The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-30
Victors Have Right to Col lect Cost of War from Van-
 quished, Premier Holds
WILL SEE THAT THOSE
 COMMITTING CRIMES
 PROPERLY PUNISHED
Investigation Is to Be an Impartial and Fair One, But 1t Will Be Stern and Will Go on to the
 Final Reckoning

London, N ovem b CT o9. British Wire e S Service.) } David Lloyd George, the Brit ish prime minister, in speech
 at Newcastle today said the
 victory of the allies had been due to the ceaseless valor of their men and that it would be a lesson to anybody who in the future thought that they, as the Prussian war lords hoped,
 "could overlook this little island ill their reckoning" "we are now approaching the peace conference" the premier continued
 "The price of victory is not vengeance
 nor retribution It is prevention,
 First of all. what about those peo- pie whom we have received without questions 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 security. to spy upon it and to gain such information inflict not punishment but damage and injury upon the land that had received them as guests2 Never again."
 MERIT PUNISHMENT MT. Lloyd George said the Interests of security and fair play demanded that lit should be made perfectly clear that the people who acted in this way mer- Iited punishment for the damage they had inflicted.
 The second question was the question of ind em mites, the premier added. In every court of justice throughout the world the party which lost has had to bear the cost of the litigation. When Germany defeated France she established the principle, and there was doubt that the principle was the right one. Germany must pay the cost of the war up to the limit of her capacity.
 But I must use one word of warn ing said MT. Lloyd George. We have to consider the question of Germanys capacity. Whatever happens Germany Is not to be allowed to pay the in- demnity by dumping cheap goods upon us. That is the only limit in princi- pie we are laying down. She must not be allowed to pay for her wanton dans lage and devastation by dumping cheap
 goods and wrecking our industries.
 A THIRD POINT "There is . third and last point. Is no one to be made responsible for the wars Somebody has been responsible for . war that has taken the lives of millions of the best E young men of Europe. Is not any
 one to be responsible for thatf If not. all can say h that If that is the case there is one justice for the poor, wretched criminals and am
 other for Kings and Emperors." l MT. Lloyd George declared that there were two offenses against the law of nations that had been committed. "One." he said, Ifs the crime against humanity in the deliberate plotting of the great war. The other is the out lrage upon international law It is crime, brutal crime. to devastate the l. lands of another. Whoever did that ought to be responsible for it. The submarine warfare did not mean only the sinking of ships. but it was a crime against humanity in that it sank thousands of harmless merchant men, In the whole history of warfare between nations that had never been sanctioned. It Is rank piracy and the lpirates must receive the punishment
 MUST BE RESPONSIBLE T mean to see that the men who did not treat our prisoners with hu- manity are to be made responsible want this country to go to court with a clean conscience, and she will do so
 There Is not a stain on her record. We will not be afraid to appear before any tribunal.
 have to investigate. We mean that tho a perfectly fair one. We also mean
 that it shall be stern one. and that lit shall go on to the final reckoning. "We have got to net now that men in the future who feel tempted 1 to follow the example of the rulers | who plunged the world Into this war will know what is awaiting them at the end of it. We nhalI l have to see that this terrible war, l which has inflicted 70 much de !, struction on ythe world, which has l arrested the course of civilization and In many ways put 1t backy l which has left marka on the minds, l upon the physique and the hearts
 of myrfads h many lands that this l generation will not see obliterated | we must zee ey the action we l take now, 1ust, fea1ieas and relent- l less, that 1t h . crime that shalI
 never awaiA be repeated in the his- I r "a '