The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-03-08

Luxembourg, Alsace-Loraine and tn,
Rhine.
BY doing this it is made perfectl,
clear that SO long as this state stands
France and Belgium have betweI
themselves and German invasion, {
wide belt of territory containing be
TWEEN four and five millions of people
a new state which, like Switzerland
separates effectively rival nationals
| ties and removes immediate danger OF
| collision from the frontire incident
If this state shall, when the hour OF
self determination arrives, vote to
continue its separate existence, it will
! become one more of the small nations
/ whose existence will be guaranteed
! by the League of Nations.
| If, on the other hand, it chooses to
return to Germany, it will unquestion'
ably after it's years of separation from
Prussian influence contribute material
| ly to the reinforcement of the liberal
element in Germany, and thus to the
modification of the peril of new at
tack upon the west by German impe-
rialism and German militarism.
The presence of the Allied armies
of occupation will insure the escape
of this district from any revolution
with Bolshevik consequences. which
now threatens Germany, and it will
also enable the inhabitants to escape
the burden of Consumption and &C
quire habit of peace. 1t must be
clear that such a republic will have to
expect only the most friendly treat
ment from France, because the whole
object of French policy must be to
win the sympathy of this buffer state;
but it should be said again that there
is not the slightest French purpose to
seek to annex this territory, either
now or hereafter.
Accepted as Solution.
In sum, the Rhenish republic is not
to be a disguised imperialist venture
of France, but ISOLATION, adopted by
the entire League of Nations, of the
problem presented by the French need
for security growing out of the injuries
of the last war
The question of the Saar Valley has
been discussed in this correspondence
many times. The territory affected
is an area rather less than thousand
square miles on either side of the
Saar River, north of the point where
this stream crosses the old frontier of
Alsace-Lorraine-as fixed in 1915.
Practically all the territory affacted
was once portion of the old province
of Lorraine, which came to France
not by conquest, but by peaceable
agreement in the eighteenth century.
1t was for many centuries before per-
meated by French culture and, in fact,
although not by law, part of France.
In one hundred years following it's
annexation to Prussia and the Bava-
rian palatinate, this region has be-
come totally German. Three hundred
thousand inhabitants would unques-
tionably choose German rather than
French nationality at this time, but
the question of self determination in
this specific case is affected by other
considerations.
Wanted to Annex.
When Germany invaded Northern
France, she came with the express
purpose of anneXing all the industrial
and mineral regions north of the
Somme. When she found such annex
alton would be impossible, since there
was no possibility that she could win
the war so completely as to draw the
frontiers as she chose, Germany under
took systematic destruction of French
factories and French mines, which re-
suited in depriving France of her coal
supplies for a period of between FIVE
and ten years, and of making her de-
pendent either upon Germany or Eng
land for the coal necessary to her in
dustries. Unless this condition were
modified in the French favor. Ger
many would to this extent win the
war.
In weighing arguments on the Saar
Valley, the claim of France, based up
on ancient possession prior to German
spoilation of 1914 and 1915, has only a
restricted influence upon the American
mind. it is clearly recognized that
if claims as old as those which no