The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-11-22
WILSON GOING To
PEACE CONFERENCE
White House Issues an Official!
Statement.
MRS. WILSON WILL ALSO GO
Announcement Says President Plans
Voyage to Engage in Peace Con-
ference-Many Big Men to
Accompany Him.

accompany 'i''
Washington, Nov. 19.-President
Wilson will head this cOuntry's dele
CATION to the peace conference. He eX-
poets to sail for France within day
or two after December 2, the opening
of the regular session of congress.
This was officially announced at the
White House The statement is as
follows:
'The president expects to sail for
France Immediately after the opening
of the regular session of congress Tor
the purpose of taking part in the dis
cuSsfOn and settlement of the main
features of the treaty of peace.
cit is not likely that it will be pos
sible for him to remain throughout the
sessions of the formal peace CONFER
ence, but his presence at the outset is
necessary in order to Obviate the mani
fest disadvantages of discussion by
cable in determining the general out
lines of the final treaty, on which he
must necessarily be consulted.
''He will, of course, be accompanied
by delegates who will sit as the repre-
Sentatives of the United States
throughout the conference. The names
of the delegates will be presently an
nOunced"
Mrs. Wilson will accompany the
president il was learned, and the en-
tire delegatiOn-peace ENJOYS. secre-
taries, stenOgraphers and the like
will probably sail on one of the Ameri-
can battleships, possibly the Pennsyl-
vania.
Peace Conference in December.
The presidents announcement set
ties two questions. The first of these
is the fact that the peace conference
will be an early one, beginning in De
cember; the second is that it will be
held at Versailles.
The president will appear before
congress, presumably on the day its
regular session opens, to explain more
infinitely the reasons why, at this time,
it is imperative for him to go abroad.
His reasons, it was said, will go far
toward notifying the feeling in GER
tain quarters of the senate and the
house that it is unWise for him to
leave the country.
There are two outstanding reasons
why the presidents attendance is nee
essary at the peace conference. He
wants to preserve the unity of counsel
that brought victory to the allies and
America on the battlefield, and which
characterized the sessions of the SUI
preme war council at Versailles, and
he also wants to make secure the fOun-
datiOns of a League of Nations.
The latter is his plan for world and
lasting peace and he is so strongly
convinced of it's efficacy that he is go
ing to Europe to put it into concrete
form.
President to Be Chief Figure.
BY common consent and appreciation
of all the allies the president will as
sumo the leading role at the moment
Gus conference. The position of the
United States in the great war, coupled
with his position as this nations
spokesman, will make him the chief
figure and one whose word will COM
mand the respectful audience of all
civilization.
He will be able to see the peace con-
ference started with the fright foot for
ward" and officials and diplomats here
believe that will be half the battle for
the eventual amicable settlement of
the grave questions it will have before
it.
The president will be absent from
the United States for three weeks or
a month. Possibly it will be for
longer period, dependent of course.
on developments on the other side.
The presidents announcement of his
impending departure is deemed suffi-
cient answer to the query, docs the
Constitution allow him to leave the
country?" If it did not he would not
go. So that settles it.
To those persons who feel that he
will shatter precedent is the recollec-
ton that three of the four presidents
before him-Grover Cleveland, Theo-
dore Roosevelt and William Howard
Taft-aIso shattered precedentS. Mr..
Cleveland was outside the territorial
waters of the United States on yacht
inc trip. while both Mr.. Roosevelt
and Mr.. Taft visited the Canal Zone
and also stepped out of its boundaries
i'm the republic of Panama. Further
more. it is recalled, Mr.. Taft crossed
the international bridge over the Rio
Grande and stepped on Mexican soil
on one occasion.