Evening star., 1919-03-17
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.

Special Cable Dispatch to The Evening Star.
PARIS, March Is. - The past week
has seen one of the most sensational
developments of the whole peace con-
ference. During the whole progress
of the conference up to that time the
two conspicuous figures had been Pres
ident Wilson and Clemenceau, and the
two great questions to be decided had
been the league of nations and the
future security of France.
But in the last week Lloyd George
suddenly has taken control Of the
course of .eyents-for the moment at
least-and persuaded the Paris con
ference to adopt policy the conse-
quences of which can hardly be fore
cast.
From the very outset the Paris con-
ference has struggled with that duty
imposed upon it by the peoples of the
world to make future war impossible.
To this end the league of nations was
devised. In this movement Mr.. Will
son achieved world prominence, but
to reinforce the purpose of Mr.. Will
son Lloyd George has now proposed
what must be at least temporary
interruption of the system of con-
scription, first in Germany and later
and only a very little later-in the
whole world.
What Lloyd George has definitely
proposed is fairly we'll known now.
Marshal Foch and his military asso-
ciates had proposed that the German
army should be reduced to approxi-
fnJx !, II o.
general staff; but this army was to be
raised in the old d-fashioned way. by
conscription, and, provided the Ger
mans never had more than 200, 900 men
on foot at any one time. it was con-
ceivable that they might repeat the
by rapidly passing men through bar
racks build such a system as the Prus-
SLAMS constructed, to the later ruin of
Napoleon. Moreover. as long as Ger
many continued to raise an army by
conscription 1t would be inevitable
that Italy and France should not only
preserve conscription. but should con-
tinue to call up annually more men
than Germany was allowed.
Lloyd Georges Emphatic Negative.
To all this Lloyd George has inter
posed an emphatic negative and has
had his way. Under his plan there
will be imposed upon Germany the
British military system, which calls
for a voluntary army comparable to
our own Regular Army. made up Of
men enlisted for a long period of
time-twelye years. to be exact. The
size Of this army will be rigfdly held
down to 100000 army as contrasted
with the national army of recent de-
cades. What Mr.. Lloyd George had in
mind was a twofold thing. If Ger
fnd k~
scription it was inevitable that Eng
land would also have to adopt per-
manently that corscription method
followed in the later years of war.
In the last political campaign Lloyd
George gave unqualified assurances
that this system of conscription
should be abandoned In imposing
upon Germany the necessity of aban-
doning conscription MIR. Lloyd George
is keeping his political promises ir
England.
But the thing goes far beyond this.
Conscription is the sort of thing
which persists because every nation
is compelled to protect itself SO long
as one nation arms it's whole popu-
lation. BY the system of conscrip-
ton the French revolution not only
saved France, but overran Europe.
BY conscription the national armies
of Prussia and the south German
srmies slaafs Of France in 1870 At the Sery
moment Of the outbreak of the last
war France had adopted a three-year
service law in vain effort to raise
among 40, 100000 OF people an army
approximately equal to that of state
of 67,000,00O.
France and Italy Sure to Follow.
Now, If Germany is compelled to
abandon conscription and to accept a
professional army of 100000 men,
France and Italy in their turn will un-
uuestionably abandon conscription: the
radical and socialist parties and, in
fact, the masses of French and Italian
people, will never consent to make an
annual sacrifice of their youth when
the danger prevented by conscript
Germany is abolished AS for Eng
land nothing is more certain than that
she will return to her old system of
professional army.
The thing, however. does not end
here Lloyd George he's two objects
in mind. He was compelled to fulfill
his political promises He was COM
PEELED to find a method to save the
British people from that burden of
conscription which they had never ac-
cepted before the war, and only shoul-
dered when the war vas well advanced.
But he was convinced, in addition, as
are a very large number Of English
men. that If the German people we're