e to be represented by their premiers, and it was
fitting that the United States should be represented by its most
responsible leader, who, furthermore, had been the chief spokesman of
the Allies and had formulated the principles upon which the peace was
to be made. But the decision of the President to go to Paris was
without precedent in our history and, therefore, it met with criticism
and opposition. When he announced the names of the other members of
the delegation, the criticism became even more outspoken and severe.
They were Secretary of State Lansing, Henry White, former ambassador to
France, Colonel Edward M. House, and General Tasker H. Bliss. There
had been a widespread demand for a non-partisan peace commission, and
many people thought that the President should have taken Root, or
Roosevelt, or Taft. Mr. White was a Republican but he had never been
active in party affairs or in any sense a leader. In the Senate there
was deep resentment that the President had not selected any members of
that body to accompany him. President McKinley had appointed three
senators as members of the commission of five that negotiated the
treaty of peace at the close of the Spanish War. With that exception,
senators had never taken part directly in the negotiation of a treaty.
The delegation was attended by a large group of experts on military,
economic, geographical, ethnological, and legal matters, some of whom
were men of great ability, and in their selection no party lines were
drawn.

But just before the signing of the Armistice, the President had
suffered a serious political defeat at home. There had been severe
criticism of Democratic leadership in Congress and growing
dissatisfaction with some of the members of the Cabinet. In response
to the appeals of Democratic Congressmen, the President issued a
statement from the White House on October 25, asking the people, if
they approved of his leadership and wished him to continue to be their
"unembarrassed spokesman in affairs at home and abroad," to vote for
the Democratic candidates for Congress. He acknowledged that the
Republicans in Congress had loyally supported his war measures, but he
declared that they were hostile to the administration and that the time
was too critical for divided leadership. This statement created a
storm of criticism, and did more than any other act in his
administration to turn the tide of public opinion against the
President. The ele