The Letters of Franklin K. Lane, Personal and Political Part 41

I received your letter telling me of the death of your son and daughter-in-law, and I did not have the heart to write you another line. The mystery and the ordering of this world grow altogether inexplicable when the affections are wrenched. It requires far more religion or philosophy than I have, to say a real word that might console one who has lost those who are dear to him. Ten years ago my mother died, and I have never become reconciled to her loss. This is a wrong state of mind, and I hope that you are sustained by that unfaltering trust of which Bryant spoke.

Sincerely yours,

FRANKLIN K. LANE

To James H. Hawley

Was.h.i.+ngton, November 9, 1918

MY DEAR GOVERNOR,--... To my great surprise we have lost both Houses. We felt sure that we would carry both, and did not appreciate the extent to which the Republicans would be consolidated by the President's letter, which, from what I hear was one of the inducing causes of the result; although not by any means the only one, for the feeling in the North and West was strong that the South in some way was being preferred. I am fresh from a talk with Senator Phelan who, to my surprise, tells me that these were the factors in the New England States from which he has just come. ...

The Wilson administration may be judged by the great things that it has done--the unparallelled things--and the election of last Tuesday will get but a line in the history of this period, while the Versailles conference and the Fourteen Points of Wilson's message will have books written about them for a century to come.

Cordially yours,

FRANKLIN K. LANE

To Samuel G. Blythe London, England

Was.h.i.+ngton, November 13, 1918

MY DEAR SAM,--I had not seen the review of my little book of speeches [Footnote: The American Spirit.] made by the Daily Mail until you sent it to me. I guess we are a nation of idealists and it won't do any harm to have a little of this leaven thrown into the European lump. I am amused when I read the reviews on this book to see myself regarded as the rather imaginative interpreter of the national att.i.tude, after these twenty years of quiet, stiff legal opinions on munic.i.p.al law and rail-road problems.

Glad to hear of the boy! He is a poor correspondent, as most two- fisted young chaps are apt to be. I envy you your opportunity now to see the revolution in Germany, and it? possible spreading elsewhere. I think you might write an I article on how revolution comes to a country; a picture of just how the thing happens; what the first step was; what kind of organization there was and how they went about their business and got hold of the Government.

There is I a whole book in this, but immediately there is a chance for a couple of mighty interesting articles.

Here we have gone wild over the victory and peace, and the fact that the election went against us means nothing, so far as international questions are concerned. We had not fixed the price on cotton while we had fixed the price on wheat, and that made the North feel that this is a Southern Administration. The Republicans were united for the first time in ten years. These are the big reasons for the s.h.i.+ft. You see we have no idea here of Cabinet responsibility or votes of confidence or lack of confidence. I expect there will be some fun in Congress for the next two years.

As always, cordially yours,

FRANKLIN K. LANE

TO GEORGE W. LANE

Was.h.i.+ngton, December 16, 1918

MY DEAR GEORGE,--I have your long letter, telling me of all your sad experiences with red tape and how you have settled down at last to do your bit at home. You have gone through the bitterness that most fellows have experienced in trying to do anything with the Government. I really am very sorry that you had to make such a financial sacrifice and break up your home and then be fooled, but probably it is all for the best. The war is over, the boys are coming home soon and this brings me to the main point.

Ned got home this morning. Nancy, Anne, and I went to Norfolk to meet him. He had no expectation of seeing us there and at eight o'clock on a very rainy foggy morning, we came up along side of his transport and he was taken by surprise. He had a fine lot of boys with him, but since May he had been at the Naval Aviation Headquarters as one of the General Staff.

He had many narrow escapes; had men killed standing beside him, torn to pieces by shrapnel; was knocked over by the concussion of sh.e.l.ls; was over the lines in the battle of Chateau-Thierry in an aeroplane, flew across the Austrian-Italian lines and chased the German on his retreat through Belgium.

He seems to be in good health, though rather nervous. He very much admires the men who were his comrades and his superiors, but is glad to be out of it all. I think he would like to get on a big farm. My plan for getting farms for the soldier is making slow progress. I have got to put in all my effort now to get some decisive answer out of Congress--either yes or no. ...

