New-York tribune., 1919-03-29
Council of Four Has
No Common Objective

There Is 40 common objective. no one
dominating influence, nothing but four
men representing four countries. with
totally different visions and necessities.
trying to accommodate living facts in
this sad world Of ours, alike TO abstract
principles OF the league Of nations, and
TO the hopelessly concrete promises OF
the Prime Ministers Of England, France
and Italy.
Nothing has happened since the
council Of four succeeded the council
OF ten which suggests the smallest
promise. am told that Germany has
within the last forty-elght hours sent
a polite but pointed interrogation to
Paris: CAS- TO the invitation you are
gong to send us 10 come down there,
kindly let us know whether your pur-
pose to ask us to sign peace or to
discuss one"
Which, by INTERPRETATION. would
seem to be that the Germans may not
even come 20 Paris unless thev are
permitted in advance to have assur-
ance that their views will be heard
and permitted 10 change the conclusion
arrived a. here
The man whose judgment on the sub
sect and whose information is best in
all Europe told me last night that not
until the end of the next three months
could we know whether Europe would
survive the world war or go down in
general smash
IN the last few days | have had op-
portunity to talk with many people
coming out OF Germany, Austria and
even Hungary. Their testimony does
not vary. They agree that Germany
VIII not sign any treaty OF peace such
as farls plans to impose. In the same
time have talked with many men
close TO the inner circles of the Paris
conference and have found no one
VINO believed that the Paris confer
cncc under existing circumstances
could ever reach a decision about the
treaty of peace.
Last OF all, no one ATTEMPTED to dis
gulse the fact that the utter PARALYSIS
OF Will and utter absence Of common
pollcy in Paris are permitting Bolshe-
Nlsm to gain provinces every week. We
invited the Bolshevists to go to Prin-
klpo two months ago now they come
TO Budapest. We are about to evacuatc
odessa, we are told that Rumania is
on the point of collapse and Poland
almost certainly doomed. We know
that both could have been saved four
months ago.
II seems TO me that without sharing
the panic now existing in Paris. the
American people ought to understand
that there is now al least a possibilltv
that within the next three months
Bolshevism VIII overrun ali Europe.
save perhaps that part patrolled by
our own soldiers; that Germany is al
most certainly manipulating this Bol-
shevist onrush in the hope that when
1t has exhausted the powers Of resist
ance of her enemies she viii be able
to resume hers attack. having escaped
the consequence of her military defeat
that despair in the Allied nations over
the failure OF the peace conference to
make peace, and thus give at least a
measure of recompense to millions of
men and women for the supreme agony
of this war may lead the people in
the presence of new war to an act
Of grea ter folly.
In sum, it seems TO me that the time
has come when it should be recognized
in America that the conference Of
peace is within two steps of failure;
that the decisions which it is still
unable to make may be beyond its
power to enforce when, If ever, they
are made.
Uopyrigh'- 1919 by the Mcclure Nevspaper
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