The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1921-11-19
BY HUGH w. ROBERTS
Washingto ton Bureau, The Age-HeraId,
800 Davidson Building.

washington Bureau The Age-Herald,
900 Davidson Building.
Washington, November 1S.--(Spe-
ciaD.-The first day of the confer
ence for the limitation of armament,
sat rows and rows of congressman,
with knitted brows, deeply interested.
Thereafter women predominated in
numbers. One of these, with a flag
of the United States Tapping above
her hat, and dove of peace in her
hand, cried: Il stand for peace
She was led, futilely struggling, to
the rear, and outside.
II am for peace and they won't
let me stayn she exclaimed. The
door drowned her voice.
There are interesting features
every hour But the men themselves
are most interesting. Thire is Sastri.
He Speaks, or is silent, as the case
really is, for India. He is a mod
crate" that is, he has no objection
to the rule of Britain. He wears n
white turban and his invariably ex-
pressionless face gets on the nerves,
Closely by is the enigmatic Kato.
His nervousness presents singular
contrast. Tsai Ting kah, the vice ad-
miral of the Chinese navy, looks with
wandering eyes about the galleries,
but never finds anything on which
to concentrate.
Secretary Hughes is a model of
courtesy. But his whisllers are brist-
ling with a pugnacity that was not
hair ph n n nrinr To S9tnr-
day, when he expressed the proposal
of the American delegation. He is
the tallest man in the room. Lodge
looks more shriveled-up. He some
times smiles unpleasantly. Root is
Witness personified. 1t appears that
he Is always thinking of something
to spring as surprise He frowns,
and then smiles. Underwood is bland
and satisfied He is apparently pre-
pared for any emergency. Occasion
ally he bends to catch a whispered
message, and without smiling, bows
his head in assent.
yiviani Great Orator
Viviani Is well known in Washing
ton. He is socialist, as is his
fierce and brilliant associate, BRAND.
Perhaps he is not as resilient in
mind as the French premier. But he
is suaver. He is the greatest orator
in France. Once he addressed joint
session of the American Congress.
He spoke in French. All that he said
save Washington" or Wilson" went
over the head of his enthralled au-
dience.. But so tense was he, so dra-
matte, SO perfect in gesture, so &C
curately synchronized were his
thought and his movement. that at
the proper moment the House of
I, 80 n ,tatt
1t was spectacular triumph of the
real orator.
Viviani has a strange habit. He
wanders about the streets of Wash
ington at night, and sometimes to the
wee sma' hours. But when he APP
pears for breakfast he is unruffled
in spirit and fresh in countenance.
He is democratic. This morning he
was observed casually chatting with
telephone girl in the lobby of the
Willard.
And BRAND is not as fierce as his
mustache would make him. Watch
him greet the British delegation as
it enters the hail. He rushes for
ward. One wonders how with so lit
tie effort he has covered so much
space. He shakes hands fervently.
He chatters like magple. His ges-
lures are quick and continuous. What
a brain! AS one gazes he recalls
how to please the malcontents of
England and France. he and Lloyd
George, in recent months, almost
reached the breaking point; and then
reached it-without breaking. And
how the people in BOTH countries
were satisfied with what appeared a
victory for their favorite. How
Lloyd George and BRAND must have
t,l IL, Nd va
Lloyd George in Washington he
would add force. dynamic and spec
tacular features.
Bnlfour Appears GuiIeless
But Balfour represents England.
He is very tall, taller. it seems. than
when he came to the United States
during the war and tapped the treas
sury for millions of pounds; tapped 1t
and got away without saying any,
thing of the secret treaty he had pre-
pared for England and Japan. But
If he is full of guile, he appears
guileless. His hair is white with rs
years. His cheeks are incarnidined
by nature. He is soberly dressed and
his expression in this moment is flu
neral. He is no orator a. Viviani is
For the Frenchman moves his Aau-
dience Balfour convinces them
sometimes against their Wills Per-
haps his is real oratory. At any rate
he has made the most perfect speech
of the conference.
He Is deliberate. He weighs his
words, but does not hesitate. His
language is simple and simply per-
feet. He gains remarkable empha-
sis through the repetition of perth
nent phrases. The people hang breath
| lessly on his every word. He compli-
ments Hughes for the mastery man
ner in which he presented the Amer
lean proposal and the crowd wonders
IL his next words will not express a
disappointing thought. But, no! Eng
land is at a disadvantage. 1t is not
connected as is the United States
Have you taken into consideration it.
/ far-flung dominion? What would the
United States propose were the west
ern states suddenly removed thou
sands of miles away. and IL was fhe