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tenance of a large army of occupation was not insisted upon from the first. This was because the original intention was to occupy the Left Bank permanently and not merely to ensure the execution of the Treaty; so Germany could hardly be saddled with the cost. The attachment of the territory to the French economic system would help defray the expense of occupying it; while, with all the war costs (including occupation during the Armistice) lumped in with reparations, there could be no object in adding these charges to the already impossible indemnities demanded.

Such was the complete French plan, as disclosed-as a kind of mass attack-upon the President's return to Europe. It was France's answer, in terms, to his proposals for the peace; and he considered that it was in direct opposition at almost every point to the principles laid down and accepted at the Armistice. In order to understand clearly the struggle of the Dark Period, the French diplomatic strategy must be clearly envisaged in all its elements. To summarize the main features of their programme of security as against Wilson's programme of the mutual guarantees of a world league we have:

1. French military control of the Rhine.

2. A permanent alliance of the great Powers to help France to hold it.

3. A group of smaller allies to menace Germany from the east.

4. Territorial reduction of the German Empire.

5. Crippling of the German political organization.

6. Disarmament of Germany but not of the Allies.

7. A crushing indemnity.

8. Deprivation of economic resources.

9. A set of commercial agreements preferential to France, prejudicial to Germany.

Here we have exactly what was in the minds of the leaders of the Old Order, and their programme for the

coming peace.

It is easy, of course, to cry out, as the Germans do, that this was a purely militaristic and imperialistic programme. Strong militaristic and imperialistic elements there certainly were in it, but the dominating element first and last was fear and a passion for security. To some extent the bargaining instinct entered into the programme, yet it is hard to put one's finger on a single element in this tremendous programme that was not thought out, sincerely meant to begin with, and tenaciously struggled for.

But the results of allowing such passions full sway are just as serious when they spring from an "inferiority complex" as when they are frank expressions of a "superman" or "super-race" delusion. Consider the outcome! In a Balkanized Europe of small squabbling states are left only two considerable national entities, France and Germany. To render the one secure, the other must be disarmed, dismembered, ringed round with strategically posted foes, its economic life crushed and fettered. The outcome is nothing less than the domination of Europe by France. And the war was fought to prevent its domination in just this wise by Germany. What is the difference, except that the whole world is the poorer by the cost of the vast effort to attain this result and by the waste involved in the transfer of resources? Oh, yes! the Frenchman would say, if he were brought to admit all this, but the world would be the gainer by substituting the enlightened tutelage of France for the barbaric despotism of Germany. One may accept this proposition and yet ask if either is necessary.

It was this question that Wilson put to the world

insistently and powerfully. It was militarism, and the military basis of peace-whether actual armies or alliances, or economic domination-that he was against. America had helped, at great cost, to overthrow the idea as represented by Germany; could America consent now to accept the same basis, even when demanded by her friends and allies? It was the whole system that Wilson was against-the Old Order, the ancient, stupid, violent methods which in the end would not accomplish the end desired-that he was against with the entire force of his nature and his faith. He was offering the worldand the French!-the only substitute for the old equilibrium of forces-which was a new order of international relations, based upon moral principles, mutual trust, and common guarantees: the League of Nations. To enable the world to attain this New Order France must throw over her fears, the British Empire its appetite for colonial expansion, America its self-centred isolation, just as Germany had been forced to abandon her wild and greedy ambitions. For all these things were dangerous to the peace of the world.

It was this bitter struggle of two utterly antagonistic principles that went on there in the Dark Period-had to go on to some compromise, some basis as between Wilson and Clemenceau-before the terms of the peace to be imposed upon Germany could be worked out. Wilson now found himself alone with a vast and bitter volume of attack growing up in the world which had so recently cheered him to the skies, but now, for lack of full understanding, had turned upon and was rending him. Even his own country, goaded by his opponents, was turning upon him.

But he made the fight-as will be shown in coming chapters.

CHAPTER XXVI

CRISIS OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE-ORIGIN OF THE
COUNCIL OF FOUR STRUGGLE BETWEEN WILSON
AND CLEMENCEAU-INTRIGUES OF THE MILI-
TARY PARTY-CLEMENCEAU THREATENS
TO RESIGN-WILSON FALLS ILL

P

RESIDENT WILSON was now face to face with

the most critical struggle of the entire Peace Conference that of the Dark Period. The French had suddenly and powerfully marshalled their complete phalanx of demands as shown in the last chapter-and the President found himself in opposition at almost every point.

But the French were not the only ones who had been sharpening their weapons while the President was away. Every problem of a mad, sick world now descended at once upon him.

The President had scarcely arrived at the new "White House" in the Place des États-Unis before the Italians were demanding immediate attention to their matters. On March 15 Orlando, the Italian premier, called twice upon the President. The Italians feared that their claims, involving Austria-Hungary, would be shelved until the German treaty was completed and they would thus lose all opportunities for bargaining; and they determined to prevent this at all costs.

The Japanese, vastly encouraged while the President was away by assurances under the Balfour resolution that their claims in China and the Pacific were in a fair

way to be favourably considered, now took occasion to press forward again with their demands for the recognition of the principle of racial equality. Their ambassador at Washington had even forwarded to the President on March 4 a formal note upon this subject.1

If the great States had weightier demands to present, the small states were more importunate. Venizelos presented the Greek claims to the President on March 14. The Albanians and Lithuanians appealed on the 17th. Delegations of all kinds from all parts of the world had been arriving at Paris during the preceding weeks and they had been organizing, outlining their demands, and, upon discovering how much everyone else was demanding, increasing these demands. The international labour group was already at work with Samuel Gompers representing America, a farmers' committee was sending in statements of its international purposes, women's committees had come from America and England and were eagerly knocking at the Conference door, and even a group of Negroes were there to lead the cause of the black man before the tribunal of the world. The Irish committee appeared with a fighting programme, the Egyptians were there, the Jews maintained a powerful representation for many weeks and were shrewdly and fruitfully active. Scarcely a day passed that mournful Armenians, bearded and black-clad, did not besiege the American delegation or, less frequently, the President, setting forth the really terrible conditions in their own ravished land. Among the President's papers is to be found a heartrending account of starvation in Vienna with a series of photographs showing children in the last stages of emaciationpictures that must have cut to the heart of any sensitive

man.

1See Chapter XXXVI for full text.

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