discouraged elsewhere, for Washington is no longer a city of set
routine and fixed habit. It is at last the center of the nation.
New York is no longer even the financial center. The newspapers
are edited from here. Society centers here. All the industrial
chiefs of the nation spend most of their time here. It is easier
to find a great cattle king or automobile manufacturer or a
railroad president or a banker at the Shoreham or the Willard
Hotel than it is to find him in his own town. The surprising thing
is that these great men who have made our country do not loom so
large when brought to Washington and put to work. ... Every day I
find some man of many millions who has been here for months and
whose movements used to be a matter of newspaper notoriety, but I
did not know, even, that he was here. I leave my office at seven
o'clock, not having been out of it during the day except for a
Cabinet or Council meeting, take a wink of sleep, change my
clothes and go to a dinner, for this, as you will remember, is the
one form of entertainment that Washington has permitted itself in
the war. The dinners are Hooverized,--three courses, little or no
wheat, little or no meat, little or no sugar, a few serve wine.
And round the table will always be found men in foreign uniforms,
or some missionary from some great power who comes begging for
boats or food. These dinners used to be places of great gossip,
and chiefly anti-administration gossip, but the spirit of the
people is one of unequaled loyalty. The Republicans are as glad to
have Wilson as their President as are the Democrats, I think
sometimes a little more glad, because many of the Democrats are
disgruntled over patronage or something else. The women are
ferocious in their hunt for spies, and their criticism is against
what they think is indifference to this danger. Boys appear at
these dinners in the great houses, because of their uniforms, who
would never have been permitted even to come to the front door in
other days, for all are potential heroes. Every woman carries her
knitting, and it is seldom that you hear a croaker even among the
most luxurious class. Well, the dinner is over by half past ten,
and I go home to an hour and a half's work, which has been sent
from the office, and fall at last into a more or less troubled
sleep. This is the daily round.
I have not been to New York since the war began. I made one trip
across the continent speaking for the Liberty Loan, day and night.
And this life is pretty much the life of all of us here. The
President keeps up his spirits by going to the theatre three or
four times a week. There are no official functions at the White
House, and everybody's teeth are set. The Allies need not doubt
our resolution. England and France will break before we will, and
I do not doubt their steadfast purpose. It is, as you said long
ago, their fault that this war has come, for they did not realize
the kind of an enemy they had, either in spirit, purpose, or
strength. But we will increasingly strengthen that western gate so
that the Huns will not break through.
We do things fast here, but I never realized before how slow we
are in getting started. It takes a long time for us to get a new
stride. I did not think that this was true industrially. I have
known that it was true politically for a long time, because this
was the most backward and most conservative of all the
democracies. We take up new machinery of government so slowly. But
industrially it is also true. When told to change step we shift
and stumble and halt and hesitate and go through all kinds of
awkward misses. This has been true as to ships and aeroplanes and
guns, big and little, and uniforms. Whatever the government has
done itself has been tied by endless red tape. It is hard for an
army officer to get out of the desk habit, and caution,
conservatism, sureness, seem even in time of crisis to be more
important than a bit of daring. In my Department, I figure that it
takes about seven years for the nerve of initiative and the nerve
of imagination to atrophy, and so, perhaps, it is in other
departments. It took five months for one of our war bureaus to get
out a contract for a building that we were to build for them.
Fifteen men had to sign the contract. And of course we have been
impatient. But things are bettering every day. The men in the
camps are very impatient to get away. But where are the ships to
do all the work? The Republicans cannot chide us with all of the
unpreparedness, for they stood in the way of our getting ships
three years ago. The gods have been against us in the way of
weather so we have not brought down our supplies to the seaboard,
but we have not had the ships to take away that which was there;
or coal, sometimes, for the ships.
From now, however, you will see a steadier, surer movement of men,
munitions, food, and ships. The whole country is solidly, strongly
with the President. There are men in Congress bitterly against him
but they do not dare to raise their voices, because he has the
people so resolutely with him. The Russian overthrow has been a
good thing for us in one way. It will cost us perhaps a million
lives, but it will prove to us the value of law and order. We are
to have our troubles, and must change our system of life in the
next few years.
