Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-07-31
GOT IN Fol NATION =
FOR PEACE CONFERENCE
Professor Monroe Explains in
Address at Summer School
That It Was Not Used Be-
cause Two Legations Were of
Reactionary Type

Long before peace was in sight Fresi-
dent Wilson saw that in order that this
country might discuss with intelligence
the questions that would come up at the
peace conference when IT did come. it
must have information on certain quea-
tons. information that Europe probably
already possessed and that the United
States had better known for itself This
led TO the forming of a commission of ex-
perts who already had some of the re-
CURED information and knew just where
to go for more. One member of this COM
mission was Professor VIII $. Monroe.
who is now at the summer school OF the
University of Vermont. and yesterday.
before members of the summer school at
their general assembly. he told them
briefly of the work of the commission and
some of the problems It was up against.
The particular problems this commission
started with were those of the Balkans.
Alsace- Lorraine. Poland Armenia, and
some areas in Turkey. but gradually its
Investigations grew until finally 1t was
studying up the difficulties of some of
/ the South American countries
1t was necessary at first that this work
be kept secret, for if Germany had
realized that the commission was looking
up all of these questions she might mis-
understand the motives of this country
and believe that the United States was
looking for peace. The original number
of the commission was ten but gradually
1t was found necessary to add more and
more until at last there were $50 people
working to gather this information. Tina,
number included experts in diplomatic
matters, stenographers. and map makers
None of the experts were hired, all were
loaned by universities and worked on the
salaries they were receiving from those
universities. The government paid the
stenographers and some of the mar
makers, but the Coast and Geodetic So
ciety and the American Geographical So
ciety loaned many of the latter also.
Because the Balkan countries. was the
especial field of Professor Monroe, he
talked particularly about them.
There were many problems to settle in
this section. The claims of each country
had to be gone into from every angle
and then each expert had to decide what
would be an equitable adjustment of the
question in hand. No one could calmly sit
down and draw line across country
saying this part shall go to one nation
and that to another. One people, for in
stance. might be farmers while those who
\
were of an entirely different nationality
They could not, however, be absolutel,
separated. for the farmers had to go tC
the market towns for their supplies ant
| if they We're separated as different coun
| tries they would be forever fighting. TheI
o. course there was the problem of see
ing that all trading peoples had access tC
the sea. At first 1t looked as though i
would simply be racial question bu
/ gradually, as it became more complicated
the commission found that religion anC
even economics would have much to dc
with settling the question of the Balkan
countries.
| Then the commission had also t
anticipate all questions and claims.
/ had to find out. for instance, how tn,
different countries had acted on the ques
ton of religious tolerance and if 1t founS
! that certain country had been especial,
! intolerant, then it would not allow tn
claims of that country to the right t
govern large number of people of al
entirely different faith. There was als
the question of why the Danube rive
should be internationalized. All of thes
questions were gone into deeply, and tn
results decided long before the confer
enCe.
That most of this information s.
gathered was not used by the conferenc
was due, according to Professor Monroe
to the fact that the heads of the Frencl
and Italian legations were of th
reactionary type. If. he said. they ha
been of the same type as President VIII
son and Lloyd George the results wou
have been different.