Mar. 9.
"THE only thing to do."' Such will be the universal verdict on the Allies' decision to enforce the penalties on Germany, except among Germans, pro-Germans and the sort of people who must always be a little wiser than their neighbours. And among no others is there the least question that Germany has been given more than a fair chance. Concession after concession has been granted her; the terms of the Treaty of Versailles have been modified she is required to pay nothing more than the estimated cost of the destruction she has @®ge, and we dare swear that that &timate is very short of the full tale; she has been allowed to protest every step and her repeated failure to keep her armistice and treaty engagements have been treated with almost incredible forbearance. Even now the Allies would have met her in any reasonable modification of the fulfilment of their terms. But she has shown once again that her nature is incapable of responding to or even of understanding generous usage. She offers for all payment one quarter of what Great Britain alone must pay in repairing the wreckage of war. She prates of economic sacrifice, who does not bear one tenth of the taxation under which Fance labours. And she whimpers that whatever the Allies may do, she simply cannot pay—which merely means that she cannot pay without some trifling inconvenience. She has shown beyond further question that only one argument appeals to her—force, force to the uttermost.
We were told last Saturday what kind of force the Allies will exert as a preliminary, Duisburg, Ruhrort and Dusseldorf will be occupied; a new line of customs stations will be established and dues both inwards and outwards collected by the Allies; and 'n all Allied countries any payments due to Germany will have to be made to the Governments o those countries, who will retain what they think fit. But eve thus we shall be very far off the requisite 226,000 million gold marks and further m€asures will probably be inevitable. For those at least the French are ready and it is sincerely to be hoped that a free hand will be granted them, the only people who really understand the German nature, in compelling an adjustment of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.