Evening star., 1939-10-13

Peace Held Impossible Under
Hitler's Regime in
Germany
To the Editor Of The Star:
In practically all the letters to The
Star and in many broadcasts some as
sumptions are made which to me aYe
contrary to the facts, but these have
been made SO often that merely on ac-
count Of reiteration people are accept
ing them as actual facts. They are:
That the allies lost the war, that they
gained nothing and lost much, that 1t
was not worth the sacrifice, thatrthe
United States was foolish to mix In,
that the Versailles Treaty was unreason-
able, unjust and impracticable, that the
allies were vengeful, and, strangest of
ALL that Germany would have been ma
tion Of saints if the treaty terms had
been "just and reasonable"
The fact is that we did win the war,
and that Germany was decisively beaten.
Had the allies marched to Berlin, de-
stroyed the factories and farms and
had they occupied Germany until the in
demnity was paid; If they had written
a treaty similar to that which Germany
wrote for Russia to sign, deprived the
German soldiers Of their arms and
dress uniforms, then Germany would
have known that she was beaten, would
have been unable falsely to pretend to
her people that she was not beaten in
the field, and so worship the legend that
her armies are unbeatable, and that she
lost the war on account of the Jews. Nor
would she have been likely so soon to
have returned to her natural militarism.
Also, a buffer state should have been
created out of the Rhine provinces, from
Switzerland to the North Sea. The COLO
nies which Germany lost were a poor
and inadequate payment for the damage
caused to France and England, to say
nothing of the United States.
AS to whether the sacrifice was worth
while: If Germany had won, England
and France would have been in the same
plight as Austria and Czecho-S -Slovakia
are today. To escape such fate was
worth the sacrifice. AS to the United
States, the Monroe Doctrine would now
be another scrap of paper.
The Versailles Treaty was neither i'm
practical, nor unjust. 1t would have
been enforced except that the United
States refused to join the League of
Nations, refused because few narrow,
partisan men so hated Wilson that in
their blind rage they booted away the
victory.
Germany, above all nations, was un-
touched by the war. Her industrial
plants were at the highest point of
efficiency. She had no great public debt,
and no private debt. Her social and
economic life was undisturbed, and her
political setup gave great promise of a
free people, governing themselves unen-
numbered either by Kaiser, a dictator
or military cabal She was sitting
pretty, and her future was assured.
do not quarrel with Germany's am
bition to expand, to grow, and to secure
"a place in the sum-" to share with the
"haves' the raw materials of the world.
But it does not give her the right. or any
just excuse to crush smaller nations,
many of whom are equal in culture, SUI
perior in ethics, and more Christian in
their relations to others Germany pre-
sumes to have mission to rule people
Of German blood who are citizens of
other countries. BY that token she could
claim rule of New York, of Cincinnati,
Of st. Louis ana of Milwaukee, at least.
Germany, through her Charge
dAfIaires. Dr. Thomson, pleads for con-
sideration, justice and equity. When
one SO pleads, he must come into the
court Of world public opinion with
clean hands. Let her return Hoistein
to Denmark, release Schussnig, apol-
ogize for the Dolfuss murder, release
Austria and Czecho-Slovakia, get out
Of Poland and desist from bombing open
cities and machine cunning the crowds
Of refugees fleeing for their lives. Let her
deal justly and considerably with that
portion of her citizens called Jews. When
she shall have done these things, it will
be time enough to plead equity. 1t is
no time to plead justice when she is still
in the very act of conquest by brute
force
The minute Germany crossed into
Belgium and reduced her written pledge
to scrap Of paper, these United States
were in the war against her, and, the
minute she raped Austria we were in the
present war. In the last war we tried
to fool ourselves that We were not then
In 1t. We speak of the Lusitania and
Of other events of being forced in by
munitions makers, bankers, and British
propaganda, when, as matter of fact, it
was our belief that might is not right
and that innate wanton cruelty must be
punished. We are again trying to fool
ourselves with such words as isolation"
neutrality" "entangling alliances" "our
boys overseas" and "the cost of war"
What We want is peace on earth, good
will among men, and we will fight for
peace. We want to forget the Haupt-
manns, Kuhns and German bunds and
remember only Steinmetz, Schurz, Ma
than Strauss and believe German Amer
leans are that kind of citizens.
October 8 John F. FIELD