Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-10-27
WILSON And HIS CABINET
Interesting Light Thrown on La;t
't% Administration.
PRESIDENT DIDN'T WANT ADVICE
Intimate Views of Former Secretary OF
Interior That Were Never Intended
Is to Go to the Public, Are Now In
Print-offieial Family Did Not
Think Much Of It's Chief.

!"
Think Much Of It's Chief.
"A series of history making letters,
describing in detail the American war
cabinet, dnd giving an intimate picture
of Woodrow Wilson as he appeared
while presiding over the secret meet
ings of his official family, was made
public for the first time in Boston on
Tuesday. The letters, written by the
late Franklin X. Lane, secretary of the
interior of the cabinet of President
wflsont from 1913 to 1920, have been
collected and edited by his widow at
sfwintermute Lane and have been pub
lished- by Ioughton Miffin company.
ss The correspondence reveals among
other things, how the president fire.
squert;y lost patience with the tremen-
sdous problems confronting him and
how at others time encouragement
crowded him to such a degree that he
was prompted to turn bitterly upon his
advisers when they failed to agree
with him, "a
= The letters give a description of Mr..
WILSON'S attitude on preparedness be-
fore America entered the war, tell how
She regarded the proposal to arm mer-
chant ships: describe his opposition to
sanything approaching the "code duel
Slo'' spirit at time when the United
States was neutral, and then when
great questions were pressing for de-
:Sisiop; tell how- he encouraged his
cabinet to talk OF triSialties while he
went along on his own course to solve
the huge, problems facing his admins
tration. ~ r.
Did Not Want Victory.
THE president said he didn't want
Ito see. either side win-for both had
been equally Indifferent to the rights
fof neutrals," Mr.. Lane wrote to his
brother on February IT, 1917, COM
menting on particularly animated
cabinet discussion.
On the subject of preparedness, even
a few months before the United States
entered the war, Mr.. Lane quoted
President Wilson as being mot in
sympathy Writing again to his
brother, February 16, 1917, Mr.. Lane
said;- ->
'At our dinner to the president last
night, he said he was not in sympathy
with any great preparedness-tha
Europe would be man and money poor
by the end of the war" Continuing,
Mr.. Lane added few observations of
his own
1.-THE army and, navy are so set and
stereotyped and standpat, that l am
almost hopeless as to moving them to
the wise, large and wholesome job" he
wrote. 'rThey are governed by red
tape worse than any union. The chief
OF staff fell asleep at our meeting to-
day. Marsh and Morpheus in one"
=. consuls' Wives Stripped.
Again to his brother, February 25,
Secretary Lane wrote:
"On Friday night we had one of the
most animated sessions of the cabinet
that L suppose has ever been held un-
dertffs or any other president. 1t all
arUseTuut of very innocent question
ofmffies as to whether it was true that
wives of American consuls on leaving
Germany had been stripped naked,
given an acid bath, to detect acid writ
ing on their flesh and subjected to
'other indignities. r-
Lansing answered that It was true.
Then l asked Houston about the bread
riots in New York. This led to a dis
cussion of the great problem which we
had all been afraid to raise-MhY