The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-06-19
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT PARIS. edited

The critics Of the peace conference were the FIRST
to have their innings and they made the most OF
their opportunities. Whether they damned il for its
severity or for It's enieney its critics found
pathetic public weared with the endless discussion
and beginning to feel the effects Of over-rich diet
Of wartime dealisn. There necessarily re-
action aud the food OF that reaction the political
opponents OF the peacemakers. the disillusioned
idealists succeeded in creating most Disappointing
picture Of the proceedings at Paris The settlement
was, of course, open to eritcism--wde open in spots
but the other hand cynical materialism and ma
tional sel6shness were not the only considerations
which guided the delegates The great faui with the
majority of the books that have been written about
the peace conference is that the chief purpose OF
the authors has been to prove something Mr..
Keynes wished to prove that President Wilson was
bamboozled and that the economic settlement was
niquitous Mr. Lansing that his differences with Mr..
Wilson were due to the fact that his supefiors mind
not only held to a single track but to the wrong
track well: M. Lauzanne showed that Cemenceau
bamboozled by. Lloyd George; M. Tardeu
proved that this not the at all One Of the
great merits of this book written by the American
delegates is that It's purpose is not controversial but
historical 1t succeeds admirably. The writers of
the various sections by means approve all the de-
cisons that were made but they do explain. without
being unduiy influenced by political partizanshp. how
and why they made II were to read only
one book this subject. this is the book to read
n Paris" would require much more space than is
available but we may call attention briefly to certain
parts Of II. In the first place We recommend Give
Days chapter "The Atmosphere and Organization
Of the Peace Conference antidote to Messrs.
Keynes and Lansing. Regarding the two concep-
tons Of the conference usually heldhat Of august
parliament of the world defining just and lasting
peace and that of = melodrama in which force and
guile pictured prevailing over the weakness OF
the character who should have been the hero Of the
play-cvi triumphing over Ineffective virtue" Mr.
Day says. Between these two accounts Of the con-
ference the reader must make his choice ac-
cordng his taste in fiction They are both products
Of the imagination and equally valueless for
understanding Of what actually happened at Paris"
II is shown how and why the council Of four sue
'ceeded the council Of ten; and the part played by
the different commissions in drafting the treaty is
explained clearly and convincingly. Mr.. Day does
claim that the conference achieved the impossible
but he does maintain that compared with similar
bodies in the past such the congress of Vienna
the congress of Berlin the Paris conference faced
vastly greater problems. studied its problems in a
more scientific way and sought earnestly to
harmonic its settlement with the principles of JUS
tice" The subsequent chapters dealing with the
problems with which the conference had to deal tend
to confirm this contention.
At the present moment one is naturally particu-
lariy interested in those questions upon which
temporary have directed the attention of the
world; the upper Silesan dispute, the Near East,
rcparations and disarmament The chapters "Po-
land by Robert H. Lord; ~The New Boundaries OF
Germany by Charles Seymour; "The Armenian
Problem and the Disruption Of Turkey" by William
L. Westermann; "Constantinop1e and the Balkans"
by Isaiah Bowman; Preparations" by Thomas L.
Lamont, and the Problem Of Disarmament by Gen.
Tasker H. Bliss, provide background against which
contemporary events may be viewed with greater
Outstanding. et
In the light of the developments sinee the con-
ference it interesting to note the three accomplish
ments of the treaty which Col House calls attention
in his chapter "The Versailles Peace in Retrospect
They are: ~ The forming Of organization for the
prevention Of war (2) The sincere effort give
racial entities selfdeterminaton (3) The declaration
Of policy Of trusteeship in regard to mandates.
Sufficient time has not elapsed Judge the relative