The New York herald., 1921-11-22
Continued from First Page.

KNOW the entanBleu BARRIERS anu
frontiers of Europe. Here you
live in an immense expanse of
space. You do not know any fac
tions on your land. You have
nothing to fear, so that 1t Is rather
difficult for some of you-it must
be difficult for some Of you-to
realize what are the conditions at
present prevailing in Europe, after
war and after victory.
I quite admit that every citizen
Of the United States should come
and tell me this: "The war is
won. Peace is signed. Germany
has reduced her army to a great
extent. Most of her war material
has been destroyed. What is 1t that
prevents peace from now reigning
in Europe? Why is it that France
keeps such a considerable army,
abundantly provided with war ma
terial?"
OF course, in saying this only
certain people have got something
at the back of their minds. They
suggest that France also has some
hidden thought-some hidden de-
sign. 1t has been said that France
wanted to install in Europe sort
Of military supremacy, and that,
after all, she wanted to be so SIM
ply to take the place Germany oc.
cupied before the war. Gentlemen,
perhaps this is the most painful,
heart rending and cruel thing that
a Frenchman can hear. And for
them to say, after the direful war
from which we have just emerged
--unprovoked war which we had to
undergo--to be again in the cruel
necessity to give to the world only
the appearance that we have per-
fidious intentions and military de-
sign-this, gentlemen, constitutes
/ may say the most disheartening
thing for us. If we had not the
full confidence of those that know
my country, those that have seen
it-they can testify that not one
word of it is true. If there is a
country that has deliberately turned
her steps toward peace, that wants
peace with all her heart, believes
in it with her entire faith-if there
is country that does this. gentle
men, it is France.
Since the armistice we have had
many disappointments. France has
had to wait for certain realiza-
tions which she has not been able
to get. She has seen Germany
digress--haggle over the sigma
ture which she had given. Ger
many has refused to stand by her
pledged word. She has refused to
pay compensation due for the
devastated regions. She has de-
clined to make the gesture of chas-
tisement that, after all, every man
of sense would expect after the
horrors that we have witnessed.
Germany has refused to disarm.
At that time France was strong
and Germany could not resist.
Public opinion in France was
naturally impatient, while under
this provocation France remained
perfectly cool. There was not
one gesture on her part to aggra-
vate the situation.
/ may say here emphatically in
the face of the world we have no
hatred in our hearts, and France
will do everything she can. She
will use every means to prevent
between Germany and herself a
recurrence of these bloody con-
flicts. She wishes for nothing else
but that the two peoples should be
able to live side by side in the
normal conditions of peace. But,
after all, we have no right to for
get. We have no right to abandon
ourselves. We have no right to
weaken our position, II for no
other reason than because we must
avoid giving rise in the bosom that
would only be ready to take advan-
tage of it, to certain hopes that
would be encouraged by our weak
ness.
Gentlemen, I spoke a few mo-
ments ago Of the moral aspect of
disarmament, and | referred in my
remarks to Germany. do not want
to be unjust-nothing is further
from my mind. But we know there
is in Germany-there is one part
OF Germany that is for peace. There
are many people, especially among
the working classes, who want to
work, who have had enough of this
war, who have had enough of war
altogether, and who are most anx-
ious to settle down in peace, and
also to set to work. We shall do
everything to help that Germany,
and il she wants to restore her
balance in the bosom OF pacific
republic and democratic institu-
tions, then we can help her, and
we shall all be able to contemplate
the future with feelings of secur-
ity.