Evening star., 1922-11-04
Letters of Franklin K. Lane
Revelations of the War Cabinet and Intimate
Views of National and World Figures by the For.
mer Secretary of the Interior.
. by ". Lsne)
Copyright, 1922. by Anne ". Lane.)

road systems and ADVISE with them as
to the best means Of operating them.
At first Russia inclined to welcome such
a commission, but later the offer was
declined because of local feeling. We
intend to send a commission ourselves
to Russia, possibly headed by McAdoo
or Root, and on this commission We
will have railroad man with expert
knowledge. who can be Of some service
to them, hope. The Russian and the
French governments have ordered hun
dreds Of locomotives and tens OF thou
sands Of cars In this country, a large
part Of which are ready for shipment,
but which cannot be shipped because Of
lack Of shipping facilities.
Washington, May 8, 1917.
These are great days. Their signifl-
canoe will not be realized for many
years We are forming a close union
with France and England The most
impressive sight 1 have ever seen was
that at Washingtons tomb last Sunday
We went down on the Mayfiower-the
French and English commissions and
the members Of the cabinet. Viv!ani
and Balfour spoke. Jofrre laid bronze
palm upon Washington's tomb then
stood up in his eoldierly way and stood
at salute for a minute. Ba,four laid
a wreath Of lilies upon the tomb and
leaned over as II in prayer. Above the
tomb. for the first time, few the flag
Of another country than Our own, the
Stars ard Stripes. and on either side
the British Jack and the French tr:-
color. This Is a combination Of the
democracies Of the world against feu-
dalism and autocracy.
heard story from one Of Jotfre's
aides. Joffre. by the way, is the
quietest. sweetest, most naive and
babylike individual I ever met. All
OF the women. as well as the men,
are In love with him. This simple,
grave. kindly soldier sat In his room
| while the Germans came marching
upon Paris. saying nothing. Every
| few minutes an aide would come in
and move the French markers back
! upon the map. and the German mark
ers forward toward Paris. Day after
day he saw this advance, but said
nothing. At last. when they came to
the valley OF the Marne, an aide
came in and marked the map, show
ing that the Germans were within
thirty miles Of Paris. Then Jonre
quietly said. This thing has gone
far enough" and taking up a pad Of
paper. he called to, his troops to stand
fast AID die upon the Marne. If nee
| essary to save France. There is
nothing finer than this in history.
Joffre has a skin like a baby. He
has the utmost frankness and sim
plicity Of speech. When McAdoo
asked him at the White House IL the
present drive was satisfactory, he
said. in the most innocent way, "I am
not there" viviani, who is the head
Of the French commission. is as jeal-
Gus as prima donna, terribly jeal-
Gus OF Joffre (Which makes Jotfre
feel most uncomfortable), because,
Of course, Joffre is the hero Of the
Marine
I spoke at the Belasco Theater the
other day for the benefit Of the
French war relief fund, introducing
Ambassador Herrick and the lecturer,
a young Frenchman. Joffre and
Viviani were in box. Every men,
ton Of the name Of Jcffre brought
the people to their feet.
Last night l dined with Balfour. 1
have seen quite a little of him. He
is sixty-nine years old and stands
about feet 2. He is a perfect type
Of the aristocratic Englishman, with
q charming smile. His real heart is
in the study of philosophy Anne
sat next to him at dinner, ard he told
her that he believed in a personal
God. personal identity after death,
and answer to prayer. which is a re-
markable statement of faith for one
who has lived through our scientific
age. I think at bottom he is a mystic.
On all sides they are frank in tell
ing of their distress. We did not come
in a minute too soon. England and
France, I believe, were gone if we
had not come in 1t delights me to
SEQ how much sympathy there is with
England as we'll as with France. The
Irish alone seem to be unreconciled
with England as our ally.
Tho country's crops are going to be
short, fear. and we have had little
rain. Ships and grain-these are the
two things that we must get. Ships
to carry our grain and our locomo-
tives and rails, and grain to keep the
fighters alive The IJ.hoats are do
stroying twice as much as the pro.