before the definitive treaty was laid before
that body.

When the President advanced this extraordinary theory of the nature of a
preliminary treaty during a conversation, of which I made a full
memorandum, I told him that it was entirely wrong, that by whatever name
the document was called, whether it was "armistice," "agreement,"
"protocol," or "_modus_," it would be a treaty and would have to be sent
by him to the Senate for its approval. I said, "If we change the
_status_ from war to peace, it has to be by a ratified treaty. There is
no other way save by a joint resolution of Congress." At this statement
the President was evidently much perturbed. He did not accept it as
conclusive, for he asked me to obtain the opinion of others on the
subject. He was evidently loath to abandon the plan that he had
presumably worked out as a means of preventing the Senate from rejecting
or modifying the Covenant before it came into actual operation. It seems
almost needless to say that all the legal experts, among them Thomas W.
Gregory, the retiring Attorney-General of the United States, who chanced
to be in Paris at the time, agreed with my opinion, and upon being so
informed the President abandoned his purpose.

It is probable that the conviction, which was forced upon Mr. Wilson,
that he could not independently of the Senate put into operation a
preliminary treaty, determined him to abandon that type of treaty and to
proceed with the negotiation of a definitive one. At least I had by
March 30 reached the conclusion that there would be no preliminary
treaty as is disclosed by the following memorandum written on that day:

"I am sure now that there will be no preliminary treaty of peace, but
that the treaty will be complete and definitive. This is a serious
mistake. Time should be given for passions to cool. The operations of
a preliminary treaty should be tested and studied. It would hasten a
restoration of peace. Certainly this is the wise course as to
territorial settlements and the financial and economic burdens to be
imposed upon Germany. The same comment applies to the organization of
a League of Nations. Unfortunately the President insists on a
full-blown Covenant and not a declaration of principles. This has
much to do with preventing a preliminary treaty, since he wishes to
make the League an agent for enforcement of definite terms.

"When the President departed for the United Stat