Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-06-03
CHAPTER Xiv

titled, for in my talk with him the
day after the election no bitterness
was evident. He said: '"They have
disgraced us in the eyes Of the
world. The people of America have
repudiated a fruitful leadership for
q barren independence. OF course
am disappointed by the results Of the
election, for I felt sure that a great
program that sought to bring peace
to the world would arouse American
idealism, and that the nations sup
port would be given to it. 1t is a
difficult thing. however. to lead ma
ton so variOusly constituted as ours
quickly to accept program such as
the League of Nations. The enemies
Of this enterprise cleverly aroused
every racial passion and prejudice,
and by poisonous propaganda made
it appear that the League of Ma
tionS was a great Juggernaut which
was intended to crush and destroy
instead Of saving and bringing peace
to the world. The people will have
to learn now by bitter experience
just what they have lost. There will,
Of course, be a depression in bust
ness, for the isolation which Ameri-
ca covets will mean a loss Of pres
tige which always in the end means
a loss of business. The people will
soon witness the tragedy of disap-
pointment, and then they will turn
upon those who made that diappoint-
| ment possible"
The COuntry's Lost Chance
When intimated to him that the
Cox defeat might in the long run
prove a blessing, he rebuked me at
once by saying: ''I am not thinking
| Of the partisan side of the thing.
| It is-the country and its future that
| am thinking about. We had a
| chance to gain the leadership Of the
world. We have lost it, and soon we
will be witnessing the tragedy Of it
ALL"
The White House,
Washington, Nov. 5, 1920,
My dear Governor Cox:
I hope that you know that no
| Democrat attributes the defeat
| of Tuesday to anything that you
did or omitted to do. We have
all admired the fight that you
made with the greatest sincerity,
| and believe that the whole
| NOoA4IAJ AAOAAOA . yOb AOA LlAO IL SIAltA
and courageous way in which
you conducted the campaign.
| With the most cordial good
| wishes and of course with I'M
abated confidence, cordially and
sincerely yours,
WOODROW WILSON.
| Hon. James M. Cox, Columbus, o.
After this statement to me with
reference to the result of the cleo
| ton he read to me a letter from
| his old friend, John Sharp Williams,
| United States senator from Missis-
sippi, letter which did much to boil
ster and hearten him on this, one
of the most trying days of his life in
the White House. The letter fol
lows:
Dear Mr.. President: God didn't
create the world in one act.
| never expected that we would
win in the United States the
| first battle in the campaign for
League Of Nations to keep the
A. peace Of the world. Our people
| were too "set" by our past his
tory and by the apparent voice
of the fathers in an opposite
| course, a course of isolation.
| This course was hitherto the
best for accomplishing the very
purpose we must now accom-
| plish by a seemingly contrary
course. We must now begin the
war in earnest. We will win it.
| Never fear, the stars in their
courses are fighting with us.
The league is on it's feet, learn
ing to walk, senate coteries
willy-nilly.
vS1Ir, - NJ
hatred which have been emptied
on your head by all the I'M
American things, aided by dema-
gogues who wanted their votes
| and got them, abetted by yellow
| journals, ETC., these lines Of By
| ron can console you:
| There were two cats in Kilkenny,
They fit and fit until of cats there
! weren't any
This is almost a prophecy of
what will happen now between
Borah, oJhnson & Co. and Root.
Taft & Co., with poor Lodge
mewing peace" when there is no
| peace-except a larger peace out
side their horizon. They have
been kept united by hatred of
| you, by certain foreign encour-
agements and by fear Of the
Democratic party. With the ne
cessity to act, to do something,
the smoldering fire of differences
will break forth into fame. Con-
i serve your health. Cultivate a
cynical patience. Give them all
the rope you can. Now and then,
when they make too, big fools of
themselves, throw in a keynote
veto-not often-never when you
can give them the benefit of the
doubt and with it the RESPONSE
bility. They have neither the
conference nor the brains to han
die the situation. Events will
work their further confusion,
events in Europe. God still
|