The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-16

some interesting details can be given here.
The secrecy which was decided upon
and widely criticised was an absolute ne
cessity. The admission of working news
paper representatives to the sessions of
the conference would undoubtedly have
prevented the accomplishment OF anything
whatever.
There were many misunderstanding and
mistaken reports concerning the matter of
press representatives.. There were no OBJ
jectiOns whatever 10 the presence OF jour
nalists at the opening session of the con
ference, but the hail in which the meeting
was held was absolutely crowded merely
by the delegates themselves. Their set-
retaries and other employees literally
could not find standing room. Sixty feet
above the floor of the hall, under the very
top of a dome is a little circular gallery.
This furnishes crowded sitting room for
about eight people, and is the only place
from which the interior of the hall can
be seen. 1t was decided to offer this gal
.ery TO as many journalists as could get
into it, and the Dutch government, which
had charge of the arrangements, out Of
courtesy to the delegates, settled upon the
plan of admitting one newspaper repre-
sentative for each of the important coun-
tries 1t was, owing to this plan, which
the crowded condition of the hail made
absolutely necessary, that the amusing
newspapers had been solemnly selected by
the conference as the representative jour
nails in their respective countries. After
the first day l was the only newspaper
man admitted to the Palace in the Woods,
and 1 was not admitted as a working jour
naist.
The general belief was, when the con-
ference began, that England and the Unit
ed States would work absolutely in har-
mony They did to some extent support
each others propositions, but it was
against the will of England that the Amer
lean plan of arbitration and mediation
was selected by the conference as the one
to be most carefully considered. Three
plans were submitted-one by America
one by Russia and one by England.
The idea of disarmament was promptly
abandoned as impracticable. 1t Instantly
became evident that not one delegate had
taken this proposition seriously and the
conference did not even take time to dis
cuss it in committee. It was in these
committee meetings and not in the ses-
sions of the conference that the real work
was accomplished.
1t was in one of the first committee
meetings that the delegates for these Euro
pean countries which had endeaVored to
conspire against US at the time of The
Spanish-Americ war showed their hos
tile hands for the first and last time. At
ii
tain governments intended to take ad-
vantage of the peace conference to clip
the wings of the American eagle. Within
the year they had been taught that these
wings were mighty, and were capable of
carrying the interesting bird not only from
ocean to ocean in his own dominion, but
wherever else he pleased to soar. This ef-
fort on the part of the Europeans to pre-
vent future American fights came in the
shape of a blow at Americas Nicaraguan
canal plan. There is no American enter
pr;se at which Europe looks with more
snsnicion and dread than she does al the
probability Of complete American contro4
OF this proposed water highway between
ire two great oceans. 1t fell 70 the lot
of Frederick w. Hollis, the secretary of
the American delegation, 10 discover lit
tie Joker in one of the propositions sub
nitted which might have resulted serious
w This Joker was a passage adroltly ana
automatically worded which provided Tor
nothing less than control by committee
of the powers, Of all interoceanlc canals IN
time of war Mr.. Hollis so vigorously and
completely shattered this bright European
dream that Europe could no longer doubt
tba ability Of our delegates TO look after
the affairs OF doubt the positive certainty
of a firm stand on the part OF the United
states against anything which might IN
The slightest degree prove contrary to the
In erests of America.
The greatest secrecy was maintained
concerning the plans of the
conference in relation to a revision OF the
niles of actual warfare. Early, in the pri
vale gossip of the delegates, came talk
about a sensa tional possibility. 1t was
very generally believed by some that the
actions of Spain during the war in Cuba
would be carefully investigated by the con-
fsrence and that some of her violations of
no accented rules of warfare would be
moved by testimony. which would form
The basis for new regulations. The fact
that Snanish officers, high in command, or
dered their troops to fire on our Red Cross
flags. that attacks had been made on our
wounded as they were taken from the bat-
tleaelds and that the Red Cross flag had
been used by the spaniards as mask for