Evening star., 1919-03-20
READY FOR PEACE,
BUT NOT HAR|kAR|
President Ebert Says Entente
May Drive Germany to
Choose Suicide.
BY BEN HECHT.
Special wireless to The Evening" star
and the Chicago Daily News.
CopyrfEht. 1919.


BERLIN. Germany. March Is (de-...
layed).-"Germany: is prepared to,
sign pezce., but Is not prepared to
COMMIT harika rhgss iThe 81 elsta ts flisn sll
ngurs Of Fritz sEbslf eessdiMf Of
the nsw German. .rssphlic straiGht-s,
.eneds in the chair and with z so
a1t Voice hes cce ~ Il u B
nssceftermls hAan In
not 80 signed. Rather ,thsh pSditictI
And economical death Germany Will
choose political and 4eosiofnical: mad
iiess. II the entente 0fefs IT'S. in
stead Of q peace based On Mr. VIII
War .vhich to.cumnait harikara, Car
many goes bo1shevista Germany, joins
the Russian soviet republic ana Ger
many becomes IN outlaw eftation.N-
yaAfe you ready" u asked Herr
Ebert. ito form an alliance with the
Russi. bolsheyik govefnmend an the.
event ..., Of what ,y9H sg call an unjust
I'm aSa" % he %answefed,, put n will be
powarless. The present government
ii ready only for one ,thing-refusal
To sien the death warrant of TO- 900
to sign peace enslav-
ing the nation. sr-
Held Together by Political Magic
'.roday we are holding Germany to-
sether almost by political magic.
There is hunger idleness, starvation.
war neuresthepia and fanatfcisn In
our land. These things wear political
party names. We are executing our
own people and holding the demoran-
- 4 ~ N q IN
one hope against bolshevism-a peace
which win not strip, US Of industrial
and commercial power. II this peace
Il not given US the present govern
mant must refuse to sign. and with
the refusal the present government
falls into the abyss ana Germany
into the arms OF the Russian monster.
Nothing can prevent it. 49,
sWhat are the terms you regard as
suicidal?' / asked. ). s&t4
"The connscation by France of the
saar territory" Herr Ebert answered.
:sThe annexation of the left bank of
the Rhine. the demand for indemni-
ties exceeding the income OF the na-
fion. the reduction of the army to
rs. 900 men in the face of the growing
bolshevist danger and the looting OF
the German colonies in Africa. IT. all
of these or most of these, demands are
in the peace terms Germany will not
sign.
Not q Matter Of National Vanity.
a4t IL not q matter Of national van
with Wit the fine. points of nationalistic
honor. It is q matter of life or death
for us. II we, give the Saar region,
Danzig, Alsace-Lorratne,' the southern
frontier ard the African colonies
away. Germany will be unable to sup
port itself. let alone pay her war
debts" 49,,
"Do you think that the entente will
send an army into Germany to oc-
cupy and govern the. country in the
event that you refuse to sign. the
peace" ! asked.
Hardy" said Herr Ebert: AN en-
tante army would be- preferable to
the bolshevists. but such an act
would mean a war between. the pro-
leta rist and bourgeoisie of the world,
with Russia leading the world ene-
miles,"
Withstand the present bolshevist,
communist and other political and
aconomic attacks, such as further
strikes and further civil revolu-
tions?"
menace OF DOl8u0vAOut ~ 0N&kk0IdI6Q
in the minds of the bourgeoisie. 40
date we have suppressed the soviet
movements and we have not acted as
the imperialistic Russian govern
ment acted. 1t has been necessary to
execute some of the opposition mem
bers. but together. with such meas
ures we have worked out reforms
and made compromised. -
Information startles Him.
/ asked Herr Ebert II he knew that
from 100 to zoo men and women were
executed daily in the courtyard Of
the Moabit prison by q machine gun
squad. He started in his chair.
Z. E.''sWhere did you hear that?" he IN :
ouired. II have given no such In
-structions. I told the military pow
srs to execute. only men found with
arms engaged in lighting tho govern
msnt troops and perform the execu!
!, I told President, Ebert that the