Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-05-04
OFFICIALS MEET
PEACE MOVE WITH
PLAN To SEND ARMY
OvertureS Might Be Consider
ed If Germany ReIinQuiShed
"CorridOr" to Turkey-U, S,
to Send Troops Abroad

WASHINGTON, May 2.-The French
commissioners today had assurance that
the American government is willing to
send troops to France-one of the ur-
gent recommendations they brought to
this country-when the allies believe
they can afford to spare the necessary
ships for transporting an army and its
equipment across the Atlantic.
The administration has put aside the
objections of the army general staff to
sending any troops to the battle front
until a big force has been raised and
trained for nearly year, and has de-
cided that for the sake of the morale
of Americas actual participation in the
French battling, a small contingent
shall go forward as soon as possible.
This will be soon, il is believed, al
though the government is mindful that
nearly $780, 900 tons of shipping would
be required for a regular army unit of
$4,000 men and that this amount would
have to be diverted from carrying food.
Three major propositions commanded
the attention of the allies world war
cor ference here today:
THREE PROPOSITIONS.
Speculation as TO what Germany's
peace move will be in the reichstag to-
morrow;
The detailed offer of American ship
ping to our European allies and organ
ization of the speed up" program for
building more ships;
The agreement of the United States
government, over the objection of GER
tain members of the war college, to
send troops to Europe at once IL they
are wanted.
French. English and American war
commissioners today were exceedingly
skeptical of any peace move, however,
seemingly attractive, which Bethmann-
Hollweg may hold out tomorrow.
There is feeling in official circles
that the Interior motive of the project
ed peace proposal is three-fold:
To capitalize a last dying hope that
the United States can be swerved from
active participation in the war;
That German separate peace propa-
ganda in Russia may crystalize and
separate peace be manipulated.
And that wavering South America,
the country to which German eyes turn
hungrily and hopefully. according to the
allies commissioners now here, may be
reset at normal and kept out of the
war altogether.
COULD HOLD CORRIDOR"
Germany. the allied solons here said
today. can make a specifically mag
unanimous peace offer by giving up
everything but her corridor into Tur-
key. and still be victorious.
The moral effect troops"-probabl bly,
about 1000 marines or militia-which
France wants at the front at once, will
be sent. And the governments offer to
send a large army in small groups, be-
ginning at once, is before the European
allies today. This would obviate en-
ploying great blocks of shipping by
sending the armies en- masse.
Should the allies say openly, send
the armies at once" il would cause no
surprise in Washington.
Plans for mobilization of American
shipping went forward rapidly today.
The allies and the American shipping
board worked out details of an inter-
national shipping agreement. They
sealed the pact by awarding one Amer
team ship to France and one to Italy.
The government mapped legislation for