Paris Peace Conf. 184.00101/34
Minutes of the Daily Meetings of the Commissioners Plenipotentiary, Tuesday, March 18th, 1919
- Present:
- Mr. Lansing
- Mr. White
- General Bliss
- Mr. Herter
1. Memorandum No. 163 was read regarding an excursion which would shortly be arranged to the devastated regions by the Secretary General of the Peace Conference, and for which five places are being reserved for the American Commission. The Commissioners requested that this invitation be acknowledged with the expression of our appreciation, and with the statement that the Commissioners will be glad to have five places reserved. The Commissioners further desired that if possible, it be ascertained informally just what portions of the devastated regions this excursion would cover. They likewise stated that if they themselves were unable to go a suitable delegation from the American Commission could be sent.
[Page 120]2. Memorandum No. 164 was read in which it was stated that Mr. Norman H. Davis requested to have his resignation from the Financial Commission accepted, and to have Mr. Thomas W. Lamont appointed in his place. The Commissioners agreed that they would accept Mr. Davis’ resignation though regretting extremely that he is unable to find the time to do the necessary work, and at the same time agreed that Mr. Lamont should be designated to take Mr. Davis’ place.
3. Memorandum No. 165 was read with regard to the proposed Mission to Turkey. The Commissioners felt that again the personnel of the proposed Mission was too numerous, and requested that the matter be reviewed once more. They were unable to see that … or … had any of the necessary qualifications to go as field observers, but said that they would be glad to reconsider their cases if further material was furnished in the premises.
4. Memorandum No. 166 was read suggesting that Captain Hayford Peirce be assigned to Prof. Coolidge’s Mission and directed to proceed to Warsaw as soon as possible. The Commissioners asked whether in case this were done Captain Peirce would have any connection with General Kernan’s Mission. They felt strongly that both because of the fact that no reasons were given why Captain Peirce should go to Warsaw, and because it would be extremely inadvisable to send to Poland an independent officer who would not come under General Kernan’s jurisdiction, that it would not be advisable to have Captain Peirce assigned for the purpose indicated. They stated, however, that they were willing to reconsider this matter provided General Kernan approved, and Captain Peirce made a member of General Kernan’s Mission.
5. Memorandum No. 167 was read regarding the assignment of 2nd Lieut. W. H. Osborn to Prof. Coolidge’s Mission in Vienna as Secretary to Prof. Philip Brown. The Commissioners agreed that inasmuch as Lieut. Osborn was willing to pay his own expenses while on this mission, and in view of his qualifications, they approved his assignment for the purpose indicated.
6. The attention of the Commissioners was called to the fact that there were several American painters now in Paris who were extremely anxious to know whether the Government intended to have any official paintings made of the Peace Conference itself or of Delegates to the Peace Conference. Some confusion existed as to whether the National Fine Arts Committee in the United States, of which Mr. White was the Honorary Chairman and which had made to Sargent an offer to paint the Conference was a Government Committee or not. The Commissioners felt that the Government should take no action whatever in this matter and that since the National Fine Arts Committee appeared to be a private organization, subsidized by some [Page 121] individuals, it was entirely up to that Committee to decide what painters should undertake the work in question in Paris.
7. The Commissioners discussed the position which the President had taken yesterday at the Quai d’Orsay with regard to the insertion of the Covenant of the League of Nations in the preliminary Peace Treaty. They felt that it would be very difficult to incorporate the League of Nations Covenant in any final form in this preliminary Peace Treaty, and that it would be better merely to have Germany accept the League in principle. In this way the Covenant in its final form could be incorporated in the final Peace Treaty. The Commissioners further observed that the preliminary Peace Treaty was in reality a complete and final declaration of peace which would have to be ratified by all the contracting States. The so-called final Peace Treaty would merely be a revision of this first Peace Treaty.
The Commissioners requested Mr. Herter to have prepared for them two memoranda: (1) embodying such information as was at the disposal of the Commission with regard to public opinion in the United States, Great Britain and France with respect to the necessity of further discussion and possible amendment of the Covenant of the League of Nations, and the second, dealing with the procedure which the various nations signatories to the Peace Treaty would have to follow in order to have that Treaty ratified by their respective Governments.