Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-05-04
WILL THE GERMANS SIGN?


representatives Of Germany now in France will
be handed the allied peace terms and invited to
sign them. 1t is said the document contains
100000 words, or about hundred columns Of
newspaper print, and many highly technical de-
tails. To even read such a document carefully
would take considerable time It would hardly
bepractcal or possible to print it IN it's entirety
for general circulation However, a short syn
opsis containing the gist Of its provisions will
doubtless be in the hands Of the public in this
country and in Germany in few days. The
treaty, as we understand it, concerns Germany
alone.
The dispatches indicate that Germany is given
but q short time, two weeks or so, to make up its
mind to sign or refuse. It is our guess that it
will refuse at first and sign under protest in the
face Of force, much as the Russians signed their
treaty with Germany at Brest. The fact Is that
Germany is thoroughly beaten and knows that
she is beaten, much as the Russians knew that
they were beaten It is useless for her to refuse
to accept the terms Of the victors, however hard
they may deem them, because if they refuse still
harder terms are likely to be forced on Germany.
It is the opinion of Editor Willard of the New
Germany are fair under the circumstances, and
Mr.. Willard has generally been considered
friend and sympathizer Of Germany, in this coun-
try at least. He has just returned from Ger
many where he had the advantage Of intimate
conversations with German public men.
AS matter of fact, if the terms have been
correctly forecasted in the newspaper cable dis
patches, they seem moderate enough to us. They
are moderate in comparison with what some Of
the delegates would have wished. The indemni-
ties and loss Of colonies and territories will be
deemed severe treatment in Germany, however.
But II the Germans compare them with the
terms they proposed to impose on France and
her allies and did impose on Russia and Rumania
when the Germans expected to win the war they
must acknowledge that they are mild in compari-
son.
The territorial losses of Germany thru the
war go mostly to rectify former injustices done
by her to weaker nations, and to prevent the pos
sbiity Of her reviving the war in other genera
tions. The loss of her colonies is based on the
same principle They do not go into the hands
of her enemies, though they are lost to her. For
the most part they go under international control
as represented by the League of Nations, of
which she may be member later if she quail
fies for such membership.
The money and material indennities required
from her are based on the principle that Ger
many should pay for the destruction and damage
she wrought in this war as far as it is possible
for her to do SO, and the total amount she is
called on to pay over long series of years is
less than the total damage she wrought wrong
fully in this war. It will hardly make good the
direct financial loss in Belgium, France and Ru-
mania and Serbia, to say nothing of the indirect
losses, or the total costs of the war 1t was ap-
parent at the outset of the peace negotiations
that Germany could never pay the huge sums
talked about as indemnity. It may be that she
cannot pay even the sums demanded in the peace
terms. But we think no one outside of Germany
VIII claim that she should not be required to pay
for all of the malicious and cold-blooded destruc-
ton she inflicted on the people of northern
France and Belgium. A very great proportion
OF this destruction served no military purpose at
the time. Clearly it's object was simply to ruin
the country lndustrially and commercially after
the war 50 that its people would be unable to
compete In the markets Of the world with Ger
many. For that vile policy carried out scientific
ally and thoroughly it is right that Germany
should make restitution as far as she can in cash
indemnity to the victims Even then the repa-
ration will not be complete, but partial There
will be disappointment in France and Belgium
over the amount, because the people of these
countries were deceived by political statements
as to the ability Of Germany to pay
The Berlin government has given some indi-
cation that il will not take the rasnonsihiIif,N 0f