Cleveland H. Dodge to Woodrow Wilson
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99 john street.
President Woodrow Wilson,
WHITE HOUSE.
My dear Mr. President:
I received your very kind letter this morning, and thank you heartily for writing so cordially. It is needless to say that I regret exceedingly Harry Fine’s decision regarding Germany, and on top of that comes, this morning, a long telegram from Mr. Mott, at Tokio, the gist of which I have already given to Mr. Tumulty this morning over the telephone. I enclose you a copy of his cablegram, which is a little garbled, but which expresses very definitely his decision.
I have been so sanguine, in view of the long message which we sent him ten days ago incorporating your message, that he would finally decide to accept, that his decision comes as a great blow to me, and I am almost broken–hearted about it. We will probably find that during the past few months when he has been holding a series of great conferences in different countries he has probably committed himself to certain things which he cannot give up. In any event, we can be thankful that the mere fact of your wishing to have Mott in China has made a great impression both here and abroad, and has announced to the world, more definitely than anything else could have done, the kind of policy which you intend to adopt in your dealings with China.
In this connection I have heard that a number of good missionaries want to urge you to appoint a journalist named W. T. Ellis, as Minister to China, in case of Mott’s refusal. I have, however, been warned against this man by two or three people in whom I have confidence. He has spent some time in China, and has written a good deal for the papers and magazines, but my informants say that he is a man of very light calibre, and they do not think that he would be fitted at all for the position of Minister.
Cleveland H. dodge
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