(5) The elements of the Bulgarian troops now at the west of the meridian of Uskub will lay down their arms and will be considered, until further order, as prisoners of war; the officers will be allowed to keep their swords.

(6) The Bulgarian prisoners of war in the East will be employed by the Allied armies until the peace without reciprocity as concerning the prisoners of war of the Allies. These last will be immediately surrendered to the Allied authorities and deported civilians will be wholly free to reenter their own country.

(7) Germany and Austria will be allowed a delay of four weeks to withdraw their troops and military organizations from Bulgaria. The diplomatic and consular representatives of the Central Powers, as well as their citizens, must withdraw in this same period. The orders for the cessation of hostilities will be given at the time of the signature of the present convention.

Military Covenant Regulating the Conditions of the Suspension of Hostilities Between the Allied Powers and Bulgaria.

SECRET ARTICLES.

(1) The eventual passage of the Allied military forces over Bulgarian territory, as well as the utilization of railways, roads, waterways, and harbors, will be the object of a special covenant between the Bulgarian Government and the High Command of the Army of the East. Some negotiations to this effect will begin in about eight days at the most. They will concern, also, the control of telephone, telegraph, and the stations of T. S. F.

(2) A certain number of strategical points in the interior of the Bulgarian territory will be occupied by the great Allied powers. This occupation will be provisional, and will serve purely as a guaranty. It will not give way to coercion or arbitrary requisition. The General in Chief of the armies gives assurance that unless unusual circumstances arise, Sofia will not be occupied.

(3) The General in Chief reserves for himself, in case of neces

sity, the right to demand absolute cessation of every relation between Bulgaria and her former allies.

(4) The opening of Bulgarian ports to the vessels of allied and neutral powers.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BELGIUM, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, AND FRANCE, OF THE ONE PART, AND GERMANY OF THE OTHER PART, WITH REGARD TO THE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF THE TERRITORIES OF THE RHINE.1

Signed at Versailles June 28, 1919.

The undersigned, acting under the powers conferred upon them by their respective governments, have come to the following agreement as provided for in Article 432 of the treaty of peace of even date:

ARTICLE 1.

In accordance with Article 428 and the following articles of the treaty of even date, the armed forces of the Allied and Associated Powers will continue in occupation of German territory (as such occupation is defined by Article 5 of the Armistice Convention of November 11, 1918, as extended by Article 7 of the additional convention of January 16, 1919), as a guaranty of the execution by Germany of the treaty.

No German troops, except prisoners of war in process of repatriation, shall be admitted to the occupied territories, even in transit; but police forces of a strength to be determined by the Allied and Associated Powers may be maintained in these territories for the purpose of insuring order.

ARTICLE 2.

There shall be constituted a civilian body styled the Interallied Rhineland High Commission, and hereinafter called the High Commission, which, except in so far as the treaty may otherwise pro1 Senate Document No. 75, 66th Congress, 1st Session.

vide, shall be the supreme representative of the Allied and Associated Powers within the occupied territory. It shall consist of four members representing Belgium, France, Great Britain, and the United States.

ARTICLE 3.

(a) The High Commission shall have the power to issue ordinances so far as may be necessary for securing the maintenance, safety, and requirements of the Allied and Associated forces. Such ordinances shall be published under the authority of the High Commission, and copies thereof shall be sent to each of the Allied and Associated Governments and also to the German Government.

When so published they shall have the force of law and shall be recognized as such by all the Allied and Associated military authorities and by the German civil authorities.

(b) The members of the High Commission shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities.

(c) The German courts shall continue to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction subject to the exceptions contained in paragraphs (d) and (e) below.

(d) The armed forces of the Allied and Associated Powers and the persons accompanying them, to whom the general officers commanding the armies of occupation shall have issued a revocable pass, and any persons employed by, or in the service of such troops, shall be exclusively subject to the military law and jurisdiction of such forces.

(e) Any person who commits any offense against the persons or property of the armed forces of the Allied or Associated Powers may be made amenable to the military jurisdiction of the said forces.

ARTICLE 4.

The German authorities, both in the occupied and in the unoccupied territories, shall, on the demand of any duly authorized military officer of the occupying forces, arrest and hand over to the nearest commander of the Allied or Associated troops any person charged with an offense who is amenable under paragraph (d) or paragraph (e) of Article 3 above to the military jurisdiction of the Allied or Associated forces.

ARTICLE 5.

The civil administration of the Provinces (Provinzen), Government departments (Regierungsbezirke), urban circles (Stadtkreise), rural circles (Landkreise), and communes (Gemeinde), shall remain in the hands of the German authorities, and the civil administration of these areas shall continue under German law and under the authority of the central German Government, except in so far as it may be necessary for the High Commission by ordinance under Article 3 to adapt that administration to the needs and circumstances of military occupation. It is understood that the German authorities shall be obliged, under penalty of removal, to conform to the ordinances issued in virtue of Article 3 above.

ARTICLE 6.

The right to requisition in kind and to demand services in the manner laid down in The Hague Convention, 1907, shall be exercised by the Allied and Associated armies of occupation.

The charges for the requisitions effected in the zone of each Allied and Associated army and the estimate of damage caused by the troops of occupation shall be determined by local commissions composed in equal representation of German civilians appointed by the German civil authorities and Allied or Associated military officers, and presided over by some person appointed by the High Commission. The German Government shall continue to be responsible for the cost of maintenance of the troops of occupation under the conditions fixed by the treaty. The German Government shall also be responsible for the costs and expenses of the High Commission and for its housing. Suitable premises for the housing of the High Commission shall be selected after consultation with the German Government.

ARTICLE 7.

The Allied and Associated troops shall continue undisturbed in possession of any premises at present occupied by them, subject to the provision of Article 8 (b) below.

ARTICLE 8.

(a) The German Government shall undertake, moreover, to place at the disposal of the Allied and Associated troops and to maintain

in a good state of repair all the military establishments required for the said troops, with the necessary furniture, heating and lighting, in accordance with the regulations concerning these matters in force in the various armies concerned. These shall include accommodation for officers and men, guardrooms, offices, administrative, regimental, and staff headquarters, workshops, storerooms, hospitals, laundries, regimental schools, riding schools, stables, training grounds and rifle and artillery ranges, aviation grounds, grazing grounds, warehouses for supplies, and grounds for military manoeuvers, also theater and cinema premises, and reasonable facilities for sport and for recreation grounds for the troops.

(b) Private soldiers and noncommissioned officers shall be accommodated in barracks, and shall not be billeted on the inhabitants, except in cases of exceptional emergency.

In the event of the existing military establishments being insufficient or not being considered suitable, the Allied and Associated troops may take possession of any other public or private establishment with its personnel, suitable for those purposes, or, if there are no such suitable premises, they may require the construction of new barracks.

Civilian and military officers and their families may be billeted on the inhabitants in accordance with the billeting regulations in force in each army.

ARTICLE 9.

No German direct taxes or duties will be payable by the High Commission, the Allied and Associated armies, or their personnel.

Food supplies, arms, clothing, equipment, and provisions of all kinds for the use of the Allied and Associated armies, or addressed to the military authorities, or to the High Commission, or to canteens and officers' messes, shall be transported free of charge and free of all import duties of any kind.

ARTICLE 10.

The personnel employed on all means of communication (railways, railroads and tramways of all kinds, waterways (including the Rhine), roads and rivers), shall obey any orders given by, or on behalf of, the commander in chief of the Allied and Associated armies for military purposes.