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Show D President Confers With Italian King and Ministers I on Italy's ClaimsFirst Week in France Brings Results England Prepares to Receive Ameii H can Executive on Dec. 26 London Press H Foresees Great Benefit From Visit Plans Be- I ing Considered for Relief of Famished Europe. El (By the Associated Press) r PARIS, Dec. 20. President Wilson spent most of today confer-if confer-if ring with. Italian statesmen and considering1 the claims that Italy will it lay before the peace conference. N Early in the day Mr. Wilson conferred for some time with Pre-13 Pre-13 mier Orlando and Foreign Minister Sonnino of Italy, who explained in Kg detail their country's ambitions. The president has expressed warmly warm-ly est sympathy with Italy's aspirations but has not committed himself n fully as to his views. EE After the conference, Mr. Wilson spent some time in going over i It material presented and comparing it with data collected by Colonel Mi E. M. House, who spent some time in attempting to determine what i II in his opinion should be Italy's legitimate claims. Mr. Wilson frankly 1 told Premier Orlando and Baron Sonnino that he did not know what Italy should receive but added that he intended to support action that ; would be just. i ' The program for the day also included a reception at the Murat residence of the ambassadors and ministers accredited to France. The ceremony, one of the most colorful and dignified to take place dur-: dur-: ing Mr. Wilson's visit to Paris was scheduled to begin at 5 p. m. The majority of the members of the large diplomatic corps here had never met the president and all were eager to greet him personally. While the diplomatic corps was being received, a committee from I the French senate waited to formally welcome the president to France Eand give expression to the cordial sentiments and bonds of friendship between the two republics. Because of this engagement a previously arranged luncheon with .Stephen Pichon, foreign minister, w,as can-, can-, celled. B The cordiality shown at the meeting between Mr, Wilson and King Victor Emmanuel yesterday was a subject of much comment m by those who were present. The president had been somewhat con's con-'s ' cerned as to the event, not knowing that the Italian king speaks Eng-. Eng-. lish. After the exchange of greetings, the two statesmen came to a ! : mutual understanding and during their conversation they could be I, seen to be smiling- and gesticulating in the most friendly manner. It is probable that members of the American peace delegation will : hold informal conferences with Premier Orlando and Baron Sonnino ' ,for the purpose of gaining personal knowledge of their views which have been explained in a preliminary way by Count di Cellefe, Italian I. ambassador at Washington. This will go far toward laying the good i work for consideration and determination of Italy's claims in actual conferences later. Mr. Wilson's first week in France is drawing to a close with his I! advisers feeling that much has been accomplished in a preliminary if way. Organization is now appearing out of the confusion which pre- vailed during the first days after the president's arrival. Various I sections of the American mission are settling down to the work which 1 must be done before the early part of January when the first sessions J of the peace conference are held. PARIS, Dec. 20 rresident Wilson's , plans for visiting London, while not , ; as yet positive, contemplate that he j' will leave for England next Thursday, : ; December 20. He probably will re- 'main In England four days. I Details of the trip to London arc jf being worked out by the president in J consultations with Colonel House, Cap-1 ij'taln Andre Tardieu, French high com-missloner com-missloner to the United States and I members of the American embassy staff in London. Sj. The president will start for London immediately after he has Christmas Jj dinner with the American troops in ? the field. The president will not re-$turn re-$turn directly to Paris, but it is ox-K ox-K pected ho will visit the devastated re-fl re-fl glons of northern Franco and Belgium, jilltis expected ho will be back in Paris ,about January -1 on the eve of tho first K (meeting of the inter-Allied conference IK on January 6. IB I The oponing meeting of the inter-IK inter-IK lAllled conference will be confined to IK (representatives of tho Allies and tho Ka United States who will arrange for the KV formal sessions of the peace confer-m confer-m cnce whIch- WU open toward the nild-IKIdle nild-IKIdle or latter part of Janunry. It Is Kj expected that the Gorman delegates Ml T1'111 be Prese"t then for tho first time. IH ,S po,nteu" out that this is not a nc-IK nc-IK GOtiatcd peace, but a victorious peace Hg based on virtual unconditional surren-Wjj surren-Wjj der. The main purpose of the prc-Knhminary prc-Knhminary conference beginning early in IH January is to arrange a common front IKffor the peace conference. WJ For that reason the conferences go-Kxuig go-Kxuig on between Premier Orlando of K Italy and President Wilson and later WA'Itn Premier Lloyd Georg in London mm Javo an important bearing on this pro-Klhnlnary pro-Klhnlnary adjustment Hj LONDON, Dec. 20 Newspapers here KFake extended comments on the Im-KPendlno Im-KPendlno visit of President Wilson to KEngIand. The Dally News expresses f profound satisfaction over Mr. Wll-Kjion's Wll-Kjion's plan and adds: Hti "Every section of the nation