The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981 Page: 431
502 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Texan in London
gage the French in a war of attrition at Verdun. For the Allies 1915
had added Italy to their coalition, but had brought disastrous human
losses in France and defeat at Gallipoli against the Turks. In the Unit-
ed States the president and his friend worried that a failure to act
would mean that the United States would find itself drawn into the
fray because of the submarine problem.7
On February 15, then, House saw Grey, King George V, and numer-
ous journalists; then he went to the theater in the evening to see
William Somerset Maugham's play Caroline. In his diary he recorded:
"I had Page, St. Loe Strachey and A. H. Pollen for lunch. We had a
delightful time. The conversation was upon literary and general topics.
Page, Pollen and Strachey were at their best, and I believe they en-
joyed the lunch as much as I did." Strachey, too, kept a record of the
lunch, and made a memorandum for the use of the British govern-
ment. That document follows. He described an expansive, even gar-
rulous Colonel House, and indicated how the colonel used flattery and
his knowledge of "inside" affairs to capture his listeners.8
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION WITH COLONEL HOUSE AT LUNCH
ON TUESDAY, FEB. 15TH, 1916
I had a very interesting luncheon yesterday with Colonel House,
President Wilson's great friend and secret diplomatic agent. He is a
very reticent or even secretive man, but he probably talks as much to
me as he does to anyone. He no doubt thoroughly understands how
strong is my love of the Americans and how genuine my desire to see
America great and safe. We were only four at lunch-House, Page the
American Ambassador,9 myself and Arthur Pollen, the naval critic.'x
House spoke with extraordinary freedom for him-usually a most
silent man. He had just come back from Berlin. I asked him whether
7Link, Wilson: Confusions and Crises, 61-88; A. J. P. Taylor, English History, 1974-
.945 (New York, 1965), 46-50, 6o-61; B. H. Liddell Hart, History of the First World War
(London, 1972), 146-149.
sHouse diary, Feb 15, 1916 (quotation).
OWalter Hines Page (1835-1918) was the United States ambassador in London, 1913-
1918. The most recent biography is John Milton Cooper, Jr., Walter Hines Page: The
Southerner as Arne ican, 1855-1918 (Chapel Hill, 1977)
10Arthur H. Pollen (1866-1937) was a Bsitish inventor and journalist, who was deeply
interested in matters relating to naval policy. Anthony Pollen, The Great Gunnery Scan-
dal- The Mystery of Julland (London, 1980).431
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981, periodical, 1980/1981; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101225/m1/491/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.