March 29th

By a coincidence, which I trust will prove a happy one, the seat of the League of Nations, to impose peace and safeguard the pursuit of happiness in this troubled world, was announced today, which is also my birthday. The Committee on Location met this morning in the Colonel’s office and within five minutes the decision was reached and the delegates dispersed to their various pursuits. It was a meeting after the Colonel’s heart, but truth to tell caucusing had been going on for weeks and there have been brawls that promised ill for the purpose that brought the nations together. And even this morning there were what might be called pourparlers over the telephone and also very unwelcome news was conveyed by the same instrument of modernity. No! the delegates of Switzerland, Holland and Belgium were not expected to appear but they were assured that if they desired to be heard ample opportunity would be given them at a later meeting.

The League for peace, disarmament, and friendly council will take up its residence very shortly in the ancient city of Calvin, and from Geneva on the historic lake the new world polity will be formulated and broadcast to a world that is weary of the old procedures. General Smuts made the motion by arrangement with House and neither a voice was raised nor a vote cast in opposition. The Colonel is pleased with the result and above all with the speed at which it has been reached. As he says, it is “these long talky-talky sessions of the Commission that sap my vitality and bear me down.” The President did not open his mouth, but it is evident he is pleased to have the matter settled as it was becoming a breeder of ill feeling. In the early discussion bouts the President opposed the choice of The Hague, which enjoyed support in many quarters because, as he said, it would revive memories none too happy of the Russian peace movement in the last century. He was more outspoken in his opposition to the choice of Brussels, and many of the things he said have, as usual, leaked out and given great offense.

Mme. van der Velde, the wife of the Radical Belgian delegate, said to me when I sat next to her at dinner last evening that while three weeks ago the people of Brussels hailed him as the saviour of the world, if he put in appearance there now he would be hooted. “But it will soon die away—and justice will be done to Wilson” were the reassuring words of the little lady. Knowing that I was talking to a left-winger if not to a “Red” I also leaked a little, but I trust for a good purpose. “The President’s regard for the heroic Belgian people is unchanged,” I insisted, “but he does think that the sufferings to which they were subjected during the war have upset their former noble balance and inclined them to imperialism.” “And your President is right,” interrupted Mme. van der Velde, “and no one knows it better than my husband and myself.”

I have no doubt the decision was a wise one although of course either Paris or Brussels would have been a more pleasant place for the delegates to sojourn in. I had also suggested Vienna where now, no longer a Kaiserstadt, there are empty palaces and residences galore which would furnish splendid and immediate accommodations for the League. But the fact that Vienna and its future is in hot dispute, and with the Anschluss becoming with every day a more acute problem, Vienna was ruled out.

After the meeting Smuts and Makino came into my room and had a long talk about the racial-equality proposal which is hanging fire and is so filled with explosives. They asked me to remain and I was glad to do so, as it gave me an excellent idea of the style and technique of the South African when negotiating on delicate ground. He was exceedingly friendly to the formal Japanese delegate, but he made quite plain what course he would pursue if Makino insisted upon bringing the matter (the race question) before the whole Conference in a Plenary Session as it is rumored he proposes doing.

“Your position is incontestable and so is the status of Japan—so why raise the question? You know what my personal feelings are, but you see I am here officially, and so I must warn you that if you persist in your motion for which I have much sympathy, and if Hughes of Australia opposes it, as he undoubtedly will, I shall have to fall in line and vote with the Dominions, like a ‘good Indian.’ ”

Kind words may butter no parsnips but they certainly softened Makino’s attitude toward the white world, and when Smuts left him with a warm handshake I seized the opportunity to call his attention to the fact that the Japanese press, almost without exception, made America responsible for the stalemate on the race question and was attacking us most bitterly. When I pointed to the bundle of clippings on my desk which provided full justification for my complaint, Makino threw up his hands and said: “You are quite right and our press has been most unfair. I shall summon the correspondents in Paris to my office tomorrow and inform them of the facts,” and I have not the slightest doubt but what he will.

When Makino went, Orlando came out of the Colonel’s room where he had stayed on with a purpose not unconnected with Fiume after the short session closed. I noted that the charming old Sicilian was not in his usual amiable mood but rather had the air of a man who had been in a scuffle and was not at all certain that victory had perched on his banner. Rather unwisely Frazier, who from his long residence in Rome was on especially friendly terms with the Prime Minister, said: “I trust you and the Colonel have been making peace,” but Orlando answered somewhat curtly: “Je cherche la Paix—my Peace! The only peace that will last.” So he has given us ample notice. Orlando wants his own peace, just like all the boys—including the President.