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Show MORE PROPAGANDA. The frantic appeals scut from Ger-j Ger-j many Ivy Dr. Solf and the women of the country have not made a deep impression im-pression upon the minds of the administration admin-istration officials at Washington, and it is now thought probable the intention inten-tion was to excite the sympathy of Americans more or less connected !:y blood ties with Germany. It is known that food conditions in the fatherland and Austria are not nearly so bad as they wero stated to be and that there is no clanger of starvation if tho people of the central empires refrain from violence vio-lence and settle down to work as quickly as possible. The United States government will probably send some food to Germany, but the Washington officials arc careful to say that it will not be given away. There will not be much to spare after provision is made for our allies, and wc doubt if Germany Ger-many will get any wheat or wheat flour from the United States. Whatever What-ever kind of grain is shipped to them, however, must be paid for by the German Ger-man government. It is apparent that the Berlin officials desire to use tho United States as a buffer at the peace conference and that they expect the Germ an-Americans to influence this country to the extent that our delegates wi 11 favor leniency. It cannot be done. The peace, conditions will be so drafted as to provide punishment pun-ishment for the nations bringing on the 1 war and for the individuals guilty of violating the rules of warfare and committing com-mitting the most horrible crimes. If the German people are compelled to stagger aloug under a load of debt for generations to come it is no more than j they deserve as punishment for the havoc they have wrought. They had no mercy upon the people of any of the invaded countries, and they should not expect the United States to intercede inter-cede for them, now that their prey has i escaped. Justice requires restitution and reparation. There is no thought of ; revenge, but a desire that Belgium, : France and Serbia be restored by the ! vandals responsible for thoir desolation. ! Other terms of the treaty will provide that at least some of the losses be j made good. We dare say, however, there would have been no thought of mercy if the Germans had won the war. What they did in the treaty line at Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest would have been repeated on a larger scale, the defeated nations would have been ruthlessly plundered and then assessed billions of dollars for having dared to defend themselves in the field. ' Peace will not be officially proclaimed for many weeks to come. In spite of this fact, Dr. Solf, the German foreign I minister, has asked the administration , at Washington for permission to send a j commission to this country for the ! ostensible purpose of laying before the American government the conditions alleged al-leged to exist in Germany, and to assure the purchase of foodstuffs. It is not conceivable that any German commission commis-sion will be allowed to visit this country coun-try in tho near future, and it is surprising sur-prising that Dr. Solf should have made the request: It must make tho president presi-dent weary to be continuously importuned impor-tuned to thrust himself into the breach in an attempt to do something for Germany Ger-many and thus risk displeasure upon the part of the allied countries. This is probably the reason why Secretary Lansing bluntly told the German government gov-ernment to make its appeals to the allied countries as well as the United States. We hope the peace conference will meet as soon as possible and that the terms will be handed to Germany without delay. Then they will be in a position to build up their fortunes to the bc"t of their ability without appealing appeal-ing to America for help. |
