Evening journal., 1919-03-25
BY HAROLD +. .BECHTOL.
European Manager for Newspaper En-
tcrnriSc Association.


tcrprisc Association.
PARIS. France. March 25-During tni
time when the League Of Nations GOV.
onani was be ng written meetings OF j.
men were held in Col Houses room
on The third floor Of the Hotel Crillon
the workshop Of American Commits
sion to Negotiate Peace There inc
Commission on the League or Nations
drew up its covenant.
There is nothing particularly impress
slve about Room 35i 10 is the knd
OF RECEIPT on room that may be found
in many a French hotel IL Is large
high and decorated In the raiher elab-
oraie style. But whatever its appear
ance may be while il Is being used ior
everyday purposes. it assumed @ who'll
ly different look during the meetings
of the commission.
In the center Of the room, a big
round table covered with red cloth.
Around the table. 70 cha rs for the ~
members Of the comm ss.on. Slightly
behind yet scattered through this cir
Gle Of seats a numbe" of other chairs
for French and English translators. In
the corners. three or, four desks, and
around the walls occasional chairs for
any secretaries whom the members
might care to bring with them. All In
all, the tables might have been laid
for q meet ng OF the cabinet or an
American board Of direciss.
In this room the commission met 10
times during n days. They came
together in The morning, afternoon or
evening at hours which would not
conflict W ID the program Of the Peace
Conference Itself whose work onVsaged
their own. or with that OF the supreme
War Council then engaged upon press
ing questions relating 10 The renewal
Uf the armisiicc
It might be figured out that the
meetings averaged three hours IN
length but i is hardly appropriate TO
speak OF averages n this connection.
No time Wa set by the commission
for the termination of the days work
There was a Job 10 be done. and a
mans own time was o secondary con-
sideraiion. Nobody looked at the
click.
10 appears inconceivable that a con-
stiiutlon Of the league Of nations could
have been drawn in 80 hours. It was
done, but the bald statement is mis-
leading. for il fails TO take certa n
things into account 70 says nothing
for instance. Of a Single oXpedient by
which the task Of The commission was
cut clearly in half
Whether one spoke in English or in /
French. it made no difference. As he (
talked there m ght be heard the low /
hum OF interpreters translat.ng his re-
marks word by word and phrase by I
phrase.
Every moment Of the 30 hours was
made to work, and no time was lost
IN the slow but prevailing process az
70 fails likewise 10 reckon in all the
thought which had previously been
given % the subject. Each one OF The
Statesmen who sat around the table
had formulated definite ideas on the
subject and came to the conferences
with an Illuminated and active mind
Lord Robert Cecil with his scholarly
mind his practical sense and his large
VISION was able seconded In present
ing the point Of view of the British
emp re by General Smuis. the great
Boer leader Of other days. member
or the British War Council and the
al,.hor Of w.delS read pamphlet OF
~ league idea. Leon Bourgeois. well 1
advanced in years OF service at the
lfsgue conferences IN the interests of
peace. had with him Larnaude. dean
lf the faculty Of law at the Paris
school OF Law. Orlando. Italys vivid
rhine MINISTER and an eminent iurisl
IS well. had senator ScalOa as his col
eague in expressing the mind Of the ,
oyernment al Rome: while Baron Ma
mo, Japanese foreign minister. and
iscount Chinda. her ambassador at
.ondon, contributed the keen and quiet
pin on Of the far eastern country
Though these i've powers were each
epresented by two members on the
onn ssion. It's alterations We're not
ominald by their views There also
at down 10 the table. Hymans, the
}egian foreign minister; Senator Pes
,oa. Of Brazil. v. X Wellington Koo,
-h.na's m nster at Washington; Kra-
MARI, prime minister of the Czecho-
Slovak republic; Venizelos. prime min