Der Nordstern. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1874-1931, 1922-12-07
Tiger Or Tom-C,at

prime mover in the matter, the Meph
| istopheles i'm the world-tragedy, wa:
Georges Clemenceau, the Tiger Q
France.
"Ilhere are now few students Of
the Versailles Treaty who will moi
agree with u.s." says a recent writes
Of not, chat in the matter Of separ.
ations at the Peace Conference Ger,
many was unwisely and unfairly
treated. Unquestionably it would have
been better to have concluded an i'm.
mediate preliminary peace with Ger.
many and to have raised the block:
ade."
But the spirit Of the Tiger tri-
umphed over all feelings of humanity
and considerations of wisdom. In the
estimation Of Clemenceau there were
twenty millions Of Germans too many
for the safety of France and the
peace of the world. Let them starve,
let them grow weak and die, let the
blockade go on, were the sentiments
chat actuated the Paris Conference,
whose dominent voice was that of
Georges Clemenceau, the Tiger Of
France.
Third. Georges C~lemenceau's face
and figure do not belle his fierce spirit
Of hate. To all appearances he is a
mongol of the most pronounced type.
Rodin, the famous French sculptor,
urged the Tiger to pose for a bust,
(which would transmit his features to
~posterity." When the bust was COM
pleted Qemenceau surveyed the work,
a living likeness, he is reported to
have growled: "Who is that Old Mon
golian General?" Even the soldiers of
France took the Tiger for a Chinese
Bandarin, of such pronounced Mon
golian type were his features. Accord
ing to the Wells and Van Loon school
Of historians it should be very plain,
that Olemenceau is q descendent of
some fierce warrior of the Far East,
carried by some Mongol or Hunish in
road into the heart Of Europe, a Mon
gol hunter Of men, stiT glorying in
his ancestors harshness and cruelty.
Genghis Khan and his sons laid waste
entire provinces, and exterminated
their enemies, men, women and chill
dren, that dared to make any resist
ance. The Tiger never had the cour-
age to meet an enemy in open battle,
save of course, in a few so-called
French duels. His weapons are his
tongue and pen. But as Premier of
France he exercised a vast power, and
the marks Of his bloody claws are
found all over the body of civiliza-
ton. AS Gambetta had predicted:
"The' grass will not grow again IN
ground trod by Clemenceau." Like At
tiHa, like Genghis Khan, like ANU
rath, Clemenceau passed over a part
Of civilization and left it a hopeless
wilderness The countless little mounds
Of German children starved to death
by the callous cruelty Of Clemenceau;
the var and weary faces Of German.
mothers whose pitiful allowance Of.
bread was snatched out Of their.
hands by the murderous policy Of
Glemenceau, the utter hopelessness
you see depicted on the pinched faces
of German men, the bravest Of the
brave all proclaim the so-called Tiger
Of France a monster Of cruelty, tho
only a MASTER Of borrowed power:
Even France is suffering terribly from
the blind fury Of The Tiger. The war
could hardly have been avoided" says
the French socialist M. Longuet. "But
it might have been shortened a couple.
of years, and it might have been con-
Quoted and ended in a way that would
have been incalculably better for all
nations concerned"
But the spirit Of the Tiger took
possession Of France, with the con-
sequences we nov experience.
Fourth. We have all along styled M.
C1emenceau "the Tiger" yet we do
not really accept the title ais BETTING
the nature of M. Clemenceau. We.
would chose as his true symbol an
overgrown once powerful but now de-
crepit tom-cat. In both the Tom-cat
and the miscalled Tiger The voice is
the main instrument Of intimidation,
even the resounding rhodomontade Of
Gemenceau on being questioned as to
his policies as Premier: "My policy is
victory! Home politics ? I wage a
Foreign politics? I wage war Russia
betrays us? I continue to wage a
We will fight before Paris; we will
fight behind Paris; we will fight, if
49, -yE. @EE 49, L-E ~