Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-11
CHAPTER XXXIV X
Continued
Attack From Roosevelt

America had seemed to do every
thing to weaken him at time when
united strength should have been be-
hind him. Again I quote from Mr.,
Creel: "On November 81, five days
before the presidents departure, Mr..
had cried this message to
Europe, a plain intimation that the
Republican majority in the senate
would support the allies in repudia-
ton Of the League Of Nations and
the fourteen points; our allies and
our enemies and Mr.. Wilson himself
should all understand that Mr.. Will
son has no authority whatever to
speak for the American people at
this time. His leadership has just
been emphatically repudiated by
them. The newly-elected congress
comes far nearer than Mr.. Wilson
to having a right to speak the pur-
pose Of the American people at this
moment. Mr.. Wilson and his four
tory points and all his utterances
tary points and his five compliment
tory points and all his utterances
every which way have ceased to have
any shadow of right to be accepted
as expressive of the will Of the
American people. He is president Of
the United States. His is a part of
the treaty-making power; but he is
hn oafc in cOnd fo it n
to the American people, he will not
claim on the other side of the water
any representative capacity in him
self to speak for the American peo-
pie. He will say frankly that his
personal leadership has been lepudiat-
ed and that Me now has merely the
divided official leadership which he
shares with the senate'-What Mr..
Roosevelt did, as plain as his pen
could marshal the facts, was to in
form the allies that they were at
liberty to disregard the president, the
League Of Nations, and the fourteen
points, and that the Republican
party would stand as unit for as
hard a peace as F'och chose to die
tate"
AS the president left his Office on
the night of his departure for New
York, preparatory to sailing for the
other side, he turned to me and said,
''Well, Tumulty, have you any sug-
gestions before leave?" None, my
dear governor" replied, Except to
bid you Godspeed on the great jour
ney." Then, coming closer to me, he
said, 81 shall rely upon you to keep
me in touch with the situation on
this side of the water. l know l
can trust you to give me an exact
size-up of the situation Here. Re
member, I, shall be far away and
what ] will want is a frank estimate
from you Of the state of public opin
ION on this side of the water. That
is what I will find myself most in
need of. When you think I am put
ting my foot in it, please say so
frankly. I am afraid I shall not be
able to rely upon much Of the advice
and suggestions I will get from the
other end"
Discussed Conference
Before the president left he had
discussed with me the character OF
the peace conference, and after his
departure / kept him apprised by
cable of opinion in this country.
For lack of space I cannot, as I
had hoped, publish the entire vol
luminous correspondence between
him and myself, which shows how
he sought information and welcom-
ed suggestions. I must content my
self with publishing Gn appendix
"A') only that portion Of the cor
respondence which concerns the sug-
gestions made by Messrs Taft and
Root, and which were accepted by
the president and incorporated in
the covenant, to which I would add
here only a few significant extracts
from his cables to me:
On April "a, 1919, he cabled, do
not give yourself any concern about
secret treaties. You may be sure 1
will enter into none"
On May 9, he cabled, "Happily
there is no mystery or privacy
about what 1 have promised the
government here. I have promised
TO propose to the senate a supple
ment in which we shall agree, sub
ject to the approval of the Council
of the League of Nations, to come
Immediately to the assistance OF
France in case of unprovoked at
tack by Germany, thus merely has:
tening the action to which we
should be bound by the Covenant OF
the League of Nations"
On May "a, he. cabled, ''I think
our friends in the senate ought to
be furnished very frankly with tie
following reason, which seems =
me quite convincing, for not at pre-
ent publishing the complete treaty:
namely; that if our discussion of the
treaty with the Germans is to be