Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-22
WHAT FRANCE MAY
DEMAND OF GERMANY
! Editor lie Matin Recalls Barbara
ties and Ruthless Destruction
That Must Not be Forgotten
BY Stephen Lauzanne. Editor The Matin,
Paris

If at this hour. when the dreadful
nightmare is passing away, mutilated
France could make another appeal to
America, her sister and friend, she would
sav to her: Don't be too generous.
Every one will admit that throughout
her long and troublous history France
has always been the land of Chivalry,
generosity and humanity. Even III this
atrocious war. when il came to hand-to-
hand fighting in the trenches, she stall
felt pity.
| shall never forget, ON the battlefield
of the Marne at the village of Etrepilly.
plundered, sacked. and burned down by
the Huns, those souaves who were sit
ting beside some German wounded on
small square In their own glasses they
poured out a little cordial for their pris-
oners they gave them their last Gig
arettcs One of them had even taken, rs
If he were his brother. the head OF n
wounded German IN his left hand to
support it, With his right hand. very
carefully he was giving him drink I
/ pointed the scene out to German major
and said to HIM:
''See That Is war-at least it's war
rs we understand il
At Rheims, while the Cathedral was
on fire the work Of German shells
French Sisters of Charity threw them
selves into the flames to save German
wounded That also was war rs
understand it. And today. after four
wears OF horrible struggle, We can face
the entire world and say that if there Is
blood on our hands there Is none on our
conscience. And vet we call out to
America: Don't he too generous
Two imperious and inexorabic duties
are before US: France must have repara-
taon; France must have guarantees
France must have reparation, for
seven OF her dcpartnents-equal IN AREA
and wealth to the State OF New York r
have been laid waste, burned down, and
razed Three hundred and fifty thou
sand houses have been broken into,
pulled down and shattered into bits. and
1t has been computed that merely to
rebuild them II would require An army
OF 100, 900 men working for twenty wears
Who is to furnish that army? France
No, but the destroyers and lnccndlaricS,
of course they will protest. and unplore,
;Lnd complain that il is sentencing Ger
man youth to hard labor. They will try
20 soften the hearts Of neutral countries
In the name OF common fairness, should
they be listened to2
Those $4,000 houses contained some
500, 900 beds, which were either stolen or
destroyed. and ] 900, 900 Frenchuen nj
present have no roof over their heads
not even a pallet on which 10 sleep So
we shall have TO 20 TO the thieves and
plunderers and take the 500 600 beds and
bedding we need More cries more com
plants. moro lamentations The women
of Germany will say II Is nhuman, that
war Is beng continued after war Is
over they will cable 10 the women ~
tncytra \nd oven sS ! write these
lies re rrW, came that they have
,ln'.. name of common fair
listened 10?
Northern France have
Itu Z, and beverly tampeTed
}icd .1 j water, or DESTROYED
teu 81 caal can bc extracted from
cl.~ f,r another two wears The normal
aapm q these mines cannot he r.
81 red fcr another five years Mean
while who will supply France with the
coai She - badly needs? England? No.
why should it be England? Il will be |
{ Germany, who should have left those |
mines alone And of course Germany |
will protest that she is being deprived |
of her fuel. and that after having been |
starved she Is being frozen She will !
appeal To the world and to humanity |
In the name OF common fairness, should !
she he listened to9
There Is one thing France cannot do. |
and that is 10 distinguish between the /
German government and the German |
people In 1914, it was undoubtedly the !
German government that hurlsTi itself /
at the throats. Of France and Belgium. |
and humanity and democracy but it /
was also the German people And when