  advance  of  the 
Allies  on  the  western  front.  The  Belgians,  aided  by  the  Brit- 
ish, on  September  28  attacked  the  German  lines  between  Dix- 
mude  and  Ypres,  made  an  advance  of  two  miles,  and  by  Octo- 
ber 1  had  taken  Dixmude  and  advanced  their  front  from  Nieu- 
port  to  the  outskirts  of  Koulers,  to  the  Lys  Kiver,  and  on  to 
Armentiers.  The  British  and  French  were  then  in  the  outskirts 
of  Cambrai  and  St.  Quentin,  and  gains  had  been  made  north- 
west of  Eheims.  In  this  fighting  our  men  again  won  distinc- 
tion. 

The  30th  Division,  composed  of  National  Guard  troops  of 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  and  drafted 


124    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

men  from  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  landed  in 
France  in  May,  1918,  and  before  its  training  period  ended  was 
sent  to  the  Ypres  Sector  to  support  the  2d  British  Corps,  Second 
Army.  July  4  it  marched  into  Belgium  to  support  two  British 
Divisions,  and  in  August  took  over  the  Canal  Sector,  extending 
from  the  outskirts  of  Ypres  to  near  Voormezeele.  August  31 
to  September  1,  with  the  British  on  its  left  and  the  27th  Ameri- 
can Division  on  its  right,  it  took  part  in  an  offensive  and  cap- 
tured Lock  No.  8,  and  the  city  of  Voormezeele. 

The  27th  Division,  New  York  National  Guard,  landed  in 
Prance  in  June,  1918,  was  assigned  to  the  British  Second 
Army,  was  stationed  in  Belgium  in  the  Ypres  and  Mont  Kem- 
mel  salient,  and  from  July  8  to  August  20  held  the  East  Pope- 
ringhe  line  behind  Dickebiisch  Lake.  August  21  it  was  moved 
up  to  the  front  line  of  the  sector,  and  during  the  offensive  of 
August  31-September  2,  captured  Vierstraat  Kidge,  Eosignoll 
Wood,  Petite  Bois  and  Plateau  Farm.  This  done  it  went  back 
to  a  rest  area  for  intensive  training. 

Before  the  month  ended  the  27th  was  again  at  the  front  with 
the  30th  Division  on  its  right  and  facing  it  the  St.  Quentin 
tunnel  and  the  famous  Hindenburg  Line  of  defenses.  As  de- 
scribed by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Kincaid,  this  line  "consisted  of 
three  deep  trenches  with  concrete  firing  steps,  each  trench  pro- 
tected by  a  belt  of  barbed  wire  entanglements  twenty  to  thirty 
feet  in  width.  The  first  belt  of  wire  might  be  cut,  but  there 
was  another  beyond,  and  still  another  beyond  that.  These 
trenches  were  as  strong  as  human  ingenuity  and  human  power 
and  human  labor  could  make  them.  Behind  them,  acting  as  a 
great  warehouse  for  fresh  troops  and  a  haven  for  exhausted 
ones,  lay  the  famous  St.  Quentin  Canal  tunnel  built  by  Na- 
poleon in  1811.  It  was  5.7  kilometers  long  (about  6,000  vards 
in  our  measurement),  dug  straight  through  a  hill,  and  con- 
structed of  arched  brick  walls  with  a  broad  towpath  running 
along  the  side.  The  Boche  had  filled  the  canal  within  the  tunnel 
with  canal  boats  in  which  men  were  quartered,  and  had  sealed 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  125 

both  ends  with  f erro-concrete  walls  four  feet  thick.  The  tunnel 
lay  from  ten  to  fifty  meters  under  ground.  Access  to  the  fight- 
ing lines  was  had  through  passages  and  galleries  cut  from  the 
tunnel  to  the  trenches."  4 

In  front  of  the  Hindenburg  Line  were  three  outpost  positions 
known  as  the  Knoll,  Guillemont  Farm  and  Quennemont  Farm. 
Against  these  outposts  men  of  the  27th  Division  (106th  Kegi- 
ment)  advanced  in  the  face  of  machine  gun  fire  on  the  morning 
of  September  27.  The  fighting  was  desperate.  The  Knoll 
changed  hands  four  times,  but  when  night  came  Guillemont 
Farm  and  Quennemont  Farm,  and  all  but  a  small  part  of  the 
Knoll  were  in  our  hands.  On  the  29th  the  attack  on  the  Hin- 
denburg Line  was  made.  Preceded  by  twenty-six  of  the  heaviest 
British  tanks,  two  regiments,  the  107th  and  the  108th,  went 
forward ;  but  within  two  hours  ground  mines  and  anti-tank  guns 
wrecked  all  the  tanks  save  one,  which  returned  badly  damaged. 
Despite  this  disaster  the  men  of  the  108th  pushed  on,  broke 
through  the  Hindenburg  Line  and  held  their  ground.  To  their 
right  the  107th,  meantime,  tore  its  way  through  the  belts  of 
barbed  wire  to  attack  the  tunnel.  But  as  it  went  forward,  con- 
quering one  area  after  another,  the  Germans,  armed  with 
machine  guns  and  grenades,  came  through  the  underground 
passages  connecting  with  the  tunnel  and  attacked  our  troops  in 
the  rear,  and  opened  a  fire  on  their  left  flank  from  Vendhuilla 
The  105th  regiment  was  then  sent  to  aid  the  107th,  and  these 
two,  after  desperate  fighting  and  in  spite  of  heavy  odds,  reached 
the  line  and  forced  the  Germans  out  of  the  tunnel.  Men  from 
the  30th  Division  by  this  time  had  driven  the  Germans  before 
them  and  captured  Bellicourt,  Noroy,  Kiqueval,  Carriere, 
Etricour  and  Ferme,  and  had  advanced  nearly  two  and  a  half 
miles. 

October  1  both  divisions  were  withdrawn;  but  four  days  later 
the  30th  was  back  in  the  front,  and  in  four  days  of  continuous 
fighting  captured  a  score  of  towns  and  villages  and  advanced 
nearly  ten  miles.  October  11  the  Division  was  relieved  by  the 

4  New  York  Times  Magazine  Section,  March  9,  1919, 


126    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

27th,  but  was  again  at  the  front  on  the  16th,  taking  over  a  part 
of  the  sector  held  by  the  27th  Division  near  St.  Souplet  on  the 
Selle  River.  October  17  the  two  Divisions  forced  a  passage  of 
the  river,  climbed  the  slippery  banks  on  the  further  side,  and 
by  the  19th  had  driven  the  enemy  back  to  near  Catillon. 

When  the  Argonne-Meuse  advances  had  reached  Landres-et- 
St.  George,  and  Aincreville,  October  18,  the  37th  and  91st 
Divisions  were  withdrawn  from  the  front  and  hastily  sent  to 
help  the  French  Army  in  Belgium.  Detraining  near  Ypres 
they  moved  to  the  Lys  River,  were  attached  to  the  French  Army 
and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians.  On  the 
night  of  October  29th  the  37th  Division  crossed  the  Lys,  occu- 
pied a  line  along  the  Ghent-Courtrai  railroad  in  front  of  Olsene, 
and  early  on  the  morning  of  October  31  attacked  the  Germans 
and  drove  them  to  the  Cruyshautem  Ridge,  half  way  between 
Lys  and  Escaut  or  Scheldt  Rivers.  There  the  enemy  made  a 
stand,  but  was  again  attacked,  routed  and  driven  across  the 
Escaut.  Preparations  were  at  once  made  to  force  a  crossing 
and  attack  the  Germans  on  the  other  side.  November  2  the 
attempt  was  made,  and  despite  machine  gun  bullets  and  shrap- 
nel a  bridge  was  completed  by  nightfall.  All  day  long  Novem- 
ber 3  the  fighting  went  on  more  desperately  than  before,  but 
by  dark  nine  companies  of  infantry  and  four  machine  gun  com- 
panies had  crossed  and  established  a  bridgehead,  and  there  they 
remained  until  relieved  by  the  French  November  5.  Meantime 
the  91st  Division  captured  Spitals  Bosschen,  a  wood  extending 
across  its  sector,  reached  the  Escaut  and  entered  the  town  of 
Audenarde. 

In  the  37th  and  91st  Divisions  [said  General  Degoutte  in  a  gen- 
eral order]  I  found  the  same  spirit  of  duty,  and  the  willing  sub- 
mission to  discipline  which  makes  gallant  soldiers  and  victorious 
armies. 

The  enemy  was  to  hold  the  heights  between  the  Lys  and  the 
Escaut  "to  the  death."  American  troops,  of  these  divisions,  acting 
in  concert  with  the  French  Divisions  of  the  group  of  Armies  in 
Flanders,  broke  through  the  enemy  on  the  31st  of  October,  1918, 
and  after  severe  fighting  threw  him  on  the  Escaut. 


MEUSE-ARGONNE 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  129 

Then,  attempting  an  operation  of  war  of  unheard  of  audacity,  the 
American  units  crossed  the  overflooded  Escaut  under  fire  of  the 
enemy  and  maintained  themselves  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river 
in  spite  of  his  counter-attacks. 

Glory  to  such  troops  and  their  chief !  They  have  valiantly  con- 
tributed to  the  liberation  of  a  part  of  Belgian  territory  and  to 
final  victory. 

From  October  2  to  9  the  2d  Division  fought  with  the  French 
against  the  Germans  in  their  old  position  before  Rheims,  broke 
down  the  defense  works  on  their  front,  attacked  the  strongly 
held  wooded  hill  of  Blanc  Mont,  captured  it  on  the  second  as- 
sault and  swept  "over  it  with  consummate  dash  and  skill,"  said 
General  Pershing.  "This  division  then  repulsed  strong  counter- 
attacks before  the  village  and  cemetery  of  St.  Etienne  and  took 
the  town,  forcing  the  Germans  to  fall  back  from  before  Rheims 
and  yield  positions  they  had  held  since  September,  1914." 

Reduction  of  the  Chateau-Thierry  salient,  the  Montdidier 
salient,  the  St.  Mihiel  salient,  left  nothing  for  the  Allied  armies 
to  do  but  begin  a  frontal  attack  along  the  whole  battle  front. 
The  part  assigned  the  American  First  Army  was  to  take  over 
a  sector  northwest  of  Verdun,  stretching  from  the  Forest  of 
Argonne  to  the  river  Meuse.  Behind  this  line  was  the  Lon- 
gouyon-Sedan  railway,  over  which  passed  the  greater  part  of 
the  supplies  for  the  German  armies  on  the  western  front.  There 
also  were  the  Briey  iron  mines,  then  used  by  the  Germans  and 
which  contained  more  than  half  the  iron  ore  in  Europe.  To 
cut  this  railway,  and  deprive  the  Germans  of  the  use  of  the 
mines,  was  the  task  assigned  the  American  army.  That  it  was 
a  task  difficult  to  accomplish  and  would  be  attended  by  heavy 
losses  was  well  known,  for  between  the  railway  and  the  German 
front,  concentrated  on  the  hilltops  along  a  strip  of  territory  but 
twenty  kilometers  wide,  were  five  lines  of  defense,  the  Hinden- 
burg  Stellung,  the  Hagen  Stellung,  the  Volker  Stellung,  the 
Kriemhilde  Stellung  and  the  Freya  Stellung.  "The  country, 
about  to  become  the  field  of  an  ever  memorable  battle,  was  ad- 
mirably adapted  for  defense.  The  Forest  of  Argonne,  impene- 


130    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

trable  save  by  a  few  paths,  seemed  almost  impregnable.  The 
rolling  hills,  the  patches  of  forest,  the  heights  along  the  Meuse 
dominated  from  its  eastern  bank  were  well  suited  for  defense 
and  were  well  defended  by  every  means  known  to  modern  war- 
fare— trenches,  great  and  small,  barbed  wire  entanglements, 
"pill  boxes,"  dugouts  and  thousands  of  machine  guns  behind 
rocks,  in  trees,  in  holes. 

To  this  front  the  army  was  accordingly  moved  from  St. 
Mihiel,  and  on  the  night  of  September  25  the  line  from  La 
Harazee  in  the  Forest  of  Argonne  to  the  Meuse,  near  Forges, 
was  quietly  taken  over. 

On  the  right  from  the  Meuse  to  Malancourt  was  the  3d 
Corps,  composed  of  the  33d,  80th  and  4th  Divisions  in  line, 
and  the  3d  Division  as  Corps  reserve.  The  5th  Corps  from 
Malancourt  to  Vauquois  consisted  of  the  79th,  37th  and  91st 
Divisions  in  line,  and  the  32d  as  Corps  reserve.  From  Vau- 
quois to  Vienne-le-Chateau  was  the  1st  Corps,  composed  of  the 
35th,  28th  and  77th  Divisions  in  line,  and  the  92 d  as  Corps 
reserve.  The  1st,  29th  and  82d  Divisions  formed  the  Army 
reserve.  On  the  left  from  the  Forest  of  Argonne  to  the  Suippe 
was  the  French  4th  Army.  On  the  right  bank  of  the  Meuse 
was  the  17th  French  Corps.  East  of  the  Argonne  the  Amer- 
ican Army  was  to  drive  a  deep  salient  into  the  German  line, 
while  the  French  drove  another  to  the  west  and  so  pinch  out 
the  Germans,  for  it  was  asserted  that  the  Forest  could  not  be 
cleared  by  direct  attack.  The  first  objective  of  our  army  was 
a  line  from  the  forest  to  Apremont,  Exermont,  Romagne,  and 
Brieulles. 

It  was  past  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  September  25th 
when  the  Americans  began  a  heavy  artillery  fire ;  half  past  two 
in  the  morning  of  the  26th  when  the  guns  along  the  twenty-mile 
front  opened  with  drum  fire,  and  half  past  five  o'clock  when 
the  infantry  went  over  the  top,  and  with  true  American  dash 
attacked  the  first  defenses  of  the  Hindenburg  Line.  On  the 
right  and  the  left  the  advance  went  steadily  forward,  but  in  the 
center  it  was  checked  by  the  stubborn  defense  of  Montfaucon, 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  131 

which  rose  before  the  troops  as  did  Montsec  in  the  St.  Mihiel 
sector.  By  nightfall  the  35th  Division  had  not  reached  Char- 
pentry  but  had  passed  Very,  the  37th  had  not  reached  Ivoiry, 
and  the  79th  was  stopped  in  front  of  Montfaucon.  Early  on 
the  27th  the  attack  was  resumed,  Ivoiry  taken,  and  the  enemy 
driven  from  Montfaucon.  It  had  long  been  supposed  to  be 
untakable  and  from  a  tower  on  its  summit  the  Crown  Prince 
had  watched  the  operations  against  Verdun.  This  tower,  which 
now  fell  into  American  hands,  was  a  telescopic  pole  eighty  feet 
long  when  extended  and  twelve  feet  when  folded.  On  one  side 
was  a  seat  where  the  Crown  Prince  sat  to  observe  with  field 
glasses.  That  observations  might  be  made  from  the  ground, 
there  was  a  periscope  consisting  of  an  objective  piece  at  the 
top  of  the  pole  and  at  the  bottom  a  telescope  with  three  eye 
pieces.  Tower  and  hoisting  apparatus  were  mounted  on  a  gun 
carriage. 

When  night  came  our  men  had  entered  the  German  lines  to  a 
depth  of  seven  miles,  and  held  8,000  prisoners  and  twelve  vil- 
lages. Along  their  front  the  French  also  had  been  victorious, 
and  by  the  close  of  the  second  day  had  captured  some  10,000 
prisoners,  and  advanced  at  some  points  five  miles. 

On  the  27th  the  fighting  was  of  great  intensity.  New  divi- 
sions were  brought  up  by  the  enemy  for  counter-attacks,  and 
reinforcements  were  hurried  forward  to  stop  our  advance. 
Work  with  the  tanks  was  hampered  by  pitfalls  dug  in  the  roads 
and  covered  with  a  few  inches  of  earth,  into  which  the  tanks 
fell;  by  stone  walls  built  across  the  roads  at  intervals,  and 
across  streets  in  the  little  villages,  and  by  masonry  which  rose 
several  feet  above  the  ground.  Trenches,  large  and  small, 
ditches  and  barbed  wire  entanglements  in  amazing  quantity, 
hindered  the  advance  of  the  infantry ;  yet  gains  were  made,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  third  day  the  center  of  the  army,  despite 
masonry,  pitfalls,  barbed  wire,  machine  guns  and  gas,  had 
reached  Apremont,  Exermont,  Cierges. 

During  September  29  and  30  and  October  1  the  battle  front 
went  backward  and  forward  with  small  gains  to  either  side,  and 


132    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

at  the  end  of  the  third  day  remained  much  where  it  was  on  the 
first.  Against  the  Americans  were  concentrated  division  after 
division  of  the  best  German  troops.  Three  Prussian  Guard 
divisions,  the  flower  of  the  enemy  army,  were  fighting  our  boys 
who,  but  a  few  months  before,  had  been  called  from  civil  life. 
October  2,  as  the  77th  Division  drove  through  the  Argonne 
Forest,  the  first  battalion  of  the  308th  Infantry,  a  company  of 
the  307th,  and  some  members  of  the  306th  Machine  Gun  Com- 
pany, six  in  all,  under  command  of  Major  Charles  S.  Whittle- 
sey,  pushed  through  a  gap  in  the  German  trenches,  advanced  to 
a  ravine  at  Charlevaux  Mill  and  were  cut  off  in  the  heart  of  the 
forest.  During  five  days  without  food,  surrounded  by  the  enemy 
firing  on  them  from  all  sides,  they  held  their  ground  until 
rescued  on  the  night  of  October  7.  The  next  day  two  hundred 
and  fifty-two  survivors  of  the  six  hundred  and  seventy-nine  who 
entered  the  ravine  went  back  to  a  rest  area  to  find  that  they  had 
become  famous  as  the  "Lost  Battalion." 

Meantime  the  French  had  advanced  west  of  the  forest,  and 
the  Germans  in  the  woods  were  in  a  pocket  from  which  they 
must  retreat.  October  3  the  French  smashed  their  way  through 
defenses  composed  of  trenches  and  barbed  wire  five  miles  deep, 
drove  the  enemy  out  of  Challerange,  advanced  to  the  edge  of 
Mouron,  and  occupied  the  crest  of  the  valley  known  as  Croix  des 
Soudans,  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Aisne.  October  4  our 
line  ran  from  Brieulles-sur-Meuse  through  Gesnes  and  Fleville 
to  a  point  north  of  Binarville.  This  ended  the  first  phase  of 
the  battle  with  the  army  ahead  of  the  first  objective  in  the  for- 
est, but  short  of  it  east  of  the  Aire.  Along  the  line  on  the 
morning  of  October  4  our  men  drove  the  enemy  to  a  line  two 
kilometers  north  of  Binarville  and  Gesnes,  and  at  nightfall  were 
astride  the  Kriemhilde  Line  near  Brieulles.  Fighting  on  the 
5th  and  6th  was  the  fiercest  our  army  had  as  yet  encountered. 
On  one  stretch  of  the  battle  front,  it  was  reported,  the  Germans 
had  five  machine  guns  to  the  yard,  and  at  another  the  artillery 
was  grouped  in  a  zone  two  miles  deep.  The  forest  was  full  of 
steel  and  concrete  pill  boxes,  of  trenches  running  in  every  direc- 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  133 

tion  and  of  machine  gun  nests.  Nevertheless  the  Germans  were 
driven  from  Chatel  and  Chehery,  and  from  commanding  hills 
west  of  the  Aisne,  in  hand-to-hand  fighting.  October  9  the 
Kriemhilde  Line  was  hroken  between  Cunel  and  Komagne,  and 
the  French  line  joined  at  Lancon. 

As  our  troops  pushed  northward  along  the  west  bank  of  the 
Meuse  they  suffered  much  from  machine  gun  and  artillery  fire 
turned  on  them  by  the  Germans  on  the  east  bank.  It  became 
necessary,  therefore,  to  push  forward  the  line  east  of  the  Meuse, 
a  line  held  by  the  17th  French  Corps,  to  which  the  29th  Ameri- 
can Division  had  been  assigned  as  a  unit.  Beginning  at  the 
river  and  going  eastward  the  Divisions  were  29th  American, 
and  18th  and  26th  French.  Along  the  west  bank  of  the  Meuse 
from  Begneville  northward  was  the  33d  American  Division, 
and  this  on  October  6  was  also  transferred  to  the  17th  French 
Corps.  October  8  the  advance  began,  and  while  the  troops  east 
of  the  river  drove  the  enemy  northward,  engineers  from  the  33d 
Division,  despite  constant  artillery  fire,  built  two  bridges,  one 
at  Brabant-sur-Meuse,  and  one  at  Consenvoye.  Several  bat- 
talions crossed,  and  by  night  the  line  ran  from  north  of  Con- 
senvoye to  Beaumont.  October  9  the  line  was  pushed  to  the 
outskirts  of  Sivry.  West  of  the  river  from  the  Argonne  to  the 
Meuse  our  troops  hafl  now  reached  the  Kriemhilde  Stellung,  a 
system  of  defense  some  two  and  a  half  miles  in  depth,  and 
running  over  the  hills  around  Sommerance,  Romagne,  Cunel 
Bantheville  and  Landres-et-St.  Georges.  If  this  line  were 
broken  nothing  could  prevent  the  cutting  of  the  four-track  rail- 
road from  Carigan  to  Mezieres,  over  which  passed  the  supplies, 
munitions,  men,  the  life  blood  of  the  German  armies  in  France. 
General  von  der  Marwitz  therefore  determined  to  hold  the  line 
at  all  costs,  and  the  next  twenty  days  were  passed  in  a  desperate 
effort  by  the  American  Army  to  break  through.  October  11  all 
the  Argonne  Forest  was  in  American  hands,  and  on  the  16th 
Grand  Pre  was  taken  by  our  troops.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, without  artillery  preparation,  without  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  the  enemy  in  any  way,  men  of  the  77th  Division  moved 


134    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

forward  through  the  woods,  waded  across  the  Aire  River  at 
four  places,  struggled  across  a  mud  flat  and  coming  suddenly 
upon  the  Germans  drove  them  into  the  woods  north  of  Grand 
Pre  and  held  the  town.  There  again  the  resistance  of  the  Ger- 
mans stiffened,  and  October  23  they  were  back  in  Grand  Pre, 
but  were  driven  out,  and  Champigneulle  was  taken  and  lost. 

Captured  orders  showed  they  were  to  hold  back  the  Ameri- 
cans at  all  costs,  and  in  their  efforts  to  do  so  division  after 
division  was  brought  forward.  Since  the  drive  began  twenty 
German  divisions  had  been  so  cut  to  pieces  that  replacement 
was  necessary,  and  some  thirty  were  concentrated  to  stop  the 
advance.  It  could  not  be  stopped  and  October  23  the  fighting 
was  north  of  Bantheville,  which  had  several  times  changed 
hands  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  and  the  enemy  had  been 
driven  from  Brieulles.  The  month  closed  with  Aincreville  in 
possession  of  the  Americans,  and  the  second  phase  of  the  long 
and  desperate  battle  of  Argonne  ended,  with  our  men  on  the 
southern  edges  of  the  Bois  des  Loges. 

November  1  was  a  day  long  to  be  remembered.  The  enemy 
was  forced  back  past  Imecourt  and  Bayonville ;  Andevanne  was 
stormed;  the  Bois  des  Loges  was  nearly  cleared,  the  outskirts 
of  Villers-devant-Dun  were  reached,  and  a  dozen  villages  and 
some  3,000  prisoners  captured.  November  2  the  newly  con- 
structed Freya  Stellung  was  broken  through  at  Bayonville, 
Champigneulle  and  Briquency  taken,  Buzancy  stormed,  and 
Fosse,  Tailly,  Villers-Devant-Dun  and  Doulcon  captured.  So 
rapidly  did  the  enemy  retreat  that  in  the  early  afternoon  all 
contact  with  him  was  lost  and  a  hurry  call  was  made  for  trucks 
with  which  to  give  chase.  "We  are  moving  infantry  in  trucks 
after  the  retreating  enemy,  but  have  not  overtaken  him,"  said 
an  official  report. 

A  great  wedge  with  Fosse  at  the  peak  was  thus  driven  into 
the  enemy  front.  November  3  the  western  side  of  the  wedge 
was  straightened  out,  and  the  line  carried  past  Authe,  St. 
Pierremont,  Sommauthe,  Vaux-en-Dieulet,  and  to  beyond 
Sassey-sur-Meuse. 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  135 

On  the  evening  of  November  3  the  2d  Division  was  near 
Vaux-en-Dieulet.  That  night  two  infantry  regiments,  the  9th 
and  23d,  formed  in  column  on  the  road  leading  to  Beaumont, 
and,  with  no  other  protection  than  the  usual  advance  guard 
and  flank  patrols,  marched  all  night  through  the  enemy's  lines 
for  a  distance  of  some  eight  kilometers.  Details  of  German 
troops  passing  along  the  road  were  met  and  captured,  machine 
gunners  asleep  at  their  guns  were  made  prisoners,  as  were  some 
officers  found  sitting  around  tables  in  a  farm  house. 

November  4  our  army  swept  through  the  woods  of  Dieulet, 
and  driving  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Meuse  took  Laneuville, 
pushed  on  to  the  outskirts  of  Letanne  and  carried  their  front 
northward  and  westward  through  Beaumont  and  la  Berliere  to 
near  Tannay.  In  the  dark  hours  of  the  morning  of  November 
5th  the  Meuse  was  crossed  near  Brieulles  and  later  near  Clery 
le  Petit.  On  the  following  day  Dun,  Milly,  Lion,  Fontaines 
were  taken,  and  by  the  llth  the  front  was  driven  eastward 
beyond  Chaumont,  Damvillers,  Jametz,  Eemoiville  and  Stenay. 
Meantime  west  of  the  Meuse  the  Americans  day  by  day  went 
irresistibly  onward,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  November  7 
patrols  of  the  42  Division  entered  Wadelincourt,  opposite 
Sedan.  The  army  had  fought  its  way  for  twenty-five  miles 
from  its  line  of  departure,  had  day  after  day  beaten  back  the 
best  troops  Germany  could  produce,  had  reached  the  goal  for 
which  it  set  out,  had  cut  the  enemy's  main  line  of  communica- 
tion and  left  him  nothing  but  an  armistice  or  surrender.  No 
better  fighting  was  ever  done  by  any  army  than  by  our  boys  on 
their  way  to  Sedan.  Forty-six  enemy  divisions  had  been  used 
against  them,  and  all  in  vain.  They  had  taken  44,000  prison- 
ers and  1,400  guns,  howitzers  and  truck  mortars. 

It  was  now  the  plan  of  General  Pershing  to  send  the  First 
Army  in  the  direction  of  Longwy,  while  the  Second  Army, 
organized  October  10th,  and  sent  to  occupy  a  sector  in  the 
Woevre,  moved  towards  the  coal  fields  of  Briey.  Attacks  were 
accordingly  ordered,  and  that  by  the  Second  Army  was  under 


136    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

way  when  the  armistice  was  signed  and  orders  came  to  cease 
firing  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  November  llth. 

We  had  then  in  France  1,338,169  combat  troops.  Including 
these,  the  regiment  in  Italy,  the  men  at  Murmonsk  and  those 
on  their  way  to  Europe,  the  total  number  sent  from  our  country 
to  fight,  and  to  help  those  who  fought,  was  2,075,834. 

As  the  French  and  British  along  the  western  front  drove  back 
the  Germans  and  recovered  cities,  towns  and  villages,  they  found 
such  evidence  of  German  brutality  as  astonished  them  even  after 
four  years  of  experience. 

To  those  who  entered  St.  Quentin,  after  the  Germans  with- 
drew, it  presented  the  appearance  of  a  dead  and  ruined  city. 
Of  all  its  former  inhabitants  not  a  man,  woman  or  child  re- 
mained. Here  and  there  it  had  been  damaged  by  shell  fire  and 
here  and  there  wrecked  by  the  Germans  for  unknown  reasons. 
In  the  houses  and  shops  not  an  article  of  the  smallest  value 
remained.  Everything  movable  had  been  carried  away.  They 
had  been  stripped  clear,  "to  the  plaster  on  the  walls  and  the 
boards  on  the  floor,"  said  one  who  wandered  through  its  streets. 

Elsewhere,  as  the  Germans  fell  back,  every  town,  village  and 
countryside  had  been  burned,  sacked,  destroyed  and  systemati- 
cally laid  waste.  Angered  and  aroused  by  this  long  series  of 
wanton  outrages,  without  any  military  excuse,  the  French  Gov- 
ernment publicly  protested  and  threatened  reprisals. 

The  German  Government  has  never  ceased  to  proclaim  that  should 
it  ever  be  obliged  to  abandon  the  French  territories  it  has  occupied, 
it  will  leave  behind  it  only  land  completely  devastated  and  desolated. 
This  savage  threat  has  been  carried  into  effect  with  methodical 
ferocity  on  the  occasion  of  every  enemy  withdrawal.  Compelled  now 
to  retire  continuously  under  the  unrelaxing  pressure  of  the  Allies, 
the  German  armies,  in  revenge  for  their  invariable  defeats,  are 
wreaking  their  fury  more  cruelly  than  ever  on  the  people,  on  their 
towns,  on  the  soil  itself. 

Nothing  is  spared  to  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  of  our  provinces. 
Torn  brutally  from  their  homes  and  their  homesteads,  deported  in 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  137 

crowds,  driven  like  herds  of  cattle  before  the  retreating  German 
armies,  they  see  behind  them  their  houses  and  factories  pillaged  and 
demolished,  their  schools  and  hospitals  in  flames,  their  churches 
blown  up  with  dynamite,  their  gardens  and  plantations  utterly  laid 
waste.  They  meet  with  villages  mined  and  roads  sown  with  diabolical 
machines  scientifically  timed  to  explode  and  cause  the  maximum  of 
murder  among  the  refugees  returning  to  their  hearths  and  homes. 
To  all  these  horrors  is  now  added  the  bombing  of  hospitals  and  the 
cynical  slaughter  of  the  wounded. 

In  view  of  these  systematic  violations  of  Right  and  Humanity,  the 
French  Government  is  under  the  imperious  necessity  of  addressing  a 
solemn  warning  to  Germany  and  the  States  which  assist  in  this 
monstrous  work  of  ravage  and  devastation.  Conduct  which  is  equally 
contrary  to  international  law  and  the  fundamental  principles  of  all 
human  civilization  will  not  go  unpunished.  The  German  people, 
who  are  accomplices  in  these  crimes,  will  have  to  bear  the  con- 
sequences. The  authors  and  directors  of  these  crimes  will  be  held 
responsible  morally,  judicially  and  financially.  They  will  seek  in  vain 
to  escape  the  inexorable  expiation  which  awaits  them.  The  account 
with  them  is  opened  and  will  have  to  be  settled.  France  is  now  in 
communication  with  her  Allies  as  to  the  decisions  that  may  be 
come  to. 

The  Allgemeine  Tiroler  Anzeiger  on  September  9,  1918,  published 
the  following  order  issued  by  the  military  authorities  at  Innsbruck: 
"Every  effort  must  be  made  to  prevent  enemy  aircraft  which  have 
landed  from  restarting.  Notification  should  immediately  be  tele- 
graphed of  such  enemy  aircraft  the  moment  they  land.  In  order 
that  all  troops,  the  local  gendarmerie,  and  the  civil  population  may 
cooperate  efficiently,  the  military  authority  notified  at  the  same  time 
the  Governors  of  Innsbruck  and  Linz,  the  Provincial  Governor  of 
Salzburg,  and  the  provincial  commandants  of  gendarmerie  in  addition 
that  the  dropping  of  manifestoes  and  proclamations  by  enemy  airmen 
constitutes  a  crime  against  the  State,  and  that  every  airman  who 
drops  such  manifestoes,  or  who  merely  carries  them  with  him, 
places  himself  by  the  mere  fact  outside  international  law,  and  will 
be  held  guilty  of  a  crime  punishable  with  death." 

The  Government  of  the  French  Republic  hereby  gives  notice  to 
the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  that  if  measures  so  contrary  to 
the  most  elementary  laws  of  humanity  should  be  carried  into  execu- 
tion against  French  airmen,  the  French  authorities  will  make 
reprisals  which  will  apply  the  same  penalty  to  double  the  number 
of  Austrian  officers  who  may  fall  into  their  hands. 


138    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  French  National  Committee  for  the  Reparation  of  Dam- 
ages Caused  by  the  War  made  a  vigorous  protest. 

The  attention  of  the  National  Committee  for  the  Entire  Repara- 
tion of  Damages  Caused  by  the  War  has  been  called  upon  to  deter- 
mine devastations,  plunder,  war  tax  levies,  taxes  created  without 
military  necessity,  in  invaded  regions,  and  which,  despite  the  repro- 
bation and  the  feeling  of  horror  caused  by  such  deeds  all  the  world 
over,  have  been  increasing  more  and  more. 

These  odious  proceedings,  reviving  long  forgotten  historical  scenes, 
are  contrary  to  the  usages  of  war,  as  the  Germans  themselves  dare  to 
qualify  their  military  operations  which  change  hostilities  into  an 
abominable  robbery,  meaning  to  bring  about,  above  all,  the  industrial 
and  commercial  ruin  of  the  invaded  country,  ought  not  to  remain 
unpunished.  And  this  punishment  of  crimes  and  murders  patiently 
premeditated,  carefully  prepared,  and  coolly  and  cruelly  accom- 
plished, cannot  be  inferior  to  their  monstrous  character. 

The  ancient  law  of  retaliation,  however  repugnant  it  is  to  the 
nations  fighting  for  the  triumph  of  justice  and  liberty,  is  the  only 
one  fit,  in  the  circumstances,  to  be  invoked  against  a  nation  that 
has  willfully  and  deliberately  put  itself  outside  of  civilization  and 
finds  itself  in  a  state  of  systematic  retrogression. 

The  National  Committee,  on  behalf  of  the  interests  intrusted  to 
their  care,  invite  all  Governments  whose  peoples  participate  in  this 
new  crusade  to  announce  their  formal  resolve  to  make  use  of  a 
modernized  retaliation  law,  according  to  the  barbarians'  own  wish, 
town  for  town,  village  for  village,  church  for  church,  castle  for 
castle,  property  for  property.  Such  is  the  only  formula  likely  to 
make  an  impression  on  minds  and  hearts  closed  to  all  feeling  except 
that  which  may  arise  from  fear  of  punishment. 

Even  our  own  government  was  forced  to  protest  and  address 
a  note  to  Germany  through  the  Swiss  Minister  at  Washington. 

I  have  the  honor  [said  Secretary  Lansing]  to  request  that  you 
will  bring  the  following  to  the  attention  of  the  German  Government : 

In  its  note  of  Oct.  20th  the  German  Government  announced  that 
"the  German  troops  are  under  the  strictest  instructions  to  spare 
private  property  and  to  exercise  care  for  the  population  to  the  best 
of  their  ability." 

Information  has  now  reached  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
to  the  effect  that  the  German  authorities  in  Belgium  have  given  voice 
to  the  coal  mining  companies  that  all  men  and  animals  should  be 


FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE  139 

brought  out  of  the  pits;  that  all  raw  materials  in  the  possession  of 
the  companies  should  be  delivered  to  the  Germans,  and  that  the 
mines  will  be  destroyed  at  once. 

Acts  so  wanton  and  malicious,  involving  as  they  do  the  destruction 
of  a  vital  necessity  to  the  civilian  population  of  Belgium  and  the 
consequent  suffering  and  loss  of  human  life  which  will  follow,  cannot 
fail  to  impress  the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States 
as  willfully  cruel  and  inhuman.  If  these  acts,  in  flagrant  violation  of 
the  declaration  of  Oct.  20,  are  perpetrated,  it  will  confirm  the  belief 
that  the  solemn  assurances  of  the  German  Government  are  not  given 
in  good  faith. 

In  the  circumstances  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  to 
which  the  declaration  of  Oct.  20  was  made,  enters  an  emphatic  pro- 
test against  the  measures  contemplated  by  the  German  authorities 
for  whose  conduct  the  Government  of  Germany  is  wholly  responsible. 

As  the  week  closed,  October  5,  reports  from  the  western  front 
set  forth  that  flames  were  shooting  up  from  Douai;  that  the 
torch  had  been  applied  in  village  after  village  in  the  country 
east  of  Douai  and  Cambrai ;  that  flames  in  Koulers  were  plainly 
visible;  that  towns  along  the  Belgian  coast  were  burning,  and 
that  great  anxiety  was  felt  for  the  fate  of  Lille,  which  the 
Germans  were  hastily  evacuating. 

Everywhere  along  the  front  the  week  had  been  one  of  tri- 
umph. Each  of  the  nine  armies  of  the  Allies,  the  Belgian,  the 
four  British,  the  three  French  and  the  American,  had  been 
victorious.  Truly  enough  did  the  Frankfort  Zeitung  say: 

The  Allied  plan  of  attack  is  being  carried  out  in  an  extraordinary 
manner.  It  is  an  awful  strain  on  our  front.  The  situation  on  the 
Meuse,  where  American  attacks  are  just  beginning,  is  extremely 
critical.  Part  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames  has  been  given  up,  and 
the  whole  German  front  is  gradually  crumbling  away  under  the 
Allied  attack. 

Another  week  brought  no  diminution  of  the  crumbling  away. 
Cambrai  was  taken  by  the  British;  Anglo-American  troops 
drove  a  wedge  as  far  eastward  as  Solesmes;  the  French  along 
the  Aisne  forced  back  the  German  front  past  Berry-au-Bec,  and 
Bheims,  at  last,  was  out  of  reach  of  German  guns.  By  Satur- 


140    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

day,  October  19th,  the  retreat  of  the  Germans  in  Flanders  had 
almost  become  a  rout,  Ostend  and  Zeebrugge  had  been  taken, 
the  King  and  Queen  of  the  Belgians  had  entered  Ostend  and 
Bruges,  the  French  were  within  fifteen  miles  of  Ghent,  and 
Thielt  and  Roulers  and  Courtrai  were  captured.  Between  the 
Lys  and  the  Scarpe  the  front  was  forced  well  to  the  west  of 
Tourcoing,  Eoubaix,  Lille  and  Douai.  Between  the  Scarpe  and 
the  Oise  southwest  of  Cambrai  where  Americans  fought  beside 
the  British,  Le  Cateau  and  Wassigny  were  occupied  and  the 
enemy  forced  across  the  Oise  River.  La  Fere  was  taken  and 
Laon. 

Along  the  Italian  front  for  some  weeks  past  no  fighting  of 
serious  importance  had  occurred.  On  the  night  of  October  23- 
24,  however,  vigorous  attacks  were  made  by  the  Italian  army, 
in  the  Monte  Grappa  sector,  and  by  British  forces  on  an  island 
in  the  Piave,  and  some  3,000  prisoners  taken.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  a  great  drive  by  the  Italian,  British,  French  and 
American  forces  before  which  the  Austrian  army  crumbled 
away,  and  when  the  month  ended  the  Piave  had  been  crossed, 
the  defeat  of  the  Austrians  had  become  a  rout,  Belluno  had 
been  reached  and  passed  and  the  Austrian  army  divided.  As 
the  Allies  drew  near  the  Tagliamento  General  Diaz  delivered  to 
the  Austrian  commander-in-chief  the  Allies'  terms  for  an  armis- 
tice. By  November  3d  patrols  had  crossed  the  Tagliamento, 
Udine  had  been  entered,  Trent  had  been  occupied ;  and  land  and 
naval  forces  held  Trieste.  Sunday,  November  3d,  the  armistice 
was  signed  and  went  into  effect  at  three  o'clock  on  Monday 
afternoon,  November  4th. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PEACE  OFFENSIVES 

DURING  the  month  of  June,  1918,  the  German  armies  had 
almost  reached  the  point  of  their  extreme  advance.  None  of 
the  objectives  had  heen  attained.  No  wedge  had  been  driven 
between  the  French  and  the  British.  The  Channel  ports  had 
not  been  captured.  Paris  was  still  in  French  hands.  Viewed 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  German  people  the  advance  had  been 
a  series  of  victories  crushing  to  their  foe.  Germany  was  still 
triumphant.  But  to  the  rulers  of  Germany  the  situation  was 
serious  indeed.  The  arrival,  week  after  week,  of  thousands  of 
Americans ;  the  knowledge  that  several  millions  more  were  ready 
and  would  come ;  the  fighting  qualities  shown  by  the  American 
soldier  at  Cantigny,  at  Chateau-Thierry,  at  Belleau  Wood, 
wherever  they  had  fought,  gave  to  the  high  command  no  com- 
fortable assurances  for  the  future.  Clearly  the  time  had  come 
for  another  peace  offensive.  No  surprise  therefore  was  ex- 
pressed by  the  Allies  when,  on  June  24,  in  the  Reichstag,  von 
Kiihlmann  reopened  the  peace  discussion. 

He  considered  it  necessary  to  say  quite  simply  and  in  a  way 
easy  for  all  to  understand  "what  our  positive  desires  are." 

We  wish  for  the  German  people  and  our  Allies,  a  free,  strong, 
independent  existence  within  the  boundaries  drawn  for  us  by  history. 
We  desire  overseas  possessions  corresponding  to  our  greatness  and 
wealth;  the  freedom  of  the  seas,  carrying  our  trade  to  all  parts 
of  the  world. 

Once  the  moment  arrived  [when  the  nations  then  locked  in  battle 
should  exchange  peace  views],  one  of  the  preliminary  conditions  must 
be  certain  degrees  of  mutual  confidence  in  each  other's  honesty  and 
chivalry.  For  so  long  as  every  overture  is  regarded  by  others  as  a 
peace  offensive,  as  a  trap  or  as  something  false  for  the  purpose  of 

141 


142    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

sowing  disunion  between  allies;  so  long  as  every  attempt  at  a 
rapprochement  is  at  once  violently  denounced  by  the  enemies  of  a 
rapprochement  in  the  various  countries,  so  long  will  it  be  impossible 
to  see  how  any  exchange  of  ideas  leading  to  peace  can  be  begun. 

In  view  of  the  magnitude  of  this  war  and  the  number  of  Powers, 
including  those  from  overseas,  that  are  engaged,  its  end  can  hardly 
be  expected  through  purely  military  decisions  alone  and  without 
recourse  to  diplomatic  negotiations. 

Our  position  on  the  battlefields,  our  enormous  military  resources, 
the  situation  and  the  determination  at  home  permit  us  to  use  such 
language.  We  hope  our  enemies  perceive  that  in  view  of  our  re- 
sources the  idea  of  victory  for  the  Entente  is  a  dream. 

I  do  not  believe  that  any  responsible  man  in  Germany,  not  even 
the  Kaiser  or  the  members  of  the  Imperial  Government,  ever  for  a 
moment  believed  they  could  win  the  domination  in  Europe  by  start- 
ing this  war.  The  idea  of  world  domination  in  Europe  is  a  Utopia, 
as  proved  by  Napoleon.  The  nation  which  tried  it  would,  as  happened 
in  France,  bleed  to  death  in  useless  battle  and  would  be  most  griev- 
ously injured  and  lowered  in  her  development.  One  may  here  apply 
Yon  Moltke's  phrase,  "Woe  to  him  who  sets  Europe  afire." 

At  no  moment  of  our  later  history  was  there  less  occasion  for  us 
to  start,  or  to  contribute  to  the  starting  of,  a  conflagration  than  the 
moment  in  which  it  occurred.  In  a  former  debate  I  pointed  out  that 
the  absolute  integrity  of  the  German  Empire  and  its  allies  formed 
the  necessary  prerequisite  condition  for  entering  into  a  peace  dis- 
cussion or  negotiations.  That  is  our  position  to-day. 

From  England  the  reproach  is  constantly  made  that  we  are  not 
prepared  on  a  hint  from  England  to  state  our  attitude  publicly  on 
the  Belgian  question.  On  this  point  the  fundamental  views  of  the 
Imperial  Government  differ  from  those  ascribed  to  us  by  English 
statesmen.  We  regard  Belgium  as  one  question  in  the  entire  com- 
plex. We  must,  however,  decline  to  make,  as  it  were,  a  prior  con- 
cession by  giving  a  statement  on  the  Belgian  question  which  would 
bind  us,  without  the  least  binding  the  enemy. 

I  believe  that  one  can  say  without  fear  of  contradiction,  as  the 
result  of  revelations,  that  the  deeper  we  go  into  the  causes  of  this 
war,  the  clearer  it  becomes  that  the  Power  which  planned  and 
desired  the  war  was  Russia;  that  France  played  the  next  worst  role 
as  instigator  and  that  England's  policy  has  very  dark  pages  to  show. 

England's  attitude  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  was  bound  to 
strengthen  Russia's  desire  for  war.  Of  this  there  are  proofs  enough 
in  the  documents  already  published. 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  U3 

On  the  other  hand,  Germany  did  not  for  an  instant  believe  that 
this  war  could  lead  to  the  domination  of  Europe,  much  less  to  the 
domination  of  the  world.  On  the  contrary,  the  German  policy  before 
the  war  showed  good  prospects  of  being  able  satisfactorily  to  realize 
its  essential  aims,  namely,  the  settlement  of  affairs  in  the  East 
and  colonial  problems  by  peaceful  negotiations. 

The  remainder  of  the  speech  was  an  attempt  to  justify  the 
action  of  Germany  in  Russia,  in  Finland,  Courland,  Lithuania, 
Poland,  Bulgaria,  and  the  advance  of  Turkey  in  the  Caucasus. 

That  part  of  the  speech  in  which  he  said  the  end  of  the  war 
"can  hardly  be  expected  through  purely  military  decisions  alone 
and  without  recourse  to  diplomatic  negotiations" ;  that  part  in 
which  he  asserted  that  Russia  was  the  Power  that  planned  and 
started  the  war,  and  that  "the  idea  of  world  domination  in 
Europe  is  a  Utopia"  were  received  by  the  Reichstag  with 
marked  disapproval.  In  the  course  of  the  debate  which  fol- 
lowed one  member  feared  that  "abroad  they  will  consider  it  as  a 
new  peace  offensive."  Another  declared  it  would  have  a  most 
depressing  effect;  that  not  negotiations  but  hammer  blows 
brought  peace  in  the  East.  The  Chancellor,  Count  von  Hert- 
ling,  said  he  "originally  had  no  intention  of  taking  part  in  this 
debate,"  because  of  the  experience  of  his  predecessor  and  him- 
self. 

If  we  spoke  of  our  willingness  for  peace,  it  was  regarded  as  a 
symptom  of  weakness  and  our  impending  collapse.  By  others  it  was 
interpreted  as  a  crafty  trap.  Did  we  speak,  on  the  other  hand,  of 
our  unshakable  will  to  defend  ourselves  in  a  war  of  conquest  so 
criminally  thrust  upon  us,  it  was  said  that  it  was  the  voice  of  German 
militarism  to  which  even  the  leading  statesmen  must  submit  willy- 
nilly. 

I  went  a  step  further,  on  February  24,  and  expressed  my  attitude 
toward  the  message  of  President  Wilson  in  which  he  discussed  his 
four  points  and  gave,  in  principle,  my  assent  to  them.  I  said  that 
these  four  points  of  President  Wilson  might  possibly  form  the  basis 
of  a  general  world  peace.  No  utterance  of  President  Wilson  what- 
ever followed  this,  so  that  there  is  no  object  in  spinning  any  further 
the  threads  they  started. 

There  is  still  less  object  after  statements  which  have  since  reached 


144    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

us,  especially  from  America.  These  statements,  indeed,  made  it 
really  clear  what  is  to  be  understood  by  a  peace  league  of  peoples,  or 
a  league  of  peoples,  for  the  maintenance  of  freedom  and  justice.  Our 
opponents  made  it  clear  what  would  be  the  kernel  of  this  league  of 
people,  that  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  isolate  the  uncomfortable  up- 
ward strivings  of  Germany  and  by  economic  strangulation  to  ex- 
tinguish her  vital  breath.  I  considered  it,  as  against  this,  quite 
proper  that  the  Foreign  Secretary  make  a  statement  on  the  details  of 
our  political  position  in  the  East  from  Finland  to  the  Black  Sea, 
and  in  my  opinion  he  carried  out  the  task  thoroughly.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  of  his  statements  got  a  more  or  less  unfriendly  reception 
in  wide  circles. 

I  feel  obliged  to  clear  away  a  misunderstanding  which,  it  seems, 
was  caused  by  the  interpretation  of  the  second  part  of  the  Foreign 
Secretary's  statement.  The  tendency  of  these  utterances  of  the 
Foreign  Secretary  was  purely  to  ascribe  the  responsibility  for  the 
continuation  and  immeasurable  prolongation  of  this  terrible  war 
to  the  enemy  Powers  entirely  in  the  sense  I  had  indicated  on 
February  24,  for  it  goes  without  saying  there  can  be  no  question  of 
lessening  our  energetic  defense  or  our  will,  or  of  shaking  our  con- 
fidence in  victory. 

Stormy  applause  followed  this  utterance  by  the  Chancellor. 
To  the  pan-Germanists  the  speech  of  von  Kiihlmann  was  espe- 
cially offensive,  and  July  9  he  resigned.  On  the  following  day 
Count  von  Hertling  formally  announced  to  the  Reichstag  that 
Admiral  von  Hintze  would  succeed  von  Kiihlmann,  and  again 
reviewed  the  war  aims  and  policy  of  Germany. 

I  maintain  the  standpoint  of  the  imperial  reply  to  the  peace  note 
of  Pope  Benedict.  The  pacific  spirit  which  inspired  this  reply  has 
also  inspired  me.  At  the  time,  however,  I  added  that  this  spirit  must 
not  give  our  enemies  free  conduct  for  an  interminable  continuation 
of  the  war.  What  have  we  lived  to  see,  however?  While  for  years 
there  can  have  been  no  doubt  whatever  of  our  willingness  to  hold 
out  our  hand  toward  an  honorable  peace,  we  have  heard  until  these 
last  few  days  inciting  speeches  delivered  by  enemy  statesmen.  Presi- 
dent Wilson  wants  war  until  we  are  destroyed,  and  what  Mr.  Balfour, 
the  British  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  has  said  must 
really  drive  the  flush  of  anger  to  the  cheeks  of  every  German. 

We  feel  for  the  honor  of  our  Fatherland  and  we  cannot  allow  our- 
selves to  be  constantly  and  openly  insulted  in  this  manner,  and 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  145 

behind  these  insults  is  the  desire  for  our  destruction.  As  long  as 
this  desire  for  our  destruction  exists  we  must  endure  together  with 
our  faithful  nation.  I  am  also  convinced,  I  know  it,  that  in  the 
widest  circles  of  our  nation  the  same  serious  feeling  exists  every- 
where. As  long  as  the  desire  for  our  destruction  exists  we  must 
hold  out,  and  we  will  hold  out,  with  confidence  in  our  troops,  in  our 
army  administration  and  in  our  magnificent  nation  which  bears  so 
wonderfully  these  difficult  times,  with  their  great  privations  and 
continuous  sacrifices. 

In  the  direction  of  our  policy  nothing  will  be  changed.  If,  in 
spite  of  these  hostile  statements  by  these  statesmen,  any  serious 
efforts  for  a  paving  of  the  way  to  peace  were  to  show  themselves 
anywhere,  then,  quite  certainly,  we  would  not  adopt  a  negative  atti- 
tude from  the  very  beginning,  but  we  would  examine  these  seriously 
meant, — I  say  expressly  seriously  meant — efforts  immediately,  with 
scrupulous  care. 

This  was  not  only  his  position  but  emphatically  that  of  the  Chief 
of  the  Army  Administration,  who  does  not  conduct  war  for  the  sake 
of  war,  but  has  said  to  me  that  as  soon  as  a  serious  desire  for  peace 
manifests  itself  on  the  other  side  we  must  follow  it  up. 

Some  remarks  of  the  Chancellor  which  related  to  Belgium 
were  not  given  to  the  press;  but,  on  the  following  day,  an 
official  statement  was  issued  at  Berlin : 

With  regard  to  the  statements  made  to-day  (July  12)  by  the 
Imperial  Chancellor  in  the  Main  Committee  of  the  Reichstag,  re- 
garding Belgium,  a  view  has  spread  among  the  public  which  may  give 
rise  to  misunderstandings.  We  are  therefore  giving  in  full  that  part 
of  the  Chancellor's  speech.  Count  Hertling  said : 

"With  reference  to  the  future  of  Belgium,  as  I  already  said  yes- 
terday, the  occupation  and  present  possession  of  Belgium  only  means 
that  we  have  a  pawn  for  future  negotiations.  By  the  term  'pawn' 
is  meant  that  one  does  not  intend  to  keep  what  one  has  in  one's 
hand  as  a  pawn  if  negotiations  should  bring  a  favorable  result.  We 
have  no  intention  of  keeping  Belgium  in  any  form  whatever.  What 
we  precisely  want,  as  already  expressed  by  me  on  February  24,  is,  that 
after  the  war  restored  Belgium  shall,  as  a  self-dependent  State,  not 
be  subject  to  anybody  as  a  vassal  and  shall  live  with  us  in  good  and 
friendly  relations.  I  have  held  this  point  of  view  from  the  begin- 
ning with  regard  to  the  Belgian  question,  and  still  hold  it  to-day. 

"Gentlemen,  this  side  of  my  policy  is  fully  in  conformity  with  the 


146    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

general  lines  of  direction  which  I  yesterday  clearly  laid  before  you. 
We  are  waging  war  as  a  war  of  defense,  as  we  have  done  from  the 
very  beginning,  and  every  Imperialistic  tendency,  every  tendency  to 
world  domination,  has  been  remote  from  our  minds.  Therefore  our 
peace  aims  will  agree  with  what  we  want.  That  is,  inviolability  of 
our  territory;  open  air  for  the  expansion  of  our  people,  especially  in 
the  economic  domain;  and  naturally,  also,  the  necessary  security  in 
regard  to  future  difficult  conditions.  This  is  completely  in  con- 
formity with  my  point  of  view  in  regard  to  Belgium,  but  how  this 
point  of  view  can  be  established  in  detail  depends  on  future  nego- 
tiations and  on  this  point  I  am  unable  to  give  binding  declarations." 

But  this  was  not  all  lie  said  concerning  Belgium,  and  a  few 
days  later,  on  demand  of  members  of  the  Keichstag,  the  con- 
clusion of  his  remarks  was  made  public : 

With  regard  to  the  West,  the  Belgian  question  is  still  in  the  fore- 
ground. From  the  beginning  of  the  war  there  was  no  intention  of 
retaining  Belgium  for  ever.  As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  the  war,  as 
I  said  on  November  29  last,  was  from  the  beginning  a  defensive  war 
and  not  a  war  of  conquest.  That  we  marched  into  Belgium  was  a 
necesssity  forced  upon  us.  The  occupation  of  Belgium  was  also  a 
necessity  forced  on  us  by  the  war.  It  fully  corresponds  to  The  Hague 
regulation  regarding  warfare  on  land  that  we  established  a  civil  ad- 
ministration in  Belgium.  Similarly  we  introduced  a  German  ad- 
ministration there,  in  all  domains,  and  I  believe  this  was  not  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  Belgian  population.  Belgium,  in  our  hands,  is 
a  pledge  for  future  negotiations.  This  pledge  in  our  hands  means  a 
pledge  against  certain  dangers  which  are  warded  off  by  the  retention 
in  our  hands  of  this  security.  This  pledge  is,  therefore,  only  sur- 
rendered when  these  dangers  are  removed.  Belgium,  as  a  pledge, 
means  therefore  for  us  that  we  must  secure  ourselves  by  the  peace 
conditions,  as  I  have  already  said,  against  Belgium's  ever  becoming 
a  jumping-off  ground  for  our  enemies,  and  not  only  in  a  military  but 
also  in  an  economic  sense.  We  must  protect  ourselves  against  being 
strangled  economically  after  the  war.  Owing  to  its  conditions,  its 
position,  and  its  development,  Belgium  is  completely  dependent  on 
Germany.  If  we  enter  into  close  relations  with  Belgium  in  the 
economic  domain  it  will  be  also  entirely  to  the  interest  of  Belgium. 

If  we  succeed  in  getting  into  close  relations  with  Belgium,  and 
if  we  succeed  in  coming  to  an  understanding  with  Belgium  also  with 
regard  to  political  questions  which  touch  Germany's  vital  interest^ 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  147 

then  we  have  a  definite  prospect  that  therewith  we  shall  have  the 
best  security  against  future  dangers  which  might  menace  us  from 
Belgium,  and  through  Belgium  from  England  and  France.  This 
also  tallies  with  Herr  von  Kiihlmann's  view. 

The  Berlin  Tageblatt  condemned  the  speech,  saying: 

The  Chancellor  is  silent  about  war  aims.  If  Count  von  Hertling 
considers  Belgium  is  part  of  the  peace  question  he  must  remember 
that  for  nobody  outside  of  Germany  is  Belgium  even  a  question  for 
argument.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  Germany  entered  into  very 
definite  obligations  regarding  Belgium,  and  even  if  these  obligations 
did  not  exist  the  Belgian  question  for  most  people  in  the  world  is 
merely  a  plain  question  of  right.  The  Chancellor's  remarks  about 
Kussia  smell  of  powder.  After  reading  von  Hertling's  whole  speech 
the  uncomfortable  impression  is  left  that  in  view  of  the  entire  situa- 
tion a  policy  of  waiting  is  deemed  advisable.  The  Chancellor  pur- 
sues no  policy  of  large  principles,  but  is  merely  an  adroit  oppor- 
tunist. He  considers  it  sufficient  if  he  again  bridles  the  Eeichstag 
majority.  He  will  then  return  to  main  headquarters  and  say  with  a 
smile:  "You  see  how  easy  it  is!" 

The  Frankfurter  Zeitung  said : 

Chancellor  von  Hertling's  declaration  regarding  Belgium  is  a  great 
step  in  advance.  Enemy  statesmen  cannot  interpret  it,  as  the  British 
Foreign  Secretary  Balfour  did  the  Chancellor's  February  speech,  by 
indicating  that  Germany  intends  to  make  Belgium  subservient  to 
herself  by  means  of  commercial,  territorial,  and  military  conditions. 
There  is  now  no  obstacle  on  Germany's  side  to  the  ending  of  the  war. 

The  Yossische  Zeitung  believed : 

Chancellor  von  Hertling's  statement  on  Belgium  was  made  with  a 
definiteness  which  always  hitherto  has  been  lacking.  The  Chancel- 
lor's thorough  exposition  of  his  conception  of  the  Belgian  problem 
will  silence  chatter  about  German  statesmen  being  intentionally  si- 
lent on  this  subject  or  expressing  themselves  with  studied  obscurity. 

Germanw,  held  that : 

Belgium  is  the  most  important  question  raised  by  the  war,  and 
with  the  Chancellor's  clear  statement  regarding  it  the  internal  po- 
litical situation  can  now  be  considered  as  no  longer  strained. 


148    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  foreign  press  was  still  commenting  on  von  Hertling's 
speech  when,  July  16,  Baron  Burian,  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Foreign  Minister,  in  an  address  to  the  Austrian  and  Hungarian 
Premiers  on  the  eve  of  the  meeting  of  the  Keichsrat,  replied  to 
President  Wilson's  speech  on  the  Fourth  of  July. 

It  is  not  easy  to  draw  a  picture  of  the  present  world  situation  in 
view  of  the  swiftly  moving  nature  of  events.  Everything  is  in  full 
swing  and  a  repetition  of  what  has  so  often  been  said  regarding 
the  causes  and  responsibilities  for  the  past  can  no  longer  influence 
our  judgment  because,  on  that  subject,  everybody  already  has  formed 
his  own  view.  The  consequences  of  the  war  already  have  grown  in- 
finitely and  have  gone  far  beyond  the  original  causes  of  the  war. 
The  present  phase  of  events  and  developments,  too,  throw  a  glaring 
light  on  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  different  belligerent  groups 
which  clashed  at  the  beginning  of  this  murderous  struggle,  but  they, 
perhaps,  are  not  without  slight  signs  of  an  internal  change  taking 
place  in  the  relations  of  the  groups. 

In  the  midst  of  the  terrible  struggle,  and  in  every  phase  of  this 
war  of  successful  defense,  the  Central  Powers  have  had  no  other 
aim  in  view  but  to  secure  the  enemy's  will  to  peace.  If  we  sum  up 
all  that  has  been  said  on  the  enemy's  side  in  regard  to  their  war 
aims  we  recognize  three  groups  of  aspirations  which  are  being  set 
forth  to  justify  the  continuation  of  bloodshed  so  that  the  ideals  of 
mankind  may  be  realized : 

The  freedom  of  all  nations,  which  are  to  form  a  league  of  nations 
and  which  in  future  shall  settle  their  differences  by  arbitration  and 
not  by  arms,  is  to  reign. 

The  domination  of  one  nation  by  another  nation  is  to  be  excluded. 

Various  territorial  changes  are  to  be  carried  out  at  the  expense 
of  the  Central  Powers. 

These  annexationist  aims,  though  variously  shaped,  are  generally 
known.  The  intention,  however,  also  exists,  especially  in  regard  to 
Austria-Hungary,  to  carry  out  her  internal  disintegration  for  the 
purpose  of  the  formation  of  new  States.  Finally,  our  opponents  de- 
mand our  atonement  because  we  dared  to  defend  ourselves,  and  suc- 
cessfully, against  their  attacks.  Our  ability  to  defend  ourselves  is 
termed  militarism  and  must,  therefore,  be  destroyed.  Territorial 
aims  are,  in  fact,  the  only  things  now  separating  the  different  bel- 
ligerent groups.  For  the  great  interests  of  humanity  and  for  the  jus- 
tice, freedom,  honor,  and  peace  of  the  world,  as  set  forth  in  the  laws 
of  modern  political  conception,  regarding  which  we  need  not  accept 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  149 

any  advice,  we  also  are  ready  to  fight.  There  is  hardly  any  differ- 
ence between  the  general  principles  enunciated  by  the  statesmen 
of  both  belligerents.  President  Wilson's  four  new  points  of  July  4 
shall  not,  apart  from  certain  exaggerations,  arouse  our  opposition. 
On  the  contrary,  we  are  able  to  approve  them  heartily  to  a  great 
extent. 

Nobody  would  refuse  homage  to  this  genius  and  nobody  would  re- 
fuse his  cooperation.  This,  however,  is  not  the  main  point,  but  it 
is  what  can  also  be  understood  in  the  interests  of  mankind.  Both 
groups  should  certainly  honestly  attempt  to  clear  this  up  and  settle  it 
by  mutual  agreement,  but  not  in  the  same  manner  as,  for  instance, 
our  peace  treaties  in  the  East  were  judged. 

The  fact  is  that  all  our  opponents  were  invited  to  join  in  those 
peace  negotiations  and  they  could  have  contributed  their  share  in 
bringing  them  to  a  different  issue.  But  now,  when  it  is  too  late, 
their  criticism  stands  on  weak  grounds,  for  there  is  no  legal  right 
which  would  have  entitled  them  to  condemn  the  peace  conditions 
which  were  acceptable  to  the  contracting  parties  or  which  could  not 
be  avoided. 

From  the  confident  utterances  of  our  opponents  it  appears  they 
have  no  fear  of  being  defeated.  If  they,  nevertheless,  represent  the 
peace  treaties  as  a  warning  of  our  treatment  of  a  defeated  enemy  we 
do  not  consider  the  reproach  justified.  None  of  the  belligerent  States 
need  ever  come  into  the  position  of  Russia  and  Rumania  as  we  are 
ever  ready  to  enter  into  peace  negotiations  with  all  our  opponents.  If 
our  enemies  continually  demand  atonement  for  wrong  done  and  resti- 
tution, then  this  is  a  claim  which  we  could  urge  with  more  justifi- 
cation against  them  because  we  have  been  attacked,  and  the  wrong 
done  to  us  must  be  redressed. 

The  enemy's  obstinacy  regarding  his  territorial  demands  concern- 
ing Alsace-Lorraine,  Trieste,  the  Trentino,  and  the  German  colonies' 
appears  to  be  insurmountable.  There  lies  the  limit  of  our  readiness 
for  peace.  We  are  prepared  to  discuss  everything  except  our  own 
territory.  The  enemy  not  only  wants  to  cut  from  Austria-Hungary 
what  he  would  like  for  himself,  but  the  inner  structure,  that  of  the 
monarchy  itself,  too,  is  to  be  attacked  and  the  monarchy  dissolved, 
if  possible,  into  component  parts.  Now  that  it  is  recognized  that  or- 
dinary war  methods  have  not  sufficed  to  defeat  us,  interest  in  our 
internal  affairs  suddenly  has  become  supreme.  The  Entente,  how- 
ever, discovered  its  sympathy  with  our  internal  affairs  so  late  that 
many  an  enemy  statesman  who  now  prates  about  the  monarchy's 
national  questions  as  a  war  aim  had  probably  no  idea  of  their  ex- 


150    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

istence  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  This  fact  can  be  recognized 
from  that  amateurish  and  superficial  manner  in  which  our  opponents 
discuss  an  attempt  to  solve  these  complicated  problems.  This  meth- 
od, however,  appears  to  them  to  be  useful.  They,  therefore,  organ- 
ized it  as  they  have  organized  the  blockade,  and  in  England  they  now 
have  a  propaganda  minister. 

We  wish  to  place  this  attack  on  record  without  useless  indignation 
or  whining.  The  choice  of  this  new  means  of  fighting  us  does  not 
show  too  great  a  confidence  in  the  success  of  the  enemy's  previous 
efforts.  We  are  certain  it  will  be  unsuccessful.  Our  opponents  start 
from  a  completely  mechanical  misjudgment  of  the  character  of  the 
Austro-Hungarian  monarchy,  and  prefer  in  their  satisfaction  to  over- 
look, in  the  present  difficult  internal  problems,  the  fact  that  these 
States  with  their  various  nationalities  are  no  accidental  structure, 
but  a  product  of  historical  and  ethnographical  necessity  which  carry 
in  themselves  the  fundamental  principle  of  life  and  race.  They, 
therefore,  possess,  and  this  applies  fully  to  Austria  and  Hungary, 
the  necessary  elasticity  and  adaptability  to  the  changing  events  of 
the  times,  the  ability  to  reform  themselves  according  to  the  necessity 
of  their  standard  of  development  and  to  solve  all  internal  crises 
without  uncalled-for  foreign  interference. 

Our  enemies  want  to  paralyze  us  by  an  offensive  of  irritation  and 
to  render  us  helpless.  They  want  to  crush  our  very  powerful  or- 
ganism in  order  to  make  weak  parts,  one  after  the  other,  serviceable 
to  their  own  purposes.  According  to  their  uninvited  prescriptions 
one-half  of  Austria-Hungary's  population  may  perish  in  order  to 
make  the  other  half  happy.  For  that  purpose  this  senseless  war 
must  be  continued.  As  has  always  been  the  case,  for  centuries  past, 
the  States  and  races  of  the  monarchy  will  settle  their  internal  prob- 
lems in  agreement  with  their  ruler.  The  monarchy  resolutely  de- 
clines foreign  interference  in  any  form  just  as  it  does  not  meddle 
with  the  affairs  of  foreigners.  We  have  never  prescribed  a  program 
for  our  enemies  as  to  how  they  shall  deal  with  their  domestic  ques- 
tions, and  when  we  have  had  occasion  frequently  to  recall  that  it  is 
not  all  happiness  and  harmony  with  our  enemies  in  their  domestic 
affairs,  and  that  they  have  their  own  problems  in  Ireland,  India,  etc., 
we  did  so  only  by  way  of  exhortation  to  reciprocity  giving  the  ad- 
vice: "Sweep  before  your  own  door."  Our  enemy's  inflammatory 
activity  is  not  content  with  trying  to  stir  up  our  races  against  one 
another,  but  it  does  not  even  scruple,  by  means  of  circulating  mon- 
strous and  base  calumnies,  to  sow  distrust  between  the  races  of  the 
monarchy  and  the  hereditary  dynasty. 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  151 

Two  days  after  the  delivery  of  this  speech  Foch  began  his 
memorable  offensive,  the  German  armies  were  driven  eastward 
and  northward  day  by  day,  and  at  the  end  of  seven  weeks 
Bapaume,  Peronne,  Noyon,  Soissons  and  the  Vesle  were  within 
the  Allies'  lines.  Defeat  faced  the  Germans.  Again  a  time 
had  come  for  a  peace  offensive,  and  September  9,  Count  Ka- 
rolyi,  head  of  the  Hungarian  Independent  party,  in  an  open 
letter  to  his  supporters,  endorsed  the  President's  peace  pro- 
gram as  a  basis  of  negotiation.  "A  decisive  military  vic- 
tory," said  he,  "despite  its  military  successes,  is  a  dream  which 
it  is  useless  to  follow.  The  prime  condition  for  peace  negotia- 
tions is  the  democratization  of  nations  and  the  abandonment  of 
imperialist  theories.  A  second  condition  is  that  we  should  not 
become  slaves  to  the  idea  of  a  Middle  Europe,  either  military, 
economic,  or  political;  that  we  should  not  strengthen  our  alli- 
ance with  Germany  which  would  be  the  first  step  towards  the 
realization  of  this  Central  Europe.  We  ought  to  accept  as  a 
basis  for  negotiations  President  Wilson's  program." 

Count  Czernin,  in  the  Vienna  Neue  Freie  Presse,  endorsed 
the  League  of  Nations,  and  on  September  10,  Baron  Burian, 
Austro-Hungarian  Foreign  Minister,  when  speaking  to  German 
newspaper  men  visiting  Vienna,  said: 

I  would  not  delude  you  with  baseless  prospects  of  peace  at  a  mo- 
ment when  the  war  fever  is  still  shaking  the  world.  I  must,  how- 
ever, talk  to  you  of  peace  because  we  all  honestly  want  it  and  because 
we  are  certain  there  is  an  ever-growing  number  of  like-minded  per- 
sons in  all  enemy  countries. 

Our  adversaries  need  only  provide  an  opportunity  in  a  calm  ex- 
change of  views,  some  sort  of  direct  informative  discussions  is  think- 
able which  would  be  far  from  being  peace  negotiations,  of  discussing 
and  weighing  everything  which  to-day  separates  the  belligerent  par- 
ties, and  no  further  fighting  will,  perhaps,  be  needed  to  bring  them 
closer  together.  I  am  certain  that  this  war  must  cost  this  tormented 
earth  a  terrible  amount  of  bloodshed  and  an  immeasurable  destruc- 
tion of  precious  possessions  before  the  end  can  be  reached  by  the 
military  overthrow  of  the  enemy,  if,  indeed,  this  at  all  is  possible. 
We  are  oppressed  by  the  same  cares,  but  we  are  not  downhearted. 
You  can  convince  yourself  here  that  we,  just  as  in  Germany,  with 


152    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

head  erect  and  without  fear  or  arrogance,  are  waging  a  defensive 
war,  rejecting  all  responsibility  for  the  prolongation  thereof  which 
was  criminally  and  quite  uselessly  forced  upon  us  by  the  enemy. 
No  party  can  be  sure  of  the  issue  until  the  end  of  a  war,  but  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  either  party  should  renounce  the  possibility 
of  a  military  victory.  But  it  is  unthinkable  that  even  the  most  con- 
fident hopes  of  final  victory  could  permit  the  enemy  in  the  long  run 
to  avoid  considering  whether  the  most  terrific  exertions  and  sacri- 
fices can  longer  be  justified  in  order  to  carry  through  principles 
which  are  not  the  enemy's  monopoly,  or  to  regulate  the  affairs  of 
other  peoples  who  can  manage  them  quite  as  well  themselves.  I  be- 
lieve that  careful  and  sincere  investigation  would  bring  many  on 
the  other  side  to  realize  that  they  often  are  fighting  for  imaginary 
things.  It  may  be  an  ungrateful  task  to  want  to  communicate  one's 
own  perceptions  of  things  to  the  enemy.  The  enemy  group  can,  if 
it  wishes,  convince  itself  that  in  all  questions  of  humanity  and  jus- 
tice and  of  future  international  relations  it  will  encounter  on  the 
part  of  our  group  no  opposition,  and  this  will  be  in  line  with  our 
existing  progressive  aspirations.  But  at  the  same  time  it  will  meet 
our  determination  to  continue  steadfastly  to  stand  up  for  our  own 
right. 

This  question  arises:  Is  it  not  a  crime  against  humanity  even  to 
think  of  completely  pulling  down  a  structure  which  has  become  his- 
torical, and  which  certainly,  here  and  there,  needs  improvement,  but 
is  capable  of  improvement,  in  order  to  found  a  paradise  of  the  fu- 
ture on  its  ruins?  The  defect  in  this  is  that  in  accordance  with  the 
destructive  methods  of  our  enemies  it  can  be  created  only  with  a 
much  too  great  sacrifice.  Count  the  past  hecatombs  of  this  war. 
Think  of  those  to  come,  and  ask  whether  striving  to  attain  war 
aims  at  such  a  price  is  justifiable,  war  aims  in  which  the  principle  of 
justice  is  put  foremost,  without  investigation  whether  an  under- 
standing could  not  be  reached  by  a  fair  application  of  that  principle. 
We  desire  to  contribute  to  the  best  of  our  ability  to  a  mutual  under- 
standing and  help  to  pave  a  way  for  conciliation.  But,  so  long  as 
necessary,  we  shall  hold  out  in  a  loyal  and  resolute  defense. 

Austria-Hungary  having  broken  the  way,  Germany  followed 
on  September  12,  when  the  Kaiser,  the  Chancellor  and  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  spoke  concerning  peace. 

The  K'aiser  saw  no  signs  of  peace.  Standing  before  the 
Krupp  Munition  workers  at  Essen  he  bemoaned  the  hatred  en- 
gendered by  the  war. 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  153 

But  who  was  it  [he  asked]  introduced  terrible  hatred  into  this 
war?  It  was  the  enemy.  Every  one  of  you  in  the  remotest  corner 
of  the  Fatherland  knows  that  I  left  no  stone  unturned  to  shorten  the 
war,  as  far  as  possible,  for  you  and  your  people  and  for  the  entire 
civilized  European  world.  In  December,  1916,  I  presented  the  enemy 
public  with  a  clear  and  unambiguous  offer  of  peace  in  the  name  of 
the  German  Empire  and  my  allies.  Jeers,  mockery  and  contempt 
were  the  answer. 

Even  though  in  the  opinion  of  many  among  you  the  war  is  lasting 
too  long,  every  German  man,  every  German  woman  must,  in  witness- 
ing the  heroic  deeds  of  the  army  and  navy,  be  aware  that  we  are 
fighting  and  struggling  for  existence  and  that  we  must  make  the  ut- 
most effort  to  defend  ourselves  victoriously,  not  only  through  the 
work,  but  as  regards  the  thoughts  of  our  people. 

You  will  acknowledge  that  I  am  right  in  describing  this  war  as 
the  product  of  a  great  negation.  And  do  you  ask  what  that  negation 
is  ?  It  is  the  negation  of  the  German  people's  right  to  existence.  It  is 
the  negation  of  all  our  kultur,  a  negation  of  our  achievements,  of 
all  our  work.  The  German  people  were  industrious,  meditative,  as- 
siduous, imaginative  in  all  domains.  It  worked  with  body  and  soul. 
But  there  were  people  who  did  not  wish  to  work,  but  rest  on  their 
laurels.  Those  were  our  enemies.  We  got  close  to  them  through 
our  profitable  work  and  the  development  of  our  industry,  science  and 
art;  through  our  popular  education  and  social  legislation.  Thereby 
our  people  throve  and  then  came  envy.  Envy  induced  our  enemies 
to  fight  and  war  came  upon  us.  And  now,  when  our  opponents  see 
that  their  hopes  have  been  deceptive,  and  how  our  mighty  generals, 
after  whom  your  new  workshops  are  rightly  named,  have  dealt  them 
blow  upon  blow,  hatred  springs  up.  We  only  know  the  honest  wrath 
which  deals  the  enemy  the  blow,  but  when  he  lies  prostrate  and  bleed- 
ing we  extend  to  him  our  hand  and  see  to  his  recovery. 

Hatred  manifests  itself  only  among  peoples  who  feel  themselves 
beaten.  If,  therefore,  such  terrible  hatred  exists  among  our  enemies, 
it  owes  its  origin  to  the  fact  that  their  calculations  have  been  wrong. 
Every  one  who  knows  the  character  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  knows  what 
it  means  to  fight  them — how  tenacious  they  are.  We  do  not  know 
when  the  struggle  will  end,  but  one  thing  we  do  know,  namely,  that 
we  must  fight  the  battle  through. 

Friedrich  von  Payer,  the  Imperial  Vice-Chancellor,  in  his 
speech  at  Stuttgart,  reminded  his  hearers  of  the  State  debts 
"everywhere  reaching  fantastic  heights" ;  he  told  them  "that  the 


154    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

longer  the  European  peoples  lacerate  each  other"  the  greater  the 
certainty  that  a  weakened  and  impoverished  Europe  would  be 
"lost  in  favor  of  cleverer  and  more  calculating  peoples";  but 
consoled  them  with  the  reflection  that  after  four  years  of  war- 
fare the  fighting  was  still  almost  entirely  on  enemy  soil ;  that 
the  loss  of  shipping  would  ruin  Great  Britain ;  that  "if  we  lack 
cotton  and  oil  our  enemies  lack  coal,"  and  urged  the  Germans 
to  hold  together. 

The  struggle,  Herr  Payer  said,  would  not  end  with  a  peace 
of  the  usual  sort. 

In  former  peace  negotiations,  the  middle  and  lower  classes,  when 
it  came  to  the  council  table,  fell  quietly  into  the  background.  This, 
now,  is  over  and  the  governments  will  conclude  the  coming  peace 
treaties  in  close  harmony  with  the  entire  people.  The  main  thing 
for  them  in  peace  is  not  the  acquisition  of  land,  treasure  and  glory; 
they  aim  nowadays  at  least  at  the  conclusion  of  a  lasting  peace  and 
therefore  there  will  be  no  peace  of  conquest.  Despite  everything, 
the  peace  treaty  will  have  purely  positive  contents.  The  nations  of 
the  earth  cry  out  for  further  preservation  from  the  further  misery 
of  wars,  for  leagues  of  nations,  for  international  courts  of  arbitra- 
tion and  agreements  regarding  equal  disarmament,  cries  which  the 
enemy  governments  have  made  their  own  and  the  fulfillment  of 
which  would  not  be  wrecked  by  the  German  Government's  opposition. 
We  are,  on  the  contrary,  ready  to  collaborate  to  the  best  of  our 
ability. 

We  desire  to  have  a  disarmament  agreement  on  the  condition  of 
complete  reciprocity  applied  not  merely  to  land  armies,  but  even  to 
naval  forces.  In  pursuance  of  the  same  idea,  and  even  going  be- 
yond it,  we  will  raise  in  the  negotiations  a  demand  for  the  freedom 
of  the  seas  and  sea  routes,  for  the  open  door  in  all  oversea  possessions 
and  for  the  protection  of  private  property  at  sea.  And  if  negotiations 
take  place  regarding  the  protection  of  small  nations  and  of  national 
minorities  in  individual  States  we  shall  willingly  advocate  interna- 
tional arrangements  which  will  act  for  deliverance  in  countries  un- 
der Great  Britain's  domination. 

Germany,  he  said,  would  never  consent  to  the  restoration  of 
despotic  Kussia;  never  place  Poland  or  Finland  again  under 
the  Russian  yoke ;  never  allow  the  border  states  on  the  German 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  155 

frontier  and  the  Baltic  to  be  subjected  against  tbeir  wills  to 
Eussian  imperialism  or  thrown  into  the  perils  of  civil  war  and 
anarchy.  They  had  come  to  an  understanding  with  Germany 
and  never  would  she  suffer  any  one  to  meddle  in  this  matter, 
never  would  she  submit  to  the  Entente  for  approval  the  treaties 
with  Eussia,  Eumania,  the  Ukraine. 

For  the  rest,  the  territorial  possessions  which  existed  before  the 
war  can  everywhere  be  restored.  A  preliminary  condition  for  us 
and  our  allies  is  that  all  the  territory  should  again  be  restored 
which  we  possessed  on  August  1,  1914.  Germany  must,  therefore,  in 
the  first  place  receive  back  her  colonies,  in  which  connection  the 
idea  of  an  exchange  on  the  grounds  of  expediency  need  not  be  ex- 
cluded. 

We  Germans,  as  soon  as  peace  is  concluded,  can  evacuate  the  oc- 
cupied regions.  We  can,  when  once  things  have  been  brought  to  that 
stage,  restore  Belgium.  If  we  and  our  allies  are  once  again  in  pos- 
session of  what  belong  to  us  and  if  we  first  are  sure  that  in  Belgium 
no  other  State  will  be  more  favorably  placed  than  we,  then  Bel- 
gium, I  think  I  may  say,  can  be  given  back  without  incumbrance 
and  without  reserve.  It  is  hypocrisy  to  represent  Belgium  as  the 
innocent  victim  of  our  policy  [Herr  von  Payer  said]  and  to  clothe 
her,  as  it  were,  in  the  white  garment  of  innocence.  The  Belgian 
Government,  that  is  what  matters,  not  the  Belgian  people,  took  an 
active  part  in  Great  Britain's  policy  of  encircling  Germany. 

As  to  the  question  of  war  indemnities  from  one  party  or  the 
other,  it  was  enough  to  say  that  if  Germany  had  been  allowed 
to  pursue  her  work  in  peace  there  would  have  been  no  war,  no 
injuries. 

There  can  be  no  question,  therefore,  of  our  paying,  but  only 
whether  we  should  receive  compensation  for  the  injuries  inflicted 
on  us.  We  are  deeply  convinced  that,  as  the  innocent  and  attacked 
party,  we  have  a  right  to  indemnification.  To  go  on  prosecuting  the 
war,  however,  to  that  point  would  cost  us  such  heavy  sacrifices,  irre- 
parable by  money,  that  we  prefer,  on  calm  reflection,  and  even  with 
our  favorable  military  situation,  to  abandon  this  idea,  quite  apart 
from  the  question  of  jeopardizing  a  future  peace  which  would  be  in- 
evitable if  compensation  were  forcibly  urged. 

Unreliable  conditions  of  peace,  of  course,  should  not  be  laid  down 


156    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

for  our  participation  in  the  peace  negotiations.  We  laugh  at  the  idea 
that  we  should  first  penitently  ask  for  mercy  before  we  are  admitted. 
We  laugh  at  the  fools  who  babble  of  revenge.  I  have  wished  only  to 
show  that  peace  by  understanding  will  bring  nothing  humiliating  for 
us  nor  a  period  of  misery  and  wretchedness.  Strong  and  courageous 
in  the  consciousness  of  our  invincibility,  equal  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  we  will  lead  a  life  of  labor,  but  also  with  contentment  and 
with  an  assured  future.  In  common  with  others  we  will  protect 
the  world's  peace  from  future  dangers.  It  would  be  an  illusion  to 
calculate  on  will  to  peace  in  those  circles  among  our  enemies  which 
are  responsible  for  the  opening  and  the  continuing  of  hostilities.  For 
years  they  have  been  living  on  the  inflaming  of  war  passions.  They 
cannot  admit  to  their  countrymen  that  their  aims  are  unattainable 
and  that  their  sacrifices  have  been  made  in  vain. 

Others  among  those  peoples  will  think  differently.  Moreover, 
they  will  prevail  sooner  or  later.  Until  then,  however,  there  remains 
nothing  for  us  to  do  but  to  defend  our  lives.  We  place  the  respon- 
sibility for  the  blood  which  will  yet  fall  on  the  shoulders  of  our  ene- 
mies. Germany's  strength,  capacity,  courage  and  self-sacrifice  must 
teach  our  enemies  that  it  has  become  hopeless  for  them  to  continue 
to  wage  this  baneful  war. 

Unless  all  these  signs  failed  another  German  "peace  offen- 
sive" might  soon  be  expected.  They  did  not  fail,  and,  Septem- 
ber 15th,  just  after  the.  Allies  had  reached  the  outskirts  of 
Cambrai  and  Laon,  and  the  First  American  Army  had  swept 
across  the  salient  at  St.  Mihiel,  and  come  under  the  fire  of  the 
guns  around  Metz,  the  expected  peace  note  appeared.  It  was 
addressed  by  Austria  directly  to  all  the  Allied  Powers  through 
the  media  of  such  neutral  nations  as  were  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  Allies'  interests  at  Vienna. 

The  peace  offer  which  the  powers  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance  ad- 
dressed to  their  opponents  on  December  12,  1916,  and  the  conciliatory 
basic  ideas  of  which  they  have  never  given  up,  signifies,  despite  the 
rejection  which  it  experienced,  an  important  stage  in  the  history  of 
this  war.  In  contrast  to  the  first  two  and  a  half  war  years,  the  ques- 
tion of  peace  has  from  that  moment  been  the  center  of  European,  aye, 
of  world  discussion,  and  dominates  it  in  ever-increasing  measure. 

Almost  all  the  belligerent  states  have  in  turn  again  and  again  ex- 
pressed themselves  on  the  question  of  peace,  its  prerequisites  and 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  157 

conditions.  The  line  of  development  of  this  discussion,  however,  has 
not  been  uniform  and  steady.  The  basic  standpoint  changed  under 
the  influence  of  the  military  and  political  position,  and  hitherto,  at 
any  rate,  it  has  not  led  to  a  tangible  general  result  that  could  be 
utilized. 

It  is  true  that,  independent  of  all  these  oscillations,  it  can  be 
stated  that  the  distance  between  the  conceptions  of  the  two  sides  has, 
on  the  whole,  grown  somewhat  less;  that  despite  the  indisputable 
continuance  of  decided  and  hitherto  unbridged  differences,  a  partial 
turning  from  many  of  the  most  extreme  concrete  war  aims  is  visible 
and  a  certain  agreement  upon  the  relative  general  basic  principles 
of  a  world  peace  manifests  itself.  In  both  camps  there  is  undoubtedly 
observable,  in  wide  classes  of  the  population,  a  growth  of  the  will 
to  peace  and  understanding.  Moreover,  a  comparison  of  the  recep- 
tion of  the  peace  proposal  of  the  powers  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance 
on  the  part  of  their  opponents  with  the  later  utterances  of  responsi- 
ble statesmen  of  the  latter,  as  well  as  of  the  non-responsible  but,  in  a 
political  respect,  nowise  uninfluential  personalities,  confirms  this  im- 
pression. 

While,  for  example,  the  reply  of  the  Allies  to  President  Wilson's 
proposal  made  demands  which  amounted  to  the  dismemberment  of 
Austria-Hungary,  to  a  diminution  and  a  deep  internal  transforma- 
tion of  the  German  Empire,  and  the  destruction  of  Turkish  European 
ownership,  these  demands,  the  realization  of  which  was  based  on  the 
supposition  of  an  overwhelming  victory,  were  later  modified  in  many 
declarations  from  official  Entente  quarters,  or  in  part  were  dropped. 

Thus,  in  a  declaration  made  in  the  British  House  of  Commons  a 
year  ago,  Mr.  Balfour,  the  Foreign  Secretary,  expressly  recognized 
that  Austria-Hungary  must  itself  solve  its  internal  problems,  and 
that  no  one  could  impose  a  constitution  upon  Germany  from  the  out- 
side. Mr.  Lloyd  George,  the  Prime  Minister,  declared  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  year  that  it  was  not  one  of  the  Allies'  war  aims  to 
partition  Austria-Hungary,  to  rob  the  Ottoman  Empire  of  its  Turk- 
ish possessions  or  to  reform  Germany  internally.  It  may  also  be 
considered  symptomatic  that  in  December,  1917,  Mr.  Balfour  cate- 
gorically repudiated  the  assumption  that  British  policy  had  ever  en- 
gaged itself  for  the  creation  of  an  independent  state  out  of  the  ter- 
ritories on  the  left  bank  of  the  Khine. 

The  Central  Powers  leave  it  in  no  doubt  that  they  are  only  wag- 
ing a  war  of  defense  for  the  integrity  and  the  security  of  their  terri- 
tories. 

Far  more  outspoken  than  in  the  domain  of  concrete  war  aims  has 


158    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  rapprochement  of  conceptions  proceeded  regarding  those  guiding 
lines  upon  the  basis  of  which  peace  shall  be  concluded  and  the  fu- 
ture order  of  Europe  and  the  world  be  built  up.  In  this  direction 
President  Wilson,  in  his  speeches  of  February  12  and  July  4  of  this 
year,  has  formulated  principles  which  have  not  encountered  contra- 
diction on  the  part  of  his  Allies  and  the  far-reaching  application  of 
which  is  likely  to  meet  with  no  objection  on  the  part  of  the  Powers 
of  the  Quadruple  Alliance  also,  presupposing  that  this  application  is 
general  and  reconcilable  with  the  vital  interests  of  the  States  con- 
cerned. 

It  is  true,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  an  agreement  on  general 
principles  is  insufficient,  but  that  there  remains  the  further  matter 
of  reaching  an  accord  upon  their  interpretations  and  their  applica- 
tion to  individual  concrete  war  and  peace  questions. 

To  an  unprejudiced  observer  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  all  the 
belligerent  states,  without  exception,  the  desire  for  a  peace  of  under- 
standing has  been  enormously  strengthened;  that  the  conviction  is 
increasingly  spreading  that  the  further  continuance  of  the  bloody 
struggle  must  transform  Europe  into  ruins  and  into  a  state  of  ex- 
haustion that  will  mar  its  development  for  decades  to  come,  and  this 
without  any  guarantee  of  thereby  bringing  out  that  decision  by  arms 
which  has  been  vainly  striven  after  by  both  sides  in  four  years  filled 
with  enormous  sacrifices,  sufferings  and  exertions. 

In  what  manner,  however,  can  the  way  be  paved  for  an  under- 
standing and  an-  understanding  finally  attained?  Is  there  any  seri- 
ous prospect  whatever  of  reaching  this  aim  by  continuing  the  dis- 
cussion of  peace  problems  in  the  way  hitherto  followed?  We  have 
not  the  courage  to  answer  the  latter  question  in  the  affirmative.  The 
discussion  from  one  public  tribune  to  another,  as  has  hitherto  taken 
place  between  statesmen  of  the  various  countries,  was  really  only  a 
series  of  monologues.  It  lacked,  above  everything,  directness.  Speech 
and  counterspeech  did  not  fit  into  each  other.  The  speakers  spoke 
over  one  another's  heads.  On  the  other  hand  it  was  the  publicity  and 
the  ground  of  these  discussions  which  robbed  them  of  possibility  of 
fruitful  progress.  In  all  public  statements  of  this  nature  a  form  of 
eloquence  is  used  which  reckons  with  the  effect  at  great  distances 
and  on  the  masses.  Consciously  or  unconsciously,  however,  one  there- 
by increases  the  distance  of  the  opponents'  conception,  produces  mis- 
understandings which  take  root  and  are  not  removed,  and  makes  the 
frank  exchange  of  ideas  more  difficult.  Every  pronouncement  of 
leading  statesmen  is,  directly  after  its  delivery  and  before  the  authori- 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  159 

tative  quarters  of  the  opposite  side  can  reply  to  it,  made  the  subject 
of  passionate  or  exaggerated  discussion  by  irresponsible  elements. 

But  anxiety  lest  they  should  endanger  the  interests  of  their  arms 
by  unfavorably  influencing  feeling  at  home,  and  lest  they  prematurely 
betray  their  own  ultimate  intentions,  also  causes  the  responsible 
statesmen  themselves  to  strike  a  higher  tone  and  stubbornly  to  ad- 
here to  extreme  standpoints. 

If,  therefore,  an  attempt  is  made  to  see  whether  the  basis  exists 
for  an  understanding  calculated  to  deliver  Europe  from  the  catastro- 
phe of  the  suicidal  continuation  of  the  struggle,  then,  in  any  case, 
another  method  should  be  chosen  which  renders  possible  a  direct, 
verbal  discussion  between  the  representatives  of  the  governments  and 
only  between  them.  The  opposing  conceptions  of  individual  belliger- 
ent States  would  likewise  have  to  form  the  subject  of  such  a  discus- 
sion for  mutual  enlightenment  as  well  as  the  general  principles  that 
shall  serve  as  the  basis  for  peace  and  the  future  relations  of  the 
States  to  one  another,  and  regarding  which,  in  the  first  place,  an  ac- 
cord can  be  sought  with  a  prospect  of  success. 

As  soon  as  an  agreement  has  been  reached  on  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples an  attempt  would  have  to  be  made  in  the  course  of  the  dis- 
cussions concretely  to  apply  them  to  individual  peace  questions  and 
thereby  bring  about  their  solution. 

We  venture  to  hope  that  there  will  be  no  objection  on  the  part  of 
any  belligerents  to  such  an  exchange  of  views.  The  war  activities 
would  experience  no  interruption.  The  discussions,  too,  would  only 
go  so  far  as  was  considered  by  the  participants  to  offer  a  prospect  of 
success.  No  disadvantages  would  arise  therefrom  for  the  states  rep- 
resented. Far  from  harming,  such  an  exchange  of  views  could  only 
be  useful  to  the  cause  of  peace. 

What  did  not  succeed  the  first  time  can  be  repeated,  and  perhaps 
it  has  already  at  least  contributed  to  the  clarification  of  views.  Moun- 
tains of  old  misunderstandings  might  be  removed  and  many  new 
things  perceived.  Streams  of  pent-up  human  kindness  would  be 
released,  in  the  warmth  of  which  everything  essential  would  remain 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  much  that  is  antagonistic,  to  which  excessive 
independence  is  still  attributed,  would  disappear. 

According  to  our  conviction  all  the  belligerents  jointly  owe  to 
humanity  to  examine  whether  now,  after  so  many  years  of  costly  but 
undecided  struggle,  the  entire  course  of  which  points  to  an  under- 
standing, it  is  possible  to  make  an  end  to  the  terrible  grapple. 

The  Koyal  and  Imperial  Government  would  like,  therefore,  to  pro- 
pose to  the  governments  of  all  the  belligerent  states  to  send  delegates 


160    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  a  confidential  and  unbinding  discussion  on  the  basic  principles 
for  the  conclusion  of  peace,  in  a  place  in  a  neutral  country  and  at 
a  near  date  that  would  yet  have  to  be  agreed  upon — delegates  who 
were  charged  to  make  known  to  one  another  the  conception  of  their 
governments  regarding  those  principles  and  to  receive  analogous 
communications  as  well  as  to  request  and  give  frank  and  candid  ex- 
planations on  all  those  points  which  need  to  be  precisely  defined. 

The  Royal  and  Imperial  Government  has  the  honor  to  request  the 
government  of  ,  through  the  kind  mediation  of  Your  Excel- 
lency, to  bring  this  communication  to  the  knowledge  of  the  govern- 
ment of ,1 

A  dispatch  from  London  announced  that  according  to  in- 
formation received  Germany  had  made  a  definite  peace  offer 
to  Belgium  and  that  the  terms  were  that  Belgium  shall  remain 
neutral  until  the  end  of  the  war.  That  thereafter  the  entire 
economic  and  political  independence  of  Belgium  shall  be  re- 
constituted. That  the  pre-war  commercial  treaties  between 
Germany  and  Belgium  shall  again  be  put  into  operation  after 
the  war  for  an  indefinite  period.  That  Belgium  shall  use  her 
good  offices  to  secure  the  return  of  the  German  colonies.  That 
the  Flemish  question  shall  be  considered  and  the  Flemish 
minority,  which  aided  the  German  invaders,  shall  not  be 
penalized. 

No  admission  was  made  that  Germany  had  in  any  way 
wronged  Belgium,  nor  did  the  proposal  allude  to  reparation  or 
indemnity.  Instructions,  it  was  further  reported,  had  been 
given  to  the  German  legation  at  Helsingfors  to  declare  to  the 
Finnish  government  that  in  order  to  remove  all  danger  of 
trouble  between  Finland  and  Sweden,  Germany  would  not  send 
troops  to  Eastern  Karelia,  and  promised,  if  Great  Britain  and 
the  other  Entente  Powers  would  evacuate  Karelia  and  the  Mur- 
man  coast,  to  withdraw  her  troops  from  those  regions  within  a 
period  not  named.  American  journals  said: 

Certainly  Austria  has  wanted  peace  and  wants  it  still,  but  it  wants 
peace  on  terms  which  the  Entente  Allies  not  only  cannot  grant,  but 

1  The  names  of  the  intermediary  government  and  of  that  addressed  in 
the  particular  note  dispatched  are  left  blank. 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  161 

cannot  listen  to.  The  Entente  is  perfectly  willing  to  make  peace  to- 
morrow, but  that  peace  must  be  sued  for  by  Germany,  not  Austria, 
and  must  be  asked  on  the  basis  of  the  acknowledgment  of  defeat, 
the  admission  of  wrong,  and  a  pledge  of  reparation  of  the  wrong. 
On  no  other  basis  could  a  lasting  peace  be  arranged,  and  we  have 
fought  too  long  and  sacrificed  too  much  to  consent  to  any  other  than 
a  lasting  peace.2 

The  answer  will  be  a  firm  and  decisive  negative.  There  will  be 
no  "calm  exchange  of  views." 

President  Wilson  has  specifically  stated  and  repeatedly  affirmed  the 
main  conditions  of  peace.  These  conditions  and  principles  have  been 
fully  indorsed  by  Entente  statesmen  in  every  country  concerned. 
Nothing  short  of  full  compliance  with  them  will  satisfy  the  nations 
now  fighting  together  for  freedom — and  a  condition  precedent  to 
their  consideration  at  a  peace  conference  is  that  the  Central  Powers 
and  their  accomplices  shall  lay  down  their  arms,  withdraw  from  oc- 
cupied territories,  including  Russia,  and  that  the  shameful  Brest- 
Litovsk  treaty  shall  be  abrogated.  Until  these  conditions  are  com- 
plied with  the  answer  to  Austria-Hungary  is  NO ! — and  this  is  backed 
up  by  force  "without  stint  or  limit." 

After  spreading  hell  over  thousands  of  miles  and  making  deserts 
out  of  smiling  gardens,  these  savages  suggest  a  halt.  It  isn't  for 
them  to  say.  There  may  be  pacifists  who  will  advocate  such  an  agree- 
ment. Put  them  down  for  friends  of  Germany  the  moment  they  be- 
gin their  sentimental  or  treasonable  talk.  Why  should  Germany  be 
consulted  on  how  to  terminate  the  war?  Terms  must  be  for  her  to 
obey,  not  to  make.  The  Austrian  dodge  deserves  notice  only  as  an 
admission  of  defeat.3 

Do  we  believe  what  we  say  about  this  German  thing — that  it  is 
frightful  beyond  redemption,  that  it  has  no  faith  to  pledge,  that  it 
has  betrayed  the  very  principles  of  civilization,  that  it  cannot  be  lived 
with,  and  that  it  must  be  utterly  destroyed.  If  all  of  this  be 
true,  and  we  believe  it,  then  Aot  only  is  it  impossible  to  make 
peace  with  Germany,  but  we  cannot  even  dicuss  with  her  the 
terms  on  which  she  shall  be  permitted  to  continue  her  existence 
on  earth. 

It  is  evident  that  Germany  has  abandoned  the  ambition  to  conquer 
the  world.  Shall  the  world  be  grateful  on  that  account?  Shall  it 
parley  with  the  thing  it  resolved  to  destroy  for  reasons  which,  if  they 

•Boston  Transcript. 
•Hartford  Courant. 


162     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

are  valid  at  all,  require  free  people  rather  to  perish  than  to  compro- 
mise?   To  do  so  would  stultify  democracy  beyond  the  imagination  of 

its  posterity.4 

/ 

What  the  instinctive  answer  of  the  average  red-blooded  American 
will  be  we  have  no  doubt.  He  will  repeat  Grant's  words  and  say, 
that  no  terms  will  be  accepted  but  an  immediate  and  unconditional 
surrender.  And  that  is  what  we  hope  the  United  States  Government 
and  the  Governments  of  England,  France  and  Italy  will  say.  The 
present  German  Government  cannot  be  trusted.  It  is  more  impor- 
tant now  than  ever  before  to  apply  force,  without  stint  or  limit.5 

Germany  started  this  war;  civilization  will  finish  it.  The  spirit 
that  animates  the  allied  millions,  which  commands  them  to  get  into 
battle  and  conquer,  is  the  spirit  of  liberty.  That  spirit  is  now  aflame 
throughout  the  world,  and  in  outraged  majesty  is  driving  its  sword 
straight  toward  the  heart  of  its  assailant.  Who  will  attempt  to  stay 
Liberty's  hand  ?  Who  is  the  statesman  or  ruler  who  will  dare  to  stay 
the  execution  of  the  assassin  ?  Who  is  the  man  who  will  try  to  inter- 
fere with  God's  will  as  voiced  by  His  people  ? 6 

Let  the  Hun  whine,  let  him  sing  his  song  of  peace  and  brother- 
hood. Our  answer  to  his  peace  twaddle  shall  be  more  war.  We  shall 
reply  to  his  whimpers  with  machine  guns.  Against  his  flimsy  struc- 
tures of  whining  deception  we  let  loose  our  armies  with  renewed 
vigor.7 

The  answer  to  this  bit  of  sinister  Teutonism  should  be  uncondi- 
tional surrender.  Then  a  conference  may  be  held  to  arrange  the 
details.  America,  England,  France,  and  Italy  can  do  no  other  than 
insist  upon  this.  They  owe  it  to  the  heroic  dead  of  their  armies 
who  gave  their  lives  for  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  the  Presi- 
dent enunciated  and  all  approved ;  they  owe  it  to  the  fighting  men  in 
the  field  who  are  cheerfully  accepting  the  dangers,  the  hardships,  and 
the  strain  of  battle  that  liberty  and  democracy  may  live,  and  they 
owe  it  to  their  people  at  home  who  have  been  undergoing  and  are 
still  undergoing  the  privation  and  sacrifices  the  support  of  the  armies 
entails  to  accept  no  peace  of  compromise.  It  must  rather  be  sur- 
render or  force  to  the  limit.8 

4  New  York  Tribune. 
B  Baltimore  Sun 
•  Washington,  D.  C.,  Post. 
'Cleveland  Plain  Dealer. 
•Chattanooga  Times. 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  163 

Our  answer  should  be  a  stiffening  of  our  offensive  on  all  fronts 
and  a  still  greater  determination  on  the  part  of  those  at  home  to  do 
their  part  in  pushing  this  struggle  unfalteringly  until  Germany  is 
not  only  crushed  but  crushed  beyond  all  possibility  of  restoration 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.  Then  only  can  we  have  real  peace.* 

Only  one  answer  is  possible,  and  that  answer  must  be  an  emphatic 
refusal.  We  know  enough  of  Austria  and  Germany  to  know  that  they 
cannot  be  negotiated  with.  They  are  beyond  the  pale.  Acceptance  of 
the  proposal  would  be  foolish  and  dangerous.10 

True  Americans  will  take  their  stand  promptly  and  unmistakably. 
We  are  not  going  to  bargain  with  the  blood-stained  gang  of  thugs 
and  pirates  in  high  places  who  deliberately  and  after  long  and  care- 
ful planning  plunged  the  world  into  war  in  July,  1914.  We  are  go- 
ing to  smash  them  utterly  and  completely.11 

In  the  opinion  of  the  British  press  the  peace  offer  meant 
either  of  two  things :  that  Germany  was  using  Austria  to  make 
a  sham  proposal  that  time  to  reorganize  her  beaten  army  might 
be  gained ;  or  that  Austria  put  such  pressure  on  Germany  that 
she  was  forced  to  consent.  Neither  Germany  nor  Austria,  it 
was  held,  has  the  least  expectation  that  the  Allies  would  accept 
the  offer.  What  they  desire  is  rejection  that  it  may  he  held 
up  before  their  dejected  armies  and  peoples  as  a  conclusive 
reason  for  going  on  with  the  war.  But  the  Austrian  note  must 
not  be  taken  alone.  It  must  be  read  together  with  the  German 
offer  to  withdraw  from  Northern  Russia  if  the  Allies  will  do 
the  same,  and  with  the  hid  for  Belgian  neutrality.  The  intent 
in  both  instances  is  to  arouse  discord  among  the  Allies,  not  to 
promote  peace  between  the  belligerents.  It  is  an  impudent, 
shameless  proposal  never  intended  to  benefit  Belgium  or  satisfy 
the  Allies.  But  in  vain  is  the  net  spread  in  the  sight  of  the 
bird.  It  is  a  disingenuous,  cynical,  insincere  attempt  to  divert 
the  Entente  Powers  from  a  resolute  prosecution  of  the  war. 

•Cheyenne  State  Leader. 

"Idaho  Statesman. 

11  Charleston,  S.  C.,  News  and  Courier. 


164    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

None  save  the  London  Daily  News  had  one  word  to  say  in  favor 
of  the  note.    The  News  believed : 

Discussions  at  some  stage  must  be  the  essential  preliminary  to 
peace.  Can  there  be  any  warrant  for  deciding  that  discussions  at 
this  stage  must  of  necessity  be  futile?  There  are  no  solid  grounds 
on  which  statesmen,  sincerely  zealous  for  peace,  could  justify  rejec- 
tion of  the  Austrian  proposal. 

Discussion  would  not  involve  an  armistice.  That  is  specifically 
laid  down.  There  would  and  could  be  no  question  of  the  Allies  com- 
promising their  fundamental  principles.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is 
more  than  a  remote  prospect  that  discussions  that  might  leave  Ger- 
many obdurate  might  have  a  very  different  result  in  the  case  of  Tur- 
key or  Bulgaria  or  even  Austria.  The  Allies  in  short,  with  an  un- 
assailable moral  case,  have  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  by 
discussion. 

The  only  reply  we  can  make  to  the  Vienna  note  [said  the  Evening 
Standard]  is  simply  this :  We  are  ready  to  negotiate  with  responsi- 
ble representatives  of  the  German  and  Austrian  peoples,  if  the  prin- 
ciple is  accepted  that  they  will  pay  compensation  for  damage  done 
and  accept  as  a  basis  of  discussion  our  general  principles  of  the  sa- 
credness  of  public  law,  and  the  right  of  nations  to  self-determination. 
But  we  will  not  parley  with  representatives  of  systems  which  are  a 
negation  of  all  we  are  fighting  for. 

Mr.  Balfour,  British  Foreign  Secretary,  at  a  luncheon  given 
in  London  by  the  Royal  Colonial  Institute  to  the  overseas  press 
representatives,  spoke  long  on  the  subject  of  the  Austrian  note, 
and  having  passed  in  review  its  many  points,  and  the  impossi- 
bility of  settling  the  issues  at  stake  by  conversation  which  bound 
nobody,  said: 

I  say  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  that  any  conversation  can  bridge 
over  differences  so  deep,  or  restore  to  the  German  power  over  those 
unhappy  populations  he  has  misused,  or  restore  to  Germany  control 
over  those  naval  bases  to  be  misused  as  she  knows  how  to  misuse 
them,  and  so  make  her  controller  not  merely  of  lines  of  communica- 
tion binding  one  element  of  the  British  Empire  to  another,  but  make 
her  master  of  all  the  lines  of  communication  binding  the  whole  civil- 
ized world.  Is  that  to  be  put  right  by  conversation? 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  165 

In  Germany,  the  press  threw  on  Austria  all  responsibility 
for  the  note.  Die  Tages  Zeitung,  of  Berlin,  thought  the  initia- 
tive should  have  heen  left  to  the  Allies ;  the  Berlin  TageblM 
was  sure  that  "the  independent  action"  of  Austria  would  lead 
the  Allies  to  increase  their  military  activity. 

Keeping  up  the  pretense  of  independent  action  hy  Austria, 
the  Imperial  German  Government  on  September  20,  through 
its  Ambassador  in  Vienna,  made  reply  to  the  Austrian  note. 

The  summons  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  to  all  belliger- 
ent States  to  enter  into  confidential  unbinding  discussions  in  a  neu- 
tral country  of  the  fundamental  principles  for  the  conclusion  of 
peace  corresponds  to  the  spirit  of  peace  readiness  and  conciliatoriness 
which  the  responsible  statesmen  of  the  quadruple  alliance  and  the 
authorized  representatives  of  allied  (Teutonic)  peoples  have  again 
and  again  announced.  The  reception  which  previous  similar  steps 
met  with  from  our  enemies  was  not  encouraging. 

The  Imperial  Government,  however,  follows  the  new  attempt  to 
bring  the  world  nearer  to  the  just  and  lasting  peace  which  it  desires, 
with  the  sincere  and  earnest  wish  that  the  statement  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government,  inspired  by  profound  conciliatory  feeling 
and  noble  humanity  will  this  time  evoke  the  desired  echo. 

In  the  name  of  the  Imperial  Government,  the  undersigned  has  the 
honor  to  declare  that  Germany  is  ready  to  participate  in  the  proposed 
exchange  of  ideas. 

Our  own  Government  ere  that  time  had  answered  !N"o !  Mr. 
Lansing,  September  16th,  had  given  assurance  that  such  would 
be  the  reply. 

I  am  authorized  by  the  President  [he  said]  to  state  that  the  fol- 
lowing will  be  the  reply  of  this  Government  to  the  Austro-Hungarian 
note  proposing  an  unofficial  conference  of  belligerents. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  feels  that  there  is  only  one 
reply  which  it  can  make  to  the  suggestion  of  the  Imperial  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government.  It  has  repeatedly  and  with  entire  candor 
stated  the  terms  upon  which  the  United  States  would  consider  peace, 
and  can  and  will  entertain  no  proposal  for  a  conference  upon  a  mat- 
ter concerning  which  it  has  made  its  position  and  purpose  so  plain. 


166    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

And  so  it  came  about  that  when  the  formal  note  was  deliv- 
ered to  the  Swedish  Minister  in  charge  of  Austro-Hungarian 
interests  in  our  country  the  words  given  out  by  Mr.  Lansing 
were  embodied  in  it. 

I  beg  to  say  [was  the  reply  of  the  Secretary]  that  the  substance 
of  your  communication  has  been  submitted  to  the  President,  who 
now  directs  me  to  inform  you  that  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  feels  that  there  is  only  one  reply  which  it  can  make  to  the 
suggestion  of  the  Imperial  Austro-Hungarian  Government.  It  has 
repeatedly  and  with  entire  candor  stated  the  terms  upon  which  the 
United  States  would  consider  peace  and  can  and  will  entertain  no 
proposal  for  a  conference  upon  a  matter  concerning  which  it  has 
made  its  position  and  purpose  so  plain. 

President  Wilson's  answer,  and  Mr.  Balfour's  speech,  were 
held,  by  the  press  in  Germany,  to  prove  that  the  Allies  sought 
complete  destruction  of  the  Central  Powers  and  dismember- 
ment of  their  territory.  "This  cold,  cutting  scorn,  this  cool 
rejection,  has  a  more  overwhelming  and  more  annihilating 
effect  than  all  the  official  phrases  which  the  man  in  the  White 
House  could  have  employed,"  said  the  Eheinische  Westphael- 
ische  Zeitung.  "What  does  this  mean,"  said  the  Deutsche 
Tages  Zeitung,  concerning  the  demand  for  Alsace-Lorraine  and 
the  colonies,  "if  the  Entente  do  not  intend  to  dismember  and 
crush  the  German  Empire  ?  There  is  but  one  thing  left  for  us, 
victory  or  destruction."  There  were  two  points,  the  Socialist 
journal,  Vorwaerts,  said,  which  the  German  people  were  willing 
to  discuss,  Belgium  and  the  treaty  of  Brest-Litovsk,  and  two 
points,  the  retention  of  the  German  colonies  and  Alsace-Lor- 
raine, which  could  never  be  yielded  save  after  a  complete  mili- 
tary victory  by  the  Entente.  "If  £he  matter  of  giving  back  to 
us  our  colonies  is  a  closed  incident  for  England,  then  peace 
talk  is  useless  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,"  said  the  LoJcal 
Anzeiger. 

Erom  the  press  the  discussion  of  peace  passed  to  the  Chan- 
cellor, Count  von  Hertling,  who,  in  speaking  before  the  Main 
Committee  of  the  Reichstag,  complained  that  no  attention  had 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  167 

been  given  to  his  acceptance  of  the  four  points  of  President 
Wilson's  message  of  February  11,  1918. 

As  is  known,  the  President  of  the  United  States  laid  down  in  four- 
teen points  the  guiding  lines  for  a  conclusion  of  peace.  On  January 
24  of  this  year  I  discussed  in  your  committee  all  these  points,  and 
regarding  the  last  remarked  that  the  idea  of  a  league  of  nations  as 
suggested  had  my  entire  sympathy  on  the  condition  that  an  honest 
will  to  peace  and  the  recognition  of  the  equal  rights  of  all  States 
of  the  league  were  guaranteed.  How  necessary  was  this  reservation 
was  shown  by  the  statements  of  our  enemies  who,  in  a  league  of  na- 
tions, thought  of  an  alliance  directed  against  Germany  and  her  allies. 

President  Wilson  in  a  message  on  February  2  (February  11  ?)  took 
a  further  step  in  the  same  direction  and  laid  down  four  points  or 
principles,  which  in  his  opinion  should  be  applied  in  an  exchange  of 
views.  In  my  Reichstag  speech  of  February  22,  I  declared  myself  in 
principle  in  agreement  with  the  possibility  of  discussing  a  general 
peace  on  such  a  basis.  President  Wilson,  however,  has  neither  then 
nor  since  taken  any  notice  of  it. 

Meanwhile  the  former  idealist  and  zealous  friend  of  peace  seems 
to  have  developed  into  the  head  of  the  American  imperialists.  But 
the  plan  of  a  league  of  nations  yet  to  be  established  is  not  to  be  dis- 
credited by  such  an  action.  It  has  found  eloquent  advocates  in  the 
Swiss  President  and  the  Norwegian  Premier  Knudsen,  both  of  whom 
dwell  especially  on  the  interest  of  neutral  States  in  such  an  institu- 
tion. 

I  also  do  not  hesitate  to  express  my  opinion  again  to-day  on  this 
question  and  to  indicate  publicly  the  aim  and  basis  of  such  an  asso- 
ciation. It  is  a  question  of  promoting  universal,  equal  and  successive 
disarmament,  the  establishment  of  obligatory  courts  of  arbitration, 
freedom  of  the  seas  and  the  protection  of  small  nations. 

Regarding  the  first  point,  on  February  24,  I  described  the  idea  of 
restriction  of  armaments  as  thoroughly  discussable,  adding  that  the 
financial  position  of  all  the  European  States  after  the  war  would  give 
the  most  effective  support  to  a  solution  of  this  question. 

Regarding  the  question  of  arbitration,  my  standpoint  has  long  been 
history.  I  will  not  go  into  details,  but  interesting  material  which 
I  have  before  me  shows  that  Germany  in  the  past  repeatedly  suggested 
arbitration  of  disputed  questions,  the  carrying  out  of  which  in  sev- 
eral cases,  however,  was  prevented  by  opposition  raised  in  Great 
Britain  or  America.  If  an  international  understanding  could  be 
reached  that  disputed  questions  of  law  between  various  States  must 


THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

always  be  submitted  to  arbitration  courts,  and  if  this  were  made  ob- 
ligatory for  members  of  a  league  of  nations,  it  would  undoubtedly 
.be  an  important  step  toward  the  attainment  of  the  general  aim.  More 
precise  prescriptions,  especially  regarding  requisite  guarantees  for 
the  recognition  of  verdicts  made  by  arbitration,  need  careful  and 
thorough  consideration. 

I  have  expressed  myself  before  this  on  the  question  of  freedom  of 
the  seas  which  forms  a  necessary  prerequisite  for  the  unrestricted 
intercourse  of  states  and  peoples.  Here,  however,  the  greatest  diffi- 
culties, naturally,  are  not  raised  on  our  side.  On  a  former  occasion 
I  pointed  out  that  there  must  be  unhindered  access  for  all  nations  to 
the  inland  seas,  no  predominant  position  of  Great  Britain  at  Gibral- 
tar and  Malta  and  in  the  Suez  Canal.  .  .  .  An  English  newspaper 
has  called  this  impudence. 

Finally,  there  is  a  protection  of  small  nations.  Here  we  can  forth- 
with and  without  reserve  state  that  in  this  matter  we  have  an  en- 
tirely clear  conscience.  May,  therefore,  a  league  of  nations  be  no 
mere  dream  of  the  future.  May  the  idea  deepen  and  may  the  people 
in  all  countries  zealously  concern  themselves  with  the  means  for  its 
establishment.  The  first  and  most  important  prerequisite  will  be 
an  energetic  will  to  champion  peace  and  justice. 

At  this  stage  of  the  peace  debate  the  British  entered  Strum- 
nitza,  the  Italians,  French  and  Greeks  took  Krichevo,  and  the 
Bulgarians  asked  a  suspension  of  hostilities. 

A  high  Bulgarian  official,  General  d'Esperey  reported  to 
Paris,  had  come  in  the  name  of  the  Bulgarian  commander  and 
asked  for  an  armistice  of  forty-eight  hours  to  permit  the  arrival 
of  two  delegates  from  the  Bulgarian  Government,  and  that  the 
Minister  of  Finance  and  the  commander  of  the  Second  Army 
were  on  their  way  to  arrange  for  the  armistice  at  the  French 
headquarters.  Fearing  that  the  request  might  be  a  ruse  to 
enable  the  Bulgarians  to  rearrange  their  forces  and  perchance 
obtain  reinforcements,  General  d'Esperey  replied: 

I  can  accord  neither  an  armistice  nor  a  suspension  of  hostilities 
tending  to  interrupt  the  operations  in  course.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
will  receive  with  all  due  courtesy  the  delegates,  duly  qualified  by  the 
royal  Bulgarian  Government,  to  which  your  excellency  alludes  in 
the  letter.  These  delegates  to  present  themselves  in  the  British 
lines,  accompanied  by  a  parlementaire. 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  169 

An  official  Bulgarian  statement  announced  that: 

In  view  of  the  conjuncture  of  circumstances  which  have  recently 
arisen  and  after  the  position  had  been  jointly  discussed  with  all  com< 
petent  authorities,  the  Bulgarian  Government,  desiring  to  put  an 
end  to  the  bloodshed,  authorized  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army 
to  propose  to  the  generalissimo  of  the  armies  of  the  Entente  at  Sa- 
loniki  a  cessation  of  hostilities  and  the  entering  into  of  negotiations 
for  obtaining  an  armistice  and  peace. 

The  members  of  the  Bulgarian  delegation  left  yesterday  evening 
in  order  to  get  into  touch  with  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  Entente 
belligerents. 

The  Berlin  newspapers  denied  that  the  delegation  had  gone 
to  meet  the  French  commander,  and  asserted  that  German 
troops  were  on  their  way  to  aid  the  Bulgarians.  "It  must, 
therefore,  be  hoped  that  the  King  and  pro-Germans  must  soon 
again  be  masters  of  the  situation,"  said  the  Berlin  Deutsche 
Zeitung.  "Premier  Malinoff  is  supported  by  only  a  part  of  the 
Bulgarian  General  Assembly,"  said  the  Berlin  Tageblatt,  "and 
such  efforts  as  are  now  proceeding  were  proposed  while  the 
Kings  of  Saxony  and  Bavaria  were  visiting  Sofia.  MalinoiFs 
plan  is  to  give  up  the  territories  taken  from  Sofia  and  to  demand 
compensation  in  Turkish  territory."  Admiral  von  Hintze,  the 
German  Foreign  Secretary,  was  reported  to  have  explained  the 
situation  in  a  speech  before  the  Main  Committee  of  the  Reichs- 
tag. It  was  not  clear,  he  said,  whether  the  Bulgarian  govern- 
ment had  acted  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  army  or 
of  its  own  accord.  There  were  indications  that  Premier  Ma- 
linoff's  act  would  be  disavowed  later.  The  peace  delegation 
reported  to  have  left  for  Saloniki  on  Wednesday  was,  he  said, 
in  Sofia  Thursday,  and  some  counter  action  was  evidently 
coming.  The  German  High  Command  threw  all  reserves  at  its 
disposal  into  Bulgaria  when  the  bad  news  came  from  Mace- 
donia. Austria  also  sent  reserves  and  these  forces  would  re- 
store the  military  situation.  It  was  serious,  but  would  be 
clearer  in  a  few  days,  and  there  was  no  reason  to  give  up  the 
game  in  Bulgaria. 


170    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Nevertheless,  the  report  that  a  delegation  was  on  its  way  to 
the  French  commander  was  true.  On  Saturday,  September  28, 
they  reached  Saloniki,  on  Sunday  all  the  terms  of  the  Allies 
were  accepted  by  Bulgaria,  and  an  armistice  signed,  and  at 
noon,  Monday,  hostilities  ended.  The  terms  were  not  an- 
nounced, but  they  were  believed  to  be  that  Bulgaria  should 
withdraw  her  troops  from  all  territory  occupied  in  Serbia  and 
Greece,  demobilize  her  army  at  once,  surrender  all  means  of 
transportation  by  land  and  water,  grant  free  passage  for  the 
Allies  through  the  country  for  military  purposes,  and  give  up 
to  the  Allies  arms,  ammunition,  strategic  points  and  ports. 

That  Turkey  would  soon  sue  for  peace  was  now  thought 
certain.  Indeed  there  were  those  who  saw  in  the  utterances  of 
the  German  press  unmistakable  signs  of  collapse. 

On  the  night  of  the  day  on  which  the  news  of  the  Bulgarian 
request  was  made  public  in  our  country,  September  27th,  the 
President,  in  New  York  City,  opened  the  Fourth  Liberty  Loan 
Campaign  with  a  speech  in  which  he  once  more  denned  the 
issues  of  the  war  and  the  terms  on  which  peace  could  be  con- 
cluded. 

The  war  [he  said]  had  lasted  more  than  four  years  and  the  whole 
world  had  been  drawn  into  it.  Individual  statesmen,  it  might  be, 
had  started  the  conflict,  but  neither  they  nor  their  opponents  could 
end  it  as  they  pleased.  It  had  become  a  peoples'  war,  and  peoples  of 
all  sorts  and  races  were  involved  in  it.  We  came  into  it  when  its 
character  had  become  fully  defined  and  it  was  plain  that  no  nation 
could  stand  apart  or  be  indifferent  to  its  outcome. 

We  accepted  the  issues  of  the  war  as  facts,  not  as  any  group  of 
men  either  here  or  elsewhere  had  defined  them,  and  we  can  accept 
no  outcome  which  does  not  squarely  meet  and  settle  them.  Those 
issues  are  these: 

Shall  the  military  power  of  any  nation  or  group  of  nations  be  suf- 
fered to  determine  the  fortunes  of  peoples  over  whom  they  have  no 
right  to  rule  except  the  right  of  force  ? 

Shall  strong  nations  be  free  to  wrong  weak  nations  and  make  them 
subject  to  their  purpose  and  interest? 

Shall  peoples  be  ruled  and  dominated,  even  in  their  own  internal 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  171 

affairs,  by  arbitrary  and  irresponsible  force  or  by  their  own  will  and 
choice  ? 

Shall  there  be  a  common  standard  of  right  and  privilege  for  all 
peoples  and  nations  or  shall  the  strong  do  as  they  will  and  the  weak 
suffer  without  redress? 

Shall  the  assertion  of  right  be  haphazard  and  by  casual  alliance 
or  shall  there  be  a  common  concert  to  oblige  the  observance  of  com- 
mon rights? 

