The Watertown news. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1917-1919, 1919-01-15
NATIONS LEAGUE
PLAN UP FIRST
Wilson Wins Out for His Peace
Program at Great Con-
greSS.
RUSSIA may Be REPRESENTED
Question to Be Decided at Prelim-
mary Meeting-President Poin-
care to Open Penary Session
Saturday With Address.

Paris, Jan. 15.-Russia may be rep
resented with ali the other nations
that were engaged in the war against
Germany at the first formal meeting of
the peace conference Whether Russia
will have present at that time a dele
CATION of prominent Russians. ire
spective of party, or other spokesmen,
| if any, probably will be decided at the
| meeting preliminary to the congress.
All the delegates with the exception
Of the French, who will be occupied
with parliamentary affairs, will employ
their time in preparation for the
meeting. President Wilson planned to
engage in a series of informal confer
ences with British and French repre-
sentatives.
League of Nations Coming Up.
The first question to come up be-
fore the actual peace conference next
Saturday will be that of the proposed
league of nations, and 1t was made
known today that it had been planned
for the conferences TO devote II hours
daily to this work if necessary, until
it is on the way to completion There
is some reason for believing that the
first plans for the structure of league
of nations, to be laid before the con-
ference, probably will be somewhat
composite, representative of a cOnSen-
sus Of opinion on the part of the
American, British and French states
men who have been discussing the
subject. 1t will not purport to be
finished product, but is intended to
serve as starting point for develop
ment.
President POincare will open the
plenary session of the peace congress
on Saturday with an address, after
which officers will be elected.
Marshal FOch the allies commander
in chief, is on the way to his head
quarters at Treves to meet the Ger
man delegates and lay down terms for
the extension of the armistice. There
was some disposition during the con-
ferences to make the terms of the eX-
tension more drastic than had at first
been proposed. but this was not car
ried out
The extension, however, provides for
turning over the German commercial
fleet to transport troops, in exchange
for food; for the restitution of mate
rial taken from France and Belgium.
and for full compliance with the terms
of the original armistice.
Official conmunique on Sessions.
A start has been made on the ma
chinery through which the American
public will learn of the doings of the
peace conference. Hitherto The
French and the British press had ac-
cess to much more information than
the press representatives from the
United States. The British and French
had also been issuing their own official
eommuniques regarding the meetings.
1t now has been decided to issue a
joint communique. prepared by COM
mittee representing all the nations,
this to be the sole official outgiving.
President Wilson has also decided to
communicate with the representatives
of the American newspapers, of which
there are more than 100 in Paris,
through the medium of a publicity
agent. Ray Stannard Baker, a former
magazine writer, has been selected as
the agent.
The plan as announced is for Pres
ident Wilson or some member of the
American mission to communicate to
Mr.. Baker such details of the proceed
ings as were not embraced in the COM
muniques and which the president de-
sires to make public, Mr. Baker con-
veying the information to the corre-
spondents. The correspondents will
not have-the original contact with the
source of information.