New-York tribune., 1919-08-30

Continued from page
ately upon a complete peace basis and
may at once resume all our normal
commercial and other relations with
Germany, uni ampered by any restric-
tions. So much for that part of the
treaty which ends the war"
Senator Knox quoted at length from
President Wilson's speech on the
declaration of the war, emphasizing
that the President had repeatedly in
sisted America had no quarrel with the
German people and only desired TO rid
them of their autocratic form of gov
ernment
Sympathy With People
He alluded to the idealism with
which the German Americans supporte d
the war, believing that they were fight
ing to free their former country from
the yoke of kalserism. Senator Knox
continued:
1--WE did have, we had to have, quar-
rel with the German people; it was in
eyitable that we should enterraIn tow
ard them hostile feelings But we had
and have a sympathy for them as mis-
guided and misdirected, and we did
hope that, winning the war, we should
liberate them from an intellectual des-
potism they seemed not to sense, and
that thereafter they would arise free
great people.
so we entered the war Eighteen
months later, Germany staggering,
asked for an armistce to arrange a
peace. Before the armisticc was grant
ed. the Emperor and the Grown Prince
fed their dominions. followed by GER
tain Of their military chieftains. Next
came the abdication of the Emperor
and the initiation of proceedings look
ing to the characterization of Germany.
Wars Purpose Achieved
"Thus, prima facie, we had achieved
the full purpose for which we entered
the war; our enemy was defeated, the
imperial government destroyed and the
German people were liberated, free
again quoting the President-to
Choose their way Of life and Of
obedience.'
"Following this came the signing Of
the armistice of November II, the
terms of which wisely and properly put
1t beyond the power Of Germany there
after effectively to continue this war.
"Therc we, who sought no territory,
nor indemnity, nor aggrandiZed power,
should have rested signed our peace
when the associates made peace, and
quit the war as We entered it, still free
destiny. able to work for the benefit of
al mankind unhampered by entangling
alliances or commitments.
Owe should have left the political
adjustments and the indemnitics to the
powers of Europe who alone were i'm
medlately concerned, we at most exer-
cls.ng a restraining hand to see, first.
that justice was done to a fallen foe
and this IN spite of the fact that he
initiated and carried out the most
cruel, relentless inhuman war of mod
crn times-and in the next place to
insure that no more dragons teeth
were soWn in Europe than the inds-
pensable necessities imperativcly re-
quired.
No Danger in Course
"Such course would neither have
endangered nor sacrificed those threat
cned peoples to whose assistance we
came, for Germany had been disarmed
alo our two millions Of young men.
now for the first time fairly equipped.
We're still in France at the behest of
any military eNigency which might
arise.
But such was not the course fol-
lowed, and our representatives sat at
the peace table as co-equal negotia-
tors
Enumeratlne the powers which
signed the treaty, Senator Knox pointed
out that most OF them were small
states, which would be quite incapable
OF resisting German aggression by
their unaidcd strength. From this
fact he drew the conclusion that the
whole burden of maintaining the peace
would rest upon a few great powers,
including the United States. He at
tackled the indifference manifested by
the peace conference toward Russia.
As. to the probable ultimate results OF
the treaty, he said
'Ihlnk you Germany-smarting and
staggering under the terms Of this,
the hardest treaty of modern times
viii. even if we We're TO set up the
league and she should join it, supinely
sutferance we are vouchsafng her. the
crumbs from her victors table? 1t is
beside the point to say that such is
but her just deserts aud the full meas
ure thereof. Lacking the wisdom to
go forward and inAict a military pun
ishment that would have uprootcd their
philosophy of force and taught them
the lesson of live and let live, we have
LETT them beaten, but proud and AFRO
CANT, with their mighty spirit bent
for the time but unbroken, with their
NNliliiHS pHilcSpiN QEtndUGcO ana
with a will, fired by hate, to metc out
revenge.
VIII Continue Plots
Chat people viii no more cease to
plot and plan to recover their former
high estate than did Satan, plunged
into the abysmal depths of hell.
Whether they are in the league, if
formed, or out of it, Germany's agents.
secretly or openly, will be at work
with her former allies. and with in
Jured Russia, and with Japan-whose
conceptions, ideals, aspira tions and am
bilons are of imperial Germany. not
democratic America, Britain and France.
As Russia goes, so win the whole
/ Slavic md affiliated peoples And if
Germany succeed in this and be able to
unite these powers to herself. to turn
the teeming millions of Russia to swell
her own ranks, and to augment this by
the great yellow races of the. Pacific
who through Russia would have unim-
peded access to the battlefront, West
cfh Europe, at least, must perish
ihNh YOU, Germany. revcngeful. will
.Nra aside from so imposing and CRATE.
ful vision III order to grace for gen
Vf. ems conQueror's triumph?
Nv hN have we invited this vision :
Was there none at all Of that much
vaunted forward-looking at the peace
table The wise, the obviously wise
course, required not months Of invent
ing and plling up penalties. but a few
hours devoted 10 nlan {hot cbn,I 4