New-York tribune., 1921-03-28

record with approval that even in the
most difficult hours the four always
spoke the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth
81 share their life too closely to be
knows their shortcomings? have no
taste to blame them, for / saw them
give. the very best Of their great minds
to. their task, and what more can one
ask have no right to praise them.
shall brush aside the legend that one
OF these three men hoodwinked the
others. In France it WAS said that
Clemencear was the dupe of Mr.. Will
son sol and Lloyd George; in the United
of Lloyd George; and in England 1t has
been written that NJ. Clemenceau
turned the trick alone. This childish
and contradictory explanation, conven-
doned.
THE discussion between these three
men whose national and individual
temperamerts were utterly opposed
was naturally exceedingly keen. Presi-
oent Wilson discussed like a college
professor critlcizing a thesis, sitting
bolt upright in his chair, inclining his
head at times toward his advisers. de-
veloping his views with the abundant
clearness of didactic logician. Mr..
Lloyd George argued like a sharp
shooter. with sudden bursts of cordial
approval and equally frequent gusts Of
anger, with wealth of brilliant imagi-
nation and copicus historical reminis-
cences, dazzling with eloquence and
wit, but ever fearful of parliamentary
consequences. AS for NJ. Clemenceau,
his part in the discussion was thor
sy,
stances his views prevailed. His argu,
ments, instead of being presented by
deductive reasoning, like those of Mr..
Wilson, or Of exploding incidentally
like those of Mr.. Lloyd George, pro-
ceeded by assertions, weighty, rough
hewn and insistent, but clothed with
gentle words that did him credit and
refulgent at times with emotion that
was almost overpowering.
at is easy to taunt President Wilson
with having adapted his principles to
the pressing demands of reality, al
though as matter of fact they were
not his principles alone but the princi-
Piles of all of US, and not one Of them
was violated. 1t is easy to make capi-
tai out of Mr.. Lloyd Georges contra
dictions; no one has suffered more
from them than France. The infinite
sensitiveness of his mind, his passion
ate love of success, led him to impro-
wise arguments which did not always
sively pro-British. But when con-
fronted with those permanent truths
which he had momentarily deserted he
came back to them when the time ar
rived for final decision.
"These three men, for whom, it Is
needless to say, have not the same
personal feeling, forced upon me the
same conviction about them all; the
conviction that in their unheard-of
task they managed to maintain and
make even closer the bonds that bind
which would spell disaster to civiliza-
ton. In their search for essential
unanimity they sometimes discovered
that they neither knew each other
we'll nor understood each other fully.
Nevertheless they reached agreement,
and reached it by straight and honest
paths. This | assert because / was
there and others who have said to the
contrary were not"
Tardieu contends that for the con-
venience of controversy the story was
treaty in history was hurriedly impro-
vised by four "fallible and ill-informed
men, closeted in dark room, impos-
ing upon the world their whim as law"
"The time has come to meet this
fable with she facts he says. "The
treaty was studied, prepared and dis
cussed for six long months by fifty
eight technical commissions, on which
sat the foremost specialists Of each
country, who held 1886 meetings. The
conclusions of these commissions, veri-
fed by twenty-six local investigations,
were discussed from January 10 to
June % by three bodies: the Council
of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. which
held thirty nine meetings; the Council
of Ten, which held seventy-two meet
ings, and the Council of Four, which
held 145 meetings. These three coun-
ellis also gave hearings to the chair
men of the technical commissions and
all the representatives Of Allied or
neutral countries interested. Finally,
when at the beginning of May the texts
we're settled upon, the cabinets of the
various powers were called into con-
sultation."