Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-05-23
Opportunity for Germany.
ALLIES REPLY.

PARIS. May % Thy the Associated
Press).-The reply of the allied and
associated powers. approved by the
council of their principal members on
May %, reads as follows:
The allied and associated powers
have received and have given careful
attention to the report of the COM
mission appointed by the German
government to examine the economic
conditions of the treaty of peace.
This report appears to them to con-
tain a very inadequate presentation of
the facts of the case. to be marked in
parts by great exaggeration. and to
ignore the fundamental considerations
arising both out of the incidence and
the results of the war, which explain
and justify the terms that it is sought
to impose.
The German note opens with the
statement that the Industrial re-
sources of Germany were adequate
before the war for the nourishment of
a population of 67.0O0,000. and it ar
CUES as though this were the total for
which with diminished resources she
will still be called upon to provide.
Consider Needs of 100000.
This is not the case The total pop
ulation of Germany will be reduced
by dDoul O,uVu,oUu ptIsouS III Tic IioH-
German territories. which it is pro-
posed to transfer. 1t is the needs OF
this smaller aggregation that we are
called upon to consider.
Complaint is made in the German
note that Germany is required to sur
render her merchant tonnage. existing
or in course of construction. and that
a prior claim is made upon her ship
building capacity for limited term
of years. No mention. however, is
made of the fact that considerable
portion of the smaller tonnage of Ger
many is left to her unimpaired: and
it seems to have entirely escaped the
notice of her spokesman that the sac
rifice of her larger shipping is the in
evitable and necessary penalty inn
posed upon her for the ruthless cam
paign which, in defiance of all laws
and precedent. she waged during the
last two years of the war upon the
mercantile shipping of the world.
Compared With Destroyed.
LAS partial offset against the
twelve and three-fourths million tons
of shipping sunk. it is proposed to
transfer four million tons of German
shipping. In other words the shipping
which it is proposed to take from Ger
many constitutes less than one-third
of that which was thus wantonly de-
Stroyed.
1.-The universal shortage of mer-
chant shipping is the result, not of the
terms of peace, but of the action of
Germany. and no surprise can reason
ably be felt if she is called upon to
bear a share-and it is a very mod
crate share-of a loss for which her
own criminal deeds have been re-
Sponsible.
Can Import Food.
Great stress is laid on the proposal
that on the eastern side Germany
shall be deprived of the regions spe-
cially devoted to the production of
wheat and potatoes. This is true.
But the note fails altogether to OBJ
serve that there is nothing in the
peace treaty to prevent either the
continued production of those COM
modities in the area in question or
their importation into Germany. On
the contrary. the free admission of
these products of the eastern districts
is provided for during a period of
three years. Moreover. it is fortunate
for Germany that those regions have
lost none of their productivity owing
to the ravages of war. They have
escaped the shocking fate which was
dealt out by the German armies to the
corresponding territories in Belgium
and France on the west, and Poland.
Russia, Rumania and Serbia on the
East There appears to be no reason
why their produce SnOuld not con-
tinue to find market on German soil.
As to Phosphates.
Stress is laid upon the proposed
restrictions of the import of phos-
pilates. 1t is, however, forgotten that
Germany has never porduced but has
always imported the phosphates of
which she stands in need. Nor is
there anything in the terms of peace
which will prevent or hinder the i'm
portation of phosphates into Germany
in the future. other countries which
do not produce phosphates are also
to import them in common
with many other products from tho
outside; and the only difference in
the two situations will arise from
the relative degree of wealth or i'm
in the countries con-
cerned.
Deprivation of Coal.
THE German notes makes special
complaint of the deprivation of coal. and