Evening star., 1919-12-31
MAKING OF PEACE.

The first steps toward the organi-
zation of the peace congress were
taken on January IL. The peace con.
gress itself. without delegates from
the defeated powers or Russia, met
at Paris on January Is. President
Wilson proposed .Clemenceau for per-
manent chairman and the delegates
elected him by unanimous vote 1t
was determined at the beginning that
only the five great belligerent pow
ers--the United States. Great Britain,
France. Italy and Japan-should take
part in all meetings of the confer
ence and commissions to be appointed;
that other belligerent and associated
meetings at which questions con-
cerning them we're to be discussed.
The bo.shevist government of Rus
sia declined to meet the conditions
imposed by the peace conference and
the proposed conference at Princes
Islands did not materialiZe.
On January 25 the conference de-
clared in favor of the esta blishment
League Of Nations cations. oa ,eagne snd oa a
Plan Advanced. Wbieh SGm m Ision. presidsof of
Wilson was chairman. was ap-
pointed to prepare definite plan.
The league of nations commission
held it's first meeting on February
and on February IA President Will
conference a draft of the constitution
for the league.
The first indication of the severity
of the terms to be imposed upon Ger
Terms of Peace mi many M.r rcS Was 80 given given
Told Germany. enensi1 ene snpseme anneuncag was
an agreement upon the proposal to
limit Germany's army in the future to
100000 men. with provisions designed
to prevent intensive training of LARGE
numbers of soldiers.
President Wilson returned to Paris,
after spending little more than a week
in the United States, arriving in
France on March IA.
On March 21 it was reported that the
replaced by council of four. consist
ing of President Wilson and Premiers
, Lloyd George, Clemenceau and Or
lando.
On April a report that President
Wilson had summoned a steamer to
Paris Deadlock was ,ane thnnsht h,m, nome ne
Finally Broken. indicate indicate that hat a
lock had arisen among the council of
four. but during the next few days
there were other indications that the
many disputes before the council of
! four might be settled satisfactorily
On April 12 IT was reported that
Frances claim 10 the Saar valley. in
reparation for the destruction of the
French coal mines by the Germans
/ had been settled by giving to France
perpetual control of the mines in the
Saar valley. 1t was found impossible
| to reach "a satisfactory agreement
upon the claim of the Italians and
Jugoslavs for the Adriatic coast, and
! on April 20 president Wilson with
drew from further participation in
/ the discussion of this subject. On
April 23 the President issued a state
ment explaining his reasons for in
sstin,s that the port of Fiume should
be given to the Jugoslavs. Premier
| Orlando of Italy issued a statement in
reply to President Wilson's on April
| "a. and g the following day the
| three principal members of the Ital-
ian delegation. Orlando. Sonnino and
SaIandra. withdrew from the confer
eDce.
! BY May the treaty was presented
to the German plenipotentiaries IT
AASoey VI ASoSS treaty. while ii
Goes to Germans. dh;dev r. PR s Sc nded se
| liberations of the council of four, had
been adopted by conference in which
twenty-seven allied and associated
| powers were represented At the
, same time ii was announced that
| President Wilson and Premier Lloyd
| George had negotiated treaties with
France providing that the United
States and Great Britain would come
Immediately to the assistance OF
France in the case of any future un-