New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Fencing With Clemenceax
on the Balance OF
PO1Uer
TINE sensation of the week was
supplied by the cable dispatches
from France and England.

ceau or France portrayed a situation i'm
which the two seem to be at opnositc
poles of thought on the great question
OF making the peace permanent bv some
KIND OF combination or league of ma
tons. President Wilson began with a
speech at the Guldhall in London in the
course OF which he developed the "con-
cert OF power" as opposed to the "bal-
ance of power" saying:
AND as have conversed with the soldiers
have been more and more aware that thew
fought for something that not all of them
had defined, but which all of them recoc
nlzed the moment you stated it to them.
They fought to do away with an old order
and to establish new one, and the centre
and characteristic of the old order was that
unstable thing which we used to call tho
balance of power thing in which the
balance was determined by the sword which
was thrown in on the one side or the other.
balance which was determined by the un-
stable equilibrium of competitive interests.
balance which was maintained by Jealous
watchtulness and antagonism of inter
ests which, though it was generally latent.
was always deep-seated.
1.-THE men who have fought in this war
have been the men from the free nations
who are determined that that sort of thing
should end now and forever 1t is very
interesting to me to observe how from everv
quarter, from every sort Of mind, from
! every concert of counsel, there comes the
suggestion that there must now be not a
palance or power, not one powerful group
OF nations set up against another but a
single overwhelming, powerful group of
nations who shall be the trustees of the
peace of the world.
ut has been delightful in nv conferences
with the leaders of your government to find
how our minds moved along exactly the
same line and how our thought was ALWAYS
that the key to the peace was the guarantee
of the peace, not the items of it; that the
items would be worthless unless there stood
back of them a permanent concert of power
for their maintenance That is the most
reassuring thing that has ever happened in
the world
AS though to make his declaration
even more positive, President Wilson
continued:
cit was this incomparably great object
that brought me overseas. 1t has never
before been deemed excusable for Presi-
dent of the United States to leave the terri
tory Of the United States, but know that
have the support of the Judgment of my
colleagues in the government of the United
States in saying that it was my paramount
duty to turn away even from the imperative
tasks at home to lend such counsel and aid
as could to this great, may not say final
enterprise of humanity"
Following on this, Premier Clemen-
ceau exploded his bomb. In a speech in
the Chamber of Deputies late Tuesday
night the old "Tiger" declared uneouiv-
ocally for the balance of power. He
said:
"There is an old system which appears
condemned to-day and to which l do not
fear to say that l remain faithful at this
moment Countries have organized the de-
fence of their frontiers with the necessary
elements and the balances of powcrs"--
Great disorder broke out in the
Chamber at this point and Pierre Prizon,
a Socialist Deputy, exclaimed: "This is
the system which has gone into bank
ruptcy"
Premier Clemenceau continued saying:
"This system appears to be condemned by
some very high authorities. Nevertheless,
will remark that if such balance had pre-
coded the war-that if America, England,
France and Italy had got together in decar-
ing that whoever attacked one of them must
expect to see the three others take up the
common defence
The Premier was interrupted here by
applause and disorder in the Chamber
but later resumed:
'There is in this system Of alliances
which | do not renounce say it most dis
tjnctly, my guiding thought ut the confer
ence-if your body permits me to go there
and | believe that nothing should sep
aratc after the war the four great powers
that the war has united. To this entente
| will make all sacrifices"
How clearly President Wilson and
Premier Cemenceau may have under
stood the diversity Of their positions be-
fore these speeches were made can only
be Judged by further passage in the
Premier's speech:
~ have been rcproached with deceiving
President Wilson. do not understand why
have made it rule not to question him,
but TO tct him develop his views. That is
what he did. President Wilson, TO whom