Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-05-06


by Current News Features, lncorporated.)
CHAPTER xxx
" HERE was never a break be-
tween Colonel House and
President Wilson. Strictly
speaking, it was a GOODNESS and a
separation-in contrast with the
warm friendship and intimacy of
nearly eight years. After leaving the
White House Woodrow Wilson never
saw Colonel House again.
Like all great men. Mr.. Wilson
had certain weaknesses and one was
a peculiar susceptibility to what
traditionally is known as court Cos
sip" and what, in the parlance of
an American democracy, is some
times defined as "tattle." Prejudices
were conveyed to him by those who
tried to sway his judgment and Mr..
Wilson unconsciously absorbed
| those prejudiCes and dropped many
of his friends without even giving
them an opportunity to present their
side of a controversy.
The experience of President Will
son with Colonel House is probably
unprecedented in all history. 1t has
about it an air of mystery as well
| as tragedy. No man ever served an
other with the same zeal and with
| the same indifference to reward as
| did Colonel Z. M. House. His dis
| charge from the presidents conf
! dence occurred in Paris. 1t was as
much a shock 10 Colonel House him
self as it was to all who had fol
| lowed the Damon and Pythias rela-
tionship which had sprung up be-
tween the two men.
House Is Envied
Colonel House occupied a position
SO extraordinary and yet so lnflu-
entail with the president that he
was the object OF much envy. He had
gone TO Europe in advance of the
president and had been dealing with
Allied statesmen so long that he felt
he knew their maneuvers and could
guide the president in handling
them. When Mr. Wilson reached
Paris he found Colonel House in
close contact with the entire situa-
ton. The allied statesmen continued
to deal with the colonel in the hope
that he might influence President
Wilson. Instead of occupying, there
fore, a position subordinate to the
president, he really became an in
termediary between the president, on
the one hand, and the allied states
men on the other The headQuar
tiers of the American peace commits
sion were at the Hotel CrillOn
where Colonel House held forth.
OF hn
mission saw him occasionally, but
for the most part there were n
meetings of the entire peace deleSa,
ton at which any action was taken
except to ratify conclusions already
reached in conferences either by the
president or Colonel House.
Relatives of Colonel House were
attached to his staff The unique
position of the colonel developed the
usual antipathy so that among the
Americans in and about the Ameri-
can peace mission there were two
groups-thOse who were anti-HOuse
ard those who were for him. Those
who opposed did not hesitate to
spread the word which eventually
reached the president that Colonel
House had set up q sort of counter
establishment at the Hotel Crillon.
One day the president happened in
at the CriIlOn to see Colonel House,
who talked With him a few minutes
and excused himself in order to re-
| cejVe Premier Clemenceau. Incl
| dents of this kind were not lost upon
| those who sought to give the inn
| preston that the colonel was trying
| 20 lord it over his chief.
Mrs. Wilson Questions House
Newspaper articles began to APP
| pear, telling that the real power in
the American peace delegation was
Colonel House. Some of these stories
caught the eye of Mrs. Wilson, who
did not fail to take a deep interest in
everything that affected her hus-
band, and particularly those things
in which she deemed that Mr.. Will
sons interests were being subOrdj-
mated. One day the colonel went to
the house where the president and
Mrs. Wilson lived during the peace
conference. As was his custom the
colonel stopped to chat for a few
moments with Mrs. Wilson. The
colonel was in high spirits, feeling
that the peace conference was pro-
ceeding to a successful conclusion
He was particularly Jubllant that
day because of the apparent CONVEX
sion of an influential section of the
British press to the support of Mr..
| Wilson. The colonel told Mrs. Viii
son that one of the most prominent
London editors had become so inn
| pressed with the American viewpoint
| that he could count on effective edi-
! torial aid from that quarter. The
| colonel remarked that his sole object
was 10 help make the whole neGotia-
ton success so that it would re-
| dound to the credit of his chief,
/ Woodrow Wilson.
At this point Mrs. Wilson drew
! forth a clipping from the London
| newspaper in question and pointed
| to an article of laudatory character
which gave Colonel House the credit
| for the many things accomplished in
! the American peace mission, and
! which pointed out that if Mr. vii
! son would let the colonel alone there
would be an earlier agreement and a
much better feeling all around.
| Mrs. Wilson asked Colonel House