Herr Erzberger, the Clerical Deputy whom the German Govern- ment
employ as a kite-flier, has been good enough to work out and publish a draft Constitution for a League of Nations, which shall come into existence when " Germany, Great Britain, France, the United States, and Russia" have proclaimed their adherence. The members are to agree to gradual disarmament and to arbitration in disputes. Herr Erzberger's real object is :amusingly revealed in the elaborate provisions for economic equality and the " freedom of the seas " in the familiar German sense. For the first ten years, " each State's surplus of raw materials will be divided between the other Federal States" according to the standard of their imports in 1913 and the special needs of individual States arising out of the war. In plain English, Herr Erzberger wants Germany to recover the position that she had before the war, and expects the Allies to abandon the power which they derive from their command of foodstuffs and raw materials. We are not so simple as he thinks us. We have first of all to find a repentant Germany whose word can be trusted.
Previous page
