New-York tribune., 1921-03-21
The Banboozlernent

The Bamboozlement
Mr.. Lansing's estimate in The
Saturday Evening Post of President
Wilson's craftsmanship at Paris
doesn't differ materially from that
of Mr. Keynes. 1t is more cautiously
phrased. 1t lacks the note of NOR
dant satire in which the Englishman
reveled, ridding himself of impress
sions which had appealed to his
sense of humor and of which he was
light-heartedly making literary copy.
Mr.. Lansing writes soberly and eau
tiously, but is manifestly purging
his soul of much more perilous stuff.
The result is the same, neverthe-
less. Mr.. Lansing, too, traces Mr..
Wilson's failure at Paris to his
Theological temperament" his certi-
tude of inspiration, his preference
tor eschewing all -feebler counsel and
walking only in converse with his
inner self.
cit was entirely personal mat
ter with him." says Mr.. Lansing,
meaning the whole peace negotia-
ton. He kept the other commission
ers in ignorance, except possibly
Colonel House; secuted their advice
when it didn't concur absolutely
with his own views; took the whole
burden of Americas share in the
peace on his own shoulders. The
thought that the. Senate should
venture to criticize his course or his
projects irritated him beyond meas
ure. No statesman at Paris ap-
preached him in self-sufficiency.
Says Mr.. Lansing on this point:
He relied on his own judgment and
indicated that suggestion or advice,
unless he requested it,, was an inter
ference with his freedom of decision
end was not acceptable. Whether
this attitude was the result of an ab-
normal appreciation of his constitu-
tional responsibility for the conduct
of international relations or of an
exaggerated belief in his superior
mentality / do not pretend to say"
That is the key to the enigma of
the Presidents extraordinary fail
ure. He personally conducted the
peace negotiations, so far as Amer
lea was concerned. He allowed his
prepossessions to be disturbed by no
voices from the outside, whether of
his fellow commissioners, of lawyers
and experts in waiting, of Senate
"round-robiners" or Of the less artic-
ulate mass of Americans back home
whose deepest political traditions he
was ready Hght-heartedly to ignore.
Mr.. Lansing maintains that the
President took nothing to Paris with
him but single detail of a scheme
for the Covenant. He didn't have in
his baggage league of nations
plan, but only non-essential Incl
dent OF such plan-the Article x
guaranty. But for the sake of
fastening that one detail on the
!. treaty he was maneuvered gradually
into making trading material of all
4 the rest of it, thus abandoning
most of his pre-conference commit
ments. In the end he sacrificed rati-
fication by the United States to the
vain hope of saving this negligible
feature OF the league compact-that
heart of the Covenant" which. as
Mr.. Lansing agrees with most Amer
leans In recognizing, was not heart
but at best superfuous floating rib.
MIR. Keynes pictured Mr.. Wilson
as a "bamboozled elder -barn-
boozled by Clemenceau and Lloyd
George on things in the treaty
proper which had in fact ceased to
be OF much Importance to him. In
Mr. Lansing's view the President
was still mere self-bamboozled in
rating Article X as indispensable to
workable scheme for an association
ct nations and in stubbornly riding
to fall both at Paris and in Amer
lea on that pathetic belief.
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