The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-03-08
WILSON TO ACT
AS PEACEMAKER
President Expected to Serve
as Mediator in Italian and
Slavic Quarrel.
RUMORS OF FIGHTlN
Territorial Dispute May Re-
new War-Will Covenant
Be Amended?
(By Robert ]. Prew)

Paris, March S..-U. n. SD-Presi-
dent Wilson will be called upon inn
mediately after his return to settle
the quarrel between the Italians and
the Jugo-Slays. 1t was understood
today.
According to reports the peace dele
gates have agreed to this method of
settling the knotty problem.
(The territorial dispute between
the Italians and the Jugo- Slavs over
the land bordering the northern
shores of the Adriatic has threat
ened to bring on further fighting In
southern Europe. The Italian mill
tary mission at Laibach was ex-
PEELED by the Serbians. who are sup
porting the Jugo- Slav movement, and
there was an unconfirmed rumor In
circulation recently, that an armed
clash had taken place.)
The peace delegates are anxiously
waiting to see whether President
Wilson will propose any amendments
to the league Of nations covenant as
result Of the criticism by certain
statesmen in Washington.
SO far not a single amendment has
been submitted to the constitution,
although the nations represented at
the conference were able to. do so
through the peace bureau.
This does not mean, however that
the European powers may be COM
pletely satisfied with the present
covenant. But none of them felt dis
posed in the absence of President
Wilson to put forward ideas for the
modification of the text and the par
ticulars set forth therein.
For instance, Leon Bourgeois. the
French expert of the league of ma
tions, still holds to the idea of an in
ternational army Ga policing force)
for the enforcement of the rulings OF
the league. He is certain to raise
this point il discussions of the con-
stitution are reopened.
Whatever amendments are even
tually received will be referred to the
league of nations commission, OF
which President Wilson is the head.
This commission, after considering
them, will report to n plenary session
of the peace conference. II Is gen.
orally understood that the final text
of the covenant will not be written
into the peace treaty which Germany
will be called upon to sign, because
Germany will not be admitted imme-
diately into the league.
The covenant, it is said, will form
q separate act which will be signed
by the representatives of the entente
nations at the same time signatures
are affixed to the peace treaty.
At Variance.
New York, March S.-European
opinion that the covenant of the
league of nations will not be written
into the text Of the peace treaty IS
at variance with the declaration made
on that point by President Wilson in
his speech at the Metropolitan opera
house on the eve Of his departure for
France. President Wilson said 1t
would be. In referring to that ques-
ton. the president said:
Every man in that conference
knows that the treaty of peace in it.
has said. without the constant sup
port and energy Of great organiza-
ton such as is supplied by the league
Of nations.
"And men who. when | first went
over there, were skeptical Of the pos
sibiliay of forming a league Of ma
tions admitted that If we could but
form it, it would be an invaluable in
strumentalty through whic- to Sc
cure the operation of the various
parts of the treaty, and when that
treaty comes back, gentlemen on this
side will find the covenant not onlydn
it, but so many threads of the treaty
tied to the covenant that you cannot
dissect the covenant from the treaty
without destroying the whole vital
structure. The structure of peace will
not he vital without the league Of
nations, and no man is going to bring
back a cadayer with him."