The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-01-16
T|LTS
W|THCLARK
Continued from Page II

(COnt1nued rom rage ~
was wilson's friend and conf
dant, and whom Clark has de-
scribed as "a sort of super Score,
tary of State"
Writing on January 4, 1917 (the
United States entered the war in
April that year,, House observed:
Lansing Secretary Of State
Robert Lansing) desires the
President to press the submarine
issue and to send BernstOrff
(the German ambassador to the
United States) home. He has
written the President q note
urging him to take a firm stand.
He believes the President will
not do this, as the President told
him the other day that he did
not believe the people Of the
United States were willing to go
to war because . few Americans
had been killed"
WHAT LANSING WROTE
An interesting letter which Sec
rotary of State Robert Lansing
wrote to his cousin, Edward N.
Smith, in WATERFOWL. N. Y, the
day after the Congress voted to
declare war, April 6, 1917, was in
serted by Clark. In this miSsive,
the sway and preSsures Of political
expediency, and its effects on the
course of this nation in connec.
ton with American entry into the
war was wildly shown. Lansing
wrote in part:
ut is my judgment that If
the WAR resolution had been
presented in February lit was
then April 81 the House would
have shown three times as great
opposition, and If it had been
voted on last summer its pas
sage would have been so close
as to show a divided country
ION the question of entering the
war;.
"The only course practicable
was to wait, to suffer further
indignities, and to make every
effort to bring about peace, 50
that the lukewarm would grow
hot and the cold lukewarm. 1t
was to wait the times when
there could be no question but
that a substantial majority IA
vOred war.
WOULD HAVE LOST
"The only satisfaction 1 de-
rived from the situation was
that it must open the eyes of
many people, who had been
clamOring for action and claim
ing that the President should
have acted after the Lusitania
disaster, or certainly after the
Sussex. Why, the President
would have been defeated had
he tried to obtain action after
either case almost certainly as
night follows day."
Plan Night Sessions
Squirting forward in an effort
to wind UP its j. P. Morgan in
quiry this week, the committee to-
day tentatively scheduled night
sessions, and resumed its work Of
rewriting World War history on
the basis of secret State Depart
ment documents.
Much of the testimony that
has been put into the record of
the investigation has been of
tedious character, but as a whole
it has presented some new facts
Of this nations wartime policies.
Latest revelations DEATH with
the secret Allied treaties, and re-
veled the late President Wilson
and his wartime Secretary of
State, the late Robert Lansing, in
a somber light.
AS document after document
went into the record, it became
apparent that both Mr.. Wilson
and Mr.. Lansing were aware of
these treaties long before this
country entered the conflict-yet,
they told the Senate Foreign Re
lationS Committee after the war
that they learned of these treaties
only after the United States
entered the war.
And the evidence brought this
blunt statement from the commit