  House, Col. E. M.—It is claimed that the part played by Col.E.M. House in the diplomatic history of the war has been correctly gauged by but few persons, and these attribute to him the exercise of a greater influence in shaping the program of the Wilson administration than any one else, not excepting the President. Some have sought to trace an intimate connection between the policies that invested the Chief Executive with more power than any president before him with an anonymous novel, “Philip Dru, Administrator,” generally attributed to Colonel House, in which a comprehensive program is laid down for the government of the United States by Dru after finishing a successful war. It is undeniable that a more than casual analogy may be found between the lines of policy defined in the novel and those seemingly followed by the administration down to the Versailles conference. “Philip Dru” is the story of an American Cromwell, who prevented an alliance between England and Germany and made one between England and the United States. In the novel Dru wages a successful civil war and sets himself up as the administrator of the country, establishing a dictatorship, remodels our system of government, conquers and incorporates Mexico, remodels our relations with Canada, establishes a close bond with England, wipes out all memories of the Civil War by having Grant and Lee clasp hands on the same pediment, elects his own president and assigns to each of the powers its allotted space in the universe, after which he disappears like the good fairy of the books. A passage from the novel affords fair insight into its philosophy. On page156 the author makes Dru say: “For a long time I have known that this hour would come, and there would be those of you who stand affrighted at the momentous change from constitutional government to despotism, no matter how pure and exalted you might believe my intentions to be. But in the long watches of the night I conceived a plan of government which, by the grace of God, I hope to be able to give to the American people. My life is consecrated to our cause and, hateful as the thought of assuming supreme power, I can see no other way clearly, and I would be recreant to my trust if I faltered in my duty.” The book thus takes on a strange prophetic character, considering that it was published in 1912, two years before the outbreak of the war, as though the writer had laid down a great plan of action which he was in the process of carrying out when the elections of1918 raised an unexpected obstacle to its further execution. The close friendship between President Wilson and Colonel House, according to the latter’s biographer, dates from the time when, after having considered Mayor Gaynor of New York and found himself disappointed in his expectations, Colonel House decided to make Wilson President in1912. In the selection for the Cabinet two prominent Texans, Attorney General Gregory and Postmaster General Burleson, were named, and many others were by him designated for responsible positions. It has been pointed out in certain quarters that many of the most important measures leading up to and including the war bear a more or less striking resemblance to those outlined in “Philip Dru,” even to the investment of the President with almost absolute powers. Colonel House’s residence in New York became the calling place of foreign ambassadors, where vital questions of State and our international relations were dealt with before they reached the President. Count Bernstorff, former German ambassador to the United States, testified before the Reichstag Commission investigating the war that he handed Colonel House an important note on peace which was never heard of afterward. Colonel House has been called “the mysterious;” he seeks distinction in doing his work in secrecy, rewarding his friends and punishing his enemies in ways not readily apparent, laying out his policies without revealing his hand and executing well-devised plans without the noise and trumpery of cheap publicity. In this manner he is credited with shaping the policies of the administration at the peace conference, where he was, next to the President, the principal representative of the United States, working congenially with Clemenceau and Lloyd George and acting as moderator on the President in the latter’s earlier demands for a stricter observance on the part of the Allies of his Fourteen Points. As related in a Paris correspondence in the New York “Tribune,” dated April16, 1919, “President Wilson, realizing that he had not sufficient ground for further refusing to meet the demands of the three European allies, accepted the formula which Clemenceau and Lloyd George had worked out for reparations and accepted the plan which Colonel House had previously approved for the surrender of the Saar Valley by Germany for a long period of years, after which a plebiscite shall be held.” A biographer of Colonel House says that the colonel’s father was born in England and came to the United States during the Texas war for independence against Mexico, in which he participated. Texas having attained its independence, the elder House wanted Texas to become a colony of England, a project which, fortunately, did not materialize. During the Civil War, it is claimed, he acted for England in facilitating British blockade runners. As a boy Colonel House attended a school in England taught by the father of Lloyd George and the friendship between the latter and Colonel House dates back to their youth. During his stay in England he formed many close |
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