| OCR Text |
Show H , THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES H Without pomp and the fanfare of vic- , '. torioua trumpets the great drama of Hj , Prussian world conquest came to its tra- H gic close at Versailles when Wednesday, N May 7, 1919, the terms of the allied na- 1 tions were received by the German dele- Hi .gates. Across that fateful volume of H 80,000 words might have been written the H fj words of the prophet "They, that take the H sword shall perish wiih the" sword," for Hf -whatever fortune follows in the path of H overthrow the Prussian dream is gone for Hl ever Hf'j No people since Rome has cherished so Hf' towering an ambition as the Germans and Hij Tidnc, not even the Romans have, suffered Hfj so,"swift and complete a downfall. It has Hj l)een the greatest gamble in history and Hi a hair's breadth has divided it from suc- Hfj .Today Germany is prostrate. The peace HJ terms which are imposed upon her and Hlw -which she must accept or face a worse H fate strip her of a considerable portion of Hi her wealth and resources of revival. It Hf breaks the saber she rattled so threaten- H ingly in past crises and scatters her shin- Hjj ing armor. On, the, east and southwest H iier strategic boundaries are driven in. H Her future on the sea is foreclosed. Hff ' ,NeverJtheless thV Geman peopje remain H; and they possess the qualities which give Hji the only foundation to the Prussian dream Hf - of power Vitality, self control, knowl- Hi r dge, method, patient industry, these are Hj !fcsr real strength and cannot be taken Hj ' irom her. No nation of vital people has Hj "been destroyed in modern times and it is Bi because of her acute realization of theca- Hj pacity of the German race and the resil- H' iency of great peoples that France, her B , neighbor, and England, her rival, have Hj j insited upon conditions which strip her of HT immediate power to attack. H These terms will seem to many unduly H v "harsh, to others not harsh enough. The H 1 psycology of 1916 or 1917 is not the psy- Hf chology of the Paris conference. By 1919 H compromise Has given way to .conquest, H.j and the opprtunity ffered by the German B g defeat to make security dbubly secure H I lor those who for a generation had lived H I under the shadow of the German sword B I was humanely irresistible. Hj I The situation developed is the most re- H i -markable in modern times. JBut yester- H day the old world was in the hands of H I three or four great military powers,. Ger- H many, Great Britain, Russia, Trance. To- H I day Russia is divided into wrangling child H S -states and given over to primitive experi- H Ynentation. Germany is disarmed and Hf impoverished. The Austro Hungarian Hf composite is scattered. France, sore H I stricken bv the war, is hoping to rise up- HB I on the ruins of German enterprise. But HLf Great Britain stands out in unrivaled HHI puissance, more secure and more power- Hf 1 ful than ever in her history, perhaps the H greatest single power since Rome. Her Hjf tnost formidable rivals, Russia and Ger- B many, have been set far back in the race. HI The only nation capable of challenging H' her, the United States, is the nation with H! t, which she is best able to live in peace, a Hfj . nation of kindred mode of thought and H!i action, of pofoundly pacific tendencies, H!l without incompatible interests. H If the world is not to have peace during Hi this generation, it will be, so far as we Hi can judge international conditions at this HJ time, because Great Britain becomes in- H flamed by her own vast power and culti- Hk vates the seeds of revolt against her. But H" she will not do so if she retains that gen- H:' 5us for wise compromise and moderation Hh upon Syhich'heisafety and progress in H ' e V ave een ciy.founaed.'. H The peace tryeatyt altfjoughHn.O' 5n- H strument, consists of two parts, the pro- Hr visions establishing a league of nations, and the conditions imposed upon Germany. Ger-many. So far as the latter are concerned, we may assume they will be approved by our government without attempt at amendment. amend-ment. They have been formulated after protracted conference with the governments govern-ments associated with us for the overthrow over-throw of the German military power and difference amongus now is not to be considered. con-sidered. It was our interest that there shouljl be no separate peace and we are morally bound to support that which has been agreed upon. As to the provisions for the establishment of a league of nations, na-tions, they are probably subject of careful care-ful consideration by the senate, and if in the opinion of that body they, are susceptible suscep-tible of interpretation contrary to our es- ' sential interest or security they will be adopted only with appopriate reservation. Such action, however, will neither defeat de-feat the project for a league nor postpone that peace which is after all the most ur-' ur-' gent need of the country and of the world, Chicago Tribune. |
