Evening star., 1919-02-23

ton and selfish devasta ton OF the
! German soldiers, whose single pur-
pose 1t was to eliminate France and
Belgium from the economic life of the
world. and then to take the place
did. AS a result Americans, and par
ticularly American correspondents in
Europe reporting the peace confer
ence. similarly failed to examine this
phase of the French case
Even more than this. If not in the
case of Mr.. Wilson in the case of
some Of those closely associated with
him in his mission. there developed
certain impatiencc and intolerance of
the French view. The French passion
for protection against another coming
of the Germans was easily translated
into the French ChauvinisIn and
French nateriaIisu. while on the
French side there was silence. then
suspicion. and at last profound dis
appointments feeling that America
had changed her position with re-
spect TO France.
British Supported President.
This French feeling was intensified
by the fact that the British without
reservation bent their efforts and
their energies to the realization of the
league of nations, and supported MI
Wilson. or seemed to support him. in
at least temporarily setting aside
soI, TSxay r71
France alone, were questions of life
and death. Into French feeling and
into French life there crept a very
clear sense. not only OF isolation, but
of desertion. France, with her ter
ribIe wounds still open, had a feeling
that her great allies, without whose
aid nothing was possible, had turned
their attention III another direction.
In the meantime, accentuating this
French sentiment, there arose the
mpressive spectacle of Germany re-
ordering her affairs, reorganiIing her
resources, daily becoming more de-
fiant in the presence of her con-
querors, and alike in Austria and in
Poland pursuing her old materialistic
ambitions in her old imperiaitssIc
spirit. While the allies argued over.
questions and mandatories in Asia
Minor or Central Africa German
armies advanced into Posen, German
agents seized upon Austrian political
machinery to bring about the annexa-
ton of 7,0eo, 900 Austrians to Ger
many, and once more on all German
sides there was raised the question.
of Alsace- e-Lorraine.
What Francs Expected.
In sum. particularly in Trance.
there had been expectation that Mr..
Wilson. whose leadership at Paris
was unchallenged, whose power far
surpassed that of any other person,
would exert this power not simply
and exclusively to construction OF
that great experiment which is the
league of nations, but at the same
time to render Germany alike power
less to repeat her past crimes and
to resist payment for those crimes.
which was essential to the future
life OF France.
One may not say. to what extent
circumstances were responsible.
rather than design. in the case of
the policy pursued by Mr.. Wilson
in France. Certainly his policy
would from the outset have been i'm
possible had he not received from
Britain immediate support. Like Mr..
Wilson, the British representatives
at Paris were willing to concentrate
their attention first upon the league
of nations; like him. they consented
to the practical ignoring Of German
facts which no Frenchman could
ignore The responsibility for this
ignoring of the problem of making
peace with Germany, as contrasted
with the formation OF the league Of
nations, is at least as much British
as American.
Yet we have to face the fact that
because Mr. Wilson came to Europe,
not merely or primarily. but almost
exclusively, interested in the league
of nations; because he had neither
time. nor, apparently. the necessary