Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-03-17
Monday, March II, 1919
topen Covenants Openly Arrived A.

topen Covenants Openly Arrived At"
James Montague. staff correspon-
dent of the Universal Service is home
in New York from the peace confer
tnce and saying some things that arc
not highly complimentary about the
gag rule in Paris. He says in part:
I'm common with 50 or 60 other CORE.
Spondents I went to the peace confer
cnce much impressed by the phrase
s'open covenants openly entered into
This phrase had been made by Mr.. Will
Son little while before. 1t seemed 20
as optimistic news writer's to mean that
3he world through US. was to konw all
that was going on at the peace table,
When we got to Paris we were as
eured by a member of the American
commission to negotiate peace that
there would be no censorship
The French have promised that the
cables shall be free said this official,
reassuringly. If you hear OF any case
of censorship of any kind whatever.
come to me. and shall see that 1t is
Wen. we speedily heard of case OF
censorship. and then another and an
other. and then so many that they soon
got beyond reckoning.
OF Course. being still guilelessly trust
full OF our friend in the mission. We
made a howl about this muzzle on the
news. The official said he would take 1t
so II he did. he got snubbed. for the
censorship continued undated.
Soon after that correspondent OF on:
of the New York papers wrote and MED
at the cable Office a statement of what
SMr. Wilson had told the French regard
ing American intentions 1t may or
may not have been true. / never saw it,
so don't know.
pipt 0f hn M vUo q
all the talk about the lifting OF the cen
sorship this dispatch went directly 10
Premier Clemenceau from the cable
office. Mr. Clemenceau took it to Mr..
Wilson. who denied it. either in whole
or in part. MIR. Clemenceau then took It
to the house of deputies. where ne re-
peated Mr. Wilson's denial and the
paper for which the dispatch was IN
That is the sort Of thing that is going
eon in Paris all the time. When you
read YOUR peace CO ference dispatches.
in whatever paper you buy. you may
rest assured that you are getting only
the news that the French want you 20
get. And there begins to be dlsquleting
evidence that our mission doesn't want
you to get any more information than
the French do"
Mr.. Montague says many other
equally interesting things about ''se-
cret covenants secretly entered into"
and inability of American correspond
ents to get a word of satisfaction from
the q, S. commission as to the Amer
lean 'splan." Evidently there was no
plan. President Wilson had no plan.
so far as any one has been able to
discover. II he had any sort of plan
it was a secret purpose to delay until
he could incubate plan.
He succeeded in the delay part of it,
but while he paid hurried visit home
to kiss Congress farewell, the peace
delegates actually made progress.
They signed the death knell of con-
scription and of universal military
training for the world. Where these
policies are already seated and in
grown they will gradually die out and
scale off under the benign influence OF
world agreement to dump the military
burden along with the support of
hereditary pauper families.
During Mr.. Wilson's absence they
fixed the limit of Germany's army
and it's methods Of recruitment. thus
protecting Europe from the Huns and
protecting the Huns themselves from
themselves, and making it incumbent
on the rest Of Europe to protect the
Huns from other nations. This was
a real step forward and actually paves
the way for a league Of nations. II
this step had been taken while the
American President was allowing
royalty to pat his back, the league OF
nations could have been accomplished
ere this.
Another encouraging feature Of the
situation lies in the fact that both
Britain and France recognize the
meaning Of American scrutiny OF ev-
cry act Of the peace congress. even II
the American President returns with
q report that American sentiment is
overwhelmingly in favor Of the
league Of nations"
But perhaps the most promising in
dication Of progress is in the gradual
recognition throughout the world that
by q few comparatively simple pro-
visions (when Greed submits to lcash)
q great volume Of dangerous trash in
the way Of special treaties can be
dumped overheard.
DR.. NJ. Sawayanagi. a member OF
the House Of Peers, formerly Vice.
minister Of Education in japan and
President Of the Imperial Kyoto Uni
versity. has published an article in
the Taiyo in which he argues that.
since the complete collapse Of Russia
and Germany as menacing factors to
Great Britain and japan. necessity for
japanese alliances with European
Powers no longer exists. He says:
my opinion is that all special COM
pacts existing between countries should
b altogether repudiated for the sake
as Of the East. Thanks to the existence
Of such special International agree
ments. the war Just ended became
greatly extended in scope. But for the
existence Of the Triple Entente and the
A,ance Q, tn the Central S; Powers the as
bars Of the imperial family Of another
country. which occurred in a corner Of