The Washington herald., 1920-10-12
Stenographic Transcript
Differs With Report in
Congressional Record.
PRESIDENT 'MISQUOTED'
Spencer Still Insists Sub
stance Of Speech Re-
mains Same.
(By Universal Service.)

|
| Senator Spencer and Senator Reed
that in his now famous address be-
fcre the Eighth plenary session of
| the Peace Conference, President
| Wilson promised American military
and naval aid to Rumania and other
small European nations, the White
House through Secretary Tumulty
| yesterday made public stenographic
! notes made on that occasion by Fred
A. Carlson, stenographer, of
| Chicago.
Carlson was attached to the
American Peace Delegation in Paris,
and the White House, it is stated, ac-
cepts his report as being the official
version OF the Presidents speech. 1t
differs materially from the report
! alleged to have been obtained from
| the Official minutes of the confer
1 ence and placed in the Congress
| sional Record by Senator Johnson.
! 1t is understood that President
! Wilson made vigorous objection to
the publication of Carlson's notes on
the ground that it had been agreed
/ the proceedings of the eighth pie
/ nary session should remain secret.
He was persuaded to give his con-
sent, however. by the argument that
he had an absolute right to make
Public any phase of the proceedings
that affected him personally.
1t will be observed that while the
version which appears in the Con-
gressional Record, and which is al
legged to have been taken from tho
official minutes of the conference
20
send aid. Carlson's version presents
the President as stating that under
lying certain presentations there is
expectation on the part of Ru-
mania. and of Czecho- o-Slovakia and
of Serbia, that if any covenants OF
this settlement are not observed the
United States will send her armies
and her navIes to see that they are
dissolved.
In those circumstances" the Pres
ident asks, ''is it unreasonable that
the United States should insist upon
being satisfied that the settlements
lare correct?''
+ In presenting Carlson's notes. Sec
retaTy Tumulty also makes public a
letter addressed by him to Charles
L. Swem, stenOgrapher to the Presi-
dent, in which he states he is moved
to forward his stenOgraphic copy by
the fact he believed Wilson had been
misquoted by Senators Spenser and
Reed.
Tumulty presents parallel excerpts
from the version in the Congress
sional Record and from that by Carl
son showing precisely wherein they
differ.
Upon being shown the White
House version of the Presidents ad-
dress, Senator Spencer is quoted
here as having said:
The report which the Preside Mt
now publishes fully bears out what
was said by Herbert Adams Gibbons,
supported by Frank II. Simonds. and
what was written by DR.. f. ]. Dillon
in his book The Inside Story of the
Peace Conference and supported by
Paul D. Cravath, expert adviser for
the United States, in Paris.
There is no difference in sub
stance between the report now made
public by the President and the Of
fetal stenographic report from
which l quoted. The only difference
is that this last report surrounds
the clear statement which the Pres
ident made that an American army
and navy would be sent overseas
when the occasion arose. by some
general remarks which do not in
the least conceal the fact of what
the President said"
The Carlson version" Senator
Spencer added. "is not vouched fol
by either the President or the State
Department"
When Mr.. Tumulty was showr
Senator Spencer's statement and
asked wheather the White House
vouched for Carlson's statement Mr.
Tumulty simply said I'VE do"
When asked if the White House
intended to obtain the official COPY
of the minutes of the Eighth plen.
ary session now in possession of DR.
James Brown Scott, secretary of the
Carnegie Endowment for Interna.
tional Peace, Tumulty refused tc
answer.
1t was stated at the State Depart.
ment today that DR.. Scott went tc
J Paris with President as his lega
, adviser and was chief drafting off.
Ger for the American Peace Delega.
, ton. He is understood to have
formulated the text of article ter
of the peace covenant.
When asked if the State Depart.
ment intended to secure the min.
utes now in DR.. Scotts possession
high official of the department
said that it did not, as the con,
troversy lies entirely between the
President and Senator Spencer.
1t was officially stated, however
that the department has ordered {
copy of the Official minutes from
Paris and that it was expected
momentarily."
= 1t was explained that in formu.
lating a final record, notes by stem.
ographers from various nations wer,
frequently used. as American stem.
ographers recorded the remarks Of
American officials and French stem.
ogra pliers those of French officials
These notes were later Transcribed
into various languages as need re-
quired. ...... e.