The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-11-30
Sia1Op1ds, Supporting League Of Nations
Senses Real Danger TO Unity OF the Allies
AmeYicn Must
Exercise Caution

ID
Author of "The World War" "Thss
Shall Not Pass"
Copyright, 1918, New York Tribune
Inc.)
The approach OF the hour when the
representatives of the various ma
tons which have, for more than four
years. been at war will meet at YER
sailles to frame a document restor-
ing peace has served to concentrate
the attention of the world upon the
possibilities and the probabilities OF
what must prove the most momen-
tous international assembly since
the Congress of Vienna And yet de-
spite the intensity Of world interest.
the problems and the difficulties
which must be surmounted are vet
as little understood, particularly in
the United States.
We have had since Nov. II one of
the most dramatic and astounding
pageants in all human history. We
have seen the surrender OF a great
nation on the battlefield followed by
the swift revolution within that
country which has swept away all
the old landmarks, all the familiar
forms of government. And while the
great enemy Germany was surren-
dering and transforming itself, Aus
tria- Hungary has resolved itself into
a chaos Of races. At the moment
when the discussion of peace is inn
minent. we are not in the least GER
tain that We shall have in the case of
the two larger nations with which
we have been at war any recognized
government, speaking with the sane
ton of Of the German people, or any
mn T1y1 hi -
collectively speaking for what was a
month ago the Hapsburg Empire.
And this is the first and greatest
obstacle which lies in the pathway
of the Versailles congress. If Ger
many shall now eschew Russian
pathways and find swift and salts
factory methods of restoring domes-
tic tranquility and attaining such
governmental unity as to enable her
to send to Versailles delegates
speaking for the German people and
authorized and capable of binding
the German people to the agreements
there made, the undertakings in the
way of territorial concessions and
financial reparations. then the task
will be simplifed. But what evil
dence have we yet to warrant belief
that this will be possible? More
over. If it is not, how can we, in fact,
achieve peace with our recent enc
my at Versailles?
Beaten Have Survived
In the past the beaten nation of
coalition of nations in the great
wars of history have survived with
their national integrity undestroyed.
France, after 1870, changed from an
empire to republic but the, repre-
sentatives of the Third Republic
spoke with, full and unquestioned au-
thority. their signatures to the pre-
liminary armistice and the definite
document of Frankfort were honor
ed by Their countrymen and unchaI-
lenged by their foes. When Napo-
leon abdicated at FontainbIeau in
1914, his conquerors placed a BouT-
bon on the French throne and made
peace with him. This peace, for the
moment suspended by the return
from Elba, was nevertheless repeat
ed in a new treaty of Paris after
Waterloo and honored alike by
France and her conquerors.
By contrast, after Russia fell and
the Bolshevik rose to power there
was no one with whom the Germans
could satisfactorily conclude peace
and We had the amazing spectacle
of Trotzky and his associates quit
a treaty which they could not refuse
to accept. Since that time, more
over, there has been condition of
anarchy in Russia and no man could
or can clearly understand what is
the situation. German armies have
occupied Russian territory and or
ganiZed independent states on old
Russian soil, but even. the Germans
recognized long before they finally
yielded to the western nations, that
the settlement Of Brest Litovsk was
no settlement.
We have then the clear possibility
that what happened in the case of
Russia will now occur in the case of
Germany. The revolution in the
former German Empire may rapidly
or slowly march to the chaos which
has existed in Russia for more than
a year and a half. 1t it does, we can
occupy such portions of the German
territory as we choose. Germany is
helpless. We can make such provi-
sional arrangements as may please
us, but We cannot come at the Ger
man nation, we cannot settle any
thing. we cannot do more than de-
eide upon such measures as we, the
western nations deem necessary to
protect France and Belgium from
German revolutionary attacks and
occupy such German provinces as
we may feel sure are sufficient to
serve as guarantees of a future pay
ment by Germany Of the claims we
hold against her, when she does
achieve national refrigeration.
With respect to Austria, we can
settle the question of the frontiers
between the several nationalities in
to which the Hapsburg Empire has
resolved itself. These several states
can act as nations and accept the
with Bulgaria and Turkey, will be
definite entities, unless they, in turn
all or part, succumb to Socialistic
and Bolshevik revolutions: or, decIin-
ing Allied arbitration, fight among
themselves or in part, succumb to So
cialistic and fighting.
But it is with Germany that we
must really make peace, for it is the
German who has been our great en-
envy and with him we have to make
the main settlement. And If Germany
resolves itself into Russian anarchy
then we can only choose between
waiting at the Rhine until anarchy
has passed and sending our armies
into Germany to restore order and
reorganize the nation against its will.
This is the problem now before us
in the case Of Russia, and it seems
Very far from solution.
Such, then, is the first great OBJ
stacle in the pathway Of those who
are to meet at Versailles. Nor is it
less clear that, even though Ger
many presently achieve national po-
lfticaI refrigeration, such reintegra-
ton as permits her to send repre-
sentatiyes able and authorized to
speak for a people and a nation it,
self capable of observing the decd
sions accepted by its representative
there is bound to be a. very consider
able loss OF time. So far from q
,,-.,...,.A lnrnanrnf and q ernneHr SIGN