"ROBERT LANSING

"THE PRESIDENT

"28 _Rue de Monceau_"

It should be borne in mind in reading this letter that I had reached the
conclusion that modification rather than abandonment of the guaranty was
all that I could hope to accomplish, and that, as a matter of
expediency, it seemed wise to indicate a sympathetic attitude toward the
idea. For that reason I expressed myself as favorable to the guaranty
and termed it "the heart of the League of Nations," a phrase which the
President by his subsequent use of it considered to be a proper
characterization.

The memoranda contained in the paper enclosed in the letter were as
follows:

_The Constitutional Power to provide Coercion in a Treaty_

"_December_ 20, 1918

"In the institution of a League of Nations we must bear in mind the
limitations imposed by the Constitution of the United States upon the
Executive and Legislative Branches of the Government in defining
their respective powers.

"The Constitution confers upon Congress the right to declare war.
This right, I do not believe, can be delegated and it certainly
cannot be taken away by treaty. The question arises, therefore, as to