Mr. Wilson's Papers
Title
Mr. Wilson's Papers
Creator
Detroit Free Press
Identifier
WWP16410
Date
1922 January 4
Source
Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia
Language
English
Text
MR. WILSONS PAPERS.
Former President Wilson is coming in for a heavy fire of criticism because he has turned over to Ray Stannard Baker documents collected while carrying on the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Versailles. Mr. Baker will use them in a series of newspaper articles.
Taking the highest ground, the form of publication chosen by the former president is certainly unfortunate. The business that he and the other representatives of the United States transacted was public business of great importance. The documents concern the history of the world in affairs of the largest moment. Every such document ought to be public property and, as Representative Begg says, the disposition which has been made of those given out by Mr. Wilson commercializes the public service. Moreover, when such documents are used for the purposes of publication they ought, in the interest of truth, to be as available to the impartial historian as to the friends of any man or faction. The ideal disposition of such papers is to deposit all of them in the archives of the government. That is where they belong and no other place is entirely satisfactory.
In taking another course, however, Mr. Wilson follows custom and many examples. He cannot be accused of exceeding his legal rights, but the result of his practice is to delay the truthful and complete presentation of the facts of history. After every great war important documents come dribbling out first from the papers of one great figure and then another. Generations are born and die before the truth is known, and nobody can tell when the end of the revelation will come.
Former President Wilson is coming in for a heavy fire of criticism because he has turned over to Ray Stannard Baker documents collected while carrying on the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Versailles. Mr. Baker will use them in a series of newspaper articles.
Taking the highest ground, the form of publication chosen by the former president is certainly unfortunate. The business that he and the other representatives of the United States transacted was public business of great importance. The documents concern the history of the world in affairs of the largest moment. Every such document ought to be public property and, as Representative Begg says, the disposition which has been made of those given out by Mr. Wilson commercializes the public service. Moreover, when such documents are used for the purposes of publication they ought, in the interest of truth, to be as available to the impartial historian as to the friends of any man or faction. The ideal disposition of such papers is to deposit all of them in the archives of the government. That is where they belong and no other place is entirely satisfactory.
In taking another course, however, Mr. Wilson follows custom and many examples. He cannot be accused of exceeding his legal rights, but the result of his practice is to delay the truthful and complete presentation of the facts of history. After every great war important documents come dribbling out first from the papers of one great figure and then another. Generations are born and die before the truth is known, and nobody can tell when the end of the revelation will come.
Files
Collection
Citation
Detroit Free Press, “Mr. Wilson's Papers,” 1922 January 4, WWP16410, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.