Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-02
Crisis in Peace Farley Followed -
Return of the President to Paris

America on February Is the great
problem of the moment was the re-
neWal of the armistice terms with
Germany, which expired February II.
Now, the French were always more
interested and concerned in military
terms than any other nation. The
war was on French soil and the COM
r-in-chief was a Frenchman.
Their effort was always to add more
drastic terms to the armistice, and to
keep the power strongly in the hands
of the supreme military command.
naturally-and wanted speedier re-
suits. They wanted to force the Ger
mans to pay faster. The peasants
wanted their cattle back, the manu-
facturers wanted their machinery i'm
mediately restored. The French
sought to get quick results by adding
provisions to the armistice and using
military pressure to bring them about.
Clemenceau also was afraid that il
the treaty were delayed and the Brit
ish and American troops went home
as they were going as rapidly as pos
den new attack by the Germans which
the exhausted French army could not
meet.
While neither the Americans nor the
British wanted piecemeal settle
ment Wilson saw the weight of the
*
fore he left Paris. that a preliminary
and temporary arrangement for the
military and naval disarmament of
Germany should be discussed. This
was to make sure of safety for France
while the allied troops were going
home and the peace terms were being
slowly threshed out.
Complicated Questions Arise.
1t will be remembered that Clemen-
ceau was wounded by a would-be as
sassin soon after Wilson left Paris.
and Lloyd-Gecrge went home to Crap
pie with his own hard political prob
lens. Those who remained, the sec
ondary figures, when they began to
discuss methods of disarming Ger
many discovered at once that the mill
tary, naval and air terms were in
extricably bound up with all sorts of
other questions. What about boun-
daries? What about reparations? Who
were to be held accountable for the
war? And what should be done with
the colonies? The British especially
were unwilling to have the military
and naval terms even temporarily set
tied without also dealing with the eco
nomic terms which were so Intimately
bound up with them.
Now. throughout the peace confer
ence each nation had it's chief inter-
ests-or obsessions. The French were
dominated by fear and wanted first of
all military security for themselves,
and after that speedy repayment for
their stupendous losses The British
had their eyes most intently fixed on
future sea power and on all economic
and financial phases of the settlement
The chief Italian effort was to force a
settlement with Austria at the same
time that the settlement with Ger
many was made, and to make sure of
Italian claims in the Adriatic. America
had no special interests at all to
serve. wanted nothing except~a peace
plan which would assure the future
peace of the world and prevent us, as
well as all other nations, from having
to build ornaments and maintain huge
armies.
When Wilson went away the whole
fdealistic bottom seemed to drop out
of the peace conference. The league
OF nations was scarcely mentioned in
the council Of ten as a real or potent
factor in the future settlement. Most
believed in it at all unless it could be
made a powerful alliance backed by
an army. If the story about
how Clemenceau,. when he awakened
each morning said to himself. Now.
Georges Clemenceau, you do believe
in the league of nations" is not lit
terally true it well represents the
skeptical French position. What the
French wanted-and finally got!-was
an alliance to protect them The Brit
ish were for the league-some OF
them, like Gen. SHUTS and Lord Robert
Cecil, upon the highest grounds-but
only If Great Britain and America
stuck firmly together and formed a
kind Of backbone to support the whole
structure. AS for the Italians. their
position was well expressed by one
as to how Italy stood on the league
Of nations:
We'll. we believe in it, but we want
the question of Fiume settled fist"