No  man,  no  group  of  men,  chose  these  to  be  the  issues  of  the  strug- 
gle. They  are  the  issues  of  it;  and  they  must  be  settled — by  no  ar- 
rangement or  compromise  or  adjustment  of  interests,  but  definitely, 
and  once  for  all,  and  with  a  full  and  unequivocal  acceptance  of  the 
principle  that  the  interest  of  the  weakest  is  as  sacred  as  the  interest 
of  the  strongest 

This  is  what  we  mean  when  we  speak  of  a  permanent  peace,  if 
we  speak  sincerely,  intelligently,  and  with  a  real  knowledge  and  com- 
prehension of  the  matter  we  deal  with. 

We  are  all  agreed  that  there  can  be  no  peace  obtained  by  any 
kind  of  bargain  or  compromise  with  the  Governments  of  the  Central 
Empires,  because  we  have  dealt  with  them  already,  and  have  seen 
them  deal  with  other  Governments  that  were  parties  to  this  struggle, 
at  Brest-Litovsk  and  Bucharest.  They  have  convinced  us  that  they 
are  without  honor  and  do  not  intend  justice.  They  observe  no 
covenants,  accept  no  principle  but  force  and  their  own  interest.  We 
cannot  "come  to  terms"  with  them.  They  have  made  it  impossible. 
The  German  people  must  by  this  time  be  fully  aware  that  we 
cannot  accept  the  word  of  those  who  forced  this  war  upon  us.  We 
do  not  think  the  same  thoughts  or  speak  the  same  language  of 
agreement. 

It  is  of  capital  importance  that  we  should  also  be  explicitly  agreed 
that  no  peace  shall  be  obtained  by  any  kind  of  compromise  or 
abatement  of  the  principles  we  have  avowed  as  the  principles  for 
which  we  are  fighting.  There  should  exist  no  doubt  about  that.  I 
am,  therefore,  going  to  take  the  liberty  of  speaking  with  the  utmost 
frankness  about  the  practical  implications  that  are  involved  in  it. 

If  it  be  indeed  and  in  truth  the  common  object  of  the  govern- 
ments associated  against  Germany  and  of  the  nations  whom  they 
govern,  as  I  believe  it  to  be  to  achieve  by  the  coming  settlement  a 
secure  and  lasting  peace,  it  will  be  necessary  that  all  who  sit  down 
at  the  peace  table  shall  come  ready  and  willing  to  pay  the  price, 
the  only  price,  that  will  procure  it,  and  ready  and  willing,  also,  to 
create  in  some  virile  fashion  the  only  instrumentality  by  which  it 


172     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

can  be  made  certain  that  the  agreements  of  the  peace  will  be  honored 
and  fulfilled. 

That  price  is  impartial  justice  in  every  item  of  the  settlement,  no 
matter  whose  interest  is  crossed;  and  not  only  impartial  justice,  but 
also  the  satisfaction  of  the  several  peoples  whose  fortunes  are  dealt 
with.  That  indispensable  instrumentality  is  a  League  of  Nations 
formed  under  covenants  that  will  be  efficacious.  Without  such  an 
instrumentality  by  which  the  peace  of  the  world  can  be  guar- 
anteed, peace  will  rest  in  part  upon  the  word  of  outlaws  and  only 
upon  that  word.  For  Germany  will  have  to  redeem  her  character, 
not  by  what  happens  at  the  peace  table,  but  by  what  follows. 

And,  as  I  see  it,  the  constitution  of  that  League  of  Nations,  and 
the  clear  definition  of  its  objects  must  be  a  part,  is  in  a  sense  the 
most  essential  part,  of  the  peace  settlement  itself.  It  cannot  be 
formed  now.  If  formed  now,  it  would  be  merely  a  new  alliance 
confined  to  the  nations  associated  against  a  common  enemy.  It  is 
not  likely  that  it  could  be  formed  after  the  settlement.  It  is 
necessary  to  guarantee  the  peace;  and  the  peace  cannot  be  guar- 
anteed as  an  afterthought.  The  reason,  to  speak  in  plain  terms, 
again,  why  it  must  be  guaranteed  is,  that  there  will  be  parties  to  the 
peace  whose  promises  have  proved  untrustworthy,  and  means  must 
be  found  in  connection  with  the  peace  settlement  itself  to  remove 
that  source  of  insecurity.  It  would  be  folly  to  leave  the  guarantee 
to  the  subsequent  voluntary  action  of  the  governments  we  have 
seen  destroy  Kussia  and  deceive  Eumania. 

But  these  general  terms  do  not  disclose  the  whole  matter.  Some 
details  are  needed  to  make  them  sound  less  like  a  thesis  and  more 
like  a  practical  program.  These,  then,  are  some  of  the  particulars, 
and  I  state  them  with  the  greater  confidence  because  I  can  state  them 
authoritatively  as  representing  this  Government's  interpretation  of 
its  own  duty  with  regard  to  peace: 

First.  The  impartial  justice  meted  out  must  involve  no  dis- 
crimination between  those  to  whom  we  wish  to  be  just  and  those  to 
whom  we  do  not  wish  to  be  just.  It  must  be  a  justice  that  plays  no 
favorites  and  knows  no  standard  but  the  equal  rights  of  the  several 
peoples  concerned. 

Second.  No  special  or  separate  interest  of  any  single  nation  or 
any  group  of  nations  can  be  made  the  basis  of  any  part  of  the  settle- 
ment which  is  not  consistent  with  the  common  interests  of  all. 

Third.  There  can  be  no  leagues  or  alliances  or  special  covenants 
and  understandings  with  the  general  and  common  family  of  the 
league  of  nations. 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  173 

Fourth.  And  more  specifically,  there  can  be  no  special,  selfish 
economic  combinations  within  the  league  and  no  employment  of  any 
form  of  economic  boycott  or  exclusion  except  as  the  power  of 
economic  penalty  by  exclusion  from  the  markets  of  the  world  may  be 
vested  in  the  league  of  nations  itself  as  a  means  of  discipline  and 
control. 

Fifth.  All  international  agreements  and  treaties  of  every  kind 
must  be  made  known  in  their  entirety  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Special  alliances  and  economic  rivalries  and  hostilities  have  been 
the  prolific  source  in  the  modern  world  of  the  plans  and  passions 
that  produce  war.  It  would  be  an  insincere  as  well  as  an  insecure 
peace  that  did  not  exclude  them  in  definite  and  binding  terms. 


In  the  same  sentence  in  which  I  say  that  the  United  States  will 
enter  into  no  special  arrangements  or  understandings  with  particular 
nations  let  me  say  also  that  the  United  States  is  prepared  to  assume 
its  full  share  of  responsibility  for  the  maintenance  of  the  common 
covenants  and  understandings  upon  which  peace  must  henceforth 
rest.  We  still  read  Washington's  immortal  warning  against  "entan- 
gling alliances"  with  full  comprehension  and  an  answering  purpose. 
But  only  special  and  limited  alliances  entangle;  and  we  recognize 
and  accept  the  duty  of  a  new  day  in  which  we  are  permitted  to  hope 
for  a  general  alliance  which  will  avoid  entanglements  and  clear  the 
air  of  the  world  for  common  understandings  and  the  maintenance  of 
common  rights. 

Germany  now  faced  the  great  political  crisis  of  the  war. 
Bulgaria  had  deserted  her;  Turkey  might  soon  be  forced  to 
follow  Bulgaria,  and  the  whole  western  front  from  Ostend  to 
the  Meuse  was  crumbling.  "Germany's  most  serious  hour  seems 
to  have  struck,"  said  the  Lokal  Anzeiger  of  Berlin.  "It  is  use- 
less to  gloss  over  this  news,"  said  the  Frankfurter  Zeiiung, 
when  it  beard  of  Bulgaria's  request  for  an  armistice,  "and  we 
are  not  quite  sure  whether  it  would  not  be  useful  to  attach 
considerable  importance  to  the  semi-official  attempts  to  veil  the 
threatening  secession  of  Bulgaria,  or  raise  any  hopes."  Vor- 
waerts  called  loudly  for  peace.  "The  question  is  no  longer  one 
of  conquest,  but  of  attaining  peace  in  an  orderly  way  and  with- 
out unbearable  burdens.  The  Government  must  do  everything 


174    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

possible  to  enable  it  to  come  to  the  conference  table  together 
with  its  allies  as  speedily  as  possible.  It  must  be  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  German  democracy  which  goes  to  the  conference. 
The  greatest,  war  humanity  has  experienced  ends  as  a  war  of 
purely  German  defense,  and  as  such  it  must  now  quickly,  and 
as  well  as  possible,  be  brought  to  an  end." 

Excitement  over  the  defection  of  Bulgaria  rose  high  in  Ger- 
many. War  industry  stocks  fell  rapidly  in  Berlin;  a  peace 
demonstration  followed;  a  cheering  crowd  gathered  before  the 
Bulgarian  Legation ;  and  Chancellor  von  Hertling  and  Foreign 
Minister  Admiral  von  Hintze  resigned.  Even  the  Kaiser 
showed  signs  of  alarm.  When  accepting  the  resignation  of 
Count  von  Hertling,  he  said,  "I  desire  that  the  German  people 
shall  cooperate  more  effectively  than  hitherto  in  deciding  the 
fate  of  the  Fatherland."  In  a  message  to  the  Fatherland  party 
he  appealed  to  the  people  for  support.  "I  have  the  confident 
hope  that  the  whole  German  people  in  these  most  serious  times 
will  resolutely  gather  around  me  and  give  their  blood  and  wealth 
until  the  last  breath  for  defense  of  the  Fatherland  against  the 
shameful  enemy  plans.  Such  a  unanimous  resolve  to  exist  will 
and  must,  with  God's  help,  succeed  in  breaking  the  enemy's  will 
to  war,  and  secure  the  Fatherland  the  peace  it  is  worthy  of 
among  the  peoples  of  the  world."  "Bulgaria,"  said  Vorwaerts, 
"deserts  the  Central  Alliance  to  make  peace.  We,  the  German 
people,  thus  remain  alone  to  face  the  French,  the  English  and 
the  Americans,  our  backs  to  the  wall  and  death  facing  us.  Such 
is  the  situation  that  we  have  in  view  to-day,  and  we  must  meet 
it  with  the  necessary  courage."  The  LoJcal  Anzeiger  did  not 
think  any  man  could  "help  seeing  how  great  the  danger  is  owing 
to  the  Bulgarian"  defection.  "It  would  be  a  crime  to  conceal 
it." 

From  Amsterdam  it  was  reported  that  Vienna  newspapers 
described  the  excitement  caused  in  that  city  by  the  collapse  of 
Bulgaria  as  tremendous.  Kumors  were  afloat  that  Turkey  had 
followed  the  lead  of  Bulgaria,  that  King  Ferdinand  had  abdi- 
cated, that  his  palace  had  been  blown  up,  and  that  a  revolution 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  175 

had  broken  out  in  Eoumania.  They  were  at  onee  denied. 
[Nevertheless,  there  was  a  panic  on  the  Berlin  Bourse,  and  such 
was  the  excitement  on  the  Budapest  Bourse  that  business  was 
suspended.  Later  dispatches  from  Amsterdam  announced  that 
Prince  Maximilian  of  Baden  had  been  chosen  Chancellor  to 
succeed  von  Hertling;  that  he  would  announce  his  policy  at  a 
full  meeting  of  the  Eeichstag  in  a  few  days;  that  Philip  Schei- 
dermann,  vice-president  of  the  Eeichstag  and  leader  of  the 
Majority  Social  Democrats,  and  Adolf  Grober,  leader  of  the 
Centrist  party  in  the  Eeichstag,  would  be  Secretaries  of  State 
without  portfolios,  and  that  the  Socialist  and  Social  Democrat 
groups  had  agreed  to  aid  in  the  organization  of  a  Government 
under  Prince  Maximilian. 

Austria,  too,  felt  the  blow.  !No  sooner  had  the  news  of  Bul- 
garia's request  reached  Vienna  than  Premier  von  Hussarex 
summoned  the  party  leaders  and  asked  if,  in  view  of  the  serious- 
ness of  the  situation,  it  were  well  to  have  the  lower  House 
assemble  on  October  2.  The  Deputies  thought  it  should  meet 
at  the  appointed  time  and  when  it  did  the  Premier  made  a 
long  speech  on  the  situation,  and  declared  his  belief  that  the 
hour  was  near  when  action  would  be  taken  on  the  peace  offer 
of  Baron  Burian.  In  the  course  of  discussion  which  followed 
the  Socialists  demanded  peace  and  stated  the  terms  on  which 
it  should  be  made.  They  were:  A  league  of  nations;  no  eco- 
nomic war;  no  annexations;  restoration  of  Belgium,  Serbia, 
Montenegro;  revision  of  the  treaties  of  Brest-Litovsk  and 
Bucharest;  autonomy  for  each  nation  in  Austria-Hungary; 
settlement  of  their  own  affairs  by  the  Poles,  and  of  the  Eastern 
issues  on  the  basis  of  nationalities.  Just  what  was  happening 
in  Austria-Hungary  was  not  known ;  but  such  rumors  as  reached 
the  Allies  through  Amsterdam,  untrue  as  many  of  them  were, 
left  no  doubt  that  another  peace  movement  was  under  way. 
According  to  the  Berlin  TagebUtt,  Austria-Hungary  had  re- 
quested Holland  to  invite  the  belligerents  to  take  part  in  peace 
negotiations.  According  to  the  Cologne  Gazette,  the  Hungarian 
Premier  Werkerle,  with  Count  Julius  Andrassy,  Count  Stephen 


176    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Tisza  and  Count  Albert  Apponyi,  had  gone  to  Vienna  in  the 
interest  of  peace.  Dispatches  from  Budapest  stated  that  de- 
mands for  a  coalition  Cabinet  in  Hungary  were  insistent,  and 
that  Baron  von  Hussarex  must  resign. 

Holland  had  not  been  asked  to  invite  the  belligerents  to  con- 
sider peace ;  but  a  movement  for  peace  was  under  way,  and  on 
October  5  the  Austro-Hungarian  Minister  at  Stockholm  was 
instructed  to  send  to  President  Wilson  a  proposal  for  a  general 
armistice  and  peace. 

The  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy,  which  has  waged  war  always 
and  solely  as  a  defensive  war,  and  repeatedly  given  documentary 
evidence  of  its  readiness  to  stop  the  shedding  of  blood  and  arrive 
at  a  just  and  honorable  peace,  hereby  addresses  itself  to  his  lordship, 
the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  offers  to  con- 
clude with  him  and  his  Allies  an  armistice  on  every  front  on  land, 
at  sea  and  in  the  air,  and  to  enter  immediately  upon  negotiations 
toward  a  peace  for  which  the  fourteen  points  in  the  message  of 
President  Wilson  to  Congress  of  January  8,  1918,  and  the  four 
points  contained  in  President  Wilson's  address  on  February  12, 
1918,  serve  as  the  foundation  and  in  which  the  viewpoints  declared 
by  President  Wilson  in  his  address  of  September  27,  1918,  will 
also  be  taken  into  account. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  Germany  to  cry  for  peace.  When, 
therefore,  the  new  Imperial  German  Chancellor  met  the  Eeichs- 
tag  on  October  5  he  announced  that  a  note  had  been  addressed 
to  President  Wilson  through  the  Swiss  Government.  President 
Wilson  had  been  addressed  because,  in  his  message  to  Congress 
January  8,  1918,  and  in  his  speech  at  New  York  on  Septem- 
ber 27,  1918,  he  had  proposed  a  plan  for  a  general  peace  which 
Germany  and  her  Allies  would  accept  as  a  basis  for  peace 
negotiation.  The  official  translation  of  the  German  note  reads: 

The  German  Government  requests  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America  to  take  steps  for  the  restoration  of  peace,  to  notify 
all  belligerents  of  his  request  and  to  invite  them  to  delegate  plenipo- 
tentiaries for  the  purpose  of  taking  up  negotiations.  The  German 
Government  accepts,  as  a  basis  for  peace  negotiations,  the  program 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  177 

laid  down  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  his  message  to 
Congress  of  January  8,  1918,  and  in  his  subsequent  pronouncements, 
particularly  in  his  address  of  September  27,  1918.  In  order  to 
avoid  further  bloodshed,  the  German  Government  requests  to  bring 
about  the  immediate  conclusion  of  a  general  armistice  on  land,  on 
water  and  in  the  air. 


The  Chancellor  opened  his  speech  with  the  statement  that 
"in  accordance  with  the  Imperial  decree  of  September  30,  the 
German  Empire  has  undergone  a  basic  alteration  of  its  political 
leadership";  and  that  in  accordance  "with  the  government 
method  now  introduced,  I  submit  to  the  Reichstag,  publicly 
and  without  delay,  the  principles  upon  which  I  propose  to  con- 
duct the  grave  responsibilities  of  the  office."  These  principles, 
he  said,  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  federated  governments, 
and  by  the  majority  parties'  leaders,  before  he  decided  to  accept 
the  Chancellorship.  They  contained,  therefore,  not  only  his 
own  "confession  of  political  faith,"  but  that  "of  an  overwhelm- 
ing portion  of  the  German  people's  representatives;  that  is,  of 
the  German  nation  which  has  constituted  the  Eeichstag  on  the 
basis  of  a  general,  equal  and  secret  franchise  and  according  to 
their  will."  The  knowledge  that  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the 
people  was  back  of  him  alone  gave  him  strength  to  take  upon 
himself  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the  Empire  "in  this  hard 
and  earnest  time  in  which  we  are  living." 

His  resolve  so  to  do  had  been  strengthened  by  the  fact  "that 
prominent  leaders  of  the  laboring  class  have  found  a  way," 
under  the  new  Government,  into  "the  highest  offices  of  the 
Empire."  Hence  "what  I  say  to-day  I  say  is  not  only  in  my 
own  name  and  those  of  my  official  helpers,  but  in  the  name  of 
the  German  people." 

In  their  name,  therefore,  he  said : 

The  program  of  the  majority  parties  upon  which  I  take  my  stand 
contains,  first,  an  acceptance  of  the  answer  of  the  former  Imperial 
Government  to  Pope  Benedict's  note  of  August  1,  1916,  and  an 
unconditional  acceptance  of  the  Eeichstag  resolution  of  July  19, 
the  same  year.  It  further  declares  willingness  to  join  a  general 


178    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

league  of  nations  based  on  the  foundation  of  equal  rights  for  all, 
both  strong  and  weak. 

It  considers  the  solution  of  the  Belgian  question  to  lie  in  the 
complete  rehabilitation  of  Belgium,  particularly  of  its  independence 
and  territorial  integrity.  An  effort  shall  also  be  made  to  reach  an 
understanding  on  the  question  of  indemnity. 

The  program  will  not  permit  the  peace  treaties  hitherto  con- 
cluded to  be  a  hindrance  to  the  conclusion  of  a  general  peace. 

Its  particular  aim  is  that  popular  representative  bodies  shall  be 
formed  immediately  on  a  broad  basis  in  the  Baltic  provinces,  in 
Lithuania  and  Poland.  We  will  promote  the  realization  of  necessary 
preliminary  conditions  therefor  without  delay  by  the  introduction 
of  civilian  rule.  All  these  lands  shall  regulate  their  Constitutions 
and  their  relations  with  neighboring  peoples  without  external  inter- 
ference. 

*•**•** 

At  the  peace  negotiations  the  German  Government  will  use  its 
efforts  to  the  end  that  the  treaties  shall  contain  provisions  con- 
cerning the  protection  of  labor  and  insurance  of  laborers,  which 
provisions  shall  enable  the  treaty-making  States  to  institute  in  their 
respective  lands  within  a  prescribed  time  a  minimum  of  similar,  or 
at  least  equally,  efficient  institutions  for  the  security  of  life  and 
health  as  for  the  care  of  laborers  in  the  case  of  illness,  accident  or 
invalidism. 

During  a  month  past,  the  Chancellor  continued,  "a  continu- 
ous, terrible,  murderous  battle  has  been  raging  in  the  west. 
Thanks  to  the  incomparable  heroism  of  our  army,  which  will 
live  as  an  immortal,  glorious  page  in  the  history  of  the  German 
people  at  all  times,  the  front  is  unbroken.  This  proud  con- 
sciousness enables  us  to  look  to  the  future  with  confidence." 
But,  because  of  this  confidence,  and  "the  conviction  that  it  is 
also  our  duty  to  make  certain  that  the  bloody  struggle  be  not 
protracted  for  a  single  day  beyond  the  moment"  when  it  could 
be  closed  with  honor,  the  Chancellor  had  "not  waited  until 
to-day  to  take  a  step  to  further  the  ideas  of  peace." 

Supported  by  the  consent  of  all  duly  authorized  persons  in  the 
empire,  and  by  consent  of  all  our  allies  acting  in  concert  with  us, 
I  sent  on  the  night  of  October  4-5,  through  the  mediation  of  Swit- 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  179 

zerland,  a  note  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  which  I 
requested  him  to  take  up  the  bringing  about  of  peace  and  to  com- 
municate to  this  end  with  all  the  belligerent  States. 

The  note  will  reach  Washington  to-day  or  to-morrow.  It  is  di- 
rected to  the  President  of  the  United  States  because  he,  in  his 
message  to  Congress  January  8,  1918,  and  in  his  later  proclamations, 
particularly  in  his  New  York  speech  of  September  27,  proposed  a 
program  for  a  general  peace  which  we  can  accept  as  a  basis  for  nego- 
tiations. 

I  have  taken  this  step  not  only  for  the  salvation  of  Germany 
and  its  allies,  but  of  all  humanity,  which  has  been  suffering  for 
years  through  the  war. 

I  have  taken  it  also  because  I  believe  the  thoughts  regarding  the 
future  well-being  of  the  nation  which  were  proclaimed  by  Mr. 
Wilson  are  in  accord  with  the  general  ideas  cherished  by  the  new 
German  Government  and  with  it  the  overwhelming  majority  of  our 
people. 

Kesting  on  his  firm  faith  in  a  "great  and  true  people,  a 
people  capable  of  every  devotion  and  upon  their  glorious  armed 
power,"  the  Chancellor  awaited  "the  outcome  of  the  first 
action"  which  he  had  "taken  as  the  leading  statesman  of  the 
Empire.  Whatever  this  outcome  may  be,  I  know  it  will  find 
Germany  firmly  resolved  and  united  either  for  an  upright  peace 
which  rejects  every  selfish  violation  of  the  rights  of  others,  or 
for  a  continuance  of  the  struggle  for  life  and  death  to  which 
our  people  would  be  forced,  without  our  own  fault,  if  the  answer 
to  our  note  of  the  Powers  opposed  to  us  should  be  directed  by  a 
will  to  destroy  us. 

"I  do  not  despair  over  the  thought  that  this  second  alterna- 
tive may  come.  I  know  the  greatness  of  the  mighty  power  yet 
possessed  by  our  people,  and  I  know  that  the  incontrovertible 
conviction  that  they  were  only  fighting  for  our  life  as  a  nation 
would  double  these  powers. 

"I  hope,  however,  for  the  sake  of  all  mankind,  that  the 
President  of  the  United  States  will  receive  our  offer  as  we 
meant  it.  Then  the  door  would  be  opened  to  a  speedy,  honor- 
able peace  of  justice  and  reconciliation  for  us  as  well  as  for 
our  opponents." 


180    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

In  the  opinion  of  our  countrymen  the  offer  was  not  worthy 
of  consideration,  but  should  be  rejected  at  once.  It  was  an 
attempt,  now  that  the  Hindenburg  Line  has  been  smashed  in 
every  sector  from  Dixmude  to  St.  Mihiel,  to  transfer  the  strug- 
gle from  the  western  front  to  the  council  table,  from  the  battle- 
field to  diplomatic  negotiation.  Then,  if  no  peace  were  made, 
and  it  surely  would  not  be,  the  German  Emperor,  with  his  army 
rested,  and  a  new  Hindenburg  Line  constructed,  could  once 
more  plunge  into  war.  Why  were  not  the  President's  fourteen 
points,  which  at  last  had  made  such  a  deep  impression  in  Ger- 
many, accepted  as  a  "basis  for  negotiations"  in  January,  1918? 
Because,  when  the  German  armies  began  their  offensive  in 
March  the  Emperor  was  sure  they  would  fight  their  way  to 
Paris  and  the  !N~orth  Sea  before  our  country  could  lend  the 
Allies  a  helping  hand. 

Erom  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other  arose  the  demand 
for  no  armistice,  nothing  but  unconditional  surrender.  The 
whole  press  of  the  country  joined  in  the  demand.  "Peace,  yes, 
but  only  that  kind  of  peace  dictated  by  the  Allies."  "It  is  use- 
less for  the  Central  Powers  to  talk  of  peace  while  their  talons 
still  clutch  the  lands  which  they  have  grasped."  "We  are  at 
war  with  the  most  murderous  lot  of  outlaws  that  has  ever  dis- 
graced the  earth.  They  must  pay  for  the  hellish  crimes  they 
have  committed."  "There  can  be  no  safe  peace  but  a  peace 
written  with  the  sword."  "Absolute  and  complete  surrender, 
with  no  German  allowed  at  the  councils,  other  than  as  a  crim- 
inal at  the  bar,  ought  to  be  the  only  terms  upon  which  the  Allies 
will  halt  fighting."  "Let  us  beware  of  calling  a  halt  to  listen 
to  empty  talk  which  is  intended  to  flatter  and  dupe.  The  proper 
course  was  taken  with  Bulgaria."  "The  fact  is  that  Germany 
can  have  peace,  and  have  it  now,  on  the  same  terms  as  Bul- 
garia." "Absolute  surrender  is  the  sine  qua  non  for  peace,  the 
condition  precedent  to  the  consideration  of  terms."  "Talk  of 
peace  from  the  Kaiser  is  momentous  news.  But,  except  as 
news,  it  is  of  no  importance.  We  do  not  want  to  talk  to  the 
Kaiser.  Erom  him  we  want  one  thing  first,  unconditional  sur- 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  181 

render,  and  what  happens  afterward  we  will  decide  for  our- 
selves." "The  German  armies  must  lay  down  their  arms  before 
peace  talk  begins.  The  democratic  world  has  the  chance  now 
to  rid  itself  of  Hohenzollernism.  If  this  generation  does  not 
seize  this  opportunity,  it  will  deserve  the  condemnation  of  pos- 
terity. Let  there  be  no  'next  war.'  " 

In  France  the  press  was  of  the  same  mind.  "Germany  wishes 
to  stop  the  war  the  moment  she  is  going  to  be  beaten  and  knows 
it,"  said  Figaro.  "Let  us  suppose  the  offer  is  accepted.  Imme- 
diately in  Germany  there  would  be  a  delirium  of  joy.  The 
people  are  electrified,  and  the  Kaiser  has  taken  them  into  his 
hands.  The  humiliation  of  having  demanded  peace  would  dis- 
appear rapidly.  He  becomes  the  hero  of  heroes.  He  has  re- 
sisted a  world  coalition." 

"We  must  not  be  misled  by  appearances,"  said  the  Journal. 
"The  enemy  offers  to  negotiate  on  the  basis  of  President  Wil- 
son's peace  program.  There  is  no  discussion  between  conqueror 
and  conquered.  Beaten  on  all  fronts  and  facing  the  menace  of 
being  completely  vanquished,  but  not  definitely  conquered,  she 
wishes  to  save  what  is  left  of  her  military  prestige  and  materials 
in  arms.  She  wishes  to  represent  herself  as  having  asked  for 
peace  out  of  consideration  for  humanity."  "An  armistice  is 
not  possible  at  the  point  at  which  we  now  are,"  said  L'Homme 
Libre.  "We  would  not  be  satisfied  without  reparation  for  the 
past  and  guarantees  for  the  future.  Maximilian  is  silent  on 
these  two  important  points."  "  'Admit  as  a  basis'  is  vague," 
said  the  Temps.  "Germany  only  invokes  President  Wilson's 
principles  to  make  us  let  fall  our  arms.  Then,  when  the  fight- 
ing has  ceased,  when  the  German  troops  have  regained  their 
breath,  when  the  Imperial  Government  has  become  popular  and 
strong,  the  German  diplomats  will  undermine  and  overthrow 
one  by  one  the  pretended  bases  of  negotiation."  "The  cornered 
beast,"  said  the  Journal  des  Delats,  "draws  in  its  claws  and 
offers  us  its  blood-stained  paw.  We  shall  keep  our  program 
of  restitution,  reparation,  guarantees." 

The  German  note  having  been  sent,  and  the  speech  of  the 


182     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Chancellor  made,  the  Emperor,  in  a  proclamation,  announced 
the  peace  offer  to  the  army  on  October  6. 

For  months  past  the  enemy,  with  enormous  exertions  and  almost 
without  pause  in  the  fighting,  has  stormed  against  your  lines. 
During  weeks  of  the  struggle,  often  without  repose,  you  have  had  to 
resist  a  numerically  far  superior  army.  Therein  lies  the  greatness 
of  the  task  which  has  been  set  for  you  and  which  you  are  fulfilling. 
Troops  of  all  German  States  are  doing  their  parjt  and  are  heroically 
defending  the  Fatherland  on  foreign  soil.  Hard  is  the  task. 

My  navy  is  holding  its  own  against  the  united  enemy  naval  forces 
and  is  unwaveringly  supporting  the  army  in  its  difficult  struggle. 

The  eyes  of  those  at  home  rest  with  pride  and  admiration  on  the 
deeds  of  the  army  and  the  navy.  I  express  to  you  the  thanks  of 
myself  and  the  fatherland. 

The  collapse  of  the  Macedonian  front  has  occurred  in  the  midst 
of  the  hardest  struggle.  In  accord  with  our  allies  I  have  resolved 
once  more  to  offer  peace  to  the  enemy,  but  I  will  only  extend  my  hand 
for  an  honorable  peace.  We  owe  that  to  the  heroes  who  have  laid 
down  their  lives  for  the  Fatherland,  and  we  make  that  our  duty  to 
our  children. 

Whether  arms  will  be  lowered  is  a  question.  Until  then  we  must 
not  slacken.  We  must,  as  hitherto,  exert  all  our  strength  unwearily 
to  hold  our  ground  against  the  onslaught  of  our  enemies. 

The  hour  is  grave,  but,  trusting  in  your  strength  and  in  God's 
gracious  help,  we  feel  ourselves  to  be  strong  enough  to  defend  our 

beloved  Fatherland. 

\ 

All  eyes  at  home  and  abroad  now  turned  to  the  President. 
That  the  offer  would  be  promptly  and  vigorously  rejected  was 
confidently  predicted  and  expected,  because  it  asked  for  an 
armistice  that  would  not  be  granted,  because  Germany  had  not 
accepted  the  program  outlined  by  the  President,  but  merely 
offered  to  use  it  as  a  "basis  for  peace  negotiations,"  because 
this  was  an  invitation  to  talk  peace,  and  because  the  President, 
in  his  speech  on  September  27,  had  said,  "no  peace  shall  be 
obtained  by  any  kind  of  compromise  or  abatement  of  the  prin- 
ciples we  have  avowed  as  the  principles  for  which  we  are  fight- 
ing." Instead  of  a  summary  rejection  of  the  offer,  and  a 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  183 

demand  for  unconditional  surrender,  Secretary  Lansing  asked 
questions. 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  on  behalf  of  the  President  your 
note  of  October  6^  inclosing  a  communication  from  the  German 
Government  to  the  President,  and  I  am  instructed  by  the  President 
to  request  you  to  make  the  following  communication  to  the  Imperial 
German  Chancellor: 

Before  making  reply  to  the  request  of  the  Imperial  German 
Government,  and  in  order  that  that  reply  shall  be  as  candid  and 
straightforward  as  the  momentous  interests  involved  require,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  deems  it  necessary  to  assure  him- 
self of  the  exact  meaning  of  the  note  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor. 
Does  the  Imperial  Chancellor  mean  that  the  Imperial  German 
Government  accepts  the  terms  laid  down  by  the  president  in  his 
address  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  on  the  8th  of  January 
last,  and  in  subsequent  addresses,  and  that  its  object  in  entering 
into  discussion  would  be  only  to  agre6  upon  the  practical  details  of 
their  application? 

The  President  feels  bound  to  say  with  regard  to  the  suggestion 
of  an  armistice  that  he  would  not  feel  at  liberty  to  propose  a  cessa- 
tion of  arms  to  the  Governments  with  which  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  is  associated  against  the  Central  Powers  so  long  as 
the  armies  of  those  Powers  are  upon  their  soil. 

The  good  faith  of  any  discussion  manifestly  would  depend  upon 
the  consent  of  the  Central  Powers  immediately  to  withdraw  their 
forces  everywhere  from  invaded  territory. 

The  President  also  feels  that  he  is  justified  in  asking  whether  the 
Imperial  Chancellor  is  speaking  merely  for  the  constituted  authority 
of  the  empire  who  so  far  conducted  the  war.  He  deems  the  answer  to 
these  questions  vital  from  every  point  of  view. 

While  the  answer  of  the  President  was  still  unknown,  the 
request  of  Germany  was  discussed  in  the  Senate.  All  who 
spoke  were  for  a  relentless  prosecution  of  the  war,  for  the  un- 
remitting use  of  force  until  the  enemy  made  an  unconditional 
surrender.  Said  one: 

The  President  has  very  definitely  stated  that  it  woulo!  be  impossible 
to  negotiate  with  Germany  until  the  German  people  have  established 
a  Government  that  believed  in  honesty.  That  has  not  been  done. 
The  same  Government  that  brought  about  this  war,  that  depended 


184    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

upon  militarism,  that  violated  treaties  with  Belgium  and  other  weak 
peoples,  is  still  in  existence.  The  President  of  the  United  States,  I 
am  satisfied,  will  still  hold  that  the  German  people  have  not  come 
within  the  requirements  of  negotiation  in  the  establishment  of  an 
honest  Government. 

The  proposal  of  Prince  Maximilian  [said  another]  simply  begs 
for  an  armistice  for  the  purpose  of  entering  upon  a  discussion.  That 
is  a  mere  trap  to  divide  and  separate  the  Allies.  When  Germany 
disbands  her  army,  or  when  that  army  is  conquered  in  the  field,  it 
will  be  time  enough  to  consider  terms  of  peace. 

To  hear  about  the  German  Government  being  concerned  about 
bloodshed,  or  express  the  desire  to  avoid  further  bloodshed,  is  the 
supreme  joke  of  the  century,  the  grimmest  piece  of  irony  I  have 
seen  perpetrated  in  this  war  [said  a  third].  A  nation  which  sprang 
like  a  tiger  at  the  throats  of  an  unoffending  and  unsuspecting  civili- 
zation, which  destroyed  not  one  nation,  but  other  nations,  especially 
small  nations,  and  caused  the  river  and  streets  and  fields  to  run  red 
with  innocent  blood,  now  insults  the  intelligence  of  the  world  by 
pretending  that  it  is  very  much  concerned  about  the  shedding  of 
blood. 

A  trail  of  fire  and  blood  from  the  Ehine  to  Berlin  should  be 
the  course  our  armies  should  take.  And  when  our  armies  have 
reached  Berlin,  there  we  will  tell  them  what  the  terms  of  peace  will 
be. 

We  want  to  assure  the  American  people  that  we  will  not  commit  the 
sacrilege  of  dishonoring  our  dead  soldiers  by  thinking  of  peace 
until  our  army  has  entered  Berlin. 

Let  us  [said  a  fourth]  leave  this  matter  to  the  Commander-in- 
chief  of  our  armies  over  there,  Marshal  Foch;  let  Germany,  through 
her  military  authorities,  propose  to  him  to  lay  down  their  arms 
and  ask  for  an  armistice.  In  other  words,  let  the  Germans  do  as 
the  Bulgarians  have  done,  and  say  to  the  Allies,  "We  will  lay  down 
our  arms;  we  will  evacuate  this  territory,  and  we  will  submit  to 
the  dictates  of  the  allied  Governments  in  this  matter  of  peace." 

A  fifth  offered*  a  resolution  which  was  sent  to  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Kelations. 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  the  House  of 
Representatives  concurring : 

That  there  shall  be  no  cessation  of  hostilities  and  no  Armistice 
until  the  Imperial  German  Government  shall  disband  its  armies 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  185 

and  surrender  its  arms  and  munitions,  together  with  its  navy,  to 
the  United  States  and  her  allies  in  this  war; 

That  before  any  armistice  shall  be  considered  the  Imperial  German 
Government  shall  unreservedly  consent  to  the  principles  of  repara- 
tion declared  as  terms  of  peace  by  our  allies; 

That  it  will  pay  in  damages  the  cost  of  rebuilding  and  recon- 
structing all  the  cities  and  villages  destroyed  by  its  armies,  and 
restore  to  fertility  the  lands  devastated  by  it; 

That  it  will  repay  every  dollar  and  the  value  of  all  property  exacted 
from  the  people  of  any  territory  invaded  by  it; 

That  it  will  make  proper  compensation  and  allowance  for  every 
crime  committed  by  its  armies  contrary  to  the  laws  of  warfare  and 
humanity,  whether  on  land  or  sea; 

That  it  will  return  to  France,  Alsace  and  Lorraine  and  the  in- 
demnity exacted  from  her  in  1870; 

And  that  it  further  accepts  all  the  conditions  laid  down  by  the 
President  in  his  address  of  Jan.  8,  1918. 

When,  therefore,  the  answer  of  the  President  was  made 
public,  not  a  few  of  the  Senators  were  greatly  disappointed  that 
it  was  not  a  flat  rejection  of  everything  the  Chancellor  had 
requested.  Nor  were  they  alone  in  their  disappointment.  "Let 
us  hope,"  wrote  William  Howard  Taft,  "that  the  President  has 
not  taken  a  false  step.  He  has  not  answered  Germany  as  it 
was  hoped  by  the  American  and  Allied  people  he  would.  His 
dialectic  queries  are,  of  course,  intended  to  show  by  Germany's 
answers  that  she  is  not  sincere.  He  thus  wishes  to  deprive  the 
Kaiser  of  an  opportunity  to  rouse  his  people  to  a  'last  ditch' 
struggle  to  avoid  annihilation."  Was  it  not  dangerous  to  invite 
acceptance  of  points  which  might  need  amendment  because  of 
the  changed  situation  since  January  8,  1918?  "Why  should 
we  ask  who  is  making  the  inquiry  ?  Do  we  not  know  it  is  the 
Kaiser  through  a  minister  whose  past  liberalism  he  is  using  as 
a  cloak  to  fool  his  own  people  and  ourselves  ?  .  .  .  Our  gallant 
troops  at  the  front,  and  those  of  our  Allies  shedding  their  blood 
so  freely  in  the  greatest  battle  in  the  world's  history,  should 
not  have  their  high  purpose  to  fight  through  to  'victory  and 
Berlin  chilled  by  any  hesitation  as  to  the  goal  we  seek." 

The  press  of  the  country  in  general  took  the  position  that  the 


186    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

President  had  met  the  German  peace  offensive  with  a  counter 
offensive.  He  had  simply  shifted  the  issue  back  to  Berlin  and 
left  the  German  Government  to  get  out,  as  best  it  could,  of  the 
trap  so  carefully  set  for  the  United  States  and  her  Allies. 
"President  Wilson  has  matched  General  Foch's  military  success 
with  a  diplomatic  triumph."  "In  dealing  with  the  German 
peace  offensive  President  Wilson  has  employed  the  same  tactics 
that  Foch  used  in  breaking  the  German  military  offensive — a 
counter-offensive."  "Ten  thousand  words  of  amplification  could 
add  naught  to  this  incomparably  effective  response.  It  argues 
nothing,  it  promises  nothing,  but,  serenely  and  without  the  least 
bluster  of  rhetorical  phrase,  it  hamstrings  the  Kaiser's  horse." 
"This  time  the  Hun  Government  has  been  outmaneuvered. 
Since  it  has  chosen,  like  Hindenburg  and  Ludendorff,  to  resort 
to  subterfuges  and  indirect  attack,  the  President,  like  Foch  and 
Pershing,  has  answered  his  adversary  in  kind ;  he  has  adopted 
'tactics'  rather  than  point-blank  fire."  The  reply  had  prevented 
Prince  Max  from  turning  to  the  German  people  and  saying, 
"  'You  see,  we  offered  America  peace  on  her  own  terms  and  she 
has  refused  them.  I  have  exposed  the  insincerity  of  her  prin- 
ciples. I  have  revealed  the  purpose  of  the  Allies.  You  see 
now  it  is  to  destroy  the  German  people.  Therefore  fight  on.' 
That  was  a  shrewd  thrust.  But  the  President  has  parried  it." 
Such  journals  as  expressed  disappointment  said:  "If  the 
nation  expected  that  the  President  would  return,  as  the  answer 
to\  Germany's  peace  proposals,  two  words,  unconditional  sur- 
render, it  will  be  disappointing.  Apparently  the  time  to  pro- 
claim that  ultimatum  (in  the  opinion  of  the  President)  has 
not  yet  come."  "To  deny  that  the  American  people  will  be 
deeply  disappointed  at  the  President's  first  step  in  response  to 
the  note  of  the  new  Imperial  Chancellor  would  be  to  deny  a 
phenomenon  of  nature."  "America  feels  that  there  should  be 
nothing  that  savors,  even  remotely,  of  diplomatic  weakening. 
Unfortunately  the  President's  note  of  inquiry  is  likely  to  be 
so  construed."  "It  goes  without  saying  that  the  reply  is  not 
what  we  have  all  expected  and  hoped  for.  ...  It  is  the  part  of 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES 

wisdom,  however,  to  conclude  that  the  President  is  right,  know- 
ing more  than  we  can  know." 

October  12  a  wireless  from  Nauen,  seemingly  the  reply  of 
the  German  Government  to  the  President's  note,  was  picked  up 
in  France  and  forwarded  to  Washington.  President  Wilson 
was  then  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  at  New  York  City, 
attending  a  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  Queen  Margherita 
Fund  for  Blinded  Italian  Soldiers,  for  the  day  had  been  Italy 
Day  at  the  Altar  of  Liberty.  A  newspaper  man  brought  a  copy 
to  the  President's  Secretary,  Mr.  Tumulty,  who  handed  it  to 
the  President,  who  read: 

The  German  Government  has  accepted  the  terms  laid  down  by 
President  Wilson  in  his  address  of  JaL.  ^ary  8,  and  in  his  subsequent 
addresses  on  the  foundation  of  a  permanent  peace  of  justice.  Con- 
sequently its  object  in  entering  into  discutnon  would  be  only  to 
agree  upon  practical  details  of  the  application  of  these  terms.  The 
German  Government  believes  that  the  Governments  of  the  powers 
associated  with  the  Government  of  the  United  States  also  take  the 
position  taken  by  President  Wilson  in  his  address. 

The  German  Government,  in  accordance  with  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Government,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  an  armistice, 
declares  itself  ready  to  comply  with  the  proposition  of  the  President 
in  regard  to  evacuation.  The  German  Government  suggests  that 
the  President  may  occasion  the  meeting  of  a  mixed  commission  for 
making  the  necessary  arrangements  concerning  the  evacuation. 

The  present  German  Government,  which  has  undertaken  the  re- 
sponsibility for  this  step  toward  peace,  has  been  formed  by  con- 
ferences and  in  agreement  with  the  great  majority  of  the  Reichstag. 
The  Chancellor,  supported  in  all  his  actions  by  the  will  of  this 
majority,  speaks  in  the  name  of  the  German  Government  and  of 
the  German  people. 

SOLF, 
State  Secretary  of  Foreign  Office. 

Against  this  request  for  a  mixed  commission  to  arrange  for 
evacuation,  the  whole  country  protested  vigorously.  From  one 
end  of  it  to  the  other  came  the  cry,  "no  armistice,"  "uncon- 
ditional surrender."  Solf  s  answer  was  held  to  be  no  surrender, 
but  a  move  to  avoid  surrender.  An  armistice,  it  was  said, 


188     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

purchased  at  the  price  of  mere  evacuation  of  invaded  territory, 
•would  be  a  fine  bargain  for  Germany  but  a  foolish  one  for  the 
Allies.  To  permit  the  Hun  to  retire  to  his  bloody  lair  still  a 
belligerent  was  unthinkable.  His  arms  must  be  stacked  on  the 
battlefield.  There  must  be  a  transfer  of  ammunition  to  the 
Allies,  a  surrender  as  complete  as  that  of  Bulgaria.  What  kind 
of  terms  did  Bismarck  grant  when  France  asked  an  armistice 
of  three  weeks  in  1871?  "The  immediate  surrender  of  the 
twenty-five  forts  around  Paris  with  all  their  war  supplies ;  the 
garrison  of  Paris  to  lay  down  their  arms  as  prisoners  of  war ; 
the  immediate  payment  of  200,000,000  francs." 

The  President  asked  for  whom  Prince  Maximilian  was 
speaking,  for  he  had  already  said,  "We  cannot  take  the  word 
of  the  present  rulers  of  Germany  as  a  guarantee  unless  sup- 
ported by  such  conclusive  evidence  of  the  will  and  purpose  of 
the  German  people  themselves  as  other  peoples  of  the  world 
would  be  justified  in  accepting."  Have  we,  it  was  asked,  any 
such  evidence  ?  Was  not  what  Solf  calls  "the  German  Govern- 
ment" created  by  an  Imperial  decree  ?  Solf  is  very  careful  to 
omit  the  word  Imperial,  and  for  the  first  time  in  a  note  from 
the  Foreign  Office  the  "Imperial  German  Government"  is  not 
mentioned.  But  is  there  any  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  any 
change  in  the  German  system  which  would  prevent  the  Em- 
peror revoking  that  decree?  Coming  from  an  honest  Govern- 
ment such  a  reply  as  Germany  has  made  might  be  accepted  as 
an  unconditional  surrender.  But  coming  from  the  German 
Government  with  its  record  of  atrocious  crimes,  and  its  wanton 
defiance  of  the  laws  of  God,  man,  and  humanity,  this  offer  of 
surrender,  without  guarantees,  is  another  scrap  of  paper.  Un- 
less the  German  people  themselves  destroy  the  autocratic  power 
which  has  plunged  the  world  in  war,  and  may  do  so  again,  the 
Allied  armies  must  go  on  with  the  work  of  destroying  that 
power  on  the  battlefields  of  France,  Belgium  and  Germany. 
Who  will  give  bonds  for  Germany  ?  Who  feels  safe  to  rely  on 
her  word  ?  Who  is  sure  "that  her  official  liars  and  wreckers  of 
treaties,  who  can  be  restored  to  power  overnight,  will  not  be 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  igg 

running  ruthless  again  before  a  negotiated  peace  can  be  carried 
into  effect  ?" 

Newspapers  in  Paris  pointed  out  that  the  German  Constitu- 
tion had  undergone  no  change;  that  if  the  Government  was 
responsible  to  the  people  it  was  also  responsible  to  the  Emperor; 
that  Foch  was  the  proper  man  to  decide  whether  there  should 
or  should  not  be  an  armistice,  and  what  should  be  the  terms; 
that  when  Germany,  in  1914,  sought  the  neutrality  of  France 
she  demanded  as  a  guarantee  of  that  neutrality  the  German 
occupation  of  Toul  and  Verdun.  "We  must  not  undertake 
anything,"  said  I/Eclair,  "that  savors  of  negotiation.  The 
military  must  announce  the  conditions  of  the  suspension  of 
arms.  One  single  man  must  speak — Foch."  Germany,  said 
Les  Temps,  seems  to  think  the  French  and  British  conquered 
like  herself,  and  the  President  an  arbitrator  intervening  to  put 
everything  right.  Instead  of  promising  to  withdraw  her  troops, 
and  abstain  from  devastation,  Germany  calmly  asks  a  mixed 
commission  where  the  conquered  invader  would  speak  as  an 
equal.  There  was  no  mixed  commission  in  1871  when  Bis- 
marck imposed  an  armistice  on  France.  "This  Reichstag  which 
is  spoken  about,  but  never  allowed  to  speak,  is  the  same  that 
voted  preparation  for  the  war,  voted  for  the  war,  and  voted  the 
peace  dictated  to  the  Russians  and  Rumanians."  "The  idea  of 
a  representative  commission  denotes  a  desire  to  negotiate  on  an 
equal  footing,"  said  the  Matin.  "There  are  only  two  persons 
in  an  armistice,  the  conqueror  and  the  conquered.  The  one 
orders,  the  other  obeys." 

London  scouted  the  idea  of  an  armistice.  Since  President 
Wilson  stated  his  fourteen  points,  said  The  Times,  rivers  of 
blood  have  soaked  into  the  soil  of  Belgium  and  France.  The 
ravages  of  Attila  and  even  those  of  the  earlier  stages  of  the 
German  invasion  have  been  cast  into  the  shade.  Yet  the  four- 
teen points  Germany  accepts  make  no  provision  for  a  single  one 
of  her  manifold  crimes,  nor  for  the  punishment  of  the  master 
criminals  who  inspired  them.  "Before  President  Wilson  ac- 
cepts the  role  of  intermediary,  now  thrust  upon  him,  we  trust 


190    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

lie  will  see  fit  to  remind  the  German  Chancellor  that  each  and 
all  of  these  problems  must  be  faced."  Slaughter  of  men  and 
women  on  the  Leinster  and  the  Hirano  Maru,  the  German  re- 
fusal to  exchange  prisoners,  and  the  wanton  devastation  by  the 
retreating  German  armies  in  Northern  France  served  but  to 
strengthen  the  demand  for  no  leniency,  for  no  armistice.  To 
all  this,  said  the  Dispatch,  the  answer  is  "Get  out !  No  arrange- 
ments are  necessary.  Men  who  believe  in  God  cannot  bargain 
with  the  fiends  who  sank  the  Leinster." 

October  10  while  the  Leinster,  a  mail  packet  steamer  plying 
between  England  and  Ireland,  was  crossing  the  Irish  Sea  with 
six  hundred  and  eighty-seven  passengers  and  a  crew  of  seventy, 
she  was  struck  by  two  torpedoes  and  sank  in  fifteen  minutes. 
No  warning  was  given.  Upwards  of  four  hundred  persons,  of 
whom  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  were  women  and  children, 
were  drowned.  The  Hirano  Maru  was  a  Japanese  steamer 
homeward  bound  from  an  English  port  with  two  hundred  pas- 
sengers. When  three  hundred  miles  south  of  Ireland  she  was 
torpedoed  and  in  a  few  minutes  sank,  with  all  on  board,  save 
such  as  were  able  to  jump  into  the  sea.  Nearby  was  an  Ameri- 
can destroyer,  and  hearing  the  sound  of  the  explosion  her 
captain  hurried  to  the  scene  and  picked  up  thirty  survivors. 
A  British  freighter,  on  October  10,  brought  to  one  of  our  ports 
twenty  soldiers  and  sailors,  all  that  were  left  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  on  board  the  United  States  steamer  Ticonderoga,  tor- 
pedoed early  in  the  month  in  mid-Atlantic.  Seven  of  her 
eight  life  boats  were  destroyed  by  shell  fire. 

All  these  new  atrocities  were  duly  noticed  by  the  President 
in  his  reply  to  the  German  note. 

The  unqualified  acceptance  by  the  present  German  Government 
and  by  a  large  majority  of  the  Reichstag  of  the  terms  laid  down  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  his  address  to 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  on  the  eighth  of  January,  1918, 
and  in  his  subsequent  addresses  justified  the  President  in  making 
a  frank  and  direct  statement  of  his  decision  with  regard  to  the 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  191 

communication  of  the  German  Government  of  the  8th  and  12th  of 
October,  1918. 

It  must  be  clearly  understood  that  the  process  of  evacuation  and 
the  conditions  of  an  armistice  are  matters  which  must  be  left  to  the 
judgment  and  advice  of  the  military  advisers  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Allied  Governments,  and  the  President 
feels  it  his  duty  to  say  that  no  arrangement  can  be  accepted  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  which  does  not  provide  completely 
satisfactory  safeguards  and  guarantees  of  the  maintenance  of  the 
present  military  supremacy  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Allies  in  the  field. 

He  feels  confident  that  he  can  safely  assume  that  nothing  but 
this  will  also  be  the  judgment  and  decision  of  the  Allied  Govern- 
ments. 

The  President  feels  that  it  is  also  his  duty  to  add  that  neither 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  nor,  he  is  quite  sure,  the 
Governments  with  which  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is 
associated  as  a  belligerent  will  consent  to  consider  an  armistice  so 
long  as  the  armed  forces  of  Germany  continue  the  illegal  and  in- 
humane practices  which  they  still  persist  in. 

At  the  very  time  that  the  German  Government  approaches  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  with  proposals  of  peace  its  sub- 
marines are  engaged  in  sinking  passenger  ships  at  sea,  and  not  the 
ships  alone,  but  the  very  boats  in  which  their  passengers  and  crews 
seek  to  make  their  way  to  safety;  and  in  their  present  enforced 
withdrawal  from  Flanders  and  France  the  German  armies  are  pur- 
suing a  course  of  wanton  destruction  which  has  always  been  regarded 
as  in  direct  violation  of  the  rules  and  practices  of  civilized  warfare. 
Cities  and  villages,  if  not  destroyed,  are  being  stripped  of  all  they 
contain  not  only  but  often  of  their  very  inhabitants. 

The  nations  associated  against  Germany  cannot  be  expected  to 
agree  to  a  cessation  of  arms  while  acts  of  inhumanity,  spoliation  and 
desolation  are  being  continued  which  they  justly  look  upon  with 
horror  and  with  burning  hearts. 

it  is  necessary,  also,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  possibility  of 
misunderstanding,  that  the  President  should  very  solemnly  call  the 
attention  of  the  Government  of  Germany  to  the  language  and  plain 
intent  of  one  of  the  terms  of  peace  which  the  German  Government 
has  now  accepted.  It  is  contained  in  the  address  of,  the  President 
delivered  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  Fourth  of  July  last. 

It  is  as  follows:  "The  destruction  of  every  arbitrary  power  any- 
where that  can  separately,  secretly  and  of  its  pingle  choice  disturb 


192     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  peace  of  the  world,  or,  if  it  cannot  be  presently  destroyed,  at 
least  its  reduction  to  virtual  impotency." 

The  power  which  has  hitherto  controlled  the  German  nation  is 
of  the  sort  here  described.  It  is  within  the  choice  of  the  German 
nation  to  alter  it.  The  President's  words  just  quoted  naturally 
constitute  a  condition  precedent  to  peace,  if  peace  is  to  come  by  the 
action  of  the  German  people  themselves.  The  President  feels  bound 
to  say  that  the  whole  process  of  peace  will,  in  his  judgment,  depend 
upon  the  definiteness  and  the  satisfactory  character  of  the  guar- 
antees which  can  be  given  in  this  fundamental  matter.  It  is  indis- 
pensable that  the  Governments  associated  against  Germany  should 
know  beyond  a  peradventure  with  whom  they  are  dealing. 

The  President  will  make  a  separate  reply  to  the  Royal  and  Im- 
perial Government  of  Austria-Hungary. 

With  this  reply  the  country  was  delighted.  Peace  by  negotia- 
tion which  threatened,  it  was  said,  is  now  far  removed.  The 
reply  will  be  read  by  the  American  people  with  a  deep  sigh  of 
relief.  It  is  not  a  note  but  a  decision.  An  armistice  is  de- 
clined; the  Kaiser  and  his  autocratic  government  must  go; 
U-boat  f rightfulness  on  the  seas  must  stop ;  burning  and  pillag- 
ing the  towns  of  Belgium  and  France  must  stop,  definite  and 
satisfactory  guarantees  must  be  given,  and  when  all  these  con- 
ditions have  been -met  the  question  of  an  armistice  will  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Allied  and  American  commanders  in  the  field. 
It  is  an  American  answer,  given  by  a  great  American,  and  gives 
voice  to  the  deep  convictions  of  the  whole  American  people.  It 
will  stir  the  blood  of  the  American  people  and  command  their 
instant  assent  by  acclamation.  It  is  an  ultimatum  to  a  defeated 
power.  Only  two  courses  are  open  to  Germany;  submission, 
which  means  present  surrender;  or  resistance,  which  means 
ultimate  destruction.  Senators  approved  the  answer ;  the  Allies 
approved,  and  the  whole  world  waited  to  see  what  would  be  the 
effect  on  Germany. 

Turkey  meantime  had  joined  her  allies  in  an  appeal  for  an 
armistice.  The  note,  received  October  12  by  the  Spanish  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs  from  the  Charge  d' Affaires  of  Turkey 


PEACE  OFFENSIVES  193 

in  Madrid,  was  delivered  by  the  Spanish.  Ambassador  at  Wash- 
ington to  Secretary  Lansing  October  14. 

The  undersigned,  Charge  d' Affaires  of  Turkey,  has  the  honor, 
acting  upon  instructions  from  his  Government,  to  request  the  Royal 
Government  to  inform  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  by  telegraph,  that  the  Imperial  Government  requests 
the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  to  take  upon  himself 
the  task  of  the  reestablishment  of  peace;  to  notify  all  belligerent 
States  of  this  demand  and  to  invite  them  to  send  delegate  pleni- 
potentiaries to  initiate  negotiations.  It  (the  Imperial  Government) 
accepts  as  a  basis  for  the  negotiations  the  program  laid  down  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  in  his  message  to  Congress  of 
January  8,  1918,  and  in  his  subsequent  declarations,  especially  the 
speech  of  September  27. 

In  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  shedding  of  blood  the  Imperial 
Ottoman  Government  requests  that  steps  be  taken  for  the  immediate 
conclusion  of  a  general  armistice  on  land,  on  sea,  and  in  the  air. 


CHAPTER  y 
THE  ARMISTICE 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  now  seemed  to  be  fast  going  to  pieces. 
Discontent,  war  weariness,  demands  for  peace,  signs  of  revo- 
lution were  everywhere.  Hungary  was  in  ferment ;  the  Czecho- 
slovaks had  broken  away  from  the  Empire,  and  the  Emperor 
Charles,  alarmed  by  the  prospect  before  him,  proclaimed  the 
reorganization  of  Austria-Hungary  on  a  federal  basis. 

To  my  faithful  Austrian  peoples: 

Since  I  have  ascended  the  throne  I  have  tried  to  make  it  my  duty 
to  assure  to  all  my  peoples  the  peace  so  ardently  desired  and  to 
point  the  way  to  the  Austrian  peoples  of  a  prosperous  development 
unhampered  by  obstacles  which  brutal  force  creates  against  intellect- 
ual and  economic  prosperity. 

The  terrible  struggles  in  the  world  war  have  thus  far  made  the 
work  of  peace  impossible.  The  heavy  sacrifices  of  the  war  should 
assure  to  us  an  honorable  peace,  on  the  threshold  of  which,  by  the 
help  of  God,  we  are  to-day. 

We  must,  therefore,  undertake  without  delay  the  reorganization 
of  our  country  on  a  natural,  and  therefore  solid,  basis.  Such  a 
question  demands  that  the  desires  of  the  Austrian  peoples  be  har- 
monized and  realized. 

I  am  decided  to  accomplish  this  work  with  the  free  collaboration 
of  my  peoples  in  the  spirit  and  principles  which  our  Allied  monarchs 
have  adopted  in  their  offer  of  peace. 

Austria  must  become,  in  conformity  with  the  will  of  its  people, 
a  confederate  state  in  which  each  nationality  shall  form  on  the 
territory  which  it  occupies  its  own  local  autonomy. 

This  does  not  mean  that  we  are  already  envisaging  the  union  of 
the  Polish  territories  of  Austria  with  the  independent  Polish  State. 

The  city  of  Trieste  with  all  its  surroundings  shall,  in  conformity 
with  the  desire  of  its  population,  be  treated  separately. 

194 


THE  ARMISTICE  195 

This  promise  of  federalization  came  too  late.  The  day  it 
was  made  public  in  our  country  the  President  answered  the 
Austro-Hungarian  note  of  October  7,  and  the  Czecho-Slovak 
declaration  of  independence,  published  in  Paris  October  18, 
was  printed  in  full  in  our  newspapers.  Mr.  Lansing's  reply, 
as  handed  to  the  Swedish  Minister,  reads : 

The  President  deems  it  his  duty  to  say  to  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government  that  he  cannot  entertain  the  present  suggestions  of  that 
Government  because  of  certain  events  of  utmost  importance  which, 
occurring  since  the  delivery  of  his  address  of  the  8th  of  January 
last,  have  necessarily  altered  the  attitude  and  responsibility  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  Among  the  fourteen  terms  of 
peace  which  the  President  formulated  at  that  time  occurred  the 
following : 

"X.  The  peoples  of  Austria-Hungary,  whose  place  among  the 
nations  we  wish  to  see  safeguarded  and  assured,  should  be  accorded 
the  freest  opportunity  of  autonomous  development." 

Since  that  sentence  was  written  and  uttered  to  the  congress  of 
the  United  States  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  recog- 
nized that  a  state  of  belligerency  exists  between  the  Czecho-Slovaks 
and  the  German  and  Austro-Hungarian  Empires  and  that  the  Czecho- 
slovak national  council  is  a  de  facto  belligerent  government  clothed 
with  proper  authority  to  direct  the  military  and  political  affairs  of 
the  Czecho-Slovaks. 

It  has  also  recognized  in  the  fullest  manner  the  justice  of  the 
nationalistic  aspirations  of  the  Jugo-Slavs  for  freedom. 

The  President  is,  therefore,  no  longer  at  liberty  to  accept  the  mere 
"autonomy"  of  these  peoples  as  a  basis  of  peace,  but  is  obliged  to 
insist  that  they,  and  not  he,  shall  be  the  judges  of  what  action  on  the 
part  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  will  satisfy  their  aspira- 
tions and  their  conception  of  their  rights  and  destiny  as  members 
of  the  family  of  nations. 

From  Amsterdam  and  Switzerland  there  now  came  reports 
of  what  would  be  the  answer  of  Germany  to  the  President.  The 
reply,  it  was  said,  has  been  delivered  to  the  Swiss  Government. 
Germany  agrees  to  evacuate  Belgium,  but  will  require  months 
in  which  to  do  so;  protests  against  the  charge  of  cruelty,  de- 
clares she  was  forced  into  submarine  warfare  by  the  Allied 


196    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

blockade,  and  denies  responsibility  for  the  loss  of  women  and 
children  on  passenger  boats,  but  in  the  interest  of  peace  will 
stop  such  attacks.  October  21  what  purported  to  be  the  text 
of  the  reply  was  received  in  London  by  wireless.  October  22 
the  Swiss  Charge  delivered  to  Mr.  Lansing  "the  original  Ger- 
man text"  and  "an  English  translation  of  the  communication 
in  question  as  transmitted  to  the  Swiss  Foreign  Office  by  the 
German  Government."  This  official  translation  reads: 

In  accepting  the  proposal  for  an  evacuation  of  the  occupied 
territories  the  German  Government  has  started  from  the  assumption 
that  the  procedure  of  this  evacuation  and  of  the  conditions  of  an 
armistice  should  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  military  advisers  and 
that  the  actual  standard  of  power  on  both  sides  in  the  field  has  to 
form  the  basis  for  arrangements  safeguarding  and  guaranteeing  this 
standard.  The  German  Government  suggests  to  the  President  to 
bring  about  an  opportunity  for  fixing  the  details.  It  trusts  that  the 
President  of  the  United  States  will  approve  of  no  demand  which 
would  be  irreconcilable  with  the  honor  of  the  German  people  and 
with  opening  a  way  to  a  peace  of  justice. 

The  German  Government  protests  against  the  reproach  of  illegal 
and  inhuman  actions  made  against  the  German  land  and  sea  forces, 
and  thereby  against  the  German  people.  For  the  covering  of  a 
retreat,  destructions  will  always  be  necessary,  and  are,  in  so  far, 
permitted  by  international  law.  The  German  troops  are  under  the 
strictest  instructions  to  spare  private  property  and  to  exercise  care 
for  the  population  to  the  best  of  their  ability.  Where  transgres- 
sions occur,  in  spite  of  these  instructions,  the  guilty  are  being 
punished. 

The  German  Government  further  denies  that  the  German  navy 
in  sinking  ships  has  ever  purposely  destroyed  lifeboats  with  their 
passengers.  The  German  Government  proposes,  with  regard  to  all 
these  charges,  that  the  facts  be  cleared  up  by  neutral  commissions. 
In  order  to  avoid  anything  that  might  hamper  the  work  of  peace, 
the  German  Government  has  caused  orders  to  be  dispatched  to  all 
submarine  commanders  precluding  the  torpedoing  of  passenger  ships, 
without,  however,  for  technical  reasons,  being  able  to  guarantee  that 
these  orders  will  reach  every  single  submarine  at  sea  before  its 
return. 

As  the  fundamental  conditions  for  peace,  the  President  char- 
acterizes the  destruction  of  every  arbitrary  power  that  can  separately, 


THE  ARMISTICE  197 

secretly  and  of  its  own  single  choice  disturb  the  peace  of  the  world. 
To  this  the  German  Government  replies :  Hitherto  the  representation 
of  the  people  in  the  German  empire  has  not  been  endowed  with 
an  influence  on  the  formation  of  the  Government.  The  constitution 
did  not  provide  for  a  concurrence  of  the  representation  of  the  people 
in  decision  on  peace  and  war.  These  conditions  have  just  now 
undergone  a  fundamental  change.  The  new  Government  has  been 
formed  in  complete  accord  with  the  wishes  of  the  representation  of 
the  people,  based  on  the  equal,  universal,  secret,  direct  franchise. 
The  leaders  of  the  great  parties  of  the  Keichstag  are  members  of  this 
Government.  In  future  no  Government  can  take  or  continue  in 
office  without  possessing  the  confidence  of  the  majority  of  the  Reichs- 
tag. The  responsibility  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  empire  to  the 
representation  of  the  people  is  being  legally  developed  and  safe- 
guarded. The  first  act  of  the  new  Government  has  been  to  lay 
before  the  Reichstag  a  bill  to  alter  the  constitution  of  the  empire  so 
that  the  consent  of  the  representation  of  the  people  is  required  for 
decisions  on  war  and  peace.  The  permanence  of  the  new  system  is, 
however,  guaranteed  not  only  by  constitutional  safeguards,  but  also 
by  the  unshakable  determination  of  the  German  people  whose  vast 
majority  stands  behind  these  reforms  and  demands  their  energetic 
continuance. 

The  question  of  the  President,  with  whom  he  and  the  Governments 
associated  against  Germany  are  dealing,  is  therefore  answered  in  a 
clear  and  unequivocal  manner  by  the  statement  that  the  offer  of 
peace  and  an  armistice  has  come  from  a  Government  which,  free  from 
arbitrary  and  irresponsible  influence,  is  supported  by  the  approval  of 
the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  German  people. 


At  once  there  arose  from  our  countrymen  the  cry,  "unsatis- 
factory, evasive."  The  ink  and  paper,  it  was  said,  are  new ;  but 
it  is  the  same  old  handwriting.  Item  by  item  it  reveals  its  in- 
sincerity. It  is  mere  bosh,  a  new  mask  through  which  Germany 
looks  at  her  conquering  enemies.  The  voice  has  been  given  a 
new  modulation,  but  behind  the  mask  and  the  voice  there  has 
been  no  change.  It  is  altogether  unsatisfactory,  so  wholly  un- 
satisfactory and  hypercritical,  evasive  and  contentious  that 
there  is  nothing  in  it  to  promote  peace.  Why  continue  the  cor- 
respondence? Why  not  on  to  Berlin  and  finish  the  job?  It 
was  an  attempt  to  weaken  the  will  of  the  Allies  by  peace  talk. 


198     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Three  courses,  in  the  opinion  of  the  people,  were  before  the 
President  from  which  to  choose.  He  might  return  no  answer, 
a  course  he  would  not  pursue.  He  might  return  a  curt  answer, 
saying  that  the  time  had  come  to  treat  with  Foch.  He  might, 
while  standing  firmly  by  his  terms,  return  such  an  answer  as 
would  leave  the  way  open  for  further  discussion.  What  Mr. 
Lansing  did  reply  was  this : 

Having  received  the  solemn  and  explicit  assurance  of  the  German 
Government  that  it  unreservedly  accepts  the  terms  of  peace  laid 
down  in  his  address  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  on  the 
8th  of  January,  1918,  and  the  principles  of  settlement  enunciated  in 
his  subsequent  addresses,  particularly  the  address  of  the  27th  of 
September,  and  that  it  desires  to  discuss  the  details  of  their  applica- 
tion, and  that  this  wish  and  purpose  emanate  not  from  those  who 
have  hitherto  dictated  German  policy  and  conducted  the  present  war 
on  Germany's  behalf,  but  from  ministers  who  speak  for  the  majority 
of  the  Reichstag  and  for  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  German 
people;  and,  having  received  also  the  explicit  promise  of  the  present 
German  Government  that  the  humane  rules  of  civilized  warfare  will 
be  observed  both  on  land  and  sea  by  the  German  armed  forces,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  feels  that  he  cannot  decline  to  take 
up  with  the  governments  with  which  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  is  associated  the  question  of  an  armistice. 

He  deems  it  his  duty  to  say  again,  however,  that  the  only  armi- 
stice he  would  feel  justified  in  submitting  for  consideration  would 
be  one  which  should  leave  the  United  States  and  the  Powers  asso- 
ciated with  her  in  a  position  to  enforce  any  arrangements  that  may 
be  entered  into  and  to  make  a  renewal  of  hostilities  on  the  part  of 
Germany  impossible.  The  President  has,  therefore,  transmitted  his 
correspondence  with  the  present  German  authorities  to  the  govern- 
ments with  which  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  associated 
as  a  belligerent,  with  the  suggestion  that,  if  those  governments  are 
disposed  to  effect  peace  upon  the  terms  and  principles  indicated,  their 
military  advisers  and  the  military  advisers  of  the  United  States  be 
asked  to  submit  to  the  governments  associated  against  Germany  the 
necessary  terms  of  such  an  armistice  as  will  fully  protect  the  interests 
of  the  peoples  involved  and  insure  to  the  associated  governments  the 
unrestricted  power  to  safeguard  and  enforce  the  details  of  the  peace 
to  which  the  German  Government  has  agreed,  provided  they  deem 
such  an  armistice  possible  from  the  military  point  of  view.  Should 


THE  ARMISTICE  199 

such  terms  of  armistice  be  suggested,  their  acceptance  by  Germany 
will  afford  the  best  concrete  evidence  of  her  unequivocal  acceptance 
of  the  terms  and  principles  of  peace  from  which  the  whole  action 
proceeds. 

The  President  would  deem  himself  lacking  in  candor  did  he  not 
point  out  in  the  frankest  possible  terms  the  reason  why  extra- 
ordinary safeguards  must  be  demanded. 

Significant  and  important  as  the  constitutional  changes  seem  to 
be  which  are  spoken  of  by  the  German  Foreign  Secretary  in  his 
note  of  the  20th  of  October,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  principle 
of  a  Government  responsible  to  the  German  people  has  yet  been 
fully  worked  out  or  that  any  guarantees  either  exist  or  are  in  con- 
templation that  the  alterations  of  principle  and  of  practice  now 
partially  agreed  upon  will  be  permanent.  Moreover,  it  does  not 
appear  that  the  heart  of  the  present  difficulty  has  been  reached.  It 
may  be  that  future  wars  have  been  brought  under  the  control  of  the 
German  people,  but  the  present  war  has  not  been;  and  it  is  with 
the  present  war  that  we  are  dealing.  It  is  evident  that  the  German 
people  have  no  means  of  commanding  the  acquiescence  of  the  mili- 
tary authorities  of  the  Empire  in  the  popular  will;  that  the  power 
of  the  King  of  Prussia  to  control  the  policy  of  the  Empire  is  unim- 
paired; that  the  determining  initiative  still  remains  with  these  who 
have  hitherto  been  the  masters  of  Germany.  Feeling  that  the  whole 
peace  of  the  world  depends  now  on  plain  speaking  and  straightfor- 
ward action,  the  President  deems  it  his  duty  to  say,  without  any 
attempt  to  soften  what  may  seem  harsh  words,  that  the  nations  of 
the  world  do  not  and  cannot  trust  the  word  of  those  who  have  hither- 
to been  the  masters  of  German  policy,  and  to  point  out  once  more 
that  in  concluding  peace  and  attempting  to  undo  the  infinite  injuries 
and  injustices  of  this  war  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
cannot  deal  with  any  but  veritable  representatives  of  the  German 
people,  who  have  been  assured  of  a  genuine  constitutional  standing 
as  the  real  rulers  of  Germany.  If  it  must  deal  with  the  military 
masters  and  the  monarchical  autocrats  of  Germany  now,  or  if  it  is 
likely  to  have  to  deal  with  them  later  in  regard  to  the  international 
obligations  of  the  German  Empire,  it  must  demand  not  peace 
negotiations,  but  surrender.  Nothing  can  be  gained  by  leaving  this 

essential  thing  unsaid. 

\ 

While  all  the  nations  waited  to  see  what  action  the  Allies 
would  take,  news  came  that  Baron  Burian  had  been  dismissed 
and  Count  Julius  Andrassy  had  become  Austro-Hungarian 


200     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs;  that  General  Ludendorff  had  re- 
signed; that  the  Reichstag  had  placed  the  military  under  the 
civil  power,  and  that  Germany,  October  27,  had  answered 
President  Wilson's  note. 

The  German  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  reply 
of  the  president  of  the  United  States.  The  President  knows 
the  far-reaching  changes  which  have  taken  place  and  are  being 
carried  out  in  the  German  constitutional  structure.  The  peace 
negotiations  are  being  conducted  by  a  government  of  the  people, 
in  whose  hands  rests  both  actually  and  constitutionally,  the  authority 
to  make  decisions.  The  military  powers  are  also  subject  to  this 
authority.  The  German  Government  now  awaits  the  proposal  for  an 
armistice  which  is  the  first  step  towards  a  peace  of  justice  as  described 
by  the  President  in  his  pronouncements. 

Ere  another  twenty-four  hours  had  passed  the  President  re- 
ceived the  reply  of  Austria-Hungary  to  his  note  of  October 
nineteenth. 

In  reply  to  the  note  of  the  President,  Mr.  Wilson,  to  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government,  dated  October  18  of  this  year,  and  about 
the  decision  of  the  President  to  take  up,  with  Austria-Hungary 
separately,  the  question  of  armistice  and  peace,  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government  has  the  honor  to  declare  that  it  adheres  both  to  the 
previous  declarations  of  the  President  and  his  opinion  of  the  rights 
of  the  peoples  of  Austria-Hungary,  notably  those  of  the  Czecho- 
slovaks and  the  Jugo-Slavs,  contained  in  his  last  note.  Austria- 
Hungary  having  thereby  accepted  all  the  conditions  which  the 
President  has  put  upon  entering  into  negotiations  on  the  subject  of 
armistice  and  peace,  nothing,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government,  longer  stands  in  the  way  of  beginning  those  negotia- 
tions. The  Austro-Hungarian  Government  therefore  declares  itself 
ready  to  enter,  without  waiting  for  the  outcome  of  other  negotiations, 
into  negotiations  for  a  peace  between  Austria-Hungary  and  the 
Entente  States,  and  for  an  immediate  armistice  on  all  fronts  of 
Austria-Hungary,  and  begs  the  President,  Mr.  Wilson,  to  take  the 
necessary  measures  to  that  effect. 

A  semi-official  note  made  public,  in  Vienna,  the  day  this  note 
was  sent,  explained  why  Austria-Hungary  acted  independently. 


THE  ARMISTICE  201 

Austria  was  obliged  to  conform  to  the  methods  of  President 
Wilson,  who  had  successively  replied  to  the  three  members  of  the 
Triple  Alliance,  and  act  apart  from  her  allies.  The  Monarchy, 
which  has  formally  adopted  President  Wilson's  line  of  action,  shares 
his  opinion,  as  was  shown  by  the  Emperor's  manifesto  to  the  peoples, 
which,  in  proclaiming  the  federalization  of  the  Monarchy,  exceeded 
President  Wilson's  program. 

However,  the  complete  reorganization  of  Austria  can  only  be 
carried  out  after  an  armistice.  If  Austria-Hungary  has  declared 
herself  ready  to  enter  into  negotiations  for  an  armistice  and  for 
peace,  without  awaiting  the  result  of  negotiations  with  other  States, 
that  does  not  necessarily  signify  an  offer  of  a  separate  peace.  It 
means  that  she  is  ready  to  act,  separately  in  the  interests  of  the 
reestablishment  of  peace. 

Coming  so  close  after  the  German  note,  and  written  in  a 
tone  so  different,  that  of  Austria  was  hailed  as  most  important. 
The  words,  "without  awaiting  the  results  of  other  negotiations," 
seemed  to  indicate,  it  was  held  by  some,  that  Vienna  had  broken 
with  Berlin.  Others  claimed  that  this  action  of  Austria- 
Hungary  sealed  the  doom  of  Germany.  It  was  the  beginning 
of  the  end,  a  complete  surrender,  and  though  the  terms  might 
not  be  such  as  were  demanded  of  Bulgaria,  the  Allies  would 
surely  see  to  it  that  they  secured  the  use  of  the  territory,  rail- 
ways and  means  of  communication  of  Austria-Hungary  against 
Germany  should  that  Empire  continue  the  war.  With  the  Aus- 
trian armies  withdrawn  from  the  western  front,  with  her  terri- 
tory open  to  invasion  from  the  Austrian  side,  with  the  Italians 
free  to  move  against  her,  Germany,  at  best,  could  continue  the 
struggle  single  handed  but  a  short  time.  "Undoubtedly  the  reply 
to  her  by  the  Allies  would  be  that  she  might  learn  their  terms 
for  an  armistice  by  sending  commissioners  to  Marshal  Foch. 
Still  others  saw  no  sign  of  a  break,  because  the  action  of  Austria 
had  aroused  no  resentment  in  Berlin.  Behind  the  note  was  a 
hidden  snare ;  the  Allies  must  be  careful. 

What  terms  would  be  offered  by  the  Supreme  War  Council 
of  the  Allies,  which  at  once  gathered  at  Versailles,  was  next 
a  subject  for  speculation.  That  they  would  include  the  hand- 


202     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ing  over  of  the  German  fleet  and  submarines,  the  cession  of 
Metz  and  Strasshurg  and  the  occupation  of  Cologne,  Mannheim 
and  Coblenz  as  a  guarantee  of  Germany's  acceptance  of  the 
terms  was  fully  expected.  Bethmann-Hollweg  when,  on  July 
31,  1914,  he  asked  France  to  remain  neutral,  demanded  the 
German  occupation  of  Toul  and  Verdun,  as  a  guarantee  of 
French  neutrality.  The  same  treatment  should  now  be  meted 
out  to  Germany. 

How  serious  was  the  situation  in  Austria-Hungary,  and  how 
pressing  the  need  of  pe.ace  was  made  clear  by  a  note  addressed 
by  Foreign  Minister  Count  Andrassy  to  Secretary  Lansing  ask- 
ing for  his  good  offices  with  the  President. 

Immediately  after  having  taken  direction  of  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs  and  after  the  dispatch  of  the  official  answer  to  your 
note  of  October  18,  1918,  by  which  you  were  able  to  see  that  we  accept 
all  the  points  and  principles  laid  down  by  President  Wilson  in  his 
various  declarations  and  are  in  complete  accord  with  the  efforts  of 
President  Wilson  to  prevent  future  wars  and  to  create  a  league  of 
nations,  we  have  taken  preparatory  measures  in  order  that  Austrians 
and  Hungarians  may  be  able,  according  to  their  own  desire  and 
without  being  in  any  way  hindered,  to  make  a  decision  as  to  their 
future  organization  and  to  rule  it. 

Since  the  accession  to  power  of  Emperor  King  Charles  his  immov- 
able purpose  has  been  to  bring  an  end  to  the  war.  More  than  this 
is  the  desire  of  the  sovereign  of  all  the  Austro-Hungarian  peoples, 
who  acknowledge  that  their  future  destiny  can  only  be  accomplished 
in  a  pacific  world  by  being  freed  from  all  disturbances,  privations  and 
sorrows  of  war. 

This  is  why  I  address  you  directly,  Mr.  Secretary  of  State,  pray- 
ing that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  intervene  with  the  President 
of  the  United  States  in  order  that  the  interest  of  humanity,  as  in 
the  interest  of  all  those  who  live  in  Austria-Hungary,  an  immediate 
armistice  may  be  concluded  on  all  fronts  and  for  an  overture  that 
immediate  negotiations  for  peace  will  follow. 

If  reports  could  be  believed  Hungary  was  on  the  point  of 
revolt.  In  the  Unterhaus  at  Budapest  Count  Karolyi,  leader  of 
the  Radical  Socialists,  had  moved  a  resolution  calling  for  a 
separate  peace,  dissolution  of  the  alliance  with  Germany,  recog- 


THE  ARMISTICE  203 

nition  of  the  independence  of  the  South  Slavonians,  a  Hun- 
garian King  to  reside  in  Budapest  and  the  resignation  of  the 
Werkele  ministry.  Vienna  was  said  to  be  threatened  with 
famine,  the  authorities  powerless  and  the  law  no  longer  en- 
forced. Affairs  in  Germany,  it  was  asserted,  were  daily  grow- 
ing worse,  riots  had  occurred  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
and  want  of  raw  materials  was  hindering  the  production  of 
munitions.  Socialists  and  Radicals  were  insisting  that  the 
President's  demands  concerning  autocratic  government  be  ac- 
cepted. When  a  Socialistic  member  of  the  Eeichstag  said,  "The 
baneful  influence  of  the  Kaiser  must  be  removed,"  the  members 
of  his  party  cried  "abdicate."  One  story,  attributed  to  Ger- 
man court  circles,  ran,  that  the  Kaiser  had  said:  "I  will  not 
abandon  my  sorely  tried  people;  but  if  necessary,  I  am  ready 
to  become  something  like  a  hereditary  president  of  the  German 
republic  like  the  Kings  of  England,  Belgium,  Italy."  On  an- 
other occasion,  speaking  to  some  members  of  the  Reichstag,  he 
was  reported  to  have  said:  "In  any  case,  if  the  moment  comes 
when  the  interest  of  Germany  demands  it,  I  should  abdicate 
and  would  do  so  without  hesitation,  but  the  moment  does  not 
seem  to  have  come  yet."  A  manifesto  said  to  have  been  issued 
by  a  section  of  the  Social  Democrats  reads:  "If  the  necessity 
arises  and  the  hour  comes,  the  organized  masses  of  labor,  with 
strong  middle  class  support,  will  remove  every  hindrance  to 
peace  which  does  not  voluntarily  yield  to  the  will  of  the  huge 
majority  of  the  people,"  which  was  understood  to  mean  if  the 
Kaiser  did  not  abdicate  he  would  be  deposed.  According  to 
one  rumor  abdication  was  to  be  considered  an  accomplished 
fact.  According  to  another  he  was  persisting  in  refusing  to 
abdicate.  A  third  was  to  the  effect  that  he  had  gone  to  head- 
quarters at  the  front  and  was  refusing  to  take  any  notice  of 
the  doings  of  the  government  at  Berlin.  Vorwaerts,  the  Social- 
ist newspaper,  the  Munich  Neueste  NacJirichten,  the  Frank- 
furter Gazette,  called  on  him  to  show  his  courage  by  abdicating. 
The  Vossische  Zeitung  of  Berlin  declared  that  Philipp 
Scheidermann,  Secretary  of  State  without  portfolio,  had  told 


204     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  Imperial  Chancellor  that  the  Emperor  must  leave  the 
throne. 

Every  day  brought  astonishing  news.  Germany  it  was  re- 
ported had  again  addressed  the  President  assuring  him  that 
all  necessary  steps  had  heen  taken  to  meet  his  stand  that  peace 
could  not  he  made  with  an  autocratic  government;  that  the 
State  Department  had  declined  to  give  out  the  note  because  it 
did  not  change  the  situation,  and  was  of  no  public  importance ; 
that  the  real  reason  was  a  fear  that,  if  made  public,  it  would 
help  to  impress  the  false  idea  that  the  German  Government 
had  been  reformed  and  that  the  German  people  were  in  con- 
trol. October  31  it  was  reported  that  Great  Britain  had  re- 
ceived peace  proposals  from  Turkey,  that  an  armistice  between 
Turkey  and  the  Allied  Powers  had  been  signed  at  midnight 
on  October  30  at  Mudras  on  the  island  of  Lemnos;  that  the 
terms  included  free  passage  of  the  Allied  fleet  through  the 
Dardanelles,  occupation  of  the  forts  on  the  Dardanelles  and 
on  the  Bosphorus  and  immediate  repatriation  of  all  Allied 
prisoners.  Austria,  too,  had  collapsed  and  her  commander 
on  the  Italian  front  had  applied  to  General  Diaz  for  a  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities. 

According  to  report  the  dual  monarchy  was  falling  to  pieces. 
Count  Karolyi  had  presented  to  Emperor  Charles  his  plan 
for  an  independent  Hungary,  which  called  for  abolition  of  the 
parliamentary  system ;  guarantees  of  a  free  political  Hungary ; 
recall  of  the  Hungarian  troops;  abandonment  of  the  German 
alliance;  dissolution  of  the  Hungarian  lower  house  and  new 
elections  by  both  male  and  female  voters;  suppression  of  the 
censorship  and  establishment  of  freedom  of  speech,  of  the  press, 
and  of  public  meetings;  recognition  of  the  new  states  of 
Ukraine,  Poland,  Czechoslovakia,  the  South  Slavs  and  German 
Austria.  Charles  rejected  the  plan;  but  the  revolutionary 
movement,  it  was  said,  was  going  forward.  The  soldiers  had 
replaced  their  imperial  cockades  with  revolutionary  colors,  the 
imperial  symbols  had  been  removed  from  buildings,  and  im- 
perial proclamations  torn  up,  and  Budapest  was  in  the  hands 


THE  ARMISTICE  205 

of  the  revolutionary  troops.  At  Prague  the  Czech  National 
Committee  had  taken  over  the  local  government;  the  Berlin- 
Vienna  railway  where  it  entered  Czecho-Slovakia  had  been  cut ; 
the  German  State  of  Austria  had  been  created  by  act  of  the 
German  National  Council  of  Austria,  and  demanded  admis- 
sion to  the  peace  negotiations,  and  the  Croatian  Parliament  had 
declared  the  separation  of  Croatia,  Slavonia  and  Dalmatia  from 
Hungary.  Confusion  was  everywhere,  reports  stated.  Mobs 
had  looted  the  stores  and  attacked  the  banks  at  Budapest;  a 
provisional  soldiers7  and  officers'  council  had  been  set  up  in 
Vienna,  and  the  people  were  parading  the  streets  shouting: 
"Down  with  the  Hapsburgs."  By  proclamation,  it  was  re- 
ported, the  Council  had  announced  the  taking  over  of  all  power, 
had  declared  democracy  was  sacred,  and  urged  the  workers  and 
citizens  to  go  back  to  their  work  and  the  soldiers  to  their 
barracks.  The  State  Council  had  adopted  the  colors  of  Bat- 
tenburg,  red,  white,  red,  as  those  of  the  new  Austrian  State; 
an  Imperial  Decree  had  ordered  the  fleet  and  all  naval  prop- 
erty delivered  to  the  South  Slav  National  Council;  the  Em- 
peror had  commissioned  Archduke  Joseph  to  approach  all 
political  chiefs  in  an  attempt  to  settle  the  political  crisis; 
Count  Andrassy  had  resigned,  and  the  Emperor  had  ordered 
all  officers  of  the  army  to  place  themselves  in  the  service  of 
the  armies  of  the  newly  organized  governments.  These  gov- 
ernments were  five  in  number:  The  Czecho-Slovakian  compris- 
ing the  northern  part  of  the  old  Empire  with  Prague  as  the 
Capital ;  German  Austria,  on  the  west,  comprising  the  greater 
part  of  old  Austria  with  Vienna  as  the  capital;  the  South 
Slav  State  embracing  all  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Empire, 
save  Italia  Irredenta,  with  Agrane  as  its  capital;  Hungary, 
a  part  of  the  monarchy  with  Budapest  as  its  capital,  and  Ger- 
man Bohemia  embracing  the  northern  and  western  parts  of 
Bohemia  with  Reichenberg  as  its  capital  city. 

November  2,  General  Diaz  in  person  delivered'  to  the  Aus- 
trian commander  the  Allies'  terms  for  an  armistice  with  his 
country,  and  King  Boris  of  Bulgaria,  after  a  reign  of  just 


206    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

one  month,  announced  his  abdication,  and  a  peasant  govern- 
ment was  quickly  formed.  On  the  afternoon  of  Sunday, 
November  3,  the  terms  of  the  Allies  having  been  accepted  by 
Austria,  General  Diaz  signed,  and  they  went  into  effect  at 
three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  and  Germany,  de- 
serted by  the  last  of  her  allies,  stood  alone  awaiting  the  terms 
of  an  armistice  the  Allies  and  the  United  States  were  prepar- 
ing at  Versailles. 

The  Supreme  War  Council  of  the  Allies,  charged  with  pre- 
paring these  terms,  gathered  informally  at  Versailles  on  Octo- 
ber 28,  and  after  a  series  of  such  meetings,  held  its  first  formal 
sitting  on  November  1  and  finished  its  task  November  4. 
"According  to  an  official  report  received  this  evening,"  Mr. 
Lansing  announced,  "the  terms  of  the  armistice  to  be  offered 
to  Germany  have  just  been  agreed  to  unanimously  and  signed 
by  the  representatives  of  the  Allies  and  the  United  States  in 
Paris.  The  report  further  states  that  diplomatic  unity  has  been 
completely  achieved  under  conditions  of  utmost  harmony." 

Terms  having  thus  been  agreed  on  it  became  the  duty  of 
the  President  to  notify  Germany  of  the  fact,  for  it  was  through 
the  President  that  the  Allies  had  been  informed  of  Germany's 
desire  for  an  armistice.  November  5,  therefore,  Mr.  Lansing 
requested  the  Swiss  Minister  "to  notify  the  German  Govern- 
ment that  Marshal  Foch  has  been  authorized  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  the  Allied  Governments  to  re- 
ceive properly  accredited  representatives  of  the  German  Gov- 
ernment and  to  communicate  to  them  the  terms  of  an  armi- 
stice." Mr.  Lansing  further  stated  that  the  President  was  "in 
receipt  of  a  memorandum  of  observations  by  the  Allied  Gov- 
ernments" on  the  correspondence  between  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  and  that  of  Germany  on  the  subject  of  an 
armistice;  that  the  President  was  "in  agreement  with  the  in- 
terpretation set  forth  in  the  last  paragraph  of  the  memoran- 
dum," and  that  the  whole  memorandum  was  as  follows: 

22 — The  allied  Governments  have  given  careful  consideration  to 
the  correspondence  which  has  passed  between  the  President  of  the 


THE  ARMISTICE  207 

United  States  and  the  German  Government.  Subject  to  the  quali- 
fications which  follow,  they  declare  their  willingness  to  make  peace 
with  the  Government  of  Germany  on  the  terms  of  peace  laid  down 
in  the  President's  address  to  Congress  of  January,  1918,  and  the 
principles  of  settlement  enunciated  in  his  subsequent  addresses. 

They  must  point  out,  however,  that  Clause  2,  relating  to  what  is 
usually  described  as  the  freedom  of  the  seas,  is  open  to  various 
interpretations,  some  of  which  they  could  not  accept.  They  must, 
therefore,  reserve  to  themselves  complete  freedom  on  this  subject 
when  they  enter  the  peace  conference. 

Further,  in  the  conditions  of  peace,  laid  down  in  his  address  to 
Congress  of  Jan.  8,  1918,  the  President  declared  that  invaded  terri- 
tories must  be  restored  as  well  as  evacuated  and  freed.  The  allied 
Governments  feel  that  no  doubt  ought  to  be  allowed  to  exist  as  to 
what  this  provision  implies.  By  it  they  understand  that  compensa- 
tion will  be  made  by  Germany  for  all  damage  done  to  the  civilian 
population  of  the  Allies  and  their  property  by  the  aggression  of 
Germany  by  land,  by  sea,  and  from  the  air.1 

The  terms  of  the  armistice  were  not  made  known,  nor  was 
it  expected  they  would  be  before  they  had  been  accepted  or 
rejected  by  the  German  Government.  There  were  those  who  be- 
lieved that  the  conditions,  while  less  severe  than  were  imposed 
on  Turkey  and  Bulgaria,  would  still  amount  to  unconditional 
surrender.  With  her  last  ally  gone,  her  army  crumbling  under 
the  blows  of  Foch,  Haig  and  Pershing,  her  people  longing  for 
peace  and  even  calling  for  the  abdication  of  the  Emperor,  Ger- 
many must  realize  the  uselessness  of  continuing  the  war  and 
accept  the  terms  bitter  as  they  were.  There  were  those  who  held 
that,  the  military  situation  on  the  front,  bad  as  it  was,  did  not 
yet  call  for  unconditional  surrender.  The  German  armies  were 
beaten  but  not  crushed ;  they  still  fought  on  enemy  soil ;  their 
morale  was  not  gone  and  though  the  military  power  was  said 
to  be  subject  to  the  civil  power  they  might  not  give  up  the 
fight.  Indeed,  it  was  reported  that  on  Sunday,  November  3, 
a  meeting  was  held  around  the  statue  of  Bismarck  in  Berlin 

•The  number  "22"  is  that  of  the  memorandum,  each  of  those  adopted 
by  the  conference  being  numbered  serially. 


208    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  resolutions  adopted  protesting  against  a  humiliating  peace 
and  favoring  a  continuation  of  the  war. 

November  6  dispatches  from  Amsterdam  and  Berlin,  re- 
ceived in  London,  announced  that:  "A  German  delegation  to 
conclude  an  armistice  and  take  up  peace  negotiations  has  left 
for  the  western  front/'  and  that  the  members  were  General 
von  Gruenell,  military  delegate  to  The  Hague  peace  confer- 
ences; General  von  Winterfeld,  one  time  military  attache  at 
Paris,  and  Admiral  von  Hintze,  late  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs. 

About  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  November  7  news- 
papers, the  country  over,  that  subscribed  to  the  United  Press 
Association  news  service,  announced  on  their  bulletins  and  in 
extra  issues  of  their  papers  that  a  cable  dispatch  reported  that 
the  German  commissioners  had  signed  the  terms  of  an  armi- 
stice at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  French  time,  or  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  Washington  time. 

As  the  good  news  spread  over  the  country  in  city  after 
city  all  work  and  business  was  suspended  while  the  people  went 
wild  with  joy.  Workshops,  offices,  factories,  stores,  homes  were 
deserted,  whistles  and  automobile  horns  were  blown,  bells  were 
rung,  and  crowds  delirious  with  joy  and  carrying  flags  marched 
shouting  about  the  streets.  By  three  o'clock  the  Secretary  of 
State  had  been  heard  from  and  announced  that  the  armistice 
had  not  been  signed,  and  that  the  German  representatives  would 
not  meet  Marshal  Foch  until  five  o'clock  French  time,  or  noon 
Washington  time.  No  attention  was  paid  by  the  excited 
crowds  to  this  official  statement  and  the  cheering,  shouting, 
parading,  whistle  blowing  went  on  until  well  into  the  night. 

When  at  last  the  truth  came  out  it  appeared  that  about  half 
past  twelve  on  the  morning  of  November  7  Marshal  Foch 
received  from  the  German  High  Command  a  dispatch  which 
read: 

The  German  Government,  having  been  informed  through  the 
President  of  the  United  States  that  Marshal  Foch  had  received 
powers  to  receive  accredited  representatives  of  the  German  Govern- 


THE  ARMISTICE  209 

ment  and  communicate  to  them  conditions  of  an  armistice,  the 
following  plenipotentiaries  have  been  named  by  it: 

Mathias  Erzberger,  General  H.  K.  A.  Winterfeld,  Count  Alfred 
von  Oberndorff,  General  von  Gruenell,  and  Naval  Captain  von  Salow. 

The  plenipotentiaries  request  that  they  be  informed  by  wireless  of 
the  place  where  they  can  meet  Marshal  Foch.  They  will  proceed 
by  automobile,  with  subordinates  of  the  staff,  to  the  place  thus 
appointed. 

The  German  Government  would  congratulate  itself  in  the  interests 
of  humanity  if  the  arrival  of  the  German  delegation  on  the  Allies' 
front  might  bring  about  a  provisional  suspension  of  hostilities. 

On  November  7,  at  10:25  a.  m.,  Marshal  Foch  replied: 

If  the  German  plenipotentiaries  desire  to  meet  Marshal  Foch  and 
ask  him  for  an  armistice  they  will  present  themselves  at  the  French 
outposts  by  the  Chimay-Fourmies-La-Capelle-Guise  road.  Orders 
have  been  given  to  receive  them  and  conduct  them  to  the  spot  fixed 
for  the  meeting. 

A  German  wireless  dispatch  received  November  7  at  one 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  announced  that: 

The  German  plenipotentiaries  for  an  armistice  leave  Spa  to-day. 
They  will  leave  here  at  noon  and  reach  at  5  o'clock  this  afternoon 
the  French  outposts  by  the  Chimay-Fourmies-La-Capelle-Guise  road. 
There  will  be  ten  persons  in  all,  headed  by  Secretary  of  State 
Erzberger. 

A  wireless  dispatch,  in  German,  was  received  a  few  min- 
utes before  two  o'clock : 

German  general  headquarters  to  the  Allied  general  headquarters. 
The  supreme  German  command  to  Marshal  Foch.  From  the  German 
outposts  to  the  French  outposts  our  delegation  will  be  accompanied 
by  a  road-mending  company  to  enable  automobiles  to  pass  the  La 
Capelle  road,  which  has  been  destroyed. 

Another  wireless  dispatch,  in  German,  was  received  at  six 
o'clock : 

The  German  supreme  command  to  Marshal  Foch:  By  reason  of 
delay  the  German  delegation  will  not  be  able  to  cross  the  outpost 
line  until  between  eight  and  ten  o'clock  (5  p.  m.  Washington  time) 
to-night,  at  Haudroy,  two  kilometers  northeast  of  La  Capelle. 


210    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

On  receipt  of  the  message  orders  were  issued  to  cease  firing 
at  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  until  further  orders.  This, 
it  was  now  said,  might  have  been  the  basis  for  the  false  dis- 
patch, sent  out  by  the  United  Press  Association,  that  the  armi- 
stice had  been  signed.  As  stated  by  the  General  Manager  of 
the  United  Press  the  facts  were,  that  at  11:56  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon  a  message  was  received  by  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company,  was  at  once  sent  to  the  Censor,  was  returned 
at  11:59  o'clock  with  his  "O.  K.,"  was  immediately  sent  out 
to  the  newspapers,  and  that  the  message  as  received  read: 

Paris 
Unipress,  N.  Y. 

Urgent.  Armistice  Allies  Germany  signed  eleven  morning.  Hos- 
tilities ceased  two  afternoon.  Sedan  taken  by  Americans. 

In  spite  of  the  official  denial  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  the 
General  Manager  of  the  Association  in  the  United  States  re- 
fused to  be  convinced.  The  Association,  he  said,  was  standing 
by  its  message  and  held  it  to  be  authentic  until  proved  false, 
and  cited  the  instance  of  the  landing  of  our  troops  at  Yera 
Cruz  in  1914.  The  United  Press  received  the  news,  the  Navy 
Department  denied  it,  and  three  hours  later  received  the  offi- 
cial confirmation.  It  was  quite  possible,  he  said,  that  follow- 
ing the  signing  of  the  armistice  the  censorship  was  tightened 
until  the  time  came  to  announce  it  simultaneously  in  all  the 
allied  countries.  A  report  having  spread  that  the  cable  cen- 
sorship was  holding  up  dispatches  which  might  confirm  the 
false  message  to  the  United  Press,  the  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Information  announced  that  "any  such  re- 
port is  absolutely  untrue.  No  dispatch  bearing  upon  any 
phase  of  the  armistice  negotiations  is  being  stopped  or  even 
halted  in  the  New  York  office.  The  channel  is  wide  open." 

From  the  United  Press  Association  then  came  the  statement 
that  the  announcement  of  the  signing  of  the  armistice  was  made 
by  Admiral  Wilson  at  Brest;  that  he  acted  in  good  faith;  and 
that  a  later  message  saying  the  news  could  not  be  confirmed 


THE  ARMISTICE  211 

was  probably  delayed  as  it  did  not  arrive  until  almost  twenty- 
four  hours  after  the  first.  Admiral  Wilson  promptly  assumed 
the  responsibility  and  said :  "The  statement  of  the  United  Press 
relative  to  the  signing  of  an  armistice  was  made  public  from 
my  office  on  the  basis  of  what  appeared  to  be  official  and  authori- 
tative information.  I  am  in  a  position  to  know  that  the  United 
Press  and  its  representatives  acted  in  perfect  faith,  and  that 
the  premature  announcement  was  the  result  of  an  error  for 
which  the  agency  was  in  no  wise  responsible." 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  from  Brest,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  Press  Association  made  a  statement: 

The  bulletin  which  Admiral  Wilson  gave  out,  and  which  The 
United  Press  carried,  was  not  a  "rumor7'  or  a  "report."  It  was  a 
bulletin  furnished  to  the  Admiral  as  official,  and  so  given  to  us. 

It  was  given  to  us  fox  publication  by  the  ranking  active  United 
States  naval  officer  in  France.  There  was  no  more  ground  for 
doubting  Admiral  Wilson's  source  of  news  than  there  would  have 
been  for  doubting  the  statement  had  it  come  from  Marshal  Foch. 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  (French  time)  when  I 
first  learned  of  a  rumor  that  the  armistice  had  been  signed.  The 
report  was  current  in  both  French  and  American  Army  circles  in 
Brest  when  I  arrived  that  morning  to  embark  for  the  United  States. 

I  put  in  the  entire  day  endeavoring  to  confirm  the  report.  But  it 
was  not  until  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that  Admiral 
Wilson  was  notified  on  what  he  stated  was  official  authority,  and 
on  what  I  know  he  had  every  reason  to  believe  was  official  authority, 
that  the  armistice  had  been  signed. 

The  announcement  had  been  made  by  the  local  Brest  newspaper 
and  the  civilians,  soldiers  and  sailors  had  their  celebration  under 
full  headway  before  I  was  able  to  get  from  Admiral  Wilson  personally 
a  copy  of  his  written  announcement  and  his  personal  assurance  that 
the  bulletin  was  official. 

The  Admiral  then  sent  his  personal  aid  with  me  to  assist  me  in 
filing  the  dispatch,  as  I  do  not  speak  French  fluently. 

It  was  a  fact  that  all  Brest,  including  operators  and  censors, 
accepted  the  news  as  official,  and  was  celebrating  at  the  time  that 
caused  my  wire  to  pass  the  French  censorship  at  Brest  unchallenged. 

Upon  my  .return  to  the  United  States  I  learned  that  no  news  had 
been  published  here  of  the  fact  that  celebrations  of  the  signing  of 


212     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  armistice  took  place  on  November  7  at  practically  all  the  army  and 
naval  bases  on  the  French  coast. 

I  was  also  surprised  to  learn  that  nothing  had  reached  here  by 
cable  concerning  the  fact  that  all  Paris  had  the  report  of  the  armi- 
stice being  signed.  At  the  American  Luncheon  Club  meeting  in 
Paris  on  that  day  the  toastmaster  arose,  and,  with  Admiral  Benson 
seated  on  one  side  of  him  and  American  Consul  General  Thackera 
on  the  other,  announced  on  what  he  said  was  the  authority  of  the 
American  Embassy  that  the  armistice  had  been  signed.  All  the 
celebration  on  that  day  was  by  no  means  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Nothing  much  has  yet  been  said  as  to  the  source  of  Admiral 
Wilson's  information.  This  is  not  for  me  to  discuss.  Nothing  has 
been  said  as  to  the  reason  for  the  report  current  on  that  day  through- 
out France.  No  explanation  has  yet  been  offered  of  how  the  report 
reached  the  American  Embassy  in  Paris  as  official.  Neither  has 
any  explanation  been  offered  yet  as  to  what  became  of  the  first 
German  armistice  delegation,  headed  by  von  Hintze,  which  was 
reported  to  have  reached  the  French  lines  on  November  6,  and  which 
then  disappeared  from  the  news,  being  supplanted  by  the  Erzberger 
plenipotentiaries.  Some  of  these  matters  will  be  cleared  up  after 
peace  is  signed. 


That  the  people  might  not  be  deceived  a  second  time,  Secre- 
tary Lansing  announced  that  he  was  "requested  and  author- 
ized by  the  President  to  state,  that  no  information  reaching 
this  government  concerning  the  armistice  negotiations  in  France 
has  been  withheld ;  that  any  statement  to  the  contrary  is  abso- 
lutely false,  and  that  as  soon  as  a  definite  decision  in  regard 
to  the  armistice  has  been  reached  it  will  immediately  be  made 
public  by  the  Government." 

Dispatches  from  Eotterdam  now  announced  that  the  Kaiser 
was  not  to  abdicate.  After  long  discussion  the  leaders  of  the 
parties  in  the  Reichstag  had  so  decided.  Socialists,  it  was 
reported,  held  that  although  President  Wilson  had  not,  in  so 
many  words,  demanded  that  the  Hohenzollerns  be  swept  away, 
nevertheless,  the  Kaiser  was  looked  on  abroad  as  the  head  and 
front  of  German  militarism;  that  militarism  had  been  swept 
away,  and  therefore  the  Kaiser  should  go  with  it.  The  Cen- 
trals, Liberals,  and  Progressives  answered  that  the  Kaiser  was 


THE  ARMISTICE  213 

the  symbol  of  German  unity,  that  this  unity  was  seriously 
threatened,  and  that  in  the  interest  of  German  unity  he  should 
remain,  and  so  it  was  decided  that  he  should.  Now  it  was  a 
report  that  the  managing  Committee  of  the  Socialist  Party 
through  Philipp  Scheidermann  had  sent  an  ultimatum  to  Chan- 
cellor Maximillian;  that  it  had  demanded  the  right  of  public 
assembly;  that  the  military  and  police  must  be  ordered  ato 
exercise  great  reserve";  that  the  Prussian  Government  be  at 
once  brought  into  conformity  with  the  views  of  the  majority  in 
the  Eeichstag;  and  that  before  noon  of  November  8  the  Em- 
peror abdicate  and  the  Crown  Prince  renounce  all  claims  to 
the  throne.  To  this  demand  the  Kaiser  was  reported  to  have 
answered,  through  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  that  he  would 
not  voluntarily  abdicate,  that  he  could  not  at  the  moment  of 
peace  assume  the  terrible  responsibility  of  giving  up  the  Father- 
land to  anarchy.  Nevertheless,  the  hour  had  come,  and  the 
newspapers  of  November  10  announced  that  the  Kaiser  had 
abdicated;  that  the  Crown  Prince  had  renounced  his  claims; 
that  a  Regent  had  been  appointed,  that  Brunswick  had  re- 
volted; that  the  reigning  Grand  Duke  Ernest  Augustus,  son- 
in-law  of  the  Kaiser,  had  abdicated  his  throne  and  that  the 
Chancellor  had  issued  this  decree : 

The  Kaiser  and  King  has  decided  to  renounce  the  throne.  The 
Imperial  Chancellor  will  remain  in  office  until  the  questions  con- 
nected with  the  abdication  of  the  Kaiser,  the  renouncing  by  the 
Crown  Prince  of  the  thrones  of  the  German  Empire  and  of  Prussia, 
and  the  setting  up  of  a  regency  have  been  settled. 

For  the  regency  he  intends  to  appoint  Deputy  Ebert  as  Imperial 
Chancellor,  and  he  proposes  that  a  bill  be  brought  in  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  law  providing  for  the  immediate  promulgation  of  general 
suffrage  and  for  the  constitutional  German  National  assembly  which 
shall  settle  finally  the  future  form  of  government  of  the  German 
nation  and  of  those  peoples  which  might  be  desirous  of  coming 
within  the  Empire. 

Germany,  if  reports  were  true,  was  in  ferment.     Day  after 
day  dispatches  from  Amsterdam  told  of  rioting,  mutiny  and 


214    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  .WAR 

revolution.  Now  it  was  said  that  the  sailors  on  the  battleships 
Kaiser  and  SMeswig-Holstein  at  Kiel  had  mutinied,  and  shot 
such  officers  as  withstood  them,  had  threatened  to  blow  up  the 
vessels  if  attacked,  had  been  joined  by  some  infantry  sent  to 
restore  order  and  had  displayed  the  red  flag.  Now  it  was  re- 
ported that  the  garrison  at  Kiel  had  refused  to  march  to  the 
harbor,  that  a  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Council  had  been 
formed  at  Kiel;  that  the  Governor  had  been  forced  to  yield 
to  their  demands;  that  the  revolutionary  troops  at  Kiel  were 
wearing  red  cockades  and  carrying  red  banners  and  had  seized 
every  warship  in  the  harbor,  taken  control  of  railroads  and 
street  cars,  occupied  Kiel  Castle  and  raised  over  it  the  red  flag ; 
that  the  Council  of  Workmen  and  Soldiers  had  taken  over  the 
government  of  the  city,  and  that  the  movement  had  spread 
to  Schleswig;  that  the  greater  part  of  the  submarine  crews 
had  joined  the  revolutionists,  and  that  practically  the  whole 
German  navy  was  in  revolt;  that  Kiel,  Wilhelmshaven,  Heli- 
goland, Borkum,  Cuxhaven,  were  in  the  hands  of  the  revo- 
lutionists; that  Bremerhaven,  Tilsit,  Hamburg,  Hanover, 
Cologne,  Magdeburg,  had  joined  in  the  revolt;  that  a  great 
meeting  of  the  people  in  Munich,  called  by  the  Socialist  leaders, 
had  demanded  that  the  Kaiser  abdicate  and  the  Crown  Prince 
renounce  his  claim  to  the  throne;  that  an  armistice  be  signed; 
that  Bavaria  be  declared  a  republic  and  that  there  should  be 
no  war  in  future  save  for  defense  of  the  country;  that  the 
warships  at  Kiel  had  gone  to  Flensburg;  that  Prince  Henry 
had  fled  from  Kiel  in  an  automobile  carrying  a  red  flag,  and 
that  six  German  battleships  anchored  outside  of  Flensburg 
had  trained  their  guns  on  the  mutineers. 

The  German  armistice  delegates  meantime  had  reached  the 
French  outposts  near  La  Capelle  during  the  night  of  November 
7th ;  had  presented  their  credentials  and,  blindfolded,  had  been 
escorted  within  the  lines  and  comfortably  lodged  for  the  night. 
At  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  they  were  received 
by  Marshal  Foch  at  his  headquarters  in  a  railroad  car.  Their 
credentials  having  been  examined  and  approved  Mathias  Erz- 


THE  ARMISTICE  215 

berger,  so  the  report  said,  announced  that  the  government  had 
been  informed  by  President  Wilson  that  Marshal  Foch  had  been 
authorized  to  make  known  to  them  the  Allies'  terms  for  an 
armistice,  and  that  they  were  empowered  to  consider  the  terms 
and  if  acceptable  to  sign  the  armistice.  Marshal  Foch  then 
read  the  terms;  Erzberger  asked  for  an  immediate  suspension 
of  hostilities.  Foch  refused,  whereupon  a  request  was  made 
for  time  to  send  the  test  of  the  armistice  to  German  headquar- 
ters, and  seventy-two  hours,  beginning  at  eleven  o'clock  French 
time  on  November  8,  were  granted. 

The  seventy-two  hours  were  to  expire  at  eleven  o'clock, 
French  time,  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  November  11.  A 
courier  was  at  once  ordered  to  depart,  but  the  German  batteries 
were  heavily  shelling  the  road  he  was  to  take  from  La  Capelle. 
It  was  then  proposed  by  the  German  delegates  that  he  go  by 
airplane.  Marshal  Foch  consented  provided  the  German  High 
Command  agreed  that  it  would  not  be  fired  at  and  a  wireless 
message  was  sent  to  Spa,  from  which  came  the  reply:  "We 
grant  free  passage  to  the  French  airplane  bringing  our  courier. 
We  are  issuing  orders  that  it  shall  not  be  attacked  by  any  of 
our  machines.  For  the  purpose  of  recognition  it  should  carry 
two  white  flags  very  clearly  marked."  Despite  this  message, 
and  repeated  requests,  the  German  batteries  continued  to  fire 
on  the  road  until  late  in  the  afternoon  when  a  message  from 
Spa  announced  that  orders  to  cease  firing  had  been  given  and 
that  Captain  Helldorf,  the  courier,  was  at  liberty  to  come  by 
land.  Almost  immediately  the  firing  on  the  road  stopped  and 
shortly  after  three  o'clock  he  departed.  Spa  was  reached  as 
quickly  as  the  condition  of  the  road  would  permit,  and  at 
2:45  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  November  11,  the 
Department  of  State  announced:  "The  armistice  has  been 
signed.  It  was  signed  at  five  o'clock  a.  m.  Paris  time,  and 
hostilities  will  cease  at  11  a.  m.  this  morning,  Paris  time." 

The  Kaiser  and  the  Crown  Prince  were  reported  to  be 
fugitives  in  Holland.  On  Saturday  morning,  November  9, 
so  the  dispatch  said,  the  Emperor  signed  a  letter  of  abdica- 


216    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tion ;  the  Crown  Prince  renounced  his  claim  a  few  hours  later, 
and  about  half  past  seven  on  Sunday  morning  father  and  son 
accompanied  by  a  party  of  ten  crossed  the  Dutch  frontier  at 
Eysden,  made  their  way  to  Maastricht  and  found  refuge  in 
the-  home  of  their  friend,  Count  Bentinck,  the  Chateau  Mid- 
dacht  in  the  town  of  De  Steeg  near  Utrecht.  This  was  soon 
contradicted  and  the  new  version  ran  that  the  Kaiser  left,  the 
train  before  Eysden  was  reached  because  of  shots  fired  at  his 
car,  and  reached  the  station  by  automobile;  that  the  fugitives 
were  held  on  the  train  near  the  frontier  to  await  the  decision 
of  the  Dutch  Government.  A  later  report  had  it  that  about 
half  after  seven  o'clock  Sunday  morning  ten  travel-stained 
automobiles  were  seen  to  come  along  the  Vise-Maastricht 
road  and  pass  through  the  little  border-line  town  of  Mouland 
only  to  be  stopped  by  the  Dutch  frontier  guards  at  the  barbed 
wire  fence  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  custom  authorities,  who 
were  greatly  astonished  to  find  ten  automobiles  awaiting  ad- 
mission into  Holland.  It  was  a  long  wait  while  the  question 
of  octroi  was  being  settled,  an  inspection  of  the  seats  and  cars 
made,  and  the  many  formalities  settled.  The  automobiles  it 
was  decided  could  not  pass,  whereupon  the  late  Kaiser,  the 
former  Crown  Prince,  General  von  Hindenburg  and  all  the 
members  of  the  party  walked  to  the  little  railroad  station  at 
Eysden.  Another  long  wait  followed  before  the  train  reached 
the  station,  and  was  at  once  entered,  and  the  blinds  pulled 
down  and  the  party  seen  no  more.  No  one  knew  where  the 
train  was  to  go.  The  Hague  must  be  communicated  with  in 
consequence  of  which  the  party  did  not  set  off  until  after  nine 
o'clock  on  Monday  morning.  Meantime  the  Empress  and  more 
generals  arrived  at  Eysden.  The  destination  of  William  Ho- 
henzollern  was  then  given  as  the  castle  of  Count  Bentinck 
at  Amerongen. 

This  story  in  time  proved  false.  General  von  Hindenburg 
was  at  the  army  Headquarters ;  nobody  knew  where  the  Crown 
Prince  was ;  indeed,  report  said  he  had  been  killed  by  a  soldier ; 
the  Empress  did  not  come  to  Eysden.  Long  afterwords,  in 


THE  ARMISTICE  217 

January,  1919,  the  Dutch  Premier  Ruys  de  Beerenbranck 
gave  his  version  of  the  entrance  of  the  Kaiser.  On  Sunday, 
November  10,  he  said,  a  long  train  of  automobiles  arrived 
at  Eysden.  Officers  of  the  rank  of  generals  alighted  and  de- 
manded of  the  sergeant  on  guard  duty  that  he  permit  the 
passage  of  the  Kaiser.  He  refused;  whereupon  one  of  the 
generals  said :  "  'Everything  has  been  arranged  with  the  Dutch 
Government  and  the  Kaiser  is  expected.'  The  sergeant,  a  mere 
non-commissioned  officer,  allowed  himself  to  be  overcome  by  the 
war  lord  of  high  degree  and  the  Kaiser  entered  Holland.  At 
nine  o'clock  that  morning  on  my  return  from  church,  I  was 
informed  by  my  colleague,  M.  Van  Karneback,  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  that  he  had  received,  at  seven  o'clock,  a  telegram 
from  our  representative  at  Brussels,  M.  Van  Hollenboven, 
transmitting  a  request  that  the  Kaiser  be  allowed  to  pass  the 
frontier.  Almost  at  the  same  hour  the  commander-in-chief 
of  our  army  received  a  notification  from  the  post  commander 
of  Maastricht  of  the  event  that  had  occurred  at  dawn,  that  is 
the  Kaiser's  entrance.  We  were  face  to  face  with  a  fait 
accompli.  This  unexpected  arrival  forced  us  to  seek  a  place 
to  lodge  the  visitor.  After  much  ado  and  a  great  deal  of  tele- 
phoning we  found  it  on  the  property  of  Count  Bentinck,  who 
has  been  subjected  to  a  lot  of  vexation  in  consequence,  the 
breaking  off  of  long-standing  friendships  with  Englishmen  and 
annoyances  of  all  kinds." 

Early  Monday  morning  the  Kaiser  and'  a  personal  suite  of 
sixteen  officers  started  by  train  from  Eysden  and  early  in  the 
afternoon  reached  Maarn.  There  he  was  met  by  Count  Ben- 
tinck and  under  military  escort  went  to  the  castle  at  Amerongen 
which  had  been  placed  at  his  disposal  at  the  request  of  the 
Dutch  Government 

The  Crown  Prince  and  a  suite  crossed  the  frontier  on  the 
12th,  went  to  Maastricht,  was  taken  to  the  house  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  then  interned  as  a  German  officer.  In  time  he  was 
sent  to  the  little  island  of  Wieringen  in  the  Zuyder  Zee. 

Scarcely  was  the  former  Kaiser  safe  on  the  soil  of  the  Nether- 


218    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAK 

lands  than  popular  demands  for  his  extradition  began  to  be 
made.  M.  Clemenceau  was  reported  to  have  asked  the  Dean 
of  the  faculty  of  law  of  the  University  of  Paris  for  an  opinion 
on  the  question  of  demanding  the  extradition  of  William  Ho- 
henzollern ;  the  Temps  could  condone  the  reception  of  William 
when  no  one  knew  what  was  happening  in  Germany,  when 
refusal  might  mean  he  would  be  shot  at  a  frontier  post.  But 
for  a  country  which  owed  its  existence  to  the  triumph  of  the 
Allies  to  shelter  the  man  who  caused  the  death  of  millions  was 
nothing  short  of  an  outrage.  Place  him  on  a  boat,  conduct 
him  to  the  Belgian  frontier  and  the  Allies  would  know  what 
they  ought  to  do  with  him.  The  Dutch  legation  in  Paris  made 
public  a  note  from  the  President  of  the  Netherlands  Council 
of  Ministers  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  stating  that  the  ex- 
Emperor  had  entered  the  country  as  a  private  personage;  that 
the  refuge  granted  him  was  of  the  sort  granted  all  refugees; 
that  no  exception  could  be  made  in  his  case  because  of  his 
former  position;  that  the  Netherlands  government  could  not 
believe  that  foreign  governments  whose  subjects  had  so  often 
enjoyed  the  benefit  of  refuge  in  that  country  would  refuse  to 
respect  national  tradition  or  forget  that  they  themselves  had 
given  protection  to  dethroned  monarchs. 

That  William  had  really  abdicated  was  seriously  doubted. 
So  far  as  foreign  governments  were  concerned  he  was  still 
Emperor  of  Germany  and  King  of  Prussia.  No  official  infor- 
mation of  his  abdication  had  been  received.  A  report  was  set 
afloat  that  to  end  the  discussion  the  German  Government  in- 
tended to  publish  his  decree  of  abdication ;  but  it  did  not  do  so. 
In  the  opinion  of  the  London  Daily  Mail  William  undoubtedly 
regarded  himself  as  Emperor  and  King.  So  far  as  the  world 
knew  there  was  no  abdication  document  bearing  his  signature, 
nothing  but  the  statement  of  Prince  Max  in  which  he  used  the 
words  "thron  verzich"  and  not  the  word  "abdankung." 

In  England  the  late  Kaiser  had  been  three  times  indicted 
for  murder  in  connection  with  the  sinking  of  the  Lusita/riw,, 
the  Zeppelin  air  raids,  and  the  shelling  of  defenseless  coast 


THE  ARMISTICE  219 

towns.  Law  officers  of  the  Crown,  it  was  reported,  were  there- 
fore considering  the  question  of  extradition  and  were  working 
in  cooperation  with  the  French.  Even  the  German  revolution- 
ary press  was  by  this  time  demanding  a  tribunal  to  pass  sen- 
tence on  the  Hohenzollerns. 

Towards  the  close  of  November  Mr.  Lloyd-George,  in  an 
election  speech  at  Newcastle,  stated  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment had  consulted  some  of  the  greatest  jurists  of  the  king- 
dom and  that  each  one  of  them  was  of  the  opinion  that  the 
former  German  Emperor  was  guilty  of  an  indictable  offense 
for  which  he  ought  to  be  held  responsible.  In  the  opinion  of 
the  French  and  British  people  the  Kaiser,  thought  living  in 
a  neutral  country,  was  only  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  return 
to  Germany  and  resume  the  throne.  He  had  never  formally 
renounced  the  throne.  Officers,  once  high  in  command,  it  was 
believed,  were  so  directing  the  revolution  that  it  must  collapse, 
and  thus  prepare  the  way  for  a  triumphant  return  of  the  Kaiser 
to  Berlin.  The  Berlin  Government,  holding  much  the  same 
opinion,  is  said  to  have  sent  a  telegram  demanding  his  formal 
abdication,  and  that  of  the  Crown  Prince.  Be  this  as  it  may 
the  Berlin  Government  on  November  30  "in  order  to  reply  to 
certain  misunderstandings  which  have  arisen  with  regard  to  the 
abdication"  gave  out  a  document  signed  by  the  Emperor  on 
the  28th. 

By  the  present  document  I  renounce  forever  my  rights  to  the 
crown  of  Prussia  and  the  rights  to  the  German  imperial  crown. 
I  release  at  the  same  time  all  the  officials  of  the  German  Empire, 
and  Prussia,  and  also  all  officers,  noncommissioned  officers,  and 
soldiers  of  the  Prussian  Navy  and  Army,  and  of  contingents  from 
confederated  States,  from  the  oath  of  fidelity  they  have  taken  to  me 
as  their  Emperor,  King,  and  supreme  chief. 

I  expect  from  them  until  a  new  organization  of  the  German 
Empire  exists  that  they  will  aid  those  who  effectively  hold  the  power 
in  Germany  to  protect  the  German  people  against  the  menacing 
dangers  of  anarchy,  famine,  and  foreign  domination'. 

