CHAPTER XXI
REVISED COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS—THE TREATY OF PEACE
On April 28, 1919, the revised covenant of the League of Nations was adopted by the plenary session of the Peace Conference without divisions and without amendment. Sir Eric Drummond of Great Britain was nominated the first secretary general of the League.
The covenant as drafted may be briefly summed up.
"The original members of the League of Nations shall be those of the signatories which are named in the annex to this covenant, and also such of those other states named in the annex as shall accede without reservation to this covenant."
(In the annex to the covenant the original members of the League of Nations signatory to the treaty of peace are given as follows: the United States of America, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, British Empire, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New South Wales, India, China, Cuba, Czecho-Slovakia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hedjaz, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Serbia, Siam, and Uruguay. States invited to accede to the covenant: Argentine Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Persia, Salvador, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Venezuela.) It is interesting to note that Mexico was not included among the states invited to join the League.
Article I, as revised, provides that "Any self-governing state, dominion, or colony, not named in the annex may become a member of the League if its admission is agreed to by two-thirds of the assembly, provided it shall give effective guaranties of its sincere intention to observe its international obligations and shall accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military and naval forces and armaments.
"Any member of the League may, after two years' notice of its intention, withdraw from the League, provided that all its international obligations and all its obligations under this covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal."
Article IV, as revised, reads: "The council shall consist of representatives of the United States of America, of the British Empire, of France, of Italy, and of Japan, together with four other members of the League. These four members of the League shall be selected by the assembly from time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the representatives of the four members of the League first selected by the assembly, representatives of (blank) shall be members of the council."
Two new paragraphs in this article provide specifically for one vote for each member of the League in the council, which was understood before, and providing also for one representative of each member of the League.
The signers of the treaty for the United States: President Woodrow Wilson, Robert Lansing, Henry White, Edward M. House, Tasker H. Bliss; for the British Empire: David Lloyd-George, Andrew Bonar Law, Viscount Milner, Arthur James Balfour, George N. Barnes.
Signature of Ch. J. Doherty and A. L. Sifton, Canada; W. N. Hughes and Joseph Cook, Australia; Louis Botha and J. C. Smuts, South Africa; W. F. Massey, New Zealand; Ed. S. Montagu and Sir Ganga Singh, India; for France: Georges Clemenceau, S. Pichon, L. L. Klotz, A. Tardieu, Jules Cambon.
Signatures of delegates from Peru, Portugal, Rumania, Jugoslavia, Siam, Czecho-Slovakia, Uruguay. Pages preceding were delegates from Italy, Japan, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hedjaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama.
Signatures and seals of the German delegates, Dr. Hermann Muller and Dr. Bell.
Names of delegates, not previously given, who signed on behalf of the Allied and Associated Powers, are: ITALY, Baron Sonnino, Marquis Imperiali, S. Crespi; BELGIUM, Paul Hymans, Van den Heuvel, E. Vandervelde; BOLIVIA, Ismael Montes; BRAZIL, P. Calogeras, Rodrigo Octavio; CUBA, Antonio Sanchez de Bustamente; ECUADOR, Enrique Dorn y de Alsua; GREECE, E. Venizelos, N. Politis; GUATEMALA, Joaquin Mendez; HAITI, Terulien Guilbaud; HEDJAZ, Rustem Haidar, Abdul Hadi Anuni; HONDURAS, Policarpo Bonilla; LIBERIA, C. D. B. King; NICARAGUA, Salvador Chamorro; PANAMA, Antonio Burgos; PERU, Candamo; POLAND, Paderewski, Dmowski; PORTUGAL, Costa, Soares; RUMANIA, Bratiano, Coanda; JUGOSLAVIA, Pachitch, Trumbitch, Vesnitch; SIAM, Prince Charoon, Prince Traislos Probandhu; CZECHO-SLOVAKIA, Kramarez, Benes; URUGUAY, Buero.
