Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1919-01-03

any plan of representation yet sug-
gested, would give them much greater
power In world affairs thar they now
WELD
In the United States senate there is
likely to be q showdown on the league
of nations plan in a very short time,
as its opponents, and others, too, feel
that the president should know def
nitely the majority opinion of the body
that must finally accept or reject the
peace treaty that he and his col
leagues assent to at Versailles. Though
the Republicans in the senate are
nearly all opposed to the presidents
plan to make the organization of the
league a part Of the peace treaty, they
do not stand alone. Quite a number
of the Democratic senators also are
against that proposition, believing
that at least the question should be
made the subject of a separate treaty
after matters relating directly to the
wal shall have been disposed of.
AS for the freedom of the seas, the
expression Is now interpreted to mean
that Britain may not at one and the
same time have the largest navy and
be the exclusive interpreter of sea
laws, and this it is believed Britain
will accept, consenting to an agree
ment among nations regarding the
laws and rules of the sea to which all
must submit. i
Prompt denial came from Paris of
the report hat the American delega-
ton had agreed to the sinking of the
surrendered German wal vessels. The
president said he was absolutely OPP
posed to such a course, and Secretary
Lansing declared the proposition had
not even been discussed.
1t is not likely hat the general
peace conference will assemble before
the middle of January, nor is any Off
cial statement expected before then
as to the number of governments to be
represented. 1t is considered prob
able that the United States, Great
Britain, France, Italy and perhaps
Belgium will determine the matter OF
admission of delegates. The repre-
sentatives of the central powers will
not be called in until the final stages
are reached, for they will be com-
PEELED to accept whatever the others
decide upon and to have been present
during the preliminary discussions
would only prolong the proceedings
unnecessarily.
The entente nations are rather
coldly and skeptically. watching the
apparently desperate efforts Of the
new German government to establish
itself. The distrust of the Hun, en-
last for generations, is applied to pres
ent events and the attitude of the
%conquerors is rightly n of cynical
watchfulness. The revolution was
in the main so easily and smoothly
accomplished and the unprotesting pill
lars of autocracy are so rapidly slid
ing into positions of power behind
the nominal heads of the peoples
government that there is reason to be
suspicious. Hindenburg still controls
a large part of the army and his I'M
explained intention of forming a new
defensive line a few miles from the
Rhine has been accepted by Ebert and
his colleagues. Such men as Prince
Max and the ~treacherous and hypo-
critical Won Bernstorff are still pow
ers in the land. 1t almost seems that
the only genuine, sincere advocates of
a real revolution in Germany are the
bolsheviki. Under the leadership of
Liebknecht and Ledebour, they are I'M
remitting in their struggle to o%verturn
the Ebert government, their latest
manifestation being a bloody revolt In
Berlin last week. Mutinous sailors
seized the red palace and neighboring
buildings and for two days fought the
republican guard, about 100 persons
being killed. The sailors demanded
that Ebert and Haase resign. to be
In the end the mutineers were forced
to surrender and were permitted to
leave the city under guard.
This was regarded as a virtual vic
torysby the ~Spartacides, and next day
they seized the plant of the Socialist
organ Vorwaerts and the offices of
the Prussian war ministry, and an
nounced that they WOULD at once pro-
claim the downfall of the Ebert gov
eminent. The chancellor called out
all the troops in Berlin. This was the
last that had been heard from the
German capital at the time of writing.