Republican farmer., 1919-02-14
HARD ID RECONCILE LABOR INTERESTS
Gompers Has Report Ready For Conference When It
 Is Desired.

Paris, Feb. 12-By the As sociated Press)-While Presi- dent Wilson and the Allied premierS and generals are en- grossed in perfecting the plan for the creation. of a Society of Nations and arranging the new terms to be imposed upon Ger many for a renewal of the ar mistice, expiring next Monday, other subjects of the greatest importance are being prepared for the consideration of the Peace Conference.
 It is expected that the conference will spend little time discussing them, however, and will pass most of them on to the Society of Nations when the latter has been created and ready to function.
 Foremost on this secondary pro- gram are the recommendations of the commission on international labor legislation. Samuel Gompers, the chairman, has been pushing work so that it is expected he will have a re- port ready for the conference as soon as it is ready to receive 1t.
 There have been difficulties in re- conciling the diverse views of British and American labor interests, as each is radical in some respects and yet conservative in other, in the opinion of some labor leaders. It is said that there is no coincidence between the!r plans The British are radi- calls where Americans are cautious, while the Americans throw conserva tism to the winds when considering matters on which the British are careful.
 Meetings are going on today as they have almost continuously during the last few days, between men who have come to Paris at the call of President Wilson and the premiers to deal with great financial problems arising out of the war. Every delegation admits the gravity of the problems presented and the absolute necessity for their settlement, if the world Is to be saved from universal bankruptcy. In no place is 1t regarded as so evident that there must be the fullest and most cordial cooperation between the na- tiOns now represented at the confer ence as In the effort to restore the stability of currency, reduce prices to reasonable level, get rid of super fluous issues of war paper, prevent further excessive fluctuations of ex- change and regulate the rates of in terest on, and the amount of, bonds to be issued.
 Already initial steps have been taken to commit the Peace Confer ence to the adoption of great inter- national pooling system of debts, which shall include all neutral na- tions, whether they wish to or not. This will meet with the most deter mined resistance from the American delegates, who feel that America did her full share in aiding the Allies. by furnishing troops and almost unlimit- ed supplies of money and material i They are understood to be quite will l ing to rid France of the nightmare of German power in extending further credits to permit France to rehabili- tate her industries and enable her, and Belgium as well, to hold her own in the worlds markets, but they thoroughly appreciate the fact that it is beyond their power to commit their country to participation in any monetary credit system with Euro pean powers. They also feel that some of these countries have been derelict in not imposing, as tho United States and Geat Britain did, additional taxes upon their own peo-
 pie during the war to meet, at least in part, their obligations, instead of calculating upon reimbursement from indemnlties to be collected from the enemy.
 The revival of the spirit of the old
 Paris Economic conference, which
 planned boycots and after -the-war
 determinations, is sometimes in evil
 dence during discussions. It made
 it's appearance in the desire of one i country to impose discriminatory
 duties on enemy commerce, during
 the consideration of the plan to make
 all international water ways open for
 all nations on even terms. This was
 regarded as a violation of one of the
 fourteen points, but the commission
 dealing with the subject is having
 some difficulty in passing this point
 However, the general acceptance o1
 the principle of international contro
 over such waterways, to the extent a
 least of prescribing rules which shal
 govern navigation and defining the
 riparian rights of abutting nations, i:
 believed to have paved the way fol
 ultimate agreement in the commls-
 sion upon a report which will prob
 ably be received with approval bJ . the Peace Conference or It's legatees
 the Society of Nations