The Otago Witness. (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1919.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3397, 23 April 1919, Page 35

The Otago Witness.

(WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1919.) THE WEEK.

WITH WHICH IS THCOKPOIiATEH THE SOtiTHERE’ MEHCOIiy.

"Nunquam allud natura, all;:d sapienlia dixit.*^f —JUTENAIj. "Good nature and good sense must ever join."— Pope.

It will probably be found that it is a misnomer to term th« document to be handed thia week to the German representatives a Peace Treaty.. It is of the nature of the armistice, which was not a mutual cessation of hostilities for a given time, but a. concession granted by the Allies on their own terms, the penalty of non-acceptance of which would have been a continuance of fighting. Tho document to bo handed to the Germans is not a Treaty, but a statement of tho terms on which the Allies will cease operations. The Germans will have no choice but to accept or reject them. The time for argument with Germany, or for haggling about terms, if it ever existed, has long since passed. Germany put itself outside of the,.pale of discussion. very, soon after the war began. The Allies were not dealing with an enemy who , had a bgsis for grievances, or a territorial claim. They were fighting a wild and ravenous beast, and it woidd bo about as reasonable to treat with a mortally, wounded man-eating tiger, as with an enemy such as tho Gentians proved themselves to be. What the nature of the Peace terms is, as far as possible, ■ kept secret. It is, of course, impossible with such a horde of keen journalists in Paris, shadowing every prominent member of the Conference in the hope of gleaning a hint * which would form the basis of sensational messages to their journals. In some such way leaked out the premature announcement of the armistice which set the world astir. There have appeared various forecasts of the terms of peace. Separata terms are to be given to Bulgaria, and no terms at all are to be given to Turkey, which is to have no existence as a European nation. This alone would make the world thankful, even though after such a war. All these forecasts point to the possibility that France has been baulked in her longing to regain undisputed possession of Alsace and Lorraine. All these years the statue of Strassburg in Paris was draped in crepe betokening the national humiliation. It has also leaked out that the Saar Valley is to bo taken from Germany. The value of Alsace and Lorraine is no longer wholly sentimental. Lorraine has now valuable iron mines, owing to a discovery made since the war of 1871 of a method of _ cheaply making steel, and before and during the war just concluded Germany drew the greater part of its iron ore from Lorraine. The part this played in the war was of the utmost importance. The ethical question as to whom Alsace and Lorraine properly belong is not now in question. The fact remains that the" Rhineland was thoroughly Gallicised, and not the years of occupation have converted the inhabitants into Germans, although education and administration were Germanised. The Rhinelanders were all those years French in heart, and the reunion will now take place. Security must be taken for tho reparation that Germany is to pay. The representatives may sign anything, but as no German word can be accepted there must be a guarantee—enforced probably by a receiver or, in plain English, a- bailiff. For the Germans may whine that they are unable to pay, and repudiate the signatures of the representatives on the ground that they had no authority to sign. This contingency will no doubt be foreseen and provided for. Among the terms to be insisted upon, another press representative says that Marshal Foch desires the maintenance of the bridgeheads at Cologne, Coblenz, and Mainz until reparation is paid. The Allies have some better security ' than that. There are mines and potash deposits, and there are the customs. There are innumerable ways known to ’ debt collectors when debtors are contumacious. ’ The “slimness” of Germany is already recognised. ; One of the. questions brought into acute prominence by the . Peace Conference is the claim of Japan to. have her people admitted to other countries on terms of racial equality. . This is directly due to the intervention of the United States and President Wilson’s 14 points. Japan’s claim to be admitted to the League of Nations as an equal is somewhat shadowy. It is true that sho ousted tho Germans from Kiao-chau, thus

The Terms of Peace.

