New-York tribune., 1919-02-12
viii Germany
Fight Again :?
By William L. Mcpherson
Allies won the war when the .r
mistice with Germany was SIGNED

w
mistlce with Germany was Signed
on November II last. VIII thew
have to win it over again before they GOV
enforce terms of peace?
Clemenceau says that the peace cor
ference proceedings mark "a hull in tha
Storm" Truculent talk in the We;mar
Assembly supports that view. The Cor
man people do not yet acknowledge do.
feat. And they will do whatever tbev
can to evade its penalties.
Can they renew the fight if the peac.
terms do not please them? In n.;litary
sense Germany was beaten to her kness
last fall. Ludendortf's armies surren
dered because they were unable to es.
cape development and destruction. Bnt
the German troops did not become pris.
oners of war. They gave up most OF
their heavy artillery, field artillery. ma.
chine guns, aeroplanes and trench NOR.
tars. But they didn't throw down their
rifles. They withdrew beyond the Rhine
an organized, veteran army. Nor havo
they been demobilized to any great ey.
tent since. There are still 100000
German troops available for a war Of
liberation, such as Prussia fought
against Napoleon in 1913.
The armistlce terms were defective
in not providing for immediate German
rehabilitation. Now the Allied armies
are being rapidly dsbanded. 1t has
been assumed that Germany would bow
without protest to the mandates of the
peace conference. SO long as the Allies
hold the line of the Rhine in sufficient
force Germany must accept what is Of
fered her. But if the French, British and
American armies of occupation ara
prematurely reduced to skeleton strength.
Germany may be emboldened to resist
peace conditions which in her opinion
are too onerous to be imposed on an
"unconquered nation
Germany's military position has been
greatly weakened by the loss of the
left bank of the Rhine and the Cologne,
Coblenz and Mainz bridgeheads. She
has been cut off from Austria bv the
creation of the new State Of Slovakia. A
strong and hostile Polish republic has
been established on her eastern frontier.
If Essen is taken over by the Allies
when the armistice is renewed this
month, Germany will lose her biggest
war materials plant. Yet her situation
will still be less desperate than Prussia's
was after Tilsit She might be able to de-
fend herself and possibly to secure a
modification Of the peace terms if the
Allies yield to the impulses of war weari-
ness and attempt to throw the burden Of
enforcing the treaty on an unstable AM
non-militant society of nations
Foch could conquer Germany with the
forces he now has in hand The question
is whether he could conquer her three
months or six months hence with tie
forces, and especially the reserves,
which will then be left him.
The blockade didn't starve Germany
out. If it had done so, Ebert would
never have said the other day in the
Weimar Assembly: Hunger is prefer
able to disgrace and deep privation is to
be preferred to dishonor" The old Ger
man army always had plenty to eat
The new German army will not go
hungry.
In dealing with Germany the only sure
weapon is force. The force which Ger
many is gathering to combat the de-
cisions of the peace conference can be
met only through the maintenance Of
Allied armies powerful enough to keep
those decisions alive.