Texas History Minute

The guns of the Great War had finally fallen silent on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, but the shape of the peace was still in question Texans had fought bravely during World War I, including leading officers and Medal of Honor recipients on the blood-stained fields of Europe

Dr. Ken Bridges

With the war at a close, Texans would again play a major role, this time in crafting the peace Two noted Texas figures, Edward House and Sidney Mezes, would serve on the peace delegation in France to craft the Treaty of Versailles that formally ended the war now one hundred years ago

Edward M House, affectionately called “colonel” though he had no military experience, came from a wealthy Texas family He was born in 1858 His father was a banker and sugar baron from Houston The family spent many days at their beach home in Galveston and took extended vacations to Europe House became a political power broker and helped direct the gubernatorial campaign of Jim Hogg in 1892, for which the grateful Hogg made House an honorary lieutenant colonel in the state militia In Wilson’s 1912 campaign for the presidency, House became a trusted advisor and close friend

Sidney Edward Mezes, born in California in 1863, was the son of immigrants, with a mother from Italy and a father from Spain He had learned about European history and culture firsthand from his family and extensive travel in Europe as a young man He held a doctorate from Harvard Mezes came to Austin to teach philosophy at the University of Texas in 1894 A respected figure on campus, from 1908 until 1914, Mezes served as president of the university, helping the young university to grow in enrollments and academic reputation. Mezes already knew House well – he had married House’s sister-in-law in 1896

Almost from the beginning of World War I in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson sought to broker a peace in Europe House had traveled from government to government to attempt to open peace talks. And almost up until the point the United States entered the war in 1917, Wilson kept trying to end the fighting When war broke out, Wilson set up a special commission to help shape the peace at the end

By the time that war broke out, Mezes was serving as president of the City College of New York In

September 1917, House and Mezes directed a group of 150 scholars to study the possible conditions for postwar peace and negotiations, a group known simply as “The Inquiry” The group would meet periodically until early 1919 at the offices of the American Geographic Society and the New York Public Library. Wilson chose economists, law professors, and historians – experts in international trade, military affairs, colonial history, the Middle East, West Asia, and Europe -- to pinpoint the historic developments of the warring states and provide the necessary information needed to construct a lasting peace.

House had represented America at the Inter-Allied War Council in Paris in late 1917 With Wilson’s support, House pushed for a unified statement that the Allies were not fighting for reparations or revenge but was rebuffed In January 1918, House helped Wilson compose what became the Fourteen Points, which he unveiled to the nation in a speech later that month The Fourteen Points became a controversial symbol of Wilson’s global peace The document called for selfdetermination for the conquered peoples of the Central Powers the Allies were fighting, lower international tariffs, global reductions of armaments, an independent Poland, break-up of the colonial system, the creation of the League of Nations, and freedom of the seas for all nations

After the November 1918 armistice, the Allies chose the old French royal palace of Versailles, just outside Paris, to conduct the negotiations Wilson chose 21 members of this group to accompany him to Paris in January 1919 to negotiate the terms of the peace, including Mezes and House Mezes would play a quieter role in Paris, but his power of analysis was a great aid to Wilson House once again became one of Wilson’s most important point men in relaying ideas and proposals between the different delegations More than 110,000 Americans died during the war, and Mezes and House agreed with Wilson that building a new spirit of cooperation among the world’s nations was their best chance to avoid another such war. In spite of their initial optimism, however, their efforts would fall apart

(continued next week)

Dr. Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor He can be reached at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

Feed My Sheep report

Feed My Sheep, the local food pantry in Howe announced that they were able to feed 120 families in December 2018 Of that total, 155 individuals were childen age 17 or under Adults aged 15-59 checked in at 145, while 52 seniors aged 60 or over received meals

The North Texas Food Bank attributed for over 90 percent of the food distributed

For the year, the organization distributed 96,922 pounds of food Case totals were 907 covering 265 households which means many were repeat clients on a monthly basis

In 2018, they fed 333 children, 382 adults, and 122 seniors The children figures were up significantly from 2017 (233) experienced as a result of a newfound desire to rescue previously crafted prose from continuing to collect metaphorical dust within the documents folder on my computer Shaking off the cobwebs of my unpublished work, I increased my submissions to several publications

Within a week, I had already received my first rejection.

The e-mail began with a thank you, extending a courtesy to presumably soften the coming blow.

“This is an interesting topic, but the piece is missing the connection to a bigger picture idea, the reflection or takeaway...”

The words hit me like a ton of bricks

In the case of writers, experiencing rejection is far from unique Even the most famous of authors have experienced having their work turned away Authors such as Gertrude Stein, Jack Kerouac, J K Rowling all had manuscripts rejected by publishers

Rejection is not limited to writers Steve Jobs was forced out of the company he once began The Beatles, U2, Madonna and Elvis all struggled in their early careers to break through There are countless stories, too many to recount, of artists and businessmen and writers and actors who spent years being misunderstood before making it big

Most of us experience an inordinate amount of rejection over the course of our lives Whether personally or professionally, rejection is far from out of the ordinary We fail to obtain every job for which we interview, or secure a date with everyone to whom we are attracted Experiencing rejection, no matter how unpleasant, is nearly a imes let of us gy Today, s to rejection xperiencing nally, it is ng turned our view of ed Causing nts or forcing us to in pursuing spire ng to these reeled from ntil I realized eterminant of always a reflection on our individual work In the case of writing, a piece could easily have been rejected for reasons entirely unrelated to the quality of the writing Same thing goes for musicians, actors, and businessman alike Even in our personal lives, a rejection may say more about the other person than it does about us.

It is highly unlikely that any of us will ever reach a place where rejection fails to illicit even the smallest bit of sadness. However, adversity never fails to present an opportunity for growth There is nothing wrong with re-evaluating our life in the wake of rejection; but, it is important to remind ourselves in these moments of who we are

We live in a world that often defines our personhood by the level of success achieved The lines on our resume taking precedent over all other qualities Yet the essence of who we are as human beings transcends any arbitrary list of impressive achievements Besides, the lives we live and the relationships we form are far more important than the successes we log along the way

Within a few days, the sting of rejection began to subside, aided by my willingness to get back up and try again Realizing that the future is far from guaranteed, with plenty of opportunities for both success and failure on the road ahead So the next time you experience that much-loathed feeling of rejection fellow readers, take heart Your next rejection may lead to your greatest success; and, even if you experience more rejection along the way, you have the power to ensure it doesn’t define you

Samuel Moore-Sobel is a freelance writer To have words of hope delivered directly to your inbox, visit www holdingontohopetoday com to subscribe to his blog today