many's failure to fulfill the
armistice conditions; one would meet him later in the corridor
outside--like Grant, he was apt to have the stump of a black cigar in the
corner of his mouth--usually shaking his head ominously over the failure
of the politicians to treat Germany with the requisite severity. Or the
claimant before the Ten might be the grave, self-contained Venizelos,
once outlaw and revolutionary, now, after many turns of fortune's wheel,
master of Greece and perhaps the greatest statesman of them all. Then
again would appear the boyish Foreign Minister of the Czecho-Slovak
Republic, Edward Benes, winning friends on all sides by his frank
sincerity and ready smile; or, perfect contrast, the blackbearded
Bratiano of Rumania, claiming the enforcement of the secret treaty that
was to double the area of his state. Later, Paderewski came from Warsaw,
his art sacrificed on the altar of patriotism, leonine in appearance, but
surprisingly untemperamental in diplomatic negotiation.

To each of these and to many others who presented problems for immediate
settlement the Council listened, for it had not merely to draw up
treaties and provide for the future peace of the world, but also to meet
crises of the moment. The starving populations of central and
southeastern Europe must be fed; tiny wars that had sprung up between
smaller nationalities must be attended to and armistice commissions
dispatched; the rehabilitation of railroads and river transportation
demanded attention; coal mines must be operated and labor difficulties
adjusted. This economic renaissance had to be accomplished in face of
nationalistic quarrels and the social unrest that threatened to spread
the poison of communistic revolution as far west as the Rhine and the
Adriatic.

From the beginning it was clear that the actual drafting of the treaty
clauses would have to be undertaken by special commissions. The work
could never be completed except by a subdivision of labor and the
assignment of particular problems to especially competent groups. As the
Council of Ten faced the situation, they decided that the number of the
commissions must be increased. By the beginning of February the work was
largely subdivided. There was a commission headed by President Wilson
working on the League of Nations, while others studied such problems as
responsibility for the war, reparations, international labor legislation,
international control of ports, waterways, and