Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-10
Full Attendance
of Nations Is
Necessary
WILSON IS TO
ADVISE u. S.
4 m ericanS Only
Partly Ready
With Plans
Rp AsSociated Press

dis, Jan. ~ AllSl
nearly a month of waiting
and preparations, conversa-
tions which will lay the
foundation of the actual
peace congress are about to
start. American delegates feel
that a great deal of progress
might have been made before
now If a full representation OF
the nations allied against Ger
many had arrived promptly.
The British plenipotentiaries
now are expected to arrive Sat
urday. As many of the princi-
pal questions to be threshed out
in preliminary conferences concern
most intimately the United States,
Great Britain and France, there is
some hope for fair headway being
made while awaiting the official an
nouncement of the full Italian dele
cation and the arrival of the Japa-
nese representatives. The Belgians
will arrive next week.
To Tell Congress of Action
The first few conferences between
the Americans, French and British
will probably develop just how much
progress may be expected before
President Wilson goes Nhome next
month. 1t is settled that when he
reaches America one of his first acts
will be TO address Congress and give
a report on what has been accom-
,,l, A .f,1aR a fTN1n fS-
here agree that the most Mr.. Wilson
can hope to report will probably be
a general undertaking of the widest
sort upon a set of principles which
must be left to be applied by the
peace congress. Physical conditions
alone will probably prevent the ac-
plishment of more than this dur
ing the remaining six weeks of his
stay.
Yankee Plans Delayed
Organization work has taken the
Americans Il month, and even now
they are only partly ready. The
French, of course, have their organ
ization on the spot. The British have
brought over from England a highly
developed machine which is virtually
ready to function. The Japanese will
have to organize after reaching here,
as will the Belgians and other minor
belligerents.
These preliminaries will not neces-
sarily delay the informal conversa-
tions, but they will hamper the
working of group plan" confer
ences by which the principal bellig-
erents expect to thresh out points
with interested neutrals, non-bellig-
erents or minor nations engaged in
the war, and reduce their results to
mem oranda which are to go to the
peace congress for inclusion in the
final settlement.
Americans Disappointed
President Wilson's feeling, on COM
ing to Europe as early as they did,
was that all the Entente govern
ments had made their preparations
to get down to talking peace. He
and the American commissioners
have been disappointed by the de-
lays. The American delegates are
understood 20 feel very strongly that
unless plans are made to permit the
activities OF peace to be resumed in
warning countries the rehabilitation
of their armies may bring unwel-
come problems.
The return of Mr.. Wilson to the
United States will reduce the Ameri-
can delegation to four, but it was
explained to-day that delegations will
vote as units, and that the President
never had intended to sit continu-
ously at the peace table.
All the progress that has been
made has been in President Wilson S
conferences with French, British
and Italian statesmen. These con-
ferences have approached only broad
principles. In the conversations
about to begin the progress that has
been made with individual countries
probably viii be brought into the
discussion and general agreements
sought