Topic 20 
ROOSEVELT'S ONE TALK WITH MR.  WILSON

IF any other man in the world had talked to me as Mr.  Wilson did, I would say I was sure to go.  But it was Mr.  Wilson who was talking and I am not at all confident."

So Colonel Roosevelt summarized his visit to the White House April 7, 1917, to plead for permission to go abroad at the head of fighting troops.

It was the Colonel's first and only interview with Mr.  Wilson and followed an unsuccessful effort to find Mr.  Wilson in.  The first call was made as the Colonel was en route for home from a devil fishing trip in Florida waters, and the President was actually and not constructively absent from the White House.

Like the first call, the second was unannounced.  It was decided upon April 5, when the Colonel told a few intimates, including the members of the "newspaper cabinet," of his intention to leave for Washington the next day.

" I am," said he, " making no headway, and I won't so long as I try to do business with Mr.  Wilson by letter.  It's too easy to shunt me one side.  He won't find it so easy talking to me face to face.  I am not at all sure he'll give in to me then, but I’ll give him an argument anyway."

"Have you," I asked, "arranged for an appointment?"

" I have not and I won't," he replied.  "One of my friends has advised that I do so, as otherwise I invite a snub.  What do you think of that?"

"Foolishness," I answered.  "I do not believe Mr.  Wilson, however he may feel, can afford to refuse to see a former President of the United States calling to offer his aid in time of war.  I do not think there's a chance for a snub."

"Exactly.  I'll take my chances on his trying to snub me.  He can't do it! I'd like to see him try it!"

By arrangement, "the cabinet" made no mention of the Colonel's intentions or of his departure for Washington.  On his arrival in the Capital the fact that he was there was wired the outer world, but nothing definite was said of his intentions.

"If possible," he said, "I want to avoid any appearance of storming the White House."

Whatever the Colonel's intentions were as to "storming the White House," he did succeed in making the home of his daughter, Mrs.  Longworth, the real centre of life while he remained in the city.  From early morning until late at night there was a constant stream of visitors, not all of whom succeeded in getting an audience.

Among those who did were the Ambassadors of the Great Powers, led by Jusserand of the famous "Tennis Cabinet," Spring Rice, the Englishman, and little Sato from Japan; army officers of high rank, chancing the ill will of the Administration; naval officers; and men of both parties in House and Senate! — including, of course, Lodge of Massachusetts.

Secretary of War Baker also came — of his own instance, or, as the Colonel put it, "under his own steam."

Some of the earlier callers had a considerable wait while the Colonel was at the White House, whither he repaired alone, promptly after breakfast.  Mr.  Wilson, who had been advised of his presence in Washington, was waiting for him when he called, and, as the Colonel told me later, the interview was pleasant but inconclusive.

"He received me very pleasantly," said the Colonel, "and we had an hour's talk.  I congratulated him upon his war message and told him it would rank with the world's great state papers if it were made good.

"And I told him I wanted a chance to help him make it good.

"I found that, though I had written plainly enough, there was confusion in his mind as to what I wanted to do.  I explained everything to him.  He seemed to take it well, but — remember, I was talking to Mr.  Wilson.

"I gave out a statement to the newspaper boys at the White House.  I told him as I was about to leave that I knew I would be bombarded with questions and asked if he cared to allow me to say anything.  He outlined what he was willing to have told of our conversation and I asked that Tumulty, who was called in at this time, come along with me while I was making it so that there could be no mistake or dispute as to what I might say.

"Tumulty, by way of a half joke, said he might go to France with me.  I said, ' By Jove, you come right along! I’ll have a place for you.' I would, too, but it would n't be the place he thinks.  It is possible he might be sent along as sort of a watchdog to keep Wilson informed as to what was being done.  He would n't be, though.  He'd keep his distance from headquarters except when he was sent for."

"Did you see Baker?" some one asked.

"No, I have not.  I did send word to him that I would be glad to see him if he called.  He is coming here later."

The Colonel proceeded from this point to make it clear he did not expect to be allowed to go to France unless developments forced Mr.  Wilson into letting him go.

" He has promised me nothing definitely," said the Colonel;'' but as I have said, if any other man than he talked to me as he did I would feel assured.  If I talked to another man as he talked to me it would mean that that man was going to get permission to fight.

" But I was talking to Mr.  Wilson.  His words may mean much; they may mean little.  He has, however, left the door open.

"The talk was pleasant enough.  What I tried to do was to impress upon him the need of making our full weight felt at the earliest possible moment.

" I told him we should hit at once and hit hard.

"He raised the question of equipment.  I told him what he already knew — that the Allies would give me all the equipment needed from their ample stores.  They have the equipment.  They need men.  I told him it would be preferable to use the English or French rifle, first because they are ready, and again because to use a different type of rifle and ammunition would mean to complicate transport problems — might, in fact, leave men helpless in the midst of plenty through lack of American ammunition.

"I explained that all necessary expense could be provided for out of private funds.  I also explained to him that I would not take a man the draft might get.  The fact that I proposed to use material that other wise would be unavailable seemed new to him.

"He seemed interested and he asked many questions.  But I am not allowing myself to become overconfident.  I do not believe he'll let me go to France unless circumstances that may develop later compel him to let me go."

The circumstances the Colonel had in mind were the serious shortage of man power in France and the collapse of Russia, then unsuspected by the world at large, but which he then predicted as almost certain to soon occur.

"The imperative call," said he, "is for men.  France is bled white.  She has not men enough for another year.  England is doing her share, but she cannot do all.

"Russia is almost hopeless.

"There is more than a fair chance that Russia will go to pieces completely.  There is a chance she will make a separate peace.  This, of course, relieves Germany of pressure from Russia.  It means that the war will be prolonged — perhaps for five years.

"Any early peace must be a German peace — a German victory.

" If the people at large would only realize this, we would be all right.  As it is we are blundering along apparently hoping for a bloodless war.  If we do not wake up, Germany will have won this war, and then we will be up against it.

"I do not think that will be the result — it does not seem we are capable of allowing that contingency to become a fact, but we must wake up.

"I told the President that with his permission I would submit my plans to Senator Chamberlain and Representative Dent and I am going right home to do that now.  I am also going to send Baker a copy.

"I had a good talk with Baker — I could twist him about my finger could I have him about for a while.  But he does not realize what he is trying to do.

" He is exactly the type of man Mr.  Wilson wants about him.  He will do exactly what Mr.  Wilson tells him to do, he will think exactly as Mr.  Wilson wants him to think, and when Mr.  Wilson changes his mind, he will change with him.  If Mr.  Wilson should agree with me tomorrow, Mr.  Baker would be perfectly sure he always agreed with me.  He's a pleasant enough type socially, but impossible in his present place because he is inefficient and is unable to grasp the fact that he is inefficient.

"He has the blindest faith in the General Staff and the graduates of West Point.  He does not realize that a muttonhead, after an education at West Point or Harvard, is a muttonhead still."