Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-10-25
WILSON'S WAR CABINET
ASDEP|cTED LANE
Letters Left by Late Secretary
of interior Give Intimate View
of Administr alton.

Boston, Oct. 25.--A series OF history
making letters, describing In detail
the American war cabinet. and giving
an intimate picture OF Woodrow Will
son Ms he appeared while presiding
over the secret meetings of his official
fsmily. is made public for the first
time yesterday. Tho letters. written
BY the late Franklin X. Lane. Sec
rctary OF the Interior IN the Cabinet
of President Wilson, from 1918 TO
1929. have been collected and edited
BY his widow, Anne Wintermute Lane.
and have been published by Houghton.
Miillm Company. Tho volume ia Just
OF the press.
The correspondence reveals. among
other things. how the President fire.
ouently lost patience with the tre-
mendous problems confronting him,
and how at other times Discourage
ment crowded him to such a degree
that he was prompted to turn bitterly
upon his advisers when they failed to
agree with him.
The letters give a description OF VIII
sons attitude on preparedness before
Amer!ca entered the war; tell how he
I, r,garded the proposal TO arm mer-
ant ships. describe his opposition to
anything approaching the code
duello" spNit at a time when the
United States was neutral, and then,
when great qucstions were pressing
for decision. tell how he encouraged
h.S Cabinet 10 talk OF trivialities while
h" went along on his own course 10
sove the huge problems facing his ad-
ministration.
The President said ne didn't wish
TO see either side win--for both had
been equally Indifferent to the rights
Of ncutrals." Lane wrote to his brother
on February Il, 1917. commenting on
n particularly animated Cabinet dis
Cussion.
ON the subject Of preparedness, even
few months before the United States
cnteNd the war. Mr.. Lane quoted
President Wilson as being mot in
~ npathy." Writing again TO HE
lrother, February 16, 1917, Mr.. Lane
said:
AT our dinner to the President las,
night ne said he w1s not IN sympathy
with any great reparedness-that Eu-
rope would be mad and money-poor by
the end OF the war" Continuing. Mr.
Lane added a few observations OF his
own.
The army and the navy are SO sci
ord stereotyped and standpat that ]
am almost hopeless as 10 moving then
20 the wise large and wholesome Job
he wrote. They are governed by ret
tape worse than any union. The chief
OF staff fell asleep at our meeting to-
day. Mars and Morpheus in one"
Again 10 his brother, February 25
Secretary Lane wrote:
''On Friday we had one OF the mos
animated sessions OF the Cabinet that
suppose has ever been held under thi
or any other President. II all ars
out of q very innocent question O
mine as TO whether Il was true tha
the wives OF American consuls O,
leaving Germany had been strippc,
naked. given an acid bath 20 detec
writing on their flesh, and subjecte,
10 other indignities.
lansing answered that it was true
Then l asked Houston about the brea,
riots in New York this led 70 a dis
"Ussion OF the great problem which W
had all been afraid to raise--wh
shouldn't we send our ships out wit
guns and conveys? Daniels saM W
must not Convoy-that would he dan
gerous. CThink OF a Secretary Of tn
Navy telling Of dangerl. The Pres
dent said the country was not w!llin
that We should take any risks Of wa
i said l got no such sentiment out {
the country-this the President took a