Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-04
Attacked by Both Extremes.

| by both extremes Of opinion; not only
| by the reactionaries who wanted to
divide the spoils of war and who were
against any league of nations whatso-
ever. but by the extreme radicals who
| wanted to use the President in ad-
vancing their own revolutionary de-
sires, and turned on him when he did
not serve their purpose.
groups. which had come to the confer
| ence to secure some special interest or
| advantage turn bitterly upon the
President the moment they found he
treme ambitions. It was 80 with the
Egyptian group and the Irish group.
| it was SO with the Italians, 1t was so
| with the Greeks who wanted the
whole Aegean coast. and with certain
d the Belgians who wanted the seat
| II q league Of nations at Brussels.
| He sappointed the extremists, and
HI Il isappointed all those who wanted
! special privileges or had greedy in
| ,erests by following an impiacable
He had to adjust and compromise. he
! could not get all he wanted. but he
was never used by anybody or any in
| terest at the peace conferences: and to
sought out and trusted; it was felt,
despite everything, that he was the
one leader there who was disinterest-
eddy, patiently, under vast difficulties.
| trying to 90 what was right, trying to
get some measure Of justice into the
peace. It was his influence. and his
alone, that held up the moral tone OF
| The conference.
! The treaty is far from being a perfect
document, it was made in a time Of
| world Observation-Disclosures shock
it represents the fears and greeds of
| the nations as well as the hopes and
aspirations. But the hopes and aspira-
tons are there-put there by President
1 ~ ale AI&As krnoa kxyl Nau
contain the new machinery, the new
principles, for world reconstruction on
a broader basis of justice and right
! than was ever known before-n the
world is now civilized enough to go
ahead and use them.
Break Came on April 8.
One hesitates to think what the treaty
would have been If the President had
! not been there. But he wore himself out
| in the struggle, and on April the break
came, and the President fell i'll. 1t was
| a task beyond human endurance. No
man could have stood It, DR.. Grayson
but the council Of four with Col. House
taking the Presidents place. continued
| to meet in the next room. so that the
President, though unable to leave his
bed, never lost intimate touch with the
proceedings.
This was perhaps the darkest moment
of the entire peace conferences; for the.
dissensions among the conferees, and
the opposition to the Presidents de-
even more acute with his illness. Now
| that he was down, 1t seemed still easier
to ride over him. The Italians seized
this moment to threaten to bolt the
conference u they were not instantly
French were still insistent upon getting.
the Saar valley. And unrest was every
where increasing. On April 6, while the
President still lay i'll, there was an
ominous red flag parade in Paris, os.
of the assassin of Jaures. but really to
exhibit the strength Of the revolutionary
forces in France.
But in spite Of his illness-and a
the world was against him-he' would
not give in. His physical illness
4 seemed only to harden his determine
ton. went up to see him the first
day that he was up. found him in
his study, fully dressed. but looking
thin and somewhat pale. "A slight
hoIlowness Of the cheeks emphasized
the extraordinary size and luminosity
of his eyes, It was clear, from what
no said, that a crisis had been reached.
stop further delay and bring the ques-
lions in the conference to final issue.
The allies had agreed among them
selves and agreed with Germany upon
certain general principles OF justice
to be observed in the settlement, and
/ the whole course of the Conferences. UP
to that time had been made up Of q
series of attempts to break over these
agreements, to impose harder terms,
i get territory, levy impossible iqdem-
E: mites The time had now arrived
Il when there had to be q decision as
between the two struggling purposes
! of, thu conference. = 49, -
Supreme Faith Is sustenanoes.,. :.
il He was very quiet in expressing his
/ final decision, but gave an impression
! Of unalterable determination.tt I.felt,
at the moment, that nothing but a
supreme faith in Almighty God and In
the rightness OF his course could
II have sustained him at that moment.
\ And when he has made up his mind
n he can strike-as he did a number of
times at Paris-with stunning bold
l r>atf as,Aa rttv On AOril he ACT al