Racial Equality.

settling German pretensions in the Pacific. She has rendered minor assistance in the matter of transports and convoying, but has contributed but little to the winning of the war. What is now to be feared is the emergency of the dreaded question of the East. Japan, which has within the memory of men still living emerged from a state of feudalism to a point of high civilisation, now claims recognition of her claim to be admitted to the family of nations. It is a subject which publicists, have touched upon very gingerly, for even a small match might start a huge conflagration. If there is one subject on which there is an acute feeling in Australia it is the recognition of coloured races. And though the American Declaration of Independence begins by asserting that "all men are born equal in the sight of God it makes no mention of-,-niggers and Japanese. It could not very well do so, because when it was written niggers were not worthy of consideration, and Japan was closed against foreigners. How to reconcile the Declaration of Independence vith the conditions of to-day is as difficult as it is to square the Monroe doctrine with the annexation of Hawaii, the conquest of the Philippines, and the assumption of ndatory authority over countries shadowed in the press forecasts of the Treaty of Peace. A settlement of the Japanese question cannot be indefinitely postponed. The reasons are obvious. Following immediately upon the introduction of European.arts and manufactures as well as the growth of foreign commerce, Japan commenced to expand, and the country is becoming too small to hold its population. It cast its eyes southward over the chain of islands leading to Australia, and beyond them to the northern part of Australia itself. The mere idea created a storm of protest in Australia, and Mr Hughes has been insistent in urging objections to racial equality. It is stated by our Press representative that Mr Lloyd George would have given way, but that he is following Britain's policy in dealing with her colonial possessions of taking the line of least resistance. If Mr Hughes were to assent it were better for him to stay out of Australia, and if Mr Wilson gave way, he would have to deal with public opinion in the United States. Therefore, Japan must turn her eyes to China, where she has already gained cortrol of the valuable valley of the Yang-tse-Kiang and the country to the north is still capable of absorbing more population. Further beyond, in India, lie still darker possibilities. If Japan adopts the same policy that Germany followed with respect to Russia, the possibilities are pregnant with grave considerations. And if she has, as now a secret treaty with Britain, the position is more . complicated.

The method put forward by Sir Justice Stringer to make Arbitration Court awards suffi- . ciently elastic to meet the cost of , living problem is h.ighly ingenious, and may help to allay "the discontent among the industrial 'workers. The discontent manifests itself in throwing overboard the rigid wages awards of the court and a practical reversion, to the system of collective bargaining. The advent of the Arbitration Court was hailed as the dawn of a new day in industrial life. It was soon .found that, beyond the fact that for the first time wages were brought Tinder judicial review, the workers were no better off than before. The wages rose, as Mr Tregear pointed out, by some seven per cent., but the cost of living rose by some 13 per cent. Thon began that futile endless vicious circle, which has been commented upon so frequently. By fixing a basic wage for three classes of industrial workers, and introducing an added adjustable bonus to be reviewed every, six months on the basis of facts ascertained by the Statistician, the President of the Court has adroitly thrown a bomb into the forces of those who produce or distribute the things which come under "*' .'the head of essentials of living. If the pride of these things is raised, then the wages rise also automatically. The . question of aoiustin.g wages to the cost of living has been discussed by economists from diffeiont standpoints, rind the inquiry abandoned in despair. The ingenuity of Vfr j'*.tlice Stringer's proposition becomes very apparent. It does not pretend to be. more lhan a oaiiiative attempt to Allay discontent. If will not stand the Jest of logic. The basic wage may bo said to be the minimum living wage." but tho believers in tho "iron" law will contend that a -jiving wage is given to the employee, but nothing 13 given to the .employer. The fundamental mistake of the industrial worker is to imagine that the employor is a bank capable of henouring any chenne on demand. There can be no doubt that the experience of the war has shown how important a part is -played by labour in the national machine. The workers can no longer be considered a servile class—servile not in the vulgar sense, but in the original one meaning dependent—but as partners in the business of the nation. And the insistent demand for recognition of this cannot be' met by a mere sop of wages. Therefore the suggested conference between representatives of employers and those of labour is welcome. Such a conference mav lubricate some points of friction, and may lead to the solution of the larger question of the whole relation between capital and labour. "But there must be a discussion bptween "big" men on both sides. If the "big" men we have suggested can be found, then there .may be some hope of light on a growingly imminent problem. Without them we see but little nrospeet of anything more than mere futility, or pictures of Utopia.

' Arbitration Court Awards.