Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-23

American manufa cturers was essen
tial, a scheme which he said could
be carried out through the banks,
with the federal reserve system to
fall back upon in case of emerg-
ency.'
In keeping with the pan-American
spirit of the meeting, inspired by
/ the recent addition of twenty five
South American newspapers to The
Associated Press membership. Mr.
Stone stated that this extension OF
| the service gave assurance of the
| amity of the western hemisphere. In
Hike manner in earlier days, he said,
! the organization had been a material
! factor in cementing the relations OF
/ the northern and southern sections OF
the United States, union which
made possible the national spirit
l.evidenced in the Spanish Am erican
war and re-emphasized in the world
conflict.
Mr.. Stone spoke of the Peace Con-
ference leaders, many of whom, he
! said, it had been his privilege to
meet. He described some of the
| characteristics of Premiers Lloyd
George, Clemenceau, NeniZelos and
Hughes. OF Clemenceau, whom he
had known for forty years he said:
"When 7 went over there first in
June I went up to see him one day,
and said. We'll, YOU speak English
as well as YOU did forty years ago.
He said. I don't speak English. ]
speak American
when | was in Italy, the Italian
government was very anxious to
have some American troops as re-
serves, and they felt that it was a
very serious condition. If the Cap
oretto debacle were repeated and the
Austrians got through to Milan and
Turin, Italy would be out of the war,
and General Diaz was most anxious
about the situation. He went up to
see F'och and PerShing, and they
could not see their way clear to give
him any American troops. Then he
went to see Clemenceau, said, Now
the situation is very serious down
there 1t is a great mistake to imag-
inc that the Austrians are not good
soldiers. They are Veritable lions.
They have more artillery than we
have, and we are in grave danger OF
their breaking through Clemenceau
in his sententiouS way, said, That is
military question l can't answer.
You will have to see Foch.' He had
already seen Foch, and he would
not do it. About three weeks after
the French captured 5000 Austrians
on the French front, and Clemenceau
telegraphed, My dear Diaz: We have
taken 5000 of your Austrian lions
as prisoners. What shall we do with
them? Yours affectionately, the
Tiger"
Referring to the Peace Confer
ence and to affairs in Europe, Mr..
Stone said:
1T is a mistake to imagine that
there has been on the part of the
five great powers represented at the
conference an angry or an unpleas-
ant situation. l think l may say
because l have known well those
who have participated in it that they
have brought to this work sincere,
earnest desire to solve great prob
lem. They feel that after all the
worst offense of the Germans was
not the killing of something like g.
600, 900 young men, fine young men
of Europe and America, including
those of Germany and Austria itself;
nor the wanton murder of innocent
women and children by aeroplane
and submarine. At least the dead are
|at peace. The worst offenSe of the
Germans was in creating a world in
which it is almost impossible for the
living to survive. And that being the
case the ConfereeS had to address
themselves not to any solace or COM
fort for the dead. for whom they
could do nothing, but to scSie sort of
an organization, if possible, that
should give sCGne guarantee that in
the future theke would be no recur-
renee of this terrible catastrophe,
because they knew that by the pro-
cesses of war. by its scientific and
mechanical development, war had
now reached the point where any
future conflict might we'll nigh mean
human annihilation.
German Dream Gone
THE Germans hoped that the as
sociated powers would differ. 1t was
the dream of the Germans that they
could not agree. In principle they
have agreed. In principle, as Glenn
enceau, who is the tiger of the place
told me: we are at one in all this
business
Now 7 do not know whether a
League of Nations will work or not
| | doubt if anybody knows. Plato
who was the first apostle of a prin-
ciple of the sort. says in his book on
The Republic that the republic can
only exist when men are superior to
themselves. You know it is a book
of question and answer. and he is
asked the question, What do you
mean by superior to themselves :?
And he said, Tn every mans makeup
there is n superior side and an in
ferior side. and unless he can rise
above the inferior level, it is useless
to try anything of the sort
zone hundred years ago, almost
TO a month, 100 years ago in June
five sovereigns of Europe sought tC
create League of Nations. 1t was
called the Holy Alliance. They met
and adopted a treaty in the city OF
Vienna, and after three years Of
struggle over the problem, it failed
It failed for the reason that Plato
and Sully and all the men who had
striven to this end, even all the way
| down from Dante, had had in theiI
, minds.
Newspapers Help
There is one thing that in this
| hour gives little promise that theil
! failure may be succeeded by some
thing like success, and that is inter.
communication. That was a day
when the limit of mans vision was
ten or twelve miles, and certainly
it was limited to his own country
| To-day by the processes of inter.
communication of one sort and an.
other the world is necessarily
brought together and, my dear
| friends, the very introduction of The
Associated Press service into South
America, the very alliance that is