A great oil man was in the office the other day and told me in a
plain, matter-of-fact way, what must be done to win--the
sacrifices that must be made--and he ended by saying, "After all,
what is property?" This is a very pregnant question. It is not
being asked in Russia alone. Who has the right to anything? My
answer is, not the man, necessarily, who has it, but the man who
can use it to good purpose. The way to find the latter man is the
difficulty.
We will have national woman suffrage, national prohibition,
continuing inheritance tax, continuing income tax, national life
insurance, an increasing grip upon the railroads, their finances
and their operation as well as their rates. Each primary resource,
such as land and coal and iron and copper and oil, we will more
carefully conserve. There will be no longer the opportunity for
the individual along these lines that there has been. Industry
must find some way of profit-sharing or it will be nationalized.
These things, however, must be regarded as incidents now; and the
labor people, those with vision and in authority, are very willing
to postpone the day of accounting until we know what the new order
is to be like.
Well, I have rambled on, giving you a general look--in on my mind.
Don't let any of those people doubt the President, or doubt the
American people. This is the very darkest day that we have seen.
But we believe in ourselves and we believe in our own kind, and
believe in a something, not ourselves, that makes for
righteousness,--slowly, stumblingly, but, as the centuries go,
surely.
I have not yet seen the Archbishop of York. He has not been here.
But he has made a most favorable impression where he has been, and
so have the English labor people.
Poor Spring-Rice did good work here. Washington felt very sad over
his death, and is expecting that England will evidence her
appreciation of the fact that he did nothing to estrange us by the
way in which his widow is treated.
Reading has been received and fits in perfectly. With warm
regards, as always, Cordially yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To John Lyon Machine Gun Company Camp McClennen, Alabama
Washington, March 15,1918
MY DEAR JOHN,--I know how you must feel. Every particle of my own
nature rebels against the horror of this war, or of any war, and
against the dragooning by military men. I had rather die now and
take my chances of Hell, than doom myself and Ned and those who
are to come after, to living under a government which is as this
government is now and as all governments must be now,--autocratic,
governed by orders and commands. But this is the game, and we have
got to play it, play it hard and play it through. Manifestly we
cannot quit as Russia did without getting Russia's ill-fortune.
There was a great empire of a hundred and eighty million people.
They mobilized twenty-five million men. Six million of them are
dead. The Czar was overthrown, a new government was set up, one of
conservative socialism, and that was swept aside and a group of
impractical socialists put in its stead, and where is Russia now?
Broken to bits, its population dying of hunger, its industries
unworked, its soil untilled, and Germany coming on with her great
feet, stamping down the few who are brave enough to interpose
themselves between Germany and her end. If we were to quit,
Germany would do to us, or try to do to us, what she has done to
Russia.
If there ever was a real defensive war it is the one that we are
engaged in, and we must sacrifice, and sacrifice, and sacrifice,
not merely for the world's sake but for our own sake. Ned is in
France. He went through England. He tells me that everybody is
serious, solemn, purposeful. They would rather all die than live
under Germany's mastery of the world.
The President is being bitterly criticized because he has taken
every opportunity to talk of terms and of ways out, but I think he
is right. He must make the people of the world feel that we are
not foolishly, and in a headstrong way, fighting to get anything
for ourselves or for anybody else, except the chance to live our
own lives. And we will show these Germans something. Our capacity
to produce aeroplanes is still altogether unrealized, and we will
have great guns a few feet apart along the entire front. We can
bomb German harbors where submarines are, and are made--that's
the work that Ned is going in for,--and we will hold that western
line until every resource is exhausted. And we will go through it
one of these days, perhaps not this year. But we must go through
it or else American ships will live on the sea by consent of
Germany, and Canada will become German territory. This is no
dream. Give Germany Paris and Calais and she can exact terms from
England. Why should she not ask for Canada? And give Germany
Canada and what becomes of the United States? An army of Germans
on our border, 5,000,000 men in arms in the United States always,
the army and navy budget taking thirty or forty per cent of every
man's income. Who wants to live in such a country? We are fighting
the greatest war that history has ever seen, not merely in numbers
but in principle. We are fighting to get rid of the most hateful
survivals from the past. The overlord, the brusque and arrogant
soldier, is the dominating factor in society and the government,
the turning of men's thoughts away from the pursuit of the things
of art and beauty and social beneficence into the one channel of
making everything serve the military arm of the nation.
