The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-02-18
GERMAN ARMY
IS LIMITED TO.
100000 men
BY COUNCIL
German Commission Makes
Effort to Justify Attitude
Military and Naval Terms to
be Announced.
STOP POLE OFFENSIVE
CIV Associated Press,

PARIS, Feb. 1S.-When the Ger
mans came to sign the terms Of the
new armistice, says Havas dispatch
from Treves, Matthias Erzberger hand
ed to Marshal Foch q twenty page
memorial, in which It was attempted
to justify Germany's attitude, it being
maintained that she had done her best
to meet her obligations. He also gave
the marshal memorandum from Phil
ipp Scheidemann, the new German
chancellor, complaining Of increasing
ly hard terms forced upon Germany
and protesting against Germany's be-
Ing forced to evacuate Poland, deliver
Ing German fortresses to the Poles
and abandoning the German people
there. A demand was made that the
allies require the Poles to cease their
attacks against the Germans.
This last request has already been
complied with, q telegram having been
sent to Warsaw from Paris last night.
The special commission of the su-
preme council, charged with drafting
the terms of definite armistice which
will hold good until the peace pre-
liminaries are signed, has almost com.
pleted Its task, and 1t Is possible, says
will be able to notify the Germans
on Thursday or Friday OF the military
and naval terms which will be essen
TALLY those Of the preliminary peace
treaty. 1t is understood that the
terms will include clauses by which
Germany will be allowed to maintain
100000 men under arms to keep order.
All war materials beyond what is nee
"a 0H,v{N
according to report, be placed under
control Of the allies. who will also
hold Germany's munition factories.
FUTURE FIXED ~ WILSON
TREvES. Monday, Feb. 17-When
Marshal Foch presented the new arm.
istice teYns to the German commits
aion on Friday, he was requested to
permit the Germans to communicate
with Weimar. Marshal Foch told the
Germans that. as the disorganization
0f the telegraph lines made it certain
there would be delay. he would give
them until six o'clock Sunday evening
to take action. He told them he would
leave Treves at that time and, If the
convention was not then signed, the
armistice would expire at five o'clock
Monday morning. The terms were
agreed to at six thirty Sunday night.
Although the disarmament question
was not raised. Matthias Erzberger,
one Of the German commissioners,
volunteered statement that the Ger
man army consisted of only 200, 900
men. forty per cent Of whom were of
doubtful value. He said that the Ger
man army had been demobilized too
quickly and that it was inadequate to
maintain order in the country.
Apart from the conference, Erzber-
ger made a number of declarations,
saying particularly that the political
future Of Germany was fixed by Presi-
dent Wilson's fourteen points. He as.
serted that Germany would henceforth
be new country, adding that It would
be genuinely democratic and would
loyalty participate in the league of
nations on the principle of political
and economical equality. He said
that Germany was ready to agree to
disarmament on land and sea and in
the air.
Erzberger admitted that Germany
made mistake in 1871 when she did
not consult the people Of Alsace and
Lorraine as to their fate. He ex-
pressed the hope that France would
not make the same mistake in an.
nexing Germans without calling a
plebiscite.