TREATY OF VERSAILLES 1919

Treaty of Versailles 1919

Treaty of Versailles 1919

Introduction

Let me make perfectly clear at the start that it is not my intention to attempt any explanation of or apology for the French advance into the Ruhr. The subject on which I am supposed to write is, “A Revision of the Treaty of Versailles.” This is quite a subject with which to deal adequately in the space allotted to me. I, therefore, propose to confine myself to stating, as I understand them, certain of the barriers which exist to Treaty revision. I have chosen this course in spite of my personal belief that the Treaty, particularly in its economic clauses, does need considerable revision, because it seems to me futile to discuss what form revision should take, until the essential conditions to any kind of revision are understood and fulfilled.

Continental Viewpoint of War

It is, I think, perhaps interesting to note that the powers which are at present most definitely opposed to Treaty revision-France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Poland-are continental powers. It is in this fact that must be sought the causes of their seeming intransigeancy. It is this fact which makes them fear that the entering wedge of economic revision will lead to political revision at their expense and in Germany's favor. For Poland and Czechoslovakia the Treaty of Versailles is a Declaration of Independence. Considering the sanctity with which you view your own Declaration of Independence, you will, think, understand the feelings of these two powers for those sections of the Treaty which they regard as their Charter of Liberty. You can understand that they do not accept, with any noticeable degree of fervor, the notion of a revision of this charter which would be likely to lose them any of the gains they achieved through it. They have only enjoyed these gains for four years, they have hardly had time to take firm hold on them and it is, therefore, understandable that they should feel some nervousness at the mere suggestion that any should be relinquished. The projects of noncontinental powers for revision of the Treaty to establish what they conceive to be a more just basis for peace are, therefore, viewed with deep suspicion by the continental beneficiaries of the Treaty. As these see the situation, they are being asked to relinquish benefits achieved through a war in order to prevent an hypothecal future war. War is unfortunately nothing particularly new in Europe. Indeed, much of Europe's development has been due to war. To many Europeans war has come to be seen as a distinct feature of a biological process of growth, death and rebirth. This process as they see it has been briefly as follows: A power rises to a preponderant position through natural accretions or through the inter-marriage of dynasties, or through the signal ability of some ruler. The surrounding minor national groups gradually become affiliated with the preponderant group, either for political (protection) or economic reasons. The first pressure exerted by the preponderant group in a ...