Is mml fi,fler for an opportunity to display it8 flratitude and admiration of the UU President's unfaltering Idealism ' V" od ateadfactress of purpose." I K?L newspaper hopes that nothing I B"ay stand in Mr. Wilson's way to prc-j prc-j Bwjf his coming In personal contact IKl tne poople rather than the rulers. Hk Thc paper continues that it is ne cessary to press forward to the negotiations ne-gotiations and name conditions for Germany and determine the future of Russia. "Onfy swift decisions by the Allies." Al-lies." it says, "will enable Germany Ger-many to resume something like her normal life. Tho condition of Russia is a matter upon which Mr. Wilson's voice can carry greater weight than any other. Ho has no material conditions to influence him and no question of the bondholder bond-holder will affect his judgment. He presumably has full knowledge i of the facts which the people of this country have not and a straightforward declaration from him that the Allies are taking tho only course open to them would dispel misgivings which Viscount Milner's statement yesterday left unallayed." . PARIS. Dec. 20. The London cor- j respondent of the Mnnchoster Guardian Guard-ian suggests that President Wilson's sudden determination to come to England Eng-land is duo to his doBire to consult the British government regarding the Russian situation before the preliminaries prelim-inaries to the peace conference. He calls attention to the statement by Viscount Vis-count Milncr, the secretary for war on tho Russian situation which he says "was evidently intended to prepare pre-pare the public for events to come." "Rumors of an advanced policy against Russia aro growing dally," tho correspondent continues, "and feeling has become very- intenso about the next adventure in Russia. Rus-sia. The share which America might take in any attempt to overthrow over-throw tho Bolshevlki and tho roign Of terror in Russia if she takes a further share, must be a largo one." PARIS, Dec. 20 Count Romanoncs. the Spanish premier, arrived in Paris today. He comes for conferences with President Wilson and representatives of the Allies. FOR RELIEF OR EUROPE PARIS, Dec. 20 Plans for oxtendinc relief to famished Europe, which President Pres-ident Wilson recarda an the moit immediately im-mediately pressing question, arc rapidly rap-idly maturing In nuch a way as to secure se-cure full co-operation by the Allies. The president lias made it known to the Allies that he regards the relief (measures as of extreme importance both for stricken populations and also as a means of holding back tho wave of discontent and resentment sweeping sweep-ing westward in the train of the Bolshevist Bol-shevist movement. Tho relief plans that have matured since tho arrival of Herbert C. Hoover are understood to have been referred to a committee upon which England, France and Italy are represented. A number of exchanges have been going on with the committee which 3 gradually grad-ually tending toward agreement. As a great deal of German tonnage is lying idle In German ports, the use of this was contemplated, the passenger pas-senger ships to be employed in moving mov-ing American troops homeward and jthe bulk of the freighters, augmented with American and Allied freight ton- Inage to be devoted to relief work. Because of President Wilson's spe- I cial interest in the subject he has made it known that he considers it highly desirable that corporation by all the Allied interests be secured at the earliest possible moment and it now is believed that the entire question will be speedily adjusted. PARIS, Dec. 20. Definite plans for the peace conference are not shaping as rapidly as some of the American commissioners expected. Meanwhile President Wilson is taking the opportunity oppor-tunity to assess public opinion in France and incidentally his advisers I are entirely satisfied that these peo-I peo-I pic are largely in accord with tho principles he has advised as neces-i neces-i sary to a durable peace. The members of the American mission mis-sion are employing their time before the peace delegates from the various countries actually assemble in a series ser-ies of informal conferences which eventually will Include a representative representa-tive of each of the entente belligerents. belliger-ents. Neutral states will not come into theso discussions. The feeling among all the entente conforoes Is that the making of peace should be their first task, so that they may determine upon the broad outlines out-lines of a league of nations which la-i la-i ter representatives of neutral coun-I coun-I tries will assist in completing. While tho American commissioners are holding these informal exchanges which are designed to clear up divergencies diver-gencies of opinion tho president is constantly giving the closest attention to immediate problems. He is receiving receiv-ing reports from tho United States, from American diplomatic agencies throughout the world and from the group of investigators brought here for tho purpose of studying tho many special problems which will arise. These investigators are continuing their studies with the advantago not of being on tho ground and' in constant con-stant touch with original sources of Information. The president may change the program pro-gram of his movements whllo await-lac await-lac tae opening o the conference. It was not supposed until today that he would visit England before the new year but he has received urgent invitations invi-tations to come soon, |
