Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-04-21
The Germans at Versailles
From the St. Louis Globe. Democrat.

| On the 18th of January. 1871 William /. O
| Prussia was crowned German emperor in tn,
| great hall of the palace at Versailles, and ter
days later entered Paris in triumph at the heae
of his armies. On the 10th day of May ths
treaty of Frankfort was signed, the harshly
| dictated terms of conQueror. The war hat
lasted but few months, but Germany demand
| ed as the price of peace. the province of Alsace
| large part of the province of Lorraine, ant
| $1,000,000,000 in gold, the German army to oc.
cupy ports of Frapce until the whole was paid
| On Friday of next week the representatives OF
| Germany willenter that same palace of Yer
sailles, and doubtless in that same hall, will be
handed terms of peace dictated by their enemies
They will come this time not as conquerors, but
as the plenipotentiaries of the conquered The
empire they so proudly created at Versailles is
no more. The grandson of the emperor who
was so insolenty crowned there is an exile. the
IN that splendid hall, in the midst of their self
glorifcation, they planted the seeds of their
own destruction. Upon its wall was written
Meme, Meme. Tekel Upharsin,' but they, in
their blindness, could not see it.
And now they are coming. on behalf of their
country, to receive, and to accept, the conditions
of peace that will seem hard to then and, no
doubt, will be hard, but it will aid them much in
the preservation of their equanimity if they will
remember the treaty of Frankfort and remem-
Der also the terms which the kaiser was pre-
pared to exact if he had won, terms which
doubtless they know. In the light of what his
grandfather demanded after brief and joyous
holiday trip to Paris, the imagination finds it
difficult to conceive the magnitude of the indem-
mites William ii. would have exacted had he
been the conqueror in this war. He would have
had the world at his feet and he would have
taken it. Deutschland uber alles!" Compared
with his purposes which he so nearly achieved,
the terms to be presented next week will seem
mild. The return to France of Alsace Lorraine
is but the return of stolen goods. 1t should not
count in the comparison. The disposition of the
Saar Valley is not yet definitely known but it
seems to have been awarded to France as part
of its compensation for its prodgous losses
particularly the deliberate destruction of its coal
mines, and for the further protection of its
frontiers. The indemnities in money, if the
figures given out are authoritative and complete,
are by no means as large expected, and,
we must assume, are within the power Of Ger
many to pay in the period specified. Twenty
four billions of dollars is vast sum, but. COM
pared with the amounts Germany has compelled
the nations to spend in the last four years, it is
small. 1t probably no more than covers the
actual damage wrought by Germany, and the |
sums it has taken IN money and in property from |
the lands it has overrun. More likely it does not
equal even the actual losses of civilians from
Germany's rapine and destruction. The en-
profit All of Germany-every dollar of money
and property in it-could not begin to eompen-
safe the world for its losses. The amount of
the indemnity has not been limited by the con-
of just compensation, but by the
ability of Germany to pay, within any reasonable
period of time lust compensation would be
far more if it were possible-to obtain it. What
ever the military terms may be they are neces-
sary to the protection of the future.
The representatives of Germany will protest,
no doubt, but if they are wise they will sign,
and be thankful that the terms are no worse.