In some circles it has been claimed that President Wilson had trouble at the Peace Con ference because he tried to get the League of Nations adopted. That is an error. He had little trouble in getting it adopted. It was in trying to carry out the principles in his Fourteen Points, accepted formally by all the powers at war with Germany, that he got into difficulties. If he had been willing to ignore these prin c4des, make a settlement on the basis of the division of the spoils, with the league estab lished to see that the agreements was carried out, he would have had pleasant sailing at Paris. But such a peace would not have had the respect of posterity, nor would the defeated nations have accepted it in good faith. It would have sown seeds of future wars.
Boundaries of Small States.— The adjust ments here described, the disposition of the Ger man colonies, the arrangement with regard to reparations, the Saar Valley, and the demilitar ized region along the Rhine, and the recognition of Japan's claims to succeed Germany in China, along with the creation of the League of Nations are the achievements of the conference which aroused most feeling. But other adjustments were made, some of them both important and difficult Of this class one problem was the determination of the boundaries of the new small nations. In reconstituting the Polish state the question of a Polish port came up. Danzig is the natural outlet for Polish trade and it was once a Polish city. There was a demand among the Poles for its cession to the new state. But it was situated in the strongly German province of East Prussia and it was not wise to assign it to Polish rule. It was finally decided t Danzig should be inter nationalized and that a acorridor° communkat ing. with it from Poland should also be inter nationalized. The decision caused great disap pointment to the Poles, but it satisfied most other people. The boundary was so drawn that the Polish kingdom as it existed before the partition of 1772 was re-established territorially. Within its boundaries lies Upper Silesia rich in coal and iron, whose population is strongly German. To determine the fate of this prov ince it was decided that a plebiscite must be taken in not less than 18 months after the ratification of the treaty to determine whether the province goes to Poland or Germany. East Prussia, lying east of the Vistula, for the most part was left to Germany, since its population is decidedly German. It was also provided that the province of Schleswig should be divided into two districts, inch of which should by vote determine whether it should belong to Germany or to Denmark. Finally, the fortifications of
Heligoland were ordered destroyed and by Ger man labor under Allied supervision.
Limitations on German Military Power.— The provisions by which Germany's power to wage war was to be reduced within the safety limits were devised with great care. After 31 March 1920, the army was not to contain more than seven divisions of infantry and three divi sions of cavalry, a total of not more than 100, 000 men, of whom not more than 4,000 should be officers, and the force was to confine itself strictly to the preservation of internal order. The number of guns that might be kept was specified, and the rest were to be handed over to the Allies. For each gun of 10.5 cm. or less calibre not more than 1,500 rounds of ammuni tion could be kept, and for larger guns not more than 500 rounds each. All surplus stocks of arms and ammunition were to be surren dered, all munitions factories to be closed and only enough maintained to supply the small army now allowed to exist There was to be no more importation nor exportation of mu nitions of any kind. Universal military serv ice was to be abolished by law, and the army in the future was to depend on voluntary en listment. The period of enlistment was to be 12 years for officers and privates, and not more than 5 per cent of either class to be discharged in one year. Only one military school was to exist for each arm of the service; and the uni versities and other educational institutions ((must not occupy themselves with any military matters.° No °measures of mobilization° were to be taken.
The naval forces in commission were not to exceed 6 battleships of the Deutschland or Lothringen type, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroy ers, 12 torpedo boats, or any equal number constructed to replace them as provided else where in the treaty. The personnel of the navy, including the reserve corps, coast de fenses, signal stations, and other land forces of the navy, must not exceed 15,000 men, and there must not be more than 1,500 officers and warrant officers. All surface warships above the number specified were to be surrendered, or considered surrendered if they were already in Allied hands; but 28 auxiliary ships, among them the Afoiet., were to be retained and con into merchant vessels. All submarines.