191 sD Further Discussion 



Jtmas 



We also suggested that the approach of the Christ- chH 

 mas season, to be followed by another winter of ^ ^'""^ 

 horrors, gave valid reasons for immediate action, and ■^°' ^''*" 

 the religious fervor then rising abroad might be led 

 into constructive channels. The Christmas idea — 

 mediation between the past and the future — seemed 

 to impress the President, who nodded gravely. 



We further argued that if Holland or Sweden 

 should go ahead without us, America w^ould be laid 

 open to the charge of getting rich out of war, though 

 only a few of our people were thus engaged. "Only a 

 few," repeated the President. 



That newspapers in belligerent nations often Facts not 

 grossly misrepresented events, we admitted, but in ^°^y"" 

 any case the press could not conceal the fact of a con- 

 ference, nor obscure its recommendations. In spite 

 of the rigors of censorship, news leaked out in Ger- 

 many, and the heroic anti-imperialists of the "'' Bund 

 Neues Vaterland" would uphold efforts for peace at 

 the risk of their lives. 



As we left, I assured him of the full support and 

 cooperation of Miss Addams and her associates, 

 whom for the day I represented. He seized my hand 

 firmly and said: "I assure you, gentlemen, that you 

 have done me real good." But in response to Loch- 

 ner's question as to the time of action, he said: "It is 

 for me to say when the right moment, in my judg- 

 ment, arrives." 



In New York, a few days later, I called upon Coion^ 

 Colonel Edward M. House, the President's personal ^°"^' 

 mainstay in matters of European diplomacy. House 

 is a quiet, unselfish, keenly observant man who had 

 already twice visited different chancelleries in Mr. 

 Wilson's interest. His advice, I felt, would be of 



C 679 1 



