Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-04-27

his state papers and other pub
his memoirs, In three volun
decade. His new book may
should not be 10 those who
know something Of the for
mer President and his life.
II is:
THE ORDEAL Or WOOD
ROW WILSON (McGraw-
Hill: So
II will be recalled, as Mr..
Hoover does in his preface,
that he was closely ascot
ated with President Wilson
during World War ] and the
peace negotiations. Mr..
Hoover has never concealed
his admiration for Woodrow
Wilson the idealist.
The Tragedy
This is not q biography,
It deals only with the crucial
period when Mr.. Wilson was
waging war for what he
conceived to be the freedom
Of people everywhere and
when, later. he tried futilely
to make q peace that would
assure the principles for
which we supposedly fought.
And the failure Of this cru
SADIE for justice and lasting
peace was the tragedy OF
Woodrow Wilson.
During the war Mr.. Hoo
yer had first directed the re-
lief of the blockaded millions
in Belgium and Northern
France. When we came into
the war, he was made food
administrator for the United
States. During the peace ne
gotiations and for some time
afterward he administered
relief and reconstruction for
all Europe. In this capacity
he was in constant touch
with President Wilson.
In Close Understanding
The story of the Wilson
mission to Paris and what
happened to it has been told
often, but never. 1t seems to
me. more sympathetically or
with such intimate knowledge
of surrounding events and
circumstances. Mr.. Wilson
was abused and misunder-
stood at home. Mr.. Hoover.
who himself was subjected to
false accusation and malig-
nant vituperation in the 1882
campaign, though he never
mentions that. realizes what
the World War I President
went through in his last
years.
And yet this book is not q
mere panegeric to q thwarted
idealist. Mr.. Hoover is OBJ
jective In his judgments. He
feels that Mr.. Wilson made
two mistakes which played at
least q part in losing his
fight for what he felt to be a
Just peace. One was when,
with the war still on, late in
1918, he appealed for the
election Of a Democratic
Congress. This aroused an
tagonism out Of a fine BIZ
partisan cooperation and
helped defeat the League OF
Nations covenant in the
Senate.
EurODean Trim
The other error, as Mr..
Hoover sees it, was Mr.. Will
sons decision to go to Europe
and personally direct his
country's negotiations. He
would have been in a better
position to have stayed home
and let others negotiate. BY
appearing In person, he was
outvoted and at the mercy Of
Old World diplomats.
Mr.. Wilson also found,
when he reached Paris, that
the cards were stacked
against him; our allies had
made secret agreements dur
ing the war parcelling out
certain territory in conflict
with the Wilson IA points.
And the Germ ans and
Austrians had laid down their
arms believing that the IA
Points would be carried out.
Week-by-Week Account
Mr.. Hoover's story OF the
week by-week negotiations is
decidedly interesting. Col.
House was a ubiquitous figure
- everything had to 90
through him AS authorita-
tive land controversial as
Harry Hopkins was TO be
under Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Mr.. Hoover, however, admired
Col. House and regretted his
eventual break with Mr..
Wilson.
"In spite OF failure and
tragedy which was to come"
Mr.. Hoover writes, 1T should