The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-30

warning had said. Right, Lieut..
Schweiger, the U-bOat skipper who
committed the deed.
House was sitting chatting in the
White House study, he was
startled to hear the President
casually remark that he had
never been Sure that we ought not
to take part in the conflict, and
if it seemed evident that Germany
and her militaristic ideas were to
win, the obligation upon us was
greater than ever"
NTHEN Mr., Wilson presently
w visited New York the
colonel opened the great plan
which he had been formulating.
He would first privately reach an
understanding with the Allies.
Then, whenever they were ready
for such a step, the United States
would publicly demand, as the inn
partial spokesman for the neu-
trail world, that the war be
brought Immediately to an end
on the basis of both military and
naval disarmament"
In this manifesto we could be
as severe upon the Allies as upon
the Germans, since the former
would be parties to the trick. The
Allies, perhaps with soma artful
show of hesitation, would accent
our meditation.
If the Germans fell into the
trap and accepted too-presto!
the war would be over and we
would have achieved Gas Col.
House complacently described IT'D
a master stroke of diplomacy"
If the Germans should refuse,
then the United States would be
in the WARRIOR the noblest of
motives and in a manner giving
us some guaranty that we would
actually get something worth
while in return for saving the
Entente from defeat. The whole
force of our government" could
then be eXerted to win the war.
TINE danger Of German, victory
l. would be averted; our ''influ-
ence" with the Allies would be
established; we might even
manage to realize some of those
dreams of disarmament and per-
petual peace which British states
manship had been astute enough
to cultivate in Col. Houses mind.
Not unnaturally, President Will
son was startled" by this naive
proposal in international adven-
ture and double-dealing. Did he
agree? He did not say so.
But House decided that Mr.. Will
son had seemed to acquiesce by
silence" and it was enough for
the eager master of diplomacy. A
little later he limited at the plot
to Frank Polk, the Solicitor Of
the State Department and found
him favorable; in washington in
the second week of October he
received encouragement from Sec
rotary Lansing.
Rapidly the scheme matured,
and presently House got Mr. Will
sons authorization to initiate it.
House took his draft to the
President Mr.. Wilson read it and
at once approved, with, however,
single textual correction. He
inserted just one word, to make
the sentence read: 1T would
probably be necessary for us to
join the Allies" Mr.. Wilson him
self regarded this as merely an
"unimportant verbal change"
FINDER the American Consti-
~ tuition war can not be de-
clared by unofficial emissaries of
the President negotiating in Sc
crecy, and Mr.. Wilson may have
thought his emendation unim-
portant because it merely stated
what should have been obvious.
Yet as he laid down his pen, a
slight and evidently unnoticed
rift had in fact appeared between
those two minds which functiOned
so often as very nearly one. That
word was far more important than
either man realized.
The letter went off in two sec
tons on Oct. II and 10, on the
eve of Mr.. Lansing's strenuous
protest against the illegalities Of
the British blockade. 1t is not
difficult to imagine the emotions
with which Sir Edward must have
examined this latest effort of the
incredible Americans.
AS it stood. the whole project
was TOO fantastic to be of much
practical Importance, yet its flu
ture uses might be considerable.
It's obvious Though clumsily con-
cealad) hint, moreover. that the
United States no longer dared to
let the Entente lose must. when
laid beside Mr.. Lansing's vigor-
Gus periods, have been a source
of great comfort to Sir Edward
Grey.
Another step tomorrow on the
Road to War"