This will be a better world for the poor man when all is over. We
must forget our dreams, what our own individual lives would have
been, and with dash, and cheer, and courage, and willingness to
make the ultimate sacrifice, set our jaws and go forward. The
devil is in the saddle and we must pull him down, or else he will
rule the world,--and you are to have a tug at his coat. And I envy
you. I'd take your place in a minute, if I could. Remember that
you are an individualist, not a collectivist naturally, but
individuals are of no use now. The war can be made only by great
groups who conform. The free spirit of man will have its way once
more when this bloody war is done.
I am glad you wrote me, and I want you to feel that you always can
write me, whatever is in your heart, and I will give you such
answer as my busy days will permit. There is only one way to look
at life and get any satisfaction out of it, and that is to bow to
the inevitable. We all must be fatalists to that extent, and once
a course has been determined upon, accept it and make the best of
it. The life of the old gambler does not consist in holding a big
hand but in playing a poor hand well. You and I are no longer
masters of our own fortunes. All that we can do is to abide by the
set rules of the game that is being played. I would change many
things, but I am powerless, and because I am powerless I must say
to myself each day, "All that God demands of me is that I shall do
my best," and doing that, the responsibility is cast upon that
Spirit which is the Great Commander. I like to feel at these times
that there is a personal God and a personal devil, and there has
been no better philosophy devised than that. God is not supreme,
He is not omnipotent, He has His limitations, His struggles, His
defeats, but there is no life unless you believe that He
ultimately must win, that this world is going upward, not
downward, that the devil is to be beaten,--the devil inside of
ourselves, the devil of wilfulness, of waywardness, of cynicism,
and the devil that is represented by the overbearing, cruel
militarism and ruthless inhumanity of Germany. You are a soldier
of the Lord, just as truly as Christ was.
I send you my affectionate regards, and with it goes the
confidence that you will, with good cheer and resolution, play
your part. Sincerely yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
This boy died in France. Lane wrote to his father of him:--
To Frank Lyon
Washington, [November 16, 1918]
DEAR FRANK,--Have just heard. Dear, dear Boy! I was so fond of
him. He had a brave adventurous spirit. Well, he has gone out
gloriously. There could be no finer way to go and no better time.
I know your own strength will be equal to this test--and the
wife, poor woman, she too is brave. My heart goes out to you both
very really, wholly. With much affection.
FRANKLIN K. LANE
To Miss Genevieve King
Washington, March 16, 1918
MY DEAR MISS KING,--These are times of terrible strain and stress,
and we cannot easily fall back upon those sources of power which
seem so distant and unavailing. I like to think of you as in our
last talk in the Millers' drawing room, where you had a much
better opportunity to express yourself than in the one that we
later had out on the porch. You then seemed to live your thought
and to have the capacity for its expression. I think of you, too,
up on that beautiful mountainside, where things like war and guns
and bandages and hospitals and men without arms and the lack of
ships, the need for saying goodbye, are so remote.
We still keep up a semblance of social life by going to dinners
every night. It is the one relief I have, and yet each time I go I
feel ashamed at what appears like a waste of time, and yet I know
is not, and the waste of good food which is needed by others so
much more than by us. Still the people have come down to a strict
and modest diet with surprising firmness. There is little evidence
of what you would call luxury or extravagance, excepting in the
way a few people live. The place is filled with soldiers of many
colors, breeds, and uniforms.
