His constant wish and effort were to lessen and if possible to remove all misunderstandings.
* * * * * Lord Bryce was one of the Englishmen with whom Page was especially inclined to discuss pending problems.
_Notes on a conversation with Lord Bryce, July 31, 1916_ Lord Bryce spoke of the President's declaration that we were not concerned with the causes or objects of the war and he said that that remark had caused much talk--all, as he thought, on a misunderstanding of Mr.Wilson's meaning.

"He meant, I take it, only that he did not propose at that time to discuss the causes or the objects of the war; and it is a pity that his sentence was capable of being interpreted to mean something else; and the sentence was published and discussed here apart from its context--a most unfair proceeding.

I can imagine that the President and his friends may be much annoyed by this improper interpretation." I remarked that the body of the speech in which this remark occurred might have been written in Downing Street, so friendly was it to the Allies.
"Quite, quite," said he.
This was at dinner, Lady Bryce and Mrs.Page and he and I only being present.
When he and I went into the library he talked more than an hour.
"And what about this blacklist ?" he asked.

I told him.

He had been in France for a week and did not know just what had been done.