The great adventure at Washington Author:Mark Sullivan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III "WE AGREE - IN SPIRIT AND IN PRINCIPLE second session, for hearing the replies J of the foreign delegates to Hughes's proposal, came on Tuesday... more » (the opening session had been on Saturday) . As I look back upon it now, that date was a little early for the best effect. Not quite enough time had elapsed to get the full response from the peoples of the world, as distinct from their governments. The governments were still a little dazed, and the foreign delegates had not fully recovered from the bewilderment into which Hughes's plan had thrown them. There had not yet been time for the full effect of what American politicians mean when they speak of "hearing from the grass-roots." The point is not material and I mention it merely to explain what was the exact atmosphere of the second session. The beginning was brisk. The gavel sounded. Hughes arose. "Gentlemen," he said. He spoke slowly and with the composure of success. There were a few words about formal matters of procedure, committees, and the like. "All existing estimates of Mr. Balfour, especially those made by literary men and women of his own country, must be revised in the light of what we knew about Balfour at the close of the Washington Conference " "Then," so my notes record, "Hughes kicked the ball off again." He said: It will now be in order for the Conference to listen to such discussion as may be desired with respect to the proposals which have been submitted on behalf of the American Government. Balfour was the first to reply. It was in what he would say in behalf of Great Britain that we felt the most consuming interest. It was Great Britain's relation to the world that would be most affected by the Hughes plan. I am satisfied now that the notes I made at the moment were not just to B...« less