The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-03-01
ENEMY MUST
TcontInued From Page One.l

portance. She will have added thous-
ands Of square miles Of territory and
six or seven millions of people to her
population as a result of the unsuc-
cessful war, since 1t is clear now to
everybody that a union of Austrian
Germany with Northern Germany is
no longer to be prevented. She has
assured herself population OF nearly
eighty millions, almost entirely Ger
man, enclosing most Of the Bohemian
state which, however, politically indie
pendent, must for all time be econom-
ically dependent up on Germany for
access to the open markets of the
world.
France Must Be Protected.
Now the only absolute force left in
the face of this aggrandized Germany
is France, with a population of thirty
nine millions, with her industrial re-
gions ruined, with her transportation
system over all the Northern regions
abolished, with colossal debt and
with sacrifice in life alone as con-
sequence of the war which exceeds
three million lives. Obviously, it is
beyond the resources of France to
hold Germany again as she did for the
greater part of four years OF war, II
Germany shall have a new associate
of militaristic and imperialistic am
bition The brutal truth is that if
Germany has not undergone change
of spirit as a result of the war, or If
Germany is not put out of the race
for ornaments for considerable Pc
Rod Of time, France cannot hold the
gate as she did before, unless Great
Britain and the United States are pre-
pared to guarantee to France the pres
ence on an open frontier Of consider
able armies, which will share with
the French the cost in life and treas
ure Of another German attack.
We have to make peace, then, with
two clear facts in mind: That France
must be fortified against Germany
until such time as 1t has made GER
tain that Germany has changed her
ideas and her purposes, and we have
no assurance that there has been any
change, no sign of any change-and
further we cannot safely assume that
since old men are still running new
Germany, New Germany Is anything
but an enlarged and camou1aged edi-
ton of the old.
1t is perfectly impossible in present
circumstances, to put all our conf
dence in the League of Nations and
retire, leaving Germany more power
full than she was before, the sole gain
err in all respects as result of this
war, since she has devastated France,
compelled Great Britain to mortgage
her financial future to America, and
reduced the commercial fleets Of the
world.
Payment for War.
n,,t than W a Paris m
save the war? Obviously, in two ways.
The cost of the war must be borne
either by the Allies who defended
themselves or by Germany who at
tackled them. Germany in fighting the
war drew upon her internal resources
and can repudiate her debts; England
and France and Italy were compelled
to borrow of America and cannot re-
pudiate their debts. Either the French
and British and Italian will have to
stagger, under the burden of this debt
and, in the case of France, under
the added burden incident to the de
struction by the Germans Of French
Industrial regions-or that burden
must be lifted from allied shoulders
to German II the Germans escape
II they can resume the old game Of
arming, If French and British and
italian taxpayers have to shoulder 1t
they will be unable even to arm them
selves adequately for self defence. Il
Kis essential for Americans to realize
that the question of reparation anc
restitution, even of indemnity, is moi
punitive, it Is not a program OF plum
der of Germany. 1t is merely an eft
fort to save, primarily France. who