Conference of Paris

As for the French claim to the Saar valley, the compromise was reached that France should have full ownership of the coal mines but that, on account of the 650,000 German inhabitants, govern ment of the region should not be given to France but should be put under the control of the League for 15 years. At the end of that time, the inhabitants resident prior to this arrangement should vote for one of three settlements : the status quo under the League, union with France or return to Germany. In case they voted for return to Germany, France was to give back the mines and to receive compensation from Germany.

Reparations.

The problem of reparation was not effectively solved by the Council of Four. Many English and American advisers, thinking of Germany's exhaustion, the danger of making the German people desperate and the mistaken policy of asking that a blank cheque be signed and handed over for the Allies to fill in, urged that Germany be cleared of charges for reparation by payment at once of whatever amount it could produce. The debate ramified into the uncertainties of Germany's capacity to pay and the largest sum for which Germany might be held liable. The French view prevailed. It was agreed that Germany should be held liable to pay to the last cent. The demands of the British and French that pensions should be included in the repara tions bill were first opposed by Wilson, but he finally yielded (see REPARATIONS). The deadlock over Danzig was broken by Lloyd George, who sought and found a way between Wilson's Thirteenth Point that Poland should have free and secure access to the sea, and British fears that a Germania irredenta with 2,000,000 inhabi tants might be created. Danzig was to be a free city under the protection of the League of Nations, but Poland was to have access through Polish territory to the Baltic Sea and virtual control over Danzig's interests abroad. Within a week after President Wilson had threatened to leave the conference, these differences had been ironed out so well that the representatives of Germany were invited to appear at Versailles on April 25.

Crises over National Claims.

But another crisis suddenly appeared. The Italians threatened to withdraw from the con ference unless their claims to Austro-Hungarian territories were met before the Germans signed the treaty. These claims were

grounded upon promises given by France and Great Britain in the secret Treaty of London (April 26, 1915). Orlando went further, however, to claim the city and port of Fiume (q.v.) which had not been allotted to Italy by the secret treaty. In this case he argued for the principle of self-determination, although he had opposed the application of that principle to the German population in the Tyrol south of the Brenner Pass. Wilson gave way to Orlando's contention to the extent of agreeing that Italy's northern frontier should be extended to the Brenner. But he resisted the Italian pretensions on the eastern shore of the Adriatic ; for they were advanced at the expense of Yugoslavia and Albania. Fiume had a large Slav population and a purely Slav hinterland. It was the natural seaport of the Slav and Magyar regions to the east. Wilson rejected the suggestion that Fiume should be given to Italy in exchange for the Italian renun ciation of claims upon Dalmatia under the Treaty of London. On April 23 Wilson publicly declared his reasons for opposing Italian claims. Orlando and his foreign minister, Sonnino, left Paris for Rome, but returned after the conference determined to proceed with the German treaty. They reached Paris on May 7, a day too late for the sixth plenary session, which approved the draft of the treaty, and only a few hours before it was handed to the Germans at Versailles. The Italians were back in the conference, but the question of the Adriatic was not settled.

Meanwhile the claims of Belgium, Yugoslavia and Japan further complicated the situation for the Council of Four. Hymans appeared on April 29 to demand that, as Belgium had been first to suffer in the war, she should be first to receive compensation for war costs. She had been promised as much in the Armistice. He asked that Belgium be given a prior lien upon $5oo,000,000 of the first cash receipts from Germany and complete settlement of the Belgian account within ten years. Eventually the American view prevailed, that Belgium's case was different from all others. Belgium was practically assured payment of her war costs by receiving a special issue of German bonds and priority on the cash receipts. Serbia immediately asked for $400,000,000, but the Council of Four dismissed that claim summarily.