AN AMERICAN GIRL BRINGS NEWS THAT CHANGES THE COURSE OF THE MOUNT VERNON
PEACE CONFERENCE
The sessions of the Mount Vernon Peace Congress were held in a large room
of the historic mansion that was George Washington’s business office. The
United States was represented by General Leonard Wood, William H. Taft
and Elihu Root; Germany by General von Hindenburg, General von Kluck and
Count von Bernstoff.
Although I was not personally present at these discussions I am able,
thanks to the standing of the London _Times_, to set forth the main
points on the highest authority.
In the very first session the peace commissioners came straight to the
main question.
“I am instructed by the President of the United States,” began General
Wood, “to ask your Excellency if the German Imperial Government will
agree to withdraw their armies from America in consideration of receiving
a money indemnity?”
“No, sir,” replied General von Hindenburg. “That is quite out of the
question.”
[Illustration: GERMAN GUNS DESTROY THE HOTEL TAFT.]
“A large indemnity? I am empowered to offer three thousand million
dollars, which is three times as much, your Excellency will remember, as
the Imperial German Government accepted for withdrawing from France in
1870.”
“Yes, and we always regretted it,” snapped von Hindenburg. “We should
have kept that territory, or part of it. We are going to keep this
territory. That was our original intention in coming here. We need this
Atlantic seaboard for the extension of the German idea, for the spread of
German civilisation, for our inevitable expansion as the great world
power.”
“Suppose we agreed to pay four billion dollars?” suggested the American
commander.
Von Hindenburg shook his head and then in his rough, positive way: “No,
General. What we have taken by our victorious arms we shall hold for our
children and our grandchildren. I am instructed to say, however, that the
Imperial German Government will make one important concession to the
United States. We will withdraw our troops from the mouths of the
Mississippi which we now hold, as you know; we will withdraw from
Galveston, New Orleans, Pensacola, Tampa, Key West; in short, from all
ports in the Gulf of Mexico and in Florida. If you will allow me,
gentlemen, I will show you on this map what we propose to surrender to
you and what we propose to keep.”
The venerable Field Marshal unrolled upon the broad surface of George
Washington’s desk a beautifully shaded relief map of the United States,
and General Wood, ex-President Taft and Elihu Root bent over it with
tense faces and studied a heavy black line that indicated the proposed
boundary between the United States and the territory claimed by the
invaders. This latter included all of New England, about one-third of New
York and Pennsylvania (the southeastern portions), all of New Jersey and
Delaware, nearly all of Virginia and North Carolina and all of South
Carolina and Georgia.
“You observe, gentlemen,” said von Hindenburg, “that our American
province is to bear the name New Germany. It is bounded on the north by
Canada, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Florida, and
on the west by Alabama and the Allegheny Mountains. It is a strip of
land; roughly speaking, a thousand miles long and two hundred miles
wide.”
“About the area of the German Empire,” said ex-President Taft.
“Possibly, but not one-tenth of the entire territory of the United
States, leaving out Alaska. We feel that as conquerors we are asking
little enough.” He eyed the Americans keenly.
“You are asking us to give up New York, Philadelphia and Washington and
all of New England,” said Elihu Root very quietly. “Does your Excellency
realise what that means to us? New England is the cradle of our
liberties. New York is the heart of the nation. Washington is our
capital.”
“Washington _was_ your capital,” broke in General von Kluck, with a
laugh.
“I can assure your Excellency,” said General Wood, keeping his composure
with an effort, “that the American people will never consent to such a
sacrifice of territory. You may drive us back to the deserts of Arizona,
you may drive us back to the Rocky Mountains, but we will fight on.”
Von Hindenburg’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Ah, so!” he smiled grimly.
“Do you know what will happen if you refuse our terms? In the next few
months we shall land expeditions from Germany with a million more
soldiers. That will give us a million and a half men on American soil. We
shall then invade the Mississippi Valley from New Orleans, and our next
offer of terms will be made to you from St. Louis or Chicago, _and it
will be a very different offer_.”
“If your Excellency will allow me,” said Elihu Root in a conciliatory
tone, “may I ask if the Imperial German Government does not recognise
that there will be great difficulties in the way of permanently holding a
strip of land along our Atlantic seaboard?”
“What difficulties? England holds Canada, doesn’t she? Spain held Mexico,
did she not?”
“But the Mexicans were willing to be held. Your Excellency must realise
that in New England, in New York, in New Jersey, you would be dealing
with irreconcilable hatred.”
