Cary T. Grayson Diary

Title

Cary T. Grayson Diary

Creator

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

Identifier

WWP17223

Date

1919 September 13

Source

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

Language

English

Text

SATURDAY, The President’s Special followed the regular itinerary and was halted for two hours outside of Tacoma, while the President breakfasted in peace and away from the crowd. Reentering the city, automobiles were boarded and a run through the principal business section was started. Following this the President was taken for a long ride around the shores of the Bay and through the outlying park section, of which Tacoma is so proud. Just why this long trip was inflicted upon the President, I could not find out, but I did not like it at all, inasmuch as the President needed the rest far more than he needed an opportunity to look over parks and real estate developments that were of no particular interest to him. It was manifest that – at least some of the members of the party suggested that it was – a majority of the members of the reception committee planned the trip so that they could bring the procession past their own houses and give their families a chance to look at their visitors. Returning to the city the party proceeded to the State Armory, where the meeting was to be held. After the Armory was reached, it was found that some one had locked the door to the side-entrance, and the President and party were compelled to stand on the side-walk for a few minutes while a searching party went after the keys, finally locating them. The meeting itself, however, made up for any little discomfitures that might have been encountered. The building was filled to overflowing, and the crowd was with the President from his first utterance. Because the Japanese question is such a great problem on the Pacific Coast, the President devoted a considerable part of his address to an explanation of the Shantung settlement. He took occasion to denounce secret treaties and declared that most of the responsibility for the present war grew out of the fact that so many nations had participated in secret treaties. Ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, the President declared, would absolutely eliminate all secret treaties in the future, as under the League of Nations Covenant treaties must be arrived at in the open and recorded with the Secretary-General of the League before they can become effective. The President left Tacoma at noon for Seattle, Washington. His reception in Tacoma admittedly was the greatest and warmest ever accorded to any individual visiting that city. There were two reasons for this: In the first place, the President’s popularity was such that the State of Washington had gone on record as favoring the unqualified ratification of the Treaty. Then again, the Pacific Fleet, which had been cruising from port to port along the Coast, had been massed in Puget Sound in order that the President could review it. For the last couple of days it had been impossible to secure hotel accommodations in the city, and on the even of the President’s arrival it was estimated that more than five thousand people were compelled to sleep in the parks, not being able to secure accommodations anywhere. Churches had been thrown open to accommodate as many people as possible, while public halls were utilized for the same purpose. This was es7ecially the case with the headquarters of the Industrial Workers of the World, who had been nicknamed in the Pacific Northwest as the “Wobblies.” Because of the large number of these men, all of them advocates of violence and direct action, fears had been entertained for the safety of the President, and the most extraordinary precautions had been taken to guard him. However, even the radicals recognized his natural fairness, and he was not only warmly welcomed but at no time was there any untoward demonstration. Arriving in Seattlethe President headed a procession of automobiles that proceeded through the principal streets to the Government Dock at the Naval Station. The crowds that filled the streets, the windows of the buildings and the roof-tops equaled those which greeted the President in Rome and in Paris. Despite the most strenuous efforts of the police it was almost impossible to force a way through the crowd with the automobiles. In fact, had the Boy Scouts not been on the job, assisting the police, there might have been a number of serious accidents. As it was these little fellows, uniformed, would clasp hands, and, with their scout staffs stretched in front of them, push the crowd back. The contrast between boys of ten and fifteen years old and grown men and women was so great that it pleased the crowd and made an appeal to their consideration with the result that invariably when the police had failed in opening the lanes and in keeping the crowd back, the boys were able to do so. All the way along the principal streets the party was deluged with confetti and flowers, thrown from the roof-tops. The President stood erect in his automobile from the time it left the station until it reached the Naval Dock. Those of the I.
W.
W.’s who lined the route wore badges on their breasts on which was inscribed: “We demand the release of all political prisoners.” The President noted this but made no comment at the time. Strange as it may seem, the I.
W.
W.’s led the cheering and the applause for the President.Secretary of the Navy Daniels was on hand to welcome the President, and as soon as the Naval Dock was reached a launch was boarded and the party proceeded to the old Battle Cruiser OREGON, which had been selected as the vessel from which the review was to take place. In order to expedite matters, because time was very valuable, the battle-fleet, with its attended destroyers and craft of every description, was drawn up in parallel lines, as much as possible, and the President returned to land wand was hurriedly driven to the hotel, where he rested until dinner. The night meeting was held in what is known as the Seattle Coliseum, which seats about 9,000 people. The police estimated that there were fully 11,000 inside when the doors were closed. Because of some mix up, however, there was a portion of the auditorium that was not occupied, and when word of this got out to the enormous crowd that was outside of the Coliseum, it attempted to break down the doors to get in. It took some time before the police, aided by the soldiers especially detailed for the work, managed to get the crowd under control and drove it back. Prior to the opening of the meeting in the big auditorium, the President and Mrs. Wilson, accompanied by myself, were guests at a “popular” dinner that had been arranged for by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and which was held in a restaurant directly across from the auditorium. Fully 5,000 people paid three dollars a piece for the privilege of eating and seeing the President, inasmuch as he did not make any address at this place. The President’s night address touched on the Shantung settlement, and he also dwelt on the labor clauses of the Treaty. He declared that the industrial questions confronting the United States were the most momentous in its history, and he insisted that the Treaty should be ratified with an unqualified endorsement of the labor clauses, inasmuch as they proposed to carry out the principles of industrial justice. The President was not feeling very well – the tremendous strain of the last few days being evident – but his spirit carried him through the night, and his address was wonderfully well received. The suggestion had been made that after the President had finished his night speech, he re-board the Special Train and proceed to Mount Rainier for a Sunday and Monday rest. There was no question but that he needed the rest. The terrific strain which he had been under for more than a year was telling, and his exertions which were a necessary accompaniment of the present trip were sapping up his vitality very fast. I had done all that I possibly could to spare him and had insisted, and continued to insist, that there be no deviation from the original program, and that he be not compelled to make any additional speeches. However, here in Seattle the situation that encountered us was rather serious. A delegation of labor leaders, among them several of the radicals in the labor movement, had demanded that they be afforded opportunity personally to appeal to the President for executive pardon for a number of I. W. W. and radical leaders, who were serving sentences under the Federal Espionage Act. When the President was told that these men demanded to see him, he vetoed the proposition of a Sunday rest and agreed that he would meet the men after church the following day.

Original Format

Diary

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/WT19190913.pdf

Citation

Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938, “Cary T. Grayson Diary,” 1919 September 13, WWP17223, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.