Cary T. Grayson Diary
Title
Cary T. Grayson Diary
Creator
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938
Identifier
WWP17139
Date
1919 April 18
Source
Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia
Language
English
Text
The President had breakfast at eight o’clock.
Lloyd-George was back for the resumption of the Big Four sessions of today. As a result quite a bit of progress was made and the Polish boundary question was completely settled and sent over to the experts to be put into the language that will be used in the treaty. The question of the dismantling of Heligoland also was discussed.
I met Lloyd-George and I said: “Mr. Prime Minister, I wish to congratulate you on the speech which you made before Parliament. If you were a Surgeon I would call you a bold operator. If you think there is pus or a cancerous growth, you do not take you scalpel and puncture the edges, but you have the courage to make a bold and free incision.” This refersence to the manner in which the British Premier had handled Northcliffe’s in his denunciations of him and his methods in the speech was very pleasing to the Prime Minister, and he told the the President later that he had enjoyed very, very much the characterization which I had made in discussing the Northcliffe episode with him. Lloyd-George told the President: “I like the way the Admiral talked about it. He shows that he is not a timid fellow himself.”
The President had lunch with Mrs. Wilson, Miss Benham and myself. After lunch the President went for a short motor ride with Mrs. Wilson, returning to resume his conference with the Big Four. When the afternoon conference had adjourned I asked the President what the news was and he said: “Italy is the only one insisting upon claims inconsistent with the principles explicitly laid down as the basis of the peace, and is pressing for settlements more consistent with the processes of the Congress of Vienna than with the present temper of the world. Apparently it has come to the parting of the way.”
The President had dinner with Mrs. Wilson and myself, and after dinner he played Canfield, while Mrs. Wilson and I sat and chatted with him until ten o’clock, when he retired.
Lloyd-George was back for the resumption of the Big Four sessions of today. As a result quite a bit of progress was made and the Polish boundary question was completely settled and sent over to the experts to be put into the language that will be used in the treaty. The question of the dismantling of Heligoland also was discussed.
I met Lloyd-George and I said: “Mr. Prime Minister, I wish to congratulate you on the speech which you made before Parliament. If you were a Surgeon I would call you a bold operator. If you think there is pus or a cancerous growth, you do not take you scalpel and puncture the edges, but you have the courage to make a bold and free incision.” This refersence to the manner in which the British Premier had handled Northcliffe’s in his denunciations of him and his methods in the speech was very pleasing to the Prime Minister, and he told the the President later that he had enjoyed very, very much the characterization which I had made in discussing the Northcliffe episode with him. Lloyd-George told the President: “I like the way the Admiral talked about it. He shows that he is not a timid fellow himself.”
The President had lunch with Mrs. Wilson, Miss Benham and myself. After lunch the President went for a short motor ride with Mrs. Wilson, returning to resume his conference with the Big Four. When the afternoon conference had adjourned I asked the President what the news was and he said: “Italy is the only one insisting upon claims inconsistent with the principles explicitly laid down as the basis of the peace, and is pressing for settlements more consistent with the processes of the Congress of Vienna than with the present temper of the world. Apparently it has come to the parting of the way.”
The President had dinner with Mrs. Wilson and myself, and after dinner he played Canfield, while Mrs. Wilson and I sat and chatted with him until ten o’clock, when he retired.
Original Format
Diary
Files
Collection
Citation
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938, “Cary T. Grayson Diary,” 1919 April 18, WWP17139, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.