Cary T. Grayson Diary
Title
Cary T. Grayson Diary
Creator
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938
Identifier
WWP17136
Date
1919 April 15
Source
Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia
Language
English
Text
The President arose early and was ready for work at 8:30 o’clock. The Council of Four met here at the temporary White House at 11:00 o’clock. They discussed the question of bringing the German delegation to Versailles. Mr. Balfour sat in as the British representative in place of Lloyd-George, who was in London.
In the afternoon the Big Four had Admiral Benson and other experts in to discuss the dismantlement of Heligoland and the disposition of the German province of Schleswig-Holstein. The report of the naval experts on Heligoland was unanimously approved, but the status of Schleswig-Holstein was not passed upon.
As a result of today’s meeting the Big Four official invitation to the German delegates to proceed to Versailles was completed and sent forward. It was sent direct to Weimar, Germany, in an automobile, which was manned by two expert chauffeurs and two despatch bearers. The orders to the chauffeurs were that they were to relieve each other and not halt until they had delivered the message.
At lunch today I was one of the guests of Tay Pay O’Connor in honor of Venizelos of Greece. There were about twenty guests present, representing nearly every nationality, with the result that it was a wearisome affair as one could not understand his neighbor.
After lunch I took Frank H. Hitchcock over to see Field Marshal Foch at his office in the War Ministry. I was deeply impressed with the democratic manner in which I found the Marshal, and in which he received us. There was no over-plus of uniformed aides. He simple had one with him. He told me that he was very glad to receive us, saying that my face was very familiar to him, he having seen me so much with the President, and that he was very glad to receive my friend. Mr. Hitchcokck told the Field Marshal that he deeply appreciated the opportunity of meeting him; that he had followed his career as a general officer with great interest and that in America the fame of the Marshal as a great General was well-known. I explained to the Marshal that while Mr. Hitchcock was in no sense a military man, he had experience in managging campaigns in fact in that he had led the Republican party in a successful Presidential fight and had gathered delegates for national conventions on many occasions. The Marshal smiled and bowed and told me he was glad to meet the “Civilian General.” He also added, very seriously however, that had it not been for the wonderful bravery of the American soldiers, the war might not have been won.
Following the Big Four conference the President went to the Crillon Hotel, where he held conferences individually with each of the American delegates. Heretofore the President had been in the habit of having the entire American delegation assembled in the offices of Colonel House, where he could talk with them more conveniently. However, it had developed that some of Mr. House’s associates, notably Mr. Auchincloss, had been making capital of the fact that these meetings were held in the Colonel’s office, he holding that it indicated House’s supremacy in the commission, and boasting that they had put the others out of business, so the President decided that he would hereafter individually confer with the Commissioners except when a general meeting was held, at which time they would of course assemble in the main meeting parlor on the second floor of the Crillon Hotel.
The President returned to the house at 6:30 o’clock. I was going to send a cablegram to Secretary Tumulty and I asked the President whether I should tell Tumulty that he was making progress. He said: “Tell him we are making distinct progress.”
The President, Mrs. Wilson, Miss Benham and I had dinner together. After dinner during our conversation I asked the President about the recurring attacks on him in the inspired French press, especially that portion of it which was recognized as the mouth-piece of the government. He said that I should pay no attention to that because it was simply the echoing of the voluble or members of the Ministry, especially Clemenceau and Klotz. The President said he could not conceive why Klotz ever had been appointed as a member of the French Peace Commission, because he was the greatest waster of time of all of them, and it was very hard to understand why he should have been picked, especially as he displayed practically no knowledge of the big financial questions that were involved, although he was the French Minister of Finance. The President said that he had asked Clemenceau how he had happened to choseKlotz as a financier. Clemenceau did not reply directly, simply saying that Klotz was the only Jew he ever saw who did not know anything about finance. The President said that Klotz was so trying in a number of meetings at which he was present, especially through his volubility of expression, that “I had thought several times I would have to send for you to treat me for “clots on the brain.” The President then added that he would hate to have to contract any disease from a person of the Klotz type.
The President said that Clemenceau was losing a lot of time lately by insisting that it was necessary for him to call to his assistance members of his Ministry, although whenever they were sent for it was found entirely unnecessary inasmuch as the facts had been reduced to writing beforehand. They had also been thoroughly thrashed out from time to time at the several meetings. However, it was the President’s opinion that the real reason for this was that Clemenceau was beginning to understand that he was weakening before the people, and epspecially with the majority in the Chamber of Deputies, and he was, therefore, calling in the various members of the Ministry, who knew nothing about the matters, in order that they would share equally with him responsibility for all decisions. By pursuing this course Clemenceau would be able to forestall a vote of confidence inasmuch as each Minister had his individual following and the combined total was a majority of the Chamber of Deputies at all times.
