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"Back home, Wilson has been walloped for his choice of colleagues. Not you, of course-"
"I'm a small fish. "
"But some people say he should not have brought his wife. "
Gus shrugged. It seemed trivial. After the battlefield it was going to be difficult to take seriously some of the stuff people worried about in peacetime.
Rosa said: "More importantly, he hasn't brought any Republicans. "
"He wants allies on his team, not enemies," Gus said indignantly.
"He needs allies back home, too," Rosa said. "He's lost Congress. "
She had a point, and Gus was reminded how smart she was. The midterm elections had been disastrous for Wilson. The Republicans had gained control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. "How did that happen?" he said. "I've been out of touch. "
"Ordinary people are fed up with rationing and high prices, and the end of the war came just a bit too late to help. And liberals hate the Espionage Act. It allowed Wilson to jail people who disagreed with the war. He used it, too-Eugene Debs was sentenced to ten years. " Debs had been a presidential candidate for the Socialists. Rosa sounded angry as s
he said: "You can't put your opponents in jail and still pretend to believe in freedom. "
Gus remembered how much he enjoyed the cut and thrust of an argument with Rosa. "Freedom sometimes has to be compromised in war," he said.
"Obviously American voters don't think so. And there's another thing: Wilson segregated his Washington offices. "
Gus did not know whether Negroes could ever be raised to the level of white people but, like most liberal Americans, he thought the way to find out was to give them better chances in life and see what happened. However, Wilson and his wife were Southerners, and felt differently. "Edith won't take her maid to London, for fear the girl will get spoiled," Gus said. "She says British people are too polite to Negroes. "
"Woodrow Wilson is no longer the darling of the left in America," Rosa concluded. "Which means he's going to need Republican support for his League of Nations. "
"I suppose Henry Cabot Lodge feels snubbed. " Lodge was a right-wing Republican.
"You know politicians," Rosa said. "They're as sensitive as schoolgirls, and more vengeful. Lodge is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Wilson should have brought him to Paris. "
Gus protested: "Lodge is against the whole idea of the League of Nations!"
"The ability to listen to smart people who disagree with you is a rare talent-but a president should have it. And bringing Lodge here would have neutralized him. As a member of the team, he couldn't go home and fight against whatever is agreed in Paris. "
Gus guessed she was right. But Wilson was an idealist who believed that the force of righteousness would overcome all obstacles. He underestimated the need to flatter, cajole, and seduce.
The food was good, in honor of the president. They had fresh sole from the Atlantic in a buttery sauce. Gus had not eaten so well since before the war. He was amused to see Rosa tuck in heartily. She was a petite figure: where did she put it all?
At the end of the meal they were served strong coffee in small cups. Gus found he did not want to leave Rosa and retire to his sleeping compartment. He was much too interested in talking to her. "Wilson will be in a strong position in Paris, anyway," he said.
Rosa looked skeptical. "How so?"
"Well, first of all we won the war for them. "
She nodded. "Wilson said: 'At Chateau-Thierry we saved the world. '"
"Chuck Dixon and I were in that battle. "
"Was that where he died?"
"Direct hit from a shell. First casualty I saw. Not the last, sadly. "
"I'm very sorry, especially for his wife. I've known Doris for years-we used to have the same piano teacher. "
"I don't know if we saved the world, though," Gus went on. "There are many more French and British and Russians among the dead than Americans. But we tipped the balance. That ought to mean something. "
She shook her head, tossing her dark curls. "I disagree. The war is over, and the Europeans no longer need us. "