... Anne is busy every day at her work, and I see little of anyone
who does not come to me on business. The country seems strongly
with the President, and while his spirits are not gay, his purpose
is high and his determination is strong. We will do better, and
increasingly better, as time goes on, I believe. With warm
regards, as always sincerely yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
Lane was a member of the Executive Council of the Red Cross, with
whom his wife was working during the war. He characterized its
symbol as,--"The one flag which binds all nations is that which
speaks of suffering and healing, losses and hopes, a past of
courage and a future of peace--the flag of the Red Cross."
To John McNaught
Washington, March 16, 1918
MY DEAR JOHN,--It is only now after a month's delay, that I have
an opportunity even to acknowledge your letter of the 17th of
February.
... The whole war situation seems to be so big that it overwhelms
the minds of men. ... But we are grinding on and going surely in
the right way. Not everything has been done that could be done,
but we are getting our step. This thing will be longer than we
thought. But as the President says, it is our job--our job is cut
out for us, and we are going to see it through. Russia has taught
us what happens to a nation that is not self-respecting. We are
hard at work, every one of us, big and little. The nation never
was as united, and while we do not realize just what war is, yet
we will realize it more from day to day and harder will our fibre
grow.
My boy is in France. He hopes to fly an aeroplane over a German
submarine base, and drop a ton of dynamite on it and put it out of
business.
How the world has changed since we dreamed together in the Cosmos
Club! How Paris has changed since we wandered through its
boulevards together! The day of the common man is at hand. Our
danger will be in going too fast, and by going too fast do
injustice to him. But your kind of socialism and mine is to have
its fling.
I was much pleased to meet your wife, very much indeed, and I hope
we may see you here one of these days. With my affectionate
regards, sincerely yours,
FRANKLIN K. LANE
On May 31, 1918, Lane sent a long letter to President Wilson in
relation to his plan for providing farms, from the public domain,
for the returning soldiers. The letter is given at some length,
because this plan was so dear to Lane's heart, and was one upon
which he had put much earnest study. In addition to the phases of
the subject printed here, he gave, in his signed letter to
President Wilson, detailed consideration to several other aspects
of the matter; such as, a comparison of his plan with land-tenure
in Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia; the need for an
extension of the method whereby land can be "developed in large
areas, sub-divided into individual farms, then sold to actual bona
fide farmers on long-time payment basis"; and also the part Alaska
should be made to play in affording agricultural opportunity to
our returned soldiers.
To Hon. Woodrow Wilson The White House
Washington, May 31, 1918
MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT,--I believe the time has come when we should
give thought to the preparations of plans for providing
opportunity for our soldiers returning from the war. Because this
Department has handled similar problems I consider it my duty to
bring this matter to the attention of yourself and Congress. ...
To the great number of returning soldiers, land will offer the
great and fundamental opportunity. The experience of wars points
out the lesson that our service men, because of army life with its
openness and activity, will largely seek out-of-doors vocations
and occupations. This fact is accepted by the allied European
nations. That is why their programs and policies of re-locating
and readjustment emphasize the opportunities on the land for the
returning soldier. The question then is, "What land can be made
available for farm homes for our soldiers?"
We do not have the bountiful public domain of the sixties and
seventies. In a literal sense, for the use of it on a generous
scale for soldier farm homes as in the sixties, "the public domain
is gone." The official figures at the end of the fiscal year, June
30, 1917, show this: We have unappropriated land in the
continental United States to the amount of 230,657,755 acres. It
is safe to say that not one-half of this land will ever prove to
be cultivable in any sense. So we have no lands in any way
comparable to that in the public domain when Appomattox came--and
men turned westward with army rifle and "roll blanket," to begin
life anew.
