Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-20
TYPICAL TEUTONIC GALL
STILL MANIFESTING ITSELF
Doctor Solf Has Not Yet Discovered That
Germany Is at the Mercy OF
Her ConnncrOrS

TT Is becoming increasingly evident
that Doctor Solf, German Foreign
Secretary, does not yet realize that Ger
many is defeated and is at the mercy
of her conquerors.
On the very day that the armistice
was signed he sent a message to Secre-
tary Lansing protesting against its con-
ditions and containing a thinly veiled
threat that its enforcement would pre-
vent durable peace Since then he has
sent out several similar messages. His
latest, made public yesterday, is in the
form of demand that Germany be
allowed to administer all the territory
within her old boundaries and to collect
customs dues there as usual. The old
boundaries of Germany included Alsace-
Lorraine. This is demand that AlSace-
Lorraine remain German territory, that
its revenues be collected by Germany and
that its government be in German hands.
The preposterousness of such de-
mand surpasses belief. 1t is based on
the assumption that Germany has rights
in Alsace- Lorraine which the rest of the
world must respect 1t is an attempt to
nullifv all the provisions of the armistice
intended to take from the Germans the
power to repudate the armistice, and to
strike treacherous blows at the nations
which have combined to establish a just
peace. For unmitigated gall it has never
been equaled in the history of civilized
man.
Not only does Doctor Sof ask that
Germany be permitted to administer
Alsace- Lorraine; he also demands that
Germans be permitted to administer all
other Rhinelands, on the west as we'll
as on the east bank of the river, occupa-
ton Of which by the United States and
the Allies is provided for by the arm-
stice Germany needs these lands for
her industrial rehabilitation, he says,
and should have them.
The sniveling whimper which comes
from Doctor Solf is like that from
yellow dog, waiting for a chance to bite
the hand that leads it. If Germany is
a yellow dog, the sooner the United
States and the Allies find it out the
better. Every day that has passed since
the armstice was signed has proved that
it was none too severe. The provision
that all occupied territory, including
Alsace-Lorraine, should be evacuated
within fourteen days and that the Ger
man troops remaining after that date
should be prisoners of war. was made
with full knowledge of the kind Of nation
with which we were dealing. The allow
ance of thirty-one days for evacuating
the Rhineland of Germany was an act
of grace to give the German authorities
time to turn over to the Allies that part
of their country which is to be held as
a pledge of good faith.
Doctor Solf wants to take everything
back which would make that pledge
worth anything. The almistice provides
that the upkeep of the Allied and Amer
lean troops in the Rhineland shall be
charged to the German Government
The natural and obvious way to get the
needed money is out of the revenues of
the district. The occupying forces will
u
ter of course If there are any surplus
revenues they will be held for such dis
position as the peace conference may
think proper.
The campaign Of propaganda on which
Doctor Solf and his fellow junkers are
engaged in an effort to arouse the sym
pathies of the jellyfsh- minded in Amer
lea and elsewhere will affect no Others
We all know that none but the Germans
are responsible for the deplorable con-
dition in which they find themselves.
We all know that they have forfeited the
confidence of mankind and cannot be
trusted out of sight. We all know that
until the peace treaty is signed and rati
fed, restoring the little nations to their
rights, and until guarantees have been
| secured that Germany will make repara-
tion and restoration, she must be held at
| the mercy of the armed forces now NOV
ing into her territory. There is no other
course open to intelligent men.
Sympathy for Germany now is like
sympathy for brutal murderer await
/ ing sentence for his crimes, indulged
in only by maudlin sentimentalists. Doc
tor Solf is appealing to such in the des-
perate hope that he can influence events.
-