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SUITORS AND SUPPLIANTS |
I give here in full the Points, the Principles, the Particulars, and the Ends with which President Wilson proclaimed his crusade and which most naturally loomed large on the horizon of the Oppressed Nationalities, who, coming to Paris in great numbers, hailed our President as their Messiah.
V. A free, open, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, the interests of the populations being equally considered with the equitable claims of the governments.
IX. Readjustment of Italy's frontiers along clearly recognizable lines of nationality.
XI. Restoration of the Balkan States and international guarantees of their independence and integrity.
XIII. Polish independence on a racial basis, with access to the sea and international guarantees.
II. No more bartering of peoples and provinces as mere chattels and pawns in a game.
III, IV. Every territorial settlement to he made in the interests of the populations concerned and (4) utmost satisfaction to all well-defined national aspirations.
I. Impartial justice to all without discrimination.
III. No leagues or alliances within the general and common family of the League.
I. The destruction of any arbitrary power anywhere ... that can disturb the peace of the world.
II. Settlement of every question on the basis of a free acceptance by the peoples immediately concerned.
IV. The establishment of an organization of peace to check every invasion of rights.
More often than the Fourteen Points and the supplementary injunctions, it seemed to me that the words which Wilson spoke to the Council of Worker and Soldier Delegates when they took control in Russia in 1917 were hailed by the suitors and suppliants who crowded the reception rooms of our Delegation as their compass and guiding star of hope. To these new men the President had cabled while Russia was in the birth pangs of a new national life:
"The day has come to conquer or submit. If the forces of autocracy can divide us, we shall be overcome. If we stand together, victory is certain and also the liberties which only victory can secure. . . . We are fighting for no selfish object but for the liberation of peoples everywhere from the aggression of autocratic forces."
We did not stand together, and after much misery and travail the terrible battle with all its hideous losses had to be fought over again.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Honourable Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States.
The Honourable Robert Lansing, Secretary of State.
The Honourable Edward M. House.
The Honourable Henry White, formerly Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States at Rome and Paris.
General Tasker H. Bliss, Military Representative of the United States on the Supreme War Council.
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN
The Right Honourable David Lloyd George, M.P., First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister.
The Right Honourable Andrew Bonar Law, Lord Privy Seal.
The Right Honourable Viscount Milner, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., Secretary of State for the Colonies.
The Right Honourable Arthur James Balfour, OM., M.P., Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Right Honourable George Nicoll Barnes, M.P., Minister without Portfolio.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
The Right Honourable William Morris Hughes, Attorney General and Prime Minister.
THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA
General the Right Honourable Louis Botha, Minister of Native Affairs and Prime Minister.
Lt. General the Right Honourable Jan Christiaan Smuts, K.C., Minister of Defence.
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
Mr. Georges Clemenceau, President of the Council, Minister of War.
Mr. Stephen Pichon, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Andre Tardieu, Commissionary General for Franco-American Military Affairs.
Mr. Jules Cambon, Ambassador of France.
Mr. Raymond Poincaré, President of France.
THE KINGDOM OF ITALY
Prime Minister V. Orlando.
Baron S. Sonnino, Deputy.
THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN
Marquis Saionji, formerly President of the Council of Ministers.
Baron Makino, formerly Minister for Foreign Affairs, Member of the Diplomatic Council.
Viscount Chinda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of H.M. the Emperor of Japan at London.
Mr. K. Matsui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of H.M., the Emperor of Japan, at Paris.
THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM
Mr. Paul Hymans, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of State.
THE KINGDOM OF THE HELLENES
Mr. Eleutherios K. Venizelos, President of the Council of Ministers.
Mr. Nicholas Politis, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
THE POLISH REPUBLIC
Mr. Ignace J. Paderewski, President of the Council of Ministers, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Roman Dmowski, President of the Polish National Committee.
THE KINGDOM OF RUMANIA
Mr. Ion I. C. Bratianu, President of the Council of Ministers, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
THE KINGDOM OF THE SERBS, THE CROATS, THE SLOVENES
Mr. Nicholas P. Pasitch, formerly President of the Council of Ministers.
Mr. Milenko Vesnitch, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of H.M. the King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes at Paris.
THE REPUBLIC OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Mr. Eduard Benes, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
(This is not a complete list of all delegations or all delegates, but of those featured in this book. A glossary of other outstanding personalities in these pages follows.)
ABDUL HAMID II. The "Red Sultan" and the last to reign in Turkey. He was deposed by the revolutionary movement that started in Macedonia.
