The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-01-20
issue OF LEAGUE
NATIONS FIRST
President Wilson Personally
Pressing This Question
Above All Others.
ONLY rs DAYS REMAIN
But Closest Advisers Believe
Wilson Will Accomplish Aim
Before Coming Home.

q
Paris, Jan. 20.-(A. P.)-As the
supreme council of the peace congress
resumed sittings today, market
progress was being made in the bust
ness of comparing various plans fol
the formation of league of nations
and harmonizing them into a unity
of ideas which can be taken up as
concrete proposition. Much headwaN
in this direction was made last nigh
at the conference at the Murat resi-
dence which was attended by Mr.
Wilson, Lord Robert Cecil, the Brit
ish representative, charged witt
working out of a plan for a league
of nations; Leon Bourgeois, the
French proponent of plan for sucf
an organization, and Gen. Jan CHRIS
tian SHUTS, who has formulated 6
plan for a league.
Foreign Secretary Balfour was ac'
companied to the meeting by Lore
Robert Cecil, who has been especially
in charge of the question of league
of nations on behalf of Great Britain
Baron Nobuaki Maxine, chief of the
Japanese mission, attended the coun-
Gil for the first time, representing
Japan, together with Baron Matusi
ambassador to France.
1t is understood, an official COM
municatioI will be issued at the close
of the meeting, at which it was eX-
pected the exchange Of information
between the governments on the sit
uation in Russia, forecast in one OF
last weeks communiques, would take
place.
The council as it met today com
prised ten members-two from each
OF the five great powers-President
Wilson and Secretary Lansing rep
resenting the United States. The
three additional members from eacn
power did not attend, as full meet
ings of the membership of twenty
FIVE are assembled only when sub
jects of especial Importance are under
consideration by the council.
Preliminary conversations over the
structure of league of nations are
strictly speaking. still in the stage ol
being discussed in meetings OF the Su
preme council and are not technlcailS
before the peace congress as Whole
but the fact that the congress has ad-
vanced this question to the foremost
place in its program is taken to indicate
that such progress is being made in the
supreme council as to warrant the ex.
pectation that a definite and somewhat
detailed program will soon be evolved
This program, it is believed, viii present
the common thought of the leaders ol
the United States, Great 0ritain and
France. and. therefore, may furnish
starting point from which all the peace
delegates may participate in the work
President Wilson is personally pressing
forward this one feature of the work Of
the peace congress to the virtual exclu'
sion of all others.
CONVINCED He Can Achieve Plan.
With a definite plan formed for erect
ing a structure upon which all nations
can agree, there are about twenty-five
working~days remaining of the time thai
President Wilson has allotted TO himself
for work in France before leaving foi
home The question being asked j:
whether he can in this comparatively
short time bring the nations together II
an agreement for a society of nations
Many of the presidents closest advisers
are reasonably convinced he can do so
They base their opinion on what ap'
pears to be spontaneous developments
on expressions indicating adherence tc
the league plan by Great Britain. France
and Italy and on tn assumption that
being virtually agreed upon in principle
and indeed as to som "details, the re-
mainder of the work, while presenting
some perplexities. does not offer hopeles:
obstacles If approached in a spirit OF ac'
commodation and even sacrifice, which
virtually leaders have declared in theii
public addresses as being quite neces'
sary to satisfactory result.
No Super Sovereignty.
With discussions now past the pom
where 1t seems to be agreed there shal
be no super -sivereignty. nor common
police force and that the question o.
whether a nation shall contribute force
in carrying out the decisions Of th'
league will be left to each nation indi'
vidualiy in each instance, the genera
plan being talked about embodies ar
enlargement of the principles contained
in the treaties negotiated by William J
Bryan. These provide for delay OF
year before declaring war and inyesti'
cations shall be made thereafter with
out giving certain notice. Such plan
current discussion in Paris brings out
is intended by those who favor it tC
virtually establish a concert of power
among the principal nations for 6
preservation of world peace. This woulC
be extended TO what would be virtually
a guardianship of the smaller nations
applying to them the principles which
govern participation in the league by
their greater sisters.
BY this plan il is apparently purposed
10 internationaliZe the guardianship oi
smaller nations, with the idea that there
shall be no domination over them by ono
nation, economically or financially 1t Is
proper to state at this juncture that
President Wilson. homself. has a reason
ably complete plan for the formation OF
the league of nations. 1t may also be
stated that he highly regards many fea-
lures Of the plan presented by Gen.
Smuts and Is working in close harmony
with VI. Bourgeois and Lord Robert
Cecil
Aside from the attention being paid 70
the Russia nsituation. the society Of ma
tions question is now in an advanta-
geous position. and steady development