The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1921-03-24
LANSING ON WILSON
He Tells How Former Presidents In
sistence On League at Paris Lost
Him World Leadership.

porating the covenant of the League
of Nations into the peace treaty lost
to Mr. Wilson the world leadership
which seemed to be his when he first |
went to Paris, is the opinion of former
Secretary of State Robert Lansing.
This view is expressed by Mr.. Lans-
ing in the second of series of four
articles on the "Big Four of the Peace
Conference" appearing in last weeks
issue of the Saturday Evening Post.
Though little news is revealed, the
article is interestingly presented and
holds strong judgmatic note. Mr..
Lansing gives frequent evidence of a
wide difference of opinion between
himself and the ex-President on mat
tiers relating to the peace negotiations.
but throughout his article strives to
make his own divergent view subser
Went to a. fair estimate of Mr.. Will
sons Importance at the Versailles
Conference.
Mr.. Lansing says he strongly urged
the President that at would be a seri-
Gus mistake for him to sit at the peace
table," but Mr.. Wilson, after six days
deliberation following Mr.. Lansing's
expression on the subject, announced
his determination to sail.
The eX-Secretary comedies that the
Presidents decision "was not the re-
suit of impulse, but was reached after
thoughtful deliberation." Of the arri.
val in France, the writer says, at was
a reception which might have turned
the head of a man far less responsive
than the President to public applause,
and have given him an exalted opinion
of his own power and accomplishment
and of his individual responsibility
to mankind. 1t is fair, think, to as
sumo that this was the effect on the
President. 1t was the natural one"
MIR. Lansing believes that the Pres
ident was convinced that with the
people of the three principal Allied
Powers so unanimously behind him,
the statesmen of those countries would
hardly dare oppose his ideas as to
terms of peace"
"The trouble was that the President
was not prepared to seize the oppor-
tunity and to capitalize this general
popular support. He came to Paris
without, so far as l know, a definite
outline of treaty with Germany. He
did have a draft of a covenant of a
League of Nations, but it was a crude
and undigested plan, as is evident by
a comparison of it with the document
finally reported to the conference on
the preliminaries of peace.
"He, Of course, had his famous four
teen points and the declarations APP
pearing in his subsequent addresses as
bases of the peace, but they were little
more than series of principles and
policies to guide in the drafting of ac-
tual terms.
"The President, not having done the
! preliminary work himself, and, unwill
ing to have others do it, was wholly
unprepared to submit anything in con
crete form to the European states
men unless it was his imperfect plan
for a League of Nations. The conse-
quence was that the general scheme of
the treaty and many of the important
articles were prepared and worked out
by the British and French delegations.
"Thus the exceptional opportunity
which the President had to impress
his ideas upon the conference and to
lead in the negotiations was lost, and
he failed to maintain his controlling
position among the statemmen who
were, as it turned out, to dictate the
term sof peace; while his utterances,
which had been the foundation of his
popularity, suffered in a measure the
same fate"
Mr.. Lansing says that the President
"must have had very vague and
nebulous scheme" for introduction of
his ideals into the treaty. He points
out that the American Commissioners
felt themselves so restrained that their
feeling of uncertainty and helpless
ness" prevented them from pressing
for definite objects. AS result ''the
whole delegation, the President includ-
ed, lost prestige and influence with
the foreign delegates by this lack of
program"
The President, says the writer, "was
inclined to let matters drift, relying
apparently on his own quickness of
perception and sagacity to defeat or
amend terms proposed by other dele
cations. There was no team work, no
concerted action. 1t was discouraging
to witness this utter lack of system
when system was so essential"
AS a result, says the article, the
lead was usually taken by Premiers
Clemenceau and Lloyd George, and on
matters relating to the League the
initiative passed to General SHUTS
and Lord Robert Cecil. "Thus the Uni
tod Cfof x,,oe