The Washington times., 1922-04-23
WY HEN nations are exhausted
" by wars in which they have

I" by wars in which they have
put forth all their strength
and which leave then tired. bleed
ing. and broken, II is not difficult
Go patch up q peace that may last
until tho generation which expsr~
fenced the horrors Of the war has
passed away. Pictures of heroism
and triumph only tempt those who
know nothing Of tho sufferinss
and terrors of war. II is therefore
comparatively easy to patch UP
peace which win last for thirty
years.
What Ia difficult, however, In
20 draw up q peace which viii not
provoke q fresh struggle when
those who have had practical ex-
pericnos of what war means have
passed away. History has proved
that a peace. which has be.n
hailed by q victorious nation as a
triumph of diplomatic skill and
statesmanship, even Of moderation
In the long run. has proved itself
20 bs shortsished and charged with
danger to the victor.
The peace Of 1871 was believed
D Germany to ensure not only
her security but her permanent
supremacy. The facts have shown
exactly the contrary. France It.
self has demonstrated that those
who say you can make Germany
80 feeble that she VIII never be
able TO hit back are utterly wrong.
Year by year France became num-
ertcslly weaker In comparison
with her victorious neighbor. but
I'm reality she became ever moro
powerful. She kept watch on
Europe. she made alliance with
those whom Germany had wrong.
cd or menaced: she never ceased
20 warn the world of its danger;
and ultimately she was able to
secure the overthrow of the far
mightier Power which had tram
pied so brutaliy upon her.
PATH TO RETRIBUTION.
You may. strip Germany Of her
colonies, reduce her ornaments to
a mere police force, and her navy
90 that of q fffthrate power; all
the same In the end II she feels
that she has been unJustly treated
I'm the peace of 1919 she win find
means of sxacting reribution from
her conquerors.
The impression, the deep impress
sion, made upon the human heart
by four years Of une1ampled
slaughter viii disappear with tire
hearts upon which It has been
marked by tho terrible sword Of
the great war. The maintenance
of peace will then depend upon
there being no causes of exaspers.
ton constantly stirring up the
spirits of patriotism, of justice. or
of fair play.
To achieve redress our terms
may be severe, they may be stern
and even ruthless. but at the same
time they can be SO Just that tie
country on which they are imposed
will feel in it's heart that It has no
right TO complain. But injustice,
arrogance. displayed in the hour Of
triumph, win never be forgotten or
forgiven
For these reasons I am. there
fore, strongly averse to transfer
ving more Germans from German
rule to the rule Of some other ns-
ton than can possibly be helped.
Z cannot conceive any greater
csuss of future war than that the
German people, who have certainly
proved themselves one of the most
vigorous and powerful races in the
world, should be surrounded by
number of small states, many Of
them consisting Of people who
have never previously set up
stable government for themselves,
bot each of them containing large
masses of Germans clamorins for
reunion with their native land.
A GUIDING PRINCIPLE.
The proposal Of the Polish cum
Ynfssson that we should place q
100 900 Germans under the con-
troll Of a people which is Of a diff
T~rent religion. and which has
never proved its capacity for stable
weff-rovernment throughout its his
tory, must, in my Judgment, lead
sooner or later to a new war in
the east OF Europe. I would
therefore take as a guiding prin-
oiple of the peace that as far as is
humanity possible the different
races should be allocated to their
netherlands, and that this human
criterion should have precedence
over considerations of strategy or
economies or communications,
which can usually be adjusted by
other means.
Secondly, would say that tie
duration for the payments OF
reparation ought to disappear II