Evening star., 1918-01-13
GERMANY'S~ AMBITION TO ENSLAVE
THE SLAV IS SHOWN IN NATIONS
SUGGESTIONS FOR PEACE TERMS.

Russian Balttc ports. heval, fernau,
Riga and Libau, were TO be included.
and Russia was thus to be deprived Of
an outlet upon the open sea and thus
made economically subseryient to Ger
many.
This state, of nearly 5000, ooe inhabi.
tants and about $4,000 square miles,
little larger than England and Wales,
was to be under real. IL disguised, Ger
man domination. All of its population
save a small minority. utterly insignifi-
cant, are Slav. Lettish and Lithuanian,
but this small minority is German, COM
posed of the descendants of the Teu-
tonic knights Of remoter centuries. And
this minority has been the controlling
element. 1t owns the land and lives tin-
der conditions recalling the French no.
biiity's circumstances before the revo1u-
tion. 1t is a hated minority. against
which the masses have risen many
times, but the Germans mean to use il
as the pretext for erecting a state
which will actually be dominated by
Prussian bayonets. In word, some
control of not more than 25o,oOo GER
mans resident in this region, but the
latter are to be backed by Prussian
bayonets. Thus Germany adds a ter-
ritory ten times as large as Alsace-
Lorraine to her own empire and closes
Russia's doorway to the Baltic.
The second German proposal affects
Russian Poland. Some ten million Poles
living in Russian Poland and the ad-
taken from Russian rule and turned
over to Austrian. 1t is announced that
with them are to be Joined the 5000. 900
Poles and possibly the Loco, 900 Ruthe-
mans of Galfcia, but in any event some
sort of Polish state is to be erected un-
der Hapsburg rule. But Germany re-,
fused utterly to consider joining witils
this state her own four millions Of
Poles in Posen, east and west Prussia
and Silesia. Thus she purposes to keep
her hands not alone upon all the great,
mineral districts of the Polish speaking
regions Of Siiesia. but also upon Dan.
zig and the seacoast by which Poland
would be able to touch the Baltic and
trade with the world.
This Poland to be created. then, is ia
be politically subject to the Hapsburga
but economically subject to the Hohen-
zollern. Nor does 1t require any great
stretch of Imagination to look forward
to the time when the German will re-t
peat the Schleswig- -Holstein episode
and deprive the old ally of ground con-'
quered jointly, but needed for 'round-
ing out" German estates and complet-
ing the realization of German purposess
But. laying aside future considerations,
these facts are clear: Nearly 100000
Slavs of the Baltic provinces are to be,
abstracted from the bulk Of Slavdom
and placed under Prussian control; 12,-
100000 peoples, ffve-sixths OF them
from Russia and assigned temporarily
or permanently to the Austrians. but
Germany is to retain their outlets upon
the sea and thus the economic sus.
are upward of 100000 Siavs. SUBJ
tracted from the central Slav block. !:
Now, in addition. it is plain that the,
Germans and Austrians contempAte some
temporary arrangement which will throw
the Galician Slavs into the new Polish
| state, thus removing the Slavs who give
the Slavonic element. majority in Aus
tria proper. With 100000 Poles and
Ruthenians thus eliminated. the German
speaking element would regain numerical
supremacy in Austria and be able 10 deal
with the Czechs and southern Siays as IL
| chose. Poland, as created by the cons
gTess at Brest-Litovsk, will be comf1er>
cially at the mercy of Prussia, politically
!! under the rule of Austria, Iniiitarify domi%
| mated by Austrian and Prussian bayonets,
and in this state the Poles of Austria will
disappear as potent Slav forces.
In this situation Germany pushed AUS
tria forward against Serbia, and the world
war was the result. Now, SO far as the
| German failure in the west and on the
sea. Germany has occupied 1000 Square
miles of French territery, but by contrast
Britain and France have seized LOOT. 300
| square miles Of German territory and H.
000.o00 German colonial subjects. Ger.
many has been excluded from the sea- and
against sea power and the loss Of her coll
onies she holds only French and Belgian
territories, as an insurance. AS far an
Austria and Italy. are concerned. after
many reverses Austria, aided by Gera
many, has occupied considerable territory
| in venetia. but Italy has closed the Alris
attic, occupied Albania and remains across
| Austria's only commercial routes.
Situation in the East.
On the east, on the other hand, the Ger
man. with his Magyar ally, has overs
whelmed the Slav. He has occupied l20.-
600 square miles of Russian territory,
holding upward of 20,O0O.0o0 Slavs, and
he has brought down the whole edifice OF
Russian government There is no more
government, no leadership. only impptent
Slavs. of eastern Europe are therefore
poweTless. before the Germans, And in
addition, by enlisting the Bulgar, the Ger.
man has been able to destroy the Shvs
states Of Serbia and Montenegro, now 0cS
cupied by Bulgar and Austrian troops.
Continued on Eighth Paga)