These were therefore the reasons why Colonel House had decided to go to
Europe and enter into peace negotiations with the warring powers.
Colonel House was wise in taking all possible precautions to conceal the
purpose of this visit. His letter intimates that the German Government
was eager to have him cross the ocean on this particular mission; it
discloses, on the other hand, that the British Government regarded the
proposed negotiations with no enthusiasm. Sir Edward Grey and Mr.
Asquith would have been glad to end hostilities on terms that would
permanently establish peace and abolish the vices which were responsible
for the war, and they were ready to welcome courteously the President's
representative and discuss the situation with him in a fair-minded
spirit. But they did not believe that such an enterprise could serve a
useful purpose. Possibly the military authorities, as General French's
remarks to Page may indicate, did not believe that either side could win
a decisive victory, but this was not the belief of the British public
itself. The atmosphere in England at that time was one of confidence in
the success of British arms and of suspicion and distrust of the British
Government. A strong expectation prevailed in the popular mind, that the
three great Powers of the Entente would at an early date destroy the
menace which had enshrouded Europe for forty years, and there was no
intention of giving Germany a breathing spell during which she could
regenerate her forces to resume the onslaught. In the winter of 1915
Great Britain was preparing for the naval attack on the Dardanelles, and
its success was regarded as inevitable. Page had an opportunity to
observe the state of optimism which prevailed in high British circles.
In March of 1915 he was visiting the Prime Minister at Walmer Castle;
one afternoon Mr. Asquith took him aside, informed him of the
Dardanelles preparations and declared that the Allies would have
possession of Constantinople in two weeks. The Prime Minister's attitude
was not one of hope; it was one of confidence. The capture of
Constantinople, of course, would have brought an early success to the
allied army on all fronts[108]. This was the mood that was spurring on
the British public to its utmost exertions, and, with such a
determination prevailing everywhere, a step in the direction of peace
was the last thing that the British desired; such a step could have been
interpreted only as an attemp