Ambassador MacVeagh Reports: Greece, 1933-1947

by John O. Iatrides

Overview

Spanning a long and unusually turbulent phase of Greek history, this collection of Lincoln MacVeagh's papers constitutes a record of high historical value, bringing together a selection of rich source material.

Originally published in 1980.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691643182
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #650
Pages:	786
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

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Ambassador MacVeagh Reports

Greece, 1933-1947

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By John O. Iatrides

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1980 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-05292-2

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CHAPTER 1

"The Greeks are My Passion in Life!"

The avalanche of congratulatory messages that began to reach Franklin D. Roosevelt moments after the results of the November 1932 elections had become known included a letter from the president of Dial Press, a small publishing firm in New York. In what was destined to become the first in a long series of "Dear Franklin" letters, Lincoln MacVeagh sought to convey to the President-elect the joy and admiration of three generations of MacVeaghs: "Ever since old times when you were beginning your career and I was Hall's room-mate and visited you in Albany and Campobello, I have been hoping for this. My mother who is seventy-two, and the widow of a Republican ambassador, remained at her country place in New Hampshire over election-day so that she might cast her vote for you, and my little girl, who is twelve, wouldn't go to bed till she was sure you were elected. That's how we feel about you." The brief letter closed on a rather somber note, characteristic of the thoughts of millions of Depression-frightened Roosevelt supporters: "You have tremendous problems ahead of you. But it seems to me that the high spirit and unparalleled courage with which you have brought your career to this great height will carry you to success in their solution. I earnestly pray, and confidently expect, that the final satisfaction will be yours." (1)

Lincoln MacVeagh had known the Roosevelts since childhood. G. Hall Roosevelt ("Smouch" to his friends), Eleanor's younger brother, had been his classmate and close friend at Groton (class of 1909), and the two had roomed together at Harvard. Hall Roosevelt's wife was the godmother of Lincoln's daughter, Margaret Ewen MacVeagh ("Little Peggy"). Groton and Harvard were logical choices for the son of a distinguished family. Lincoln had been born in Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, on October 1, 1890. His father, Charles MacVeagh of Dublin, New Hampshire, had been the U.S. Steel Corporation's general solicitor and, later, President Coolidge's Ambassador to Japan. His grandfather, Wayne MacVeagh, had been Attorney General in President Garfield's Cabinet and had served as Minister to Turkey and Italy. While in Turkey, Wayne MacVeagh had been instrumental in persuading the authorities to allow an ambitious but virtually unknown naturalized American citizen, Heinrich Schliemann, to search for the mythical city of Troy, a project which was to revolutionize archaeology and the study of the classical world. Lincoln's great uncle, Franklin MacVeagh, had been Secretary of the Treasury under Taft; his great-grandmother was a cousin of President Lincoln. His mother, Fanny Davenport Rogers MacVeagh, was a direct descendant of Thomas Rogers, the eighteenth signer of the Mayflower Pact.

At Groton, where "every endeavor is made to cultivate manly Christian character, with reference to moral and physical, as well as intellectual development," MacVeagh had been quite successful. He won a number of awards, including the English Essay Prize, the Greek Prize, the Junior Debating Prize, and was elected secretary of his class and editor of The Grotonian. His short stories were often centered around his own experiences in England and Italy, where he had traveled with his family. He was also a good athlete and played quarterback on the sixth form's team until an injury forced him to give up that much-coveted position. Although his family had expected him to go to Yale, MacVeagh had been persuaded by his friend Hall Roosevelt to enter Harvard instead, a decision he never regretted. Throughout his life he felt a special kinship for Harvard men and when his step-son, Colin MacVeagh, who had been raised and educated in Europe, was ready to enter college, it would be Harvard again.

Building on an already solid foundation of classical Greek and Latin, MacVeagh majored in philosophy and took advanced courses in literature, history and the arts. He earned the A.B. — and his Phi Beta Kappa key — in three years, graduating in 1913 magna cum laude. As an undergraduate he received a John Harvard scholarship, was chosen editor of the Harvard Advocate, and worked as secretary to the director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. After Harvard, he spent a year in Paris, studying philosophy and languages (French, German, Italian) at the Sorbonne.

His college training and broad cultural interests did not easily settle the question of a career, and there was no family enterprise he could join. After a year in New York, working for the U.S. Steel Products Co., he became a salesman for the college department of the Henry Holt Publishing Co., visiting campuses throughout the southern and western states and being initiated into the secrets of the publishing world. In August 1917, he married Margaret Charlton Lewis of New York, daughter of a distinguished linguist and authority on Latin, and herself a serious student of classical languages. She was also strong in modern Greek, and in later years enjoyed reading the works of Stratis Myrivilis in the original. Their marriage was to prove the perfect match of two highly cultured companions: in addition to their many mutual interests the MacVeaghs were to spend endless happy hours taking turns at reading aloud masterpieces of world literature. Although MacVeagh was a life-long student of both classical and modern Greek (he used the New Testament as his text), and could eventually read the Athens newspapers with little difficulty, he never really spoke modern Greek. Their only child, Margaret Ewen, born in March 1920, started learning Greek at the age of nine, and was soon fluent in both the classical and the vernacular languages. She was to develop a serious and lasting interest in Greek literature and culture.

