(The story is about a man, Philip Dru, who leads a revolt ...)
The story is about a man, Philip Dru, who leads a revolt against the United States government because it had become too corrupt. After the revolution, he scraps the Constitution and makes himself "Administrator." He then changes every concept of national and state governments to reflect his view of governance.
What Really Happened at Paris; the Story of the Peace Conference, 1918-1919
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
He was born July 26, 1858 in Houston, Texas. He was the seventh and youngest son of Thomas William and Mary Elizabeth (Shearn) House; there were no daughters. His father, who had come from England to settle in Texas while it was still under the Mexican flag, became a prosperous planter and overseas trader. The younger House, reared in the atmosphere of the frontier and of the Civil War, was strongly influenced by the cosmopolitan contacts of his father.
Education
As a boy he was sent to school in Bath, England; he later attended the Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, Connecticut, and Cornell University, though he was recalled to Texas before the completion of his college course by the death of his father in 1880.
Career
For ten years House managed his father's cotton plantations (his share of the inheritance), but then sold out; the interest on the notes which he took in payment enabled him to live in financial independence for the rest of his life. Following his marriage, he traveled extensively, establishing personal acquaintances in Boston, New York, and Europe. He set up permanent residence, meanwhile, in Austin, Texas.
House's interest in politics began early in life and was especially stimulated during his college days by frequent visits to Washington. In 1892 he took over management of the campaign of James S. Hogg for reelection as governor of Texas, and his success led to a close political friendship with Hogg and to a position of influence among Texas Democrats. Although House refused any formal political appointment, Hogg placed him upon his staff and gave him the title of "Colonel, " of which he was never able to divest himself. His political career continued successfully with his management of the gubernatorial campaigns of Charles A. Culberson in 1894, Joseph D. Sayers in 1898, and S. W. T. Lanham in 1902. In each case House acted as an unofficial adviser to the governor after his election in much the same fashion that he later served Woodrow Wilson.
After 1902 House withdrew from active interest in politics; but with the national victories of the Democratic party in 1910 he began to look forward to a position in national politics such as he had held in Texas. House met Wilson for the first time in November 1911, and he threw his influence behind the efforts in Texas to secure the presidential nomination for him; House also maneuvered to line up William Jennings Bryan behind the Wilson candidacy. Following the nomination, House played a mediating role in the campaign quarrels of Democratic leaders. Wilson was impressed by his moderating influence and turned to him after the successful presidential campaign as his most intimate adviser, giving him primary responsibility for the selection of his cabinet.
The intimate relationship with the President which House thus achieved was in part personal and rested upon mutual affection and confidence. It was in equal measure political, for House could bring to Wilson the values of long political experience and a range of contacts with important figures in the Democratic party. Wilson found House's advice sound and his refusal to grind political axes for himself or anyone else reassuring. House helped to promote the administration's legislative program, working with cabinet members and congressional leaders to iron out conflicts. Regarded in inner administration circles as speaking for Wilson, he was frequently referred to as the President's "silent partner. "
House, however, was chiefly interested in foreign affairs. During his annual summer visit to Europe in 1913 he made the acquaintance of the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, thus beginning a lasting and valuable friendship. By encouraging Wilson's demand that Congress repeal the exemption of United States coastwise shipping from Panama Canal tolls, and through his conversations with Grey, House was instrumental in bringing about the British withdrawal of support from Victoriano Huerta, the Mexican dictator, early in 1914. House also helped to promote the administration's abortive negotiation of a Pan-American Pact providing for a concert of defensive security; the draft of the pact drawn up by House and the President closely resembled, in phraseology, Article X of the later League of Nations Covenant.
While in Europe in the spring and early summer of 1914 House strove informally (but with Wilson's approval) to find some means of relieving the mounting Anglo-German tension. He advocated disarmament and proposed that the disputing powers come to an agreement, without resort to arms, on the areas in which each might legitimately foster investments; he also suggested that Germany be allowed investment opportunities in South America. House was received cordially in Berlin, Paris, and London, but the Serbian crisis precipitated a general war before there was any chance of implementing his ideas. House was in complete accord with Wilson's policy of neutrality, but much earlier than the President he advocated a vigorous "preparedness" campaign. Under Wilson's direction he actively explored every possibility of mediation among the belligerents, visiting London, Berlin, and Paris early in 1915 and again in 1916. In February of the latter year he drafted with Grey a proposal of American mediation and, if Germany should refuse peace negotiations, armed assistance to the Allies. Wilson approved the memorandum; but the British failed to follow up the offer. Thus House's efforts to pave the way for what the President termed a "peace without victory" went down to failure.
