Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-14
THE HAGUE DELEGATES
PEN PICTURES OF NOTABLE MEN
PREsENT-CosT OF PEACE.
Special Cablegram to The Star.

Special Cablegram to The Star.
THE HAGUE. July 13.-War has its hor-
rors. but the price of peace-or at all events.
peace conferences-is sometimes hardly less
terrible. The good people Of The Hague are
evidently bent on reaping a golden harvest
from the delegates and their suites and the
other persons whom business has called to
The Hague In connection with the confer
ence The prices demanded for everything
are tremendous. They decline to serve
table d hote dinners; you are obliged to dine
la carte at prices which are simply out
OF proportion to the established order Of
things. Altogether. the Dutchmen Of The
Hague appear to have had altogether the
best of the peace conference. When the
home offices of some of the peace cores
pondents receive the bills for expenses
turned in by the peace correspondents they
will undoubtedly come to the conclusion
that war prices are to be preferred to peace
prices
Americans will naturally be interested in
learning something about the personalities
of the diplomats at the peace conference.
For no matter whether the peace confer
ence Is in reality making for veal or for
woe, for war or for peace, European coun-
tries did send the elite Of their diplomatic
corps to the peace conference at The Hague
One of the most distinguished. of course. is
M. Leon Bourgeois. the French plenipo-
tertiary. M. Bourgeois has been prime
minister. minister Of foreign affairs. min
lister of public education and president Of
the chamber of deputies. He is a man Of
high literary attainments and Is a polished
and eloquent speaker: man of letters, a
statesman and born diplomatist. But
probably just because he Is so many sided
he has never taken the position in France
that he might have DONE He is too much
the Admirable Crichton of French public
life. In order to be a great success in
modern French politics a man requires
more concentration and less universal abil-
ity. But at the peace conference h has
naturally been playing leading role
His colleague. Baron d'Etournelle Con-
slant. is man of much smaller caliber
The preaching of peace and disarmament
has become a sort of monomania with him.
and he puts his views before his countrymen
in season and out of season. He is a good
speaker, but somewhat apt to become tedi-
Gus. One thing it must be admitted, Baron
d 'Etournelle de Constant has worked in
the cause of international arbitration as
fey men have done. even IL in the working
he has at times bored his fellow country
men.
An Interesting Figure.
Undoubtedly one of the most Interesting
figures of all of the diplomatists assembled
a The Hague is Baron Marschall Won
Biebersten. the German plenipotentiary.
He is certainly one of the most capable
among the statesmen Of Europe He was
for many years secretary Of state for for
eign affairs before going to Constantinople
German ambassador. He probably
stands higher In the confidence of the kaiser
than any other ambassador or minister
The eastern policy of Germany is undoubt-
eddy the work of the kaiser, but it is equal
~ certain that he relies greatly in this
respect upon Baron Marschall Won Bieber
stein. The days when Prince Bismarck
declared that he would not risk the bones
of single Pomeranian grenader for the
hole inrss 1nory nyt
Since the kasers famous visit to the sui
tan on his way home from the marriage
of his sister at Athens the eastern policy
of Germany has been changed. lock,
stock and barrel.
1t Is the kaiser now who appears to have
adopted the advice of Peter the Great to
his descendants. the czars Of Russia. 'Nev-
er take your eyes of from Constantinople."
And in this policy Baron Marschall Won
Biebersten has long been his right hand
man. He is a tail man of Bismarckian
mold. heavy. stout. with broad shoulders
and something of the iron chancellors
rough joviality. But he also has Prince
Bismarck's brutal force of character and
stands like a rock. always and ever for
German interests. And it was for precisely
this trait in his character and not because
he is authority upon the eastern ques-
ton, for the eastern question is not likely
to figure in the calculations of European
diplomats for some time to come, that the
kaiser selected him to represent Germany
at the conference.
A Man of Imposing Presence.
NJ Nelidoff. the president. belongs to the
older school of Russian diplomatists which
has nearly died out. A man of imposing
presence and courtly manners he is I'M
doubtedly a very fox for cunning and has
the reputation of being none too scrupulous
when the interests of Russia are at stake.
He and Baron Won Bieberstein are old adj
yersaries nj. Nelidof succeeded Gen. 1g-
natieff. the famous father of lies and the
generally accepted author of the Russo
Turkish war as ambassador at Constantine
pie and he it who wrung the treaty of
San Stefano from the vanquished Turks and
brought about European intervention and
the Berlin congress. From ConstantinOple
he went to Rome and two years ago was
given the blue ribbon of the diplomatic
reer the Paris embassy. Though he Is I'M
doubtedly one of the strongest of PERSONAL
ties at The Hague If it We're possible to
read his nnermost thoughts 1t would un-
doubtedly be found that he is not as fer
vent a believer III the efficacy of any peace
conference as his royal master, the Car of
Russia.
Though it is talked about in rather sup
pressed fashion there is a feeling, religious
questions to side. that the papal see
ought to have been invited to send some of
its trained diplomats. For no matter what
men say In their blindness, it is undoubtedly
49,. has haau said from the start that