New-York tribune., 1918-11-29

Secretary of State Lansing, these views
will be expressed at Versailles.
The best guessing in official circles
is that Henry White, former Ambassa-
dor to Italy and France, will be the
Republican member of the commission,
but no official announcement has been
made with regard to any phase Of the
question. It is merely assumed that
Colonel House and Secretary Lansing
will be commissioners.
President Takes Time
A close friend of Secretary Lansing
commented to-day that the President
evidently is saving his own time by not
talking the situation over with tho
Secretary of State until they both get
on shipboard. This friend said Mr..
Lansing so far had not been taken into
Mr.. Wilson'S confidence as to the Presi-
dents ideas about the peace aims of
this government
There is a growing belief that the
President will inform the country as
to his ideas about what America should
insist upon at the peace table in the
course of his address to Congress, and
this is accepted on the theory that half
q loaf is better than no bread
1t is pointed out, however, by those
who have been insisting all along that
the President should take the American
people into his confidence, that holding
back such a public statement until the
day before the President sails will give
the President little opportunity to dis
cover how closely he IS in tune with
public sentiment.
Some of the critics of this policy go
so far as to say that the President has
lost his confidence in the correctness
of public sentiment since the recent
election.
Creel Criticism Hurts
The criticism Of the Creel activities
with regard to the peace conference
has stung the head of the Committee
on Public Information into making
a long statement about handling news
paper men and their dispatches from
Versailles, in which Creel says that
his own visit to Europe has nothing
to do with the peace conference.
This was received with much surprise
here in view of the announc e1nent that
certain members of the committee, in
cluding Greel's first lieutenant, Sisspn,
would go to France to ~coTer" the
conference.
Altogether sixteen members OF the
committee have gone, or announced
their intention of going to help in
this work
The alarm here actually has been
much greater lest this hnge staff of
government press agents would writs
so much Official" copy explaining the
conference, which as government
matter would have precedence ON tbs
cables, that there would be very little
remaining wire space" to be aIlncated
10 the regular newspaper men,
Fnar Still Remains.
This faAr still remains, in no das1,ae
ahated by MIR. Creel's statement 1t
Is asserted that the natural Uutgrpwth
of the situation Will be that American
newspapers will have at their disposal
large amounts of copy emauating from
Mr.. Creel's writer's, naturally favorable
to whatever point of view the Presi-
dent may desire. Next, they will have
tne accounts sent by the various press
associations, which have renently darn-
onstratad sympathy with the PraHzi-
dents policies which has aroused cn1S-
siderable wrath among Republican
Senators and members of the HOUSE.
Lastly, those newspapers that have
special correspondents in Paris will
have very brief dispatches from their
own correspondents, which will nor
maliy hn later than the Creel mattar
which will arrive first. or the Mess
assoclatnn matter, which will arrive
sHcond
The result, it is PORTED out, VIII be
to give the country rather lupsided
view of what is happening at the peace
conference. and this without any neces-
slty OF censorship whatever. Those OBJ
!ectlng to this possibility want to know
just what is the object of the govern
ment paying the salaries and expenses
of not less than sixteen Creel en-
ployes to write accounts Of this peace
conference when, so far as editorial
comment raceived here indicates. the
newspapere Of the country would far
prefer to have the cable space these
Creel writer's will consume left for
their own correspondents