Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-01-28


cd In my notes OF that time).
found the President standing
alone before a large-scale map Of
southeastern Europe. 1t hung on
the wall OF his study where the
Mig -Four held their daily meet
lnKs. IL was warm evening and
the window stood partly open. In
the bit OF driveway outside paced
an American sentinel.
For some moments after I came
In the President continued to
study the map with deep absorb
ticn. II was plain to see that he
had had a hard day Of IL: for he
showed II In the drawn lines Of
his face.
II was. indeed. a trying time for
everybody. While the German
Treaty had been finished and de-
llvcrcd. Il was doubtful whether
the Germans would ever sign L..
They were attacking IL bitterly.
No ono in the world seemed salts
Ned with anything that had been
done. and now that the Council
had turned It's attention to the
Austrian Treaty. swarm OF new
problems relating 20 the crumbl-
INK. empires OF the East and
Southeast 49, Austria Hungary,
Turkey and Russia 49, assailed
them. Revolution was still smol-
dering in Hungary; and brush
fires OF national conflict or civil
war were burning over half OF
Europe. II seemed nj the time a
verltable race Of peace with an
archy.
What Secret Minutes Said OF
Wilson.
I thought OF the enormous dim
culties that this man faced: trying
20 work out Just settlements In
this ancient hot-bed OF strife
with the Austrians fretting at that
moment at Saint German for an
unfinished treaty--trying to work
out Just settlements when there
was no goodwill anywhere 10 be
found And II was spirit of
good will. mutual helpfulness.
which the President had sought TO
inspire. and upon which his set
Elements. II they were 10 be effec-
tive, must rest. 1t was no won
der. thought. that these bitter
weeks were wearing him out; that
sometimes OF an evening. after the
conference had ended and he had
relaxed, his face looked like
death; and sometimes one side of
IL, and his eye. would twich pain
fully. Yet he never gave over
trying, In that stew OF problems,
10 keep hts principles in the fore
ground and, II he could not realize
them in their entirety, to prevent
or mitigate, as far az possible
proposals which contrevened
them.
I'VE have been studying the
new boundaries of Austria" he
said to me finally. The Austri
ans are at swords-points with the
Jugo-Slavs here in the Klagenfur'
Basin. We have been trying tc
arrange for an early plebiscite.
"They prefer to fight" ! said.
"Yes." he said. they all pre-
fer to fight. Clemenceau told Us
the other day that here in Istris
both sides were putting up barbet
wire and preparing for war. VI
here the Roumanians and Hun
garians are fighting: and tn,
Czechs and the Poles"
Fourteen Wars I'm Progress.
I told him that we had counted
up fourteen small wars going or
in various parts Of Europe.
IL do not doubt IT," he said
Eve have been considering tn,
limitation OF armament of thes,
restless small states; but how cal
the great powers impose disarma
ment upon them when they will
not impose IL upon themselves?
A few days later he put tn
same question. even more bluntly
10 his associates OF the Big -Four
lie said (minutes of June 4th
Council Of Four):
THE principal powers Nigh
find II embarrassing if they wer
whether they intended to impos
a limitation of armaments oil
themselves. The reply would be
Yes. the Council of the Leagu
OF Nations is 10 present a plan
To this the representative OF tn
small states would reply, Are yol
bound 10 accept it9' and the prin
cinal nouars would have IN renly
No."
To this neither Lloyd Georg
nor Orlando made any reply, bu
Clemenceau. as the record set
forth. pointed out the niue
greater responsibilities OF tn
principal powers"
Small States Big Difficulty.
No problems, indeed, prove