The daring stroke of throwing our army against the Meuse-Argonne line straight at the enemy's communications had already had its reward; although the Germans had been warned of the attack, they had no idea that it would be in such force. They recognized at once that the threat against the Lille-Metz railroad was serious. They must bring up good divisions and enough of them, and sufficient artillery, to make sure that it was arrested.
Our task, now, was the thankless one of continuing to draw more and more divisions against us in the consciousness that every German whom we held or whom we killed or wounded was one more removed from the British or French fronts. We were to have the stiffest fighting of any part of the line, and the value in what we did was not to be reckoned in ground gained, but in damage done the enemy. During the following days we continued to advance while the Germans settled down in strength in front of us and established themselves in the strong trench line of the Kriemhilde Stellung across a series of commanding heights. Our divisions, exhausted after a week or more of fighting, had to be relieved by rested divisions which were called to the front including the 3d and the 5th and 1st Divisions of Regulars. We had to weaken our line a little owing to the necessities of transport.
The embargo on building roads before the attack, and our inability to bring up engineering material, and our lack of labor and sufficient experience in handling traffic, which can only be learned in battle, led to inevitable congestion. The area of shell craters, extending for half a mile or more as well as across no-man's-land, which consisted simply of earth pulverized by four years of shell fire, seemed to have no bottom to the engineers who worked night and day in order to make the passage of the artillery and the heavy motor trucks possible. In the dripping rain and penetrating cold, taking what sleep they might steal in wet clothes, all hands kept ceaselessly at their task while the men in the front line were digging "fox holes" in the seeping slopes of hills among the roots of trees of gassed woods and in ravines. The issue was joined in stubborn and bitter fighting in which it was the American plan always to keep the initiative and the upper hand over the enemy and to force him to put in more and more of his decreasing reserves.
We still had our Second Corps with the British under the command of Major General George W. Read, consisting of O'Ryan's 27th National Guard Division from New York and Lewis's 30th National Guard Division from the Southern mountain States. They had assisted in driving the Germans out of the positions they had won in the Ypres salient in April, 1918. After that they were swung around across the old Somme battle field, and in keeping with the policy of the Allied command, which recognized the confident valor of our men in the attack, they were to be sent against one of the strongest portions of the old Hindenburg line, that of the region over the St. Quentin Canal tunnel. Allied commanders said that the sheer presence of our troops in the offensive inspirited their own. The homesickness of our men who knew that they could not return until they had won the war was an impelling influence to force the issue now that their quick intelligence assured them that victory depended upon pressing the enemy hard.
Though the 27th and 30th Divisions were never to be associated with their own army, on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of September, 1918, they were to know in the company of the British the same kind of fighting that we had in breaking the line in the Argonne, as they charged through the enemy's barrages and against his machine-gun nests for the conquest of the famous positions which had taken the name of Hindenburg, who had given them his especial attention and who had declared that they never could be taken. The 30th made a clean sweep, but it was not in human power for the 27th Division to reach all of its objectives. The gallant men of the 27th had, however, in two days' fighting, immortalized their division before the Australians, coming fresh into the line, took their place according to schedule and completed the task.
Throughout the offensives of August and September, 1918, the German positions in front of Rheims had remained where they were established in September of 1914. On October 2, 1918, in an offensive in this sector, Le Jeune's 2d Division with its brigades of Regulars and Marines, which led all our divisions in the number of its casualties in this war, was joined with the French in an attack to disengage Rheims; and when, after fighting its way through the deep trenches cut in the chalky soil of Champagne, the 2d stormed Blanc Mont, the German guns had fired their last shot at the cathedral and were in retreat. Smith's 36th Division of National Guard, from Texas, which was without its artillery and which had never been under fire, took the place of the 2d, and, after enduring with an amazing equanimity a terrific bombardment from the German guns before they withdrew, pursued the enemy to the Aisne at a rate of travel worthy of Texans and most discomforting to German veterans.
We now return to the Meuse-Argonne Battle, where as I have said, the issue was joined in "hammering it out on this line" tactics, and divisions which had fought with lion-hearted determination until they were staggering with exhaustion and their ranks depleted by casualties, were withdrawn in order that fresh divisions might take their place. Some divisions either for one reason or another were able to remain in longer than others. The harder a division's experience the more it suffered from what is known as "dispersion"; its units, either in their continued advances or in resisting attacks and counterattacks in the midst of continued shell fire, lost their cohesion. How they kept cohesion even for a day was a marvel past understanding. A division which had only a portion of its troops at a time in the front line could last longer than a division that had put all its reserves into action and had worn out the personnel of the whole division.
Much depended upon the division commander and his staff. If he were capable and his division well-trained, he could accomplish results through prompt tactical adaptability to the situation on his front without unnecessary sacrifice of his men. In holding ground against machine-gun fire the fewer men on the front the better. The object was always to gain, of course, the maximum of advantage at the minimum of cost. When our lines settled down in a position it was not to intrench according to the old system, but simply to bide their time for another attack.
There was no thought but the offensive. The days of trench warfare were entirely over. The contact with the enemy was through outpost lines in fox holes and machine-gun positions chosen carefully with a view to interlocking fire that covered every possible path or avenue of approach. With the Germans bringing up fresh artillery and countless machine guns in full realization of the situation it became evident that further advance by piecemeal was impracticable and that another general attack should be made along the old battle front.
Across the Meuse River on our right flank were a series of heights ideal for artillery positions, overlooking not only the valley, but all the ravines, the roads, and open places. Thus our 3d Corps, swinging toward the whaleback, was literally in a trough of fire from the heights of the whaleback in front and in flank and from the heights across the Meuse in flank. On our left flank our 1st Corps was in the same hateful position as our 3d on our right. The 28th Division was fighting against the wooded escarpments which extended from the bastion of the Argonne Forest into the river valley. In the forest itself, the 77th was meeting with stubborn resistance in the thick underbrush, and the French army on its left was as unable as the 28th Division on its right to relieve its situation.
