Evening star., 1922-10-25
Lane Letters Picture Wilson
Ignoring and Assaili',g Cabinet
Wartime Meetings
Often DeuOted to
Stories, He Wrote.
Describe President
Losing Patience
When Opposed.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
BOSTON. October 25-A series OF
history making letters. describing in
detail the American war cabinet and
giving an intimate picture of Wood
| row Wilson, as he appeared. while
presiding over the secret meetings OF
his official family. have been made
public The letters. written by the
late Franklin X. Lane, Secretary Of
| the Interior in the cabinet of Presi-
dent Wilson from 1913 to 1920. have
been collected and edited by his
widow. Anne Wintermute Lane. and
have been published by Houghton
Miffiin Company. The volume is Just
off the press.
The correspondence reveals, among
other things, how the President fire.
quently lost patience with the tre-
mendous problems confronting him,
ment crowded him to such degree
| that he was prompted to turn bitterly
upon his advisers when they failed to
agree with him.
Disclose Wilson's Attitude.
The letters give a description of Mr..
Wilson's attitude on preparedness be-
fore America entered the war; tell
how he regarded the proposal to
arm merchant ships. describing his
opposition to anything approaching
; the code duello" spirit at a time
when the United States was neutral.
and then, when great questions were
pressing for decision, tell how he en-
. couraged his cabinet to talk Of
trivialities while he went along on
his own course to solve the huge
problems facing his administration.
The President said he didn't wish
to see either side win-for both had
been equally Indifferent to the rights
of neutrals," Mr.. Lane wrote to his
brother on February II. 1917. com
menting on a particularly animated
cabinet discussion.
Chief Of stan Fell Asleep.
On the subject of preparedness. even
a few months before the United
states entered the war, Mr.. Lane
quoted President Wilson as being
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-that
Europe would be mad and money
Door IHC SIo "a liz F" esA No.A
tinuing, Mr.. Lane added few OBJ
servations Of his own.
"The Army and the Navy are so
set and stereotyped and standpat that
I am almost hopeless as to moving
them to the wise, large and whole
some iob," he wrote. They are gov
erned by red tape worse than any
union. The chief Of staff fell asleep
at our meeting today. Mars and
Morpheus in one"
Again to his brother, February 25,
Secretary Lane wrote:
Lively Discussion Precipitated.
"On Friday we had one of the most
animated sessions of the cabinet that
suppose has ever been held under
This or any other President. 1t all
a rose ont of a very innocent question
Of mine 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
writing on their flesh and subjected
to other indignities.
Lansing answered that it was true.
Then I asked Houston about the
bread riots in New York. This led
to a discussion of the great problem
which we had all been afraid to raise
why SHOULDN'T we send our ships
out with guns and conveys? Daniels
said we must not convoy-that would
be dangerous. (Think OF Secretary
of the Navy telling Of dangerD
Wilson Assalis McAdoo.
The President said the country was