The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-03-06
DISCUSS TERMS
FOR GERMANY
Lloyd George Returns and
"Big Five" Get Down to
Work Again.
TRANSFORMATION OF FOOD
Reconciliation of Italians and
Jugo -Slavs as to Adriatic
Coast.

(By .ltODeTt j. PTeW.)
Paris, March 6.--U. N. S)-Pre-
mier Lloyd George having arrived to-
day. the big five, sitting as the su-
preme war council, was today able to
resume discussion of military and
naval terms for Germany.
The fate of the German fleet, now
interned at Scapa Flow (off the coast
of Scotland), is now due to come UP
for discussion. The proposal to sink
the German fleet has so far emanated
from the British naval men. But they
have had considerable support from
American experts.
The German battleships that were
surrendered are in such bad condi-
ton that each would require about
S1000,000 worth of repairs to make
it fit for use.
Fate Of Fleet.
TO scrap the ships, according to the
British view, would be an unprofita-
BILE operation, and many technical
reasons are given in support of it.
However. nothing has been definitely
decided and the matter has not even
been officially discussed by the dele
gates.
The quarrel between the Italians
and the Jugo- -Slavs is being slowly
patched up. 1t was announced that
the frontier between Triest and
Terves, which Italy closed after the
election of the Italian military mis-
sion from Laibach, is again open.
Food Problem.
The council of ten is devoting a
great deal of time to consideration of
the means of transportation of food
into central Europe, many of the road
ways having been closed by the quar-
rel in question.
1t is believed that a solution has
been found and that in the future the
stores of food which had accumulated
through the lack of transportation
facilities can now be distributed to
the starving population of Austria
and Bohemia.
Complete reconciliation of the Ital-
ians and the Jugo-Slavs as to claims
on the Adriatic coast is now being
predicted by the French as a result
of the recent speech made in Rome
by Premier Orlando. The Italian pre- =
mier laid strong claim to the Fiume
district. but did not refer to the Dali
matian coast at all.
(The Jugo- Slavs are demanding
territory on the Ad.iatic littoral in
order to give an outlet to Jugo- Slo-
vakia, or Greater Servia as it is
technically called).
AS result of the compromise
which now seems imminent, Jugo-
Slovakia will probably be granted two
ports, namely. Spalato and Ragusa.
1t is now uncertain whether the
council of ten will be able to take up
consideration of Germany's new from
tiers this week. Much depends upon
in tha eidnrn-
ton of the military and naval terms
TO be imposed upon Germany.
There is disposition in some
quarters to believe that the confer
ence will not find it convenient to in
clude territorial decisions in the
peace preliminaries, but this view is
not generally shared.
Some of the delegates take the view
that it would be unreasonable to de-
prive Germany of all her fighting
weapons without defining her new
boundaries at the same time and also
presenting the war bill.
That responsibility for the war will
be defined in the preliminary treaty
was also strongly limited today. This
would place the allied powers in a
more favorable position TO bring the
authors of the war before an inter
national tribunal if such a course is
deemed desirable.
"a Paris dispatch to the Interna-
tional News Service yesterday stated
that the commission on war respon-
had decided that the sovereign
of a state could not be brought to
trial. but that this decision Would
have to be ratified by the peace con-
ference before it is effectively
President Wilson is due to dehark
at I3rest at 1880 pm. March 13. II is
to note in this respect th3
Mr.. Wilson has always regarded 13
as his lucky number. and the super
stition will be nut to the test by the
arduous task which will fall upon the
shoulders Of the American executive
One of the first big questions that
the president will have to consider.
and regarding which the conference
will attach special weight TO his view.
is the dispute between China and
Jauan.
1t was considered likely today that
the council Of ten will have suffi
GENTLY cleared the decks by March
13 to admit close concentration Of
the problems Of Kiau- Chaow and the
hantung peninsula.
MARQUIS Saionii. senior member or
the japanese peace delegation, is
conciliatory statements on
the Chino-Japarese relations and it
Is not unlikely that these viii be fol-
lowed.
Official announcement was made
today that the Czecho- Slav commis-
sion has made considerable nrogress
in defining the frontiers OF that new