The Washington herald., 1919-04-20
World Witnessing Ideals
Transposed Into Reality
With League of Nations

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Germans and on the other some 40
100000 French. A peace which
waves in Europe another sore spot
such as the treaty OF Frankfort left
when 1t tore Alsace and Lorraine
from France will sooner or later
drive the 100000 to arms and all
the experience of the past shows that
attempts<to prevent people suner-
ing from a grievance from arming
have ended in failure. In that event
no arrangement of the frontier can
provide the numerically weaker
power with real security.
was much struck by an incident
which occurred In Paris last Feb
ruary. An outcry arose that the
great French iron fields OF Briey
to the northwest Of Metz. which fell
into the hands OF the Germans at
the outbreak of the war, had not
been bombarded by the French army
because undue influence had been
brought to bear by the proprietors
upon the French government in or
der to save their work. from de-
struction. A debate took place In
the French chamber. and during
that debate NJ. viviani. who was
II
break of the war, stated that the
French government had. at the end
of July, 1914. ordered Gen. Joffre to
withdraw all French troops to dis
tance of ten kilometers from the
frontier in order to avoid all possl-
BILE danger that a subordinate French
officer might act in such a way as
to give the Germans occasion for ac-
cusing the French Of an act of ag-
gression. At the same time orders
were issued forbidding French patrol
from entering either Belgium or
Switzerland, and French aircraft
from flying over Belgium. Switzer-
land or Germany.
The affect of these orders was that
the iron fields of Briey had to De
abandoned to the enemy and. further,
Germany reaped the immense military
advantage OF being able to establish
a military screen behind which her
preparations for her attack upon
France were developed in secret.
These orders do honor to NJ. Fivianfs
government and make its earnest
desire to preserve peace even at great
sacrifice patent. though they did not
prevent Germany from invsntins the
fable that French aeroplanEs had
bombed Nuremberg before the declara-
ton of war. We may expect itat
democratic government PLACED in the
future in the same position as that OF
NJ. Viviani would act as he acted and
in that case what military advantage
can a strategic frontier possibly confer,
at all comparable with the disad-
vantage of an Irredenta which will
be 4 perpetual source of fiction and
discomfort? 1t is not in that way that
France can obtain security.
Skeptical critics of the league have
affirmed that security can only be
obtained by perpetuating the alliance
which brought the allied associated
powers victory. Any partial grouping
OF the powers must, however, sooner
or later end in the formation of a
rival group or a return to the old bal
ance of military power, which many
of these critics frankly advocate. That
in turn can only end in renewal of
competition in armaments and in the
present state of Europe this would, L
firmly believe, produce revolution and
chaos. For a generation at least none
of the European powers will be in a
position to satisfy the just aspirations
of their peoples for improved condi-
tions of life and to spend upon arma-
ments one tithe of what they spent
before the war. 1t is possible that
hate and a desire for revenge might
cause the German people to endure
hardship and forego social betterment,
but these forces would not be oper-
ative amongst the allies. The next
generation. forgetting our sufferings.
may think differently and wish to re-
turn to the old conditions, but we
should at least give our sons a chance
of escaping the terrible experiences
through which we have passed, and
the only measure which may possibly
give them that chance is a League OF
Nations. There is grave danger that
in Europe at least the only alterna-
tive to a league Is revolution.