New-York tribune., 1920-04-11

"alhs the single welghty excuse for
preserving alongside of it that Coz,
man army which nearly CONQUERED
the world, and still, SO far a. y,
leaders are concerned, clings to tbo
same purpose?
To permit the Ebert governmen,
to send troops into Ruhr does M.
mean stamping out Bolshevism. !,
means ruthlessly destroying tba
only fraction of the German nuhI,
which has so far, in war or in peace
openly opposed the Prussian lead.
ers and the Prussiaa system. T.
means becoming accomplices to thu
crime Of destroying, in the familiar
Prussian way, exactly that element
which might be, in the end. tn.
source from which would spring res,
democracy in Germany.
Will Learn Their Lesson
The anti-Prussian elements in Ger.
many, perceiving that the Western
nations, so far from remaining faith.
full to their own gospel of democ.
racy, actually consent to join hands
with the LudendorfFs in repressinp
German revolution against Prus.
sianlsm, will learn their lesson. 70
few migrate, as did men of the
stamp of Carl Schurz after 1sAs
the rest will stay and be reabsorbed
INTO the Prussian system, and the
next time the militaristic party at.
tacks the Western powers we shall
see the Socialists goosc-stepninr
again, as did Ebert, Bauer and the
rest of the majority Socialists Of
1914.
The excuse must be the fear Of
Bolshevism. This the German we'll
knows, and he is using it to the ut.
termost. His second argument il
French militarism, which, oddly
enough, is, in the present crisis. seek
ing to save from extinction the rad
lcals Of western Germany, whose
fate will be sealed if Noske's pre.
cious Reichwehr ever occupies the
Rhine district. What would then
occur would be complete repeti-
ton of the events which followed
the crushing of the military resist
ance of the Hungarians two genera.
tions ago.
But after all, to what extent il
Bolshevism an effort to create
false scent? Certainly we set out
to crush Prussian militarism. That
was the bottom fact in all our
protestations of the war period
And not less certainly we have
failed to crush it. 1t exists. it con-
trols Germany to-day and only will
ing hypocrisy can blind us to the
tact. A few weeks ago Ludendorff
was reviewing troops in the old
style, his generals were back in uni
form. To-day the troops assigned to
the duty of crushing the Ruhr upris-
ing are commanded by generals
whose names are we'll known to the
unhappy inhabitants of the recently
occupied districts of northern
France and of Belgium. This is
what the Ebert revolution had
achieved between November. 1918.
and March, 1920.
The truth is unmistakable
Thanks to the blindness, sclfishness
and lncoherence of Allied policy, the
victory Of 1918 has not sufficed to
destroy or effectively to chain the
elements and leadership of the
period which preceded the war. So
tar successfully, this old order ID
lighting to retain control and to
destroy it's opponents in Germany.
Its Main Weapon
It's main weapon has been the
specter of Bolshevism. Its second
hardly less potent weapon has been
found in the selfish anxiety in GER
tam quarters to get back TO that
profitable business with Germany
which can only be had if Germany
returns at once to the efficient con.
troll of the old military order.
But it is puerile to consider the
restoration of Germany if it means
the extinction of all the liberal ele-
ments and the reenthronement OF
all the old Junkers, ju5t as it would
De CRIMINAL to oppose any German
refrigeration which was based upon
real revolution in Germany and
the rise to control of men who were
themselves the opponents of the
ola order. If we assist in the res
toration of the old regime we shall
nave lost, not merely the peace, bat
the war, for We shall have failed to
destroy an enemy who Will remain
hostile and only wait his time for
new stroke.
We are back to the situation Of
lS4o, when Germany hesitated be-
tween the West and the Fast. he