Paris Peace Conf. 184.01102/143
Professor A. C. Coolidge to the Commission to Negotiate Peace
[Received February 26.]
Sirs: I have the honor to report that Lieutenant-Colonel Sherman Miles was mistaken in one of his statements to the Commission concerning the temporary settlement of the Carinthian Boundary. He declared that “both sides are awaiting the decision somewhat impatiently”. This is not and has not been true of the Jugo-Slavs. From the first they have striven to evade the carrying out of their promises in case the conclusion arrived at should be contrary to their desires. On February 8th I was called upon by a secretary of the Czech Legation here who told me that he had been asked by telephone from Laibach to request me to receive a delegation from there, and also to postpone my announcement of the decision reached by Messrs. Miles and King. I pointed out that this request was strange, in view of the binding nature of the agreement that had been entered into. The Secretary answered that the Slovenes were a new people inexperienced in such matters and allowances should be made for them. On the following day the delegation called upon me. They recognized the obligation they had accepted but wanted time to bring in further evidence and they also requested a more or less indefinite postponement if the decision were going to be unfavorable to them. I told them I had not yet seen the decision myself, that I would accept their [Page 521] evidence and would let them know before I issued my statement. On February 15th I was called upon by Mr. Pogacnik, former head of the government at Laibach and now the newly appointed Serbian Minister to Austria. Going on the supposition that he and his countrymen practically knew what the decision was going to be (in which he was mistaken) he made a request in more formal fashion that I postpone announcing it. To this I made no reply.
It is evident now that, while the authorities at Laibach were asking me, almost humbly, as a favor to them not to announce just yet the decision by which they had promised to be bound, they were at the same time taking measures at Belgrade to have a formal protest made against it by the Serbian Government. I hear from Mr. Dodge65 that the Prime Minister made the request to him at the instigation of the Vice-President, a Slovene. Mr. Dodge sent the protest on February 12th. It was doubtless hoped that it would arrive in season to have me receive orders from Paris not to give out the decision. This may not affect the rights and wrongs of the dispute but is rather characteristic of the methods that the Jugo-Slavs have pursued throughout it.
I have [etc.]
- H. Percival Dodge, special agent of the Department of State in Serbia since June 28, 1917.↩