A new paragraph in Article V expressly incorporates the provision as to the unanimity of voting, which was at first taken for granted. The second paragraph of Article VI has added to it that a majority of the assembly must approve the appointment of the secretary general.
In Article VII Geneva is named as the seat of the League, as before, but the council are given power to establish it elsewhere if subsequently desired.
A new paragraph in Article VII establishes equality of employment of men and women by the League.
An added paragraph in Article XIII gives instances of disputes which are generally suitable to arbitration, such disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any question of international law, as to the existence of any fact, which if established would constitute a breach of any international obligation, or as to the extent and nature of the reparation to be made for any such breach.
A new paragraph added to Article XV is an amendment regarding domestic jurisdiction, that where the council finds that a question arising out of an international dispute affects matters which are clearly under the domestic jurisdiction of one or other of the parties, it is to report to that effect and make no recommendation.
A new paragraph in Article XVI provides for expulsion from the League when a member violates any covenant "by a vote of the council concurred in by the representatives of all the other members of the League represented thereon."
Article XXI was not in the first draft of the League covenant and reads: "Nothing in this covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of international engagements, such as treaties of arbitration, or regional understandings, such as the Monroe Doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace."
This amendment recognizing the validity of the Monroe Doctrine meets the "inequality of voting power" criticism, and its inclusion in the covenant was regarded as a personal triumph for President Wilson.
Article XXII provides that all agreements shall be unanimous and that a nation must decide whether it is to be a mandatory for any other nation.
Article XXIII contains a new clause providing for just treatment of the aborigines, a clause looking toward prevention of the white slave traffic and opium traffic, and a clause looking toward progress in international prevention of disease.
Article XXV specifically mentions the Red Cross as one of the international organizations which are to connect their work with the work of the League.
Article XXVI permits the amendment of the covenant by a majority of the states composing the assembly, instead of three-fourths of the states, though it does not change the requirement in that matter with regard to the vote of the council. A new paragraph was added to this Article at the request of the Brazilian delegates in order to avoid constitutional difficulties. It permits any member of the League to dissent from an amendment, the effect of such dissent being withdrawal from the League.
On May 7, 1919 (the anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania), the Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers on the one hand and Germany on the other was delivered to the German plenipotentiaries at Versailles. Fifteen days were allowed for reply.
The treaty represents the work of more than a thousand experts who were continuously engaged on the task for three and a half months. It is the longest treaty ever drawn, totaling about 80,000 words. The treaty does not deal with questions affecting Austria, Bulgaria, and Turkey except to the extent of binding Germany to accept any agreement reached with her old allies.
The covenant of the League of Nations is contained in the first section of the treaty and in addition to its general duties others are specified.
The League may question Germany at any time for a violation of the neutralized zone east of the Rhine as a threat against the world's peace. A high commissioner of Danzig will be appointed to guarantee the independence of the free city, and arrange treaties between Danzig, Germany, and Poland. It will appoint three out of five members of the Sarre commission, oversee its régime and carry out the plebiscite. The mandatory system will be applied to the former German colonies and the League will act as a final court in the matter of the plebiscites of the Belgian-German frontier and Kiel Canal disputes.
SECTION II.
BOUNDARIES OF GERMANY.
Germany cedes to France Alsace-Lorraine, 5,600 square miles to the southwest, and to Belgium two small districts between Luxemburg and Holland, totaling 382 square miles. To Poland she cedes the southeastern point of Silesia beyond and including Oppeln, most of Posen and West Prussia, 27,686 square miles. East Prussia is thus isolated from the main body by a portion of Poland. Germany loses dominion over the northeastern tip of East Prussia, forty square miles north of the River Memel and the internationalized areas around Danzig, 729 square miles, and the basin of the Sarre, 738 square miles, between the western border of the Rhenish Palatinate of Bavaria and the southeast corner of Luxemburg. The Danzig area consists of a V between the Nogat and Vistula Rivers, made a W by the addition of a similar V on the west including the city of Danzig. The southeastern third of East Prussia and the area between East Prussia and the Vistula north of latitude 53 degrees 3 minutes is to have its nationality determined by popular vote, 5,785 square miles, and the same with Schleswig, 2,787 square miles.
