Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-05-13
MUST GERMANY BE SCOURGED
INTO A SANE REPENTANCE?

INTO A SANE REPEN ANCE
Only Alternative to This Peace Of Jus.
tIce Now offered Is Renewal Of the
Horrors of Punitive Warfare
WE CONGRATULATE the Germans on
w their perspicacity in perceiving that
the treaty which their representatives are
asked to sign provides for what they call
"a brutal peace of force" They cannot
dwell on that phrase too much for their
own good When it has sunk down into
their consciousness they will discover
that they are a defeated and not VIC
torlous nation.
Their leaders know that they are de-
feated, but these leaders have been fos-
tering the belief among the people that
! Germany was victorious or, if not vic
torious, that it was drawn fight, with
hOnors even.
Germany sought to dominate the world
| by brute force. She had to be combated
! by brute force. When her military lead
ers discovered that the brute force ar
rayed against them was greater than
they could withstand they asked for
peace. The result is triumph of brute
force fighting for righteousness over
brute force fighting for ambitious greed
and lust for world dominion. Ono need
not feel squeamsh about using the Ger
man phrase in describing the peace.
The protests from Berlin against the
rigors of the treaty, re-enforced by pro-
tests from other German cities, are made
in the hope of influencing the weak senti-
mentalsts in other nations to demand
that their representatives in Paris let
Germany off more easily. They are also
made for the purpose of backing up the
demands of Count Won Brockdorff-
Rantzau that the treaty be radically
modified.
1t is not likely that this campaign of
propaganda will have any other effect
than to strengthen the determination of
the peace commissioners to insist that
the treaty be signed substantially as it
has been drafted. Those commissioners
have not forgotten the kind of peace
Germany bOasted she was going to make.
When they consider that boast they must
be surprised at their own moderation.
Not even we in America have forgotten
the threat of Wilhelm to Ambassador
Gerard. Wilhelm, then the kaiser, was
protesting to Mr.. Gerard against the sale
of munitions to the Entente Allies by
American manufacturers. He shook his
fist in the face of the American ambassa-
dor and declared that when he got
through with his European enemies he
would cross the ocean and dispose of us.
There was talk of demanding from us
an indemnity of billions under threat of
bombardment of New York and the other
coast cities. This was before we had
entered the war and when we were doing
nothing which we had not perfect right
to do. But'the Germans were determined
to take vengeance upon every one who
had put any obstacle in the way Of the
success of their program.
If Germany had been victorious the war
would have spread to this side of the
Atlantic and we should have been COM
PEELED to defend ourselves against the
most brutal armies which have taken the'
field in modern times.
When we review the terms to which
defeated Germany must submit we must
not forget the terms which she would
have insisted upon if she had by any
chance taken any of our cities.
Across the ocean a victorious Germany
would have annexed Belgium and would
have forced the Belgian people to pay
out of their poverty the cost of conquer
ing them.
She would have annexed northern
France, with its coal and iron mines, and
she would have seized and fortified the
French channel ports.
She would have taken Ireland under
her wing and organized armies there
under command of German officers.
She would have annexed the channel
islands belonging to Britain and used
them as naval bases.
She would have driven the British from
Egypt and seized the Suez canal.
She would have assumed the protec-
torate over Morocco, now under French
direction.
She would have destroyed Italy's hold
in Tripoli.
She would have made demands upon
the Netherlands which that weak power
would have denied at the peril of its indie
pendent existence.
She would have set up Poland with
German prince as king. She would have
nut other German princes, the sons of
the kaiser, on new thrones in tfle Balkan
states and on the old thrones from, which
she had ousted kings unsym pathetic with
her purposes. The maps IF these new
states were drawn and the princes to
rule over them were named. The wishes
Of the people were not to be consulted.
The states were to be made vassals Of