“Nothing is irreconcilable. Look at Belgium. They hated us in 1915, did
they not? But sixty-five percent of them accepted German citizenship when
we offered it to them after the peace in 1919, and they have been a
well-behaved German province ever since.”
“You mean to say that New England would ever become a German province?”
protested William H. Taft. “Do you think that New York and Virginia will
ever take the oath of allegiance to the German Emperor?”
“Of course they will, just as most of the Spaniards you conquered in the
Philippine Islands took the oath of allegiance to America. They swore
they would not but they did. Men follow the laws of necessity. Half of
your population are of foreign descent. Millions of them are of German
descent. These people crowded over here from Europe because they were
starving and you have kept them starving. They will come to us because we
treat them better; we give them higher wages, cleaner homes, more
happiness. They _have_ come to us already; the figures prove it. Not ten
percent of the people of New York and New England have moved away since
the German occupation, although they were free to go. Why is that?
Because they like our form of government, they see that it insures to
them and their children the benefits of a higher civilisation.”
My informant assured me that at this point ex-President Taft, in spite of
his even temper, almost exploded with indignation, while General Wood
rose abruptly from his seat.
For a time it looked as if this first Peace Conference session would
break up in a storm of angry recrimination; but Elihu Root, by tactful
appeals, finally smoothed things over and an adjournment was taken for
forty-eight hours, during which it was agreed that both sides, by
telegraph and cable, should lay the situation before their respective
governments in Chicago and Berlin.
I remained at Mount Vernon for two weeks while the truce lasted. Every
day the peace commissioners met for hours of argument and pleading, but
the deadlock of conflicting purposes was not broken. Both sides kept in
touch with their governments and both made concessions. America raised
her indemnity offer to five billion dollars, to six billion dollars, to
seven billion dollars, but declared she would never surrender one foot of
the Atlantic seaboard. Germany lessened her demands for territory, but
refused to withdraw from New York, New England and Philadelphia.
For some days this deadlock continued, then America began to weaken. She
felt herself overpowered. The consequences of continuing the war were too
frightful to contemplate and, on September 8, I cabled my paper that the
United States would probably cede to Germany within twenty-four hours the
whole of New England and a part of New York State, including New York
City and Long Island. This was the general opinion when, suddenly, out of
a clear sky came a dramatic happening destined to change the course of
events and draw me personally into a whirlpool of exciting adventures.
It was about three o’clock in the afternoon of September 9, a blazing hot
day, and I was seated on the lawn under one of the fine magnolia-trees
presented years before by Prince Henry of Prussia, wondering how much
longer I must swelter here before getting off my despatch to the _Times_,
when I heard the panting of a swiftly approaching automobile which
presently drew up outside the grounds. A moment later a coloured
chauffeur approached and asked if I was Mr. James Langston. I told him I
was, and he said a lady in the car wanted to speak to me.
“A lady?” I asked in surprise. “Did she give her name?”
The chauffeur broke into a beaming smile. “She didn’t give no name, boss,
but she sure is a ve’hy handsome lady, an’ she’s powh’ful anxious to see
you.”
I lost no time in answering this mysterious summons, and a little later
found myself in the presence of a young woman whom I recognised, when she
drew aside her veil, as Miss Mary Ryerson, sister of Lieutenant Randolph
Ryerson. With her in the car were her brother and a tall, gaunt man with
deep-set eyes. They were all travel-stained, and the car showed the
battering of Virginia mountain roads.
“Oh, Mr. Langston,” cried the girl eagerly, “we have such wonderful news!
The conference isn’t over? They haven’t yielded to Germany?”
“No,” said I. “Not yet.”
“They mustn’t yield. We have news that changes everything. Oh, it’s so
splendid! America is going to win.”
Her lovely face was glowing with enthusiasm, but I shook my head.
“America’s fleet is destroyed. Her army is beaten. How can she win?”
Miss Ryerson turned to her brother and to the other man. “Go with Mr.
Langston. Tell him everything. Explain everything. He will take you to
General Wood.” She fixed her radiant eyes on me. “You will help us? I can
count on you? Remember, it’s for America!”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised, yielding to the spell of her charm and
spirit. “May I ask--” I glanced at the tall man who was getting out of
the car.
“Ah! Now you will believe. You will see how God is guiding us. This is
the father of the brave little boy in Wanamaker’s store. He has seen
Thomas A. Edison, and Mr. Edison says his plan to destroy the German
fleet is absolutely sound. Mr. Langston, Mr. Lemuel A. Widding. Now
hurry!”