Made  and  executed  and  signed  by  our  own  hand  with  the  imperial 
seal  at  Amerongen,  Nov.  28.  w 


220    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Nothing  was  said  concerning  abdication  by  the  Crown 
Prince.  "I  have  not  renounced  anything,  and  I  have  not  signed 
any  document  whatever/'  he  was  reported  to  have  said  to  a 
representative  of  the  Associated  Press.  "However,  should  the 
German  Government  decide  to  form  a  Republic  similar  to  the 
United  States  or  France,  I  should  be  perfectly  content  to  re- 
turn to  Germany  as  a  simple  citizen  ready  to  do  anything  to 
assist  my  country.  I  should  even  be  happy  to  work  as  a  laborer 
in  a  factory."  Speaking  of  his  flight  to  the  Netherlands  he 
said:  "I  was  with  my  group  of  armies  after  the  Kaiser  left 
Germany.  I  asked  the  Berlin  Government  whether  they  desired 
me  to  retain  my  command.  They  replied  negatively,  and  I 
could  not  continue  to  lead  armies  under  orders  of  the  Soldier's 
and  Workmen's  Council." 

That  a  Crown  Council  had  been  held  at  Potsdam  to  decide 
on  war  he  positively  denied.  Neither  his  father  nor  he  wanted 
war.  People  blamed  him  for  the  failure  at  Verdun.  Twice 
he  had  refused  to  attack  with  the  troops  at  his  disposal.  The 
third  time  he  obeyed,  and  was  successful  for  three  days;  but 
was  not  properly  supported.  Ludendorff  was  the  mainspring 
of  Germany's  war  activities.  Von  Hindenburg  was  a  mere 
figurehead. 

Meantime  the  Kaiser  had  been  talking.  Against  his  will, 
he  was  reported  to  have  said,  they  sent  him  to  Norway  in  July, 
1914,  on  the  eve  of  the  opening  of  the  war.  He  did  not  wish 
to  take  the  voyage  because  of  the  seriousness  of  the  situation 
after  the  murder  of  the  Arch  Duke  Ferdinand.  But  the  Chan- 
cellor said  to  him:  "Your  Majesty  must  take  this  voyage  in 
order  to  maintain  peace.  If  your  Majesty  remains  here,  it  un- 
doubtedly means  war,  and  the  world  will  lay  to  your  charge 
responsibility  for  the  war."  Bethmann-Hollweg,  at  that  time 
Chancellor,  in  an  interview,  denied  that  this  was  the  object 
of  the  voyage. 

By  this  time  the  Netherlands  Government  had  appointed 
a  Commission  to  report  on  the  status  of  the  Kaiser,  and  at 
a  meeting  in  London  between  M.  Clemenceau,  Marshal  Foch, 


THE  ARMISTICE  221 

the  Italian  Premier  Vittorio  Orlando,  Lloyd-George  and  the 
British  War  Cabinet,  the  question  of  expatriation  was  dis- 
cussed. According  to  reports  a  demand  would  be  made,  and 
if  the  Netherlands  Government  refused  to  deliver  the  Kaiser 
without  the  consent  of  Germany,  pressure  would  be  brought  to 
secure  consent.  Other  matters  believed  to  have  been  considered 
were  extension  of  the  armistice  soon  to  end ;  the  day  when  the 
Peace  Conference  should  meet;  what  indemnities  should  be  de- 
manded from  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  that  once  was; 
replacement  by  Germany  of  the  shipping  her  U-boats  had  de- 
stroyed; the  future  of  the  German  colonies;  and  the  future  of 
the  newly  emancipated  nations,  Poland,  Bohemia,  Jugo- 
slovakia.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  questions  discussed,  the 
Allies,  M.  Clemenceau  said  on  his  return  to  Paris,  had  unani- 
mously agreed  to  them  and  especially  as  to  what  should  be 
done  with  the  Kaiser. 

Much  the  greater  part  of  Germany  was  then  in  the  hands 
of  the  revolutionists.  Eed  flags  flew  from  the  royal  palace  in 
Berlin  and  over  the  Brandenburg  gate,  the  Reds  were  in  con- 
trol of  the  greater  part  of  the  city,  and  the  new  Chancellor 
Ebert  appealed  for  law  and  order.  German  guard  ships,  it 
was  reported,  had  left  their  stations  in  the  Great  Belt  and 
the  Little  Belt  and  raised  the  red  flag;  six  cruisers  had  joined 
the  Reds  and  arrived  at  Hamburg,  and  the  crews  of  four 
dreadnaughts  in  Kiel  harbor  had  gone  over  to  the  revolution- 
ists. Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Councils  had  been  formed  in 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  Cassel,  Nuremberg,  Mannheim,  Frankfurt, 
Miinster,  Stuttgart,  Cologne.  Order,  it  was  said,  had  been 
restored  in  Hamburg,  and  in  many  other  towns  the  authori- 
ties were  working  in  harmony  with  the  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Councils. 

In  Berlin  a  People's  Government  for  Germany  was  set  up 
in  the  course  of  a  few  hours.  About  nine  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Saturday,  November  9,  a  general  strike  began  and  in  a 
little  while  thousands  of  workmen  carrying  red  flags  came  into 
the  city  from  the  factories  in  the  suburbs.  Trains  from  Kiel 


222    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

brought  several  thousand  sailors  who,  by  order  of  the  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Council,  went  in  groups  and  occupied  the 
public  buildings  and  street  corners.  Red  flags  appeared  every- 
where; officers,  it  was  said,  in  the  streets  and  in  the  barracks 
pulled  off  cockades,  epaulettes,  iron  crosses;  soldiers,  sailors, 
workmen  "fraternized,"  and  the  cry  "Long  live  the  German 
Republic"  was  heard  on  every  hand.  Towards  noon  a  force 
of  soldiers  and  sailors  occupied  the  Government  buildings  along 
Wilhelmstrasse,  and  a  great  crowd,  gathered  before  the  Reichs- 
tag building,  was  addressed  by  Philipp  Scheidermann,  who 
said: 

The  Kaiser  has  abdicated!  the  dynasty  has  fallen!  It  is  a  great 
and  honorable  victory  for  the  German  people.  Herr  Ebert  has 
received  the  task  of  forming  a  new  Government,  in  which  both 
sections  of  the  Socialist  Party  will  take  part.  Orders  by  the  Gov- 
ernment are  only  valid  when  signed  by  Herr  Ebert,  and  those  issued 
by  the  Ministry  of  War  must  be  countersigned  by  a  Socialist  delegate. 

A  little  later  a  red  flag  was  raised  over  the  Palace  and  an- 
other put  in  the  window  through  which  the  Kaiser  passed  to 
the  balcony  to  make  his  memorable  speech  on  the  opening  of 
the  war  in  August,  1914.  Still  later  soldiers  entered  the  build- 
ing of  the  Wolff  Bureau,  took  possession  and  put  two  Social- 
ists in  charge.  Vorwdrts  was  likewise  confiscated  and  the  build- 
ing decked  in  red  flags. 

Meantime  Herr  Ebert  was  busy  setting  up  a  government, 
and  proclamations  followed  in  rapid  succession. 

A*s  yet  the  terms  of  the  armistice  had  not  been  given  to  the 
public.  But,  no  sooner  had  the  President,  in  the  early  hours 
of  the  morning  of  November  11,  received  official  notice  that 
the  armistice  had  been  received,  than  by  his  order  it  was  an- 
nounced that  he  would  read  the  terms  at  a  joint  meeting  of 
the  Senate  and  House  o'f  Representatives.  The  hour  fixed  was 
one  o'clock,  and  promptly  on  the  hour  the  President  took  his 
stand  at  the  speaker's  desk  and  said: 

In  these  times  of  rapid  and  stupendous  change  it  will  in  some 
degree  lighten  my  sense  of  responsibility  to  perform  in  person  the 


THE  ARMISTICE  223 

duty  of  communicating  to  you  some  of  the  larger  circumstances  of 
the  situation  with  which  it  is  necessary  to  deal. 

The  German  authorities,  who  have  at  the  invitation  of  the  Supreme 
War  Council,  been  in  communication  with  Marshal  Foch,  have 
accepted  and  signed  the  terms  of  armistice  which  he  was  authorized 
and  instructed  to  communicate  to  them.  These  terms  are  as  follows : 
[Having  read  them  the  President  continued.]  The  war  thus  comes  to 
an  end;  for,  having  accepted  these  terms  of  armistice,  it  will  be 
impossible  for  the  German  command  to  renew  it. 

It  is  not  now  possible  to  assess  the  consequences  of  this  great  con- 
summation. We  know  only  that  this  tragical  war,  whose  consuming 
flames  swept  from  one  nation  to  another  until  all  the  world  was  on 
fire,  is  at  an  end  and  that  it  was  the  privilege  of  our  own  people  to 
enter  it  at  its  most  critical  juncture  in  such  fashion  and  in  such 
force  as  to  contribute,  in  a  way  of  which  we  are  all  deeply  proud, 
to  the  great  result.  We  know,  too,  that  the  object  of  the  war  is 
attained ;  the  object  upon  which  all  free  men  had  set  their  hearts ;  and 
attained  with  a  sweeping  completeness  which  even  now  we  do  not 
realize.  Armed  imperialism  such  as  the  men  conceived  who  were  but 
yesterday  the  masters  of  Germany  is  at  an  end,  its  illicit  ambitions 
engulfed  in  black  disaster.  Who  will  seek  now  to  revive  it? 

The  text  from  which  President  Wilson  read  was  that  pre- 
pared by  the  Supreme  War  Council  at  Versailles.  But  another 
version  existed,  for,  between  the  day  when  the  first  was  drawn 
up,  and  the  day  when  the  representatives  of  defeated  Germany 
affixed  their  names  to  the  second,  changes,  many  and  im- 
portant, were  made  by  Marshal  Foch  under  authority  given 
him  so  to  do.  Both  texts  called  for  the  stoppage  of  fighting 
on  land,  and  in  the  air,  six  hours  after  the  armistice  was 
signed;  for  the  evacuation  of  invaded  countries,  Belgium, 
France,  Luxemburg,  Alsace-Lorraine;  for  the  repatriation,  to 
begin  at  once  and  be  finished  within  a  fortnight,  of  all  in- 
habitants taken  from  these  countries;  and  for  the  surrender 
in  good  condition  of  a  vast  quantity  of  war  materials,  heavy 
guns,  field  guns,  machine  guns,  airplanes  of  all  sorts,  fighters, 
bombers  and  night  bombers.  Mr.  Wilson's  text  called  for  the 
delivery  of  thirty  thousand  machine  guns,  three  thousand 
minenwerfers  and  two  thousand  airplanes;  the  Foch  text  for 


224    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

twenty-five  thousand  machine  guns  and  seventeen  hundred  air- 
planes. All  German  territory  from  the  boundaries  of  Hol- 
land, Belgium  and  Alsace-Lorraine  to  the  west  bank  of  the 
Ehine  by  the  Wilson  text  was  to  be  occupied,  and  the  principal 
crossings  at  Mayence,  Coblenz,  Cologne,  together  with  bridge- 
heads at  these  cities  thirty  kilometers  in  radius  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Rhine  were  to  be  held.  Along  that  bank  was  to  run, 
from  the  frontier  of  Holland  to  the  borders  of  Switzerland,  a 
neutral  zone  bounded  by  a  line  drawn  parallel  to  the  river, 
and  forty  kilometers  from  it.  By  the  Foch  text  the  width 
of  the  zone  was  changed  and  "a  line  drawn  parallel  to  the 
bridgeheads  and  to  the  stream  and  at  a  distance  of  ten  kilo- 
meters." Evacuation  of  the  Rhineland,  by  the  Wilson  text,  must 
be  within  "a  further  period  of  eleven  days,  in  all  nineteen 
days  after  the  signature  of  the  armistice."  Evacuation,  ac- 
cording to  the  Foch  text,  must  be  finished  "within  a  further 
period  of  sixteen  days,  in  all  thirty-one  days  after  the  signing 
of  the  armistice."  Countries  west  of  the  Ehine,  the  Wilson 
text  provided,  should  "be  administered  by  the  local  authori- 
ties under  the  control  of  the  Allied  and  United  States  armies 
of  occupation."  The  Foch  text  vested  the  government  in  the 
"local  troops  of  occupation."  By  the  Wilson  text  five  thou- 
sand locomotives,  fifty  thousand  railway  cars  and  ten  thou- 
sand motor  lorries  were  to  be  delivered  in  good  order  within 
fourteen  days.  In  the  Foch  text  the  railway  cars  were  in- 
creased to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand;  the  motor  lorries 
reduced  to  five  thousand,  and  the  time  made  thirty-one  days  for 
the  cars  and  thirty-six  days  for  the  lorries.  Each  text  required 
the  German  Command  to  reveal  all  mines  or  delayed  action 
fuses  on  evacuated  territory.  Foch  gave  forty-eight  hours  after 
the  signing  of  the  armistice  in  which  to  make  known  where 
were  the  mines  and  fuses.  Allied  and  American  armies  in 
occupied  territories  might  exercise  the  right  of  requisition; 
the  upkeep  of  troops  in  the  Rhineland,  save  in  AJsace-Lorraine, 
was  to  be  charged  to  the  German  Government;  Allied  and 


THE  ARMISTICE  225 

American  prisoners  of  war  were  to  be  repatriated  but  German 
prisoners  were  not  to  be  released. 

Concerning  affairs  on  the  eastern  front  the  Wilson  text 
required  German  troops  then  on  any  territory  which  before 
the  war  belonged  to  Russia,  Turkey  or  Roumania  to  withdraw 
within  the  frontier  of  Germany  as  it  was  on  August  1,  1914. 
In  the  Foch  text  this  was  changed  to  Austria-Hungary,  Turkey 
and  Roumania,  and  German  troops  then  on  territory  which 
before  the  war  belonged  to  Russia  must  leave  "as  soon  as  the 
Allies,  taking  into  account  the  internal  situation  of  these  ter- 
ritories, shall  decide  that  the  time  for  this  has  come."  Both 
texts  require  the  renunciation  of  the  treaties  of  Brest-Litovsk 
and  Bucharest.  By  the  Wilson  text  "unconditional  capitula- 
tion of  all  German  forces  operating  in  East  Africa  within  one 
month"  was  required.  By  the  Foch  text  this  became  "evacu- 
ation" within  "a  period  to  be  fixed  by  the  Allies."  There  must 
be  "reparation  for  damage  done,"  immediate  return  "of  the 
cash  deposits  in  the  national  bank  of  Belgium,  and  of  the  Rus- 
sian and  Roumanian  gold  yielded  to  Germany,  or  taken  by  her, 
the  gold  to  be  held  in  trust  by  the  Allies  until  the  signature 
of  peace." 

Hostilities  at  sea  must  cease  at  once,  all  naval  and  mercan- 
tile marine  prisoners  in  German  hands  must  be  returned  with- 
out reciprocity,  and  according  to  the  Wilson  text,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  submarines,  all  cruisers  and  mine  layers  included, 
were  to  be  surrendered.  All  other  submarines  were  "to  be  paid 
off  and  completely  disarmed  and  placed  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Allied  Powers  and  of  the  United  States  of  America." 
Foch  required  that  all  submarines  "now  existing"  be  surren- 
dered with  full  armament  and  equipment  in  ports  to  be  desig- 
nated ;  that  such  as  could  not  go  to  the  ports  be  stripped  of  crew 
and  armament  and  left  under  supervision  of  the  Allies;  that 
submarines  ready  for  sea  leave  German  ports  as  soon  as  notified 
of  the  port  of  delivery,  and  the  remainder  at  the  earliest  possi- 
ble moment.  All  to  be  delivered  within  fourteen  days  after 
the  signing  of  the  armistice.  Six  battle  cruisers,  ten  battle- 


226    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ships,  eight  light  cruisers,  including  two  mine  layers,  and  fifty 
destroyers  of  the  most  modern  types  were  to  he  disarmed  and 
interned  in  neutral  ports  or,  for  want  of  them,  in  ports  to  he 
designated  hy  the  Allies  and  the  United  States.  All  other  sur- 
face warships  must  he  disarmed  and  placed  under  supervision 
of  the  Allies  and  the  United  States.  By  the  Foch  text  vessels 
to  he  interned  must  he  ready  to  leave  German  ports  seven  days 
afteV  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  and  take  such  routes  as  might 
he  given  hy  wireless. 

The  Allies  and  the  United  States  might  sweep  up  all  mine 
fields  laid  hy  Germany  outside  her  territorial  waters,  and  where 
they  were  Germany  must  indicate.  JSTaval  and  mercantile  ves- 
sels of  the  Allies  and  Associated  Powers  were  to  have  free  access 
to  and  from  the  Baltic,  and  to  secure  this  all  German  forts, 
hatteries  and  defensive  works  in  all  the  entrances  from  the 
Cattegat  into  the  Baltic  were  to  he  occupied  hy  the  forces  of 
the  Allies  and  the  United  States,  and  all  mines  and  obstructions 
within  and  without  the  waters  of  Germany  swept  up  "without 
any  question  of  neutrality  heing  raised."  The  blockade  set 
up  hy  the  Allies  was  to  remain  unchanged,  all  naval  aircraft 
was  to  he  gathered  and  immobilized  at  designated  bases,  and 
in  evacuating  the  Belgian  coast  all  merchant  ships,  tugs  and 
lighters,  material  for  inland  navigation,  aircraft,  arms,  arma- 
ments and  stores  of  every  sort  must  be  abandoned  by  Germany. 
Black  Sea  ports  were  to  be  evacuated,  Kussian  warships  seized 
by  Germany  delivered  to  the  Allies,  neutral  ships  released,  and 
all  merchant  ships  belonging  to  the  Allies  and  Associated  Pow- 
ers restored  in  ports  to  be  designated. 

Though  the  armistice  was  now  in  force,  fighting  was  not 
ended  for  all  our  troops.  The  war  waged  by  the  armies  of 
Trotsky  and  Lenine,  and  the  help  given  them  by  Germany  made 
it  necessary  in  1918  for  us  to  join  the  Allies  in  sending  troops 
to  Archangel  and  Vladivostok.  In  each  city  were  great  stores 
of  supplies  made  by  the  labor,  and  bought  with  the  money  of  the 
people  of  Great  Britain,  France  and  the  United  States,  and 
sent  thither  when  Eussia  was  fighting  on  the  side  of  the  Allies. 


THE  ARMISTICE  227 

To  protect  these  supplies  owned  by  the  Allies,  to  prevent  their 
capture  by  the  Bolsheviki,  to  check  the  Germans  advancing 
through  Finland  to  occupy  the  Murman  coast,  to  keep  open  a 
way  of  escape  for  our  diplomatic  representatives,  were  the 
reasons  why  a  few  thousand  American  soldiers  were  sent  to 
Murmansk,  to  Archangel  and  Vladivostok.  Some  five  thousand 
with  twice  as  many  French  and  British  occupied  a  front  of  four 
hundred  miles  drawn  south  of  Archangel  for  its  defense.  One 
point  on  this  line,  held  by  the  Americans,  was  Kadish,  from 
which  in  November  they  were  driven  by  the  Bolsheviki  to  the 
Emstu  River.  But  just  after  Christmas  our  men,  dressed  in 
furs  covered  by  a  white  canvas  robe  and  cowl,  to  render  them 
indistinguishable  in  the  snow  at  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred 
yards,  attacked  and  surprised  the  Bolsheviki  at  Kadish,  retook 
the  place  and  held  it. 

Ten  thousand  two  hundred  Americans  were  landed  at  Vladi- 
vostok to  help  the  British,  French  and  Japanese  forces  protect 
the  stores  sent  from  the  United  States,  and  keep  open  the  line 
of  communication  with  the  Ural  Mountains,  a  line  some  five 
thousand  miles  in  length.  Complaint  was  made  in  the  Senate 
was  "an  invasion  of  Russia"  quite  as  bad  as  "the  German  in- 
vasion of  Belgium."  "Was  not  Russia  a  neutral  nation,"  it  was 
asked,  "when  we  invaded  it  ?  What  complaint  have  we  against 
Germany  for  invading  helpless  Belgium  ?  Both  acts  are  equally 
inexcusable."  In  1919  the  troops  were  withdrawn  from  Arch- 
angel and  in  the  early  months  of  1920  from  Vladivostok. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD 

that  the  armistice  had  been  signed  was  immediately 
followed  by  appeals  to  the  President  from  Germany  for  sup- 
plies of  food;  by  preparations  for  the  speedy  return  of  such 
of  our  warships  and  troops  as  were  not  needed  abroad ;  by  the 
demobilization  of  training  camps  at  home,  and  the  return  of 
the  men  to  the  pursuits  and  occupations  from  which  they  had 
been  called;  by  a  revision  of  the  war  revenue  bill;  by  the  re- 
moval of  many  of  the  restrictions  imposed  on  the  people  by  our 
entrance  into  the  war;  by  the  return  of  our  industries  from 
a  war  to  a  peace  basis;  and  by  the  announcement  that  the 
President  would  go  abroad  and  sit  at  the  table  of  the  Peace 
Conference. 

In  the  course  of  his  speech  to  Congress  on  November  11  the 
President  said  that  the  Supreme  War  Council  at  Versailles 
had  promised  the  peoples  of  Central  Europe  that  the  Allied  na- 
tions would  do  everything  in  their  power  to  supply  them  with 
food,  and  that  steps  would  at  once  be  taken  to  organize  these 
efforts  for  relief  in  the  same  systematic  manner  in  which  they 
were  organized  in  the  case  of  Belgium.  Germany  was  the  first 
to  call  for  food. 

From  the  National  Council  of  Women  of  Germany,  Novem- 
ber 12,  came  an  appeal  to  Mrs.  Wilson.  The  terms  of  the 
armistice,  the  Council  said,  called  for  the  surrender  of  a  very 
large  part  of  the  rolling  stock  of  German  railways,  and  at  the 
same  time  required  her  to  feed  the  troops  of  her  late  enemies 
in  the  occupied  territory.  Should  these  requirements  remain 
unchanged  the  women  and  children  of  Germany  would  die  of 
hunger.  Rolling  stock  was  needed  to  bring  food  from  the  farms 

228 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       229 

to  the  cities.  Food  for  the  occupying  troops  must  come  from 
overseas.  The  world  over  women  and  children  had  been  inno- 
cent sufferers  of  the  terrible  war,  "but  nowhere  more  than  in 
Germany.  Let  it  be  through  you,  Madam,  to  implore  our  sis- 
ters in  the  United  States  of  America,  who  are  mothers  like 
ourselves,  to  ask  their  government  and  Allied  Governments  to 
change  the  terms  of  the  armistice  so  that  the  long  suffering 
of  the  women  and  children  of  Germany  may  not  end  in  un- 
speakable disaster." 

According  to  a  wireless  message,  picked  up  at  London,  Dr. 
Solf,  Foreign  Secretary,  appealed  to  President  Wilson  to  in- 
tervene to  mitigate  "the  fearful  conditions  existing"  in 
Germany. 

Convinced  of  the  common  aims  and  ideals  of  democracy  the 
German  Government  has  addressed  itself  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  with  the  request  to  reestablish  peace.  This  peace 
was  meant  to  correspond  with  the  principles  the  President  always 
has  maintained.  The  aim  was  to  be  a  just  solution  of  all  questions 
in  dispute,  followed  by  a  permanent  reconciliation  of  all  nations. 

Furthermore,  the  President  declared  he  did  not  wish  to  make  war 
on  the  German  people,  and  did  not  wish  to  impede  its  peaceful  de- 
velopment. The  German  Government  has  received  the  conditions  of 
the  armistice. 

After  the  blockade,  those  conditions,  especially  the  surrender  of 
means  of  transport  and  the  sustenance  of  the  troops  of  occupation, 
would  make  it  impossible  to  provide  Germany  with  food  and  would 
cause  the  starvation  of  millions  of  men,  women  and  children,  all 
the  more  as  the  blockade  is  to  continue. 

We  had  to  accept  the  conditions,  but  feel  it  is  our  duty  to  draw 
the  President's  attention,  most  solemnly  and  in  all  earnestness,  to 
the  fact  that  enforcement  of  the  conditions  must  produce  among  the 
German  people  feelings  contrary  to  those  upon  which  alone  the 
reconstruction  of  the  community  of  nations  can  rest,  guaranteeing 
a  just  and  durable  peace. 

The  German  people,  therefore,  in  this  fateful  hour,  address  them- 
selves again  to  the  President  with  the  request  that  he  use  his 
influence  with  the  Allied  Powers  in  order  to  mitigate  these  fearful 
conditions. 


230     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Before  an  official  copy  of  this  appeal  reached  the  Department 
of  State,  the  Swiss  Minister  presented  a  cable  dispatch  stating 
that  the  German  Government  requested  the  President  to  in- 
form Chancellor  Ebert,  by  wireless,  if  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  was  ready  to  send  foodstuffs  without  delay,  pro- 
vided public  order  was  maintained  in  Germany  and  an  equi- 
table distribution  of  food  guaranteed.  Secretary  Lansing  at 
once  replied  that  the  President  was  ready  to  consider  favorably 
the  supplying  of  foodstuffs  to  Germany,  and  to  take  up  the  mat- 
ter immediately  with  the  Allied  Governments,  provided  he  was 
assured  "that  public  order  is,  and  will  continue  to  be,  main- 
tained in  Germany,  and  that  an  equitable  distribution  of  food 
can  be  clearly  guaranteed." 

The  German  Government  and  the  German  people,  was  the 
reply  by  wireless  to  London,  have  gratefully  taken  cognizance 
of  the  willingness  of  the  President  to  consider  favorably  the 
sending  of  food  to  Germany.  "Distress  is  urgent."  The 
sender,  whoever  he  was,  Solf  or  Haas,  believed  he  was  not  ap- 
pealing in  vain  to  the  humanitarian  feelings  of  the  President, 
and  asked  Mr.  Lansing,  "in  order  to  save  the  German  people 
from  perishing  from  starvation  and  anarchy,"  to  send  as  quickly 
as  possible  "to  The  Hague,  or  some  other  place,  plenipoten- 
tiaries." American  delegates  could  discuss  with  those  from  the 
German  people  "the  details  of  how  the  magnanimous  help  of 
America  could  save,  in  time,  our  Fatherland  from  the  worst. 
Perhaps  the  matter  could  be  put  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Hoover, 
who  has  rendered  such  great  service  in  Belgium."  The  op- 
pressive conditions  of  the  armistice;  the  necessity  of  supplying 
the  armies  as  they  streamed  home;  the  scanty  supply  for  such 
uses;  the  continuance  of  the  blockade;  the  stoppage  of  navi- 
gation in  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Baltic ;  the  disturbed  condition 
in  the  east,  the  message  said,  made  the  situation  in  Germany 
daily  more  unbearable.  "The  peril  can  be  avoided  only  by 
the  most  speedy  help." 

Another  subject  of  complaint  was  a  provision  in  the  Anglo- 
Turkish  treaty  requiring  German  civilians  to  leave  the  Turkish 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABBOAD       231 

empire  at  once.  Should  this  be  enforced,  Dr.  Solf  was  sure, 
German  hospitals  and  asylums  for  the  blind,  and  for  orphans, 
"caring  principally  for  Armenian  children,  would  be  forced  to 
close,  thus  causing  new  suffering  among  the  Christian  people." 

This  appeal  was  followed,  the  next  day,  by  another  wire- 
less message  to  Secretary  Lansing.  The  return  of  the  troops 
from  the  west,  Dr.  Solf  said,  gave  rise  to  the  fear  that  in  a 
little  while  Berlin,  and  other  large  cities,  would  be  cut  off  from 
supplies  of  food  from  the  interior.  He,  therefore,  with  the 
greatest  anxiety,  repeated  his  request  of  the  day  before,  that 
not  a  moment  should  be  lost  in  convening  a  conference,  at  The 
Hague,  and  further  asked  that  a  German  commission  might 
leave  at  once  for  the  United  States,  and  personally  lay  before 
the  American  Government  the  conditions  in  Germany,  and  ar- 
range for  the  purchase  of  necessary  foodstuffs.  He  cherished 
the  hope  "that  the  humanitarian  feeling  of  the  American  people 
will  not  frustrate  the  possibility  of  saving  thousands  of  women 
and  children  from  death  by  starvation." 

Ere  this  was  received  Secretary  Lansing  replied,  through 
the  £v;:ss  Minister.  He  would  be  obliged  if  the  Minister  would 
say  to  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment, that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  had  received 
the  radio  messages  addressed  to  the  President,  relative  to  relief 
from  certain  requirements  imposed  in  the  armistice  with  the 
Ottoman  Government,  and  in  that  with  the  German  Govern- 
ment. They  would  be  sent  to  the  other  governments  with  which 
the  government  of  the  United  States  is  associated,  and  to  the 
Supreme  War  Council  at  Paris.  Communications,  such  as 
these,  appertaining  to  terms  in  the  armistice,  the  Secretary 
said,  "should  be  sent  to  all  the  Governments,  and  not  addressed, 
alone,  to  the  President,  or  the  government  of  the  United 
States,"  and  called  attention  "to  the  fact  that  these  communi- 
cations should  be  presented  through  established  diplomatic 
channels,  rather  than  by  direct  radio  communication." 

That  the  food  situation  might  be  properly  handled,   Mr. 
Hoover  was  now  dispatched  to  take  it  in  charge,  and  sailed 


232     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

from  New  York  on  November  16.  On  the  eve  of  departure, 
he  took  pains  to  explain  that  the  belief,  that  our  people  would 
have  to  skimp  themselves  in  order  that  the  German  people 
might  have  food,  was  a  mistaken  idea.  Germany,  Austria- 
Hungary,  Bulgaria,  Turkey,  would  be  required  to  pay  in  gold 
for  whatever  food  they  received.  Nor  were  the  needs  of  Ger- 
many as  great  as  her  "bread  appeals"  asserted.  She  had  enough 
food,  if  her  war  rationing  were  continued,  to  have  gone  on  fight- 
ing until  next  harvest.  Her  crops  had  not  been  failures. 

"We  are  not  worrying  about  Germany,"  said  Mr.  Hoover, 
when  about  to  sail.  "She  can  take  care  of  herself.  We  are 
worrying  about  the  little  allies  who  have  been  under  the  Ger- 
man yoke.  They  are  faced  by  famine.  We  must  give  them 
help,  and  lose  no  time  in  doing  so."  He  was  going  to  Europe 
to  discuss  food  measures.  Of  the  four  hundred  and  twenty 
million  people  of  Europe  only  those  of  South  Kussia,  Hungary 
and  Denmark,  some  forty  millions,  had  food  enough  to  last 
until  the  next  harvest.  We  had  a  food  surplus  of  eighteen 
million  tons,  if  economical.  All  Europe  was  short  of  cattle  and 
fats,  but  had  enough  breadstuffs  and  vegetables  to  last,  under 
orderly  governments,  for  two  months,  and  more.  But  some 
two  hundred  million  people  were  in  social  disorder,  a  condi- 
tion which  led  peasants  to  cease  marketing,  and  left  the  supply 
of  the  cities  to  depend  on  the  restoration  of  order. 

From  such  accounts  as  came  to  us,  Bolshevism  seemed  to 
be  spreading  to  neutral  countries.  In  Holland,  Revolutionary 
Socialists,  even  in  the  Parliament,  were  demanding  the  abdi- 
cation of  the  Queen,  the  demobilization  of  the  army,  and  that 
the  troops  refuse  to  surrender  their  arms,  until  assured  of 
food  supplies  for  themselves  and  their  families.  Newspapers, 
in  Spain,  Norway,  Switzerland,  expressed  fear  of  the  spread 
of  the  Red  Flag  movement.  In  Sweden,  the  Independent  So- 
cialist journals  were  demanding  that  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Councils  be  everywhere  established,  the  army  demobilized,  and 
an  eight-hour  day  adopted. 

In  Germany,  the  old  thrones  were  rapidly  crumbling;  day 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       233 

after  day  some  ruling  house  went  down.  Prince  Leopold,  of 
Lippe-Detwold,  had  abdicated;  the  Grand  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Weimar  had  abdicated ;  King  Ludwig  III.  of  Bavaria  had  abdi- 
cated; the  King  of  Saxony  had  been  dethroned;  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Oldenburg  had  been  dethroned;  Hesse-Darmstadt 
had  become  a  Socialist  republic;  and  the  Emperor  Charles,  of 
Austria,  had  ceased  to  rule,  and  on  November  11  announced 
his  abdication.  Ever  since  his  accession,  he  said,  he  had  labored 
for  peace ;  had  not  delayed  the  reestablishment  of  the  Constitu- 
tional rights  of  his  people;  and,  "filled  with  an  unalterable 
love"  for  them,  would  not  be  a  hindrance  to  their  free  develop- 
ment, and  acknowledged  the  decision  by  German  Austria  to 
form  a  separate  State.  "The  people,  by  its  deputies,  have  taken 
charge  of  the  government.  I  relinquish  every  participation 
in  the  administration  of  the  State." 

One  by  one,  the  old  rulers  continued  to  abandon  their  thrones. 
By  the  middle  of  November,  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg,  and 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  had  abdicated ;  Saxe- 
Meiningen,  and  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  had  declared  them- 
selves republics,  and  the  Duchess  of  Luxemburg  had  expressed 
her  willingness  to  abdicate,  if  her  people  by  a  general  vote, 
so  demanded. 

Until  the  new  government  was  formed,  in  Germany,  all 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  three  Socialists,  Ebert,  Scheide- 
mann  and  Landsberg.  When  formed,  the  new  Provisional 
Government  would  consist,  it  was  said,  of  members  of  both 
sections  of  the  Socialist  Party.  Then  would  come  the  election 
of  an  Assembly  which  would  determine  the  permanent  form 
of  Government.  The  Provisional  Government  as  finally  set  up, 
at  Berlin,  consisted  of  three  majority,  and  three  minority 
Socialists. 

The  intention  of  these  new  rulers  was,  to  fix  some  date 
in  January,  1919,  for  elections  of  members  of  a  General  As- 
sembly ;  but  the  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  Council  met,  declared 
against  an  Assembly,  and  for  a  general  Soldiers'  and  Work- 
men's Congress  to  decide  "as  to  the  future  of  Germany,"  and 


234,     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  government  by  telegraph  invited  the  heads  of  the  govern- 
ments, of  the  different  German  States,  to  a  conference  at  Ber- 
lin, on  November  25.  Meantime,  the  returning  soldiers  ex- 
pressed their  opinions.  The  Bavarian  Reserve  Division  called 
for  a  National  Assembly,  had  nothing  in  common  with  the 
Berlin  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  resolution,  and  believed  the 
existing  Government  would  give  them  a  share  in  the  solution 
of  the  problems  before  the  German  people.  The  Soldiers'  Com- 
mittee, of  the  Fourth  Army,  were  opposed  to  any  form  of 
dictatorship,  and  for  a  National  Assembly.  The  government 
of  Saxony  was  for  the  abolition  of  the  old  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, and  for  the  union  of  the  Saxon  and  German  people  in  a 
Republic,  including  German  Austria.  Bavaria  was  reported 
to  have  a  sent  a  note  to  Berlin,  stating  that,  if  the  extremists, 
the  Spartacus  group,  continued  to  strive  for  national  authority^ 
and  if  the  Assembly  was  not  called  at  once,  Bavaria,  with  all 
south  Germany,  would  declare  a  republic,  and  make  a  sepa- 
rate peace.  An  agreement  was  finally  reached,  between  the 
Government  and  the  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  Council,  that 
political  power  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  German  Socialist- 
Republic  and  the  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  Council;  that  they 
should  "defend  and  develop"  what  had  been  won  by  the  revo- 
lution, and  "suppress  all  counter-revolutionary"  movements; 
that  until  representatives  of  the  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's 
Council  were  elected  to  an  executive  council  of  the  German 
Republic,  the  executive  council,  in  Berlin,  should  go  on  with 
its  work;  and  that  a  convention  of  deputies,  drawn  from  the 
Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  Council,  was  to  be  summoned  as  soon 
as  possible.  A  meeting  of  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  deputies 
from  Bremen,  Hanover,  Hamburg,  Flensburg,  Wilhelmshaven, 
and  other  towns  in  Hanover  and  Schleswig-Holstein,  resolved 
to  support  the  Government,  and  called  for  a  National  Assembly. 
Representatives  of  the  Tenth  Army  Corps  at  Hanover  did  the 
same,  and  at  an  election,  in  Dresden,  for  members  of  the 
Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  Council  of  fifty,  the  extremists  were 
overwhelmingly  defeated. 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       235 

That  an  Assembly  should  be  called,  was  the  wish  of  the 
Federal  Conference,  but  as  to  when  it  should  meet,  the  Social- 
ists were  divided.  The  Majority  was  for  a  meeting  at  as  early 
a  day  as  possible.  The  Independent  Socialists  were  for  delay 
until  the  German  prisoners  had  returned,  and  been  given  a 
chance  to  vote;  until  the  soldiers  had  returned  and  become 
familiar  with  the  political  situation;  until  the  ground  gained 
by  the  revolution  had  been  made  secure  by  certain  Socialistic 
reforms,  carried  through  while  the  proletariat  still  had  the 
power  in  their  hands.  All  these  things  required  the  meeting 
of  the  Assembly  to  be  postponed  until  after  February.  In  this 
position  they  were  supported  by  the  Spartacus  group. 

Telegrams  from  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  Councils  in  many 
parts  of  Germany,  to  the  Council,  at  Berlin,  now  demanded 
immediate  elections  for  a  National  Assembly,  whereupon  the 
Executive  Committee  issued  a  call  to  all  other  Councils  to  send 
delegates  to  a  general  meeting,  at  Berlin,  on  December  16.  The 
Council  of  the  People's  Commissioners  then  fixed  February  16 
for  the  election  of  members  of  the  National  Assembly  and 
parted  the  old  Empire  into  twenty-eight  electoral  districts  with 
from  six  to  sixteen  representatives  each,  provided  the  Soldiers' 
and  Workmen's  Congress  approved  when  it  met,  on  Decem- 
ber 16. 

On  the  appointed  day  some  four  hundred  and  fifty  delegates, 
three  of  whom  were  women,  met  in  the  building  in  which  the 
Prussian  Diet  used  to  sit.  Again  and  again,  in  the  course  of 
its  sessions,  attempts  were  made  by  the  Spartacides  and  Inde- 
pendents to  intimidate  the  Congress,  if  not  disrupt  it. 

Despite  these  intrusions  and  the  excitement,  tumult,  and 
hindrance  they  caused,  the  Congress  went  on  with  its  work, 
and  before  it  adjourned,  on  December  21,  adopted  resolutions 
to  place  legislative  and  executive  powers  in  the  People's  Com- 
missioners, or  the  Ebert  Government,  until  the  National  As- 
sembly ordered  otherwise ;  to  appoint  a  Central  Council  to  exer- 
cise supervision  over  German  and  Prussian  Cabinets,  and  ap- 
point and  remove  members;  elected  a  new  National  Central 


236     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Executive  Committee  of  twenty-seven,  and  ordered  that  election 
of  members  of  a  National  Assembly  be  held  on  January  19, 
1919. 

At  home,  the  signing  of  the  armistice  was  at  once  followed 
by  preparation  for  a  speedy  return  to  a  peace  basis.  AJI  order 
from  the  Secretary  of  War  cancelled  a  draft  call  for  more 
than  three  hundred  thousand  men.  Draft  boards  were  in- 
structed, by  General  Crowder,  to  stop  the  movement  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  to  training  camps  between 
November  11  and  15;  and  all  questionnaires  were  to  be  re- 
turned. Most  of  the  boards  were  notified  in  time ;  but  here  and 
there  men  had  already  started,  and  were  called  back.  At  New 
York  City,  where  five  thousand  were  to  mobilize  early  on  the 
morning  of  November  11,  seventeen  hundred  were  on  board 
a  special  train  for  Camp  Totten  when  the  orders  came,  just 
two  minutes  before  departure.  Supposing  sea  travel  would 
be  immediately  resumed,  hundreds  of  aliens,  men  and  women, 
Russians,  Hungarians,  Austrians,  Italians,  Greeks,  anxious  to 
know  the  fate  of  relatives  at  home,  besieged  the  passport  office, 
and  thronged  the  steamship  agencies,  offering  to  deposit  money 
for  berths  on  the  first  vessels  to  leave  port.  Agents  of  the  neu- 
tral lines  would  not  relax  their  war  regulations,  nor  could  those 
of  the  Allied  nations.  The  Food  Administrator  took  off  his 
restrictions  on  the  use  of  wheat  flour;  abolished  the  require- 
ment to  use  substitutes;  and  raised  the  monthly  allowance  of 
sugar  to  four  pounds  per  person,  after  December  1.  News- 
papers were  authorized  to  lift  their  voluntary  restriction  not  to 
report  the  arrival  or  departure  of  vessels  at  American  ports, 
nor  publish  any  shipping  news,  and  many  industries  were  freed 
from  the  limitations  imposed  on  peace  time  production  by  the 
War  Industries  Board. 

Five  hundred  and  more  universities  and  colleges,  which 
had  dropped  their  academic  work  to  train  units  of  the  Student 
Army  Training  Corps,  were  notified  that  the  Corps  would 
speedily  be  disbanded ;  that  members  of  the  Corps  who,  having 
left  business,  wished  to  return  to  their  old  places,  or  intended 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       237 

to  go  on  with  their  academic  work,  would  soon  be  at  liberty 
to  do  so,  and  that  the  institutions  would  be  compensated  only 
for  services  actually  rendered,  and  not  for  the  uncompleted 
term  of  instruction  called  for  in  the  contracts. 

By  this  time  the  victorious  armies  of  the  Allies  and  the 
United  States  were  on  their  way  to  the  Rhine.  At  half  past 
five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  November  17,  the 
Third  American  Army,  consisting  of  the  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  4th, 
5th,  32nd,  42nd,  89th  and  90th  divisions,  the  Army  of  Occu- 
pation, began  its  march  northeastward  along  a  front  of  some 
fifty  miles,  stretching  from  Mauzon,  on  the  Meuse  just  below 
Sedan,  southeastward  to  Stenay,  Damvillers,  Freres  and  Thiau- 
court,  flanked  on  the  left  by  the  French  Fifth  Army,  and  on  the 
right  by  the  French  Tenth,  and  by  Monday  night  the  Belgian 
border  was  crossed,  and  Etalle,  St.  Leger,  Longwy,  Audun- 
le-Roman  and  Briey  had  been  reached. 

As  the  army  advanced,  the  front  was  more  and  more  con- 
tracted, and  vigilance  was  never  for  a  moment  relaxed.  No 
signs  of  German  treachery,  however,  were  seen.  Scattered  over 
the  countryside  were  the  implements  of  war  the  Germans  had 
failed  to  carry  away.  The  streets  of  nearly  every  village  were 
littered  with  guns,  helmets,  belts,  and  here  and  there  large  guns 
and  trucks.  Along  the  way  the  advancing  troops  were  greeted 
by  thousands  on  thousands  of  men,  women  and  children, 
hungry,  half-clad  refugees,  civilian  prisoners  seeking  their  old 
homes.  At  Languyon  the  stores  of  ammunition  were  little 
impaired,  the  machine  shops  were  in  good  condition,  the  loco- 
motives and  cars  were  left  intact,  and  the  roads  were  not  dam- 
aged. The  Americans  were  now  in  a  country  which  during 
four  years  had  not  been  the  scene  of  war,  where  the  towns  had 
not  been  torn  or  destroyed  by  shells,  and  where  the  people  had 
suffered  only  from  the  rigor  of  German  rule.  Scores  of  French 
and  American  prisoners,  turned  loose  by  their  captors,  and 
left  without  food,  came  within  the  lines,  all  showing  signs  of 
scanty  rations  and  hard  work.  Thousands  of  Russians,  brought 
by  the  Germans  to  work  behind  their  lines,  were  also  sent  in 


238     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

only  to  be  turned  back,  for  none  save  prisoners  of  the  allied 
armies  that  had  fought  on  the  western  front  were  allowed  to 
be  received. 

November  20  the  German  border  was  crossed  and  that  of 
the  Duchy  of  Luxemburg,  and  at  night  the  army  rested  in 
three  countries,  Belgium,  Luxemburg  and  Lorraine.  The 
march  across  the  Grand  Duchy  was  a  triumphal  procession. 
Cheering  people,  flag-decked  streets,  were  in  every  village 
through  which  the  troops  passed.  N"owhere,  however,  was  the 
greeting  so  sincere  and  hearty  as  in  Belgium,  and  nowhere  in 
Belgium  more  hearty  than  in  the  city  of  Arlon.  Along  its 
streets  were  little  trees  decked  with  tinsel  and  lanterns;  ban- 
ners and  placards  inscribed :  "Hail !  Generous  Americans" ; 
and  American  flags,  some  painted  on  paper,  and  others  home- 
made. On  the  21st  the  City  of  Luxemburg  was  reached.  Be- 
fore entering  it  General  Pershing,  by  proclamation,  assured  the 
people  that  the  army  came  as  friends,  would  stay  no  longer 
than  was  necessary,  and  would  carefully  observe  the  require- 
ments of  international  law.  Much  the  greater  part  of  the 
troops  did  not  enter,  but  went  around  the  city.  A  few,  with 
General  Pershing  at  their  head,  entered,  marched  along  streets 
gay  with  flags,  were  heartily  received,  and  reviewed  by  the 
Grand  Duchess  and  General  Pershing.  The  proclamation 
reads : 

After  the  four  years  of  violation  of  your  territory,  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Luxemburg  has  happily  been  liberated.  Your  liberation 
from  German  occupation  has  been  demanded  of  \the  invaders,  by 
the  armies  of  the  Americans,  and  the  Allies,  as  one  of  the  conditions 
of  the  present  armistice.  It  becomes  necessary  now  for  the  Ameri- 
can troops  to  pass  through  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxemburg,  and  to 
establish  and  maintain  there,  for  a  certain  time,  their  lines  of  com- 
munication. 

The  American  troops  have  come  into  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxem- 
burg as  friends,  and  shall  rigorously  conduct  themselves  according 
to  international  law.  Their  presence,  which  shall  not  be  prolonged 
more  than  shall  be  strictly  necessary,  should  not  be  for  you  a 
hardship.  The  functioning  of  your  Government,  and  your  institu- 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       239 

tions,  shall  not  be  interfered  with  in  any  manner.  Your  life,  and 
your  occupations,  shall  not  be  molested.  Your  persons,  and  your 
welfare,  shall  be  respected. 

It  will  be  necessary  for  the  American  Army  to  use  certain  things, 
railroads,  telegraphs,  and  telephones,  and,  perhaps,  other  public  estab- 
lishments, for  the  needs  of  lodging  and  transport;  furthermore,  the 
commodities  which  become  necessary  for  us  shall  be  paid  for,  after 
just  estimates. 

It  is  presumed  you  will  not  permit  any  acts  of  aggression  against 
the  American  Army,  or  give  any  information,  or  aid  to,  its  enemy. 
You  will  always  conform  to  the  instructions  that  the  American  Com- 
mander, for  the  safety  of  his  troops  and  your  proper  protection,  may 
give. 

Wh'en  the  German  border  was  reached,  along  the  Sauer  and 
Moselle,  the  army  halted.  Sunday,  December  1,  the  Moselle 
and  the  Sauer  were  crossed ;  the  march  across  Germany  to  the 
Rhine  was  begun,  and  the  city  of  Treves  was  entered.  As  was 
to  be  expected,  the  reception  of  our  troops  was  cold  and  chill- 
ing. ISTo  flags,  no  friendly  greetings,  such  as  had  attended  their 
progress  across  Luxemburg,  Belgium  and  Lorraine,  met  them; 
but  no  hostility  was  anywhere  shown.  In  stolid  silence  the  Ger- 
mans witnessed  the  conquerors  pass  along  their  streets  to  quar- 
ters in  the  barracks;  nor  was  any  bitterness  manifested  later, 
as  our  soldiers  strolled  about  the  city,  and  entered  the  shops 
and  restaurants.  Headquarters  was  established;  the  Soviet 
guards,  with  white  bands  on  their  arms,  were  replaced  by 
American  soldiers,  and  General  Preston  Brown  was  made  Mili- 
tary Governor. 

Leaving  a  garrison  of  some  thirty-five  hundred  men  in 
Treves,  the  army  pushed  on,  and  by  Saturday,  December  7, 
had  come  within  twenty  miles  of  the  Rhine.  The  last  of  the 
German  forces  were  to  cross  the  river  on  the  eighth;  but,  ere 
they  did,  a  request  came  from  the  German  command  for  Ameri- 
can troops  to  act  as  a  police  force  in  Coblenz,  lest  there  be  dis- 
orders between  the  withdrawal  of  the  Germans  and  the  arrival 
of  the  army  of  occupation.  A  battalion  was  at  once  sent  on 
from  Treves,  by  train,  and  entered  Coblenz,  and  quietly  took 


240     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

over  control  of  the  city.  As  our  troops  marched  slowly  across 
German  territory  no  disturbances  of  any  kind  occurred,  nor 
were  there  any  signs  of  lack  of  food,  or  of  the  necessities  of  life. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  December,  three  divisions  of  our  Army 
of  Occupation  crossed  the  Rhine,  entered  Coblenz,  and  began 
to  take  over  the  bridgehead,  at  that  city,  as  provided  in  the 
armistice.  This  bridgehead  was  enclosed  by  a  semi-circle  drawn 
around  Coblenz,  with  the  Rhine  as  the  diameter,  and  a  radius 
of  thirty  kilometers.  Outside  of  it  was  the  ten-kilometer  neu- 
tral zone  drawn  from  the  Netherlands  to  Switzerland.  No 
Allied  troops  were  to  occupy  this  neutral  zone,  but  the  day 
Cologne,  Coblenz  and  Mainz  were  occupied  by  the  Allies,  the 
armistice,  which  was  to  expire  on  December  17,  was  extended 
to  January  17,  1919,  and  a  new  condition  added.  The  Supreme 
Command  of  the  Allies  reserved  the  right,  should  it  be  neces- 
sary in  order  to  obtain  further  guarantees,  to  occupy  the  neu- 
tral zone  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine  from  the  Cologne 
bridgehead  to  the  Dutch  border. 

While  the  German  commanders  were  thus  carrying  out  the 
terms  of  the  armistice,  as  they  related  to  the  forces  on  land, 
the  naval  commanders  were  doing  the  same  on  the  sea.  Details 
for  the  surrender  of  the  surface  ships,  and  submarines,  hav- 
ing been  arranged,  at  a  meeting  of  the  officers  of  the  British 
and  German  navies  in  the  cabin  of  Vice  Admiral  Beatty's 
flagship,  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  the  Firth  of  Forth,  on  the  eve- 
ning of  Saturday,  November  16.  In  accordance  with  the  ar- 
rangements then  made  a  squadron  of  five  British  cruisers  and 
twenty  destroyers  left  Harwick,  in  the  early  hours  of  the 
morning  of  the  twentieth,  and  some  thirty  miles  off  that  port 
were  met  by  twenty  German  submarines  moving  on  the  sur- 
face with  hatches  open,  crews  on  deck,  guns  pointed  fore  and 
aft,  numbers  obliterated,  and  no  flag  flying.  Headed  by  a 
British  destroyer,  the  IT-boats  followed  to  a  spot  some  twenty 
miles  off  Harwick,  where  the  German  crews  were  replaced  by 
British,  and  taken  to  German  destroyers  waiting  to  carry  them 
back  to  the  port  whence  they  came.  As  the  surrendered  sub- 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       241 

marines  passed  through  the  gates  in  the  mine  field,  a  white 
flag,  with  the  German  ensign  underneath,  was  run  up  on  each, 
and  an  ever  memorable  event  in  England's  naval  history  was 
ended. 

Far  greater  in  importance  was  the  event  which  occurred  on 
November  21,  when,  in  the  presence  of  the  British  Grand 
Fleet,  an  American  squadron  and  French  cruisers,  some  four 
hundred  warships  in  all,  the  German  High  Seas  Fleet  of 
twenty-one  warships,  and  fifty  destroyers,  surrendered  to  Vice 
Admiral  Beatty  and,  escorted  by  the  allied  fleets,  were  taken 
to  the  Firth  of  Forth,  on  their  way  to  be  interned  in  the 
Orkney  Islands.  That  same  day,  another  flotilla  of  nineteen 
submarines  passed  to  British  hands.  The  twentieth  was  dis- 
abled. On  the  following  day,  twenty-one  were  to  be  delivered, 
but  only  twenty  came,  for  one  sank  at  sea.  Fifty-nine  were 
thus  surrendered.  Among  them  was  one  which  raided  our 
coast  early  in  the  year.  Twenty-eight,  making  eighty-seven  in 
all,  surrendered  on  the  24th.  Among  these  was  the  Deutsch- 
l&nd,  or  U-153,  which  twice  visited  our  country  in  1916  as  a 
merchantman.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  number  of  sub- 
marines given  up  was  122. 

The  armistice  arranged,  the  thoughts  of  the  warring  powers 
turned  to  peace.  From  Herr  Solf ,  German  Secretary  of  State 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  came,  by  wireless,  to  Secretary  Lansing, 
a  request  for  a  speedy  conclusion  of  a  preliminary  peace.  "The 
armistice  being  now  concluded,"  he  said,  "the  German  Govern- 
ment requests  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  arrange 
for  the  opening  of  peace  negotiations.  For  the  purpose  of  their 
acceleration  the  German  Government  proposes,  first  of  all,  to 
take  in  view  the  conclusion  of  a  preliminary  peace,  and  asks 
for  a  communication  as  to  what  place,  and  at  what  time,  the 
negotiations  might  begin.  As  there  is  pressing  danger  of  a 
famine,  the  German  Government  is  particularly,  anxious  for 
negotiations  to  begin  immediately. " 

The  Allies  had  no  intention  of  discussing  peace  with  Ger- 
many. It  was  for  them  to  fix  the  terms,  and  for  Germany  to 


242     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

accept.  A  Peace  Conference,  it  was  announced,  would  be  held 
at  Paris,  or  Versailles,  or  perhaps  at  Berne,  the  details  of  which 
would  be  arranged,  at  an  inter-allied  conference  by  Premier 
Lloyd  George,  Foreign  Secretary  Andrew  Bonar  Law,  Premier 
Orlando,  and  Foreign  Minister  Sonnino  of  Italy,  Premier 
Venizelos  of  Greece,  and  Foreign  Minister  Pachitch  of  Serbia, 
already  on  their  way  to  Paris,  and  Mr.  House,  special  repre^- 
sentative  of  the  United  States.  November  15,  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  Premiers  was  held,  and  three  days  later  it  was 
officially  announced  that  President  Wilson  would  attend  the 
Interallied  Conference,  and  the  Peace  Conference  when  it  met, 
and  would  leave  the  United  States  immediately  after  the  as- 
sembling of  Congress. 

The  first  intimation  that  the  President  would  attend  the 
Peace  Conference  was  a  rumor  spread  abroad,  in  Washington, 
that  he  was  going,  and  would  preside  at  the  peace  table.  Had 
not  Germany  appealed  to  him  to  speed  the  work  of  succor? 
Had  he  not  been  the  first  to  lay  down  the  principles  to  form 
the  basis  for  an  enduring  peace?  Had  not  Germany,  and 
Austria,  already  expressly  accepted  these  principles  ?  Had  not 
the  Allies,  in  agreeing  to  an  armistice,  declared  their  willing- 
ness to  discuss  peace  on  the  terms  laid  down  by  President 
Wilson?  The  only  changes  they  made  were,  with  regard  to 
the  freedom  of  the  seas,  and  the  reconstruction  of  invaded 
territories.  Washington  was  sure  that  an  invitation  would 
soon  come  from  the  Allies,  not  only  to  attend,  but  to  preside 
over  the  conference. 

Objection  was  at  once  raised,  that  Congress  would  be  in 
session  during  his  absence;  that  important  bills  would  be 
passed;  that  the  Constitution  required  that  every  bill  "shall, 
before  it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President";  that 
if  he  approves  "he  shall  sign  it" ;  that  if  he  does  not  he  "shall 
return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  the  House  in  which  it  shall 
have  originated" ;  and  that,  if  he  does  neither  of  these  acts 
"within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been 
presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law."  How  could  these 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       243 

requirements  be  observed  if  the  President  went  abroad?  The 
answer  was,  by  a  gentlemen's  agreement  important  bills  may 
not  be  passed  until  he  returns;  unimportant  ones  may  become 
laws  without  his  signature.  This  ignored  the  requirement  that 
"before  it  becomes  a  law"  a  bill  must  "be  presented  to  the 
President." 

All  doubt  as  to  the  President's  intentions  were  put  at  rest 
when,  on  November  18,  an  official  statement  was  made  public 
by  the  Committee  on  Public  Information. 

The  President  expects  to  sail  for  France,  immediately  after  the 
opening  of  the  regular  session  of  Congress,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
part  in  the  discussion,  and  settlement,  of  the  main  features  of  the 
treaty  of  peace. 

It  is  not  likely  that  it  will  be  possible  for  him  to  remain  through- 
out the  sessions  of  the  formal  peace  conference,  but  his  presence  at 
the  outset  is  necessary,  in  order  to  obviate  the  manifest  disadvantages 
of  discussion  by  cable  in  determining  the  greater  outlines  of  the 
final  treaty  about  which  he  must  necessarily  be  consulted. 

He  will,  of  course,  be  accompanied  by  delegates  who  will  sit  as 
the  representatives  of  the  United  States  throughout  the  conference. 

The  names  of  the  delegates  will  be  presently  announced. 

On  the  expediency  of  this  step,  the  press  of  the  country  was 
sharply  divided.  One  journal  called  the  President's  decision  to 
go  abroad  a  grave  error  in  judgment.  It  was  unseemly  "that 
we  should  have,  at  the  conference,  a  representative  outrank- 
ing in  official  position  any  other  man  there  present."  Another 
believed  that,  if  the  President  went  as  a  delegate,  our  country 
would,  sooner  or  later,  be  accused  of  seeking  to  dominate  the 
conference,  and  of  wishing  to  impose  our  will  on  the  rest  of 
the  earth.  Though  other  Allied  Governments  might  yield  with 
an  outward  grace,  his  act  would  rankle.  A  third  was  sure  his 
going  would  be  regretted  throughout  the  land.  His  evident 
purpose  was  to  place  himself  where  his  views  could  be  readily 
impressed  on  the  conference ;  but  where  in  the  world  was  there 
a  rostrum  for  such  expression  equal  to  that  in  the  Hall  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  in  the  presence  of  the  representatives 


244     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  a  hundred  million  people?  True,  the  belligerents,  said  an- 
other journal,  are  all  under  obligations  to  us  for  food,  for  bil- 
lions of  dollars,  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  splendid  fighting 
men.  But  if  we  cannot  call  ourselves  an  ally,  we  cannot  have 
much  to  say  concerning  the  future  map  of  Europe. 

Journals,  holding  the  opposite  view,  admitted  that  it  was 
unprecedented  for  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  cross 
the  seas,  but  so  also  was  it  unprecedented  to  send  two  million 
of  our  boys  to  fight  in  France.  The  peace  conference  was 
unprecedented.  It  marked  a  new  epoch  in  the  political  history 
of  the  world,  and  the  presence  of  the  man  who  formulated  the 
principles  on  which  peace  must  be  made  was  most  desirable. 

The  Senate,  as  the  body  before  which  our  treaties  of  peace 
must  come  for  approval,  was  much  concerned  by  the  President's 
decision.  Some  Senators  approved ;  thought  it  wise  for  him  to 
go ;  and  were  glad  he  was  going.  Others  were  not  at  all  pleased, 
and  looked  with  dread  on  his  absence  for  an  indefinite  time, 
and  on  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  by  cable  and  wireless. 

nAt  this  stage  of  the  discussion  a  proclamation,  dated  Novem- 
>er  2,  and  more  than  two  weeks  old,  was  made  public  for  the 
first  time.  In  it,  the  President  announced  that,  "whereas  it  is 
deemed  necessary  for  national  security  and  defense  to  super- 
vise, and  to  take  possession,  and  assume  control  of,  all  marine 
cable  systems,"  therefore,  they  were  taken  possession  of,  and 
their  management  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Postmaster  Gen- 
eral. This  sweeping  order  applied  not  only  to  the  seventeen 
cables  across  the  Atlantic,  but  to  those  across  the  Pacific,  those 
to  South  America,  to  anywhere.  Taking  over  the  cables,  after 
fighting  had  ceased  abroad,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Creel,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Information,  was 
to  attend  the  Peace  Conference,  gave  origin  to  a  charge  that  a 
censorship  of  reports  of  its  doings  was  to  be  established.  The 
President,  it  was  said,  might  order  all  members  of  the  Ameri- 
can delegation  not  to  discuss  the  work  of  the  Conference  with 
newspapermen,  but  refer  all  inquiries  to  Mr.  Creel,  and  so 
determine  just  what  news  should  reach  our  country.  All 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       245 

thought  of  such  a  thing  was  vehemently  denied.  Mr.  Creel 
pointed  out  that,  on  November  14,  the  newspapers  had  been 
relieved  of  their  voluntary  ban  on  the  publication  of  shipping 
news;  that  on  the  15th,  all  censorship  of  the  cables  and  mails 
had  ceased,  and  that  no  press  censorship,  of  any  kind,  existed 
in  the  United  States.  His  work  in  Europe  would  have  no  con- 
nection with  the  control  of  cables,  censorship,  or  supervision 
over  the  press.  The  answer  was  that  it  would  be  an  easy  matter 
to  stop  unfriendly  dispatches  by  placing  them  at  the  end  of  the 
file.  It  was  certain  the  cables  would  be  crowded;  that  some 
sort  of  priority  would  have  to  be  established;  and  that,  by 
placing  unfriendly  dispatches  at  the  end  of  the  file,  they  might 
reach  New  York  too  late  for  publication,  and  become  worthless.  ! 
Turning  from  the  act  of  the  President  in  taking  over  the"*"" 
cables,  to  his  approaching  departure  for  France,  his  opponents 
now  raised  a  new  issue.  Would  he  not,  if  he  went,  cease  to  be 
President,  and  would  not  the  Vice-President  become  President 
while  he  was  away?  It  was  said,  the  Constitution  provides 
that  in  case  of  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  death, 
resignation  or  "inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of 
said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President."  Were 
there  any  duties  which  his  absence  would  create  an  "inability" 
to  perform?  There  are,  was  the  answer.  There  are  two  im- 
portant duties,  it  was  claimed,  which  the  President  has  to 
perform  when  Congress  is  in  session.  He  must,  from  time  to 
time,  "give  to  Congress  information  of  the  state  of  the  Union, 
and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall 
judge  necessary  and  expedient,"  and  he  must  consider  bills 
passed  by  Congress,  approve  them,  or  veto  them,  or  allow  them 
to  become  laws  without  his  signature ;  and  so,  also,  must  every 
order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence  of  both 
Houses  is  required,  be  presented  to  him  before  it  can  go  into 
effect.  If  he  is  not  in  the  country  he  cannot  properly  perform 
these  duties,  and  this  constitutes  "inability"  within  the  meaning 
of  the  Constitution,  and  his  office  devolves  on  the  Vice-President, 
and  justifies  him  in  assuming  the  office.  Should  there  be  any 


246     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

doubt  as  to  how  the  Vice-President  should  proceed  to  assume 
the  office,  a  mandamus  might  be  used,  or  a  joint  resolution  of 
Congress  would  be  sufficient.  When  the  Vice-President  was 
questioned  on  these  points  he  declared  he  would  not,  of  his  own 
volition,  assume  the  office  during  the  absence  of  the  President, 
but  would  feel  compelled  to  do  so  if  a  court,  having  proper 
jurisdiction,  should  mandamus  him.  He  could  not  say  what  he 
would  do  if  Congress  should  call  on  him  to  act. 

Discussion  was  of  no  avail.  The  matter  was  settled.  The 
President  would  sail,  on  December  3,  on  the  transport  George 
Washington,  and  public  interest  turned  to  guessing  who  the 
delegates  would  be.  According  to  an  unofficial  announcement 
they  would  be:  The  President,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Colonel  Edward  House,  and  repre- 
senting the  Republicans,  Mr.  Henry  White,  formerly  ambassa- 
dor to  France.  An  official  announcement  confirmed  this  state- 
ment save  that  not  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  but  General 
Tasker  H.  Bliss,  was  the  fifth  representative.  Failure  of  the 
President  to  take  Congress  into  his  confidence,  failure  to  reveal 
to  any  member  of  his  party  reasons  for  his  European  trip, 
failure  to  appoint  at  least  one  Senator  on  the  commission,  were 
further  causes  of  irritation.  If  he  felt  that  his  presence  was 
really  needed  at  the  peace  table,  at  a  time  when  Congress  was 
about  to  begin  important  reconstruction  legislation,  he  ought, 
it  was  said,  to  have  taken  Congress  into  his  confidence  that  his 
views  on  such  legislation  might  be  known.  But  not  a  word  had 
be  uttered  to  a  soul  as  to  what  legislation  he  thought  necessary. 

In  no  amicable  state  of  mind,  therefore,  did  the  two  Houses, 
after  a  short  recess,  meet  at  the  opening  of  the  regular  session, 
on  December  2,  to  listen  to  the  annual  message.  Concerning 
the  three  matters  most  in  the  public  mind  at  that  time,  and  on 
which  it  was  hoped  he  would  make  definite  statements,  the 
seizure  of  the  cables,  why  he  was  going  abroad,  and  what  he 
expected  to  accomplish  there,  the  President  gave  little  satisfac- 
tion. At  his  request,  he  said,  the  French  and  English  Govern- 
ments had  removed,  absolutely,  all  censorship  of  cable  news, 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       247 

and  there  was  now  no  censorship  at  our  end,  save  on  attempted 
trade  communication  with  enemy  countries.  It  was  necessary 
to  keep  open  a  wire  between  Paris  and  the  Department  of  State, 
and  another  between  France  and  the  Department  of  War.  In 
order  to  do  this,  with  the  least  interference  with  the  use  of 
cables  for  other  purposes,  he  had  temporarily  taken  over  control 
of  both  cables  that  they  might  be  used  as  one  system.  He  did 
this  under  the  advice  of  experienced  officials  of  the  cables,  and 
he  hoped  that  the  news  of  the  next  few  months  would  pass  to 
and  fro  with  the  utmost  freedom,  and  the  least  possible  delay. 
The  President  "welcomed  this  occasion  to  announce  to  Con- 
gress" his  purpose  to  join  the  representatives  of  the  Allied 
Governments  in  the  peace  conference  at  Paris.  He  realized  the 
inconveniences  that  would  attend  his  leaving  the  country,  but 
the  belief  that  it  was  his  duty  to  go  had  been  forced  on  him  by 
considerations  which  he  hoped  Congress  would  regard  as 
conclusive. 

The  Allied  Governments  have  accepted  the  bases  of  peace  which 
I  outlined  to  the  Congress  on  the  8th  of  January  last,  as  the  Central 
Empires  also  have,  and  very  reasonably  desire  my  personal  counsel 
in  their  interpretation  and  application,  and  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  I  should  give  it,  in  order  that  the  sincere  desire  of  our  Govern- 
ment to  contribute,  without  selfish  purpose  of  any  kind,  to  settle- 
ments that  will  be  of  common  benefit  to  all  the  nations  concerned, 
may  be  made  fully  manifest. 

The  peace  settlements  which  are  now  to  be  agreed  upon  are  of 
transcendent  importance  both  to  us,  and  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and 
I  know  of  no  business  or  interest  which  should  take  precedence  of 
them.  The  gallant  men  of  our  armed  forces  on  land  and  sea  have 
consciously  fought  for  the  ideals  which  they  knew  to  be  the  ideals 
of  their  country;  I  have  sought  to  express  those  ideals;  they  have 
accepted  my  statements  of  them  as  the  substance  of  their  own 
thought  and  purpose,  as  the  associated  Governments  have  accepted 
them.  I  owe  it  to  them  to  see  to  it,  so  far  as  in  me  lies,  that  no 
false  or  mistaken  interpretation  is  put  upon  them,  and  no  possible 
effort  omitted  to  realize  them.  It  is  now  my  duty  to  play  my  full 
part  in  making  good  what  they  offered  their  life's  blood  to  obtain. 

I  can  think  of  no  call  to  service  which  could  transcend  this. 


248     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  two  resolutions  bearing  on  the 
absence  of  the  President,  and  his  failure  to  appoint  a  Senator 
a  delegate  to  the  Conference,  appeared  in  the  Senate.  One 
called  for  a  committee  of  eight  Senators,  four  from  the  majority 
and  four  from  the  minority,  to  be  present  at  the  Peace  Con- 
ference. The  other  declared  that  the  absence  of  the  President 
from  the  seat  of  government  should  be  construed  as  inability  to 
perform  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  that  they  should,  imme- 
diately on  the  departure  of  the  President,  devolve  on  the  Vice- 
President,  who  should  assume  and  exercise  them  until  a  Presi- 
dent "shall  be  duly  elected."  A  third  resolution,  almost  identi- 
cal in  language,  was  introduced  into  the  House.  It  differed, 
however,  in  that,  instead  of  legislating  the  President  out  of 
office,  it  provided  that  the  Vice-President  should  exercise  the 
office  of  President  until  Mr.  Wilson  returned  to  the  United 
States. 

On  the  following  day,  December  4,  the  Senators  went  back  to 
their  attack  on  the  President  and  his  policies.  One  declared 
that,  to  his  "own  knowledge,"  it  was  the  wish  of  the  President 
to  appoint  members  of  both  the  Senate  and  the  House  delegates 
to  the  Peace  Conference,  and  that  "not  until  close  investigation 
and  reflection  revealed  to  him  the  difficulties  that  undoubtedly 
would  confront  them,  was  he  compelled  to  dismiss  that  consid- 
eration." Nothing  was  said,  in  the  course  of  the  long  debate, 
concerning  the  President's  trip  abroad,  but  much  was  said  about 
a  League  of  Nations,  and  two  more  resolutions  were  offered. 
The  reasons  for  that  offered  by  Senator  Frelinghuysen  were, 
that  the  President  had  informed  Congress  that  the  Allied 
Powers  and  the  Central  Powers,  having  accepted  the  basis  for 
a  peace  as  outlined  in  his  speech  on  January  8,  1918,  it  was 
his  duty  to,  see  that  no  false  or  mistaken  interpretation  was  put 
on  it;  that  the  President  had  never  stated  his  own  interpreta- 
tion of  his  basis  for  a  peace ;  that  some  of  his  points,  especially 
those  relating  to  a  League  of  Nations  and  to  the  Freedom  of 
the  Seas,  admitted  of  various  interpretations,  some  of  which 
might  be  in  conflict  with  our  established  traditions.  Therefore, 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       249 

he  should  he  respectfully  requested  to  make  known  his  own 
interpretation  of  his  peace  terms,  as  stated  in  his  speech  of 
January  8,  1918,  "and  not  attempt  to  impose  such  interpreta- 
tion upon  the  international  conference  until  full  opportunity 
is  presented  to  the  American  public  to  hecome  acquainted  with 
the  same,  to  the  end  that  this  nation  may  not  he  committed  to 
policies  in  contravention  of  the  traditions  of  the  United  States." 
Another  resolution,  offered  hy  Senator  Borah,  had  to  do  with 
the  treaty  of  peace  when  it  came  before  the  Senate.  The  reasons 
for  this  resolution,  as  stated  in  the  preamble,  were:  That  the 
President  in  his  speech  on  January  8,  1918,  had  said  that  the 
first  requisite  to  a  durable  peace  was,  "open  covenants  openly 
arrived  at,  after  which  there  shall  be  no  private  international 
understandings  of  any  kind,  but  diplomacy  shall  proceed  always 
frankly  and  in  the  public  view" ;  that  this  was  a  clear  denuncia- 
tion of  secret  diplomacy,  the  chief  weapon  of  despotism,  and 
the  most  prolific  source  of  the  world's  disturbances;  that  no 
covenant  of  peace  could  be  binding  on  the  United  States,  save 
through  a  treaty  ratified  by  the  Senate;  and  that  the  people 
who  waged  and  won  the  war  in  behalf  of  democracy  were 
entitled  to  know,  in  advance  of  their  being  bound,  the  terms  of 
any  treaty  of  peace.  Therefore,  when  such  a  treaty  came  before 
the  Senate  it  should  at  once  be  made  public,  and  all  discussion 
relative  to  it  should  be  in  open  session.  Yet  another  resolution, 
offered  by  Senator  Borah,  after  citing  the  opinions  of  Wash- 
ington, Jefferson,  and  Monroe  on  entangling  alliances,  declared 
that  the  policies  thus  early  announced,  and  ever  since  adhered 
to,  had  greatly  contributed  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  our 
people;  that  any  material  departure  from  those  policies  would 
be  fraught  with  danger  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  our  people 
and,  it  might  be,  would  involve  us  in  controversies  with  other 
nations.  Therefore,  the  Senate  should  reaffirm  its  faith  in  the 
lasting  worth  and  wisdom  of  those  policies,  and  "seek  in  all 
matters  coming  before  it  touching  the  interest,  or  affairs  of 
foreign  countries,  to  conform  its  acts  to  these  time-honored 
principles,  so  long  and  so  happily  a  part  of  our  own  policy." 


250     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

While  the  Senators  thus  gave  vent  to  their  feelings,  the  Presi- 
dent set  sail  from  New  York  for  Brest.  On  the  morning  of 
December  4  he  boarded  the  United  States  transport  George 
Washington,  one  of  the  finest  vessels  of  the  old  German  mer- 
chant fleet,  and,  escorted  by  destroyers,  and  airplanes,  and  the 
superdreadnought  Pennsylvania,  and  greeted  by  salutes  and 
whistles,  and  the  cheers  of  thousands  gathered  along  the  water 
front  of  Manhattan  and  Staten  Island,  went  to  sea.  Across  the 
Atlantic  he  was  convoyed  by  the  Pennsylvania,  and  a  flotilla  of 
destroyers. 

The  President  having  left  the  country  without  definitely 
stating  what  should  be  done  at  the  coming  Peace  Conference, 
our  countrymen  turned  their  attention  to  the  statements  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Allies.  A  Parliamentary  election  was  under  way 
in  Great  Britain,  and  one  by  one  the  chiefs  of  the  parties 
explained  their  views  to  the  voters.  Lloyd  George  was  firm  for 
the  trial  and  punishment  of  every  man  responsible  in  any  way 
for  the  war,  however  high  his  rank,  and  pledged  himself  to  do 
his  best  to  see  full  justice  done.  "The  Kaiser/7  said  he,  "must 
be  prosecuted.  The  war  was  a  crime.  Who  doubts  that  ?"  It 
was  a  frightful,  terrible  crima  It  was  a  crime  in  the  way 
in  which  it  was  planned,  and  in  the  deliberate  wantonness  with 
which  it  was  provoked.  It  was  also  a  crime  in  the  invasion  of 
a  helpless  little  state,  and  in  the  wicked  and  most  brutal  treat- 
ment of  that  little  state.  Kemember  the  treaty  of  neutrality, 
"the  scrap  of  paper."  Is  no  one  responsible  ?  Is  no  one  to  be 
called  to  account  ?  Is  there  to  be  no  punishment  ?  Surely,  that 
is  neither  God's  justice  nor  man's.  The  men  responsible  for 
this  outrage  on  the  human  race  must  not  be  let  off  because  their 
heads  were  crowned  when  they  perpetrated  the  deed. 

The  British  Government  referred  the  question  of  the  criminal 
culpability  of  the  Kaiser  and  his  accomplices  to  their  law  officers 
some  weeks  ago.  They  invited  a  body  of  jurists  in  England  to 
investigate  the  matter,  and  they  have  unanimously  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Kaiser,  and  his  accomplices  in  the  making  of  this 
war,  ought  to  be  tried  by  an  international  court.  They  also  reported 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       251 

strongly  in  favor  of  the  punishment  of  those  guilty  of  murder  on  the 
high  seas,  and  the  abominable  ill-treatment  of  prisoners.  The  British 
Government  will  use  its  whole  influence  at  the  Peace  Conference  to 
see  that  justice  is  executed. 

Mr.  Balfour,  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  speak- 
ing at  Rochedale,  was  for  a  league  of  nations,  and  believed  it 
"the  greatest  work  of  the  conference."  He  did  not  think  the 
world  could  be  made  safe  for  democracy  "merely  by  multiply- 
ing the  number  of  democratic  states."  Passions,  sure  to  arise 
between  neighboring  democracies,  made  them  quite  as  prone  to 
strife  as  if  under  other  forms  of  government.  A  league  of 
nations  was  of  vital  importance,  if  the  war  was  to  produce  all 
the  good  expected  to  come  out  of  it,  and  the  United  States  must 
bear  a  large  share  of  the  work  such  a  league  would  involve.  Mr. 
Asquith  was  for  punishing  the  guilty.  "We  ought  to  insist  that 
justice  be  done,  and  that  not  only  the  forms,  but  the  spirit  of 
justice,  the  meting  out  to  the  wrongdoer  of  his  due,  not  less  and 
not  more,  should  be  scrupulously  observed."  Sir  Auckland 
Geddes,  speaking  in  Plymouth,  insisted  that  Germany  must  pay 
the  cost  of  war  in  such  gold  as  she  bad  and  in  such  material  as 
could  be  wrung  from  her,  and  pay  in  labor  for  restoring  such 
damage  as  she  wrought  in  France  and  Belgium,  and  should 
have  no  colonies  left  when  the  Allies  had  done  with  her. 

Viscount  Grey,  Foreign  Secretary,  when  the  war  began,  gave 
his  views  on  the  freedom  of  the  seas  and  the  League  of  Nations. 

I  think  it  is  a  great  pity  that  so  much  has  been  said  about 
the  freedom  of  the  seas  without  being  defined.  It  is  true  there  is 
considerable  prejudice  against  the  phrase,  largely  due  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  believed  to  be  a  German  phrase.  It  is  not  German,  but 
American.  It  was  made  in  the  United  States,  and  the  Germans 
adopted,  and  used  it,  for  their  own  purposes  in  a  sense  to  which  we 
have  never  agreed.  Hence  its  unpopularity.  But,  until  President 
Wilson  defines  it  and  comes  to  discuss  it  with  our  Government,  there 
is  no  need  to  anticipate  difficulty  about  an  agreement  "as  to  what  it 
means. 

Freedom  of  the  seas  in  times  of  peace?  If  so,  we  agree.  Wherever 
the  British  navy  has  been  in  position  to  exercise  its  influence  and 


252     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

power  on  the  seas  in  times  of  peace  it  has  exercised  that  influence 
impartially  for  the  freedom  of  the  seas  for  all  nations  without  dis- 
tinction. The  United  States,  I  think,  has  some  rule  forbidding 
foreign  ships  to  carry  goods  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Philippines.  Some  other  countries  have  rules  of  the  same  kind.  We 
never  had  a  regulation  like  that.  We  have  been  more  completely 
for  the  freedom  of  the  seas  in  times  of  peace  than  any  other  nation. 
However  great  our  sea  power  has  been,  we  have  used  it  for  impartial 
freedom  of  the  seas  for  every  other  nation  as  much  as  for  ourselves, 
and  I  think  we  ought  to  receive  a  little  more  recognition  than  we 
do  for  the  fact  that  we  have  never  used  British  naval  power  in  times 
of  peace  to  make  the  use  of  the  seas  easier  for  ourselves  without 
simultaneously  making  it  easier  for  others  on  the  same  terms. 

If  the  question  is  one  of  the  freedom  of  the  seas  in  times  of  war, 
then  I  would  say  this :  The  United  States,  as  we  all  most  gratefully 
recognize,  has  taken  part  in  the  last  two  years  of  the  war.  With- 
out the  United  States  we  could  not  have  had  the  success  the  Allies 
have  now  won.  I  cannot  emphasize  that  too  much  nor  express  too 
much  admiration  of  it.  But,  since  the  United  States  entered  the 
war  she  has  not  only  acquiesced,  but,  I  believe,  most  strongly  co- 
operated in  carrying  out  the  blockade  of  Germany.  In  the  early 
stages  of  the  war  the  blockade  was  "not  nearly  so  complete  because 
the  United  States  raised  many  questions  about  it,  but  in  the  later 
years  of  the  conflict  the  blockade  was  made  complete,  with  the  co- 
operation of  the  United  States.  Without  that  blockade  success  could 
not  have  been  won.  Indeed,  without  the  blockade,  Germany  might 
have  won. 

Suppose  this  situation  should  exist  again,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
suppose  that  the  United  States  would  say  that  the  blockade,  which 
was  so  essential  for  success,  should  not  be  allowed.  That  would 
stultify  everything  America  did  in  this  war.  It  would  really  be  an 
insult  to  the  United  States  to  suggest  that  she  would  in  future 
advocate  any  course,  in  a  war  such  as  this,  inconsistent  with  what 
she  did  in  this  war,  and  that  was  the  complete  blockade  of  an 
offending  nation.  If  this  be  so,  we  come  to  this,  that  probably  what 
is  in  President  Wilson's  mind  is,  that  freedom  of  the  seas  should  be 
secured  to  any  nation  observing  the  covenants  of  a  league  of  nations, 
and  should  be  denied  to  any  nation  breaking  those  covenants.  If 
that  is  so,  then  a  league  of  nations  is  the  solution  to  the  whole 
question,  and  cannot  be  discussed  apart  from  it. 

On  these  grounds,  I  believe,  there  may  be  complete  agreement 
between  the  two  countries  only  if  a  league  of  nations  is  formed. 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD        253 

I  do  not  see  why  this  country  should  not  accept  the  formula,  that 
if  a  league  of  nations  is  formed  there  is  to  be  complete  freedom 
of  the  seas  so  long  as  the  covenants  of  the  league  are  observed,  but 
if  the  covenants  are  broken  then  there  is  to  be  no  freedom  of  the 
seas,  and  every  means  are  to  be  used  against  the  power  which  has 
broken  them. 

If  reports  were  to  be  trusted,  the  Netherlands  Government 
would  gladly  be  rid  of  its  unbidden  guests,  and  if  pressed  by 
the  Allies  would  yield,  but  ere  it  did  so  would  urge  the  Allies 
to  be  content  with  the  internment  of  the  Kaiser,  and  his  son, 
on  some  island  in  the  East  or  "West  Indies,  where  they  would 
be  guarded  by  a  Dutch  fleet.  The  Crown  Prince  was  reported 
to  have  signed  a  paper  on  December  1,  renouncing  "formally 
and  definitely  all  rights  to  the  Crown  of  Prussia  and  the  Im- 
perial Crown,"  which  would  have  fallen  to  him  "by  the  renun- 
ciation of  the  Emperor-King,  or  for  other  reasons." 

Whether  he  did,  or  did  not,  renounce  his  claims  made  but 
little  difference  to  the  Allies,  for  they  were  fully  determined 
that  none  of  the  Hohenzollerns  should  ever  reign  again.  What 
concerned  them  most  was  the  setting  up,  in  Germany,  of  a 
stable  and  responsible  government,  with  which  they  could  deal 
in  making  peace.  No  signs  of  such  a  government  as  yet  ap- 
peared. Bavaria  was  insulting  and  defying  the  Berlin  govern- 
ment, and  demanding  the  resignation  of  Doctor  Solf.  The 
Cabinet  was  for  a  National  Assembly.  The  Executive  Council, 
of  twenty-seven,  of  the  Soldiers'  and  Workmen's  Council,  was 
for  a  Congress  of  Soldiers  and  Workmen.  The  Spartacides 
were  said  to  have  fifteen  thousand  well-armed  men,  and  might, 
at  any  time,  break  out  in  revolution.  Break  out  they  did,  and 
during  January,  1919,  there  were  riots  in  many  places;  and 
sharp  fighting  in  the  streets  of  Berlin,  during  which  the  two 
leaders  of  the  Spartacides,  Liebknecht  and  Kosa  Luxemburg, 
were  killed.  The  Provisional  Government,  however,  weathered 
all  attacks;  the  elections  for  the  Assembly  were  held  on  the 
appointed  day;  and  February  6  was  chosen  as  the  time,  and 
the  city  of  Weimar  as  the  place,  for  the  meeting  of  the  body 


254     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

that  was  to  do  what  a  few  months  before  seemed  impossible, 
set  up  a  Republican  Government  in  Germany. 

While  our  troops  were  marching  across  the  Rhine  the  Presi- 
dent reached  Brest  and  landed  in  France.  About  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  convoy  escorting  the  George  Washington 
was  met  at  sea  by  a  division  of  American  battleships  from 
somewhere  off  the  Coast  of  Great  Britain;  about  eleven  o'clock 
a  fleet  of  twelve  French  cruisers  came  up  from  the  South  and 
took  place  in  line,  and  thus  accompanied  by  some  forty  vessels 
of  war  the  Washington  shortly  after  noon  dropped  anchor  in  the 
harbor  of  Brest,  saluted  by  the  land  batteries,  the  warships  in 
the  harbor  and  by  the  cheers  of  the  multitude  gathered  on  the 
quay,  the  ramparts  and  the  hills.  The  French  Foreign  Min- 
ister, a  member  of  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  at  once 
put  off  from  shore  amidst  more  salutes  from  guns,  to  extend  an 
official  greeting,  and  General  Pershing,  General  Tasker  Bliss 
and  Mr.  House  came  to  pay  their  respects.  After  three  o'clock 
the  President  and  his  party  were  escorted  ashore  to  a  gayly 
decorated  pavilion,  where  the  Mayor  of  Brest  welcomed  the 
President  to  his  city.  The  event  was  of  no  common  sort.  The 
reasons  which  induced  the  President  to  come,  the  object  of  his 
visit,  the  fact  that  never  before  had  a  President  of  the  Great 
Republic  of  the  New  World  set  foot  upon  the  soil  of  the  Old, 
all  combined  to  make  the  occasion  one  of  historical  importance. 
Well  did  the  Mayor  say: 

Mr.  President:  I  feel  the  deepest  emotion  in  presenting  to  you 
the  welcome  of  the  Breton  population.  The  ship  bringing  you  to 
this  port  is  the  symbol  under  the  auspices  of  which  the  legions  of 
your  pacific  citizens  sprang  to  arms  in  the  grand  cause  of  independ- 
ence. Under  the  same  auspices  to-day  you  bring  to  the  tormented" 
soil  of  Europe  the  comfort  of  your  authorized  voice  in  the  debates 
which  will  calm  our  quarrels. 

Mr.  President,  upon  this  Breton  soil  our  hearts  are  unanimous 
in  saluting  you  as  the  messenger  of  justice  and  peace.  To-morrow 
it  will  be  our  entire  nation  which  will  acclaim  you,  and  our  whole 
people  will  thrill  with  enthusiasm  over  the  eminent  statesman  who 
is  the  champion  of  their  aspirations  toward  justice  and  liberty. 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       255 

This  old  Breton  city  has  the  honor  of  first  saluting  you.  In  order 
to  perpetuate  this  honor  to  our  descendants,  the  Municipal  Council 
has  asked  me  to  present  you  with  an  address  expressing  their  joy 
at  being  privileged  to  incline  themselves  before  the  illustrious  dem- 
ocrat who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  the  great  Republic  of  the 
United  States. 

When  the  engrossed  address  had  been  presented,  and  the  cere- 
monies were  over,  the  President  and  his  party  set  off  in  auto- 
mobiles, and,  passing  along  streets  gay  with  flags  and  bunting, 
mottoes,  banners  and  transparencies,  lined  with  French  and 
American  troops,  and  packed  with  a  cheering  crowd  of  citizens 
and  Breton  peasants  in  their  picturesque  dress,  made  their  way 
to  the  railway  station  and  departed  for  Paris. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  fourteenth, 
when  the  train  entered  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  Station,  where 
the  President  and  his  wife  were  received  by  President  Poincare 
and  Madame  Poincare,  and  Premier  Clemenceau,  and  a  host  of 
officials.  The  formalities  over,  the  Presidential  party  set  forth 
to  receive  such  a  welcome  as  had  never  been  accorded  to  any 
man.  Every  foot  of  the  way  was  lined  with  troops  of  France, 
many  fresh  from  the  battle  front,  and  for  mile  after  mile  with 
captured  guns  and  trophies.  Every  available  space  was  crowded 
with  joyful  people  waving  flags  and  shouting  welcome  to  the 
President.  Every  building  was  decked  with  the  Stars  and 
Stripes.  The  carriage  of  the  President  was  filled  with  flowers, 
thrown  to  Mrs.  Wilson  by  the  excited  people.  At  one  o'clock 
the  President  and  Mrs.  Wilson  attended  an  official  luncheon 
given  by  President  and  Madame  Poincare,  at  the  close  of  which 
President  Poincare  rose  and  said: 

Mr.  President:  Paris  and  France  awaited  you  with  impatience.- 
They  were  eager  to  acclaim  in  you  the  illustrious  democrat  whose 
words  and  deeds  were  inspired  by  exalted  thought,  the  philosopher 
delighting  in  the  solution  of  universal  laws  from  particular  events, 
the  eminent  statesman  who  had  found  a  way  to  express  the  highest 
political  and  moral  truth  in  formulas  which  bear  the  stamp  of 
immortality. 

They  had  also  a  passionate  desire  to  offer  thanks,  in  your  person, 


256     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  the  great  republic  of  which  you  are  the  chief,  for  the  invaluable 
assistance  which  had  been  given  spontaneously,  during  this  war,  to 
the  defenders  of  .right  and  liberty. 

Even  before  America  had  resolved  to  intervene  in  the  struggle  she 
had  shown  to  the  wounded  and  the  orphans  of  France  a  solicitude 
and  a  generosity  the  memory  of  which  will  always  be  enshrined  in 
our  hearts.  The  liberality  of  your  Red  Gross,  the  countless  gifts  of 
your  fellow  citizens,  the  inspiring  initiative  of  American  women, 
anticipated  your  military  and  naval  action  and  showed  the  world 
to  which  side  your  sympathies  inclined.  And  on  the  day  when  you 
flung  yourselves  into  the  battle,  with  what  determination  your  great 
people  and  yourself  prepared  for  united  success! 

Some  months  ago  you  cabled  to  me  that  the  United  States  would 
send  ever-increasing  forces  until  the  day  should  be  reached  on  which 
the  Allied  armies  were  able  to  submerge  the  enemy  under  an  over- 
whelming flow  of  new  divisions,  and,  in  effect,  for  more  than  a  year, 
a  steady  stream  of  youth  and  energy  has  been  poured  out  upon  the 
shores  of  France. 

No  sooner  had  they  landed  than  your  gallant  battalions,  fired  by 
their  chief,  General  Pershing,  flung  themselves  into  the  combat  with 
such  a  manly  contempt  of  danger,  such  a  smiling  disregard  of  death, 
that  our  longer  experience  of  this  terrible  war  often  moved  us  to 
counsel  prudence.  They  brought  with  them  in  arriving  here  the 
enthusiasm  of  crusaders  leaving  for  the  Holy  Land. 

It  is  their  right  to-day  to  look  with  pride  upon  the  work  accom- 
plished and  to  rest  assured  that  they  have  powerfully  aided  by  their 
courage  and  their  faith. 

Eager  as  they  were  to  meet  the  enemy,  they  did  not  know  when 
they  arrived  the  enormity  of  his  crimes.  That  they  might  know 
how  the  Germans  make  war  it  has  been  necessary  that  they  see 
towns  systematically  burned  down,  mines  flooded,  factories  reduced 
to  ashes,  orchards  devastated,  cathedrals  shelled  and  fired — all  that 
deliberate  savagery  aimed  to  destroy  national  wealth,  nature  and 
beauty,  which  the  imagination  could  not  conceive  at  a  distance  from 
the  men  and  things  that  have  endured  it  and  to-day  bear  witness 
to  it. 

In  your  turn,  Mr.  President,  you  will  be  able  to  measure  with 
your  own  eyes  the  extent  of  these  disasters,  and  the  French  Govern- 
ment will  make  known  to  you  the  authentic  documents  in  which  the 
German  general  staff  developed,  with  astounding  cynicism,  its  pro- 
gram of  pillage  and  industrial  annihilation.  Your  noble  conscience 
will  pronounce  a  verdict  on  these  facts. 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       257 

Should  this  guilt  remain  unpunished,  could  it  be  renewed,  the 
most  splendid  victories  would  be  in  vain. 

Mr.  President,  France  has  struggled,  has  endured  and  has  suffered 
during  four  long  years;  she  has  bled  at  every  vein;  she  has  lost 
the  best  of  her  children;  she  mourns  for  her  youths.  She  yearns 
now,  even  as  you  do,  for  a  peace  of  justice  and  security. 

It  was  not  that  she  might  be  exposed  once  again  to  aggression 
that  she  submitted  to  such  sacrifices.  Nor  was  it  in  order  that 
criminals  should  go  unpunished,  that  they  might  lift  their  heads 
again  to  make  ready  for  new  crimes,  that  under  your  strong  leader- 
ship America  armed  herself  and  crossed  the  ocean. 

Faithful  to  the  memory  of  Lafayette  and  Rochambeau,  she  came 
to  the  aid  of  France  because  France  herself  was  faithful  to  her 
traditions.  Our  common  ideal  has  triumphed.  Together  we  have 
defended  the  vital  principles  of  free  nations. 

Now  we  must  build  together  such  a  peace  as  will  forbid  the 
deliberate  and  hypocritical  renewing  of  an  organism  aiming  at  con- 
quest and  oppression. 

Peace  must  make  amends  for  the  misery  and  sadness  of  yesterday 
and  it  must  be  a  guarantee  against  the  dangers  of  to-morrow.  The 
association,  which  has  been  formed  for  the  purpose  of  war,  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Allies,  and  which  contains  the  seed  of  the 
permanent  institutions  of  which  you  have  spoken  so  eloquently,  will 
find  from  this  day  forward  a  clear  and  profitable  employment  in  the 
concerted  search  for  equitable  decisions,  and  in  the  mutual  support 
which  we  need  if  we  are  to  make  our  rights  prevail. 

Whatever  safeguards  we  may  erect  for  the  future,  no  one,  alas, 
can  assert  that  we  shall  forever  spare  to  mankind  the  horrors  of 
new  wars.  Five  years  ago  the  progress  of  science  and  the  state  of 
civilization  might  have  permitted  the  hope  that  no  government,  how- 
ever autocratic,  would  have  succeeded  in  hurling  armed  nations  upon 
Belgium  and  Serbia. 

Without  lending  ourselves  to  the  illusion  that  posterity  will  be 
forevermore  safe  from  these  collective  follies,  we  must  introduce  into 
the  peace  we  are  going  to  build  all  the  conditions  of  justice  and  all  the 
safeguards  of  civilization  that  we  can  embody  in  it. 

To  such  a  vast  and  magnificent  task,  Mr.  President,  you  have 
chosen  to  come  and  apply  yourself  in  concert  with  France.  France 
offers  you  her  thanks.  She  knows  the  friendship  of  America.  She 
knows  your  rectitude  and  elevation  of  spirit.  It  is  in  the  fullest 
confidence  that  she  is  ready  to  work  with  you. 

I  lift  my  glass,  Mr.  President,  in  your  honoi   and  in  honor  of 


258     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mrs.  Wilson.  I  drink  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Republic  of  the  United 
States,  our  great  friend  of  yesterday  and  of  other  days,  of  to-morrow, 
and  of  all  time. 


To  this  address  President  Wilson  replied: 

Mr.  President:  I  am  deeply  indebted  to  you  for  your  gracious 
greeting.  It  is  very  delightful  to  find  myself  in  France  and  to  feel 
the  quick  contact  of  sympathy  and  unaffected  friendship  between  the 
representatives  of  the  United  States  and  the  representatives  of 
Trance. 

You  have  been  very  generous  in  what  you  were  pleased  to  say 
about  myself,  but  I  feel  that  what  I  have  said  and  what  I  have  tried 
to  do  has  been  said  and  done  6nly  in  an  attempt  to  speak  the  thought 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States  truly  and  to  carry  that  thought 
out  in  action. 

From  the  first  thought  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  turned 
toward  something  more  than  the  mere  winning  of  this  war.  It  turned 
to  the  establishment  of  eternal  principles  of  right  and  justice.  It 
realized  that  merely  to  win  the  war  was  not  enough;  that  it  must 
be  won  in  such  a  way  and  the  questions  raised  by  it  settled  in  such 
a  way  as  to  insure  the  future  peace  of  the  world  and  lay  the  founda- 
tions for  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  its  many  peoples  and  nations. 

Never  before  has  war  won  so  terrible  a  visage  or  exhibited  more 
grossly  the  debasing  influence  of  illicit  ambitions.  I  am  sure  that 
I  shall  look  upon  the  ruin  wrought  by  the  armies  of  the  Central  Em- 
pires with  the  same  repulsion  and  deep  indignation  that  they  stir  in 
the  hearts  of  the  men  of  France  and  Belgium,  and  I  appreciate  as 
you  do,  sir,  the  necessity  of  such  action  in  the  final  settlement  of  the 
issues  of  the  war  as  will  not  only  rebuke  such  acts  of  terror  and  spo- 
liation, but  make  men  everywhere  aware  that  they  cannot  be  ven- 
tured upon  without  the  certainty  of  just  punishment. 

I  know  with  what  ardor  and  enthusiasm  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
of  the  United  States  have  given  the  best  that  was  in  them  in  this  war 
of  redemption.  They  have  expressed  the  true  spirit  of  America. 
They  believe  their  ideals  to  be  acceptable  to  free  peoples  everywhere 
and  are  rejoiced  to  have  played  the  part  they  have  played  in  giving 
reality  to  those  ideals  in  cooperation  with  the  armies  of  the  Allies. 
We  are  proud  of  the  part  they  have  played  and  we  are  happy  that 
they  should  have  been  associated  with  such  comrades  in  a  common 
cause. 

It  is  with  peculiar  feeling,  Mr.  President,  that  I  find  myself  in 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD  259 

France  joining  with  you  in  rejoicing  over  the  victory  that  has  been 
won.  The  ties  that  bind  France  and  the  United  States  are  peculiarly 
close.  I  do  not  know  in  what  other  comradeship  we  could  have  fought 
with  more  zest  or  enthusiasm.  It  will  daily  be  a  matter  of  pleasure 
with  me  to  be  brought  into  consultation  with  the  statesmen  of 
France  and  her  allies  in  concerting  the  measures  by  which  we  may 
secure  permanence  for  these  happy  relations  of  friendship  and  co- 
operation, and  secure  for  the  world  at  large  such  safety  and  freedom 
in  its  life  as  can  be  secured  only  by  the  constant  association  and 
cooperation  of  friends. 

I  greet  you  not  only  with  deep  personal  respect,  but  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  great  people  of  France,  and  beg  to  bring  you  the 
greetings  of  another  great  people  to  whom  the  fortunes  of  France  are 
of  profound  and  lasting  interest. 

I  raise  my  glass  to  the  health  of  the  President  of  the  French  Re- 
public and  to  Madame  Poincare  and  the  prosperity  of  France. 

At  the  Sorbonne  the  President  received  from  the  Faculty  of 
Letters  the  degree  of  Doctor,  Honoris  Causa,  because  of  his 
writings  in  history,  and  the  same  degree  from  the  Faculty  of 
Law  because  of  his  work  on  jurisprudence  and  political  science, 
and  delivered  an  address.  In  the  course  of  it  he  said : 

The  task  of  those  who  are  gathered  here,  or  will  presently  be 
gathered  here,  to  make  the  settlements  of  this  peace,  is  greatly  sim- 
plified by  the  fact  that  they  are  the  masters  of  no  one;  they  are 
the  servants  of  mankind.  And  if  we  do  not  heed  the  mandates  of 
mankind  we  shall  make  ourselves  the  most  conspicuous  and 
deserved  failures  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

My  conception  of  the  League  of  Nations  is  just  this:  that  it 
shall  operate  as  the  organized  mo,ral  force  of  men  throughout  the 
world,  and  that  whenever  or  wherever  wrong  and  aggression  are 
planned  or  contemplated,  this  searching  light  of  conscience  will 
be  turned  upon  them,  and  men  everywhere  will  ask,  "What  are 
the  purposes  that  you  hold  in  your  heart  against  the  fortunes  of 
the  world?" 

Just  a  little  exposure  will  settle  most  questions.  If  the  Central 
Powers  had  dared  to  discuss  the  purposes  of  this  war  for  a  single 
fortnight,  it  never  would  have  happened;  and  if,  as  should  be,  they 
were  forced  to  discuss  it  for  a  year,  the  war  would  have  been 
inconceivable. 


260     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Christmas  eve  the  President  went  to  Chaumont,  then  the 
main  headquarters  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces. 
Christmas  Day,  at  Humes,  not  far  from  Chaumont,  he  reviewed 
ten  thousand  of  our  men,  a  part  of  that  fine  army  which  drove 
the  Germans  out  of  the  St.  Mihiel  salient,  and  fought  their 
way  through  the  forest  of  Argonne  to  Sedan.  Standing  in  their 
presence,  the  President  told  them  they  had  done  their  duty  and 
done  it  with  a  spirit  which  gave  it  distinction  and  glory. 

From  Chaumont  the  President  hurried  to  England  to  receive 
such  a  greeting  as  had  never  been  accorded  to  any  American, 
and  rarely  to  an  English  King.  Escorted  from  Calais  to  mid- 
channel  by  four  French  destroyers  and  thence  to  the  English 
coast  by  airplanes  and  British  destroyers,  he  was  greeted  at 
Dover  by  the  guns  of  the  Castle,  by^the  Duke  of  Connaught,, 
and  the  welcoming  party,  by  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of 
that  ancient  city  in  their  scarlet  robes  of  office,  and  listened  to 
the  reading,  by  the  Eecorder,  of  a  formal  address. 

As  President  Wilson  [wrote  a  correspondent  of  the  Philadelphia 
Ledger]  walked  to  a  train  a  dozen  girls  wearing  the  American 
colors  strewed  petals  of  roses  in  his  path.  All  this  time  the  airplanes 
had  been  hovering  over  the  pier  and  the  station,  and  as  the  special 
train  bearing  the  President  left  for  the  capital  the  airmen  also 
headed  for  London,  accompanying  the  train  all  the  way. 

As  the  train  crossed  the  Thames  and  entered  the  station  a  great 
cheer  went  up  from  the  crowd.  A  salute  of  forty-one  guns  was 
fired  from  the  tower  of  London  and  in  Hyde  Park. 

From  the  station  to  Buckingham  Palace  the  progress  was 
such  as  London  never  witnessed  save  on  a  coronation  day.  Such 
crowds,  such  enthusiasm,  such  decorations  and  such  cheering 
had  never  greeted  any  foreigner  on  English  soil. 

On  the  evening  of  the  27th  a  state  dinner,  attended  with  all 
the  ceremonials  and  formalities  which  had  marked  such  state 
occasions  for  two  hundred  years,  was  given  in  the  banquet  hall 
of  the  palace,  and  the  President  formally  welcomed  by  King 
George. 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       261 

This  [said  his  Majesty]  is  a  historic  moment  and  your  visit  marks 
a  historic  epoch.  Nearly  150  years  have  passed  since  your  Republic 
began  its  independent  life,  and  now,  for  the  first  time,  a  President 
of  the  United  States  is  our  guest  in  England. 

We  welcome  you  to  the  country  whence  came  your  ancestors  and 
where  stands  the  homes  of  those  from  whom  sprang  Washington  and 
Lincoln.  We  welcome  you  for  yourself,  as  one  whose  insight, 
calmness,  and  dignity  in  the  discharge  of  his  high  duties  we  have 
watched  with  admiration.  We  see  in  you  the  happy  union  of  the 
gifts  of  a  scholar  with  those  of  a  statesman.  You  came  from  a 
studious,  academic  quiet  into  the  full  stream  of  an  arduous  public 
life,  and  your  deliverances  have  combined  breadth  of  view  and  grasp 
of  world  problems  with  the  mastery  of  a  lofty  diction  recalling  that 
of  your  great  orators  of  the  past  and  of  our  own  time. 

You  come  as  the  official  head  and  spokesman  of  a  mighty  Common- 
wealth bound  to  us  by  the  closest  ties.  Its  people  speak  the  tongue 
of  Shakespeare  and  Milton.  Our  literature  is  yours  as  yours  is  also 
ours,  and  men  of  letters  in  both  countries  have  joined  in  maintaining 
its  incomparable  glories. 

To  you,  not  less  than  to  us,  belong  the  memories  of  our  national 
heroes  from  King  Alfred  down  to  the  days  of  Philip  Sidney  and 
Drake,  of  Raleigh  and  Blake,  and  Hampden,  and  the  days  when  the 
political  life  of  the  English  stock  in  America  was  just  beginning. 
You  share  with  us  the  traditions  of  free  self-government  as  old  as 
the  Magna  Charta. 

We  recognize  the  bond  of  still  deeper  significance  in  the  common 
ideals  which  our  people  cherish.  First  among  those  ideals  you 
value  and  we  value,  freedom  and  peace.  Privileged  as  we  have  been 
to  be  the  exponents  and  the  examples  in  national  life  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  popular  self-government  based  upon  equal  laws,  it  now 
falls  to  both  of  us  alike  to  see  how  these  principles  can  be  applied 
beyond  our  own  borders  for  the  good  of  the  world. 

It  was  love  of  liberty,  respect  for  law,  good  faith  and  the  sacred 
rights  of  humanity  that  brought  you  to  the  Old  World  to  help  in 
saving  it  from  the  dangers  that  were  threatening  around,  and  that 
arraigned  those  soldier  citizens  of  yours,  whose  gallantry  we  have 
admired,  side  by  side  with  ours  in  the  war. 

You  have  now  come  to  help  in  building  up  new  States  amid  the 
ruins  of  those  that  the  war  has  shattered,  and  in  laying  the  solid 
foundations  of  a  settlement  that  may  stand  firm  because  it  will 
rest  upon  the  consent  of  the  emancipated  nationalities.  You  have 
eloquently  expressed  the  hope  of  the  American  people,  as  it  is  our 


262     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

hope,  that  some  plan  may  he  devised  to  attain  the  end  you  have  done 
so  much  to  promote  by  which  the  risk  of  future  war  may,  if  pos- 
sible, be  averted,  relieving  the  nations  of  the  intolerable  burden 
which  fear  of  war  has  laid  upon  them. 

The  British  Nation  wishes  all  success  to  the  deliberations  on 
which  you  and  we  and  the  great  free  nations  allied  with  us  are  now 
to  enter,  moved  by  disinterested  good  will  and  a  sense  of  duty 
commensurate  with  the  power  which  we  hold  as  a  solemn  trust. 

The  American  and  British  peoples  have  been  brothers  in  arms,  and 
their  arms  have  been  crowned  with  victory.  We  thank  with  all 
our  hearts  your  valiant  soldiers  and  sailors  for  their  splendid  part 
in  that  victory,  as  we  thank  the  American  people  for  their  noble 
response  to  the  call  of  civilization  and  humanity.  May  the  same 
brotherly  spirit  inspire  and  guide  our  united  efforts  to  secure  for 
the  world  the  blessings  of  an  ordered  freedom  and  an  enduring 
peace. 

In  asking  you  to  join  with  me  in  drinking  the  health  of  the 
President,  I  wish  to  say  with  what  pleasure  we  welcome  Mrs.  Wilson 
to  this  country. 

I  drink  to  the  health  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
Mrs.  Wilson  and  to  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  great 
American  Nation. 

To  this  the  President  answered  and  said: 

Every  influence  that  the  American  people  have  over  the  affairs 
of  the  world  is  measured  by  their  sympathy  with  the  aspirations 
of  freemen  everywhere. 

America  does  love  freedom,  and  I  believe  that  she  loves  freedom 
unselfishly.  But  if  she  does  not  she  will  not  and  cannot  help  the 
influence  to  which  she  justly  aspires. 

I  have  had  the  privilege,  Sir,  of  conferring  with  the  leaders  of 
your  own  Government,  and  with  the  spokesmen  of  the  Governments 
of  France  and  of  Italy,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  have  the  same 
conceptions  that  they  have  of  the  significance  and  scope  of  the  duty 
on  which  we  have  met. 

We  have  used  great  words,  all  of  us  have  used  the  great  words, 
"Right"  and  "Justice,"  and  now  we  are  to  prove  whether  or  not 
we  understand  these  words,  and  how  they  are  to  be  applied  to  the 
particular  settlements  which  must  conclude  this  war.  And  we 
must  not  only  understand  them,  but  we  must  have  the  courage  to 
act  upon  our  understanding. 

Yet,  after  I  have  uttered  the  word,  "Courage,"  it  comes  into  my 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       263 

mind  that  it  would  take  more  courage  to  resist  the  great  moral 
tide  now  running  in  the  world  than  to  yield  to  it,  than  to  obey  it. 

There  is  a  great  tide  running  in  the  hearts  of  men.  The  hearts 
of  men  have  never  beaten  so  singularly  in  unison  before.  Men 
have  never  before  been  so  conscious  of  their  brotherhood.  Men 
have  never  before  realized  how  little  difference  there  was  between 
right  and  justice  in  one  latitude  and  in  another,  under  one  sov- 
ereignty and  under  another. 

And  it  will  be  our  high  privilege,  I\  believe,  Sir,  not  only  to  apply 
the  moral  judgment  of  the  world  to  the  particular  settlements  which 
we  shall  attempt,  but  also  to  organize  the  moral  force  of  the  world 
to  preserve  those  settlements,  to  steady  the  forces  of  mankind,  and 
to  make  the  right  and  the  justice  to  which  great  nations  like  our  own 
have  devoted  themselves,  the  predominant  and  controlling  force  of 
the  world. 

There  is  something  inspiring  in  knowing  that  this  is  the  errand 
that  we  have  come  on.  Nothing  less  than  this  would  have  justified 
me  in  leaving  the  important  tasks  which  fall  upon  me  upon  the 
other  side  of  the  sea,  nothing  but  the  consciousness  that  nothing 
else  compares  with  this  in  dignity  and  importance. 

Freedom  of  the  City  of  London  was  bestowed  in  Guildhall  on 
the  afternoon  of  Saturday  the  28th.  Replying  to  the  address 
of  the  Lord  Mayor,  the  President  spoke  more  definitely  than  he 
had  yet  spoken  on  the  issues  of  peace. 

When  this  war  began  the  thought  of  a  League  of  Nations  was 
indulgently  considered  as  the  interesting  thought  of  closeted  stu- 
dents. It  was  thought  of  as  one  of  those  things  that  it  was  right 
to  characterize  by  a  name  which,  as  a  university  man,  I  have  always 
resented.  It  was  said  to  be  academic,  as  if  that  in  itself  were  a 
condemnation,  something  that  men  could  think  about,  but  never 
get.  Now  we  find  the  practical  leading  minds  of  the  world  deter- 
mined to  get  it. 

And  back  of  us  is  that  imperative  yearning  of  the  world  to  have 
all  disturbing  questions  quieted,  to  have  all  threats  against  peace 
silenced,  to  have  just  men  everywhere  come  together  for  a  common 
object.  The  peoples  of  the  world  want  peace,  and  they  want  it  now, 
not  merely  by  conquest  of  arms,  but  by  agreement  of  mind. 

It  was  this  incomparably  great  object  that  brought  me  overseas. 
It  has  never  before  been  deemed  excusable  for  a  President  of  the 
United  States  to  leave  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  but  I 


264     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

know  that  I  have  the  support  of  the  judgment  of  my  colleagues  in 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  saying  that  it  was  my 
paramount  duty  to  turn  away  even  from  the  imperative  tasks  at 
home  to  lend  such  counsel  and  aid  as  I  could  to  this  great,  may  I 
not  say  final?,  enterprise  of  humanity. 

Sunday  was  passed  at  Carlisle,  where  his  grandfather, 
Thomas  Woodrow,  had  preached  and  taught,  and  where  his 
mother  was  born.  There  he  received  the  freedom  of  the  city, 
signed  the  freemen's  roll,  and  standing  by  request  in  the  pulpit 
where  his  grandfather  had  preached  during  thirty-seven  years, 
made  a  short  address. 

That  afternoon  the  President  went  on  to  Manchester,  was 
greeted  with  great  enthusiasm,  was  given  the  freedom  of  the 
city. 

That  part  of  the  speech  in  which  the  President  said  that  "if 
the  future  had  nothing  for  us  but  a  new  attempt  to  keep  the 
world  at  a  right  poise  by  a  balance  of  power  the  United  States 
would  take  no  interest,  because  she  will  join  no  combination 
of  power  which  is  not  a  combination  of  all  of  us,"  was  read 
with  especial  interest  both  at  home  and  abroad,  because  on 
Sunday  night,  December  29th,  Clemenceau,  speaking  in  the 
French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  declared  for  a  new  balance  of 
power.  "There  is  an  old  system/'  said  he,  "which  appears 
condemned  to-day  and  to  which  I  do  not  fear  to  say  that  I 
remain  faithful  at  this  moment.  Countries  have  organized  for 
the  defense  of  their  frontiers  with  the  necessary  elements  and 
the  balance  of  power.  This  system  appears  to  be  condemned  by 
some  very  high  authorities.  Nevertheless,  I  will  remark  that  if 
such  a  balance  had  preceded  the  war,  that  if  America,  England, 
France  and  Italy  bad  got  together  in  declaring  that  whoever 
attacked  one  of  them  must  expect  to  see  the  three  others  take 
up  the  common  defense."  Here  he  was  interrupted  by  applause 
and  disorder,  but  when  he  could  be  heard  again  said :  "This  is 
the  system  of  alliances  which  I  do  not  renounce,  I  say  it  most 
distinctly,  my  guiding  thought  at  the  conference,  if  your  body 
permits  me  to  go  there,  and  I  believe  that  nothing  should  sep- 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD        265 

arate  after  the  war  the  four  great  powers  that  the  war  has 
united.  To  this  Entente  I  will  make  all  sacrifices."  Here, 
seemingly,  was  a  sharp  difference  of  opinion;  but  no  unfavor- 
able comment  was  made,  though  not  a  little  surprise  was  occa- 
sioned. 

There  is,  it  was  said,  no  real  difference  in  the  aims  of  the 
two  men.  All  M.  Clemenceau  says  of  the  difference,  or  better, 
the  contrast,  between  the  position  of  France  as  he  states  it,  and 
the  position  of  America  as  Mr.  Wilson  states  it,  is  strictly  true. 
France  sees  and  feels  what  a  German  invasion  means,  and 
demands  a  sure  safeguard  against  the  recurrence  of  a  danger 
she  narrowly  escaped,  and  the  horrible  suffering  her  people  still 
endure.  Mr.  Wilson  is  equally  determined  to  protect  her  against 
such  evils  for  all  time  to  come,  and  finds  it  in  a  League  of 
Nations.  M.  Clemenceau  is  skeptical  of  such  an  untried 
League,  and  trustful  of  an  Entente  of  the  four  great  powers  of 
the  world.  Both  seek  the  same  goal. 

December  31  the  President  left  England  for  Calais  and 
Paris,  and  on  the  night  of  New  Year's  Day  departed  for  Italy. 
At  the  frontier  he  was  met  by  a  distinguished  party  and  escorted 
to  Rome.  The  journey  across  Italy  resembled  a  triumphant 
procession,  for  Italy  was  determined  to  be  second  to  none  of  the 
Allies  in  the  heartiness  and  sincerity  of  her  greeting.  At  the 
station  in  Rome  he  was  welcomed  by  the  King,  the  Queen,  mem- 
bers of  the  Government  and  of  the  municipality,  was  escorted 
thence  through  a  gorgeously  decorated  city  to  luncheon  with  the 
Queen  Mother,  and  was  formally  received  by  the  members  of 
the  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies.  To  them  he  made  an 
address  and  again  declared  against  another  balance  of  power. 

i 

The  distinguishing  fact  of  this  war  is  that  great  empires  have 
gone  to  pieces.  And  the  characteristics  of  those  empires  are  that 
they  held  different  peoples  reluctantly  together  under  the  coercion 
of  force  and  the  guidance  of  intrigue. 

The  great  difficulty  among  such  States  as  those  of  the  Balkans 
has  been  that  they  were  always  accessible  to  secret  influence;  and 
they  were  always  penetrated  by  intrigue  of  some  sort  or  another; 


266     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

that  north  of  them  lay  disturbed  populations  which  were  held  to- 
gether not  by  sympathy  and  friendship,  but  by  the  coercive  force 
of  a  military  power. 

Now  the  intrigue  is  checked  and  the  bonds  are  broken,  and  what 
we  are  going  to  provide  is  a  new  cement  to  hold  the  people  together. 
They  have  not  been  accustomed  to  being  independent.  They  must 
now  be  independent. 

I  am  sure  that  you  recognize  the  principle,  as  I  do,  that  it  is 
not  our  privilege  to  say  what  sort  of  a  government  they  should  set 
up.  But  we  are  friends  of  those  people,  and  it  is  our  duty  as  their 
friends  to  see  to  it  that  some  kind  of  protection  is  thrown  around 
them,  something  supplied  which  will  hold  them  together. 

There  is  only  one  thing  that  holds  nations  together,  if  you  exclude 
force,  and  that  is  friendship  and  good  will.  The  only  thing  that 
binds  men  together  is  friendship,  and  by  the  same  token  the  only 
thing  that  binds  nations  together  is  friendship.  Therefore,  our 
task  at  Paris  is  to  organise  the  friendship  of  the  world,  to  see  to 
it  that  all  the  moral  forces  that  make  for  right,  and  justice,  and 
liberty  are  united,  and  are  given  a  vital  organization  to  which  the 
peoples  of  the  world  will  readily  and  gladly  respond. 

In  other  words,  our  task  is  no  less  colossal  than  this;  to  set  up 
a  new  international  psychology;  to  have  a  new  real  atmosphere.  I 
am  happy  to  say  that  in  my  dealings  with  the  distinguished  gen- 
tlemen who  lead  your  nation,  and  those  who  lead  France  and  Eng- 
land, I  feel  that  atmosphere  gathering,  that  desire  to  do  justice, 
that  desire  to  establish  friendliness,  that  desire  to  make  peace  rest 
upon  right,  and  with  this  common  purpose  no  obstacles  need  be 
formidable. 

The  only  use  of  an  obstacle  is  to  be  overcome.  All  that  an  ob- 
stacle does  with  brave  men  is  not  to  frighten  them,  but  to  challenge 
them.  So  that  it  ought  to  be  our  pride  to  overcome  everything  that 
stands  in  the  way. 

We  know  that  there  cannot  be  another  balance  of  power.  That 
has  been  tried  and  found  wanting,  for  the  best  of  all  reasons  that 
it  does  not  stay  balanced  inside  itself,  and  cannot  constitute  a 
makeweight  in  the  affairs  of  men. 

Therefore,  there  must  be  something  substituted  for  the  balance 
of  power,  and  I  am  happy  to  find  everywhere  in  the  air  of  these 
great  nations,  the  conception  that  that  thing  must  be  a  thoroughly 
united  league  of  nations. 

What  men  once  considered  theoretical  and  idealistic  turns  out 
to  be  practical  and  necessary.  We  stand  at  the  opening  of  a  new 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       267 

age  in  which  a  new  statesmanship  will,  I  am  confident,  lift  man- 
kind to  new  levels  of  endeavor  and  achievement. 

While  the  President  was  thus  receiving  the  greetings  of  the 
Italians  he  found  it  necessary  to  ask  Congress  by  cahle  to  ap- 
propriate a  hundred  million  dollars  to  relieve  the  suffering  from 
want  of  food  in  Europe.  Mr.  Hoover's  appeal,  in  September, 
for  food  conservation  was  made  on  the  supposition  that  the 
war  would  end  in  1919,  or  at  the  latest  in  1920.  The  sudden 
collapse  of  Germany,  and  the  armistice  in  November,  led  our 
people  to  suppose  that  with  fighting  over,  the  need  for  food 
would  not  be  so  great.  The  Food  Administrator,  however,  had 
no  sooner  begun  his  work  abroad  than  he  realized  that  the  need 
was  greater  than  ever.  A  new  appeal  was  therefore  made,  and 
December  1  a  new  campaign,  a  "food  conservation  week  for 
world  relief,"  was  started.  It  was  opened  on  Sunday,  Decem- 
ber 1,  by  the  reading  in  churches  of  all  denominations  the  coun- 
try over,  of  a  message  to  the  people  from  Mr.  Hoover  on 
"America's  opportunity  for  renewed  service  and  sacrifice."  At 
the  food  conference  in  London  during  the  summer,  our  country, 
he  said,  was  pledged  to  meet  whatever  "food  program"  the 
Allies  arranged.  The  Allies  need  not  consider  whether  we  had 
or  had  not  the  supplies;  we  would  find  them.  The  ending  of 
the  war  did  not  release  us  from  the  pledge.  Freeing  the  seas 
from  the  submarine  menace  had  indeed  made  available  the 
wheat  of  India,  Australia  and  Argentina;  but  the  demand  on 
our  country  was  not  lessened ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  increased. 
Besides  supplying  those  to  whom  we  were  pledged,  we  now  had 
the  splendid  opportunity  of  feeding  millions  of  people  in  the 
once  occupied  territories,  people  who  were  facing  starvation. 
Belgium,  northern  France,  Serbia,  Roumania,  Montenegro, 
Poland,  Russia,  Armenia  relied  on  us  for  help.  Two  hundred 
million  people,  besides  those  to  whom  we  were  pledged,  "looked 
to  us  in  their  misery  and  famine."  The  President  had  asked 
him  "to  perfect  and  enlarge  the  arrangements  for  foodstuffs  for 
the  populations  of  Belgium  and  France  then  being  released,  and 


268     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

determine  the  food  need  of  the  peoples  of  Southern  Europe,  that 
the  evil  days  which  had  come  to  Russia  might  not  come  to 
them."  His  new  appeal  therefore  was  larger  than  the  old,  and 
was  made  not  to  the  war  conscience,  but  to  the  world  conscience. 
Our  people  had  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate  not  only  their 
ability  to  help  in  establishing  peace  on  earth,  but  also  "their 
consecration,  by  self-denial,  to  the  cause  of  suffering  humanity." 
As  Mr.  Hoover  continued  his  investigations  he  became  more 
and  more  impressed  with  the  gravity  of  his  task.  All  Northern 
France  he  found  in  ruin.  "The  entire  industrial  life  of  the 
region,"  he  reported  late  in  December,  "has  been  destroyed  by 
the  Germans."  Scarce  a  factory  could  be  operated  without  new 
equipment ;  the  coal  mines  were  totally  destroyed ;  the  railways 
could  not  be  made  usable  for  many  months.  Hand  grenades 
had  been  exploded  under  each  rail,  to  bend  and  make  it  useless 
for  all  time.  The  Grand  Canal  du  Nord,  the  great  artery  of 
trade  between  France  and  Belgium,  had  been  fought  over,  and 
could  not  be  rebuilt  for  a  year.  After  four  years  of  business 
paralysis,  the  destruction  of  towns,  cities,  shops,  trades  had 
absolutely  disappeared  and  the  people  were  dependent  on  rations 
just  as  they  had  been  during  German  occupation.  Destruction 
of  twenty  important  cities  and  hundreds  of  villages  made  the 
return  of  their  former  inhabitants  impossible.  Every  effort  was 
being  made  to  prevent  their  return,  but  despite  official  warnings 
they  were  going  in  such  numbers  that  the  roads  were  "a  con- 
tinuous procession  of  these  pitiable  bodies."  Thousands,  finding 
every  vestige  of  shelter  gone  where  once  their  village  stood, 
wandered  back  to  villages  without  the  battle  area  which  were 
"already  overcrowded  to  a  heart-breaking  degree."  To  relieve 
this  situation  the  Commission  for  Relief  in  Belgium  had  ob- 
tained a  hundred  and  fifty  volunteers  from  the  Navy,  and  with 
"second-hand  barrack  material"  were  building  shelters  close  to 
the  ruined  villages.  Boots  and  shoes  and  warm  clothing,  ob- 
tained from  the  quartermasters'  supplies,  had  been  distributed ; 
the  French  Government  was  seeking  cattle  and  horses  in 
Switzerland,  and  these,  with  a  meager  supply  of  agricultural 


THE  PRESIDENT  GOES  ABROAD       269 

implements,  might  enable  these  homeless  people  to  plant  crops 
in  such  parts  of  the  country  as  were  not  too  badly  destroyed  by 
battle. 

