THE LABOURITE

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 23 June 1917, Page 3

THE LABOURITE

VIEWS ON "NO INDEMITY." HUNS' CLAWS MUST BE CUT. (Renter's Telegram.) London, June 9 Writing in the Federationist, Mr W. Appleton, secretary of the General Federation of Trades Unions, refers to the cry of no indemnities and no annexations. He says: It is impossible to state or even estimate the value in terms of money of the millions of lives sacrificed to the, ambitions of Germany's military casteor of the mental and moral agony of the people whose countries she has occupied; or of the material resources that she has destroyed; or of the deferred and ultimate consequences of her fight for world domination. But it is certain that she has impoverished the world and filled humanity's cup of sorrow to overflowing.. It is obviously impossible to extract from a Germany beaten even to her lences such indemnities as will restore to those she has outraged the material resources and the artistic treasures that they enjoyed prior to August 1914 But it should be neither impossible nor unjust to exact such terms as will i coei) her so occupied in making restitution and reparation that she will have no time during the present ceuftury to dream of, or prepare for, further military adventures. The world owes this much to itself. To absolve th« aggressor from all material penalties i s to invite future better prepared attacks, and to place in the interim between such attacks all the accumulated sorrows, burdens, and debts upon those who suffered in the war, rather than upon those who made the war. Let there be no mistake. If Germany' win s she will both annex terri-

tcry and exact indemnities. The phrase "No indemnities, and no annexations," is an admirable ideal, but, if democracy in the Allied countries adopts it carelessly, it will find itself saddled with the whole burden of restoring the resources of eleven different countries, will also leave undamaged Germany and Austria a clear start in the trade war which will follow the termination of military operations.