The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-16
WASHINGTON FOR THE
 PEACE CONFERENCE
IF roo HOT DELEGATES WILL ADJOURN TO NORTHERN
 RESORT.

Negotiations Leading to the Selection
 of the American National Capital
 Japan UnalterabIy Opposed to Paris
 for Obvious Reasons and to Geneva
 and The Hague as Being Too Far
 Within the Sphere of Russian Ina
 fiucnce-Peace Protocol May be Ne-
 gotiated Before the Conferences Form-
 ally Meets--Armistice Would Then
 Follow.
 Washington, June 15.-Ameriea's na- tional capital has been selected as the seat of negotiations between the pleni- potentiaries of Russia and Japan for treaty of peace. The choice of Wash. ington as the location of the peace con- ference marks another forward step in the negotiations toward ultimate peace l in the far east instituted by President Roosevelt.
 i Official announcement of the selec- tion of Washington was made by Sec retary Loeb at the White house at 1.2s
 
 form and read as follows:
 When the two governments were ura- able to agree upon Chefoo or Paris, the president suggested The Hague, but both governments have now requested that Washington be chosen as the place of meeting and the president has ac- 1 cordingly formally notified both gov ernments that Washington will be so selected"
 May Adjourn to Northern Summer Ise- This statement was supplemented shortly afterward by semi-official arl- nouncement that .'after meeting and organizing the plenipotentiaries of the two governments, if it should be found to be uncomfortably hot in Washing ton, may adjourn the meeting to some summer resort in the north and there continue their sittings until such time as the weather in Washington shall be- more comfortable.' x
 Now that some of the details of the negotiations which have been pending l for more than two weeks are known, the selection of Washington is regard- led as the only logical solution of the problem presented to the belligerent l governments. After the acceptance by Russian and Japan of President Roose- velt's proposition that they consent to i consider the question of peace, Russia indicated Paris as the most desirable place for the meeting to negotiate a treaty and Japan indicated Chefoo.
 Japan Would Not Have Paris There the subject rested for forty- eight hours. Finally Japan declined to consider Paris for obvious reasons and Russia objected to the holding of the conference in any Oriental city Wash ling then was suggested a sa place at which the belligerents could meet on \ common grounds, undisturbed by eitheE political or personal influences As a means of facilitating the nego~ tiations, the president suggested that the conference be held at The Hague, the seat of the international arbitration tribunal and the location of the first general arbitration conference called at the instance of Emperor Nicholas Of Russia.
 Too Far Within Russian Sphere of In-
 fiuence.
 He indicated that for both practical and sentimental reasons The Hague would be most desirable place of meeting for the pienipotentiaries Eur Ither consideration of the subject devel- sI oped the practically unalterable obdec- I ton of Japan for any European capi- tai. as a seat for the conference. She objected particularly to The Hague, be- I lieVing that it was too far within the sphere of Russian influence; and for a lsinilar reason she declined favorably to consider Geneva. Until to-day, how lever, Japan's irreconciliable opposition to the selection of any European capi- tai was not known definitely Atacol1- lference which Kogoro Takahira, the Japanese minister, had with President Roosevelt to-day he conveyed to tho I president the Japanese government'a final refusal to consent to the holding jof the conference in Europe ] Minister Takahira reached the exec- 1 utive offices at 10:45 a. m. and was ush-; I cred at once into President Roosevelt's private office. They remained in cons I ference for an hour and twenty-five minutes The unusual length of the in- terview, held at time when scores of people, many of them having important previous engagements with the presi- dent, were awaiting an opportunity to. lsee MT. Roosevelt, indicated clearly that it was of notable importance. The Iconference was not pre-arranged, but the significance of the advices which ! Minister Takahira bore from his gov- ernment induced the president to deny himself to all callers until the conclu- l sion of the conference. As he left the White house the Japanese minister de- clined to discuss the situation in any way except to indicate that the nego- tiations are progressing favorable, He E added that negotiations of this charac- ter constituted "a long journey"
 Choice of Washington.
 The refusal of Japan to agree to the holding of the conference in Europe was communicated by President Roose- welt to the Russian ambassador and likewise cabled to St. Petersburg. While the president did not act in the capaci- \ A 4 .-aa