During the period of American belligerency House served as Wilson's chief agent in all negotiations with the Entente Allies. He worked closely with their war missions in the United States. At their request he was appointed chief of the American mission to London and Paris which, in the Interallied Conference of December 1917, provided for the effective coordination of American war efforts with the critical needs of the Allies. Wilson also delegated to House preparations for ultimate peace. In 1917 House set up an organization known as "The Inquiry, " designed to gather facts and formulate policies relative to the peace settlement. Its first important contribution was to provide an abstract that was utilized by Wilson and House in the preparation of the famous Fourteen Points speech. In the spring of 1918 Wilson asked House to draft for him a tentative "Covenant" of a League of Nations, which he used as the basis for his own later drafts.
When in October 1918 the Germans requested peace negotiations, House was naturally selected by Wilson as his representative in the interallied conferences where the reply to Germany was formulated. Allied leaders were at first not inclined to accept Wilson's Fourteen Points as the basis of peace. House's insistence led to lengthy and acrid discussion in which his firmness (backed by a threat to pull the United States out of the war through a separate peace) finally triumphed. This Pre-Armistice Agreement marked his supreme diplomatic success and the high point of his political career.
House accepted appointment to the United States peace commission, but because of Wilson's decision to attend the conference in person he did not enjoy the authority which the President had given him in earlier interallied negotiations. Wilson nevertheless continued to use him as his chief deputy, formally designating him to take his place during his absence from Paris in February 1919 and his severe illness in early April; and he appointed him to serve with himself on the commission which Wilson regarded as most important of all, that on the League of Nations. But while House's influence was pervasive at Paris and in all important issues continued to be of determining weight, there developed a fundamental difference in attitude between the President and himself. House was the more realistic and the more conciliatory towards the British and French. In the end Wilson himself came to appreciate the necessity of compromise, if the treaty with Germany were to be completed and the League of Nations inaugurated. But his conscience hurt him; and perhaps subconsciously he blamed his long-trusted adviser.
When Wilson left for home after the signing of the Versailles Treaty, House urged him to meet the Senate in the same spirit of compromise that he had shown at Paris. But Wilson's response gave little promise of conciliation. The two friends parted on this day, June 28, 1919, never to see each other again. House remained in Europe to help carry forward the organization of mandates under the League. He returned to the United States in October seriously ill and unable to leave his bed for some weeks. When he recovered he received no encouragement to visit Wilson, who was himself desperately ill. Those in charge of the helpless President were not friendly to House and permitted no occasion which might bring the two together again. There was no single cause that led to the end of relations, no unpleasant incident, no harsh word ever exchanged; the friendship simply lapsed.
The historical importance of House rests upon his close relationship with the President of the United States during a critical period. But his personal influence in public affairs continued long after Wilson's death. He cherished his annual visits to Europe and the intimate friendships he maintained with European political and intellectual leaders, such diverse personalities as Clemenceau, Paderewski, Grey, Balfour, Henri Bergson, and Horace Plunkett. No American of his time was on such close terms with so many men of international eminence. During the months that led up to the nomination and election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to the presidency in 1932, House resumed briefly something of activity in party politics. Roosevelt esteemed his counsel, and their relations bordered on affection, but were not of continued intimacy.
In his later years his interests and activities were only slightly curtailed, despite serious kidney infections in 1928 and 1930. In the summer of 1937 he became dangerously ill with pleurisy; thereafter he weakened steadily. He died at his home in New York City at the age of seventy-nine.
House was generally regarded as discreet to the point of taciturnity. Actually, in the company of friends he was fluent and expansive; the quality of his conversation reflected the wealth of his varied experience. His talent for sympathetic understanding of those who came to him for counsel approached genius. Physically he was of medium height (five feet, nine inches), of slight but wiry frame, active in his movements, an adept horseman and pistol shot. The lasting effects of a boyhood illness he mitigated through a careful regimen of regular rest and moderate exercise.