New-York tribune., 1919-05-08


tarism has become an impossible
luxury, and their most pressing ne
cess1ty is how to recover the conscience
and the will that centuries of mechani
cal obedience have atrophied."
New York German "Herold''-"We
know exactly what quotation the con-
servative press in Germany-inciuding
newspapers still unreconciled to the
new order of things-will use as a cap
tion for its editorials on the peace
treaty. 1t is the Latin saying. EXC
rlare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultor,'
in English, Out of my bones shall my
svenger arise This verse was quoted
by the Great Elector when he, just 240
years ago, signed the peace of st. Ger
main whereafter he smashed the pen.
used for affixing his name, on the table
with full force
while, as aforesaid, the conserva-
tive newspapers will indulge in similar
historical "reminiscences, the Demo-
cratic and Social Democratic journals
Will declare that the peace treaty as
sumes just the shape they had good
reason to anticipate. Besides, they
will point to the treaty of BrestLitoysk
and to that with Rumania, and they
will also quote the braggadocio of the
manys military successes accumu
lated, desired to annex everything in
general and who forced the govern
ment into a course whose results now
may be clearly seen.
There will be plenty of opportunity
in the days Immediately ahead to ex-
anime the several clauses of the treaty.
Presently it may be said that it rep
resents the result of a compromise be-
tween the Allies, as there was in their
midst a faction which wished to i'm
pose upon Germany terms incompara-
bly, harder. All Of us may recall that
in the beginning there was talk of
setting up separately from Germany
a Rhine Republic, and also of complete
ly independent South German states:
of ceding Helgoland to England, Of
retaining all prisoners of war until
the reconstruction of the devastated
districts in Belgium and France had
been completed; of adventurously high
indenmties, and other ice things, all
of which, very much to the anguish
of jingoes in Allied countries, failed
of realization"
New York "volkszeitung" "The
peace treaty, just published in an
abridged form, which the representa-
tives of the German Republic will sign
IN couple of weeks, causes little sur
prise. 1t fulfils all expectations with
which it has been awaited. Had the
would have imposed upon the Allies
just as severe terms as are now being
imposed by the Entente powers on
Germany. On May T, 1919, January 1s,
1871, has been avenged; also that other
day of the year 1918 when imperialistic
Germany hurled its iron fist into the
face of the young workers and peas
ants republic of Russia at Brest-
Ltovsk. To the victor belongs the
booty-this was the contents of the Ger
manFrench peace treaty of Versailles;
it was the contents of that ignominious
peace of violence at Brest-Litovsk, and
the same is the MISUNDERSTANDING
and unattenuated-of the peace of
force which is imposed upon defeated
Germany by the imperialistic great
powers of our day.
However, we would sin by omission
should we fail again to point to-day to
the breach Of confidence perpetrated by
this treaty. The mlitarists of Ger
many and Austria Hungary had at least
the one advantage of brutal frankness
and reckless brutality. General Won Hoff-
man at Brest-Litovsk, Won Moltke and
Bismarck at Versailles, did not exert
themselves to chisel beautiful phrases
and to make ornamented speeches
about freedom, justice and democracy,
about the right of self-determination
of nations. They were brigands, and
they admitted it before the whole
world.
"But the armstce has been signed
only after President Wilson, in his
own name and that of the Allies,
pledged himself to the fourteen
points as the foundation of the peace
treaty One glance at the extracts just
published will convince anybody as to
the manner in which these celebrated
points evaporated in thin air"
Buffalo Express peace
proud nation which sought to dominate
the universe is reduced to country
without army or navy, with an enorm-
Gus burden of debt and without influ-
ence or prestige in international poll
tics. The ambitious empire which
represented particularly the principle
of conquest is surrendering all the
conquests of the last two centuries. 1t
was to be world empire or perish. From
the viewpoint of military and imperial
istic pride Germany perishes, and it is
we'll"
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston GIobe"-Forever the peace
makers had before them the problem
of demanding the full limit-and of
stopping before adding the straw that
would break the back of the German
people. To determine that fine line has
been the chief mission of the thou
sand experts And on that point de-
pends the verdict on this history MAX
ing document. The strength of the
peace treaty is not discovered in a dav.
ITS virtue is measured by it's length of
life
PENNSYLVANIA
'Philadelphia Public Ledger''-"Cer-
talnly no man can read the treaty and
be IN any doubt as to who lost the war.
Yet there is no brutal and purely
punitive spoliation. Germany is not
dismembered 1t is really amazing how
little territory she will lose at the
hands of her completely victorious
enemies when we recall how wantonly
she challenged them, how savagely she
devastated their towns and country
SIDES, how atrociously she maltreated
their people and what enormous sacri-
fices in men and money she imposed
upon them. She is left with no ran
Killing wound, no just cause to resume
the war. If the Germans Of the Saar
Valley really want to go back to her
they can go in fifteen years, not having
been under the French rule for daS
in the mean time. The sardonic shade
OF Bismarck must marvel at such re-
straint."
pittsburgh Post"-"Germanv to-dav
stands before the world disarmed
branded and penalized. because she has