East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1918-12-27
VERSAILLES is CITY. RICH II
HISTORY COVERING CENTURIES

VERSAILLES. Dec. 27.-This is a
great town for peace conference.
Although It isn't quite half as big
as Toledo, Ohio. In point OF popula-
ton, and has not nearly the hotel ac>
commOdations available in salt Lake
City, and has no convention hall in the
class OF the Auditorium. at st. Paul.
Mimi, Il has one qualification which
absolutely puts those American cities
out OF the race for the worlds great
est peace conference.
It has hackground,
background Is as essential to a
specessfuf peace corference rs is,chlle
conoarns a. Il Afexieasa carnival lit
Is extensive, ana the rlght king can-
not be bought ii any market any
more. the late war having used up
the entire. current output.
The historical background OF Yer
saIlles cost France q century OF star,
walton, an ocean of blood, a cycle of
scandal. few billion francs. and a
heartache that throbbed so powerful
ly that it Jared dynasties and en-
pires off the earth.
Louis XIII, who was a goodly king,
went hunting in the woods where now
stands Versailles, one day about 1924.
He had fine luck hunting, but at
night he had to sleep in a hotel where
there were some common folk Sleep
! ing, and sitting about talking poll
ticsi Sleeping in the same building
with wagoners and farmers was
shocking to Louis. for Louis was a
regular king. He decided to build
little chateau near his hunting
grounds, where he could sleep in
peace once or twice a year, for he had
no automobile to take him back to
Paris at the end of q perfect hunting
day.
4 That chateau of Louis XIII. n very
unbeautiful but hlghly expensive
house, still stands, with the magnifi-
cent Palace of Versailles built around
/ it.
The palace itself could house TO-
1 900 persons very easily, but it doesn't
and never did.
1t is used as a museum, and as a
monument to the stupendous extrava-
gance, effrontery and futility OF mon
archy 1t is used also for peace con-
ferences now and then. Usually,
when two or more nations have strug-,
gled so long on the battlefield that
all the common folks money has been
spent and the fortunes of the counts
and dukes have been threatened, del
egates of the belligerent nations have
gathered at Versailles and signed a
peace treaty. Now it is proposed that
| representatives of practically all ma
tions of any Importance. and repre-
sentatives of all classes of human be-
/ ings meet here to proclaim the end of
the war and autocracy
Louis XIV built most of the palace,
much as it appears today.
! Louis XIV made some changes and
pretty much got lost in the big cor
ridors.
| Louis XVI did some more building
and tearing down and improving.
| Napoleon neglected the great pail
ace, and afterward remarked that he
was sorry he hadn't torn it down
while he had a chance.
Louis Philippe spent few millions
repairing and restoring the palace and
grounds and carrying out some pro-
jects of his own in connection with it.
And here it stands, ready to furnish
shelter and background for a real
peace conference.
/ Nobody will ever know how much
the great palace cost Franceg under
the reign of it's builder, Louis XIV.
Louis became badly scared when he
received the bills, because he. had
heard good deal about some dis.