Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-01
EUROPE HOLDS CONGRESS-
Caution and Ceremony Make 1t a
Slow Business.
MONTHS FOB THE PREL1MINARIEs
Entertainments Consume More Time
Thar INSTRUMENTATION n
Gorgeous Affnir-PcrsOnneI
and Procedure.

NEW YORK, oct. S1.-(special)-If a
congress Of the overs Of Europe should
be called to settle the Balkan question
once again It is not at all likely that the
sessions would begin before next year.
There are all sorts of reasons for this
siow-going preparation; all sorts of pour
parlers have to be exchanged between the
governments interested. The subjects to
be discussed by the congress have to be
selected and defined with great care.
Whole volumes of diplomatic correspon-
dence. therefore, are exchanged before the
date of the meeting is even considered.
There are other questions of detail. There
is the size of the congress to be determined.
involving the admission or exclusion Of
minor powers and secondary parties to the
matters at issue. There is the selection Of
the place. which is usually either a strictly
neutral city or the capital OF one Of the
leading powers concerned.
And when everything else is arranged
each power has problems Of its W to
solve. There Is the choice of delegates,
for instance, and OF their assistants. The
representation as a whole must be a many
headed, or rather. perhaps, a many-faced,
one.
Variety of Talent Needed.
One or more Of It's members must be
statesmen of tried and trusted powers.
Some one among them must be a parsonage
Of dignity, the holder of a high office or
the possessor of a great name. There must
be someone who is accustomed to the
etiquette of courts.
There must be someone who is a skilled
entertainer. Our old friend, the hand
shaker. the professional genial, must be
very much in evidence. There must be a
ready writer and a ready speaker. and
withal there must be in the delegation in
one or moro of It's members a profound
knowledge Of history. geography. interna-
tional law and, above all, an expert ac-
quaintance with the special subject which
is to be taken up.
While the actual delegation itself seldom
includes more than two or three plenipoten-
tiaries. these are always REINFORCED by a
host of councillors, secretaries, interpre-
ters' experts and gentlemen runners, so
that in fact they make up quite a formi-
dable body. The congress OF Vienna, held
in 1914, was attended by more than 500
diplomatic personages.
Even when the entire personnel Of each
delegation is determined the congress is
still some weeks or months off. for every
5NaAe ~ II va hGilldlu q GOn-
siderable period in which to make a study
of the subject. When the plenipotentiaries
actually start they are sure to take with
them hundreds OF volumes and stacks of
documents sufficient to fill many freight
cars.
arrival of Diplomats.
At last the visiting delegations begin
to pour into the chosen city Of the con-
| gross and fhAna,AI al--
and gorgeous time there. Each batch of
plenipotentiaries will have secured for
itself either a fine mansion or at least an
entire floor in a hotel. An army of news
paper men from all over the world has
assembled in advance, sightseers, amuse-
ment providers and seekers. the huge mis-
ceIianeous crowd that chases excitement
from place to place is already in waiting.
AS the plenipotentiaries arrive they are
met at the railway stations by high officials
OF the entertaining foreign office, some.
times by military escorts and royal car.
rlases. They are escorted as guests Of the
state to their quarters, but before they
nave time to settle down there they are
Obliged to rig themselves In full court cos.
tune to begin the round of formal visits
They call upon the foreign secretary o.
NoN anu vi us llltt
Fhey call upon each other, and then the,
go home and receive the calls of every.
body else in return. Some days are oc.
cupied i'm this indispensable Formally.
A round of entertainments is begun a
the same time. Two-thirds of the tim,
during which the congress sits is spent ii
revelry. The actual sessions probably aver
age far less than two hours a day.
Splendid Quarters Provided.
When the plenipotentiarles come togethe,
in their first regular session they find tina
a splendid suite of apartments has been pro
vided for them. At the congress of Der
lin Prime Bismarck threw open his Owl
home, the Radziwill palace, for the ses
sions.
There is not only the great assembl,
room; there are rooms besides for secre
taries and experts, for private consulta
lions and for committee meetings. Spe
cial telegraph wires were run into a room
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