Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1920-01-08


should be enforced II necessary, by
the prevention Of oil financial. com
merciai or personal intercourse" be
tween the nation failing to abide hy
the decision aud all other member
states Of the League Of Nations.
On the same day that he presented
this plan 10 the pence conference Pres
ident Wilson sailed for the United
States 10 attend the closing sessions
OF congress az Washington. Opposi-
tlon TO the incorporation Of the Lenguc
OF Nations covenant In the peace treaty
already had developed In This country
and President Wilson. upon his return.
delivered an address nj Boston In
which he emphasized the necessity Of
the United States taking leading
part In the organization OF the League
Of Nations
Meantime the peace conference was
endeavoring To rench q solution Of
several other vexing problems. A bit.
ter dispute had arisen between Italy
and the new Jug0Slav state as 10 the
possession of the eastern coast OF the
Adrlntic The Italians demanded pos
session OF the city OF Flume on the
ground that It's population was largely
Italian. while the Jugo-Slavs main,
taincd that possession Of this pnrl wa
essential II their newly organized ma
ton was TO have access TO the sea.
The japanese delegates also gave
an early Indication of their attitude
by Insisting upon Japan's right To re
tain the Marshall and Caroline lslnnds
which she had tnken from Germany.
President Wilson returned to Paris
after spending little more than week
in the United States With his arrival
In France on March II the peace con.
ference began consideration of recon-
mendnilons by various committees,
and the peace treaty began TO take
definite shape.
On March "a the council Of ten
which Ind been considering the chief
problems before the peace confer nee
was replaced by council of four. con
sisting OF President Wilson and Pre-
mlers Lloyd George, Clemenceau and
Orlando. From that time up to the
actual signing of the peace treaty all
of the problems arising We're disposed
nj tines the premier of japan also
participated.
The revised covenant of the League
of Nations was presented at a plenary
session OF the peace conference ON
April 2S. President Wilson. as chair
man OF the commission which framed
the covenant, explained the changes
that had been made, mostly ms result
of criticism In the United States one
of the most important of the amend
ments made was that providing that
the covenant should not affect existing
understandings for maintaining pence.
While 1t was not so stated specifically,
this amendment was designed TO pre-
vent the League of Nations covenant
from interfering with the Monroe doc
trlne. The revised covenant was
adopted by the unanimous vote Of the
peace conference.
On April 80 the council of four
which by this time had been reduced
to n council of three by the with
drawal of the Italians, agreed TO
transfer to Japan the German posses
sion of Klau-Chnu. The Chinese dele
CATION objected strenuously to this Get
Element, although Japan agreed ulti-
mately to restore the territory 70
China. On May the council deter
mined that Great Britain and her colo
MES and domlnions should become
mandatory for the islands north of the
equator
BY May s the treaty had finally been
completed and on that date # was
presented to the German plenipoten-
tIaries at Versailles. The pact while
II represented chiefly the deliberations
of the council of four, had been adopt
ed ny n conference in which 27 allied
and associated powers were represent
ed AT the same time II was an
nounced that President Wilson and
Premier Lloyd George had negotiated
treaties with France providing that
the United States and Great Britain
would come Immediately to the assist
ance Of France In ease of any future
unprovoked attack by Germany When
the pence treaty was submitted TO the
Germnns the Itnlan delegates were
present. having returned TO Paris in
response to an invitation extended by
President Wilson and Premiers Lloyd
George and Clemenceau.
The German delegates were not per
mltted to discuss the peace treaty with
the conference but were given fifteen
days in which TO submit their reply In
writing. Announcement Of the terms
OF the treaty caused storm in Ger
many. The terms we're denounced by
President Ebert Of Germany MS being
the most severe eyer Imposed upon a
vanqulshed people" Several commu-
nications requesting changes in the
treaty were submitted by the Germnn
delegates and these were given consid-
Grafton by the council Of five. As
result some parts Of the treaty were
made more lenlent toward Germany.