The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-09
Washington Incident Re-.
garded as a Diplomatic j..
Bluff in Paris.
ONE SESSION POSTPONED
Conflicting Statements in,
Official Announcements
From Conference.
LEAGUE DRAFT TO WAIT
Nobody Believes American
Mission VIII Leave. De- ,
spite 1ntimatiOns.
LEAGUE DRAFT TO WAIT
By LAURENCE HILLS.
Siog Correspondent Of The Su>.
Copyright, 1919; all rights TeSerrtd

Siog Correspondent Of The su>.
Copyright, 1919; all rights reserred
PARIS, April S.-Having launched
his threat to leave France unless an
agreement is reached speedily. con-
formable to his Interpretation of the
fourteen points, President Wilson to-
day apparently inspired friends to
picture the situation as having i'm
proved again. Seml-Officially it was
announced that Yesterdays confer
ences had shown Frightening skies.
The information wns forthcoming
from the financial experts that even
the text Of the reparation agreement
was now agreed upon.
From Col. f. NJ. Houses menage
came vigorous denial that the situa-
tion had become ms desperate as some
followers of the President had pic
tured it coincident with the George
Washington announcement.
Outside OF American circles the dis
position to-day was TO regard the
George Washington incident rs a din.
lomatic gesture and to liken It to the
famous Panther incident; however. it.
was admitted that the situation could
take a sudden turn that would result
in the Presidents fourteen points be-
ing included in the Allies terms "in
/ principle" as they were IN the ar.
mistice.
willing to Make Concesstans.
The treaty will be divided roughly
! into five parts. dealing respectively
with naval terms, military terms
frontiers, reparAtions and lastly eco.
! nOmic and financial conditions. Al
! though the military and naval terms
long have been drafted tentatively.
more work Is necessary to build up
! the case for presentation 10 the Amer
| lean people showing that tine Nlltes
| wanted an unjust peace which Amer
! lea could not approve. The President
! knows that by going home he would
! destroy absolutely all chance for any
/ League of Nations. which in some
! form he is bent upon obtaining. and
! therefore he is still willing 10 con.
cede much 10 obtain treaty and the
! league.
! AS one diplomat remarked to-day. II
/ was like man who oStentatlously
! ordered his valet to pack his bag.
Only bare announcements Of the
! George Washington order appeared in
! the Paris newspapers. and the Ameri.
! can papers which tried to place an nj
depreciation on it desired 10y the
! Presidents friends were heavily cen.
sored. simultaneously the Govern.
ment organs contained articles deny
ing rumors in circulation of serious
discord, and insisting thai an agree
ment was in sight.
I While il iS conceivable THAI situa.
/ tion could arise here that would com
pei the President TO leave France the
George Washington incident appears
10 many Ia resemble the article the
! President. is said to have inspired
that the Peace Conference would
move elsewhere because of the French
press campaign for war demands,
The day after That article appeared
everything was. painted as lovely In
American circles and the American
correspondents were ruundly abused
in the French press for sending such
information to America.
Incident Is Discounted.
! The George Washington incident
comes ut a time when the French
Government has made all prepara-
tions for quartering the German dele
gates at Versailles. one effect of the
incident has been 10 focus attention
on the fourteen points, for 1t would
be upon these that the President, ac-
cording to intimationS conveyed in
Justification for Withdrawing America
from the peace table.
TOl account for the change in tho
situation from what 1t was Just be
fore the President returned To
France, when il was described offi-
cially us being ready for almost i'm
mediate action, n high authority cA-
planned to-day that no difficulties
were encountered when ii came 10 ap-
plying the fourteen points in IA gcn-
eral sense 10 the particular questions
here, but when II came 10 the matter
Of details and text then differences
of Interpretation arose which have
accounted for much of the delay.
The Allies in tae armlstce. IL IL
explained, accepted the fOurtssn