New-York tribune., 1921-12-18

By Joseph F. Tumulty. Published by
Doubleday, Page & Co. Price, IS.
~ OMEBODY wrote to "The New
0aaI York Times" recently to this
\ effect: 81 am reading Mr.. Tum-
~ ulty's Woodrow Wilson as l
Know Him But who was Wilson,"
There is a good deal of truth in this
gibe. Certainly there is much more of
Mr.. Tumulty in the book than there is
of Mr.. Wilson. The author presents a
vivid picture of his own statesmanlke
activities. But the picture he offers
Of his employers statesmanlike activi-
ties is meager and hazy.
Mr.. Tumulty's chief contribution to
the history of the Wilson Administra-
tion consists of copious memoranda
and letters of advice on matters of
policy with which he bombarded his
chief. The opinions contained in these
are often shrewd and practical. Some
of the missives are very urgent in
tone and unvarnished in expression.
The author says in his preface: 81
suspect this book . will not be
lead by Mr.. Wilson," Perhaps for Mr..
Wilson's mental comfort it would be
better So Nobody can expect to be a
hero to his private secretary. And
though an apt subordinate may venture
to curtain lecture his principal in safe
seclusion, it is not pleasant to have
such enlightening discourses spread on
public records. Mr.. Tumulty never
lacked confidence in his own Judgment.
And though when he writes of Mr..
Wilson effectively he is always frank
ly eulogistic, one can hardly help feel
ing, after perusing Mr.. Tumulty's ante
! chamber papers, that somewhere in
the back Of his head there lurked a
| worrying distrust of the Presidents
native capacity for sound political de-
cisions. Otherwise why so continuous
an intrusion into the realms of high
state polity in which, as his admirers
contend, Mr.. Wilson's genius was so
completely at home?
On August 16, 1917, Mr. Tumulty wrote ::
oo AioI Deie'e tHaC tue proposals
the Pope has submitted should lead
US INTO statement as to the terms of
peace beyond that which the President
has already given expression to in his
address in the Senate and in the Rus
sian note. Our note to the
Pope should, believe, embody the fol-
lowing ideas. Here an answer is out
! lined in detail under four heads In
other words, what l should like to see
the President do is not to discuss
IN e@tenso our terms of peace, but
rather confne himself to general at
tack upon the lack Of good faith on
the part of Germany in all her deal
ings with u.s."
On May Is, 1916, he submitted this:
"As have discussed with you on fire.
quent occasions, it seems to us that the
time is now at hand for you to act in
the matter OF peace. Why should
we wait until the moment of exhaustion
before ever beginning a discussion :?
Everybody admits that the resource. of
the nations involved cannot last
through another year without suffer
ing Of an untold character. The
initiative must be ours-to all nations
on equal terms. One way to do this
would be to send note, saying that
from the German. note and from
statesmen representing the Entente
powers the government of the United
States assumes that the belligerent
powers are willing at least to discuss
suggestions for peace, each only re-
serving to itself liberty of action. The
United States can, therefore, announce
that it is willing TO meet at The Hague