In May 1917, MacVeagh enlisted, and two days before his wedding he was commissioned first lieutenant (Infantry), detailed to the school of trench warfare at Cambridge, Mass. Assigned to the 80th Division, he was soon promoted to captain and on May 22, 1918 sailed for France. He saw action on the Artois, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne fronts and served as aide (Operations Section) to Major General Cronkhite, commanding general of the 80th Division and later of the 9th and 6th Army Corps. In March 1919, he was transferred to the Historical Section, General Staff, American Expeditionary Force, where he was promoted to major. Returning to the United States in late May, he was discharged on July 4, 1919, having been cited by General Pershing for "exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous services" and recommended by General Cronkhite for the Distinguished Service Medal.

A few months after his return to civilian life, MacVeagh rejoined Henry Holt as head of the trade department, and in 1920 became one of the company's directors. He invited his friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, to write a book on the growth of the American navy, but Roosevelt had already promised such a manuscript to another publisher. MacVeagh was more successful with literary men such as Robert Frost, who soon became a personal friend, Robert Benchley, and Stephen Vincent Benet, many of whose works were published by Holt thanks to MacVeagh's successful efforts. His search for good manuscripts also took him to England, where he secured Albert Einstein's Relativity and Marcel Proust's Swann's Way.

Anxious to be completely on his own, MacVeagh resigned from Holt in December 1923, and the following year founded the Dial Press, Inc., while also serving as secretary and treasurer of the Dial Publishing Co., publisher of the Dial magazine. His considerable experience, scholarly interests, cultured taste and contacts served him well, and he was soon able to attract to his firm both new and established authors. Among the many works published by Dial Press were Elizabeth Bowen's The Hotel (MacVeagh's first best-seller), Marshall Foch's Foch Speaks, Prince Kropotkin's Ethics, W. R. Burnett's Little Caesar, Valentine Kataev's The Embezzlers, Michael Ossorgin's Quiet Street, Prince Yousoupoff's Rasputin, Denis Saurat's Blaise and Modern Thought, A. E. Taylor's Plato, and Herman Finer's Theory and Practice of Modern Government. MacVeagh also started the Library of Living Classics, edited Champlin's Encyclopedia for Young Folks and Poetry from the Bible (Dial, 1925), and wrote an essay entitled Literature, Art and Mythology (Dial, 1930).

After leaving Holt and for the next ten years, MacVeagh made his home in New Canaan, Connecticut, commuting to his office in New York by train, usually studying Homer in the original along the way. The MacVeaghs travelled to Europe and Greece in 1929, 1930, and 1931, reading aloud from Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon as they visited the historical sites. But it was not only that small country's glorious past that seemed to fascinate them. "It's a genuine place," he remarked after the 1931 visit, "and when you realize what can be done with reclamation of marsh land, engineering projects and reforestation, there is no limit to its future." (2) He thought that Greece was on the threshold of bold economic and social development. "Its political heritage," he observed elsewhere, "which has contributed in varying degrees to the governments of all modern nations, has at home produced a strong and independent race of people, eager for liberty and capable of great achievement. It should not be forgotten that less than a century ago Greece was a medieval scattering of war-spent states, with no national consciousness and no unity. ... The story of modern Greece is really amazing...." (3)

While the MacVeaghs were not politically active, their Connecticut friends included some of the state's more prominent Democrats and Roosevelt supporters. Among them were Archibald McNeill, chairman of the State Democratic Committee, Dr. Edward G. Dolan, Margaret Emerson Bailey, President of the New Canaan Roosevelt Club, Homer S. Cummings, William Baldwin, and State Senator William H. Hackett of New Haven. In the fall of 1932, as a Roosevelt victory appeared quite likely, several members of this group casually suggested to MacVeagh that he might wish to become the next President's envoy to Greece. Later on, Dr. Dolan would take credit for first proposing MacVeagh's name to Roosevelt and his campaign manager, James A. Farley. That MacVeagh himself may have cultivated the idea is suggested by an entry in his diary (October 14, 1942), ten years later, in which he recalled the start of his diplomatic career and marvelled at the "strange consequences to one night's inspiration driving home in the dark from Darien station, when I outlined a possibly fantastic plan to Peggy with which she fell in so loyally and enthusiastically! ..."

