"Germany Must Pay"

Maoriland Worker, Volume 13, Issue 30, 25 July 1923, Page 4

"Germany Must Pay"

It is.-certain that to Germany the conditions, set forth in the recent speech of Mr. Baldwin are preferable to the conduct of M. Poincate, and that in the former there i.s some hope ol Europe restoration, Avhile the latter is a menace to the world, but nonetheless the British Prime Minister's speech is far from satisfactory. In the A'ieA\* of those avlio -desire justice and reconciliation as between the nations, it is invalidated by the. parrotlike insistence on the' cry that " Germany must pay to the limit of her capacity." Why, Aye should llKe to 'knoAv? Anyone Avould think from the Avay these highly-placed gentlemen condemn a nation of 60,000,000 intelligent beings to slavery and humiliation, that nothing had happened in the last few years to undermine the false, assumption of Germany's sole responsibility for the Avar. But the facts, as reA-ealed by a multitude of documents brought to light against the Avishes of European secret diplomacy, prove beyond all question that the guilt must be shared, by all. and that the greater part of it must be., borne by Tsarist Russia. If this is so, there is no justification of indemnities, apart from the "right"' of the victor to rob and plunder the Aanquished—a doctrine so grossly immoral and cruel as to be rejected by all decent .hit nut iv beings. Only trouble can ensue trom the enforcement of indemnities based on a lie. and there can be no peace until the lie is extirpated as v. determinant - of policy.