Summerall's 1st Division of Regulars, the oldest of our divisions in France, with its rank full and its spirit high, which had been brought from Saint Mihiel and attached to the 5th Corps, was swung over to the 1st Corps for its part in the general attack set for October 4, 1918. It was evident that no further progress could be made until we had mastered the commanding heights on the eastern wall of the Aire, and for this task the 1st Division was chosen. Fighting with all the experienced skill and courage which was its characteristic, it succeeded in its undertaking in a series of continuing attacks and with a loss of over nine thousand men, which included about half its infantry. In order to spread the wedge which it started, Duncan's 82d, or All-American Division of the National Army, swung in on its left between it and Muir's 28th across the river bottoms against the heights on the other side. With this aid the 28th was able to continue its advance and complete its task before it was relieved, and the 77th Division, the French army now coming up on its left, was able to make a thrilling advance to the northern edge of the forest.
On the right of the 1st, Haan's 32d Division of Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard, with a heroism in keeping with its brilliant record on the Ourcq and at Juvigny, extended the wedge in that direction by repeated assaults upon the stubbornly defended positions which were a part of the Germans' powerful Romagne system. Later Menoher's Rainbow Division, the 42d, relieved the 1st Division, and with a tenacity of purpose in keeping with its veteran reputation continued attacking until its magnificent persistence had its reward. To the east the 3d Division (now commanded by Buck and later by Preston Brown), which had been the stone wall on the banks of the Marne against the fifth German offensive, was fighting against terrific odds. It was to pay for the ground which it gained in the ensuing days with over eight thousand casualties.
Meanwhile, with every advance that its divisions made, the position of Bullard's 3d Corps became more wickedly exposed to the fire from across the Meuse where the German artillery from its heights looked down upon our men as upon the arena of an amphitheater. But here, as elsewhere, there was no cessation of the offensive. Hershey's 4th Regular Division, schooled in the Château-Thierry fighting, showed an endurance in keeping with its skill by remaining in line for over three weeks; the 5th Regulars, first commanded by MacMahon and then by Ely, which had learned their first lesson in attack by its taking of Frappelle in the Vosges Mountains, and which had again at Saint Mihiel shown a mettle which promised to make it dependable for any kind of an emergency, had now come in to take the place of Cronkhite's 80th in that trough of hell where it was to begin its long and thrilling career of accomplishment in the great battle. On its right, Allen's 90th National Army from Texas had come in on the left and immediately, though it had not been long in France, proved that it was worthy of the best traditions of its home State by its stoicism under gas and shells and the attacking fervor which were to give it a place of honor until the armistice was signed—after its crossing of the Meuse.
The Germans were now bringing in their best veteran shock divisions and countless machine guns manned by chosen "no quarter" gunners. It is significant that on September 29, 1918, three days after we had begun our Argonne attacks, Hindenburg had informed the German Government that it ought to sue for peace, and on October 3, 1918, after the British assault, which included our 2d Corps, had broken the Hindenburg line and the ferocious attacks against the positions in the Rheims sector had developed, that he informed the German Government that the situation of the German army was hopeless. Therefore the Germans on the Meuse-Argonne front were fighting with the desperation of men with their backs against the wall to save the line of communications for their retreat. Our lack of sufficient fresh divisions in reserve and of sufficient artillery in the second week of October, 1918, for extensive operations may have given them hope of success; but we were gathering our forces for another general attack.
Meanwhile it became increasingly evident that something must be done to stop the flanking fire into our 3d Corps from across the Meuse where the 17th French Corps was calling for American divisions to assist in mastering the heights where the plentiful German artillery was in position. Bell's redoubtable 33d Division of Illinois National Guard had crossed the river from the left bank, after a most remarkable feat of bridge building under heavy fire, and had swung north as a part of a general attack against these heights. Here the fighting was to be equally as fierce and quite as thankless as on the main battle front; for here the Germans were in the area of their old Verdun offensive, and they were perfectly familiar with the ground and had at their backs all the roads and barracks which they had used in 1916. The main line of hills and ridges, and the covering positions of the lesser heights and slopes which they held, were already prepared with dugouts and cement pill boxes, while in place of Württembergers they brought in their best Prussian troops, with ample machine guns, to assist an artillery defense which had the sweep of a half-mile circle east and west of the Meuse, thus enabling them not only to concentrate at any point on our 3d Corps on the west bank of the Meuse, but upon the 17th French Corps on the east bank.
Our approach to these defenses was through the ruined villages of the Verdun battle fields and along the roads which led us into the bottom of a cup, with its rim occupied by the enemy, through a ravine which was truly called "Death Valley." Morton's 29th, National Guard of New Jersey, which was to have its first important battle experience in conquering positions which would have baffled the skill of the most veteran of divisions, advanced on the right of the 33d. Later Edwards's 26th "Yankee" Division, which had known all the kinds of fighting which the American army had to offer, arrived from its drive in closing the Saint Mihiel salient for a period of a remorseless, grinding fighting which was in keeping with its experience. Against pill boxes, woods, and twisting ravines, across open spaces swept by machine-gun fire, repulsed by counterattacks and attacking again, the 33d (until it was relieved), the 29th for a long period, and the 26th had a battle of their own under the 17th French Corps.
The Germans had even stronger reasons for not yielding the heights on the east of the Meuse than they had on the west of the Meuse. Once we had Belleu Wood and Pylon Observatory we looked down on a broad valley and were approaching the last of the hills which separated us from the plain of the Woevre and German soil. Indeed, this portion of the east bank of the Meuse was the very key to the positions where the Germans would have made their stand on a shorter line if they succeeded in withdrawing their army.
October 11, 1918, was memorable in the history of the organization of the American Expeditionary Force, as, on that day, General Pershing appointed Major General Hunter Liggett our pioneer corps commander, to command the 1st American Army, and appointed Major General Robert L. Bullard to the command of the 2d Army which was operating on the Saint Mihiel salient. Both were veterans who had won the additional star of a lieutenant general which they now received for long service in France. General Bullard had commanded the 1st Division; and two other men who had been trained in that veteran school also received promotions. Major General John L. Hines, who had come to France as a major, succeeded General Bullard in command of the 3d Corps and Major General Charles F. Summerall was given command of the 5th Corps in place of General Cameron. Major General Dickman, who had commanded the 3d Division in the Château-Thierry operations, succeeded General Liggett in command of the First Corps.
