Viscount Esher, who died in 1930, had for 50 years been in the public service, as confidant and counsel of the monarchy for almost 40 years. "Discreet, unobtrusive, influential, he was at the heart of the political system. . . . His whole position derived from the fact that he was the most secret confidant of the Crown." His Journals and Letters in four volumes were published under the title, "The Captains and the Kings Depart".
August 11, 1917, Esher wrote, "It is the intention at present that the resources of America shall not be dribbled into the field, so that the blow, when it comes, shall be delivered by a force thoroughly organized and trained. That there is another aspect of this question Mr. Morgenthau [Mr. Henry Morgenthau Sr.] is aware, and he realizes the importance upon the morale of the French army and the French people of cementing the alliance by shedding American blood at the earliest possible moment."
After an interview with Mr. Henry Morgenthau Sr. he wrote, "I told Mr. Morgenthau that while full of sympathy with his ideals I had no great belief in their practical efficacy . . . that I did not believe that this was a war likely to end all wars, and that if we beat the Germans, England and France and the United States would be exceedingly foolish if they failed to get all the material guarantees they could get, so that when the next war comes, each of these nations would find themselves stronger and more self-supporting."
The next day, August 12, Esher wrote to Sir Douglas Haig, "It is curious to listen to a man, deep in Wilson's counsels, reflecting all his ideals, his hopes for the future, and his plans for their achievement, who lives when at home in the Mountains of the Moon. . . . I am not sure whether Wilson or Kerensky is the more dangerous." (From the cross examination of Secretary Morgenthau by Senator Nye at the hearings of the Congressional Committee, January 28, 1940. Cf Scribner Commentator, April, 1941)
There were other roads to follow, other objectives to attain. Today, in time of trouble, many prophets arise to proclaim their new order. Some are fakes, some lead to tank traps. Woodrow Wilson fought and died for his new world order, the League of Nations, which the great
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Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information:
Book title: Getting US into War.
Contributors: Porter Sargent - Author.
Publisher: P. Sargent.
Place of publication: Boston.
Publication year: 1941.
Page number: 609.
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