Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-04

In the present conferences looking
to a possible readjustment of the terms
of settlement of the war indemnity OF
Germany, it has been proposed By the
German representatives that all her
colonial possessions, which were taken
away from her by the Versailles treaty
at the end of the World War, should
now be restored as part OF the modlfl-
cation of the war penalties.
Herr Schacht, the head of the Ger
man delegation, disavows that demand
but it is understood that his disaVowal
is Machiav ellian. and is to be with
drawn if an opening should appear tol
renewing the effort as part of genera
compromise. At all events, it makes
material for trading. There is hardly
a chance for the allies will give the
demand any serious consideration, but
the fact that Germany Graves the resto-
ration of her colonies is IN itself inter-
cSting and significant.
Why should that ruined" country
want colonies, which never came neal
being Self-supporting, and would now
only add millions of marks per year
to her tax burden? What are theSe
colonies and how did Germany acquire
them? What use could she have fol-
them now?
When Prussia and the other German
states won their war with France in
/ 1871, France made a desperate effort
to trade her own Chinese colonies to
the victor in lieu of Alsace-Lorralne. or
even on condition that those provinces
h. made independent buffer states.
Bismarck refused the offer, and de-
clared:
II will have no colonies. For Ger
MANY TO possess colonies would be Ike
a MISREPRESENTATION Polish nobleman &C
curing Silken sable coat when he
needed shirts"
Bismarck's aversion to colonies, ct
that time, was in accord with the gen
eral official sentiment of Germany. me
new union of the German Empire was
intent on Solidification Of the empire,
and with the hope Of developing great
entente cordiale with Great Britain, so
rs to isolate France. She wanted no
rivalry with the British colonization
policies.
marck was the sentiment Of the navy.
as voiced by Prince Adalbert, Chief OF
the navy, and Vice Admiral LivonluS.
Emperor william 1 favored the building
m of a strong navy. and navy must
have coaling stations all over the world,
hut still Chancellor Won Bismarck OPP
posed all efforts toward a colonial
policv. and when LivoniuS compiled a
report arguing for such coallng sta
tions and German colonies, the report
was pigeonholed by order of Bismarck.
When Prince Adalbcrt. in 1873. as in
spectur of the navy, declared IN sup
port OF a strong navy, requiring and
supporting colonies, his report, too was
suppressed.
IF Fhn cSN--
eminent in opposition, German enter
prise in the hands of private concerns
established business in Brazil. in South
Africa and in the Western Pacific
Ocean, and thence beseeched the gov
eminent for protection and subsidies IN
support Of their undertakings.
Bismarcks opposition to private
colonization seemed to end abruptly in
1875. and thereafter he gave notice to
Of her own merchants in foreign parts.
and in the years lS76-1879 treaties OF
trade and amity' were made with
several nations including the United
States. Yet even as late as 1877, when
Germany acquired a coaling base in the
Tongan Islands OF the South Pacific,
the treaty contained this paragraph:
This should net be considered as the
establishment of colony. an idea which
the government distinctly ana pafllcu-
iarly repId!ates,"
X x X
Gradually. the colonial parties in Ger
many acquired influence and power in
government policies, and the subject be-
came a leading political issue. With
it came the question of emigration out
of Germany to other nations, and the
cry of agitators that that would mean
the ultimate absorption of all Germans
bv ether peoples. Between 1875 ana
1880 more than a million emigrants
left Germany and came to the United
States.
One cry Vas raised by Herr Modem