42 THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE ch.

fertility, and knowledge. He allowed himself to bedrugged by their atmosphere, to discuss on the basisof their plans and of their data, and to be led alongtheir paths.

These and other various causes combined toproduce the following situation. The reader mustremember that the processes which are here com-pressed into a few pages took place slowly, gradually,insidiously, over a period of about five months.

As the President had thought nothing out, theCouncil was generally working on the basis of aFrench or British draft. He had to take up, there-fore, a persistent attitude of obstruction, criticism,and negation, if the draft was to become at all inline with his own ideas and purpose. If he wasmet on some points with apparent generosity (forthere was always a safe margin of quite preposteroussuggestions which no one took seriously), it wasdifficult for him not to yield on others. Compromisewas inevitable, and never to compromise on theessential, very difficult. Besides, he was soon madeto appear to be taking the German part, and laidhimself open to the suggestion (to which he wasfoolishly and unfortunately sensitive) of being " pro-German ."

After a display of much principle and dignity inthe early days of the Council of Ten, he discoveredthat there were certain very important points inthe programme of his French, British , or Italian