Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-09-30

T ord Grey records as containing the
snbstance Of his conversation with
House.
Ae the world knows, nothing came
of the Presidents proposal for a
neace conference at that time, ana
whether he was then considering
throwing the United States into the
war is not disclosed by any OF the
lata Presidents shorthand notes,
memoranda or official documents
which so far have been revealed to
the public.
Viscount Grey, in his memoirs,
saws House cabled him that Presl-
dent Wilson confirmed the memoran-
dunn with the alteration OF only one
word" He does not disclose what
the one word was, but confidants OIL
the late President who have read
Viscount Grey's work believe 1t un-
doubtedly was the word probably ,
making the document read, the
United states probably would enter
the war against Germany" in the
event that peace proposals failed
Much support for this supposition
is to be found in recollectlonS OF con-
fidentiaI conversations with the late
Pesident by those very few men with
whom he intimately discussed the
war and revealed the drift OF ms
mind AS late as the winter OF 1913
in fact while he was on his way to
the Peace conference.-the disclosed
to one of his confdants that for
many months before the United
States entered the war, he was not
sure that the drastic application or
the British naval blockade would not
SO shape public opinion in America
so as to make it difficult to avoid an
open rupture with the Allies and
Great Britain in particular.
"For a long time" President Will
son told this confidant, Il was I'M
able to make up my mind whom we
might have to fight, after all. 1t
was difficult to determine which the
American public regarded as worst
British navalism or Prussian mill
tarism. My decision finally turned
on this point, to wit: seized ships
and cargoes could be paid for in
money, leaving everybody satisfied.
But the American lives which the
Prussian government was sacrificing
in its submarine campaign never
could be paid for or restored, and in
making a choice of two evils / had
to come to the conclusion that Prus-
sian militarism was the worse"
From that, the war president turn
ed to the frantic efforts the Allied
powers had made to hasten the eff
fective forces of the United States
to the battle line.
at was after Coughs fifth army
had been annihilated before Amiens",
said Mr.. Wilson, "and the German
armies were pouring through the gap
toward the English channel, piercing
the allied resistance like the Prov OF
a powerful ship pushing through still
water. They came to me with tears
in their eyes-these ambassadors in
Washington. / do not use this term
figuratively but literally. The tears
actually rolled down the cheeks of
these ambassadors as they told me
all was lost unless we hurried our
forces and won the war for them.
The British ambassador in particu-
lar Ghe late Sir Cecil Spring-Rice)
threw out his arms in a despairing
gesture and moaned:
=" If you are coming at all, for
Gods sake come quickly. We came,
continued the President to his con-
fidant, land now they want to dis
'cuss who won the war. | shall make
this plain to Lloyd George and Glenn
NtASN>Sd' <1lIlCA41eL NFOIl ILLS w oil lOl
them, but America doesn't necessari-
~ need to help them make an old
fashioned peace. 1 already hear that
they want to make an old world peace
on the basis of balances of power and
then later attempt peace to insure
the peace. of the world for the fu-
ture. In other words, they want to
make a peace to suit their own self
ish ends and then having done that