The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1920-04-23
NO VEIL OF GUISE
FOUND AT San RENO
Soft Phrases And Meaning
less Terms Not In Use
By Diplomats

of the first day of its deliberations
the inter-allied supreme council
drafted a reply to President Wilson's
recent note on the Turkish peace trea-
ty to certain clauses of which the
President had ob.eete1.
Further discussion of the Turkish
settlement was shelved pending Mr..
Wilson's reply. The note, it is un-
derstood, complains that American
misrepresentation at the San Reno
conference is delaying the Turkish
settlement 1t asserts that Ameri-
cas- assent is necessary to render the
treaty operative.
San Reno. April 19.-"Well gen.
tlemen, here we are all in the garden
of Eden-I wonder who will play
the snake"
1t was thus that Premier Lloyd
George greeted Premiers Millerand,
of France, and Nitti, of Italy, just be-
fore the first of a series of momen-
tous interallied conferences here to-
day
II was one of those happy phrases
that elicit hearty laughter from all
and yet contain more truth than poe
try. The disappearance of the we'll
worn words humanity, civilization,
justice and right" from the diplo-
matte vocabulary is the outstanding
feature of the San Reno conference,
to which each premier has come with
the unsuitable resolve to fight for
the individual interests of his own
nation.
HypOcrisy's Veil Removed.
The veil of hypocrisy that has en-
veloped innumerable inter-allied con-
ferences in the past, even those vari-
Gus chamber sessions where diplomats
sat face to face and saw with perfect
clarity one thru the others piOus
phrases, has been torn away with
sudden swish. 1t must be said that
this comes as a relief to the states
men who are schooled in the old
time game of give-and-take and bal
ance of power and division of spoils,
while helpless novices in that nobler.
but less profitable game of freedom
and talk of justice for all.
Moreover, the European peoples
themselves, long since convinced that
the high sounding diplomatic verb
iage got nowhere" have been clam
oring for this new old way of tackling
the big world issues. The other hav-
ing failed to bring forth anything but
shattered hopes, they now rely upon
this return to pre-war method for
speedy construction settlement that
will bring order out of chaos.
Obstacles Seen Ahead.
With the barriers down, however,
some diplomatists see many obstacles
in the path of the San Reno dele
gates who may find it difficult to
consolidate the wartime alliance If
they insist each upon his own ma
tons pound of flesh"
All delegates, of course, are pledg-
ed to secrecy, but enough has leaked
out to allow the following brief
sketch of the situation:
Premier Millerand insists on the
strict application of the Versailles
treaty and the complete disarmament
of Germany.
Premier Lloyd George, altho con-
curing in this viewpoint, intends to
retain and solidify for Britain the
position of sole arbiter in possible flu
ture differences between France and
Germany, in order to prevent either
nation from achieving too great de-
gree of power likely to jeopardize
British hegemony in Europe.
I Furthermore, the British prime
minister proposes to insist on unques-
toned British supremacy in the Near
East
Premier Nitti brings to the confer
ence considerable degree OF his
countrymen's national feeling and re-
sentiment against the allies, who are
openly accused by the bulk of the
Italian people of having cheated their
country out of their legitimate war
spoils.
Moreover, Italy's economic and III
nancial situation is described as so
precarious, as to compel the govern
ment to undertake a decided turn
about towards the former central en-
! pires and Russia. In drawing closer
to those countries. 1t is argued, Italy
would go long way toward shaking
off Britain's economic strangle hold