Huntington Wilson to Woodrow Wilson

Title

Huntington Wilson to Woodrow Wilson

Creator

Wilson, Huntington, 1875-

Identifier

WWP17586

Date

1913 March 19

Description

Huntington Wilson writes to Woodrow Wilson resigning from office as Assistant Secretary of State.

Source

Wilson Papers, Library of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia

Subject

Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Correspondence

Text

My dear Mr. President

In view of all the circumstances, I feel that the resignation which I had the honor to submit to you on March fourth must be effective today. I have accordingly handed over the charge of the Department of State to Mr. Adee, the able and experienced Second Assistant Secretary of State. If I had felt that my continuing in office or not would affect in any way the interests of the country which I have had the honor to serve, I should not have today reached the decision which I beg leave now to communicate to you; but it seems now demonstrated that my remaining can serve no useful purpose.
It today becomes the duty of the Acting Secretary of State, in despatching instructions to the representatives of this Government abroad and as the channel of communication with the representatives of foreign governments at Washington, to be the spokesman of the President in regard to a new Far Eastern policy which is apparently deducible from your statement issued to the press last night. Inasmuch as I find myself entirely out of harmony with this radical change of policy as I understand it, I trust that you will sympathize with the view that it was not appropriate that I should longer retain the responsibilities of the office which I have now relinquished.
When I consented, at the request of Mr. Bryan and in deference to what I understood to be your wishes, to continue in the office of Assistant Secretary of State for these few weeks longer, I believe I was justified in assuming that there would be no radical departure from the practice of this and other countries whereby the knowledge and experience of the various officials of the foreign office is made use of in the study of great questions of foreign policy. I had no reason to suppose that the officials on duty in the Department of State would learn first from the newspapers of a declaration of policy which I think shows on its face the inadequacy of the consideration given to the facts and theories involved and the failure clearly to apprehend the motives leading to and the purposes of the policy superseded. I had no reason to suppose that the fate of negotiations which had so long had the studious attention of the foreign offices of six great Powers would be abruptly determined with such quite unnecessary haste and in so unusual a manner. These methods, against which I respectfully protest, are the very extraordinary circumstances which I feel vitiate my understanding with Mr. Bryan and completely relieve me of any further obligation in the premises. The repeated utterances of the last administration must have made it perfectly clear that the motive and purpose of the policy now abandoned were first and primarily the protection of China’s integrity and sovereignty, the uplift of the Chinese people, morally, materially and governmentally, the development of China’s resources, and the maintenance of our traditional policy of the “open door,” or equality of opportunity for American enterprise. Precisely because of the ultimate possibility of a measure of foreign control of China’s finances, which may be inferred from a study of other countries which have found themselves in a similar situation, it was deemed imperative that there should be American participation in the rehabilitation of China’s finances, in order to make sure of the presence of the potent, friendly and disinterested influence of the United States. The only practicable method of such participation was by the use of reliable American bankers.
In the consideration of the Far Eastern policy, I have felt that so much should be premised and that the problem of the Government’s using American bankers, while still scrupulously avoiding any material monopolistic feature, might now, as before, be found one of the most difficult preoccupations. I have always thought that, in the work of advancing the national interests and promoting the welfare of other nations, the financial force of the United States could be marshalled in some manner to present a safely united front abroad, where it would be like the apex of a triangle, but would have at home at its base broad equality of opportunity, both for citizens desiring to invest and for bankers desiring to engage in these difficult and relatively risky ventures. It seems, however, that the conclusions reached are expressed upon other grounds.
You will readily understand, Mr. President, that in view of all the considerations indicated in this letter and of the practical necessity that one charged, even temporarily, with the administration of the Department of State should be in entire and complete accord with your foreign policies, I feel it my duty at once to vacate a post in which one not in harmony with your foreign policy would be in danger, even with the best intentions, of failing accurately to reflect your views.
In retiring from the service I beg leave to take the liberty of referring to the phrase in your Inaugural address by which you summon ‘all honest men, all patriotic, all forward–looking men to your side’ and of assuring you that when you apply to the Department of State for technical advice in formulating your policies you can nowhere find men more truly described by that phrase than the patriotic, intelligent, high–minded and non–partisan gentlemen whose association I am leaving with so much regret.
With every good wish for the success of your administration, I have the honor to be, Mr. President, with great respect,


Huntington Wilson

Original Format

Letter

To

Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Temp00039.pdf

Tags

Citation

Wilson, Huntington, 1875-, “Huntington Wilson to Woodrow Wilson,” 1913 March 19, WWP17586, First Year Wilson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.