Evening star., 1946-08-29
Big 4 Ministers
Meet in Effort
1oSpeed ParIeyI
Session Begun After
Australia Suffers
Another Defeat
BY the Associofad Press

1AAs&S3 mug. d. llC OlClSl
Ministers of Britain, Russia, the
United States and France met
this afternoon in an effort to
find a way of revitalizing the
Paris Peace Conference.
Shortly before the ministers gath
cred in the Office of Georges Bidault,
president and foreign minister of
France, the conference had wit
messed another of the clashes which
have bedeViled the peace making.
An Australian proposal to establish
a subcommittee to collect factuaI
data on the Italian French frontier
was beaten, 13 to 6, in the Italian
commission after a heated Aus
tralian- exchange.
The four principal powers and
nine other nations voted against
the Australian plan.
Secretary of State Byrnes, British
Foreign Secretary Bevin. Soviet
Foreign Minister Molotov and Mr..
Bidault met in the building contain
ing the famous clock room where
the Big -Four of 1919 framed the
treaties which they, too, hoped
would end war.
Amendments First Task.
Their first task, it was believed,
was to devise common ground
for dealing with the 300 amend
ments to treaty drafts which have
showed the conference under. AS
they met only the preambles to four
of the treaties had been adopted
in commissions. The conference
itself had yet to pass on most of
these, having passed on less than
200 of the $1,000 words in the five
treaties for Bulgaria. Italy, Ro-
mania, Finland and Hungary.
Secretary ByrneS was the first to
arrive at the Quai d'Orsay. He was
accompanied by his advisers for the
meeting, Senators Vandenberg, Re-
publican, of Michigan, and Con-
nally, Democrat, of Texas, and his
interpreter. Charles Bohlen.
Mr.. Molotov was last to arrive, He
was accompanied by his deputies,
Fedor Gusey and Andrei Vishinsky.
A crowd of several hundred anx-
ious Frenchmen and women
watched them in front of the
French Foreign Ministry.
Mr.. Byrnes, Mr. Molotov and Mr..
Bevin all appeared cheerful as they
climbed the stone steps and Mr.
Byrnes and Mr.. Molotov were smil-
ing.
The four ministers will devise
their own means of letting the world
know what goes on in the intimacy
of Mr.. Bidault's office The meeting
was barred to the press.
Mont Cenis Award Cited.
John A. Beasley, the Australian
delegate, took up the award of the
Mont Gems plateau to France in
particular in his argument before
the Italian commission that Spe-
cial committee should make a study
Of all disputed territorial questions
connected with the Italian treaty.
Referring to papers collected on
the question by committee of ex-
perts for the deputy foreign min
isters Of Britain, Russia, the United
States and France, Mr.. Beasley ex-
claimed, I'VE have never seen these
documents
I'll tell you more" he stormed
This committee of experts never
went to this place How can they
give us any information?"
Replying to the charge by Vishin-
sky that the proposal for subcom-
miutee came from persons who
hadn't studied" the situation, Mr..
Beasley said:
1T is because we have studied it
that we want more information
The vote on the question lined up
only Belgium, Brazil, Greece, the
Netherlands and South Africa with
he Australians.
Second Australian Setback.
This was the second setback to
major Australian amendments in
the Conference. Yesterday Aus
tralia was beaten in her efforts to
have Russia's 81 600, 900 900 repara-
t'5i4S bill against the five former
enemy states involved here set aside
for six months and made the sub
jecf Of a special commission study.
Another argument flared in the
military commission over Brazilian
amendment to the italian treaty
which provides for destruction of
permanent Italian military fortifi-
cations along the French Italian
frontier.
Gen. Angelo Mendes de Moraes
OF Brazil proposed that the treaty
provide for destruction of install
iations "able to fire ON French
soil" Presumably his amendment
would have permitted Italy to retain
some defensive installations.
The commission adopted the orig
(See CONFERENCE, Page A-6)