The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-08

GRATED Germany. We have already
expressed our approval Of the formal
propriety of the submission Of such
a treaty of defensive alliance. 1t is
within the Presidents constitutional
power and undoubted rights. No
opinion can be formed Of the merits
Of the proposal because its terms are
as yet wholly unknown to the public.
1t can only be said that as an en-
genderer Of the racial hatred and
frontier conflicts which would require
the redemption by us Of the pledge
to engage in another war with Ger
many perhaps nothing in sight is
more promising than the Saar provi-
sions in the covenant and treaty of
which we already know.
| There is yet another aspect Of the
proposed submission, in proper spirit
and form, of the separate and unpub-
lished treaty with France guarantee
ing our military support in certain
contingencies. The fact that it is a
separate treaty Of international OBJ
legation, a treaty Of the sort which
Mr. WILSON abhors with all the moral
energy Of his being, a treaty which
by no stretch of tolerance can be
considered as coming within the class
Of open covenants Of peace openly
arrived at" as defined in Point One
Of the obsolete Fourteen, would seem
to prove beyond the possibility Of
reasonable doubt that the President
recognizes 1t for what 1t really is,
namely a treaty Of war and not Of
peace.
When We consider that the text
Of the published covenant and treaty,
so ingeniously welded by his resource
full intellect, contains dozens or scores
Of provisions which, like this, are
practically treaties Of war aud not Of
peace, we are led to inquire why these
provisions could not have been made
like this subject Of separate con-
sideration on their individual merits,
II his main purpose in his treatment
of the whole business had not been
coercive and therefore constitutionally
disreputable. as he substantially de-
clared in the memorable utterance
lquoted above.
As to the general severity Of the
terms imposed on Germany by the
principal sufferers by the crime of
the HOhenzollern dynasty and the
Prussian military oligarchy. imposed
by the original Allies and victors with
the advice and consent, in the tech
meal sense, Of our President and his
selfappointed retinue, the American
view must be that Of a philosophical
and somewhat detached observer
rather than party in direct inter
est. This is obviously true, provided
it is true, as THE SUN and many of
our distinguished Senator's and fellow
citizens have held, that the de-
tailed settlement Of European af-
fairs belongs, under the traditional
American policy, to the European
Powers chiefly concerned and not
to ourselves. 1t is an unquestion-
able fact that we fought in the
war and won the right to participate
in the settlement; but our part in
the settlement is limited, according TO
every sound doctrine Of the Limitation
of our Governments field Of activity,
TO our own war aims as declared by
Congress, not to the war aims and
post bellum interests of our friends
and associates in the great struggle
Before joining in the enforcement OF
penalties outside those measures of
protection and precaution which come
properly within the range Of our own
declared aims and obvious interests
penalties and, arrangements which dc
not even pretend to be essential to the
safeguarding Of ourselves and the
world against another Hun outbreak
il might be proper 10 think a little
about what is involved
Harsh as were the terms exacted
of France by BISMARCK after the
Franco-Prusslan war the terms
handed yesterday by the Allies tc
the representatives Of their con-
quered adversaries are hundredfold
harsher. 1t is right that they should
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