Evening star., 1947-01-12
Secret Records Show
Battle in 1919 Over
|Disarming Germany
BY the As.eeio,ed Press

s Z s -a .
Secret records disclosed last night
that the big -Four" who wrote the
peace after World War I were more
fearful that Germany would refuse
to sign than they were that she
might rearm.
The State Department published
the secret minutes of the 1919 Paris
Peace Conferences all-powerful
Council of Four" two months be-
fore the opening Of new Big Four
conference on the making of peace
with Germany.
Prime Minister Lloyd George of
Britain told President Wilson and
Premier Clemenceau of France on
June 2, 1919, that ranking British
officials had decided that Germany
would not constitute a danger to
France for 80 years or even SO years;
certainly not in Is years"
Lloyd George waged constant
campaign during the highly secret
sessions Of the Council of -Four" to
get the German peace terms eased,
either at the expense of Poland's
territorial desires in Silesia and
Pomerania or by limiting repara-
tionS.
Opposed by Clemenceau.
On the other hand, Clemenceau
was so opposed to softening the pen
alties that during most of the talks
there was a virtual split between
him and Lloyd George.
The British recorder of the min
utes, Sir Maurice Hankey, wrote on
June 10 at a meeting at President
Wilson'S house in Paris, which
Italian Premier Orlando attended
with the other three, that Clemen-
ceau argued:
saThis or that concession would
not make the Germans sign. There
was much to be said against the
Germans but they were people Win
great qualities even If they had
great faults and at present they
were very anxious to put their coun-
try on its legs again. OF course, II
Alsace-Lorraine, the Saar, Poland
were Abandoned we could nave
peace tomorrow"
More than any of the others, Cle-
menceau hammered at the dangers
to peace from a Germany insufil-
ciently controlled. The British re-
peatedly demanded that the French
get their occupation army of Ger
man territory, declaring that lts
presence there no longer was nee
essary.t
Similar Problems Faced Now.
Many of the problems then were
comparable to those which have
bothered the four major Allied VIC
tors after World War II. Particu-
Elarly were they distressed and try
ing to work out some settlement FOL
italian claims over Dalmatia and
Fiume which once caused Orlando
to walk out on the meeting. The
trouble actually lasted years after
the conference in the form OF dis
putes between Italy and Yugoslavia
Throughout the 1000 pages OF
minutes run threads Of the Western
worry over the rise of Bolshevism
In Russia and the brief Communist
regime of Bella Kun in Hungary.
President Wilson at least once
changed course on this issue. His
original stand was that the anti
Bolshevik forces under Admiral
Kolchak In Siberia should not be
helped by the Western Allies. He
argued that "the proper policy Of
the Allied and associated powers
was to clear out of Russia and leave
it to the Russians to fight 1t out
among themselves"
Later he agreed to go along witt
the majority OF his colleagues In thu
council and offer support to Kol'
chak, but only after he had received
a formal promise from the admira
to set up representative govern
ment. Not so long afterward the
admirals ambitions to overthrow
the struggling young Soviet regime
were defeated, his armies scattered
and he himself killed.
German Intact in 1919.
On the question of whether OF
not the Germans would sign the
peace treaty, the situation was the
reverse of that today when Allied
armies have overrun the whole OF
the enemy country and broken it up
In 1919 Germany, though de-
feated, was in one piece and had
its own government. This con-
stantly confronted the Allies with
the problem of what they would dc
If the Germans refused to sign
They seemed in general agreement
that military action would be nee
essary because it would mean that