Newton D. Baker to Woodrow Wilson

In my talk with General Bridges this afternoon, I asked him to express quite frankly his view as to the effect in England, France and Germany of our sending an expeditionary force, and particularly with reference to the composition of the force. He told me that he thought the presence of even a brigade would be enormously stimulating; that it made very little difference whether they went first to England and then to France, or directly to France; that in both England and France there were many people who professed to expect America to make war at long range, and that there would be an instant and very great value from the fact of arrival of American troops. He went further and said that the English, French and German armies had all settled down to the conviction that this is too serious a kind of warfare for untrained men or amateurs of any sort, and that he had taken the liberty of telegraphing to the Chief of the British Staff and protesting against any favor being shown from them toward the organization of any form of volunteer group from America for such an expedition. He thought the Germans would roidicule a hastily-organized expedition of non-professionals and that both the British and French would be depressed by such an expedition as an evidence of our failing to appreciate the seriousness of the situation; but that if such an expedition were made up of regulars and led by one of our professional soldiers, it would command instant respect in spite of being small.
I know that you have entertained these views, and I have felt them very strongly. This frank statement from General Bridges is an interesting confirmation of our instinctive judgment on the subject.

Respectfully yours,

The President