[Ned] has seen France very thoroughly, all the north of Italy from Rome up, England, and Ireland. In the latter spot, he was shot at three times, notwithstanding a general order that no Irishman is allowed to have a gun. He was challenged to a duel by a Frenchman who tried to get away with his seat in a car. He gave the Frenchman a good licking and then discovered that he was liable to court martial, but he got the seat and then told the French lieutenant he would throw him out of the car window if he talked any more about dueling. The following morning he offered the Frenchman a cigarette which was taken, and they shook hands and parted.

He went up in an aeroplane in Italy at one place and had a hunch, he said, that something was wrong with the machine and so he brought it down and landed. Another fellow took it up, an Italian.

He got up about one thousand feet in the air and the gas tank exploded. The poor fellow came down burnt to a cinder, all within five minutes. He shot a German from the Belgian trenches and has been recommended four times for promotion, but hasn't got it yet.

With much love to Frances and yourself, I am, affectionately yours,

FRANKLIN K. LANE

TO EDGAR C. BRADLEY a.s.sISTANT SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

Was.h.i.+ngton, [December 18, 1918]

MY DEAR BRADLEY,--You wouldn't let me close my sentence yesterday and I don't propose to close it to-day. Yet I am not going to let you drive westward toward the land and people we both love so much, without letting you carry a word of affection and greeting from me, which you can just throw to the winds when you get there, throw it out of the window to Tamalpais, it will sweep over those eucalyptus trees on the right, throw it up to the Berkeley hills, which now are turning green, I suppose, throw it up the long stretch of Market Street till it reaches Twin Peaks, and let it flow down over "south of the slot" that was, and up over n.o.b Hill, even to the sacred brownstone of the Pacific-Union.

Go with a heart that is full of rejoicing that peace has come, through our sacrifice as well as that of other of the n.o.bler peoples of earth, and with a heart that is proud that you were able to help with your strength and sane judgment and great gentleness of speech and manner, in carrying on this nation's affairs in the day of its greatest adventure. We shall all miss you greatly, whether you are gone two weeks or two years! Do just what you think is right, just what she who is so much to you thinks you should do. There is no better test of a man's duty.

If you can't return we shall stagger on. I shan't stop climbing this ladder because a rung is gone--tho' many a rung is gone--and a d.a.m.n hard old ladder this is sometimes. ...

F.K.L.

XI

AFTER-WAR PROBLEMS--LEAVING WAs.h.i.+NGTON

1919

After-war Problems--Roosevelt Memorials--Americanization--Religion --Responsibility of Press--Resignation

TO E. C. BRADLEY

Was.h.i.+ngton, January, 1919

MY DEAR BRADLEY,-- ... I am terribly broken up over Roosevelt's death. He was a great and a good man, a man's man, always playing his game in the open. ...

I loved old Roosevelt because he was a hearty, two-fisted fellow.

... The only fault I ever had to find with him was that he took defeat too hard. He had a sort of "divine right" idea, but he was a bully fighter. I went to his funeral and have joined in ma.s.s meetings in his memory, which I suppose is all I can do. ... Of course ... he said a lot of things that were unjust and unjustifiable, but if a fellow doesn't make a d.a.m.ned fool of himself once in a while he wouldn't be human. The Republicans would have nominated him next time undoubtedly. They are without a leader now, and we are just as much up in the air as ever. ... I am standing by the President for all I am worth. I talked to the Merchants' a.s.sociation the other day and gave him a great send- off, but they didn't rise to their feet at all, which is the first time this has happened in two years. ... Sincerely yours,

FRANKLIN K. LANE

TO GEORGE W. LANE

Was.h.i.+ngton, January 30, 1919

MY DEAR GEORGE,-- ... The one thing that bothers us here is the problem of unemployment. We have not, of course, had time to turn around and develop any plan for reconstruction. Our whole war machine went to pieces in a night. Everybody who was doing war work dropped his job with the thought of Paris in his mind, with the result that everything has come down with a crash, in the way of production, but nothing in the way of wages or living costs.