David Lawrence to Woodrow Wilson

I am grateful to you for your letter of yesterday and I concur heartily in the point that anything which represents the Administration as desirous of peace now when it, in fact, is not, can only work mischief. As for the Colonel House speculation, while I was not one of those who gave the impression that his mission meant an early peace or that it had anything to do with the time when peace negotiations would begin, nevertheless I feel that all the misunderstanding might have been avoided if the original outgiving on the subject had been clearer or if none had been made at all.

In order that there may be no tie-ing up of the Administration to any peace discussion for the present, I am forwarding in confidence a copy of your letter so that the editorial writers may have the benefit of your point of view. I know how anxious Mr. Villard and Mr Ogden and the others are to assist the national interest particularly because the Evening Post did not, so to speak, vote for war. The Evening Post, however, is not urging a premature peace or commenting on it except when news events justify but is endeavoring to express even in these topsy-turvy days the liberalism it has sincerely felt, as you know, for many years, a task by no means easy in the atmosphere of extreme militarism and intolerance being every day fostered by the hang-them-at-sunrise type leaders who with patriotism on their side are poisoning young as well as old with a kind of opinion that I, for one, fear is going to make it difficult for the United States to see consummated the unselfish peace that we stand for. Because if, as the tendency seems now to be, liberal influences are squelched, there will inevitably be a return to the kind of spirit that has prevailed at peace conferences in the past when even Americans have asked "What are we going to get out of all this sacrifice?" To keep alive and even flaming the fires of liberalism which your own election in 1916 kindled so brightly ought to be the duty of every writer or correspondent who believes as I do that no greater liberal has lived in our generation than yourself but who knows also that all the subordinate officials of the Government are not infused with your spirit and who because they wield power can conceivably build up a public opinion that will affect our whole attitude toward progressivism in national as well as international problems.

Pardon me for the length of this letter. I would like to tell you more of the fears and apprehensions which I hear expressed on all sides by men who like myself believe in the objects of this war as expressed by you on April 2nd and want to see peace not a moment sooner than the attainment of those ideals.

It may interest you to know that I have severed my editorial connection with the Washington Times because of a pressure of work and other reasons. With best wishes, I am,