I went over to the American Embassy tonight to visit briefly my friend, the Ambassador, Mr. Hugh C. Wallace, of Washington, D.C., and Washington State. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace brought me the latest news from home.
In the afternoon the Big Four had Admiral Benson and other experts in to discuss the dismantlement of Heligoland and the disposition of the German province of Schleswig-Holstein. The report of the naval experts on Heligoland was unanimously approved, but the status of Schleswig-Holstein was not passed upon.
As a result of today’s meeting the Big Four official invitation to the German delegates to proceed to Versailles was completed and sent forward. It was sent direct to Weimar, Germany, in an automobile, which was manned by two expert chauffeurs and two despatch bearers. The orders to the chauffeurs were that they were to relieve each other and not halt until they had delivered the message.
At lunch today I was one of the guests of Tay Pay O’Connor in honor of Venizelos of Greece. There were about twenty guests present, representing nearly every nationality, with the result that it was a wearisome affair as one could not understand his neighbor.
After lunch I took Frank H. Hitchcock over to see Field Marshal Foch at his office in the War Ministry. I was deeply impressed with the democratic manner in which I found the Marshal, and in which he received us. There was no over-plus of uniformed aides. He simple had one with him. He told me that he was very glad to receive us, saying that my face was very familiar to him, he having seen me so much with the President, and that he was very glad to receive my friend. Mr. Hitchcokck told the Field Marshal that he deeply appreciated the opportunity of meeting him; that he had followed his career as a general officer with great interest and that in America the fame of the Marshal as a great General was well-known. I explained to the Marshal that while Mr. Hitchcock was in no sense a military man, he had experience in managging campaigns in fact in that he had led the Republican party in a successful Presidential fight and had gathered delegates for national conventions on many occasions. The Marshal smiled and bowed and told me he was glad to meet the “Civilian General.” He also added, very seriously however, that had it not been for the wonderful bravery of the American soldiers, the war might not have been won.
Following the Big Four conference the President went to the Crillon Hotel, where he held conferences individually with each of the American delegates. Heretofore the President had been in the habit of having the entire American delegation assembled in the offices of Colonel House, where he could talk with them more conveniently. However, it had developed that some of Mr. House’s associates, notably Mr. Auchincloss, had been making capital of the fact that these meetings were held in the Colonel’s office, he holding that it indicated House’s supremacy in the commission, and boasting that they had put the others out of business, so the President decided that he would hereafter individually confer with the Commissioners except when a general meeting was held, at which time they would of course assemble in the main meeting parlor on the second floor of the Crillon Hotel.
The President returned to the house at 6:30 o’clock. I was going to send a cablegram to Secretary Tumulty and I asked the President whether I should tell Tumulty that he was making progress. He said: “Tell him we are making distinct progress.”
The President, Mrs. Wilson, Miss Benham and I had dinner together. After dinner during our conversation I asked the President about the recurring attacks on him in the inspired French press, especially that portion of it which was recognized as the mouth-piece of the government. He said that I should pay no attention to that because it was simply the echoing of the voluble or members of the Ministry, especially Clemenceau and Klotz. The President said he could not conceive why Klotz ever had been appointed as a member of the French Peace Commission, because he was the greatest waster of time of all of them, and it was very hard to understand why he should have been picked, especially as he displayed practically no knowledge of the big financial questions that were involved, although he was the French Minister of Finance. The President said that he had asked Clemenceau how he had happened to choseKlotz as a financier. Clemenceau did not reply directly, simply saying that Klotz was the only Jew he ever saw who did not know anything about finance. The President said that Klotz was so trying in a number of meetings at which he was present, especially through his volubility of expression, that “I had thought several times I would have to send for you to treat me for “clots on the brain.” The President then added that he would hate to have to contract any disease from a person of the Klotz type.
The President said that Clemenceau was losing a lot of time lately by insisting that it was necessary for him to call to his assistance members of his Ministry, although whenever they were sent for it was found entirely unnecessary inasmuch as the facts had been reduced to writing beforehand. They had also been thoroughly thrashed out from time to time at the several meetings. However, it was the President’s opinion that the real reason for this was that Clemenceau was beginning to understand that he was weakening before the people, and epspecially with the majority in the Chamber of Deputies, and he was, therefore, calling in the various members of the Ministry, who knew nothing about the matters, in order that they would share equally with him responsibility for all decisions. By pursuing this course Clemenceau would be able to forestall a vote of confidence inasmuch as each Minister had his individual following and the combined total was a majority of the Chamber of Deputies at all times.
I went over to the American Embassy tonight to visit briefly my friend, the Ambassador, Mr. Hugh C. Wallace, of Washington, D.C., and Washington State. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace brought me the latest news from home.
Original Format
Diary
Files
Collection
Citation
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938, “Cary T. Grayson Diary,” 1919 April 15, WWP17136, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.