The Washington herald., 1919-11-02
AMERICAN PEACE COMMISSION
IS IN A HUMILIATING POSITION
Members Can Do Nothing About Balkans
Paris Knows They Can Take No Decided
Stand on Any Important Topic
By JOHN L. BALDERSTON,



Paris, Octobet 1T was an Ameri-
can Commissioner to negotiate peace
who spoke. Though few Americans
at home may know il. there still exist
in Paris United States peace plenipo-
tentiarics.
"A year ago.. the dignitary said,
there was 1orlorn little band OF
douGhboys. digging trenches in the
Arctic circle. They knew the big
show was over. 1t was not the long
nights, or the cold, or the constant
fighting against odds. that they mind
ed most 1t was the knowing they
wero forgotten hC the people at home.
that for Americz, their little war in
the frozen North was unknown. did
not exist
Here Making Peace.
lie paused impressively. and shiv-
cred in tine unheated room Il SYM
pathize with those Archangel boys
he continued. for now l know how
they felt. We. too. are forgotten. We
are here making peace" The speaker
paused again. He declined to go on.
To follow up his thoughts would
have been highly indiscreet. So he
kept silent. and le # 1t for me to write
mere Wnat ne 0lQ not say.
The American commission to ne
gotiate peace Is i'll a humiliatin and
ridiculous position. Since the United
States was started, no Americans
have ever been put by their govern
ment in such an absurd place as that
now occupied by Henry White. Assis-
tant Secretary Polk, and their asso-
ciates.
Here are the reasons why the Amer
leans here on mission are feeling
foolish:
America was at war with Germany
and Austria Hungary. The treaties
with those countries have been nego-
tiated; the American Senate. however,
has not ratified them, and apparently
intends to tinker with them before it
does so.
Bulgaria and Turkey are still at war
with the allies. ard representatives of
the allied foreign offices are here. a
shos; of the proud assembly of six
months ago. working on the tangled
protlems OF setthGr'ent in the Near
East
The American commiss toner's are
daily consulted on the Balkan and
Asia Minor problems. But America
was never at war with Turkey OF
Bulgaria.
Tangled Problem or East.
The sore spot Of FTume still ruffIes
ltallan tempers and threatens the pre-
carious peace Of Europe: for the ex-
istence OF this sore spot everyone here
blames President Wilson. and since
the President lies in a sickbed 5000
miles away his helpless and powerless
representatives lett behind here share
a certain amount of the odium.
But the American officials on the
job in Paris now can do nothing about
the Balkans and Turkey, nothing
about the German and Austrian treat
les that they helpa to formulate. And
everybody here knows that the Amer
leans are not even rubber stamps.
In politics. when a man is called Il
rubber stamp the term implies that he
Is an instrument Of someone who uses
MIN. The America n peace delegation
Is not used by anybody. There is no
body to give it orders Paris knows
mat the President Is i'll: it knows tha t
Col. House is i'll: il knows that
neither Lansing sor anyone else in
Washington can act.
Can Take No Stand.
. hio"s, IN consequence. that on
no subject, in any circumstances. can
the American delegation take any
stand whatever. The Americans are
AFRAID even to express an opinion. lest
subsequent instrt ctions may show
tnem to have mis- interpreted the will
of their absent chief.
IL the reader Will think himself into
the shoes Of thes se unhappy men, he
VIII appreciate tie truth Of my re-
mark above that their lot is more hu-
initiating than A,merican diplomats
were ever called iIpon to bear. As a
rnles their foreign colleagues make it
as easy for themf as possible, but the
Americans have cs,me to recognize the
ironic lifting of Che Gallo or Italian
eyebrow when thty are asked for an
opinion the litter knows they dare not
give And it Is CALLING.
But the situation is more than awk-
ward, absurd. and! ridiculous. It's se-
rious: and Is giving rise to difficult
complications. The impotence OF the
American delegates to say yes or no is
holding up the treaty with Turkey
and this means that anarchy and dis
ress are fostered among se.ooo.ooe Of