On October 14, 1918, another general attack for the length of the main battle front took place. The Germans could not afford to lose any great depth of ground or their main positions defending the crest of the whaleback would be in danger. All their skill was applied in their maze of machine-gun positions, to utilize every detail of advantage of that monstrously favorable ground of slopes, woods, and ravines. The American divisions, steeled now to this ruthless fighting against a hidden enemy, took machine guns only to find that there were machine guns behind them; they took woods, ravines, and crests only to find that there were more woods, ravines, and crests yet to be conquered. They made vital gains and fought off fierce counterattacks to hold them. And the Germans brought in still more divisions and still more artillery and machine guns in their desperate determination which they set against that unremitting offensive spirit and unyielding will of the Americans. Under cold rain and mist in the soaked earth the grinding continued.
After the 77th Division had come out victorious from its long fight in the Argonne Forest, McCrea's 78th "Lightning" National Army Division had relieved it in that inconceivably hard and thankless task of cleaning up the town of Grand Pré and the positions north of the gap of Grand Pré. Day after day it kept on attacking even when there was a lull in other parts of the line. When Wright's 89th Division came into the line we had in these men of the Middle West, well drilled and in fine fettle, another new force in the battle which was to bring honor to the National Army and the nation. The 89th and the 90th and 5th Divisions and other divisions improved their opportunities in the final week of October, 1918, by taking positions which were valuable for the general attack, now in preparation, which was to take place on November 1, 1918.
With ample artillery and fresh reserves at our command we were determined to gain the summit of the whaleback in a final drive. This was the third phase of the battle, the second having been the long merciless hammering throughout the month of October, 1918, in which the endurance, the nerves and the aggressive spirit of American soldiers were tested as they never were before. Every day we were becoming more skillful in combat and our traffic arrangements were improving in their organization. The line from left to right on the morning of November 1, 1918, was: the 78th, 77th, 80th, 2d, 89th, 90th, and 5th Divisions. Our infantry, protected by the best artillery service which it had ever had, with the exception of some delay at certain points, irresistible in its sweep everywhere, gained its objectives, mastering the heights for which it had fought for six weeks. On November 2, 1918, the German communiqué made its confession to the German people that the American army had broken the German line.
The battle now became one of skillful maneuvers and rapid pursuit down the apron of lesser heights and slopes toward the Meuse. Behind the 1st Corps in reserve was the 42d Division; behind the 5th Corps in the center the 1st; and behind the 3d Corps on the right the 32d. These three veteran divisions, after their rest from the fearful fighting of the second phase of the battle, now had the opportunity finally, as the movement spread, to join in the glorious final phase which saw that army of regulars, guardsmen, and draftmen, the strongest force America had ever had under arms, as citizens victorious in the cause of democracy.
On November 11, 1918, when the armistice was signed, the 5th and 90th Divisions of the 3d Corps had swung well across the Meuse, taking the heights on the other side. The 89th and 2d Divisions were also across, while the 42d Division had reached the suburbs of Sedan, and the 77th Division was on the left bank. Kuhn's 79th Division from Camp Meade, which had relieved the worn and gallant 29th Division, which had done such lion's work across the Meuse, moving in unison with the operations beginning November 1, 1918, had conquered the heights which had poured their fire down into the trough where the Third Corps had fought. The 26th Division, which had stubbornly kept in line despite its losses and the misery of its position, was able to appreciate, as only such veterans could, the privilege of operating on the 79th's right, in mastering the positions on its front which had so long defied it. These two divisions were both attacking on the morning of the 11th. Before nightfall they had gained the last of the hills separating them from the plain of the Woevre. Thus the rapid daily advances of the American forces toward and across the Meuse, in their capture of the positions upon which the Germans depended for their winter defense line, had been not the least of the arguments which Marshal Foch was offering the Germans for signing the armistice.
We had only two divisions in reserve when hostilities finished. If we had come late into the war, once our legions were prepared, we had not been hesitant in giving them for service. All the resources of our army from the base ports to the front line had been stretched to their limit. Our hospitals were full and our surgeons exhausted. We had broken up freshly arriving divisions when the Service of Supply demanded more labor in order that the demands of the front should be filled at this juncture When the hope had risen in every heart that by a supreme effort we might bring the orgy of the great war to a close. We had fought for six weeks in chill winter rains and in face of fire and of hardships; and in the test of nerves, courage, and devotion we had come out triumphant. And through it all there had been no finer heroism than that of the trained army nurses who kept cheerful when staggering with fatigue in caring for the wounded in our hospitals. Be it aviator or motor truck driver, soldier in the fox hole or stevedore on the docks, all had given their strength and zeal in keeping with the spirit of their errand in France. There remained the task of the organization of the 3d Army, under General Dickman from the veteran divisions, which had the fortune to be in the front line on November 11, 1918, to march through Luxemburg and across the German frontier to the Rhine, where they did their duty as policemen during the peace negotiations; and the further task of reversing the great machinery of the army, in sending the soldiers home in good health after their wonderful experience and splendid service.
FIRST SESSION OF PEACE CONGRESS—CLEMENCEAU, PERMANENT CHAIRMAN—PRESIDENT WILSON'S ADDRESS—THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS COVENANT COMPLETED
The Peace Congress held its first session at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on January 18, 1919, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris. The scene of this historic event upon which the interest of the world centered was the former Salle d'Horloge, renamed for the occasion Salle de la Paix, one of the most magnificent reception rooms in all Europe.
The French Government had made careful preparation of the chamber for every need of the assembly, and in a manner worthy of such a gathering.
For the opening session seventy-two seats were provided, the Japanese, the British and Colonial delegates, and the fifth British delegate were on the outer side of the great horseshoe. To the right of the table of honor a seat was reserved for the fifth American delegate.
The delegates representing Italy, Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Czecho-Slovakia, and Uruguay were seated in the order named.
At the left wing of the table sat the delegates of Siam, Rumania, Poland, Liberia, Hedjaz, Ecuador, China, and Bolivia.
A striking object among the decorations of the splendid chamber was a heroic marble statue of Peace holding aloft the torch of Civilization which stood behind the chair of Premier Clemenceau.
