763.72 Su/32½
The Secretary of State to President Wilson
My Dear Mr. President: I told you after cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 19th, of my interview that morning with Lord Reading and his perturbation over your attitude as to the Versailles declaration72a and the resolutions of the Inter-Allied Council of which Mr. Crosby is president.72b I think his chief fear was that the matter would become public and be used by the political enemies of Lloyd George for I understand that since the parliamentary crisis has passed he is less disturbed.
Day before yesterday, the 20th, Jusserand came to see me. He was far more excited than Lord Reading and showed considerable irritation that he had not been warned beforehand. He said that you had received him recently and had never mentioned the matter to him nor had you done so to Reading, a fact which he considered most unfortunate. He said that he was sure that “your rebuke” would be very badly received.
I told him that the Prime Minister must have known that this Government did not consider that the Supreme War Council had to [Page 104] do with political subjects, that we had no political representative on the Council and had no intention of having one, and that it seemed an extraordinary proceeding to issue a statement at Versailles which would give the impression that the War Council had approved. I told him that in the event that the three Allied Governments considered your assertion as to the scope of the two Councils to be a rebuke, they had no one to blame but themselves and that you had no other course but state plainly your views.
This did not seem to satisfy Jusserand at all, though his chief ground of complaint seemed to be that you had not consulted him about the matter.
Yesterday (Thursday) I had an interview with the Italian Ambassador. I found him in a very different temper from the other Ambassadors. He agreed that your attitude was quite correct, that Baron Sonnino fully understood it, and that the latter had resisted so far as he was able any joint action without first consulting this Government.
This is a brief résumé of my interviews.
Faithfully yours,