Cary T. Grayson to Samuel Ross
Title
Cary T. Grayson to Samuel Ross
Creator
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938
Identifier
WWP15722
Date
1919 April 14
Description
Cary T. Grayson writes about President Woodrow Wilson’s sickness during the Paris Peace Conference and the President’s important role in the proceedings.
Source
Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia
Language
English
Text
Dear Mr. Ross:
Your letters of the 23d and 24th of March were as refreshing and welcome as a cup of cool water to a weary traveler. These past two weeks have certainly been strenuous days for me. The President was suddenly taken violently sick with the influenza at a time when the whole of civilization seemed to be in the balance. And without him and his guidance Europe would certainly have turned to Bolshevism and anarchy. From your side of the water you can not realize on what thin ice European civilization has been skating. I just wish you could spend a day with me behind the scenes here. Some day perhaps I may be able to tell the world what a close call we had. The President is doing things and standing the criticism without saying a word. It is almost beyond comprehension how he is bearing up under it all. I know of no one who could have withstood this villification and vituperation. He had them all in his grasp and could have destroyed them if he had let the facts be known. But for the good of the world and of humanity he is taking it like a man without a murmur. I am thankful for the privilege and the honor and the opportunity to serve such a man. I want to tell you that I have never been through a more trying time in all my life than I have had the past two weeks. Notwithstanding all this, my upper lip has remained stiff. And I think I can now see the Star of Hope in the distance - coming our way!
Your letters always do a fellow a lot of good, so please don’t be “skimpy” with them.
With warm regards, believe me,
Cary T. Grayson
Your letters of the 23d and 24th of March were as refreshing and welcome as a cup of cool water to a weary traveler. These past two weeks have certainly been strenuous days for me. The President was suddenly taken violently sick with the influenza at a time when the whole of civilization seemed to be in the balance. And without him and his guidance Europe would certainly have turned to Bolshevism and anarchy. From your side of the water you can not realize on what thin ice European civilization has been skating. I just wish you could spend a day with me behind the scenes here. Some day perhaps I may be able to tell the world what a close call we had. The President is doing things and standing the criticism without saying a word. It is almost beyond comprehension how he is bearing up under it all. I know of no one who could have withstood this villification and vituperation. He had them all in his grasp and could have destroyed them if he had let the facts be known. But for the good of the world and of humanity he is taking it like a man without a murmur. I am thankful for the privilege and the honor and the opportunity to serve such a man. I want to tell you that I have never been through a more trying time in all my life than I have had the past two weeks. Notwithstanding all this, my upper lip has remained stiff. And I think I can now see the Star of Hope in the distance - coming our way!
Your letters always do a fellow a lot of good, so please don’t be “skimpy” with them.
With warm regards, believe me,
Cary T. Grayson
Original Format
Letter
To
Ross, Samuel
Files
Collection
Citation
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938, “Cary T. Grayson to Samuel Ross,” 1919 April 14, WWP15722, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.