A council table of horseshoe form, covered with green baize, stood directly before the statue. Nine seats of honor had been prepared at the upper end of the table for the presiding officer, the vice presidents and the premiers. On each side of the wings of the great horseshoe there were fifteen seats, making sixty in all, in addition to the nine seats of honor at the head of the table.
The seats, upholstered in leather of a vivid crimson, served to emphasize and throw into relief the figures of the representatives in somewhat somber attire. The walls of the chamber were decorated in white and gold and from the ceiling, whose borders were frescoed with dancing Cupids in pastel shades, hung four great crystal chandeliers. An abundance of light from five large windows overlooking the Seine made it possible for the delegates to read and write in any part of the hall. From the council room there opened another sumptuous apartment overlooking the gardens where the delegates could retire for consultations. Adjoining was a superbly furnished dining room, where meals could be served when protracted meetings were held.
Long before the Peace Congress began its session the Quai d'Orsay was thronged with people, their eyes fixed on the windows of the Salle de la Paix. The Palais Bourbon and the Foreign Office were protected by a line of troops, and a special guard of honor was drawn up near the entrance to the Foreign Office, the delegates passing through a double file of soldiers. Each arrival was the signal for a fanfare of trumpets and full military honors from the troops on guard. President Wilson's appearance a few minutes before the time fixed for the opening of the session was the occasion for a remarkable demonstration of good will on the part of the crowd. The President joined M. Pichon, the French foreign minister, in the anteroom and was conducted to the council chamber. At the table of honor Mr. Wilson was joined by Secretary Lansing, Mr. White, and General Bliss, and exchanged greeting with other delegates.
President Poincaré entered the chamber at 3 o'clock, and the entire assembly stood up as he delivered his address, which was in French. After he had concluded, an interpreter read the speech in English.
In the course of his remarks, which were delivered with calm earnestness, M. Poincaré, after greeting the delegates in the name of the French Republic, reviewed the course of the war, placing on Germany the guilt of premeditation in plunging the world into frightful disaster for the purpose of spoils and conquest. He praised the Allies for the mighty efforts they had made to crush the German menace, and dwelt on America's unselfishness in entering the world war in defense of free ideals.
In conclusion he spoke warmly in favor of the League of Nations, which would be a supreme guaranty against any fresh assault upon the rights of peoples. M. Poincaré then declared the congress open and retired.
Georges Clemenceau, the French premier, was elected permanent chairman of the conference. Speeches by President Wilson, Premier Lloyd-George, and Baron Sonnino expressed the desire of the representatives of the different nations to reach a friendly understanding with respect to the problems that were to be decided at the conference.
President Wilson, in proposing Premier Clemenceau for the permanent chairmanship, said:
"It gives me great pleasure to propose as permanent chairman of the conference Mr. Clemenceau, the president of the council.
"I would do this as a matter of custom. I would do this as a tribute to the French Republic. But I wish to do it as something more than that. I wish to do it as the tribute to the man.
"France deserves the precedence, not only because we are meeting at her capital, and because she has undergone some of the most tragical suffering of the war, but also because her capital, her ancient and beautiful capital, has so often been the center of conferences of this sort, on which the fortunes of large parts of the world turned.
"It is a very delightful thought that the history of the world, which has so often been centered here, will now be crowned by the achievements of this conference—because there is a sense in which this is the supreme conference of the history of mankind.
"More nations are represented here than were ever represented in such a conference before. The fortunes of all peoples are involved. A great war is ended which seemed about to bring a universal cataclysm. The danger is past. A victory has been won for mankind, and it is delightful that we should be able to record these results in this place.
"But it is more delightful to honor France, because we can honor her in the person of so distinguished a servant. We have all felt in our participation in the struggles of this war the fine steadfastness which characterized the leadership of the French in the hands of Mr. Clemenceau. We have learned to admire him, and those of us who have been associated with him have acquired a genuine affection for him.
"Moreover, those of us who have been in these recent days in constant consultation with him know how warmly his purpose is set toward the goal of achievement to which all our faces are turned. He feels as we feel, as I have no doubt everyone in this room feels, that we are trusted to do a great thing, to do it in the highest spirit of friendship and accommodation, and to do it as promptly as possible in order that the hearts of men may have fear lifted from them, and that they may return to those purposes of life which will bring them happiness and contentment and prosperity.
"Knowing his brotherhood of heart in these great matters, it affords me a personal pleasure to propose that Mr. Clemenceau shall be the permanent chairman of this conference."
In accepting the presidency of the congress M. Clemenceau expressed his gratification for the honor paid him and outlined the principal questions which the conference must decide. The three principal subjects of these were, he said, responsibility of the authors of the war, responsibility for the crimes committed during the war, and international labor legislation. The League of Nations would lead the program at the next full session.
Mr. Lloyd-George, who seconded Mr. Wilson's motion, and Baron Sonnino, the Italian foreign minister, paid tribute to M. Clemenceau's courage, energy, and inspiration which had helped the Allies to bring the war to a triumphant conclusion.
At this session the regulations governing the conference proceedings were adopted. The following were the regulations regarding the composition of the congress:
The belligerent Powers with general interests—the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan—shall take part in all meetings and commissions.
The belligerent Powers with particular interests—Belgium, Brazil, the British Dominions, and India, China, Cuba, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hedjaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Serbia, Siam and the Czecho-Slovak Republic—shall take part in these sittings at which questions concerning them are discussed.
The Powers in a state of diplomatic rupture with the enemy powers—Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay—shall take part; in the sittings at which questions concerning them are discussed.
The neutral Powers, and states in process of formation, may be heard either orally or in writing, when summoned by the Powers with general interests at sittings devoted especially to the examination of questions directly concerning them, but only so far as these questions are concerned.
The representation of the different Powers was fixed as follows:
Five for the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan; three for Belgium, Brazil, and Serbia; two for China, Greece, the king of the Hedjaz, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Siam, and the Czecho-Slovak Republic; one for Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, and Panama; one for Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay.
The British Dominions and India were to be represented as follows:
Two delegates each for Australia, Canada, South Africa, and India, including the native states; one delegate for New Zealand.
