Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-10-03
WILSON SOUGHT
CONFERENCE ON
DISAR MAMENT
Former Presidents Plan Reveal
ed BY Publication Of Page
Letters
FIRST STEP TAKEN IN
1913, RECORDS SHOW
No Future In Europe's Vis;on,'
He Wrote, Discussing Great
~ Defense Waste

.4NAL w CNiA1 WV u lAC w IL
son administration, as early as 1913
was pushing plans for disarmament
conference like the one called by
President Harding for November.
This fact is revealed in letters of
Walter H. 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 a confer,
ence with the United States and find
a means to use their enormous mill
tary expenditures and resources for
peaceful and humane purposes.
In letter to Col. House of Aug.
28, 1918, 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 = hindrance to human progress.
There's no future in Europe's
vision--no longer look ahead. They
give all their thought to the immedi-
ate danger.
'The great powers are mere
threats to one another, content to
check one the other"
Way Out Needed.
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. 1t seems impos-
s'ble to talk the great powers out of
their fear Of one another or to
'Hague' thcm out of it. They'll
never be persudaded to disarm. The
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 clear out bandits, yell
low fever, malaria, lhookwornl-all
TO make the country healthful, safe
for life and investment, and for
orderly elf-government at last?
"May not the existing military
power of Europe conceivably be di-
verted, gradually, to this use?"
WiIson Ethused.
President Wilson was enthusiastic,
wrote House. Pages idea on the
treatment of backward nations had
strongly impressed both Wilson and
House 1t developed into plan for
an Anglo-American- German compact
to deal not only with disarmament,
but other matters of equal impor-
tance to themselves and the world at
large"
But Paige had no faith in Ger
many. He had no faith in an alliance
that included Germany as an equal
partner. He did not believe in the
cooperation of the English-speaking
countries
On Feb. %, 1914, he wrote House
and referred him to the campaign of
1870 to reduce armaments, "when
old Bismarck dumped the whole bas-
ket of apples by marching against
France"
You know | sometimes fear some
SORT of repetition Of that experience
he added.
House in Germany.
This series Of letters and England's
informal approval Of Pages plan
moved President Wilson to send
house to Germany to confer with
the 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
inc "futility" of Bryan's arbitration
treaty which all great nations ex-
cent Germany had already ratified.
The kaiser's parting words were ::
Every. nation in Europe has its
nayoonets pointing at Germany,
Dup ssS
We are readvW'
The assassination of the Archduke
Irerdlnand soon after put an end to
"lison's disarmament plans.
A Tn a