MacVeagh's congratulatory letter to Roosevelt on election night was soon followed by another, indicating that he was more than ready to abandon the pleasures of the publishing world for the vicissitudes of a diplomatic career:

January 31, 1933

Dear Franklin:

I am sending you — whether for your birthday or that of Abraham Lincoln, I can't quite make out — a little book I am just about to publish, entitled, "The True Story of the Gettysburg Address."

It is small, and fits in the pocket, and who should have the first copy of it but the next President of the United States? But if you dare to acknowledge it, even through a secretary, you will be guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, for you are too busy for such things.

I am writing to my mother in Rome about your acknowledgment of her vote for you. That was a gracious thing for you to do, and graciously said.

It may come to your attention that friends of mine in Connecticut are proposing me as a candidate for the post of Minister to Greece. It seems that such a minor diplomatic appointment would greatly cheer the young Democrats, who are fighting to wrench the State from its entrenched Republicanism. Mr. McNeill and Dr. Dolan would not at all be averse to finding someone whom you would consider. They now know my qualifications for the post, but they cannot know to what an extent my willingness to have my friends mention me in the first place was dependent on my desire to put special knowledge, which I had gathered through years, at your personal disposal. When you have so many things to look after as you have, you can't have too many people working for you who are devoted to you. You would have another pair of your own eyes in Greece if I were there, at the same time that you would please some hard-working party friends at home. That seems to make of the idea what the sports' writers call "a natural," — so much so that perhaps you will forgive my bringing it up!

I hope you are really going to get some days of rest.

Very sincerely yours, Lincoln MacVeagh

P.S. I haven't been to Greece every year for the past three years just to look at ruins! It's a fascinating place that has had too much history recently for its primitive economic structure to bear. And it's going to take a lot more knowledge and care to get our money out of it than those people showed who put it in. Fm sure I could help you on this small but vexatious problem, if you ever cared to call on me. The Greeks are my passion in life! (4)

Following Roosevelt's inauguration on March 4, 1933, the Department of State received word of the President's decision to appoint MacVeagh Minister to Greece, to succeed Robert P. Skinner. After a routine confirmation by the Senate, Acting Secretary of State William Phillips instructed the American Charge in Athens (Leland B. Morris) to inquire whether the Greek Government would agree to the appointment. Listing the nominee's qualifications, he pointed out that because of his "lifelong study" of Greece and his several visits to that country, MacVeagh "is familiar with Greek problems and Greek psychology as few outsiders are." (5) On July 19, accompanied by his wife and 13-year-old daughter, MacVeagh sailed for England. After visits in London, Paris, and Rome for consultations regarding his new duties, he reached Athens on September 4. He presented his letter of credence on September 22, and in his first despatch from the Greek capital he described the scene:

[Athens, September 22, 1933]

I have the honor to report that I was today, at noon, received by Mr. Zaimis, President of the Hellenic Republic, at his official residence. ... At the President's Palace I was received by the Acting Chief of Protocol and was met at the top of the stairs leading to the President's rooms by Mr. Maximos, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had just returned from Ankara. Mr. Maximos met me with conspicuous friendliness recalling our pleasant time together when I called on him at Salsomaggiore recently, and led me directly to the President. After I had been formally presented to the President by Mr. Maximos, I read a brief speech in English, as prescribed in the regulations of the Department of State. The President replied in kind, using the French language. The President then engaged me in conversation and I said in French that I was sorry not to be able to converse in Greek but that I hoped some day to be able to do so. I had, however, — I said — written out a few informal words in that beautiful language, and, with the President's permission, would like to read them. I then read a few remarks in Greek. My thought in this matter appeared to please both the President and the Foreign Minister, who thereupon began to talk with some animation. ... (6)

Years later, an account, most probably provided by himself, reported that MacVeagh "followed the presentation of his credentials with a speech in classical Greek which few of his hearers understood, but all applauded." (7)

Returning from the Presidential Palace the new "Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States to Greece" telegraphed his superiors: "I assumed charge today. MacVeagh." (8)

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Ambassador MacVeagh Reports by John O. Iatrides. Copyright © 1980 Princeton University Press. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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Table of Contents

• FrontMatter, pg. i
• Contents, pg. v
• Editor's Preface, pg. vii
• Acknowledgments, pg. xiii
• I. "The Greeks Are My Passion In Life!", pg. 1
• II. Fall Of A Republic: 1933-1935, pg. 10
• III. Dictatorship: 1936-1939, pg. 67
• IV. In The Storm's Path: 1939-1940, pg. 166
• V. "A Grand Little Fighting Nation", pg. 236
• VI. "A Gallant And Suicidal Resistance", pg. 295
• VII. Interlude: Iceland And South Africa, pg. 379
• VIII. Cairo, pg. 388
• IX. From Liberation To Civil War, pg. 591
• X. End of a Journey, pg. 679
• Appendix A. List Of Principal Names, pg. 735
• Appendix B. Abbreviations And Code Names, pg. 747
• Notes, pg. 751
• Index, pg. 759