The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-28
THE HAGUE'S DIPLOMACY GAME
SIDE LNTRIGUES AMONG THE
VARIOUS DELEGATES.
1mDossibihty Of Argun,en, causes the Dele
gates TO schcme -}king Edwards
scheme to Isolate Germany Not MAX
Ing Headway-Japsn's Cunning Part.
Special Cable Despatch 10

Special Gable Despatch 10 The SUN.
HI HAGUE, July 27.-lt has taken the
peace conference six weeks to develop
openly it's possibilities AZ q theatre Tor
diplomatic intrigue. The almost insuper-
able difficulty Of making any practical
progress in the commissions has resulted
in some Of the important members turning
their minds to the political uses that can be
extracted from their discussions.
Baron Won Bieberstein, the chief Ger
man delegate to the conference. is going
in for this with gusto. He let's no chance
escape of rising to explain the enthusiasm
with which he indorses any remarks dropped
by an American or a French delegate. his
tribute to the American proposal for com
pulsory arbitration was couched through
out in the superlative. although actually
his adhesion to the proposal was not 30
t~horoughgoing as England's. On every
occasion the German plenipotentiary's
brotherly owe for NJ. Bourgeois. the head
Of the French mission. has been so demon
s~trative that il is already causing sus-
picions.
Germany has had scarcely less success
than Italy. whose lukewarmness to the
Triple Alliance she was only recently CEN
surfing. In this conference Count Tornielli.
the leader of the Italian mission, has come
out as a thoroughgoing paciist Italy
at the beginning was under a real debt
Of gratitude to England for the latter's
conduct in the first conference when the
late Lord Salisbury. alone among the
European statesmen. insisted that no invi-
tation should be sent to the Vatican IL the
Italian Government objected. But at this
meeting England has lost all that ground
and more, largely through her thorough
| ness in seconding the objections Of her
ally Japan TO the important proposals which
the majority of Count Torniellis commits
sion dealing with the rights and duties OF
n~eutrals would accept.
Japan has not forgotten the fragrant
favors the Russian fleets got from France
| and Germany two years ago. and she is dis
| posed to exact her pound Of flesh in favor OF
the English alliance in securing a statement
that such favoritism by ostensible neutrals
is not officially approved by thisc conference.
The first apparent outcome OF all this
~man9uvring Of conflicting interests seems
TO be that King Edwards elaborate scheme
for isolating Germany has had a very for
midable setback Every development here
has been to the detriment OF this policy, and
il is England herself that is getting the title
Of an obstructionist
Probably the head Of her mission. Sir
Edward Fry. knows this. He is a very self
willed old gentleman. h holds infiexibly
to the traditions Of Jurisprudence as he
knew them fifty years 20. No pressure
from Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell
Bannerman can move him an inch. He
neither wants a peerage nor political fame,
nor pecuniary reward: therefore he Is a
very difficult person to deal with.
Some alarmists see here the nucleus OF a
Continental entente against England. II is
certain that the British Foreign Office Is not
playing any fine diplomacy at this con-
ference to prevent it. Onlookers Of many
nationalities regret the comparative unim-
portance Of the role she 10 playing The
fact that she Is still saddled with that empty
talk about the burden of ornaments will be
used against her later when she Is made the
scapegoat for the disappointed hopes Of the
conference.
The American proposal before the COM
mission dealing with international arbitra-
ton, that public debts should not be collected
forcibly until the creditor had resorted to
the Hague tribunal, received a cautious
Endorsement by thirty-seven Powers. while
seven others abstained from approving the
scheme: Switzerland, because she con-
sidered that the conference should deal
between States and States and not between
States and outside interests; Belgium, be-
cause she considered the subject not ready
for settlement. and Turkey, because she
had not time az yet to appreciate what the
effect of the new proposal would be. The
world Powers gave general adhesion. Sir
Edward Fry said he recognized the difficulty
of worldwide arbitration. yet Great Britain
supported the American proposal.
Mr.. Tsusuki Of Japan said he supported
the proposal in regard to recourse to the
Hague tribunal az a necessary step in the
collection of public debts, but he was al
together opposed to obligatory arbitration.
Austria, on the other hand, favored obliga-
tory arbitration.
The most serious menace to the final
adoption of the proposal in the conference
lies in the nature of the reserves which
the representatives of the Powers attached
to their asserting votes. Argentine and
Greece both attached a reserve that debts
should not be collected forcibly whatever
might he the finding Of The Hague tribunal.
Several others supported a reserve by
Signor Tornielli Of Italy that the question
of small debts which Gen. Porter OF the
American mission had specifically excluded
as not requiring a reference to n inter-
national tribunal should he comprised in
the proposal
In consequence of to-day's vote the pro-
posal is nov referred to an examining
committee, whose work will be to seek to
harmonize it with the reserves Of the
Powers who give IL conditional support.
Somebody from every one of the forty-four
countries represented. including Siam.
Hayti and Luxembourg. made a speech
on the subject. The Persian delegate,
Samad Kahn, declared that immunity from
debt collectors would be the most beautiful
flower that any delegate could take back
to the country which had sent him.