May 13, 1919

This is a black day for the Poles; for France; perhaps for all of us. Most reluctantly, it is true, but all the same the President is about to yield to the demand of Lloyd George that a plebiscite be held to settle the Upper Silesia dispute. Both Clemenceau and Tardieu have frankly admitted to House that as a result of the way in which for the last thirty years the Germans have planted colonists in the disputed region they would not be surprised if the vote revealed a German majority. Clemenceau adds with his usual emphasis: “If the plebiscite turns out this way you will be giving legal sanction to a ruthless crime.” He has frequently pointed out that it would not be difficult for France to keep an eye upon what the Germans may do to prepare for their war of revanche—in the Ruhr at least. But not in faraway Silesia, “that is beyond our ken and yet that contains all the ores that our aggressive neighbors would need for rearmament. If the Germans cannot abide Polish sovereignty, they should be returned to the regions from which they came.”

These are the arguments Lloyd George advances in favor of the vote: the Germans will not sign the Treaty unless the doctrine of self-determination is honored in Silesia, as elsewhere, and he adds that if in this matter the Germans are discriminated against there will be an uproar in Parliament and perhaps he could only sign with reservations.

To save the Treaty, but with unconcealed regret and many misgivings, the President has decided to accept the plebiscite. He admits quite frankly that he is constrained to make a most unwelcome sacrifice, but he says: “At least, House, we are saving the Covenant, and that instrument will work wonders, bring the blessing of peace, and then when the war psychosis has abated, it will not be difficult to settle all the disputes that baffle us now.”

House deeply regrets this decision. He considers it the most sinister of all the concessions that have been forced upon the President —to save the Treaty and above all the Covenant. He agrees with the French that in Silesia the Germans will find all the ores that would be needed to rearm and wage another aggressive war.