Martinsburg W Va evening journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1913-1920, 1918-12-02
Prem. LLOYD GEORGE
DISCUSSES THE TERMS

In a political speech made last
Friday in England by Premier Lloyd
George, he discussed the peace con-
ference as follows:
I'VE are now approaching the
peace conference" the Premier con-
tinued. ''The price of victory is not
vengeance nor retribution. 1t is pre-
vention. First of all, what about
those people whom we have received
without question for years to our
shores; to whom we give equal rights
with our own sons and daughters,
and who abused that hospitality to
| betray the land, to plot against its
such information as enabled the Prus-'
STA war lords to inflict not punish
ment, but damage and injury, upon
the land that received them as
\ guests?
Never again." Mr.. Lloyd George
4 said. The interests of security and
H fair play demanded that it should be
/ made perfectly clear that the people
4 who acted in this way merited pun
| ishment for the damage they had in
4 dicted.
Il Pay To Limit Demanded.
/ "The second question was the
4 question of indemnities," the Premier
i added. "In every court of justice
H throughout the world the party which
4 lost has had to bear the cost of the
/ litigation. WHEN Germany defeated
h France she established the principle,
H and there was no doubt that the
H principle was the right one. Ger
Il many might pay the cost of the war
4 up to the limit of her capacity.
\ "But | must use one word of warn
Il ing" said Mr.. Lloyd George. 1--WE
\ have to consider the question of Ger
\ many's capacity Whatever happens,
\ Germany is not to be allowed to pay
/ her indemnity by dumping cheap
/ goods upon us. That is the only
4 limit in principle we are laying down.
4 She must not be allowed to pay for
4 by dumping cheap goods and wreck
/ ing our industries.
l There is a third and last point
Is no one to be made responsible for
4 the war? Somebody has been re-
/ sponsible for a war that has taken
the lives of millions of the best
4 young men Of Europe. Is not any
/ one to be made responsible for that?
\ If not, all can say is that if that is
the case there is one justice for the
poor wretched criminal and another
|! for kings and emperors."
MI, Lloyd George declared that
\ there were NO offenses against the
l law of nations that had been COM
II mitted.
\ "One," he said, sis the crime against
4 humanity in the deliberate plotting of
\ the great war. The other is the out
| rage upon international law 1t is a
H crime, "a bsataL crime to devastate
II the lands of another Who ever did
\ that ought to be responsible for it.
II "crime Against Humanity" !
II 1.-THE submarine warfare did not
/ mean only the sinking Of SHIPS but it
II was crime against humanity in that
Il it sank thousands of harmless mer-
H chantmen. In the whole history of
H warfare between nations that had
n never been sanctioned 1t is rank
II piracy and the pirates must receive
N the punishment
II 81 mean to see that the men who
II did not treat our prisoners with hui
II mainly are to be made responsible.
II want this country to SO to court with
Il a clean conscience and she will do
il So There is net a stain on her rec
n ord. WE will not be afraid to APP
Il pear before any tribunal
\ Now these are the things which
4 we have TO investigate. WE mean
\ that the Investigation shall be an i'm
Il partial one, a. perfectly fair one. We
!! also mean that it shall be a stern
!" one and that it shall go on to the
u final reckoning =.