Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-04-29
MRS. EDITH WILSON SHAPED
DESTINIES OF UNITED STATES
SIX YEARS, SAYS HISTORIAN

ceived in the green room almost i'm
mediately.
Woodrow Wilson never liked to
hear criticism yet he was one of
the tairest of men. knowing him
for years as a. man who would not
render a Judgment unfairly if he
llrCW the facts, the author sought
Mr.. Wilson'S reasons and found that
prejudice had been carried to him
with respect to his private secretary
which was unfortunate rejudiCe
based on q political Cab3l and upon
Impressions which were wholly uu-
ju~r to his private seer atarY. For
threC-Quarters of an hour we talked
it was a dramatic conversation
only because the author felt that
ir. Sucb a case Vehemeuce was eS-
sential IN order to impress Mr.. Will
son with the ingratitude that would
be his if he listened to the enemies
of his private secretary and Sratified
their wishes. Nobody would under
stand, the author told the president,
how one who had rendered as faith
full service to him as had Secretary
Tunlulty could be asked to retire.
know what had been accomplished
Nnre of the newspaper men who
by Secretary Tumulty for Woodrow
Wilson would understand and the
0ld taunt of New Jersey days-in-
cratitude-WOuld arise once more.
Mr. Wilson seemed to realize that
he had wounded his faithful friend
the man who had fought his bat
ties day and highland he sent
word through the author TO his pri-
Vate secretary not to be disturbed.
Break Four Years Later
AS the critical days of 1917 APP
preached MIR. Wilson came more
and more tc appreciate how va!ua-
tary, and while Tumulty was I'M
doUbtedly impulsive at times and
made mistakes, there is no question
that he was loyalty itself in his
service TO Woodrow Wilson. -Four
years later the break did come and
undoubtedly the influences which
brought it about were not far differ
ent from those which were operat-
inc in 1916.
The incident which separated
Woodrow Wilson and his private sec
rotary occurred after the breakdown
of the president and after his retire
ment from the White House. The
letters in the record exchanged be-
tween Woodrow Wilson and Joseph
=. Tumulty do not explain the break
They show clearly that Mr.. Wilson
never gave his former private sec
rotary the audience he sought for it
would have readily explained the mis-
understanding.
Mr.. TumuIty had, however, written
book which displeased some of the
inner circle and he had conveyed a
message to Il banquet of Democrats
in New York which Mr.. Wilson
claimed never to have written but
which was given orally to his former
private secretary just as were so
many verbal messages in the years
of their association. 1t was a harm
less communication. simply an eX-
preston of the hope that the Demo
Gratis would do their part in leading
the world to a better understanding
between nations. There could be nc
possible objection to the message
even if Mr.. TumuItY had phrased It
himself which he did not. Mr.. Will
son objected to the message because
it was construed by the newspapers
ton of Il candidate for 1924. but the
message was merely a preteXt-the
anti-Tumulty influence won out and
the man who stood by his chief for
so many years was never even grant
ed a inG-indeed there is moth
ing to show that the subsequent mes
sageS from him ever reached Wood
row Wilson,
In the last months of Mr.. Wilson's
life efforts were made to TeInte the
two. Again Influences hostile to Mr..
Tumulty prevented such Il meeting.
What Mr.. Wilson did do, however,
just a. few months before L. died
was to write a letter to a friend stat
ing his opinion that the best man
to make the race in New Jersey on
the Democratic ticket for the United
States 3enatorship in 1921 would be
Joseph Patrick TumutY. This letter
was to have been published in the
Saturday Evening Post and already
was in type when Mrs. Wilson assert
ed her legal rights to suppress the
document. The missive shows that
Mr.. Wilson did not lose his high re-
gard for the man who served him
eleven years as private secretary and
who deserves to be called by those
words which Woodrow Wilson used
with peculiar precision, namely, a
loyal friend.
(ThurdSayS chapter tells why VIII
son asked America to enter the war
and his early moves for peace.)