Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-05-13

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| Potsdam.
Russia would have been dismembered
1t was dsmembered by the Brest,
Litovsk treaty.
Finland would have become a German
state and, so far as possible, the Baltic
would have been made a German sea
| In like manner the parts of Russia Dor.
| dering on the Black Sea would have beer
brought under German control and that
sea would have been under German domi.
nation through the compliance of the
Turk.
The British ports on the Persian gulf
would have become German and the
Berlin to- -Bagdad railway would have be-
come great German avenue of trade
from which the goods of other nations
would have been excluded so far as pos
sible.
And France and Great Britain and
Italy would have been forced to pay the
cost of the war and to give up billions in
ndemnities. German garrisons would
have occupied the principal cities of these
countries until the money demanded had
been paid. 1t was boasted that the in
IDENTITIES would be put at so great a
figure that the garrisons would occupy
the cities for a generation at least. In
the meantime the Contamination of
Europe would have been forced through
the suppression of all patriotic counter
efforts to preserve national spirit
This is the kind of peace which Ger
many would have dictated had she won.
1t is the kind of peace which she was
proud to maintain that she was fighting
and Napoleon sought to conquer the
world, but they failed. The kaiser "by
his mailed fist, was going to succeed
Not even the Germans can believe
down in their hearts that hard peace is
forced upon them! They have only to
compare what they are told to do with
what they planned to demand of their
enemies to discover that they have been
treated most mercifully.
Take, for example, the coal fields in
the Saar valley. They have destroyed
the mines in the north of France and it
will take years to restore them to their
normal productivity. They are asked to
surrender the Saar coal fields to pay for
the French fields they have ruined This
is simple justice. There is nothing
retributive about it. They must restore
to France. This is
merely giving back stolen goods. They
must make good the devastation they
wrought in Belgium. This is only fair.
They must surrender to new Poland
the Polish provinces which were annexed
generations ago without consultation
with the inhabitants. They planned a
vassal Poland. The treaty provides for
an Independent Poland. The treaty plan
is so much more equitable that no argu-
ment is needed to establish its superior
ity. And reparation is demanded up to
the financial ability of the Germans to
make it. This ability is to be ascertained
by commissioners familiar with the whole
subject.
But it is not necessary to traverse the
whole treaty. Its purpose is to establish
justice so far as that is humanity possi-
BILE and 70 produce conditions which will
tend to prevent future wars.
The alternative to signing this treaty
is signing harder treaty at
the point of the sword. There is nothing
that the rank and file of the Allied
armies would like better than to have an
to get into Germany and to
let the German population see what war
is like Their officers could not prevent
them from laying waste the towns; in
deed it would be considered necessary as
part of the lesson.
Such an eventuality must be prevented
if possible. But it cannot be prevented
if the German people, unconvinced that
they are defeated, insist that their dele
gates refuse to sign the treaty.
The Allied armies are now on the
Rhine. Germany has no navy and no big
guns, and she is short of food and fuel.
She is helpless. Marshal Foch has gone
to the front to be ready for any emer-
gencies and his men are prepared to
move at moments notice.
Germany and the German people are
not yet repentant because they are not
vet sane. For the good of all mankind,
it is to be hoped that they will not COM
nit the folly of refusing this peace of
real justice. We can only wait and
watch
Major John, w.