Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-21
HUN COLONIAL HOPE
|. BASED ON CHANGES
Official Inclined to Assent to
International Rule for
Period of Years.
AN EXCHANGE SUGGESTED
BY GEORGE STILES.
Cab1cgram to The Evening Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1919.

| th1eago Dali! News. Copyright. 1919.
| BERLIN, Germany. January Is ode.
layed).-In an effort to learn the exact
attitude of the government on the CO.
lonial question. I visited the colonia
office and was there Informed that ref
erence was made to the matter in yes
| terday's copy of the official gazette o,
| bulletin. The substance of the reference
| is this
| Great agitation is under way to make
| the retention of the German colonies
ore of the conditions of the peace settle
ment. The points laid down by Mr.
/ Wilson made clear that an equitable aud
| just solution of the colonial question
would be one of the tasks of the peace
conference. In the opinion of this gov
eminent the retention by the entente OF
Cur colonies would be neither fair nor
just. The, government and the German
pe ople could not but look at such an &C,
as evidence that the entente intends to
suppress the nation and prevent it from
carrying out it's peaceful commercial
pursuits
DR.. Gerhard's Views.
This morning called on DR. Meyer
Gerhard, formerly of the colonial office
who has had long experience in that de-
partment and is now secretary of the
chancellery of the government council
! l told him that I knew the subject was
rather delicate, but that wished to put
some blunt questions to him on the
matter. He was willing to be quoted
providing the sanction of the govern
ment was first obtained After this was
arranged 7 asked him:
Does Germany expect that in a
spirit of fairness she will be given an
opportunity for colonial develop
ment?"
He replied that she did
But" l said. what reason has she
to expect any such thing? What is
obvious to the whole world must be
understood here-that IL Germany
had won out she. would have kept
every bit of territory she could lay
her hands on. Certainly she intended
to keep Belgium, and her ideas re-
gardins the east are pretty well ex-
pressed in the Brest-Litovsk treaty"
Meyer Gerhard made deprecating
gesture, and sighed little impatient
". Cannot the outside world I'M
derstand that there is a totally diff
ferent order of things in Germany
now?" he asked
Believe She Is Playing Game.
NO, they cannot" I told him. st
am perfectly safe in saying that at
least SO per cent of the allies firmly
believe that Germany even now is
playing a game-is trying to bluff the
universe
Very WELL" he said. IT will try to
make it clear. Your people know that
during the war the military party
was to great extent in control of
the German policy on all questions
There is no doubt that this party was
in favor of holding permanently
whatever territorial possessions were
acquired. But when you come down
to the German people themselves, if
at any time during the war the cues
ton OF holding either Belgium or any
of the Russian border states had been
referred to them. IS per cent of them
would have voted against it. Every
thing is changed. The military party
no longer holds the German people
responsible for the acts and policies
Of a group Of leaders who never rep
resented them"
Then I asked him what the solution
was. / said there might have been
the great change he spoke about, but
at the same time America or the en-
tente powers could not afford to take
chances; that nobody knew how de-
mocracy in Germany would work out
was any doubt to place in the hands
of Germany the means of building. up
a powerful military. and naval
strength which could. at some future
time threaten the peace of the world.