Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-03-25
CONFERENCE DELAY
III FRAMING PEACE
CAUSING CONCERN
Secret Treaties Among Allies
in 1915 May Become Seri-
Gus Hindrance TO Early
Pact With Germany
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Copyright, 1919, by Now York
Evening Post, Inc.)


WASHINGTON. D. c., March "a.
What is the matter with the peace
conference at Paris? Has 1t struck
of the League of Nations plan or
is the trouble much deeper than that
"a clean-cut issues between the SELL
ish and unseltish nations, between
those who believe military victory
can be used to annex territory and
to satisfy imperialistic ambitions
and those who believe that Bolshe-
vism and anarchy are coming to
Europe unless territorial questions
are settled along lines of national
allies themselves professed when
their statesmen accepted as their
battle cry. for the war Making the
World Safe for Democracy"
There is little said i'll Official quar-
tiers here but there is no disgusting
the fact that showdown is fully
expected and that it may fall to
President Wilson to define the issue.
Take the headlines and cablegrams
from Paris in the last 4S hours and
in a nut shell that those famous
secret treaties made by the entente
in 1915 and which the Russian re-
Volutionists on their entrance to
world as demonstration of the i'm
perialistic tendencies of the entente
have not become the main bone of
contention at Paris. Shall these
treaties be regarded as valid? Shall
the 9dium 10 OF a mperlslsm be att
President Wilson says NO" and
there is ample evidence that Great
Britain agrees with the United
States. The British under the duress
of war agreed to those treaties to
hold their allies in line SO while lie
anxious that the United states,
which didnt sign them shall hold
these treaties null and void
Left Bank OF Rhine
They would give Fiume to the Ital-
ians. They would give the left bank
OF the Rhone to the French. They
would. if carried into effect, unset
tie the peace of Europe Just as did
Alsace-L orraine because lines of ma
tionality would not be recognized
this is the viewpoint OF the opposi-
ton. On the other hand. in sup
port of the treaties, Italy claims the
pacts were compromise and that
scented by Russia fact which the
Russians, of course, today deny be-
cause Russia under the car and Rus
STA of today are two different things.
France t. contention
that the left bank of the Rhine is
needed as military bulwark against
Germany. and the devasted regions,
Of France are offered as proof of
the military necessity. To this the
United States and Great Britain ar
que that Germany will be made
harmless by reducing her army and
navy to impotence. and that with
the development of aerial torpedoes
and aviation. the mere annexation
of territory does not afford military
security hut that disarmament alone
is the true protection,
Thus does the contest sag back
and forth with President Wilson and
Premier Lloyd George fighting to
make good the wartime assertion
that the allies ought for democ-
racy and llnseifisll aims While other
members O. the conference deny
resembling ''annexations," but con-
tinue- 20 advance their claims under
tho guise of ''neLtraliZa ton" or
"strategic frontiers" or military