The Washington herald., 1919-03-09
Scribes' Soviet Forces
, Peace Farley Into Open
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ing with the members Of the
American Peace Commission. be-
gan to feel that they were get
ting no real news. The absence
of the President from these con-
ferences left the other commission
ers more or less tongue-tied. They
could not answer questions as to
the American policy in the confer
ence because the President had
not instructed them; they had
small idea what we would do as a
nation on any important question
For instance, other nations were
giving out their ideas Of q league
of nations more or less officially.
America was leading the world for
a league of nations, but for what
kind of a league, no one could say.
The newspaper men, for the most
part eager to support the Amert-
can position, could not know even
semi-oficially what the American
position was They began TO lose
confidence in American leadership;
to feel that America leading the
world into a league of peace really
had no plan for a league, out
would take such measures as daily
expediency dictated rather tnAn
announce a program and take
chance of failing for II magnln-
Gently and coming home "a gem
tleman unafraid"
So day after day Clemenceau
was speaking of the noble can
DOR of the President, meaning
that he was an easy mark, the
newspaper men began to lose
heart, They grew restive, though
not hostile. Then the announce
ment was made that the proceed
ings OF the peace conference
were to be absolutely secret, and
that no government would be free
to discuss with any newspaper
men any subject not mentioned In
the daily communique of the con-
ference.
Rope to Hang League.
Instantly the American news
paper men saw that this policy OF
secrecy was the rope with which
to hang the Presidents league of
nations-whatever it might turn
out to be. The newspaper men saw
that IL a government bound itself
not to discuss with the press sub
iects not mentioned in the daily
communiQue, the President thereby
had lost his chance to appeal to
the idealism of humanity as
against the organized nationalism
of the world in its actual govern
ments. So the American newspaper
men blew up, went Bolshevik, and
met in formal conference of pro-
test. They gathered about them
the newspaper men of France,
England and Italy. and the other
allied countries.
And then and there came anoth-
er great disillusion to the -Ameri-
cans. For they found that instead
of a unanimous demand by the
press of the world for an open dis
cussion, freedom of the press from
censorship in allied countries, and
the right to sit in the conference,
the foreign press had quite an
other attitude. The nationalistic
attitude OF the foreign governments
was reflected in the foreign press.
The Italian press had be to con-
WINGED; England was in doubt;
France was resolutely against
publicity. Italy and England and
the press OF the smaller nations,
after debating the question from
Z in the evening until in the
morning. finally Joined the Ameri-
cans in a demand for entrance to
the conference, for the hitting of
the censorship, and for a YER
batim report of the doings of the
Peace Conference France to the
end stood out for secrecy. There
was no trace of noble candor''
in the French attitude. It was So
phisticated to a degreei For
French national aims, from the
viewpoint of the French govern
ment, which controls a certain ele-
ment of The French press, depend
not upon public discussion so much
as upon diplomacy. 1t is good
poker, and not the cards on the
table, upon which the French
press seemed to feel that Frances
case depended In the Peace Con-
ference. The American reporters
of the Peace Conference are the
star reporters from scores of
American newspaper offices; news
papers wherein passing the buck
and knocking the boss is a fine
art. They are not without guile,
yet when they saw badly and al
most indecently the French ex-
posure, they were shocked into
righteous anger. They rose in
their wrath
France Fights for Existence.