The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1919-04-09

question. It comes up there, four, .
dozen times q session, and always
rouses the same enthusiasm. Every
old and shop-worn argument is trot-
ted out and cheered. It has never &C.
CURED to the Germans that on the
other side Of the fence there are fair
ly good arguments to support
Frances retention of those provinces.
The junction with Austria provokes
an almost equal enthusiasm, and it
would almost seem as if the speakers
insert it in their speeches for that
purpose alone. A countryman from
farthest East Prussia can be sure Of a
"bravo" if he mentions the brethren
in Austria yearning to become the
tail of the German kite.
The Schleswig-Holstein question
has come to the front lately and Ger
many is filed with propaganda to
show that %Schleswig should and must
remain German.
No speech is complete without at
least a reference to Poland and Czec!ho
Slovakia, and the longer the reference
the more braves. Yet not one of the
speakers but knows that these ques-
tons will be settled, for good or ill,
by the Peace Conference.
The failure Of the German to
change materially is in no way better
to be observed than in his attitude
to the question of the conduct of the
1t is rarely that a criticism of
it is heard in the house, and the gen
eral feeling seems to be that, if any,
thing vas wrong with it, that is all
in the past and should be forgotten
or overlooked by Germany's enemies.
The prisoner of war question is as
puzzling to the student of German
psychology as any thing else. Vir-
tually every speaker, touches upon the
prisoner question before he leaves the
tribune. Tell a German, first, that the
armistice made no provision for the
return of German prisoners, and, Sec
ondly, that while Germany begs daily
for food, she attempts at the same
time to saddle herself with 100000
more mouths to feed, and it has no
effect on him. 1t cannot be sheer pity
for the welfare of the prisoners, be-
cause plenty Germans know only too
we'll how slim the food is.
The Assembly has had its fill of
speech making that consists chiefly
Of party programs that everyone
knows, or nor frequently in attacks
often, personal, that show how bad the
feeling is beneath the surface.
Now it proposes to do some real
work in committee. The press does
not attend but gets what the commit
tees care to give out, unless some
member tells tales out of school.
Listening to delegates to the AS
/ sembly, and talking to Germans out
side of it, the correspondent finds that
the old German viewpoint he learned
to know so we'll during the wal until
the breach with America, is still
abroad in the land, though in less
truculent form.
The German thinks differently from
any other human being in the world
| and therefore does not understand
why he now should suffer, why every.
thing cannot be placed on a basis OF
status quo ante, why anyone should
hold against him a conduct of the wa.
| with which he claims he had nothing
to do.
He complains bitterly that some Of
the troops of the armies of occupation
force the Germans to bare their heads
when an officer passes, or walk in the
street. If the answers are made tina:
the Germans did just that in Belgium
and northern France, he replies that
one indignity does not warrant an
other-and overlooks the part that
human nature plays in the way Of re.
prisal.
It crops out every day and gener.
ally several times a day in the AS
; sembly and leads nearly every "enemy
correspondent" to the conviction tina!
the "new" German is not at all un-
like the old one, only grown a bit more
! humble when that is useful, but typi-
cally himself when he gets to talking
before his own kind, and utterly in
capable eve of understanding anyone
| else or any other standpoint than his
! own.
Am NEs--~~~Ar