Although the number of delegates must not exceed the above figures, each delegate had the right to avail himself of the panel system, by which the representatives of the Dominions, New Zealand, and India might be included in the representation of the British Empire.
Montenegro would be represented by one delegate as soon as the political situation of the country was cleared up. The conference would fix the representation of Russia at the moment when the matters concerning Russia were examined.
It was further decided that the secretariat should be appointed from outside the plenipotentiaries, composed of one representative of the United States of America, one of the British Empire, one of France, one of Italy, and one of Japan.
It was decided that the publicity of the proceedings should be assured by official communiques prepared by the secretariat and made public. In case of a disagreement as to the drafting of these communiques the matter should be referred to the principal plenipotentiaries or their representatives.
A provision was made that all questions to be decided upon should be subject to two readings. The program regarding resolutions which was agreed upon was, in brief, that a committee should be formed for drafting the resolutions adopted, composed of five members not forming part of the plenipotentiary delegates, and composed of one representative of the United States of America, one of the British Empire, one of France, one of Italy, and one of Japan. This committee should concern itself only with questions that have been decided. Its sole duty should be to draw up the text of the decision adopted and to present it for the approval of the conference.
The supreme council, consisting of two ranking delegates from each of the five chief Powers, held its first session on January 20, 1919, when the Russian situation was considered and was further discussed on the following day. At the session of the council of January 22, 1919, the decision was announced by which all Russian factions were invited to a conference at Princes' Island, Sea of Marmora. (The proposed conference was subsequently abandoned, as certain Russian factions refused to negotiate with representatives of the Soviet Government of Lenine and Trotzky.)
At the meeting of the supreme council on January 23, 1919, an order of business was announced for a plenary meeting of the conference on January 25, 1919, when the following questions were considered for this purpose.
First.—International legislation on labor.
Second.—Responsibility and punishments in connection with the war.
Third.—Reparation for war damage.
Four.—International régime of ports, waterways, and railways.
On January 24, 1919, the supreme council met for the first time as the supreme war council. Besides President Wilson and the premiers and foreign ministers of the Allied Powers, there were present also Marshal Foch, Field Marshal Haig, General Pershing, General Diaz, and the generals of the Versailles war council, including Generals Wilson, Bliss, Bolling, and Robilant.
The council conferred with Marshal Foch and other military authorities as to the strength of the forces to be allowed to the various Allied Powers on the western front during the period of the armistice.
The President of the United States and the prime ministers and foreign ministers of the Allied and Associated Governments addressed a communication to the world in which reference was made regarding the use of armed force in many parts of Europe and the East to gain possession of territory "the rightful claim to which the Peace Conference is to be asked to determine." Those employing armed force for such purposes were warned that they were prejudicing their claims by so doing, and that "if they expect justice, they must refrain from force and place their claims in unclouded good faith in the hands of the Conference of Peace."
On the same day the mission of the Allies and Associated Great Powers to Poland was discussed. It was agreed that M. Pichon, the French foreign minister, should prepare the instructions to the mission, and that one press representative for each of the five great Powers should be allowed to accompany the mission. The question of territorial adjustment concerning the German colonies was then discussed by Sir Robert Borden, prime minister of Canada; Mr. Hughes, prime minister of Australia; General Smuts, representing General Botha, the prime minister of South Africa, and Mr. Massey, prime minister of New Zealand.
At the second plenary session of the Peace Conference on January 25, 1919, with M. Clemenceau in the chair, the plan for a League of Nations was unanimously adopted. The resolution on the creation of a committee on the League of Nations was as follows:
It is essential to the maintenance of the world settlement which the associated nations are now met to establish that a League of Nations be created to promote international obligations and to provide safeguards against war.
This league should be created as an integral part of the general treaty of peace, and should be open to every civilized nation which can be relied on to promote its objects.
The members of the league should periodically meet in international conference, and should have a permanent organization and secretaries to carry on the business of the league in the intervals between the conference.
The conference therefore appoints a committee, representative of the Associated Governments, to work out the constitution and the functions of the league, and the draft of resolutions in regard to breaches of the laws of war for presentation to the Peace Congress.
That a commission, composed of two representatives apiece from the five great Powers and five representatives to be elected by the other Power's, be appointed to inquire upon the following:
First.—The responsibility of the authors of the war.
Second.—The facts as to the breaches of the laws and customs of war committed by the forces of the German Empire and their allies on land, on sea, and in the air during the present war.
Third.—The degree of responsibility for these offenses attaching to particular members of the enemy's forces, including members of the General Staffs and other individuals however highly placed.
Fourth.—The constitution and procedure of a tribunal appropriate to the trial of these offenses.
After the reading of the resolutions by M. Clemenceau President Wilson addressed the assembly. He said that they had met together for two purposes: to make the present settlements rendered necessary by the war and to secure the lasting peace of the world not only by the present settlements, but by the arrangements which they should make for its maintenance.
The League of Nations Mr. Wilson believed to be necessary for both of these purposes. Some complicated questions could not be worked out to an ultimate issue at the time, but would need subsequent consideration, they were not susceptible of confident judgments at present. It would be necessary to set up some machinery to render the work of the conference complete.
"We have assembled here for the purpose of doing very much more than making the present settlements that are necessary.... We are not the representative of governments, but representatives of the peoples. It will not suffice to satisfy governmental circles anywhere. It is necessary that we should satisfy the opinion of mankind.
"The burdens of the war have fallen in an unusual degree upon the whole population of the countries involved." Here, Mr. Wilson spoke of the burden thrown upon the older men, women, and children, upon the homes of the civilized world.
These people looked to this assembly to make a peace which would make them secure. "It is a solemn obligation on our part, therefore, to make permanent arrangements that justice shall be rendered and peace maintained.... Central settlements may be temporary, but the actions of the nations in the interest of peace and justice must be permanent. We can set up permanent processes. We may not be able to set up a permanent decision."
In a sense, said President Wilson, the United States was less interested in this subject than the other nations here assembled. Her great territory and extensive sea borders made her less likely to suffer from enemy attacks than other nations. The deep ardor of the United States for the society of nations did not spring from apprehension, but out of the ideals begotten of the war.
