e," and which made the whole French nation
doff its hat and cheer. After hours of searching and miles of walking
and inquiries galore, the place was found, but the door to the enclosure
had to be unlocked with a silver key. When entrance was gained and the
spot finally reached, there on the tomb was a wreath of flowers nearly
as large as a wagon wheel and which, when they were fresh, must have
been beautiful beyond words to described. Upon it was a card on which
had been written in English the words: "The President of the United
States of America. In memory of the great Lafayette from a fellow
servant of liberty."

Then came the months of haggling, the work of selfish politicians both
at home and abroad, and finally the rejection by our own people of the
greatest piece of work since the beginning of the Christian era, all of
which makes one who knows the real situation hang his head in shame. Why
any living mortal in America could oppose a plan that has for its object
the abolition of war is simply amazing to the people of Europe. Just
before I left Paris in 1919 a French business man said to me: "I
understand that the cables are saying that you have some men in your
country who are opposing your president and this effort to abolish war.
What kind of men have you got over there, anyway? Go back and tell them
that it is not only the greatest thing for America that he came over
here but it is one of the greatest things for the whole world that ever
happened."

In the fall of 1921 I made another trip to Europe and the change was
beyond any power to describe. People who looked upon America as the one
great nation of the earth almost sneered when they mentioned our
attitude toward the League of Nations. They have almost lost confidence
in us and it will be hard to regain it. France is especially bitter.
Perhaps the result of the Disarmament Conference, which is practically
the same thing under another name, will help them to forget some things,
but the French will be slow to take up with it. We are all proud of the
part our leaders had in this great meeting in Washington, but had our
government stood enthusiastically for the League of Nations it would
have saved hundreds of millions of dollars that we now have to dig up in
taxes, and at the same time saved famine, fighting and hatred that it
will take a long time to overcome.

CHAPTER XII

THE NIGHTMARE OF EUROPE--ALSACE-LORRAINE

"I congratulate you on the ann