The intimate papers of Colonel House arranged as a narrative by Charles Seymour.

200 INTIMATE PAPERS OF COLONEL HOUSE

different views of Lord Cowdray and Sir Lionel Garden, and
I was glad to hear the other side. He spoke of Sir Edward
Grey's desire to bring about a cessation of armaments, for
he thought our present civilization would eventually be destroyed upon that rock. He thought, too, that an armament
trust was forcing all Governments not only to pay excessive
prices, but was creating war scares - they being the only
people having any interest in having the different Governments keep up large expenditures for war purposes.
'We talked of the Panama tolls question. Sir William said
Sir Edward Grey's idea was that no possible good came to
nations if either the letter or the spirit of a treaty were
broken. He said the English people felt keenly upon this
subject, and no one more so than Sir Edward himself; and
the only reason he held office was his desire to promote the
peace of nations.
'I replied that the President felt as keenly as Sir Edward
did about the inviolability of treaties, and I thought when he
talked with him, the President would make his position
clear. I expressed the desire immediately to bring the President and Sir William together, and he was delighted to have
the opportunity....'
President Wilson was not generally expansive in conferences with persons whom he met for the first time, and House
was somewhat surprised and even more pleased that the interview developed the degree of frankness that characterized
it.
'November 13, 1913: The President received Tyrrell in the
Blue Room. He had on a grey sack suit, while Sir William
wore a cutaway. They both appeared a little embarrassed.
The President opened the conversation by saying I had told
him of my conversation with him yesterday; and then outlined the purpose of our Government regarding Mexico, very