New Britain herald., 1919-06-28
GERMANS SIGN PEACE TREATY
 WHERE 49 YEARS AGO BISMARCK
 THAT CRUSHED FRANCE, MAXIM
NO PORTABILITY FOR GERMAN DELEGATES Hall of Mirrors Impressive Place
 for Signing FAMOUS CITY IS CROWDED

FAMOUS CITY lS CKUWDED
 Special Trains and Thousands of
 People from Paris Flock to Ver~
 sailles-Seventy- two Chairs Are Re-
 served for Parties to Treaty.
 Versailles, June 28.-Germany's
 delegates and the delegates Of the
 allied and associated powers meet in
 Versailles today to sign the treaty
 formally ending the war between
 Germany and 27 other nations The credentials of the new German dele-
 gates were approved by the peace
 conference during the forenoon and
 everything was ready here for the
 ceremony set for o'clock in the
 afternoon.
 Tables Are Rearranged.
 Last-minute changes were made in
 the program to expedite the signing
 of the treaty. Two additional tables
 were placed beside the one within the historic Hall of Mirrors on which the peace treaty was laid. One of the new tables held the Rhine conven- tion and the other the protocol con- taining changes in and interpretations of the treaty. All of these documents had to be signed by each plenipoten- tiary, and the arrangem ent of the tables thus enabled three persons to be engaged simultaneously in affixing their signatures.
 Because of the size of the treaty and the fragile seals it bore, the plan to present it for signing to Premier Clemenceau, President Wilson and Premier Lloyd George seemed unlike ly to be carried out, the new plan being for the three conference lead CTS to step to the table to affix their signatures.
 Endless Stream of Cars Arrive. Hours before the time set for the ] ceremony, an endless stream of auto mobiles began moving up the cannon 1 lined hill of the Champs Elysees, past 1 the Arc D'Triomph and out through | the shady Bois de Boulogne, carry ! ing the plenipotentiaries, officials and 1 guests to the ceremony. The thor
 
 1 dragons and mounted gendarmes. ] In the meantime, thousands of 1 Parisians were packing the regular and special trains upon the lines lead i ing to Versailles and contending with the residents of the town itself for places in the park where the play If the famed fountains of Versailles would mark the end of the ceremony. Avenue Reserved for Autos The automobiles bearing delegates and secretaries had reserved for their
 use the Avenue du Paris, the broad boulevard leading direct to the cha teau's court of honor, French soldiers being ranged along the highway on both sides. At the end of the court a guard of honor was drawn up to present arms as the leading delegates passed, this guard comprising com pany of Republican Guards in bril- liant uniform. The entrance for the delegates was by the marble stairway to the "queens apartm and the Hall of Peace, giving access thence to the Hall of Mirrors. The walls of these apartm ents were hung with unique Gobelin tapestries.
 Delegates Arrive in Order. The route to the peace table for the plenipotentiarie was through a space reserved for some 400 privi- leged guests who were instructed to be in their seats we'll in advance of the entry of the delegates. It had been arranged that the delegations, ! instead of struggling in without or der, as when the original terms of peace were communicated to the I Germans, should enter by groups, each one being formally announced 1 by ushers from the French foreign | office.
 No Formality for Huns. This formalty was not prescribed 1 for the Germans, who were given T l separate route of entry coming into i the chateau through the park and ! gaining the marble stairway through | the ground floor. Thus there was no f occasion for the guard of honor to : render them military honors which were reserved for the allied repre-
 sentatiVes Dism mounted guardsmen i with drawn sabres who lined the mar | 'ble staircase and the queens apart ! ment when the allied delegates passed