44 THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE ch.

off." The almost unanimous voice of the Frenchand British Press could be anticipated. Thus, if hethrew down the gage publicly he might be defeated.And if he were defeated, would not the final Peacebe far worse than if he were to retain his prestigeand endeavour to make it as good as the limitingconditions of European politics would allow him ?But above all, if he were defeated, would he notlose the League of Nations ? And was not this,after all, by far the most important issue for thefuture happiness of the world ? The Treaty wouldbe altered and softened by time. Much in it whichnow seemed so vital would become trifling, and muchwhich was impracticable would for that very reasonnever happen. But the League , even in an imperfectform, was permanent; it was the first commencementof a new principle in the government of the world ;Truth and Justice in international relations couldnot be established in a few months,—they must beborn in due course by the slow gestation of theLeague. Clemenceau had been clever enough to letit be seen that he would swallow the League at aprice.

At the crisis of his fortunes the President was alonely man. Caught up in the toils of the OldWorld, he stood in great need of sympathy, of moralsupport, of the enthusiasm of masses. But buriedin the Conference, stifled in the hot and poisonedatmosphere of Paris, no echo reached him from the