Read Online PARIS 1919 by Margaret MacMillan - Free Book Online
Authors: Margaret MacMillan
Tags: Fiction
Ads: Link
naïveté. (The official record transformed it into
grandeur.
) The American delegation saw Clemenceauâs speech as a challenge. 14
In that speech and the American reaction to it were sown the seeds of what grew into a lurid and enduring tableau, especially in the United States. On the one hand, the Galahad, pure in thought and deed, lighting the way to a golden future; on the other, the misshapen French troll, his heart black with rage and spite, thinking only of revenge. On the one side, peace; on the other, war. It makes a good story, and it is not fair to either man. Both were liberals with a conservative skepticism of rapid change. What divided them was temperament and their own experience. Wilson believed that human nature was fundamentally good. Clemenceau had his doubts. He, and Europe, had been through too much. âPlease do not misunderstand me,â he once said to Wilson, âwe too came into the world with the noble instincts and the lofty aspirations which you express so often and so eloquently. We have become what we are because we have been shaped by the rough hand of the world in which we have to live and we have survived only because we are a tough bunch.â Wilson had lived in a world where democracy was safe. âI have lived,â Clemenceau explained, âin a world where it was good form to shoot a democrat.â Where Wilson believed that the use of force ultimately failed, Clemenceau had seen it succeed too often. âI have come to the conclusion that
force
is right,â he said over lunch one day to Lloyd Georgeâs mistress, Frances Stevenson. âWhy is this chicken here? Because it was not strong enough to resist those who wanted to kill it. And a very good thing too!â Clemenceau was not opposed to the League; he simply did not put much trust in it. He would have liked to see greater international cooperation, but recent history had shown all too clearly the importance of keeping the powder dry and the guns primed just in case. In this he faithfully reflected French public opinion, which remained overwhelmingly suspicious of Germany. 15
By the second week of January Wilson was back in Paris, waiting for the preliminary conference to start. He was living in great state at the Hôtel Murat, a private house provided by the French government. (One of Wilsonâs little jokes was that the Americans were paying indirectly through their loans to France.) The hotel was owned by descendants of the great soldier Joachim Murat, who had married one of Napoleonâs sisters, and lent by them to the French government. Later, when relations soured between France and the United States, the Princesse Murat asked for it back again. The presidential party, which included Wilsonâs personal physician, Admiral Cary T. Grayson, and Mrs. Wilsonâs social secretary, settled uneasily into the cold and gleaming rooms, filled with treasures from the past reflected back endlessly in huge mirrors. A British journalist who came to interview the president found him in a gray flannel suit sitting at a magnificent Empire desk with a great bronze eagle above his head. 16
The rest of the American delegation was housed some distance away, also in considerable luxury, at the Hôtel Crillon. âI was assigned an enormous room,â wrote an American professor to his wife, âhigh ceiling, white paneling, fireplace, enormous bathroom, very comfortable bed, all done in rich old rose.â The Americans were delighted with the food, impressed by the meticulous service and amused by the slow old hydraulic elevators, which sometimes hung suspended between floors until enough water had moved from one tank to another. Because the hotel itself was small, their offices were scattered nearby, some in what had once been private dining rooms at Maximâs and which still smelled of stale wine and food. Over the months, the Americans added their own touches to the Crillon: a
grandeur.
) The American delegation saw Clemenceauâs speech as a challenge. 14
In that speech and the American reaction to it were sown the seeds of what grew into a lurid and enduring tableau, especially in the United States. On the one hand, the Galahad, pure in thought and deed, lighting the way to a golden future; on the other, the misshapen French troll, his heart black with rage and spite, thinking only of revenge. On the one side, peace; on the other, war. It makes a good story, and it is not fair to either man. Both were liberals with a conservative skepticism of rapid change. What divided them was temperament and their own experience. Wilson believed that human nature was fundamentally good. Clemenceau had his doubts. He, and Europe, had been through too much. âPlease do not misunderstand me,â he once said to Wilson, âwe too came into the world with the noble instincts and the lofty aspirations which you express so often and so eloquently. We have become what we are because we have been shaped by the rough hand of the world in which we have to live and we have survived only because we are a tough bunch.â Wilson had lived in a world where democracy was safe. âI have lived,â Clemenceau explained, âin a world where it was good form to shoot a democrat.â Where Wilson believed that the use of force ultimately failed, Clemenceau had seen it succeed too often. âI have come to the conclusion that
force
is right,â he said over lunch one day to Lloyd Georgeâs mistress, Frances Stevenson. âWhy is this chicken here? Because it was not strong enough to resist those who wanted to kill it. And a very good thing too!â Clemenceau was not opposed to the League; he simply did not put much trust in it. He would have liked to see greater international cooperation, but recent history had shown all too clearly the importance of keeping the powder dry and the guns primed just in case. In this he faithfully reflected French public opinion, which remained overwhelmingly suspicious of Germany. 15
By the second week of January Wilson was back in Paris, waiting for the preliminary conference to start. He was living in great state at the Hôtel Murat, a private house provided by the French government. (One of Wilsonâs little jokes was that the Americans were paying indirectly through their loans to France.) The hotel was owned by descendants of the great soldier Joachim Murat, who had married one of Napoleonâs sisters, and lent by them to the French government. Later, when relations soured between France and the United States, the Princesse Murat asked for it back again. The presidential party, which included Wilsonâs personal physician, Admiral Cary T. Grayson, and Mrs. Wilsonâs social secretary, settled uneasily into the cold and gleaming rooms, filled with treasures from the past reflected back endlessly in huge mirrors. A British journalist who came to interview the president found him in a gray flannel suit sitting at a magnificent Empire desk with a great bronze eagle above his head. 16
The rest of the American delegation was housed some distance away, also in considerable luxury, at the Hôtel Crillon. âI was assigned an enormous room,â wrote an American professor to his wife, âhigh ceiling, white paneling, fireplace, enormous bathroom, very comfortable bed, all done in rich old rose.â The Americans were delighted with the food, impressed by the meticulous service and amused by the slow old hydraulic elevators, which sometimes hung suspended between floors until enough water had moved from one tank to another. Because the hotel itself was small, their offices were scattered nearby, some in what had once been private dining rooms at Maximâs and which still smelled of stale wine and food. Over the months, the Americans added their own touches to the Crillon: a
Similar Books
