The sun., 1919-08-20
The Peace Conference at the white
House Yesterday.

The Peace Conference at the White
House Yesterday.
Mr.. WILSON'S preliminary remarks
yesterday to the visiting Senators
were characterized by good humor
by an apparent desire to conciliate
rather than demand or threaten, and
by an almost painfully elaborate eff
fort to persuade the judges of his in
Z terwoven fabric that the covenant
was already in it's present form ex
sctly that which they, in the interests
Of healthy American nationalism
would have made it If they and not
he had had the making. The Presl
dents talents as an opportunlst and
duid advocate shone conspicuously
on the occasion.
Il Most people Of more or less sincere
habits of mind will be profoundly
grateful to- President WILSON fol
abandoning utterly his recent plea
: that the treaty must be ratified be
Z cause rejection Of his League cove
nant would break the heart of the
world. That argument for accepting
his personal decisions and individu
ally negotiated plans for world re
form was SO little respectable as tc
be ridiculous. He must have per
ceived this since the amazing PROPOSE
nj
multiplying in most important quar-
ters that the world cares mighty little
about Mr.. WILSON'S voices in the all
and visions on the horizon except a:
( collateral for purely selfish national
, acquisitions in the great process Of
barter. What Premier CLEMENcEAJ
and the French people think Of the
Wilson League. is sufficiently obviou:
to the discerning. The British legis
lators broke into laughter wher
LLOYD GEORGE mentioned the proposed
organization to the House of Com
mons. Italy's sentiments on the sub
ject, like Japan's, require no inter
, probation. All over the world thu
tongue Is In the cheek when the Amer
lean Presidents prepossesslons on the
subject come under discussion.
This general Indifference as to thu
health of the League project has no
escaped the attention of even so de
voted a consumer Of voices and Wis
ions as WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE
Writing in the Saturday Erening Pos
Mr.. WHITE boldly compares the Presi
dent to CHRIST, in that "the common
people heard him gladly" (as Mr.
WHITE alleges, while Government
and leaders Of public opinion scorneC
his dangerous doctrines. and revolu
tionary ideals. For example, quoting
Mr.. WHITE:
Europe could hardly keep its face
straight. NJ. CLEMENcEAU chortled
in his glee. 'GoD.' said CLEMENCEAu,
gave us His Ten Commandments
and we broke them. WILSON gave
US his Fourteen Points-we shall
see.' And again: My friend Presi-
dent WILSON is a man of noble can
deur'-noble candeur meaning stupid
simplicity"
Mr.. WILLIAM ALLEN v HITE's ties
timony from close observation Of Ital
Ian sentiment:
THE Italians gave the signal for
. demonstration to the President al
most bacchanalian in its fervor. And
winking a merry eye at him pointed
to Fiume! But President WILSON ig-
4 nored these covert afrronts. IL he saw
them. and went about telling his gor-
geous fairy story about the goodness
of men and the powers OF COD"
The real value of Mr.. WHITES com
mentaries, however, consists in hi
clear If naTvely unconscious recogni
tiOn of what 1t was that enabled MI
WILSON, as a practical trader in In
ternatiOnal commodities, to bring tn
rest of the Big Four TO an actual /
sardonic acceptance of his voices an,
visions:
HE had something else in his kit
and accoutrement; something which
gave him great power. The
President with his amiable speeches
and his noble aspirations had In his
portfolio the promissory note OF the
Allies for eight or ten billions of dol
lars. And he had the surplus food
needed 10 feed a starving world All
Of which made the spectacle more
curious and Interesting OF this elderly
professor with his gentle inevitable
grin roaming through the forums of
Europe disguised as a philosopher,
but In effect half green grocer and