i9is3 Interview with President Wilson 



effort at "continuous mediation" in cooperation with Cominu- 

 other neutral nations, preferably along a plan sub- o^"^^^'"- 

 mitted by Miss Julia Grace Wales, an instructor in 

 the University of Wisconsin. Accordingly, as their 

 envoy, I went to Washington, accompanied by 

 Lochner, and on the morning of November 12 was 

 granted an interview with the President, who received 

 us cordially and seemed deeply interested in our state- 

 ment of the case. I formally handed him the docu- 

 ments secured by Miss Addams, with the contents of 

 which he was already familiar. 



During the hour which followed, the President 

 listened attentively, apparently in sympathy with 

 the plans presented. I urged him to take the lead in 

 proposing mediation, and in case this should not 

 bring immediate results, to provide for continuous 

 mediation on the part of men of international horizon 

 from the neutral countries. That in this or any other 

 plan serious difficulties would be encountered, I freely 

 admitted, but it would seem that something of the 

 kind offered the only solution short of bankruptcy The only 

 and universal collapse. To this idea Mr. Wilson 

 expressed himself as "an unwilling convert," but he 

 "now firmly believed in it." Said he: "I have been 

 revolving this proposal in my mind dozens of times; I 

 wish I might see my way clear to it. But there are 

 certain objections. Some of the neutral nations in 

 Europe have governments out of sympathy with 

 their peoples; the Allies might object to mediation 

 as a partisan measure, and in any conference 

 America must take the risk of being outvoted 

 by other neutrals, which might do more harm than 

 good." 



In reply I urged that in any such conference the 



1:677 3 



solution 



