Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-02-02
Woodrow Wilson
BY CONDO
AS | KNOW HIM
BY JOSEPH P. TUMULTY.

/ he said .''Tumulty, from the very
beginning I saw the end of this hor'
rible thing; but / could not move
faster than the great mass of our
derstood the difficult and trying pc.
sition have been placed in during
the years through which we have
just passed. In the policy of pa
thence and forbearance I pursued
I tried to make every part of Amer
lea and the varied elements of our
population understand that we were
willing to go any length rather than
resort to war with Germany. AS !
told you months ago, it would have
been foolish for us to have rushed
off our feet and to have gone to war
over an isolated affair like the Lusi-
tania. But now we are certain that
there will be no regrets or looking
back on the, part of our people.
There is but one course now left
open to us. Our consciences are
clear and we must prepare for the
inevitable-a fight to the, end. Ger
many must be made to understand
that we have rights that she must
respect. There. were few who under
stood this policy of patience. / do
not mean to say this in a spirit of
criticism. Indeed. many Of the
leading journals of the country were
unmindful of the complexities OF
the situation which confronted us"
The president then took out of his
pocket an old and worn newspa-
per clipping, saying: II wish to
read your analysis of my position
and my policy by a special writer
for the Manche. Guardian, who
seemed, without consulting me or
ever comforting with me, to know
just what 1 was driving at" This
special writer, commenting upon the
Wilson policy, said: ''Mr. Wilson's
patience, now derided and criticised,
will inevitably be ~ MS by
which he will lead his people by easy
stages to the side of the allies. BY
his methods of patience and appar-
merit subservience to Germany he
will convince the whole, American
people that no other course save war
is possible This policy Of Wilson's,
now determined on, will work COM
plete transformation in his people.
1t will not evidence itself quickly
or overnight. The moral preach
ment of Wilson before and after war
will be the cause that will finally
bring his people to the side of the
allies"
He Expected INSTRUMENTATION
Again turning to me, he said: our
course from this time on and our
duty is clear. The whole" business OF
war that we are now engaged upon
is fraught with the gravest difficult
ties. There will be great enthusl-
asm in the country from this
I trust it will not slacken or weaken
as the horrors of the war and its
tragedies are disclosed. OF course,
our motives will be misconstrued,
our purposes misunderstood; some OF
our best friends will misinterpret
what we seek to do. In carrying
on the war we will be obliged to 90
certain unusual t.ings, things that
will interfere with the lives and
habits of our people, which VIII
bring down upon us a storm OF crit
cism and ridicule." =
AS he spoke, he was no longer
woodrow wilson, the protagon1st OF
peace. but Woodrow Wilson, the
stern warrior, now grimly determln.
ed to pursue ,the great cause OF
America to the end.
The president continued talklrsS
TO me. He said, cit has not oeen
easy to carry these burdens in these
tryingtimes. From the beginning L
saw the utter futility of neutrality
the disappointment and heartches
that would flow from its announce
ment, but we had to stand by our
traditional policy of steering clear
of European ENVIRONMENTS. Whlle
I have appeared to be Indifferent
to the criticism which has been my
portion during these critical days, a
few have tried to understand my
purpose and have sympathlzed
throughout with what / sought to
do"
Then, as he lowered his voice, he
said: "There is a fine old chap in
Springfield, Mass, editor of a great
paper there, who understood my po-
sition from the beginning and who
has sympathized with me through
out this whole business" For a mo-
ment he paused, and then went on:
"I want to read you the letter [
received from this fine old man"
AS he read the letter the emotion
he felt at the tender sympathy
which the words of the letter con-
veyed gripped him. The letter is
as follows:
Springfield, Massachusetts,
March %, 1917.
My Dear Mr.. President:
In. acknowledging your very
kind and appreciative note of
a March %, I must say at once
that the note has given me the
greatest possible pleasure. [
prize this word from you all the
more because after the political