Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1922-01-18

4 she SilOWeus signs 4 OF yielding TO the
general view. Divisi on of Upper
Silesia between Germany and Poland
caused lot of trouble. A plebiscite
was held there in March, but both
sides asserted it was unfair and early
in May the region was invaded by
Polish irregulars. Thinly yelled support
was given them by the Warsaw gov
eminent and also by the French and
there succeeded long series of fights
between them and German volunteer
forces. The entente cordiale of the
allies was near to rupture, but in June
British troops entered the territory
and began clearing out the Poles. The
dispute was referred to the league
council which in October announced
the boundary lines. Neither Germany
nor Poland was satisfied but both &C.
cepted the decision.
All through the year the Greeks
fought the Turkish nationalists in
.Anatolia;~ with varying fortune, while
the allied powers held aloof, though
Offering mediation which Greece re-
'Au''SN. LII A\OfCkuDc1 1lOllCc ulduC d
treaty with the Kemalist government
which aroused protests from Great
Britain and led to diplomatic negotia-
tons. ~ -
The United States formally made
peace with the central powers, the
treaty with Austria being signed All
gust "a, that with Germany August 25,
and the pact with Hungary August 20.
In these treaties America reserved all
that was given her by the treaty Of
Versailles which the senate had re-
fused to ratify. '-1
President Harding on July 10 is
sued informal invitations to Great
Britain, France, Italy and Japan to
send representatives to Washington
for a conference on limitation Of
armament and Far East questions.
Acceptance from all was already as
sured by a process Of feeling OUT
and on August II the formal invita-
tons went OUT China, Belgium, Hol-
land and Portugal being asked to par
ticipate in discussions involving the
Far East. The foremost statesmen Of
these nine powers were named as
delegates and on November II the mo-
mentous conference opened with im=
posing ceremony. Almost Immediate
~ Secretary Hughes put forward
Americas plan for reduction and
limitation Of naval armament, includ-
ing naval holiday for ten years, the
scrapping Of all shipbuilding pro-
grams, destruction of vessels to a GER
tain point and the maintenance Of
the navies of America, Great Britain
and Japan on a 5-5-3 basis. The plan
was formally accepted by the delegates
of those nations on December Is, and
to the agreement were added clauses
for the preservation of the status quo
Of naval bases and fertilization in the
western Pacific.
OF almost equal Importance was the
four-power pact accepted by the con-
ference On December -. This was
cast in the form Of a treaty by which
the United States, Great Britain,
France and Japan agreed to maintain
peace in the Pacific, the Anglo-Jap-
anese treaty being abrogated.
China offered some very difficult
problems to the conference and all the
demands Of her delegates were not
satisfied. The conferees, however, did
enter into an agreement to remove
many Of the foreign restrictions on
China and to respect the territorial
and administrative integrity of the
oriental republic and preserve the open
door for trade and industry Of all ma
lions. Direct negotiations between the
Chinese ard Japanese delegates re-
suited in Japan's agreeing to restore
Shantung province to China upon re-
ceiviEg payment for the railway.
1t was evident from the first that
the conference could not do much in
the matter Of limitation Of land arma-
ments so long as the situation in cen
trail Europe remained so unsettled.
Premier BRAND was present to give
voice to Frances needs Of protection
and fears Of aggression by Germany
and possibly by Russia. His eloquent
speech so far convinced the confer
!ence that the other powers gave as
surance that France would never be
left in the "moral isolation" which she
feared.
President Harding has chung to his
idea that an association of nations can
be formed which would do what the
! League of Nations cannot do, and on
] November 25 he put forward the sug-
gestion Of a continuing series of con-
,ferences like that in Washington,
which presumably might result in the
, formation Of the association. The
Idea was received with favor every
where, except that the French de-
INJURED at the proposed inclusion Of
Germany.