The Pensacola journal., 1920-02-29

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diplomats now believe, that an enforcement oi .io
nrovisions of the treaty with reference to indemn
ties would so cripple Germany that she can take no
steps toward recovery then she VIII never Do AZ
position to pay the awards made against her. .ho
Judgment creditor cannot collect from an entreS h
solvent debtor. ,
another apparent failure of the treaty is in the
attitude the supreme council is taking toward the
fufillment of Germany of its pledges to surrender
the men accused of violations Of the laws OF war anu
of humanity during the late great struggle Germany
uneuuivocay acceded to that demand In the treaty.
She now says that to carry out that provision "ou
create devastating revolution in Germany and that
il is absolutely impossible to comply with ner PROM
se. In the line has been the demand upon Hol-
land fer the person of the former kaiser The coun-
try has automatically, although firmly. declined to
surrender the man wanted to the powers. The
Fume incident another in point 1t mas Deen
found necessary to make entirely new agreement
as to Fiume an agreement against which Presioeht
Wilson is protesting not in compliance the pro-
visions of the treaty with the understanding Sc
cured by him in the peace conference the allied
powers receding from the treaty on these and
many other points.
1.-THE treaty appears to be falling apart by Its very
weight. 1t has failed to secure peace even among
the nations party to it. AS matter Of fact taking
the Russian situation into consideration. it may be
we'll to ponder whether Germany has not really won
more in this so-caed peace than she lost in war
Russia is now an apparent ally of Germany and may
become something closer. Through that alliance,
when it comes. the German threat against the far
east will become more potent than ever.
IF it is true, then that fatal defects already
appearing in the treaty. why there still nsstence
that the treaty shall be ratified by this country?'
When the Herald calls attention to the attitude of
Germany to the demands made upon that nation
by the allies, it seems to lose sight of the fact that
the refusal of the United States to sign the peace
treaty and to become of the powers in the League
of Nations, is OF the most cogent why |
Germany has refused to accede to the demands of
the allies Since the signing Of the arnistce, Ger
many has had more than year to strengthen her
position. Had the United States signed the peace
treaty and had the great minds of this nation joined
with the Allies effort toward readjustment |
the future Of world politics might have been very
different.
The Herald declares that the treaty to be |
falling apart by its very weight The Herald over
looks the fact that it claimed by Presi- |
dent Wilson any of the powers that it was per-
feet instrument. 1t seemed at the time the best We
hcle to be used to bring about readustment of the
affairs OF the world, chaotic and involved through
the reaction from war. and the Vaccinations Of pol
iticians.
The men at the head of international affairs are
nothing more than board of directors. They have /
before them a plan which they trying to work |
out There may be disagreement among the men, |
bers of the board, but it is better for those men,
bers opposed to the plan of the board to attend the
meetings of the directors, than to spend their time
attacking everything those directors attempt to do,
from the outside.
If the United States had signed the treaty, unwiedly
is by this time. the directors might worked
out practical plan.
One of the remarkable things about the statement |
of the Herald is that matter of fact taking the
Russian situation into consideration, it may be well
to ponder whether Germany has not really won more
in this called peace than she lost in war" If she
has not it has most certainly not been the fault of
the United States, which, instead of joining the allies
in effort towards reconstruction has spent more
than year in speech making which has led nowhere
and accomplished nothing.
If it is true that the treaty falling apart it is
true that it is not that clad instrument which
has been used as bogey to frighten the people OF
America into believing that this nation signs the
treaty shall be caught in trap from which there
is possibility of rescue.
The fact of the matter is that the treaty is moth
ing bat human document. and that it would have
been better to attend meetings of the directorate OF
the world and help them to improve that document.
than to have spent than twelve monhs in
harangues while Germany strengthened herself, get
ting ready for another war. For that is what Ger
many is doing, while handful of senators in Wash
ington Wrangle
There able men in the United States senate who
have their hands tied by this wilful band which re-
fuses to heed the voice of anything but partisan
politics.
If the influence of these able was being ex-
erted to make the League of Nations stronger, may
be it would not fall to pieces the Herald pre-
diets, but would become the great instrument it
intended to be- 1t is better to be part of direc
torae, and to work from the inside, than to stand