Arizona republican., 1919-04-11
A Probable Stickino Point

 have read the least about the proceedings in Paris know the most But is probably true that if one had read nothing of what has been done there, he would be in a better shape to grasp the real facts when they laid before him whenever that may be: he would not have to unload lot of junk which the dispatches describing the progress of the peace conference have brought him and from which he has formed conclusions, the abandonment of which may occasion him a shock.
 The question has been raised whether the old style of diplomacy in which secrecy maintained until the thing in hand accomplished is not pref erable to the open aboveboar diplomacy which is practiced at Paris concerning which not only know nothing but actually less than nothingon the theory that transformation is less than no information.
 Everyone who has attempted to follow the dis patches must have observed the contradictory char scter of them from day to day until all now know is that there has been very serious tension The rather vaingorious dispatches of yesterday morning describing the reduction of it is not convincing that it has been reduced Much of the matter intended for American consumption is chaff; out of it here and there kernel may be extracted something that had been thoughtlessly permitted to pass.
 The most significant bit of news relating to the conference yesterday morning a London dis patch, quoting message from Lloyd George in which he said:
 My colleagues and mean to stand by all
 the pledges gave constituencies.
 The pledge the premier had in mind was a cam pagn declaration in which he promised to exact the utmost indemnity from Germany. Though the dis patches relating to the have not mentioned a British indemnity at a1l it was week ago vaguely reported by special correspondents that the British premier perturbed the difficulties he found in the way of executing his pledges.
 American readers have probably observed in all news dispatches intended for their consumption that the word indemnity" is taboo. Instead, a word reparadon,' which is not synonym is used ex- cusVey and so far has been used only in connection with the claims of France and Belgium the destrc ton of property of civilians Great Britain could not have heavy claim for reparation-only for Iosses occasoned by aerial raids but hardly for the desr,,c ton Of merchant vessels and their cargoes Such losses Ike the ordinary losses could be covered only by indemnity and not by reparaton No amount or reparaton' that could be awarded Great Britain would meet the pledges Mfr George has made And here we may expect sticking point Either the British win have give way or there win hav, f, DC aooed ffteenth to the famous fourteen points,
 The premier however made another though an earlier declaration, which, however would not have the force of an election pledge. year ago last January speaking to the British Union Trade Confer ence' he said; There is no demand for war inden niey such as that imposed France by Germany fin NIL But that is not the pledge he had in mind on "eonesday when he informed by his message 200 members of the house of that he would stand by his pledge and the message was in reply to one relating to his election pledge
 The moderation of Mir George in January of 1918 when It was not sure that Germany would not demand an moernnity was one thing and his campaign dec laration ten months later when Germany was hrolo was quite another
 Great Britain may not after all demand a cash indemnity It may be content or more than content With the acquisition in different parts of the world derman colonies, but to acquire them there must be broken off one or more of the fourteen bristling points.