Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-05-17
GERMANS WILL SIGN TREATY.
BEST INFORMED MEN BELIEVE
Simonds Intimates Huns Are Insincerely
Quibbling and Protesting in Order to
Test the Solidarity of the Allies.

erred on any side in making the Pol
ish settlement, it has been in favor OF
the Germans, Paderewski said to me
the other day that while 100000
signed to the Czechs without ques-
ton, plebiscite had been insisted
upon for $4,000 Germans living west
of the main Warsaw-Danzig rail-
road. 1t is clear that the allies have
reduced cession by Germany to Po-
land until only Enthusiastically Polish
districts have been taken. but it is
no less clear that in taking these dis
tricts the allies have dealt terrible
blow to Germany. 1t is a blow. II
represents retribution for more than
a century of persecution Of the Polish
majority in these provinces. 1t rep
resents the refutation of the Ger
representative of a superior race, to
hold lands and enslave peoples, but 1t
Is no less a crushing blow.
Socialists May Send Delegation.
There is a growing belief that If
the Germans decide to sign. the treaty
of peace a new delegation will come
here representing the independent so
cialists. the only party in Germany
willing to sign. There is strong
feeling that we may have a change of
government before. or at least imme
diately after, the signing of the
treaty. and 1 repeat that at the pres
ent moment the universal feeling is
that the treaty will be signed by the
Germans, and that 1T may be signed
without even a temporary rupture.
But there should be no illusion any
where as to what the signing means.
Thn 1t ~,
only as he is compelled to. Having
signed the treaty. he means to do
everything within his power to defeat
the application of the terms. He
trusts that after a year or two at
most the allies will fall apart as the
conquerors Of Napoleon almost fell
apart between Fentainebleau and the
return from Elba.
one has only to read the volume of
German comment now to be perfectly
clear that no German accepts the
treaty of peace as just. that there is
no smallest realization yet that it rep
resents the sentence of civilization
upon German barbarism, and the very
authors Of the treaty of Brest -Litovsk.
the very men who planned to annex
Belgium and northern France and lay
france to ransom, the very people
VINO one year ago were hurting shells
into Paris churches, are now talking
oooot JuStiCo anu humanity ana yer
man moral superiority in q fashion
which almost passes human belief.
All OF which is only another way Of
saying that up to the present moment,
despite defeat. the German remains
German. His hostility and hatred for
western ideas are intensified. He is
making use in Europe of exactly the
same propaganda that he employed in
the United States. He is endea voring
to rally the elements of unrest to his
cause He does not accept defeat. He
does not abandon his old ideas. He
continues to regard principles as moth
ing more than stakes in game. He
is going to sign the treaty of peace If
he has to. only with the intention of
making another scrap of paper of it as
soon as possible, and he can only be
trusted to fulfill it's terms if pressure
is never for a moment relaxed. Per-
haps there is no more striking convic-
ton at the present hour in Paris than
the realization that the treaty of peace
will end nothing, but as long as 1t Is
effective we shall have the Germans ON
our hands to watch, to guard against.
Copyright, 1919, Mcclure Newspaper Syndieate.)