The subject was not further discussed by the Commissioners for several weeks, but it is clear from what followed that M.Clemenceau, who naturally favored the idea, continued to press the President to agree to the plan.

What arguments were employed to persuade him I cannot say, but, knowing the shrewdness of the French Premier in taking advantage of a situation, my belief is that he threatened to withdraw or at least gave the impression that he would withdraw his support of the League of Nations or else would insist on a provision in the Covenant creating a general staff and an international military force and on a provision in the treaty establishing a Rhenish Republic or else ceding to France all territory west of the Rhine.

To avoid the adoption of either of these provisions, which would have endangered the approval of his plan for world organization, the President submitted to the French demand.

At least I assume that was the reason, for he promised to enter into the treaty of assistance which M.
Clemenceau insisted should be signed.
It is of course possible that he was influenced in his decision by the belief that the knowledge that such an agreement existed would be sufficient to deter Germany from even planning another invasion of France, but my opinion is that the desire to win French support for the Covenant was the chief reason for the promise that he gave.

It should be remembered that at the time both the Italians and Japanese were threatening to make trouble unless their territorial ambitions were satisfied.