The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, MARCH 18th, 1919. WHAT PEACE MEANS.

Taihape Daily Times, 18 March 1919, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, MARCH 18th, 1919. WHAT PEACE MEANS.

(With wfciefe is taeorpornted The ftihape Pe«t «id WalvsHiVjo Nuwa).

♦— j The day for signing peace terms with. Germany is drawing near; pre- j liminary difficulties which loomed very j large are rapidly being cleared away, J leaving the way clear for an under- j standing of a contract that augurs well for its justice to all parties so far as it is possible to secure justice. The penalty commensurate with German crime cannot be inflicted be- i cause it would be utterly impossible for Germany to pay it, but the conditions to be imposed will assure immunity from German armed aggressiveness for many decades to come if it does not result in the banishment of armed camps for ever. The Alies are not at present unanimous on the proposal that the peace terms shall constitute a part of the League of Nations; the political Republican element in the United States is opposed to the proposal, their fears being that j it would imperil the long-cherished j Monroe Doctrine, but the majority of I the American people are determined that the League of Nations and official peace shall come into existence , together; they are of opinion that a Monroe Doctrine that imperils st brotherhood of man is of less importance to the world and humanity than

i the League and the peace the Council jof the Allies are endeavouring to esi tablish for the future peaceful govcru- ! merit of all peoples. In fact, the Plej nary Conference has definitely ueI cided that the League of Nations snail be part of the Peace Treaty. The Council has invited neutrals to submit their views and criticisms by next Thursday so that the completed document may be ready by an early dure, which has not yet been made known. The Allied Peace Conference has overcome all difficulties presented in combining the Peace Treaty with the League of Nations, there being nothing visible of a nature that would tend to imperil final consummation. German opposition to the terms seems to have faded to nothingness; in fact, there is at present a remarkable docility being displayed by both Government and people. German delegates who refused to hand over to the Allies all German merchant ships have changed their mind, and have accepted true- Allies' conditions for their surrender. The British Admiral who met the delegates told them they might ask questions, but were not allowed to discuss terms which the Allies had determined upon; the Allies would see that food went to Germany provided all ships were surrendered and disclosures were made of securities Germany possessed for payment of food These conditions have been unreservedly accepted, and German merchant ships ar'e already passing into possession of Britain, Prance, and America.

The way is now paved for presenta- ' tion of the final document, the Treaty ' of Peace, for German signature. Germany has already appointed eight men as a delegation to receive the peace terms which they are to present to the Government at Weimar for final acceptance. Separate terms are»to be signed by each enemy nation, but when Germany has signed Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey will follow without delay or dissent. Taking all cabled information into consideration there seems to be nothing of sufficient importance to cause delay in reaching finality; as little time as possible will be given to neutral views, which are to be in by Thursday, so that the signing of the most important document in history should be acomplished some time during the present month. Then will follow a strain upon the producing powo r 3 of Allied na-

tions; thousands of tons per month of foodstuffs of all kinds will ibe required to stay the death from starvation in all enemy countries until sufficient food can be produced internally.. The time fixed for the Allies to supply food ends in August, but it is well understood that food from Allied countries will have to be poured into the disrupted enemy areas for several months beyond thfcit period. Cold storage in New Zealand and in oilier meat exporting countries will rapidly be cleared, leaving nothing to prevent export trade organisation doing all that is possible to scent out and "prepare effectually for whatever eventualities in markets there may arise. From the day peace is signed there will commons a return to, if not normal, then to stable conditions in trade, maujfaefure, shipping, finace, and industry generally; there will be a rapid hustling back to civil life and to the old peaceful occupations. As munition works came with almost magical swiftness, they will disappear «s swiftly, giving place to that work in manufacturing countries on which the greatness of peoples depend ;the criminality of profiteering must cease because people will not endmv a crime so inimical to nidustria;l peace. There must be a synchronisation of the world's political peace with the world's indusVial peace. They are inseparable. One

cannot obtain without the other. The spirit -of contention will be discredited and the spirit of pcaoa will be at o premium when it is demonstrated that the brotherhood of man is to be a reality and not a sham. We believe the old degrading', humanitydestroying commercialism of- the past is giving way to a cLancr, a more honourable, a more just, a more humane commercialism of the future; a commercialism that is not an accursed man-lulling process, but la. condition in which no individual in the State will be deprived of participation. The founding of Welfare Leagues and similar institutions arts cumulative evidence that peoples .of the earth ere fully alive to the changes that are imperative if the civilisation the world has attained to

is to further progress. The League of Nations is the example set by the nations of the world £o rpoacoful evolution in all things in which men arc seriously prone 'to differ and quarrel over. The League of Nations can only be maintain*.' by total absence jof arbitrary action in its adjudica- ' liens, and precisely the same conditions must govern all our industrial leagr.es, welfare leagues, and, in fact, all our governing and quasi-govern-ing institutions of every kind. The first .arbitrary selfish act will drive a nail into the coffin of peaceful evoI lrtion. and become the first valid j argument for a return to armed force. | With the signing of the Peace Treaty i and the League of Nations the whole i civilised world launches upon settlement of all differences by discussion j and arbitration. Force prompted by I lust and greed is to be eliminated from among nations as it is from among peoples and races; but it would be utterly impossible to establish .anything of tiro kind if men who now control vast power through the possession of huge accumulations of money were to attempt, even, a continuous wicked, death-dealing, awful disease racking, humanity-destroying, fictitious price-making of the commodities wheivby human life is maintained. This peace must not be regarded as another respire for profiteering; peaceful government of nations cannot be maintaied while th ! :re is widespread cause for national and international strife. Thfo -example j set by the nations of the world to j prove of valu:.' 'ho the world and to j save civilisation must be followed right down through the smallest State to the smallest body of men registered as an industrial union; in short. I it. means that the world must be governed by justice instead of by all th'3 horrors that go to make up the modern military machine. There arc only the Bolsheviks .and Other j Anarchists who do net desire such a ! peace.