Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-06-29

/ ace, who ignored or disregardod the
minor discords of the day. They tore
/ three statesmen from their escorts
/ and almost carried them bodily in
/ their progress through the chateau
/ grounds, to watch the playing of the
/ fountaius-a part of the program
which had been planned as dignified
/ state professional of all the plenipo-
/ tcntiaries.
/ Planned 10 BE Austcrc.
The ceremony otherwise had been
| planned deliberately to be austere, be
| fitting the sorrows and suffer!ngs of
almost five years and the lack of I'M
! pressiveness and picturesque color, of
which many spectators, who had cX-
pected a magnificent state pageant
I complained was a matter of design
was not a matter of design, merely
omission. The actual ceremony was
far shorter than had been expected,
! in view of the number of signatures
which were to be appended to the
treaty and the two accompanying con-
VentiOnS, ending bare forty-nine
| minutes after the hour set for the
opening. The proceedings were car
ried out without surface Incidents
since the Germans were silent and the
| Chinese refusal to sign was evident
only by the vacant chairs. The sole
words to be recorded in the protocol
of the conference were NJ. Clemen-
ccaus short opening allocuton with
it's brief, stern warning to the Ger
mans, and his equally terse phrases
declaring the ceremony closed.
The intervening quarters Of
an hour was marked by the scratching
of big goose quilts or MODERN steel
pens, which most OF the delegates pre-
ferred and the steady procession OF
delegation after delegation to the seats
at the three tables within the enclos-
ures upon which the documents Wer
| placed for signature.
Contrary to expectations, the Ger
mans were called to sign first, and 40
precedence was given NJ. ClemenCeau
President Wilson or Mr.. Lloyd George
who in the peace treaty appear only as
members of the respective delegations
and discard the dignities and responsi-
blities which during the negotiations
were summed up in the phrase the
big three"
The Germans Sign.
The two German delegates arose
without a word at NJ. Clemenceau's
bidding and placed upon the treaty tho
sign manuals which German govern
ment leaders declared unul recently
never would be appended to it, 1t wa.
too distant to watch, even with glass
es, the expression on the faces of the
German plenipotentiaries during the
ceremony, but more fortunate OBJ
servers among the officials say that
they fulfilled their roles without APP
parent indications of emotion such as
marked Won Brockdorff- Rantzaus
dramatic declarations at the first
meeting
When they regained their seats
after signing, President Wilson immc-
diately arose and followed by the 9TH
err American plenipotentiaries moved
around the two sides of the great
horseshoe to the signature table,
President Wilson, and not NJ. Glenn
enceau. thus had the honor Of signing
first Of all the leaders of the world
II alliance. but the honor was due to the
alphabet not other considerations, IN
which the signatures occur in the
French alphabetical order as the
enumeration of the allied and asso-
oiated pow ers. in the prologue of the
treaty-thc same order which deter
mined the seating of the delegations az
the nlenary sessions 0 fthe inter-alled
conference.
l The five great powers there under
are grouped separately. the smaller
A.