The  first  cargo  of  foodstuffs  had  arrived  at  Trieste,  and  more 
was  due  to  reach  ports  in  the  Adriatic  early  in  January,  all 
destined  for  Serbia,  Bosnia,  Montenegro,  where  the  distress  was 
"very  acute."  The  only  connection  by  railroad  was  from  the 
Adriatic,  for  the  Bulgarians  had  destroyed  that  from  Saloniki. 
Relief  agents  had  already  gone  to  Belgrade  and  to  Warsaw  to 
take  charge  of  relief  work  in  Poland.  Another  was  going  to 
Vienna,  where  the  supply  of  food  could  not  last  more  than  ten 
days.  American  and  Allied  ministers  in  Eoumania  had  tele- 
graphed that  food  supplies  would  not  last  more  than  thirty  days. 
It  was  the  situation  in  these  countries  which  led  the  President 
to  ask  for  a  hundred  million  dollars.  After  several  weeks  of 
debate  the  money  was  appropriated  with  no  little  reluctance. 

At  Genoa,  the  President,  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  statue  of 
Columbus,  spoke  to  a  dense  crowd  of  people  of  that  city.  At 
Milan  where  the  shouting  crowds  surpassed  any  he  had  yet 
seen,  five  speeches  were  made. 


CHAPTEE  VII 

THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

TUESDAY,  January  7,  1919,  found  the  President-  back  at 
Paris.  Eight  weeks  had  then  passed  since  the  November  morn- 
ing when  the  armistice  was  signed ;  yet  no  meeting  of  the  Peace 
Conference  had  been  held.  Indeed,  some  of  the  Powers  had 
not  named  all  their  delegates.  Time,  however,  was  not  wasted, 
for  issues  of  great  importance  had  been  freely  discussed,  at 
home  and  abroad,  in  the  press,  and  by  statesmen,  by  party 
leaders,  and  by  men  of  affairs.  Some  thought  a  general  peace 
should  be  the  first  business  of  the  Conference,  leaving  the  terri- 
torial settlement  of  the  Balkans,  the  freedom  of  the  seas,  and 
the  League  of  Nations  to  be  decided  after  peace  was  made. 
This  was  the  wish  of  the  French  and  British.  Others  thought 
the  League  of  Nations  was  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  should 
be  among  the  first  matters  taken  up  for  settlement.  This  was 
understood  to  be  the  opinion  of  President  Wilson.  Discussion 
of  the  League  brought  forth  many  plans.  Lieutenant  General 
/  Smuts  of  the  British  War  Cabinet  had  one ;  Lord  Robert  Cecil 
another,  and  M.  Leon  Bourgeois  a  third,  said  to  be  the  French 
idea.  The  American  plan  had  not  been  announced,  when,  on 
Sunday,  the  twelfth  of  January,  the  Supreme  War  Council, 
composed  of  President  Wilson,  and  the  Premiers  and  Foreign 
Ministers  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  and  the  United 
States,  held  its  first  informal  meeting.  No  official  statement  of 
what  happened  was  made  public.  Nevertheless,  it  was  under- 
stood that  the  method  of  procedure  for  the  conference  about  to 
open,  how  many  delegates  each  power  should  be  allowed,  and 
the  conditions  on  which  the  armistice,  about  to  expire  on  Jan- 
uary 17,  should  be  extended,  were  all  deliberately  considered. 

270 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  271 

What  should  be  done  to  Germany  was  of  pressing  importance, 
for  she  had  been  slow  in  delivering  war  material  required  to  be 
given  up  by  the  terms  of  the  armistice,  and  was  reported  to  be 
hindering  the  Poles  in  the  organization  of  their  government, 
and  in  defending  themselves  against  the  advancing  Bolshevist 
forces. 

Proceedings  on  the  second  day,  Monday  the  thirteenth,  were 
in  two  sessions.  In  the  morning  military  and  naval  men,  finan- 
ciers and  economists,  met  and  determined  on  what  new  terms 
the  armistice  should  be  extended.  They  included,  the  official 
report  announced,  "naval  clauses,  financial  clauses,  conditions 
of  supply,  and  provisions  for  the  restitution  of  material  and 
machinery  stolen  from  France  and  Belgium  by  the  Germans," 
and  were  laid  before  the  Council  when  it  assembled  in  the  after- 
noon. Delegates  from  Japan  then  attended.  Methods  of  pro- 
cedure were  also  discussed,  and  the  decision  reached,  "that  the 
first  full  session  of  the  Peace  Conference  should  take  place  on 
Saturday,  January  18."  "We  finished  first  of  all,"  said  Pre- 
mier Clemenceau,  "with  the  armistice,  and  there,  I  think,  we 
did  good  work.  Then  we  continued  our  examination  of  the 
procedure  for  the  conference,  notably  the  representation  of  the 
small  powers.  As  to  the  conference  itself  which  should  meet 
on  Thursday,  it  had  to  be  postponed  until  Saturday  on  account 
of  the  absence  of  the  Italian  Premier,  Signor  Orlando."  A 
cabinet  crisis  had  forced  him  to  return  to  Kome.  Kumor  had 
it  that  the  new  terms  for  prolonging  the  armistice  would  require 
the  punishment  of  the  Germans  for  the  murder  and  ill-treat- 
ment of  Allied  prisoners  of  war ;  the  removal  of  £100,000,000 
in  gold  to  a  safe  place,  and  its  protection  while  on  the  way 
from  Bolshevists ;  the  surrender  of  all  U-boats  on  the  stocks  and 
a  guarantee  that  not  another  one  should  be  constructed.  One 
hundred  and  seventy,  it  was  said,  were  under  construction  in 
German  yards.  ~No  official  orders  having  been  received  to  stop 
building,  the  work  went  on  automatically,  despite  the  armistice, 
and  the  knowledge  that  they  must  in  the  end  be  delivered  to  the 
Allies. 


272     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

How  many  delegates  each  nation  should  have  was  determined 
on  Wednesday,  and  what  was  of  far  more  immediate  impor- 
tance, word  was  given  out  that  nothing  about  the  doings  of  the 
Peace  Conference  was  to  he  disclosed  save  what  was  contained 
in  the  daily  communique,  and  that,  hy  a  gentlemen's  agreement, 
the  delegates  would  neither  discuss,  nor  in  any  way  give  in- 
formation about,  the  proceedings  of  the  meetings  of  the  Council. 
Correspondents  of  British  journals  at  once  drew  up  a  protest, 
and  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Lloyd  George ;  the  American  news- 
paper men  joined  in  a  protest  to  President  Wilson.  On  Friday 
the  Supreme  Council  yielded,  and  ruled  that  representatives  of 
the  press  should  "be  admitted  to  the  meetings  of  the  full  con- 
ference," but,  when  necessary,  deliberations  might  "be  held  in 
camera,"  and  gave  its  reasons.  Proceedings  of  a  Peace  Con- 
ference resembled  more  closely  those  of  a  Cabinet  than  those  of 
a  legislature.  Nobody  had  ever  suggested  that  cabinet  meetings 
be  held  in  public.  Representatives  of  the  Allied  powers  were 
holding  conversations  in  order  to  solve  questions  of  vital  "im- 
portance to  many  nations,  and  on  which  they  might  hold  many 
different  views."  These  deliberations  could  not  proceed  by  the 
method  of  a  majority  vote.  No  nation  could  be  bound  save  by 
the  free  vote  of  its  own  delegates.  Decisions  must  be  reached 
by  the  difficult  process  of  agreement  which  would  be  hindered 
if  every  disputed  question  were  attended  by  a  premature  public 
controversy,  in  each  nation.  Give  and  take,  on  the  part  of 
delegates,  so  essential  to  successful  negotiations,  would  become 
most  difficult,  proceedings  would  be  protracted,  and  the  dele- 
gates forced  to  concern  themselves,  not  merely  with  the  business 
before  the  Conference,  but  also  with  the  controversies  raised 
outside  by  the  account  of  their  proceedings. 

At  home  the  matter  was  taken  up  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, and  after  Senators  of  both  parties  had  denounced  secrecy 
at  the  peace  conference  as  an  abandonment  of  the  first  of  the 
President's  fourteen  points,  it  was  agreed  that,  should  the  Con- 
ference persist  in  its  decision  to  hold  secret  sessions,  a  resolu- 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  273 

tion  demanding  open  sessions  would  be  presented,  adopted,  and 
sent  to  Versailles. 

On  Saturday,  the  nineteenth,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, the  long  desired  Peace  Conference  was  formally  opened 
in  the  gorgeous  Salle  de  Paix  of  the  Foreign  Ministry,  and  to  * 
this  representatives  of  the  press  of  all  nations  were  freely  ad- 
mitted. Proceedings  on  that  day  were  confined  to  an  address 
of  welcome  by  President  Poincare ;  speeches  by  President  Wil- 
son, Lloyd  George,  Baron  Sonnino,  and  Premier  Clemenceau; 
and  to  the  election  of  a  President  of  the  Conference. 

At  precisely  three  o'clock,  the  delegates  having  assembled  in 
the  Council  Chamber,  a  roll  of  drums  and  blare  of  trumpets 
announced  the  arrival  of  President  Poincare,  who  was  escorted 
to  the  head  of  the  great  horseshoe-shaped  table,  and  at  once  ad- 
dressed the  standing  delegates.  When  he  finished  speaking  ,  / 
President  Wilson  nominated  as  permanent  chairman  M.  Cle- 
menceau. Premier  Lloyd  George  seconded  the  nomination ;  M. 
Clemenceau  was  unanimously  elected,  and  in  turn  made  a 
speech,  which  closed  the  session. 

Daily  sittings  of  the  Conference  were  not  to  be  held.  The 
program  of  proceedings,  M.  Clemenceau  stated,  would  cover 
three  main  subjects:  Eesponsibility  of  the  authors  of  the  war; 
responsibility  for  the  crimes  committed  during  the  war ;  legisla- 
tion in  regard  to  international  labor.  All  powers  represented 
would  be  requested  to  present  memoranda  on  these  subjects,  and 
the  powers  specially  concerned  other  memoranda  on  territorial, 
financial  and  economic  questions.  On  these  memoranda  the 
Supreme  Council  of  the  five  great  powers  would  deliberate, 
decide  at  once,  or  invite  the  delegates  of  the  powers  most  con- 
cerned to  discuss  the  issues  with  the  Council.  The  League  of 
Nations,  he  said,  would  be  the  first  question  considered  when 
the  Peace  Conference  met  again. 

On  Monday,  January  21,  the  Supreme  Council  resumed  its 
sittings  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  having  listened  to  a 
description  of  conditions  in  Russia,  by  the  French  Ambassador 
just  returned  from  Archangel,  and  by  the  Danish  Minister  fresh 


274     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

from  Petrograd,  announced  the  policy  of  the  Allies  towards 
Russia.  In  their  discussions,  they  said,  the  sole  object  of  the 
Associated  Powers  had  been  to  help,  not  to  hinder,  the  Russian 
people,  not  to  interfere  in  any  manner  with  their  right  to  settle 
their  own  affairs  in  their  own  way.  The  Allies  had  no  desire 
to  exploit  or  make  use  of  Russia.  They  recognized  the  revolu- 
tion without  reservation,  and  would  in  no  way,  and  under  no 
circumstances,  give  countenance  to  a  counter  revolution,  nor 
favor,  nor  aid  any  one  of  the  organized  groups  contending  for  the 
leadership  of  Russia.  The  associated  powers  had  no  other  pur- 
pose than  to  bring  to  Russia  peace,  and  an  opportunity  to  find  a 
way  out  of  the  troubles  that  beset  her.  They  were  engaged  in 
the  solemn  duty  of  establishing  peace  in  Europe,  and  in  the 
world ;  but  there  could  be  no  peace  in  Europe  and  in  the  world 
while  there  was  strife  in  Russia.  To  this  end,  therefore,  they 
invited  every  organized  group  exercising,  or  seeking  to  exercise, 
political  authority,  or  military  control,  anywhere  in  Siberia,  or 
anywhere  within  the  boundaries  of  Russia  as  she  was  before 
the  war,  Finland  alone  excepted,  to  send  not  more  than  three 
representatives  each  to  meet,  on  February  15,  delegates  from 
the  associated  Powers,  on  the  Island  of  Prinkipo,  one  of  the 
group  known  as  the  Princes'  Islands  in  the  Sea  of  Marmora, 
some  eight  miles  southeast  of  Constantinople.  These  groups 
were  the  Lenine  Bolshevist  Government,  the  Representative 
Constituent  Assembly,  the  Government  of  Omsk,  the  Kieff  Gov- 
ernment, the  Esthonian,  Lithuanian,  and  Lettish  Governments, 
Denikin's  Government,  the  Archangel  Government,  the  Tiflis 
Government,  the  Central  Committee  of  the  Revolutionary 
Socialist  Party,  the  League  of  Russian  Regeneration,  the  Rep- 
resentative Central  Committee  of  the  Social  Democratic  Party, 
and  certain  bodies  in  the  Caucasus.  Meantime  there  must  be  a 
truce  of  arms  amongst  the  parties  invited,  and  all  armed  forces 
sent  against  any  people  or  territory  within  the  bounds  of  old 
Russia,  against  Finland,  against  any  people  or  territory,  "whose 
autonomous  action"  was  "in  contemplation  in  the  fourteen  ar- 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  275 

tides  upon  which  the  present  negotiations  are  based,"  must  be 
"withdrawn  and  aggressive  military  actions  cease." 

No  sooner  was  the  policy  of  Council  towards  Russia  made 
known  than  there  arose  a  storm  of  opposition.  Sergius  Saza- 
noff,  one-time  Foreign  Minister  under  the  Czar,  and  then  rep- 
resenting the  Government  of  Yskaterinodar  and  the  Siberian 
Government  at  Omsk,  declared  he  would  not  go  to  Prinkipo  to 
confer  with  representatives  of  the  Russian  factions.  He  would 
"not  sit  with  assassins."  Prince  Lvoff,  former  Russian  Pre- 
mier, condemned  the  action  of  the  Council.  "We  never  thought 
the  Conference  would  begin  its  work  for  peace  by  renewing 
relations  with  our  tyrants.  The  Bolsheviki  have  won  their 
greatest  victory  in  Paris.  The  decision  of  the  Council  is  one 
of  danger  not  only  to  us  but  to  the  whole  world.  It  gives  new 
impetus  to  anarchy." 

In  England  the  press  was  sharply  divided  on  the  expediency 
of  the  Marmora  Conference.  We  hope,  said  one  journal,  the 
Morning  Post,  the  Russian  Bolsheviki  will  be  duly  grateful  to 
the  Peace  Conference.  They  have  not  indeed  been  invited  to 
Paris.  But  they  have  been  invited  to  the  Sea  of  Marmora, 
where  the  Allies  propose  to  leave  their  cards  on  them.  Our 
Russian  friends  will  also  be  duly  gratified.  The  Bolsheviki 
could  not  sit  down  to  table  with  us.  That  would  be  a  crime 
and  a  scandal.  But  with  our  Russian  friends — why,  with  them, 
it  is  a  different  matter.  The  Bolsheviki  have  robbed  them; 
murdered  their  fathers,  or  brothers,  or  paid  Chinese  coolies  to 
murder  them;  committed  unspeakable  outrages  upon  their 
wives  and  daughters;  murdered  the  Czar  and  the  whole  royal 
family,  and,  no  longer  ago  than  January  2,  shot  in  cold  blood 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  British  officers  returning  home  from 
prison  camps  in  Germany.  And  now  the  Allies,  their  Allies, 
ask  them  to  come  and  sit  around  a  table  with  them,  and  come 
to  a  happy  arrangement.  If  it  is  done  the  Sea  of  Marmora  will 
thenceforth  rank  with  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 

The  Daily  Telegraph  believed  that  to  have  any  dealings  with 
the  Bolsheviki,  guilty  of  such  acts  as  they  were  guilty  of,  was  a 


276     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

grave  mistake,  and  extremely  bad  policy.  Encouragement  was 
the  one  thing  likely  to  foster  the  growth  of  Bolshevism,  and  if 
the  proposals  of  the  Conference  did  not  involve  tacit  acceptance 
of,  and  encouragement  of,  the  forces  of  Trotsky  and  Lenine, 
"we  really  do  not  know  what  they  do  mean." 

The  London  Times  thought  the  act  of  the  Conference  was  all 
for  the  best.  The  meeting  might,  or  might  not,  take  place.  In 
either  case  it  would  be  "impossible  for  the  Bolsheviki  in  Russia 
to  keep  on  any  more."  If  they  did  not  attend  the  Marmora 
meeting  they  would  "reveal  themselves  as  enemies  of  the  human 
race."  And  whatever  step  the  Conference  might  find  it  neces- 
sary to  take  would  have  popular  approval  behind  it.  If  they 
came  and  behaved  reasonably,  the  gain  would  be  still  greater. 
"We  shall  have  made  the  peace  of  Europe  secure  without  further 
fighting." 

The  Manchester  Guardian  warmly  supported  the  proposal; 
the  Westminster  Gazette  claimed  that  the  reasons  which  favored 
the  Marmora  meeting  greatly  outweighed  all  that  could  be  said 
against  it. 

The  Council  of  Russian  National  and  Democratic  Political 
Organizations  Abroad  protested  to  M.  Clemenceau.  "We  should 
be  men  without  honor  and  courage  if  we  accepted,  for  a  single 
moment,  a  truce  such  as  proposed  to  us,  while  all  that  are  dear 
are  in  danger  of  death,  violent  death  by  execution  or  assassina- 
tion, or  slow  death  through  hunger."  According  to  the  French 
Socialist  newspaper,  L'Humanite,  the  Bolshevist  Government 
at  Moscow  was  surprised  that  the  invitation  came  at  a  time 
when  the  Bolsheviki  were  victorious  in  the  field.  Vasili  Mak- 
lakoff,  the  last  Russian  Ambassador  to  France,  thought  it 
strange  that  France  should,  in  December,  when  stating  her 
attitude  towards  Bolshevism,  declare  she  "would  never  have 
anything  to  do  with  crime,"  and,  in  January,  join  in  the  pro- 
posal to  hold  a  conference  with  the  Bolsheviki  at  Princes' 
Island.  In  our  own  country  the  Russians  pointed  out  that  the 
offer  came  at  a  moment  most  fortunate  for  the  Bolsheviki. 
Beaten  by  the  Esthonians,  driven  out  of  Perm,  defeated  in  the 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  277 

Don  country,  checked  on  the  Archangel  front,  and  with  Trotsky 
about  to  abandon  Petrograd,  the  Bolshevik!  were  sorely  in  need 
of  just  such  a  respite  as  this  offer  would  afford.  At  New  York, 
the  Russian  Economic  League,  learning  from  newspaper  re- 
ports that  it  had  been  proposed  to  admit  "agents  of  the  so-called 
Bolshevist  government"  to  the  Peace  Conference,  protested 
bitterly  against  any  dealings  with  such  men.  In  the  United 
States  Senate,  on  the  other  hand,  the  offer  found  support.  One 
Senator  thought  it  a  most  fortunate  agreement  among  the 
Powers,  a  start  towards  solving  the  Russian  problem,  an  en- 
couraging augury  for  the  ultimate  settlement  of  Russian  affairs 
by  the  Russian  people  themselves.  Another  was  thoroughly  in 
favor  of  the  offer.  It  was  a  hopeful  and  encouraging  thing. 
Russia  ought  to  have  the  right  of  self-determination  of  her  own 
affairs.  A  third  was  opposed.  With  the  record  of  the  perfidy 
of  Trotsky  and  Lenine  before  us;  with  the  proof  we  have  that 
they  acted  as  the  agents  of  Germany,  in  view  of  the  bloody  class 
warfare  they  have  carried  on,  and  because  of  their  denuncia- 
tion of  our  own  nation,  and  the  democratic  principles  on  which 
it  is  founded,  he  failed  to  see  how  the  Peace  Conference  could, 
with  honor  to  itself,  or  a  decent  regard  for  the  nations  it  repre- 
sented, have  any  dealings  with  the  Bolsheviki. 

Having  decided  on  its  policy  towards  Russia,  the  Supreme 
Council  called  a  full  session  of  the  Peace  Conference  for  the      . 
afternoon  of  Saturday,  January  25,  to  take  up  for  consideration 
the  plan  of  Lloyd  George  for  a  League  of  Nations. 

Meanwhile  the  Council  went  on  with  its  work.  It  conferred 
with  the  military  leaders  as  to  strength  of  the  Allied  forces  to 
be  kept  on  the  western  front  during  the  armistice,  and  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  consider  the  question.  It  took  up 
"territorial  readjustments,"  in  connection  with  the  conquest  of 
the  German  Colonies,  and  sent  out,  by  wireless,  a  warning  to 
those  using  armed  force  to  gain  possession  of  territory  "the 
rightful  claim  to  which  the  Peace  Conference  is  to  be  asked  to 
determine." 


278     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  governments  now  associated  in  conference  to  effect  a  lasting 
peace  among  the  nations  are  deeply  disturbed  by  the  news  which 
comes  to  them  of  the  many  instances  in  which  armed  force  is  being 
made  use  of  in  many  parts  of  Europe,  and  the  east,  to  gain  pos- 
session of  territory,  the  rightful  claim  to  which  the  Peace  Confer- 
ence is  to  be  asked  to  determine.  They  deem  it  their  duty  to  utter 
a  solemn  warning  that  possession  gained  by  force  will  seriously 
prejudice  the  claims  of  those  who  use  this  means.  It  will  create 
the  presumption  that  those  who  employ  force  doubt  the  justice  and 
validity  of  their  claims,  and  purpose  to  substitute  possession  for 
proof  of  right,  and  set  up  sovereignty  by  coercion  rather  than  by 
racial  or  national  preference,  and  natural  historical  association. 
They  thus  put  a  cloud  upon  every  evidence  of  title  they  may  after- 
ward allege,  and  indicate  their  distrust  of  the  Conference  itself. 

Nothing  but  the  most  unfortunate  results  can  ensue.  If  they 
expect  justice  they  must  refrain  from  force  and  place  their  claims 
in  unclouded  good  faith  in  the  hands  of  the  conference  of  peace. 

To  the  Peace  Conference,  when  it  met  in  full  session  on 
Saturday,  President  Wilson  said  in  substance:  They  were  as- 
sembled for  two  purposes,  to  bring  about  settlements  made  nec- 
essary by  the  war,  and  to  secure  the  peace  of  the  world.  A 
League  of  Nations  seemed  necessary,  for  both  these  purposes. 
It  might  well  be  that  many  of  the  settlements  arranged  by  the 
Conference  would  need  to  be  altered  later.  Some  machinery, 
therefore,  by  which  the  work  of  the  Conference  could  be  made 
final  was  most  desirable.  But  there  was  more  to  be  done  than 
satisfy  "governmental  circles."  The  opinion  of  mankind  must 
be  satisfied.  The  delegates  to  the  Conference  were  "not  the 
representatives  of  governments,  but  representatives  of  the 
people,"  and  were  bidden,  by  these  people,  "to. make  a  peace 
that  will  make  them  secure." 

In  a  sense,  the  United  States  is  less  interested  in  this  subject 
than  the  other  nations  here  assembled.  With  her  great  territory 
and  her  extensive  sea  borders,  it  is  less  likely  that  the  United  States 
should  suffer  from  the  attacks  of  enemies  than  that  other  nations 
should  suffer.  And  the  ardor  of  the  United  States — for  it  is  a  very 
deep  and  genuine  ardor — for  the  society  of  nations  is  not  an  ardor 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  279 

springing  out  of  fear  or  apprehension,  but  an  ardor  springing  out 
of  the  ideals  which  have  come  in  the  consciousness  of  this  war. 

In  coming  into  this  war  the  United  States  never  for  a  moment 
thought  that  she  was  intervening  in  the  politics  of  Europe,  or  the 
politics  of  Asia,  or  the  politics  of  any  part  of  the  world.  Her 
thought  was  that  all  the  world  had  now  become  conscious  that  there 
was  a  single  cause  of  justice  and  of  liberty  for  men  of  every  kind 
and  place. 

Therefore,  the  United  States  should  feel  that  its  part  in  this 
war  should  be  played  in  vain  if  there  ensued  upon  it  abortive 
European  settlements.  It  would  feel  that  it  could  not  take  part  in 
guaranteeing  those  European  settlements  unless  that  guarantee  in- 
volved the  continuous  superintendence  of  the  peace  of  the  world  by 
the  associated  nations  of  the  world. 

Therefore,  it  seems  to  me  that  we  must  concert  our  best  judgment 
in  order  to  make  this  League  of  Nations  a  thing  sometimes  called 
into  life  to  meet  an  exigency,  but  always  functioning  in  watchful 
attendance  upon  the  interests  of  the  nations,  and  that  its  con- 
tinuity should  be  a  vital  continuity,  its  functions  continuing  func- 
tions, that  do  not  permit  an  intermission  of  its  watchfulness  and 
of  its  labor;  that  it  should  be  the  eye  of  the  nations,  to  keep  watch 
upon  the  common  interest,  an  eye  that  did  not  slumber,  an  eye 
that  was  everywhere  watchful  and  attentive. 

And  if  we  do  not  make  it  vital,  what  shall  we  do?  We  shall  dis- 
appoint the  expectations  of  the  peoples.  This  is  what  their  thought 
centers  upon. 

Gentlemen,  the  select  classes  of  mankind  are  no  longer  the  gov- 
ernors of  mankind.  The  fortunes  of  mankind  are  now  in  the  hands 
of  the  plain  people  of  the  whole  world.  Satisfy  them,  and  you  have 
justified  their  confidence  not  only,  but  have  established  peace.  Fail 
to  satisfy  them,  and  no  arrangement  that  you  can  make  will  either 
set  up  or  steady  the  peace  of  the  world. 

You  can  imagine,  I  dare  say,  the  sentiments  and  the  purpose 
with  which  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  support  this 
great  project  for  a  League  of  Nations.  We  regard  it  as  the  keynote 
of  the  whole,  which  expressed  our  purposes  and  ideals  in  this  war 
and  which  the  associated  nations  have  accepted  as  the  basis  of  a 
settlement. 

If  we  return  to  the  United  States  without  having  made  every 
effort  in  our  power  to  realize  this  program,  we  should  return  to 
meet  the  merited  scorn  of  our  fellow-citizens.  For  they  are  a 


280     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

body  that  constitute  a  great  democracy.  They  expect  their  leaders  to 
speak;  their  representatives  to  be  their  servants. 

We  have  no  choice  but  to  obey  their  mandate.  But  it  is  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm  and  pleasure  that  we  accept  that  mandate. 
And  because  this  is  the  keynote  of  the  whole  fabric,  we  have  pledged 
our  every  purpose  to  it,  as  we  have  to  every  item  of  the  fabric.  We 
would  not  dare  abate  a  single  item  of  the  program  which  consti- 
tutes our  instructions;  we  would  not  dare  to  compromise  upon  any 
matter  as  the  champion  of  this  thing — this  peace  of  the  world,  this 
attitude  of  justice,  this  principle  that  we  are  the  masters  of  no 
peoples,  but  are  here  to  see  that  every  people  in  the  world  shall 
choose  its  own  masters  and  govern  its  own  destinies,  not  as  we  wish, 
but  as  they  wish. 

We  are  here  to  see,  in  short,  that  the  very  foundations  of  this 
war  are  swept  away.  Those  foundations  were  the  private  choice 
of  a  small  coterie  of  civil  rulers  and  military  staffs.  Those  founda- 
tions were  the  aggression  of  great  powers  upon  the  small.  Those 
foundations  were  the  holding  together  of  empires  of  unwilling  sub- 
jects by  the  duress  of  arms.  Those  foundations  were  the  power  of 
small  bodies  of  men  to  wield  their  will  and  use  mankind  as  pawns 
in  a  game. 

And  nothing  less  than  the  emancipation  of  the  world  from  these 
things  will  accomplish  peace. 

When  the  President  had  finished  his  speech  Lloyd  George 
rose  and  said: 

Had  I  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  this  League  of 
Nations,  it  would  have  vanished  before  the  spectacle  as  I  saw  it 
last  Sunday,  when  I  visited  a  region  which,  but  a  few  years  ago, 
was  one  of  the  fairest  in  this  very  fair  land. 

We  drove  for  hours  through  what  was  a  wilderness  of  desolation. 
It  did  not  look  like  a  country  where  there  were  habitations  of  men, 
but  it  was  torn  and  shattered  and  rent  beyond  all  recognition.  We 
visited  one  city,  which  had  been  very  beautiful,  but  where  we  saw 
scenes  which  no  indemnity  can  ever  make  good. 

One  of  the  cruelest  features  was  the  knowledge  that  Frenchmen, 
who  love  their  land  almost  more  than  any  other  people,  had  had 
to  assist  the  enemy  in  demolishing  their  own  homes.  I  said  to 
myself  that  it  is  surely  time  we  set  up  some  other  method  to  settle 
quarrels  than  this  organized  slaughter. 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

I  do  not  know  if  we  shall  succeed  in  our  enterprise,  but 
already  a  success  that  we  have  undertaken  it. 

Before  the  session  closed  for  the  day  the  Conference  unani- 
mously resolved :  That  it  was  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  world  settlement  about  to  be  established  that  a  League  of 
Nations  be  formed  to  promote  international  obligations,  and 
prevent  war;  that  the  League  be  an  integral  part  of  the  treaty 
of  peace;  that  it  be  open  to  every  civilized  nation;  that  its 
members  meet  periodically;  and  that  there  be  a  permanent 
organization  with  secretaries  to  carry  on  business  between  the 
meetings.  Having  reached  this  decision  it  was  determined  that 
a  committee,  representative  of  the  associated  governments,  be 
appointed  to  frame  the  constitution,  and  arrange  the  duties  of 
the  League,  and  draft  resolutions  in  respect  to  breaches  of  the 
laws  of  war,  for  the  consideration  of  the  Peace  Conference. 
A  commission  of  two  representatives  of  each  of  the  five  great 
powers,  and  five  to  be  elected  by  the  other  powers,  it  was 
ordered,  should  consider  and  report  on  the  responsibility  of  the 
authors  of  the  war ;  on  the  facts  as  to  breaches  of  the  laws  and 
customs  of  war  by  the  forces  of  the  German  Empire,  and  their 
allies,  on  land,  on  sea,  and  in  the  air  during  the  war;  on  the 
degree  of  responsibility  for  these  offenses  attaching  to  par- 
ticular members  of  the  enemies'  forces,  however  highly  placed  ; 
on  the  organization  and  procedure  of  a  tribunal  for  the  trial  of 
these  offenders,  and  on  all  other  matters  which  might  arise  in 
the,  course  of  the  inquiry,  and  which  the  commission  might 
think  it  useful  to  consider. 

Another  commission,  composed  of  three  representatives  from 
each  of  the  five  great  powers,  and  two  each  from  Belgium, 
Greece,  Poland,  Roumania  and  Serbia,  was  to  examine  and 
report  on  the  amount  of  reparation  the  enemy  countries  ought 
to  pay,  on  what  they  could  pay,  and  on  the  method,  form  and 
time  within  which  the  payment  should  be  made.  ' 

A  third  commission  of  two  representatives  from  each  of  the 
five  great  powers  and  five  elected  by  the  nations  represented  at 


282     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  Peace  Conference  was  to  inquire  "into  the  conditions  of 
employment  from  the  international  aspect,"  consider  the  "inter- 
national means  necessary  to  secure  common  action  on  matters 
affecting  conditions  of  employment,"  and  suggest  "the  form  of 
a  permanent  agency  to  continue  such  inquiry,"  in  cooperation 
"with  and  under  the  direction  of  the  League  of  Nations."  A 
fourth  was  "to  report  upon  the  international  regime  for  ports, 
waterways  and  railways." 

Assignments  of  memberships  on  these  conference  committees 
were  far  from  pleasing  to  the  small  nations.  Belgium  objected 
strongly,  to  the  small  number  allotted  her,  and  one  after  an- 
other delegates  of  other  small  nations  rose  to  endorse  her  objec- 
tion. When  they  had  finished  Premier  Clemenceau  mildly 
reminded  them  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  great  Powers  they 
might  not  have  been  at  a  peace  conference.  When  the  armistice 
was  declared,  he  told  them,  the  five  powers  which  formed  the 
Supreme  Council,  from  whose  program  they  dissented,  had 
twelve  million  men  under  arms,  and  could  count  their  dead  by 
millions,  and  intimated  that  in  all  matters  they  should  have 
most  to  say.  The  little  powers  were  not  convinced  and  Sunday 
was  spent  by  the  Belgians  and  the  Serbians  in  framing  protests 
to  M.  Clemenceau.  Belgium  and  Serbia  claimed  that  they  had 
suffered,  proportionally,  as  much  as  the  great  nations,  and 
ought  to  have  separate  representation  on  the  committees,  and 
not  be  lumped  with  other  small  nations  which  had  scarcely  felt 
the  horrors  of  the  war.  Three  groups  of  nations,  they  sug- 
gested, should  be  formed:  the  five  great  powers,  and  Belgium 
and  Serbia  which  were  great  sufferers;  nations  which  fought, 
but  had  not  suffered  as  had  Belgium  and  Serbia;  and  nations 
which  declared  war  but  did  not  take  part,  or  much  part,  in  the 
fighting.  Eepresentation  they  held  should  be  according  to  these 
groups. 

Despite  these  protests  no  action  was  taken,  and  on  Monday 
afternoon  delegates  of  the  nineteen  small  nations  met  under  the 
chairmanship  of  M.  Jules  Cambon  and  quietly  appointed' their 
members  of  the  Commissions,  according  to  the  decision  of  the 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  283 

Peace  Conference  on  Saturday.  While  they  were  so  engaged 
the  Supreme  Council  formed  two  more  commissions,  one  to 
deal  with  matters  of  finance,  and  one  with  questions  of  "private 
and  maritime  laws" ;  continued  the  exchange  of  views  on  "the 
former  German  Colonies  in  the  Pacific  and  the  Far  East"; 
and  listened  to  the  Chinese  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  on 
colonial  matters  in  which  his  country  was  especially  concerned. 
On  Tuesday,  the  28th,  this  exchange  of  views  was  again  con- 
tinued, and  the  delegates  of  Australia,  New  Zealand,  China, 
Japan,  and  the  French  Minister  of  the  Colonies  were  heard. 
President  Wilson  contended  that  the  German  Colonies  should 
be  "internationalized,"  placed  under  the  care  of  the  League  of 
Nations.  It  was  his  wish  that  each  colony  taken  over  by  the 
League  should  not  be  given  outright  to  any  nation,  but  should 
be  watched  over  and  governed  by  some  Power  under  a  mandate 
from  the  League  of  Nations.  There  were  many  objections  to 
this  plan.  Australia  claimed  German  New  Guinea  and  the 
Bismarck  Archipelago;  New  Zealand  claimed  Samoa;  Japan 
desired  the  Marshall  and  Caroline  groups,  and  a  secret  treaty 
of  1916  between  Great  Britain  and  Japan  gave  the  islands 
north  of  the  equator  to  Great  Britain  and  those  south  of  the 
line  to  Japan.  China  urged  the  return  to  her  of  Kiau-Chau, 
ceded  by  her  under  pressure  to  Germany,  and  taken  from  the 
Germans  by  Japan  in  the  early  days  of  the  war.  Both  houses 
of  the  Federal  Commonwealth  of  Australia,  soon  after  the 
armistice,  resolved  that  it  was  essential  to  the  future  safety  and 
welfare  of  Australia  that  the  captured  German  possessions  in 
the  Pacific,  occupied  by  Australian  and  New  Zealand  troops, 
should  not,  under  any  circumstances,  be  returned  to  Germany. 
And  it  was  expected  that  Great  Britain  would  stand  by  her 
colonies.  Indeed,  a  part  of  the  British  press  called  upon  their 
delegates  to  do  so.  The  London  Globe  declared  if  they  did  not, 
the  one-time  German  Colonies  would  fall  under  the. control  of  a 
League  of  Nations  that  did  not  exist,  and  which  no  practical 
statesman  approved.  The  Standard  considered  the  possession 
of  the  Pacific  Islands,  and  German  Southwest  Africa,  as  neces, 


284     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

sary  to  safeguard  Australia  and  South  Africa.  Australia  was 
just  as  much  interested  in  the  annexation  of  the  Pacific  Islands 
as  was  the  United  States  when  she  annexed  Hawaii.  The 
Morning  Post  declared  that  if  the  British  delegates  weakly  per- 
sisted in  their  attitude  of  not  supporting  the  Dominions,  they 
were  not  only  surrendering  British  interests  intrusted  to  them, 
but  were  sowing  the  seeds  of  discontent  which  some  day  might 
disrupt  the  Empire.  The  League  of  Nations,  the  world  had 
been  assured,  was  to  be  an  international  body  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  peace ;  but  Mr.  Wilson's  proposal  would  make  it  the 
ruler  of  territory.  The  British  Empire  was  to  take  its  tenure 
from  the  League,  and  administer  territories  it  had  won  in  war. 
This  would  be  an  abrogation  of  sovereignty  and  ownership  the 
British  delegates  had  no  right  to  make.  The  idea  of  making 
the  British  Government,  or  a  Dominion  Government,  the  serv- 
ant of  an  international  superior  was  one  the  British  people 
would  never  endure.  Even  the  London  Times  thought  that,  by 
all  laws  of  race,  geography  and  convenience,  it  was  far  better 
to  hand  over  Southwest  Africa  and  the  South  Pacific  Islands 
to  the  Dominions  of  South  Africa,  New  Zealand  and  Australia, 
than  make  them  beneficiaries  under  reluctant  trustees. 

The  Westminster  Gazette  did  not  think  the  Dominions  need 
be  alarmed ;  they  were  sure  to  be  the  mandatories  of  the  terri- 
tories in  question.  Unable  to  come  to  a  final  decision,  the 
Supreme  Council  agreed,  as  a  provisional  arrangement,  that 
there  should  be  no  annexations  of  territory  taken  from  the 
enemy ;  that  the  people  of  civilized  territory,  wherever  it  might 
be,  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  or  the  Islands,  should  select  the 
nations  they  were  willing  to  have  as  mandatories,  and  that  the 
League  of  Nations  should  choose  the  governments  to  administer 
the  affairs  of  peoples  too  uncivilized  for  self-determination.  As 
another  step  towards  world  pacification  President  Wilson  now 
recognized  the  provisional  government  of  Poland,  and  the 
Supreme  Council  directed  the  military  representatives  of  the 
Allied  and  Associated  Powers  to  report  what  military  force 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  285 

was  necessary  to  maintain  order  in  Turkey,  and  what  propor- 
tion each  should  contribute. 

Approach  of  the  day  set  by  the  President  for  his  return  to 
Washington  made  the  utmost  speed  necessary  if  he  were  to 
bring  back  with  him,  as  he  wished,  the  finished  draft  of  the 
League  of  Nations.  Speed  accordingly  was  made,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days  the  Preamble  and  eleven  of  the  two  and 
twenty  articles  were  accepted  provisionally.  It  was  then  the 
seventh  of  February  and  the  German  Assembly,  another  body 
whose  duty  it  was  to  frame  a  Constitution,  was  in  session  at 
Weimar. 

Following  the  German  practice  of  frightfulness  and  terror- 
ism, Chancellor  Ebert,  in  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  the 
Assembly  on  the  afternoon  of  February  6,  denounced  the  terms 
of  the  armistice  and  threatened  the  Allies.  The  occasion  called 
for  a  temperate  and  dignified  speech  outlining  a  policy  of  con- 
struction, and  reminding  the  delegates  of  the  solemn  responsi- 
bilities which  rest  on  those  who,  having  pulled  down  one  form 
of  government,  are  about  to  set  up  another.  But  the  Chancellor 
made  no  such  speech.  We  are  done,  said  he,  with  Princes  and 
Nobles  by  the  grace  of  God.  The  German  people  are  now  ruling 
themselves.  Need  delivered  the  German  people  into  the  hands 
of  their  enemies,  but  we  protest  against  their  becoming  slaves, 
for  thirty,  forty,  or  sixty  years.  He  then  denounced  the  expul- 
sion of  Germans  from  Alsace,  and  the  detention  of  800,000 
prisoners  of  war;  branded  the  terms  of  the  armistice  as  "of 
unheard  of  severity,"  and  as  "carried  out  without  shame,"  and 
warned  "our  adversaries  not  to  push  us  too  far."  Like  General 
Winterfeldt  (who  had  resigned  from  the  armistice  commission), 
the  whole  German  Government  might  eventually  be  forced  to 
renounce  collaborating  in  the  peace  discussions,  and  throw  upon 
its  adversaries  all  the  weight  of  responsibility  for  the  new  world 
organization.  Confident  in  the  promises  of  President  Wilson, 
"Germany  lay  down  her  arms,  and  we  await  the  peace  of 
President  Wilson  to  which  we  have  a  right." 

Having  listened  to  Ebert,  the  Assembly  finished  its  organ- 


286     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ization,  and  on  the  fifth  day  of  its  session  adopted  a  provisional 
Constitution  for  the  German  Empire,  and  elected  Ebert  Presi- 
dent of  Germany.  Opposition  was  made  by  Independent 
Socialists  to  the  frequent  use  in  the  Constitution  of  the  word 
"empire."  "Kepublic,"  it  was  insisted,  should  be  used  instead ; 
but  opposition  was.  of  no  avail  and  "empire"  remained. 

Germany  was  thus  provided  with  a  government  with  which 
the  Allies,  and  the  Peace  Conference,  could  deal.  How  would 
that  body  deal  with  her  ?  The  Supreme  War  Council,  accord- 
ing to  report,  was  sharply  divided  as  to  the  terms  on  which  the 
armistice  should  be  continued  when  it  expired  on  February  17, 
and  had  referred  the  matter  to  a  sub-committee.  France  de- 
manded the  dismantling  of  the  forts  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  continued  occupation  of  the  left  bank,  reduction  of  the 
German  army  to  twenty-five  divisions,  control  of  the  Essen 
munition  works  by  the  Allies,  and  no  lifting  of  the  blockade. 
Against  this  the  Americans,  and  those  who  opposed  the  French, 
contended  that  fair  treatment  of  the  neutrals  of  Europe,  and 
of  Germany,  required  that  the  blockade  be  lifted.  Germany 
could  not  be  reduced  to  economic  helplessness,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  forced  to  pay  her  heavy  war  indemnities.  Great 
Britain,  said  the  French,  is  protected  by  the  sea,  and  by  a  great 
fleet;  three  thousand  miles  of  ocean  part  America  and  Ger- 
many ;  but  one  step  will  take  a  man  from  Germany  to  France. 
What  guarantees  has  France  that  Germany,  made  stronger  than 
ever  by  union  with  Austria,  will  not  take  that  step?  France 
must  be  protected  for  all  time  to  come  against  the  military  and 
industrial  aggression  of  Germany.  There  must  be  an  inter- 
national army  to  enforce  the  decrees  of  the  League  of  Nations. 
As  the  work  of  the  commission  appointed  to  frame  a  plan  for  a 
League  of  Nations  drew  to  a  close,  M.  Leon  Bourgeoise,  there- 
fore, in  the  name  of  the  French  Government,  presented  an 
article  providing  for  the  creation  of  an  international  army.  It 
was  not  accepted,  and  on  Friday,  February  14,  President 
Wilson  read  to  the  Peace  Conference  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mission on  the  anxiously  awaited  plan,  Representatives  of 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  287 

fourteen  nations,  he  said,  had  accepted  it  without  a  dissenting 
voice.1  The  event  was  epoch  making.  At  last  what  had  often 
seemed  the  wild  dream  of  idealists  had  been  realized,  and  the 
great  nations  of  both  continents  were  about  to  bind  themselves 
to  keep  the  peace,  and,  if  need  be,  force  others  to  do  the  same. 

This  instrument,  as  read  by  the  President,  consisted  of  a 
Covenant  and  a  Constitution  of  the  League  of  Nations.  As  set 
forth  in  the  Covenant,  or  Preamble,  the  signatory  powers 
adopted  the  Constitution  in  order  to  "promote  international 
cooperation  and  secure  international  peace  and  security,"  by 
binding  themselves  "not  to  resort  to  war";  by  maintaining 
"open,  just  and  honorable  relations";  by  firmly  establishing 
international  law;  and  by  maintaining  "justice  and  a  scru- 
pulous respect  for  all  treaty  obligations." 

The  Constitution,  as  yet,  was  but  a  report  of  a  Commission 
to  the  Peace  Conference,  and  subject  to  such  amendments  and 
additions  as  that  body  might  think  proper.  Not  until  finished 
and  ratified  was  it  binding  on  any  nation.  As  drafted,  the 
Constitution  provided  for  a  body  of  delegates  and  an  Executive 
Council.  The  body  of  delegates  was  to  consist  of  not  more  than 
three  from  each  of  the  high  contracting  parties,  and  was  to 
meet  from  time  to  time  and  deal  with  matters  within  the  sphere 
of  the  League,  each  power  having  one  vote.  The  Executive 
Council  was  to  be  composed  of  delegates  from  the  five  great 
powers,  and  four  others,  selected  by  the  Council  in  such  manner 
as  might  seem  fit,  and  was  to  meet  at  least  once  a  year,  or  as 
often  as  occasion  might  require,  at  the  seat  of  the  League,  and 
deal  with  any  matter  within  the  sphere  of  the  League,  or  affect- 
ing the  peace  of  the  world.  There  was  to  be  a  Secretary  Gen- 
eral, and  a  "Secretariat"  appointed  by  him  and  approved  by 
the  Executive  Council.  Representatives  of  the  high  contract- 
ing parties  and  officials  of  the  League  were  to  have  diplomatic 
privileges  and  immunities,  and  buildings  occupied  by  the 

*The  nations  were  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  United  States,  Japan, 
Belgium,  Brazil,  China,  Czechoslovakia,  Greece,  Poland,  Portugal,  Rou- 
maiiia,  Serbia. 


288     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

League,  its  officers  or  representatives  attending  its  meetings, 
were  to  have  the  benefits  of  extra  territoriality. 

Self-governing  States,  not  among  the  fourteen  signatories, 
might  be  admitted  to  the  League  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the 
States  represented  in  the  Council,  but  none  should  be  admitted 
unless  able  to  guarantee  "its  sincere  intention  to  observe  its 
international  obligations,"  nor  unless  "it  shall  conform  to  such 
principles"  as  the  League  might  prescribe  for  "its  naval  and 
military  forces  and  armaments." 

The  League  recognized  that  maintenance  of  peace  required 
"reduction  of  national  armaments  to  the  lowest  point  consistent 
with  national  safety,  and  the  enforcement,  by  common  action, 
of  international  obligations."  On  the  Executive  Council  was 
laid  the  duty  of  framing  a  plan  for  such  reductions,  with  due 
regard  to  the  geographical  situation  and  condition  of  each 
State ;  of  determining  for  the  consideration  of  the  several  States 
what  military  equipment,  and  armament,  were  fair  and  reason- 
able; and  advising  how  the  evils  of  private  manufacture  of 
munitions  and  implements  of  war  might  be  prevented  without 
injury  to  states  unable  to  manufacture  enough  for  their  own 
defense.  A  permanent  commission  was  to  advise  the  League 
on  the  execution  of  all  these  provisions,  and  on  military  and 
naval  matters  generally. 

Territorial  integrity,  and  existing  political  independence,  of 
all  members  of  the  League  must  be  preserved  against  external 
aggression.  War,  or  threat  of  war,  was  to  be  a  matter  of  con- 
cern to  the  League  which  might  take  any  action  necessary  to 
keep  the  peace  of  nations. 

Should  a  dispute,  which  could  not  be  adjusted  by  the  ordi- 
nary process  of  diplomacy,  arise  between  the  high  contracting 
parties,  they  were  in  no  case  to  resort  to  war  without  first  sub- 
mitting the  matters  involved  to  arbitration,  or  to  inquiry  by 
the  Executive  Council,  nor  until  three  months  after  the  arbitra- 
tors had  made  their  award,  or  the  Council  its  recommendation. 
Even  then  war  must  not  be  waged  against  a  member  of  the 
League  which  accepted  the  award,  or  recommendation. 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  289 

There  was  to  be  a  permanent  court  of  international  justice 
to  hear  and  determine  matters  which  the  parties  in  dispute 
might  consider  suitable  to  be  submitted  for  arbitration.  Should 
any  member  Break  the  covenant  regarding  war,  it  was  to  be 
considered  as  having  committed  an  act  of  war  against  all  other 
members  of  the  League,  and  be  immediately  subjected  to  a 
general  boycott.  What  military  and  naval  force  should  be 
raised  "to  protect  the  covenants  of  the  League,"  was  for  the 
Executive  Council  to  decide.  Each  member  State  must  afford 
passage  through  its  territories  "to  the  forces  of  any  of  the 
high  contracting  parties  who  are  cooperating  to  protect  the 
covenants  of  the  League." 

There  was  to  be  general  supervision,  by  the  League,  of  the 
trade  in  arms  and  munitions  with  countries  where  control  of 
this  traffic  was  necessary;  there  were  to  be  mandatories  to  ad- 
minister the  affairs  of  colonies  and  territories  "inhabited  by 
peoples  not  yet  able  to  stand  by  themselves" ;  there  was  to  be  a 
permanent  bureau  of  labor  "to  secure  and  maintain  fair  and 
humane  conditions  of  labor  for  men,  women  and  children"; 
there  was  to  be  "freedom  of  transit  and  equitable  treatment  for 
the  commerce  of  all  States  members  of  the  League" ;  control  of 
international  bureaus  established  by  treaties,  if  the  parties  con- 
sented; registration  with  the  Secretary  General  and  prompt 
publication  of  all  future  treaties  made  by  any  member  of  the 
League ;  and  the  abrogation  of  all  obligations  inconsistent  with 
the  terms  of  the  Constitution. 

The  instrument  was  not  the  work  of  any  one  man.  It  was 
composite,  was  made  of  selections  from  several  plans,  and  in 
its  lack  of  sequence  and  clarity  showed  unmistakable  signs  of 
haste. 

Having  finished  reading  the  plan,  the  President  proceeded  to 
discuss  the  document.  The  simplicity  of  the  League,  the  body 
of  delegates,  the  Executive  Council,  the  Secretariat  appealed  to 
him.  There  was  a  universal  feeling  that  the  world  would  not 
rest  satisfied  if  the  deliberating  body  was  composed  merely  of 
officials  representing  so  many  governments.  It  was  impossible 


290    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  have  an  assembly  so  large  as  to  be  representative  of  twelve 
hundred  million  people.  But,  with  each  government  free  to 
send  one,  two,  or,  if  it  pleased,  three  representatives,  though 
with  but  one  vote,  it  might  change  its  representation  from  time 
to  time,  and  so  gratify  "the  virtually  universal  opinion  of  plain 
men  everywhere  that  they  wanted  the  door  left  open  to  a  variety 
of  representation  instead  of  being  confined  to  a  single  official 
body." 

To  safeguard  the  popular  power  of  this  representative  body 
it  was  provided  that,  when  a  subject  in  dispute  was  submitted, 
it  was  not  to  arbitration,  but  for  discussion,  by  the  Executive 
Council.  On  demand  of  either  party  it  could  be  drawn  from 
the  Executive  Council  to  the  body  of  delegates  "because  through 
this  instrument  we  are  depending  primarily  and  chiefly  upon 
one  great  force,  and  this  is  the  moral  force  of  the  public  opinion 
of  the  world."  Armed  force  was  in  the  background,  but  it  was 
in  the  background,  and  if  the  moral  force  of  the  world  did  not 
suffice,  the  physical  force  of  the  world  must.  "But  this  is  the 
last  resort  because  this  is  intended  as  a  constitution  of  peace, 
not  a  league  of  war," 

He  would  say,  therefore,  of  this  document,  "that  it  is  not  a 
strait  jacket,  but  a  vehicle  of  life." 

A  living  thing  is  born,  and  we  must  see  to  it  what  clothes  we 
put  on  it  now.  It  is  not  a  vehicle  of  power,  but  a  vehicle  in  which 
power  may  be  varied  at  the  discretion  of  those  who  exercise  it  and 
in  accordance  with  the  changing  circumstances  of  the  time.  And 
yet,  while  it  is  elastic,  while  it  is  general  in  its  terms,  it  is  definite 
in  the  one  thing  that  we  were  called  to  make  definite.  It  is  a 
definite  guarantee  of  peace.  It  is  a  definite  guarantee  against  the 
things  which  have  just  come  near  bringing  the  whole  structure  of 
civilization  into  ruin. 

Its  purposes  do  not  for  a  moment  lie  vague.  Its  purposes  are 
declared  and  its  powers  are  unmistakable.  It  is  not  in  contemplation 
that  this  should  be  merely  a  league  to  secure  the  peace  of  the  world. 
It  is  a  league  which  can  be  used  for  cooperation  in  any  interna- 
tional matter.  That  is  the  significance  of  the  provision  introduced 
concerning  labor.  There  are  many  ameliorations  of  labor  conditions 
which  can  be  effected  by  conference  and  discussion.  I  anticipate 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  291 

that  there  will  be  a  great  usefulness  in  the  bureau  of  labor  which 
it  is  contemplated  shall  be  set  up  by  the  league.  Men  and  women 
and  children  who  work  have  been  in  the  background  through  long 
ages  and  sometimes  seemed  to  be  forgotten  while  governments  have 
had  their  watchful  and  suspicious  eyes  upon  the  maneuvers  of  one 
another,  while  the  thought  of  statesmen  has  been  about  structural 
action  and  the  larger  transactions  of  commerce  and  of  finance. 

Now,  if  he  could  believe  the  picture  which  he  saw,  there  came 
into  the  foreground  the  great  body  of  the  laboring  people  of 
the  world,  "the  men  and  women  and  children  upon  whom  the 
great  burden  of  sustaining  the  world  must  from  day  to  day  fall, 
whether  we  wish  it  to  do  so  or  not ;  people  who  go  to  bed  tired 
and  wake  up  without  the  stimulation  of  lively  hope.  These 
people  will  be  drawn  into  the  field  of  international  consultation 
and  help,  and  will  be  among  the  wards  of  the  combined  govern- 
ments of  the  world." 

There  was  an  imperative  article  concerning  the  publicity  of 
all  international  agreements.  "Henceforth  no  member  of  the 
league  can  claim  any  agreement  valid  which  it  has  not  regis- 
tered with  the  secretary  general,  in  whose  office,  of  course,  it 
will  be  subject  to  the  examining  member  of  the  league.  And 
the  duty  is  laid  upon  the  secretary  general  to  publish  every 
document  of  that  sort  at  the  earliest  possible  time." 

There  was  another  provision  in  the  covenant  which,  to  his 
mind,  was  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  satisfactory  advances 
that  had  yet  been  made.  "We  are  done  with  annexations  of 
helpless  peoples,  meant  in  some  instances  by  some  Powers  to  be 
used  merely  for  exploitation.  We  recognize  in  the  most  solemn 
manner  that  the  helpless  and  undeveloped  peoples  of  the  world, 
being  in  that  condition,  put  an  obligation  upon  us  to  look  after 
their  interests  primarily  before  we  use  them  for  our  interests; 
and  that  in  all  cases  of  this  sort  hereafter  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  league  to  see  that  the  nations  who  are  assigned  as  the 
tutors  and  advisers  and  directors  of  these  peoples  'shall  look  to 
their  interests  and  their  development  before  they  look  to  the 
interests  and  desires  of  the  mandatory  nation  itself. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

"There  had  been  no  greater  advance  than  this.  If  you  looked 
back  upon  the  history  of  the  world  you  would  see  how  helpless 
peoples  have  too  often  been  a  prey  to  Powers  that  had  no  con- 
science in  the  matter.  One  of  the  many  distressing  revelations 
of  recent  years  was  that  the  great  Power  which  has  just  been, 
happily,  defeated,  put  intolerable  burdens  and  injustices  upon 
the  helpless  people  of  some  of  the  colonies  which  it  annexed  to 
itself;  that  its  interest  was  rather  their  extermination  than 
their  development ;  that  the  desire  was  to  possess  their  land  for 
European  purposes,  and  not  to  enjoy  their  confidence  in  order 
that  mankind  might  be  lifted  in  these  places  to  the  next  higher 
level. 

"Now  the  world,  expressing  its  conscience  in  law,  says,  there 
is  an  end  of  that;  that  our  consciences  shall  be  settled  to  this 
thing.  States  will  be  picked  out  which  have  already  shown  that 
they  can  exercise  a  conscience  in  this  matter,  and  under  their 
tutelage  the  helpless  peoples  of  the  world  will  come  into  a  new 
light  and  into  a  new  hope." 

Lord  Robert  Cecil  for  Great  Britain,  Leon  Bourgeoise  for 
France,  Premier  Orlando  for  Italy,  endorsed  the  plan,  the  Con- 
ference adjourned  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  that  night 
President  Wilson  left  Paris  for  Brest,  and  on  the  morrow  sailed 
for  home. 

It  was  then  time  to  arrange  the  new  armistice  terms,  for  the 
old  would  expire  at  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Monday, 
February  17.  Friday  afternoon,  therefore,  Herr  Erzberger 
and  the  German  delegates  met  Marshal  Foch  at  Treves,  and 
were  given  the  new  terms.  Efforts  made  by  Erzberger  to  obtain 
modifications  were  of  no  avail.  Foch  sternly  refused,  but 
agreed,  in  order  that  they  might  be  sent  to  Weimar,  to  allow 
the  Germans  until  six  o'clock  on  Sunday  night  to  decide  whether 
they  would,  or  would  not,  accept.  If  reports  from  Weimar  may 
be  trusted  the  Cabinet  spent  Saturday  afternoon  and  night,  and 
until  dawn  on  Sunday  morning,  considering  the  terms,  and  then 
agreed  on  rejection.  Before  proceeding  to  act  on  this  decision, 
however,  leaders  of  all  parties  were  hastily  summoned,  and  con- 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  293 

suited,  and  having  advised  the  Cabinet  to  accept,  it  did  so,  and, 
one  hour  before  the  time  granted  by  Foch  expired,  the  German 
delegates  at  Treves  received  instructions  to  sign.  Ere  they  did 
so  they  were  to  present  a  note  of  protest  to  Marshal  Foch.  The 
German  Government,  it  said,  was  aware  of  the  serious  conse- 
quences involved  in  either  signing,  or  rejecting,  the  armistice, 
and  when  instructing  its  delegates  to  sign  did  so  with  the  con- 
viction that  the  Allied  and  Associated  Governments  were  striv- 
ing to  restore  peace  to  the  world.  Complaint  was  then  made 
that  the  agreement  wholly  ignored  the  new  German  Govern- 
ment set  up  in  an  orderly  way  by  the  German  people,  and  curtly 
ordered  the  evacuation,  in  favor  of  the  insurgent  Poles,  of 
Birnbaum  and  Bentschen,  and  other  important  places.  Ger- 
many promised  to  carry  out  the  armistice  terms  she  had  not  as 
yet  succeeded  in  fulfilling,  but  assumed  her  obligations  would 
not  be  interpreted  in  a  manner  incompatible  with  President 
Wilson's  principles.  She  also  protested  against  the  provision 
that  the  Allies  might  end  the  armistice  at  any  time  on  three 
days'  notice. 

Scarcely  had  the  President  sailed  from  Brest  when  his  pri- 
vate secretary  at  Washington  made  known  to  the  Foreign 
Relations  Committee  of  the  Senate  and  House  a  message  cabled 
from  Paris  the  day  before.  Each  article  of  the  Constitution 
for  the  League  of  Nations,  the  President  said,  "was  passed  only 
after  the  most  careful  examination  by  each  member  of  the 
Committee."  There  was  good  reason  "for  the  phraseology  and 
substance  of  each  article."  He  requested,  therefore,  that  he 
might  go  over  the  constitution,  article  by  article,  with  the  com- 
mittees, before  it  became  "the  subject  of  debate  in  Congress," 
and  invited  them  to  dine  with  him  as  soon  as  possible  after  his 
arrival  in  the  United  States.  The  President,  it  was  announced, 
would  land  in  Boston,  and  the  dinner  would  be  on  February 
26. 

Leaders  in  the  Senate  were  in  no  frame  of  mind  to  comply. 
Since  the  receipt  of  the  President's  request,  said  Senator  Borah, 
his  secretary  has  announced  that  he  will  speak  in  Boston.  It 


294    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

seemed  likely  therefore  that  his  request,  that  the  Constitution 
of  the  League  should  not  be  debated,  had  been  modified.  There 
was  a  powerful  propaganda  under  way  in  favor  of  the  League. 
Ex-President  Taft  and  his  friends  were  traveling  the  country 
and  speaking  in  its  favor.  The  President  would  discuss  it,  the 
press,  the  people  in  clubs  and  hotel  lobbies  would  discuss  it,  as 
they  should.  There  was  no  reason  then  why  the  Senate,  in  an 
orderly  fashion,  should  not  debate  it,  and  if  that  body  had  any 
self-respect,  or  mental  courage,  it  would  discuss  it  whenever  it 
pleased.  "The  President,"  said  Senator  New,  "does  not  want 
the  Senate  to  talk,  and  yet  talks  to  everybody.  Now  he  pro- 
poses to  talk  in  public,  on  his  return,  in  Boston.  But  he  does 
not  want  any  one  else  to  talk,  neither  the  Senate,  nor  any  one 
else." 

Opposition  came  chiefly,  though  not  entirely,  from  the  Re- 
publican members,  who  held  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
League,  if  adopted,  would  force  us  to  abandon  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine, give  up  much  of  our  sovereignty  and  independence,  do 
many  things  in  flat  contravention  to  express  provisions  in  the 
Federal  Constitution,  and  submit  questions  of  foreign  policy, 
and  even  of  domestic  policy,  to  the  decision  of  a  body  in  which 
there  were  eight  foreign  votes  to  one  American.  In  support  of 
this  contention  Articles  VIII,  X,  XII,  XVIII  and  XIX  were 
cited. 

By  Article  VIII  the  Executive  Council  was  vested  with 
authority  to  determine  for  the  consideration  and  action  of  the 
several  governments  what  military  and  naval  armament  was 
fair  and  reasonable  for  the  needs  of  each.  Would  not  this  be 
an  impairment  of  the  sovereignty  and  independence  of  the 
United  States  ?  Was  not  the  Government  in  duty  bound  to  de- 
fend the  country  ?  What  would  the  people  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
in  the  Philippines,  along  our  Mexican  border,  say  to  giving 
Japan  and  Mexico  a  vote  in  deciding  how  many  ships,  and  how 
many  soldiers  we  should  be  allowed  to  maintain  ?  Neither  the 
President,  nor  the  Senate,  nor  Congress,  nor  all  combined, 
could  make  such  a  transfer,  to  foreign  powers,  of  that  inalien- 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  295 

able  attribute  of  our  sovereignty,  the  right  to  decide  for  our- 
selves what  shall  constitute  our  means  of  defense. 

Article  X  bound  the  members  of  the  League  to  preserve, 
against  foreign  aggression,  the  territorial  integrity,  and  present 
political  independence,  of  all  States  members  of  the  League, 
and  authorized  the  Executive  Council  to  determine  in  what 
manner  the  obligation  must  be  fulfilled.  If,  it  was  said,  the 
territorial  integrity  of  the  British  Empire  is  attacked,  the 
United  States  must  come  to  the  rescue.  We  have  no  choice,  for 
it  will  not  be  the  people  of  the  United  States,  nor  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  that  is  to  decide,  but  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil, by  the  vote  of  eight  foreign  powers  to  one  American. 
Should  trouble  arise  on  our  continent,  should  our  Republic  be 
threatened  by  Mexico  and  her  allies,  are  we  to  decide  what  is 
to  be  done  ?  Far  from  it.  This  Executive  Council  of  foreigners 
will  take  jurisdiction  and  decide  what  shall  be  done  in  this 
purely  American  affair.  Where  then  is  the  Monroe  Doctrine? 

Articles  XII,  XIII,  XIV,  XV  and  XVI  may  be  taken  to- 
gether, it  was  said.  They  provide  that  disputes  shall  be  sub- 
mitted to  arbitration,  that  the  parties  shall  abide  by  the  de- 
cision, that  in  event  of  refusal  the  Council  shall  propose  the 
steps  "which  can  best  be  taken  to  give  effect  thereto" ;  that  no 
party  shall  go  to  war  with  any  other  party  that  complies  with 
the  recommendations,  that  if  it  does  the  "Council  shall  propose 
measures  necessary  to  give  effect  to  the  recommendations,"  and 
that  in  case  of  a  refusal  to  arbitrate  the  offending  party  shall 
"be  deemed  to  have  committed  an  act  of  war"  against  all  other 
members  of  the  League,  and  the  Council  shall  decide  what  naval 
and  military  force  each  member  of  the  League  shall  contribute 
to  coerce  the  refractory  party.  Does  this  mean,  it  was  asked, 
that  in  a  Magdalena  Bay  affair  we  must  not  only  submit  our 
case  to  this  foreign  tribunal,  but  abide  by  the  decision  ?  Where 
then  is  the  Monroe  Doctrine  ?  Does  it  mean  if  we  do  not  abide 
by  the  decision  we  must  meet  a  world  in  arms  ? 

Article  XVIII  gives  to  the  League  supervision  of  the  trade 
in  arms  with  countries  which  need  warlike  material  for  defense. 


296    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Our  Constitution  gives  to  Congress  sole  power  to  regulate  trade 
with  foreign  countries.  Article  XIX  would  bind  us  to  take 
part  in  the  guardianship  of  small  nations,  and  would  inevitably 
force  us  to  send  ships  and  troops  to  Syria,  Armenia,  Africa. 

There  were  Democratic  Senators  who  thought  the  League 
Constitution  was  the  greatest  agency  for  world  peace  ever  de- 
vised by  man;  was  full  of  wise  provisions;  was  a  triumph  for 
the  President ;  was  a  great  step  forward  in  the  advance  of  civil- 
ized nations ;  was  a  thing  that  would  appeal  to  every  civilized 
nation,  and  did  not  in  the  least  impair  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 
It  was  a  world  Monroe  Doctrine  with  all  the  power  of  the 
League  behind  it;  it  was  the  only  means  by  which  the  peace 
of  the  world  could  be  maintained. 

Despite  the  request  of  the  President,  discussion  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  League  was  opened  in  the  Senate  on  February 
19.  Our  participation  in  such  a  league,  its  opponents  insisted, 
would  be  a  surrender  of  our  sovereignty,  a  violation  of  our  Con- 
stitution, an  abandonment  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  and  a  dis- 
regard of  Washington's  advice  to  keep  clear  of  permanent  alli- 
ances. The  Constitution  of  the  League  was  described  as  "the 
greatest  triumph  for  English  diplomacy  in  three  centuries  of 
English  diplomatic  life."  It  had  been  lifted  almost  bodily 
from  the  Constitution  proposed  by  General  Smuts  in  January, 
and  when  the  members  of  the  League  "finally  settle  down  to 
business  England  will  have  one  vote,  Canada  one  vote,  New 
Zealand  one  vote,  Australia  one  vote,  and  South  Africa  one 
vote,  while  the  American  nation,  created  by  our  fathers  and 
preserved  through  the  centuries  by  the  blood  and  sacrifice  of 
our  forebears,  will  have  one  vote.  In  both  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil and  the  delegated  body  the  same  proportion  obtains,  and 
these  two  bodies  direct,  dominate,  and  mark  out  the  policy  of 
this  entire  program,  whatever  it  is  to  be,  under  the  League." 

Great  Britain  was  to  surrender  nothing.  We,  on  the  other 
hand,  "have  surrendered  the  traditional  foreign  policy  of  this 
country,  which  has  been  established  for  100  years,  and  we  have 
gone  behind  these  powers  and  placed  at  their  disposal  our 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  297 

finances,  our  man-power,  and  our  full  capacity  to  guarantee  the 
integrity  of  their  possessions  all  over  the  glohe.  Is  it  an  even 
balance  between  these  great  powers  and  the  United  States?" 

Mr.  Taft  had  long  been  a  contributor  to  the  editorial  page  of 
the  Philadelphia  Ledger.  In  a  recent  editorial  he  had  declared 
the  Monroe  Doctrine  safe  under  the  Constitution  of  the  League 
of  Nations,  and  for  this  he  was  now  called  to  account  by  Sen- 
ator Borah  in  an  open  letter : 

In  a  statement  made  to  the  press,  and  which  was  incorporated  in 
the  Congressional  Record,  you  are  quoted  as  saying  that  the  pro- 
posed constitution  of  the  league  of  nations  saves  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine. On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Aranha,  Brazilian  diplomat,  and 
late  ambassador  at  The  Hague,  declares:  "The  Monroe  Doctrine, 
as  I  see  it,  is  destroyed  by  the  new  League.  There  is  no  longer  any 
reason  why  the  United  States  should  attempt  to  protect  the  .repub- 
lics of  the  new  world."  A  dispatch  to  the  New  York  Sun  from 
Paris  states  that  the  belief  in  France  is  that  the  League  destroys 
the  Monroe  Doctrine.  Leading  journals  in  England  have  declared 
to  the  same  effect.  I  have  conversed  with  a  number  of  lawyers  in 
this  country,  most  of  whom  agree  that  the  League  and  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  cannot  exist  together,  and  all  with  whom  I  have  spoken 
agree  that  the  matter  is  left  in  great  doubt.  Leading  journals  in 
this  country  take  opposite  views  of  the  question.  The  proposition 
which  I  submit  to  you  is,  why  had  so  great  a  matter  been  left  in 
doubt  when  three  lines  added  to  the  constitution  excepting  this 
important  policy  of  ours  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  League,  will 
place  the  whole  subject  beyond  contention  or  cavil? 

If  the  advocates  of  the  League  in  the  United  States  want  to  pre- 
serve the  Monroe  Doctrine  will  they  offer  any  objection  to  writing 
in  this  proposed  constitution  an  exception  or  reservation  clause 
which  will  preserve  it  beyond  question?  If  they  are  not  willing  to 
make  the  exception  clear  are  we  not  entitled  to  presume  that  they 
are  willing  to  see  the  Monroe  Doctrine  sacrificed?  If  Eng- 
land, Japan,  France  and  Italy  do  not  want  to  destroy  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  they  will  readily  consent  to  the  reservation.  If 
they  do  not  consent  it  will  be  sufficient  proof  to  all  that  they  wish 
to  destroy  it  and  believe  that  this  League  constitution  accomplishes 
that  fact — a  sufficient  justification  to  warrant  the  American  people 
in  insisting  upon  unmistakable  language  to  preserve  it. 


298     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mr.  Taft  was  then  reminded  that  the  arbitration  convention 
of  The  Hague  conference  of  1907  expressly  reserved  the  Mon- 
roe Doctrine,  and  he  was  asked : 

"Will  you  and  other  friends  and  advocates  of  the  League  endorse 
an  exception  or  reservation  clause  to  be  attached  to  this  proposed 
constitution  in  the  language  of  the  reservation  attached  to  The 
Hague  convention  of  1907  2"  2 

Mr.  Taft  was  traveling  over  the  country,  speaking  in  city 
after  city  in  the  interest  of  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  and 
urging  support  to  the  President  in  his  efforts  to  secure  a  League 
of  Nations,  was  then  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  at  Sacramento 
made  reply: 

In  reference  to  Senator  Borah's  question  whether  I  would  recom- 
mend an  amendment  to  the  covenant  of  Paris  specifically  reserv- 
ing from  its  construction  any  limitation  of  the  power  of  the  United 
States  to  enforce  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  I  have  to  say  I  believe  the 
whole  spirit  and  essence  of  the  covenant  is  not  only  to  preserve 
the  Monroe  Doctrine  in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  but  also  to  extend 
it  to  the  world,  and  to  give  it  the  sanction,  not  of  the  United  States 
alone,  but  also  of  the  whole  League  of  Nations.  This  is  particularly 
and  specifically  shown  in  Article  10  of  the  covenant. 

If  it  be  said  that  Article  10  does  not  prevent  a  foreign  nation 
from  buying  its  way  into  territorial  ownership  and  political  power 
in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  without  the  consent  of  the  United 
States  and  other  American  powers,  then  I  doubt  not  that  before 
the  covenant  is  signed  and  embodied  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  the 
concert  of  nations  at  Paris  will  consent  to  have  such  a  provision 
inserted.  Of  course,  I  would  favor  this;  but,  personally,  I  am  con- 
fident that  without  this  specific  provision,  the  League  would,  under 
the  covenant  as  it  is,  maintain  the  justice  and  wisdom  of  the  whole 
Monroe  Doctrine." 

8  "Nothing  contained  in  this  convention  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  re- 
quire the  United  States  of  America  to  depart  from  its  traditional  policy 
of  not  intruding  upon,  interfering  with  or  entangling  itself  in  the  po- 
litical questions  of  policy  or  internal  administration  of  any  foreign  state, 
nor  shall  anything  contained  in  the  said  conventions  be  construed  to  imply 
a  relinquishment  by  the  United  States  of  its  traditional  attitude  towards 
purely  American  questions." 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  299 

Senator  Eeed  opposed  the  League  because  the  control  of  it 
would  inevitably  be  in  the  hands  of  European  and  Asiatic 
nations;  because  the  British  Empire  would  probably  control 
the  League;  because,  if  at  any  time  Great  Britain  lost  control, 
the  German  powers  would  be  likely  to  succeed  to  her  position  of 
dominance ;  because  in  the  background  was  the  menace  of  world 
Bolshevism,  whose  "fangs  are  plainly  visible  in  the  constitution 
of  the  League" ;  and  because  whoever  controls  the  League  will 
control  the  world.  He  was  opposed  because  the  League  abro- 
gated the  Monroe  Doctrine,  forced  us  to  surrender  a  part  of  our 
sovereignty,  would  involve  us  in  conflicts  with  the  world,  com- 
pelled us  to  contribute  to  an  international  force  which  might 
be  used  against  us,  required  us  to  submit  to  a  tribunal,  the 
majority  of  which  would  be  foreigners,  matters  vital  to  the 
United  States.  Among  such  were  the  right  of  aliens  to  enter 
the  United  States,  the  slaughter  of  American  citizens  along  the 
Mexican  border,  the  killing  of  Americans  on  the  high  seas,  seiz- 
ure and  search  of  American  vessels,  imprisonment  of  American 
seamen,  fortification  of  the  Panama  Canal,  and  the  seizure  of 
the  Canal.  These,  and  a  thousand  other  vital  questions,  could 
be  forced,  by  any  antagonist,  to  a  decision  by  the  Executive 
Council  composed  of  eight  foreigners  and  one  American.  Even 
American  labor,  the  best  paid,  best  treated,  highest  class  of  labor 
in  the  world,  was  threatened,  for  the  moment  the  League  under- 
took to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  labor  of  other  countries, 
American  labor  would  be  dragged  down  from  its  place  of  van- 
tage to  the  low  level  of  the  pauper  labor  of  Europe. 

No  Senator  approving  the  League  had  replied  when,  on  Mon- 
day, February  24,  the  President  landed  in  Boston,  made  a  short 
speech  in  response  to  the  hearty  welcome  given  him,  and  hurried 
on  to  Washington. 

Speaking  of  our  duty  to  become  a  member  of  the  League  of 
Nations  the  President  asked  if  at  this  juncture  America  were 
to  fail  the  world  what  would  become  of  it?  No  disrespect  to 
any  other  great  people  was  meant  when  he  said,  "America  ia 
the  hope  of  the  world,"  and  if  she  does  not  justify  that  hope 


300     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  result  is  unthinkable.  All  nations  would  again  become  hos- 
tile camps,  and  the  men  at  the  Peace  Conference  would  go 
home  knowing  they  had  failed,  for  they  were  bidden  to  do  some- 
thing else  than  sign  a  peace  treaty.  If  our  delegates  signed 
the  treaty*  of  peace,  though  it  were  the  best  treaty  that  could 
possibly  be  had,  and  then  went  home,  they  would  know  that  they 
had  left  on  the  historic  table  at  Versailles  nothing  but  a  modern 
scrap  of  paper,  with  no  nations  united  behind  it,  no  great  forces 
combined  to  make  it  good,  no  assurance  given  to  the  down- 
trodden people  of  the  world  that  they  should  be  safe.  "Any 
man  who  thinks  that  America  will  take  part  in  giving  the  world 
any  such  rebuff  as  that  does  not  know  America.  I  invite  him 
to  test  the  sentiments  of  the  nation.  We  set  this  up  to  make 
men  free,  and  we  did  not  confine  our  conception  and  purpose 
to  America,  and  now  we  will  make  men  free."  If  America  did 
not  do  this  she  would  have  "to  keep  her  power  for  those  narrow, 
selfish,  provincial  purposes  which  seem  so  dear  to  some  minds 
that  have  no  sweep  beyond  the  nearest  horizon." 

"Think,"  said  the  President,  "of  the  picture,  think  of  the 
utter  blackness  that  would  fall  on  the  world.  America  has 
failed!  America  made  a  little  essay  at  generosity  and  then 
withdrew.  America  said,  We  are  your  friends/  but  it  was 
only  for  to-day,  not  for  to-morrow.  America  said,  'Here  is  our 
power  to  vindicate  right/  and  then  the  next  day  said,  'Let  right 
take  care  of  itself,  and  we  will  take  care  of  ourselves.'  America 
said,  'We  set  up  a  light  to  lead  men  along  the  path  of  liberty, 
but  we  have  lowered  it;  it  is  intended  only  to  light  our  own 
path.'  We  set  up  a  great  ideal  of  liberty,  and  then  we  said, 
'Liberty  is  a  thing  that  you  must  win  for  yourself.  Don't  call 
on  me.'  And  think  of  the  world  we  would  leave,"  the  Presi- 
dent continued.  "Do  you  realize  how  many  new  nations  are  to 
be  set  up  in  the  presence  of  old  and  powerful  nations,  and  left, 
if  left  by  us,  without  a  friend  ?  Are  you  going  to  set  up  Poland 
and  leave  her  surrounded  by  enemies  ?  Do  you  know  how  many 
enemies  would  pounce  on  the  Czechoslovaks  and  Jugoslavs  if 
the  world  is  not  behind  them  ?  You  poured  out  your  money  to 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  301 

help  succor  the  Armenians,  now  set  your  strength  so  that  they 
shall  never  suffer  again.  The  peace  of  the  world,"  the  President 
said,  "could  not  endure  for  a  generation  unless  guaranteed  by 
the  united  forces  of  the  civilized  world." 

When  he  spoke  of  the  nations  of  the  world  he  did  not  mean 
the  governments  of  the  world;  he  meant  the  peoples  who  con- 
stituted the  nations  of  the  world.  They  were  "in  the  saddle," 
they  were  going  to  see  to  it  that  if  their  present  governments 
did  not  do  their  wills,  some  other  government  must,  and  the 
present  governments  knew  it. 

"No  official  statement  of  what  was  said  at  the  Conference  with 
the  foreign  relations  committees  of  the  two  branches  of  Con- 
gress was  made  public.  But  some  intimations  of  the  Presi- 
dent's views  found  their  way  to  the  reporters.  It  was  said,  the 
President  believed  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  amend  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  League  because  fourteen  nations  had  approved 
it;  that  nothing  in  the  document  called  for  an  abandonment  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine;  that  whether  the  United  States  should, 
or  should  not,  send  troops  to  Europe  if  occasion  arose  would 
be  for  Congress  to  decide;  that  he  believed  the  people  would 
feel  that  our  country  should  at  least  take  a  prominent  part  in 
policing  Armenia  until  conditions  there  were  improved,  and 
that  if  we  did  not  ratify  the  League  there  would  be  the  deepest 
sorrow  throughout  the  world,  and  serious  consequences  might 
arise  in  the  future. 

Debate  on  the  Constitution  was  now  resumed  in  the  Senate 
and  speeches  were  made  in  its  defense.  Fear  that  the  League 
would  be  controlled  by  Asiatic  despots,  or  Great  Britain,  or 
Germany,  or  the  Bolsheviki,  Were  derided  as  groundless.  In 
the  Executive  Council  were  nine  powers,  five  of  whom  were 
permanent  members.  No  one  of  them  was  controlled  by  a 
monarch  or  a  despot.  France  was  a  republic.  In  Great  Britain 
the  King  had  no  more  political  power  than  the  King  painted 
on  a  playing  card.  And  the  same  was  true  of  Italy.  Great 
Britain  was,  in  fact,  a  great  democracy.  The  people  of  Japan 
venerated  the  Mikado,  but  they  forced  him  to  change  his  min- 


302     THE  UNI'FED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

isters  as  often  as  they  changed  their  political  views.  The  age 
of  despotic  government,  the  age  of  autocrats,  was  gone. 

The  alternative  before  us,  it  was  said,  is  war  and  prepara- 
tions for  war,  or  a  League  of  Nations.  Which  shall  it  be? 
What  if  we  have  no  League  of  Nations?  Senators  who  ob- 
ject to  this  League  would  object  to  any  League.  They  magnify 
the  sacrifices  the  United  States  would  make  in  joining  the 
proposed  League,  as  if  our  country  was  giving  up  everything, 
and  receiving  no  benefits  in  return.  They  attack  the  League 
as  a  form  of  internationalism.  The  Senators  are  too  late.  It 
has  come,  and  we  must  choose  between  an  internationalism  of 
justice,  peace,  and  mutual  support,  or  an  internationalism  of 
the  Socialist,  the  Anarchist,  the  Bolshevist. 

The  purpose  of  the  League,  said  its  defenders,  is  to  main- 
tain international  peace.  To  this  end  Article  XII  provides 
that  members  of  the  League  will,  in  no  case,  resort  to  war 
without  submitting  the  matter  in  dispute  to  arbitration,  or  to 
inquiry  by  the  Executive  Council  of  nine  nations,  nor  even  then 
until  three  months  after  the  award,  or  recommendation,  which 
must  be  made  within  six  months.  This  affords  a  cooling  off 
time  of  nine  months,  a  great  safeguard  for  peace.  Another 
covenant  provides  that  no  member  will  ever  resort  to  war 
against  a  member  which  accepts  the  award  or  recommenda- 
tion. It  is  unthinkable  that  any  member  will  violate  this 
covenant,  and  thus  war  between  members  of  the  League  is 
made  as  nearly  impossible  as  it  can  be.  Reduction  of  armament 
is  required.  If  this  is  carried  out  in  good  faith  it  will  not 
only  reduce  the  dangers  of  war,  but  lessen  the  burdens  of 
government  in  every  country  in  the  world. 

We  have  been  told  that  if  we  join  the  League  we  abandon 
the  Monroe  Doctrine.  That  Doctrine,  they  held,  was  an- 
nounced when  every  country  had  to  look  out  for  itself;  but 
the  League  includes  the  very  purpose  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine, 
prevention  of  aggression  by  nations  on  each  other.  We  are  told 
that  the  League  is  one  of  those  entangling  alliances  against 
which  Washington  warned  us.  Alliances  in  Washington's 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  303 

day  were  to  enable  nations  through  the  balance  of  power  to 
maintain  their  rival  interests.  Alliances  were  for  the  very 
purposes  of  waging  war.  The  League  of  Nations  is  a  great 
covenant  of  the  democracies  of  the  world  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  peace. 

We  are  told  that  if  we  enter  the  League,  Japan  could  com- 
pel us  to  arbitrate  the  immigration  question,  and  if  she  won, 
compel  us  to  admit  her  people.  If  Japan  undertook  to  raise 
that  question  she  could  not  win,  because  it  is  one  we  would  not 
arbitrate.  If  she  carried  it  to  the  Executive  Council  she  would 
be  opposed  by  Great  Britain  representing  Canada,  which  is  even 
more  determined  against  Asiatic  immigration  than  is  the  United 
States. 

We  are  told  that  if  we  enter  the  League  the  requirement  to 
limit  armament  will  impair  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States 
and  interfere  with  the  power  of  Congress.  One  hundred  years 
ago  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  agreed  to  limit  naval 
armament  on  the  Great  Lakes.  Yet  the  Senate  approved  that 
agreement  and  no  voice  has  ever  been  raised  against  it,  nor  has 
the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States  suffered  any  impairment.3 

Senator  Knox  opposed  the  League.  He  found  fault  with  the 
looseness  of  expression  which  characterized  the  document 
throughout,  and  made  precise  criticism  impossible,  and  cited 
articles  to  prove  his  contention.  He  found  fault  with  the  use 
of  the  word  "league."  It  was  a  misnomer.  A  league  meant 
a  confederation,  and  a  confederation  implied  a  right  "in 
the  several  parties  to  withdraw  at  will."  But  there  was  no 
right  of  secession  "within  the  four  corners"  of  this  covenant. 
Once  in  the  union,  there  we  must  remain,  no  matter  how 
onerous  the  burdens,  no  matter  how  distasteful  to  our  people, 
until  we  could  persuade  the  Executive  Council  to  let  us  de- 
part in  peace,  or  until  the  League  fell  to  pieces,  or  until  we 
fought  our  way  out  against  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  Japan 
and  all  the  lesser  States  they  were  able  to  persuade  to  join 
the  League. 

8  Speech  of  Senator  Hitchcock  of  Nebraska. 


304     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  real  governing  body  of  the  League,  the  Senator  held,  was 
the  Executive  Council.  Yet  the  document  contained  not  a 
word  regarding  such  essential  matters  as  what  shall  be  the  num- 
ber of  representatives  from  each  state,  how  the  number  shall 
be  fixed,  how  the  council  shall  be  organized  and  vote,  what 
shall  be  the  tenure,  compensation,  manner  of  appointment 
and  removal  of  the  members  of  this  body  which  has  power  to 
determine  whether  or  not  the  people  of  the  United  States  shall 
go  to  war,  and  to  what  extent  they  shall  participate  therein. 
Nor  were  rules  or  regulations  laid  down  for  the  guidance  of 
this  world  governing  body.  The  covenant  preamble  did,  in- 
deed, provide  that  international  peace  and  security  were  to  be 
promoted  "by  the  firm  establishment  of  the  understandings 
of  international  law,  as  the  actual  rule  of  conduct  among  gov- 
ernments." But  this  merely  increased  the  difficulty,  "for  there 
is  no  universally  recognized  body  of  international  law,  and  no 
provision  is  made  in  the  instrument  for  even  an  attempt  to 
secure  one."  In  short,  the  Senator  held  that  the  Executive 
Council  was  "legislature,  court,  and,  in  large  part,  executive 
all  in  one;"  that  a  body  clothed  with  such  powers  was  an  ana- 
chronism; that  it  belonged  "not  to  the  enlightened  age  of  the 
twentieth  century,  but  to  the  days  of  the  Medes  and  Persians" ; 
and  that  "a  union  more  abhorrent  to  our  traditions,  to  our  free 
institutions,  to  the  trend  of  all  civilized  government,  could 
not  be  devised." 

By  Article  X  the  parties  bound  themselves  to  preserve  the 
territorial  integrity  and  political  independence  of  all  league 
members.  It  was  to  be  noted,  the  Senator  said,  "that  this  guar- 
antee runs  not  alone  to  existing  territory  of  nations,  but  to 
any  territorial  extent  to  which  they  may  hereafter  attain." 
By  Article  XII,  the  parties  were  bound  not  to  resort  to  war 
against  any  high  contracting  party,  over  any  dispute  what- 
ever, until  the  matter  had  been  submitted  to  arbitration,  or 
to  inquiry  by  the  Council.  This,  said  Mr.  Knox,  "does  not 
prevent,  but  merely  delays  war  by  the  high  contracting  parties." 

By  Article  XV  the  parties  must  submit  to  the  Council  any 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  305 

dispute  not  subject  to  arbitration,  and  not  go  to  war  with  any 
party  which  complies  with  any  recommendation  unanimously 
made  by  the  Council.  "Seemingly,"  said  the  Senator,  "they 
may  go  to  war  over  a  recommendation  which  is  not  unanimously 
agreed  to  by  all  members  of  the  Council,  except  the  parties 
in  dispute."  By  Article  XVI  the  parties  were  pledged  to  sup- 
port one  another  in  financial  and  economic  measures  taken  un- 
der the  provisions  of  the  article.  "What  our  contributions  will 
be  under  this,"  said  Mr.  Knox,  "how  much  pur  citizens  must 
be  ground  down  by  taxes  to  take  care  of  wild  and  extravagant 
expenditures  which  we  did  not  and  would  not  originate,  initiate, 
and  over  which  we  would  have  no  control,  only  an  all-wise 
Providence  can  foresee." 

Are  the  mandatory  states,  he  asked,  to  be  chosen  by  the 
high  contracting  parties,  by  the  members  of  the  League,  by 
the  body  of  delegates,  or  by  the  Executive  Council?  But  no 
matter  who  picked  the  mandatory,  it  was  clear  that  some  other 
power  than  ourselves  would  determine  whether,  and  when  our 
boys,  and  how  many  should  be  sent  to  the  arid  regions  of 
Armenia,  to  the  sleeping  death  region  of  Central  Africa,  to 
the  wilderness  of  Southwest  Africa,  or  to  the  inhospitable  South 
Pacific  Isles.  And  when  they  got  there  somebody  else  than 
ourselves  would  determine  how  long  they  should  remain,  and 
by  what  laws  they  should  govern  the  people.  The  Senator 
claimed  that  there  were  no  provisions  in  the  covenant  which 
abolished  war  and  made  it  hereafter  impossible ;  that  it  struck 
down  most  vital  provisions  in  our  Constitution,  that  it  was 
destructive  of  our  sovereignty,  and  threatened  our  national 
independence  and  our  national  life. 

In  the  closing  hours  of  the  session,  Senator  Lodge  offered 
a  resolution  setting  forth  that  it  was  the  sense  of  the  Senate 
that  the  constitution  of  the  League  of  Nations  in  its  present 
form  should  not  be  accepted,  and  calling  for  the  utmost  ex- 
pedition of  the  urgent  business  of  negotiating  peace.  It  bore 
the  signatures  of  thirty-seven  Republican  Senators  who  would 
sit  in  the  next  Congress,  was  intended  as  a  protest  to  be  read 


306     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

into  the  minutes,  and  no  final  action  was  expected.  Both  the 
resolution  and  the  names  were  entered  on  the  journal,  and  two 
more  signatures  were  subsequently  obtained.4 

Later  in  the  day  the  Sixty-fifth  Congress  adjourned  sine  die 
leaving,  stranded  in  the  Senate,  many  bills  of  great  public  im- 
portance. Their  passage  had  been  prevented  by  a  Republican 
filibuster  against  a  general  deficiency  bill,  carrying  an  ap- 
propriation of  $750,000,000  for  the  railroads,  in  the  hope  of 
forcing  a  special  session  of  the  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  and  pre- 
venting the  return  of  the  President  to  France.  The  President 
met  the  issue  squarely,  held  to  his  plans,  and,  before  leaving 
Washington  for  a  second  trip  to  Paris,  made  a  statement. 

A  group  of  men  in  the  Senate  have  deliberately  chosen  to  em- 
barrass the  administration  of  the  government,  to  imperil  the  finan- 
cial interest  of  the  railway  system  of  the  country,  and  to  make 
arbitrary  use  of  powers  intended  to  be  employed  in  the  interests  of 
the  people.  It  is  plainly  my  present  duty  to  attend  the  Peace  Con- 
ference at  Paris.  It  is  also  my  duty  to  be  in  close  contact  with 
the  public  business  during  a  session  of  the  Congress.  I  must  make 

4  "WHEREAS,  Under  the  constitution  it  is  a  function  of  the  Senate 
to  advise  and  consent  to  or  dissent  from  the  ratification  of  any  treaty  of 
the  United  States,  and  no  such  treaty  can  become  operative  without  the 
consent  of  the  Senate  expressed  by  the  affirmative  vote  of  two-thirds  of 
the  Senators  present;  and 

"Whereas,  Owing  to  the  victory  of  the  arms  of  the  United  States  and 
of  the  nations  with  whom  it  is  associated  a  Peace  Conference  was  con- 
vened and  is  now  in  session  in  Paris  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  terms 
of  peace;  and 

"Whereas,  A  committee  of  the  conference  has  proposed  a  constitution 
for  a  League  of  Nations  and  the  proposal  is  now  before  the  Peace  Con- 
ference for  its  consideration;  now,  therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  the  discharge  of  its 
constitutional  duty  of  advice  in  regard  to  treaties,  That  it  is  the  sense 
of  the  Senate  that  while  it  is  their  sincere  desire  that  the  nations  of  the 
world  should  unite  to  promote  peace  and  general  disarmament,  the  con- 
stitution of  the  League  of  Nations  in  the  form  now  proposed  to  the  Peace 
Conference  should  not  be  accepted  by  the  United  States;  and  be  it 

"Resolved  further,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  Senate  that  the  negotia- 
tions* on  the  part  of  the  United  States  should  immediately  be  directed  to 
the  utmost  expedition  of  the  urgent  business  of  negotiating  peace  terms 
with  Germany  satisfactory  to  the  United  States  and  the  nations  with 
whom  the  United  States  is  associated  in  the  war  against  the  German 
Government,  and  that  the  proposal  for  a  League  of  Nations  to  insure  the 
permanent  peace  of  the  world  should  be  taken  up  for  careful  and  serious 
consideration." 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  307 

my  choice  between  these  two  duties,  and  I  confidently  hope  that  the 
people  of  the  country  will  think  I  am  making  the  right  choice.  It 
is  not  in  the  interest  of  public  affairs  that  I  should  call  the  Con- 
gress in  special  session  while  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  be  in  Wash- 
ington, because  of  more  pressing  duty  elsewhere,  to  cooperate  with 
the  two  houses.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  men  who  have  ob- 
structed, and  prevented,  the  passage  of  necessary  legislation  have 
taken  all  this  into  consideration,  and  are  willing  to  assume  the 
responsibility  of  the  impaired  efficiency  of  the  government,  and  the 
embarrassed  finances  of  the  country  during  the  time  of  my  enforced 
absence. 

No  sooner  had  Congress  adjourned  than  the  President  set 
off  for  New  York,  and  on  the  evening  of  March  4  both  he  and 
Mr.  Taft  spoke  in  defense  of  the  League  from  the  same  plat- 
form in  that  city.  Just  before  the  President  rose  to  speak  the 
band  played,  "We  Won't  Come  Back  Till  It's  Over  Over  There." 
"I  accept,"  said  he,  "the  intimation  of  the  air  just  played. 
I  will  not  come  back  'till  it's  over  over  there/ '  One  of  the 
first  things  he  should  tell  the  people  over  there  was,  "that  an 
overwhelming  majority  of  the  American  people"  was  in  favor 
of  the  League  of  Nations.  "I  know  that,"  he  said,  "to  be  true. 
I  have  had  unmistakable  intimations  of  it  from  all  parts  of 
the  country."  He  was  happy  to  be  associated  with  Mr.  Taft 
in  this  cause.  Such  association  meant  that  the  League  of  Na- 
tions was  not  a  party  issue.  No  party  had  "a  right  to  ap- 
propriate this  issue,  and  no  party  will,  in  the  long  run,  dare 
to  oppose  it."  The  League  had  not  arisen  in  the  Council  of 
Statesmen.  It  had  come  from  the  need,  and  the  aspiration, 
and  the  self-assertion,  of  great  bodies  of  men  who  meant  to 
be  free.  He  could  explain  some  of  the  criticism  leveled 
against  it,  only  by  supposing  "that  the  men  who  uttered  the 
criticism  have  never  felt  the  great  pulse  of  the  heart  of  the 
world."  He  was  amazed,  not  alarmed,  but  amazed,  that  there 
should  be  in  some  quarters  such  ignorance  of  the  state  of  the 
world.  "These  gentlemen  do  not  know  what  the  mind  of  men 
is  just  now.  Everybody  else  does."  He  did  not  know  where 
they  had  been  closeted;  by  what  influences  they  had  been 


308      THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

blinded;  but  did  know  they  had  been  separated  from  the  gen- 
eral currents  of  the  thoughts  of  mankind,  and  wished  "to  utter 
this  solemn  warning,  not  in  way  of  threat,  for  the  forces  of 
the  world  do  not  threaten,  they  operate.  The  great  tides  of 
this  world  do  not  give  notice  that  they  are  going  to  rise  and 
run;  they  rise  in  their  majesty  and  overwhelm  might,  and 
those  who  stand  in  the  way  are  overwhelmed."  Unrest  in 
Europe  did  not  spring  from  merely  economic  causes.  The 
peoples  saw  that  their  governments  had  never  been  able  to  de- 
fend them  from  aggressions,  that  the  modern  Cabinet  had 
neither  the  foresight  nor  the  prudence  to  stop  war,  and  they  said 
there  must  be  some  fundamental  cause  for  this,  and  found  it 
"to  be  that  nations  have  stood  singly,  or  in  little  groups  jealous 
against  each  other,"  and  that  "if  there  is  right  in  the  world, 
if  there  is  justice  in  the  world,  there  is  no  reason  why  nations 
should  be  divided  in  the  support  of  justice."  [Nations  were 
meant  to  make  the  men  and  women  and  children  in  them  se- 
cure and  happy  and  prosperous,  and  no  nation  had  "a  right 
to  set  up  its  special  interests  against  the  interests  and  benefits 
of  mankind,  least  of  all  this  great  nation  which  we  love." 

There  was  another  thing  the  critics  of  this  covenant  had  not 
observed.  They  had  not  "observed  the  temper  of  those  splen- 
did boys  in  khaki"  that  they  sent  across  the  seas.  When  we 
entered  the  war  we  went  in  on  the  "basis  of  declarations"  made 
by  him  because  he  "believed  them  to  be  an  interpretation  of 
the  purpose  and  thought  of  the  people  of  the  United  States." 

And  those  boys  went  over  there  with  the  feeling  that  they  were 
sacredly  bound  to  the  realization  of  those  ideals;  that  they  were 
not  only  going  over  there  to  beat  Germany;  that  they  were  not  going 
over  there  merely  with  resentment  in  their  hearts  against  a  par- 
ticular outlaw  nation,  but  that  they  were  crossing  those  three  thou- 
sand miles  of  sea  in  order  to  show  to  Europe  that  the  United 
States,  when  it  became  necessary,  would  go  anywhere  where  the 
rights  of  mankind  were  threatened. 

They  would  not  sit  still  in  the  trenches.  They  would  not  be 
restrained  by  the  prudence  of  experienced  continental  commanders. 
They  thought  they  had  come  over  there  to  do  a  particular  thing, 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  309 

and  they  were  going  to  do  it  and  do  it  at  once.  And  just  as  soon 
as  that  rush  of  spirit  as  well  as  rush  of  body  came  in  contact  with 
the  lines  of  the  enemy,  they  began  to  break,  and  they  continued  to 
break  until  the  end.  They  continued  to  break,  my  fellow  citizens, 
not  merely  because  of  the  physical  fo.rce  of  those  lusty  youngsters, 
but  because  of  the  irresistible  spiritual  force  of  the  armies  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  that  they  felt.  It  was  that  that  awed  them. 
It  was  that  that  made  them  feel,  if  these  youngsters  ever  got  a 
foothold,  they  could  never  be  dislodged,  and  therefore  every  foot  of 
ground  that  they  won  was  permanently  won  for  the  liberty  of 
mankind. 

And  do  you  suppose  that  having  felt  that  crusading  spirit  of 
these  youngsters,  who  went  over  there  not  to  glorify  America,  but 
to  serve  their  fellowmen,  I  am  going  to  permit  myself  for  one 
moment  jfeo  slacken  in  my  effort  to  be  worthy  of  them  and  their 
cause?  What  I  said  at  the  opening  I  said  with  a  deeper  meaning 
that  perhaps  you  have  caught.  I  do  mean  not  to  come  back  until 
it's  over  over  there,  and  it  must  not  be  over  until  the  nations  of  the 
world  are  assured  of  the  permanency  of  peace. 

Not  a  man  at  the  Conference,  the  President  continued,  but 
felt  that  he  could  not  "in  conscience  return  to  his  people  from 
Paris"  unless  he  had  done  his  utmost  to  do  something  more 
than  put  his  name  to  a  treaty  of  peace.  Every  one  of  them 
knew  that  such  a  treaty  would  be  inoperative  without  the  con- 
stant support  of  a  great  organization  such  as  would  be  supplied 
by  the  League  of  Nations,  and  when  the  treaty  of  peace  came 
back  gentlemen  on  this  side  of  the  water  would  find  "the 
covenant  not  only  in  it,  but  so  many  threads  of  the  treaty  tied 
to  the  covenant"  that  they  could  not  "dissect  the  covenant  from 
the  treaty  without  destroying  the  whole  vital  structure."  The 
peace  would  "not  be  vital  without  the  League  of  Nations,  and 
no  man  is  going  to  bring  back  a  cadaver  with  him." 

Washington,  in  bis  Farewell  Address  to  bis  countrymen,  pub- 
lished in  a  Philadelphia  newspaper  in  September,  1796,  said: 
"The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us  in  regard  to  foreign  nations 
is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations  to  have  witb  them 
as  little  political  connection  as  possible.  *  *  *  Why,  by  in- 
terweaving our  destiny  witb  that  of  any  part  of  Europe,  en- 


310     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambi- 
tion, rivalship,  interest,  humor  or  caprice?  It  is  our  true 
policy  to  stear  clear  of  permanent  alliances  with  any  proportion 
of  the  foreign  world,  so  far,  I  mean,  as  we  are  now  at  liberty 
to  do  it ;  for  let  me  not  be  understood  as  capable  of  patronizing 
infidelity  to  existing  engagement."  The  Treaty  of  Alliance 
made  with  France  in  1Y78  was  then  in  force.  The  words 
"entangling  alliances"  were  not  used  by  Washington,  but  by 
Jefferson  in  his  first  inaugural  speech,  March  4,  1801.  Stat- 
ing what  he  deemed  "the  essential  principles  of  our  govern- 
ment, and  consequently  those  which  ought  to  shape  its  ad- 
ministration," Jefferson  named  some  sixteen.  One  of  them 
was  "peace,  commerce  and  honest  friendship  with  all  nations; 
entangling  alliances  with  none."  Mr.  Taft  had  said  that 
Washington's  warning  was  against  "offensive  and  defensive 
alliances  with  one  nation  against  another,"  and  that  "if  Wash- 
ington lived  to-day  he  would  be  one  of  the  most  earnest  and 
pressing  sponsors  for  the  covenant."  Referring  to  this  re- 
mark the  President  said  Mr.  Taft  "put  the  exactly  right  in- 
terpretation upon  what  Washington  said.  *  *  *  and  the 
thing  he  longed  for  was  just  what  we  are  now  about  to  supply ; 
an  arrangement  which  will  disentangle  all  the  alliances  in 
the  world."  Nothing  entangled,  hampered,  bound  a  nation 
save  entrance  "into  a  combination  with  some  other  nation 
against  the  other  nations  of  the  world,  and  this  great  disen- 
tanglement of  all  alliances  is  now  to  be  accomplished  by  this 
covenant,  because  one  of  the  covenants  is  that  no  nation  shall 
enter  into  any  relationship  with  another  nation  inconsistent 
with  the  covenants  of  the  League  of  Nations." 

The  President  had  declared,  in  the  course  of  his  speech,  that 
when  the  treaty  of  peace  came  back  gentlemen  on  this  side 
of  the  water  would  find  the  covenant  not  only  in  the  treaty, 
but  so  interwoven  that  the  two  could  not  be  parted.  While, 
however,  the  President  was  still  on  the  sea,  reports  from  Paris 
set  forth  that  the  preliminary  treaty  would  be  presented  to 
the  German  commission  about  March  20th,  and  that  the 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  311 

League  of  Nations  would  not  be  a  part  of  it.  All  sorts  of 
meanings  were  put  on  those  reports  by  opponents  of  the  League. 
Some  did  not  believe  them.  Others  thought  that  reference 
was  made  to  the  preliminary,  and  not  to  the  final  treaty.  Still 
others  believed  that  the  warning  given  by  the  thirty-nine  Sena- 
tors had  opened  the  eyes  of  the  European  delegates  and  that 
they  would  heed  it.  But,  no  sooner  had  the  President  reached 
Paris,  than  his  private  Secretary  at  Washington  cabled,  ask- 
ing "if  there  was  any  truth  in  these  reports,"  and  announced 
that  he  was  "in  receipt  of  a  cable  from  the  President  stating 
that  the  Plenary  Council  has  positively  decided  that  the  League 
of  Nations  is  to  be  part  of  the  peace  treaty ;  that  there  is  abso- 
lutely no  truth  in  any  report  to  the  contrary."  Several  Sena- 
tors thereupon  declared  that  if  the  President  submitted  the  pro- 
posed league  plan  so  linked  with  any  treaty  that  it  could  not 
be  separated,  they  would  vote  against  both.  They  would  not 
be  intimidated  by  attempts  at  coercion. 

M.  Pichon,  French  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  in  his  weekly 
statement  to  representatives  of  foreign  newspapers,  explained 
that  the  treaty,  to  be  submitted  to  the  Germans  in  the  course  of 
ten  days,  was  the  preliminary  treaty ;  that  it  would  put  an  end 
to  the  state  of  war,  but  would  not  be  the  final  treaty ;  and  that 
it  could  not  contain  the  League  of  Nations.  As  yet  the  plan 
was  a  mere  scheme  and  unfinished.  Views  of  neutral  nations 
which  had  been  invited  to  the  Conferences,  and  amendments 
which  might  be  offered  could  not  be  considered  before  the 
preliminary  treaty  was  signed.  A  declaration  of  the  under- 
lying principles  of  the  League  might  be  inserted,  but  nothing 
more. 

Nevertheless,  reports  from  Paris  continued  to  contain  assur- 
ances that  the  President  had  not  changed  his  stand,  that  the 
Constitution  of  the  League  would  at  least  be  an  appendix  to 
the  preliminary  treaty  in  order  that  Germany  might  sign  the 
treaty,  and  yet  not  become  a  member  of  the  League,  and  that 
the  documents  would  be  ready  before  the  end  of  March.  Speak- 
ing for  the  British  delegation,  Lord  Cecil  said  the  covenant 


312     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

would  be  part  of  the  treaty.  The  preliminary  treaty  would 
"settle  the  broad  principles  of  the  pacification  of  the  world." 
Of  such  a  treaty  the  Covenant  should  be  a  part.  Indeed,  he 
doubted  if  it  would  "be  possible  to  proceed  to  the  terms  of  the 
final  treaty  without  the  covenant  in  the  preliminary  one." 
Putting  it  in  would  not  delay  the  treaty.  Aside  from  those 
who  wanted  no  league  at  all,  and  those  who  demanded  a 
humanly  impossible  perfect  league,  there  were  few  critics  of 
the  covenant  as  it  stood.  The  Monroe  Doctrine  was  no  obsta- 
cle. If  it  meant  no  interference  in  American  affairs,  by 
Europe,  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States,  then  the 
covenant  strengthened  that  Doctrine  because  the  League  could 
act  only  through  its  own  organs,  the  Council,  and  the  body 
of  delegates;  because  the  United  States  would  always  be  a 
member  of  each;  and  because,  as  no  international  action  could 
be  taken  without  unanimous  consent,  they  could  do  nothing  in 
America  to  which  the  United  States  was  opposed. 

Such  neutral  nations  as  had  accepted  the  invitation  to  attend 
the  Conference  now  presented  their  amendments,  said  to  be 
some  thirty  in  number,  and  on  Saturday,  March  22,  the  Peace 
Conference  met  and  began  the  work  of  revising  and  amending. 
Among  the  amendments  reported  to  have  been  presented  was 
one  by  Japan  providing  for  just  racial  treatment,  one  by 
Switzerland  concerning  sovereignty,  four  drafted  by  Mr.  Taft 
with  the  knowledge  and  encouragement  of  the  President,  and 
one  concerning  the  Monroe  Doctrine  drawn  by  President  Wil- 
son. That  offered  by  Japan  was  not  pressed  for  it  met  with 
strong  opposition.  Australia,  said  Mr.  Hughes,  Premier  of 
that  Commonwealth,  to  the  representatives  of  the  Associated 
Press,  cannot  accept  this  proposal.  It  strikes  at  the  very 
root  of  the  policy  we  have  so  long  maintained,  a  policy  vital 
to  our  existence  and  guarded  as  zealously  as  America  has 
guarded  her  Monroe  Doctrine.  If  the  League  may  compel 
a  State  to  amend  its  immigration,  naturalization,  and  fran- 
chise laws,  there  remains  to  that  State  but  the  shadow  of  sover- 
eignty. The  substance  is  gone.  No  free  people  could  submit 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  313 

to ; dictation  in  such  matters.  Internal  problems  must  remain 
under  the  control  of  each  nation.  We  are  told,  by  advocates 
of  this  amendment,  that  nothing  more  is  desired  than  the  mere 
recognition  of  the  principle;  that  no  action  is  contemplated. 
Either  the  principle  means  something,  or  nothing.  If  nothing, 
then  why  insert  it?  If  something,  then  this  something  will 
not  be  achieved  by  mere  words,  by  stopping  short  of  action. 
The  people  of  Australia,  he  said,  felt  keenly  on  this  matter; 
they  felt  as  did  those  of  California  who,  he  believed,  would 
be  as  much  opposed  to  the  amendment  as  were  the  people  of 
Australia. 

The  Swiss  amendment  forbade  the  League  to  interfere  with 
the  internal  affairs  of  any  of  its  members,  and  declared  that 
the  covenant  should  not  be  interpreted  to  contain  anything 
contrary  to  the  sovereignty  of  States,  save  in  so  far  as  any  State 
might  consent.  Mr.  Taft  would  have  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
safeguarded;  a  definite  statement  of  the  right  of  any  State 
in  the  League  to  control  matters  solely  within  its  domestic 
jurisdiction;  a  definite  statement  that  any  action  taken  by 
the  Executive  Council  of  the  League  must  be  determined  by 
unanimous  vote;  and  a  definite  statement  of  the  right  of  a 
member  of  the  League  to  withdraw;  a  definite  term  for  the 
existence  of  the  League,  and  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  obliga- 
tion to  restrict  armament  within  the  limits  required. 

March  27  the  Covenant,  as  revised  and  amended,  was  sent  to 
a  Drafting  Committee  whose  duty  it  was  to  change  the  word- 
ing wherever  necessary,  and  report  to  the  Commission  as  soon 
as  posssible.  Then  it  was  announced  that  the  amendments 
concerning  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  and  that  providing  for  racial 
equality,  were  not  to  be  found  in  the  Covenant,  but  among  those 
embodied  was  one  requiring  any  State  which  wished  to  with- 
draw from  the  League  to  give  notice  of  its  intent  two  years 
before  leaving,  and  another  opening  all  offices  of  the  League 
to  women  as  well  as  to  men. 

What  was  sometimes  called  the  "Super-Council,"  the  aBig 
Four/'  composed  of  President  Wilson  and  the  Premiers  of 


314     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAB1 

Great  Britain,  France  and  Italy,  had  long  been  busy  drafting 
the  treaty  of  peace.  Again  and  again  it  had  been  asserted  that 
their  work  had  been  delayed  by  the  conferences  on  the  covenant 
of  the  League  of  Nations.  To  these  critics  the  President  now 
made  answer  and  said : 

In  view  of  the  very  surprising  impression  which  seems  to  exist 
in  some  quarters  that  it  is  the  discussions  of  the  commission  on 
the  League  of  Nations  that  are  delaying  the  final  formulation  of 
peace,  I  am  very  glad  to  take  the  opportunity  of  reporting  that  the 
conclusions  of  this  commission  were  the  first  to  be  laid  before  the 
plenary  conference. 

They  were  reported  on  February  14,  and  the  world  has  had  a  full 
month  in  which  to  discuss  every  feature  of  the  draft  covenant  then 
submitted. 

During  the  last  few  days  the  commission  has  been  engaged  in  an 
effort  to  take  advantage  of  the  criticisms  which  the  publication  of 
the  covenant  has  fortunately  drawn  out.  A  committee  of  the  com- 
mission has  also  had  the  advantage  of  a  conference  with  representa- 
tives of  the  neutral  states,  who  are  evidencing  a  very  deep  interest, 
and  a  practically  unanimous  desire  to  align  themselves  with  the 
League. 

The  revised  covenant  is  now  practically  finished.  It  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  committee  for  the  final  process  of  drafting,  and  will 
almost  immediately  be  presented,  a  second  time,  to  the  public. 

The  conferences  of  the  commission  have  invariably  been  held  at 
times  when  they  could  not  interfere  with  the  consultation  of  those 
who  have  undertaken  to  formulate  the  general  conclusions  of  the 
conference  with  regard  to  the  many  other  complicated  problems  of 
peace.  So  that  the  members  of  the  commission  congratulate  them- 
selves on  the  fact  that  no  part  of  their  conferences  has  ever  inter- 
posed any  form  of  delay. 

Since  the  end  of  the  session  of  Congress  discussion  of  the 
draft  covenant  had  become  country  wide.  Senators,  and  mem- 
bers of  the  House,  had  appeared  before  Chambers  of  Commerce, 
before  Clubs,  social  and  political,  before  public  meetings,  and 
in  joint  debates.  "Straw  votes"  had  been  taken  in  many  cities, 
and  the  voters  sometimes  asked  for  the  reasons  which  prompted 
them  to  vote  as  they  did.  Some  who  declined  to  vote  declared 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  315 

they  did  not  feel  competent  to  give  an  opinion.  Those  who 
approved  the  covenant  gave  various  reasons.  The  President 
ought  to  be  upheld  in  his  endeavor  to  secure  a  lasting  peace; 
his  acts  in  the  past  justified  confidence  in  his  present  plan; 
any  step  toward  lessening  the  chances  of  future  wars  was  in 
the  right  direction ;  any  League  of  Nations  without  the  United 
States  was  doomed  to  failure;  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  out- 
grown ;  internationalism  was  a  good  thing,  and  the  League  was 
a  long  step  toward  it.  Such  as  opposed  the  covenant  thought 
that  the  United  States  should  mind  its  own  business;  that 
what  it  needed  was  not  internationalism,  but  strong  national- 
ism; that  the  plan  was  of  British  origin;  that  the  President 
should  have  consulted  the  Senate  and  appointed  Senators  on 
the  Peace  Commission;  that  any  plan  for  policing  the  world 
would  draw  the  United  States  into  conflict  with  other  world 
powers,  and  that  the  covenant  had  all  the  defects  pointed  out 
by  men  qualified  to  criticize. 

At  Boston,  there  was  a  debate  between  Senator  Lodge  and 
President  Lowell  of  Harvard  University.  The  Senator  began 
by  saying,  that  he  had  been  accused  of  being  against  any  League 
of  Nations.  He  was  not.  Far  from  it.  He  was  anxious  to 
have  the  nations,  the  free  nations  of  the  world  united  in  a 
League,  but  united  to  all  that  was  possible  to  bring  about  dis- 
armament. Everybody  desired  the  security  of  the  peace  of  the 
world.  He  was  not  going  to  argue  such  a  question  as  that. 
He  should  no  more  think  of  arguing  that  peace  was  better  than 
war  than  he  should  think  of  insulting  the  intelligence  of  his 
hearers  by  arguing  that  virtue  was  better  than  vice.  The  real 
question  was,  will  the  covenant,  as  drafted,  secure  the  peace  of 
the  world,  is  it  just  and  fair  to  the  United  States  of  America  ?' 

There  were,  Mr.  Lodge  said,  four  drafts  presented  to  the 
Conference;  one  by  Italy,  one  by  France,  one  by  the  United 
States  and  one  by  Great  Britain.  The  British  draft  was  the 
one  chosen.  His  hearers  would  find,  if  they  compared  the 
covenant  with  the  plan  put  forth  by  General  Smuts  in  January, 
that  some  paragraphs  were  taken  from  his  plan  with  but  slight 


316     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

changes.  The  other  drafts  had  not  been  discussed  although,  he 
said,  "We  are  living  in  an  era  of  open  covenants  openly  ar- 
rived at."  To  him,  the  draft  seemed  to  have  been  loosely  and 
obscurely  drawn.  This  was  of  great  importance  because  it  was 
necessary  that  there  should  be  as  few  differences  of  opinion 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  articles  of  the  covenant  as  human 
ingenuity  could  provide  against.  But  those  who  were  for  the 
covenant  as  drafted,  and  those  who  were  against  it,  differed 
about  the  meaning  of  nearly  every  article,  and  those  who  were 
for  it  differed  among  themselves.  "Mr.  Taft  said  on  the  7th 
of  March,  'Undoubtedly  the  covenant  needs  revision.  It  is 
not  symmetrically  arranged,  its  meaning  has  to  be  dug  out, 
and  the  language  is  ponderous  and  in  diplomatic  patois  P  '  To 
this  Mr.  Lodge  heartily  agreed. 

Lately,  the  phrase,  "criticism  must  be  constructive  not  de- 
structive," had  become  current.  His  first  constructive  criti- 
cism, therefore,  was  "that  this  League  ought  to  be  redrafted 
and  put  in  language  that  everybody  can  understand."  His 
second  had  to  do  with  the  Executive  Council.  That  body  was 
given  authority  to  recommend,  or  advise,  or  propose  measures, 
but  the  covenant  often  failed  to  say  by  what  vote  the  Council 
should  do  so.  Sometimes  it  must  be  by  a  two-thirds  vote;  in 
one  case  the  vote  must  be  unanimous,  but  in  most  cases  it  was 
not  stated.  He,  therefore,  would  have  a  provision  inserted  that, 
"where  not  otherwise  stated  the  decision  of  the  Executive 
Council  shall  be  by  a  majority  vote."  The  Senator's  third 
constructive  criticism  was  "a  larger  reservation  of  the  Monroe 
Doctrine" ;  his  fourth,  the  exclusion  of  "international  questions 
of  the  character  of  immigration,  and  the  tariff,  from  the  juris- 
diction of  the  League,"  and  his  fifth,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Taft, 
that  "the  covenant  should  also  be  made  more  definite  as  to 
when  its  obligations  may  be  terminated." 

President  Lowell  began  his  reply  by  stating  what  he  con- 
sidered "the  minimum  essentials  of  an  effective  League  of  Na- 
tions to  prevent  war."  They  were,  compulsory  arbitration,  no 
appeal  to  arms  after  "an  award  which  is  universally  believed 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  317 

to  be  right  and  just" ;  any  nation  going  to  war  before  arbitra- 
tion to  be  "regarded  as  a  criminal  against  mankind,  and  treated 
instantly  as  an  outlaw,  and  common  enemy  by  the  rest  of  the 
world";  this  penalty  not  to  be  "decreed  by  a  council  of  the 
League,"  but  to  apply  "automatically"  not  only  to  disputes 
between  members  of  the  League,  but  also  to  nations  not  mem- 
bers of  the  League,  "because  war,  like  fire,  tends  to  spread." 
He  would  have  two  Councils,  one,  "large  and  comprehensive 
for  the  discussion  of  general  problems,"  and  one,  smaller,  "to 
work  out  in  detail  the  recommendations  to  be  submitted  to  the 
members  of  the  League  for  action,  modifications,  or  rejection." 

The  present  covenant  President  Lowell  found  defective  in 
drafting.  In  places  it  was  so  obscure  that  its  meaning  was 
often  inaccurately  expressed,  and  sometimes  doubtful.  It  was 
easily  misunderstood,  and  had  been  widely  misunderstood.  An- 
other article,  therefore,  should  be  added,  setting  forth  that 
"the  obligations  assumed  by  the  members  of  the  League  are 
only  those  which  they  agree  to  assume  by  this  covenant,  and 
not  others  which  they  do  not  agree  to  assume,"  and  that  "the 
powers  possessed  by  the  League  are  those,  and  only  those, 
conferred  upon  them  by  this  covenant." 

Mr.  Lowell  then  answered  at  length  the  many  objections 
made  to  the  covenant;  that  we  should  be  ruled  by  a  body  in 
which  we  should  have  but  one  vote  in  nine ;  that  Great  Britain 
would  have  six  to  our  one;  that  our  entrance  into  the  League 
would  be  an  abandonment  of  the  policy  laid  down  in  Wash- 
ington's Farewell  Address;  that  there  was  no  provision  for 
withdrawal  from  the  League ;  that  Asiatic  immigration  and  the 
tariff  might  become  subjects  of  dispute  with  some  other  nation ; 
that  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  not  safeguarded;  and  finally, 
that  some  of  its  provisions  were  contrary  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  The  United  States,  he  believed,  ought 
to  ask  "for  a  clause  in  the  covenant  that  no  foreign  power  shall 
hereafter  acquire  by  conquest,  purchase,  or  in  any  other  way, 
any  possession  on  the  American  continents,  or  the  islands  ad- 
jacent thereto."  The  covenant  was  imperfect  and  poorly  drawn, 


318     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

but  it  was  framed  on  the  right  lines.  The  substance  of  the 
plan,  and  the  principles  on  which  it  was  founded  were  cor- 
rect, and  should  be  accepted  and  improved. 

Mr.  Charles  E.  Hughes,  Republican  candidate  for  President 
in  1916,  in  a  speech  before  the  Union  League  Club  at  New 
York,  proposed  seven  amendments  to  the  Covenant.  He  would 
have  an  explicit  provision  for  unanimity  in  decision;  such 
limitation  of  the  field  of  the  League's  inquiries  as  should  leave 
no  doubt  that  the  internal  concerns  of  States,  as  immigration, 
or  tariff  laws,  are  not  included;  no  foreign  power  hereafter 
acquired  by  conquest,  purchase,  or  in  any  other  way,  any  posses- 
sions on  the  American  continents,  or  the  islands  adjacent  there- 
to ;  settlement  of  purely  American  questions  remitted  primarily 
to  the  American  nations,  and  no  European  nation  intervene 
unless  American  nations  invited  them  so  to  do.  He  would  have 
the  guaranty  of  Article  X  left  out.  He  would  have  no  mem- 
ber of  the  League  made  a  mandatory  without  its  consent,  and 
no  European,  or  Asiatic  power,  a  mandatory  over  an  Ameri- 
can people;  and  he  would  have  any  member  of  the  League  free 
to  withdraw  whenever  it  pleased,  after  due  notice. 

Mr.  Elihu  Eoot,  having  been  invited  by  the  Chairman  of 
the  Republican  National  Committee  to  "present  his  views  upon 
this  vital  subject/'  the  proposed  covenant  for  a  League  of  Na- 
tions, offered  six  amendments. 

