Imperial Valley press., 1936-01-27
Editorials and Comment
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1886.
News Behind the News
Munitions Probe Story Blurred :. Too
Many Side Issues High Spots
TdbuIated

WASHINGTON-The story placed upon the
records by the Senate Munitions Committee since
the Morgan partners appeared before it, has
been blurred and obscured-partly by its COM
plexity and the difficulty of reporting it from
day to day. partly by interjection of side issues,
and finally by the furor created through the
attempt to kill off the committee by denying it
further funds.
To summarize the case and clarity the situ-
alton, here are the high spots of the investiga-
ton disclosures. based mostly on documents
held secret until now:
Morgan & Co.. which admitted to the committee
its complete sympathy for the allies undertook
to arrange credits for Germany's foes
Robert Lansing as acting secretary of state,
conferred with President Wilson the night of
Oct 23 1914 and was told that Wilson differ
entated between loans and credits. but that
these views must be conveyed as Lansings. not
his.
The bankers got this word and Morgan and
National City Bank promptly arranged a SlO,-
100000 credit for France
In 1916 the House of Morgan disSuaded Eng
land from canceng S55,000000 in contracts Tor
American rifles upon Morgan's warning that
cancellation would cut off further American fl
nancing for the Allies.
Morgan stepped supporting the pound ster-
ling Aug IS, 1915.
Treasury Secretary McAdoo. after confer
ring with Morgan Partner H P. Dawson as to
esultant dangers to American war trade, urged
on Wilson the argument of Dawson that those
dangers could be averted only by large Amerl-
can war loans
Wilson again reversing neutrality policy,
replied that he wouldn't interfere with such a
loan, but that this must be conveyed orally and
not put in writing Arrangements for the first big
nm IL AYNtlxr
Senator Bennett Clark of Missouri sought to
explode the Morgan insiStence that unrestricted
German submarine warfare solely, forced the
United States into war by showing that Amer
ica's statesmen could have diSSuaded Germany if
they hadn't fumbled and feared to interfere with
the war boom over here.
Wilson and Lansing evolved plan by which
the Allies would disarm merchantmen and Ger
many would stop torpedoing merchant ships
without warning. Meanwhile Chairman Stone
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was
favoring the Gore-McClemore resolution to for
bid American citizens travelling on armed belli
gerent ships. Wilson undertook to diSSuade him
in a public letter.
Lansing persuaded Wilson that their plan
to solve the submarine problem should be shown
to the Allies, but not to the Central Powers be-
cause, Lansing explained he was sure Germany
would agree, whereas refusal by the Allies, if it
became known. would arouse adverse criticism
in the press of this country and excite resent
ment against the Entente powers, which seems
to be growing from day to day"
Both the British and the French finally re-
fused to accept the submarine ne-merchantrnan
proposal and it dropped.
Finally. Senator Clark placed evidence in
the record indicating that Wilson knew of the
secret treaties by which the Allies had divided
up victory spoils in advance, and then cited Will
sons postwar testimony to senators that he
hadn't known of the treaties until the Paris
peace conference.
On the basis of this evidence, Nye said Will
son had "fasified"