Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-12-13

The plain truth is. Henry Cabot
Lodge was completely outclassed when
he attempted to speak In that group
OF distinguished statesmen. They were
world leaders, with a world outlook
He was merely the spokesman for
Back Bay, where
"The Lowells talk only
TO the Cabots.
And the Cabots talk
only 10 God"
Lodge had his great chance. lie
tailed miserably. Balfour, that cold
blooded but nevertheless brilliant Eng
lish genius who for 43 diplomatic years
has boen carrying the white mans
burden; viviani, that great moral lead
er who has only one oratorical super
Tor on the Continent BRAND; Prince
Tokugawa. bland and brainy; Senator
schenzer. finest of Italy; and our own
Charles Il. Hughes. one of the most
dynamic figures OF our day--all these
men spoke straight from the shoulder
and to the point. But Lodge had TO show
Off his learning. He had to quote from
Browning. and refer TO Stevenson, and
paint nursery pictures OF things he
had never seen. No wonder some mon
who for years have been reporting
some of the greatest world events
openly giggled while Lodge played
tho high school pedant. trying TO inn
press the world with his greatness.
But to begin at the beginning:
Here is a picture that I would like
you 20 retain in your memory: at 20
minutes past ten OF that day q score
of us were strolling down Seventeenth
street toward Continental Memorial
Hall. where the session was held.
From Pennsylvania avenue a huge
Army limousine turned in, and then
dashed down Seventeenth, the driver
waking the dead I'm Arlington as he
sounded his siren and scattered hoi-
polloi from i'm front of the seemingly
self Reconstructed monarch that he was
transporting. Many Of us turned 80
sec who that high potentate was. II
was Henry cabot Lodge OF Back Bay
Now there would have been nothing
unusual In that spectacle II New
York newspaper man had not spied
\ two gentlemen walking on the east
side of Seventeenth. in the same gen
eral direction We had just seen The
Rack Bay Messiah pass In all his
glory. But on tho other side OF the
street Charles h. Hughes. a man who
has won universal admiration and re-
spect of world diplomats, and the
strong affection Of all correspondents
was trudging on his two good feet TO-
ward the Conference hall. There is no
pretense about Hughes. no swanlS
mono Of that cheap wearing OF tho hat
on tho side of the head Hughes
doesn't have to wear his hat in freak
ish manner 20 attract the attention oi
the world. The brain within is a suf.
f'ient magnet. Quite a con
trast between the men, eh?
The Conference opened
In clear and forceful manner. Mr.
Hughes disposed of routine business
. and then introduced Lodge. whose dut,
q was 10 read the Pacific treaty whici
/, had been agreed upon. (Now here is !
! point which will hurt the vanity o
that vain mamie received some ap
plause, but not nearly as much a
greeted that popular little heather
- Prince TOkugawa. who can trace hi
ancestry one hundred times furtho
hack than the egoist OF New England
There was an air OF arrogance abou
Lodge when he arose and surveyed tn
d throng beGore him. Perhaps he re
. membered that Wilson had failed I,
take him 90 Paris. Now was his grea
l moment OF sweet revenge. He to-
might become a savior of the world
who knows? He began read
ing his speech in that horrible down
east Yankee twang. which grated ol
the ears after the refined. pure gol
speech OF Hughes. His chest puffe
}. out and he waxed eloquent indeed
/. The more he talked, the more som
correspondents laughed quietly anon
T. themselves. Lodge-whom il is sal
has never been south of the Mason
Dixon line-was painting word pic
I lures OF the South Sea Islands whic
{ sounded like the spiel of a touris
agent who had had his speech write
| FOR him. That SNUG look which a.
ways comes over his be-whiskere
y features when he knows that other
n are listening to him, was in much ev
}. dcnce. lie said sittle, very little. abor
= the treaty, but O. the way he shove
y his Yankee learning. He was certainl
informing Mr.. Arthur James Balfou
author OF "A Defense of Philosophy
"a Doubt" and other books, that at lea
n one American knew that Brownin
and Stevenson. and Melville had live
: on this earth.
When he took mis- seat with va
satisfaction, there was applause, fair
generous, / will admit. But not ha
as much as approved of the words
Rene Viviani. who is so great that
does not have TO play the sophomor
hero by striking attitudes. Nothir
| that Lodge said can possibly live e.
= cept in musty histories. Practical
= nothing of his speech-except Il
treaty ftself-was flashed over Il
wires. But Viyiani said some strikir
things. One paragraph alone WI