The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1921-03-13
WOODROW WILSON'S
PLACE IN HISTORY
By General the Righ Honorable Jan
Christian Smuts, Premier OF the
Union of South Africa.

Pretoria, South Africa, Jan. s, 1921
II has been suggested that / should
write a short estimate and appraisal
Of the work Of President Wilson on
tht termination Of his presidency Of the
United States. of America. l feel
must comply with the suggestion.
feel | may not remain silent when
there is an opportunity to say q
word Of appreciation for the work Of
one with whom | came into close
contact at great period and who
rendered the most signal service TO
the great human caust.
There is q great saying of Mommsen
Il believe) in reference to the close
Of Hannibal's career in failure and
eclipse. "On those whom the gods
love they lavish infinite joys dnd in"
finite sorrows" 1t has come back
To my mind in reference to the close
Of Wilson's career For few briet
moments he was not only the leader
Of the greatest state i'm the world.
he was raised to far giddier heights
and became the centre Of the worlds
hopes. And then he fell msunder-
stood and rejected by his own people,
and his great career closes apparent"
l. in signal and tragic defeat.
What is the explanation of this
tremendous tragedy, which is not
solely American. which closely con"
Germs the whole world? OF course
there are purely American elements
in the explanation, which l am not
competent to speak on. But besides
n. .,,f
Wilson there is something TO be said
on the great matters in Issue. On
these | may be permitted to say q
few words.
The position occupied by President
Wilson in the worlds Imagination
at the close Of the Great War and at.
the beginning of the Peace Confer
tnce was terrible in its greatness. II
was n terrible position for any mere
man to occupy. Probably to no hu
man being in all history did the hopes.
The prayers, the aspirations Of so
many millions of his fellows turn with
such poignant intensity as to him at
the close of the war AT u time OF
The deepest darkness and despair, he
had raised aloft light TO which all
oytg had turned. lie had spoken
divine words of healing and consola.
tion TO a broken humanity. His
lofty moral idealism seemed for a
moment to dominate the brutal pas
sons which had torn the old world
a,under And he was supposed to
possess the secret which would re.
make the world on fairer lines. The
H...l A.. -.
the world was expected to be Gods
peace. Prussiansm lay crushed brute
force had failed utterly. The moral
character Of the universe had been
most signally vindicated. There was
univusal vague hope Of "a great
moral peace. OF a new world order
arising visibly and Immediately on the
ruins Of the old. This hope was not
mere superficial sentiment. II was
the intenst expression at the end Of
the war Of the inner moral and spir-
ltual force which had upbornc the
Peoples during the dark night Of the
war and had nerved them TO an eI-
fort almost beyond human strength.
surely. surely. God had been with
them In that long night ot agony, His
was the victory; His should be the
peace. And President Wilson was
looked upon rs the man to make this
great peace. He had voiced the great
ideals of the new order, his great ut
erslnces had become the controctual
basis for the armistice and the peace.
The ldealsm OF Wilson would surely
become the reality Of the new order Of
things in the Peace Treaty.
In this atmosphere OF extravagant,
almost frenziod expectation he ar
rived at the Paris Peace Conference.
without hesitation he plunged into
that inferno OF human pasions. He
went down into the Pit like a second
Hcncles TO bring bork the fair Aces-
III, " the worlds desire. There were
slx months of agoni2ed waiting. dur