The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-01-10
PRELIm|NARIES
OF CONFERENCE
START AFTER
LONG DELAY
Delay in Arrival Of Allied
Representatives Holds Up
Preliminary Conversations
Of Peace Meeting.
EXPECT 80 DELEGATES
(By Associated Press)

PARIS. Jan. l0-After nearly a
month of waiting and preparation con-
yersations which will lay the founda-
tion Of the actual peace congress are
| about to start. American delegates
| feel that a great deal of progress
might have been made before now II
| full representation of the nations al
| lied against Germany had arrived
promptly.
! Suggestions have heen made that
the French and American delegates go
ahead while awaiting the arrival %
| the British plenipotentiaries. who are
now expected on Saturday, President
Wilson. however, vetoed that plan.
holding that inasmuch as there has
already been SO long a delay IT. would
be best TO wait little longer tn Sc
cure the participation of the British
Expect Fair Headway.
As many of the princ cipal questions
to be threshed out In preliminary con-
ferences concern most intimately the
United States. Great Britain and
France. there is some hope of fair
headway being made while awaiting
the official announcement Of the full
Italian delegation and the arrival OF
the Japanese representatives. The
Belgians will arrive next week hut or
course they are in the status OF minor
belIigerents. They have taken over
one Of the largest hotels in Paris. The
first few conferences between The
Americans, French and British prob
ably will develop just how much prog
ress may be expected before President
Wilson goes home next month. IT, Is
settled that when he reaches America.
one of his first acts will be to address
congress and give report on what
has been accomplished. Some trained
diplomats among the Americans here
are agreed that the most Mr.. Wilson
can hope to report will probably be
general undertaking Of the widest sort
upon a set of principles which must
be left to be applied by the peace con-
gress Mr.. Wilson hopes to be able
to do more but unless something uil-
expected happens. it seems probable
that physical conditions alone will pre-
vent the accomplishment Of more dur
ing the remaining six weeks Of his
stay.
Each of the bodies of peace COM
missioners will necessarily go through
an organization process. This work
has taken the Americans a month and
even now they are only partially
ready The French, Of course have
their organization on the spot. The
British have brought over from Eng
land highly developed machine
which is virtually ready to function.
Even the elevator conductors and por-
ters are men who have been tested
out in the service OF the British gov
ernment and whose dependence has
been established. The Japanese will
have TO organize after reaching here.
az will the Belgians and other minor
belligerents.
Group Plan Meetings.
These very essential preliminaries
will not necessarily delay the inform
al conversations but they will, in a
measure. delay the working of group
plan" conferences by which the prin
cipal belligerents expect to thresh out
points with interested neutrals, non
belligerents or minor nations engaged
in the war and reduce their results to
memoranda which are to go to the
peace congress for inclusion in the
final settlement.
President Wilson's feeling, on COM
ing to Europe as early as he did, was
that all the entente governments had
made their preparations to get down
to talking peace. 1t Is not an over
statement of the case to say that Mr..
Wilson and the American commission
ers have been disappointed in meeting
with delays Various elements are
recognized by diplomats here as rea-
sons for deferring the state toward
peace but it seems plain that the in
fluence OF the United States is about
to be exerted for steps, which with
out further delay. will permit start
TO a peace basis
The American delegates are under
stood to feel very strongly that unless
plans are made to permit the activ-
ties OF peace to be resumed in war
ring countries, the demobilization Of
their armies may bring unwelcome
problems
The return of Mr. Wilson TO the
United States will reduce the Ameri-
can delegation to four, but it was ex-
planned today that delegations will
vote as units and that the President
at the peace table.
Approach Broad Questions.
Up to the present all the progress
lTdt mas UteH ltldue IldS uctll III SSI-
den Wilson's conferences with French.
british and Italian statesmen, The
detailed conclusions reached at these
conferences are probably known only
to the participants. The President.
for his part, is said 20 have felt that
it was not prudent TO disclose en-
tirely what went on, eskhough he in
tends that the proceedings shall go
on in the way of open diplomacy when
he feels it is safe 20 lift the curtain
and let the world look at the perform
ance.
The most that can be said of the
conferences so far held by Mr.. Wilson
is that they have approached only
bread principles. The conversations
about to begin will probably take on
the nature of round table at which
the progress that has been made with
individual countries will be brought
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