Determined  to  vigorously  oppose  the  covenant  as  drafted,  a 
number  of  men  of  prominence  formed  a  League  for  the  Preser- 
vation of  American  Independence.  They  insisted  that  the 
treaty  of  peace  should  at  once  be  concluded.  "In  the  interest 
of  world  peace"  they  were  opposed  to  the  covenant  "in  its 
present  form,"  because  it  legalized  "war  in  seven  cases,"  and 
made  it  "compulsory  in  three";  because,  by  binding  us  to 
protect  distant  nations  from  aggression,  it  might,  in  case  of 
trouble  between  two  members  of  the  League,  force  us  to  de- 
fault in  our  pledge,  or  again  send  our  boys  to  fight  overseas; 
because,  by  forcing  us  to  abandon  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  it 
bound  us  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  an  international  council 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  319 

should  a  foreign  nation  acquire  Mexico,  or  Cuba,  or  threaten 
our  Pacific  coast  by  securing  a  naval  base  at  Matagorda  Bay; 
because  it  provided  for  "such  a  delegation  of  power  to  an  in- 
ternational council  as  is  inconsistent  with  the  sovereignty  of 
the  United  States ;"  and  because  this  delegation  of  power  might 
force  us  to  fight  without  the  right  to  decide  on  which  side  we 
should  fight.  The  covenant  gave  the  League  power  to  decide 
questions  concerning  American  labor ;  gave  the  League  such  au- 
thority over  commercial  intercourse  as  might  prevent  us  pro- 
tecting ourselves  against  undesirable  immigrants,  and  the  im- 
portation of  foreign  labor ;  made  no  provision  for  such  publicity 
as  would  destroy  secret  diplomacy;  and  contained  no  specific 
recognition  of  the  right  of  a  member  to  withdraw  at  pleasure. 
A  League  based  on  a  constitution  open  to  such  objections  was 
typical  of  the  permanent  and  entangling  alliances  "against 
which  Washington  and  Jefferson  pronounced  their  solemn  warn- 
ings." If  the  covenant  were  intended  to  mean  what  fair  inter- 
pretation found  in  it,  then  its  "ambiguity,  vagueness,  and 
uncertainty  are  such  as  to  require  its  thorough  reconstruction 
or  prompt  rejection." 

Friends  of  the  covenant  formed  The  League  of  Free  Nations 
Association.  They  held  that  a  League  of  Nations  was  "abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  the  avoidance  of  future  wars  on  a  large 
scale,"  was  indispensable  to  a  quick  return  to  normal  conditions, 
and  that  President  Wilson's  fourteen  points  formed  a  proper 
basis  for  such  a  league,  and  the  honor  of  the  Nation  was 
pledged  to  uphold  these  points.  The  covenant  was  not  perfect, 
but  was  a  beginning  of  such  promise  that  its  rejection  was  not 
warranted  under  any  circumstances  whatever,  and  its  rejec- 
tion by  the  Senate  would  turn  the  world  towards  anarchy. 
Everybody  holding  this  belief  was  asked  to  give  support. 
Writers  and  students  were  urged  "to  contribute  articles,  poems, 
stories  supporting  and  explaining  the  League  idea."  "Posters 
and  cartoons"  were  needed.  But  money  was  needed  "first  and 
last." 

Criticism  had  not  been  lost  on  the  framers  of  the  League. 


820     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

When  at  last,  on  April  27,  the  revised  Covenant  was  given  to 
the  World  it  appeared  that  many,  and  important,  changes  had 
been  made,  and  most  of  those  suggested  by  Mr.  Taft  and  Mr. 
Hughes  adopted.     The  phraseology  had  been  improved,  and 
the  meaning  of  many  sections  made  clearer;   there  was  an 
"annex"  in  which  were  named  the  thirty-three  powers  that 
were  to  be  "the  original  members  of  the  League  of  Nations/' 
and  the  thirteen  neutral  powers  to  be  invited  to  accede  to  the 
covenant ;  there  was  provision  for  the  withdrawal  of  any  mem- 
ber after  two  years7  notice;  there  was  a  requirement  that,  un- 
less otherwise  expressly  stated,  all  "decisions  at  any  meeting  of 
the  Assembly,  or  of  the  Council,  shall  require  the  agreement 
of  all  the  members  of  the  League  represented  at  the  meeting." 
The  words  "Executive  Council"  and  "body  of  delegates"  were 
changed  to  "Council"  and  "Assembly."     Geneva  was  chosen 
as  the  seat  of  the  League,  and  all  positions  under  the  League 
were  opened  to  women  equally  with  men.     Any  League  mem- 
ber violating  the  Covenant  might  be  evicted  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  other  members  of  the  League  represented  on  the 
Council;  no  member  of  the  League  was  to  be  made  a  manda- 
tory against  its  will;  and  all  members  were  pledged  to  "en- 
courage and  promote  the  establishment"  of  National  Eed  Cross 
organizations.    Amendment  could  be  made  to  the  covenant  by 
the  Council,  and  by  a  majority,  instead  of  three-fourths,  of 
the  members  of  the  Assembly.    The  Monroe  Doctrine  was  safe- 
guarded by  an  Article  which  reads,  "Nothing  in  this  Covenant 
shall  be  deemed  to  affect  the  validity  of  international  engage- 
ments, such  as  treaties  of  arbitration,  or  regional  understand- 
ings like  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  for  securing  the  maintenance 
of  peace."     In  another  article  are  the  words,  "if  the  dispute 
between  the  parties  is  claimed  by  one  of  them,  and  is  found  by 
the  Council  to  arise  out  of  a  matter  which,  by  international 
law  is  solely  within  the  domestic  jurisdiction  of  that  party, 
the  Council  shall  so  report,  and  shall  make  no  recommendation 
as  to  its  settlement."     These  words  were  understood  to  re- 
move from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  League  such  domestic  ques- 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  821 

tions  as  Japanese  immigration.  Plans  for  the  reduction  of 
armament  must  first  be  approved  by  the  Governments  con- 
cerned before  going  into  effect,  and  were  made  subject  to 
revision,  "at  least  every  ten  years." 

April  28,  at  a  plenary  session  of  the  Peace  Conference,  on 
motion  of  President  Wilson,  the  Covenant,  as  revised,  was 
unanimously  adopted.  That  it  had  been  greatly  improved 
and  many  of  the  old  objections  satisfied  was  generally  admitted. 
The  amendments  inserted  in  the  text,  in  spite  of  the  Presi- 
dent's determination  that  none  should  be  made,  have,  it  was 
said,  improved  the  document  so  far  as  American  interests  are 
concerned.  Revision  has  materially  improved  it  both  in  dic- 
tion and  arrangement.  Many  of  the  objections  to  the  original 
have  wholly,  or  in  part,  been  removed.  An  honest  endeavor 
has  been  made  to  meet  every  reasonable  objection  raised  by 
the  opponents  of  the  old  draft.  The  Monroe  Doctrine  is  safe. 
A  nation  once  in  may  get  out  without  a  fight.  The  United 
States  is  in  no  danger  of  becoming  involved  in  a  war  without 
her  consent.  Ambiguities  have  been  cleared  up,  and  provi- 
sions that  seemed  to  open  the  way  to  misunderstandings  have 
been  made  clear.  It  is  an  attempt  to  get  the  nations  of  the 
World  together  in  a  gentlemen's  agreement  to  do  just  what 
all  honest  nations  wish  to  see  done.  Defects  there  are,  but 
they  are  curable  by  the  provisions  of  the  Covenant  itself. 

There  were  those,  also,  who  failed  to  see  any  improvement. 
In  the  main,  according  to  them,  it  was  the  same  old  Covenant. 
The  matter  of  immigration  to  this  country  was  not  definitely 
left  in  our  control.  The  voting  trust  of  nine  nations  dominated, 
by  five,  would  have  final  decision  on  all  matters  in  interna- 
tional dispute.  A  vote  of  seven  to  two  would  bind  the  United 
States,  and  prevent  it.  using  force  to  sustain  a  position  vital 
to  its  sovereignty.  The  right  to  withdraw,  it  was  said,  is  value- 
less because  it  is  wiser  to  stay  on  the  steam  roller  than  to  get 
off,  and  stand  in  front  of  it.  As  now  drawn  the  Covenant  runs 
counter  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  It  does  so 
in  Article  XVI,  which  empowers  the  Council  to  force  members 


322     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  take  up  arms  against  a  power  declaring  war,  and  thereby 
abrogates  the  right  of  Congress  to  make  war.  It  does  so  in 
Article  X,  still  unchanged,  which  assures  the  territorial  and 
political  integrity  of  members  of  the  League,  and  drags  the 
United  States  into  the  petty  broils  of  European  nations  against 
the  will  of  Congress.  The  Monroe  Doctrine,  some  of  the  Sena- 
tors who  signed  the  "round-robin"  pointed  out,  was  not  "a 
regional  understanding,"  and  was  not  announced  for  the  pur- 
pose of  "securing  the  maintenance  of  peace."  It  was  an  an- 
nouncement intended  to  protect  American  control  of  the  West- 
ern hemisphere  even  to  the  point  of  war.  Senator  Lodge,  now 
majority  leader  in  the  Senate,  telegraphed  to  Republican  Sena- 
tors: "We  suggest  that  Republican  Senators  reserve  final  ex- 
pressions of  opinion  respecting  the  amended  League  Covenant 
until  the  latest  draft  has  been  carefully  studied,  and  until  there 
has  been  an  opportunity  for  conference." 

The  League  to  Enforce  Peace  now  announced,  that  from  a 
poll  of  the  Senators,  based  on  statements  made  by  them  in 
newspaper  interviews,  letters  to  the  League,  and  personal  talks, 
it  appeared  that  sixty-four  were  for  the  Covenant,  twelve  op- 
posed, and  twenty  doubtful,  and  that  the  covenant  was  sure 
of  ratification.  Said  the  emergency  campaign  committee  of 
the  League  in  an  appeal  urging  ratification: 

The  covenant  for  a  League  of  Nations,  in  the  amended  form 
adopted  by  the  Paris  Peace  Conference  should  satisfy  all  except 
those  who  oppose  any  League  whatever.  It  is  now  a  thoroughly 
American  instrument,  thoroughly  American  and  thoroughly  non- 
partisan.  Eecent  amendments  include  the  more  important  changes 
proposed  by  the  leaders  of  the  Republican  party. 

The  covenant  asks  the  American  people  to  surrender  neither 
their  honor,  nor  their  independence,  nor  their  dominant  position 
in  the  new  world.  It  involves  no  obligation  that  we  should  not  be 
ready  to  assume  to  lessen  the  danger  of  future  wars. 

Opponents  must  now  show  their  colors.  The  old  argument,  "We 
are  for  a  League,  but  not  this  League,"  will  no  longer  serve,  the 
issue  now  is,  "The  League  or  none." 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  323 

On  the  eighth  of  May  there  appeared  in  the  newspapers  a 
proclamation  of  the  President  summoning  the  members  of  Con- 
gress to  meet  in  extraordinary  session  on  May  19,  and  also  the 
official  summary  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  in  which  the  covenant 
was  embodied  as  Article  I.  The  President  had  made  good  his 
assurance  that  it  would  be  found  in  the  treaty  so  interwoven 
that  the  two  could  not  be  parted.  The  country  now  waited  to 
see  what  the  Senate  would  do. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE 

LONG  ere  the  delegates  to  the  Peace  Conference  began  to 
assemble  at  Paris,  in  December,  1918,  the  magnitude  of  the 
work  they  must  perform,  and  the  difficulties  they  must  over- 
come, before  even  a  preliminary  treaty  of  peace  could  be 
framed,  were  quite  apparent.  More  than  one  of  the  nations 
that  fought  Germany  and  her  allies  were  already  preparing 
to  lodge  claims  more  in  accord  with  their  national  ambitions 
than  with  the  fourteen  points  that  were  to  be  made  the  basis 
of  peace.  Belgium  was  looking  forward  to  the  restoration  of 
Luxemburg,  and  to  obtaining  a  part  of  Lemburg  and  the  left 
bank  of  the  Scheldt.  Alsace-Lorraine  was,  of  course,  to  go 
to  France,  but  she  would  also  demand  a  surrender  of  the  Saar 
coal  fields.  Denmark,  it  was  understood,  would  insist  on  a 
return  of  Northern  and  Central  Schleswig.  Poland  must  be 
free,  but  how  to  draw  her  frontiers,  and  how  to  give  her,  in 
the  words  of  President  Wilson,  an  assured  "direct  outlet  to 
the  great  highways  of  the  sea,"  would  be  most  difficult  to  deter- 
mine. Such  an  outlet  was  down  the  valley  of  the  Vistula  to 
Danzig.  But  Danzig  was  a  German  town,  and  could  a  settle- 
ment which  cut  communication  between  East  and  West  Prussia 
last  long  ?  What  was  to  become  of  Russia,  of  Turkey,  of  Ger- 
man Austria,  of  the  late  Emperor,  of  the  German  Colonies, 
and  what  restitution  and  reparation  Germany  must  make,  were 
but  a  few  of  the  problems  awaiting  solution  by  the  Peace 
Conference. 

Towards  the  close  of  January,  1919,  the  Conference  settled 
down  to  the  work  before  it,  and  immediately  took  up  the  case 
of  Russia,  adopted  a  proposal  of  President  Wilson  to  summon 

324 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  325 

representatives  of  the  many  groups  or  governments  in  Russia 
to  a  conference  at  Prinkipo;  decided  to  send  a  civil  and  mili- 
tary commission  to  Poland;  appointed  a  number  of  commis- 
sions to  consider  important  and  pressing  questions  and  report 
back  to  the  Conference,  and  deliberated  on  the  future  of  the 
German  Colonies. 

Czechs  and  Poles,  in  the  Principality  of  Teschen,  having 
come  to  blows  over  the  ownership  of  a  mining  district,  the 
Conference  decided  to  send  delegates  to  quiet  matters  until  it 
definitely  fixed  the  frontiers  in  the  contested  zone.  A  hearing 
was  given  to  representatives  of  Roumania  on  the  one  hand,  and 
of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Serbs,  Croats  and  Slovenes  on  the 
other,  concerning  Iheir  respective  claims  Ir  the  Banat,  and 
to  M.  Venizelos  on  the  claims  of  Greece  to  territory  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  to  the  city  of  Constantinople.  He  spoke  of  the 
injury  done  all  Europe  by  the  Turkish  possession  of  the  Bos- 
porus; claimed  Constantinople  because  the  majority  jf  its 
population  was  Greek;  claimed  northern  Epirus  because,  since 
1913,  the  majority  of  its  population  was  Greek;  claimed 
Thrace  and  the  shores  of  the  ^Egean  Sea,  given  to  Bulgaria 
after  the  war  of  1913 ;  claimed  the  Viloyets  of  Balikeser  and 
Aidin,  the  Islands  of  the  Dadecanese,  and  the  Island  of  Cyprus 
ceded  to  Italy  in  1912,  at  the  close  of  the  Italo-Turkish  war. 
In  all  these  regions,  he  said,  there  dwelt  a  Greek  population 
numbering  3,256,000  souls.  In  Asia  Minor  lived  1,700,000 
Greeks. 

February  5  the  Council  of  Ten  discussed  the  boundaries 
of  the  Czechoslovak  Republic  which  demanded  all  Bohemia, 
Moravia,  and  Slovak-Silesia,  the  internationalization  of  the 
Danube,  the  Elbe,  and  the  Vistula,  and  of  the  railway  line 
between  Pressburg,  Trieste  and  Fiume.  Emil  Feisal,  in  be- 
half of  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz,  asked  recognition  of  the  Arab 
nation  and  of  their  rights  to  the  great  region  inclosed  by  a 
line  drawn  from  Alexandretta  to  the  Persian  frontier,  Persia, 
the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Red  Sea,  and  the 
Mediterranean.  Belgium  presented  her  claims,  and  M.  Klotz, 


326     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

French  Minister  of  Finance,  offered  a  detailed  analysis  of  a 
work,  published  in  1916  by  the  German  Great  General  Staff, 
proving  the  deliberately  premeditated  and  systematic  charac- 
ter of  the  destruction  of  French  industry  by  the  Germans. 
February  15,  the  Albanian  delegation  presented  a  memorandum 
asking  acknowledgment  of  the  rights  of  Albania,  sacrificed 
by  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  1878,  and  by  the  Conference  at 
London,  1913,  and  claiming  all  the  territory  given  to  Mon- 
tenegro, Serbia  and  Greece  by  that  Conference. 

All  these  boundary  disputes  were  difficult  enough  to  handle, 
but  none  approached  in  bitterness  the  dispute  between  Italy  and 
the  Jugoslavs  over  Istria,  Fiume,  Dalmatia.  Italy  longed  to 
make  a  closed  sea  of  the  Adriatic.  She  claimed  that  in  the  days 
of  the  Venetian  Republic  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Adriatic  was 
inhabited  and  governed  by  her  people;  that  Gorizia  and  Istria, 
the  Dalmatian  coast  and  its  Islands,  were  Italian  possessions, 
and  Trieste,  Pola  and  Fiume  were  Italian  cities;  that  in  the 
early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  Austria  conquered  north- 
ern Italy,  and  Trieste,  Pola,  Fiume  and  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Adriatic  passed  to  the  dominion  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Empire,  and  that  the  time  had  now  come  when  Italy  should 
have  them  back.  Sharing  in  this  view  Great  Britain,  France 
and  Russia,  in  1915,  made  with  her,  at  London,  a  secret  treaty 
by  which  she  was  promised,  if  she  joined  the  Allies  and  entered 
the  war,  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Adriatic  as  her  share  of  the 
spoils.  When  that  treaty  was  signed  nobody  supposed  that 
Austria,  and  Russia  and  Germany,  would  be  broken  up,  and 
new  nations  formed  on  the  then  unheard-of  principle  of  the 
self-determination  of  democratic  peoples.  But  the  unforeseen 
had  happened.  Slovenia,  Croatia,  Bosnia,  Serbia,  Montenegro, 
Herzegovina  and  Dalmatia  had  united  and  formed  Jugoslavia, 
and  Jugoslavia  now  claimed  that  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Adriatic  belonged  to  her,  and  have  it  she  would,  peaceably  if 
the  Conference  would  so  rule,  forcibly  if  she  must.  Gorizia, 
and  western  Istria  and  Pola,  she  was  willing  should  go  to  Italy, 
because  the  people  of  these  cities  were  chiefly  Italian.  But 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  327 

the  Dalmatian  coast  and  all  the  Islands,  and  Fiume  and  Avlona, 
must  he  under  the  government  of  Jugoslavia  because,  in  race 
and  affiliations,  the  people  are  Jugoslav. 

In  hope  of  reaching  an  amicahle  settlement,  the  Prime 
Minister  of  Jugoslavia  appealed  to  President  Wilson,  invited 
him  to  act  as  arbitrator,  and  believing  the  proposal  was  favor- 
ably received,  asked  the  Government  at  Belgrade  for  authority 
to  make  an  official  request.  He  was  duly  empowered,  and  ad- 
dressed to  President  Wilson  a  formal  note,  and  sent  a  copy 
of  it  to  M.  Clemenceau  as  President  of  the  Peace  Conference. 
"Inspired  by  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  lofty  spirit  of  justice 
which  you  have  displayed  in  regard  to  all  questions  appertain- 
ing to  the  peace  settlement,  and  desirous  of  contributing  to  the 
friendly  solution  of  territorial  differences  pending  between  the 
Kingdom  of  Serbs,  Croates  and  Slovenes  and  the  Kingdom  of 
Italy,  the  Delegation  of  the  Kingdom  of  Serbs,  Croates  and 
Slovenes  desires  to  bring  to  your  knowledge  its  readiness  to 
submit  those  differences  to  your  arbitration.  It  has  received 
1  full  authority  to  this  effect  from  its  Government." 

The  Italian  delegates  would  not  arbitrate.  As  all  the  ter- 
ritorial claims  of  nations  were  being  submitted  to  the  Peace 
Conference,  this  case,  they  held,  should  not  be  made  an  ex- 
ception. Thereupon  the  Jugoslav  Delegation,  a  few  days  later, 
laid  before  the  Conference  the  claims  of  their  country  and 
demanded  that  the  Isonzo  River  be  made  the  Italian  boundary 
and  that  Istria,  with  Trieste  and  Fiume  and  the  Dalmatian 
coast,  be  annexed  to  Jugoslavia.  The  Armenians  asked  for 
liberation  from  the  Turkish  yoke ;  for  the  formation  of  .a  new 
Armenia  composed  of  the  six  Armenian  provinces  of  Turkey, 
the  territory  of  the  Armenian  Republic  in  the  Caucasus  and 
the  port  of  Alexandretta ;  and  for  protection,  for  twenty  years, 
by  a  great  Power  under  a  mandate  from  the  League  of  Nations. 
Territorial  and  boundary  disputes  wei*e  not  the  only  matters 
to  which  the  Conference  had  given  attention.  A  Supreme 
Economic  Council  was  appointed  to  consider  the  distribution 
of  shipping,  lifting  the  blockade,  distribution  of  raw  materials, 


328     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  such  financial  matters  as  required  a  speedy  settlement.  An 
Economic  Drafting  Commission,  and  a  Financial  Drafting 
Commission,  were  appointed  to  deal  with  the  demand  of  several 
nations  for  the  pooling  of  their  credit,  debts,  and  resources, 
and  to  gather  information  as  to  the  financial  condition  of  the 
enemy  countries  for  use  by  the  Commission  on  Reparation. 

On  the  question  of  reparation,  it  now  appeared,  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  the  United  States  held  different  views. 
The  British  insisted  that  Germany  should  pay  the  Allies  the 
cost  of  raising,  equipping,  transporting,  and  maintaining  their 
armies,  and  make  reparation  for  wanton  damages  caused  by 
airplane  and  Zeppelin  raids,  and  destruction  of  merchant  ship- 
ping, in  short,  the  whole  cost  of  the  war.  To  this  the  French 
agreed,  but  demanded  that  Germany  should  first  pay  for  all  the 
damage  she  had  done  in  violation  of  international  law,  and  later 
make  good  the  costs  of  war,  if  she  were  able  to  do  so.  The 
Americans  held  that  reparation  should  be  limited  to  damage 
done  wantonly,  and  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  war  and  of 
nations,  a  proposition  which  would  leave  Great  Britain  without 
recompense,  save  for  injury  done  by  airplanes,  Zeppelins  and 
submarines,  and  would  restrict  that  done  to  her  colonies,  and 
to  the  United  States  to  losses  suffered  by  the  sinking  of  mer- 
chant vessels. 

The  armistice  now  expired,  February  17,  and  was  continued 
without  limit,  and  terminable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Allies  on 
seventy-two  hours'  notice.  To  some  of  the  new  terms  the  Ger- 
mans objected,  and  protested.  For  reasons  unknown  the  terms 
delivered  to  the  Germans  at  Treves  on  Friday,  February  14, 
did  not  reach  Weimar  until  late  on  the  evening  of  Saturday, 
when  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet  was  immediately  held,  great 
indignation  expressed  at  the  terms,  and  a  decision  reached  not 
to  sign.  Responsibility  for  this  decision,  however,  the  Cabinet 
was  so  unwilling  to  assume  alone,  that  early  on  Sunday  the 
party  leaders  were  summoned,  and  the  question  of  signing  laid 
before  them.  They  advised  acceptance;  the  Cabinet  yielded; 
and  late  on  Sunday  afternoon  a  telegram  was  sent  to  Herr  Erz- 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  329 

berger  bidding  him  sign,  which  he  did  shortly  after  six  o'clock 
on  February  16.  Before  doing  so,  acting  under  instructions, 
he  handed  to  Marshal  Foch  a  written  statement  that  the  Ger- 
man Government  protested,  because  the  agreement  entirely  ig- 
nored the  new  German  Government;  imposed,  in  the  form  of 
curt  orders,  the  requirement  to  evacuate,  in  favor  of  the  Poles, 
a  number  of  places;  and  made  the  armistice  terminable  on 
three  days'  notice.  On  Monday,  after  Herr  Erzberger  read 
the  terms  to  the  National  Assembly,  that  body  at  once  ad- 
journed, as  a  mark  of  their  sorrow  because  of  the  humiliating 
terms  forced  on  Germany. 

As  the  month  of  March  approached,  announcement  was  made 
that  the  Council  intended  to  embody  the  terms  of  the  final 
armistice  in  the  preliminary  treaty  of  peace,  and  that  the 
Supreme  War  Council  had  settled  the  naval  terms  and  provided 
for  complete  disarmament  of  the  enemy.  All  German  sub- 
marines, docks  for  submarines,  and  the  Kiel  tubular  dock  were 
to  be  surrendered  or  destroyed;  German  war  vessels  interned 
in  Allied  ports  were  to  be  seized,  and  broken  up  or  destroyed ; 
warships  under  construction  in  Germany  must  be  destroyed; 
eight  battleships,  eight  light  cruisers,  forty-two  modern  de- 
stroyers and  fifty  modern  torpedo  boats,  with  guns  and  torpe- 
does, must  be  handed  over  by  Germany  in  condition  to  go  to 
sea  under  their  own  steam;  Heligoland  fortifications  must  be 
destroyed  by  the  Germans  at  their  own  expense;  all  fortifica- 
tions defending  access  to  the  Baltic  must  be  razed,  and  the 
Kiel  Canal  open  at  all  times  to  the  war  vessels  and  merchant 
ships  of  every  nation.  German  Cable  systems,  European, 
Transatlantic  and  Asiatic,  would  not  be  returned  to  former 
owners,  and  the  wireless  stations  at  Nauen,  Hanover  and  Berlin 
were  to  be  used  for  none  but  commercial  purposes. 

France,  it  was  reported,  reserved  acceptance  of  the  provi- 
sions requiring  destruction  of  warships  surrendered  by  Ger- 
many and  interned  in  Allied  harbors.  She  needed  some,  for 
her  fleet  had  suffered  losses  which,  because  of  army  require- 
ments, her  yards  had  not  been  able  to  make  good.  There  were, 


330     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

it  was  said,  three  ways  of  disposing  of  the  surrendered  German 
ships;  sink  them  in  the  ocean,  as  Great  Britain  wished;  con- 
vert them  into  transports,  which  was  impracticable  because  of 
cost;  distribute  them  between  France,  Italy  and  Japan,  for 
neither  Great  Britain  nor  America  wanted  them.  This  last 
plan  was  objectionable  because,  in  the  face  of  the  League  of 
Nation's  requirement  for  disarmament,  it  would  be  adding 
to  the  navies  of  three  powers. 

Military  terms  to  be  imposed,  it  was  reported,  would  force 
Germany  to  reduce  her  army  to  one  hundred  thousand  men, 
recruit  this  force  by  volunteer  enlistment,  and  make  the  term 
of  enlistment  twelve  years  lest,  by  training  a  new  body  of  a 
hundred  thousand  men  each  year,  she  should,  in  time,  train 
a  great  army.  The  Imperial  General  Staff  must  be  abolished, 
artillery  and  military  equipment,  over  and  above  the  needs 
of  the  new  army,  must  be  surrendered,  and  the  forts  along 
the  Ehine  destroyed.  The  terms  of  aerial  disarmament  for- 
bade Germany  to  use  airplanes,  or  dirigibles,  for  military  pur- 
poses, and  required  her  to  hand  over  her  airplanes  to  the  Allies, 
and  build  no  more  until  after  peace  was  concluded. 

The  Supreme  Council,  it  was  further  reported,  indeed,  it 
was  so  stated  by  Premier  Delacroix  in  the  Belgian  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  had  decided  that  the  old  treaty  of  April  19,  1839, 
must  be  revised,  and  would  insert  in  the  peace  treaty  a  re- 
quirement that  Germany  relinquish  her  leasehold  on  Tsingtau 
and  all  concessions  on  the  Shantung  peninsula.  The  Polish 
Commission  on  the  Eastern  Boundary  of  Germany  now  re- 
ported, and  proposed  to  give  Poland  direct  access  to  the  Baltic 
by  a  corridor  leading  to  Danzig,  thus  cutting  off  East  Prussia 
from  Germany;  to  allow  Germany  communication  across  this 
corridor;  and  to  demilitarize  East  Prussia.  From  the  sub- 
commission  of  the  Commission  on  Responsibility  for  the  War 
came  a  report  listing  thirty-one  classes  of  crimes  for  which 
Germany  should  be  held  responsible.  Civilians  had  been 
massacred,  tortured,  starved,  deported,  interned  under  brutal 
conditions,  forced  to  labor  in  connection  with  military  opera- 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  381 

tions.  Girls  and  women  had  been  abducted,  women  violated, 
and  hostages  put  to  death.  Towns  and  villages  had  been 
pillaged,  property  confiscated,  the  currency  debased,  penalties 
imposed  and  collected.  Property,  religious,  charitable  and  edu- 
cational, and  historic  buildings  and  monuments  had  been  wan- 
tonly destroyed.  Exorbitant  and  illegal  contributions  had  been 
exacted,  undefended  places  and  hospitals  had  been  bombarded, 
relief  ships,  hospital  ships,  fishing  boats  had  been  destroyed, 
and  merchant  ships  sunk  without  warning.  Asphyxiating  and 
poisonous  gases,  and  explosive  and  expanding  bullets,  had  been 
used.  No  quarter  had  been  given;  prisoners  had  been  ill- 
treated;  flags  of  truce  misused;  wells  poisoned,  and  the  rules 
relating  to  the  Red  Cross  utterly  disregarded.  Even  this  list, 
the  sub-commission  stated,  did  not  exhaust  the  record  of  enemy 
crimes. 

From  an  official  of  the  French  Foreign  Office  came  a  state- 
ment of  the  disposition  France  wished  to  have  made  of  the 
country  west  of  the  Rhine.  Never  again  should  the  people 
and  their  territory  be  made  a  military  menace  and  vantage 
ground  for  invasion  of  France,  as  in  the  past.  France  had 
not  the  least  desire  to  make  these  people  a  part  of  her  own; 
they  should  have  an  independent  status.  But  the  Rhine  should 
be  a  military  and  political  boundary.  West  of  that  river  there 
should  never  again  be  any  German  troops,  German  fortifica- 
tions, German  munition  works.  Every  railroad,  every  bridge 
across  the  Rhine  must  be  in  French  hands,  or  those  of  the 
Allies,  until  the  territory  was  politically  independent.  The 
whole  German  population  must  be  forever  rid  of  all  military 
obligations  to  Germany,  never  subject  to  service  in  German 
armies,  or  allowed  to  volunteer,  and  no  taxes  should  ever  be 
levied  on  them  for  military  purposes. 

Making  the  Rhine  a  political  boundary  meant,  that  during 
the  period  of  occupation,  which  must  continue  until  Germany 
had  paid  her  reparation  bill  in  full,  local  administration  of  the 
towns  and  villages  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  native 
population,  with  no  political  connection  with  any  Central  Ger- 


332     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

man  Government.  Reparation  made,  and  the  period  of  occupa- 
tion ended,  this  Rhine  country  should  at  once  become  an  in- 
dependent State,  for  the  good  of  itself,  and  for  the  protection 
of  France  and  the  rest  of  the  world  against  the  Germany  of 
the  future. 

Public  opinion  in  Rome,  it  was  now  reported  from  Paris, 
was  irritated  by  reports  that  the  Italian  territorial  claims 
would  not  be  decided  together  with  those  of  France,  before 
the  treaty  of  peace,  but  afterwards  with  those  of  the  new  na- 
tions sprung  from  the  ruins  of  Austria.  If  this  report  be  true, 
said  an  Italian  newspaper,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that 
the  Italian  delegates  will  be  in  duty  bound  to  oppose  the  propo- 
sition "even  at  the  cost  of  packing  their  trunks  and  leaving 
Paris."  But  we  refuse  to  believe  that  President  Wilson,  or 
any  one  else,  can  have  thought  of  such  a  thing.  It  would  be 
a  grave  offense  to  Italy.  At  Rome  all  eyes  were  turned  towards 
Paris.  Demonstrations  were  made  in  favor  of  the  Irredenta, 
and  Fiume  in  particular,  and  the  question,  What  attitude  will 
America  take  ?  was  asked  on  every  hand. 

So  high  did  feeling  run  that  on  March  21  the  Italian  dele- 
gation to  the  Peace  Conference  announced  that  they  had  unani- 
mously agreed  to  withdraw  from  the  Conference  unless  Fiume 
were  assigned  to  Italy,  before  the  conclusion  of  peace.  Such, 
it  was  said,  was  the  state  of  the  public  mind  in  Italy,  that 
failure  of  the  delegation  to  secure  title  to  Fiume  and  the 
Dalmatian  coastal  islands  would  surely  be  attended  by  grave 
political  results.  Neither  the  Parliament,  nor  the  people,  would 
think  of  ratifying  an  agreement  which  abandoned  what  they 
considered  necessary  "to  the  completion  of  the  mother  country." 
President  Wilson,  report  said,  had  the  matter  before  him  and 
would,  it  was  hoped,  find  a  way  to  overcome  this  obstacle  in 
the  path  of  peace. 

All  the  Allied  peoples  by  this  time  were  crying  out  for  less 
secrecy  and  more  speed.  Most  of  the  issues,  it  was  said,  that 
have  arisen  could  be  settled  easily  in  a  few  days  by  two  or  three 
determined  men.  There  must  be  a  truce  to  the  constant  refer- 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  833 

ence  of  these  claims  to  committees,  sub-committees  and  sub- 
sub-committees.  It  was  foolish  to  put  off  the  day  when  the 
Council  must  make  up  its  mind,  and  that  day  must  not  be 
far  away,  for  the  audience  "will  soon  get  tired  of  waiting  for 
the  curtain  to  be  drawn."  The  whole  world  is  impatient  for 
peace.  Trade  and  industry  demand  it  as  a  first  step  towards 
a  return  to  normal  conditions.  The  ruined  countries  demand 
it,  that  they  may  take  up  the  work  of  reconstruction.  Civiliza- 
tion demands  it,  that  the  forces  of  Bolshevism  may  not  break 
through  in  the  East.  Even  the  Council  of  Ten  seemed  at 
last  to  be  convinced  of  the  need  of  haste,  and  March  24,  de- 
cided, that  a  Super-Council  of  Eour,  composed  of  President 
Wilson  and  the  three  Allied  Prime  Ministers,  should  proceed 
at  once  to  gather  up  the  decisions  already  made,  settle  the 
issues  on  which  no  decision  had  been  reached,  and  draw  up 
the  Treaty  of  Peace. 

At  the  end  of  a  week  the  Council  of  Four  gave  no  more 
satisfaction  than  the  Council  of  Ten.  They,  too,  it  was  charged, 
were  wasting  time.  At  the  moment  when  clear-sighted  reso- 
lution was  most  needed,  they  were  showing  neither  vision  nor 
courage.  Victory  was  not  yet  assured,  and  might  even  be  lost 
unless  the  politicians,  who  so  misrepresented  their  people,  were 
driven  to  do  their  duty  or  replaced  by  others  who  would  do  it. 
Their  secrecy  was  even  more  hateful  than  their  sloth. 

President  Wilson  now  issued  a  statement  denying  that  con- 
ferences on  the  League  of  Nations  had  anything  whatever  to  do 
with  delay  in  framing  the  treaty.  Eumor  then  found  other 
causes.  The  "Big  Four"  were  said  to  be  "deadlocked"  on  the 
question  of  reparation,  and  the  demands  of  M.  Clemenceau  for 
the  cession,  outright  to  France,  of  the  whole  Saar  valley;  the 
"Big  Four"  were  said  to  have  indulged  in  some  very  plain 
talk ;  President  Wilson  was  said  to  have  threatened  to  go  home 
unless  greater  progress  was  made  in  settling  the  peace  of  the 
world;  to  have  told  his  associates  that  the  world  was  awaiting 
the  finishing  of  their  task,  and  had  a  right  to  expect  a  speedy 
conclusion;  to  have  said  that  the  slowness  of  the  negotiation 


384.     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

was  not  the  fault  of  the  representatives  of  any  nation ;  that  he 
willingly  accepted  his  share  for  the  delay  in  framing  the 
Treaty;  that  the  time  for  talk  was  over,  and  that  the  time 
for  results  had  come. 

After  several  days  had  passed  and  no  results  were  announced, 
the  editor  of  the  Paris  Matin  had  an  interview  with  Lloyd 
George,  and  told  him  that  the  public  was  troubled  not  so  much 
by  the  delay,  as  by  the  secrecy  which  surrounded  the  meetings 
of  the  Council  of  Four,  and  the  fear  that  serious  differences  of 
opinion  existed.  To  this  Lloyd  George  replied : 

I  affirm  absolutely  that  there  is  no  divergence  among  the  nego- 
tiators. They  are  often  confronted  with  technical  difficulties  which 
can  only  be  settled  after  close  study.  Take  the  question  of  repara- 
tion. In  substance  the  Allies  have  one  common  principle,  which 
I  once  set  forth  thus:  "Germany  must  pay  up  to  the  last  farthing 
of  her  power." 

But  is  it  sufficient  to  draw  up  a  bill  and  hand  it  to  the  enemy? 
Must  we  not  require  guarantees,  and  must  we  not  study  the  terms, 
methods,  and  forms  of  delayed  payments?  Must  we  not  be  able  to 
say  to  our  adversary  when  he  pleads  inadequacy  of  resources:  "Yes, 
you  can  go  as  far  as  that  and  you  must  do  it."  In  a  word,  shall  we 
simply  present  a  bill,  or  collect  the  money,  all  the  money  possible? 
Well,  that  is  where  the  work  comes  in,  slow  and  difficult  work 
complicated  by  the  fact  that  technical  experts  of  the  highest  capa- 
bilities and  greatest  experience  are  not  in  agreement  among  them- 
selves, either  as  to  the  method  of  liquidation,  or  as  to  the  assets  to 
be  realized. 

No,  there  is  no  divergence  among  the  negotiators,  but,  alas,  there 
are  inevitable  ones  among  the  experts,  often  among  those  from  the 
same  country. 

The  editor  remarked  that  the  public  could  not  understand 
why,  before  everything,  Germany  has  not  been  handed  a  full 
bill,  no  matter  what  the  amount,  and  forced  to  admit  full 
liability. 

"And  who  says  we  shall  not  do  so?"  cried  Premier  Lloyd 
George.  "Who  says  we  have  not  decided  that?" 

"No  one/'  the  interviewer  interrupted,  "has  said  that  you 
have  not  decided  it." 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  335 

The  British  Premier  resumed: 

Cannot  the  people  wait  until  we  have  finished  our  work  instead 
of  always  wanting  to  judge  our  intentions?  This  Conference  had 
to  meet,  and  discuss  things,  under  conditions  unprecedented  in 
history.  All  eyes  are  turned  toward  it,  and,  what  is  more  grave, 
all  ears  are  glued  at  its  keyhole.  Enemy  ears  tremble  with  joy 
when  they  detect  some  hesitation.  Friendly  ears  half  hear  confused 
rumors  which  are  peddled  far  and  quickly.  The  day  does  not  pass 
but  what  some  false  news,  here  and  there,  takes  its  flight.  Never- 
theless, no  day  passes  but  that  we  in  silent  deliberation  feel  ap- 
proaching nearer  the  great  aim,  and  experience  for  each  other  more 
esteem,  confidence,  and  affection.  Let  public  opinion  wait  a  few 
days.  It  will  then  be  able  to  pronounce  on  facts,  not  rumors. 

Results,  and  assurances  of  results  to  come,  were  now  an- 
nounced. Agreement  had  been  reached  on  the  principle  of  in- 
demnities to  be  paid  by  Germany.  The  Danzig  question  had 
been  adjusted,  progress  had  been  made  by  all  commissions, 
save  that  on  Reparations,  and  complete  agreement  would  be 
reached  by  Easter  Sunday,  which,  in  1919,  was  April  twen- 
tieth. But  the  statement  of  Lloyd  George  that  "there  is  no 
divergence  among  the  negotiators"  was  received  with  doubt.  A 
strong  impression  existed  that  European  politics  had  produced 
sharp  divergence  of  opinion,  at  least  in  the  case  of  Fiume,  and 
that  Italy  was  likely  to  quit  the  Conference  unless  her  demand 
was  granted.  Italy's  quarrel,  it  was  pointed  out,  had  never 
really  been  with  Germany,  but  with  Austria,  Were  she  to 
withdraw,  she  could  easily  make  a  separate  peace  with  Ger- 
many, and  as  her  army  had  not  been  demobilized,  as  her  two 
and  a  half  millions  of  men  were  still  under  arms,  it  would 
be  easy  for  her  to  seize  Fiume  and  Dalmatia  in  the  old  fash- 
ioned European  way.  That  Fiume  was  not  mentioned  in  the 
treaty  of  London  made  no  difference.  Have  it  she  must,  and 
would.  If  we  do  not  get  it  from  the  Conference,  said  an 
Italian,  we  must  assume  that  our  delegation  has  reached  the 
limit  of  its  authority  to  act  on  its  own  responsibility,  and  must 
appeal  to  the  Italian  people  for  new  instructions.  Italy  has  an 


336     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Adriatic  Doctrine  as  dear  to  her  as  tlie  Monroe  Doctrine  is  to 
America.  Orlando  can  no  more  return  to  Kome  with  a  peace 
treaty  depriving  us  of  Fiume,  than  President  Wilson  can  re- 
turn to  the  United  States  with  a  League  of  Nations  which  de- 
stroys the  Monroe  Doctrine,  or  in  any  way  menaces  the  political 
welfare  of  his  country. 

Color  was  now  given  to  the  helief  that  "divergence"  did  ex- 
ist "among  the  negotiators,"  by  a  sudden  call  from  President 
Wilson,  on  April  6,  for  the  return  of  the  steamship  George 
Washington  to  Europe.  Why  he  did  so  no  one  knew ;  but  that 
made  no  difference,  for  rumors  supplied  the  reasons.  It  was 
well  known,  according  to  one,  that  in  American  quarters  there 
was  great  disappointment  at  the  delay  in  settling  the  claims  of 
the  Allies  among  themselves,  and  it  might  be  that  the  Presi- 
dent felt  it  a  waste  of  time  to  sit  at  the  Conference  table  listen- 
ing to  fruitless  discussions  of  questions  in  which  America  had 
no  concern.  It  was  a  hint,  according  to  another,  that  unless 
differences  were  speedily  adjusted,  Mr.  Wilson  would  sail  for 
America,  order  the  American  army  out  of  Europe,  and  leave 
Great  Britain,  France  and  Italy  to  end  their  squabbles  in  their 
own  way.  It  was  a  sign,  according  to  others,  that  the  peace 
treaty  would  be  finished  before  the  George  Washington  could 
reach  France,  and  that  the  President  would  be  free  to  go  home. 

Spurred  on,  it  may  be,  by  this  action  of  the  President,  the 
Council  of  Four  now  agreed  on  the  terms  of  reparation  for  war 
damages,  on  the  responsibility  of  the  German  Emperor  for  the 
war,  and  on  the  means  of  bringing  him  to  trial.  Losses  and 
damages  to  civilians  were  to  be  determined  by  an  inter-allied 
commission,  and  Germany  was  to  be  notified  of  the  amount 
due  not  later  than  May  1, 1921,  was  to  pay  in  full  within  thirty 
years,  and  was  to  begin  with  a  payment,  within  two  years,  of 
twenty  billion  marks,  or  five  billion  dollars.  To  determine  the 
responsibility  of  William  Hohenzollern  for  his  offenses  against 
international  law  and  the  sanctity  of  treaties,  his  surrender  was 
to  be  asked  of  Holland,  and  a  special  tribunal  set  up  to  fix  the 
punishment  to  be  imposed. 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  337 

Despite  these  signs  of  progress,  distrust  and  displeasure  was 
made  manifest  in  many  ways.  Three  hundred  and  seventy-four 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons  signed  a  telegram  to  Lloyd 
George  calling  on  him  to  make  good  his  preelection  promises 
to  exact  the  utmost  indemnity  from  Germany.  The  national 
executive  of  the  British  Labor  Party  demanded  that  the  Paris 
Conference  put  an  end  to  discussion,  and  make  peace  in  accord- 
ance with  President  Wilson's  fourteen  points.  Every  member 
of  the  French  Senate  signed  a  resolution  expressing  the  hope 
that  full  restitution  would  be  exacted  from  the  enemy,  and  that 
full  reparation  for  damages  to  persons  and  property,  and  the 
full  cost  of  the  war  would  "be  imposed  on  those  responsible  for 
the  greatest  crime  in  history."  All  restraints  were  at  once 
broken  down,  and  the  press  of  Paris,  led  by  Le  Matin,  joined 
in  savage  denunciation  of  Lloyd  George,  President  Wilson,  and 
the  Americans. 

At  last  the  treaty  was  nearing  completion.  One  by  one  the 
great  questions,  even  that  of  the  Rhine  boundary,  were  settled 
and,  on  April  14,  the  President  in  behalf  of  the  Council  of 
Four  put  forth  a  statement  that  the  German  plenipotentiaries 
would  be  "invited  to  meet  the  representatives  of  the  associated 
belligerent  nations"  at  Versailles  on  the  25th  of  April. 

The  summons,  or  invitation,  as  the  President  called  it,  hav- 
ing been  received,  the  German  Government  showed  its  contempt 
by  announcing  that  three  men  of  no  importance  would  be  sent 
to  Versailles  as  messengers,  or  couriers,  to  receive  the  treaty  and 
bring  it  to  Weimar.  This,  the  Council  of  Four  would  not  per- 
mit. Germany  was  promptly  informed  that  no  delegates  would 
be  received  by  the  associated  Governments  unless  vested  with 
the  same  plenary  powers  to  negotiate  as  the  representatives  of 
the  Allied  and  Associated  Governments  possessed;  the  insult- 
ing decision  of  the  German  Cabinet  was  at  once  reversed  and 
assurance  given  that  six  delegates,  headed  by  Count  von  Brock- 
dorff-Kantzau,  the  Foreign  Minister,  would  go  to  Versailles. 

Meantime,  the  Council  of  Four  had  been  earnestly  striving 
to  come  to  terms  with  the  delegates  from  Italy.  All  efforts 


338     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

were  vain.  Nothing  short  of  Fiume  would  be  accepted,  and 
when  the  Council  met  on  April  22  Premier  Orlando  did  not 
attend.  To  the  Italian  newspaper  men  he  was  reported  to  have 
said: 

We  have  withdrawn.  From  this  morning  none  of  our  delegation 
will  take  any  part  in  any  Conference  work.  We  are  simply  standing 
firm  in  our  position,  and  all  further  initiative  must  come  from  the 
other  side.  If  we  learn  that  an  adverse  decision  is  reached  by  them, 
we  shall  go  home  at  once.  In  any  case,  unless  we  receive  full  satis- 
faction, the  day  of  the  arrival  of  the  German  delegates  will  be  the 
limit  of  our  stay.  If  we  go,  it  will  not  mean  a  rupture  of  diplomatic 
relations,  but  an  expression  of  lack  of  solidarity  between  Italy  and 
the  other  members  of  the  Conference. 

On  the  following  day,  April  28,  Premier  Orlando  again 
failed  to  attend  the  Council;  President  Wilson  issued  a  state- 
ment on  the  Adriatic  question,  and  the  Italian  delegation  at 
once  announced  that  it  would  leave  Paris  on  the  24th.  In  sub- 
stance, the  President  said  that  when  Italy  entered  the  war  she 
did  so  "upon  the  basis  of  a  definite  private  understanding  with 
Great  Britain  and  Prance  now  known  as  the  Pact  of  London" ; 
that  Austria-Hungary,  at  whose  expense  the  Pact  of  London 
was  to  be  kept  in  the  event  of  victory,  had  gone  to  pieces  and 
no  longer  existed;  that  from  its  several  parts  were  to  be  set 
up  independent  states  to  be  associated,  in  the  League  of  Na- 
tions, with  Italy  and  all  the  powers  that  stood  with  Italy  in 
the  great  war;  that  these  new  nations  would  be  among  the 
small  states  whose  interests  must  be  safeguarded  as  scrupulously 
as  the  interests  of  the  most  powerful  states;  that  in  the  armi- 
stice with  Germany  it  was  promised  that  peace  should  be  founded 
on  certain  clearly  defined  principles;  that  the  same  principles 
must  be  applied  to  the  settlement  of  peace  in  what  was  once 
the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire,  and  the  Balkan  States,  as  with 
Germany;  that  if  these  principles  were  not  to  be  abandoned, 
"Fiume  must  serve  as  the  outlet  of  the  commerce,  not  of  Italy, 
but  of  the  land  to  the  north  and  northeast  of  that  port,  of 
Hungary,  Bohemia,  Eoumania  and  the  States  of  the  Jugoslav 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  339 

group."  To  assign  Fiume  to  Italy,  the  President  said,  would 
be  to  create  a  feeling  that  the  port  on  which  all  these  countries 
chiefly  depend  for  access  to  the  Mediterranean  had  been  de- 
liberately put  into  the  hancls  of  a  power  of  which  it  did  not 
form  an  integral  part,  and  which  was  not  identified  with  the 
commercial  and  industrial  life  of  the  regions  which  the  port 
must  serve.  "It  is  for  that  reason,  no  doubt,  that  Fiume  was 
not  included  in  the  Pact  of  London,  but  there  definitely  as- 
signed to  the  Croatians." 

The  reason  why  the  line  drawn  in  the  Pact  of  London  swept 
about  among  the  islands  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Adriatic, 
and  a  portion  of  the  Dalmatian  coast,  undoubtedly  was,  the 
President  believed,  that  Italy  must  have  a  foothold  amidst  the 
channels  of  the  eastern  Adriatic  that  she  might  make  her  coasts 
safe  against  naval  aggression  by  Austria-Hungary.  But 
Austria-Hungary  no  longer  existed ;  the  fortifications  which  she 
erected  were  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  limitation  of  armaments, 
required  by  the  League  of  Nations  covenant,  put  aggression  out 
of  the  question.  Italy  was  safe  without  Fiume. 

Premier  Orlando  at  once  made  a  long  reply.  He  admitted 
that  Fiume  was  assigned  by  the  Pact  of  London  to  the  Croa- 
tians, but  defended,  as  best  he  could,  Italy's  claim  to  the  city 
on  the  basis  of  its  Italian  population  and  the  right  of  self- 
determination.  What  enraged  him,  and  brought  forth  his  re- 
ply, was  what  he  considered  a  violation  of  diplomatic  procedure, 
and  an  affront  to  the  Italian  Government  by  the  President,  who 
had  passed  over  the  heads  of  the  Italian  delegation  and  ap- 
pealed to  the  Italian  people  and  the  whole  world. 

While  [said  Orlando]  the  Italian  delegation  was  discussing  coun- 
ter propositions  which  had  been  received  from  the  British  Prime 
Minister,  and  which  had  far  their  aim  the  conciliation  of  contra- 
dictory tendencies  which  were  manifested  concerning  Italian  terri- 
torial aspirations,  the  Paris  newspapers  published  a  message  from 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  which  he  expressed  his  own 
thought  on  one  of  the  gravest  problems  which  has  been  submitted 
to  the  judgment  of  the  Conference. 


340     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  practice  of  addressing  nations  directly  constitutes,  surely, 
an  innovation  in  international  relations.  I  do  not  wish  to  complain, 
but  I  wish  to  record  it  as  a  precedent,  so  that  at  my  own  time  I  may 
follow  it,  inasmuch  as  this  new  custom  doubtless  constitutes  the 
granting  to  nations  of  larger  participation  in  international  ques- 
tions, and,  personally,  I  have  always  been  of  the  opinion  that  such 
participation  was  the  harbinger  of  a  new  order  of  things. 

Nevertheless,  if  these  appeals  are  to  be  considered  as  addressed  to 
nations  outside  of  the  Governments  which  represent  them  (I  might 
say  even  against  the  Governments),  I  should  feel  deep  regret  in  re- 
calling that  this  process,  heretofore  applied  to  enemy  Governments, 
is  to-day  applied  for  the  first  time  to  a  Government  which  has  been, 
and  intends  to  remain,  a  loyal  ally  of  the  Great  American  Republic, 
namely,  to  the  Italian  Government. 

Above  all,  I  should  have  the  right  to  complain  if  the  declarations 
of  the  Presidential  message  have  the  purpose  to  oppose  the  Italian 
people  to  the  Italian  Government,  because  it  would  misconstrue  and 
deny  the  high  degree  of  civilization  which  the  Italian  people  has 
attained,  and  its  democratic  and  liberal  regime,  and  I  should  be 
forced  to  protest  strongly  against  suppositions  unjustly  offensive  to 
my  country. 


That  a  grave  crisis  had  arisen  in  the  Peace  Conference,  and 
that  nothing  should  be  left  undone  to  find  a  remedy,  was  gen- 
erally admitted  in  Paris ;  but  on  the  act  of  the  President  public 
opinion  was  divided.  By  some  journals  it  was  deplored  as 
likely  to  do  more  harm  than  good ;  as  an  attempt  to  transfer  to 
the  market  place,  discussions  better  carried  on  in  privacy ;  as  a 
display  of  stubbornness,  and  of  a  haughty,  uncompromising 
spirit.  Socialist  newspapers  approved  his  course.  Tired  of 
confidential  wire  pulling  and  secret  diplomacy  the  President 
had  rent  the  veil  and  appealed  to  public  opinion.  He  had 
applied  the  surgeon's  knife  to  a  painful  wound.  The  patient 
had  cried  out,  but  the  wound  would  heal. 

In  the  London  Press  the  statement  was  described  as  a 
"thunderbolt,"  a  "bombshell,"  "an  appeal  to  Csesar."  The 
President  had  taken  an  impossible  attitude;  his  appeal  was  an 
insult  to  Italy ;  he  ought  to  retire  gracefully  from  a  discussion 
which  concerned  neither  him  nor  the  American  continent.  He 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  341 

had  created  a  most  serious  situation,  the  development  of  which 
would  be  watched  with  anxious  interest.  Italy,  some  journals 
held,  had  gone  beyond  the  Pact  of  London  in  claiming  Fiume, 
which,  in  the  treaty,  had  been  assigned  to  Croatia.  If  an  ap- 
peal were  made  to  the  treaty,  was  not  the  Conference  as  much 
bound  not  to  give  Italy  Fiume,  as  it  was  to  give  her  the  ter- 
ritories promised  ?  If  Italy  claimed  Fiume  under  the  principle 
of  self-determination,  that  principle  also  applied  to  the  Slav 
regions  assigned  to  Italy  under  the  treaty.  Italy  was  claim- 
ing fulfillment  of  the  treaty  where  she  was  the  gainer,  and 
its  abrogation  where  it  stood  in  the  way  of  her  demands.  The 
President  had  "plunged  the  Conference  into  a  profoundly  stupid 
tragedy,  by  rushing  into  the  arena  waving  a  red  flag";  his 
"name  among  the  Allies  is  like  that  of  the  rich  uncle,  and  they 
have  accepted  his  manners  out  of  respect  for  his  means."  "Pre- 
mier Orlando  has  gone  home  and  we  commend  his  example  to 
President  Wilson." 

England  and  France  will  not  hesitate  to  act  if  necessary. 
They  will  not  permit  Italy  to  pick  out  clauses  of  the  Treaty 
of  London  which  favor  her  designs,  and  reject  those  which 
favor  the  Jugoslavs.  If  she  insists  on  the  treaty  she  must  have 
the  whole  treaty,  and  the  whole  treaty  will  leave  her  without 
Fiuma 

A  wireless  message  from  Rome  reported  intense  feeling 
against  the  Peace  Conference  and  President  Wilson.  Crowds 
marched  through  the  streets  demanding  Fiume  and  Dalmatia, 
and  cheering  Orlando  and  Sonnino.  The  newspapers  were 
unanimous  in  approving  the  withdrawal  of  the  delegation,  and 
the  reply  of  Orlando  to  the  President.  Political  disputes  were 
laid  aside;  in  a  score  of  cities  demonstrations  were  made;  and 
in  some  the  streets  were  decorated  with  Dalmatian  and  Fiume 
flags.  A  report  from  London  announced  that  the  Italian  Em- 
bassy had  given  out  the  statement  that  in  many  towns  the 
shops  were  closed  while  crowds  of  demonstrants  paraded  shout- 
ing, "Long  live  America !  Down  with  Wilson !"  Whether  the 
statement  were  true  or  false,  the  sentiment  found  expression 


342     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

in  the  Italian  press.  "The  American  people,"  said  the  Corri&re 
d' Italia,  "cannot  be  in  agreement  with  a  man  who  so  haughtily 
arrogates  to  himself  the  right  to  decide  the  fate  of  Europe 
against  the  desires  of  its  Governments  and  its  peoples.  We 
trust,  however,  in  the  sense  and  justice  of  the  English  and 
French,  and,  above  all,  of  the  American  people."  "What  hap- 
pened in  Paris  is  monstrous,"  said  the  Giornale  d'ltalia. 
"Against  it  we  appeal  to  the  common  sense  of  the  American 
people.  We  do  not  consider  the  generous  American  people  re- 
sponsible for  the  eccentricities  of  its  President."  When  Or- 
lando reached  Rome  the  people  went  wild  in  their  effort  to 
show  how  heartily  they  approved  his  course  of  action.  Despite 
these  demonstrations  Paris  was  sure  both  he  and  Sonnino  would 
be  back  again  at  the  Conference  within  ten  days.  The  pre- 
diction came  true  for,  on  May  5,  it  was  announced  that  Orlando 
and  Sonnino  would  at  once  return  to  Paris.  While  these  things 
were  happening  at  Paris  and  Rome  the  German  peace  delega- 
tion was  gathering  at  Versailles.  The  first  party,  councilors 
and  secretaries  of  the  Foreign  Office,  clerks,  typists,  interpre- 
ters, a  doctor  and  a  barber,  numbering  some  thirty  women  and 
more  than  fifty  men,  reached  the  little  station  of  Vaucresson, 
at  dusk,  on  the  evening  of  April  29,  and  were  taken  in  motor 
cars  and  omnibuses  to  Versailles,  three  miles  away.  Count 
Brockdorff-Rantzau  and  the  rest  of  the  delegates  arrived  the 
evening  of  the  thirtieth.  Exchange  of  credentials  was  made, 
with  no  formal  ceremony,  on  May  1. 

Some  little  delay  now  followed,  for  all  the  details  of  the 
treaty  were  not  yet  finished.  A  Belgian  delegation  came  to 
Paris  to  express  dissatisfaction  with  the  terms  granted  her  in 
the  treaty.  The  Limburg  region,  Maastricht,  and  the  left  bank 
of  the  Scheldt,  were  not  given  her ;  only  Malmedy  in  Rhenish 
Prussia.  N"o  provision  had  been  made  for  the  recall,  by  Ger- 
many, of  the  six  billion  marks  left  in  Belgium  and  lying  useless 
in  the  banks,  for  the  circulation  of  the  mark  was  forbidden  in 
that  country.  Of  the  five  hundred  million-dollar  immediate 
indemnity  awarded  her  more  than  half,  it  was  reported,  had 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  343 

been  placed  to  her  credit  in  Allied  Countries  as  part  payment 
for  war  loans.  The  Comite  Politique  Rationale,  representing 
some  three  hundred  communes,  petitioned  the  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians not  to  sign  the  treaty.  The  Burgomaster  of  Antwerp  sent 
a  telegram  to  the  Belgian  delegation  to  insist  on  complete  in- 
demnity, and  immediate  introduction  of  raw  materials.  The 
town  council  of  devastated  Termonde  sent  a  like  request.  China 
protested  against  the  action  of  the  Council  of  Three  awarding 
the  Peninsula  of  Shantung  to  Japan.  Italy  having  returned 
to  the  Conference,  her  credentials  were  presented  to  the  Ger- 
mans on  May  6. 

The  Treaty  finished,  the  protests  heard,  and  harmony  re- 
stored, it  was  announced  that  the  document  so  long  in  the 
making  would  be  handed  to  the  German  delegation  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  seventh  of  May,  just  four  years  to  a  day  since 
a  German  submarine  commander  perpetrated  the  Lusitania 
crime.  Shortly  before  four  o'clock,  in  the  great  hall  of  the 
Trianon  Palace  Hotel,  in  the  presence  of  the  representatives  of 
the  five  Allied  and  the  twenty-two  Associated  Powers,  M. 
Clemenceau,  as  President  of  the  Peace  Conference,  delivered 
the  treaty  to  Count  Brockdorff-Rantzau.  In  opening  the  cere- 
mony, M.  Clemenceau  said: 

Gentlemen,  Plenipotentiaries  of  the  German  Empire:  It  is 
neither  the  time  nor  the  place  for  superfluous  words.  You  have 
before  you  the  accredited  plenipotentiaries  of  all  the  small  and  great 
powers  united  to  fight  together  in  the  war  that  has  been  so  cruelly 
imposed  upon  them.  The  time  has  come  when  we  must  settle  our 
account. 

You  have  asked  for  peace.  We  are  ready  to  give  you  peace.  We 
shall  present  to  you  now  a  book  which  contains  our  conditions.  You 
will  be  given  every  facility  to  examine  these  conditions,  and  the  time 
necessary  for  it.  Everything  will  be  done  with  the  courtesy  that  is 
the  privilege  of  civilized  nations. 

To  give  you  my  thought  completely,  you  will  find  us  ready  to 
give  you  any  explanation  you  want,  but  we  must  say.  at  the  same 
time  that  this  second  treaty  of  Versailles  has  cost  us  too  much  not 
to  take  on  our  side  all  the  necessary  precautions  and  guarantees 
that  the  peace  shall  be  a  lasting  one. 


344.     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

I  will  give  you  notice  of  the  procedure  that  has  been  adopted  by 
the  conference  for  discussion,  and  if  any  one  has  any  observations 
to  offer  he  will  have  the  right  to  do  so.  No  o.ral  discussion  is  to 
take  place,  and  the  observations  of  the  German  delegation  will  have 
to  be  submitted  in  writing. 

The  German  plenipotentiaries  will  know  that  they  have  the  maxi- 
mum period  of  fifteen  days  within  which  to  present  in  English  and 
French  their  written  observations  on  the  whole  of  the  treaty.  Before 
the  expiration  of  the  aforesaid  period  of  fifteen  days  the  German 
delegates  will  be  entitled  to  send  their  reply  on  particular  headings 
of  the  treaty,  or  to  ask  questions  in  regard  to  them. 

After  having  examined  the  observations  presented  within  the 
aforementioned  period,  the  Supreme  Council  will  send  its  answer 
in  writing  to  the  German  delegation,  and  determine  the  period 
within  which  vthe  final  world-wide  answer  must  be  given  by  this 
delegation. 

The  President  wishes  to  add  that  when  we  receive,  after  two  or 
three,  or  four,  or  five  days,  any  observations  from  the  German  dele- 
gation on  any  point  of  the  treaty,  we  shall  not  wait  until  the  end 
of  the  fifteen  days  to  give  our  answer.  We  shall  at  once  proceed 
in  the  way  indicated  by  this  document. 

Count  von  Brockdorff-Rantzau,  speaking  in  German,  said : 

Gentlemen:  We  are  deeply  impressed  with  the  sublime  task  which 
has  brought  us  hither  to  give  a  durable  peace  to  the  world.  We 
are  under  no  illusion  as  to  the  extent  of  our  defeat  and  the  degree  of 
our  want  of  power.  We  know  that  the  power  of  the  German  army 
is  broken.  We  know  the  power  of  the  hatred  which  we  encounter 
here,  and  we  have  heard  the  passionate  demand  that  the  vanquishers 
may  make  us  pay  as  the  vanquished,  and  punish  those  who  are 
worthy  of  being  punished. 

It  is  demanded  from  us  that  we  shall  confess  ourselves  to  be 
the  only  ones  guilty  of  the  war.  Such  a  confession  in  my  mouth 
would  be  a  lie.  We  are  far  from  declining  any  responsibility  that 
this  great  war  of  the  world  has  come  to  pass,  and  that  it  was  made 
in  the  way  in  which  it  was  made.  The  attitude  of  the  former 
German  Government  at  The  Hague  Peace  Conference,  its  actions 
and  omissions  in  the  tragic  twelve  days  of  July,  have  certainly 
contributed  to  the  disaster.  But  we  energetically  deny  that  Ger- 
many and  its  people,  who  were  convinced  that  they  were  making  a 
war  pf  defense,  were  alone  guilty. 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  345 

Insulting  as  were  the  words  of  the  Count,  his  manner  was 
more  so,  for  he  made  his  speech  seated.  It  was  said  in  his  de- 
fense that  he  was  ill  and  unable  to  stand  and  make  even  so  brief 
a  speech.  In  reply  it  was  pointed  out  that  he  need  not  have 
made  a  speech  and  that,  if  really  unable  to  stand,  he  should  in 
common  decency  have  asked  permission  to  be  seated.  That  he 
intended  to  be  insulting  was  firmly  believed  by  those  present. 

The  Treaty  thus  delivered  contained  some  eighty  thousand 
words  and  made  a  book  of  no  small  dimensions.  Only  a  sum- 
mary, therefore,  was  given  to  the  public.  From  this  summary 
it  appeared  that  the  first  section  consisted  of  the  revised 
covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations.  The  second  defined  the 
frontiers  of  Germany  in  Europe.  Alsace  and  Lorraine  went  to 
France.  The  Saar  was  temporarily  internationalized ;  the  coal 
mines  went  to  France,  and  Belgium  was  given  Malmedy  and 
the  Eupen  districts  of  Prussia.  The  inhabitants  were  allowed 
six  months  in  which  to  protest,  and  the  League  of  Nations  to 
make  the  final  decision.  Luxemburg  was  set  free  from  the  Ger- 
man customs  union.  Danzig  was  internationalized  for  all  time. 
Germany  must  recognize  the  independence  of  Poland,  and 
cede  to  her  most  of  Upper  Silesia,  the  province  of  Posen  and 
all  of  West  Prussia  lying  west  of  the  Vistula.  The  fate  of 
the  southeastern  part  of  East  Prussia,  and  of  the  area  between 
it  and  the  Vistula  north  of  latitude  53°  3'  must  be  decided  by 
popular  vote.  So  also  must  that  of  a  part  of  Schleswig.  All 
fortifications  and  military  establishments  on  the  islands  of 
Heligoland  and  Dune  must  be  destroyed,  under  supervision 
of  the  Allies,  by  German  labor,  and  at  Germany's  cost,  and  no 
fortifications  or  military  establishments  were  to  be  maintained 
within  fifty  kilometers  of  the  east  bank  of  the  Ehine.  Germany 
recognizes,  said  the  treaty,  the  total  independence  of  GermaD- 
Austria,  the  total  independence  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  state,  and 
the  "Free  City  of  Danzig" ;  renounces  all  right  and  title  to  her 
overseas  possessions;  all  privileges  and  indemnities  resulting 
from  the  Boxer  Protocol  of  1901 ;  agrees  to  return  alJ  astro- 
nomical instruments  seized  in  1900  and  1901;  renounces  all 


346     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

concessions  at  Hankow  and  Tien-tsin,  China;  recognizes  the 
British  protectorate  over  Egypt;  renounces  all  .rights,  titles, 
and  privileges  under  the  act  of  Algesiras  and  the  Franco- 
German  agreements  of  1909  and  1911,  and  all  rights  under  the 
international  agreement  regarding  Liberia  in  1911  and  1912. 

Within  two  months  after  signing  the  Treaty,  Germany  must 
reduce  her  army  to  not  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  offi- 
cers and  men,  and  within  three  months  close  all  her  estab- 
lishments for  designing,  making,  and  storing  munitions  of  war, 
save  such  as  were  specified,  and  discharge  all  workmen  therein 
employed ;  import  no  arms  or  munitions  of  war,  nor  import  nor 
manufacture  any  poisonous,  asphyxiating  or  other  gases.  Con- 
scription was  forbidden.  No  military  schools,  save  such  as 
were  absolutely  necessary  for  the  units  allowed,  and  no  asso- 
ciations, such  as  societies  of  discharged  soldiers,  shooting,  or 
touring  clubs,  should  exist  in  Germany  two  months  after  the 
peace. 

Within  the  same  space  of  time  the  navy  must  be  demobilized, 
the  personnel  reduced  to  fifteen  thousand  men,  the  fleet  reduced 
to  six  small  battleships,  six  light  cruisers,  twelve  destroyers, 
twelve  torpedo  boats.  !No  submarines  were  allowed  her.  The 
largest  armored  battleship  must  not  exceed  ten  thousand  tons. 
Forty-two  modern  destroyers,  fifty  modern  torpedo  boats,  and 
all  submarines  must  be  surrendered. 

Until  October  1,  1919,  Germany  might  use  not  over  one 
hundred  unarmed  seaplanes  to  search  for  submarine  mines. 
But  no  dirigible  could  be  kept.  The  entire  air  personnel  must 
be  demobilized  within  two  months,  save  a  thousand  officers  and 
men  to  serve  until  October  1.  There  must  be  no  military  or 
naval  air  force  after  that  date,  and  no  aviation  grounds  or 
dirigible  sheds  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  kilometers  of  the 
Khine. 

"The  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,"  so  runs  the  Treaty, 
"publicly  arraign  William  II,  of  Hohenzollern,  formerly  Ger- 
man Emperor,  not  for  an  offense  against  criminal  law,  but  for 
a  supreme  offense  against  international  morality  and  the  sane- 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  347 

tity  of  treaties."  Demand  for  his  surrender  was  to  be  made 
on  Holland,  that  he  might  be  tried  before  a  tribunal  composed 
of  one  judge  from  each  of  the  five  great  powers.  Persons  ac- 
cused of  acts  done  in  violation  of  the  laws  and  customs  of  war 
were  to  be  tried  and  punished  by  military  tribunals  under 
military  law.  If  the  charges  affected  people  of  but  one  State, 
they  were  to  be  tried  before  a  tribunal  of  that  state ;  if  persons 
of  several  States,  before  a  joint  tribunal  of  the  States  concerned. 

Germany  must  make  full  reparation  for  all  losses  and  dam- 
ages caused  to  civilians,  by  personal  injury,  by  acts  of  cruelty, 
by  maltreatment  of  prisoners,  by  forced  labor,  by  levies  and 
fines,  and  damages  to  property  other  than  military  and  naval, 
and  damages  to  the  Allies,  represented  by  pensions  and  separa- 
tion allowances.  An  Allied  Reparation  Commission  was  to  de- 
termine the  amount  of  such  damages;  but  within  two  years 
Germany  must  pay  twenty  billions  of  marks  in  gold,  goods,  or 
ships,  or  other  forms  of  payment. 

All  merchant  ships  and  fishing  boats,  lost  because  of  the  war, 
must  be  replaced,  ton  for  ton,  and  class  for  class.  The  Repara- 
tion Commission  was  authorized  to  require  Germany  to  re- 
place, in  the  devastated  area,  destroyed  articles  by  the  delivery 
of  animals,  machinery,  and  manufactured  material  required  for 
reconstruction  purposes.  During  ten  years  she  must  deliver 
to  France  coal  equivalent  to  the  difference  between  the  pre- 
war output  of  the  £Tord  and  Pas  de  Calais  mines,  and  their 
annual  production  during  the  ten-year  period.  Within  six 
months  Germany  must  restore  the  Koran  of  the  Caliph  Othman 
to  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz ;  the  skull  of  the  Sultan  Okwawa  to 
his  Britannic  Majesty's  Government;  and  to  France,  certain 
papers  taken  by  the  Germans  in  1870,  and  the  French  battle 
flags  captured  during  the  war  of  1870  and  1871.  Reparation 
must  be  made  for  the  destruction  of  the  Library  at  Louvain; 
and  the  wings  of  the  altar  piece,  "The  Adoration  of  fhe  Lamb," 
the  center  of  which  was  in  the  Church  of  St.  Bevon  at  Ghent, 
and  the  wings  of  the  altar  piece  of  "The  Last  Supper,"  the 


348     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

center  of  which  was  in  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  at  Louvain, 
must  be  delivered  to  Belgium. 

That  Czecho-Slovakia  might  have  access  to  the  sea,  Germany 
must  lease  her,  for  ninety-nine  years,  spaces  in  Hamburg  and 
Stettin.  Towards  the  Adriatic  she  was  to  be  permitted  to  run 
her  own  trains  to  Fiume  and  Trieste.  The  Kiel  Canal  was  to 
be  free  to  the  war  and  merchant  ships  of  all  nations  at  peace 
with  Germany.  The  Elbe  and  the  Oder  were  to  be  placed 
under  international  commissioners,  and  the  Rhine  under  a  com- 
mission appointed  by  Germany,  Great  Britain,  France,  Bel- 
gium, Switzerland  and  the  Netherlands.  There  were  sections 
relating  to  finance,  to  tariffs  and  shipping,  to  the  opium  trade, 
aerial  navigation,  railways  and  international  labor. 

Severe  as  was  the  Treaty  it  did  not,  France  claimed,  give 
sufficient  guarantees  against  attacks  upon  her  by  Germany. 
Lloyd  George  and  President  Wilson,  therefore,  entered  into 
an  agreement  to  endeavor  to  bind  their  countries  to  come  to 
the  aid  of  France,  if  attacked,  and  made  their  pledge  public 
on  the  day  on  which  the  Treaty  was  handed  to  Count  Brock- 
dorff-Rantzau. 

In  addition  to  the  securities  afforded  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  has  pledged  himself  to  propose  to 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Prime  Minister  of  Great 
Britain  has  pledged  himself  to  propose  to  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain,  an  engagement,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Council  of 
the  League  of  Nations,  to  come  immediately  to  the  assistance  of 
France  in  case  of  unprovoked  attack  by  Germany. 

While  the  German  plenipotentiaries  were  perusing  the 
Treaty  at  Versailles  the  terms  were  made  known  in  Berlin,  and 
brought  forth  a  storm  of  protests,  threats  and  abuse.  The 
president  of  the  imperial  ministry,  in  a  telegram  to  the  gov- 
ernments of  the  German  States,  said : 

In  deep  distress  and  weighed  down  by  cares,  the  German  people 
have  waited  through  the  months  of  the  armistice  for  the  peace  condi- 
tions. Their  publication  has  brought  the  bitterest  disappointment 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  349 

/ 

and  unspeakable  grief  to  the  entire  people.  A  public  expression 
ought  to  be  given  these  feelings  of  all  Germans.  The  Imperial 
Government  requests  that  the  free  states  have  public  amusements 
suspended  for  a  week  and  allow,  in  the  theaters,  only  such  produc- 
tions as  correspond  to  the  seriousness  of  these  grievous  days. 

Speaking  to  the  Prussian  Assembly,  Premier  Hirsch  called 
the  terms  offered  a  "mailed  fist  peace"  that  meant  slavery  to  the 
Fatherland. 

"The  Government  appeals  to  you,"  he  said,  "to  close  your 
ranks,  preserve  your  calm,  and  avoid  indiscretion  in  case  of  dissen- 
sions. We  are  faced  by  the  question  of  to  be,  or  not  to  be.  The 
entire  nation  must  stand  behind  the  government  to  convert  this 
projected  peace  of  violence  into  a  peace  of  right.  That  is  possible 
only  if  the  nation  which  is  expected  to  sign  its  own  death  warrant 
firmly  supports  the  government.  This,  the  most  mournful  day  in 
our  history,  must  find  us  strong." 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Berlin  press  the  treaty  was  an  instru- 
ment of  robbery,  and  offered  a  peace  of  annihilation.  Said  the 
Tages  Zeitung:  "One  thing  is  certain;  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion of  this  being  a  peace  of  justice.  What  a  peace  of  justice 
after  the  Entente  pattern,  and  in  accordance  with  French  de- 
sires, looks  like  is  shown  by  the  conditions  which  leave  nothing 
of  Germany  but  a  torn  and  tattered  territory." 

The  Tageblatt,  although  "prepared  for  a  good  deal,  even  for 
everything,"  could  "only  say  that  the  treaty  surpasses  our  worst 
expectations.  It  does  not  show  a  trace  of  statesmanship,  or  of 
President  Wilson's  principles,  but  is  a  brutal,  thoughtless 
product  of  thoughtless,  intoxicated  brutality."  "We  are  at  the 
graveside  of  right,"  said  the  Frankfurter  Zeitung.  "The  only 
doubt  is  whether  it  also  means  the  graveside  of  the  German 
nation.  Never  has  murder  been  committed  in  more  courteous 
form,  or  with  more  cynical  equanimity.  The  German  reply 
will  have  to  consider  that  the  draft  deviates  from  Mr.  Wilson's 
'fourteen  points'  as  far  as  the  East  is  from  the  West/7 

Vorwaerts  saw  in  the  treaty  "a  peace  of  annihilation,"  a 
"ruthless  desire  to  lay  Germany  permanently  low  by  force.  If 


350    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

we  sign  this  peace  it  is  because  we  are  bound  by  force,  but 
in  our  hearts  we  resolutely  reject  it.  Such  a  peace  is  an  at- 
tempt to  exterminate  a  nation,  not  by  force  of  arms,  but  by  a 
means  more  brutal,  economic  slavery." 

The  National  Assembly  having  gathered  at  Berlin,  instead 
of  at  Weimar,  to  discuss  the  terms  of  peace,  Chancellor  Scheide- 
mann  brought  members  and  spectators  to  their  feet  when  he 
said: 

This  treaty  is,  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  Government,  unaccept- 
able, so  unacceptable  I  am  unable  to  believe  that  this  earth  could 
bear  such  a  document  without  a  cry  issuing  from  millions  and 
millions  of  throats  in  all  lands,  without  distinction  of  party.  Away 
with  this  murderous  scheme. 

The  representatives  of  the  nation  [he  continued]  meet  here  as 
the  last  band  of  the  faithful  assemblies  when  the  Fatherland  is  in 
the  greatest  danger.  All  have  appeared  except  the  representatives 
of  Alsace-Lorraine,  who  have  been  deprived  of  the  right  to  be  rep- 
resented here,  just  as  you  are  to  be  deprived  of  the  right  to  exercise 
in  a  free  vote,  the  right  of  self-determination. 

And  I  see  among  you  the  representatives  of  all  the  German  races 
and  lands,  the  chosen  representatives  of  the  Khineland,  the  Saar, 
East  Prussia,  West  Prussia,  Posen,  Silesia,  Danzig  and  Memel. 
Together,  with  the  deputies  of  the  unmenaced  regions,  I  see  the 
deputies  of  the  menaced  provinces,  who,  if  the  will  of  our  enemies 
becomes  law,  are  to  meet  for  the  last  time  as  Germans  among 
Germans. 

The  thing  which  is  at  the  basis  of  our  discussion  is  this  thick 
volume,  in  which  100  sentences  begin  "Germany  renounces."  This 
dreadful  and  murderous  volume,  by  which  confession  of  our  own 
unworthiness,  our  consent  to  pitiless  disruption,  our  agreement  to 
lielotry  and  slavery,  are  to  be  extorted — this  book  must  not  become 
the  future  code  of  law. 

The  world  has  once  again  lost  an  illusion.  The  nations  have  in 
this  period,  which  is  so  poor  in  ideals,  again  lost  a  belief.  What 
name  on  thousands  of  bloody  battlefields,  in  thousands  of  trenches, 
in  orphan  families  and  among  the  despairing  and  abandoned,  has 
been  mentioned  during  these  four  years  with  more  devotion  and 
belief  than  the  name  of  Wilson?  To-day  the  picture  of  the  peace- 
bringer,  as  the  world  pictured  him,  is  paling  beside  the  dark  forms 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  351 

of  our  jailers,  to  one  of  whom,  Premier  Clemenceau,  a  Frenchman, 
recently  wrote:  "The  wild  beast  has  been  put  in  a  cage  on  bread 
and  water,  but  is  allowed  to  keep  his  teeth,  while  his  claws  are 
hardly  cut." 

Germany  has  ceased  to  exist  abroad,  but  if  that  were  not  sufficient, 
her  cables  have  been  taken  from  her  and  her  wireless  stations  can 
send  only  commercial  telegrams,  and  then  only  under  control  of  the 
Allies.  This  would  separate  us  from  the  outer  world,  for  what  busi- 
ness can  be  done  under  the  control  of  competitors  need  not  to  be 
described. 

I  ask  you  what  honest  man  will  say  that  Germany  can  accept 
such  conditions.  At  the  same  time,  as  we  shall  have  to  bestir  our- 
selves to  perform  forced  labor  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  world, 
our  foreign  trade,  the  sole  source  of  our  welfare,  is  destroyed  and 
our  home  trade  is  rendered  impossible.  Lorraine  iron  ore,  Upper 
Silesian  coal,  Alsatian  potash,  the  Saar  Valley  mines  and  the  cheap 
foodstuffs  from  Posen  and  west  Prussia  are  to  lie  outside  our  fron- 
tiers. We  are  to  impose  no  higher  tariff  or  protection  than  existed 
on  August  1,  1914,  while  our  enemies  may  do  as  much  as  they  like 
at  every  point  in  strangling  us  at  home.  All  German  revenues  must 
be  held  at  the  disposal  of  our  enemies  for  payments,  not  for  war 
invalids  and  widows — all  as  forced  labor  for  products  the  prices  of 
which  will  be  fixed  by  our  customers. 

What  is  a  people  to  do  which  is  confronted  by  the  command  that 
it  is  responsible  for  all  losses  and  damages  that  its  ejiemies  suffered 
in  the  war?  What  is  a  people  to  do  which  is  to  have  no  voice  in 
fixing  its  obligations? 

•  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Enough.  More  than  enough.  These  are  some  examples  of  the 
treaty  stipulations  in  establishing  which,  as  Premier  Clemenceau 
yesterday  informed  our  delegation,  the  Entente  will  be  guided  com- 
pletely by  the  principles  according  to  which  the  armistice  and  peace 
negotiations  were  proposed. 

President  Ebert  declared  that  the  German  people  had  been 
hypnotized  by  President  Wilson  and  his  fourteen  points,  but 
still  had  faith  that  the  American  people  would  not  permit  such 
a  peace  to  be  made.  "The  German  people,"  he  said,  "is  only 
beginning  to  awake  from  the  hypnosis  into  which  it  has  been 


852     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

lulled  because  of  its  solid  faith  in  the  sincerity  and  truth  of 
the  fullness  of  Mr.  Wilson's  program,  and  his  fourteen  points. 
The  awakening  will  be  terrifying,  and  we  all  look  forward  to 
it  with  gravest  apprehensions.  In  the  face  of  the  cold,  naked 
realities  we  still  consciously  cling  to  the  faith  which  found  its 
epitome  in  the  names  of  Wilson  and  the  United  States,  and 
the  conception  of  the  democracy  of  the  League  of  Nations. 

We  cannot  believe  that  this  has  all  been  an  illusion,  and  that  the 
confidence  and  hopes  of  a  whole  people  have  been  duped  in  a  manner 
unknown  to  history.  Even  now  optimists  are  saying,  "Wilson  will 
not  permit  it;  he  dare  not  possibly  permit  it." 

I  and  my  colleagues,  upon  whom  rests  the  terrific  burden  of  the 
forthcoming  decisions,  hope  and  pray  the  German  people  who 
staked  all  on  President  Wilson  and  the  United  States  shall  not  find 
themselves  deceived.  If,  however,  the  American  democracy  actually 
accepts  the  present  peace  terms  as  its  own,  it  becomes  an  accomplice 
and  an  abettor  of  political  blackmailers;  it  surrenders  the  tradi- 
tional American  principle  of  fair  play  and  sportsmanship  and  trails 
the  ideals  of  true  democracy  in  the  duct. 

Notwithstanding  the  night  now  covering  it,  I  have  abiding  faith 
in  the  future  of  the  German  people,  and  in  the  unconquerability 
of  its  soul.  This  people,  which  has  given  the  world  so  much  in 
science,  learning  and  industry,  must  not  go  down  to  oblivion.  It 
still  has  a  cultural  mission  to  perform,  and  ethical  treasures  to 
bestow. 

Mathias  Erzberger,  head  of  the  German  commission  that 
signed  the  armistice,  gave  his  views  to  a  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Times. 

I  have  not  lost  hope.  I  believe  that  a  new  basis  will  be  found  on 
which  to  build  up  quite  a  new  treaty.  I  put  my  trust  in  the  victory 
of  the  right.  I  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  to  stand  up  for 
the  right  in  Germany  during  the  war,  when  it  was  dangerous.  Shall 
we  say  that  no  Government  can  possibly  agree  to  the  thing  as  it 
stands?  By  the  treaty  Germany  is  garroted,  bound  hand  and  foot, 
gagged  and  blinded.  We  will  have  less  freedom  than  Egypt  under  it. 
Germany  sacrified  all  except  one  hope.  That  hope  was  that  within 
the  range  of  President  Wilson's  fourteen  points  a  bearable  peace 
might  be  reached.  Now,  even  that  remnant  of  our  hopes  has  re- 
ceived a  mortal  blow.  We  cannot  sign  the  treaty  as  it  stands,  for 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  353 

it  condemns  us  to  death.  Not  to  sign  would  mean  the  same,  most 
likely;  but  if  we  are  to  go  under,  let  us  go  quickly  at  least. 

We  are  ready  to  give  the  coal  France  requires,  every  ton  of  it, 
but  we  cannot  give  up  German  land  with  it.  We  cannot  consent 
to  be  ruled  like  an  African  colony.  Look  at  what  our  coal  position 
is  to  an  industrial  nation  and  what  it  would  be  under  the  terms  of 
the  treaty.  We  produced  in  peace  times  about  160,000,000  tons  of 
coal.  Well,  then,  we  should  lose  15,000,000  tons  from  the  Saar 
region,  and  60,000,000  tons  in  addition,  which  is  the  output  of 
Upper  Silesia.  We  require  40,000,000  tons  for  our  railways  and 
for  household  purposes,  while  another  40,000,000  tons  must  go  to 
France  and  Belgium.  Thus  we  shall  not  have  a  ton  of  coal  left 
for  German  industries.  Surely  no  reasonable  person  can  expect  us 
to  sign  our  death  warrant  in  that  way. 

I  find  that  under  the  armistice  terms  we  have  already  paid  11,000,- 
000,000  marks.  That  still  leaves  us  9,000,000,000  to  pay.  It  is 
simply  impossible  in  two  years. 

We  have  no  money  to  pay  for  all  the  food  we  need,  and  butter, 
meat,  and  potatoes  are  rapidly  becoming  scarcer.  If  we  could  get 
all  the  supplies  which  we  were  permitted  to  buy,  then  we  could 
manage  to  live,  though  on  scanty  rations,  until  the  next  harvest. 

But,  despite  all,  Germany  stands  by  her  aim  to  achieve  friend- 
ship with  the  whole  world,  even  with  those  countries  which  to-day 
hate  us  with  deadly  hatred.  Theref9re  she  will  put  forth  all  her 
remaining  strength  in  order  to  sweep  out  of  the  way  those  obstacles 
which  the  fanatics  of  hate  have  placed  in  the  way  of  a  real  League 
of  Nations. 

The  world  is  one  whole.  A  sick  and  dying  Germany,  which  this 
treaty  would  mean,  would  be  a  source  of  unrest  and  danger  for 
the  whole  world. 

We  refuse  to  plead  and  beg.  We  ask  for  our  rights  under  the 
fourteen  points,  which  our  opponents  made  binding  on  themselves. 
We  ask  precisely  on  the  basis  of  those  fourteen  points  that  stern 
justice  of  which  Lloyd  George  has  spoken. 

If  we  are  denied  that,  then  the  consequences  will  be  upon  the 
heads  of  those  who  made  the  promises  which  they  never  intended  to 
keep,  even  with  the  new  Germany,  and  who  have  therefore  brought 
us  to  this  desert  of  hopelessness  in  which  we  look  around  in  vain 
for  an  oasis  wnere  springs  the  well  of  humanity. 

As  the  German  plenipotentiaries  studied  the  terms  of  peace, 
note  followed  note  of  protest.  The  essential  points  of  the  basis 


354     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  peace,  Count  Brockdorff-Rantzau  wrote,  had  been  abandoned, 
demands  had  been  made  which  no  nation  could  endure,  and 
according  to  experts  many  things  required  to  be  done  could 
not  possibly  be  performed.  The  German  peace  delegates  were 
not  prepared  to  find  that  the  promise,  explicitly  given  to  the 
German  people  and  the  whole  of  mankind,  ais  in  this  way  to  be 
rendered  illusory."  They  would  substantiate  these  statements 
in  detail,  and  transmit  to  the  Allies  and  associate  governments 
"their  observations  and  their  material  continuously." 

The  representatives  of  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,  was 
the  reply  of  M.  Clemenceau,  wish  to  remind  the  German  dele- 
gation that  they  have  formulated  the  terms  of  the  treaty  with 
constant  thought  of  the  principles  on  which  the  armistice  and 
the  negotiations  for  peace  were  proposed ;  that  they  can  admit 
no  discussion  of  their  right  to  insist  on  the  terms  of  the  peace 
substantially  as  drafted;  and  that  they  can  consider  only  such 
practical  suggestions  as  the  German  plenipotentiaries  may  have 
to  submit. 

In  a  second  note  Count  Brockdorff-Rantzau  complained  that 
the  delegation  was  required  to  sign  the  covenant  of  the  League 
of  Nations  as  part  of  the  treaty,  yet  were  not  mentioned  among 
the  nations  invited  to  join  the  League,  and  begged  "to  inquire 
whether,  and,  if  so,  under  what  circumstance,  such  invitation 
is  intended."  German  plenipotentiaries  would  find  on  a  re- 
examination  of  the  covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  that  the 
matter  of  the  admission  of  additional  member  states  had  not 
been  overlooked,  but  was  "explicitly  provided  for  in  the  second 
paragraph  of  Article  I." 

A  third  note,  delivered  on  the  evening  of  May  10th,  had 
to  do  with  labor,  and  suggested  the  holding  of  a  labor  conven- 
tion at  Versailles.  A  fourth  suggested  a  special  commission 
to  see  to  all  the  details  of  repatriation  of  German  prisoners  of 
war  and  interned  civilians.  A  fifth  asked  permission  to  send 
a  delegation  to  meet  the  Austrian  plenipotentiaries  when  they 
came.  A  sixth,  dealing  with  economic  conditions,  and  declar- 
ing they  meant  the  ruin  of  Germany;  a  seventh  protesting 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  355 

against  the  Saar  Valley  settlement,  the  transfer  of  Malmedy, 
Moesnet  and  Eupen  districts  to  Belgium,  and  the  forced  evacu- 
ation of  a  part  of  Schleswig,  and  an  eighth  complaining  of  the 
forced  payment  hy  Germany  for  the  devastation  of  Belgium  and 
Northern  France,  reached  M.  Clemenceau  on  May  14. 

Count  Brockdorff-Bantzau  now  went  to  Spa,  and  at  once  it 
was  asserted  that  he  would  not  return,  that  he  had  requested 
to  be  replaced.  He  returned,  however,  on  the  morning  of  May 
19th,  bringing  some  forty  experts  with  him,  and  on  the  next 
day  addressed  another  note  to  M.  Clemenceau,  stating  that  he 
intended  "during  the  next  few  days  to  submit  communications 
to  the  Allied  and  associated  governments  on  the  following 
points,  which,  in  the  eyes  of  the  delegation,  fall  under  the 
definition  of  suggestions  of  a  practical  nature: 

"First,  a  note  concerning  territorial  questions  in  the  East; 
second,  a  note  concerning  Alsace-Lorraine;  third,  a  note  con- 
cerning the  occupied  territories;  fourth,  a  note  concerning  the 
extent  and  discharge  of  the  obligations  undertaken  by  Ger- 
many in  view  of  reparation ;  fifth,  a  note  concerning  the  further 
practical  treatment  of  the  question  of  labor  laws ;  sixth,  a  note 
concerning  the  treatment  of  German  private  property  in  enemy 
countries."  The  problems  involved  were  so  complicated  that 
it  had  been  necessary  to  discuss  them  extensively  with  the  ex- 
perts in  Versailles,  as  well  as  with  those  in  Berlin.  To  dispose 
of  them  within  the  time  limit  of  fifteen  days  would  not  be 
possible,  "although  the  delegation  will  take  pains  to  transmit  as 
many  notes  as  possible  within  the  limit."  Therefore  he  begged 
"in  the  name  of  the  German  peace  delegation,  to  move  that  the 
contents  of  the  intended  notes  be  regarded  as  having  already 
been  made  the  subject  of  discussion  in  writing,  and  that  the 
requisite  time  be  granted  to  us  for  a  more  detailed  exposition." 
The  time  was  extended  until  May  29. 

Eeports  from  Berlin  were  all  to  the  effect  that  Germany 
would  not  sign  the  treaty.  In  Paris  they  were  looked  on  as 
propaganda,  and  the  notes  as  having  been  prepared  in  Berlin 
before  the  treaty  was  delivered  to  the  Germans.  In  none,  it  was 


356     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

pointed  out,  was  the  text  of  the  treaty  quoted,  and  the  matter 
complained  of  was  such  as  everybody  knew  would  be  contained 
in  the  treaty.  Nevertheless,  the  Allies  made  ready  for  the  worst, 
prepared  plans  for  quick  action,  and  sent  Marshal  Foch  to  the 
front.  General  Pershing  cancelled  an  engagement  to  visit 
London. 

May  20,  the  day  when  the  time  within  which  the  Germans 
must  finish  their  observations  on  the  treaty  was  carried  for- 
ward, the  German  Cabinet  gave  out,  through  the  Associated 
Press,  a  bitter  attack  on  the  treaty. 

Germany  declines  to  sign  the  peace  terms  laid  before  it  because 
they  spell  the  economic  destruction,  political  dishonor  and  moral 
degradation  of  the  entire  German  nation,  not  only  for  the  present 
but  also  for  still  unborn  generations. 

That  these  consequences  must  logically  follow  acceptance  of  the 
peace  conditions,  the  American  press  itself  has  recognized  without 
question.  Toward  them,  Germany  took  the  standpoint  that  accept- 
ance of  such  conditions  could  not  be  demanded,  and  that  the  En- 
tente was  unjustified  in  imposing  such  demands. 

Germany  has  not  only  a  moral  right  to  compliance  with  the  gen- 
eral promises  made  it  but  a  firmly  grounded,  definite,  clearly  defined 
claim,  according  to  the  basic  rules  of  international  law,  on  all  the 
Entente  powers  and,  especially,  on  the  United  States.  A  specific 
recognition  of  the  right  of  Germany  and  of  the  German  peoples  to 
a  peace  of  right,  justice  and  reconciliation,  instead  of  the  para- 
graphed song  of  hate,  which  was  written  at  Versailles,  is  contained 
in  the  note  of  the  American  secretary  of  state,  Lansing,  of  Novem- 
ber 5,  1918. 

In  it,  the  secretary  of  state  notified  the  Swiss  minister  in  Wash- 
ington, unconditionally,  that  the  established  basis  of  President  Wil- 
son's fourteen  points  should  be  authoritative  for  the  peace  conditions. 
Secretary  Lansing  announced  further  that  the  Entente  governments, 
after  careful  consideration,  also  were  prepared  to  recognize  the  con- 
ditions set  up  by  President  Wilson  as  the  basis  for  the  conclusion 
of  peace. 

The  declaration  of  rights,  emanating  from  these  specific  declara- 
tions of  all  the  Entente  powers  and  the  United  States,  constitutes 
Germany's  sole  asset  in  the  general  moral  breakdown  of  all  interna- 
tional politics,  which  has  found  unsurpassable  expression  in  the 
Versailles  terms. 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  357 

Germany  answers  them  with  its  clearly  juristic  right  in  interna- 
tional law.  Toward  the  politico-moral  bankruptcy  of  Versailles  the 
German  nation  stands  as  a  creditor  with  undeniable  rights,  and  it 
is  not  in  position  to  yield  on  this  chief  point.  Germany  concluded 
peace  on  the  basis  of  President  Wilson's  fourteen  points,  which  all 
America  had  made  its  own,  and  all  America,  every  individual,  is 
responsible  for  the  fulfillment  of  its  claims. 

It  is  not  the  German  people's  business  to  indicate  how  its  rights 
shall  be  realized  by  the  fourteen  points,  or  especially  by  the*  note 
of  Secretary  Lansing.  That,  rather,  is  the  task  of  those  who  con- 
structed the  fourteen  points,  and  brought  them  to  acceptance,  thereby 
inducing  Germany  to  lay  down  her  weapons.  We  do  not  believe  that 
President  Wilson,  Secretary  Lansing,  and  the  American  people,  can 
take  other  than  this  German  standpoint,  if  they  do  not  wish  to  do 
that  which  President  Wilson,  in  his  message  of  December  4,  1917, 
condemned  categorically,  when  he  said:  "We  would  dishonor  our 
own  cause  if  we  treated  Germany  any  other  than  justly,  and  in  a 
non-partisan  manner  and  did  not  insist  upon  justice  toward  all,  no 
matter  how  the  war  ended.  We  demand  nothing  which  we  are  not 
ready  ourselves  to  admit." 

And  the  German  people  demand  nothing  more  than  that  which 
President  Wilson  announced  in  this  declaration.  We  demand  noth- 
ing more  than  that  Americans  place  the  fourteen  points  opposite 
the  peace  terms.  We  do  not  believe  that  any  one  in  the  United  States 
will  then  have  the  courage  to  claim  that  there  can  be  found  in  the 
peace  conditions  one  single  trace  left  of  President  Wilson's  pro- 
gram. 

And  here  begins  America's  definite  duty  to  step  in.  America 
either  must  put  its  fourteen  points  through,  or  it  must  declare 
that  it  is  unable  to  do  so,  or  that  it  does  not  want  to  do  so,  so  that 
in  no  case  may  the  world  be  led  to  believe  that  America  desires  to 
have  the  peace  conditions  count  as  President  Wilson's  fourteen  points. 

That  is  our  demand,  to  which  we  cling,  and  we  cannot  imagine 
what  arguments  from  the  American  side  would  be  effective  against 
it. 


Chancellor  Scheidemann,  Bernhard  Dernburg,  Count  von 
Bernstorff,  and  Mathias  Erzberger  now  met  Count  Brockdorff- 
Rantzau,  at  Spa,  to  go  over  the  final  draft  of  the  counter 
proposal  to  be  submitted  to  tbe  Allies  at  Versailles.  On  his 
return,  three  more  notes  treating  of  reparation  and  responsi- 


358     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

bility,  German  property  in  allied  countries,  and  German  re- 
ligious missions  in  foreign  parts,  were  sent  to  the  Peace  Con- 
ference. 

The  time  set  by  the  Conference  within  which  the  German 
peace  delegates  must  finish  their  work,  and  make  their  decision, 
had  almost  expired  when,  on  May  28th,  an  unofficial  summary  of 
the  reply  was  published  in  Berlin,  the  day  before  its  official 
delivery  to  President  Clemenceau.  This  reply  was,  in  fact,  a 
long  counter  proposal,  and  opened  with  the  assertion  that  Ger- 
many was  entitled  to  a  peace  based  on  President  Wilson's  four- 
teen points,  because  the  Entente  Power  had  agreed  to  peace  on 
that  basis,  and  neither  Mr.  Wilson  nor  any  of  the  Allied  Gov- 
ernments had  since  demanded  peace  on  any  other  basis.  Ger- 
many had  replaced  an  imperialistic  and  irresponsible  govern- 
ment by  a  strictly  democratic  government.  Yet  it  would  be 
hard  to  see  what  different  conditions  could  be  imposed  were  she 
under  a  government  of  the  old  imperialistic  form.  The  solemn 
assurances  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Mr.  Wilson,  that  the 
peace  should  be  a  peace  of  justice  and  right,  and  not  one  of 
violence,  had  not  been  kept. 

Germany  would  disarm  all  her  battleships  if  a  part  of  her 
merchant  marine  were  restored ;  but  proposed  that  there  be  no 
territorial  changes,  save  with  the  consent  of  populations  con- 
cerned. Germany  demanded  that  Danzig  be  made  a  free  port, 
and  the  Vistula  Elver  neutralized ;  rejected  the  cession  of  Upper 
Silesia  and  the  claims  to  East  Prussia,  West  Prussia  and 
Memel;  objected  to  the  disposition  of  the  Saar  region,  Eupen, 
Malmedy,  Morosnet  and  Alsace,  and  demanded  an  impartial 
settlement  of  all  colonial  claims  as  promised  by  the  fifth  of 
President  Wilson's  fourteen  points.  Should  a  League  of 
Nations  be  formed,  and  Germany  be  immediately  admitted, 
she  was  ready  to  administer  her  colonies  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  the  League,  and  "in  given  circumstances  as  its 
mandatory."  The  treaty,  in  her  opinion,  was  a  full  repudia- 
tion of  the  idea  that  every  nation  has  a  right  to  existence,  and 
violated  the  right  of  self-determination.  Germany,  as  a  nation, 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  359 

was  to  be  destroyed.  The  treaty  meant  the  ruin  of  German 
economic  life,  and  doomed  the  German  people  to  financial 
slavery.  Germany  would  pay,  as  indemnity,  20,000,000,000 
marks  by  1926,  and  from  1927"  onward  would  make  annual 
payments  to  a  total  of  not  more  than  100,000,000,000  marks 
in  gold.  Objection  was  made  to  the  demand  that  Germans  be 
surrendered  for  trial  in  enemy  courts,  and  to  the  requirement 
that  Germany  acknowledge  that  she,  and  her  allies,  were  re- 
sponsible for  all  damage  suffered  by  the  opposing  nations.  It 
could  not  be  disputed  that  some  of  the  Allies,  as  Italy  and 
Roumania,  entered  the  war  for  territorial  conquests. 

A  covering  note  from  Count  Brockdorff-Rantzau  contained 
observations  of  the  German  delegation  on  the  Treaty  of  Peace. 
We  came  to  Versailles,  it  said,  expecting  to  receive  a  peace 
proposal  based  on  agreed  principles,  firmly  resolved  to  do  all  in 
our  power  to  fulfill  the  grave  obligations  we  had  undertaken, 
and  hoping  for  that  peace  of  justice  which  had  been  promised 
to  us.  We  were  aghast  when  we  read  the  demands  made  by 
the  victorious  violence  of  our  enemies.  The  more  deeply  we 
study  the  spirit  of  the  treaty  the  more  convinced  we  are  that 
to  carry  it  out  is  not  possible.  The  demands  of  the  treaty  are 
more  than  the  German  people  can  bear.  Territory,  beyond 
question  German,  nearly  all  West  Prussia,  which  is  preponder- 
antly German,  Pomerania,  Pomerania-Danzig,  which  is  Ger- 
man to  the  core,  must  be  given  up  to  Poland,  and  that  ancient 
Hanse  town  transformed  into  a  free  state  under  Polish  suze- 
rainty. We  must  agree  that  East  Prussia  shall  be  cut  from  the 
body  of  the  State,  condemned  to  a  lingering  death,  and  robbed 
of  its  northern  portion,  which  is  pure  German.  Upper  Silesia 
must  be  renounced  for  the  benefit  of  Poland  and  Czecho- 
slovakia, though  it  has  been  bound  in  close  political  connection 
with  Germany  for  more  than  seven  centuries  and  a  half,  and  is 
instinct  with  German  life  and  customs.  Circles  preponderantly 
German  must  be  ceded  to  Belgium,  and  the  purely  German 
district  of  the  Saar  must  be  severed  from  our  Empire,  and  the 
way  paved  for  its  subsequent  annexation  to  France. 


860     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Thus  cut  to  pieces  and  weakened,  Germany  must  declare  her- 
self ready  to  bear  all  the  war  expenses  of  her  enemies,  exceed- 
ing many  times  over  the  total  German  state  and  private  assets. 
No  limit  is  fixed,  save  the  capacity  of  the  German  people  to 
meet  the  demands  of  their  enemies  by  their  labor.  The  German 
people  would  thus  be  condemned  to  perpetual  slavery. 

We  must  surrender  our  merchant  fleet,  we  must  renounce  our 
foreign  securities,  we  must  give  over  to  our  enemies  all  German 
enterprises  abroad,  we  must  renounce  our  colonies,  and  not  even 
German  missionaries  shall  have  the  right  to  follow  their  calling 
therein.  Germany's  chief  waterways  are  subjected  to  inter- 
national control.  She  must  build,  in  her  territory,  such  canals 
and  railways  as  her  enemies  wish,  and  agree  to  treaties,  the 
contents  of  which  she  does  not  know,  to  be  made  by  her  enemies 
with  the  new  states  on  the  east.  She  is  excluded  from  the 
League  of  Nations  to  which  is  entrusted  all  work  of  common 
interest  to  the  world,  and  must  sign  the  decree  for  her  own 
proscription,  nay,  her  own  death  sentence. 

Against  all  these  things  certain  counter-proposals  were  made. 
Germany  would  proceed  with  her  own  disarmament  in  advance 
of  all  other  peoples  in  order  to  show  her  willingness  to  help 
usher  in  the  new  era  of  the  peace  of  justice;  would  give  up 
universal  compulsory  service,  reduce  her  army  to  100,000  men, 
and  even  surrender  the  warships  which  her  enemies  were  will- 
ing to  leave  in  her  hands.  But  she  must  stipulate  that  she  be 
admitted  forthwith,  as  a  state  with  equal  rights,  into  the  League 
of  Nations,  which  should  be  a  genuine  League  of  Nations,  em- 
bracing all  peoples  of  good  will,  even  her  enemies  of  to-day, 
and  must  be  inspired  by  a  feeling  of  responsibility  toward  man- 
kind, and  have  at  its  disposal  a  power  to  enforce  its  will  suffi- 
ciently to  protect  the  frontiers  of  its  members. 

"Second.  In  territorial  questions  Germany  takes  up  her 
position  unreservedly  on  the  ground  of  the  Wilson  program. 
She  renounces  her  sovereign  right  in  Alsace-Lorraine,  but 
wishes  a  free  plebiscite  to  take  place  there.  She  gives  up  the 
great  part  of  the  province  of  Posen,  the  district  incontestably 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  36l 

Polish  in  population,  together  with  the  capital.  She  is  prepared 
to  grant  to  Poland,  under  international  guarantees,  free  and 
secure  access  to  the  sea  by  ceding  free  ports  at  Danzig,  Konigs- 
burg  and  Memel,  by  an  agreement  regulation,  the  navigation 
of  the  Vistula  and  by  special  railway  conventions.  Germany 
is  prepared  to  ensure  the  supply  of  coal  for  the  economic  needs 
of  France,  especially  from  the  Saar  region,  until  such  time  as 
the  French  mines  are  once  more  in  working  order. 

"The  preponderantly  Danish  districts  of  Schleswig  will  be 
given  up  to  Denmark  on  the  basis  of  a  plebiscite.  Germany 
demands  that  the  right  of  self-determination  shall  also  be  re- 
peated where  the  interests  of  the  Germans  in  Austria  and 
Bohemia  are  concerned. 

"She  is  ready  to  submit  all  her  colonies  to  administration  by 
the  community  of  the  League  of  Nations  if  she  is  recognized  as 
its  mandatory. 

"Third.  Germany  is  prepared  to  make  payments  incumbent 
on  her  in  accordance  with  the  agreed  program  of  peace  up 
to  the  maximum  sum  of  100,000,000,000  of  gold  marks 
($25,000,000,000)— 20,000,000,000  by  May  1,  1926,  and  the 
balance  (80,000,000,000)  in  annual  payments  without  interest. 
These  payments  shall  in  principle  be  equal  to  a  fixed  percentage 
of  the  German  imperial  and  state  revenues.  The  annual  pay- 
ment shall  approximate  to  the  former  peace  budget.  For  the 
first  ten  years  the  annual  payments  shall  not  exceed  1,000,- 
000,000  of  gold  marks  a  year.  The  German  taxpayer  shall  not 
be  less  heavier  burdened  than  the  taxpayer  of  the  most  heavily 
burdened  state  among  those  represented  on  the  reparation 
commission. 

"Germany  presumes  in  this  connection  that  she  will  not  have 
to  make  any  territorial  sacrifices  beyond  those  mentioned  above 
and  that  she  will  recover  her  freedom  of  economic  movement 
at  home  and  abroad. 

"Fourth.  Germany  is  prepared  to  devote  her  entire  economic 
strength  to  the  service  of  reconstruction.  She  wishes  to  co- 
operate effectively  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  devastated 


362     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

regions  of  Belgium  and  northern  France.  To  make  good  the 
loss  in  production  of  the  destroyed  mines  in  northern  France, 
up  to  twenty  million  tons  of  coal  will  be  delivered  annually  for 
the  first  five  years  and  up  to  eight  million  tons  for  the  next  five 
years.  Germany  will  facilitate  further  deliveries  of  coal  to 
France,  Belgium,  Italy  and  Luxemburg. 

"Germany  is,  moreover,  prepared  to  make  considerable  de- 
liveries of  bensol,  coal  tar  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  as  well  as 
dyestuffs  and  medicines. 

"Fifth.  Finally  Germany  offers  to  put  her  entire  merchant 
tonnage  into  a  pool  of  the  world's  shipping,  to  place  at  the 
disposal  of  her  enemies  a  part  of  her  freight  space  as  part  pay- 
ment on  reparation,  and  to  build  for  them  for  a  series  of 
years  in  German  yards  an  amount  of  tonnage  exceeding  their 
demands. 

"Sixth.  In  order  to  replace  the  river  boats  destroyed  in  Bel- 
gium and  northern  France,  Germany  offers  river  craft  from 
her  own  resources. 

"Seventh.  Germany  thinks  that  she  sees  an  appropriate 
method  for  the  fulfillment  of  her  obligation  to  make  reparation 
by  conceding  prompt  participation  in  industrial  enterprises, 
especially  in  coal  mines  to  insure  deliveries  of  coal. 

"Eighth.  Germany,  in  accordance  with  the  desires  of  the 
workers  of  the  whole  world,  wishes  to  see  the  workers  in  all 
countries  free  and  enjoying  equal  rights.  She  wishes  to  insure 
to  them  in  the  treaty  of  peace  the  right  to  take  their  own 
decisive  part  in  the  settlement  of  social  policy  and  social 
protection. 

"Ninth.  The  German  delegation  again  makes  its  demand 
for  a  neutral  entry  into  the  responsibility  for  the  war  and 
culpable  acts  in  conduct.  An  impartial  commission  should  have 
the  right  to  investigate  on  its  own  responsibility  the  archives 
of  all  the  belligerent  countries  and  all  the  persons  who  took  an 
important  part  in  the  war. 

"Nothing  short  of  confidence  that  the  question  of  guilt  will 
be  examined  dispassionately  can  have  the  people  lately  at  war 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  563 

with  each  other  in  the  proper  frame  of  mind  for  the  formation 
of  the  League  of  Nations. 

"These  are  only  the  most  important  among  the  proposals 
which  we  have  to  make.  As  regards  other  great  sacrifices,  and 
also  as  regards  details,  the  delegation  refers  to  the  accompany- 
ing memorandum  and  the  annex  thereto. 

"The  time  allowed  us  for  the  preparation  of  this  memoran- 
dum was  so  short  that  it  was  impossible  to  treat  all  the  questions 
exhaustively.  A  fruitful  and  illuminating  negotiation  could 
only  take  place  hy  means  of  oral  discussion.  This  treaty  of 
peace  is  to  he  the  greatest  achievement  of  its  kind  in  all  his- 
tory. There  is  no  precedent  for  the  conduct  of  such  compre- 
hensive negotiations  by  an  exchange  of  written  notes  only.  The 
feeling  of  the  peoples  who  have  made  such  immense  sacrifices 
makes  them  demand  that  their  fate  should  be  decided  by  an 
open,  unreserved  exchange  of  ideas  on  the  principle,  'Quite 
open  covenants  of  peace  openly  arrived  at,  after  which  there 
shall  be  no  private  international  understandings  of  any  kind, 
but  diplomacy  shall  proceed  always  frankly  in  the  public  view.' 

"Germany  is  to  put  her  signature  to  the  treaty  laid  before 
her  and  to  carry  it.  Even  in  her  need,  justice  for  her  is  too 
sacred  a  thing  to  allow  her  to  stoop  to  achieve  conditions  which 
she  cannot  undertake  to  carry  out.  Treaties  of  peace  signed  by 
the  great  powers  have,  it  is  true,  in  the  history  of  the  last 
decades  again  and  again  proclaimed  the  right  of  the  stronger. 
But  each  of  these  treaties  has  been  a  factor  in  originating  and 
prolonging  the  world  war.  Whenever  in  this  war  the  victor  has 
spoken  to  the  vanquished,  at  Brest-Litovsk  and  Bucharest,  his 
words  were  but  the  seeds  of  future  discord.  The  lofty  aims 
which  our  adversaries  first  set  before  themselves  in  their  con- 
duct of  the  war,  the  new  era  of  an  assured  peace  by  justice, 
demand  a  treaty  instinct  with  a  different  spirit.  Only  the 
cooperation  of  all  nations,  a  cooperation  of  hands  and  spirits, 
can  build  up  a  durable  peace.  We  are  under  no  delusions  re- 
garding the  strength  of  the  hatred  and  bitterness  which  this 
war  has  engendered,  and  yet  the  forces  which  are  at  work  for 


364     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

a  union  of  mankind  are  stronger  now  than  ever  they  were 
before.  The  historic  task  of  the  Peace  Conference  of  Versailles 
is  to  bring  about  this  union." 

In  good  time  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,  through 
Premier  Clemenceau,  made  reply.  In  their  opinion  the  war 
"was  the  greatest  crime  against  humanity  and  freedom  of  the 
people  that  any  nation  calling  itself  civilized  has  ever  con- 
sciously committed."  For  many  years  the  rulers  of  Germany 
had  striven  to  "dictate  and  tyrannize  over  a  subservient  Europe 
as  they  dictated  and  tyrannized  over  a  subservient  Germany." 
To  attain  their  ends,  they  never  ceased  to  expand  German 
armament  by  land  and  by  sea,  propagated  the  falsehood  that 
it  was  necessary  because  Germany's  neighbors  were  jealous  of 
her  power,  sowed  hostility  and  suspicion  between  nations,  kept 
Europe  in  a  ferment  by  threats  of  violence,  and  when  their 
neighbors  "resolved  to  resist  their  arrogant  will,"  "asserted 
their  predominance  in  Europe  by  force." 

When  all  was  prepared  they  encouraged  a  subservient  ally  to 
declare  war  on  Serbia,  on  forty-eight  hours'  notice,  a  war  which 
they  knew  involved  the  Balkans,  could  not  be  localized,  and  was 
bound  to  bring  on  a  war  of  all  European  nations,  refused  every 
attempt  at  conciliation  and  conference  until  too  late,  and  until 
the  world  war,  for  which  they  had  plotted,  and  for  which  they 
alone  were  prepared,  was  inevitable. 

Germany,  the  note  charged,  was  not  merely  responsible  for 
starting  the  war.  She  was  also  responsible  for  the  savage  and 
inhuman  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted.  She  violated  the 
neutrality  of  Belgium,  carried  out  a  series  of  promiscuous 
shootings  and  burnings  with  the  sole  object  of  terrifying  the 
people  into  submission,  drove  thousands  of  men,  women  and 
children,  with  brutal  savagery,  into  slavery  in  foreign  lands, 
and  practised  against  prisoners  of  war,  barbarities  from  which 
the  most  uncivilized  people  would  have  recoiled.  She  was  the 
first  to  use  poisonous  gas,  despite  the  frightful  suffering  it 
entailed,  began  the  bombing  and  long  distance  shelling  of  towns 
for  no  military  object  whatever,  but  for  the  sole  purpose  of 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  365 

destroying  the  morale  of  their  opponents  by  striking  at  their 
women  and  children.  She  was  the  first  to  begin  the  submarine 
campaign  with  its  defiance  of  international  law,  and  its  destruc- 
tion of  great  numbers  of  innocent  passengers  and  sailors  in 
mid-ocean,  far  from  succor,  at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  wave, 
and  yet  more  ruthless  submarine  crews. 

"The  conduct  of  Germany  is  almost  unexampled  in  human 
history.  The  terrible  responsibility  which  lies  at  her  doors  can 
be  seen  by  the  fact  that  not  less  than  seven  million  dead  lie 
buried  in  Europe,  while  more  than  twenty  million  others  carry 
upon  them  the  evidence  of  wounds  and  suffering,  because  Ger- 
many saw  fit  to  gratify  her  lust  for  tyranny  by  resort  to  war." 

Were  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers  to  consent  to  treat 
war  as  other  than  a  crime  against  humanity  and  right,  they 
would  be  false  to  those  who  gave  their  all  to  save  the  freedom 
of  the  world.  This  was  made  perfectly  clear  to  the  Germans 
during  the  war  by  President  Wilson  in  his  speeches,  by  Premier 
Lloyd  George,  by  Premier  Orlando,  each  of  whom  declared  that 
compromise  as  to  the  terms  of  peace  was  impossible,  and  that 
just  punishment  should  be  meted  out. 

"Justice,  therefore,  is  the  only  possible  basis  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  accounts  of  this  terrible  war.  Justice  is  what  the 
German  delegation  asks  for,  and  says  that  Germany  has  been 
promised.  But  it  must  be  justice  for  all  There  must  be  jus- 
tice for  the  dead  and  wounded,  and  for  those  who  have  been 
made  orphans  and  bereaved  that  Europe  might  be  free  from 
Prussian  despotism.  There  must  be  justice  for  the  peoples  who 
now  stagger  under  war  debts,  which  exceed  $30,000,000,000, 
that  liberty  might  be  saved.  There  must  be  justice  for  those 
millions  whose  homes  and  lands,  ships  and  property,  German 
savagery  has  spoliated  and  destroyed. 

"That  is  why  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers  have  insisted 
as  a  cardinal  feature  of  the  treaty  that  Germany  must  under- 
take to  make  reparations  to  the  very  uttermost  of  her  power, 
for  reparation  for  wrongs  inflicted  is  of  the  essence  of  justice. 

"That  is  why  they  insist  that  those  individuals  who  are  most 


366     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

clearly  responsible  for  German  aggression,  and  for  those  acts 
of  barbarism  and  inhumanity  which  have  disgraced  the  German 
conduct  of  the  war,  must  be  handed  over  to  justice,  which  has 
not  been  meted  out  to  them  at  home. 

"That,  too,  is  why  Germany  must  submit  for  a  few  years  to 
certain  special  disabilities  and  arrangements.  Germany  has 
ruined  the  industries,  the  mines  and  the  machinery  of  neighbor- 
ing countries,  not  during  battle,  but  with  deliberate  and  calcu- 
lated purpose  of  enabling  her  own  industries  to  seize  their  mar- 
kets before  their  industries  could  recover  from  the  devastation 
thus  wantonly  inflicted  upon  them. 

"Germany  has  despoiled  her  neighbors  of  everything  she 
could  make  use  of  or  carry  away.  Germany  has  destroyed  the 
shipping  of  all  nations  on  the  high  seas,  where  there  was  no 
chance  of  rescue  for  their  passengers  and  crews. 

"It  is  only  justice  that  restitution  should  be  made,  and  that 
these  wronged  peoples  should  be  safeguarded  for  a  time  from 
the  competition  of  a  nation  where  industries  are  intact  and 
have  even  been  fortified  by  machinery  stolen  from  occupied 
territories.  If  these  things  are  hardships  for  Germany,  they 
are  hardships  which  Germany  has  brought  upon  herself.  Some- 
body must  suffer  for  tHe  consequences  of  the  war.  Is  it  to  be 
Germany,  or  the  peoples  she  has  wronged  ? 

"Not  to  do  justice  to  all  concerned  would  only  leave  the 
world  open  to  fresh  calamities.  If  the  German  people  them- 
selves, or  any  other  nation,  are  to  be  deterred  from  following 
the  footsteps  of  Prussia;  if  mankind  is  to  be  lifted  out  of  the 
belief  that  war  for  selfish  ends  is  legitimate  to  any  state ;  if  the 
old  era  is  to  be  left  behind  and  nations,  as  well  as  individuals, 
are  to  be  brought  beneath  the  reign  of  law ;  even  if  there  is  to 
be  early  reconciliation  and  appeasement,  it  will  be  because  those 
responsible  for  concluding  the  war  have  had  the  courage  to  see 
that  justice  is  not  defeated  for  the  sake  of  a  convenient  peace. 

"It  is  said  that  the  German  revolution  ought  to  make  a  dif- 
ference and  that  the  German  people  are  not  responsible  for  the 
policy  of  the  rulers  whom  they  have  thrown  from  power.  The 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  367 

Allied  and  Associated  Powers  recognize  and  welcome  the 
change.  It  represents  a  great  hope  for  peace  and  a  new  Euro- 
pean order  in  the  future. 

"But  it  cannot  affect  the  settlement  of  the  war  itself.  The 
German  revolution  was  stayed  until  the  German  armies  had 
been  defeated  in  the  field,  and  all  hope  of  profiting  by  a  war  of 
conquest  had  vanished.  Throughout  the  war  as  before  the  war, 
the  German  people  and  their  representatives  supported  the  war, 
voted  the  credits,  subscribed  to  the  war  loans,  obeyed  every 
order,  however  savage,  of  their  government.  They  shared  the- 
responsibility  for  the  policy  of  the  government,  for  at  any  mo- 
ment, had  they  willed  it,  they  could  have  reversed  it.  Had  that 
policy  succeeded,  they  would  have  acclaimed  it  with  the  same 
enthusiasm  with  which  they  welcomed  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 
They  cannot  now  pretend,  having  changed  their  rulers  after  the 
war  was  lost,  that  it  is  justice  that  they  should  escape  the  conse- 
quences of  their  deeds. 

"The  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,  therefore,  believe  that 
the  peace  they  have  proposed  is  fundamentally  a  peace  of  jus- 
tice. They  are  no  less  certain  that  it  is  a  peace  of  right  on  the 
terms  agreed.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  intentions  of  the 
Allied  and  Associated  Powers  to  base  the  settlement  of  Europe 
on  the  principle  of  freeing  oppressed  peoples  and  redrawing 
national  boundaries  as  far  as  possible,  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  the  peoples  concerned,  while  giving  to  each  the  facilities 
to  live  an  independent  national  and  economic  life. 

"These  intentions  were  made  clear  not  only  in  President 
Wilson's  address  to  Congress  of  Jan.  8,  1918,  but  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  settlement  enumerated  in  his  subsequent  addresses, 
which  was  the  agreed  basis  of  the  peace.  A  memorandum  on 
this  point  is  attached  to  this  letter." 

True  to  these  principles,  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers 
had  made  Poland  an  independent  state  with  "free  and  secure 
access  to  the  sea,"  and  Danzig  a  free  city  severed  from  Germany 
because  in  no  other  way  was  it  possible  to  provide  for  that 
"free  and  secure  access  to  the  sea"  which  Germany  had  prom- 


368     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ised  to  concede.  The  German  counter  proposals  conflicted  with 
the  agreed  hasis  of  peace.  They  required  that  great  majorities 
of  Polish  populations  be  kept  under -German  rule.  They  denied 
secure  access  to  the  sea  to  a  nation  of  over  twenty  million  people, 
whose  nationals  were  in  the  majority  all  the  way  to  the  coast, 
and  did  so  in  order  to  keep  territorial  connection  between  East 
and  West  Prussia,  whose  trade  has  always  been  mainly  carried 
by  sea.  Whether  upper  Silesia  should  be  part  of  Germany  or 
Poland,  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers  were  willing  should 
be  decided  by  the  vote  of  the  people  concerned. 

The  Saar  Basin  terms  were  necessary  to  the  general  scheme 
of  reparation,  and  to  give  France,  immediate  compensation  for 
the  wanton  destruction  of  her  northern  coal  fields.  The  colonies 
were  not  to  be  returned;  there  were  to  be  no  changes  in  the 
reparation  terms ;  nor  was  Germany  to  be  admitted  at  once  into 
the  League  of  Nations.  It  was  unreasonable  "to  expect  the  free 
nations  of  the  world  to  sit  down  immediately  in  equal  associa- 
tion with  those  by  whom  they  have  been  so  grievously  wronged." 

