Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-05-18
CHAPTER XIII
Faith in Cause

So strong was his faith in his
use and the people that even after
| he fell i'll he could not believe that
ratification would fail. What his
enemies called stubbornness was his
| firm faith in the Righteousness of the
| treaty and in the reaSonableneSs of
| the proposition that the time to
make amendments was not prior to
! the adoption Of the treaty and by
one nation, but after all the nations
| had agreed and had met together
| for sober, bipartisan consideration
of alterations in the interest of all
| the contracting parties and the
peace and welfare Of the world.
Even when he lay seriously i'll,
| he insisted upon being taken in his
| invalid chair along the White House
| portico to the window of my outer
| office each day during the contro-
versy in the senate over the treaty.
There, day after day, in the coolest
possible weather, I conferred with
| him and discussed every phase of
the fight on the bill. He would sit
in his chair, wrapped in blankets
and though hardly able, because Of
his physical condition, to discuss
| these matters with me, he evidenced
Ill every way d IIcIISIluOuS luI0E6SI
| in everything that was happening
in the capitol that had to do with
the treaty. Although I was warned
bby DR.. Grayson and Mrs. Wilson
not to alarm him unduly by bring
ing pessimistic reports, sought, in
the most delicate and tactful way
I could, to bring the atmosphere of
the hill to him. Whenever there
was an indication of slightest rise
| in the tide fer the League of Ma
tions, a smile would pass over the
presidents face, and, weak and
| broken though he was, he evidenced
| his great pleasure at the news. Time
and time again during the critical
days Of the treaty fight, the presi-
dent would appear outside my of
flee, seated in the old wheel chair
and make inquiry regarding the
progress Of the treaty fight on Capt.
toll hill.
One Of the peculiar things about
the illness from which the president
suffered was the deep emotion which
would stir him when word was
brought to him that this senator or
| that. senator on the hill had said
\ some kind thing about him or had
gone to his defense, when some po-
| litical enemy was engaged in bitter
| ly assailing his attitude in the treaty
fight. Never would there come from
him any censure or bitter criticism
Of those who were opposing him in
the fight. For Senator Borah, the
leader of the opposition, he had high
respect, and felt that he was actu-
ated only by sincere motives.
I recall how deeply depressed he
was when word was carried to him
that the defeat of the treaty was
inevitable. On this day he was look
ing more weary than at any time
during his illness. After I had read
to him a memorandum that 1 had
prepared, containing a report on the
situation in the senate, drew away
from, his wheel chair and said to
him: Governor, you are looking
very well today" He shook his
head in a pathetic way and said: 81
am very we'll for man who. awaits
disaster" and bowling his head he
gave way to the deep emotion he
felt.
"A few days later I called to notify
him of the defeat ofsthe treaty, His
| only comment was, 'They have
shamed us in the eyes Of the
world" Endeavoring to keep my
good nature steady in the midst of
a trying situation, smiled and said
| But, governor, only the senate has
defeated you. The people will Vindi-
cate your course. You may rely
upon that. "Ah, but our enemies
have poisoned the wells of public
opinion" he said. "They have made
the people believe that the League of
Nations is a great juggernaut, the
object of which is to bring war and
not peace to the world. If L only
could have remained we'll long
enough to have convinced the people
that the League of Nations was their
real hope, their last chance, perhaps,
to save civilization"
I said, by way of trying to
strengthen and encourage him at
this, one of the critical moments Of
his life-a moment that l. knew was
one Of despair for hin-"Governor, 1
want to read a chapter from the
third volume of your History of the
American people, if it will not tire
you" He graciously gave his con-
sent and I took from under my arm
the volume containing an account of
the famous John Jay treaty, in the
defense Of which Alexander Hamil-
ton was stoned while he stood de-
Tending it on the steps of the New
York city hall. There was, indeed,
a remarkable similarity between the
fight over the John Jay treaty and
the Versailles treaty. I read an en-
tire chapter of Woodrow Wilson's
History Of the American Peoples"
including the passage:
Slowly the storm blew off. The
country had obviously gained
more than it had conceded, and
tardily. saw the debt it owed Mr..
Jay and to the administration,
whose firmnesS and prudence
had made his mission possible.
But in the meantime things had
been said which could not be
forgotten. Washington Mad been
assailed with unbridled license,
as an enemy and a traitor to
the country; had even been
charged with embezzling public
moneys during the revolution
was madly threatened with i'm
parchment, and even with aSsaS-
sination and had cried amidst
the bitterness Of it all that "he
would rather be in his grave
than in the presidency"
The country knew its real
mind about him once again when
the end Of his term came and it
was about to lose him. He re-
fused to stand for another cleo
ton. His farewell address, with