Evening star., 1928-10-31

oording to Dr. Stirling Ruffin, he was
officer had so withdrawn from public
affairs in the period after his .resig-
nation, in February, 1920, that only a
few knew of his critical condition and
word of his death came as surprise
and shock to official Washington.
Succeeded Bryan.
Robert Lansing was a lifelong stu
dent of government, diplomacy and in
ternational law. Bryan's celebrated
break with President Wilson, arising
from a disagreement as to what the
official American attitude toward the
tragedy of the Lusitania should be,
found Mr.. Lansing holding the post of
counselor of the State Department.
With Bryan's resignation he was pro-
NOTED to the cabinet and was faced
at once with the intricacies Of what
already was q tense international sit
uation.
AS with his predecessor, Mr.. Lansing's
tenure Of Office ended in disagreement
with President Wilson. In Mr.. Lam
sings case, his resignation, which was
announced in an exchange of notes
made public February Is, 1920, was
brought about, ostensibly, by his action
in calling meeting of the cabinet
during the Presidents grave illness. A
sharp exchange with his chief followed,
and when the documents were made
public tfey included Mr.. Lansing'S res
iRnation and President Wilson'S ac-
ceptance of it with appreciation"
The historic exchange, which imn1e-
diately preceded the resignation, was as
follows:
Wilson wrote his Secretary of State
under date of February IL, II felt,
and have felt increasingly ever since,
that you accepted my guidance and di-
rection on questions with regard to
which had to instruct you only with
increasing reluctance.
"s I must say that it would relieve
me of embarrassment, Mr.. Secretary,
the embarrassment of feeling your re-
luctance and divergence of Judgment,
if you would give your present Office up
and afford me an opportunity to select
some one else whose mind would more
willingly go along with mine"
On the following day Mr.. Lansing re-
piled as follows:
ever since January, 1919, have
been conscious OF the fact that you no
longer were disposed to welcome my ad-
vice in matters pertaining to the nego-
tiations in Paris, to our foreign service
or to international affairs in general
Holding these views, would, If / had
consulted my personal inclination alone,
have resigned as Secretary of State and
as commissioner to negotiate peace. I
have felt, however, that such step
might have been miSinterpreted both at
home and abroad and that it was my
duty to cause you no embarrassment in
carrying forward the great task in
which you were then engaged"
Colby Named Successor.
Frank L. Polk, Undersecretary of
State, became Secretary ad interim
and served until Bainbridge Colby was
appointed Mr.. Lansing's successor.
The disagreementS between President
Wilson and Mr.. Lansing are generally
said to have antedated the entry Of
the United States in the. war Rela-
tions between the two almost reached
the breaking point in 1917 when
Lansing issued his celebrated statement
saying that the United States was
daily being drawn nearer and nearer
the war. BY some it was thought to
forecast the entry of the United States.
the statement after it had been given
out at the State Department, but it was
impossible.
When Lansing went to Paris with
the American mission more difficulties
developed. With other members Of the
mission he was not in accord with Will
sons idea Of making the treaty of peace
and the covenant of the League of
Nations one and the same inseparable
document. 1t was Lansing's idea such
plan would delay ratification of a
peace treaty, and in this he was sup
ported by Henry White and Col E. M.
House, the Presidents particular per-
Bonal adviser.
Mr.. Wilson went back to Paris in
March, 1919, to find that during his
brief absence in the United States
Lansing and others had agreed, tenta-
lively, at least, to have the peace terms
and the covenant separated. The situa-
ton became so acute that Mr.. Wilson
avoided break only because he deemed
1t more important not to let European
statesmen see split in the American
peace delegation.
However, the incident which came
nearer than anything else to cause a
break was said to be the sensational
testimony Of william c. Bullitt, one of
the American experts attached to the
mission, before the Senate foreign rela-
tions committee.
Out Of Sympathy With League.
Reading from a diary, Bullitt quoted
Lansing as having told him that he
was out Of sympathy with the League
OF Nations covenant, and as predicting
that the treaty would fail If the Amer
ican people ever learned of its fun i'm
port. Mr.. Lansing. obviously in a diff
cult situation, did not repudiate
Bullitt'S statement. Wilson was then
on his Western speaking tour, from
which he returned a broken man
physically. and. as rumors said in Con-