"In coming into this war the United States never for a moment thought that she was intervening in the politics of Europe, or the politics of Asia, or the politics of any part of the world. Her thought was that all the world had now become conscious that there was a single cause of justice and liberty for men of every kind and place.
"Therefore the United States would feel that its part in this war should be played in vain if there ensued upon it abortive European settlements. It would feel that it could not take part in guaranteeing those European settlements unless that guaranty involved the continuous superintendence of the peace of the world by the associated nations of the world."
To make the League of Nations a vital thing, said Mr. Wilson, it must continue to function, there must be no intermission of its watchfulness and of its labor; it should be the eye of the nations to keep watch upon the common interest.
The select classes of mankind, said President Wilson, were no longer governors of mankind. The fortunes of mankind were now in the hands of the plain people of the whole world. "Satisfy them and you have justified their confidence not only, but have established peace. Fail to satisfy them and no arrangement that you can make will either set up or steady the peace of the world." In the United States the great project of a League of Nations was regarded as the keynote of the whole. "If we returned to the United States without having made every effort in our power to realize this program, we should return to meet the merited scorn of our fellow citizens.... We have no choice but to observe their mandate. But it is with the greatest pleasure and enthusiasm that we accept that mandate. And because this is the keynote of the whole fabric, we have pledged our every purpose to it, as we have to every item of the fabric. We would not dare abate a single item of the program which constitutes our instructions; we would not dare to compromise upon any matter as the champions of this thing—the peace of the world, this attitude of justice, this principle, that we are the masters of no peoples, but are here to see that every people in the world shall choose its own masters and govern its own destinies, not as we wish, but as they wish.
"We are here to see, in short, that the very foundations of this war are swept away. Those foundations were the private choice of a small coterie of civil rulers, of military staffs. Those foundations were the aggression of great Powers upon the small. Those foundations were the holding together of empires of unwilling subjects by the duress of arms. Those foundations were the power of small bodies of men to wield their will and use mankind as pawns in the game. And nothing less than the emancipation of the world from these things will accomplish peace...."
Mr. Lloyd-George, the British premier, and Signor Orlando, premier of Italy, followed President Wilson, and made eloquent speeches in support of the resolution. After Leon Bourgeois, a French delegate, and representatives of China, Poland, and Belgium had expressed their adherence to the plan for a League of Nations the resolution was unanimously adopted.
It was decided at the conference to appoint a commission in regard to reparation for war damage to consist of representatives from Belgium, Greece, Poland, Rumania, and Serbia who would report on the amount of reparation which the enemy countries ought to pay, on what they are capable of paying, and on the method, form, and time within which payment should be made.
A resolution in regard to international legislation on industrial and labor questions was also passed. This provided for the appointment of two representatives apiece from the five great Powers and five representatives to be elected by the other Powers represented at the Peace Conference to inquire into the conditions of employment from the international aspect and to recommend the form of a permanent agency, to continue such inquiry in cooperation with and under the direction of the League of Nations. The conference also adopted a resolution to appoint a commission to inquire and report upon the international régime of ports, waterways, and railways.
The supreme council at its session on January 27, 1919, prepared a program of work and the constitution of new committees for economic and financial questions and those relating to private and maritime laws. The question of the former German colonies was discussed on the following day. At the two sessions of the supreme council on January 29, 1919, reports were heard from delegates on the Polish situation and Polish claims, and the Czecho-Slovak delegates gave their views.
The question of Kiauchau and the Pacific Islands created sharp differences between the delegates of China and Japan. China finally agreed that Kiauchau should be left to the disposal of Japan, to be restored to China on condition that it was opened as a commercial port.
At the meeting of the supreme council on January 30, 1919, the question of the German colonies in the Pacific and in Africa and the occupied territory in Turkey was discussed. Provisional arrangements were made to incorporate in the constitution of the League of Nation a plan for administering the German colonies by which the league should assign them to various powers for administration. This was opposed by the representative of Australia, who insisted on the annexation of New Guinea to Australia.
President Wilson was firmly opposed to a division of Germany's colonial possessions among the Powers which then held them. He believed that to divide the colonies among the Entente nations would be in direct contravention of the "Fourteen Points" which had been accepted as a basis of peace, and would violate the principles of the League of Nations.
The famous "Fourteen Points," it will be remembered, were formulated by President Wilson, and in January, 1918, were offered to the belligerent nations as the foundation for peace negotiations:
I. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.
II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as seas may be closed in whole, or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.
III. The removal as far as possible of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associated for its maintenance.
IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.
V. A free, open-minded, and also impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon the strict observance of principles that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined.
VI. The evacuation of all Russian territory and such settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the desired determination of her own political development and national policy, and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under the institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need and herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to some will be the acid test of their good will, of the comprehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.
VII. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they themselves have set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is forever impaired.
VIII. All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions restored, and the wrongs done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace and Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all.
IX. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of nationality.
X. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity for autonomous development.
XI. Russia, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored, Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea, and the relations of the several Balkan states to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of the several Balkan states should be entered into.
XII. The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nations which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity for autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.
XIII. An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenants.
XIV. A genuine association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity of great and small states alike.
At the session of the supreme council on February 1, 1919, a decision was reached concerning the German colonies and the conditions were later confirmed by the covenant of the League of Nations.
President Wilson presided at the opening meeting of the League of Nations Commission on February 3, 1919, held at the residence of Colonel Edward House in Paris. The United States was represented by Mr. Wilson, Colonel House, and Mr. Miller, technical expert. Lord Robert Cecil and General Christian Smuts represented Great Britain; for France, Leon Bourgeois and Ferdinand Larnaude; for Italy Premier Orlando, and for Japan Baron Chinda; also delegates from Belgium, Serbia, Brazil, Portugal, and China.
The discussion in which Mr. Wilson took a leading part was not general but specific, as the printed text of the agreed plan for the formation of the League of Nations was before the meeting.
On the same date important committees on reparation, ports, waterways and railways held their first formal meetings. The French and British presented a program recognizing the right of nations to control international waterways and international railways, which was accepted by the commission.
