April 20th

While it is still feared by some that there will be a shindy later on in the Plenary Session, the selection of the minor powers to be represented on the Council of the League has been more easily arrived at than was to be expected. First off, a subcommittee of the delegates was named, composed of Vesnitch, Venizelos, and Bourgeois; House was to preside, but owing to pressure of work he asked Miller to sit for him. But, while he had great confidence in Miller’s tact, the Colonel could not keep from shaping one of the important features of his great project. Balfour and Cecil dropped in, and they had a long and, apparently, an exceedingly amicable talk. When these exchanges were concluded, House said:

“I have an idea; I hope you will approve of it. At least it would save time, and that is so valuable; let each of us take a card and write upon it the names of the member states we nominate for the Council.”

All agreed, and then a strange thing happened. On each card the states named were the same, and while one was written by Balfour and another by Cecil, it was apparent to me that the Colonel’s fine Italian hand directed both pens.

Of course this is not the whole story. There were preliminary and far-reaching exploratory talks; China, to the great disappointment of Mr. Koo, was left out because it was held that at the time it did not enjoy a responsible government. Also, it was agreed that the new nations which had so recently put in appearance at the baptismal font should be ignored because they were involved in so many contentious matters that would come before the League in its first sittings. Greece was given a chair out of compliment to Venizelos; as to the Greeks themselves, there was apparent a great lack of enthusiasm. Lord Robert agreed that a Latin-American state should sit in the Council, and House nominated Brazil, as the greatest of them all in resources and in population, and in recognition of her early and frank assistance to the Allies during the war, plus her traditional friendship for the United States. Pessoa is the ranking Brazilian delegate and he has also just been elected president of that great South American republic. I was sent to advise him that he had been chosen. He was immensely pleased at the honor bestowed. He is a very able man, and his choice should give prestige to the League in the new world south of Panama.