Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-08-20
SPECIAL AGREEMENT
WOULD AID TRADE
. Of HUNS AND j. s.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Ueased Wire Service to The journal.
Copyright 1921

Copyright, 1921
WASHINGTON, Aug. ia spe-
cial agreement in the nature of a
gotiation of treaty of peace with
| Germany.
This agreement may not be sub
mitted to the senate. 1t will be a
sort of modus vivendi, or temporary
arrangement which will, permit COM
merciaI relations with Germany to
be resumed Immediately and enable
the president to issue his long-de-
layed proclamation of peace,
The agreement will be brief in
character and along general lines. It
will preserve Americas rights under
! the armistice and subsequent treaties
closing the European war and will
form the basis for a formal treaty
eventually to be negotiated.
Negotiations Secret
The United States government has
made a specia! request of the Ger
man government that the exchanges
with that government with respect
~ IIlS ctSl SSlllCIlI Slldll US hSpI dUSO-
lutely secret. The reason for the
injunction of secrecy is not divulged
here.
Members of the senate foreign re-
lations committee have learned in
formally of the progress of the eX-
changes between the German govern
ment and our state department, and
they predict that the formula adopt
ed by President Harding and Secre-
tary Hughes will be received with
satisfaction, because for the next
three to six months at least, Amer
lea will be able to send consuls into
Germany and establish commercial
of meticulously safeguarding Amer
ica's rights under the many economic
clauses of the Versailles treaty will
be carried on.
Eventually the new treaty with
Germany of course will have to be
submitted to the senate.
Not Public Affair
Politically speaking. the postpone
ment of formal peace negotiations
with Germany will assist President
Harding to the extent, that as time
goes on, the bitterness over the ole
treaty fight may gradually vanish
and if it is found essential to para.
phrase whole sections of the Yer
sailles treaty. opposition may not be
as strong as it would be now from
those senators who have announced
that not particle Of the Versailles
treaty Will they ever approve.
The department of state maintains
It's cloak of secrecy on the theory
vivendi is not necessarily a public
affair. Many such agreements OF
conventions have been negotiated in
the past like the Lansing-Ishii agree
ment, for instance, which remained
mystery until the day the text
nounced.
Word received here from Berlin
Indicates that the Germans approve
of the American plan, and that the
German reichstag is being consulted
SO that all political parties there will
in sense be committed to the
pledges made in the special agree
ment with the United States. 1t viii
be recalled that China and Germany
have a special agreement too mas
much as China refused to ratify the
Versailles treaty.
Democrats in Dark
Germany, however, in negotiating
special agreement with China, abso.
lutely declined to reaffirm in general
terms the Versailles treaty since il
meant another acknowledgment of re-
sponsibility for the war, and, it was
stated officially by the German. gov.
eminent, such an act might prejudice
Germany's chances to get the Yer
sailles pact revised. There is a him
that similar bitches have occurred
in the negotiations with the United
States which already have taker
more than five weeks.
Although the German government
has seen fit to take all the politica
parties into it's confidence. the Dem.
| ocrdts in the United States senate
| profess to be absolutely unacquaint
| ed with the character of the nego
| tiations with Germany.