The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1922-04-06
At the opening of the disarmament

w
Der DIR. ]. A. Dubois offered cash
prize of $40 to the two high school
students preparing the best review of
the third series of articles written by
the noted English Journalist, H. G..
Wells, and published in the Minneapo-
lis Journal.
The Herald promised at that time
that the prize winning papers would
be published. The awards were not
paid for several weeks and this, is the
first opportunity the Herald has had
to publish the reviews which are very
interesting. The first prize was won
by Leland Gray and the second prize
by Luella Steiner:
q DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE
IN Leland Gray
1t is supposed that Washington was
Manned to initiate the city of Versail-
les, but COMPARE these two; how do
they compare? Yes, it is true that
Washington is a little European in
style and a little Italinate as to SIZE
but even so, it is but little more than
the average American city. On the
other hand let us look at Versailles,
which has always been more or less
prominent city of France-it was the
seat of the government of France,
when the Grand Old French Monarchy
Frenchify, and to "Versallize" not only
Europe, but the world. The most Of
us can remember from our study of
history, that about a century and q
ly waging war with her neighbors,
how unjust her government was, how
she ruled the people without them
having anything to say about it, and
how it came to pass that the people,
tried and unsatisfied of such govern
ment, went to Versailles, and succeed
ed in dragging the French policy from
Versailles, but as Mr.. Wells says,
'Unhappily it went back there"
Napoleon III was ruler of France in
1871, when Germany attacked and de-
feated him, crushed his imperialism
and set up new form of government
in Versailles, and from the bloody
combat that followed we see that Yer
the most terrible Of wars, since the
death of Charlemagne, just to see who
should inherit this Empire Again I
quote Mr.. Wells statement. and it is
this: THAT there Tin Versailles) the
glory of France had shone; and there
the glory Of France had been eclipsed."
AS to the peace Of Versailles in 1919,
which was supposed to be world
peace, II seems unS00mlnSiy strange
that Versailles should have been Sc
lected as the place to hold this i'm
portant congress, for the following
reasons: Why did they not select some
neutral territory? And besides this we
find is holding the Germans in sus-
to attend this conference, and there
they were held just outside waiting
to learn what punishment was to be
placed upon them by the victorious
allies.
There was also Russia, she had not
been invited to attend this conference,
and was it not she that had saved
the French capitol in 1914? Did she
not suffer a greater loss in dead than
did France or any other nation of the
Allies? Had she not also fought until
utterly exhausted, until bled white,
and now owed debts, which the gov
eminent she was under control of re-
fused to pay? But Of course, they
circumstances could do no business,
and thus we see the Big 4" settling
world affairs, with neither Germany
nor Russia being represented.
Now we come to the Washington
Conference, we find irs d.
Conference of Versailles, and when do
ing so we are hoping that she will use
a wider outlook than did those in 1919
at Versailles. But in looking over the
nations connected with our Conference
we notice, one important, and unfor-
tunate resemblance, with that one
held in Versailles, and this resemb-
lance is that neither Germany nor
Russia are in attendance at this Con-
ference, nor have they been invited.
1t is true there are delegates from
most all other nations, there are those
from France, Japan, Italy, America,
and Britain, also from the lesser prln-
CAPABILITIES, as Spanish America etc. And
h ~, CO q
tie world affairs without all mai ions
being represented. Is this the plinci-
pie of either the American or British
political life? Absolutely no. Well
then, why do it? We know from our
study of Germany and Russia that we
can scarcely get along without them
in our commerce Of today, and the rea-
sons why we cannot are so simple, that
they are within the knowledge of
practically all. and yet they seem to
have forgotten all of them in the COM
ference at Washington as they did at
Versailles.
. Let us .5ok over a few Of the is,ore
important things about Germany, FRET
it's location, it is centrally located IN
Europe; they have had one OF nc
educational systems in the worm; the
people are of thrifty, prosperous, and,
honest class; they have larger ror-
,ulation than any other country OF EIr-
ope with the exception Of Russia. AS
to their social and political prosperity,
we find the prosperity of Britain, Nor
way, Sweden, and more or less
that Of France depending upon it. thus
the ruin of Germany means the Iuin OF
Europe.
The United States and England at
least openly declared during TIE war
that they were not fighting against
the German people, but against Ger
man autocracy and having woh their
point. Germany exhausted aud defeat
ed. surrendered in 1918, upon tie fol-
lowing conditions that friendship
should be restored between the coun-
tries. and that the other promises,
which were not exactly stated but
were implied in President Wilson's Ia
points should be fulfilled.
But these promises were. treated
merely as scraps of paper at the con-
ference of Versailles. The peace made
with Germany was very unfair. Ger
MANY had no representatives at the
Conference, she had been conquered
and now her conquerors were to deal
with her according to their wishes
II was as we see a revengful change,
OF the treaty made in 1871. between
TENSE two countries-namely the Fran
co-German treaty. The European allies
at least have not been treating Ger.
many right since her overthrow in 1913
that is in regards to trade ana com,
mnrce-in a few more wears she VIII