The  letter,  and  the  memorandum  attached,  must  be  considered 
the  last  word  of  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers.  Therefore, 
they  required  the  German  delegation  to  declare,  within  seven 
days,  whether  they  would,  or  would  not,  sign  the  treaty  as 
amended.  If  they  did  not  declare  a  willingness  to  sign,  the 
armistice  would  end,  and  the  Powers  would  take  such  steps  as 
they  thought  "needful  to  force  their  terms." 

Members  of  the  German  Government  having,  again  and 
again,  declared  that  the  treaty,  even  in  its  amended  form,  must 
not  be  signed,  the  Cabinet,  on  June  20,  resigned  in  a  body.  A 
new  Cabinet  was  at  once  put  in  office,  a  mere  dummy  govern- 
ment, it  was  believed,  set  up  to  carry  through  the 'signing  of  the 
treaty,  and  then  be  swept  from  office  to  make  way  for  the  very 
officials  who  had  resigned  rather  than  approve  the  signing. 

Meantime,  preparations  were  under  way  in  the  occupied 
territory  and  bridgeheads  for  an  immediate  advance  of  the 
armies,  should  Germany  fail  to  declare  her  intention  to  sign 
before  seven  o'clock  on  June  23,  the  end  of  the  seven-day  period. 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  369 

On  Sunday,  June  22,  the  National  Assembly,  by  a  majority  of 
ninety-nine,  voted  that  the  treaty  be  signed.  Herr  Bauer,  the 
new  premier,  thereupon  declared  that  the  treaty  would  be  signed 
without  acknowledging  the  responsibility  of  the  German  people 
for  the  war,  and  without  agreeing  to  the  articles  which  required 
the  extradition  of  certain  German  personages,  and  the  trial  of 
the  former  Emperor. 

The  momentous  question  of  signing  the  treaty  having  thus 
been  settled,  the  new  German  Government  at  once  requested  an 
extension  of  the  seven-day  limit,  and  at  three  o'clock  on  Mon- 
day morning,  June  23,  a  note  from  Dr.  Haniel  von  Haim- 
hausen,  of  the  peace  delegation,  was  delivered  to  M.  Clemenceau. 

The  minister  for  foreign  affairs  instructs  me  to  beg  the  Allied 
and  Associated  Governments  to  prolong  for  forty-eight  hours  the 
time  limit  for  answering  your  excellency's  note  communicated  yes- 
terday evening,  and  likewise  the  time  limit  for  answering  the  note 
of  June  16,  1919. 

It  was  only  on  Saturday,  after  great  difficulties,  that  a  new  cabi- 
net was  formed  which,  unlike  its  predecessor,  could  come  to  an 
agreement  to  declare  its  willingness  to  sign  the  treaty  as  regards 
nearly  all  its  provisions.  The  national  Assembly  has  expressed  its 
confidence  in  this  cabinet  by  a  large  majority  of  votes.  The  answer 
only  arrived  here  just  before  midnight,  as  the  direct  wire  from 
Versailles  to  Weimar  was  out  of  order. 

The  government  must  come  into  contact  anew  with  the  National 
Assembly  in  order  to  take  the  grievous  decision  which  is  still  re- 
quired of  it  in  such  a  manner  as  it  can  only  be  taken  in  accordance 
with  democratic  principles  and  with  the  internal  situation  in  Ger- 
many. 

The  Allied  and  Associated  Governments,  was  the  prompt 
reply,  regret  that  it  is  not  possible  to  extend  the  time  within 
which  "to  make  known  your  decision  relative  to  the  signature 
of  the  treaty,  without  any  reservations." 

The  German  government  thereupon  declared  its  willingness 
to  sign  with  certain  reservations.  It  asserted  that  the  condi- 
tions imposed  were  greater  than  Germany  could  perform;  pro- 
tested against  the  taking  away  of  the  colonies;  declared  it  could 


370     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

not  accept  Article  230  requiring  Germany  to  admit  she  was  the 
sole  author  of  the  war,  and  did  not  cover  the  article  by  her 
signature;  could  not  reconcile  it  with  dignity  and  honor  to 
execute  articles  227  to  230,  requiring  Germany  to  give  up  for 
trial  certain  persons  accused  of  committing  acts  contrary  to  the 
usages  and  customs  of  war,  and  proposed  that : 

Within  two  years,  counting  from  the  day  when  the  treaty  is 
signed,  the  Allied  and  Associated  Governments  will  submit  the 
present  treaty  to  the  high  council  of  the  powers,  as  constituted  by 
the  League  of  Nations,  according  to  Article  4,  for  the  purpose  of 
subsequent  examination.  Before  this  high  council  the  German 
plenipotentiaries  are  to  enjoy  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  the 
representatives  of  the  other  contracting  powers  of  the  present  treaty. 
This  council  shall  decide  in  regard  to  those  conditions  of  the  pres- 
ent treaty  which  impair  the  rights  to  self-determination  of  the 
German  people  and  also  in  regard  to  the  stipulation  whereby  the 
free  economic  development  of  Germany  on  a  footing  of  equal  rights 
is  impeded. 

The  government  of  the  German  public  accordingly  gives  the  dec- 
laration of  its  consent  as  required  by  the  note  of  June  16,  1919,  in 
the  following  form: 

"The  government  of  the  German  republic  is  ready  to  sign  the 
treaty  of  peace,  without,  however,  recognizing  thereby  that  the  Ger- 
man people  was  the  author  of  the  war  and  without  undertaking  any 
responsibility  for  delivering  persons  in  accordance  with  Articles  227 
to  230  of  the  treaty  of  peace." 

Tne  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,  was  the  reply,  find  in  the 
present  note  of  the  German  delegation  no  arguments  or  con- 
siderations not  already  examined,  and  feel  constrained  to  say 
that  the  time  for  discussion  is  past.  They  can  accept  no  quali- 
fication or  reservation  and  must  require  of  the  German  repre- 
sentatives an  unequivocal  decision  as  to  their  purposes  to  sign 
and  accept  as  a  whole,  or  not  to  sign  and  accept  the  treaty  as 
finally  formulated,  and  after  signature  must  hold  Germany 
responsible  for  the  execution  of  every  stipulation  of  the  treaty. 

And  now,  at  last,  Germany  yielded,  and  late  in  the  day  von 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  371 

Haimhausen  wrote  that  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  had 
instructed  him  to  say: 

It  appears  to  the  government  of  the  German  republic,  in  con- 
sternation at  the  last  communication  of  the  Allied  and  Associated 
Governments,  that  these  Governments  have  decided  to  wrest  from 
Germany  by  force  acceptance  of  the  peace  conditions,  even  those, 
which,  without  presenting  any  material  significance,  aim  at  divest- 
ing the  German  people  of  their  honor. 

No  act  of  violence  can  touch  the  honor  of  the  German  people. 
The  German  people,  after  frightful  suffering  in  these  last  years, 
have  no  means  of  defending  themselves  by  external  action. 

Yielding  to  superior  force,  and  without  renouncing  in  the  mean- 
time its  own  view  of  the  unheard  of  injustice  of  the  peace  conditions, 
the  government  of  the  German  republic  declares  that  it  is  ready  to 
accept  and  sign  the  peace  conditions  imposed. 

News  of  the  German  acceptance  of  the  treaty  terms  was 
received  in  London  and  Paris  with  manifestations  of  great  joy. 
That  the  Germans  would  keep  the  treaty  obligations  was  gen- 
erally doubted  in  Washington.  They  will  sign,  it  was  said, 
with  their  tongues  in  their  cheeks,  and  their  fingers  crossed,  and 
the  whole  world,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  will  have  to  stand 
guard  against  German  treachery  sure  to  be  practised.  No  one 
supposes,  for  a  minute,  that  the  peace  terms  will  be  carried  out 
in  good  faith,  if  the  Germans  can  find  a  loophole  for  escape. 
They  have  submitted  because  of  the  helplessness  to  which  the 
Allied  armies  have  reduced  them,  and  because  longer  delay 
would  bring  heavier  conditions.  Indeed,  at  the  very  time  these 
expressions  of  distrust  were  made,  a  fine  example  of  German 
treachery  was  afforded  by  the  sinking  of  the  German  war  ships 
at  Scapa  Flow.  As  required  by  the  armistice,  ten  battleships, 
six  battle  cruisers,  eight  light  cruisers  and  fifty  destroyers  were 
interned  with  skeleton  crews  of  Germans  as  caretakers,  and  no 
British  guards  aboard.  Suddenly,  about  noon  on  June  21,  the 
crews  began  to  leave  them,  and  one  by  one  battleships,  cruisers 
and  destroyers  keeled  over  and  sank,  until  but  one  battleship/ 
two  light  cruisers  and  eighteen  destroyers  remained,  most  of 


372     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

these  beeched  by  tugs.  Kear  Admiral  von  Beuter,  in  obedience 
to  orders  given  him  that  no  German  armed  vessel  should  be 
surrendered,  had  ordered  the  seacocks  opened,  supposing  that 
the  armistice  had  ended. 

By  the  terms  of  the  peace  treaty,  Germany  was  to  restore  all 
flags  taken  from  the  French  in  1870  and  1871.  To  prevent  the 
fulfillment  of  this  provision  the  battle  flags  in  Berlin  were 
removed  from  the  place  where  they  were  kept  and  burned  in 
public.  These  acts  of  treachery  brought  from  M.  Clemenceau 
a  long  note  to  the  German  peace  delegation.  He  called  atten- 
tion to  Article  23  of  the  armistice  terms,  which  reads:  "The 
German  surface  warships  which  shall  be  specified  by  the  allies 
and  the  United  States  shall  forthwith  be  disarmed  and  there- 
after interned  in  neutral  ports,  or,  failing  them,  in  the  allied 
ports  designated  by  the  Allies  and  the  United  States.  They 
shall  there  remain  under  supervision  by  the  Allies  and  the 
United  States,  only  care  and  maintenance  parties  being  left  on 
board";  claimed  that  Germany,  by  signing  the  terms,  entered 
into  an  undertaking  that  the  ships  handed  over  by  her  should 
remain  in  the  ports  indicated  by  the  Allied  and  Associated 
Powers,  and  that  care  and  maintenance  parties  should  be  left 
on  board  with  such  instructions  and  under  such  orders  as  would 
ensure  that  the  armistice  should  be  observed ;  and  charged  that 
the  "sinking  of  these  ships,  instead  of  their  preservation,  as  had 
been  provided  for,  and  in  breach  of  the  undertaking  embodied 
in  Article  31  of  the  armistice  against  all  acts  of  destruction, 
constituted  at  once  a  violation  of  the  armistice,  the  destruction 
of  the  pledge  handed  over,  and  an  act  of  gross  bad  faith  toward 
the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers." 

The  German  admiral  in  command  of  the  care  and  mainte- 
nance parties,  while  recognizing  that  the  act  was  a  breach  of 
the  armistice,  had  attempted  to  justify  it  by  alleging  his  belief 
that  the  armistice  had  come  to  an  end.  This  alleged  justifica- 
tion was  not  well  founded,  as,  under  the  communication  ad- 
dressed to  the  German  delegation  by  the  Allied  and  Associated 
Powers  on  the  16th  of  June,  1919,  the  armistice  would  only 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  373 

terminate  on  refusal  to  sign  the  peace  or  if  no  answer  were 
returned  on  the  23d  of  June  at  11  o'clock."  In  international 
law,  "particularly  in  articles  40  and  41  of  the  regulations 
annexed  to  the  fourth  Hague  convention  of  1907,  every  serious 
violation  of  the  armistice  by  one  of  the  parties  gives  the  other 
party  the  right  to  denounce  it  and  even  in  case  of  urgency  to 
recommence  hostilities  at  once." 

A  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  armistice  by  individuals,  acting 
on  their  own  initiative,  only  confers  the  right  of  demanding  the 
punishment  of  these  offenders  and,  if  necessary,  indemnity  for  the 
losses  sustained.  It  will  therefore  be  open  to  the  Allied  and  Asso- 
ciated Powers  to  bring  before  a  military  tribunal,  the  persons  re- 
sponsible for  these  acts  of  destruction,  so  that  the  appropriate  pen- 
alties may  be  imposed.  Furthermore,  the  incident  gives  the  Allied 
and  Associated  Powers  a  right  to  reparation  for  the  loss  caused  and 
in  consequence  a  right  to  proceed  to  such  further  measures  as  the 
said  powers  may  deem  appropriate. 

Lastly,  the  sinking  of  the  German  fleet  is  not  only  a  violation  of 
the  armistice,  but  can  only  be  regarded  by  the  Allied  and  Asso- 
ciated Powers  as  a  deliberate  breach  in  advance  of  the  conditions 
communicated  to  Germany,  and  now  accepted  by  her. 

Furthermore,  the  incident  is  not  an  isolated  act.  The  burning 
or  permission  for  the  burning  of  the  French  flags  which  Germany 
was  to  restore  constitutes  another  deliberate  breach  in  advance  of 
these  same  conditions. 

In  consequence,  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers  declare,  that 
they  take  note  of  these  signal  acts  of  bad  faith,  and  that  when  the 
investigations  into  all  the  circumstances  have  been  completed,  they 
will  exact  the  necessary  reparation.  It  is  evident  that  any  repeti- 
tion of  acts  like  these  must  have  a  very  unfortunate  effect  upon  the 
future  operation  of  the  treaty  which  the  Germans  are  about  to  sign. 
They  have  made  complaint  of  the  fifteen  years'  period  of  occupa- 
tion which  the  treaty  contemplates.  They  have  made  complaint  that 
admission  to  the  League  of  Nations  may  be  too  long  deferred.  How 
can  Germany  put  forward  such  claims  if  she  encourages,  or  permits, 
deliberate  violations  of  her  written  engagements  ?  She  cannot  com- 
plain should  the  allies  use  the  full  powers  conferred  on  them  by  the 
treaty,  particularly  Article  429,  if  she,  on  her  side,  deliberately 
violates  its  provisions. 


374     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

June  28,  the  fifth  anniversary  of  the  murder  of  the  Archduke 
Franz  Ferdinand  and  his  morganatic  wife  at  Serajevo,  was  the 
day  chosen  for  the  signing  of  the  treaty.  The  place  was  the 
famous  Hall  of  Mirrors,  in  the  Chateau  at  Versailles,  where, 
forty-eight  years  before,  the  Franco-Prussian  peace  treaty  was 
signed  and  Frederick  William  proclaimed  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many. !N"or  was  this  event  suffered  to  go  unnoticed,  for  six 
senators  who  had  fought  in  that  war  were  especially  invited  to 
be  present.  According  to  the  program  of  ceremonies,  the  Ger- 
man delegation  was  to  enter  the  Hall  by  a  door  other  than  that 
to  be  used  by  the  representatives  of  the  Allied  and  Associated 
Powers.  Against  this  Haniel  von  Haimhausen  protested. 
"We  cannot  admit,"  he  said,  "that  the  German  delegates  should 
enter  the  Hall  by  a  different  door  than  the  Entente  delegates ; 
nor  that  military  honors  should  be  withheld.  Had  we  known 
there  would  be  such  arrangements  the  delegates  would  not  have 
come."  It  was  finally  settled  that  military  honors  should  be 
paid  the  Germans  as  they  left  the  Hall.  A  few  minutes  after 
three  o'clock  Dr.  Hermann  Mueller,  the  German  Secretary  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  and  Dr.  Johannes  Bell,  the  Colonial  Secretary, 
were  shown  into  the  Hall,  and  having  taken  their  seats  at  the 
long  horseshoe-shaped  table,  M.  Clemenceau  rose  and  said: 
"The  session  is  open.  The  Allied  and  Associated  Powers  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  German  Eeich  on  the  other,  have  come  to 
an  agreement  on  the  terms  of  peace.  The  treaty  has  been  com- 
pletely drafted,  and  the  President  of  the  Conference  has  stated, 
in  writing,  that  the  text  now  about  to  be  signed  is  identical  with 
the  two  hundred  copies  that  have  been  delivered  to  the  German 
delegation.  The  signatures  will  now  be  affixed,  and  they  con- 
stitute a  solemn  pledge,  faithfully  and  loyally  to  carry  out  the 
conditions  embodied  in  this  treaty  of  peace.  I  now  invite  the 
delegates  of  the  German  Reich  to  sign  the  treaty." 

After  a  few  moments'  pause,  the  master  of  ceremonies  es- 
corted them  to  the  table  whereon  lay  the  treaty,  and  they  affixed 
their  names.  President  Wilson  and  the  American  delegates 
were  the  next  to  sign.  Then  came  Lloyd  George  and  the  British 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  375 

delegates,  and  then  the  representatives  of  the  British  Domin- 
ions. When  those  from  South  Africa  were  about  to  sign, 
General  Jan  Christian  Smuts  announced  that  he  did  so  under 
protest,  and  filed  a  document  setting  forth  that  in  some  respects 
the  treaty  was  unsatisfactory.  M.  Clemenceau  and  the  French 
delegates  were  the  next  to  sign;  then  came  the  Japanese,  then 
the  Italians,  and  after  them  the  delegates  from  the  small  Powers. 
The  seats  assigned  the  Chinese  delegates  were  vacant ;  they  did 
not  attend  because  of  the  provisions  in  the  treaty  regarding  the 
peninsula  of  Shantung.  At  a  quarter  before  four  o'clock  all 
was  over,  and  the  Germans  left  the  Hall. 

My  fellow  countrymen  [said  President  Wilson  in  an  address  to 
the  People  of  the  United  States]  :  The  Treaty  of  Peace  has  been 
signed.  If  it  is  ratified  and  acted  upon  in  full  and  sincere  execution 
of  its  terms,  it  will  furnish  the  charter  for  a  new  order  of  affairs 
in  the  world.  It  is  a  severe  treaty  in  the  duties  and  penalties  it 
imposes  upon  Germany,  but  it  is  severe  only  because  great  wrongs 
done  by  Germany  are  to  be  righted  and  repaired;  it  imposes  nothing 
that  Germany  cannot  do,  and  she  can  regain  her  rightful  standing 
in  the  world  by  the  prompt  and  honorable  fulfillment  of  its  terms. 

And  it  is  much  more  than  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Germany.  It 
liberates  great  peoples  who  have  never  before  been  able  to  find  the 
way  to  liberty.  It  ends,  once  for  all,  an  old  and  intolerable  order, 
under  which  small  groups  of  selfish  men  could  use  the  peoples  of 
great  empires  to  serve  their  ambition  for  power  and  dominion.  It 
associates  the  free  governments  of  the  world  in  a  permanent  league, 
in  which  they  are  pledged  to  use  their  united  power  to  maintain  peace 
by  maintaining  right  and  justice.  It  makes  international  law  a 
reality,  supported  by  imperative  sanctions.  It  does  away  with  the 
right  of  conquest,  and  rejects  the  policy  of  annexation,  and  substi- 
tutes a  new  order  under  which  backward  nations,  populations  which 
have  not  yet  come  to  political  consciousness,  and  peoples  who  are 
ready  for  independence,  but  not  yet  quite  prepared  to  dispense  with 
protection  and  guidance,  shall  no  more  be  subjected  to  the  domina- 
tion and  exploitation  of  a  stronger  nation,  but  shall  be  put  under 
the  friendly  direction,  and  afforded  the  helpful  assistance  of  govern- 
ments which  undertake  to  be  responsible  to  the  opinion  of  mankind 
in  the  execution  of  their  task  by  accepting  the  direction  of  the 
League  of  Nations. 


376     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

It  recognizes  the  inalienable  rights  of  nationality,  the  rights  of 
minorities,  and  the  sanctity  of  religious  belief  and  practice.  It 
lays  the  basis  for  conventions  which  shall  free  the  commercial  inter- 
course of  the  world  from  unjust  and  vexatious  restrictions,  and  for 
every  sort  of  international  cooperation  that  will  serve  to  cleanse 
the  life  of  the  world,  and  facilitate  its  common  action  in  beneficent 
service  of  every  kind.  It  furnishes  guarantees  such  as  were  never 
given,  or  even  contemplated,  for  the  fair  treatment  of  all  who  labor 
at  the  daily  tasks  of  the  world. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have  spoken  of  it  as  a  great  charter 
for  a  new  order  of  affairs.  There  is  ground  here  for  deep  satisfaction, 
universal  reassurance,  and  confident  hope. 

His  work  done,  the  President,  on  the  evening  of  the  28th, 
left  for  Brest  to  board  the  George  Washington  waiting  to  carry 
him  home.  Before  leaving  Paris  he  bade  a  formal  farewell  to 
France : 

As  I  look  back  over  the  eventful  months  I  have  spent  in  France 
my  memory  is  not  of  conferences  and  hard  work  alone,  but  also  of 
innumerable  acts  of  generosity  and  friendship  which  have  made  me 
feel  how  genuine  the  sentiments  of  France  are  toward  the  people 
of  America,  and  how  fortunate  I  have  been  to  be  the  representative 
of  our  people  in  the  midst  of  a  nation  which  knows  how  to  show  us 
kindness  with  so  much  charm,  and  so  much  open  manifestation  of 
what  is  in  its  heart. 

Deeply  happy  as  I  am  at  the  prospects  of  joining  my  own  country- 
men again,  I  leave  France  with  genuine  regret,  my  deep  sympathy 
for  her  people,  and  belief  in  her  future  confirmed;  my  thought  en- 
larged by  the  privilege  of  association  with  her  public  men,  conscious 
of  more  than  one  affectionate  friendship  formed,  and  profoundly 
grateful  for  unstinted  hospitality,  and  for  countless  kindnesses 
which  have  made  me  feel  welcome  and  at  home. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  bidding  France  godspeed  as  well  as  good-by, 
and  of  expressing  once  more  my  abiding  interest  and  entire  confi- 
dence in  her  future. 

That  same  day  King  George  sent  a  message  to  the  President 
saying : 

In  this  glorious  hour,  when  the  long  struggle  of  nations  for  right, 
justice  and  freedom  is  at  last  crowned  by  a  triumphant  peace,  I 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEACE  377 

greet  you,  Mr.  President,  and  the  great  American  people  in  the 
name  of  the  British  nation. 

At  a  time  when  fortune  seemed  to  frown,  and  the  issues  of  the 
war  trembled  in  the  balance,  the  American  people  stretched  out  the 
hand  of  fellowship  to  those  who  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  were 
battling  for  a  righteous  cause.  Light  and  hope  at  once  shone  brighter 
in  our  hearts,  and  a  new  day  dawned. 

Together  we  have  fought  to  a  happy  end,  together  we  lay  down 
our  arms  in  proud  consciousness  of  valiant  deeds  nobly  done. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  on  this  day  one  of  our  happiest  thoughts  that 
the  American  and  British  people,  brothers  in  arms,  will  continue 
forever  to  be  brothers  in  peace.  United  before  by  language,  tradi- 
tions, kinship,  and  ideals,  there  has  been  set  upon  our  fellowship 
the  sacred  seal  of  common  sacrifice. 


CHAPTEK  IX 

THE  TREATY  REJECTED 

THOUGH  the  treaty  was  signed  and  ratified  by  Germany,  no 
official  copy  had  been  seen  by  the  public.  Again  and  again 
attempts  were  made  to  secure  one.  The  French  Parliamentary 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  and  the  French  budget  com- 
mittee had  each  requested  copies  from  M.  Clemenceau,  but  the 
Premier  had  firmly  refused  to  send  them.  Meantime  the  Ger- 
mans were  spreading  printed  copies  broadcast,  and  giving  this 
as  a  reason  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies  called  for  the 
treaty  and  were  informed  that  the  request  could  not  be  granted. 
Thereupon  a  Paris  journal,  Bon  Soir,  secured  six  hundred 
copies  of  the  book  from  Switzerland,  and  presented  them  to 
the  Chamber,  whose  authorities  posted  a  notice  informing 
members  that  each  could  obtain  one  at  the  questor's  office,  as 
a  present  from  Bon  Soir.  Copies  found  their  way  from  Den- 
mark to  private  parties  in  New  York,  and  were  seen  by  Sena- 
tors. Mr.  Lodge  stated  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  that  when 
in  New  York  he  had  in  his  hand,  and  looked  over  for  an  hour 
and  a  half,  a  copy  of  the  treaty,  and  heard  of  the  existence  in 
that  city  of  three  more.  Senator  Borah  said  they  were  in  the 
possession  of  certain  interests  particularly  concerned  in  the 
treaty.  Here  was  a  matter  to  be  investigated.  How  did  they 
get  their  copies?  Who  gave  them  out?  Had  our  representa- 
tives in  Paris  allowed  interests  in  New  York  to  secure  them 
for  their  own  selfish  uses  ? 

A  resolution  was  accordingly  introduced,  and  adopted  unani- 
mously without  a  roll  call.  It  set  forth  that  Mr.  Borah,  the 
Senator  from  Idaho,  has  stated  in  the  Senate  that  certain 
interests  in  New  York  City  have  secured  copies  of  the  peace 

378 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  379 

treaty  with  Germany,  while  the  American  people  have  not  been 
able  to  procure  one ;  that  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  Mr. 
Lodge,  has  stated  in  the  Senate  that  he  knew  of  four  copies 
in  New  York;  that  the  only  place  where  it  is  not  allowed  to 
come  is  the  United  States  Senate;  and  that  the  Senator  from 
Idaho  has  stated  that  the  interests  in  possession  of  copies  are 
particularly  interested  in  the  treaty.  Therefore,  the  Commit- 
tee on  Foreign  Relations  is  directed  to  investigate  and  report 
to  the  Senate  the  names  of  the  persons,  corporations,  or  inter- 
ests, which  have  secured  copies  of  the  treaty,  from  whom  and 
by  what  means  they  were  secured,  and  to  what  extent  the 
interests  are  particularly  concerned  in  the  treaty.  By  another 
resolution  the  Secretary  of  State  was  requested  to  furnish  the 
full  text  of  the  document,  if  not  incompatible  with  the  public 
interest. 

A  few  days  later  Senator  Borah  rose  in  the  Senate  and  said 
that  he  had  in  his  possession  a  copy  of  the  treaty;  that  he  was 
about  to  ask  permission  of  the  Senate  to  print  it  as  a  Senate 
document;  that  he  was  permitted  to  offer  it  by  the  consent  of 
those  who  gave  it  to  him ;  that  the  particular  copy  he  was  offer- 
ing was  brought  to  this  country  by  a  staff  correspondent  of 
the  Chicago  Tribune,  and  was  delivered  to  him  as  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations.  He  entertained  no  doubt 
that  it  was  a  true  and  correct  copy,  and  asked  unanimous  consent 
that  it  be  printed  as  a  Senate  document. 

Unanimous  consent  having  been  refused,  the  Senator  moved 
that  the  document  be  printed  in  the  Record.  A  hot  debate 
followed;  but  the  motion  was  carried  by  forty-seven  yeas  to 
twenty-four  nays.  ]STine  Democrats  voted  for  printing;  one 
Republican  voted  against  it.  A  motion  to  reconsider  was  soon 
made  and  the  debate  was  renewed  more  hotly  than  before.  In 
the  midst  of  it  Senator  Borah,  having  obtained  the  floor,  said 
that  the  authenticity  of  his  copy  had  been  questioned.  There- 
fore he  would  prove  it  genuine  by  reading  it.  .A  storm  of 
opposition  arose  at  once  from  Democratic  Senators.  It  was 
contrary  to  all  precedent  to  present  a  treaty  in  open  session; 


380    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

it  was  a  confidential  document  to  read  which  was  contrary  to 
the  Senate  rules;  he  was  exceeding  his  right  by  speaking  too 
often  on  the  same  subject.  To  read  it  would  require  some  fif- 
teen hours;  nevertheless  the  Senator  began,  and  had  gone  on 
for  an  hour  when  the  party  leaders,  having  secured  unanimous 
consent  to  interrupt  the  reading  and  come  to  a  vote,  it  was 
taken.  The  yeas  were  forty-two,  the  nays  twenty-four.  The 
motion  to  reconsider  was  lost;  the  treaty  was  rushed  to  the 
Government  printing  office,  and  the  next  day,  June  10,  it 
appeared  in  the  Congressional  Record,  and  the  important  news- 
papers of  the  country. 

That  same  day  Senator  Knox  offered  a  resolution  intended 
to  serve  notice  on  the  Peace  Conference  that  the  Senate  would 
not  ratify  the  treaty  if  it  contained  the  Covenant  of  the  League 
of  Nations.  The  treaty,  the  resolution  set  forth,  might  easily  be 
so  drawn  as  to  permit  the  making  of  immediate  peace,  leaving 
for  later  determination  the  establishment  of  a  League  of  Na- 
tions. The  treaty,  as  drawn,  contained  "principles,  guarantees 
and  undertakings  obliterative  of  legitimate  race  and  national 
aspirations,  oppressive  of  weak  nations  and  peoples,"  and  de- 
structive of  human  progress  and  liberty.  Therefore  the  Senate 
would  regard  as  fully  adequate  to  our  national  needs,  to  the 
obligations  we  owed  to  our  co-belligerents,  and  to  humanity, 
a  treaty  which  assured  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  "the 
attainment  of  those  ends  for  which  we  entered  the  war,"  and 
would  "look  with  disfavor  upon  all  treaty  provisions  going 
beyond  those  ends." 

The  Constitution  provides  the  only  ways  in  which  it  may 
be  amended.  Amendment  by  treaty  is  not  one  of  these  ways, 
therefore  the  treaty  making  power  "has  no  authority  to  make 
a  treaty  which  in  effect  amends  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,"  and  the  Senate  "cannot  advise  and  consent  to  any 
treaty  provision  which  would  have  such  effect  if  enforced ;"  but 
does  advise  that  "the  paramount  duty  of  the  Peace  Conference" 
is  quickly  to  bring  peace  to  all  the  belligerents;  that  to  this 
end  the  treaty  shall  be  so  drawn  as  to  reserve  to  any  nation, 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  381 

for  future  separate  consideration  by  its  people,  the  question  of 
any  League  of  Nations;  "that  neither  such  an  article  nor  the 
exercise  of  the  rights  reserved  thereunder"  shall  at  any  time 
"affect  the  substance  of  the  obligations  of  Germany  and  its 
co-belligerents  under  the  treaty,"  and  that,  until  the  United 
States  shall  enter  the  League,  the  "indispensable  participation 
by  the  United  States  in  matters  covered  by  the  League  Cove- 
nant" shall  be  through  diplomatic  commissions. 

Finally,  it  shall  be  the  declared  policy  of  our  government 
that  "the  freedom  and  peace  of  Europe  being  again  theatened 
by  any  power  or  combination  of  powers,  the  United  States  will 
regard  such  a  situation  with  grave  concern  as  a  menace  to  its 
own  peace  and  freedom,"  and,  if  necessary,  will  cooperate  with 
our  chief  co-belligerents  for  the  defense  of  civilization. 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations,  and  with  the  last  paragraph,  declaring  the  policy 
of  the  government  towards  peace  in  Europe  stricken  out,  was 
reported  back  to  the  Senate. 

That  the  resolution  would  never  be  passed  was  certain.  All 
that  could  be  hoped  was  to  obtain  enough  votes  in  its  favor  to 
show  that  at  least  one-third  of  the  Senate  was  firmly  opposed 
to  joining  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  with  the 
treaty.  By  the  end  of  a  fortnight  even  this  seemed  doubtful 
and  the  resolution  was  never  brought  to  a  test  vote. 

As  the  prospect  of  failure  to  secure  even  one-third  of  the 
Senators  in  support  of  the  resolution  grew  darker  each  day, 
Mr.  Lodge,  in  hope  of  checking  the  waning  support  of  the 
Republicans,  made  public  a  letter  from  Mr.  Elihu  Root.  He 
would  be  glad,  Mr.  Root  said,  to  see  the  Covenant  of  the  League 
of  Nations  separated  from  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace. 
If  this  could  not  be,  then  the  Senate  ought  to  include  in  its 
resolution  of  consent  such  reservations  and  understandings  as 
would  remedy  the  defects  he  pointed  out.  The  defects  were 
serious.  Nothing  had  been  done  by  the  revisionists  for  the 
re-establishment  of  arbitration  of  questions  of  legal  right;  nor 
for  the  revision  or  development  of  international  law;  nor  to 


382     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

limit  the  vast  and  incalculable  obligations  imposed  by  Article 
X.  The  clause  regarding  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  erroneous 
in  its  description  and  ambiguous  in  its  meaning.  The  clause 
authorizing  withdrawal  from  the  League  after  two  years'  notice 
might  make  it  possible  for  the  Council  on  "a  mere  charge  that 
we  had  not  performed  some  international  obligation"  to  take 
jurisdiction  "of  the  charge  as  a  disputed  question  and  keep  us 
in  the  League  indefinitely  against  our  will." 

Mr.  Eoot  suggested  as  reservations  and  understandings  to  be 
made  a  part  of  the  instrument  of  ratification,  that  the  Senate 
in  advising  and  consenting  to  the  ratification  of  the  treaty 
exclude  from  its  consent  Article  X  of  the  League  of  Nations ; 
that  in  giving  its  consent  the  Senate  should  do  so  with  the 
understanding  that  whenever  two  years'  notice  of  withdrawal 
shall  have  been  given,  "no  claim,  charge  or  finding"  that  inter- 
national obligations  under  the  Covenant  have  not  been  fulfilled, 
will  be  deemed  to  render  the  notice  ineffectual,  or  keep  in  the 
League  the  power  giving  the  notice  after  the  lapse  of  the  speci- 
fied time ;  and  that,  as  the  United  States,  in  joining  the  League 
of  Nations  is  moved  by  no  wish  to  meddle  with  the  political 
policy  of  any  foreign  State,  and  by  no  existing  or  expected 
danger  in  the  affairs  of  the  American  Continents,  "but  accedes 
to  the  wish  of  the  European  States  that  it  shall  join  its  power 
to  theirs  for  the  preservation  of  general  peace,"  the  Senate 
consents  to  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  save  Article  X,  with 
the  understanding  that  nothing  therein  contained  shall  be  con- 
strued to  imply  the  relinquishment  by  the  United  States  of 
America  in  its  traditional  attitude  towards  purely  American 
questions,  or  to  require  the  submission  of  its  policy  regarding 
questions  which  it  deems  to  be  purely  American  questions,  to 
the  decision  or  recommendation  of  other  powers. 

After  the  treaty  was  ratified  with  the  reservations  and  under- 
standings suggested,  Mr.  Root  thought  the  Senate  should  adopt 
a  resolution  asking  the  President  to  open  negotiations  with  the 
other  powers  for  the  reestablishment  and  strengthening  of  a 
system  of  arbitration  of  disputes  on  questions  of  legal  right, 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  383 

and  for  meetings,  from  time  to  time,  of  representatives  of  the 
powers  for  the  revision  and  development  of  international  law. 

Inclusion  of  these  reservations  and  understandings  in  the 
instrument  of  ratification  would  not  require  further  negotia- 
tion. If  none  of  the  other  signatories  expressly  objected,  the 
treaty  stood  as  limited. 

Four  courses  of  action  now  lay  before  the  Senate.  Reject 
the  treaty,  an  act  which  nobody  expected  would  be  perpetrated. 
Follow  the  advice  of  Senator  Knox  and  separate  the  Covenant 
from  the  treaty.  Ratify  the  treaty  with  reservations  as  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  Root.  Ratify  the  treaty  as  it  stood.  Of  the 
ninety-six  Senators  some  forty-three  were  for  the  Covenant  with 
reservations,  and  some  forty  for  the  Covenant  without  reserva- 
tions. Eight  were  against  the  Covenant  in  any  form.  The 
rest  were  in  doubt.  The  Republicans  had  a  majority  of  two 
votes,  but  were  divided  in  opinion,  without  leadership,  and  with- 
out a  party  policy.  If,  as  some  held,  the  resolution  to  ratify 
could  be  amended,  and  the  reservations  added,  by  a  majority 
vote,  the  Republicans  could  carry  their  reservations  by  a  united 
party  vote.  Could  they  be  united  ?  If,  as  others  held,  a  two- 
thirds  vote  was  necessary  to  amend,  because  that  vote  was 
necessary  to  pass  the  resolution  to  ratify,  even  a  united  Repub- 
lican party  could  do  nothing  without  the  aid  of  Democratic 
Senators.  Would  they  accept  the  Republican  reservations? 
Neither  with  nor  without  reservations  could  the  treaty  be  rati- 
fied without  votes  from  both  parties. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  the  President  reached  New 
York  on  July  8,  and  two  days  later  laid  the  treaty  before  the 
Senate  and  made  an  address.  He  would  not,  he  said,  attempt 
to  explain  the  questions  which  arose  during  the  conference, 
but  report  to  Congress  the  part  played  by  himself  and  his  col- 
leagues as  representatives  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States.  That  part  was  determined  by  the  role  we  had  played, 
and  by  the  expectations  aroused  in  the  minds  of  the  peoples 
with  whom  we  had  been  associated  in  the  great  war.  We  en- 
tered it,  not  because  our  material  interests  were  threatened,  not 


S84     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

because  of  any  special  treaty  obligations,  but  because  we  saw 
the  supremacy  of  right  everywhere  put  in  jeopardy,  and  free 
governments  theatened  by  the  aggression  of  a  Power  which 
respected  neither  right  nor  obligation.  We  entered  the  war  as 
the  champion  of  right,  and  were  concerned  in  the  peace  terms 
in  no  other  capacity. 

When  our  soldiers,  he  said,  began  to  pour  across  the  sea,  the 
hopes  of  the  Allied  nations  were  at  a  low  ebb.  Save  in  their 
stoutest  spirits  there  was  everywhere  a  sombre  foreboding  of 
disaster.  Senators  had  Only  to  recall  what  the  Allies  feared  in 
mid-summer  of  1918,  and  what  "our  timely  aid  accomplished 
alike  for  their  morale  and  their  physical  safety.  That  first, 
never-to-be-forgotten  action  at  Chateau-Thierry  had  already 
taken  place.  Our  redoubtable  soldiers  and  marines  had  already 
closed  the  gap  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in  opening  for  their 
advance  upon  Paris,  had  already  turned  the  tide  of  battle  back 
towards  the  frontiers  of  France,  and  begun  the  rout  that  was  to 
save  Europe  and  the  World. 

"Thereafter  the  Germans  were  to  be  always  forced  back, 
back,  and  never  to  thrust  successfully  forward  again.  And  yet 
there  was  no  confident  hope."  The  men  and  women  who  came 
to  the  celebration  of  July  4th,  1918,  in  Paris,  came  with  no 
heart  for  festivity.  They  came  out  of  courtesy,  but  they  went 
away  with  something  new  in  their  hearts.  The  sight  of  our 
men,  of  their  stalwart  vigor,  their  confidence,  their  swinging 
march,  made  all  who  saw  them  realize  that  something  that  was 
no  mere  incident  had  happened.  "A  great  moral  force  had 
flung  itself  into  the  struggle."  These  soldiers  were  crusaders, 
and  as  their  numbers  "swelled  into  millions  their  strength  was 
seen  to  mean  salvation."  They  were  for  all  "the  visible  em- 
bodiment of  America.  What  they  did  made  America,  and  all 
that  she  stood  for,  a  living  reality  in  the  thoughts,  not  only 
of  the  people  of  France,  but  also  of  tens  of  millions  of  men  and 
women  throughout  all  the  toiling  nations  of  a  world  standing 
in  peril  of  its  freedom." 

"And  the  compulsion  of  what  they  stood  for  was  upon  us 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  385 

who  represented  America  at  the  peace  table."  It  was  the  duty 
of  those  who  represented  America  to  realize  the  hopes  of  the 
nations  brought  by  our  assistance  to  their  freedom.  Old  en- 
tanglements, promises  made  by  one  government  to  another  in 
the  old  days  when  might  and  right  were  confused,  atood  in  the 
way.  It  was  not  easy  to  graft  the  new  order  of  ideas  on  the 
old.  "The  atmosphere  in  which  the  conference  worked  seemed 
created  not  by  the  ambitions  of  strong  governments,  but  by  the 
hopes  and  aspirations  of  small  nations,  and  of  people  hitherto 
held  under  bondage  to  the  power  that  victory  had  shattered  and 
destroyed."  "There  could  be  no  peace  until  the  whole  order 
of  Central  Europe  had  been  set  right."  This  meant  that  new 
nations,  Poland,  Czecho-Slovakia,  Hungary,  must  be  created; 
that  a  new  Roumania  as  well  as  a  new  Slavic  state  clustering 
about  Serbia  must  be  made  at  the  peace  table.  The  German 
Colonies  were  to  be  disposed  of;  they  had  been  exploited,  but 
never  governed.  The  Turkish  Empire  had  a  part,  and  its  peo- 
ples cried  out  for  release  from  unspeakable  distress,  "for  all 
that  the  new  day  of  hope  seemed  at  last  to  bring  within  its 
dawn."  These  were  not  tasks  the  conference  looked  about  to 
find,  and  went  out  of  its  way  to  perform.  They  were  thrust 
upon  it  by  the  war,  and  were  not  to  be  accomplished  by  pre- 
scribing in  a  treaty  what  should  be  done.  A  league  of  free 
nations  became  a  practical  necessity.  Statesmen  of  all  belliger- 
ent countries  agreed  that  such  a  league  must  be  formed  to 
sustain  the  settlements  they  were  to  effect.  As  the  task  of 
adjusting  the  world's  affairs  progressed  from  day  to  day,  it 
became  evident  that  what  they  sought  would  be  little  better 
than  something  written  on  paper,  if  they  did  not  create  a  means 
of  common  counsel  which  all  must  accept,  a  common  authority 
which  all  must  respect. 

The  fact  that  the  Covenant  of  the  League  was  the  first  part 
of  the  treaty  worked  out,  made  all  the  rest  easier.  The  Con- 
ference was  not  to  be  ephemeral.  The  concert  of  nations  was 
to  go  on  under  a  covenant  which  all  had  agreed  on ;  the  League 
of  Nations  was  the  practical  statesman's  hope  of  success.  The 


386     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

League  "was  not  merely  an  instrument  to  adjust  and  remedy 
old  wrongs  under  a  new  treaty  of  peace,  it  was  the  only  hope  of 
mankind.  Again  and  again  had  the  demon  of  war  been  cast 
out  of  the  house  of  the  peoples,  and  the  house  swept  clear  by 
a  treaty  of  peace,  only  to  prepare  a  time  when  he  would  enter 
it  again  with  spirits  worse  than  himself.  The  house  must  now 
be  given  a  tenant  who  could  hold  it  against  all  such." 

Convenient  as  the  statesmen  found  the  League  to  be  for  carry- 
ing out  their  plans  of  peace  and  reparation,  they  saw  in  it, 
before  their  work  was  done,  the  hope  of  the  world,  and  did  not 
dare  to  disappoint  that  hope.  "Shall  we  or  any  other  free 
people  hesitate  to  accept  this  great  duty?  Dare  we  reject  it, 
and  break  the  heart  of  the  world  ?" 

Our  entrance  into  the  war  established  our  position  among 
the  nations.  "Nothing  but  our  own  mistaken  action  can  alter 
it."  It  is  not  by  accident,  or  by  a  "sudden  choice  that  we  are 
no  longer  isolated  and  devoted  to  a  policy  which  has  only  our 
own  interests  and  advantage  for  its  object.  It  is  our  duty  to 
go  in,  if  we  are  indeed  the  champions  of  liberty  and  right." 
"The  stage,"  the  President  concluded,  "is  set,  the  destiny  dis- 
closed. It  has  come  about  by  no  plan  of  our  conceiving,  but 
by  the  hand  of  God,  who  led  us  into  this  war.  We  cannot  turn 
back.  We  can  only  go  forward,  with  lifted  eyes  and  freshened 
spirits  to  follow  the  vision.  It  was  of  this  that  we  dreamed 
at  our  birth.  America  shall  in  truth  show  the  way.  The  light 
streams  upon  the  path  ahead,  and  nowhere  else." 

No  sooner  had  the  President  left  the  Senate  chamber,  than 
the  treaty  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  was  on  its  way  to  the  public  printer.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  days  the  Committee  reported,  and  the  Sen- 
ate adopted  three  resolutions.  One  called  for  a  copy  of  a  treaty, 
said  to  have  been  made  by  Germany  and  Japan  in  October, 
1918,  which  bound  the  two  Powers  to  enter  into  a  separate 
peace,  pledged  Japan  to  help  Germany  to  secure  commercial 
advantages  in  Eussia,  and  share  with  Germany  the  interests 
of  Japan  in  the  Shantung  peninsula.  Another  asked  the  Presi- 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  387 

dent  to  send  a  copy  of  any  protest  filed  by  members  or  officials 
of  the  American  peace  commission  against  the  Shantung  award. 
The  third  called  for  copies  of  all  drafts  of  proposed  league 
covenants,  reports  of  arguments  relative  to  the  League,  and  of 
all  papers  which  in  any  way  had  to  do  with  the  treaty  of  peace. 

Attack  upon  the  treaty  was  now  shunted  from  the  Covenant 
to  Shantung,  and  the  opponents  fell  upon  the  provisions  giving 
the  control  of  that  peninsula  to  Japan. 

Because  of  the  killing  of  two  German  missionaries  in  China, 
the  German  Government  in  1897  seized  the  port  of  Tsingtao 
in  the  bay  of  Kiaochau,  forced  the  Manchu  Government  in  1898 
to  lease  the  port  to  Germany  for  ninety-nine  years,  obtained 
railway  and  mining  rights  in  the  Province  of  Shantung,  and 
the  right  of  passage  for  troops  in  a  zone  around  the  bay  of 
Kiaochau.  Germany  might  build  two  railroads,  one  of  which, 
some  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  was  to  extend  from 
Tsingtao  to  Tsinanfu,  and  she  might  work  mines  within  ten 
miles  of  the  railroads. 

When  Japan,  in  1914,  entered  the  war  and  attacked  Kiao- 
chau, China  marked  out  a  war  zone;  but  after  the  Germans 
surrendered  the  zone  was  abolished.  Japan  thereupon  made 
twenty-one  demands  on  China,  some  of  which  related  to  Kiao- 
chau, and  finally  arranged  the  treaty  of  May,  1915,  by  which 
China  agreed  to  recognize  any  settlement  Japan  might  make 
with  Germany,  when  peace  was  concluded,  concerning  the  rights 
and  concessions  Germany  possessed  in  Shantung. 

February  3,  1917,  our  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany 
were  severed,  and  the  President  invited  all  neutral  nations  to 
follow  our  example.  China  was  the  first  to  do  so.  But,  be- 
tween the  day  when  she  broke  with  Germany  and  the  day  when 
she  declared  war,  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy  and  Kussia  by 
a  secret  agreement  with  Japan  promised,  when  peace  was  made, 
to  support  her  claims  to  the  privileges  which  Germany  held  in 
Shantung,  provided  Japan  used  her  influence  to  persuade  China 
to  enter  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies.  When,  at  last,  China 
declared  war,  she  at  the  same  time  announced  that  all  treaties 


388     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

with  her  enemies  were  thereby  abrogated,  and  so  put  an  end 
to  that  which  granted  Germany  privileges  in  Shantung.  Never- 
theless, when  Italy  withdrew  from  the  Peace  Conference  bo- 
cause  of  the  Fiume  incident,  when  it  seemed  likely  China  might 
withdraw  because  of  the  Shantung  claims  of  Japan,  and  the 
League  of  Nations  fail,  President  Wilson  felt  compelled  to 
side  with  Great  Britain,  France  and  Italy,  who  stood  by  the 
secret  agreement,  and  the  privileges  which  Germany  once  held 
in  the  Shantung  peninsula  were  transferred  to  Japan. 

It  was  to  this  transfer,  this  treatment  of  an  ally,  that  Sena- 
tors were  opposed.  A  great  wrong,  it  was  said,  had  been  done 
China,  She  had  been  wheedled  out  of  her  territory  at  the  peace 
table.  Shantung  was  the  price  paid  for  Japan's  acceptance 
of  the  League  of  Nations.  The  price  paid  for  Great  Britain's 
support  of  the  claims  of  Japan,  it  was  alleged,  was  the  promise 
of  Japan  early  in  1917  to  support  the  claims  of  Great  Britain 
to  Pacific  islands  south  of  the  equator.  The  price  paid  for  the 
support  of  France  was  the  pledge  of  Japan,  early  in  1917,  to 
help  draw  China  into  the  war  that  German  ships  in  her  ports 
might  be  interned  and  then  requisitioned  and  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Allies,  as  had  been  done  by  Italy  and  Portugal. 
China  came  into  the  war,  the  ships  were  seized,  and  at  the 
peace  table  the  secret  agreements  were  made  good.  "In  all 
the  annals  of  history,"  said  a  Senator,  "I  do  not  believe  there 
is  recorded  a  more  disgraceful  and  dishonorable  agreement  to 
carve  up  the  territory,  not  of  an  enemy,  but  of  an  allied  friend. 
And  if  we  approve  this  wicked  decree,  is  it  any  defence  to  say 
that  we  were  the  only  member  of  the  court  that  was  not 
bribed?" 

Japan,  said  another  Senator,  is  building  up  a  vast  power  in 
China,  and  we  are  helping  her  to  do  it.  England  had  stood 
by  and  looked  on  while  Germany  took  Schleswig-Holstein  from 
Denmark,  destroyed  Austria  and  made  it  a  vassal  state,  and 
wrecked  France  in  1870.  England  gave  Heligoland  to  Ger- 
many, and  had  been  paying  the  bills  for  these  awful  mistakes 
during  the  last  four  years.  "There  is  another  great  Power 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  389 

being  built  up  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean,  and  we  who  are 
not  a  party  to  any  secret  treaty,  an  independent  nation  with  no 
personal  ends  to  serve,  are  asked  to  put  our  approval  at  the 
bottom  of  that  treaty  which  provides  for  the  robbing  of  China, 
handing  over  this  great  province  to  the  control  of  Japan."  He, 
for  one,  did  not  want  to  see  his  country's  name  at  the  bottom 
of  any  document  of  that  sort. 

That  the  President  would,  or  could,  send  the  papers,  and 
documents,  and  stenographic  reports  demanded  by  the  Senate 
was  generally  doubted,  nor  was  the  doubt  lessened  when  he 
began  inviting  Republican  Senators  to  come  to  the  executive 
office  at  various  times  to  discuss  with  him  the  provisions  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  and  the  League  of  Nations.  By  some  the  action 
of  the  President  was  viewed  as  an  attempt  to  win  over  members 
of  the  opposition  who  seemed  inclined  to  favor  the  treaty  and 
the  League.  Others  looked  on  it  as  a  sensible  proceeding,  for 
not  only  could  he  impart  information  not  to  be  found  in  any 
document,  but  he  could  hear  from  the  Senators  the  reasons  for 
their  firm  determination  that  reservations  must  be  made,  and 
just  what  those  reservations  must  be. 

Ignoring  the  radical  Republican  leaders  of  the  opposition, 
the  President  began  by  inviting  Senators  whose  opposition  was 
milder,  men  in  what  he  was  said  to  have  called  "the  twilight 
zone  of  the  opposition."  On  such  information  as  could  be 
gathered  concerning  these  interviews  the  President  was  reported 
to  have  no  objections  to  "interpretations"  if  they  did  not  change 
the  terms  of  the  treaty,  no  objection  to  the  Senate  stating  in 
the  resolution  of  ratification  just  what  the  United  States  under- 
stood to  be  the  meaning  of  certain  provisions  in  the  treaty,  but 
was  opposed  to  any  amendment  that  would  send  it  back  to  the 
Peace  Conference.  It  was  reported  that  he  had  decided  to 
make  an  explanation  of  the  Shantung  settlement ;  that  he  would 
not  consent  to  the  cutting  out  of  Article  X,  because  it  did  not 
take  from  Congress  the  right  to  decide  whether  the  country 
should,  or  should  not,  be  plunged  into  war ;  that  he  had  assured 
his  associates  at  the  Peace  Conference  that  he  could  not  bind 


390     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  country  to  make  war.  On  another  day  the  President  told 
the  "twilight  zoners"  who  came  on  invitation  that  the  Shantung 
question  was  referred  to  him  hy  the  Conference,  and  that  he 
recommended  that  the  secret  agreement  made  with  Japan  be 
carried  out.  The  President,  however,  in  an  official  statement 
issued  at  the  White  House,  denied  that  he  had  originated  the 
settlement  "The  President,"  so  ran  the  statement,  "author- 
izes the  announcement  that  the  statement  carried  in  several  of 
the  papers  this  morning  (July  23),  that  he  originated  or  formu- 
lated the  provisions  with  regard  to  Shantung  in  the  treaty  of 
peace  with  Germany,  is  altogether  false.  He  exerted  all  the 
influence  he  was  at  liberty  to  exercise  in  the  circumstances  to 
obtain  a  modification  of  them,  and  believed  that  the  ultimate 
action  of  Japan,  with  regard  to  Shantung,  will  put  the  whole 
matter  in  its  true  light." 

And  now  Mr.  Taft,  in  a  letter  to  the  chairman  of  the  Repub- 
lican National  Committee,  proposed  six  reservations  "with  the 
hope  that  they  will  suggest  a  basis  of  agreement  between  the 
Democrats  and  sufficient  Republicans  to  ratify  the  treaty  and 
secure  us  the  inestimable  benefit  of  a  League  of  Nations."  The 
proposed  interpretations  were: 

That  after  two  years'  notice  the  United  States  could  with- 
draw from  the  League  without  having  it  pass  on  the  question 
whether  she  had,  or  had  not,  fulfilled  .all  .her  obligations  under 
the  Covenant. 

That  self-governing  colonies  and  dominions  be  not  repre- 
sented on  the  Council  at  the  same  time  with  the  mother  govern- 
ment. 

That  the  action  of  the  Council  under  Article  X  be  advisory 
only,  that  each  member  be  free  to  decide  questions  of  war  in 
its  own  way,  and  that  the  decision  of  the  United  States  rest 
with  Congress. 

That  differences  between  nations  regarding  immigration,  the 
tariff  and  other  domestic  issues  be  not  left  with  the  League 
for  settlement. 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  391 

That  the  Monroe  Doctrine  is  reserved  for  administration  by 
the  United  States. 

That  the  United  States  reserves  the  right  to  withdraw,  uncon- 
ditionally, after  two  years,  or  at  least  end  its  obligations  under 
Article  X. 

The  letter  Mr.  Taft  now  declared  in  a  message  to  the  Asso- 
ciated Press  was  "personal  and  confidential,"  and  was  published 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  chairman  of  the  National  Com- 
mittee, or  himself. 

Senator  Hale,  of  Maine,  having  written  to  Mr.  Hughes  for 
a  statement  of  such  reservations  as,  in  his  opinion,  would  safe- 
guard the  interests  of  the  country,  Mr.  Hughes  suggested  four. 
When  a  Power  gave  notice  of  its  intention  to  quit  the  League 
it  should  cease  to  be  a  member  at  the  time  specified  in  the 
notice,  but  should  not  be  released  from  any  debts  or  liabilities 
theretofore  contracted. 

Questions  solely  within  domestic  jurisdiction  should  not  be 
subject  to  consideration  or  action  by  the  League. 

Our  attitude  towards  purely  American  questions  should  not 
be  abandoned,  should  not  be  subject  to  jurisdiction  by  the 
League.  We  should  be  free  to  oppose  acquisition  of  territory 
in  the  western  hemisphere  by  any  non- American  Power. 

The  United  States  should  assume  no  obligations,  under 
Article  X,  to  use  its  forces  on  land  or  sea,  or  fit  out  military 
expeditions,  unless  such  action  was  authorized  by  Congress. 

Opposition  Senators  now  found  fault  with  the  President 
because  he  had  not  submitted  to  the  Senate  the  Anglo-American- 
French  treaty.  That  such  a  compact  for  the  defense  of  France 
from  German  aggression  was  in  existence  had  long  been  known. 
The  text  of  the  treaty  had  been  published  in  the  Paris  Figaro 
of  July  3rd,  in  the  London  Times  of  July  4,  and  in  Harvey's 
Weekly,  a  New  York  periodical.  The  President  in  his  address 
to  the  Senate  when  presenting  the  treaty  of  Versailles  said: 
"I  shall  presently  have  occasion  to  lay  before  you  a  special 
treaty  with  France  whose  object  is  the  temporary  protection 
of  France  from  unprovoked  aggression  by  the  power  with  whom 


392     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

this  treaty  of  peace  has  been  negotiated.  Its  terms  link  it  with 
this  treaty.  I  take  the  liberty,  however,  of  reserving  it  because 
of  its  importance  for  special  explication  on  another  occasion." 
A-n  article  in  the  French  treaty  provided  that  it  should  be 
"submitted  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  at  the  same  time 
as  the  treaty  of  Versailles."  This  the  President  did  not  do. 
Therefore,  in  the  opinion  of  the  opposition  Senators,  he  had 
violated  the  article  in  question,  and  what  was  almost  as  bad, 
he  had  not  submitted  it  at  all,  though  two  weeks  had  passed 
since  he  laid  before  the  Senate  the  treaty  of  Versailles.  Be- 
cause of  these  things  Senator  Lodge  moved  that  the  President 
be  requested  to  transmit  the  proposed  treaty  with  France  to 
the  end  that  the  Senate  might  consider  it  "in  connection  with 
the  treaty  of  peace  with  Germany." 

The  motion  was  laid  over,  but  a  few  days  later  the  President 
sent  the  document  and  said  the  object  of  the  treaty  "is  to  pro- 
vide for  immediate  military  assistance  to  France  by  the  United 
States,  in  case  of  any  unprovoked  movement  of  aggression 
against  her  by  Germany,  without  waiting  for  the  advice  of  the 
Council  of  the  League  of  Nations  that  such  action  will  be 
taken."  He  was  moved  to  sign  it  by  considerations  which  he 
hoped  would  seem  as  persuasive,  as  irresistible  to  the  Senate 
as  they  did  to  him.  We  are  bound  to  France  by  sacred  ties 
of  friendship.  She  had  helped  us  win  our  freedom.  It  might 
well  be  doubted  if  we  could  have  won  it  without  her  timely  aid. 
Recently  we  had  assisted  in  driving  her  enemies,  who  were  also 
enemies  of  the  world,  from  her  soil.  But  this  did  not  pay  our 
debt  to  her,  a  debt  nothing  could  pay.  Now  she  wished  us 
to  promise  to  help  defend  her  against  the  Power  she  had  most 
reason  to  fear.  Another  great  nation  had  volunteered  the  same 
promise,  and  it  was  "one  of  the  fine  reversals  of  history  that 
the  other  nation  should  be  the  very  Power  with  whom  France 
fought  to  set  us  free." 

The  treaty  consisted  of  a  long  preamble  and  four  articles. 
The  first  called  attention  to  Articles  42,  43  and  44  of  the  treaty 
of  Versailles,  articles  which  had  to  do  with  fortifications  on 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  393 

tlie  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and  provided  that  "in  case  these 
stipulations  did  not  assure  immediately  to  France  appropriate 
security  and  protection,"  the  United  States  "shall  be  bound 
to  come  immediately  to  her  aid  in  case  of  any  unprovoked  act 
of  aggression  directed  against  her  by  Germany."  The  second 
set  forth  that  the  treaty  would  not  be  in  force  until  a  similar 
one  between  France  and  Great  Britain  was  ratified.  The  third 
required  that  the  treaty  be  laid  before,  and  recognized  by,  the 
Council  of  the  Society  of  Nations  and  should  remain  in  force 
until,  on  demand  of  one  of  the  parties  to  it,  the  Council,  by  a 
majority  if  occasion  arise,  decided  that  the  League  of  Nations 
assures  ample  protection. 

After  a  delay  of  nearly  a  month  the  President  answered  the 
calls  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  for  papers  and 
documents.  He  had  been  asked  for  all  drafts  of  plans  for  a 
League  of  Nations  laid  before  the  Conference,  and  especially 
for  that  prepared  by  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States. 
The  President  now  replied  that  he  had  no  such  drafts  save  that 
of  the  United  States,  and  this  he  sent.  He  had  been  asked  for 
all  proceedings,  arguments,  debates,  transcripts  of  the  steno- 
graphic reports  of  the  Peace  Commission,  relating  to  the 
League  of  Nations,  and  all  data  bearing  on  the  treaty  of  peace. 
No  stenographic  reports  of  debates,  the  President  replied, 
were  taken.  Such  memoranda  as  were  made,  it  was  agreed, 
should  be  confidential. 

The  President  now  answered  the  calls  of  the  Senate  for  pa- 
pers and  documents.  To  the  first  resolution  asking  for  a  copy  of 
a  treaty  said  to  have  been  concluded  between  Germany  and 
Japan,  for  any  information  regarding  it,  in  the  possession  of 
the  Department  of  State,  and  for  information  concerning  any 
negotiations  between  Germany  and  Japan  during  the  war,  the 
President  answered  that  he  knew  of  no  such  negotiations. 

By  the  second  resolution  request  was  made  for  a  copy  of  any 
letter,  or  written  protest,  by  the  members  of  the  American 
Peace  Commission,  or  any  officials  attached  thereto  against  the 
Shantung  settlement,  and  especially  a  copy  of  a  letter  written 


394     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

by  General  Tasker  H.  Bliss  on  behalf  of  himself,  the  Secretary 
of  State,  and  Henry  White,  members  of  the  peace  commission, 
protesting  against  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  with  reference 
to  Shantung.  General  Bliss,  was  the  reply,  did  write  a  letter 
in  which  he  took  strong  grounds  against  the  proposed  Shantung 
settlement,  and  his  objections  were  concurred  in  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  and  Mr.  White.  But  the  letter  was  not  a  protest, 
because  it  was  written  before  the  decision  was  reached,  and 
because  it  was  in  response  to  a  request  for  their  opinions.  It 
could  not  be  sent  to  the  Senate  because  references  were  made 
to  other  Governments,  quite  proper  in  a  confidential  letter,  but 
not  to  be  repeated  "outside  our  personal  and  intimate  exchange 
of  views."  No  protest  from  any  official  had  been  received. 
To  the  request  for  any  memorandum  or  information  regarding 
an  attempt  of  Japan  or  her  Peace  Delegates  to  intimidate  the 
representatives  of  China,  the  President  was  happy  to  say  that 
he  had  no  such  memorandum  or  information. 

The  positions  of  the  President  and  the  Senators  may  now 
be  briefly  stated.  President  Wilson  was  against  any  reserva- 
tions likely  to  cause  changes  in  the  text.  The  majority  of  the 
Committee  was  for  a  direct  amendment  on  the  Shantung  award, 
and  for  putting  in  the  resolution  of  ratification  such  changes 
as  they  proposed  to  make  in  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of 
^Nations.  Senator  Lodge  and  the  extremists  wished  the  reserva- 
tions made  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  four  principal  allied 
Powers.  The  mild  reservationists  denied  that  the  changes  they 
had  in  mind  would  send  the  treaty  back  to  the  signatory  Powers. 
Senator  Hitchcock  demanded  that  the  treaty  be  reported  to  the 
Senate  by  the  Committee  and  promptly  ratified.  It  had,  he 
said,  been  presented  to  the  Senate  July  10.  Five  weeks  had 
passed  with  nothing  done,  with  no  vote  taken.  The  Senate 
was  waiting,  the  country  was  waiting,  and  impatience  was  in- 
creasing. Everybody  knew  that  enemies  of  the  treaty  and 
opponents  of  the  League  of  Nations  controlled  the  Committee. 
Everybody  knew  they  did  not  control  the  Senate.  It  was  of 
little  importance  what  the  Committee  did,  if  it  only  did  some- 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  395 

thing.  Should  it  recommend  amendments,  the  Senate  would 
reject  them.  Should  it  mutilate  the  treaty,  the  Senate  would 
repair  the  damage. 

In  hope  of  reaching  some  sort  of  understanding  the  Presi- 
dent invited  the  Committee  to  a  conference  at  the  White  House, 
on  the  morning  of  August  19.  He  began  by  urging  a  speedy 
ratification  because  problems  in  the  readjustment  of  our  na- 
tional life  were  pressing  for  solution,  and  could  not  be  solved 
until  the  country  knew  what  sort  of  a  peace  it  was  to  have. 
The  copper  mines  of  Montana  and  Alaska  were  kept  in  opera- 
tion only  at  a  great  loss.  The  zinc  mines  of  Missouri,  Ten- 
nessee and  Wisconsin  were  working  to  about  one-half  their 
capacity.  The  lead  of  Idaho,  Illinois  and  Missouri  reached  but 
a  part  of  their  old  market.  There  was  an  immediate  need  for 
cotton  belting  and  lubricating  oil,  which  could  not  be  met,  all 
because  the  channels  of  trade  were  barred  by  war  when  there 
was  no  war.  Hardly  a  single  raw  material,  hardly  a  single 
class  of  manufactured  goods,  but  was  affected  in  the  same  way. 
Our  military  plans,  our  national  budget  waited  on  peace. 
Nations  which  ratified  .the  treaty,  such  as  Great  Britain,  Bel- 
gium, France,  would  control  the  markets  of  Central  Europe 
if  we  did  not  act  quickly.  We  had  no  consuls,  no  trade  repre- 
sentatives to  look  after  our  interests. 

Nothing,  the  President  believed,  stood  in  the  way  of  ratifica- 
tion save  certain  doubts  as  to  the  meaning  of  certain  articles 
in  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations.  He  respectfully 
submitted  that  there  was  nothing  doubtful  in  their  wording. 
The  Monroe  Doctrine  was  expressly  mentioned  as  in  no  way 
impaired.  The  words  "regional  understandings  like  the  Mon- 
roe Doctrine"  were  used  because  it  seemed  abest  to  avoid  the 
appearance  of  dealing  with  the  policy  of  a  single  nation.  Abso- 
lutely nothing  is  concealed  in  the  phrase."  Domestic  questions 
were  not  enumerated  because  to  do  so,  "even  by  sample,  would 
have  involved  the  danger  of  seeming  to  exclude  those  not  men- 
tioned." The  right  to  withdraw  h^d  been  taken  for  granted. 
Article  X  was  in  no  respect  doubtful,  if  read  in  the  light  of 


396    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  Covenant  as  a  whole.  Nothing  could  have  been  made  clearer 
to  the  Conference  than  the  right  of  Congress  to  decide  on  mat- 
ters of  war  or  peace.  Under  Article  X  the  United  States  did 
indeed  undertake  to  "respect  and  preserve  as  against  external 
aggression  the  territorial  integrity  and  existing  political  inde- 
pendence of  all  members  of  the  League."  "But  it  is  a  moral, 
not  a  legal,  obligation,  and  leaves  Congress  absolutely  free  to 
put  its  own  interpretation  upon  it  in  all  cases  that  call  for 
action." 

The  President  closed  his  remarks  with  a  statement  of  his 
attitude  towards  interpretations  and  reservations.  "It  has," 
he  said,  "several  times  been  suggested,  in  public  debate  and  in 
private  conference,  that  interpretations  of  the  sense  in  which 
the  United  States  accepts  the  engagements  of  the  Covenant 
should  be  embodied  in  the  instrument  of  ratification."  There 
could  be  no  reasonable  objection  to  such  interpretations  accom- 
panying the  act  of  ratification  provided  they  did  not  form  a 
part  of  the  formal  ratification  itself.  Most  of  the  interpreta- 
tions which  had  been  suggested  to  him  embodied  what  seemed 
the  plain  meaning  of  the  instrument  itself. 

But  if  such  interpretations  should  constitute  a  part  of  the 
formal  resolution  of  ratification,  long  delays  would  be  the 
inevitable  result,  because  all  the  many  Governments  concerned 
would  have  to  accept,  in  effect,  the  language  of  the  Senate  as 
the  language  of  the  treaty  before  ratification  would  be  com- 
plete. The  assent  of  the  German  Assembly  at  Weimar  would 
have  to  be  obtained,  and  he  must  frankly  say  that  he  could 
"only  with  the  greatest  reluctance  approach  that  Assembly  for 
permission  to  read  the  treaty  as  we  understand  it,  and  as  those 
who  framed  it  quite  certainly  understood.  If  the  United 
States  were  to  qualify  the  document  in  any  way,  moreover,  I 
am  confident  from  what  I  know  of  the  many  conferences  and 
debates  which  accompanied  the  formulation  of  the  treaty  that 
our  example  would  immediately  be  followed  in  many  quarters, 
in  some  instances  with  very  serious  reservations,  and  that  the 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  397 

meaning  and  operative  force  of  the  treaty  would  presently  be 
clouded  from  one  end  of  its  clauses  to  the  other." 

The  President  having  finished,  three  hours  were  spent  by 
the  Senators  asking  questions  and  the  President  answering 
them.  When  the  questioning  was  over  each  side  claimed  the 
victory.  The  Democrats  held  that  the  frankness  of  the  Presi- 
dent had  disarmed  his  opponents  and  left  them  nothing  to  do 
but  ratify.  The  Republicans  asserted  that  he  had  not  been 
frank,  had  concealed  all  that  happened  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Council  of  Five,  because  to  divulge  their  proceedings  would 
be  open  to  serious  objections,  and  that  they  were  confirmed  in 
their  opinions,  and  justified  in  their  opposition  to  the  treaty 
and  the  Covenant.  "In  our  opinion,"  said  Senators  Borah  and 
Johnson,  in  a  statement  issued  in  behalf  of  themselves  and 
others,  "the  significant  facts  developed  by  the  interview  with 
the  President  to-day  are  these :" 

"1.  There  yet  remain  treaties  of  peace  to  be  made  with  Aus- 
tria, Hungary,  Bulgaria  and  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Those 
treaties  deal  with  subjects  as  important,  territory  as  extensive, 
and  matters  as  intimately  affecting  the  United  States  as  the 
treaty  with  Germany.  The  obligations  of  the  United  States, 
therefore — what  our  country  assumes  in  the  future — cannot  be 
determined  until  these  treaties  are  completed  and  presented 
to  the  United  States  Senate. 

"2.  That  the  President  regards  the  obligations  which  will 
be  assumed  under  the  League  of  Nations,  and  particularly 
under  Article  X  and  XI,  as  moral  obligations.  These,  how- 
ever, are  of  'compelling'  force  and  would  require  action  upon 
our  part.  For  instance,  the  President  conceded  that  in  an 
undoubted  case  of  aggression  from  the  Balkans  upon  the  newly 
acquired  territory  of  Italy,  it  would  be  our  duty  to  come  to  the 
assistance  of  Italy  and  prevent  such  aggression.  The  Presi- 
dent's construction  of  Article  X  is  at  variance  with  the  con- 
struction of  the  Democratic  attorneys  of  the  Senate. 

"3.  A  moral  obligation,  the  President  insists,  rests  upon  us 
to  carry  out  the  terms  of  the  various  treaties  of  peace.  This 


398     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

moral  obligation,  the  President  states,  requires  us  under  the 
German  treaty  for  fifteen  years  to  maintain  American  troops 
in  France. 

"4.  The  President  did  not  know,  nor  had  he  heard  of  the 
secret  treaties  for  territorial  acquisition  and  partitioning 
various  territories  until  he  reached  Paris.  Specifically,  he  had 
not  heard  of  and  did  not  know,  until  he  went  to  Paris: 

"A.  Of  the  Treaty  of  London,  or  the  basis  on  which  Italy 
entered  the  war  in  1915. 

"B.  Of  the  agreement  with  Eumania  of  August,  1916. 

"C.  Of  the  various  agreements  in  respect  to  Asia  Minor. 

"D.  Of  the  agreements  consummated  in  the  winter  of  1917 
between  France  and  Russia,  relative  to  the  frontiers  of  Ger- 
many, and  particularly  in  relation  to  the  Saar  Valley  and  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rhine. 

"E.  Of  the  agreements  between  Japan,  England,  France  and 
Italy  by  which  Shantung  substantially  was  given  to  Japan. 

"The  United  States  was  neither  officially  nor  non-officially 
informed  of  any  of  these  treaties  or  agreements,  nor  was  any 
request  made  by  the  United  States  for  information  submitted  to 
any  of  the  allied  Governments. 

"5.  The  President  opposed  the  Shantung  decision.  It  was 
officially  conveyed  to  him  that  the  Japanese  would  not  sign 
unless  the  Shantung  rights  were  given  to  Japan.  The  United 
States  experts  advised  the  President  that  Japan's  verbal  prom- 
ise to  return  the  sovereignty  of  the  territory  in  Shantung,  while 
retaining  the  economic  concessions,  was  a  return  of  the  shell 
of  the  nut  by  Japan  while  she  retained  the  kernel.  The  Chinese 
insisted  the  retention  of  the  economic  privileges  meant  practi- 
cal sovereignty,  but  the  President  says  he  disagrees  with  this 
view. 

"6.  England,  France  and  Italy  adhered  at  the  Peace  Con- 
ference to  their  secret  treaties  disposing  of  peoples  and  terri- 
tories in  the  Shantung  case;  therefore,  the  President  was  the 
only  disinterested  judge.  The  decision,  however,  was  made 
unanimously. 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  399 

"7.  The  United  States  asked  China  to  enter  the  war. 

"8.  The  American  commission  at  Paris  urged  that  a  definite 
sum  of  reparations  be  fixed  in  the  treaty.  Why  this  view  did 
not  prevail,  the  President  felt  he  could  not  state  without 
divulging  matters  respecting  other  Governments  he  felt  he 
should  not  divulge. 

"9.  The  President  felt  that  he  could  not  divulge  the  details 
of  what  transpired  in  the  meeting  of  the  commissioners,  and 
could  not,  therefore,  afford  information  respecting  these  mat- 
ters. For  this  reason,  he  could  not  divulge  the  vote  upon  racial 
equality,  nor  how  the  United  States  commissioners  voted. 

"We  very  greatly  appreciated  the  opportunity  of  talking 
with  the  President  personally  upon  what  we  deem  the  most 
important  subject  which  has  come  to  the  people  since  the  civil 
war.  We  appreciate  this  opportunity  the  more  because  upon 
the  facts  developed,  as  stated  by  us,  the  position  we  have  main- 
tained in  respect  to  this  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations 
is  justified  and  confirmed. 

"It  is  obvious  that,  if  we  are  to  assume  only  a  moral  obliga- 
tion, that  moral  obligation  will  deal  at  the  instance  of  foreign 
nations  with  American  treasure  and  American  blood,  and  send 
American  troops,  whenever  necessity  arises,  throughout  the 
world. 

"It  is  equally  plain  that  the  decisions  of  the  Peace  Con- 
ference, made  in  accordance  with  secret  treaties  concealed  from 
us,  we  must  guarantee  indefinitely. 

"The  League  of  Nations  as  construed  by  the  President  leaves 
it  clear  and  unmistakable  that  when  we  enter  it  we  are  under 
compelling  moral  obligation,  to  say  nothing  of  the  legal  obliga- 
tion which  other  supporters  contend  we  are  under,  to  take  part 
in  the  disturbances,  the  conflicts,  settlements  and  the  wars  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  if  any  should  arise,  and  it  is  equally  true, 
under  his  construction,  Europe  would  necessarily  be  under  the 
same  impelling  force  to  take  part  in  the  settlement  of  Ameri- 
can affairs." 

Before  the  conference  broke  up  to  attend  a  luncheon  given 


400     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

by  the  President,  Senator  Fall  presented  twenty  written  ques- 
tions which  he  asked  the  President  to  answer  at  some  future 
time.  The  day  after  the  conference  Senator  Pittman,  a  Demo- 
crat, offered  four  interpretive  reservations  in  hope  of  meeting 
Kepuhlican  objections  to  the  Covenant.  When  a  government 
served  the  two  years'  notice  of  withdrawal  from  the  League, 
it  should  be  the  sole  judge  as  to  whether  or  not  its  obligations 
had  been  fulfilled.  That  suggestions  of  the  Council  under 
Article  X  as  to  the  use  of  military  force  or  economical  meas- 
ures could  only  be  carried  out  by  the  voluntary  separate  action 
of  each  member  of  the  League,  and  failure  of  any  member  to 
adopt  the  suggestions,  or  provide  military  or  naval  forces,  or 
economic  measures,  should  be  a  moral  or  legal  violation. 
Domestic  and  political  questions  relating  to  the  internal  affairs 
of  a  League  member,  immigration,  coastwise  traffic,  the  tariff 
and  commerce,  were  solely  within  the  jurisdiction  of  such  mem- 
ber and  not  subject  to  arbitration,  or  consideration  of  the 
Council  or  Assembly.  If  a  dispute  arose  over  a  matter  other 
than  those  specified  as  domestic  issues  and  exempt,  and  one 
party  claimed  it  to  be  a  domestic  and  political  question  relating 
to  internal  affairs,  then  the  Council  should  make  no  recom- 
mendation save  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Council  other 
than  the  representatives  of  the  disputants.  No  question  which 
involved  or  depended  on  the  Monroe  Doctrine  should  ever  be 
submitted  to  arbitration  or  inquiry  by  the  Council,  or  As- 
sembly. 

These  reservations  were  introduced  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  President,  and,  disowned  by  him,  were  dropped  by  the 
Democrats,  and  served  but  to  increase  the  determination  of  the 
Republicans,  strengthened  by  the  Conference  at  the  White 
House,  to  have  nothing  but  "strong  amendatory  reservations." 

The  first  fruit  of  this  determination  was  the  adoption  by 
the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  of  an  amendment  which 
deprived  Japan  of  the  German  rights  in  the  Shantung  penin- 
sula and  awarded  them  to  China.  Then  came  another  striking 
from  the  treaty  the  words  "and  associated"  wherever  they 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  401 

occur  in  the  treaty  in  the  phrase  "Allied  and  Associated 
Powers,"  which  was  used  some  thirty-five  times.  The  effect 
was  to  cut  out  the  "associated  Power,"  that  is  to  say  the  United 
States.  One  exception  was  made,  that  of  American  member- 
ship on  the  Keparations  Commissions.  All  other  commissions, 
that  on  the  Belgian  boundary,  on  the  frontiers  of  Poland,  and 
of  East  Prussia,  on  Danzig,  on  the  Saar  Basin,  on  the  Schles- 
wig-Holstein  boundary,  on  the  enforcement  of  military  and 
naval  and  air  provisions,  the  United  States  was  to  have  no 
representative,  for  these  commissions,  it  was  said,  were  to 
deal  with  matters  which  were  no  concern  of  ours. 

A  third  amendment,  adopted  a  few  days  later,  provided  that 
whenever  a  matter  referred  to  the  Assembly  involves  a  dis- 
pute between  two  members  of  the  League,  one  of  which  has 
self-governing  dominions,  colonies,  or  part  of  empire  also  rep- 
resented in  the  Assembly,  "neither  the  disputant  member," 
nor  any  of  its  dominions,  colonies  or  parts  of  empires  "shall 
have  a  vote  on  any  phase  of  the  question."  This  was  a  blow 
at  Great  Britain,  who,  with  her  self-governing  dominions, 
colonies,  and  India,  a  part  of  her  empire,  had  six  votes.  A 
fourth  amendment  gave  to  the  United  States  as  many  votes  in 
the  Council,  or  Assembly,  as  the  aggregate  vote  of  any  member 
of  the  League  and  its  self-governing  dominions,  colonies  and 
parts  of  empire,  also  members  of  the  League.  That  is  to  say, 
the  United  States  should  have  as  many  votes  as  Great  Britain. 
A  fifth  amendment  deprived  the  representative  of  the  United 
States  on  the  reparations  committee  of  a  right  to  vote  on  gen- 
eral questions,  and  limited  it  to  those  on  which  he  had  been 
specifically  instructed,  and  to  those  concerning  international 
shipping. 

September  fourth  the  Committee  at  last  voted  to  report  the 
treaty  with  four  reservations  and  thirty-eight  direct  amend- 
ments. The  resolution  of  ratification  set  forth  "that  the  Senate 
advise  and  consent  to  the  ratification  of  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
Germany,  signed  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  United  States 
and  Germany,  and  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  twenty-seven 


402     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Allied  and  Associated  Powers,  at  Versailles,  on  June  23,  1919, 
with  the  following  reservations  and  understandings  to  be  made 
a  part  and  a  condition  of  such  ratification,  which  ratification 
is  not  to  take  effect,  or  bind  the  United  States,  until  the  said 
following  reservations  and  understandings  have  been  accepted 
as  a  part  and  a  condition  of  said  instrument  of  ratification 
by  at  least  three  of  the  four  principal  Allied  and  Associated 
Powers,  to  wit:  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy  and  Japan: 

"1.  The  United  States  reserves  to  itself  the  unconditional 
right  to  withdraw  from  the  League  of  Nations  upon  the  notice 
provided  in  Article  1  of  said  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Germany. 

"2.  That  the  United  States  declines  to  assume,  under  the 
provisions  of  Article  X,  or  under  any  other  article,  any  obliga- 
tion to  preserve  the  territorial  integrity  or  political  independ- 
ence of  any  other  country  or  to  interfere  in  controversies  be- 
tween other  nations  members  of  the  League  or  not,  or  to  employ 
the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  in  such 
controversies,  or  to  adopt  economic  measures  for  the  protection 
of  any  other  country,  whether  a  member  of  the  League  or  not, 
against  external  aggression  or  for  the  purpose  of  coercing  any 
other  country,  or  for  the  purpose  of  intervention  in  the  internal 
conflicts  or  the  controversies  which  may  arise  in  any  other 
country,  and  no  mandate  shall  be  accepted  by  the  United  States 
under  Article  XXII,  Part  1,  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Ger- 
many, except  by  action  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

"3.  The  United  States  reserves  to  itself,  exclusively,  the 
right  to  decide  what  questions  are  within  its  domestic  juris- 
diction and  declares  that  all  domestic  and  political  questions 
relating  to  its  affairs,  including  immigration,  coastwise  traffic, 
the  tariff,  commerce,  and  all  other  domestic  questions,  are 
solely  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  and  are  not 
under  this  treaty  submitted  in  any  way  either  to  arbitration, 
or  to  the  consideration  of  the  council  or  of  the  assembly  of  the 
League  of  Nations,  or  to  the  decision  or  recommendation  of 
any  other  power. 

"4.  The  United   States  declines  to  submit  for  arbitration 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  403 

or  inquiry  by  the  assembly  or  the  council  of  the  League  of 
Nations,  provided  for  in  said  Treaty  of  Peace,  any  questions 
which  in  the  judgment  of  the  United  States  depend  upon  or 
relate  to  its  long  established  policy,  commonly  known  as  the 
Monroe  Doctrine ;  said  Doctrine  to  be  interpreted  by  the  United 
States  alone  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be  wholly  outside  the 
jurisdiction  of  said  League  of  Nations  and  entirely  unaffected 
by  any  provision  contained  in  the  said  Treaty  of  Peace  with 
Germany." 

These  were  the  reservations.  The  direct  amendments  were 
that  giving  the  United  States  six  votes  in  the  Council  and  in 
the  Assembly;  that  excluding  the  United  States  from  repre- 
sentation on  all  commissions  save  that  on  reparations,  which 
would  have  to  do  with  the  indemnities  Germany  must  pay  and 
with  commerce  with  Germany;  the  Shantung  amendment;  and 
that  to  prevent  nations  concerned  in  any  dispute  before  the 
League  from  taking  part  in  the  consideration  of  its  settlement, 
and  those  striking  out  the  words  "and  associated." 

September  4  the  committee  ordered  the  treaty  with  the 
reservations  and  amendments  to  be  reported  to  the  Senate,  The 
majority  report  began  with  a  reply  to  the  charge  of  slowness 
of  action;  asserted  that  the  "demand  for  haste"  was  "largely 
the  work  of  the  administration  and  its  newspaper  organs  and 
was  so  far  artificial;"  that  "artificial  also  was  the  demand  for 
haste  disseminated  by  certain  great  banking  firms  which  had 
a  direct  pecuniary  interest  in  securing  an  early  opportunity  to 
reap  the  harvest  which  they  expected  from  the  adjustment  of 
the  financial  obligations  of  the  countries  which  had  been  engaged 
in  the  war;"  and  that  "the  third  element  in  the  demand  for 
haste  was  furnished  by  the  unthinking  outcry  of  many  excellent 
people  who  desired  early  action,  and  who  for  the  most  part 
had  never  read  the  treaty,  or  never  got  beyond  the  words  'league 
of  nations/  which  they  believed  means  the  establishment  of 
eternal  peace."  The  responsibility  of  the  Senate  was  equal  to 
that  of  the  Executive  "who,  although  aided  by  a  force  of  thir- 
teen hundred  assistants,  expert  and  otherwise,  consumed  six 


404     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

months  in  making  it,  and  the  Senate  and  its  committee  on 
foreign  relations  cannot  dispose  of  this  momentous  document 
with  the  light-hearted  indifference  desired  by  those  who  were 
pressing  for  hasty  and  thoughtless  action  upon  it." 

Complaint  was  made  that  the  committee  was  hampered  hy 
the  impossibility  of  getting  information  to  which  it  was  en- 
titled; that  the  clamor  for  speedy  action  was  directed  against 
the  Senate  and  its  committee;  that  although  the  treaty  is  to 
go  into  effect  when  ratified  by  Germany  and  three  of  the  great 
Powers,  Great  Britain  alone  had  acted.  "Persons  afflicted 
with  inquiring  minds  have  wondered  not  a  little  that  the  dis- 
tressed mourners  over  delays  in  the  Senate  have  not  also 
aimed  their  criticism  at  the  like  short-comings  on  the  part  of 
France,  Italy  and  Japan." 

To  the  argument  that  prompt  ratification  was  necessary  in 
order  to  renew  trade  with  Germany,  the  answer  was  made 
that  the  emptiness  of  this  plea  for  haste  "is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  we  have  been  trading  with  Germany  ever  since  the  armi- 
stice," and  that  "between  that  event  and  the  end  of  July  we 
have  exported  to  Germany  goods  valued  at"  more  than  twelve 
million  dollars. 

Coming  to  the  amendments,  the  report  set  forth  that  the 
purpose  of  the  first  was  to  give  the  United  States  a  vote  in 
the  Assembly  equal  to  that  of  any  other  Power;  that  "amend- 
ments thirty-nine  to  forty-four  inclusive,  transfer  to  China  the 
German  lease  and  rights,  if  they  exist,  in  the  Chinese  province 
of  Shantung,  which  are  given  by  the  treaty  to  Japan."  The 
majority  of  the  committee  were  unwilling  to  have  their  votes 
recorded  in  favor  of  the  consummation  of  a  great  wrong.  The 
other  amendments  were  dismissed  in  a  few  words  and  the  four 
reservations  were  explained.  The  second,  concerning  Article 
X  "is  intended  to  meet  the  most  vital  objection  to  the  league 
covenant  as  it  stands."  "Under  no  circumstances  must  there  be 
any  moral  or  legal  obligation  on  the  United  States  to  enter 
into  war  or  send  its  army  or  navy  abroad,  or  without  the  un- 
fettered action  of  Congress.  "N"o  American  soldiers  or  sailors 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  405 

must  be  sent  to  fight  in  other  lands  at  the  bidding  of  a  league 
of  nations." 

The  fourth  reservation  is  intended  to  preserve  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  from  interpretation  by  foreign  powers.  "As  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  has  protected  the  United  States,  so"  the  com- 
mittee believed  "will  this  reservation  protect  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine from  the  destruction  by  which  it  is  threatened  by  Article 
XXL" 

The  committee  believed  that  the  covenant  of  the  League  of 
Nations  is  an  alliance,  not  a  league,  that  as  it  stands  it  will 
breed  wars  instead  of  securing  peace;  that  it  demands  sacri- 
fices of  American  independence  and  sovereignty  that  would  in 
no  way  promote  the  world's  peace,  and  "are  fraught  with  the 
gravest  dangers  to  the  future  safety  and  well  being  of  the 
United  States." 

The  committee  had  frequently  heard  it  said  "that  the  United 
States  'must'  do  this  and  do  that  in  regard  to  this  league  of 
nations  and  the  terms  of  the  German  peace.  There  is  no 
'must'  about  it.  'Must'  is  not  a  word  to  be  used  by  foreign 
nations  or  domestic  officials  to  the  American  people  or  their 
representatives."  !N"or  was  the  attempt  to  frighten  the  unthink- 
ing by  suggesting  that  if  the  Senate  adopted  amendments  or 
reservations  the  United  States  would  be  shut  out  of  the  League. 
That  would  never  happen.  The  nations  of  the  World  well 
knew  that  no  threat  of  retaliation  was  possible  with  us,  because 
we  asked  nothing  and  received  nothing,  no  guarantee,  no  terri- 
tory, no  commercial  benefits,  no  advantages.  Other  nations 
would  take  us  on  our  own  terms,  for  without  us  their  league 
would  "be  a  wreck  and  all  their  gains  from  a  victorious  peace 
imperiled." 

While  the  Committee  was  still  considering  the  amendments 
and  reservations,  the  President,  early  in  September,  left  Wash- 
ington on  a  tour  of  the  West,  to  explain  and  defend  the  treaty 
and  the  Covenant  before  the  people.  His  route  led  to  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  where  the  first  speech  was  made;  then  to  Indian- 
apolis, St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  Des  Moines,  Omaha  and  Sioux 


406     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Falls ;  to  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul  and  Bismarck,  to  Billings, 
Helena,  Coeur  d'Alene,  Spokane,  Tacoma  and  Seattle,  where 
the  President  reviewed  the  Pacific  fleet.  There  the  route 
turned  southward  to  Portland,  San  Francisco,  San  Diego,  and 
Los  Angeles,  where  it  turned  eastward  to  Reno,  Salt  Lake 
City,  Cheyenne,  Denver  and  Pueblo.  At  Wichita,  worn  out 
by  mental  and  physical  strain,  the  President  was  forced  to 
abandon  the  trip,  and  return  to  Washington.  He  was  "suffer- 
ing from  nervous  exhaustion,"  his  physician  announced,  and 
must  "have  rest  and  quiet  for  a  considerable  time." 

The  first  speech  was  given  up  to  explaining  the  intent  and 
meaning  of  the  treaty,  and  to  a  justification  of  many  of  its  im- 
portant articles.  The  terms,  he  admitted,  were  severe,  but  not 
unjust.  No  indemnity  of  any  sort  was  claimed,  merely  repara- 
tion, merely  pay  for  the  destruction  done,  merely  a  making 
good  by  Germany  of  the  losses  she  had  wantonly  inflicted,  not 
on  governments,  but  on  the  peoples  whose  rights  she  had  trodden 
upon  without  even  the  semblance  of  pity.  No  national  tri- 
umph was  recorded  in  the  treaty,  no  glory  was  sought  for  any 
particular  nation.  The  treaty  was  intended  to  end  the  war 
and  prevent  any  similar  war.  That  was  what  the  League  of 
Nations  was  for,  and  it  was  the  only  thing  that  could  do  it. 
Redemption  of  weak  nations,  Hungary,  the  Jugo-Slavs,  Bo- 
hemia, Poland,  the  Slavic  people  down  in  the  great  Balkan 
peninsula,  was  another  thing  accomplished  by  the  treaty  which 
destroyed  old  alliances,  old  balances  of  power,  and  recognized 
the  right  of  these  peoples  to  live  their  own  lives  under  such 
governments  as  they  themselves  saw  fit  to  establish.  The  heart 
of  the  treaty  is  not  that  it  punishes  Germany,  but  that  it  rights 
the  age-long  wrongs  which  characterized  the  history  of  Europe. 
The  treaty  is  an  attempt  to  right  the  history  of  Europe  and, 
in  his  opinion,  is  a  measurable  success.  He  said  measurable 
because  it  was  difficult  to  draw  international  lines.  There 
were  regions  where  you  could  not  draw  a  line  and  say  "there 
are  Slavs  on  this  side  and  Italians  on  that."  "When  we  came 
to  draw  the  line  between  the  Polish  people  and  the  German 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  407 

people,  not  the  line  between  Germany  and  Poland — there  wasn't 
any  Poland  strictly  speaking, — the  line  between  the  German 
people  and  the  Polish  people,  there  were  districts  like  that 
upper  part  of  Silesia,  or  rather  the  eastern  part  of  Silesia, 
which  is  called  'Upper  Silesia'  because  it  is  mountainous  and 
the  other  part  is  not.  High  Silesia  is  chiefly  Polish,  and  when 
we  came  to  draw  a  line  to  represent  Poland,  it  was  necessary 
to  include  High  Silesia,  if  we  were  really  going  to  play  fair, 
and  make  Poland  up  of  the  Polish  peoples  wherever  we  found 
them  in  sufficiently  close  neighborhood  to  one  another."  But 
it  was  not  certain  that  Upper  Silesia  wanted  to  be  part  of 
Poland.  Hence  a  referendum,  a  plebiscite  was  provided  that 
the  people  might  decide.  "I  even  had  to  remind  my  Italian 
colleagues  that  if  they  were  going  to  claim  every  place  where 
there  was  a  large  Italian  population  we  would  have  to  cede 
New  York  to  them  because  there  are  more  Italians  in  New 
York  than  in  any  Italian  city." 

The  treaty  moreover  contained  "a  magna  charta  of  labor,  a 
thing  unheard  of  until  this  interesting  year  of  grace.  There 
is  a  whole  section  of  the  treaty  devoted  to  arrangements  by 
which  the  interests  of  those  who  labor  with  their  hands  all  over 
the  world,  whether  they  be  men  or  women  or  children,  are  all 
of  them  to  be  safeguarded."  There  were  no  annexations. 

At  St.  Louis  the  President  pointed  out  that  the  treaty  "is  a 
charter  and  constitution  of  a  new  system  for  the  world,"  that 
its  essential  object  "is  to  establish  the  integrity  of  the  weak  peo- 
ples of  the  world,"  discussed  the  Shantung  agreement  and 
affirmed  his  belief  that  Japan  would  keep  her  promise.  Arti- 
cle X,  he  said,  "cuts  at  the  very  heart  and  is  the  only  instru- 
ment that  will  cut  to  the  very  heart  of  the  old  system."  "We  are 
partners  with  the  rest  of  the  world  in  respecting  the  territorial 
integrity  and  political  independence  of  the  others.  They  are 
all  under  solemn  bond  to  respect  those  things  and  if  they  do 
not,  the.  League-  then  advises  what  to  do.  Some  one  might  say, 
"Suppose  we  are  a  party  to  a  quarrel."  He  could  not  suppose 
such  a  thing  because  the  United  States  is  not  going  to  disregard 


408     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  territorial  integrity  or  political  independence  of  any  coun- 
try. But  suppose  for  the  sake  of  argument  we  were.  What 
the  opponents  of  the  article  would  then  he  afraid  of  is,  that 
we  would  get  into  trouble.  "If  we  are  a  party  we  are  in 
trouble  already.  If  we  are  not  a  party  we  control  the  advice 
of  the  council  by  our  own  vote."  Opponents  of  the  treaty 
held  that  we  should  either  reject  it,  or  make  such  changes  as 
would  render  it  necessary  to  reopen  negotiations  with  Germany. 
"We  cannot  do  the  latter  alone,  and  other  nations  will  not  join 
us  in  doing  it.  The  only  alternative  is  to  reject  the  peace 
treaty  and  to  do  what  some  of  our  fellow  countrymen  have 
been  advising  us  to  do;  stand  alone  in  the  world."  The  or- 
ganization contemplated  by  the  League  of  Nations  without 
the  United  States  would  be  an  Alliance  and  not  a  League  of 
Nations,  an  alliance  of  the  chief  European  powers  and  Japan. 
The  United  States  would  then  be  the  disassociated  party,  stand- 
ing aloof,  and  to  be  watched  by  the  Alliance.  In  that  event, 
we  must  be  physically  ready  for  anything  to  come,  must  have 
a  large  standing  army,  must  have  every  man  trained  to  arms, 
must  have  munitions  and  guns  enough,  in  short,  must  become 
a  mobilized  nation,  and  have  that  kind  of  organization  which 
is  necessary  to  handle  such  an  army,  a  militaristic  organiza- 
tion. You  cannot,  he  said,  handle  an  armed  nation  by  vote. 
Speaking  at  Kansas  City,  the  President  said  that  to  reject 
the  treaty,  to  alter  the  treaty  is  to  impair  one  of  the  first 
charters  of  mankind.  Yet  there  were  men  who  approached 
the  question  with  passion,  with  private  passion,  with  party 
passion,  who  thought  only  of  immediate  advantage  to  them- 
selves, or  to  a  group  of  their  fellow  countrymen,  who  looked 
at  the  thing  with  the  jaundiced  eyes  of  those  who  have  some 
purpose  of  their  own.  He  did  not  mean  those  who  had  con- 
scientious objections.  He  took  off  his  hat  to  such.  He  had 
no  intolerant  spirit  in  the  matter,  but  from  the  bottom  of  his 
feet  to  the  top  of  his  head  he  had  "a  fighting  spirit  about  it." 
Those  who  dared  to  defeat  this  great  experiment  must  bring 
together  the  councillors  of  the  world  and  do  something  better. 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  409 

If  there  were  a  better  scheme  he  would  subscribe  to  it ;  but  he 
wished  to  say,  as  he  had  said  before,  that  "it  is  a  case  of  put 
up  or  shut  up.  Negation  will  not  save  the  world.  Opposition 
constructs  nothing.  Opposition  is  the  specialty  of  those  who 
are  bolshevistically  inclined."  He  was  not  likening  any  of 
his  respected  colleagues  to  Bolshevists,  but  merely  pointing  out 
that  the  bolshevistic  spirit  lacked  every  element  of  construc- 
tive opposition.  He  had  not  come  to  fight  or  antagonize  any 
individual  or  body  of  individuals.  He  had  the  greatest  re- 
spect for  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  but  he  had  come 
out  to  fight  for  a  cause,  and  that  cause  was  greater  than  the 
Senate,  greater  than  the  Government,  as  great  as  the  cause 
of  mankind,  and  he  intended  "in  office  or  out  to  fight  that 
battle  as  long  as"  he  lived. 

When  Omaha  was  reached  the  President,  who  had  hitherto 
been  expounding  the  League  of  Nations  and  the  treaty,  turned 
to  the  reservations.  "A  reservation,"  he  said,  "is  an  assent 
with  a  'but'  to  it.  We  agree,  but."  The  first  article  of  the 
Covenant  provides,  that  a  nation  may  withdraw  from  the 
League  on  two  years'  notice,  if  at  the  end  of  the  two  years,  all 
its  international  obligations  under  the  League  have  been  ful- 
filled. "But  some  of  our  friends  are  very  uneasy  about  that. 
They  want  to  sit  close  to  the  door  and  with  their  hands  on  the 
knob,  and  they  want  to  say,  'we  are  in  this  thing,  but  we  are  in 
it  with  infinite  timidity,  and  we  are  in  only  because  you  over- 
persuaded  us,  and  want  us  to  come  in,  but  we  are  going  to 
sit  here  and  try  this  door  once  in  a  while,  and  see  it  isn't 
locked,  and  just  as  soon  as  we  see  anything  we  don't  like  we 
are  going  to  scuttle.' '  What  was  the  trouble  ?  Were  they 
afraid  that  if  the  United  States  ever  wished  to  withdraw  it 
would  not  have  fulfilled  its  obligations?  Did  they  want  him 
to  ask  the  Germans  if  he  might  "read  the  treaty  to  them  ex- 
pressed in  the  words  the  United  States  Senate  thinks  it  ought 
to  have  been  written  in?  So  you  see  the  reservations  come 
down  to  this,  that  they  want  to  change  the  language  of  the 
treaty  without  changing  its  meaning,  and  let  me  say  there  are 


410     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

indications,  I  am  not  judging  from  official  dispatches  but 
from  the  newspapers,  that  people  are  not  in  as  good  humor  over 
in  France  now  as  they  were  when  I  was  there,  and  it  is  going 
to  be  more  difficult  to  get  a  new  agreement  from  them  than 
it  was  before." 

Concerning  the  Shantung  agreement  the  President  declared 
that  he  had  frankly  said  to  his  Japanese  colleagues  that  he  was 
deeply  dissatisfied  with  that  part  of  the  treaty.  But  Japan 
agreed  "that  she  would  relinquish  every  item  of  sovereignty 
that  Germany  had  enjoyed  in  China,  and  would  retain  what 
other  nations  have  elsewhere  in  China,  certain  economic  con- 
cessions with  regard  to  the  railways  and  the  mines."  But  sup- 
pose, as  some  had  suggested,  that  we  dissent  from  that  clause 
of  the  treaty?  We  cannot  sign  all  of  a  treaty  but  one  part. 
We  cannot  sign  the  treaty  with  the  Shantung  provision  out  of 
it,  and  if  we  could  what  sort  of  service  would  that  be  doing 
China? 

At  the  Twin  Cities  there  were  three  speeches.  In  the  morn- 
ing the  President  addressed  the  Minnesota  Legislature  in  Spe- 
cial session.  In  the  afternoon  he  spoke  to  the  people  gathered 
in  the  Auditorium  at  St.  Paul,  and  in  the  evening  to  a  meeting 
in  Minneapolis.  Again  he  told  of  the  old  balance  of  power, 
and  of  people  who  nowhere  dared  speak  out  against  autocracy ; 
now  one  object  of  the  war  was  to  destroy  autocracy;  how  the 
League  of  Nations  provided  for  the  destruction  of  autocracy 
by  admitting  only  self-governing  nations  to  the  League;  how 
the  treaty  proposed  to  substitute  arbitration  and  discussion  for 
force,  and  an  absolute  boycott  against  covenant  breakers;  how 
the  peace  of  the  World  was  everybody's  business;  how  the 
Covenant  was  the  first  international  document  to  recognize  that 
fact,  and  how  it  put  an  end  to  all  secret  treaties.  They  were, 
he  said,  a  constant  source  of  embarrassment  at  Versailles. 
Yet  they  were  treaties,  and  the  war  having  been  fought  on  the 
principle  of  the  sanctity  of  treaties,  they  had  to  be  respected. 
As  to  ourselves,  we  must  be  either  provincials  or  statesmen, 
ostriches  or  eagles.  "I  see  gentlemen  bury  their  heads  in  some- 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  411 

thing  and  think  that  nobody  sees  that  they  have  submerged 
their  thinking  apparatus.  That  is  what  I  mean  by  being  an 
ostrich.  Now  what  I  mean  by  being  an  eagle,  I  need  not 
describe.  I  mean  leaving  the  mists  lying  close  to  the  ground, 
getting  up  on  strong  winds  into  those  spaces  where  you  can  see 
all  the  affairs  of  mankind,  all  the  affairs  of  America,  seeing 
how  the  world  appears." 

The  Covenant  of  the  League,  the  President  told  the  people 
at  Bismarck,  had  been  greatly  misrepresented.  He  did  not 
recognize  it  when  he  heard  some  men  talk  about  it.  He  had 
spent  hours  in  the  presence  of  the  representatives  of  thirteen 
nations,  examining  every  sentence,  trying  to  keep  out  of  it  any- 
thing that  infringed  the  sovereignty  of  any  member  of  the 
League.  When  he  went  back  in  March,  1918,  he  took  with 
him  every  suggestion  made  by  the  Senate  Committee  on  For- 
eign Relations.  All  were  accepted.  Nevertheless,  on  his  return 
he  found  he  did  not  understand  what  the  document  means. 
Plain  sentences  written,  as  he  thought,  in  unmistakable  lan- 
guage, meant,  he  was  told,  something  he  never  heard  of,  and 
that  nobody  else  entertained  as  a  purpose.  Turning  to  Article 
X,  he  said,  it  had  no  operative  force  unless  we  voted  that  it 
should  have  force.  The  first  sentence  provides  that  every  mem- 
ber of  the  League  shall  respect  and  preserve  the  territorial 
integrity  of  every  other  member  of  the  League.  "The  second 
sentence  provides  that  in  case  of  necessity  the  council  shall  take 
such  steps  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  out  the  suggestions  of 
the  conference — that  is  to  say,  what  force  is  necessary.  Now 
the  Council  cannot  give  that  advice  without  a  unanimous  vote. 
It  can't  give  the  advice  without  the  affirmative  vote  of  the 
United  States,  unless  the  United  States  is  a  party  to  the  con- 
troversy in  question."  What  did  this  mean? 

Did  anybody  think  the  United  States  was  likely  to  seize 
somebody  else's  territory?  And  if  she  is  not  likely  to  begin 
aggression,  who  is  likely  to  begin  it  against  her?  But  sup- 
pose somebody  does  attempt  to  seize  some  of  our  country,  or 
we  somebody  else's,  then  the  war  is  ours  anyway,  so  what  dif- 


412     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ference  does  it  make  what  advice  the  Council  gives?  Unless 
it  is  our  war  we  cannot  be  dragged  into  it  without  our  consent. 
Whatever  might  be  thought  of  Article  X,  it  is  the  heart  of  the 
treaty.  We  must  take  it  or  throw  the  world  back  into  the 
old  contest  over  land  titles. 

It  was  true,  he  said  at  Spokane,  that  under  Article  X,  if  the 
United  States,  is  a  party  to  a  dispute,  it  cannot  vote.  But  in 
that  case  we  had  the  fight  on  our  hands  anyhow,  because,  if 
we  are  one  of  the  parties  to  the  dispute  the  war  belongs  to  us. 
Therefore,  we  cannot  be  forced  into  the  war  by  the  vote.  The 
only  thing  the  vote  can  do  is  to  force  us  out  of  the  war.  Ajid 
what  was  meant  by  the  suggestion  that  the  United  States  might 
be  a  party  ?  Party  to  what  ?  A  party  to  seize  somebody  else's 
property,  infringe*  the  political  independence  of  some  other 
country?  Ah!  but  somebody  may  seek  to  seize  our  territory, 
impair  our  political  integrity.  Well,  who  ?  Who  has  an  arm 
strong  enough,  who  has  an  audacity  great  enough  to  try  to 
take  a  single  inch  of  American  territory,  or  seek  to  interfere 
for  one  moment,  with  the  political  integrity  of  the  United 
States? 

The  President  had  no  objections  to  interpretations  if  they 
did  not  change  the  meaning  of  the  document,  but  that  would 
be  saying  that  the  United  States  understood  the  treaty  to  mean 
what  it  says.  "You  will  say,  why  not  go  in  with  reservations  ?" 
Because  if  textual  changes  were  made,  or  the  resolution  of 
ratification,  qualified,  the  treaty  must  go  back  to  the  German 
Assembly  at  Weimar.  We  cannot,  said  he,  put  anything  into 
the  treaty  which  Germany  has  signed  without  her  consent.  But 
we  might  put  interpretations  on  the  treaty  which  its  language 
clearly  justified,  and  notify  the  other  governments  of  the  world 
that  we  so  understood  the  treaty.  Anything  that  qualifies  the 
treaty,  anything  that  is  a  condition  of  ratification  will  make 
its  submission  to  the  other  Powers  necessary  and  it  must  all 
be  gone  over  again. 

Not  one  of  the  qualifications  suggested  for  the  Covenant  was 
warranted.  Under  the  withdrawal  clause,  the  nation  before 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  413 

leaving  must  fulfill  all  the  international  obligations.  Gentle- 
men objected  that  it  is  not  said  who  shall  determine  whether 
or  not  the  obligations  have  been  fulfilled.  Having  sat  at  the 
table  where  the  Covenant  was  drawn  he  knew  that  this  was 
not  accidental,  for  no  nation  could  sit  in  judgment  on  another. 
It  was  left  to  the  conscience  of  the  withdrawing  nation  and  to 
the  only  jury  it  had  to  fear,  the  great  embodied  jury  express- 
ing the  opinion  of  mankind.  As  to  the  proposed  Monroe 
Doctrine  reservation,  the  President  said  the  Conference  tried 
to  define  the  doctrine  as  clearly  as  possible.  That  sentence,  he 
believed,  was  the  most  extraordinary  in  the  document,  because 
up  to  that  time  not  a  nation  in  the  World  was  willing  to  admit 
the  Doctrine  was  valid. 

To  the  Women's  League  at  San  Francisco  the  President 
spoke  concerning  Shantung,  and  Article  X,  and  the  moral  duty 
of  our  country  to  accept  the  treaty.  In  the  matter  of  the 
cession  to  Japan  of  the  interests  of  Germany  in  Shantung,  he 
said  to  his  Japanese  colleagues,  "I  am  not  satisfied  with  this 
settlement.  I  think  it  ought  to  be  different.  But  when  gen- 
tlemen propose  to  cure  it  by  striking  that  clause  out  of  the 
treaty,  or  by  ourselves  withholding  our  adherence  to  the  treaty, 
they  propose  an  irrational  thing."  But  coupled  with  the 
Shantung  arrangement,  the  President  said,  is  the  League  of 
Nations  under  which  Japan  solemnly  undertakes  with  the  rest 
of  us  to  respect  the  territorial  integrity  of  China,  and  back 
of  her  promise  is  that  of  every  other  member  of  the  league. 
It  is  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  that  anything 
has  been  done  for  China.  "And  sitting  around  our  Council 
board  in  Paris,  I  put  this  question:  'May  I  expect  that  this 
will  be  the  beginning  of  the  retrocession  to  China  of  the  excep- 
tional rights  which  other  governments  have  enjoyed  ?'  And 
the  responsible  representatives  of  other  great  governments  said : 
'Yes,  you  may  expect  it.' ' 

Your  attention,  he  continued,  is  constantly  drawn  to  Article* 
X.  But  there  is  also  Article  XI,  which  gives  the  right  to  every 
member  of  the  league  to  draw  attention  to  anything,  anywhere, 


414,    THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

that  is  likely  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  world.  Under  this 
the  representative  of  the  United  States  has  the  right  to  stand 
up  and  say:  "This  is  against  the  covenant  of  peace.  It  can't 
he  done."  And,  if  occasion  arises,  we  may  add,  "It  shall  not 
he  done."  Never  before  have  weak,  oppressed  and  wronged 
nations  had  a  forum  to  which  they  could  bring  their  enemies 
into  the  presence  of  the  judgment  of  mankind. 

As  the  President  came  eastward  from  the  Pacific  coast  he 
dwelt  more  and  more  on  the  reservations  in  general,  and  on  that 
concerning  Article  X  in  particular.  In  the  Mormon  Taber- 
nacle at  Salt  Lake  City  he  assured  his  hearers  that  reservations 
were  the  same  thing  as  amendments.  They  would  send  the 
treaty  back  to  Paris,  and  to  reopen  the  treaty  would  be  to 
reopen  the  issue  with  Germany.  One  by  one,  he  said,  the  fears 
of  the  reservationists  had  been  swept  away.  Doubt  as  to 
whether  some  superior  power  could  supersede  the  Constitution 
had  been  removed.  Doubt  that  the  Covenant  protected  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  had  been  removed.  The  right  to  withdraw  is 
plainly  stated.  Domestic  questions  are  specifically  exempt 
from  action  by  the  leagua  Driven  from  one  point  after  an- 
other the  forces  of  objection  had  been  directed  at  the  heart  of 
the  League,  at  Article  X,  under  which  the  members  agree  to 
protect  one  another's  territory  from  aggression. 

This,  he  told  his  audience  at  Cheyenne,  cut  at  the  tap  root 
of  war,  because  nearly  all  wars  started  from  aggression.  Were 
the  reservation  on  this  Article  adopted  the  United  States  would 
assume  no  obligation  to  preserve  the  territorial  rights  of  other 
nations  unless  Congress  so  decided.  It  would  be  saying  we 
will  not  promise  anything,  but  from  time  to  time  we  may 
assist.  It  meant  rejection  of  the  treaty.  Unless  we  went  in 
now  and  assumed  full  responsibility,  we  would  have  to  come 
in  later  with  Germany.  Germany  is  not  anxious  for  the 
United  States  to  be  among  the  nations  of  the  League.  It  means 
a  separate  treaty  with  Germany  and  this  would  be  against  the 
United  States.  "The  men  who  fought  at  Chateau-Thierry,  the 
men  who  fought  in  Belleau  Wood,  and  in  the  Argonne,  never 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  415 

thought  of  turning  back.  They  never  thought  of  making  reser- 
vations on  their  service.  They  never  thought  of  saying,  'We 
are  going  to  do  this  much  of  the  job,  and  then  leave  you  to  do 
the  rest.'  And  I  am  here  on  this  journey  to  do  what  I  can  to 
complete  the  task  which  the  men  who  died  upon  the  battle- 
fields of  France  began.  And  I  am  not  going  to  turn  back 
any  more  than  they  did.  I  am  going  to  keep  my  face  just  as 
they  kept  theirs,  forward,  towards  the  enemy." 

At  Denver,  and  again  at  Pueblo,  the  President  had  much  to 
say  on  the  objection  that  the  British  Empire  had  six  votes  in 
the  Assembly  and  the  United  States  but  one.  Those  six  votes, 
he  said,  "are  not  in  the  Council,  they  are  in  the  Assembly,  and 
the  interesting  thing  is  that  the  Assembly  does  not  vote.  I 
must  modify  that  statement  a  little,  but  essentially  it  is  abso- 
lutely true.  In  every  matter  in  which  the  Assembly  is  given 
a  vote  (and  there  are  only  four  or  five)  its  vote  does  not  count 
unless  concurred  in  by  all  the  representatives  of  all  the  nations 
represented  on  the  Council,  so  there  is  no  validity  to  the  vote 
of  the  Assembly  unless  approved  by  the  United  States,  so  the 
vote  of  the  United  States  is  as  big  as  the  six  votes  of  the  British 
Empire."  This  was  his  last  speech,  for  the  next  morning, 
September  26th,  at  Wichita,  the  President  was  forced  to  aban- 
don his  trip. 

The  Senators  meantime  had  been  listening  to  the  reading 
of  the  treaty,  and  early  in  October  reached  Article  35,  which 
provides  for  a  commission  of  seven  persons  to  be  appointed, 
five  by  "the  Principal  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,"  one  by 
Germany  and  one  by  Belgium,  "to  settle  on  the  spot  the  new 
frontier"  of  Belgium.  This  was  the  first  case  to  which  the 
amendment  of  Senator  Fall  applied  and  by  unanimous  consent 
it  was  brought  to  a  vote  on  October  3.  The  amendment  was 
intended  to  deprive  the  United  States  of  representation  on 
some  thirty-five  commissions  to  be  established  under  the  treaty. 
The  first  amendment,  depriving  the  United  States  of  member- 
ship on  a  commission  "to  settle  on  the  spot  the  new  boundaries 
between  Belgium  and  Germany"  was  voted  down  and  two 


416     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

more,  relating  to  our  participation  in  the  affairs  of  Luxem- 
burg, were  lost  by  a  viva  voce  vote.  Under  the  treaty  the  Com- 
mission for  the  government  of  the  Saar  Basin  is  to  consist  of 
"one  citizen  of  France,  one  native  inhabitant  of  the  Saar  Basin, 
not  a  citizen  of  France,  and  three  members  belonging  to  three 
countries  other  than  France  or  Germany."  Senator  Fall  pro- 
posed to  add  the  name  of  the  United  States  to  the  restriction 
"other  than  France  or  Germany,"  but  this  amendment  also 
was  lost.  Twenty-six  amendments  excluding  the  United  States 
from  representation  on  commissions  to  settle  on  the  spot  the 
boundaries  of  Czechoslovakia,  Poland,  Upper  Silesia,  the  Free 
City  of  Danzig,  East  Prussia,  Denmark,  and  on  many  other 
matters  were  taken  together  and  defeated  by  a  viva  voce  vote. 
An  amendment  forbidding  the  United  States  to  be  a  party  to 
a  treaty  Czechoslovakia  was  pledged  to  make  with  the  Allied 
and  Associated  Powers  "to  protect  the  interests  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  that  State  who  differ  from  the  majority  of  the  popu- 
lation in  race,  language  or  religion,"  and  two  amendments 
barring  the  United  States  from  membership  on  an  International 
Commission  to  control  the  plebiscite  area  of  Upper  Silesia,  and 
preventing  it  sending  troops  to  occupy  that  area,  were  lost  by 
a  vote  of  forty-six  yeas  to  thirty-one  nays,  and  an  amendment 
preventing  the  United  States  from  joining  in  a  treaty  binding 
Poland  to  protect  the  interests  of  her  inhabitants  who  differed 
from  the  majority  of  the  population  in  race,  language  or  reli- 
gion, and  another  excluding  our  country  from  representation 
on  a  commission  to  govern  the  area  of  a  plebiscite  in  East 
Prussia  were  each  lost  by  a  viva  voce  vote. 

Debating  and  speech  making  now  went  on  for  nearly  a  fort- 
night, before  an  agreement  was  reached  to  come  to  a  vote  on 
the  amendments  offered  by  Senator  Lodge  relating  to  Shan- 
tung. They  were  six  in  number,  were  voted  on  as  one  and 
defeated.  On  the  following  day  the  two  remaining  amend- 
ments offered  by  Senator  Fall  were  rejected  without  the  for- 
mality of  a  roll  call.  The  one  deprived  the  United  States  of 
permanent  membership  on  the  Separations  Commission.  The 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  417 

other  limited  the  American  representative  to  voting  only  when 
instructed  except  on  matters  concerning  shipping. 

Reading  the  treaty  article  by  article  now  continued  to  the 
end.  By  that  time  the  Republican  majority  had  ready  a  new 
set  of  reservations,  which  were  reported  as  substitutes  for  those 
reported  in  September  and  were  put  to  vote  on  October  22nd. 
They  were  thirteen  in  number.  Three  were  passed  over;  but 
the  first,  often  called  the  preamble,  setting  forth  that  the  reser- 
vations would  not  go  into  force  until  accepted  by  three  of  the 
Principal  Allied  Powers,  and  ten  of  the  reservations  were 
agreed  upon  by  the  Committee. 

By  the  first,  the  United  States  was  to  be  free  to  leave  the 
League  as  provided  in  Article  I,  and  free  to  decide  whether 
her  obligations  had  or  had  not  been  fully  discharged.  By  the 
second  the  United  States  assumed  no  obligation  to  guarantee 
the  territorial  integrity  or  political  independence  "of  any 
other  country,  or  interfere  in  controversies  between  other  na- 
tions,— whether  members  of  the  League  or  not" — unless  Con- 
gress so  ordered.  The  third  left  it  with  Congress  to  decide 
whether  we  would  or  would  not  become  a  mandatory  over  any 
nation.  The  fourth  reserved  absolute  jurisdiction  over  do- 
mestic questions,  and  the  fifth  declared  that  questions  under 
the  Monroe  Doctrine  were  not  to  be  submitted  to  arbitration, 
and  that  the  United  States  is  its  sole  interpreter.  The  sixth 
set  forth  that  the  United  States  did  not  assent  to  the  Shantung 
award  to  Japan  and  reserved  full  liberty  of  withholding  assent 
to  the  award  as  made  under  the  treaty.  The  seventh  was 
passed  over  for  the  moment.  The  eighth  provided  that  the 
regulation  of  trade  between  Germany  and  the  United  States 
by  the  Reparations  Commission  must  be  subject  to  the  approval 
o±  Congress.  The  ninth  gave  Congress  the  right  to  decide 
whether  the  United  States  should  contribute  to  the  expenses  of 
the  Secretariat,  or  any  members  of  the  commissions  created 
by  the  treaty.  The  tenth  reserved  to  Congress  the  right  to 
increase  the  armament  of  the  United  States  when  threatened 
with  invasion,  or  engaged  in  waging  war.  The  eleventh  was 


418     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

laid  aside.  Article  XVI  of  the  Covenant  provided  that,  should 
a  member  of  the  League  break  its  covenants  under  Articles  XII, 
XIII,  and  XVI,  and  wage  war,  all  other  members  must  pro- 
hibit "all  intercourse  between  their  nationals  and  the  nationals 
of  the  covenant-breaking  State."  The  twelfth  reservation  ap- 
plied to  this  Article  and  reserved  to  the  United  States  the  right 
to  continue  trade  and  financial  relations  and  intercourse  with 
the  covenant-breaker.  The  thirteenth  was  passed  over. 

Reservation  seven,  one  of  the  three  passed  over,  declared 
that  Congress  will  provide  for  the  appointment  of  representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  in  the  Assembly  and  the  Council,  of 
the  League  of  Nations,  and  may  at  its  discretion  provide  for 
the  participation  of  the  United  States  in  any  commission,  com- 
mittee, tribunal,  court,  council  or  conference,  or  in  the  selec- 
tion of  any  members  thereof,  and  that  until  such  participation 
and  appointment  have  been  so  provided  for,  and  the  powers 
and  duties  of  such  representative  defined,  no  person  shall  repre- 
sent the  United  States  under  the  League  of  Nations  or  the 
treaty,  and  no  citizen  shall  be  appointed  a  member  of  any 
commission,  committee,  court,  council,  or  conference  save  with 
the  approval  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

Reservation  eleven,  also  passed  over,  set  forth  that  the  United 
States  understood  subdivision  C  of  Article  XXIII,  which  gave 
the  League  general  supervision  over  the  execution  of  agree- 
ments concerning  the  traffic  in  women  and  children,  opium  and 
dangerous  drugs,  to  mean  that  the  League  shall  refuse  to  recog- 
nize agreements  relating  to  this  traffic  and  use  every  means  in 
its  powers  to  accomplish  its  abolition. 

Reservation  thirteen,  the  third  to  be  passed  over,  declared 
that  nothing  in  Articles  296  and  297  or  the  annexes  thereto,  or 
in  any  other  part  of  the  treaty,  "shall,  as  against  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  be  taken  to  mean  any  confirmation,  rati- 
fication, or  approval  of  any  act  illegal  or  in  contravention  of 
the  rights  of  citizens  of  the  United  States." 

When  the  Committee  met  again  these  three  were  adopted,  but 
reservation  eleven  was  incorporated  in  number  four,  and  num- 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  419 

ber  13  thus  became  number  12.  A  thirteenth,  stating  that  the 
United  States  declines  to  have  any  part  or  lot  in  the  admin- 
istration of  the  colonies  transferred  by  Germany  to  the  Prin- 
cipal Allied  and  Associated  Powers  was  then  adopted,  and 
Senator  Lodge  instructed  to  prepare  a  fourteenth  withholding 
from  decision  by  the  League  of  Nations  any  question  affecting 
the  vital  rights  and  national  honor  of  the  United  States. 

The  triumph  of  the  enemies  of  the  covenant  on  the  Commit- 
tee now  seemed  complete.  Amendment  had  failed;  but  by 
reservations  they  had  cut  off  the  United  States  from  all  re- 
sponsibility under  the  treaty  and  under  the  Covenant  of  the 
League  of  Nations.  The  treaty,  it  was  said,  will  be  Ameri- 
canized. That  the  reservations  exactly  as  drafted  will  pass 
the  Senate,  is  certain.  Even  the  preamble  will  go  through. 
The  position  of  the  President  is  indeed  embarrassing.  He 
must  either  accept  the  reservations,  or  bid  his  partisans  join 
with  the  Republicans  who  are  opposed  to  the  treaty  in  any 
form,  and  defeat  the  resolution  of  ratification.  In  the  first 
case  he  is  brought  to  the  humiliating  situation  of  beholding  his 
seven  months'  work  in  Paris  go  for  naught.  In  the  second 
case,  he  is  forced  to  go,  hat  in  hand,  to  Germany  and  ask  for 
a  separate  treaty  of  peace,  an  exceedingly  unpleasant  thing  to 
do.  Nevertheless,  the  decision  as  to  the  final  vote  rests  with 
him. 

