The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1919-05-15
CURRENT COMMENT.

HAVING become familiarized with
the conception Of the terms offered
TO Germany as something mild, gentle
and forgiving, Characterization that
has been harped upon by some critics
with more zeal than honesty, readers
must wonder. reading the outline Of
the terms as given TO the world last
Thursday. what servere terms then
would be. Germany yields this and
gives up that and surrenders the other,
military. naval, financial, territorial,
commercial The other day a former
American Ambassador to Germany in
= magazine article bitterly assailed the
peace terms for their undue generos-
ity to the Germans, and predicted that
q peace which overlooked German
crimes and bestiality would prove
colossal blunder. The peace treaty
viii not bear out any such description
of it's terms. Germany, to be sure, is
not exterminated and German nation
survives the war. But seldom is his
tory has a nation, and never perhaps
has one Of the proudest and most
powerful, bowed 10 terms so humili-
nting, drastic and dishonorable No
tract and hold It's head up. The ter
ritorial cessions alone required under
this treaty are formidable aad Grip |
pling 10 the German nation, as they |
are severally enumerated. And while
there is no indemnity. but only repa
rations, yet such provisions as that
Germany accepts the league Of ma
tons, yet without membership" and
Germany cedes 5000 square miles to
France, "a $3.50 to Poland and 028 to
Belgium and so on, no German war
ships for 20 years. Germany must de-
vote her economic resources 20 re-
building devastated regions. Germany
renounces sill territorial and political
rights outside Of Europe, Germany
shIl h. bound TO accept any agree
ment made with her former allies, Kiel
canal to be open TO all nations, all
Heliroiand fortifications must be de-
mdIished. ete..---these make the abase-
msnt Of the German people complete
Even with no punitive damages to pay,
Germany will stagger under heavy
debt 10 the victorious allied nations.
The great money payment exacted of I
France by Bismarck in 1874 is return
ed in these reparations with an in
crease OF so per cent for every year
that has passed since that date. In !
deed. The most pessimistie fears ex- |
pressed by Bismarck for the fate Of
Germany under Wilhelm III are real
ized many fold in this settlement. So
the peace terms are not those of for
giveness or forgetting or letting off !
They are heavy and severe, even
though they are not in fact punitive
Or vindictive. They are heavy and
severe and humbling to the German
race because the damages wrought
by the infamous Hohenxolern military
dynasty were of such prodigious mag
nitudc. The peace is severe, but il is
not peace Of vengefulness. The
Germans in real sense brought
-hese terms upon themselves, for il
S impossible to reeonstitute the Eu-
rope that Germany defaced and des-
,oiled without these exactions. The n
.erms are so just and reasonable and 1
'or the most part necessary. that the n
ierman people themselves, humiliat-
ng as il may be, must recognize their
Justice, and whatever bluffs may be h
made, they viii sign the treaty. The e
var and thefpeaee treaty have SO di- r,
the German empire that It q
nd its former allies cannot disturb
he worlds peace for generation, at
east Only by obtaining new allies CO
an Germany for the remainder of the m
9th century be menace to Europe st
md TO France. d