Bisbee daily review., 1918-12-12
DRIVEN TO coNscRIPTloN

DRIVEN TO CONSCRIPTION
 What drove us to cOnscription was the existence of conscription armies on the continent that inevitably rushed the world into war. They could not have great military ma chimes thero without tempting the men at the head of them to try their luck with those machines. The Ger mans always felt there was nothing to resist their perfect military ma chine.
 If you want a permanent peace; if you want to prevent the horrors of this war being repeated you must put an end to conscript armies on the continent of Europe.
 "The first thing to do is to pTe- vent the repetition of blunders of the past by making it impossible ot have those great conscript armies in the future.
 Navy Purely Defensive
 "We did not have the machinery for war. Our navy is a defensive weapon and not an offensive one; and that is why we do not mean to give it up. We have kept these islands free from invasion for centuries and we mean to take no risk in the future
 Mir. Lloyd George declared that the decision which would be taken in the next few months at the peace con ference was going to leave a mark upon the world The ages to come, he said, would be able to reap the fruits of it.
 Deals With Indemnity
 The premier next dealt with the question of indemnity. He declared the war had cost Germany less than it had cost Great Britain. It had cost Great Britain, he declared, S,OOO,- 900, 900 pounds. gigantic sum. The German bill, he believed. was six CT seven billion pounds. He contended it was indefensible that the person who was in the wrong and had lost should pay less than the person who was declared to be in the right and had won.
 l. States Five Points
 The premier said a British imperial commission had been appointed to in vestigate the capacity of Germany to pay, and that he had received its re- port. He summarized his remarks on this point as follows:
 First: As far as justice is concerned, we have an absolute right to demand the whole cost of the war from Ger many.
 Second: We propose to demand the whole cost of the war from Ger many.
 Third: When we come to the exact ing of it we must exact in such a way that it does not do more harm to the country that receives it than the country that is paying it.
 Fourth: The commission appoint ed by the British government believes that that can be done.
 Fifth: The allies are in exactly the same boat We shall put in our de Imands all together and whatever they lare, they must come in front of the German war debt"
 The prime minister continued:
 "The first consideration in the minds of the allies will be the inter- ests of the people upon whom the Germans have made war and not Tn the interests of the German people, who have made war and have been lguilty of that crime"
 Deceives German Empire
 With regard to the former German emperor, the premier said;
 "There is absolutely no doubt that he has committed a crime against in lternational right and there is abso- lutely no doubt that he ought to be lheld responsible for it, so far as the E,uronaan allies are concerned"
 The premier said he hoped that America would take the same view when President Wilson arrived, as to the demand that would be put for ward, on the part of the European allies Ito make the kaiser and his Iaccomplices responsible for this ter rible crime"
 Referring to letter. said to have been written by a British general to French general, in which the Brit fish officer was quoted as saying II was proposed to establish British national army of twenty divisions based on conscription but that "the cabinet would not touch this until after the elections and then not un | til this league of nations nonsense has been discussed at the peace con ference" Premier Lloyd George de lclared:
 "The cabinet never heard of the scheme. So far as the cabinet is con cerned it is purely an expression ol lthe opinion of some general.
 
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