While we do not have that matchless public domain of '65, we do
have millions of acres of undeveloped lands that can be made
available for our home-coming soldiers. We have arid lands in the
West, cut-over lands in the Northwest, Lake States, and South, and
also swamp lands in the Middle West and South, which can be made
available through the proper development. Much of this land can be
made suitable for farm homes if properly handled. But it will
require that each type of land be dealt with in its own particular
fashion. The arid land will require water; the cut-over land will
require clearing; and the swamp land must be drained. Without any
of these aids, they remain largely "No Man's Land." The solution
of these problems is no new thing. In the admirable achievement of
the Reclamation Service in reclamation and drainage we have
abundant proof of what can be done.
Looking toward the construction of additional projects, I am glad
to say that plans and investigations have been under way for some
time. A survey and study has been in the course of consummation by
the Reclamation Service on the Great Colorado Basin. That great
project, I believe, will appeal to the new spirit of America. It
would mean the conquest of an empire in the Southwest. It is
believed that more than three millions of acres of arid land could
be reclaimed by the completion of the Upper and Lower Colorado
Basin projects. ...
What amount of land, in its natural state unfit for farm homes,
can be made suitable for cultivation by drainage, only thorough
surveys and studies can develop. We know that authentic figures
show that more than fifteen million acres have been reclaimed for
profitable farming, most of which lies in the Mississippi River
Valley.
The amount of cut-over lands in the United States, of course, it
is impossible even in approximation to estimate. ... A rough
estimate of their number is about two hundred million acres--that
is of land suitable for agricultural development. Substantially
all this cut-over or logged-off land is in private ownership. The
failure of this land to be developed is largely due to inadequate
method of approach. Unless a new policy of development is worked
out in cooperation between the Federal Government, the States, and
the individual owners, a greater part of it will remain unsettled
and uncultivated. ...
Any plan for the development of land for the returned soldier,
will come face to face with the fact that a new policy will have
to meet the new conditions. The era of free or cheap land in the
United States has passed. We must meet the new conditions of
developing lands in advance--security must to a degree displace
speculation. ...
This is an immediate duty. It will be too late to plan for these
things when the war is over. Our thought now should be given to
the problem. And I therefore desire to bring to your mind the
wisdom of immediately supplying the Interior Department with a
sufficient fund with which to make the necessary surveys and
studies. We should know by the time the war ends, not merely how
much arid land can be irrigated, nor how much swamp land
reclaimed, nor where the grazing land is and how many cattle it
will support, nor how much cut-over land can be cleared, but we
should know with definiteness where it is practicable to begin new
irrigation projects, what the character of the land is, what the
nature of the improvements needed will be, and what the cost will
be. We should know also, not in a general way, but with
particularity, what definite areas of swamp land may be reclaimed,
how they can be drained, what the cost of the drainage will be,
what crops they will raise. We should have in mind specific areas
of grazing lands, with a knowledge of the cattle which are best
adapted to them, and the practicability of supporting a family
upon them. So, too, with our cut-over lands. We should know what
it would cost to pull or "blow-out" stumps and to put the lands
into condition for a farm home.
And all this should be done upon a definite planning basis. We
should think as carefully of each one of these projects as George
Washington thought of the planning of the City of Washington, We
should know what it will cost to buy these lands if they are in
private hands. In short, at the conclusion of the war the United
States should be able to say to its returned soldiers, "If you
wish to go upon a farm, here are a variety of farms of which you
may take your pick, which the Government has prepared against the
time of your returning." I do not mean by this to carry the
implication that we should do any other work now than the work of
planning. A very small sum of money put into the hands of men of
thought, experience, and vision, will give us a program which will
make us feel entirely confident that we are not to be submerged,
industrially or otherwise, by labor which we will not be able to
absorb, or that we would be in a condition where we would show a
lack of respect for those who return as heroes, but who will be
without means of immediate self-support.
A million or two dollars, if appropriated now, will put this work
well under way.
This plan does not contemplate anything like charity to the
soldier. He is not to be given a bounty. He is not to be made to
feel that he is a dependent. On the contrary, he is to continue,
in a sense, in the service of the Government. Instead of
destroying our enemies he is to develop our resources.