HENRY WHITE-WW I Diplomat/Signer of Treaty of Versailles-3 Pg Rare 1920 Letter

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HENRY WHITE-WW I Diplomat/Signer of Treaty of Versailles-3 Pg Rare 1920 Letter:
$49.99

This is a rare typed letter signed by deceased American diplomat HENRY WHITE. White (1850-1927) is best known as one of the five men who signed the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of the United States. This treaty between Germany and the Allied Powers ended World War I. The other men who signed the treaty for the US were President Woodrow Wilson, John J. Pershing, Edward House, Robert Lansing and Tasker Bliss.
White served in various diplomatic positions. Among his positions were the secretaryships of the US legation in Vienna and London. In 1905 he was appointed the Ambassador to Italy. While there he was the lead US mediator during the 1906 Algeciras Conference that ended the war between France and Germany over economic rights in Morocco. In 1906,President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Ambassador to France.In 1910, White accepted an assigned from President Howard Taft to head the US delegation to the Pan-American Conference in Buenos Aires.
In 1918, shortly after the Armistice was declared, President Woodrow Wilson invited White to be one of the five American Peach Commissions who would work in France on the treaty with Germany. As such, he was one of the fivesigners of the Treaty of Versailles for the Americans.
The letter istyped on three pages, the first being a sheet of stationery. Printed at the top is \"1229 Nineteenth Street, Washington\". The letter is written to \"His Excellency, The Honorable Robert Underwood Johnson, 327 Lexington Avenue, New York City.\" (Johnson served as the Ambassador to Italy from April 1920 to July 1921.) The letter is dated \"March 11, 1920\". This was just before Johnson became Ambassador and only eight days before the Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles!
The full text of the letter is:
\"My dear Ambassador- Many thanks for your telegram and also for the card of farewell which you were so kind as to leave at my house before your departure: it was unfortunate that I should have had to be in New York during the whole of your last visit to Washington, as I had a number of things to say to you and had been looking forward to another good talk with you. In reply to your inquiry as to a private secretary, I am sorry to say that I really cannot think of anyone at thepres-ent moment whom I could thoroughly recommend for that job, as the appointee ought to be more or less a man of the world and able to speak certainly French, and if he spoke Italian also, it would be of thegreatest assistance to you. As regards Mr. Condon, I found him to be exceedingly able and useful in my Paris office, as he has an exceptional capacity for getting in touch with people and knowing what is going on; besides being an admirableprotector of his Chief from \'bores\' who want to get at the latter, of whom there are always many everywhere. My impression is, however, that he does not speak French, and certainly not Italian, which would be a decided handicap to him in the position of private secretary; the latter being theequivalent of an\" (and continued on page two) \"attache in the Diplomatic Services of other countries; viz., able to go about taking messages from you to people of importance,especially to Senators and Deputies, most of whom, I may add, when I was in Rome, spoke nothing but their own language; but that is now thirteen years ago.\" (written in White\'s handwriting) \"He should also attend public functions & pick up news for you.\" (continued in type) It occurs to me,however, to communicate with General Bliss, in respect to your inquiry, as he had a number of men with him in the Supreme War Council for nearly two years and I think one or two of them speak French. It is possible that you might find such a secretary ini Paris, or even in Rome, but I greatly doubt it, especially in the latter city; nor would you be likely to find one in either who is an American, which to my mind is indispensable for an Ambassador of our country. You will easily find clever men, willing to take the job, but who would probably prove untrustworthy and might let the Government to which you areaccredited know everything that you were doing. How would it do to cable Jay in the matter? I sup-post you have had time now to hear from him, but if it will be of any assistance to you, I should be glad to send him a telegram myself, in your behalf, inquiring whether he knows of anyone likely to suit your requirements, which, I may add, are not easy to fill. I am not speaking of you personally, but for any Ambassador,spec- (contented on the third page) ially one who is new to the job. A private secretary has it in his hand to be of great assistance to his Chief or the reverse; and I have known of more cases of the latter than the former. But for the language, Condon would be exceedingly useful to you, especially after his experience of nearly a year with me in Paris. Hoping that I may see you before you said, I am, my dear Ambassador. Yours very sincerely\".
White has signed with a pen.
\"Bliss\" in the letter is a reference to General Tasker Bliss who was asigner of the treaty too. Mr. Condon was the secretary to White during the treatynegotiations. He was alieutenant in the armed forces.
Any item signed by White is rare but a three page letter during this period is extremely rare.
This item is in excellent condition. There is rust from a paper clip in the upper left corner on each page. There are two horizontal folds from mailing and a fold in the upper left corner.
It comes with a lifetime guarantee of authenticity.
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