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

CORRESPONDENCE WITH GERARD

377

best of my belief. I do not think the Kaiser ever actually
wanted the war.
The feeling, as I said, just now is very tense against America. The sale of arms is at the bottom, and the fact that we
stand things from England that we would not from Germany
(according to the Germans) is the cause. But it is very real
and makes us all very uncomfortable.
Hope to see you soon.
Yours ever
JAMES W. GERARD
P.S. I am sure of acceptance of proposal.
Colonel House to Ambassador Gerard
LONDON, March 1, 1915
MY DEAR JUDGE:... These are slow-moving people [the British], and when
I undertook to tell them of your opinion that quick action
was necessary and it was a question of hours rather than
days, I saw that it was hopeless. Of course, though, this is
inevitable no matter how fast they wished to move, for the
reason that they cannot act alone; and it takes an incredible
time to get any satisfactory communication with the Allies,
especially with Russia.
I see no insuperable obstacle in the way of peace and I feel
if the belligerents would begin to talk, they might soon come
to an agreement.
The army and navy machine here is now under a tremendous momentum and your prediction as to the final outcome
is not shared by any one here, from the highest to the lowest.
If this war lasts six months longer, England will have a navy
that will be more than equal to the combined navies of the
world. That is something for us Americans to think of; in
fact, it is something for everybody to think of....
Faithfully yours
E. M. HOUSE