The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-11-23
Coming Versailles Conference ReUiUes
Memories Of Worlds War Settlements
BY FRANK H, sIMoNps.
Author Of 1.-THE World War" "They
Shall Not Pass

ment. The liquidation of the Ger
man war, we are told by cable. is Il
be accomplished by negotiation
carried on in Paris and forrnalI,
adopted in plenary session at Ver
gaflles. Something like this was tn
method employed to settle the Wa
Of the Revolution, and while tn,
document which contained British
recognition OF American indepen
dence was signed at Paris, the treat,
which restored peace to the worlI
was another Treaty Of Versailles
and Franklin, Adams and Jay, wht
represented America in that famous
| time, were frequently at Versailles.
We are, then, in a very real sense
returning to the place at which oul
existence obtained European recogni
ton. But how different are the cir.
cunstances! In 1882 we were th,
! ward of France. French armies ant
French ships, with French loans. hat
made liberty possible. A year befort
the armies of Washington and Roch
| ambeau had taken Yorktown. the
| soldiers Of France and of America
| had shared in victory the fruits o1
| which were mainly American. But
today our armies have just been vic.
torious at Sedan, and, in Foch'e
happy phrase, have earned the right
to inscribe the word ''Meuse'' upon
their banners; as the soldiers of the
French monarchy had won the priv
ilege to write Yorktown upon theirs
1877 years ago.
Owe other Debts to France.
We owe France other debts than
those incurred in the eighteenth CEN
tury. The Marne and Verdun were
contributions OF the revolution, and
Foch and Joffre have served America
Ia sgreatly as did Lafayette and
ROehambeau, but it is the older debt
that today is clearest in view and
gives to our participation in the
world war a dramatic and appeal
ing character. TO France, who gave
us our independence, we, in our turn,
are returning the '1ost provinces"
which are the guarantee Of French
integrity Surely history has few
more remarkable condolences.
There are other memories how
ever, which will be stirred by a new
assembling at Versailles. In side
street leading off the Avenue do
Paris, by which the delegates viii
come to the palace, is that tennis
court which was taken the famous
oath from which came the French
revolution. Through the gates by
wich the delegates will enter the
palace the mob Of Paris swarmed to
seize Louis XVI and drag him back to
Paris and, in the end, to the scaffold.
And in the same hall where the
delegates will meet the grandfather
of William Hohenzollern was crown
ed German emperor in the. presence
of all the sovereigns of Germany,
whose successors are now in exile,
while the German guns hurled their
daily message Of destruction into
besieged and doomed Paris. In Ver-
sailles Bismarck imposed upon
France the terms which Included the
loss of Aisace-LoFraine, now re-
stored. Where more appropriately
could Germany be sentenced than at
Versailles?
And back OF an other memories at
Versailles is that Of the first master
Of ali the magnificence which nearly
bankrupted France. The spirit of
Louis XIV, who said, 'T am the
state" this has been reincarnated' in
William II. The old gospel of the
absolute will, the divine right of
kings, certainly never found more
complete expression than at Ver-
sailles, and nowhere else in the
world could the ultimate Reputation
of this evil tradition be more impress
sive than within the palace of the
Sun King"
80 Must Revive Lesends5
Apart from local memories this
new congress of Versailles must re-
vive the legends Of at least four other
great settlements, stretching back to
the Peace of Westphalia, in 164S,
which is reckoned by historians as
A. e$ IN
of European development, the period
OF national evolution. =. And these
four settlements are: .Westphalia,. in
164s; Utrecht, in It'll; Vienna, in
1915, and Berlin, in 1878. In the pro-
ceedings of these earlier gatherings
mea will today explore for prece-
dents, for forms; in the progress of
events at Versailles we may see
many interesting repetitions OF
events which filed the world stage in
other centuries.
And of the four European con-
claves that of Berlin 40 years ago
will be most easily called to mind,
although it was of infinitely smaller
than either the present
OF the preceding world gatherings.
Il win be most frequently recall !
ed because of the contrast with the
present assembly. Then Europe
went to Berlin at the invitation of
Bismarck, thereby recognizing that
Germany had supplanted France as
the arbiter of the continent, and all
the newly acquired greatness OF |
won on the recent battle
fields OF Sadowa and Sedan. was re-
veaIed in the unquestioned mastery
Of Bismarck. In many ways this
was the greatest moment in the his +,
&I,a oIp .1iUnd Enru0nn am. 7
pire. although German domination in
was hardly to be questioned
until the outbreak OF the present
Al Zenith of Greatness
Europe met in Berlin in 1878 to
endeavor to prevent war between
Austria and Britain, on the one
hand. and Russia, on the other,
growing out of the Russian victory |
over Turkey. Berlin was the meet
ing place and Bismarck the doninat-
inc figure, because Germany was
now at the full zenith Of her great |
ness. resulting from her triumph |
over Denmark, Austria and France,
which had made her the greatest of |
the great powers. Actually the spec |
tacle. in Berlin was the demonstra-
ton OF the passig from France to
Germany OF the leadership in Eu-
rome, and to the outbreak or the
present war this German pre-emi-
nence in European councils prevail
ed.
Seeds Of the World War
Yet the briefest consideration OF
the acts OF the Congress of Berlin |
aiscloses the seeds OF the great
world war. Russia had conquered
Turkey. had planned a greater Bull
garia, designed to liberate the Slavs
Of the Balkan Peninsula; her armies
were within sight Of Constantine |
and the expulsion OF the Turk from
Europe was seemingly inevitable.
But the Congress OF Berlin turned
most of Bulgaria back to the Turk,
- n,.nr4 q h1I1rra rlr against the Rus