763.72119 P 43/15: Telegram
The Commission to Negotiate Peace to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received December 23—9:01 p.m.]
56. For Phillips from Grew. Your 53, December 19, 4 p.m. I fully appreciate your friendly word of caution and assure you that it will at all times be of great help to have you bring criticisms of our organization to my attention. As a matter of fact the criticism in this instance is quite unjustified, and I have traced similar comments, circulating in Paris, to certain persons which [who] without justification have been hostile to our organization from the start and which I can explain to you only in person. The situation is fully known to and understood by the Commission[ers Plenipotentiary?] who have approved of the organization as they found it. I think the criticisms which have come to you in Washington can be satisfactorily answered by the following facts:
- 1.
- We now have 66 Army officers assigned to the Commission from the A. E. F. of whom a considerable number, including interpreters, reported under direct instructions from the War Department. Of these 66 only 11 were known to me personally at the time of their selection and only 6 others were known to me even by name. Of the total number small percentage may be said to be prominent socially, although the term is of course relative and misleading.
- 2.
- These men were selected upon high recommendation after a careful examination into their records, ability and special qualifications for certain duties and not one has failed to make good in the work assigned to him. I consider that all have pronounced ability.
- 3.
- Having been guided by efficiency, not favoritism, we have refused the application of a very great number of men, who may be said to be socially prominent, on the ground that they were not of pronounced ability.
- 4.
- Those officers assigned to the Commission who may be said to be socially prominent, were selected on account of their thorough knowledge of French and their affiliations with various branches of the French Government and the diplomatic corps and various civilian activities in France. The efficiency of the organization depended upon the selection of certain men with these particular qualifications.
- 5.
- The short time given us to build up the organization before the arrival of the Commission necessitated our selecting men without consulting Members of Congress.
- 6.
- Twenty-five states of the Union are represented among the officers mentioned under heading 1.
I hope that these facts and circumstances, which can be corroborated by anyone within the Commission, will be sufficient to silence any further similar criticisms which may be brought to your attention, and I only regret that you have been caused anxiety by the reports that have reached you.