The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-12-22

Italian districts, there Is not the
smallest prospect that his foes will
even listen to his suggestions. These
things he must offer and these things
his own people and his own COM
mercial interests recognize are IN
evitable. Therefore, IL seems 10 me
certain that the next German peace
proposal will carry with It the frank
assertion that Germany is prepared
to go back to the situation OF 1914
on the west. IL she does not II viii
simply mean that the military party
has complete control and that II is
risking, inviting, a domestic reactiony
which is assured, in the vain peAeL
that it can still conquer.
But will q proposal TO so PACK 10
the boundaries OF 1914 satisfy i 90
not think so. France will still demand
AIsace Lorraine, Britain viii unques-
tionably support the French demand.
italy will demand Trieste and the
Trentino, and the British and French
will support this demand. In add
ton, and far more important, the
allies will ask the restoration OF
Belgium and northern France tney
will demand that Germany proVlae
indemnities for the rebuilding OF the
cities and the rehabilitation or the
farming and mining districts, wreck
ed. not as an incident Of legitimate
war. but as a detail in the German
program of terribleness-and TINS
demand is seems to me certain the
United States will support.
We may assume, however, that II
Germany's concessions on the west
are specific she will seek her reward
in the east and southeast. she Is
making a separate peace with Rus
sia, and in this peace Russia has ig-
nored her allies. The first reports OF
the German terms indicate that Ger
many means to ask all Of the terri
tory she has conquered, some 10000
square miles, with 20,000,0oO OF peo-
pie, pushing the Russian fronLleF
back to the boundaries Of l1S5. She
plans to divide this territory into
two states, a Poland to be annexed
in fact IL not in terms, by austria,
a Lithuania to be similarly annexed
to Germany. In both cases she will
assert that she is liberating a small
nation and giving unity to an OPP
pressed race. Actually, of course, sho
will be creating. two more subject
states,
But even more important is the
assertion that Germany means to de-
mand control of the Russian wheat
market for some years and free en-
trance for her manufactures into
| Russia. This, as many Russians nave
| already pointed out, means the econ
omic servitude Of Russia 1t means
| that Germany will seize the Russian
market, that Russia will become
dependency of German industry
capital and commerce. In the vast
Russian empire Germany is then
planning to seek the consolation and
| the counterpoise for her lost markets
| the world over.
| II is far from unlikely that those
| who control Russian policy today
/ will agree to these terms, because
the vast inert Russian population
desires immediate peace at any price
| and those who control are eager to
retain power at any cost to their
country. Thus. even before Germany
] makes her peace proposal to the al
| lies. they may have to confront the
| accomplished fact of Russian sur
render ana German supremacy in
the east In this case they will have
| to decide whether to continue 70
| fight for the creation OF q real Pol
and, actually independent of Ger
many, or to accept the situation as
it exists and leave Germany in pos
session of her Russian profit.
Turning to the Balkans, the situa =
| ton is less clear. Germany cannot
!. propose a return to 1914 conditions
there, as she will on the west, In
fact, and in the east in appearance,
because her Bulgarian ally not only
demands certain Rumanian, Serbian
and Greek territory, but already pos
sesses 1t, and her Austrian ally will
not consent to the restoration Of Ser
bia. Hence it is fairly certain that
the German proposal, with reference
to the Balkans, will be vague. Russia
has abandoned Serbia, and why
should the allies concern themselves
with it? This will be the German
logic, and at the most one may ex-
pect the Germans to propose that
the Balkan question be carried to the
green table and settled at the peace
conference.
AS for Turkey, the Germans will
not surrender their influence in the
Ottoman empire. But since their in
| 1uence is covered by Turkish SOW
/ ereignty, they will demand that Tur-
KEY be restored to her old frontiers,
and that Britain evacuate Mesopo-
tamia. They will demand at least q
share in the protection OF Palestine,
il a separate state is to be erected