The commission of the Allied Nations held daily sessions beginning February 4, 1919, and made continued progress. The delegates were unanimous in believing that a League of Nations was desirable, but some doubted its immediate efficiency and favored maintaining the old order of balance of power until the new plan had demonstrated its capacity and workability, to meet the needs of nations loving peace. Much time was spent in winning over these dissenters, and it was only accomplished after long and patient endeavors.
The final session of the League of Nations Commission was held on February 13, 1919, when a French delegate offered a clause for an interallied military force to compel peace, and the Japanese presented an amendment providing that racial discrimination should not be tolerated. Both proposals were defeated.
At this meeting the constitution of the League of Nations as finally drafted was unanimously adopted by the committee and President Wilson was designated to present the completed plan to the plenary council at their next session.
THE COVENANT AND DRAFT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS—PRESIDENT WILSON'S SPEECH IN SUPPORT; HE RETURNS TO AMERICA—THE UNITED STATES SENATE CRITICISES LEAGUE DOCUMENT
On February 14, 1919, President Wilson read the draft of the constitution of the League of Nations before the plenary council of the Peace Conference and afterward delivered an earnest and spirited address in support of the plan. Lord Robert Cecil, head of the British delegation, expressed his approval of the League and constitution in an eloquent speech, and the Italian Premier Signor Orlando, described his satisfaction at having collaborated in one of the greatest documents in all history.
Leon Bourgeois, for France, said that the French delegation reserved the right to present their views on certain details of the plan which made no distinction between great and small States. France and Belgium, said M. Bourgeois, were especially exposed to danger, and required additional guarantees. He urged a system of permanent inspection of existing armaments and forces as a means to avoid the renewal of wars.
The text of the document read by President Wilson at the plenary session, opening with a preamble, is here given in full.
"In order to promote international cooperation and to secure international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of open, just, and honorable relations between nations, by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one another, the Powers signatory to this covenant adopt this constitution of the League of Nations."
Of the twenty-six articles which comprise the constitution of the League of Nations some were afterward amended, and such changes will be noted later in their place.
The first seven articles of the constitution which are the least important to the general reader may be thus summarized:
The action of the high contracting parties under the terms of the covenant shall be effected through the meeting of a body of delegates representing them, and the meetings of an executive council, and of a permanent international secretariat to be established at the seat of the League. Each of the high contracting parties shall have one vote, but not more than three representatives.
The executive council shall consist of representatives of the United States of America, British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan, and representatives of four other states members of the League. Meetings shall be held as occasion requires and at least once a year. Any Power shall be invited to attend a meeting of the council when matters concerning its interests are to be discussed. The first meeting of the body of delegates shall be summoned by the President of the United States.
Admission to the League of states not signatories to the covenant requires the assent of not less than two-thirds of the states represented in the body of delegates. Only full self-governing countries or dominions shall be admitted.
Article VIII. Provides that the executive council shall determine for the consideration of the several governments what military equipment and armament is fair in proportion to the scale of forces, laid down in the program of disarmament. The high contracting parties agree to examine the manufacture by private enterprise of war material and direct the executive council to advise how to prevent the evil effects attendant on such manufacture, respecting the need of those countries that cannot manufacture munitions and war implements necessary for their safety.
Article IX. Permanent commission shall be constituted to advise the council on the execution of the provisions of articles I and VIII and on military and, naval questions generally.
Article X. This and the two following, as among the most important articles in the constitution, and which became the subject of heated controversy, must be given in full:
"The high contracting parties shall undertake to respect and preserve against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all the states members of the League. In case of any such aggression, or in case of any threat of danger of such aggression, the executive council shall advise upon the means by which the obligation shall be fulfilled."
Article XI. States that any war, or threat of war, is a matter of concern to the League, and the high contracting parties reserve the right to take such action as will conserve the peace of nations.
Article XII. States in effect that if disputes arise that cannot be adjusted by the ordinary processes of diplomacy no resort to war will be made until the questions involved are submitted for arbitration of the executive council. Until three months after the award by the arbitrators war will not even then be resorted to against a member of the League which complies with the award of the arbitrators, or the recommendation of the executive council.
Article XIII. The high contracting parties agree that disputes or difficulties arising between them which cannot be settled by diplomacy they will submit the whole matter to arbitration. They agree to carry out in good faith any award that may be rendered.
Article XIV. Provides for the establishment of an international court of justice to hear and determine any matters suitable for submission to it for arbitration.
Article XV. Disputes between members of the League not submitted to arbitration shall be referred to the executive council. If the dispute has not been settled, a report by the council shall be published and recommendation made by the council for the settlement of the difficulty. If the report is unanimously agreed to by the council other than the parties to the dispute, the high contracting parties agree that they will not go to war with any party which complies with the recommendations.
Article XVI. "Should any of the high contracting parties break or disregard its covenants under Article XII, it shall thereby ipso facto be deemed to have committed an act of war against all the other members of the League, which hereby immediately undertakes to subject it to the severance of all intercourse between their nationals, trade or financial relations, the prohibition of all intercourse between their nationals and the nationals of the covenant-breaking state, and the prevention of all financial, commercial, or personal intercourse between the nationals of the convenant-breaking state and the nationals of any other state, whether a member of the League or not.
"It shall be the duty of the executive committee council in such a case to recommend what effective military or naval force the members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be used to protect the covenant of the League." This article further states that the high contracting parties agree to mutually support each other financially and economically, and in resisting any special measures aimed at one of their number by the convenant-breaking state.
Article XVII. Considers disputes between one state member of the League and another state which is not a member of the League, or between states not members of the League. In such event the high contracting parties invite the state, or states, not members of the League to become members and accept the obligations of the League membership for the dispute in such conditions as the executive council shall deem just. The executive council will immediately inquire into the merits of the dispute and recommend such action as may be deemed just and equitable. Any Power refusing to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of the League would constitute a breach of Article XII. The provisions of Article XVI shall be applicable too against a state taking such action.
Article XVIII. In this article the League is empowered with general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with countries where control of the traffic is necessary.
