Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1921-03-25
LANSING TELLS OF
PEACE CONFERENCE
Couldn't Agree With Wilson's
Plans and is Particularly Sc
we're in His Criticism
CB< Associated Press)

and member of the American
Peace Commission. will reveal i'll
his forthcoming book on THE
Peace Negotiations" which will
be published by Hou2hton, Mifflin
Company. March Is, how close he
came to reSigning from the Com
mission because OF differences
with President Wilson over the
Shantung decision and his belief
that, many OF the terms of peace
imposed on Germany were harsh.
humiliating and seemingly impos-
sible Of performance.
! The publishers of this book.
which is eagerly awaited by
historians and the public, have
carefully guarded the text Of
manuscript but they have permit
ted the general trend of Mr.,
Lansing's argument to become
known.
A profound conviction that i'm
mediate peace was the primary
need of the world, Mr.. Lansing
implies, was all that kept him
from resigning from the Peace
Commission because Of funda
mental disagreements with the
President on principles.
Some of the high spots Of Mrr
Lansing's book are shown in the
following textual extracts:
'I cannot but feel that my open
opposition to his attending the
conference was considered by the
president as an unwarranted med
ding with his personal affairs
and was none of my business"
"He (Mr. Wilson, said with
great candor and emphasis tha;
he did not intend to have lawyers
drafting the treaty OF peace. His
(the President's) sweeping dlsap-
proval Of members Of the legal
profession participating i'll the
treaty making seemed to be. and
| believe was, intended to be. no
tice to me that my counsel wa
unwelcome."
Zone may infer that the Presi
dent was disposed to employ the
general longing for peace as q,
means of exerting pressure on tho
delegates in Paris and inducing
their governments to accept hi
plan for a league
"The President having i'll the
report Con the League of Ma
tions( declared the American pol
ley. his commissioned representa-
tives were bound to acquiesce ii
his decision, whatever their per
sonal views were. Acquiescence
or resignation was the choice
81 think that it IS not unjust tt ]
say that President Wilson wa |
stronger in his hatreds than in hi |
friendships He seemed to lacl |
the ability to forgive one who haG
i'll any way offended him or OPP
posed him"
'The time given to the formu
lation of the Covenant Of the Lea
que Of Nations and the determin
alton that it should have first
been place in the negotiations
caused such delay i'll the pro-I
ceedings. and prevented speedy
restoration of peace. Denial of
this is useless 1t is too manifest
to require proof or argument to
support ii"
st is fair to assume that he had
no program prepared and was TN
to have any one else max
a tentative one for his considera-
ton. 1t left the American Com
mission without a chart marking
out the course which they were
to pursue in the negotiations and
apparently without pilot who
knew the channel"
"He was not disposed to discuss
matters with the American Com
mission as a whole or even
announce to them his decisions
unless something arose which
compelled him to do SO. He easily !
fell into the practice of seeing
men separately and of keeping
secret the knowledge acquired ?
we'll as the effect of this know1-
edge on his views and purposes
"But for secrecy. | firmly be-
lieve that there would have been
no Fiume affair"
eff to the increasing secretive-
ness of the proceedings of the
bodies of the Peace
are added the intrig-
ues and personal bargainings
which were constantly going on.
the logrolling-to use term ia
familiar to American politics
which was practiced, the record
is one which invites no praise and
will find many who condemn it.
Secrecy and intrigues which