Life — May 22, 1919 — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“Whale there is Liye there's Hope” Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY Anpagw Mitten, President end Treasurer Janes S. Mercatre, Secretery 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York English Offices, Rolis House, Breams Bldgs., London, E. C. HAT the W peace treaty really means is that in world politics the old games are played out. It gives universal dissatisfaction. PAu Les] Peaosk France is dubious, England is rather rueful, Belgium is bawling for more, Italy is outraged, Russia is out of it, China is disconsolate, Japan is medita- Germany is tcetotally ber- gasted and protestant, and these States look on and wonder how a world of nations so distrustful and disgruntled will ever get together, The answer to that is the League of Nations. The League provides machin- cry for adjudication of disputes, inter- national cooperation, and the keeping of the peace. If the requisite spirit can be conjured up to drive the League machinery, there will be a fair approx- imation to world peace, and life will creak along back to normal. As yet the necessary spirit does not intrude much on observation, but that is nothing. The minds of the Euro- pean nationalists are still engrossed by the old game. They want, each for himself, a settlement that will leave them in a favorable position to go on under the old rules. They all doubt whether the new order is going to be pulled off, and doubting, wish natur- ally enough to provide against the old order. But the old order cannot satis- fy them. It no longer “has the means. The poor old thing is bankrupt. The destructive success of the war has been so great that when the surviving mul- titudes sat down the detachable rem- nants of the Central Empires were not sufficient to appease them. For all that, the peace seems as good a one as could be expected. It is hard to see where anything can be done to tive, cure the diss; faction of eny com- plaining ty to it, without increasing disproportionally the clamors of an- othe! ermany thinks it “ monstrous,” but Germany’s record is a serious em- barrassment to her sympathizers when they try to back her views. Her plan was to cat all the cakes in Europe, and still keep her own. It fell down. Sh did eat the other cakes, but her own is bound to be nibbled for years to come. The real thing for her to la- ment is not the loss of colonics or ships, or the Saar coal, or Danzig. but her utter loss of character. The real thing for her to be glad of is that she did not win the war, and may es- cape the complete spiritual downfall that would have come with victory. ‘OR terial things, and was fast getting the rest when she went mad. What she needs now is a new spiritual out- fit. Unless she can get it and develop a new character, she is a goner, A rich man with a nasty nature is no good, What one wants for him is not more wealth, but a decent spirit. It's just the same with a rich nation. If it is a hog and keeps growing in the hog direction, and cannot raise enough visionaries and just people to pull it back, of course it goes presently to the devil. If that had not been the rule of political life, the world would have become intolerable ages ago. It is a minor matter whether Germany pays more or pays less, whether she loses her merchant ships as well as her nav: whether she contributes more, or less, rmany had most of the ma- to the new Poland. The chief concern for her is that Germans should kc to think and think true. That they should get free from the leading stri of government-owned professors Lutheran ministe! nd lunatic mil tarists and General Staffs, and learn to think as men. To lose their army no loss at all to them at present. M too long it absorbed their best br. They will have something clse soldiering to do for years to ¢ They must learn to be men, and ¢ not afford to be distracted study. And, of course, Germany thoug!: worst sinner in the family of nati is not the only one. The rest of t from t family is nothing to brag of, though they have done a great good job in chastising their most da gerous member, they have all need discipline themselves, and need not 5 pine because they have got it. HE war cannot be made to declare a material dividend to any n: except, possibly, Japan. Its earnings do not warrant it. Whether it will declare a spiritual dividend remains to be seen Maybe it will, in time. And since that is the only advantageous thing the na tions are likely to get out of it, they will do well to chase promptly afte that, and Germany the most of all. Ex cessive material prosperity ruined ( many, and she is well rid of it. Ne if she can think of something else we shall all be most interested to see wh: it can make of her. M. Clemenceau's opinion that “it is a good peace” ms very general, is spite of all dissatisfaction and hagglin over details. No good reason appear to doubt that it will go through, the German dismay is probably gerated. Those Germans that have any sense cannot have expected anythin much better, The settlement with Austria and Turkey comes next, and that may hay interesting incidents for us. Williar Allen White says in the World tha: what remains of the Armenians are t be left with a ring of Turks around them who propose to exterminate them as expeditiously as possible, and are comicbooks.com