Article XIX. Deals with the question of colonies and territories which through the war have ceased to be under the old sovereignty. "Inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves ... there should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilization, and that securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in the constitution of the League." The tutelage of such peoples, it was advised, should be intrusted to the advanced nations, and should be exercised by them as mandatories on behalf of the League. Communities that have reached a stage of development as in Turkey could be provisionally recognized as independent nations, subject to administrative advice and assistance by mandatory power until they were strong enough to stand alone.
Article XX. In this the League promises to endeavor to secure and maintain fair conditions of labor for men, women, and children in all countries where their commercial and industrial relations extend, and agree to establish a permanent bureau of labor.
Article XXI. Provision through the instrumentality of the League to secure and maintain freedom of transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all states members of the League. Special arrangements with regard to the necessities of the regions devastated during the war.
Article XXII. The high contracting parties agree to place under control of the League all international bureaus already established if the parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaus in the future shall be placed under the League.
Article XXIII. Every treaty or international engagement entered into by any member of the League shall be registered with the secretary general and published by him. No treaty or international engagement shall be binding until so registered.
Article XXIV. The body of delegates shall have the right to advise the reconsideration by states members of the League of treaties which have become inapplicable, and of international conditions of which the continuance may endanger world peace.
Article XXV. The high contracting parties agree to abrogate all obligations inconsistent with the terms of the covenant, and will not hereafter enter into any engagements inconsistent with those terms. Powers signatory hereto, or subsequently admitted to the League, who have undertaken any obligations inconsistent with the terms of this convenant shall take steps to secure release from such obligations.
Article XXVI is concerned with amendments to the covenant. These are to take effect when ratified by the states whose representatives compose the executive council, and by three-fourths of the states whose representatives compose the body of delegates.
At the conclusion of his reading of the draft of the constitution of the League, President Wilson said in part:
"It is not a vehicle of power, but a vehicle in which power may be varied at the discretion of those who exercise it, and in accordance with the changing circumstances of the time. And yet, while it is elastic, while it is general in its terms, it is definite in the one thing that we were called upon to make definite. It is a definite guaranty of peace. It is a definite guaranty by word against aggression. It is a definite guaranty against the things which have just come near bringing the whole structure of civilization into ruin.
"Its purposes do not for a moment lie vague. Its purposes are declared and its powers are unmistakable. It is not in contemplation that this should be merely a league to secure the peace of the world. It is a league which can be used for cooperation in any international matter. That is the significance of the provision introduced concerning labor. There are many ameliorations of labor conditions which can be effected by conference and discussion. I anticipate that there will be a very great usefulness in the bureau of labor which it is contemplated shall be set up by the League. Men, women, and children who work have been in the background through long ages, and sometimes seemed to be forgotten.... Now these people will be drawn into the field of international consultation and help and will be the wards of the combined governments of the world.
"As you will notice there is an imperative article concerning the publicity of all international agreements. Henceforth no member of the League can claim any agreement valid which it has not registered with the secretary general.... And the duty is laid upon the secretary general to publish every document of that sort, at the earliest possible time....
"Then there is a feature about this covenant which to my mind is one of the greatest and most satisfactory advances that have been made. We are done with annexations of helpless peoples, meant in some instances by some Powers to be used merely for exploitation. We recognize in the most solemn manner that the helpless and undeveloped peoples of the world ... put an obligation upon us to look after their interests primarily before we use them for our interests and that in all cases of this sort hereafter it shall be the duty of the League to see that the nations who are assigned as the tutors and advisers and directors of these peoples shall look to their interests and their development before they look to the interests and desires of the mandatory nation itself....
"It has been one of the many distressing revelations of recent years that the great Power which has just been happily defeated put intolerable burdens and injustice upon the helpless peoples of some of the colonies which it annexed to itself, that its interest was rather their extermination than their development, that the desire was to possess their land for European purposes and not to enjoy their confidence in order that mankind might be lifted in these places to the next higher level.
"Now the world, expressing its conscience in law, says there is an end of that, that our consciences shall be settled to this thing. States will be picked out which have shown that they can exercise a conscience in this matter and under their tutelage the helpless peoples of the world will come into a new light and into a new hope.
"So I think that I can say of this document that it is at one and the same time a practical document, a human document. There is a pulse of sympathy in it. There is a compulsion of conscience throughout it. It is practical, and yet it is intended to purify, to rectify, to elevate.
"It was in one sense, said Mr. Wilson, a belated document, for he believed the conscience of the world had long been prepared to express itself in some such way.
"We are not just now discovering our sympathy for these peoples and our interest in them. We are simply expressing it, for it has long been felt and in the administration of the affairs of more than one of the great states represented here—so far as I know all of the great states that are represented here—that humane impulse has already expressed itself in their dealings with their colonies whose peoples were yet at a low stage of civilization.
... "Many terrible things have come out of this war, gentlemen, but some very beautiful things have come out of it. Wrong has been defeated, but the rest of the world has been more conscious than it ever was before of the majority of right. People that were suspicious of each other can now live as friends and comrades in a single family, and desire to do so. The miasma of distrust, of intrigue is cleared away. Men are looking eye to eye and saying: 'We are brothers, and have a common purpose. We did not realize it before, but now we do realize it, and this is our covenant of friendship.'"
After notifying by cable the Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs at Washington, that he would return to America and confer with them at the White House, President Wilson sailed from Brest for home on February 15, 1919. Greeted at Boston by a great multitude of enthusiastic citizens, he delivered an address in the afternoon to 7,000 people assembled in Mechanic Hall on the subject of the League of Nations. Traversing much of the ground he had covered in his speech on the draft of the League in Paris, Mr. Wilson said he had been impressed with the wonderful fact during his work at the Peace Conference that there was no nation in Europe that suspected the motives of the United States....
"Before this war, Europe did not believe in us as she does now. She did not believe in us during the first three years of the war. She seems to have believed that we were holding off because we thought we could make more by staying out than by going in. And, all of a sudden, in a short eighteen months, the whole verdict is reversed.... They saw what we did—that, without making a single claim, we put all our men and all our means at the disposal of those who were fighting for their homes, in the first instance, but for a cause, the cause of human rights and justice, and that we went in, not to support their national claims, but to support the great cause which they held in common. And when they saw that not only America held ideas, but acted ideals, they were converted to America and became firm partisans of those ideals....