Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1919-02-20

Vi NOEeiuDcI IL, bCIC1IDCI I~ AlANi
January 16.
Paris, Feb. 1S.-Germany has again
bowed to Foch. The armistice renew
al was signed at Treves, after the Ger
man commission, headed by Matthias
Erzberger, had tried to the last to bar
gain bubble, protest and even threat
en-.
"Sign on the dotted line" was the
answer of FOch to all these attempts,
and finally, as the time Of grace was
almost up, the GerSlans, still protest
ing, signed.
The agreement prOlongs the armis-
tice indefinitely, but gives the allies
the right to break off the truce at
three days notice if Germany does not
religiOusly live UP both to the spirit
and the letter of the terms as laid
down by Foch.
Dispatches from Germany show the
Treyes conference was the occasion
for a considerable revival of the old
Prussian swashbuckling spirit. I'm
potent as they are, the militarists had
begun again to talk of the shining
sword" and the wrath Of the German
people, once they are stirred"
Indeed, there are rumOrs Of q cabi-
net crisis due to the signing of the new
agreement.
Hindenburg Curbed.
Co,,,+ ,,o, DpooIrJorT m tho
foreign minister, man of proved lib
eral and anti-junket tendencies, but
pledged to a program Of ''peace with
out humiliation" saw that program en-
dangered by yielding to the allied de-
1mands on the armistice renewal, and
is said to have threatened his resig-
nation.
One report, unconfrmed, has it he
carried out his threat as soon as he
heard that the German signatures
were affixed to the document.
Hindenburg, still the commanding
figure in the 'fatherland' from the mil
itary standpoint, is curbed by the new
agreement. for it stipulates that the
L
continued forthwith. It is also under
stood to contain demands for Ger
man evacuation of territories claimed
by the Poles.
German Version of Signing.
The following dispatch from Wei
mar gives the German account OF the
signing of the armistice renewal:
'"The government instructed Herr
Erzberger to sign the armistice, but
before doing so to hand to Marshal
Foch a written statement declaring
that the German government was
aware of the serious consequences in
volved in either signing or rejecting
the agreement.
Constructing it's delegates to sign, it
does so with the conviction that the
allied and associated governments are
endeayoring to restore peace to the
world.
"The German government is obliged
to define it's standpoint toward three
articles:
II. The agreement entirely ignores
the German government, which has
arisen in an orderly manner from the
will of the people. 1t imposes in the
form Of curt orders provisions for the
evacuation in favor Of the insurgent
Poles a number of important places,
including Birnbaum and Bentschen.
ALTHOUGH we are ready to cease all
military aggressive action in Posen
and other regions, we must expect the
Poles to respect the line of demarca-
ton; otherwise we must be authorized
to defend ourselves by force.
!" so. Germany promises to carry out
those armistice terms which she hith-
erto had not succeeded in doing, but
she ventures to assume that her obll-
cations will not be interpreted in a
manner incompatible with President
Wilson's principles. We must wait and
see Whether we are in position fully
to follow the contemplated instruc-
tions of the allied supreme command.
80. Objection is raised to the point
in the agreement giving only three
davs' notice for its donunciatiOn"