Evening star., 1918-11-24
PROBLEMS PASSED
ON IN 1814AGA|N
PEACE PARLEY
Coming Conference Likened
To and Contrasted With
Vienna Congress.
PREACHED BROTHERLY
LOVE, NEVER PRACTICED
Territorial Questions, Not Quite So
Extensive as Now, Also
Settled Then.
BY N. O. MESSENGER.

SttuCl Will oouic CoutIdSts, pttNceAi
the Forthcoming peace congress and
the great worlds congress of Vienna
in 1914. Two vivid personalities,
Napoleon and Wilhelm, each animated
by the same spirit of conquest and
domination, created the conditions
which brought the great powers of
the world around a peace table. In
both meetings SIMILAR questions of
territory will have been found pre-
sented for settlement.
Strangely enough, the first congress
was followed by union of powers in
q compact of profeSSedly high princi-
pie and brotherly love-never to be
practiced, however-Whlle the coming
congress is to be lightened by the
torch of liberty and democracy. to
shine for all mankind. and a league of
all nations is proposed. 1t remains for
posterity to experience the practical
effects of the doctrines that will be
preached.
Broader Field This Time.
The congress of 1914 dealt mainly
with northern and central Europe,
while the congress of 1918 will take
in also southern Europe and a sec
tion of Asia and Africa in its DISPOSE
tion of purely territorial questions,
but may lay down general principles,
which will affect the entire world.
At the very outset of this congress,
a question may come up. diplomatists
say. paralleling one raised in the
preliminaries of the meeting of 1914
and that is, what nations shall be rep
resented in the congress and shall
ha ta Unica in itS decisions
Although all the world is to be af-
fected by the acts of the congress, it
has not yet been decided what nations
shall be at the conference table.
The Vienna congress was called by
the treaty of peace signed at Paris
May 30. 1914. Eight powers signed
that treaty-and call-but four pow
ers later assumed to dominate the
congress. Russia Prussia, Austria
and England were the four thus un-
Gertaking, while France, Sweden
Spain and Portugal. that had signed
ut Paris were sought to be excluded
practically.
Compels Recognition of France.
Talleyrand. the French representa-
tive, blocked the effort at the start
and by his brilliant diplomacy COM
peeled the associated powers to rec
ognize that France had vital in
coming congress Germany, Austria
Turkey and Bulgaria will be parties
on one side. England, France Italy
Belgium, Japan and the United States
-rill be the powers of greatest
strength on the other side, with Ser
bia, Greece. Rumania and Russia-if
there be a Russia-''sitting in.
What part, then. will Holland. Nor
way and Sweden and Spain-the neu-
trails. who also have suffered at Ger
nd
ings, and what part the pro-ally
countries of South America? Hun
gary and Poland. too. have their
rights to be considered. By the time
the congress assemblies the situation
may be further complicated by the
created out of the disintegration OF
the German empire-Bavaria, Wurt-
tsmburg. Saxony, for possible eX-
ample. The coming elections in
government and boundaries of the
country which the Germans" So
called. will establish out of the wreck
One striking point of dissimilaritg =
between the congress of vienna and
that Of Versailles to come will be the
ing and dominating Russia Where
at Poland. the oppressed. will take
heart Another contrast will be the
absence of an overmasterlng Aus
tria. There Will De no MetleTHiSI
at Versailles to speak for what once
was Austria as that prince spoke In
dictatorial terms in 1914. Austria AND
Russia as potential governments
then, will be but memories to the
conferees of Versailles.
Where the Congresses Differ.
piplomatists here are wondering il
the coming congress will repeat the
~, hn
procedure: that is to say, till 1T ae-
complishes the worthy conferences "out
az court" among the parties at issue
With no plenary sessions? The mega
tive to this question is suggested by
{he difference between the two meet.
ings that the Vienna congress was &
congress of partitioning. peace hav'
ing been declared at Paris. while this
is TO be first a peace conference, te
arrange the essentials which will en
able the warning nations to disarn
and return to the avocations OF peace
Charles Downer Hazen. in paper
prepared for the American Historical
Association at its meeting in 1916
thus described the method of work II
t.e congress of Vienna:
But November came and went, as
t.a six other successive months, ane
tie congress was not opened. In fact
was never opened. In fact, there
vas no congress-there was simply 3
election OF negotidtOrS or every
f-rade, resident for the time being il
the city of Vienna. There was never
any veriication of credentials never
any official and authoritative list OF
members. The members of this mag
mary congress never met together ir
the same room. No plenary
session was ever held.
AT one Of the sessions of the eight
powers Metternich declared that the
congress was not a congress: that its
opening was not. properly speaking
an opening at all; that in the assem-
bly, Of the powers at Vienna the only
advantages they had to note was tina
OF a Europe without distances.
But during these months from Sep
tember to June a very large number
of treaties were made between the
various states. and these were brought
together in their essential features
IN the hnal act of June Q. which was
hurriedly patched together few days
before the battle of Waterloo. Every
thing was arranged outside in the in
timate intS-views of sovereigns and
diplomats Nd in the special commit
stees that were. one way and another,
A,,~ ffrr. =