The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-04-23


that France as the outpost Of civili-
cation should have something more
than another scrap of paper. We have
the pledge of England to support
France at the moment of any new at
tack growing out of Germany's bad
faith in observing the terms of the
treaty, and we have the American
president pledged to use his great In.
fluence in his own country to procure
similar guaranty.
1t will be said and has been said
already in quarters hostile to the
president, that he has sacrificed his
principles and made compromises in
contravention to his fourteen points,
but viewed from Paris this is hardly
a fair criticism. He has, in fact, seen
the necessity of Interpreting his four
teen points, which were in themselves
abstract, in the light of the realities
of the European situation. He has
avoided destroying the chance of real
peace by insisting on too literal
translation of his previous vtterances,
translation urged against him at
least once by the British prime minis
ter, whose hostility to the creation OF
a real Poland has ben one of the most
amazing circumstances of the whole
conference. AT all times the president
has consistently fought for his four
teen pionts. The treaty which will be
formulated contains no essential break
with those principles, but in the end,
he has wisely and generously recog-
nized the special claims of France
and the justice of the French demand
for other assurance that that supplied
by the league of nations against Ger
man attack during the period in which
the world would have to discover
whether Germany is to follow new
pathways or return to the old.
Fate of Foe and Europe
And so, after four months of debate,
and five and half months after the
armistice, the Germans are to come to
Versailles to learn their fate. Locked
up with their fate is the fate of Eu-
rope for the future, for we have come
to one more Of the historic settlements
of Europe, like those Of Westphalia,
Utrecht and Vienna. AS Europe at the
beginning of the eighteenth century,
and again at the beginning of the nine
teenth century reorganized itself after
a successful repelling of a French at
tack, she has now reorganiZed herself
after a German attack, which aimed at
world domination, predicted by Eu
ropean hegemony. This settlement
carries with it five distinct phases.
Germany is to be deprived of the ter
ritories seized by her in other wars
of aggression and held against the
will of their inhabitants. She is to
be disarmed on land and sea, and sub
jected to regulations designed to pre-
vent new aggression. She is to be COM
PEELED to repay the costs of war in de-
struction of property and, in part, to
life. In addition she is to lose her
colonies outside of Europe, colonies
. in which she has expressed the same
spirit Of savagery and brutality which
marked her European conquests in the
recent war.
To these terms which affect Ger
many alone there are to be added the
provisions which create the league of
nations, which is designed to be the
vehicle for international intercourse
in the future and the future and the
tribunal in which international dis
putes will be settled without war. Be-
hind the. league of nations covenant
will stand the allied strength of Grea.
Britain, France, and presumably, Italy
! and if congress shall assent of the
| fuses to regard the moral force of the
| league of nations, she will be con-
fronted by the military force of the
! liberal nations.
Peace Founded on Justice
| Like every peace that has ever been
/ made, the peace of Versailles will rep
resent compromises, but more than
any peace that has ever been made in
! the past, it will also represent the
earnest desire of the nations making
! it to found their decisions on justice,
! and fortify them by proper recogni-
| ton of the rights of the various races.
! No European territory will be taken
| from Germany to which her claim is
valid for the profit of any of the great
! powers who have combined to conquer
! her. Alsace-Lorraine is French again,
| but the French moral claim to these
! provinces has never been disputed
save by Germany. The Saar coal dis
| trict, half of which was once French,
has been erected into an independent
! territory like Luxembourg, simply to
provide reparation to France for the
destruction of her own coal regions
and the return of the territory to Ger
many after fifteen years is assured, If
the inhabitants so desire. Aside from