Cary T. Grayson Diary

Cary T. Grayson Diary

Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938

WWP17162

1919 May 11

Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia

English

The President arose about 10:00 o’clock. He did not go to church as Mr. Clemenceau called up early in the morning asking for a conference with the President. Clemenceau stated that it was extremely important and urgent. It was a rather remarkable coincidence that about the time Clemenceau called up I learned that the French newspapers this morning were very loud in their praises of the “magnificent manner ” in which Clemenceau had disposed of the German claims. As usual, the French were doing their best to steal the credit for the work that the President was doing. All along this has been in evidence. Whenever something especially good is handed out they try to make it appear on -- and the British do the same for Lloyd-George -- that it was the product of either of the French or the British Premiers. In this respect, however, they differed very little from some of the American delegates who also try to take credit for what the President has done or is doing.

The President accordingly arranged to see Clemenceau at about 11:30. In addition to Clemenceau, he had Balfour and Mr. Venizelos of Greece at the meeting. They discussed the Italian effort to seize certain of the Greek Islands under the pretense that they had been ceded to them by the Pact of Llondon. The Greek Government feels very strongly over this question, and Mr. Venizelos made it extremely plain that Greece expected that her rights to these Islands would be protected.

In the afternoon, after luncheon, the President and Mrs. Wilson went for a long motor ride. They returned in time for dinner, and after dinner the three of us spent a quiet evening here at the temporary White House. The President told me that information had reached him today that the Italians had changed the name of Via Wilson to Via Fiume. He simply laughed and said: “They are a big lot of babies.” He said that it was so amusing that he told Mr. Balfour and Mr. Venizelos this morning and they both laughed very heartily. Mr. Venizelos understand English quite well and has an excellent sense of humor. Mr. Balfour always enjoys a good joke.

The President during the evening reminisced about his student days. He told a story about Dr. James McCosh, who was President of Princeton University when the President was a student there. He was an old Scotchman and very serious. They had services every morning in the Chapel. The President said that it was always the custom for the boys to applaud their class number. The President was in the class of ’79. One morning the old man got up and announced: “We will now sing Hymn No. 79.” And the boys all applauded. He became very indignant, closed the hymnal, laid it down, and lectured them on their disrespect. He then picked up the hymnal, opened it, and said: “We will now sing, let me see, Hymn No. 80 - No, No, No, we wont sing that - you will make noise - we will turn to a higher number.” Whereupon they all applauded. But the old man could not see the point.

The President told another story that when he was a student at Princeton he was entirely out of money and did not even have a stamp with which to write home for funds. He remembered that a short while before a penny had rolled under his bureau, so he got down on his knees looking for it but he was unable to find it. He removed the bureau and finally located the penny back in the corner. With it he bought a postal card and wrote home for money.

Diary