thought the plan for him to attend was unwise and would be a mistake.
I said that I felt embarrassed in speaking to him about it because it
would leave me at the head of the delegation, and I hoped that he
understood that I spoke only out of a sense of duty. I pointed out
that he held at present a dominant position in the world, which I was
afraid he would lose if he went into conference with the foreign
statesmen; that he could practically dictate the terms of peace if he
held aloof; that he would be criticized severely in this country for
leaving at a time when Congress particularly needed his guidance; and
that he would be greatly embarrassed in directing domestic affairs
from overseas."

I also recorded as significant that the President listened to my remarks
without comment and turned the conversation into other channels.

For a week after this interview I heard nothing from the President on
the subject, though the fact that no steps were taken to prepare written
instructions for the American Commissioners convinced me that he
intended to follow his original intention. My fears were confirmed. On
the evening of Monday, November 18, the President came to my residence
and told me that he had finally decided to go to the Peace Conference
and that he had given out to the press an announcement to that effect.
In view of the publicity given to his decision it would have been futile
to have attempted to dissuade him from his purpose. He knew my opinion
and that it was contrary to his.

After the President departed I made a note of the interview, in which
among other things I wrote:

"I am convinced that he is making one of the greatest mistakes of his