After  a  short  delay  the  Johnson  amendment  to  give  to  the 
United  States  a  vote  in  the  Assembly  equal  to  that  of  any 
other  Power  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  yeas  thirty-eight,  nays 
forty.  Senator  Johnson  thereupon  offered  another,  and  the 
Republicans  whose  votes  made  possible  the  defeat  of  that 
reported  by  the  Committee  announced,  that  to  hasten  the  rati- 
fication of  the  treaty  they  would  vote  against  all  amendments 
but  not  against  effective  reservations.  They  kept  their  word 
and  two  days  later  aided  in  defeating  the  last  of  the  amend- 
ments from  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  and  three 
more  offered  by  as  many  Senators.  One  providing  for  the 
insertion,  in  the  preamble,  of  the  words,  "invoke  the  consider- 


420     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ate  judgment  of  mankind  and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty 
God,"  was  laid  upon  the  table.  Another  was  that  offered  by 
Senator  Johnson  after  the  defeat  of  his  first  amendment.  The 
third  provided  that  Great  Britain,  her  colonies,  dominions  and 
parts  of  Empire  should  have  collectively  but  one  vote  and  three 
delegates  in  the  Assembly.  The  Kepublicans  were  manifestly 
impatient  of  the  delay  and  eager  to  reach  the  reservations. 

Abroad  the  debates  in  the  Senate  had  been  followed  with 
deep  interest,  had  been  made  the  subject  of  comment  by  news- 
papers of  influence,  and  brought  from  thirty-two  professors  of 
the  University  of  Louvain  an  appeal  to  the  American  people. 
Belgium,  they  said,  was  following  with  anxiety  the  debates  on 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty.  The  assistance  lent  by  the 
United  States  in  the  war  gave  victory  to  the  Entente.  This 
help,  moral,  financial,  military,  was  the  magnificent  expres- 
sion of  the  generosity  and  spiritual  greatness  of  a  great  people. 
It  was  hard,  therefore,  for  Belgium  to  understand  how,  after 
contributing  so  much  to  victory,  our  country  could  "think  of 
compromising  the  great  results  that  victory  obtained."  The 
peoples  of  the  Entente  were  looking  anxiously  towards  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  after  sacrificing  so  many  hopes,  after 
giving  up  so  many  of  the  guarantees  and  reparations  they  had 
expected,  they  could  not  understand  "this  long  hesitation,  this 
tenacious  opposition  to  the  signing  of  the  treaty."  Should 
America  refuse  to  ratify,  the  fruits  of  victory  so  dearly  bought 
would  be  lost,  all  the  restitutions  and  guarantees  promised  by 
Germany  would  be  brought  again  under  discussion,  and  the 
friendship,  sealed  on  the  battlefield,  between  the  great  Ameri- 
can nation  and  the  democratic  Powers  of  the  Entente,  would 
inevitably  be  ended.  Belgium,  the  country  for  which  America 
made  such  splendid  sacrifices,  would  be  bitterly  disappointed. 
Like  most  works  of  man,  the  treaty  was  undoubtedly  defective. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  the  best  effort  ever  made  to  assure  peace 
in  the  world.  Belgium  had  undergone  great  trials.  The 
treaty  failed  to  realize  not  only  her  hopes,  but  even  the  promises 
made  to  her  of  complete  restoration.  Yet  she  "has  not  bar- 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  421 

gained  over  the  question  of  ratification,"  and  begged  "her  great 
American  friend  to  take  pity  on  the  Old  World  and  particu- 
larly on  Belgium,"  ratify  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  enable  the 
Belgians  "to  return  with  energy  to  the  labor  of  repairing  their 
ruins." 

Towards  the  close  of  October  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
of  Foreign  Relations  proposed  that  by  unanimous  consent  the 
Senate  come  to  a  final  vote  on  ratification  on  the  twelfth  of 
November.  When  the  proposal  came  up  for  consideration 
early  in  November,  Senator  Hitchcock,  leader  of  the  Demo- 
cratic minority,  opposed  it,  and  made  a  proposition  of  his  own. 
He  opposed  because,  if  the  Senate  were  bound  to  come  to  a 
vote  on  a  certain  day  the  majority  might  continue  the  debate 
up  to  that  day,  and  so  prevent  the  minority  from  having  "a 
reasonable  chance  to  make  material  changes  in  the  reservations 
supported  by  the  majority."  His  counter  proposal  was: 

That  after  unanimous  consent  was  given  the  Senate  should 
meet  each  day  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  to  consider  the 
treaty,  and  all  amendments,  reservations,  or  resolutions  of 
ratification  that  might  be  offered,  and  that  no  Senator  should 
speak  more  than  once,  nor  for  more  than  fifteen  minutes  on 
any  pending  question. 

That  during  the  calendar  day  of  Monday,  November  third, 
before  adjournment  or  recess,  the  Senate  should  vote  on  the 
pending  amendments  and  on  any  others  that  might  be  offered. 

That  during  the  calendar  days  of  Tuesday  and  Wednesday, 
November  fourth  and  fifth,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of 
the  Whole,  should  consider  committee  reservations  and  might 
continue  to  do  so  until  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Thurs- 
day, November  sixth ;  that  before,  or  at  that  hour,  a  vote  should 
be  taken  on  the  Committee  reservations,  and  that  the  treaty 
should  then  be  reported  to  the  Senate  by  the  Committee  of 
the  Whole. 

That  in  the  Senate  the  vote  on  the  resolution  of  ratification, 
embracing  such  reservations  as  had  been  adopted  in  Committee 


422     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  the  Whole,  should  be  taken  before  adjournment,  or  recess, 
on  the  calendar  day  of  November  sixth. 

That  if  the  treaty  received  the  necessary  two-thirds  vote  the 
President  be  notified  at  once. 

That  if  it  did  not  receive  the  necessary  two-thirds  vote,  the 
Senate,  on  Friday,  November  seventh,  and  on  Saturday,  No- 
vember eighth,  consider  any  resolution  of  ratification  proposed 
by  the  minority  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  and 
vote  on  it  not  later  than  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of 
November  eighth.  Should  no  such  resolution  receive  the  nec- 
essary two-thirds  vote  then,  during  the  calendar  day  of  No- 
vember eighth,  any  Senator  might  offer  a  resolution  of  ratifica- 
tion which  should  be  voted  on  without  debate.  If  no  such 
resolution  received  the  necessary  two-thirds  vote,  then  it  should 
be  in  order  for  any  Senator  to  move  to  take  up  the  railroad 
bill  or  any  other  business,  and  this  question  should  be  decided 
without  discussion. 

Neither  side  would  accept  the  proposal  of  the  other ;  where- 
upon Senator  Lodge,  on  November  fourth,  secured  unanimous 
consent  to  vote  on  the  remaining  amendments  the  following 
day.  He  then  offered  an  amendment  to  strike  from  the  treaty 
the  three  articles  relating  to  Shantung.  It  was  voted  down. 

On  Wednesday,  November  fifth,  accordingly,  the  La  Follette 
amendment,  striking  from  the  treaty  Part  XIII,  relating  to 
Labor,  was  taken  up  and  defeated.  On  Thursday  the  Gore 
amendment,  providing  that  the  United  States  should  not  make 
war  until  the  question  had  been  submitted  to  popular  vote,  was 
defeated,  two  others  striking  from  the  Covenant  Articles  X 
and  XI,  were  withdrawn,  and  all  proposed  amendments  hav- 
ing thus  been  swept  aside,  the  way  was  prepared  for  considera- 
tion of  the  preamble  to  the  resolution  of  ratification  and  the 
fifteen  reservations  reported  by  the  Committee. 

Senator  Lodge  now  moved  consideration  of  the  reservations; 
a  debate  arose,  and  in  the  course  of  it  Senator  Underwood 
argued  that  to  consider  the  reservations  before  disposing  of 
the  preamble  was  an  unparliamentary  proceeding.  Mr.  Lodge 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  423 

then  asked  why  the  Senator  did  not  request  unanimous  consent 
for  a  vote,  at  once,  on  unconditional  ratification.  He  was  will- 
ing, Mr.  Underwood  replied,  to  do  so,  but  no  sooner  had  he 
said  this,  than  Senator  Hitchcock,  the  minority  leader,  rose 
and  protested.  Mr.  Underwood  admitted  he  could  not  make 
such  a  proposal  without  consent  of  the  Senator  who  had  charge 
of  the  treaty  for  the  minority,  and  asked  him  to  make  it. 
Senator  Hitchcock  agreed  and  after  some  discussion  a  proposal 
was  read.  "It  is  agreed  by  unanimous  consent  that  the  Senate 
immediately  pass  to  the  parliamentary  stage  of  the  Senate  and 
shall  vote  upon  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present  and  voting, 
concurring  therein,  that  the  Senate  advises  and  consents  to 
the  ratification  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Germany  signed 
at  Versailles,  France,  June  28,  1919. 

"And  it  is  further  agreed,  that  if  the  treaty  shall  fail  of 
ratification  it  shall  immediately  pass  to  the  parliamentary  stage 
of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole." 

Senators  who  were  in  the  cloak  room  now  hurried  into  the 
chamber,  and  the  Secretary  was  about  to  call  the  roll  when 
Senator  Jones  put  an  end  to  the  whole  proceeding  by  exclaim- 
ing, "I  object." 

Unanimous  consent  having  been  refused,  the  Senate  took 
up  the  reservations,  beginning  with  the  first  or  preamble,  but 
no  vote  was  reached  that  day.  On  Friday  when  it  again  came 
up,  attempts  were  made  to  amend,  to  strike  out  the  require- 
ments that  written  acceptances  be  obtained  from  three  Powers; 
to  provide  that  acceptance  of  the  reservations  might  be  by  an 
exchange  of  notes;  and  to  strike  out  "three"  in  order  that 
they  must  be  accepted  by  the  four  Powers  mentioned;  but  in 
the  end  the  preamble  was  adopted  without  change  by  a  vote  of 
forty-eight  yeas  to  forty  nays. 

The  withdrawal  reservation  came  next ;  but  no  vote  was  taken 
until  Saturday,  when,  after  efforts  to  substitute  the  word 
"joint"  for  "concurrent,"  and  even  to  strike  out  all  mention  of 
a  concurrent  resolution,  it  was  adopted  as  drafted  by  a  vote  of 


424     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

fifty  yeas  to  thirty-five  nays.  Friends  of  the  President  re- 
sented this  action.  A  joint  resolution  must  be  submitted  to 
the  President;  a  concurrent  resolution  is  not  submitted.  The 
retention  of  the  word  concurrent,  therefore,  his  friends  claimed, 
was  a  deliberate  affront  to  the  President  by  depriving  him  of 
his  constitutional  power  to  veto.  Supporters  of  the  resolution 
denied  that  it  in  any  way  reflected  on  the  President.  They 
could  see  no  reason  why  any  President  should  have  a  veto 
over  a  decree  of  Congress  respecting  the  withdrawal  of  the 
United  States.  Nay,  if  the  question  ever  arose  it  would  be 
when  some  other  man  was  President,  for  Mr.  Wilson  assuredly 
would  not  occupy  the  White  House  after  March  fourth,  1921. 
There  was,  therefore,  nothing  personal  in  the  reservation. 

And  now  came  up  for  consideration  the  reservation  touching 
Article  X  of  the  Covenant,  the  reservation  which  the  President 
had  denounced  as  "striking  a  knife  thrust  at  the  heart  of  the 
treaty."  The  attack  by  the  administration  party  began  by 
offering  a  substitute  setting  forth  that  the  suggestions  of  the 
Council  of  the  League  concerning  the  carrying  out  of  the 
obligations  imposed  by  the  Article  were  advisory;  that  any 
undertaking  calling  for  the  use  of  land  or  naval  forces  or  eco- 
nomic measures  by  the  United  States  could  be  put  into  effect 
only  by  the  action  of  Congress,  and  that  failure  to  adopt  the 
suggestions  of  the  Council,  or  provide  military  or  naval  forces 
or  economic  measures,  "shall  not  constitute  a  violation  of  the 
treaty."  It  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  forty-eight  against,  to 
thirty-six  in  favor.  Not  one  Republican  Senator  voted  for  it, 
and  but  four  Democratic  against  it.  The  "irreconcilables" 
thereupon  offered  a  reservation  to  the  effect  that  the  United 
States  assumed  no  legal  or  moral  obligation  under  Article  X. 
The  roll  call  showed  that  sixty-eight  voted  nay,  and  but  eighteen 
yea.  A  reservation  offered  by  Senator  Walsh  was  then  taken 
up,  as  an  amendment,  providing  that  the  words  declaring 
against  the  use  of  the  armed  forces  of  the  United  States,  save 
with  the  consent  of  Congress,  be  stricken  from  the  reservation 
reported  by  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations.  It  was 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  425 

defeated,  whereupon  the  Senator  offered  another,  setting  forth 
that  the  United  States  "releases  the  other  members  of  the 
League  of  Nations  from  any  obligation  under  Article  X,  and 
declines  to  participate  in  any  proceedings  in  the  Council  au- 
thorized thereby."  He  was  charged  with  not  acting  in  good 
faith,  with  meddling  with  the  affairs  of  other  nations,  with 
putting  the  United  States  in  the  position  of  dictating  to  other 
countries.  The  Committee's  reservation,  was  the  reply,  releases 
the  United  States  from  all  obligations  under  Article  X.  It  is 
only  fair,  therefore,  to  release  the  other  nations. 

No  vote  was  reached  that  day  nor,  indeed,  on  the  morrow. 
Should  the  Walsh  amendment  be  adopted  it  would  be  equiva- 
lent, so  far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned,  to  cutting  out 
of  the  treaty  Article  X.  Seeing  this  opportunity  to  destroy  the 
detested  Article,  a  number  of  radical  Republican  Senators 
agreed  to  vote  for  the  Amendment,  and  only  a  motion  to  ad- 
journ made  at  the  close  of  a  long  debate  prevented  a  vote  being 
taken.  Had  the  amendment  been  adopted,  the  "middle  ground" 
Senators  would  have  refused  to  support  the  reservation  as 
amended  and  would  have  been  joined  by  the  administration 
Senators  in  voting  it  down,  for  the  sole  object  in  offering  the 
amendment  was  to  divide  the  majority  and  so  bring  about  the 
defeat  of  the  reservation. 

On  the  following  day  petitions  to  invoke  the  cloture  rule 
and  limit  debate  on  the  treaty  were  passed  around  for  signa- 
tures by  Democratic  Senators  and  by  Republicans  of  the  middle 
ground  group,  for  it  was  believed  that-  five  of  the  irreconcil- 
ables  were  engaged  in  a  filibuster,  in  a  plan  to  prolong  debate 
to  the  end  of  the  session  and  so  prevent  a  final  vote  on  the 
resolution  of  ratification. 

November  thirteenth,  before  debate  was  resumed  on  the 
Walsh  amendment,  the  leader  of  the  minority  offered  his  peti- 
tion signed  by  twenty-three  Democrats.  Limitation  of  debate, 
it  was  stipulated,  should  apply  to  the  reservations,-  and  not  to 
the  entire  treaty.  Against  this  a  point  of  order  was  raised 
that  it  must  cover  the  entire  treaty.  The  point  was  sustained 


426     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

by  the  chair.  Senator  Hitchcock  appealed  from  the  ruling. 
Senator  Lodge  moved  to  lay  the  appeal  on  the  table,  the  motion 
was  carried  and  the  petition  was  thus  ruled  out..  The  Walsh 
amendment,  and  every  other  amendment  and  substitute,  and 
there  were  many  of  them,  were  voted  down,  and  the  reservation 
to  Article  X,  as  reported  by  the  Committee,  was  finally  carried 
by  a  vote  of  forty-six  yeas  to  thirty-three  nays.  This  done, 
Senator  Lodge  offered  his  petition  for  cloture  signed  by  thirty 
Republicans. 

On  Friday  the  fourteenth,  owing  to  the  death  of  a  Senator 
from  Virginia,  the  Senate  was  not  in  session.  On  Saturday 
the  fifteenth,  before  the  petition  was  put  to  vote,  Senators  of 
both  parties,  fearing  that  cloture  might  prevent  them  from 
offering  other  reservations,  sent  a  flood  of  them  to  the  clerks' 
desks  before  the  vote  was  taken.  After  some  explanation  by 
the  Vice-President  the  vote  was  ordered.  Seventy-eight  Sena- 
tors answered  yea,  and  sixteen  nay.  Under  the  rule  thus 
adopted  each  Senator  might  speak  for  one  hour.  He  might 
use  his  allotted  time  in  one  speech,  or  he  might  speak  many 
times,  but  the  sum  total  of  the  minutes  so  spent  must  riot 
exceed  sixty. 

Cloture  having  thus  been  invoked,  Senator  Lodge  moved  the 
adoption  of  reservation  No.  4,  and  before  the  Senate  adjourned 
reservations  4  to  13  inclusive  were  adopted.  When  reservation 
No.  5  was  under  debate  Senator  Hale,  of  Maine,  offered  an 
amendment  providing  that  "all  questions  relating  to  the  present 
boundaries  of  the  United  States  and  its  insular  possessions" 
should  be  determined  solely  by  the  United  States.  This  was 
necessary,  he  explained,  in  order  that  the  boundary  between 
Maine  and  Canada  might  not  be  violated  by  any  attempt  by 
Canada  to  obtain  an  outlet  to  the  Atlantic.  A  Senator  from 
California  made  the  meaning  of  this  more  clear  by  reading 
from  a  newspaper  a  statement  that  Canada  supported  the 
League  of  Nations  Covenant  because  under  it  she  would  be  able 
to  obtain  an  outlet  to  the  Atlantic  across  American  territory. 
The  amendment  was  adopted.  All  other  amendments  offered 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  427 

to  the  reservations  were  defeated.  On  Monday,  November 
seventeenth,  the  two  remaining  reservations,  14  and  15,  were 
rejected,  and  nothing  remained  but  the  flood  of  amendments 
sent  in  by  the  Senators  before  cloture  was  adopted. 

To  the  newspaper  men,  Senator  Hitchcock  said  he  had  seen 
the  President  and  found  that  he  still  regarded  the  Lodge  reser- 
vations as  nullifying  the  treaty  and  impossible  of  acceptance. 
"President  Wilson  will  pocket  the  treaty  if  the  Lodge  program 
of  reservations  is  carried  out  in  the  ratifying  resolution.  The 
President  did  not  say,  however,  that  all  the  Lodge  reservations 
were  unacceptable."  The  first  reservation,  often  called  the  pre- 
amble, the  President  regarded  as  killing  the  treaty.  That  affect- 
ing Article  X  was  also  objectionable.  What  reservations  the 
President  might  accept,  the  Senator  would  not  disclose.  If 
the  Lodge  resolution  of  ratification  were  defeated  the  Senator 
was  sure  the  President  would  withdraw  the  treaty  unless  the 
deadlock  promised  "a  means  of  compromise."  It  was  the 
expectation  of  the  Senator  that  the  resolution  of  ratification 
would  be  voted  down.  Once  out  of  the  way,  the  administra- 
tion Senators  would  seek  to  obtain  the  adoption  of  their  sub- 
stitute resolution  with  the  reservation  as  to  Article  X.  After 
this  was  rejected,  and  he  expected  it  would  be,  then  the  Senate 
would  be  ready  to  consider  a  compromise. 

Tuesday,  the  eighteenth,  the  Senate  sat  for  twelve  hours 
considering  a  score  and  more  of  reservations  offered  by  indi- 
vidual Senators.  Two  were  adopted.  One  withheld  the  assent 
of  the  United  States  to  Part  13,  Articles  CCCLXXXVII  to 
CDXXVII  inclusive,  unless  Congress,  by  act  or  joint  resolu- 
tion, shall  make  provision  for  representation  in  the  organiza- 
tion set  up  by  Part  13.  The  other  set  forth  that  "the  United 
States  assumes  no  obligation  to  be  bound  by  any  election,  de- 
cision, report  or  finding  of  the  Council  or  the  Assembly  in 
which  any  member  of  the  league  and  its  self-governing  domin- 
ions, colonies  and  parts  of  empire  in  the  aggregate  have  more 
than  one  vote,  and  assumes  no  obligation  to  be  bound  by  any 
decision,  report  or  finding  of  the  Council  or  Assembly  arising 


428     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

out  of  any  dispute  between  the  United  States  and  a  member 
of  tbe  league  if  such  member  or  any  self-governing  dominion, 
colony,  empire  or  part  of  empire  united  with  it  politically  has 
voted."  All  others  were  defeated. 

About  nine  o'clock  at  night  the  Committee  of  the  Whole 
finished  its  work  and  the  treaty  was  formally  reported  to  the 
Senate.  An  attempt  to  strike  from  the  preamble  the  require- 
ment that  the  reservations  must  be  accepted  by  at  least  three 
of  the  four  principal  Allied  Powers  failed;  the  Hale  amend- 
ment was  stricken  from  reservation  No.  5,  and  the  fifteen  reser- 
vations were  adopted. 

When  the  Senate  assembled  on  Wednesday,  the  nineteenth, 
it  was  known  that  at  the  request  of  the  Administration  Sena- 
tors, the  President  had  written  their  leader  a  letter  expressing 
his  wishes.  "You  were  good  enough  to  bring  me  word  that 
the  Democratic  Senators  supporting  the  treaty  expected  to  hold 
a  conference  between  the  final  votes  on  the  Lodge  resolution  of 
ratification,  and  that  they  would  be  glad  to  receive  a  word  of 
counsel  from  me. 

"I  should  hesitate  to  offer  it  in  any  detail,  but  I  assume 
that  the  Senators  only  desire  my  judgment  upon  the  all-impor- 
tant question  of  the  final  vote  on  the  resolution  containing  the 
many  reservations  of  Senator  Lodge.  On  that  I  cannot  hesi- 
tate, for  in  my  opinion  the  resolution  in  that  form  does  not 
provide  for  ratification;  but  rather  for  nullification  of  the 
treaty. 

"I  sincerely  hope  that  the  friends  and  supporters  of  the 
treaty  will  vote  against  the  Lodge  resolution  of  ratification. 

"I  understand  that  the  door  will  then  be  open  for  a  genuine 
resolution  of  ratification. 

"I  trust  all  true  friends  of  the  treaty  will  refuse  to  support 
the  Lodge  resolution." 

The  wish  of  the  President  was  gratified.  The  Lodge  reso- 
lution, which  required  a  two-thirds  vote,  was  defeated  by  thirty- 
nine  yeas  to  fifty-five  nays.  A  motion  to  reconsider  was  then 
carried;  a  motion  to  adjourn  was  lost,  and  the  Vice-President 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  429 

ruled  that  the  treaty  was  now  back  in  the  Committee  of  the 
Whole.  Senator  Lodge  raised  a  point  of  order  against  the 
ruling,  and  the  Senate  sustained  it. 

Senator  Hitchcock  then  attempted  to  offer  a  substitute  resolu- 
tion of  ratification  without  any  reservations  whatever.  Against 
this  a  point  of  order  was  raised,  was  overruled  by  the  Vice- 
President,  and  an  appeal  sustained.  Attempts  were  made  to 
amend  reservation  No.  1 ;  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  it  was 
adopted;  to  refer  the  treaty  and  the  majority  resolution  of  rati- 
fication to  a  Committee  of  Conciliation ;  to  recommit  the  treaty 
to  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  with  instructions  to  re- 
port it  with  a  compromise  resolution  proposed  by  Senator  Hitch- 
cock, but  they  were  all  defeated,  as  was  the  Lodge  resolution 
when  put  to  a  final  vote.  By  unanimous  consent  a  vote  was 
then  taken  on  ratification  without  reservations.  The  nays  had 
it  and  the  long  struggle  for  ratification  ended. 

No  sooner  was  the  final  vote  taken  than  Senator  Lodge  offered 
a  concurrent  resolution  that  the  "state  of  war  between  Germany 
and  the  United  States  is  hereby  declared  to  be  at  an  end."  But 
the  House  having  adjourned  sine  die  it  went  over  to  the  next  ses- 
sion which  opened  on  the  first  of  December. 

While  the  Senate  was  wrangling  over  amendments  and  reser- 
vations the  treaty  was  ratified  by  Great  Britain,  France  and 
Italy,  and  all  that  remained  to  be  done  was  to  take  the  steps  nec- 
essary to  put  it  in  force.  These  were  four  in  number :  a  formal 
exchange  of  ratifications  by  the  three  Powers ;  a  deposit  of  the 
instruments  of  ratification  in  the  French  Foreign  Office  at 
Paris ;  the  drafting  of  a  proces-verbal,  or  record  of  the  deposit  of 
the  instruments  of  ratification,  and  the  formal  promulgation  of 
the  treaty.  But  Germany,  month  after  month,  had  deliberately 
and  defiantly  violated  article  after  article  of  the  Armistice. 
She  had  not  delivered  all  the  locomotives  and  cars  required. 
She  had  not  withdrawn  within  her  boundaries  all  her  troops 
in  Russia.  She  had  not  stopped  requisitions,  seizures,  coercive 
measures  in  Russia.  She  had  not  delivered  complete  state- 
ments of  all  specie  and  securities  removed,  collected,  or  con- 


430     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

fiscated  in  the  invaded  countries.  She  had  not  delivered  all 
German  submarines.  One  had  been  destroyed  off  Ferrol  by 
her  commander.  Others  had  been  sunk  in  the  North  Sea 
while  on  their  way  to  England.  At  Scapa  Flow,  battleships 
she  was  under  obligations  to  maintain,  had  been  sunk.  She 
had  not  returned  the  works  of  art  and  artistic  documents  taken 
from  France  and  Belgium,  nor  the  industrial  and  agricultural 
material  stolen  from  French  and  Belgian  territory,  and  she 
had  exported  aerial  material  to  Holland,  Denmark  and  Swe- 
den. 

Because  of  these  and  other  violations  of  the  terms  of  the 
armistice  and  protocols  signed  at  Spa  and  Brussels,  the  Su- 
preme Council  on  November  6  addressed  to  Germany  a  note 
and  a  special  protocol. 

The  note  set  forth  that  three  Powers  had  ratified  the  treaty 
and  that  "there  will  take  place  at  Paris,  a  proces-verbcd  at 
which  the  German  Government  is  requested  to  participate." 
But  the  principal  Allied  and  Associated  powers  had  decided 
that  the  treaty  should  not  go  into  force  until  Germany  had 
fully  executed  her  obligation  under  the  armistice  convention. 

The  German  Government  therefore  was  invited  to  send 
to  Paris  on  November  10  representatives  duly  authorized 
to  sign  the  proces  verbal,  and  the  proposed  protocol.  The  pro- 
tocol set  forth  each  requirement  of  the  armistice  violated  by 
Germany  and  bound  her  to  fulfill  her  obligations.  By  way  of 
reparation  for  the  ships  destroyed  at  Scapa  Flow  she  must, 
within  sixty  days  after  signing,  deliver  five  light  cruisers, 
and  within  ninety  days  deliver  in  good  condition  such  a  num- 
ber of  floating  docks,  cranes,  tugs,  and  dredges  as  would 
amount  to  four  hundred  thousand  tons  displacement,  pay  the 
Allies  the  value  of  the  exported  aerial  material,  and  do  many 
other  things  by  way  of  restitution. 

November  10  came;  but  no  German  representatives.  In- 
deed, a  week  passed  before  they  arrived,  and  on  November  22 
they  returned  to  Berlin  leaving  the  protocol  unsigned.  Germany 
was  defiant  and  for  this  the  diplomats  and  publicists  of  France 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  431 

blamed  our  Senate.  Eesistance,  it  was  said,  would  never  have 
been  made  had  not  the  Senate  failed  to  ratify  the  treaty.  It 
is  useless  to  look  further  for  the  origin  of  the  movement  of 
chicanery  and  revolt  beyond  the  Rhine.  It  is  the  natural  re- 
sult of  the  sabotage  of  the  Senate  at  Washington  against  the 
treaty  of  Versailles.  Germany  is  seeking  to  prolong  the  pro- 
tocol negotiation  in  order  to  secure  a  revision  of  the  treaty. 
She  objected,  it  soon  became  known,  to  paying  for  the  ships 
destroyed  at  Scapa  Flow,  and  to  the  requirement  in  the  treaty 
that  Germans  charged  with  crimes  against  the  usages  of  war 
be  surrendered,  and  offered  to  submit  to  The  Hague  tribunal 
the  question  of  indemnity  for  the  ships.  The  Supreme  Coun- 
cil in  a  note  equivalent  to  an  ultimatum  refused  to  change 
tlie  treaty  terms,  warned  Germany  that  the  denunciation  by 
her  of  the  armistice  would  leave  the  allied  armies  free  to  act, 
and  that  it  expected  the  protocol  to  be  signed  and  the  ratifica- 
tion to  be  exchanged  without  delay.  A  second  note  dealt  with 
the  Scapa  Flow  incident  and  charged  Germany  with  full  re- 
sponsibility for  the  sinking  of  the  ships. 

The  German  Government,  was  the  reply,  "desires  to  dis- 
sipate the  misunderstanding  that,  owing  to  the  momentary 
absence  of  American  delegates  from  the  commission  provided 
for  by  the  treaty  of  peace,"  Germany  claimed  modifications, 
of  the  treaty  concerning  the  extradition  of  persons  charged 
with  acts  contrary  to  the  laws  of  war.  Before  the  Allied  note 
was  received  she  had  explained  the  reasons  for  the  desired 
change,  but  she  never  made  her  assent  to  putting  the  treaty 
into  force  conditional  "on  a  previous  solution  of  that  ques- 
tion." She  still  believed  that  the  best  way  to  settle  the  Scapa 
Flow  incident  was  to  submit  the  matter  to  The  Hague  Tri- 
bunal. But,  desirous  to  do  her  utmost  to  secure  the  speedy 
reestablishment  of  peace,  she  was  ready  to  make  reparation 
for  the  damage  done  to  the  Allied  and  Associated  Govern- 
ments by  the  sinking  of  the  ships.  This  she  could  not  do  in 
the  manner  demanded  by  the  protocol.  It  would  ruin  her  eco- 
nomic life  and  make  it  impossible  to  carry  out  the  enormous 


432     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

obligations  which  the  treaty  imposed.  She  would,  therefore, 
through  experts,  draft  propositions  showing  a  mode  of  repara- 
tion which,  though  it  added  a  new  and  heavy  hurden  to  Ger- 
many, would  not  he  incompatible  with  her  vital  interests. 

Weeks  were  now  spent  in  negotiation  before  the  protocol 
was  signed  and  ratification  of  the  treaty  exchanged  at  Paris 
on  January  10,  1920.  France,  Great  Britain,  Belgium,  Japan 
and  such  other  Powers  as  had  ratified  were  now  at  peace  with 
Germany ;  but  the  United  States  was  technically  still  at  war. 

Since  the  day  when  the  resolution  of  ratification  failed 
of  adoption  in  the  Senate,  nothing  had  been  accomplished. 
By  the  people  the  rejection  of  the  treaty  was  received  with 
surprise,  indignation  and  indifference.  Senator  Lodge  declared 
there  was  "no  room  for  further  compromise."  He  wanted  "to 
carry  those  reservations  into  the  campaign."  He  wished 
"the  people  to  see  them,  understand  them,  and  think  of  them 
in  every  household,  on  every  farm,  in  every  shop  and  factory 
throughout  the  land.  Then  let  them  decide."  Senator  Hitch- 
cock was  for  compromise.  The  President  kept  silent.  He 
was,  indeed,  reported  to  have  said  that  he  considered  respon- 
sibility for  the  fate  of  the  treaty  to  have  been  shifted  from 
his  shoulders  to  those  of  others,  and  there  he  was  disposed  to 
let  it  rest.  But  he  took  no  official  action,  made  no  official 
statement.  Rumors  that  he  would  take  some  action  to  end  the 
deadlock,  that  he  was  convinced  some  compromise  must  be 
reached  were  set  at  rest  about  the  middle  of  the  month  by  an 
official  statement  from  the  White  House.  "It  was  learned 
from  the  highest  authority  at  the  executive  offices  to-day  (De- 
cember 14)  that  the  hope  of  the  Republican  leaders  of  the  Sen- 
ate that  the  President  would  presently  make  some  move  which 
will  relieve  the  situation  with  regard  to  the  treaty  is  entirely 
without  foundation. 

"He  has  no  compromise  or  concession  of  any  kind  in  mind, 
but  intends,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  that  the  Republican 
leaders  of  the  Senate  shall  continue  to  bear  the  undivided  re- 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  4,33 

sponsibility  for  the  fate  of  the  treaty,  and  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  world  in  consequence  of  that  fate." 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Democratic  Senators  the  position  taken 
by  the  President  was  a  justification  of  that  taken  by  them. 
It  was  not  the  duty  of  the  President  to  suggest  a  compromise. 
His  duty  was  done  when  he  presented  the  treaty.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  Senate  to  dispose  of  it  by  final  action.  Until  then 
it  was  before  the  Senate.  Senator  Lodge  held  that  it  should 
be  withdrawn  by  the  President  and  resubmitted  with  any  pro- 
posals for  compromise  reservations  he  might  see  fit  to  make. 
It  was  now  suggested  that  the  Democrats  should  submit  pro- 
posals to  the  mild  reservationists;  that  the  mild  reservationists 
prepare  a  set  of  reservations;  that  a  committee  on  conciliation 
be  appointed;  that  the  Kepublicans  make  concessions;  that  a 
bi-partisan  round  table  be  held  during  the  holidays  to  take 
the  treaty  out  of  politics.  Senator  Knox  offered  two  resolu- 
tions which  finally  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  For- 
eign Relations.  One  declared  the  war  at  an  end;  the  other 
proposed  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  without  the  covenant  of 
the  League  of  Nations.  Senator  Underwood  attempted  to  ob- 
tain consideration  of  a  resolution  for  the  appointment  by  the 
President  of  the  Senate  of  ten  Senators  to  consider  ways  and 
means  of  securing  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  and  report 
such  a  form  of  ratification  as  they  believed  would  secure  the 
approval  of  not  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  Senate;  but  Mr. 
Lodge  prevented  consideration. 

During  the  holidays  many  informal  conferences  were  held, 
but  the  old  year  ended  and  the  new  came  with  nothing  accom- 
plished. Everybody  was  waiting  for  the  party  dinner  on  Jack- 
son Day,  January  8,  the  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  New 
Orleans.  Never  before  had  the  public  and  the  party  interest 
in  this  annual  dinner  been  so  great,  for  the  issues  soon  to  be 
faced  were  many  and  serious,  would-be  candidates  for  the 
Presidency  were  to  speak,  Mr.  Bryan  was  to  attend,  and  it  was 
well  known  that  from  the  President  would  come  a  letter  on  the 
treaty.  So  great  was  the  attendance  that  the  diners  were  di- 


434     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

vided  into  two  groups.  One,  said  to  number  some  eight  hun- 
dred, sat  down  at  the  Willard  Hotel;  the  other,  almost  as 
large,  at  the  Washington.  The  twelve  speakers  were  also  di- 
vided, and  while  six  spoke  at  one  hotel,  six  spoke  at  the  other. 
Each  group  then  took  the  other's  place. 

"Germany,"  said  the  President  in  his  letter,  "is  beaten,  but 
we  are  still  at  War  with  her,  and  the  old  stage  is  reset  for  a 
repetition  of  the  old  plot.  It  is  now  ready  for  a  resumption  of 
the  old  offensive  and  defensive  alliances  which  made  settled 
peace  impossible. 

"Without  the  covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  there  may 
be  as  many  secret  treaties  as  ever. 

"None  of  the  objects  we  professed  to  be  fighting  for  has 
been  secured,  or  can  be  made  certain  of,  without  this  nation's 
ratification  of  the  treaty  and  its  entrance  into  the  Covenant. 

"The  maintenance  of  the  peace  of  the  world  and  the  effec- 
tive execution  of  the  treaty  depend  upon  the  whole-hearted  par- 
ticipation of  the  United  States.  I  am  not  stating  it  as  a  mat- 
ter of  power.  The  point  is  that  the  United  States  is  the  only 
nation  which  has  sufficient  moral  force  with  the  rest  of  the 
world  to  guarantee  the  substitution  of  discussion  for  war.  If 
we  keep  out  of  this  agreement,  if  we  do  not  give  our  guaran- 
tee, then  another  attempt  will  be  made  to  crush  the  small  new 
nations  of  Europe. 

"I  do  not  believe  that  this  is  what  the  people  of  this  country 
wish  or  will  be  satisfied  with.  Personally  I  do  not  accept 
the  action  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  as  the  decision 
of  the  nation. 

"I  have  endeavored  to  make  it  plain  that  if  the  Senate 
wishes  to  say  what  the  undoubted  meaning  of  the  League  is, 
I  shall  have  no  objection.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  objec- 
tion to  the  interpretations  accompanying  the  act  of  ratification 
itself.  But  when  the  treaty  is  acted  upon,  I  must  know 
whether  it  means  that  we  have  ratified  or  rejected  it. 

"We  cannot  rewrite  this  treaty.  We  must  take  it  without 
changes  which  alter  the  meaning,  or  leave  it,  and  then  after 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  435 

the  rest  of  the  world  has  signed  it,  we  must  face  the  unthink- 
able task  of  making  another  and  separate  treaty  with  Ger- 
many. 

"If  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  what  the  people  of  the  country 
think  on  this  vital  matter,  the  clear  and  only  way  out  is  to 
submit  it  for  determination  at  the  next  election  to  the  voters 
of  the  nation,  to  give  the  next  election  the  form  of  a  great 
and  solemn  referendum,  a  referendum  as  to  the  part  the 
United  States  is  to  play  in  completing  the  settlement  of  the  war 
and  in  the  prevention  in  the  future  of  such  outrages  as  Ger- 
many attempted  to  perpetuate." 

Mr.  Bryan  did  not  agree  with  the  President.  The  party 
could  not  go  to  the  country  on  such  an  issue.  It  was  in  the 
minority  in  the  Senate  and  could  not  dictate  the  terms  on 
which  the  treaty  should  be  ratified. 

"The  Democratic  Senators  stood  with  the  President  for 
ratification  without  reservation,  and  I  stood  with  them  be- 
lieving that  it  was  better  to  secure  within  the  league,  after  it 
was  established,  any  necessary  changes,  than  to  attempt  to  se- 
cure them  by  reservations  in  the  ratifying  resolutions. 

"But  our  plan  has  been  rejected  and  we  must  face  the  situa- 
tion as  it  is." 

"We  must  either  secure  such  compromises  as  may  be  pos- 
sible, or  present  the  issue  to  the  country.  The  latter  course 
would  mean  a  delay  of  at  least  fourteen  months  and  then  suc- 
cess only  in  case  of  our  securing  a  two-thirds  majority  in  the 
Senate. 

".We  cannot  afford,  either  as  citizens  or  as  members  of  the 
party,  to  share  with  the  Republican  Party  responsibility  for 
further  delay;  we  cannot  go  before  the  country  on  the  issue 
that  such  an  appeal  would  present.  The  Republicans  have  a 
majority  in  the  Senate,  and,  therefore,  can  by  right  dictate 
the  Senate's  course.  Being  in  the  minority,  we  cannot  de- 
mand the  right  to  decide  the  terms  upon  which  the  Senate  will 
consent  to  ratification. 

"Our  Nation  has  spent  100,000  precious  lives  and  more 


436     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

than  $20,000,000,000  to  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy 
and  the  fundamental  principle  of  democracy  is  the  right  of 
the  majority  to  rule.  It  applies  to  the  Senate  and  to  the 
House  as  well  as  to  the  people.  According  to  the  Constitu- 
tion a  treaty  is  ratified  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  but  the  Democratic 
Party  cannot  afford  to  take  advantage  of  the  constitutional 
right  of  a  minority  to  prevent  ratification. 

"A  majority  of  Congress  can  declare  war.  Shall  we  make 
it  more  difficult  to  conclude  a  treaty  than  to  enter  a  war  ? 

"Neither  can  we  go  before  the  country  on  the  issue  raised 
by  Article  X.  If  we  do  not  intend  to  impair  the  right  of 
Congress  to  decide  the  question  of  peace  or  war  when  the 
time  for  action  arises,  how  can  we  insist  upon  a  moral  obli- 
gation to  go  to  war  which  can  have  no  force  or  value  except 
as  it  does  impair  the  independence  of  Congress?  We  owe  it 
to  the  world  to  join  in  an  honest  effort  to  put  an  end  to  war 
forever,  and  that  effort  should  be  made  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible moment." 

The  advice  fell  on  dull  ears.  The  old-fashioned  doctrine 
that  the  majority  should  rule  did  not  seem  applicable.  Only 
a  few  Senators  approved  the  plan  to  carry  the  issue  into  the 
campaign.  The  President  was  reminded  that  the  Constitu- 
tion explicitly  provided  in  what  manner  a  treaty  should  be 
ratified,  that  no  provision  was  made  for  "a  great  and  solemn 
referendum,"  and  the  work  of  conciliation  went  on  more 
earnestly  than  ever.  Eumor  had  it  that  there  would  soon 
be  a  round  table  conference  of  Democrats  and  Republicans. 
JSTow  and  then  some  action  by  popular  organizations  showed 
the  drift  of  public  opinion.  Delegates  representing  twenty- 
six  organizations,  farm,  labor,  educational,  religious  and  civic, 
at  a  meeting  in  Washington  adopted  resolutions  and  sent  them 
by  a  committee  to  the  President,  and  to  Senators  Hitchcock 
and  Lodge.  Peace,  so  ran  the  resolutions,  is  declared  and  the 
United  States  is  not  a  party  to  it.  As  the  representatives  of 
twenty-six  national  organizations  which  had  expressed  the 
judgment  of  their  millions  of  members  that  the  treaty  should! 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  437 

be  immediately  ratified  in  such  wise  as  not  to  require  rene- 
gotiation, they  had  come  to  Washington  to  convey  to  the  Presi- 
dent the  overwhelming  sentiment  that  supported  the  demand 
for  ratification.  They  unhesitatingly  affirmed  that  the  coun- 
try desired  peace  at  once  and  urged  "immediate  ratification 
with  such  reservations  as  may  secure  in  the  Senate  the  nec- 
essary two-thirds,  even  though  this  may  require  from  the  treaty 
making  power  the  same  spirit  of  self-denying  sacrifice  which 
won  the  war."  The  World  should  not  wait  longer  for  America 
to  make  peace. 

In  more  than  four  hundred  Universities  and  Colleges  scat- 
tered over  the  country  a  poll  was  taken  on  six  propositions 
sent  out  by  the  Intercollegiate  Keferendum  Committee.  When 
all  returns  were  in  it  was  found  that  158,078  votes  were  cast. 
The  propositions  were:  the  League  and  the  Treaty  without 
reservations  or  amendments,  far  which  there  were  48,653 
votes;  no  League  or  Treaty  in  any  form  which  received  13,933  ; 
the  League  and  the  Treaty  with  the  Lodge  reservations  which 
found  27,970  supporters;  such  a  compromise  as  would  hasten 
ratification  for  which  49,653  ballots  were  cast;  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  without  the  covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  for 
which  6,949  persons  voted,  and  the  League  and  the  Treaty 
with  the  reservations  demanded  by  Mr.  Hitchcock  which  re- 
ceived 11,841  votes. 

By  this  time  the  oft  suggested  round  table  had  taken  the 
form  of  an  unauthorized,  unofficial  bipartisan  conference  of 
five  Democrats  and  four  Republicans  under  the  lead  of  Sen- 
ators Hitchcock  and  Lodge.  Conference  after  conference  was 
held  in  secret.  Agreement  was  reached,  tentatively,  on  the 
preamble,  on  all  sections  of  the  reservations  save  those  con- 
cerning Article  X,  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  and  a  few  minor 
matters.  That  agreement  would  be  reached  even  on  Article 
X  seemed  quite  possible  when  the  Republican  "irreconcilables" 
served  notice  that  if  any  changes  were  made  in  the  reserva- 
tions touching  Article  X  and  the  Monroe  Doctrine  the  treaty 
would  be  rejected.  On  Monday,  January  26,  accordingly, 


438     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Senator  Lodge  announced  to  the  Democratic  members  of  the 
conference  that  no  compromise  on  Article  X,  nor  on  the  Mon- 
roe Doctrine  reservation  was  possible.  They  at  once  left  the 
meeting  to  consider  their  reply  which  was  delivered  the  fol- 
lowing day.  They  had,  they  said,  entered  on  the  conference 
"without  any  reservations  or  restrictions"  in  the  hope  that 
differences  might  be  compromised  not  only  on  Article  X,  but 
on  all  other  reservations,  and  assumed  that  the  other  side  had 
a  like  purpose.  "The  unexpected  interruption  of  the  confer- 
ence and  the  decision  to  refuse  any  compromise  on  Article  X" 
was  all  the  more  surprising  because  it  seemed  that  they  were 
close  to  an  agreement  on  this  very  reservation  by  means  of  an- 
other which  they  now  made  public.1 

Gloomy  as  was  the  prospect  of  compromise  one  more  meet- 
ing, the  last,  was  held  on  January  30.  The  Democratic  Sena- 
tors began  by  offering  a  reservation  on  Article  X  proposed 
in  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger 2  by  Mr.  Taft.  Senator 
Lodge  rejected  it,  and  when  asked  to  submit  some  other,  de- 
clared that  the  original  reservation  must  stand.  Thereupon 
the  conference  ended. 

Nothing  now  remained  to  do  save  bring  the  treaty  again 
before  the  Senate  or  allow  the  questions  of  ratification  of  the 
Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  to  be  carried  into  the 
Presidential  Campaign.  There  were  three  ways  by  either  of 

1  "The  United  States  assumes  no  obligation  to  employ  its  military  or 
naval  forces  or  the  economic  boycott  to  preserve  the  territorial  integrity 
or  political  independence  of  any  other  country  under  the  provisions  of 
Article  X,  or  to  employ  the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States 
under  any  article  of  the  treaty  for  any  purpose,  unless  in  any  particular 
case  the  Congress,  which,  under  the  constitution,  has  the  sole  power  to 
declare  war  or  authorize  the  employmsjat  of  the  military  or  naval  forces 
of  the  United  States,  shall  by  act  or  joint  resolution  so  provide.  Noth- 
ing herein  shall  be  deemed  to  impair  the  obligation  in  Article  XVI  con- 
cerning the  economic  boycott." 

2 "The  United  States  declines  to  assume  any  legal  or  binding  obligation 
to  preserve  the  territorial  integrity  or  geographical  independence  of  any 
other  country  under  the  provisions  of  Article  X,  or  to  employ  the  mili- 
tary or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  under  any  article  of  the  treaty 
for  any  purpose;  but  the  Congress,  which  under  the  constitution  has  the 
sole  power  in  the  premises,  will  consider  and  decide  what  moral  obliga- 
tion, if  any,  under  the  circumstances  of  any  particular  case,  when  it  arises, 
should  move  the  United  States,  in  the  interest  of  the  world  peace  and 
justice,  to  take  action  therein,  and  will  provide  accordingly." 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  439 

which  the  treaty  might  again  be  brought  before  the  Senate. 
The  President  might  withdraw  and  resubmit  it,  an  act  no- 
body expected  he  would  do.  It  might  be  taken  up  by  unani- 
mous consent  which  nobody  expected  could  be  obtained.  It 
might  be  brought  up  under  a  suspension  of  Kule  13  relating 
to  the  reconsideration  of  questions  the  Senate  had  once  re- 
fused to  reconsider.  This  would  require  a  two-thirds  vote. 
The  Democrats  decided  to  make  the  attempt  and  on  January 
31  formal  notice  was  given  that  on  Tuesday,  February  10, 
Senator  Hitchcock  would  move  that  the  Senate  proceed  to 
consider  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Germany.  Thereupon  on 
February  2  Mr.  Lodge  served  notice  that  on  February  9  he 
would  ask  unanimous  consent  to  the  suspension  of  Rule  13, 
and  failing  in  that  would  move  its  suspension. 

And  now  help  came  from  a  most  unexpected  source,  a  letter 
written  by  Viscount  Grey  to  the  editor  of  the  London  Times* 

Nothing,  he  began  by  saying,  is  more  desirable  in  interna- 
tional politics  than  a  good  understanding  between  the  Uhited 
States  and  Great  Britain.  Nothing  more  disastrous  than  mis- 
understanding. Some  aspects  of  the  position  of  the  United 
States  on  the  League  of  Nations  were  not  understood  in  Great 
Britain,  and  it  was  in  hopes  of  making  that  position  better 
understood  that  he  wrote  his  letter.  One  misunderstanding 
should  be  cleared  away  at  the  outset.  No  charge,  he  said,  of 
bad  faith  or  repudiation  of  signatures  can  be  brought  against 
the  United  States.  The  Senate  is  an  independent  element  in 
the  treaty  making  power  and  its  refusal  to  ratify  must  not  be 
construed  as  repudiation.  Nor  is  it  fair  to  charge  the  United 
States  with  holding  up  the  treaty  from  motives  of  party  poli- 
tics. Nor  is  it  true  to  say  that  the  United  States  "is  moved 
solely  by  a  selfish  interest  to  a  disregard  of  high  ideals."  There 
is  in  the  United  States  a  strong  feeling  for  the  traditional 
policy  of  keeping  clear  of  European  alliance.  The  League  of 
Nations  is  not  merely  a  plunge  into  the  unknown,  but  a  plunge 

'  The  letter  was  published  in  full  in  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1920. 


440     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

into  something  which,  the  traditions  of  the  United  States  have 
hitherto  disapproved.  Hence  the  desire  for  reservations. 
Should  the  Covenant  stand  unchanged  it  will  he  possible  for 
a  President,  some  time  in  the  future,  to  commit  the  United 
States  to  a  policy  which  the  Congress  at  that  time  may  dis- 
approve. Such  a  contingency  cannot  arise  in  Great  Britain 
but  it  may  in  the  United  States  which  is  quite  right,  if  it  so 
desires,  to  provide  against  it. 

The  help  of  the  United  States  is  most  essential  to  secure 
peace.  Without  her  the  League  will  be  little  better  than  an 
alliance  for  armed  self  defense.  It  will  have  behind  it  neither 
physical  nor  the  moral  force  it  should  have.  It  will  be  a  Eu- 
ropean, not  a  world  organization,  the  old  order  of  things  will 
be  revived,  and  the  fretful  nations  will  have  power  to  disturb 
the  peace.  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  because  the 
United  States  wished  to  limit  its  obligations  it  intended  to 
play  a  little  part  in  the  League  of  Nations.  If  she  enters  as 
a  willing  partner  with  limited  obligations  it  may  well  be  that 
her  influence  in  the  League  will  be  more  forceful  than  if  she 
comes  as  a  reluctant  partner  "who  felt  her  hands  had  been 
forced." 

Concerning  one  reservation,  the  fourteenth,  Lord  Grey 
wrote  at  length,  and  closed  with  these  words:  "Our  object  is 
to  maintain  the  status  of  the  self-governing  dominions,  not  to 
secure  a  greater  British  than  American  vote,  and  we  have  no 
objection  in  principle  to  an  increase  of  the  American  vote." 

Great  was  the  impression  made  by  the  letter.  On  both  sides 
of  the  water  it  was  hailed  as  candid,  high-minded,  statesman- 
like, as  a  letter  to  which  no  one  could  object.  It  was  held  to 
mean  that  he  would  accept  the  Lodge  reservations,  and  that 
undoubtedly  the  British  Government  would  do  likewise  if  given 
the  opportunity.  Though  addressed  to  the  Times  it  had  all 
the  force  of  a  state  paper,  was  a  powerful  appeal  to  the  United 
States  to  enter  the  League,  and  cleared  the  way  for  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Lodge  reservations.  Let  us  meet  the  United  States 
so  liberally,  said  a  London  paper,  as  to  leave  her  not  an  ex- 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  441 

cuse  for  standing  out.  Let  her  send  over  a  shipload  of  res- 
ervations. Lord  Grey,  it  was  said,  spent  his  ninety  days  in 
Washington  to  good  purpose.  He  was  gathering  information, 
absorbing  American  opinion.  He  was  in  conference,  in- 
formally, with  leaders  of  both  parties  and  persons  holding  all 
shades  of  opinion  on  the  League  and  the  Covenant. 

There  were  those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  expressed  aston- 
ishment that  Lord  Grey  while  still  special  Ambassador,  though 
absent  on  leave,  should  write  a  letter  expressing  opinions  on 
political  affairs  in  the  United  States,  and  above  all  on  a  mat- 
ter which  was  the  subject  of  bitter  debate.  It  was  true  that 
in  the  letter  he  said  concerning  his  observations,  "they  repre- 
sent only  my  own  personal  opinion  and  nothing  more,  and 
they  are  given  simply  as  those  of  a  private  individual."  But 
was  he,  so  far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned,  a  private 
individual  ?  He  had  not  been  recalled.  He  had  not  resigned 
his  post.  He  was  still  a  special  Ambassador  though  at  home, 
and  ought  not  in  any  way  give  public  expression  to  his  thoughts 
on  American  politics.  Lloyd  George,  when  asked  by  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  New  York  Times  what  he  thought  of  the  Grey 
letter,  said:  "It  was  in  the  nature  of  a  report  to  the  British 
public  on  what  he  had  observed  during  his  stay  in  America, 
and  to  give  them  a  clearer  understanding  of  conditions  over 
there." 

And  now,  as  the  day  on  which  it  was  hoped  the  treaty 
would  be  taken  up  in  the  Senate  drew  near,  a  letter  from  the 
President  was  made  public.  On  the  evening  of  January  22, 
when  the  bipartisan  conference  seemed  about  to  agree  on  Ar- 
ticle X,  Senator  Hitchcock  wrote  to  the  President:  "On  Ar- 
ticle X  the  effort  to  reach  a  compromise  has  now  reached  a 
stage  where  both  sides  are  seriously  considering  a  proposition 
as  indicated  by  the  enclosed  clipping."  4  The  letter  now  given 
to  the  press  was  the  answer  of  the  President  bearing  date  Jan- 
uary 26. 

The  form  of  the  reservation  the  President  thought  very  un- 

*  Note,  page  438. 


442     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

fortunate.  Any  statement  that  "the  United  States  assumes  no 
ohligation  under  such  and  such  an  article  unless  or  except," 
would,  he  was  sure,  "chill  our  relationship  with  the  nations 
with  which  we  expect  to  be  associated"  in  keeping  the  world  at 
peace.  He  was  happy  to  say  that  he  accepted  the  five  reserva- 
tions offered  by  Senator  Hitchcock  "as  they  stand."  5 

The  President  did  not  see  the  slightest  reason  to  doubt  the 
good  faith  of  our  associates  in  the  war,  nor  the  slightest  reason 
to  believe  they  would  seek  to  commit  us  to  a  line  of  action  on 
which  Congress  alone  could  decide;  thought  it  would  be  wise 
that  notice  of  withdrawal  should  be  by  a  joint,  not  by  a  con- 
current resolution;  doubted  whether  the  President  could  be 
deprived  of  his  veto  even  with  his  own  consent ;  and  saw  "no 
objection  to  a  frank  statement  that  the  United  States  can  accept 

6  Reservations  proposed  by  Senator  Hitchcock,  and  rejected  by  the  Senate 
November  19: 

"That  any  member  nation  proposing  to  withdraw  from  the  League  on 
two  years'  notice  is  the  sole  judge  as  to  whether  its  obligations  referred 
to  in  Article  I  of  the  League  of  Nations  have  been  performed  as  required 
in  said  article. 

"That  no  member  nation  is  required  to  submit  to  the  league,  its  council 
or  its  assembly  for  decision,  report  or  recommendation  any  matter  which 
it  considers  to  be  international  law,  a  domestic  question  such  as  immi- 
gration, labor,  tariff  or  other  matter  relating  to  its  internal  or  coastwise 
affairs. 

"That  the  national  policy  of  the  United  States,  known  as  the  Monroe 
Doctrine,  as  announced  and  interpreted  by  the  United  States,  is  not  in 
any  way  impaired  or  affected  by  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations 
and  is  not  subject  to  any  decision,  report  or  inquiry  by  the  council  or 
assembly. 

' l  That  the  advice  mentioned  in  Article  X  of  the  covenant  of  the  league 
which  the  council  may  give  to  the  member  nations  as  to  the  employment  of 
their  naval  and  military  forces  is  merely  advice  which  each  member  nation 
is  free  to  accept  or  reject  according  to  the  conscience  and  judgment  of 
its  then  existing  government,  and  in  the  United  States  this  advice  can  only 
be  accepted  by  action  of  the  Congress  at  the  time  in  being,  Congress 
alone,  under  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  having  the  power  to 
declare  war. 

"That  in  case  of  a  dispute  between  members  of  the  league  if  one  of 
them  has  self-governing  colonies,  dominions  or  parts  which  have  represen- 
tation in  the  assembly,  each  and  all  are  to  be  considered  parties  to  the 
dispute,  and  the  same  shall  be  the  rule  if  one  of  the  parties  to  the  dispute 
is  a  self-governing  colony,  dominion  or  part,  in  which  case  all  other  self- 
governing  colonies,  dominions  or  parts,  as  well  as  the  nation  as  a  whole, 
shall  be  considered  parties  to  the  dispute,  and  each  and  all  shall  be  dis- 
qualified from  having  their  votes  counted  in  case  of  any  inquiry  on  said 
dispute  made  by  the  assembly." 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  443 

a  mandate"  under  any  provision  of  the  treaty  "only  by  the 
direct  authority  and  action"  of  Congress. 

On  the  appointed  day  unanimous  consent  to  the  suspension 
of  Rule  13  was  asked  and  refused;  the  Rule  was  suspended  by 
vote ;  the  treaty  was  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations,  and  instruction  was  given  to  report  it  immediately 
together  with  the  reservations  adopted  by  the  Senate  and  the 
ratifying  resolution.  The  report  was  made  as  ordered;  notice 
was  given  that  it  would  be  called  up  on  February  16 ;  the  mild 
reservationists  proceeded  to  frame  another  reservation  on 
Article  X ;  6  the  changes  in  the  original  reservations  as  tenta- 
tively agreed  to,  or  considered  in  the  bipartisan  conference 
were  presented,  and  the  struggle  for  ratification  was  once  more 
under  way. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  week  a  "round  robin"  signed  by 
twenty-eight  Democrats,  and  said  to  have  the  approval  of  at 
least  twelve  more,  was  presented  to  Senator  Lodge  to  be  laid 
before  the  Republicans.  It  was  an  offer  to  accept  either  the 
reservation  framed  in  the  bipartisan  conference,  or  that  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Taft.7  Senator  Lodge  promised  to  submit  it 
without  recommendation. 

6  Proposed  by  the  "mild  reservationists" : 

"The  United  States  assumes  no  obligation  to  preserve,  by  the  use  of  its 
military  or  naval  forces,  or  by  the  economic  boycott  or  by  any  other 
means,  the  territorial  integrity  or  political  independence  of  any  other 
country,  or  to  interfere  in  controversies,  between  nations,  whether  mem- 
bers of  the  league  or  not,  under  the  provisions  of  Article  X,  or  to  employ 
the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  under  any  article  of  the 
treaty  for  any  purpose,  unless  in  any  particular  case  the  Congress,  which, 
under  the  constitution,  has  the  sole  power  to  declare  war,  shall,  by  act  or 
joint  resolution,  so  provide." 

7  The  "round  robin"  is  as  follows : 

"The  undersigned  Democratic  senators,  as  a  means  of  securing  ratifica- 
tion of  the  treaty,  will  support  as  a  reservation  on  Article  X  either  of 
the  following  reservations,  the  first  one  being  the  reservation  as  framed  in 
the  bipartisan  conferences  recently  held,  and  the  second  one  being  the 
last  proposed  reservation  by  former  President  Taft. 
"Bipartisan  conference  reservation: 

"  'The  United  States  assumes  no  obligation  to  employ  its  military  or 
naval  forces  or  the  economic  boycott  to  preserve  the  territorial  integ- 
rity or  political  independence  of  any  other  country  under  the  pro- 
visions of  Article  X,  or  to  employ  the  military  or  naval  forces  of 
the  United  States  under  any  other  article  of  the  treaty  for  any 
purpose,  unless  in  any  particular  case  the  Congress,  which,  under 


444     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

With  the  stage  thus  set  for  reconsideration  discussion  began 
anew,  but  no  progress  towards  ratification  was  made  when  an 
incident  occurred  which  threatened  to  put  an  end  to  the  treaty 
forever. 

On  December  9,  1919,  Great  Britain,  France  and  the  United 
States  came  to  an  agreement  on  the  Adriatic  question,  which 
was  not  accepted  by  Italy.  Great  Britain  and  France  there- 
upon, without  consulting  the  United  States,  drew  up  a  revised 
proposal  which  Italy  accepted  on  January  12,  1920,  and  which 
M.  Clemenceau  delivered  to  the  Jugoslav  delegation  on  January 
14.  This  was  not  accepted,  whereupon  Great  Britain  and 
France  submitted  another  and  notified  both  Italy  and  Jugo- 
slavia that  if  it  were  not  accepted  the  Treaty  of  London  would 
go  into  force. 

To  all  this  the  President  objected  and  a  memorandum  on 
the  Adriatic  question  was  handed  by  the  American  Ambassador 
at  Paris  to  the  French  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  On  the 
same  day  like  memoranda  were  delivered  at  London  and  Eome. 
It  was  not  made  public,  yet  the  French  press  declared  the  Presi- 
dent held  to  the  plan  of  December,  1919,  disapproved  that  of 
January,  objected  to  forcing  the  Jugoslavs  to  choose  between 
it  and  the  Treaty  of  London,  and  threatened,  if  the  Allied 
Powers  settled  the  matter  without  consulting  the  United  States, 
our  country  would  concern  itself  no  further  in  European  af- 
fairs. For  this  he  was  soundly  berated  by  the  Paris  press. 

the  constitution,  has  the  sole  power  to  declare  war,  shall,  by  act  or 
joint  resolution,  so  provide.  Nothing  herein  shall  be  deemed  to 
impair  the  obligation  in  Article  XVI  concerning  the  economic  boycott/ 

"Mr.  Taft's  suggested  reservation: 

"  The  United  States  declines  to  assume  any  legal  or  binding  obliga- 
tion to  preserve  the  territorial  integrity  or  political  independence  of 
any  other  country  under  the  provisions  of  Article  X,  or  to  employ 
the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  under  any  article  of 
the  treaty  for  any  purpose;  but  the  Congress,  which  under  the  con- 
stitution has  the  sole  power  in  the  premises,  will  consider  and  decide 
what  moral  obligations,  if  any,  under  the  circumstances  of  any  par- 
ticular case,  when  it  arises,  should  move  the  United  States  in  the 
interest  of  world  peace  and  justice  to  take  action  therein,  and  will 
provide  accordingly.' 

"Whichever  of  the  above  reservations  is  preferred  by  Republican 
supporters  of  the  treaty  will  as  a  compromise  be  acceptable  to  us." 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  445 

Combated,  it  was  said,  in  his  own  country,  unable  to  secure  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty,  he  comes  to  counteract  the  efforts  of 
the  great  European  powers  to  remedy  the  present  confusion. 
Closed  in  his  proud  isolation,  irritated  by  his  malady,  out  of 
contact  with  the  Allied  Cabinets  and  his  own  ministers,  the 
unreasonable  President  of  the  United  States  pretends  to  direct 
the  affairs  of  Europe,  of  which  he  has  not  the  slightest  con- 
ception. Another  thought  it  inadmissible  that  Wilson,  an 
autocrat,  but  one  about  to  fall,  should  be  allowed  to  impose  his 
political  ideas  on  Europe  when  within  a  year  a  Republican 
would  rule  in  the  White  House.  Another  supposed,  as  the 
United  States  possessed  a  great  mass  of  pounds  sterling,  francs 
and  lire,  the  diplomats  at  London  would  not  wish  to  unchain 
the  thunderbolts  of  the  American  King.8  What  is  this 
memorandum?  asked  another.  Is  it  an  ultimatum  to  all  Eu- 
rope? Who  is  its  real  author?  Mr.  Wilson  or  the  United 
States?  It  is  absurd  that  when  America  voluntarily  takes  no 
part  in  the  conferences,  her  President  should  intervene. 

Such  was  the  news  the  day  the  treaty  was  taken  up  in  the 
Senate.  In  Washington  it  was  asserted  by  some  who  claimed 
to  know  that  the  memorandum  was  not  an  ultimatum,  not  a 
threat  to  withdraw  from  European  affairs.  It  was  a  warning 
that  the  President  might  withdraw  from  further  consideration 
of  the  Adriatic  problem.  Nor  was  it  true,  as  asserted  in  Paris, 
that  in  a  postscript  the  President  threatened  to  withdraw  not 
only  the  treaty  of  Versailles,  but  also  that  pledging  aid  to 
France  if  attacked  by  Germany.  This  in  turn  was  denied  in 
Paris  when  the  afternoon  journals  published  what  they  claimed 
was  the  exact  text  of  the  postscript.  "The  President  would 
take  into  serious  consideration  the  withdrawal  of  America 
from  the  treaty  of  Versailles  and  from  the  treaty  between  the 
United  States  and  France." 

The  reply  of  the  Allies  to  the  President  was  kept  secret.  But 
what  was  said  to  be  the  gist  of  it  was  cabled  from  Rome  by 

8  La  Liberte,  Echo  de  Paris,  Intransigetmt,  quoted  by  New  York  Times. 
February  16,  1920. 


446     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

a  correspondent  to  his  newspaper  in  Buenos  Aires.  To  the 
charge  of  bad  faith  they  were  said  to  have  answered  that  the 
President  was  unable  to  prove  it.  The  President's  plan  for 
a  buffer  state  had  been  rejected  by  Jugoslavia.  The  little  strip 
of  territory  necessary  to  join  Fiume  with  Italy  was  too 
insignificant  to  justify  delay  in  settling  peace  in  Europe.  Italy 
had  entered  the  war  at  a  moment  as  critical  as  that  when  the 
United  States  came  in,  and  had  made  sacrifices  in  blood  and 
money  far  greater  than  had  the  United  States.  Threatening 
withdrawal  of  the  treaty  of  Versailles  gravely  injured  French 
policy  for  which  the  President  invited  protection. 

During  the  excitement  aroused  by  this  new  dispute  over 
Fiume,  the  Senate  did  nothing  with  the  treaty.  On  the  twenty- 
first  of  the  month,  however,  after  some  hours  of  debate,  on  the 
treaty  as  a  campaign  issue,  the  Lodge  reservation  on  withdrawal 
from  the  League  was  readopted,  by  a  large  majority. 

Nothing  more  was  done  for  a  week.  Meantime  the 
memoranda  exchanged  on  the  Fiume  issue  were  given  to  the 
public.  It  then  appeared  that  the  President  stood  firmly  by 
the  proposal  of  December  9.  The  Adriatic  issue  raised  the 
question,  he  said,  as  to  whether  the  American  Government 
could,  on  any  terms,  cooperate  with  its  European  associates  in 
the  great  work  of  maintaining  the  peace  of  the  world  by  re- 
moving the  primary  causes  of  war.  "If  substantial  agreement 
on  what  is  just  and  reasonable  is  not  to  determine  international 
issues ;  if  the  country  possessing  the  most  endurance  in  pressing 
its  demands  rather  than  the  country  armed  with  a  just  cause, 
is  to  gain  the  support  of  the  powers;  if  forcible  seizure  of 
coveted  areas  is  to  be  permitted  and  condoned,  and  is  to  receive 
ultimate  justification  by  creating  a  situation  so  difficult  that 
decision  favorable  to  the  aggressor  is  deemed  a  practical 
necessity;  if  deliberately  incited  ambition  is,  under  the  name 
of  national  sentiment,  to  be  rewarded  at  the  expense  of  the 
small  and  the  weak ;  if,  in  a  word,  the  old  order  of  things  which 
brought  so  many  evils  on  the  world  is  still  to  prevail,  then  the 
time  is  not  yet  come  when  this  Government  can  enter  a  concert 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  447 

of  powers  the  very  existence  of  which  must  depend  upon  a  new 
spirit  and  a  new  order."  "If  it  does  not  appear  feasible  to  secure 
acceptance  of  the  just  and  generous  concessions  offered  by  the 
British,  French  and  American  Governments  to  Italy  in  the 
joint  memorandum  of  those  powers  of  December  9,  1919,  which 
the  President  has  already  clearly  stated  to  be  the  maximum 
concession  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  can  offer, 
the  President  desires  to  say  that  he  must  take  under  serious 
consideration  the  withdrawal  of  the  treaty  with  Germany  and 
the  agreement  between  the  United  States  and  France  of  June 
28,  1919,  which  are  now  before  the  Senate  and  permitting  the 
European  settlement  to  be  independently  established  and  en- 
forced by  the  associated  governments." 

France  and  Great  Britain  in  their  joint  reply  defended  their 
action;  argued  the  points  raised  by  the  President;  viewed  "with 
consternation  the  threat  of  the  United  States  Government  to 
withdraw  from  the  comity  of  nations  because  it  does  not  agree 
to  the  precise  terms  of  the  Adriatic  settlement";  earnestly 
trusted  the  United  States  "will  not  wreck  the  whole  machinery 
for  dealing  with  international  disputes,"  and  could  not  "be- 
lieve that  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  American  people  to  take  a 
step  so  far-reaching  and  terrible  in  its  effects  on  a  ground  which 
has  the  appearance  of  being  so  inadequate." 

The  Senate  on  February  26  having  resumed  consideration  of 
the  reservations  put  off  discussion  on  Article  X  until  all  others 
were  acted  on,  adopted  that  concerning  mandates  by  an  almost 
unanimous  vote,  and  were  debating  the  fourth  when  a  motion 
to  adjourn  was  carried.  Nearly  a  week  passed  before  reserva- 
tions four,  five,  six  and  eight  and  the  bipartisan  substitute  for 
the  seventh  were  adopted.  Five  more  were  adopted  early  in 
the  second  week  of  March  and  none  save  Article  X  remained 
to  be  considered.  All  this,  however,  would  be  of  no  avail,  would 
be  but  a  new  threshing  of  old  straw,  unless  the  President  would 
accept  some  form  of  compromise  on  the  much  debated  article. 
As  a  last  effort  to  obtain  his  views  on  the  critical  situation  of 
the  treaty,  the  Democrats  chose  a  Senator  to  be  their  spokes- 


448     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

man,  and  the  party  leader  requested  for  him  an  audience  with 
the  President.  The  request  was  denied;  but  the  President 
gave  his  views  in  a  long  letter  to  Senator  Hitchcock. 

He  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  stipulate  in  connection  with 
Article  X,  the  constitutional  methods  we  should  use  in  fulfill- 
ing our  obligation  under  it.  Nothing  would  be  gained  by  such 
stipulations,  nothing  would  be  secured  not  already  secured. 
There  could  be  no  objection  to  explaining  our  constitutional 
methods,  to  declaring  that  Congress  alone  can  declare  war. 
But  it  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation.  Reservations  which 
had  come  under  his  notice  were,  almost  without  exception,  not 
interpretations  but  virtual  nullifications  of  the  articles  to  which 
they  were  attached.  "Any  reservation  which  seeks  to  deprive 
the  League  of  Nations  of  the  force  of  Article  X,  cuts  at  the 
very  heart  and  life  of  the  Covenant  itself."  A  League  of  Na- 
tions which  did  not  guarantee  the  political  independence  of 
each  of  its  members  might  be  hardly  more  than  a  futile  scrap 
of  paper.  If  we  were  to  reject  Article  X,  or  take  the  force  out 
of  it,  we  would  show  a  desire  to  go  back  to  the  old  world  of 
jealous  rivalry  and  misunderstandings  from  which  our  gallant 
soldiers  had  rescued  us.  "If  we  have  awakened,  as  has  the 
rest  of  the  world,  to  the  vision  of  a  new  day  in  which  the 
mistakes  of  the  past  are  to  be  corrected,  we  will  welcome  the 
opportunity  to  share  the  responsibilities  of  Article  X.'7 

It  was  far  from  certain  that  imperialistic  policies  and  mili- 
taristic ambitions  were  dead  in  the  councils  of  our  late  Allies. 
"Throughout  the  sessions  of  the  conference  in  Paris  it  was 
evident  that  a  militaristic  party  under  the  most  influential 
leadership  was  seeking  to  gain  ascendancy  in  the  councils  of 
France.  They  were  defeated  then  but  are  in  control  now.  The 
chief  arguments  advanced  in  Paris  in  support  of  the  Italian 
claims  on  the  Adriatic  were  strategic  arguments,  that  is  to  say 
militaristic  arguments  which  had  at  their  back  the  thought  of 
naval  supremacy  on  the  sea."  "Every  imperialistic  influence  in 
Europe  was  hostile  to  the  embodiment  of  Article  X  in  the 
Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations,  and  its  defeat  now  would 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  449 

mark  the  complete  consummation  of  their  efforts  to  nullify 
the  treaty." 

Every  so-called  reservation  was  in  effect  aa  rather  sweeping 
nullification  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty  itself.  I  hear  of  reserva- 
tionists  and  mild  reservationists,  but  I  cannot  understand  the 
difference  between  a  nullifier  and  a  mild  nullifier.* 

And  now  a  new  reservation  9  to  Article  X  was  prepared  and 
the  announcement  made  that  when  the  time  came  it  would  be 
laid  before  the  Senate,  and  still  another,  a  substitute  for  that 
so  long  the  cause  of  bitter  contention,  was  offered  by  Senator 
Lodge.10  That  the  President  would  not  accept  it  was  fully 
believed.  Nevertheless  after  the  insertion  of  an  amending 
clause  n  it  was  adopted  by  the  aid  of  votes  cast  by  Democratic 
Senators. 

Not  content  with  this  another  reservation  was  introduced. 
"It  shall  be  the  declared  policy  of  this  Government  that  the 
freedom  and  peace  of  Europe,  being  again  threatened  by  any 
power  or  combination  of  powers,  the  United  States  will  regard 
such  a  situation  with  grave  concern,  and  will  consider  what, 
if  any,  action  it  will  take  in  the  premises."  It  was  rejected, 
and  then  followed  a  series  of  the  most  astonishing  reservations 

'  "The  United  States  assumes  no  obligations  to  employ  its  military  or 
naval  forces,  its  resources  or  any  form  of  economic  discrimination  to  pre- 
serve the  territorial  integrity  or  political  independence  of  any  other  coun- 
try, or  to  interfere  in  controversies  between  nations  whether  members  of 
the  League  or  not,  under  the  provisions  of  Article  X,  or  to  employ  the 
military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  under  any  article  of  the 
treaty  for  any  purpose,  unless  in  any  particular  case  the  Congress,  in  the 
exercise  of  full  liberty  of  action,  shall  by  act  or  joint  resolution  so 
provide." 

10  "The  United  States  assumes  no  obligation  to  preserve  the  territorial 
integrity  or  political  independence  of  any  other  country  by  the  employ- 
ment of  its  military  or  naval  forces,  its  resources,  or  any  form  of  economic 
discrimination,  or  to  interfere  in  controversies  between  nations,  whether 
members  of  the  League  or  not,  under  the  provisions  of  Article  X,  or  to 
employ  the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  under  any 
article  of  the  treaty  for  any  purpose,  unless  in  any  particular  case  the 
Congress,  which,  under  the  Constitution,  has  the  sole  power  to  declare  war 
or  authorize  the  employment  of  the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United 
States,  shall,  in  the  exercise  of  full  liberty  of  action,  by  act  or  joint 
resolution  so  provide." 

u  "Or  to  interfere  in  any  way  in  controversies  between  nations,  including 
all  controversies  relating  to  territorial  integrity  or  political  independence, 
whether  members  of  the  League  or  not/'  &c. 


450     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

yet  laid  before  the  Senate.  The  United  States  understood  the 
British  protectorate  over  Egypt  was  a  war  measure  intended 
to  preserve  the  integrity  of  Egypt  during  the  war;  the  United 
States  understood  the  Allied  Powers  would  adhere  to  the  prin- 
ciples set  forth  by  the  President  in  the  letter  on  which  the 
armistice  was  based;  the  United  States  expected  the  British 
protectorate  over  Egypt  would  cease  as  soon  as  notice  of  ratifica- 
tion by  the  United  States  was  deposited  in  Paris.  These  and 
several  others  were  laid  upon  the  table  or  rejected.  Then  came 
one  declaring  that  "In  consenting  to  the  ratification  of  the 
Treaty  with  Germany  the  United  States  adheres  to  the  principle 
of  self-determination  and  to  the  resolution  of  sympathy  with 
the  aspirations  of  the  Irish  people  for  a  government  of  their 
own  choice  adopted  by  the  Senate  June  6,  1919,  and  declares 
that  when  self-government  is  attained  by  Ireland,  a  consum- 
mation it  is  hoped  is  at  hand,  it  should  promptly  be  admitted 
as  a  member  of  the  League  of  Nations." 

During  the  debate  on  the  following  day  it  was  said  England 
would  never  accept  such  a  reservation;  the  treaty  made  no 
mention  of  Ireland,  and  did  not  treat  of  self-determination  as 
a  general  doctrine;  the  Senate  was  going  beyond  its  powers  in 
putting  into  the  resolution  consenting  to  ratification  something 
to  which  no  reference  was  made  in  the  treaty ;  the  world  would 
regard  it  as  a  declaration  of  American  sympathy  with  revo- 
lutions of  subject  peoples  everywhere;  it  was  wrong  to  take 
a  fundamental  principle  and  apply  it  to  a  particular  case;  we 
had  no  business  to  dispose  of  the  property  of  Great  Britain 
while  we  did  nothing  for  the  Philippines.  Efforts  were  made 
to  strike  from  the  reservation  acceptance  by  the  United  States 
of  the  principle  of  self-determination,  to  limit  it  to  Ireland,  to 
so  amend  that  it  would  include  Korea;  but  in  the  end  it  was 
adopted  unchanged. 

The  Senate  concurred  in  all  the  reservations  adopted  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole  and  when  it  adjourned  at  eleven 
o'clock  on  the  night  of  March  18,  the  so-called  preamble  to 


THE  TREATY  REJECTED  451 

the  resolution  advising  and  consenting  to  ratification  alone  re- 
mained to  be  considered. 

As  it  then  stood  this  resolution  provided  that  "ratification 
is  not  to  take  effect  or  bind  the  United  States  until  the  said 
reservations  and  understandings  adopted  by  the  Senate  have 
been  accepted  by  an  exchange  of  notes"  by  at  least  three  of 
the  four  Powers,  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy  and  Japan. 
When  the  Senate  met  on  the  nineteenth  this  was  changed,  and 
shortly  after  six  o'clock,  by  a  vote  of  forty-nine  yeas  to  thirty- 
five  nays,  the  resolution  for  ratification  was  rejected. 

Having  no  further  use  for  the  treaty  it  was  ordered  returned 
to  the  President.  The  resolution  reads : 

"That  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  be  instructed  to  return  to 
the  President  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Germany  signed  at 
Versailles  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  June,  1919,  and  respect- 
fully inform  the  President  that  the  Senate  has  failed  to  ratify 
said  treaty,  being  unable  to  obtain  the  constitutional  majority 
required  therefor." 


APPENDIX  A 

TEXT  OF  THE  AKMISTICE 

One — Cessation  of  operations  by  land  and  in  the  air  six  hours  after 
the  signature  of  the  armistice. 

Two — Immediate  evacuation  of  invaded  countries:  Belgium, 
France,  Alsace-Lorraine,  Luxemburg,  so  ordered  as  to  be  completed 
within  fourteen  days  from  the  signature  of  the  armistice.  German 
troops  which  have  not  left  the  above-mentioned  territories  within 
the  period  fixed  will  become  prisoners  of  war.  Occupation  by  the 
Allied  and  United  States  forces  jointly  will  keep  pace  with  evacuation 
in  these  areas.  All  movements  of  evacuation  and  occupation  will 
be  regulated  in  accordance  with  a  note  annexed  to  the  stated  terms. 

Three— Eepatriation  beginning  at  once  to  be  completed  within  fif- 
teen days  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  countries  above  enumerated 
(including  hostages,  persons  under  trial  or  convicted). 

Four — Surrender  in  good  condition  by  the  German  Armies  of 
the  following  war  materials:  Five  thousand  guns  (2,500  heavy,  and 
2,500  field),  25,000  machine  guns,  3,000  minenwerfer,  1,700  airplanes 
(fighters,  bombers — firstly,  all  of  the  O  7's  and  all  the  night  bombing 
machines).  The  above  to  be  delivered  in  situ  to  the  Allied  and 
United  States  troops  in  accordance  with  the  detailed  conditions  laid 
down  in  the  note  (annexure  No.  1)  drawn  up  at  the  moment  of  the 
signing  of  the  armistice. 

Five — Evacuation  by  the  German  armies  of  the  countries  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  The  countries  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine 
shall  be  administered  by  the  local  troops  of  occupation.  The  occu- 
pation of  these  territories  will  be  carried  out  by  Allied  and  United 
States  garrisons  holding  the  principal  crossings  of  the  Rhine  (May- 
ence,  Coblentz,  Cologne),  together  with  the  bridgeheads  at  these 
points  of  a  thirty-kilometer  radius  on  the  right  bank  and  by  garri- 
sons similarly  holding  the  strategic  points  of  the  regions.  A  neu- 
tral zone  shall  be  reserved  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine  between 
the  stream  and  a  line  drawn  parallel  to  the  bridgeheads  and  to  the 
stream  and  at  a  distance  of  ten  kilometers  from  the  frontier  of  Hol- 
land up  to  the  frontier  of  Switzerland.  The  evacuation  by  the 
enemy  of  the  Rhinelands  (left  and  right  bank)  shall  be  so  ordered 

453 


454  APPENDIX  A 

as  to  be  completed  within  a  further  period  of  sixteen  days,  in  all, 
thirty-one  days  after  the  signing  of  the  armistice.  All  the  move- 
ments of  evacuation  or  occupation  are  regulated  by  the  note  (an- 
nexure  No.  1)  drawn  up  at  the  moment  of  the  signing  of  the  arm- 
istice. 

Six — In  all  territories  evacuated  by  the  enemy  there  shall  be  no 
evacuation  of  inhabitants;  no  damage  or  harm  shall  be  done  to  the 
persons  or  property  of  the  inhabitants.  No  person  shall  be  prose- 
cuted for  offenses  of  participation  in  war  measures  prior  to  the  sign- 
ing of  the  armistice.  No  destruction  of  any  kind  shall  be  com- 
mitted. Military  establishments  of  all  kinds  shall  be  delivered  in- 
tact, as  well  as  military  stores  of  food,  munitions,  and  equipment, 
not  removed  during  the  time  fixed  for  evacuation.  Stores  of  food  of 
all  kinds  for  the  civil  population,  cattle,  etc.,  shall  be  left  in  situ. 
Industrial  establishments  shall  not  be  impaired  in  any  way  and  their 
personnel  shall  not  be  removed. 

Seven — Koads  and  means  of  communication  of  every  kind,  rail- 
roads, waterways,  main  roads,  bridges,  telegraph,  telephones,  shall 
be  in  no  manner  impaired.  All  civil  and  military  personnel  at 
present  employed  on  them  shall  remain.  Five  thousand  locomotives 
and  150,000  wagons  in  good  working  order,  with  all  necessary  spare 
parts  and  fittings,  shall  be  delivered  to  the  associated  powers  within 
the  period  fixed  in  annexure  No.  2,  and  total  of  which  shall  not  ex- 
ceed thirty-one  days.  There  shall  likewise  be  delivered  5,000  motor 
lorries  (camione  automobiles)  in  good  order,  within  the  period  of 
thirty-six  days.  The  railways  of  Alsace-Lorraine  shall  be  handed 
over  within  the  period  of  thirty-one  days,  together  with  pre-war 
personnel  and  material.  Further,  the  material  necessary  for  the 
working  of  railways  in  the  countries  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine 
shall  be  left  in  situ.  All  stores  of  coal  and  material  for  the  upkeep 
of  permanent  ways,  signals  and  repair  shops  shall  be  left  in  situ. 
These  stores  shall  be  maintained  by  Germany  insofar  as  concerns 
the  working  of  the  railroads  in  the  countries  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Rhine.  All  barges  taken  from  the  Allies  shall  be  restored  to 
them.  The  note,  annexure  No.  2,  regulates  the  details  of  these 
measures. 

Eight — The  German  command  shall  be  responsible  for  revealing 
within  the  period  of  forty-eight  hours  after  the  signing  of  the  arm- 
istice all  mines  or  delayed  action  fuses  on  territory  evacuated  by  the 
German  troops  and  shall  assist  in  their  discovery  and  destruction. 
It  also  shall  reveal  all  destructive  measures  that  may  have  been  taken 
(such  as  poisoning  or  polluting  of  springs  and  wells,  etc.).  All  un- 
der penalty  of  reprisals. 


APPENDIX  A  455 

Nine — The  right  of  requisition  shall  be  exercised  by  the  Allied  and 
United  States  armies  in  all  occupied  territories,  subject  to  regula- 
tion of  accounts  with  those  -whom  it  may  concern.  The  upkeep  of 
the  troops  of  occupation  in  the  Rhineland  (excluding  Alsace-Lor- 
raine) shall  be  charged  to  the  German  Government. 

Ten — The  immediate  repatriation  without  reciprocity,  according  to 
detailed  conditions  which  shall  be  fixed,  of  all  Allied  and  United 
States  prisoners  of  war,  including  persons  under  trial  or  convicted. 
The  Allied  Powers  and  the  United  States  shall  be  able  to  dispose 
of  them  as  they  wish.  This  condition  annuls  the  previous  conven- 
tions on  the  subject  of  the  exchange  of  prisoners  of  war,  including 
the  one  of  July,  1918,  in  course  of  ratification.  However,  the  re- 
patriation of  German  prisoners  of  war  interned  in  Holland  and  in 
Switzerland  shall  continue  as  before.  The  repatriation  of  German 
prisoners  of  war  shall  be  regulated  at  the  conclusion  of  the  pre- 
liminaries of  peace. 

Eleven — Sick  and  wounded  who  cannot  be  removed  from  evacu- 
ated territory  will  be  cared  for  by  German  personnel,  who  will  be 
left  on  the  spot  with  the  medical  material  required. 

Twelve — All  German  troops  at  present  in  the  territories  which  be- 
fore belonged  to  Austria-Hungary,  Rumania,  Turkey,  shall  withdraw 
immediately  within  the  frontiers  of  Germany  as  they  existed  on 
August  First,  Nineteen  Fourteen.  All  German  troops  at  present  in 
the  territories  which  before  the  war  belonged  to  Russia  shall  like- 
wise withdraw  within  the  frontiers  of  Germany,  defined  as  above, 
as  soon  as  the  Allies,  taking  into  account  the  internal  situation  of 
these  territories,  shall  decide  that  the  time  for  this  has  come. 

Thirteen — Evacuation  by  German  troops  to  begin  at  once,  and 
all  German  instructors,  prisoners,  and  civilians  as  well  as  military 
agents  now  on  the  territory  of  Russia  (as  defined  before  1914)  to 
be  recalled. 

Fourteen — German  troops  to  cease  at  once  all  requisitions  and 
seizures  and  any  other  undertaking  with  a  view  to  obtaining  sup- 
plies intended  for  Germany  in  Rumania  and  Russia. 

Fifteen — Renunciation  of  the  treaties  of  Bucharest  and  Brest- 
Litovsk  and  of  the  supplementary  treaties. 

Sixteen — The  Allies  shall  have  free  access  to  the  territories  evacu- 
ated by  the  Germans  on  their  eastern  frontier,  either  through  Dan- 
zig, or  by  the  Vistula,  in  order  to  convey  supplies  to  the  populations 
of  those  territories  and  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  order. 

Seventeen — Evacuation  by  all  German  forces  operating  in  East 
Africa  within  a  period  to  be  fixed  by  the  Allies. 

Eighteen — Repatriation,  without  reciprocity,  within  a  maximum 


456  APPENDIX  A 

period  of  one  month  in  accordance  with  detailed  conditions  hereafter 
to  be  fixed  of  all  interned  civilians,  including  hostages,  (persons?) 
under  trial  or  convicted,  belonging  to  the  Allied  or  Associated  Pow- 
ers other  than  those  enumerated  in  Article  3. 

Nineteen — The  following  financial  conditions  are  required:  Rep- 
aration  for  damage  done.  While  such  armistice  lasts  no  pub- 
lic securities  shall  be  removed  by  the  enemy  which  can  serve 
as  a  pledge  to  the  Allies  for  the  recovery  of  reparation  for  war  losses. 
Immediate  restitution  of  the  cash  deposit  in  the  national  bank  of 
Belgium,  and  in  general  immediate  return  of  all  documents,  specie, 
stocks,  shares,  paper  money,  together  with  plan  for  the  issue  thereof, 
touching  public  or  private  interests  in  the  invaded  countries.  Res- 
titution  of  the  Russian  and  Rumanian  gold  yielded  to  Germany  or 
taken  by  that  power.  This  gold  to  be  delivered  in  trust  to  the  Allies 
until  the  signature  of  peace. 

Twenty — Immediate  cessation  of  all  hostilities  at  sea  and  definite 
information  to  be  given  as  to  the  location  and  movements  of  all 
German  ships.  Notification  to  be  given  to  neutrals  that  freedom  of 
navigation  in  all  territorial  waters  is  given  to  the  naval  and  mer- 
cantile marines  of  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,  all  questions 
of  neutrality  being  waived. 

Twenty-one — All  naval  and  mercantile  marine  prisoners  of  the 
Allied  and  Associated  Powers  in  German  hands  to  be  returned  with- 
out reciprocity. 

Twenty-two — Surrender  to  the  Allies  and  United  States  of  all 
submarines,  (including  submarine  cruisers  and  all  mine-laying  sub- 
marines), now  existing,  with  their  complete  armament  and  equip- 
ment, in  ports  which  shall  be  specified  by  the  Allies  and  United 
States.  Those  which  cannot  be  taken  to  these  ports  shall  be  dis- 
armed of  the  personnel  and  material  and  shall  remain  under  the  su- 
pervision of  the  Allies  and  the  United  States.  The  submarines  which 
are  ready  for  the  sea  shall  be  prepared  to  leave  the  German  ports 
as  soon  as  orders  shall  be  received  by  wireless  for  their  voyage 
to  the  port  designated  for  their  delivery,  and  the  remainder  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment.  The  conditions  of  this  article  shall  be 
carried  into  effect  within  the  period  of  fourteen  days  after  the  sign- 
ing of  the  armistice. 

Twenty-three — German  surface  warships  which  shall  be  desig- 
nated by  the  Allies  and  the  United  States  shall  be  immediately  dis- 
armed and  thereafter  interned  in  neutral  ports  or  in  default  of  them 
in  Allied  ports  to  be  designated  by  the  Allies  and  the  United  States. 
They  will  there  remain  under  the  supervision  of  the  Allies  and  of 
the  United  State?  only  caretakers  being  left  on  board.  The  follow- 


APPENDIX  A  457 

ing  warships  are  designated  by  the  Allies :  Six  battle  cruisers,  ten  bat- 
tleships, eight  light  cruisers  (including  two  mine  layers),  fifty  de- 
stroyers of  the  most  modern  types.  All  other  surface  warships  (in- 
cluding river  craft)  are  to  be  concentrated  in  German  naval  bases 
to  be  designated  by  the  Allies  and  the  United  States  and  are  to  be 
completely  disarmed  and  classed  under  the  supervision  of  the  Allies 
and  the  United  States.  The  military  armament  of  all  ships  of  the 
auxiliary  fleet  shall  be  put  on  shore.  All  vessels  designated  to  be  in- 
terned shall  be  ready  to  leave  the  German  ports  seven  days  after  the 
signing  of  the  armistice.  Directions  for  the  voyage  will  be  given 
by  wireless. 

Twenty-four— The  Allies  and  the  United  States  of  America  shall 
have  the  right  to  sweep  up  all  mine  fields  and  obstructions  laid  by 
Germany  outside  German  territorial  waters,  and  the  positions  of 
these  are  to  be  indicated. 

Twenty-five — Freedom  of  access  to  and  from  the  Baltic  to  be  given 
to  the  naval  and  mercantile  marines  of  the  Allied  and  Associated 
Powers.  To  secure  this  the  Allies  and  the  United  States  of  America 
shall  be  empowered  to  occupy  all  German  forts,  fortifications,  bat- 
teries, and  defense  works  of  all  kinds  in  all  the  entrances  from  the 
Cattegat  into  the  Baltic,  and  to  sweep  up  all  mines  and  obstruc- 
tions within  and  without  German  territorial  waters,  without  any 
question  of  neutrality  being  raised,  and  the  positions  of  all  such 
mines  and  obstructions  are  to  be  indicated. 

Twenty-six — The  existing  blockade  conditions  set  up  by  the  Allied 
and  Associated  Powers  are  to  remain  unchanged,  and  all  German 
merchant  ships  found  at  sea  are  to  remain  liable  to  capture.  The 
Allies  and  the  United  States  should  give  consideration  to  the  pro- 
visioning of  Germany  during  the  armistice  to  the  extent  recognized 
as  necessary. 

Twenty-seven — All  naval  aircraft  are  to  be  concentrated  and  im- 
mobilized in  German  bases  to  be  specified  by  the  Allies  and  the 
United  States  of  America. 

Twenty-eight — In  evacuating  the  Belgian  coast  and  ports  Ger- 
many shall  abandon  in  situ  and  in  fact  all  port  and  river  navigation 
material,  all  merchant  ships,  tugs,  lighters,  all  naval  aeronautic  ap- 
paratus, material  and  supplies,  and  all  arms,  apparatus  and  supplies 
of  every  kind. 

Twenty-nine — All  Black  Sea  ports  are  to  be  evacuated  by  Ger- 
many; all  Russian  war  vessels  of  all  descriptions  seized  by  Germany 
in  the  Black  Sea  are  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Allies  and  the  United 
States  of  America;  all  neutral  merchant  vessels  seized  are  to  be 
released;  all  warlike  and  other  materials  of  all  kinds  seized  in  those 


458  APPENDIX  A 

ports  are  to  be  returned  and  German  materials  as  specified  in  Clause 
Twenty-eight  are  to  be  abandoned. 

Thirty— All  merchant  vessels  in  German  hands  belonging  to  the 
Allied  and  Associated  Powers  are  to  be  restored  in  ports  to  be 
specified  by  the  Allies  and  the  United  States  of  America  without 
reciprocity. 

Thirty-one — No  destruction  of  ships  or  of  materials  to  be  per- 
mitted before  evacuation,  surrender,  or  restoration. 

Thirty-two — Thet  German  Government  will  notify  the  neutral 
Governments  of  the  world,  and  particularly  the  Governments  of 
Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Holland,  that  all  restrictions  placed 
on  the  trading  of  their  vessels  with  the  Allied  and  Associated  Coun- 
tries, whether  by  the  German  Government  or  by  private  German 
interests,  and  whether  in  return  for  specific  concessions,  such  as 
the  export  of  shipbuilding  materials,  or  not,  are  immediately  can- 
celed. 

Thirty-three — No  transfers  of  German  merchant  shipping  of  any 
description  to  any  neutral  flag  are  to  take  place  after  signature  of 
the  armistice. 

Thirty-four — The  duration  of  the  armistice  is  to  be  thirty  days, 
with  option  to  extend.  During  this  period  if  its  clauses  are  not  car- 
ried into  execution  the  armistice  may  be  denounced  by  one  of  the 
contracting  parties,  which  must  give  warning  forty-eight  hours  in 
advance.  It  is  understood  that  the  execution  of  Articles  3  and  18 
shall  not  warrant  the  denunciation  of  the  armistice  on  the  ground 
of  insufficient  execution  within  a  period  fixed,  except  in  the  case  of 
bad  faith  in  carrying  them  into  execution.  In  order  to  assure  the 
execution  of  this  convention  under  the  best  conditions,  the  princi- 
ple of  a  permanent  international  armistice  commission  is  admitted. 
This  commission  will  act  under  the  authority  of  the  Allied  Military 
and  Naval  Commanders  in  Chief. 

Thirty-five — This  armistice  to  be  accepted  or  refused  by  Ger- 
many within  seventy-two  hours  of  notification. 

[This  armistice  has  been  signed  the  Eleventh  of  November,  Nine- 
teen Eighteen,  at  5  o'clock  French  time,] 

F.  FOCH. 

K.  E.  WEMYSS. 

ERZBERGER. 

A.  OBERNDORFF. 

WlNTERFELDT 

VAN    SALOW. 


APPENDIX  B 

TEXT  OF  THE  RESOLUTION  TO  CREATE  A  WORLD  LEAGUE  AS 
UNANIMOUSLY  ADOPTED  BY  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

January  25,  1919. 

The  conference,  having  considered  the  proposals  for  the  creation 
of  a  League  of  Nations,  resolved  that: 

It  is  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  the  world  settlement  which 
the  associated  nations  are  now  met  to  establish  that  a  League  of  Na- 
tions be  created  to  promote  international  obligations  and  to  provide 
safeguards  against  war. 

This  league  should  be  created  as  an  integral  part  of  the  general 
treaty  of  peace  and  should  be  open  to  every  civilized  nation  which 
can  be  relied  on  to  promote  its  objects. 

The  members  of  the  league  should  periodically  meet  in  interna- 
tional conference  and  should  have  a  permanent  organization  and 
secretaries  to  carry  on  the  business  of  the  league  in  the  intervals 
between  the  conferences. 

The  conference  therefore  appoints  a  committee,  representative  of 
the  associated  Governments,  to  work  out  the  details  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  the  functions  of  the  league  and  the  draft  of  resolutions  in 
regard  to  breaches  of  the  laws  of  war  for  presentation  to  the  Peace 
Conference. 

That  a  commission,  composed  of  two  representatives  apiece  from 
the  five  great  powers  and  five  representatives  to  be  elected  by  the 
other  powers,  be  appointed  to  inquire  and  report  upon  the  follow- 
ing: 

First — The  responsibility  of  the  authors  of  the  war. 

Second — The  facts  as  to  breaches  of  the  laws  and  customs  of  war 
committed  by  the  forces  of  the  German  Empire  and  their  allies 
on  land,  on  sea,  and  in  the  air  during  the  present  war. 

Third — The  degree  of  responsibility  for  these  offenses  attaching  to 
particular  members  of  the  enemy's  forces,  including  members  of  the 
General  Staffs  and  other  individuals,  however  highly  placed. 

459 


460  APPENDIX  B 

Fourth — The  constitution  and  procedure  of  a  tribunal  appropriate 
to  the  trial  of  these  offenses. 

Fifth — Any  other  matters,  cognate  or  ancillary  to  the  above,  which 
may  arise  in  the  course  of  the  inquiry  and  which  the  commission 
finds  it  useful  and  relevant  to  take  into  consideration.1 

*New  York  Times,  January  26,  1919. 


APPENDIX  C 

TEXT  OF  THE  PROPOSED  COVENANT  AND  DRAFT  OF  THE  CON- 
STITUTION OF  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS  AS  READ 
BY  PRESIDENT  WILSON  TO  THE  PLENARY  SESSION  OF 
THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE,  FEBRUARY  14,  1919 


COVENANT 

PKEAMBLE — In  order  to  promote  international  co-operation  and 
to  secure  international  peace  and  security  by  the  acceptance  of  ob- 
ligations not  to  resort  to  war,  by  the  prescription  of  open,  just  and 
honorable  relations  between  nations,  by  the  firm  establishment  of 
the  understandings  of  international  law  as  the  actual  rule  of  conduct 
among  governments,  and  by  the  maintenance  of  justice  and  a  scru- 
pulous respect  for  all  treaty  obligations  in  the  dealings  of  organized 
people  with  one  another,  the  powers  signatory  to  this  covenant  adopt 
this  constitution  of  the  League  of  Nations : 

AETICLE  I 

The  action  of  the  high  contracting  parties  under  the  terms  of  this 
covenant  shall  be  effected  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  meeting 
of  a  body  of  delegates  representing  the  high  contracting  parties,  of 
meetings  at  more  frequent  intervals  of  an  Executive  Council,  and  o? 
a  permanent  international  secretariat  to  be  established  at  the  seat 
of  the  League. 

ARTICLE  II 

Meetings  of  the  body  of  delegates  shall  be  held  at  stated  intervals 
and  from  time  to  time,  as  occasion  may  require,  for  the  purpose  of 
dealing  with  matters  within  the  sphere  of  action  of  the  League. 
Meetings  of  the  body  of  delegates  shall  be  held  at  the  seat  of  the 
League,  or  at  such  other  places  as  may  be  found  convenient,  and 
shall  consist  of  representatives  of  the  high  contracting  parties.  Each 
of  the  high  contracting  parties  shall  have  one  vote,  but  may  have 
not  more  than  three  representatives. 

461 


462  APPENDIX  C 

AKTICLE  III 

The  Executive  Council  shall  consist  of  representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  The  British  Empire,  France,  Italy,  and 
Japan,  together  with  representatives  of  four  other  States,  members 
of  the  League.  The  selection  of  these  four  States  shall  be  made 
by  the  body  of  delegates  on  such  principles  and  in  such  manner  as 
they  think  fit.  Pending  the  appointment  of  these  representatives 

of  the  other  States,  representatives  of  shall  be  members  of 

the  Executive  Council. 

Meetings  of  the  council  shall  be  held  from  time  to  time  as  occa- 
sion may  require,  and  at  least  once  a  year,  at  whatever  place  may 
be  decided  on,  or,  failing  any  such  decision,  at  the  seat  of  the  League, 
and  any  matter  within  the  sphere  of  action  of  the  League  or  affect- 
ing the  peace  of  the  world  may  be  dealt  with  at  such  meetings. 

Invitations  shall  be  sent  to  any  power  to  attend  a  meeting  of 
the  council,  at  which  such  matters  directly  affecting  its  interests  are 
to  be  discussed,  and  no  decision  taken  at  any  meeting  will  be  binding 
on  such  powers  unless  so  invited. 

AKTICLE  IV 

All  matters  of  procedure  at  meetings  of  the  body  of  delegates  or  the 
Executive  Council  including  the  appointment  of  committees  to  in- 
vestigate particular  matters,  shall  be  regulated  by  the  body  of  dele- 
gates or  the  Executive  Council,  and  may  be  decided  by  a  majority 
of  the  States  represented  at  the  meeting. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  body  of  delegates  and  of  the  Executive 
Council  shall  be  summoned  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

AKTICLE  T 

The  permanent  secretariat  of  the  League  shall  be  established  at 

— ,  which  shall  constitute  the  seat  of  the  League.  The  secretariat 
shall  comprise  such  secretaries  and  staff  as  may  be  required,  under 
the  general  direction  and  control  of  a  Secretary  General  of  the 
League,  who  shall  be  chosen  by  the  Executive  Council.  The  secre- 
tariat shall  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  General  subject  to  con- 
firmation by  the  Executive  Council. 

The  Secretary  General  shall  act  in  that  capacity  at  all  meetings 
of  the  body  of  delegates  or  of  the  Executive  Council. 

The  expenses  of  the  secretariat  shall  be  borne  by  the  States  mem- 
bers of  the  League,  in  accordance  with  the  apportionment  of  the 
expenses  of  the  International  Bureau  of  the  Universal  Postal  Union. 


APPENDIX  C  463 

AKTICLE  VI 

Eepresentatives  of  the  high  contracting  parties  and  officials  of  the 
League,  when  engaged  in  the  business  of  the  League  shall  enjoy 
diplomatic  privileges  and  immunities,  and  the  buildings  occupied 
by  the  League  or  its  officials,  or  by  representatives  attending  its 
meetings,  shall  enjoy  the  benefits  of  extra-territoriality. 

AETICLE  VII 

Admission  to  th^  League  of  States,  not  signatories  to  the  covenant 
and  not  named  in  the  protocol  hereto  as  States  to  be  invited  to  ad- 
here to  the  covenant,  requires  the  assent  of  not  less  than  two-thirds 
of  the  States  represented  in  the  body  of  delegates,  and  shall  be  lim- 
ited to  fully  self-governing  countries,  including  dominions  and  col- 
onies. 

No  State  shall  be  admitted  to  the  League  unless  it  is  able  to  give 
effective  guarantees  of  its  sincere  intention  to  observe  its  interna- 
tional obligations  and  unless  it  shall  conform  to  such  principles  as 
may  be  prescribed  by  the  League  in  regard  to  its  naval  and  military 
forces  and  armaments. 

AETICLE  VIII 

The  high  contracting  parties  recognize  the  principle  that  the  main- 
tenance of  peace  will  require  the  reduction  of  national  armaments 
to  the  lowest  point  consistent  with  national  safety,  and  the  enforce- 
ment by  common  action  of  international  obligations,  having  special 
regard  to  the  geographical  situation  and  circumstances  of  each  State, 
and  the  Executive  Council  shall  formulate  plans  for  effecting  such 
reduction.  The  Executive  Council  shall  also  determine  for  the  con- 
sideration and  action  of  the  several  Governments  what  military 
equipment  and  armament  is  fair  and  reasonable  in  proportion  to 
the  scale  of  forces  laid  down  in  the  program  of  disarmament;  and 
these  limits,  when  adopted,  shall  not  be  exceeded  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  Executive  Council. 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  the  manufacture  by  pri- 
vate enterprise  of  munitions  and  implements  of  war  lends  itself  to 
grave  objections,  and  direct  the  Executive  Council  to  advise  how  the 
evil  effects  attendant  upon  such  manufacture  can  be  prevented,  due 
regard  being  had  to  the  necessities  of  those  countries  which  are  not 
able  to  manufacture  for  themselves  the  munitions  and  implements 
of  war  necessary  for  their  safety. 

The  high  contracting  parties  undertake  in  no  way  to  conceal  from 


464  APPENDIX  C 

each  other  the  condition  of  such  of  their  industries  as  are  capable  of 
being  adapted  to  warlike  purposes  or  the  scale  of  their  armaments, 
and  agree  that  there  shall  be  full  and  frank  interchange  of  infor- 
mation as  to  their  military  and  naval  programs. 

AETICLE  IX 

A  permanent  commission  shall  be  constituted  to  advise  the  League 
on  the  execution  of  the  provisions  of  Article  VIII,  and  on  military 
and  naval  questions  generally. 

AETICLE  X 

The  high  contracting  parties  shall  undertake  to  respect  and  pre- 
serve as  against  external  aggression  the  territorial  integrity  and  ex- 
isting political  independence  of  all  States  members  of  the  League. 
In  case  of  any  such  aggression  or  in  case  of  any  threat  or  danger 
of  such  aggression  the  Executive  Council  shall  advise  upon  the 
means  by  which  the  obligation  shall  be  fulfilled. 

AKTICLE  XI 

Any  war  or  threat  of  war,  whether  immediately  affecting  any  of 
the  high  contracting  parties  or  not,  is  hereby  declared  a  matter  of 
concern  to  the  League,  and  the  high  contracting  parties  reserve 
the  right  to  take  any  action  that  may  be  deemed  wise  and  effectual 
to  safeguard  the  peace  of  nations. 

It  is  hereby  also  declared  and  agreed  to  be  the  friendly  right  of 
each  of  the  high  contracting  parties  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
body  of  delegates  or  of  the  Executive  Council  to  any  circumstance 
affecting  international  intercourse  which  threatens  to  disturb  in- 
ternational peace  or  the  good  understanding  between  nations  upon 
which  peace  depends. 

ARTICLE  XII 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  should  disputes  arise  be- 
tween them  which  cannot  be  adjusted  by  the  ordinary  procerses  of 
diplomacy  they  will  in  no  case  resort  to  war  without  previously 
submitting  the  questions  and  matters  involved  either  to  arbitration 
or  to  inquiry  by  the  Executive  Council  and  until  three  months  after 
the  award  by  the  arbitrators  or  a  recommendation  by  the  Executive 
Council,  and  that  they  will  not  even  then  resort  to  war  as  against 
a  member  of  the  League  which  complies  with  the  award  of  the  ar- 
bitrators or  the  recommendation  of  the  Executive  Council. 


APPENDIX  C  465 

In  any  case  under  this  article  the  award  of  the  arbitrators  shall 
be  made  within  a  reasonable  time,  and  the  recommendation  of  the 
Executive  Council  shall  be  made  within  six  months  after  the  sub- 
mission of  the  dispute. 

AKTICLE  XIII 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  whenever  any  dispute  or 
difficulty  shall  arise  between  them,  which  they  recognize  to  be  suit- 
able for  submission  to  arbitration  and  which  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
settled  by  diplomacy,  they  will  submit  the  whole  matter  to  arbitra- 
tion. For  this  purpose  the  court  of  arbitration  to  which  the  case 
is  referred  shall  be  the  court  agreed  on  by  the  parties  or  stipulated 
in  any  covenant  existing  between  them.  The  high  contracting  par- 
ties agree  that  they  will  carry  out  in  full  good  faith  any  award  that 
may  be  rendered.  In  the  event  of  any  failure  to  carry  out  the  award 
the  Executive  Council  shall  propose  what  steps  can  best  be  taken 
to  give  effect  thereto. 

AKTICLE  XIV 

The  Executive  Council  shall  formulate  plans  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  permanent  court  of  international  justice,  and  this  court 
shall,  when  established,  be  competent  to  hear  and  determine  any  mat- 
ter which  the  parties  recognized  as  suitable  for  submission  to  it  for 
arbitration  under  the  foregoing  article. 

AKTICLE  XV 

If  there  should  arise  between  States,  members  of  the  League,  any 
dispute  likely  to  lead  to  rupture,  which  is  not  submitted  to  arbitra- 
tion as  above,  the  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  they  will  refer 
the  matter  to  the  Executive  Council;  either  party  to  the  dispute 
may  give  notice  of  the  existence  of  the  dispute  to  the  Secretary  Gen- 
eral, who  will  make  all  necessary  arrangements  for  a  full  investiga- 
tion and  consideration  thereof.  For  this  purpose  the  parties  agree 
to  communicate  to  the  Secretary  General,  as  promptly  as  possible, 
statements  of  their  case,  with  all  the  relevant  facts  and  papers,  and 
the  Executive  Council  may  forthwith  direct  the  publication  thereof. 

Where  the  efforts  of  the  council  lead  to  the  settlement  of  the  dis- 
pute, a  statement  shall  be  published,  indicating  the  nature  of  the 
dispute  and  the  terms  of  settlement,  together  with  such  explanations 
as  may  be  appropriate.  If  the  dispute  has  not  been  settled,  a  report 
by  the  council  shall  be  published,  setting  forth  with  all  necessary 
facts  and  explanations  the  recommendation  which  the  council  think 
just  and  proper  for  the  settlement  of  the  dispute.  If  the  report  is 


466  APPENDIX  C 

unanimously  agreed  to  by  the  members  of  the  council,  other  than 
the  parties  to  the  dispute,  the  high  contracting  parties  agree  that 
they  will  not  go  to  war  with  any  party  which  complies  with  the  rec- 
ommendations, and  that,  if  any  party  shall  refuse  so  to  comply  the 
council  shall  propose  measures  necessary  to  give  effect  to  the  recom- 
mendations. If  no  such  unanimous  report  can  be  made  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  majority  and  the  privilege  of  the  minority  to  issue 
statements,  indicating  what  they  believe  to  be  the  facts,  and  con- 
taining the  reasons  which  they  consider  to  be  just  and  proper. 

The  Executive  Council  may  in  any  case  under  this  article  refer 
the  dispute  to  the  body  of  delegates.  The  dispute  shall  be  so  re- 
ferred at  the  request  of  either  party  to  the  dispute,  provided  that 
such  request  must  be  made  within  fourteen  days  after  the  submis- 
sion of  the  dispute.  In  a  case,  referred  to  the  body  of  delegates,  all 
the  provisions  of  this  article,  and  of  Article  XII.,  relating  to  the  ac- 
tion and  powers  of  the  Executive  Council,  shall  apply  to  the  action 
and  powers  of  the  body  of  delegates. 

AKTICLE  XVI 

Should  any  of  the  high  contracting  parties  break  or  disregard  its 
covenants  under  Article  XII.  it  shall  thereby  ipso  facto  be  deemed 
to  have  committed  an  act  of  war  against  all  the  other  members  of 
the  League,  which  hereby  undertakes  immediately  to  subject  it  to 
the  severance  of  all  trade  or  financial  relations,  the  prohibition  of 
all  intercourse  between  their  nationals  and  the  nationals  of  the  cove- 
nant-breaking State  and  the  prevention  of  all  financial,  commercial, 
or  personal  intercourse  between  the  nationals  of  the  covenant-break- 
ing States  and  the  nationals  of  any  State,  whether  a  member 
of  the  League  or  not. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Council  in  such  case  to  rec- 
ommend what  effective  military  or  naval  force  the  members  of  the 
League  shall  severally  contribute  to  the  armed  forces  to  be  used  to 
protect  the  covenants  of  the  League. 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree,  further,  that  they  will  mu- 
tually support  one  another  in  the  financial  and  economic  measures 
which  may  be  taken  under  this  article  in  order  to  minimize  the  loss 
and  inconvenience  resulting  from  the  above  measures,  and  that  they 
will  mutually  support  one  another  in  resisting  any  special  measures 
aimed  at  one  of  their  number  by  the  covenant-breaking  State  and 
that  they  will  afford  passage  through  their  territory  to  the  forces  of 
any  of  the  high  contracting  parties  who  are  co-operating  to  protect 
the  covenants  of  the  League. 


APPENDIX  C  467 

AKTICLE  XVII 

In  the  event  of  disputes  between  one  State  member  of  the  League 
and  another  State  which  is  not  a  member  of  the  League,  or  between 
States  not  members  of  the  League,  the  high  contracting  parties 
agree  that  the  State  or  States,  not  members  of  the  League,  shall 
be  invited  to  accept  the  obligations  of  membership  in  the  League 
for  the  purposes  of  such  dispute,  upon  such  conditions  as  the  Exec- 
utive Council  may  deem  just,  and  upon  acceptance  of  any  such 
invitation,  the  above  provisions  shall  be  applied  with  such  modifi- 
cations as  may  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  League. 

Upon  such  invitation  being  given  the  Executive  Council  shall 
immediately  institute  an  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  and  merits 
of  the  dispute  and  recommend  such  action  as  may  seem  best  and 
most  effectual  in  the  circumstances. 

In  the  event  of  a  power  so  invited  refusing  to  accept  the  obli- 
gations of  membership  in  the  League  for  the  purposes  of  the  League, 
which  in  the  case  of  a  State  member  of  the  League  would  constitute 
a  breach  of  Article  XII.,  the  provisions  of  Article  XVI.,  shall  be 
applicable  as  against  the  State  taking  such  action. 

If  both  parties  to  the  dispute,  when  so  invited,  refuse  to  accept  the 
obligations  of  membership  in  the  League  for  the  purpose  of  such 
dispute,  the  Executive  Council  may  take  such  action  and  make  such 
recommendations  as  will  prevent  hostilities  and  will  result  in  the 
settlement  of  the  dispute. 

AKTICLE  XVIII 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  the  League  shall  be  intrust- 
ed with  general  supervision  of  the  trade  in  arms  and  ammunition 
with  the  countries  in  which  the  control  of  this  traffic  is  necessary 
in  the  common  interest. 

ARTICLE  XIX 

To  those  colonies  and  territories  which,  as  a  consequence  of  the 
late  war,  have  ceased  to  be  under  the  sovereignty  of  the  States 
which  formerly  governed  them  and  which  are  inhabited  by  peoples 
not  yet  able  to  stand  by  themselves  under  the  strenuous  conditions 
of  the  modern  world,  there  should  be  applied  the  principle  that  the 
well  being  and  development  of  such  peoples  form  a  sacred  trust  of 
civilization  and  that  securities  for  the  performance  of  this  trust 
should  be  embodied  in  the  constitution  of  the  League. 

The  best  method  of  giving  practical  effect  to  this  principle  is  that 


468  APPENDIX  C 

the  tutelage  of  such  peoples  should  be  intrusted  to  advanced  na- 
tions, who  by  reason  of  their  resources,  their  experience,  or  their 
geographical  position,  can  best  undertake  this  responsibility,  and  that 
this  tutelage  should  be  exercised  by  them  as  mandatories  on  behalf 
of  the  League. 

The  character  of  the  mandate  must  differ  according  to  the  stage 
of  the  development  of  the  people,  the  geographical  situation  of  the 
territory,  its  economic  conditions  and  other  similar  circumstances. 

Certain  communities,  formerly  belonging  to  the  Turkish  Empire, 
have  reached  a  stage  of  development  where  their  existence  as  inde- 
pendent nations  can  be  provisionally  recognized,  subject  to  the  ren- 
dering of  administrative  advice  and  assistance  by  a  mandatory 
power  until  such  time  as  they  are  able  to  stand  alone.  The  wishes 
of  these  communities  must  be  a  principal  consideration  in  the  se- 
lection of  the  mandatory  power. 

Other  peoples,  especially  those  of  Central  Africa,  are  at  such 
a  stage  that  the  mandatory  must  be  responsible  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  territory,  subject  to  conditions  which  will  guarantee 
freedom  of  conscience  or  religion,  subject  only  to  the  maintenance 
of  public  order  and  morals,  the  prohibition  of  abuses  such  as  the 
slave  trade,  the  arms  traffic,  and  the  liquor  traffic,  and  the  preven- 
tion of  the  establishment  of  fortifications  or  military  and  naval 
bases  and  of  military  training  of  the  natives  for  other  than  police 
purposes  and  the  defense  of  territory,  and  will  also  secure  equal 
opportunities  for  the  trade  and  commerce  of  other  members  of  the 
League. 

There  are  territories,  such  as  Southwest  Africa  and  certain  of 
the  South  Pacific  Isles,  which,  owing  to  the  sparseness  of  the  popu- 
lation, or  their  small  size,  or  their  remoteness  from  the  centers  of 
civilization,  or  their  geographical  contiguity  to  the  mandatory  State 
and  other  circumstances,  can  be  best  administered  under  the  laws 
of  the  mandatory  States  as  integral  portions  thereof,  subject  to  the 
safeguards  above  mentioned  in  the  interests  of  the  indigenous  popu- 
lation. 

In  every  case  of  mandate,  the  mandatory  State  shall  render  to  the 
League  an  annual  report  in  reference  to  the  territory  committed 
to  its  charge. 

The  degree  of  authority,  control,  or  administration,  to  be  exer- 
cised by  the  mandatory  State,  shall,  if  not  previously  agreed  upon 
by  the  high  contracting  parties  in  each  case,  be  explicitly  defined 
by  the  Executive  Council  in  a  special  act  or  charter. 

The  high  contracting  parties  further  agree  to  establish  at  the 
seat  of  the  League  a  mandatory  commission  to  receive  and  exam- 


APPENDIX  C  469 

ine  the  annual  reports  of  the  mandatory  powers,  and  to  assist  the 
League  in  insuring  the  observance  of  the  terms  of  all  mandates. 

AKTICLE  XX 

The  high  contracting  parties  will  endeavor  to  secure  and  main- 
tain fair  and  humane  conditions  of  labor  for  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, both  in  their  own  countries  and  in  all  countries  to  which  their 
commercial  and  industrial  relations  extend;  and  to  that  end  agree 
to  establish  as  part  of  the  organization  of  the  League  a  permanent 
bureau  of  labor. 

AKTICLE  XXI 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  provision  shall  be  made 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  League  to  secure  and  maintain 
freedom  of  transit  and  equitable  treatment  for  the  commerce  of  all 
States  members  of  the  League,  having  in  mind,  among  other  things, 
special  arrangements  with  regard  to  the  necessities  of  the  regions 
devastated  during  the  war  of  1914-1918. 

AKTICLE  XXII 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  to  place  under  the  control  of 
the  League  all  international  bureaus  already  established  by  general 
treaties,  if  the  parties  to  such  treaties  consent.  Furthermore,  they 
agree  that  all  such  international  bureaus  to  be  constituted  in  fu- 
ture shall  be  placed  under  control  of  the  League. 

AKTICLE  XXIII 

The  high  contracting  parties  agree  that  every  treaty  or  interna- 
tional engagement  entered  into  hereafter  by  any  State  member  of 
the  League  shall  be  forthwith  registered  with  the  Secretary  General 
and  as  soon  as  possible  published  by  him,  and  that  no  such  treaty 
or  international  engagement  shall  be  binding  until  so  registered. 

ARTICLE  XXIV 

It  shall  be  the  right  of  the  body  of  delegates  from  time  to  time 
to  advise  the  reconsideration  by  States  members  of  the  League  of 
treaties  which  have  become  inapplicable  and  of  international  con- 
ditions of  which  the  continuance  may  endanger  the  peace  of  the 
world. 

AKTICLE  XXV 

The  high  contracting  parties  severally  agree  that  the  present  cove- 
nant is  accepted  as  abrogating  all  obligations  inter  se  which  are  in- 


470  APPENDIX  C 

consistent  with  the  terms  thereof,  and  solemnly  engage  that  they 
will  not  hereafter  enter  into  any  engagements  inconsistent  with  the 
terms  thereof.  In  case  any  of  the  powers  signatory  hereto  or  sub- 
sequently admitted  to  the  League  shall,  before  becoming  a  party 
to  this  covenant,  have  undertaken  any  obligations  which  are  incon- 
sistent with  the  terms  of  this  covenant,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such 
power  to  take  immediate  steps  to  procure  its  release  from  such  ob- 
ligations. 

AETICLE  XXVI 

Amendments  to  this  covenant  will  take  effect  when  ratified  by  the 
States  whose  representatives  compose  the  Executive  Council  and  by 
three-fourths  of  the  States  whose  representatives  compose  the  body 
of  delegates. 


APPENDIX  D 

COVENANT  OF  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS  AS  EMBODIED  IN 
THE  TKEATY  OF  PEACE  (SENATE  DOCUMENT  NO.  49,  66TH 
CONGKESS,  1ST  SESSION) 

PART  I 

The  high  contracting  parties,  in  order  to  promote  international  co- 
operation and  to  achieve  international  peace  and  security  by  the 
acceptance  of  obligations  not  to  resort  to  war,  by  the  prescription  of 
open,  just  and  honorable  relations  between  nations,  by  the  firm  es- 
tablishment of  the  understandings  of  international  law  as  the  ac- 
tual rule  of  conduct  among  Governments,  and  by  the  maintenance 
of  justice  and  a  scrupulous  respect  for  all  treaty  obligations  in  the 
dealings  of  organized  peoples  with  one  another,  agree  to  this  cove- 
nant of  the  League  of  Nations. 

ARTICLE  1. — The  original  members  of  the  League  of  Nations 
shall  be  those  of  the  signatories  which  are  named  in  the  annex  to 
this  covenant  and  also  such  of  those  other  States  named  in  the  an- 
nex as  shall  accede  without  reservation  to  this  covenant.  Such  ac- 
cession shall  be  effected  by  a  declaration  deposited  with  the  secre- 
tariat within  two  months  of  the  coming  into  force  of  the  covenant. 
Notice  thereof  shall  be  sent  to  all  other  members  of  the  League. 

Any  fully  self-governing  State,  Dominion  or  Colony  not  named 
in  the  annex  may  become  a  member  of  the  League  if  its  admission 
is  agreed  to  by  two-thirds  of  the  Assembly,  provided  it  shall  give 
effective  guarantees  of  its  sincere  intention  to  observe  its  interna- 
tional obligations,  and  shall  accept  such  regulations  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  League  in  regard  to  its  military  and  naval  forces  and 
armaments. 

Any  member  of  the  League  may,  after  two  years'  notice  of  its 
intention  so  to  do,  withdraw  from  the  League,  provided  that  all  its 
international  obligations  and  all  its  obligations  under  thia  covenant 
shall  have  been  fulfilled  at  the  time  of  its  withdrawal. 

