Evening star., 1919-03-19
What Happened.


When the President reached Paris
he found a program completely ar
ranged by which. before March 2l. a
preliminary peace was to be made
with Germany. This preliminary
peace was to include military. naval.
economic and geographic terms. 1t
was to he in sense preliminary,
but in reality it was to be in sub
stance the final peace treaty
In this treaty the covenant OF the
league Of nations was not to appear.
To this program the American COM
mission had practically agreed. There
had been no difference of opinion. no
debate The American commissioners
felt that there was not the smallest
intention to seek defeat of the league
of nations by indirectlon or to eNado
the question even temporarily.
Single Notion: Early Peace.
The single notion of the Paris COM
ference in preparing the preliminary
peace draft was to put an end TO tho
period of unSettlement to give Ger
many something approxlmatins the
terms of her enemies, to give Poland
her western frontiers. to disarm Ger
MANY. thus to permit the completion
Of British and French demobilizat1on.
which would have to be interrupted
by April unless Germany began 10
disarm by that time.
The best evidence of the good faith
of the European nations was the tacit
agreement to the program by the
American commissioners.
President Arrives; Vetoes.
Hnt no sooner had the President
arrived than he almost abruptly
vetoed the program for any prellml-
nary peace arrangements which did
not include the covenant OF the
league of nations
A public statement made in his
name on Saturday decisively disposed
of any question of his approval of a
preliminary peace plan unless it
should include the covenant of the
league of nations.
In reality this put an end to any
hope of the proposed action.
Feared Senate Action.
The President took his position that
a preliminary treaty of peace would
have to go to the Senate. that If the
Senate got this without the league OF
nations covenant included, exactly the
sought by the republican
ma iority would be provided and his
fight in America would be gravely
compromised.
This was the Saturday situation. On
Sunday there existed the possibility
of a difference of opinion. since both
the French and British governments
attached very great value to the pro-
possd nrompt action. But on sunday
night the situation was ironed out
once more; the British and French
accented Mr.. Wilson's leadership; the
proposed program went into the ois-
card.
Accepted as U. S. Views.
Here. after all, was a final demon
stration of the extent to which both
the British and the French are pre-
pared to accept Mr.. Wilson's views as
the ultimate, accurate expression OF
Americas wishes. rs Monday morn
ing all Paris knew that Mr.. Wilson
had successfully broken the slate of
the peace conference.
The consequences of this dramatic
episode are plain. There will be no
preliminary peace treaty with Ger
many before April. and possibly not
until May, when the President expects
to go back to America.
To Call Session for June l..
But by the latter date he expects
to have a treaty completed ready to
submit to an extraordinary session OF
the Senate. which he intends to call
for June l.
In the meantime. the work of re-
yiving the league of nations covenant
for inclusion in the treaty has actual
y begun and will be finished with the
utmost dispatch in Difference to the
wishes At the same time
decision will be made in all matters
slrat g frI
ga rian and Turkish matters will be
eft for the final settlement.
Once the preliminary treaty is signed
md the league of nations thus created.
4 is the Presidents idea that it will
leal with all Asiatic and African prob
ems, the question of colonies and
and such other questions
as remain unsettled.
Dramatic Transformation.
Rut this bare narration of facts does
,ot in any sense give the real picture
If what has happened The eXtraor-
linary determination of the President
n create his ague of nations, to in
.lude it in the peace treaty. to make
rood his declaration in his New York
;peech, has in less than twenty-four
,ours with dramatic Suddenness
,ardly to be described transformed
he whole progress of events in Paris.
Ne have laid aside an Anglo-French-
American program for Wilson pro-
ram. we have reached this result
With little more than ripple on the
surface however great the subsurface
Lctivity for few hours.
British Adhere; French Yield.
Once more the British have adhered
o their rigid primary purpose OF pre-
erving Anglo-American solidarity,
.nce :-,ore the French, who were S--
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