SAFEGUARDS FOR PEACE.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIII, Issue 187, 4 July 1919, Page 4

SAFEGUARDS FOR PEACE.

Mr Hughes has expressed his conviction that "Prussian militarism is not dead." It is a conviction which must be held by all who read the cablegrams with any care and discernment. • The Junker or Conservative element is only watching for an opportunity to overthrow the so-called Republican Government, and the re-establish-ment of the old ruling party's power would assuredly, mean the commencement.. of preparations for that war of '/revenge and retribution" which a certain section of the German press has been openly preaching jthis week. The Commonwealth Prime Minister has. evidently no great faith in the Versailles Treaty, whilst upon the alleged and hoped-for capacity of the League of Nations to safeguard the world from aggressive war he is significantly silent. .Mr Hughes believes that .the best and only real safeguard of peace is to_ be found in a Franco-American-British alliance, the very point upon which, as we remarked the other day, some of Mr Wilson's political enemies are basing their objection to the ratification of- the Versailles compact. That Germany has been so severely crippled as to remove the fear'of any new Hun attack upon France for many years to come is no doubt true enough. !But the underlying spirit, of revenge will always be "at work, and it would be foolish to ignore it. No one wants to see the Allies permanently embarrassed by heavy expenditure unon military and naval armaments, but to consent to ahytliing : like a general abstention from defence, preparations would be to ignore hard facts^ and be a most perilous departure from that attribute of wariness and precaution which must govern , the general policy of the Allies.