ARTICLE  2. — The  action  of  the  League  under  this  covenant  shall 

471 


472  APPENDIX  D 

be  effected  through  the  instrumentality  of  an  Assembly  and  of  a 
Council,  with  a  permanent  secretariat. 

AETICLE  3. — The  Assembly  shall  consist  of  representatives  of 
the  members  of  the  League. 

The  Assembly  shall  meet  at  stated  intervals  and  from  time  to  time 
as  occasion  may  require  at  the  seat  of  the  League  or  at  such  other 
places  as  may  be  decided  upon.  The  Assembly  may  deal  at  its  meet- 
ings with  any  matter  within  the  sphere  of  action  of  the  League  or 
affecting  the  peace  of  the  world. 

At  meetings  of  the  Assembly  each  member  of  the  League  shall 
have  one  vote,  and  may  have  not  more  than  three  representatives. 

AETICLE  4. — The  council  shall  consist  of  representatives  of  the 
principal  Allied  and  Associated  Powers,  together  with  representatives 
of  the  four  other  members  of  the  League.  These  four  members  of 
the  League  shall  be  selected  by  the  assembly  from  time  to  time  in 
its  discretion.  Until  the  appointment  of  the  representatives  of  the 
four  members  of  the  League  first  selected  by  the  assembly,  represen- 
tatives of  Belgium,  Brazil,  Spain,  and  Greece  shall  be  members  of 
the  Council. 

With  the  approval  of  the  majority  of  the  assembly,  the  Council  may 
name  additional  members  of  the  League  whose  representatives  shall 
always  be  members  of  the  Council;  the  Council,  with  like  ap- 
proval, may  increase  the  number  of  members  of  the  League  to  be 
selected  by  the  assembly  for  representation  on  the  Council. 

The  council  shall  meet  from  time  to  time  as  occasion  may  re- 
quire, and  at  least  once  a  year,  at  the  seat  of  the  League  or  at  such 
other  place  as  may  be  decided  upon. 

The  council  may  deal  at  its  meetings  with  any  matter  within  the 
sphere  of  action  of  the  League  or  affecting  the  peace  of  the  world. 

Any  members  of  the  League  not  represented  on  the  council  shall 
be  invited  to  send  a  representative  to  sit  as  a  member  at  any  meet- 
ing of  the  council  during  the  consideration  of  matters  specially 
affecting  the  interests  of  that  member  of  the  League. 

At  meetings  of  the  council,  each  member  of  the  League  represented 
on  the  council  shall  have  one  vote,  and  may  have  not  more  than  one 
representative. 

ARTICLE  5. — Except  where  otherwise  expressly  provided  in  this 
covenant  or  by  the  terms  of  the  present  treaty,  decisions  at  any  meet- 
ing of  the  assembly  of  the  council  shall  require  the  agreement  of 
all  the  members  of  the  League  represented  at  the  meeting. 

All  matters  of  procedure  at  meetings  of  the  assembly  of  the  coun- 
cil, including  the  appointment  of  committee  to  investigate  particular 
matters,  shall  be  regulated  by  the  assembly  or  by  the  council  and 


APPENDIX  D  473 

may  be  decided  by  a  majority  of  the  League  represented  at  the  meet- 
ing. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  assembly  and  the  first  meeting  of  the 
council  shall  be  summoned  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America. 

ARTICLE  6.— The  permanent  secretariat  shall  be  established  at 
the  seat  of  the  League.  The  secretariat  shall  comprise  a  Secretary 
General  and  such  Secretaries  and  staff  as  may  be  required. 

The  first  Secretary  General  shall  be  the  person  named  in  the  an- 
nex. Thereafter  the  Secretary  General  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
council  with  the  approval  of  the  majority  of  the  assembly. 

The  Secretaries  and  staff  of  the  secretariat  shall  be  appointed  by 
the  Secretary  General  with  the  approval  of  the  council.  The  Secre- 
tary General  shall  act  in  that  capacity  at  all  meetings  of  the  assem- 
bly and  of  the  council. 

The  expenses  of  the  secretariat  shall  be  borne  by  the  members  of 
the  League  in  accordance  with  the  apportionment  of  expenses  of  the 
International  Bureau  of  the  Universal  Postal  Union. 

ARTICLE  7.— The  seat  of  the  league  is  established  at  Geneva. 

The  Council  may  at  any  time  decide  that  the  seat  of  the  League 
shall  be  established  elsewhere. 

All  positions  under  or  connecting  with  the  League,  including  the 
secretariat,  shall  be  open  equally  to  men  and  women. 

Representatives  of  the  members  of  the  League,  and  officials  of  the 
League  when  engaged  on  business  of  the  League,  shall  enjoy  diplo- 
matic privileges  and  immunities. 

The  buildings  and  other  property  occupied  by  the  League  or  its 
officials  or  by  representatives  attending  its  meeting  shall  be  invio- 
lable. 

ARTICLE  8. — The  members  of  the  League  recognize  that  the 
maintenance  of  peace  requires  the  reduction  of  national  armaments 
to  the  lowest  point  consistent  with  national  safety  and  the  enforce- 
ment by  common  action  of  international  obligations. 

The  Council,  taking  account  of  the  geographical  situation  and  cir- 
cumstances of  each  State,  shall  formulate  plans  for  such  reduction 
for  the  consideration  and  action  of  the  several  Governments. 

Such  plans  shall  be  subject  to  reconsideration  and  revision  at 
least  every  ten  years. 

After  these  plans  shall  have  been  adopted  by  the  several  Govern- 
ments, the  limits  of  armaments  therein  fixed  shall  not  be  exceeded 
without  the  concurrence  of  the  Council. 

The  members  of  the  League  agree  that  the  manufacture  by  pri- 
vate enterprise  of  munitions  and  implements  of  war  is  open  to  grave 


474  APPENDIX  D 

objections.  The  Council  shall  advise  how  the  evil  effects  attendant 
•upon  such  manufacture  can  be  prevented,  due  regard  being  had  to 
the  necessities  of  those  members  of  the  League  which  are  not  able 
to  manufacture  the  munitions  and  implements  of  war  necessary  for 
their  safety. 

The  members  of  the  League  undertake  to  interchange  full  and  frank 
information  as  to  the  scale  of  their  armaments,  their  naval  and  mili- 
tary programs  and  the  condition  of  such  of  their  industries  as  are 
adaptable  to  the  warlike  purposes. 

ARTICLE  9. — A  permanent  commission  shall  be  constituted  to 
advise  the  Council  on  the  execution  of  the  provisions  of  Articles 
1  and  8  and  on  military  and  naval  questions  generally. 

ARTICLE  10. — The  members  of  the  League  undertake  to  respect 
and  preserve  as  against  external  aggression  the  territorial  integrity 
and  existing  political  independence  of  all  members  of  the  League. 
In  case  of  any  such  aggression  or  in  case  of  any  threat  or  danger  of 
such  aggression  the  Council  shall  advise  upon  the  means  by  which 
this  obligation  shall  be  fulfilled. 

ARTICLE  11. — Any  war  or  threat  of  war,  whether  immediately 
affecting  any  of  the  members  of  the  League  or  not,  is  hereby  de- 
clared a  matter  of  concern  to  the  whole  League,  and  the  League  shall 
take  any  action  that  may  be  deemed  wise  and  effectual  to  safeguard 
the  peace  of  nations.  In  case  any  such  emergency  should  arise  the 
Secretary  General  shall,  on  the  request  of  any  member  of  the  League, 
forthwith  summon  a  meeting  of  the  Council. 

It  is  also  declared  to  be  the  friendly  right  of  each  member  of  the 
League  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  Assembly  or  of  the  Council 
any  circumstance  whatever  affecting  international  relations  which 
threatens  to  disturb  international  peace  or  the  good  understanding 
between  nations  upon  which  peace  depends. 

ARTICLE  12.— The  members  of  the  League  agree  that  if  there 
should  arise  between  them  any  dispute  likely  to  lead  to  a  rupture, 
they  will  submit  the  matter  either  to  arbitration  or  to  inquiry  by  the 
Council,  and  they  agree  in  no  case  to  resort  to  war  until  three  months 
after  the  award  by  the  arbitrators  or  the  report  by  the  Council. 

In  any  case  under  this  article  the  award  of  the  arbitrators  shall  be 
made  within  a  reasonable  time,  and  the  report  of  the  Council  shall 
be  made  within  six  months  after  the  submission  of  the  dispute. 

ARTICLE  13. — The  members  of  the  League  agree  that  whenever 
any  dispute  shall  exist  between  them  which  they  recognize  to  be  suit- 
able for  submission  to  arbitration,  and  which  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
settled  by  diplomacy,  they  will  submit  the  whole  subject  matter  to 
arbitration. 


APPENDIX  D  475 

Disputes  as  to  the  interpretation  of  a  treaty  as  to  any  question  of 
international  law  as  to  the  existence  of  any  fact  which  if  established 
would  constitute  a  breach  of  any  international  obligation,  or  as  to 
the  extent  and  nature  of  the  reparation  to  be  made  for  any  such 
breach,  are  declared  to  be  among  these  which  are  generally  suitable 
for  submission  to  arbitration. 

For  the  consideration  of  any  such  dispute  the  court  of  arbitration 
to  which  the  case  is  referred  shall  be  the  court  agreed  on  by  the 
parties  to  the  dispute  or  stipulated  in  any  convention  existing  be- 
tween them. 

The  members  of  the  League  agree  that  they  will  carry  out  in  full 
good  faith  any  award  that  may  be  rendered,  and  that  they  will  not 
resort  to  war  against  a  member  of  the  League  which  complies  there- 
with. In  the  event  of  any  failure  to  carry  out  such  an  award,  the 
Council  shall  propose  what  steps  should  be  taken  to  give  effect 
thereto. 

AETICLE  14.— The  Council  shall  formulate  and  submit  to  the 
members  of  the  League  for  adoption  plans  for  the  establishment  of 
a  permanent  court  of  international  justice.  The  court  shall  be  com- 
petent to  hear  and  determine  any  dispute  of  an  international  char- 
acter which  the  parties  thereto  submit  to  it.  The  court  may  also 
give  an  advisory  opinion  upon  any  dispute  or  question  referred  to  it 
by  the  Council  or  by  the  Assembly. 

ARTICLE  15. — If  there  should  arise  between  members  of  the 
League  any  dispute  likely  to  lead  to  a  rupture,  which  is  not  sub- 
mitted to  arbitration  in  accordance  with  Article  13,  the  members  of 
the  League  agree  that  they  will  submit  the  matter  to  the  Council. 
Any  party  to  the  dispute  may  effect  such  submission  by  giving  notice 
of  the  existence  of  the  dispute  to  the  Secretary  General,  who  will 
make  all  necessary  arrangements  for  a  full  investigation  and  consid- 
eration thereof. 

For  this  purpose  the  parties  to  the  dispute  will  communicate  to 
the  Secretary  General,  as  promptly  as  possible,  statements  of  their 
case  with  all  the  relevant  facts  and  papers,  and  the  Council  may 
forthwith  direct  the  publication  thereof. 

The  Council  shall  endeavor  to  effect  a  settlement  of  the  dispute, 
and  if  such  efforts  are  successful  a  statement  shall  be  made  public 
giving  such  facts  and  explanations  regarding  the  dispute  and  the 
torms  of  settlement  thereof  as  the  Council  may  deem  appropriate. 

If  the  dispute  is  not  thus  settled,  the  Council  either  unanimously 
or  by  a  majority  vote  shall  make  and  publish  a  report  containing  a 
statement  of  the  facts  of  the  dispute  and  the  recommendations  which 
are  deemed  just  and  proper  in  regard  thereto. 


476  APPENDIX  D 

Any  member  of  the  League  reported  on  the  Council  may  make  pub- 
lic a  statement  of  the  facts  of  the  dispute  and  of  its  conclusions 
regarding  the  same. 

If  a  report  by  the  council  is  unanimously  agreed  to  by  the  mem- 
bers thereof  other  than  the  representatives  of  one  or  more  of  the 
parties  to  the  dispute,  the  members  of  the  League  agree  that  they  will 
not  go  to  war  with  any  party  to  the  dispute  which  complies  with 
the  recommendations  of  the  report. 

If  the  council  fails  to  reach  a  report  which  is  unanimously  agreed 
to  by  the  members  thereof,  other  than  the  representatives  of  one  or 
more  of  the  parties  to  the  dispute,  the  members  of  the  League  reserve 
to  themselves  the  right  to  take  such  action  as  they  shall  consider 
necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  right  and  justice. 

If  the  dispute  between  the  parties  is  claimed  by  one  of  them,  and 
is  found  by  the  council  to  arise  out  of  a  matter  which  by  interna- 
tional law  is  solely  within  the  domestic  jurisdiction  of  that  party, 
the  council  shall  so  report  and  shall  make  no  recommendation  as  to 
its  settlement. 

The  council  may  in  any  case  under  this  article  refer  the  dispute 
to  the  assembly.  The  dispute  shall  be  so  referred  at  the  request  of 
either  party  to  the  dispute  provided  that  such  request  be  made 
within  fourteen  days  after  the  submission  of  the  dispute  to  the 
council. 

In  any  case  referred  to  the  assembly  all  the  provisions  of  this 
article  and  of  Article  12,  relating  to  the  action  and  powers  of  the 
council  shall  apply  to  the  action  and  powers  of  the  assembly,  provided 
that  a  report  made  by  the  assembly  if  concurred  in  by  the  represen- 
tatives of  those  members  of  the  League  represented  on  the  council 
and  of  a  majority  of  the  other  members  of  the  League,  exclusive  in 
each  case  of  the  representatives  of  the  parties  to  the  dispute,  shall 
have  the  same  force  as  a  report  by  the  council  concurred  in  by  all 
the  members  thereof  other  than  the  representatives  of  one  or  more 
of  the  parties  to  the  dispute. 

ARTICLE  16. — Should  any  member  of  the  League  resort  to  war  in 
disregard  of  its  covenants  under  Articles  12,  13,  or  15,  it  shall  ipso 
facto  be  deemed  to  have  committed  an  act  of  war  against  all  other 
members  of  the  League,  which  hereby  undertake  immediately  the 
severance  of  all  trade  or  financial  relations,  the  prohibition  of  all 
intercourse  between  their  nationals  and  the  nationals  of  the  cove- 
nant-breaking State,  and  the  prevention  of  all  financial,  commercial, 
or  personal  intercourse  between  the  nationals  of  the  covenant-breaking 
State  and  the  nationals  of  any  other  State,  whether  a  member  of  the 
League  or  not. 


APPENDIX  D  477 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  council  in  such  case  to  recommend  to 
the  several  Governments  concerned  what  effective  military  or  naval 
force  the  members  of  the  League  shall  severally  contribute  to  the 
armed  forces  to  be  used  to  protect  the  covenants  of  the  League. 

The  members  of  the  League  agree,  further,  that  they  will  mutually 
support  one  another  in  the  financial  and  economic  measures  which 
are  taken  under  l;his  article,  in  order  to  minimize  the  loss  and  incon- 
venience resulting  from  the  above  measures,  and  that  they  will  mu- 
tually support  one  another  in  resisting  any  special  measures  aimed 
at  one  of  their  number  by  the  covenant-breaking  State,  and  that  they 
will  take  the  necessary  steps  to  afford  passage  through  their  terri- 
tory to  the  forces  of  any  of  the  members  of  the  League  which  are 
co-operating  to  protect  the  covenants  of  the  League. 

Any  member  of  the  League  which  has  violated  any  covenant  of  the 
League  may  be  declared  to  be  no  longer  a  member  of  the  League  by 
a  vote  of  the  council  concurred  in  by  the  representatives  of  all  the 
other  members  of  the  League  represented  thereon. 

ARTICLE  17. — In  the  event  of  a  dispute  between  a  member  of  the 
League  and  a  State  which  is  not  a  member  of  the  League,  or  between 
States  not  members  of  the  League,  the  State  or  States  not  members 
of  the  League  shall  be  invited  to  accept  the  obligations  of  member- 
ship in  the  League  for  the  purposes  of  such  dispute,  upon  such  con- 
ditions as  the  Council  may  deem  just.  If  such  invitation  is  accepted, 
the  provisions  of  Articles  12  to  16,  inclusive,  shall  be  applied  with 
such  modifications  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  Council. 

Upon  such  invitation  being  given,  the  Council  shall  immediately 
institute  an  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  of  the  dispute  and  rec- 
ommend such  action  as  may  seem  best  and  most  effectual  in  the  cir- 
cumstances. 

If  a  State  so  invited  shall  refuse  to  accept  the  obligations  of  mem- 
bership in  the  League  for  the  purposes  of  such  dispute,  and  shall 
resort  to  war  against  a  member  of  the  League,  the  provisions  of 
Article  16  shall  be  applicable  as  against  the  State  taking  such  action. 

If  both  parties  of  the  dispute  when  so  invited  refuse  to  accept  the 
obligations  of  membership  in  the  League  for  the  purposes  of  such 
dispute,  the  council  may  take  such  measures  and  make  such  recom- 
mendations as  will  prevent  hostilities  and  will  result  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  dispute. 

ARTICLE  18. — Every  treaty  or  international  engagement  entered 
into  hereafter  by  any  member  of  the  League  shall  be  forthwith  reg- 
istered with  the  Secretariat,  and  shall  as  soon  as  possible  be  published 
by  it.  No  such  treaty  or  international  engagement  shall  be  binding 
until  so  registered. 


478  APPENDIX  D 

AKTICLE  19. — The  Assembly  may  from  time  to  time  advise  the 
reconsideration  by  members  of  the  League  of  treaties  which  have  be- 
come inapplicable  and  the  consideration  of  international  conditions 
whose  continuance  might  endanger  the  peace  of  the  world. 

AKTICLE  20. — The  members  of  the  League  severally  agree  that 
this  covenant  is  accepted  as  abrogating  all  obligations  or  understand- 
ings inter  se  which  are  inconsistent  with  the  terms  thereof,  and  sol- 
emnly undertake  that  they  will  not  hereafter  enter  into  any  engage- 
ments inconsistent  with  the  terms  thereof. 

In  case  any  member  of  the  League  shall,  before  becoming  a  member 
of  the  League,  have  undertaken  any  obligations  inconsistent  with 
the  terms  of  this  covenant,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such  members  to 
take  immediate  steps  to  procure  its  release  from  such  obligations. 

ARTICLE  21. — Nothing  in  this  covenant  shall  be  deemed  to  af- 
fect the  validity  of  international  engagements,  such  as  treaties  of  ar- 
bitration or  regional  understandings  like  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  for 
securing  the  maintenance  of  peace. 

ARTICLE  22. — To  those  colonies  and  territories  which  as  a  conse- 
quence of  the  late  war  have  ceased  to  be  under  the  sovereignty  of 
the  States  which  formerly  governed  them  and  which  are  inhabited 
by  peoples  not  yet  able  to  stand  by  themselves  under  the  strenuous 
conditions  of  the  modern  world,  there  should  be  applied  the  principle 
that  the  well-being  and  development  of  such  peoples  form  a  sacred 
trust  of  civilization  and  that  securities  for  the  performance  of  this 
trust  should  be  embodied  in  this  covenant.  The  best  method  of 
giving  practical  effect  to  this  principle  is  that  the  tutelage  of  such 
people  should  be  intrusted  to  advanced  nations  who,  by  reason  of 
their  resources,  their  experience  or  their  geographical  position  can 
best  undertake  this  responsibility  and  who  are  willing  to  accept  it, 
and  that  this  tutelage  should  be  exercised  by  them  as  mandataries 
on  behalf  of  the  League. 

The  character  of  the  mandate  must  differ  according  to  the  stage 
of  the  development  of  the  people,  the  geographical  situation  of  the 
territory,  its  economic  conditions  and  other  similar  circumstances. 

Certain  communities  formerly  belonging  to  the  Turkish  Empire 
have  reached  a  stage  of  development  where  their  existence  as  inde- 
pendent nations  can  be  provisionally  recognized  subject  to  the  ren- 
dering of  administrative  advice  and  assistance  by  a  mandatory  until 
such  time  as  they  are  able  to  stand  alone.  The  wishes  of  these  com- 
munities must  be  a  principal  consideration  in  the  selection  of  the 
mandatary. 

Other  peoples,  especially  those  of  Central  Africa,  are  at  such  a 
stage  that  the  mandatary  must  be  responsible  for  the  administration 


APPENDIX  D  479 

of  the  territory  under  conditions  which  will  guarantee  freedom  of 
conscience  and  religion,  subject  only  to  the  maintenance  of  public 
order  and  morals,  the  prohibition  of  abuses  such  as  the  slave  trade, 
the  arms  traffic,  and  the  liquor  traffic,  and  the  prevention  of  the 
establishment  of  fortifications  or  military  and  naval  bases  and  of 
military  training  of  the  natives  for  other  than  police  purposes  and 
the  defense  of  territory,  and  will  also  secure  equal  opportunities  for 
the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  other  members  of  the  League. 

There  are  territories,  such  as  Southwest  Africa  and  certain  of  the 
South  Pacific  Islands,  which,  owing  to  the  sparseness  of  their  popu- 
lation, or  their  small  size,  or  their  remoteness  from  the  centers  of 
civilization,  or  their  geographical  contiguity  to  the  territory  of  the 
mandatary,  and  other  circumstances,  can  be  best  administered  under 
the  laws  of  the  mandatary  as  integral  portions  of  its  territory,  subject 
to  the  safeguards  above  mentioned  in  the  interests  of  the  indigenous 
populations. 

In  every  case  of  mandate,  the  mandatary  shall  render  to  the  Coun- 
cil an  annual  report  in  reference  to  the  territory  committed  to  its 
charge. 

The  degree  of  authority,  control,  or  administration  to  be  exercised 
by  the  mandatary  shall,  if  not  previously  agreed  upon  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  League,  be  explicitly  defined  in  each  case  by  the  Council. 

A  permanent  commission  shall  be  constituted  to  receive  and  ex- 
amine the  annual  reports  of  the  mandataries  and  to  advise  the  Coun- 
cil on  all  matters  relating  to  the  observance  of  the  mandates. 

AETICLE  23. — Subject  to  and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of  international  conventions  existing  or  hereafter  to  be  agreed  upon 
the  members  of  the  League: 

(A)  Will  endeavor  to  secure  and  maintain  fair  and  humane  con- 
ditions of  labor  for  men,  women,  and  children,  both  in  their  own 
countries  and  in  all  countries  to  which  their  commercial  and  indus- 
trial relations  extend  and  for  that  purpose  will  establish  and  main- 
tain the  necessary  international  organizations; 

(B)  Undertake  to  secure  just  treatment  of  the  native  inhabitants 
of  territories  under  their  control; 

(C)  Will  intrust  the  League  with  the  general  supervision  over  the 
execution  of  agreements  with  regard  to  the  traffic  in  women  and 
children,  and  the  traffic  in  opium  and  other  dangerous  drugs. 

(D)  Will  intrust  the  League  with  the  general  supervision  of  the 
trade  in  arms  and  ammunition  with  the  countries  in  which  the  con- 
trol of  this  traffic  is  necessary  in  the  common  interest; 

(E)  Will  make  provision  to  secure  and  maintain  freedom  of  com- 
munication and  of  transit  and  equitable  treatment  for  the  commerce 


480  APPENDIX  D 

of  all  members  of  the  League.  In  this  connection,  the  special  ne- 
cessities of  the  regions  devastated  during  the  war  of  1914-18  shall 
be  borne  in  mind; 

(F)  Will  endeavor  to  take  steps  in  matters  of  international  con- 
cern for  the  prevention  and  control  of  disease. 

AETICLE  24.— There  shall  be  placed  under  direction  of  the 
League  all  international  bureaus  already  established  by  general  trea- 
ties if  the  parties  to  such  treaties  consent.  All  such  international 
bureaus  and  all  commissions  for  the  regulation  of  matters  of  inter- 
national interest  hereafter  constituted  shall  be  placed  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  League. 

In  all  matters  of  international  interest  which  are  regulated  by  gen- 
eral conventions  but  which  are  not  placed  under  the  control  of  inter- 
national bureaus  or  commissions,  the  Secretariat  of  the  League  shall, 
subject  to  the  consent  of  the  Council  and  if  desired  by  the  parties 
collect  and  distribute  all  relevant  information  and  shall  render  any 
other  assistance  which  may  be  necessary  or  desirable. 

The  Council  may  include  as  part  of  the  expenses  of  the  secretariat 
the  expenses  of  any  bureau  or  commission  which  is  placed  under  the 
direction  of  the  League. 

AETICLE  25. — The  members  of  the  League  agree  to  encourage 
and  promote  the  establishment  and  co-operation  of  duly  authorized 
voluntary  national  Red  Cross  organizations  having  as  purposes  the 
improvement  of  health,  the  prevention  of  disease  and  the  mitigation 
of  suffering  throughout  the  world. 

ARTICLE  26. — Amendments  to  this  covenant  will  take  effect  when 
ratified  by  the  members  of  the  League  whose  representatives  compose 
the  council  and  by  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  League  whose 
representatives  compose  the  assembly. 

No  such  amendment  shall  bind  any  member  of  the  League  which 
signifies  its  dissent  therefrom  but  in  that  case  it  shall  cease  to  be 
a  member  of  the  League. 

ANNEX  I 

ORIGINAL  MEMBERS  OF  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS  SIGNATORIES  OF  THE 
TREATY  OF  PEACE 

United  States  of  America,  Belgium,  Bolivia,  Brazil,  British  Em- 
pire, Canada,  Australia,  South  Africa,  New  Zealand,  India,  China, 
Cuba,  Ecuador,  France,  Greece,  Guatemala,  Haiti,  Hedjaz,  Hon- 
duras, Italy,  Japan,  Liberia,  Nicaragua,  Panama,  Peru,  Poland, 
Portugal,  Rumania,  Serb-Croat  and  Slovene  State,  Siam,  Czecho- 
slovakia, Uruguay. 


APPENDIX  D  481 

STATES  INVITED  TO  ACCEDE  TO  THE  COVENANT 

Argentine  Republic,  Chili,  Colombia,  Denmark,  Netherlands,  Nor- 
way, Paraguay,  Persia,  Salvador,  Spain,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Vene- 
zuela. 

ANNEX  II 

FIRST  SECRETARY  GENERAL  OF  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS 
The  Honorable  Sir  James  Eric  Drummond,  K.  C.  M.,  G.  C.  B. 


APPENDIX  E 

RESOLUTION    OF    RATIFICATION    REJECTED    BY    THE    SENATE, 
NOVEMBER  19TH,  1919 

Resolved  (two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concurring  therein), 
That  the  Senate  advise  and  consent  to  the  ratification  of  the  treaty 
of  peace  with  Germany  concluded  at  Versailles  on  the  28th  day  of 
June,  1919,  subject  to  the  following  reservations  and  understandings, 
wlrch  are  hereby  made  a  part  and  condition  of  this  resolution  of 
.ratification,  which  ratification  is  not  to  take  effect  or  bind  the  United 
States  until  the  said  reservations  and  understandings  adopted  by  the 
Senate  have  been  accepted  by  an  exchange  of  notes  as  a  part  and  a 
condition  of  this  resolution  of  ratification  by  at  least  three  of  the 
four  principal  allied  and  associated  powers,  to  wit,  Great  Britain, 
France,  Italy,  and  Japan: 

1.  The  United  States  so  understands  and  construes  Article  I.  that 
in  case  of  notice  of  withdrawal  from  the  League  of  Nations,  as  pro- 
vided in  said  article,  the  United  States  shall  be  the  sole  judge  as 
to  whether  all  its  international  obligations  and  all  its  obligations 
under  the  said  covenant  have  been  fulfilled,  and  notice  of  withdrawal 
by  the  United  States  may  be  given  by  a  concurrent  resolution  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States. 

2.  The  United  States  assumes  no  obligation  to  preserve  the  terri- 
torial integrity  or  political  independence  of  any  other  country  or  to 
interfere  in  controversies  between  nations — whether  members  of  the 
League  or  not — under  the  provisions  of  Article  X.,  or  to  employ  the 
military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  under  any  article  of  the 
treaty  for  any  purpose,  unless  in  any  particular  case  the  Congress, 
winch,  under  the  Constitution,  has  the  sole  power  to  declare  war  or 
authorize  the  employment  of  the  military  or  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States,  shall  by  act  or  joint  resolution  so  provide. 

3.  No  mandate  shall  be  accepted  by  the  United  States  under  Ar- 
ticle XXII.,  Part  I.,  or  any  other  provision  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  Germany,  except  by  action  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

4.  The  United  States  reserves  to  itself  exclusively  the  right  to  de- 
cide what  questions  are  within  its  domestic  jurisdiction  and  declares 
that  all  domestic  and  political  questions  relating  wholly  or  in  part 

482 


APPENDIX  E  483 

to  its  internal  affairs,  including  immigration,  labor,  coastwise  traffic, 
the  tariff,  commerce,  the  suppression  of  traffic  in  women  and  children, 
and  in  opium  and  other  dangerous  drugs,  and  all  other  domestic 
questions,  are  solely  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States 
and  are  not  under  this  treaty  to  be  submitted  in  any  way  either  to 
arbitration  or  to  the  consideration  of  the  Council  or  of  the  Assembly 
of  the  League  of  Nations,  or  any  agency  thereof,  or  to  the  decision 
or  recommendation  of  any  other  power. 

5.  The  United  States  will  not  submit  to  arbitration  or  to  inquiry 
by  the  Assembly  or  by  the  Council  of  the  League  of  Nations,  pro- 
vided for  in  said  treaty  of  peace,  any  questions  which  in  the  judgment 
of  the  United  States  depend  upon  or  relate  to  its  long-established 
policy,  commonly  known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine;  said  doctrine  is  to 
be  interpreted  by  the  United  States  alone  and  is  hereby  declared  to 
be  wholly  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  said  League  of  Nations  and  en- 
tirely unaffected  by  any  provision  contained  in  the  said  treaty  of 
peace  with  Germany. 

6.  The    United    States    withholds    its    assent    to    Articles    CLVI., 
CLVIL,  and  CLVIII.,  and  reserves  full  liberty  of  action  with  respect 
to  any  controversy  which  may  arise  under  said  articles  between  the 
Republic  of  China  and  the  Empire  of  Japan. 

7.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  will  provide  by  law  for  the 
appointment  of  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  in  the  As- 
sembly and  the  Council  of  the  League  of  Nations,  and  may  in  its 
discretion  provide  for  the  participation  of  the  United  States  in  any 
commission,   committee,   tribunal,   court,  council,  or   conference,   or 
in  the  selection  of  any  members  thereof  and  for  the  appointment  of 
members  of  said  commissions,  committees,  tribunals,  courts,  councils, 
or  conferences,  or  any  other  representatives  under  the  treaty  of  peace, 
or  in  carrying  out  its  provisions,  and  until  such  participation  and 
appointment  have  been  so  provided  for  and  the  powers  and  duties 
of  such  representatives  have  been  defined  by  law,  no  person  shall 
represent  the  United  States  under  either  said  League  of  Nations  or 
the  treaty  of  peace  with  Germany  or  be  authorized  to  perform  any 
act  for  or  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  thereunder,  and  no  citizen 
of  the  United  States  shall  be  selected  or  appointed  as  a  member  of 
said   commissions,   committees,   tribunals,   courts,   councils,   or   con- 
ferences except  with  the  approval  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

8.  The   United    States   understands   that   the   Reparations    Com- 
mission will  regulate  or  interfere  with  exports  from  the  United  States 
to  Germany,  or  from  Germany  to  the  United  States,  only  when  the 
United  States  by  act  or  joint  resolution  of  Congress  approves  such 
regulation  or  interference. 


484  APPENDIX  E 

9.  The  United  States  shall  not  be  obligated  to  contribute  to  any 
expenses  of  the  League  of  Nations,  or  of  the  secretariat,  or  of  any 
commission,  or  committee,  or  conference,  or  other  agency,  organized 
under  the  League  of  Nations  or  under  the  treaty  or  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  the  treaty  provisions,  unless  and  until  an  appropria- 
tion of  funds  available  for  such  expenses  shall  have  been  made  by  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States. 

10.  If  the  United  States  shall  at  any  time  adopt  any  plan  for  the 
limitation  of  armament  proposed  by  the  Council  of  the  League  of 
Nations  under  the  provisions  of  Article  VIII.,  it  reserves  the  right 
to  increase  such  armaments  without  the  consent  of  the  council  when- 
ever the  United  States  is  threatened  with  invasion  or  engaged  in  war. 

11.  The  United  States  reserves  the  right  to  permit,  in  its  discre- 
tion, the  nationals  of  a  covenant-breaking  State,  as  defined  in  Article 
XVI.  of  the  covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations,  residing  within  the 
United  States  or  in  countries  other  than  that  violating  said  Article 
XVI.,  to  continue  their  commercial,  financial,  and  personal  relations 
with  the  nationals  of  the  United  States. 

12.  Nothing  in  Articles  CCXCVL,  CCXCVIL,  or  in  any  of  the 
annexes  thereto  or  in  any  other  article,  section,  or  annex  of  the  treaty 
of  peace  with   Germany  shall,   as   against  citizens  of  the   United 
States,  be  taken  to  mean  any  confirmation,  ratification,  or  approval 
of  any  act  otherwise  illegal  or  in  contravention  of  the  rights  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States. 

13.  The  United  States  withholds  its  assent  to  Part  XIII.  (Articles 
CCCLXXXVII.  to  CCCCXXVII.  inclusive)  unless  Congress  by  act 
or  joint  resolution  shall  hereafter  make  provision  for  representation 
in  the  organization  established  by  said  Part  XIII.  and  in  such  event 
the  participation  of  the  United  States  will  be  governed  and  condi- 
tioned by  the  provisions  of  such  act  or  joint  resolution. 

14.  The  United  States  assumes  no  obligation  to  be  bound  by  any 
election,  decision,  report  or  finding  of  the  Council  or  Assembly  in 
which  any  member  of  the  League  and  its  self-governing  dominions, 
colonies,  or  parts  of  empire,  in  the  aggregate  have  cast  more  than 
one  vote,  and  assumes  no  obligation  to  be  bound  by  any  decision, 
report,  or  finding  of  the  Council  or  Assembly,  arising  out  of  any 
dispute  between  the  United  States  and  any  member  of  the  League 
if  such  member,  or  any  self-governing  dominion,  colony,  empire  or 
part  of  empire  united  with  it  politically  has  voted. 


INDEX 


Abdication  of  the  Kaiser  de- 
manded, must  he  go?  212- 
213 ;  abdication  announced, 
213;  his  signed  abdication, 
219;  of  rulers  of  German 
States,  233;  of  Queen  of 
Netherlands  demanded,  232. 

"Adoration  of  the  Lamb,"  Ger- 
many to  restore,  347. 

Agawam.    Speed  in  building,  52. 

Age  of  draftees  extended,  35-37. 

Albania,  Claims  of,  326. 

Albemarle,  Lord  and  Lady,  pre- 
sent portrait  of  Washington, 
104. 

Alexander,  King  of  Greece. 
Fourth  of  July  greetings,  105. 

Alien  Property  Custodian,  his 
duties,  63 ;  property  seized  by, 
64;  extension  of  his  powers, 
63,  64. 

Alliances,   entangling,   309-310. 

Allies,  the,  call  for  troops,  36 
Lloyd  George  on  the  call,  49- 
50;  food  supply  for,  54; 
Hoover's  appeal,  54,  56;  vol- 
untary rationing,  54r57 ; 
amount  of  food  sent,  56. 

Allies,  the,  feeding,  56,  57. 

Alsace-Lorraine,  324,  345. 

Amendments  proposed  to  League 
of  Nations  by  neutral  powers, 
312;  by  Mr.  Taft,  312,  313, 
320,  390-391;  by  Senator 
Borah,  297-298;  by  Japan, 
312;  by  Switzerland,  313;  by 
Mr.  Hughes,  318,  320;  Com- 
mittee on  Foreign  Relations, 


401,  403 ;  majority  report, 
404-405 ;  lost,  419-420. 

American  Defense   Society,  67. 

American  Library  Association, 
84. 

American  Protective  League,  44, 
47,  48. 

American  troops  in  Eussia,  227. 

Andrassy,  Count  Julian,  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs,  199; 
appeals  to  Lansing,  202;  re- 
signs, 205. 

Anniversary  of  landing  of 
American  troops  in  France. 
Poincare  to  President  Wil- 
son, 99;  Poincare  to  General 
Pershing,  100 ;  Clemenceau  to 
General  Pershing,  100;  Gen- 
eral Petain  to  Pershing,  100. 

Arab  nation,  325. 

Archangel,  American  troops  in, 
227. 

Armistice  with  Bulgaria,  168- 
169,  170;  excitement  in  Ger- 
many, 173-174;  in  Vienna, 
175;  Austria  asks  peace,  176; 
Germany  asks  peace,  176-179 ; 
the  Kaiser  announces  peace 
offer  to  his  army,  182 ;  Presi- 
dent's reply  to  Germany's  of- 
fer, 183 ;  answer  of  Germany, 
187;  reply  of  the  President, 
190-192;  Turkey  asks  peace, 
192-193 ;  President  answers 
Austria,  195;  reply  of  Ger- 
many, 196-197;  answers  of 
the  President,  198-199;  Ger- 
many answers  the  President, 


485 


486 


INDEX 


200;  Austria  asks  him  to  act, 
200;  appeal  to  Lansing,  202; 
rumors  of  collapse  of  Austria 
and  Germany,  202-205;  Gen- 
eral Diaz  delivers  terms  to 
Austria,  205 ;  Austria  accepts, 
206;  War  Council  drafts 
terms  for  Germany,  206- 
207;  Foch  to  deliver  them, 
206;  Memorandum  on  the 
terms,  206-207;  the  first  Ger- 
man delegation,  207;  false 
rumor  of  an  armistice,  208; 
Foch  notified  by  the  Germans, 
209-210;  explanation  of  the 
false  announcement,  210-212; 
Germany  signs  the  Armistice, 
215;  the  President  reads  the 
terms  to  Congress,  222;  the 
two  texts  compared,  222-226; 
Ebert  denounces,  285;  ex- 
tended, 286;  effort  t!o  obtain 
modification,  292-293;  Foch 
refuses,  292;  protest  to  Foch, 
293;  again  extended,  328; 
anger  of  Germany,  329. 

Armistice,  false  report  of,  208; 
explanation  of,  210-212. 

Army — Reg  i  s  t  r  a  t  i  o  n,  June, 
1918,  32,  33;  Crowder's  ad- 
dress, 32-33;  number  regis- 
tered, 33;  classification,  34; 
draft  age  extended,  36,  37; 
proclamation  by  the  Presi- 
dent, 38;  registration,  August 
36,  37;  registration  in  Sep- 
tember, 38,  40,  41;  number 
registered,  41 ;  Student  Army 
Training  Corps,  41-43;  Al- 
lies' call  for  troops,  49 ;  Lloyd 
George  on  the  call,  49-50; 
movement  of  troops,  50 ;  num- 
ber sent,  50,  51;  Germans 
press  on,  51;  Vice  Admiral 
von  Capelle  on,  51;  French 
ports  used  by  army,  85 ;  placed 


at  disposal  of  Marshal  Foch, 
85,  86;  the  First  Division  at 
Cantigny,  88;  the  Marines  at 
Chateau-Thierry,  89;  foreign 
newspapers  on  the  fight,  89- 
94;  Lloyd  George  on  Ameri- 
can soldiers,  94;  Second  Di- 
vision on  the  Marne,  88,  89; 
Marines  take  Belleau  Wood, 
94-99;  Celebration  of  anniver- 
sary of  landing  of  our  troops 
in  France,  99-101;  the  Ger- 
man fifth  offensive,  108; 
Third  Division  at  the  Marne, 
108-110;  battle  line,  July 
16th,  110;  Allied  offensive, 
July  18th,  111;  First  Divi- 
sion, 111-112;  Second  Divi- 
sion, 111-112;  Fourth  Divi- 
sion, 112,  115;  26th  Division 
captures  Torcy,  Belleau,  Giv- 
ry,  113;  Germans  evacuate 
Chateau-Thierry,  113 ;  Epieds, 
113;  Allied  front,  114;  42d 
Division  crosses  the  Ourcq, 
114;  Sergy,  114;  Fismes, 
115;  and  Vesle  crossed,  115; 
St.  Mihiel  salient,  116-121; 
King  George  sends  congratu- 
lations, 121;  Lloyd  George 
and  General  Haig,  122 ;  Poin- 
care,  122;  fighting  in  Fland- 
ers, 124-126;  Gen.  Degoutte 
on,  126;  near  Rheims,  129; 
moved  to  Meuse-Argonne, 
130 ;  first  phase  of  the  battle^ 
13.0-132;  the  "lost  Battalion," 
132;  the  second  phase,  132- 
134;  second  American  Army, 
135;  the  Armistice,  135-136; 
the  march  to  the  Rhine,  237- 
240;  number  of  troops  in 
Europe,  136;  in  Russia,  227. 

Article  VIII.,  294. 

Article  X.  of  the  Covenant,  ob- 
jections to,  295,  298,  304, 


INDEX 


487 


318,  322;  382;  390;  391;  396; 
a  moral  obligation,  397-398; 
U.  S.  not  to  assume  obliga- 
tions under,  402;  the  Presi- 
dent on,  407,  411,  412,  413, 
414,  424,  425,  426,  427;  bi- 
partisan conference  on,  437- 
438  and  note;  Mr.  Taft,  438, 
note;  the  "round  robin/'  443 
and  note;  the  Senate,  447; 
the  President  on,  448;  new 
reservations  on,  449  and  note. 

Article  XII.,  302. 

Assembly,  German  National, 
234,  235,  236,  253,  285,  329, 
350-352. 

Asquith,  Herbert  Henry,  favors 
punishing  of  German  war 
criminals,  251. 

Atrocities,  German,  Allied  note 
on,  364-366. 

Attorney-General,  explains  raid 
on  slackers,  46-49. 

Australia,  claims  of,  283;  on 
League  of  Nations,  312-313. 

Austria,  peace  speech  of  Baron 
Burian,  148-150;  his  speech 
to  German  newspaper  men, 
151-152;  Austrian  peace  note, 
156-160;  American  news- 
papers on  the  note,  160-163; 
British  journals  on  the  note, 
163-164;  Balfour,  164;  Ger- 
many on  the  note,  165 ;  Lans- 
ing's reply,  165,  166 ;  German 
press  on  the  reply,  166;  Bul- 
garian Armistice,  168-170; 
excitement  in  Vienna,  174- 
176;  Armistice  asked,  176; 
Emperor  to  his  people,  194; 
President's  answer  to  Aus- 
trian peace  offer,  195;  Aus- 
tria accepts,  200;  Count  An- 
drassy  appeals  to  Lansing, 
202;  revolution  in,  204-206; 
Armistice  signed,  206. 


Automobile  owners,  Voluntary 
conservation  of  gasoline,  62- 
63. 

Balfour,  Arthur  J.,  110,  144, 
147,  157;  on  Austrian  note, 
164-165 ;  favors  League  of 
Nations,  251. 

Barrage,  The  mine  barrage  in 
the  North  Sea,  30-31. 

Barrett,  Dorothy,  sinking  by  a 
submarine  described,  25. 

Baseball,  game  on  Chelsea  field, 
The  King  present,  104. 

Bastile  Day,  Americans  cele- 
brate, 107-108. 

Bastin,  E.  H.,  prisoner  on  TJK- 
140,  15,  16;  describes  attack 
on  Diamond  shoal  Light  Ship, 
19-20;  experiences  on  the 
UK-140  described,  20-21. 

Battles— Cantigny,  88 ;  Chateau- 
Thierry,  89;  Belleau  Wood, 
94-99;  on  the  Marne,  108- 
110;  advance  to  the  Vesle, 
113-115 ;  St.  Mihiel,  116-121 ; 
in  Flanders,  124-126;  Meuse- 
Argonne,  129-135. 

[Battle  lines  in  France,  April, 
May,  June,  1918,  86,  87,  89. 

Belgian  Army,  Fourth  of  July 
greetings  to  Pershing,  106. 

Belgium,  von  Kuhlmann  on, 
142;  von  Hertling  on,  145, 
146;  Berlin  Tageblatt  on, 
147;  Vosb-ische  Zeitung  on, 
147;  Germania  on,  147; 
Vice-Councillor  Preyer  on, 
155;  reported  German  peace 
offer"  to,  160;  German  Chan- 
cellor on,  179 ;  protests  against 
representation,  282;  on  abro- 
gation of  treaty  of  1839,  330. 

Belleau  Wood,  94-99;  called 
"Bois  de  la  Brigade  de 
Marine,"  99, 


488 


INDEX 


(Bentinck,  Count,  Kaiser  finds 
refuge  in  his  castle,  216,  217. 

Bernstorff,  Count  von,  66. 

[Bipartisan  Conference,  The, 
437-438;  reservations,  443  and 
note. 

Boards,  War  Industries,  58 ;  War 
Labor,  60,  61,  62;  Sugar 
Board,  55. 

"Bois  de  la  Brigade  de  Marine'5 
order  of  General  Degoutte,  99. 

Borah,  William  Edgar,  Senator 
from  Idaho,  resolution  on 
treaty  of  peace  before  it  was 
made,  249;  resolution  on 
Monroe  Doctrine,  questions 
Mr.  Taft,  297-298;  receives 
copy  of  the  treaty,  378;  at- 
tempts to  read  it,  379 ;  Borah- 
Johnson  statement  of  confer- 
ence with  the  President,  397- 
399. 

Boundaries,  324,  325,  326-327, 
330;  in  the  treaty,  345. 

Bourgeois,  Leon,  270,  286. 

Bread,  Victory  bread,  54;  ra- 
tioning, 54,  56. 

Brest,  reception  to  the  Presi- 
dent, 254-255. 

Brest-Litovsk  treaty,  175. 

British  Army  in  Picardy  and 
Flanders,  1918,  85.  General 
Haig  "With  our  backs  to  the 
wall,"  88 ;  the  German  drives, 
85-87. 

Brockdorff-Kantzau,  Count  von, 
German  plenipotentiary,  337; 
receives  the  treaty,  insulting 
speech,  344;  protest  against 
treaty,  353-354;  against  ex- 
clusion from  League,  354; 
note  on  labor  and  repatria- 
tion, 354;  against  economic 
boundary  reparation  terms, 
355;  more  notes,  355;  Cabi- 
net declines  to  sign,  356-357; 


counter  proposal,  358-359 ; 
sends  protest  of  delegation, 
359-364. 

Bryan,  William  J.,  appeal  for 
Fourth  Liberty  Loan,  79-80; 
speech  at  Jackson  dinner,  435- 
436. 

Bulgaria  asks  an  armistice,  168- 
169;  German  press  on,  169; 
armistice  signed,  170;  Ger- 
man press  on  Bulgaria,  173- 
174;  excitement  in  Vienna, 
175,  176;  King  Boris  abdi- 
cates, 205-206. 

Burian,  Baron,  on  terms  of 
peace,  148-150;  151-152. 

Cabinet,  The  German,  will  not 
sign  treaty,  356-357;  counter 
proposal,  358-359 ;  resign, 
368. 

Cables,  The,  taken  over,  244, 
245. 

Cantigny,  captured  by  First  Di- 
vision, 88. 

Cape  Cod,  vessels  off,  sunk  by 
submarine,  13. 

Capelle,  Admiral  von,  belittles 
troop  movement,  51. 

Charles,  Emperor  of  Austria,  to 
his  people,  194. 

Chateau-Thierry,  Third  Divi- 
sion at,  fight  of  the  Marines, 
89;  foreign  newspapers  on, 
89-94;  Lloyd  George  on,  94. 

Chicago,  raid  on  slackers,   45. 

Chinese,  refuse  to  sign  treaty, 
375. 

Classification  of  registrants,  33- 
34. 

Clemenceau,  Georges,  appeal  for 
Fourth  Liberty  Loan,  80; 
congratulates  Pershing,  100; 
on  a  new  balance  of  power, 
264;  chairman  of  Peace  Con- 
ference^  273;  small  nations 


INDEX 


489 


protest  to,  282 ;  speech  on  de- 
livering treaty,  343-344;  an- 
swer of  Brockdorff-Rantzau, 
344;  German  notes  to,  354, 
355;  sends  Allies'  review  of 
German  atrocities,  364-368; 
Scapa  Flow  note,  372-373; 
speech  at  signing  of  the 
treaty,  374. 

Cloture,  425,  426. 

Clubs,  rationed,  54,  55. 

Coal,  war  economy  in  use  of, 
58 ;  President  appeals  to  min- 
ers, 58,  59. 

Coblenz,  American  army  en- 
ters, 238-239. 

Colleges,  the  Student  Army 
Training  Corps,  41-43;  vote 
on  reservations  to  League, 
437. 

Colonies,  the  German  Claims 
of  the  Allies  to,  283;  British 
press  on,  284-285. 

Commons,  the  House  of,  Mr. 
Bonar  Law  announces  Ameri- 
can victory,  110. 

Congress,  Bill  to  extend  draft 
age,  37;  "work  or  fight" 
amendment,  37-38;  Mr.  Gom- 
pers  objects,  38;  the  Act 
signed,  38;  gives  power  to 
take  over  telephone,  cable  and 
telegraph  lines,  62;  President 
addresses  on  finance,  69-71; 
amount  of  money  needed,  71 ; 
President  reads  text  of  Ar- 
mistice, 222-226 ;  The  Annual 
Message,  December,  1918, 
246-247;  the  President  an- 
nounces he  will  attend  Peace 
Conference,  247 ;  Senators  op- 
pose, 248-249;  Senator  Fre- 
linghuysen  on  League  of  Na- 
tions, 248;  President  requests 
Congress  not  to  discuss  Lea- 
gue, 293;  adjourns  leaving 


business  undone,  protest  of 
the  President,  306-307;  called 
in  extra  session,  322. 

Conscription,  Industrial,  "work 
or  fight"  order,  34,  35. 

Conservation  of  food,  54;  Vic- 
tory bread,  54 ;  sugar,  54,  55 ; 
meat,  54,  55;  scarcity  of 
sugar,  55;  amount  of  food 
saved  for  the  Allies,  56 ;  Hoo- 
ver's second  appeal,  56-57;  of 
fuel,  58,  59;  of  gasoline,  62- 
63 ;  of  travel,  63. 

Counter-proposal  of  Germany, 
358-359. 

Creel,  George,  244-245. 

Crowder,  Provost  Marshal  Gen- 
eral. Address  to  registrants, 
32-33 ;  "Work  or  fight"  order, 
34-35 ;  asks  extension  of  draft 
age,  36,  37;  on  August  regis- 
tration, 37 ;  on  slackers,  44. 

Crown  Prince  of  Germany,  ob- 
servation tower  captured,  131 ; 
flees  to  Holland,  217. 

Czecho-Slovakia,  325,  345,  348, 
359. 

Daniels,  Josephus,  Secretary  of 
Navy,  on  the  submarine  raid, 
8 ;  telegram  to  London  Times, 
8. 

Danzig,  324,  345. 

Degoutte,  General,  Belleau 
Wood  to  be  called  "Bois  de  la 
Brigade  de  Marine,"  99;  on 
Americans  in  Flanders,  126. 

Denmark,  324.     Schleswig,  345. 

Devastation  by  the  Germans, 
St.  Quentin,  136;  the  French 
Government  protests  Repara- 
tions Committee,  136-137; 
"United  States  protests,  138. 

Diaz,  General,  receives  Bulgar- 
ia's offer  of  peace,  168-170; 
delivers  terms  to  Austria, 


490 


INDEX 


205;  signs  Austrian  Armis- 
tice, 206. 

Director  General  of  Railroads, 
asks  people  not  to  travel,  63. 

Domestic  and  political  issues  re- 
served, 403,  417. 

Dover,  welcome  to  President, 
260. 

Draft  of  June,  1918,  32;  Gen- 
eral Crowder's  address  to  reg- 
istrants, 32-33;  number  reg- 
istered, 33;  classification,  34; 
"work  or  fight"  order,  34-35; 
age  limit  extended,  36;  proc- 
lamation by  the  President,  38 ; 
registration,  August  24th,  39 ; 
registration,  September  12th, 
38,  39,  40;  the  drawing,  41. 

Earle,  Ralph,  Rear  Admiral,  31. 

East  Prussia,  330,  345. 

Ebert,  Frederich,  222;  appeals 
for  food,  230;  in  power,  233; 
denounces  Armistice,  285 ; 
President  of  Germany,  286; 
denounces  the  treaty,  351-352. 

Eightieth  Division  in  the  Ar- 
gonne,  130. 

Eighty-Second  Division,  119 ;  in 
the  Argonne,  130. 

Eighty-Ninth  Division,  119. 

"Emblem  and  Conscience  Day," 
81. 

Emergency  Fleet  Corporation, 
51,  52. 

Emmanuel,  King  of  Italy, 
Fourth  of  July  greetings,  105. 

Employment  Service,  The  Unit- 
ed States,  60,  61. 

Erzberger,  Mathias,  heads  arm- 
istice commission,  209;  signs 
Armistice,  214-215 ;  seeks 
modification  of,  292;  protests 
to  Foch,  292-293. 

Exemption  from  war  service, 
34. 


Fabricated  ships,  52. 

Fall,  Albert  B.,  Senator— New 
Mexico,  400;  amendment  ex- 
cluding U.  S.  from  represen- 
tation on  commissions,  415, 
416. 

Farewell  Address,  Washington's, 
309-310,  317. 

Fifth  Division,  119. 

Fifty-Second  Division,  113 ; 
forced  passage  of  the  Ourcq, 
114;  takes  Sergy,  114;  at  St. 
Mihiel,  119;  in  the  Argonne, 
135. 

Finances,  The  President  ad- 
dresses Congress  on,  70-71; 
amount  of  money  needed,  how 
to  be  raised,  71;  Red  Cross 
drive,  71-74;  War  Chest  in 
Philadelphia,  71-74;  War  Sav- 
ings Stamps,  74;  the  Presi- 
dent's appeal,  74-75;  amount 
sold,  76;  Fourth  Liberty 
Loan,  76-77;  the  President's 
appeal,  78,  79;  Mr.  Bryan's 
appeal,  79-80 ;  Clemenceau's 
appeal,  80;  drive  in  Phila- 
delphia, 81-82;  oversubscrip- 
tion, 83;  United  War  Work 
Campaign,  84;  Victory  Loan, 
84. 

Finland,  274. 

First  Division,  training  in 
France,  87;  captures  Cantig- 
ny,  88 ;  London  Times  on,  88 ; 
move  to  west  of  Soissons,  111 ; 
fighting,  July  18-21,  111-112; 
at  St.  Mihiel,  119;  in  the  Ar- 
gonne, 130. 

Fiume,  326-327;  the  President 
asked  to  arbitrate,  327 ;  irrita- 
tion in  Italy,  332;  delegates 
to  conference  threaten  to  with- 
draw, 332,  335,  336;  delegates 
leave,  338;  the  President  on 
the  issue,  338-339;  Orlando 


INDEX 


491 


replies,  339-340 ;  London  press 
on,  340-341 ;  feeling  in  Rome, 
341-342 ;  President's  mem- 
orandum, 444-445;  the  press 
on,  444-446. 

Flags,  French  battle  flags  to  be 
restored,  347;  burned,  372. 

Flanders,  American  Army  in, 
126. 

Fleet,  surrender  of  the  German, 
240-241. 

Foch,  Marshal,  American  Army 
placed  at  his  disposal,  85-87; 
German  delegation  to  receive 
terms  of  Armistice,  208;  be- 
gins offensive,  110;  received, 
208-209 ;  Armistice  signed, 
214-215;  Germany  protests 
to,  292-293. 

Food  conservation  week,  267; 
Congress  asked  for  money  to 
feed  Europe,  267;  Europe's 
need  of,  267-269. 

Food,  Hoover  on  supply,  54; 
conservation  of,  54;  ration- 
ing of  clubs,  hotels,  restau- 
rants and  homes,  54,  55; 
causes  of  scarcity  of  sugar, 
55;  saving  of  food  effected, 
56;  shipments  to  the  Allies, 
56;  restrictions  lifted,  56. 
Hoover's  second  appeal,  56, 
57. 

Foreign-born  citizens,  sign  a 
Declaration  of  Independence, 
103. 

"Four  Point  Speech"  of  the 
President,  101-102. 

Fourth  Division,  fighting  with 
the  French,  112,  115;  at  St. 
Mihiel,  119;  in  the  Argonne, 
130. 

Fourth  of  July,  great  launch- 
ing, 53,  54;  Wilson's  Four 
Point  Speech,  101-102;  cele- 
bration in  Philadelphia,  102- 


103;  Lloyd  George  to  Persh- 
ing,  103;  greetings  from  the 
Biritish  army,  103;  King 
George  at  Chelsea,  104; 
Washington's  portrait,  104 ; 
greetings  from  Poincare,  104 ; 
from  King  of  the  Belgians, 
King  of  Italy,  King  of 
Greece,  105;  Joffre,  the  Bel- 
gian Army,  Lord  Reading, 
Mayor  of  Meux,  106;  Tar- 
dieu,  106;  celebrations  at 
Rome,  Turin,  Florence,  Ge- 
noa, etc.,  107. 

"Fourteen  Points/'  351,  352, 
356,  357,  358. 

France,  our  troops  carried  in 
French  ships,  50,  note;  ports 
used  by  our  army,  85 ;  Ameri- 
can Army  at  disposal  of 
Foch,  85-86;  German  drives, 
86-87,  108;  fighting  in,  85- 
140;  German  devastation  in, 
136-139;  Foch  and  the  arm- 
istice, 208-212,  214-215;  re- 
covers Alsace-Lorraine,  224 ; 
troops  in  Russia,  227;  the 
President  reaches  Brest,  254; 
speech  of  the  Mayor,  254-255 ; 
reception  in  Paris,  255; 
speech  of  President  Poin- 
care, 255-257;  reply,  258; 
Sorbonne  confers  degrees, 
259;  Peace  Conference  opens, 
273;  disposition  of  territory 
west  of  the  Rhine,  331;  Ger- 
man war  ships,  329-330; 
treaty  not  severe  enough, 
348;  Lloyd  George  and  Wil- 
son to  seek  to  pledge  their 
countries  to  aid,  348;  Wil- 
son's farewell  to,  376;  Clem- 
enceau  refuses  to  make  treaty 
public,  378;  Bon  8oir  sends 
copies  to  Chamber,  378;  rati- 
fies treaty,  429;  violated  by 


492 


INDEX 


Germany,  429-430;  Germany 

to   sign    new   protocol,    431- 

432. 
Freedom  of  the  Seas,  Viscount 

Grey  on,  251-252. 
Fuel,   voluntary   war   economy, 

heatless  nights,  58;  President 

appeals  to   coal   miners,   59; 

conservation  of  gasoline,  62- 

63. 

Gasoline,  voluntary  conserva- 
tion of,  62-63. 

Geddes,  Sir  Auckland,  punish- 
ment of  Germany,  251. 

German  Colonies,  Claims  of  the 
Allies  to,  283. 

German  language,  opposition  to 
its  use,  libraries  withdraw 
books,  67;  names  disused,  67; 
opposition  to  publication  of 
newspapers,  to  teaching,  67. 

German  property  confiscated, 
63-64. 

Germans  interned,  69. 

Germany,  peace  speeches  of  von 
Kuhlmann  and  VOD  Hertling, 
141-147;  newspapers  on  the 
Belgian  issue,  147;  Kaiser's 
speech  at  Essen,  152-153; 
Vice-Chancellor  Praeger  on 
peace,  154-156;  on  Austria's 
peace  note,  165;  von  Hertling 
on  U.  S.  answer  to  peace 
note,  166-168.  Press  on  Bul- 
garian Armistice,  173-174 ; 
von  Hertling  and  von 
Hintze  resign,  174;  the  Kai- 
ser to  the  Fatherland  Party, 
174;  new  cabinet,  174;  asks 
armistice,  176;  peace  speech 
of  Maxmilian,  177-179;  the 
Kaiser  announces  offer  to  the 
army,  182 ;  reply  of  the  Presi- 
dent, 183;  answer  of  Ger- 
many, 187;  Turkey  asks  an 


armistice,  192-193;  Germany 
answers  the  President,  196- 
197;  reply  of  the  President, 
198-199;  answer,  200;  con- 
ditions of,  203;  demand  for 
abdication  of  the  Kaiser,  203 ; 
War  Council  drafts  terms, 
206-207;  Foch  to  deliver 
them,  206;  memorandum  on 
the  terms,  206-207;  feeling 
in  Germany,  207;  Foch  noti- 
fied of  coming  of  delegation, 
209-210;  must  the  Kaiser  go? 
212-213;  his  abdication  an- 
nounced, 213;  sailors'  meet- 
ing, 214;  Workmen  and  Sol- 
diers' Council,  214;  the  revo- 
lution spreads,  214;  the  Arm- 
istice signed,  214-215;  Kai- 
ser flees  to  Holland,  215-216 ; 
story  of  the  flight,  216-217; 
demand  for  extradition,  218- 
219;  signed  abdication,  219; 
the  Crown  Prince,  220;  the 
Kaiser  talks,  220;  revolution 
in  Berlin,  221;  a  government 
set  up,  221-222 ;  terms  of  the 
Armistice,  222-226;  National 
Council  of  Women  of  Ger- 
many appeal  to  Mr.  Wilson, 
228-229;  Solf  appeals,  229; 
Ebert  asks  for  food,  230;  an- 
swer of  the  President,  230; 
appeals  from  Solf,  230,  231; 
abdication  of  German  Dukes, 
233;  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, 233;  Workmen  and 
Soldiers'  Councils,  234,  235; 
Congress  of  Councils  meets, 
235;  surrender  of  submarines 
and  High  Seas  Fleet,  240- 
241;  Allies  enter,  237-240; 
Lloyd-George  on  punishment 
of  the  Kaiser,  250;  Mr.  As- 
quith  on,  251 ;  Sir  A.  Geddes 
on,  251;  political  disorder, 


INDEX 


493 


253;  Assembly  to  meet  at 
Weimar,  253 ;  Ebert  denounc- 
es Armistice,  285 ;  Provisional 
Constitution  adopted,  286 ; 
Ebert,  President,  286;  con- 
tinuation of  Armistice,  286; 
292-293;  328-329;  anger  of 
the  Assembly,  329;  Naval 
terms  in  the  treaty,  329 ;  rep- 
aration, 328,  336 ;  extradition 
of  the  Kaiser,  336;  plenipo- 
tentiaries to  go  to  Versailles, 
337;  insulting  action,  337; 
treaty  delivered,  speech  of 
Clemenceau,  343-344 ;  reply 
of  Brockdorff-Eantzau,  344; 
terms  of  the  treaty,  345-348; 
the  Emperor  arraigned,  346- 
347;  reparation,  347;  mer- 
chant ships,  347;  coal,  347; 
the  Koran,  skull  of  the  Sul- 
tan, French  battle  flags  to  be 
restored,  347;  Library  at 
Louvain,  347;  Kiel  Canal, 
348 ;  dismay  over  treaty,  348-' 
350;  Scheidermann  denounc- 
es treaty,  350-351;  Ebert  on 
treaty,  352;  Erzberger  on, 
352-253 ;  Brockdorff-Eantzau 
notes  on  the  treaty,  353-355; 
Cabinet  will  not  sign,  356- 
357;  counter  proposal,  358- 
359 ;  observations  of  the  dele- 
gation on  the  treaty,  359-364; 
Allies  review  her  war  con- 
duct, 364-368;  must  sign 
within  seven  days,  368;  Cabi- 
net resign,  368;  Assembly 
vote  to  accept  treaty,  369; 
time  asked  and  refused,  369; 
will  sign  with  reservations, 
369-370;  accepts  the  treaty, 
371;  fleet  at  Scapa  Flow 
sunk,  371-372;  French  battle 
flags  burned,  372;  Clemen- 
ceau's  note  on  sinking,  372- 


373;  treaty  signed  at  Ver- 
sailles, 374-375 ;  Chinese  dele- 
gates do  not  sign,  375 ;  Smuts 
signs  under  protest,  375;  vio- 
lates treaty,  429-430;  sum- 
moned to  sign  new  protocol, 
431;  reply,  431-432;  ratifica- 
tions exchanged,  432. 

Germany  sends  submarines  to 
our  coast,  1-31.  Propaganda, 
64-66;  demands  release  of 
Franz  von  Eintelen,  67-68; 
answer  of  Lansing,  68-69; 
German  drive,  March,  1918, 
85-86;  second  offensive,  86; 
third  offensive,  86-87 ;  fourth 
offensive,  87;  fifth  offensive, 
108. 

Great  Britain.  Lloyd  George 
on  the  movement  of  Ameri- 
can troops  by,  49-50;  num- 
ber carried  by,  50  note;  the 
German  drives,  86-87;  "With 
our  backs  against  the  wall," 
86;  French  and  British  at- 
tack along  Albert-Montdidier 
front,  115-116;  battle  front 
at  end  of  August,  116;  Brit- 
ish in  Macedonia,  123;  Bul- 
garian Armistice,  123;  attack 
between  Dixmude  and  Ypres, 
123;  take  Cambrai,  139;  sur- 
render of  German  fleet  to, 
240-241;  delegates  to  Peace 
Conference,  242 ;  Lloyd 
George  on  punishing  the 
Kaiser,  250;  Mr.  Balfour  on 
League  of  Nations,  251;  Mr. 
Asquith  on  punishing  the 
guilty,  251 ;  Sir  A.  Geddes  on 
reparation,  251;  Viscount 
Grey  on  Freedom  of  the  Seas, 
251-253;  the  President  at 
Dover,  260;  at  London,  260; 
welcomed  by  King  George, 
261;  President's  reply,  262; 


494. 


INDEX 


Guildhall  speech,  253-264;  at 
Carlisle,  264;  press  opposes 
Prinkipo  Conference,  275- 
276;  secret  treaty  with  Ja- 
pan, 283;  the  German  colo- 
nies, 283-284;  on  reparation, 
328;  secret  treaty  wth  Italy, 
327;  to  aid  France  if  at- 
tacked, 348. 

Greece,  claims  of,  325. 

Grey,  Viscount,  on  Freedom  of 
the  Seas  and  League  of  Na- 
tions, 251-252;  letter  on  ac- 
tion of  the  U.  S.  439-440. 

Hague  tribunal,  The,  Germany 
proposes  to  refer  Scapa  Flow 
incident  to,  431. 

Haig,  Field  Marshal,  Sir  Doug- 
las, "With  our  backs  to  the 
wall,"  88;  Fourth  of  July 
greetings,  103 ;  on  St.  Mihiel, 
122. 

Haimhausen,  Haniel  von,  asks 
extension  of  time  limit,  369; 
treaty  will  be  signed,  371. 

Hale,  Frederick,  Senator, 
Maine,  offers  amendment, 
426,  428. 

Heligoland,  329,  345. 

Hertling,  Count  von,  peace 
speech,  143-147;  Belgium,  a 
"pawn,"  145,  146;  on  the 
President's  Fourteen  Points, 
166-168;  resigns,  174. 

Hindenburg  line,  124,  125. 

Hintze,  Admiral  von,  144;  on 
Bulgarian  armistice,  169;  re- 
signs, 174;  armistice,  208, 
210. 

Hirano  Maru,  sunk  by  subma- 
rine, 190. 

Hirsch,  Premier,  "mailed  fist 
peace,"  349. 

Hitchcock,  Gilbert  M.,  Senator 
from  Nebraska,  plan  for  vot- 


ing on  the  treaty,  421-423; 
states  views  of  the  President, 
427;  seeks  ratification  with- 
out amendments,  429;  asks 
suspension  of  Eule  13,  439. 

Hog  Island,  52. 

Holland,  German  Kaiser  flees 
to,  215-217;  explains  his 
status,  218;  appoints  commis- 
sion, 220;  the  Crown  Prince 
in,  217;  abdication  of  Queen 
demanded,  232. 

Hoover,  Herbert  C.,  on  food 
conservation,  54;  second  ap- 
peal, 56,  57;  on  the  food  sit- 
uation in  Europe,  57;  new 
appeal,  56-58;  the  food  situ- 
ation, 58;  in  charge  of  food 
supply  for  Europe,  231;  ex- 
plains the  situation,  232 ;  asks 
aid  for  Europe,  267;  the 
President  appeals  to  Con- 
gress, 267;  describes  condi- 
tion of  Europe,  267-269; 
food  cargoes,  269. 

Hotels  and  Restaurants  ra- 
tioned, 54. 

Hungary,  202-203 ;  Karolyi's 
plan  for  independence,  204; 
revolution  in,  204-205. 

Interpretations,  the  President 
on,  412. 

Interpreters  for  registrants,  40. 

Ireland — Senate  reservation  on, 
450. 

Isaacs,  Lieutenant,  2. 

Italian  front,  140;  Austrian 
Armistice,  140. 

Italy,  fighting  in,  140;  visit  of 
the  President  at  Rome,  264- 
266;  dispute  over  Fiume, 
326-327;  the  President  asked 
to  arbitrate,  327 ;  feeling  over 
Fiume,  332,  335,  336;  dele- 
gates leave  Paris,  338;  the 


INDEX 


495 


President  on  the  Adriatic 
question,  338-339;  reply  of 
Orlando,  339;  feeling  in 
Eome,  341-342. 

Jackson  Day  dinner,  433-434; 
the  President's  letter,  434- 
435. 

Japan — delegates  at  Peace  Con- 
ference, 271;  claims  Marshal 
and  Caroline  Islands,  283; 
secret  treaty  with  England, 
283;  offers  amendment  to 
Covenant,  312;  Shantung 
treaty,  387-389. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  "entang- 
ling alliances/'  310. 

Jennings,  The  0.  B.f  sunk  by 
TJK-140,  14-15. 

Jewish  Welfare  Board,  84. 

Joffre,  General,  106. 

Johnson,  Hiram,  W.    419,  420. 

July,  Fourth  of,  great  launch- 
ing, 53,  54;  Wilson's  "Four 
point  speech,"  101-102; 
Foreign  Countries  observe, 
103-107. 

June  13,  observed  abroad,  99- 
101. 

Kadish,  American  troops,  227. 

Karolyi,  Count,  on  Wilson's 
peace  terms,  151. 

Kiel— sailors'  mutiny,  214-222. 

Kiel  Canal,  329. 

King  of  the  Belgians.  Greet- 
ings on  July  4,  105. 

Knights  of  Columbus,  72,  84. 

Knox,  Philander  C.,  Senator 
from  Pennsylvania  opposes 
League,  303-305;  opposed  to 
the  Covenant,  380;  resolu- 
tion offered  by,  433. 

Koran,  Germany  to  restore,  347. 

Kuhlmann,  Dr.  Richard  von, 
peace  speech,  141-143;  on 
Belgium,  142;  resigns,  144. 


Labor.  Scarcity  of  unskilled, 
60;  proclamation  forbidding 
recruiting  unskilled,  60-61 ; 
United  States  Employment 
Service,  61,  62. 

La  Follette,  Robert,  M.  offers 
amendment  to  Covenant,  422. 

Lansing,  Robert,  Secretary  of 
State,  reply  to  Germany's  de- 
mand for  release  of  von  Rin- 
telen,  69;  protests  against 
German  devastation,  138;  the 
Austrian  peace  offer,  176; 
the  German  offer,  176-177, 
179;  answers  German  offer, 
183;  Solf  replies,  187;  an- 
swers Germany,  191-192;  re- 
ceives Turkey's  request,  192- 
193;  answers  Austria,  195; 
receives  Germany's  answer, 
196-197;  replies  to  German 
note,  198-199;  Germany's  an- 
swer, 200;  receives  Austria's 
reply,  200;  appeal  from  An- 
drassy,  202;  notifies  Germany 
Foch  will  arrange  armistice, 
206;  memorandum  on  arm- 
istice, 206-207;  Solf  appeals 
for  food,  230,  231;  reply  to 
Solf,  231. 

"Last  Supper/'  Germany  to  re- 
store, 347. 

Launchings  on  July  4,  53. 

Law,  Andrew  Bonar,  110;  dele- 
gate to  Peace  Conference, 
242. 

League  for  the  Preservation  of 
American  Independence,  on 
the  Covenant,  318. 

League  of  Nations.  President 
Wilson,  259,  263,  278-279; 
urges  in  Peace  Conference, 
281;  Lloyd  George  urges, 
280;  action  of  the  Confer- 
ence, 270,  286;  Preamble 
adopted,  285 ;  President  reads 


496 


INDEX 


draft  of  to  Peace  Conference, 
287;  provision  of,  287-289; 
President's  speech  on,  289- 
292;  President  requests  Con- 
gress not  to  debate,  293 ;  feel- 
ing in  the  Senate,  293-296; 
discussed  in  Senate,  296-297; 
Senator  Borah  and  Mr.  Taft, 
297-298;  Senator  Keed  on, 
299 ;  President  speaks  in  Bos- 
ton, 299-301;  White  House 
conference,  301;  Senate  de- 
bate, 301-303;  Senator  Knox 
opposes,  303-305 ;  Senator 
Lodge's  "Bound  Eobin,"  305- 
306;  speeches  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  Mr.  Taft  at  New 
York,  307-310;  will  be  part 
of  treaty,  310,  311,  312; 
Lord  Cecil  on,  311-312;  neu- 
tral nations  offer  amend- 
ments, 312;  racial  equality, 
312-313;  Mr.  Taft's  amend-  j 
ments,  313;  complaint  of  de-  | 
lay,  314;  answer  of  the  Presi-  I 
dent,  314;  Lodge-Lowell  de-  ' 
bate,  315-318;  Covenant  bad- 
ly drawn,  303,  316,  317; 
Mr.  Hughes  proposes  seven 
amendments,  318;  Mr.  Root 
proposes  six,  319;  revised, 
320;  article  on  Monroe  Doc- 
trine inserted,  320;  League 
to  Enforce  Peace  approved, 
322;  revised  by  Conference, 
321;  adopted,  321;  Mr. 
Lodge  asks  Senators  to  with- 
hold expressions  of  opinions, 
322;  League  to  Enforce 
Peace,  322;  The  League  of 
Nations  part  of  peace  treaty, 
345;  Germany  on  her  exclu- 
sion, 354,  358,  360,  361,  368; 
the  President  on,  385,  386; 
Mr.  Taft  proposes  six  amend- 
ments, 390-391 ;  conference 


with  the  President,  395-397; 
Senators  Borah  and  Johnson 
report  on  conference,  397- 
399 ;  treaty  reported  with  res- 
ervations and  amendments, 
401-405;  debate  on,  416-428; 
ratification  lost,  429;  the 
President  stands  firm,  432; 
Knox  resolutions,  433;  the 
Jackson  Day  dinner,  433; 
the  President's  letter,  434- 
435;  Bryan's  speech  at  the 
dinner,  435-436;  resolutions 
of  twenty-six  organizations, 
436-437;  vote  in  the  Univer- 
sities and  colleges,  437;  the 
bipartisan  Conference,  437- 
438 ;  and  note ;  Rule  13  to  be 
suspended,  439 ;  Viscount 
Grey's  letter,  439-440;  Sena- 
tor Hitchcock  to  the  Presi- 
dent, 441;  his  five  reserva- 
tions, 442,  note;  the  Presi- 
dent's reply,  441-443;  Rule 
13  suspended,  443;  the  Cove- 
nant again  before  the  Senate, 
443 ;  the  "Round  Robin,"  443 
and  note;  action  of  the  Sen- 
ate, 447;  the  President  on 
Article  X.,  448-449 ;  new  res- 
ervations, 449  and  notes,  450 ; 
on  Ireland,  450;  treaty  re- 
jected and  returned  to  the 
President,  451. 

League  of  Free  Nations,  on  the 
Covenant,  319. 

Leinster,  sunk  by  submarine, 
190. 

Leopold,  Prince  of  Lippe-Det- 
wold  abdicates,  233. 

Liberty  Loan.  The  fourth,  the 
drive  in  New  York  City,  76- 
78;  difficulties  in  raising,  79; 
the  President's  appeal,  78,  79. 
Mr.  Bryan's  appeal,  79-80; 
Clemenceau's  appeal,  80 ; 


INDEX 


'497 


Philadelphia's  drive,  81 ; 
"Flag  Day/'  "Preparation 
Day/'  81 ;  "Emblem  and  Con- 
science Day/'  "Pershimg 
Day/7  81;  "For  Your  Boy 
and  Mine/'  82;  amount 
raised,  83;  second  appeal  of 
the  President,  83;  oversub- 
scription, 83 ;  President's 
speech,  170^173. 

Library,  Germany  to  make  rep- 
aration for  destruction  of 
University  of  Louvain,  347. 

Libraries,  withdraw  German 
books,  67. 

Lightless  nights,  58. 

Limit  Clubs,  75. 

Lloyd  George,  David,  On  call 
for  our  troops,  49-50;  on  our 
ship  building,  53;  on  Ameri- 
can troops,  94;  Fourth  of 
July  Greetings,  103;  on  St. 
Mihiel,  122;  on  indictment 
of  the  Kaiser,  219;  on  pun- 
ishment of,  250;  speech  be- 
fore Peace  Conference,  urges 
League,  280;  on  slowness  of 
the  Peace  Conference,  334- 
335;  pledges  aid  to  France, 
348. 

Lodge,  Senator  Henry  Cabot. 
Defends  Navy  Department, 
7-8;  Eesolutions  on  League 
of  Nations,  305-306;  debate 
with  Lowell,  315-318;  asks 
Senators  to  withhold  expres- 
sion of  opinion  on  League, 
322 ;  sees  copy  of  treaty,  378 ; 
presents  report  of  majority 
of  Committee  with  reserva- 
tions and  amendments,  401- 
403;  secures  cloture,  425, 
426 ;  resolution  declaring  state 
of  peace,  429 ;  on  rejection  of 
treaty,  432,  433 ;  asks  suspen- 
sion of  Eule  13,  439. 


London,  Welcome  to  President 
Wilson,  260;  Speech  of  King 
George,  261;  answer  of  the 
President,  262;  freedom  of 
the  city,  263. 

"Lost  Battalion,"  132. 

Louvain,  University  professors 
appeal,  420-421;  Germany  to 
make  reparation  for  destruc- 
tion of  library,  347. 

Lowell,  Abbott  Lawrence,  de- 
bates Covenant  with  Senator 
Lodge,  315-318. 

Ludwig  II.  of  Bavaria,  abdi- 
cates, 233. 

Luxemburg,  Duchess  of,  will 
abdicate,  233 ;  American 
Army  enters,  Pershing's  proc- 
lamation, 238;  free  from 
German  customs  Union,  345. 

Macedonia,  Allied  offensive, 
123 ;  Bulgarian  armistice, 
123. 

Mail,  The  New  York  Evening, 
bought  by  German  Govern- 
ment, 64. 

Manchester,  gives  President 
freedom  of  city,  264. 

March,  Gen.  Peyton  C.,  address 
to  Student  Army  Training 
Corps,  43. 

Marines  at  Chateau-Thierry, 
89;  foreign  newspapers  on 
the  fight,  89-94;  Lloyd 
George  on,  94;  take  Belleau 
Wood,  94-99;  "Bois  de  la 
Brigade  de  Marine,"  99. 

Marne  Salient,  the  fight  of 
Marines  at  Chateau-Thierry, 
89;  foreign  newspapers  on 
the  battle,  90-94;  Lloyd 
George  on,  94;  Second  Di- 
vision on  the  Mafne,  94;  the 
battle  of  the  Marne,  108-111; 
Pershing  on,  109;  London 


498 


INDEX 


press  on,  109-110;  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Americans  from 
the  Marne  to  the  Vesle,  108- 
115;  Vesle  crossed,  115. 

Maximilian  of  Baden,  173j 
Speech  on  Germany's  peace 
note,  177-179. 

Meat,  rationing,  54,  55. 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  233. 

Merakf  sunk  by  U.K.-140,  16, 
19. 

Merchant  marine,  51. 

Meuse-Argonne  battle,  the 
ground  and  defenses,  129; 
Argonne  forest,  129-130;  po- 
sition of  the  army,  130;  first 
phase,  130-132;  Montfaucon, 
130,  131 ;  the  Crown  Prince's 
tower,  131;  prisoners,  131; 
obstructions,  131;  "Lost  Bat- 
talion," 132;  end  of  first 
phase,  132;  Kriemhilde  Line, 
132;  advance  east  of  Meuse, 
133;  Argonne  forest  cleared, 
133;  Grand  Pre,  134;  end  of 
second  phase,  134;  Freya 
Stellung,  134;  Meuse  crossed, 
135;  opposite  Sedan,  135; 
number  of  enemy  divisions 
and  prisoners,  135 ;  Armistice, 
136. 

Meux,  greetings  from,  106. 

Military  terms  to  Germany, 
330,  346. 

Mirlo,  sunk  by  U-117,  26-27. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  Senator  Bor- 
ah's resolution,  249;  ques- 
tions Mr.  Taft  on  Monroe 
Doctrine,  297-298;  the 
League  and  the  Doctrine, 
294,  295,  296,  299,  301,  302- 
303,  311,  312,  313,  315,  317, 
318;  inserted  in  revised 
Covenant,  320,  321,  322,  381, 
391,  395;  U.  S.  not  to  sub- 
mit for  arbitration  any  ques- 


tion    under,     402-403,     405, 
413,  414,  438,  442  note. 
Murmansk,  American  troop  at, 

227. 

National  Assembly,  The  Ger- 
man meets,  234,  235,  236, 
253,  285,  329.  Treaty  of 
peace  denounced  before,  350- 
353. 

National  Council  of  Women  of 
Germany  to  Mrs.  Wilson, 
228. 

Naval  Terms  to  Germany,  329, 
330,  346. 

Navy  Department,  The  submar- 
rine  raid  off  our  coast,  7-8; 
Senator  Lodge  defends,  7-8. 

Navy,  The  German,  surrendered, 
240-241. 

Navy,  vessels  of,  30;  where 
used,  30;  the  mine  barrage 
in  North  Sea,  30-31;  move- 
ment of  troops  by,  31;  ves- 
sels lost,  31. 

New  York  City.  The  draft, 
40-41 ;  foreign  languages 
spoken  in,  40;  Eound  up  of 
slackers,  45-49 ;  Germans  buy 
Evening  Mail,  64;  "Soldiers 
in  France  Day,"  76;  Fourth 
Liberty  Loan  Drive,  76-77; 
President  opens  drive,  78; 
his  "five  point"  speech,  170- 
173;  receives  Solfs  peace 
note,  187. 

Newspaper,  The  German — on 
submarine  sinkings,  8-10 ; 
story  of  a  German  submarine 
captain,  10-13. 

Newspapers.  Voluntary  war 
economy,  58;  Germans  buy 
N.  Y.  Evening  Mail,  64;  As- 
sociation of  Foreign  Lan- 
guage, 65,  66;  Fair  Play  66; 
foreign  on  Chateau-Thierry, 


INDEX 


499 


89-94;  on  the  Marne  victory, 
109-110;  German  on  Bel- 
gium, 147;  Count  Karolyi  to 
German  newspaper  men  on 
terms  of  peace,  151-152; 
American  on  Austrian  peace 
note,  160-163;  British  on  the 
note,  163,  164;  Germany  on 
President's  answer,  166;  Ger- 
many on  Bulgarian  Armis- 
tice, 169,  173-174,  175; 
America  on  Germany's  peace 
offer,  180;  French  on,  181; 
America  on  President's  an- 
swer, 186;  on  Self's  reply, 
188;  Paris  papers,  189;  Lon- 
don papers  on,  190;  on  Mar- 
mora Conference,  275-276 ; 
on  German  Colonies,  283- 
284;  Germany  on  the  treaty, 
349. 

Niblock,  Rear  Admiral  Albert 
Parker,  30. 

Nineteenth  Division,  119. 

Ninety-first  Division  in  Fland- 
ers, 126-129 ;  praised  by  Gen- 
eral Degoutte,  126;  in  the 
Argonne,  130. 

Ninety-second  Division,  in  the 
Argonne,  130. 

Non-essential  workers,  35. 

Notes,  concerning  peace,  Aus- 
trian, 156-160;  Germany  re- 
plies to,  165;  United  States 
replies  to,  165,  166 ;  Austrian 
peace  offer,  176;  Germany 
asks  peace,  176-179;  Kaiser 
announces  offer,  182;  Presi- 
dent's note  to  Germany,  183; 
reply  of  Germany,  187;  re- 
ply to  Germany,  190-192; 
Turkey  asks  peace,  193; 
President's  note  to  Austria, 
195;  reply  of  Germany,  196- 
197;  President's  note  to  Ger- 
many, 198-199 ;  reply  of  Ger- 


many, 200;  Austria  accepts, 
200;  Count  Andrassy  to 
Lansing,  202;  the  Allies  on 
the  notes,  206-207. 

Offensives.  German,  86;  of 
April,  8,  86;  of  May  27,  86- 
87 ;  of  June,  87 ;  the  German 
front,  87;  French  offensive, 
July  18,  14. 

Oldenburg,  Grand  Duke  of,  ab- 
dicates, 233. 

Orlando,  Vittorio,  221,  242, 
271,  338,  339-340. 

Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of 
America,  67. 

Peace,  von  Kiihlmann  reopens 
discussion,  141-142;  Chancel- 
lor von  Hertling's  speech, 
143-147 ;  German  newspap- 
ers on  Belgian  issue,  147; 
Baron  Burian  replies  to  the 
President's  Fourth  of  July 
speech,  148-150-151-152;  the 
Kaiser  speaks,  152-153;  Vice- 
Chancellor  Preyer,  154-156 ; 
Austrian  peace  note,  156-160; 
the  newspapers  on  the  note, 
160-163;  British  press,  163; 
Balfour,  164;  Germany  re- 
plies to  note,  165;  United 
States  replies,  165,  166;  von 
Hertling  on  the  answer,  166- 
168.  President's  Five  Point 
Speech,  Sept.  27,  1918,  170- 
173 ;  Bulgarian  armistice, 
168-170;  German  press  on, 
173-174;  excitement  in  Vi- 
enna, 175,  176;  peace  rum- 
ors; Austrian  peace  offer  to 
President  Wilson,  176;  Ger- 
many asks  peace,.  176-179; 
opposition  in  the  United 
States,  180;  in  France,  181; 
the  Kaiser  announces  the  of- 


500 


INDEX 


fer  to  the  army,  182;  Presi- 
dent's reply  to  Germany's  of- 
fer, 183.  Opposition  to  Ger- 
man peace  in  United  States 
Senate,  183-185.  Beply  of 
Germany,  187.  Answer  to 
Germany,  190-192;  Turkey 
seeks  peace,  192-193;  Presi- 
dent's answer  to  Austria's 
peace  offer,  195 ;  reply  of  Ger- 
many, 196-197 ;  President's 
answer,  198-199;  reply  of 
Germany,  200;  Austria  ac- 
cepts, 200;  Armistice  with 
Turkey  signed,  204;  Foch 
delivers  terms  to  Germany, 
206;  Germany  signs,  215; 
flight  of  the  Kaiser,  215-217; 
the  President  reads  terms  of 
Armistice  to  Congress,  222- 
226;  Germany  asks  early 
peace  conference,  230;  mem- 
bers of  the  Conference,  242; 
first  meeting,  242;  the  Presi- 
dent will  attend,  242 ;  his  go- 
ing opposed,  242,  243-245; 
the  peace  conference,  270- 
348;  the  peace  treaty,  348- 
451. 

Peace  Conference,  242;  prelimi- 
nary work,  270-271;  secrecy, 
272;  protest  of  American 
newspapers,  272;  first  meet- 
ing, 273;  method  of  proce- 
dure, 273;  President's  speech, 
278-280;  urges  League  of 
Natiqns,  279;  Lloyd  George 
on  League,  280;  action  of  the 
Conference,  281;  commissions 
appointed,  281 ;  protest  of  the 
small  nations  and  Belgium, 
282;  draft  of  the  League, 
285;  President  reads  cove- 
nant to  Conference,  286-289 ; 
President's  speech,  289-292; 
neutral  nations  offer  amend- 


ments to  covenant,  312 ;  Ja- 
pan amendnffent,  312;  Switz- 
erland's, 313 ;  League  revised, 
313,  320;  article  on  Monroe 
Doctrine,  320 ;  revision  adopt- 
ed, 321;  Conference  at  Prin- 
kipo,  274,-.  276-277;  325; 
Czechs  and  Poles,  325; 
claims  of  Greece,  325;  of  Al- 
bania, 326;  Fiume,  326-327; 
reparation,  328 ;  Armistice 
continued,  328;  naval  terms, 
329;  destruction  of  German 
war  ships,  329-330;  military 
terms,  330;  Shantung,  330; 
Poland,  Danzig,  East  Prus- 
sia, 330 ;  responsibility  for  the 
war  330-331;  the  Ehine,  331; 
Italian  claims,  332;  Italian 
delegates  threaten  to  with- 
draw, 332 ;  demand  for  speed ; 
the  President's  answer,  333; 
Lloyd  George  on,  334-335; 
Italians  threaten  to  withdraw, 
335-336;  reparation,  respon- 
sibility and  extradition  of  the 
Kaiser,  336;  German  pleni- 
potentiaries to  come  to  Ver- 
sailles, 337;  insulting  action 
of  Germany,  337;  Italians 
leave,  338;  letter  from  the 
President  on  Fiume,  338-339 ; 
Orlando  answers,  339-340; 
London  press  on  the  letter, 
340-341;  feeling  in  Eome, 
341-342 ;  Belgium  wants 
more  territory,  342-343 ; 
treaty  delivered  to  the  Ger- 
mans, 343 ;  speech  of  Clemen- 
ceau,  343-344;  reply  of 
Brockdorff-Rantzau,  344; 
contents  of  the  treaty,  345- 
348. 

Peale,  Charles  Wilson,  104. 

Pershing,  Gen.  John  J.,  num- 
ber of  troops  under;  offers 


INDEX 


501 


American  troops  to  Foch,  85, 
86 ;  greetings  ^rom  Poincare, 
Clemenceau,  Foch,  Petain,  on 
anniversary  of  landing  of 
American  troops,  100 ; 
Fourth  of  July  greetings 
from  Haig  and  Lloyd  George, 
103;  on  the  battle  of  the 
Marne,  109;  Commands  First 
American  army,  116;  on  St. 
Mihiel  battle,  120-121 ;  Lloyd 
George  congratulates,  122 ; 
Sir  Douglas  Haig,  122. 

Petain,  General,  congratulates 
Pershing,  100. 

Philadelphia,  War  Chest,  71- 
74;  "31  to  1,"  73;  amount 
raised,  74;  Fourth  Liberty 
Loan  drive,  81-82;  "Flag 
Day/'  81 ;  "Preparation 
Day/'  81;  "Emblem  and 
Conscience  Day,"  81 ;  "Persh- 
ing Day/'  82 ;  Fourth  of  July 
celebration,  102-103. 

Plebiscite,  345;  360;  361;  368. 

Plenipotentiaries,  German  meet 
Foch  to  receive  Armistice 
terms,  208-209;  received  by 
Foch,  208-209 ;  Armistice 
signed,  214-215;  the  terms, 
222-226. 

Poincare,  Eaymond,  President 
of  France,  to  President  Wil- 
son on  anniversary  of  land- 
ing of  American  troops,  99; 
to  General  Pershing,  100; 
Fourth  of  July  greetings, 
104;  greets  the  President  in 
Paris. 

Poland,  claims  of,  324,  325; 
boundary  330;  345;  406. 

Pont  Wilson,  106. 

Ports  in  France  used  for  land- 
ing troops,  85. 

Posters,  Fourth  Liberty  Loan, 
76. 


"Preparation  Day/'  81. 

Preyer,  Friedrich  von,  peace 
speech,  153-156. 

President,  The,  fixes  date  of  reg- 
istration, 38-39;  address  to 
registrants,  38-39 ;  draws 
first  capsule,  Sept.  30,  41; 
address  to  Student  Army 
Training  Corps,  42;  appeal 
to  coal  miners,  59 ;  proclama- 
tion forbidding  private  re- 
cruiting of  unskilled  labor, 
60-61;  to  the  strikers  in  an 
arms  factory,  62;  on  prop- 
erty of  interned  aliens,  69; 
addresses  Congress  on  fin- 
ance; 69-71;  appeal  for 
thrift,  74-75;  Liberty  Loan 
appeal,  78,  79;  Second  ap- 
peal, 83;  celebration  of  an- 
niversary of  landing  of 
American  troops  in  France, 
Poincare  to  the  President, 
99;  the  Four  Point  Speech, 
101-102;  Poincare  congratu- 
lates, 104;  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians, King  of  Italy,  King  of 
Greece  send  congratulations, 
105;  also  Joffre,  Lord  Bead- 
ing, 106;  King  George  con- 
gratulates on  St.  Mihiel,  120; 
Poincare,  122;  Baron  Burian 
replies  to  Fourth  of  July 
speech,  148-150;  answers  to 
Austria's  peace  note,  165- 
166;  von  Hertling  criticizes, 
166-168;  speech  Sept.  27, 
1918,  the  Five  Points,  170- 
173 ;  Austria  asks  peace,  176 ; 
Germany  asks  peace,  176- 
179;  the  press  on  the  offer, 
180-181;  answer  of  Germany, 
183 ;  the  press  on  the  answer, 
183-184;  the  Senate  on  the 
offer,  184-185;  reply  of  the 
President,  187;  Turkey  asks 


503 


INDEX 


peace,  192-193;  answer  to 
Austria's  peace  offer,  195; 
reply  of  Germany,  196;  an- 
swer to  Germany,  198-199; 
Germany  answers,  200;  Aus- 
tria asks  the  President  to 
act,  200-201 ;  notifies  Germany 
Foch  will  give  terms  of  Arm- 
istice, 206;  reads  text  of 
Armistice  to  Congress,  222- 
226;  Germany  appeals  for 
help,  228-229;  will  attend 
the  Peace  Conference,  242; 
may  he  leave  the  country, 
243,  244,  245;  246;  proc- 
lamation taking  Government 
possession  of  cable  lines,  244, 
245 ;  the  annual  message  Dec. 
1918,  246-247;  resolution  in 
the  Senate  248;  sails  for 
France,  250;  reception  at 
Brest,  254-255;  at  Paris, 
255-259 ;  degrees  conferred, 
259;  visits  the  army,  260; 
welcome  at  Dover,  260;  at 
London,  260;  speech  of  King 
George,  261;  answer,  262- 
263;  freedom  of  the  city  con- 
ferred, 263;  at  Carlisle,  264; 
freedom  of  city  of  Man- 
chester, 264;  speech  at,  264; 
reception  in  Italy,  265;  at 
Eome,  265;  at  Genoa  and 
Milan,  269 ;  returns  to  Paris, 
270;  speech  to  Peace  Con- 
ference, 278-280 ;  urges 
League  of  Nations,  279; 
recognizes  Poland,  283;  reads 
report  on  League  to  Peace 
Conference,  286-289;  speech 
on,  289-292 ;  sails  for  Boston, 
292;  speech  at  Boston,  299- 
301;  Congress  adjourns,  pro- 
test of  the  President,  306- 
307;  speech  at  New  York  on 
the  Covenant,  307-310;  sails 


for  Paris,  310;  announces 
Covenant  will  be  part  of 
peace  treaty,  310,  311,  312; 
answers  complaints  of  delay, 
314;  calls  Congress  in  ex- 
tra session,  322;  asked  to  ar- 
bitrate Fiume  dispute,  327; 
calls  for  the  George  Wash- 
ington, 336;  letter  on  Fiume, 
338-339;  answer  of  Orlando, 
339-340;  pledges  aid  to 
France,  348 ;  Scheidemann 
denounces,  350-351 ;  address 
after  signing  peace  treaty, 
375;  sails  for  home,  376; 
farewell  to  France,  376;  mes- 
sage from  King  George,  376, 
377;  lays  the  treaty  before 
the  Senate,  383-386;  Senate 
calls  for  papers,  386-387; 
confers  with  Eepublican  Sen- 
ators, 389-390;  Senate  calls 
for  French-American  treaty, 
391-393;  answers  calls  for 
papers  on  treaty,  393-394; 
confers  with  Committee  on 
Foreign  Kelations,  395-397; 
Senator  Borah  and  Johnson 
on  the  conference,  397-400; 
starts  on  western  tour;  the 
route,  405-406;  speech,  405- 
415;  becomes  ill,  415;  letter 
on  reservations,  427;  Jack- 
son Day  letter,  434-435;  let- 
ter to  Senator  Hitchcock, 
441-443;  dispute  with  Allies 
over  Fiume,  444-447;  letter 
on  reservations,  448-449 ; 
treaty  returned  to,  451. 

President  Lincoln,  the,  sunk  by 
a  submarine,  2. 

Press,  the  German,  on  the  sub- 
marine raids,  8-13;  Voiles 
Zeitung,  captain  of  a  U-boat 
describes  raid  on  our  coast, 
10-13. 


INDEX 


503 


Prinkipo,  Supreme  Council  in- 
vite conference  at,  274;  op- 
position to,  276-277. 

Proclamations.  Registration, 
Sent.  12,  38,  39 ;  registration, 
August  24,  39;  forbidding 
private  recruiting  of  un- 
skilled labor,  60,  61;  alien 
enemies,  69. 

Propaganda,  German.  Buy 
New  York  Mail,  64;  the 
Fatherland,  64,  65;  books 
and  pamphlets,  65;  Associa- 
tion of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers,  65,  66;  the 
"whispering  campaign/'  66 ; 
slanders  on  the  Red  Cross, 
66;  on  the  War  Department, 
66. 

Punishment  of  Germans  re- 
sponsible for  the  war,  Lloyd 
George  on,  250;  Asquith  on, 
251. 

Ratification  of  Treaty,  Senate 
Committee  report  with  res- 
ervations and  amendments, 
401-405;  lost,  428;  by  Eng- 
land, France  and  Italy,  430- 
432 ;  ratification  rejected, 
433-451. 

Rationing,  Hoover  urges  con- 
servation, 54;  the  bread  ra- 
tion, 54;  meat,  54,  sugar,  54, 
55;  clubs,  hotel's,  restaurants, 
householders,  54,  55;  the  Su- 
gar Board,  55 ;  savings  effect- 
ed, 56;  Hoover's  second  ap- 
peal, 56-57. 

Reading,  Lord.  Fourth  of  July 
greetings,  106. 

Red  Cross,  66;  drive  of  May, 
1918,  71;  War  Chest  in  Phil- 
adelphia, 71-74 ;  amount 
raised,  74;  United  War  Work 
Campaign,  84. 


Referendum,  the  intercollegiate, 
437;  the  President  suggests 
national,  435. 

Registrants,  new  classification, 
33-34;  age  limit  extended, 
36,  37,  38 ;  interpreters  for  in 
New  York,  40;  total  number, 
41. 

Registration,  of  June  1918,  32, 
33;  General  Crowder's  ad- 
dress to  registrants,  32-33; 
number  registered,  33;  classi- 
fication, 34;  registration  Au- 
gust 24,  36-37;  Sept.  12th, 
38,  40,  41;  number,  41; 
round  up  of  slackers,  43-49; 
number  arrested,  249. 

Reparation,  136-137;  251;  328, 
336;  French  Senators  de- 
mand, 337;  Members  of 
House  of  Commons  demand, 
337;  treaty  terms,  347;  355; 
359;  362. 

Reservations,  Mr.  Root  sug- 
gests, 381-382;  Mr.  Taft  pro- 
poses six,  390-391;  by  Mr. 
Hughes,  391;  Senator  Pitt- 
man,  400;  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations  report 
from,  401,  402-403;  404-405; 
the  President  on,  409;  thir- 
teen substitutes,  417-419 ; 
reservations  adopted,  423- 
425;  426,  427;  reported  by 
Committee  of  the  Whole, 
428 ;  ratification  defeated, 
428 ;  bi-partisan  conference 
438  note;  by  Mr.  Taft  438 
note;  by  Senator  Hitchcock 

442  note;  the  President  on, 
441-443;  the  "round  robin/' 

443  note;  the  President  on, 
448-449;    new    ones    offered, 
449-450. 

Responsibility  for  the  war,  330- 
331. 


504 


INDEX 


Revolution,  in  Hungary  204, 
205;  in  Germany,  213-214; 
221-222;  233,  234-235. 

Eintelen,  Franz  von,  67-68,  69. 

Eodgers,  Rear  Admiral,  30. 

Rodman,  Hugh,  Rear  Admiral, 
30. 

Rome,  Fourth  of  July  observed 
in,  107. 

Root,  Elihu,  would  separate  the 
Covenant  from  the  treaty, 
381;  on  Monroe  Doctrine, 
381;  reservations,  382. 

"Round  Robin/'  on  Article  X., 
443  note. 

Rule   13,   suspended,   439,   443. 

Russia,  273;  invited  to  Confer- 
ence, 274;  parties  in,  274; 
American  troops  in,  227. 

Saar  Valley,  345,  351,  353,  355, 
359,  361,  368. 

Sorbonne,  degrees  conferred  on 
President  Wilson,  259. 

St.  Mihiel  salient,  116-121; 
King  George  sends  congratu- 
lations, 121 ;  Lloyd  George, 
Gen.  Haig,  Poincare,  122. 

St.  Quentin,  canal,  124,  125. 

St.  Quentin,  destruction  of 
the  city,  136. 

San  Diego,  sunk,  13. 

Saxe-Coburg,  Duke  of  abdi- 
cates, 233. 

Saxe-Meiningen,  a  republic  233. 

Saxe- Weimar,  233. 

Saxony,  233. 

Scheidemann,  Philipp,  173;  an- 
nounces overthrow  of  Em- 
pire, 222;  in  power,  233;  de- 
nounces the  treaty,  350-351; 
denounces  the  President,  350- 
351. 

Schleswig,  345;  361. 

School  boards  drop  German 
language,  67. 


Scapa  Flow,  Germans  sink  in- 
terned ships,  371-372;  Cle- 
menceau's  note,  372-373. 

Seaman,  Stanley  W.,  descrip- 
tion of  sinking  by  submarine, 
16. 

Second  Division,  on  the  Marne, 
88,  89 ;  villages  taken  by,  94- 
95;  Belleau  Wood,  94-99; 
West  of  Soissons,  111;  the 
battle,  111-112;  at  St.  Mihiel, 
119;  in  the  Argonne,  135. 

Secret  meetings  of  Peace  Con- 
ference opposed,  272. 

Senate,  opposition  of  Senator  to 
the  President  going  abroad, 
248-249;  Senator  Borah  on 
treaty  of  peace,  249;  on  en- 
tangling alliances,  249;  reso- 
lution of  Senator  Freyling- 
huysen,  248;  Secrecy  of 
Peace  Conference  opposed, 
272;  President  asks  League 
of  Nations  be  not  debated, 
293;  feeling  in  the  Senate, 
293-296 ;  discusses  League, 
296-297;  Senator  Reed,  299; 
White  House  Lunch,  301; 
debate  on  League,  301-303; 
Senator  Knox  opposes  SOS- 
SOS;  Senator  Lodge's  Reso- 
lutions, 305-306;  Senators 
Lodge  and  Borah  see  copies 
of  treaty  before  it  is  made 
public,  378;  resolution  of  in- 
quiry, 379-380;  Senator 
Borah  asks  it  be  printed,  380 ; 
the  treaty  printed,  380;  Sen- 
ator Knox  opposed  to  rati- 
fication with  the  Covenant, 
380-381;  letter  from  Mr. 
Root,  381-382;  exclude  Ar- 
ticle X,  382;  four  courses 
of  action,  383 ;  the  President 
lays  treaty  before  the  Sen- 
ate, 383-386;  call  for  Shan- 


INDEX 


505 


tung  treaty,  386;  copies  of 
protests  against,  and  drafts 
of  League,  387;  the  Shan- 
tung agreement,  387-389 ; 
conference  of  the  President 
with  Eepublicans,  389-390 ; 
Anglo  -  American  -  French 
treaty  391-393 ;  President  an- 
swers call  for  papers,  393- 
394;  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations  confer  with  Presi- 
dent, 395-397;  Senators  Bor- 
ah and  Johnson  on  the  con- 
ference, 397-399;  treaty  re- 
ported with  reservations  and 
amendments,  401-403 ;  ma- 
jority report,  404-405 ; 
amendments  to  Article  35, 
415-416;  thirteen  substitute 
reservations,  417-419 ;  John- 
son equal  vote  amendment, 
419;  amendments  lost,  419- 
420;  to  fix  time  for  final 
vote,  421,  422;  amendments 
lost,  422;  reservations  con- 
sidered, 422-425;  cloture  in- 
voked, 425-426;  reservations 
considered,  426,  427;  the 
President  on  the  reservations, 
427;  report  of  Committee  of 
the  Whole,  42«;  letter  from 
the  President,  428;  resolu- 
tion to  ratify  defeated,  428- 
429;  Knox  resolutions,  433; 
bi-partisan  conference,  437- 
438;  Senator  Hitchcock's 
reservations  422  note;  Rule 
13  suspended,  439;  443;  the 
"round  robin/'  443  and  note; 
action  of  Senate,  447;  new 
reservations,  449,  and  notes, 
450;  on  Ireland,  450;  re- 
jects treaty,  451. 

Seventy-ninth  Division;  in  the 
Argonne,  130,  131. 

Seventy-seventh   Division,   115 ; 


in  the  Argonne,  130;  133- 
134;  Lost  Battalion,  132. 

Shantung,  330;  Senate  call  for 
treaty,  386;  how  Japan  ac- 
quired Shantung,  387-388 ; 
why  the  President  consented, 
388;  opposition  in  the  Sen- 
ate, 388-389;  390;  403;  404; 
407;  the  President  on,  410; 
413. 

Shaw,   Dr.   Anna   Howard,   44. 

Ship  building,  51-54. 

Shipping  Board,  52,  53,  54. 

Ships,  tonnage  needed  for  army, 
52 ;  fabricated  ships,  52 ;  Hog 
Island,  52 ;  speed  in  building, 
52,  53 ;  great  launching,  July 
4th,  53,  54;  Lloyd  George 
on,  53. 

Signing  the  treaty,  374-375; 
Chinese  delegates  do  not  sign, 
375;  Smuts  signs  under  pro- 
test, 375. 

Silesia,  Upper;  345;  351;  358; 
359;  368. 

Sims,  Rear  Admiral,  30. 

Slackers,  rounded  up,  43-49; 
denounced  in  the  Senate,  45- 
46;  statement  of  Attorney 
General,  46-49. 

Smuts,  Jan  Christiaan,  Lt.  Gen- 
eral, plan  for  League  of  Na- 
tions, 270 ;  signs  treaty  under 
protest,  375. 

"Soldiers  in  France  Day,"  76. 

Solf,  accepts  peace  terms,  187; 
appeals  to  the  President,  229 ; 
asks  early  peace  conference, 
230,  231. 

Strikes,  clause,  in  draft  age 
bill,  37.  Gompers'  objection, 
38;  action  of  the  President 
on,  62. 

Student  Army  Training  Corps, 
41;  address  by  the  President, 
42;  by  the  Secretary  of  War, 


506 


INDEX 


42-43;    by    General    March, 
43 ;  disbanded,  236. 

Submarine,  Cruise  of  a  sub- 
marine off  our  coast  described 
by  her  commander,  10-13. 

Submarines,  German  off  the 
coast,  1,  2;  vessels  destroyed 
by,  1-3;  the  U-90,  2;  sur- 
vivors of  the  Caroline,  5; 
complaints  against  the  Navy 
Department,  7;  reply  of  As- 
sistant Secretary,  7-8;  Sen- 
ator Lodge  defends,  7-8; 
Secretary  Daniels  explains, 
8;  his  telegram  to  London 
Times,  8;  German  press  on 
the  raid,  8-10;  captain  of  the 
U-boat  describes  the  raid,  10- 
13;  San  Diego  sunk,  13; 
sinkings  off  Cape  Cod,  13; 
0.  B.  Jennings  sunk  by  UK- 
140  off  Virginia,  14-15;  Mr. 
E.  H.  Bastin,  a  prisoner,  de- 
scribes his  experience  on,  15, 
16,  19-21;  destroys  Diamond 
Shoal  Light  Ship,  16,  19,  de- 
stroys M  erak,  16, 19 ;  U-117— 
vessels  sunk  by,  22-23,  24; 
sinking  of  the  Sommerstad 
described,  23;  cruise  of  the 
U-117,  24;  sinking  of  Doro- 
thy Barrett  described,  25;  of 
the  Mirlo,  26,  27;  Triumph 
armed,  28;  U-152  sinks  the 
Ticonderoga,  28-29;  all  sub- 
marines called  home,  29; 

Submarines,    vessels    destroyed 
by,  off  our  coast. 
Edward  H.  Cole,  3. 
Edna,  2,  4. 
Hattie  Dunn,  4. 
Hauppaug,  4. 
Isabel  B.  Wiley,  4. 
Winnieconnie,  4. 
Texel,  4. 
Carolina,  4-5. 


Mengel,  5. 

Eidsvvld,  5. 

Edward  H.  Baird,  Jr.t  6. 

Harpathian,  6. 

V inland,  6. 

Pinar  del  Rio,  6. 

Vindeggen,    6. 

Hendrik  Lund,  6. 

Samoa,  6. 

Kringsjaa,  6. 

Manx  King,  13. 

Perth  Amboy,  13. 

Robert  and  Richard,  14. 

Dornfontein,  14. 

Nelson  A.,  14. 

Luz  Blancha,  14. 

Gladys  M.  Hollett,  14. 

0.  B.  Jennings,  14-15. 

Stanley  W.  Seaman,  16. 

Diamond  Shoal  Light  Shipf 
19. 

Merak,  16,  19. 

Tokuyama  Maru,  21. 

Kate  Palmer,  22. 

Cruiser,  22. 

Earl  and  Nettie,  22. 

Peniston,   22. 

Sydland,  23. 

Sommerstad,  23. 

Frederick  R.  Kellogg,  24. 

Dorothy  Barrett,  25. 

Madrugada,  25. 

Mirlo,  26,  27. 

San  Jose,  27. 

Nordhave,  27. 

Ticonderoga,  28-29. 

Stifinder,  29. 

Triumph,  28. 
Sugar  Board,  55. 
Sugar,  rationing  of,  55;  causes 

of  scarcity,  55. 

Sultan  Okwawa,  Germany  to  re- 
store skull  of,  347. 
Supreme  Council,  206;  take  up 

case   of   Russia,    273;    invite 

conference  at  Prinkipo,  274; 


INDEX 


507 


opposition  to,  275;  protest 
by  Eussians  to  Clemenceau, 
276;  opposition  in  U.  S.,  276- 
277;  warning  to  those  using 
armed  force  277-278;  the 
German  colonies,  283;  on 
treatment  of  Germany. 

Taft,  William  Howard,  on 
President's  reply  to  German 
peace  oifer,  185;  on  Monroe 
Doctrine,  297 ;  discussion 
with  Senator  Borah,  297-298; 
speaks  on  the  Covenant  at 
New  York,  307,  310 ;  propos- 
es amendments  to  League, 
313;  390-391;  to  Article  X., 
438  note. 

Tardieu  Andre,  107. 

Telegraph  and  telephone  lines 
taken  over,  244,  245. 

Telegraph,  the  London,  on  vic- 
tory of  the  marines,  109. 

Third  Division,  beats  the  Ger- 
mans on  the  Marne,  108-109; 
Pershing's  report,  109;  Lon- 
don press  on,  109-110;  ad- 
vance from  the  Marne,  113- 
114;  relieved,  114;  in  the 
Argonne,  130. 

"Thirty-one  to  One,"  73. 

Thirtieth  Division,  123-124; 
125;  126. 

Thirty-second  Division,  114- 
115;  130. 

Thirty-third  Division,  130;  133. 

Thirty-fifth  Division,  130;  131. 

Thirty-seventh  Division,  126 ; 
130;  131. 

Thirty-eighth  Division,  109. 

"Thrift  Day,"  74. 

Ticonderoga,  sunk  by  U-152; 
28-29. 

Times,  the  London,  8. 

Travel,  no  unnecessary,  63. 

Treaties,  Secret,  Great  Britain 


and  Japan,  283;  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Italy,  327;  Shan- 
tung, 387-389;  Anglo-French- 
American,  391-393. 
Treaty,  the  Peace,  complaints 
of  delay,  answer  of  the 
President,  314;  magnitude  of 
the  work,  324;  demands  of 
the  new  nations,  324-325; 
dispute  over  Fiume,  326-327; 
Wilson  asked  to  arbitrate, 
327 ;  Armenian  demands, 
328;  the  Economic  Council, 
328;  reparation,  328;  naval 
terms,  3%9;  military  terms, 
330;  Poland,  Danzig,  East 
Prussia,  330 ;  responsibility 
for  the  war,  331;  the  Ehine 
country,  331;  questions  set- 
tled, 336;  Germans  to  come 
to  Versailles,  337;  action  of 
Germany,  337;  Belgium  dis- 
satisfied, 342-343;  treaty  de- 
livered to  Germans,  343; 
speech  of  Clemenceau,  343- 
344;  reply  of  Brock  dorff- 
Rantzau,  344;  contents  of  the 
treaty,  345-348;  France 
alarmed,  348 ;  dismay  in  Ger- 
many, 348-349 ;  denounced  by 
Scheidemann,  350-351;  by 
Ebert,  351-352;  Brockdorff- 
Eantzau  notes,  353-355 , 
Cabinet  will  not  sign,  356- 
357;  counter  proposal,  358- 
359;  observations  of  the  dele- 
gates, 359-364;  Allies  review 
war  acts  of  Germany,  364- 
368;  must  be  signed  within 
seven  days,  368;  German 
Cabinet  resigns,  368;  As- 
sembly votes  it  be  signed, 
369;  time  asked  an<J  refused, 
369;  reservations  offered  and 
refused,  369-370;  treaty  will 
be  signed,  371;  fleet  at 


508 


INDEX 


Scapa  Flow,  371-372;  Clem- 
enceau's  note  on  sinking,  372- 
373;  the  treaty  signed,  374- 
375;  Chinese  delegates  do 
not  sign,  375;  Smuts  signs 
under  protest,  375;  Clemen- 
ceau  refuses  to  make  treaty 
public,  378;  Bon  Soir  sends 
copies  to  the  French  Cham- 
ber, 378 ;  Senators  Lodge  and 
Borah  see  copies,  378;  reso- 
lution in  the  Senate,  378-379 ; 
the  Chicago  Tribune  sends  a 
copy,  379;  Senator  Borah 
reads  it,  379;  the  treaty 
printed,  380;  Senator  Knox's 
resolution,  380-381 ;  Mr. 
Boot  on  the  Covenant,  381- 
383;  treaty  laid  before  Sen- 
ate by  the  President,  383- 
386;  Mr.  Taft  and  Mr. 
Hughes  propose  amendments 
and  reservations,  391-392; 
committee  report  with  reser- 
vations and  amendments,  401- 
405;  speeches  on  the  Presi- 
dent in  the  West,  405-415; 
amendments  to  Article  35, 
415-416 ;  substitute  reserva- 
tions, 417-419;  amendments 
lost,  419-420;  attempt  to  fix 
time  for  final  vote,  421-422; 
amendments  lost,  422;  reser- 
vations adopted,  423-425,  426, 
427;  cloture,  425-426;  re- 
ported by  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  428;  ratification  de- 
feated, 429 ;  treaty  ratified  by 
Great  Britain,  France,  Italy, 
429;  violated  by  Germany, 
429-430;  Germany  summoned 
to  sign  new  protocol,  431; 
reply  of  Germany,  431-432; 
ratifications  exchanged,  432; 
the  President  stands  firm, 
432;  Senators  seek  a  com- 


-  promise,  433;  the  Jackson 
dinner,  433-434;  the  Presi- 
dent's letter,  434-435 ; 
Bryan's  speech,  435-436; 
bi-partisan  conference,  437- 
438;  vote  on  in  Univer- 
sities, 439;  Viscount  Grey's 
letter,  439-440 ;  Senator 
Hitchcock's  reservations,  422 ; 
Eule  13  suspended,  439 ;  443 ; 
the  "round  robin,"  443  and 
note;  action  of  the  Senate, 
447;  the  President  on  reser- 
vations, 448-449;  new  reser- 
vations, 449  and  note;  450; 
on  Ireland,  450;  treaty  re- 
jected, 451. 

Treaty  of  London,  327. 

Tribune,  The  Chicago,  sends 
copy  of  treaty  to  Senator 
Borah,  379. 

Trolley  lines,  war  economies, 
58. 

Troops,  Allies  call  for,  36; 
movement  of,  49;  Lloyd 
George  on,  49-50;  number 
sent  over  seas,  50,  51;  Ger- 
man press  on,  51;  Admiral 
von  Capelle  on,  51. 

Tuckahoe,  52,  53. 

Turkey  seeks  peace,  192-193; 
204. 

Twenty-sixth  Division,  111 ; 
112;  113;  119. 

Twenty-seventh  Division,  124, 
125;  126. 

Twenty-eighth  Division,  114 ; 
115;  130. 

Twenty-ninth  Division,  130 ; 
133. 

UK-140.  Sinks  the  0.  B.  Jen- 
nings, 14-15;  the  Stanley  W. 
Seaman,  16;  the  Merah,  16, 
19;  the  Diamond  Shoal 
Lightship;  Mr.  Bastin,  a 


INDEX 


509 


prisoner  on,  describes  attack, 

19-20;  chase  of,  20. 
U-152.     Sinks  the  Ticonderoga, 

28-29;  called  home,  29. 
U-117.      Vessels    destroyed   by, 

21-26;    sinking   of    Sommer- 

stad    described,    23;    of    the 

Mirlo,   26;   cruise  of,   21-26. 
Underwood,  Oscar  W.,  Senator, 

422-423;  435. 
United    War    Work    Campaign, 

84. 
Universities,      Student      Army 

Training  Corps,  41-43;  vote 

on  reservations,  437. 

Victory  bread,  54. 

Victory  Loan,  84. 

Vierick,  George  Sylvester,  64, 
65. 

Violations  of  the  treaty  by  Ger- 
many, 429-430. 

Vladivostok.  American  troops 
landed,  227 ;  complaint  in  the 
Senate,  227;  troops  with- 
drawn, 227. 

Walsh,  Senator,  424-425. 

War,  the,  in  France,  ports  used 
by  our  army,  85 ;  our  troops 
at  disposal  of  Marshal  Foch, 
85-86;  German  drives  of 
March  and  April,  86-87; 
"With  our  backs  to  the  wall," 
86 ;  the  May  drive,  86-87 ;  the 
June  drive,  87;  the  First  Di- 
vision at  Cantigny,  88;  Sec- 
ond Division  at  Chateau- 
Thierry,  89;  the  fight  of  the 
Marines,  89;  foreign  news- 
papers describe  the  fight,  89- 
94;  Lloyd  George  on  the 
Americans,  94;  Second  Divi- 
sion on  the  Marne,  94;  vil- 
lages taken  by,  94-95;  the 
Marines  take  Belleau  Wood, 


95-99;  General  Degouttes  or- 
der, 99;  Hamel  wood,  101; 
German  drive  of  July  15, 
108 ;  the  Marne  crossed,  108 ; 
the  Americans  drive  back  the 
Germans,  109;  battle  line 
July  16,  110;  Foch  begins 
counter  drive,  111;  battle 
near  Soissons,  111-112 ;  cap- 
ture of  Berzy-le-Sec,  Tigny, 
Bois  d'Harlennes,  Chouy, 
Sommelans,  112;  capture  of 
Torcy,  Belleau,  Givry,  Licy, 
Monthiers,  113 ;  Germans 
evacuate  Chateau-Thierry, 
113;  capture  of  Epieds, 
Trugny;  Allied  front,  114; 
Sergy  and  Serings  captured, 
the  Ourcq  crossed,  114; 
Cierges  and  Hill  230  cap- 
tured, 115;  Soissons  entered, 
Ville-en-Tardenois  taken;  the 
German  retreat  begins,  115; 
Fismes  taken;  the  Americans 
on  the  Vesle,  115;  British 
and  French  attack  along  Al- 
bert-Montdidier  front,  115- 
116;  battle  front  at  end  of 
August,  1918,  116;  Ameri- 
cans capture  St.  Mihiel  Sa- 
lient, 116-121 ;  congratula- 
tions on  the  victory,  121-122 ; 
Dixmude  taken,  British  and 
French  near'Cambrai  and  St. 
Quentin,  123 ;  Americans  take 
Vierstaat  "Eidge,  124;  and 
break  the  Hindenburg  Line, 
124;  St.  Quentin  Canal,  124; 
villages  taken.  125;  Ameri- 
cans between  the  Lys  and  Es- 
caut  Eivers,  126 ;  The  Ameri- 
cans before  Bheims,  129 ; 
Meuse-Argonne,  battle,  129- 
136;  destruction  of  St.  Quen- 
tin, 136;  protest  of  the 
French  Government,  136-137; 


510 


INDEX 


of  the  French  Separation 
Committee,  138 ;  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  138-139;  advance 
of  the  Allies,  139-140. 

War,  Acts  of  Germany  during, 
reviewed  by  the  Allies,  364- 
368. 

War  aims  of  Germany;  von 
Kuhlmann  on,  141-143;  von 
Hertling  on,  143-147;  war 
aims  of  Austria,  Baron  Bur- 
ian  on,  148-150;  151-152; 
war  aims  of  Germany,  Herr 
Preyer  on,  154-156. 

War  Chest,  Bed  Cross  drive  in 
Philadelphia,  71-74;  amount 
raised,  74. 

War  Industries  Board,  58. 

War  Labor  Policies  Board,  60. 

War  Savings  Stamps,  74; 
"Thrift  Day,"  74;  President 
appeals,  74-75;  "Limit 
Clubs,"  75;  "Soldiers  in 
in  France  Day,"  76;  amount 
sold,  76. 

Ward,  Speed  in  building,  53. 

Washington,  George,  on  alli- 
ances, 309-310. 

Weimar,  German  Assembly  to 
meet  at,  253. 

Wheat,  rationing  of,  54,  56. 

"Whispering  Campaign,"  66. 

William  II.,  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, peace  speech  at  Essen, 
152-153;  message  to  Father- 


land Party,  174;  announces 
Germany's  peace  oiler,  182; 
on  abdication,  203;  demands 
for  abdication,  203;  abdica- 
tion announced,  213;  flees  to 
Holland,  215;  story  of  the 
flight,  216-217;  demand  for 
extradition,  218-219;  Hol- 
land explains  his  status,  218; 
indicted  in  England,  218; 
Lloyd  George  on,  219;  his 
signed  abdication,  219;  Hol- 
land appoints  commission, 
220-221 ;  expatriation  dis- 
cussed at  Paris,  221;  Lloyd 
George  on  punishment,  250; 
extradition  to  be  asked,  336, 
arraigned  in  peace  treaty, 
346-347. 

Wilson,  Eear  Admiral,  false  re- 
port of  Armistice,  211. 

Withdrawal  from  League,  402; 
417. 

"Work  or  Fight"  order,  34,  35. 

Workmen  and  Soldiers  Coun- 
cils, 214;  221;  222;  233; 
234;  235. 

"Your  Boy  and  Mine,"  76. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, 72;  84. 

Young  Men's  Hebrew  Associa- 
tion, 73;  84. 

Young  Women's  Christian  As- 
sociation, 72;  84. 


(i) 


D  McMaster,  John  Bach 

570        The  United  States  in  the 

M34  World  War 

v.2 


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