The next morning I had breakfast with Mr. Lloyd George at his
apartment. Gen. Smuts and Sir Maurice Hankey and Mr. Philip Kerr were
also present, and we discussed the matter at considerable length, I
brought Mr. Lloyd George the official text of the proposal, the same
official one, in that same envelop, which I have just shown to you. He
had previously read it, it having been telegraphed from Helsingfors.
As he had previously read it, he merely glanced over it and said,
"That is the same one I have already read," and he handed it to Gen.
Smuts, who was across the table, and said, "General, this is of the
utmost importance and interest, and you ought to read it right away."
Gen. Smuts read it immediately, and said he thought it should not be
allowed to lapse; that it was of the utmost importance. Mr. Lloyd
George, however, said that he did not know what he could do with
British public opinion. He had a copy of the Daily Mail in his hand,
and he said, "As long as the British press is doing this kind of thing
how can you expect me to be sensible about Russia?" The Daily Mail was
roaring and screaming about the whole Russian situation. Then Mr.
Lloyd George said, "Of course all the reports we get from people we
send in there are in this same general direction, but we have got to
send in somebody who is known to the whole world as a complete
conservative, in order to have the whole world believe that the report
he brings out is not simply the utterance of a radical." He then said,
"I wonder if we could get Lansdowne to go?" Then he immediately
corrected himself and said, "No; it would probably kill him." Then he
said, "I wish I could send Bob Cecil, but we have got to keep him for
the league of nations." And he said to Smuts, "It would be splendid if
you could go, but, of course, you have got the other job," which was
going down to Hungary. Afterwards he said he thought the most
desirable man to send was the Marquis of Salisbury, Lord Robert
Cecil's brother; that he would be respectable enough and well known
enough so that when he came back and made the same report it would go
down with British public opinion. Mr. Lloyd George then urged me to
make public my report. He said it was absolutely necessary to have
publicity given to the actual conditions in Russia, which he
recognized were as presented.
I saw Mr. Balfour that afternoon with Sir Eric Drummond, who at that
time was acting as his secretary. He is now secretary of the league of
nations. We discussed the entire matter. Sir William Wiseman told me
afterward that Mr. Balfour was thoroughly in favor of the proposition.
Well, to cut the story short, first the President referred the matter
to Col. House. He left his decision on the matter with Col. House, as
was his usual course of procedure in most such matters. Mr. Lloyd
George also agreed in advance to leave the preparation of the proposal
to Col. House; that is, he said he would be disposed to go at least as
far as we would and would follow the lead of the President and Col.
House. Col. House thereupon asked me to prepare a reply to this
proposal, which I did.
Col. House in the meantime had seen Mr. Orlando, and Mr. Orlando had
expressed himself as entirely in favor of making peace on this basis,
at least so Col. House informed me at the time. The French, I believe,
had not yet been approached formally on the matter.
Senator KNOX. By the way, right here, you say Mr. Lloyd George advised
you to make your report public. Did you make it public?
Mr. BULLITT. No, sir. Mr. Lloyd George desired me to make it public
for the enlightenment that he thought it might give to public opinion.
Senator KNOX. But you did not do it?