Evening star., 1940-01-01
Believes Allies Share
War Responsibility
lnjustices Of Versailles Are
bIomed for Current
Disorders

bIomed for current
Disorders
To the Editor Of The Star:
"Of all the words Of tongue or pen
The saddest are these, 1T might have
been.'"
More than 20 years ago the bloodiest
and most costly war in history ended
The nations involved sacrificed the lives
Of more than ten million men-most of
them under Is years Of age. Perhaps
thirty million more were wounded or
among the missing. Very few Of those
who survived In the civilized world were
left uninfluenced in their conceptions of
morality and ethical standards. The
cost in material values totaled the STU
penduous amount of two hundred bill
lions OF dollars. The cost to civilization in
the premature destruction of millions OF
its young men, and the blighting of the
lives OF millions of its children and de-
fenseless men and women, is heyond
computation
Following the Armistice, many CT the
greatest statesmen of the world, along
with many of the foremost experts in all
the great fields of human knowledge
gathered in France for the Versailles
Peace Conference. Into this conference
went the high hopes and noble aspira-
tions OF suffering humanity Into this
conference, also, went the dark forces
OF national greed and avarice, bitter
hatred generated by four years of ti-
tanic struggle, and determination to
wreck fallen people. Woodrow Wilson,
the noblest and most far-seeing states
man of the World War PERIOD led the
forces of justice and humanity. The
forces OF national greed, selfishness and
unremitting hatred for a defeated ma
ton, were led by such men as Clemen-
ceau, Tardieu, Poincaire and Foch.
After many months Of hard labor,
with compromises on some of the most
vital and most controversial issues, the
peace treaty was presented to the world
Some parts of the treaty were very
drastic and harsh toward the enemy.
There were some grave mistakes and
lnjustices in it. Woodrow Wilson fought
valiantly to prevent most of these in
justices from entering the peace treaty
To rectify these mistakes and injustices
by means OF international cooperation
and agreement, and to create machinery
for international cooperation and COL
laboration in preventing the recurrence
OF such another human catastrophe, the
League of Nations was founded and the
Covenant made an integral part of the
treaty OF peace. This achievement, due
principally to the influence and leader
ship OF Woodrow Wilson, will place his
name among the immortals of world
history.
Our refusal to enter the League of Ma
tions and take an active part in
strengthening the machinery for inter-
national cooperation and collaboration
for the maintenance of peace and JUS
tice throughout the world, was, with
the exception of the World War itself,
the greatest and most costly political
mistake made by any great nation thus
far during the Goth century.
Now another war is being fought in
the great struggle for supremacy among
the powerful nations of Europe. Eng
land and France are concerned about
the political and territorial existence of
the small nations only insofar as they
can help them in their determination to
prevent Germany from becoming a
strong nation. England sent the Runci-
man mission to Czecho- -Slovakia to help
prepare the destruction of that republic.
She and France gave Poland guarantee
which they knew could not be full
filled-a guarantee to maintain an un-
just and unnatural situation. They tried
to incite a war between Germany and
Russia in order to strengthen and con-
solidate their position in Western Eu-
rope.
I am not defending the cruel and
brutal policies OF Germany and Russia
toward minorities within the boundaries
of their respective countries or their
ruthless aggression against small nations,
but If this is the purpose of England
and France in the present struggle, If
it is their policy to deny justice and
fair consideration to the German people,
as well as the Russian, if it is their plan
to try to prevent Germany from having
access to the resources of the world and
a fair opportunity for the enjoyment of
the common products and benefits of
civilization, then here is one American
who hopes that Germany and the forces
on her side will defeat England and
wreck the British and French empires
In your editorials and special articles
you have severely condemned Germany,
Russia, Italy and Japan, but you have
failed to consider the basic and funda-
mental reasons responsible for the de-
velopment of this condition of "interna-
tional chaos" which confronts humanity
Are the other great powers entirely
guiltless? PAUL A. HILL.
December "a.