Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-16

From the New York Post.


Clemenceau. But there are dissentient voices
even in France. The militarsts are disappoint-
ed on the one hand, and some socialists profess
to be on the other Somewhat similar is the
reception of the peace treaty in England. The
Northcffe Press says that Lloyd Georges
party perceives in the treaty, at some points,
"a compromise by capitalism and imperialism. /"
The middle body of English opinion, however,
heartily approves the work Of the peace confer
ence. In the United States criticism is almost
wholly confined to small body of stern and
unbending republicans, who still talk of dissect-
ing out the league Of nations-this would be
very like removing the spinal column OF the
treaty-and then calling it by another name
and asking the people to vote on it. These
fantastic proposals will doubtless soon expire
Of malnutrition. On the treaty as whole, the
The we'll nigh universal belief is that the
severe terms imposed upon Germany were
necessary both as vndication of public law
and as a security for the future civilization.
Hardly any Of the complaints made of the
treaty strike, in fact, at its substance. They
being draughted. There is, for example, the
charge that it was framed in vicious Secrecy
Three or four men sat around a table and
dictated everything behind drawn shades. 1t
does not seem to occur to the critics of the
treaty on this score that, if the whole had in
truth DeeH Hiunignt ConcoctiOn jealousy
kept from the light, its final publication should
have been full Of surprises. In fact, it contains
not single one of any moment This deplor-
ably Secret document was fully known in
advance. Even the Germans did not pretend
that it came to them like a thunder clap. They
assert that the treaty. is Brutal" but they
admit that they had had ample knowledge
beforehand Of all Of its important provisions.
The fact is that the wickedly secret negotiators
managed their publicity very well. From time
to time they gave out the results of their abors,
so that when at the end. the whole was put
together in one treaty, there was not single
sensation in it. The Germans had been given
full notice Of the contents Of the chalice which
was to be pressed to their lips and the rest OF
world had been granted opportunity to discuss
one part Of the treaty after another.
In this fact lies the true answer to the accusa-
Is ton that the peace conference was not
this charge means by it, they have never made
clear. Some of them seemed to have wanted
a mass meeting to negotiate treaty, with sharp
individual debates in public and personal
encounters to liyen things up fqr the reporters.
If Clemenceau had hurled book at Lloyd
George and Wilson, had thrown an ink-stand
at Orlando that would have been democratic,
we suppose What other directors imply in
the complaint that the conference was undemo-
cratic is that the delegations were not made up
properly. They should have contained women
and labor leaders. Perhaps, but the only
legitimate or useful sense of the word demo
cratic" as applied to the peace conference, is
that not of admitting the public to everything,
but laying the results of everything before the
public. And this has been done. The process
has been going on for weeks. Bit. by bit the
treaty has been put before the world. 1t was
only the elimination when Clemenceau on We'd
nesday handed to Brockdorff -Rantzau docu-
ment of which the latter already knew the con-
tents. If this be autocratc, make the most of it.
No one in his senses expects that any or all of
these purely formal objections to the treaty will
prevent its ratification by the United States,
France OF. England: In all these countries, the
method of approval will be as democratic as
even Walt Whitman could wish. In England
precedent is to be departed from, in as much as
Lloyd George pledged himself to lay the treaty
directly before Pertinent. The only doubt
concerns Germany's decision. That she will
never sign so humiliating and crushing treaty
is stoutly asserted by some German editors
and public men. But there is not so much
vigor of sincerity in this protest as one would
have expected. It may be intended to help
along the effort to secure minor notifications
in the treaty. and some such it is quite possible
that the German delegates may be able to
obtain. But the fundamental fact is one openly
confessed by Brockdorf- Rantzau. Germany is
beaten and Germany is powerless. And she
knows we'll that if she refuses to sign the
treaty. her last state would be worse than her
first