March 30, 1919

I was told by House to take an early opportunity of calling to Clemenceau’s attention the undoubted fact that the changed attitude of the people of Paris toward Wilson and the more or less unfriendly attitude of the French press was again having an unfortunate, indeed a deplorable, effect in the United States. I had this opportunity today and availed myself of it and fortunately I found the Tiger in a mellow mood.

“I agree with House; public opinion in France is not reasonable, but how natural this is in view of the fact that Wilson is opposing the minimum of our demands,” he said. “But these outbreaks while not unnatural are above all, as I see it, unwise. Tell House that I understand the situation and that I shall take care of it. I shall get Martet to assemble those blatant editors in my office and I shall give them a talking to that they will heed and long remember! However disappointed they may be by more recent developments, the French people should not forget that in all human probability without the assistance of America and Britain France would no longer exist. What wouldn’t the Germans have done to us had they won? I shudder to think of it. True, I would have fought them to the last gasp with my back to the Pyrenees, but tell House I’m obliged for his timely reminder. In spite of present disappointments, I shall see to it that our people and our press shall demonstrate that they have not forgotten the wartime assistance which we received and thanks to which we are still an independent nation.”

Within three days the intervention of the Tiger bore fruit, laudatory articles appeared in many of the papers, and as of yore crowds gathered about the President’s house and cheered his goings and his comings.

I hope this incident is closed and that the French press will show some degree of respect for the President to whom they owe so much, but I doubt it. It is, however, only fair to say that the French are not the only people who are prone to forget benefits received. There are many such assembled here. In conversation and even in fairly serious London papers there have appeared criticisms of the makeshift merchant ships which at our expense and to save Britain from starvation we built in improvised shipyards.