Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-13
WILSON STARTED
ARMAMENT MOVE

NEW YORK.-The Wilson admin
istration, as early as 1913, was push
ing plans for a disarmament confer
ence like the one called by President
Harding for November.
This fact Is revealed in letters OF
Walter II. Page, late ambassador TO
Great Britain. printed In the OCTOBER
issue of worlds Work.
The letters point to the efforts OF
former President Wilson, Col. e. M
House and Page to get Great Britain
and Germany together In confer
ence with the United States and find
means to use their enormous MILL
tary expenditures and resources for
peaceful and humane purposes.
In a letter to Col. House on Au-
gust %, 1913, Page wrote:
Here are great navies and armies
and great withdrawals of men from
industry-an enormous waste. Here
are all the privileges. and taxes that
this state of things implies-every
one a hindrance to human progress.
vision-no longer look ahead. They
give all their thought to the imme-
date danger.
1.-THE great powers are mere
threats to one another, content to
check one the other"
In a memorandum, written about
the same time, Page added:
"a way must be found out OF this
stagnant watching. Else way will
have to be fought out of it; and a
great European war would set the
old world, perhaps the whole world,
back a long way. It seems impos-
sible to talk the great powers out of
their fear of one another, or to
Hague them out of it. They'll
MI
only way left seems to be to find
some common and useful work for
these great armies to do.
Nobody can lead in such a new
era but the United States.
May there not come such a
chance in Mexico-to clean out ban
dts. yellow fever: malaria, hook
healthful, safe for life and invest
ment, and for orderly self-govern-
ment at last?
May not the existing military
power Of Europe conceivably be d.
verted, gradually, to this use?"
President Wilson was enthusiastic.
wrote House. Pages idea on the
strongly impressed both Wilson and
House. 1t developed into a plan for
an Anglo-American- compact
to deal not only with disarmament.
but other matters of equal Importance
to themselves and the world at
large"
But Page had not faith in Ger
| many. He had no faith in an al
lance that included Germany as an
equal partner. He did believe in the
| cooperation Of the English-speaking
countries.
On February "a, 1914, he wrote
House and referred him to the cam
paign of 1870 to reduce ornaments,
when old Bismarck dumped the
whole basket of apples by marching
against France"
You know I sometimes fear some
sort of repetition Of that experience"
he added.
This series of letters and England's
informal approval of Pages plan
moved President Wilson to send
House to Germany to confer wiz;
tn, ex~kaiser. When House arrived
in Berlin in late May, 1914, Ger
many's military leaders were openly
opposed to his even seeing their
ruler.
When House did get an interview
Wilhelm did most of the talking and
the subject was not disarmament. 1t
was first the yellow Peril" and
then the "futility" of Bryan's arbi-
tration treaty which all great ma
tons except Germany had already
ratified.
The kaiser's partig words were:
Every nation in Europe has it's
bayonets pointing at Germany.
But
1--WE are ready"
The assassination Of the Archduke
Ferdinand soon after put an end to
Wilson's diSarroa roapt v1oos