Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-10
NIgii. Sc Chosen 70 PreslJ-
at Peace Table. Thercb
Embarrassing.
WANTS TO BE FREE TO
RETURN IN SIX WEEKS
Mr. Wilson VIII Urge That Coz
ference Negotiations Be
Kept Open.

President Wilson'S .lstelr-i i..st4ei- ]. y.
-a Nit u the I,eace table, as announced
III ~ire .ess dispatches, was acclaimed
to5ay hr friends Of the administration
as proof t',at the fears that the Pres
ide.it would Ls overaggressive, er
lacking in tact II pressing his policies.
are without folIaation.
one explanation Of the Presidents
decision. said To lave been made be-
fore he left washington. was that his
tlie allied Representatives "a elect him
as presiding officer.
snch Procedure Would Enoarrass.
Sticii z procedure, though dictated
BY courtesy and appreciation Of Arser-
ica's part in the war. would have been
embarrassing in several ways. II
would have sidetracked Premier Clern-
enceau. who is believed to be the prob
able presiding officer. because the cor
fcrences are 10 be held on French soif
aad because France viii be most di-
rectiy affected. perhaps, by the settle
ments reached.
Moreover It would have necessi-
tated Il change in the midst of tie
conferences, because the Presioesf
still wishes to hold himself free -
come home within six weeks from
the time OF his departure.
y third factor IN the Presidents
decision. il is believed, is the though
that as an outsider. free to confer
with the actual heads of the various
nations concerned. he viii be able tu
WELD more potent influence than
by actual participa tion in the nego
ti2tious.
Firm for U. S. Program.
For, though the President has IL,
wish to put himself forward. he does
!. intend to impress upon the conterees
i the position OF the United States.
broadly outlined In his fourteen peace
principles.
ment contained in the same dispatches
that the President would urge that
the negotiations. at least in their
final sages, be open. created consfd-
erable interest 1t became known to ,
day that he had communicated to
friends here his purpose to stand Tor
the principle he frequently has enun-
ciateei-ttat decisions affecting rnif--
lions Of people should not be CON
Quoted behind closed doors without
informing those peoples of the. steps
taken to determine their political
fate. -.
This does not mean that all the pren
liminary discussions are to be puhitrs
any more than discussions by our OWL
foreign relations committee are puGJ
lie. as was pointed out III the dis
patches Ect it does mean that the
sn.l f3iScrSSinrs nf the general nOli--
cies viii he open 10 the pFess. 50 that
all peoples concerned may know Of
these deliberations.
To Clear Up Knotty Questions.
President Wilson's conferences with
Lloyd George. Clemeaeeau and other
men of allied powers who held posi-
tons 1nost nearly comparable with his
own, as the Representatives response
BILE to the people. are considered a.
the principal occasions OF his trip
abroad, and as.,the means by which
the most potent influence of the Amer
lean executive will be felt. knotty
questions. Will be cleared away at
these conferences and President Viii
son will undertake to translate t.
these officials the purposes and ideats
for which the Cni.ed States entered
the war. s
Recognition of the part this country
will play in the settlement is eyi
deuced by the daily outpouring OF
press statements from proI,a ganda bu-
reaus of various naticnalities and ra-
cial units, Scme of them without a
national entity rs yet, as well as b.
the enemy governments. The lattes
have been Warned again Dy. the State
Department that all communications
should also be addressed to the entente
governments, instead of heing sent sole
" to American officials or to this GOV
ernment.
Slavs and Poles Persistent.
The Jugo-Slays, tho Czecho -Slavs.
the Poles and other peoples who hope
to establish independent governments
after the peace negotiations all are
issuing sta atements almost daily and
carving on extensive campaigns OF
newspaper and magazine publicity to
set forth their aspirations.
AS pointed out in The Star yester-
day. the Poles are seeking to coun-
teract the reports of poEroms. which
apparently are being used by the
Germans to stir UP feeling between tf-
Poles and the Jews, which the enemy
houe., VIII discount the purpose to
create an independent Poland which
shall include those portions of Ger
many and Austria where Polish popu-
lation is-dominant.
The 1ong-standing differences be-
tween the Jugo-Slavs and the Italians
reached an official stage with the
formal notice given the American
government yesterday of the purpose
OF Serbs, Sicvenes and Creates To
unite with the kingdom Of Serbia IN
a Jugo-Slavic state and to insist upon
evacuation. Of Jugo-Slav territory
by Italy.
. This arrangement is an open decla-
ration Of a determination on the part
of the embryo. Jugo-Slav nation to
oppose Italy's desire for control or
the eastern Adriatic This control
Italy belives essential Tor her future
projection.
Official texts were presented to the
State Department Of addresses by
Prince Regent Alexander OF Serbia
and a delegation Of twenty-Sevef,
members from the national council OF
Zagreb. delivered at Belgrade DeceM-
Der 1.
The prince regent accepted the pro
posai OF thexZagreb council for union
the delegation to sbe received to sit
Professionally at Belgrade as represent
atives of their people until constit-
uent assembly can. be held within six
months after the conclusion Of peace
After submitting the proposal for
union the zagreb, delegation said:
I'VE. are sprofoqndiy grieved to. be
srsst pSft tSofscpryn yna4ursl sciis is oc-
cupied by the troops Of sfheS Kinszz
06tn6ed On sec0ad kagss