The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-02-19
1919. by New York Tribune

Inc
pARIS. t"l, i..---tlrw Acut" was the
! crisis which WIS reached carly IN III"
week in thu nrruiiatiunS Of tn" peace
; conference may -" Judged from the now
! we'll knuwn fac, that President Wilson
: thrraLcn Ia tax" STRIPS 10 have the con-
! r.r.;lcc transferred from France. Mt.
Wilson was Inl"nScl! irrilat"d Ivy IN"
rrit;cal IrE" If The French press On
tn" other hand. thai press reflected IN II
| very guarded and modified way IN"
! ri,jSiu: anxiety and apprehension 81 the
/ French public concerning Mr.. Wilson's
! Intentions.
! This apprehension resulted from Pres
| id.,ll Wilson'S method of avoiding direct
contact with all but IL very restricted err
/ cl" save on puhlic occasions WHEN c'll''u
| upuu To- deliver Uraliun$. lie d"rS 'i'
understand the French language. III"
did not seek to establish any lhinr'nhl
contact with the lenders Of French
! thought. and the ;Lhsrnc" IF any advance
ou his part made dfncult if not iEnpoS-
sihlr. any :l,lv;In," un their part
! With tn. ..Nc"llion of Mr.. White. 1t ~
| believed that no .tn"nhcr of the Am"rl-
| can commission. and very few oil the
! army of assistants who compose" III"
vast United States delegation now "ccu-
: ryiny several hotels in Paris. is Su1hcl-
emily familiar with tho French language
! .nrh history and French institutions
. to understand or interpret thr PSSCH"i-
,uGy of rhn French i'""pic.
Attitude Created Issue.
Mr. Wilson's in:i!ian'" upon INC 49,
! ;nbliShrurn, nf The league OF nhlIonS us
: the primary work Of IN" pca"" CONFER
| cmcc ami lh' """lll"SS II" ."Nhlhl'ru u"
; ward those things which Franc" regard
i,1 Ia II u,
gradually developed into an issue be-
! tween him on ono side and,' It may be
! said the REPRESENTATIVES, of SUBSTANTIALLY
,alI other nations. excepting Great brl-
! tain. on the other side.
! II WAS an issue between theories ana
dreams on one hand aud actual conan,
| lions on tho other. On thH ONO nan"
! wrrc the academic ideas OF These VINO
! look forward to the creation ~ an luSlie
! state whore the angry passions or men
shall have subsidized into sweet reason
:blrucSs. and p"ac" shall reign us "'ue-
snrcad as that which perTadcd inc
/ p,mnn F,mri,r when for the only time
in it's history the gates OF the Tempe OIL
janus were closed.
| On the other hand was the nathnn
whose soil had been invaded. whose in
dust; rirS had been dcStrbycd--tlc natloh
which had borne tho hrunt OF bcaStly
and brutal invasion. which had lost l.
| 400 900 of the flower Of its youth killed.
| with hundreds of thousands more mann
! cd and which now behcld her enemy
! separated only from her by IN lnrlslpic
boundary line. suil unrcgencCttc IN
: thought and spirit, and alretoE 'SSuIh-
: ing q defiant and inSolcnt attitude ID
! ward her. although the terms OIL peace
were not yet settled.
/ Prior TO the war tho prUtctlon ,"t
! France from German aggression lay
FIRST, in the strength Of her army. sec
, ondly i'm the power Great Britain was
ready to exert in her defence in inc
event of unpruvokcd aggression by Ger
many, and thirdly. and most potcntlalS'
! in the strength Of lttr alliance with
| Russia. Germany thus WIS held lheo
rcticolly at least, between the jaws OF
| rueci, on ,hc cast and France and
England on tic west Today the ciISl
/ crn inv is shattcr and Some suosh-
| tutc for that protection must be lounu
for France.
want = Strong Poland
That substitute naturally would nc
n new and powerful Poland in IN" east:
and tho removal from the left oaAk "'
, the Rhine of all possibilities 81 HcF-
! man aggression through the ellinina-
!
toward France.
| . En- the representatives OF tho pow
crs which united in the war on Ger
many assembled in the Paris confer
encc or to speak frankly the prcS'-
dent Of the United States and thr PRIME
ministers Of the four other great pow
crs, composing the so-called mig i've.
who have absorbed IN themselves all
! tho decisions of the conference, ap-
! uearcd with the exception OIL thr
French prcmicr). to underestimate il
they did not wholly disregard, tho
reasonable Foundation for tho fears ana
iaporrhcnsious of France and her un-
! Willingness to accept Us her sufficient
defence the protection of tho moral
mower OF the league OF nations. This
attitude. II was understood, proceeded
largely. If not entirely. from MI VIII
son
i When the president first came To
Franco the entire French people surgeon
toward him with welcoming hearts ahc
minds, us one who. they hchcFca' h'o
made war on war. and who was COM
ing with all the material and spiritual
| forces OF America to hind their rouh-
RVS wounds, redress her injuries ana
safeguard her from any apprehension OF
| unr in the future. Mr.. Wilson acCcptcu
tho homage, but apparently did not SOCK
IN understand il. He had come to blnu
u3 the wounds Of Franco. vet ASIA"
| from a glimpse of Rheims he did not
take pains to see those wounds. il" u'u
not even visit the fields Of Chateau
f., Thicrry. st. Mihicl or the hrEnnne.
places made forever immortal ny lhe
yalorous deeds Of the American army.
i Had h,. taken 4 coupl" of days tn visit
the region which was formerly the
centre of the greatest and most pro-
ductiyc Industries Of fTancc-l.iiie. Ar
i ros St Ourutin-thc French people
lwould have seen in that Il real SFmlft-
thy with and comprehension of The OK
tent of the injuries they had suffered
at the hands of Germany. But TIM"
press cd--he did not find time TO g" nor
=, did he exhibit III speech or action any
! great desire to see the terrible doFaSt;t-
ton and havoc so SyStnmittIcailS aho
so thoroughly wrought by The enemy ID
France
Recent publications have confirmed
information previously obtained mat Il
part OF the German plan from tho oulScI
was 50 thoroughly TO destroy franc" m
dustrially as 10 remove for decades inc
| possibility of Fr"uch composition with
, German commerce. And tho 1act IS
that unless Germany = made TO re9tor"
the cities and Industries which were de-
st-uycd Franco will be financially and
, induStrally ruined.
Germany knowing this. is preparing
Maria Theresa and Catherine the Great
are to DC avenged.
Poland WIS ono Of tho problems OF the
! -l1yN in