ASEFF. The mysterious figure who during the Russian Revolution sold his services both to the government and to the revolutionists, and who in the end cheated both the gallows and the assassin by dying in his bed.
BELL, GERTRUDE. The charming Englishwoman who had lived long in the Middle East; called the Arabs "my people," and was regarded by them as their "mother."
BLISS, GENERAL TASKER H. Served as the American delegate to the Supreme War Council before the Armistice and later as the Army representative on our Peace Conference Delegation.
BOUILLON, FRANKLIN. An important meMber of the French Chamber; an opponent of Clemenceau. he was the first to announce that the American Senate would never ratify the Peace Treaty.
BOYD, COLONEL, U. S. ARMY. The able military secretary of General Pershing. His early death was a great loss to the Army.
BROCKDORFF-RANTZAU, COUNT. Scion of an old Holstein family; a votary of power politics. He was the unfortunate choice of the Weimar government as German representative at the Conference.
COBB, FRANK. The able editor of the New York World; a valued adviser of the President and Colonel House during the war and at the Conference.
CRANE, CHARLES R. The Chicago merchant who became a liberal supporter of all Democratic movements whether in Europe, Asia, or Africa.
DAVIS, NORMAN. One of the economic advisers of the American Delegation. Later Assistant Secretary of State and Chairman of the American Red Cross.
EDWARDS, MAJOR GENERAL CLARENCE. He commanded the 26th or "Yankee" Division, which was the first of the National Guard divisions to reach the front.
HLINKA, FATHER. A leading Slovak priest. He was an ardent fighter against Austrian domination and later the leader of the movement to separate his people from the Czechs.
HORODYSKI, PAN. A charming Pole who acted as liaison officer with the Peace Conference when Paderewski was absent.
lONESCU, TAKE. Leading liberal statesman of Rumania; a staunch supporter of the Western Powers throughout the war.
lSWOLSKY, M. Entrusted with many diplomatic missions under Tsar Nicholas; Ambassador to France; twice Foreign Minister.
KERENSKY, A. Succeeded the Provisional government of Prince Lvoff and was in turn overthrown by Lenin and the Soviets.
KOO, WELLINGTON. The youngest and the most talented member of the Chinese Delegation. President Wilson said he spoke English in the way Macaulay wrote it.
LAWRENCE, T. E. The young archaeologist who developed great talent for desert warfare. With Emir Faisal he led the great ride of the Arabs from Mecca to Damascus.
LVOFF, PRINCE. A member of one of the feudal families but a convinced democrat. He headed the short-lived Provisional government after the deposition of the Tsar.
MASARYK, THOMAS G. Leader and inspirer of the Czech Liberation movement and the first President of the Republic, an ardent admirer of President Wilson.
MIRKO, PRINCE OF MONTENEGRO. Second son of King Nicholas. His role In Vienna, where he was caught at the outbreak of war while attending his ailing wife, is still a matter of dispute among the Serb factions.
NUBAR PASHA. The son of the great Nubar who played such an important role in Egyptian history; an eloquent exponent of the Armenian cause. At the Conference he represented the Armenian communities of Egypt.
PILSUDSKI, GENERAL JOZEF. Polish soldier who first joined the armies of the Central Empires and later fought with the Western Powers. He was an opponent of Paderewski and for years was dictator of Poland and an enemy of its democratic regeneration.
PLEHWE, WENZEL VON. Minister of the Interior and head of the repressive government in Russia under Tsar Nicholas. His assassination was carried out by Boris Savinkov.
SAVINKOV, BORIS. An active participant in all the revolutionary movements in Russia, before and after the tall of the Tsar. He became Minister of War under Kerensky. I us hatred of Stalin, who engineered the "ouster," warped his judgment of that great revolutionist.
SElGNOBOS, CHARLES. Learned historian and professor at the Sorbonne, Paris.
STEFANIK, GENERAL. The outstanding Slovak soldier. For a time he commanded the Czechoslovak forces in Siberia. The manner in which he met his death after the Armistice is an apple of discord among the West Slavs to this day, unfortunately.
SYDORENKO, M. Chairman of the principal Armenian committee; eloquent advocate of the Armenian claims; unfortunately, but little heeded.
SYKES, SIR MARK. British traveler and authority on the Middle East. His sudden death during the Conference delayed the solution of the problem to which he had devoted his life.
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SUITORS AND SUPPLIANTS |