SECTION III.
BELGIUM.
Germany is to consent to the abrogation of the treaties of 1839 which established Belgium as a neutral state, and she agrees to any convention the Allied and Associated Powers may determine to replace them.
She is to recognize Belgium's sovereignty over the contested territory of Moresnet and part of Prussian Moresnet, and renounce in Belgium's favor all rights over the circles of Eupen and Malmedy, whose inhabitants may within six months protest the change, in whole or part, the League of Nations to decide.
Germany renounces her various treaties and conventions with the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, all rights of exploitation of railroads, and adheres to the abrogation of its neutrality, accepting in advance any international agreement arrived at by the Powers.
Germany will not maintain fortifications, or armed forces, within fifty kilometers east of the Rhine, hold maneuvers, or maintain works to facilitate mobilization. In case of violation "she shall be regarded as committing a hostile act against the powers who sign the present treaty and as intending to disturb the peace of the world."
ALSACE-LORRAINE.
Alsace-Lorraine are restored to France with their frontiers as before 1871. Citizenship is regulated by detailed provisions distinguishing those who are immediately restored to French citizenship, those who have to make applications therefor, and those for whom naturalization is open after three years. All public and private property of former German sovereigns passes to France without payment or credit. Ownership over railways and rights over tramway concessions and the Rhine bridges pass to France.
For five years manufactured products of Alsace-Lorraine will be admitted free of duty to Germany to a total amount not exceeding in any year the average of the three years preceding the war. Textile materials may be imported from Germany into Alsace-Lorraine and reexported free of duty. For seven years, perhaps ten, the ports of Kehl and Strassburg shall be administered by a French administrator appointed by the Central Rhine Commission. Property rights will be safeguarded in both ports and equality of treatment in traffic assured nationals, vessels, and goods of all countries.
Contracts between Alsace-Lorraine and Germany are maintained, but France has the right to annul them on grounds of public interest. Judgments of courts hold in certain classes of cases, others require first a judicial exequatur. War-time political condemnations are null and void and the obligation to repay war fines is established, as in other parts of Allied territory.
THE SARRE.
To compensate France for the destruction of her coal mines in the north, Germany cedes to France full ownership of the coal mines in the Sarre basin, their value to be estimated by the Reparation Commission and credited against that account. France replaces the present owners, whom Germany undertakes to indemnify. France will continue to supply coal for present needs and contribute in just proportion to local taxes. The basin extends from the frontier of Lorraine as reannexed to France as far as St. Wendel, including on the west the Sarre valley as far as Saarholzbach and on the east the town of Homburg.
To secure the rights and welfare of the population and guarantee to France entire freedom in working the mines the League of Nations will appoint a commission of five to govern the territory, one French, one a native of Sarre, and three representing different countries other than France and Germany. Existing German legislation will remain the basis of the law, but the commission may make modifications after consulting a local representative assembly which it will organize. It will have taxing power for local purposes only. The assembly must approve new taxes. The wishes of local labor organizations will be considered in labor legislation and the labor program of the League. French and other labor may be utilized freely; the former are at liberty to belong to French unions. Pensions and social insurance will be maintained by Germany and the Sarre Commission.
There will be no military service; a local gendarmerie will preserve order. The people will preserve their local assemblies, religious assemblies, schools, etc., but may only vote for local assemblies. They will keep their present nationality except as they wish to change it, and their property will be respected if they wish to leave the territory. As a part of the French customs system there will be no export tax on coal and metal products going to Germany, nor on German products entering the basin and for five years no import duties on products going and coming. For local consumption French money may circulate without any restrictions.
After fifteen years a plebiscite will be held to discover if the people wish a continuance of the régime under the League of Nations, union with France, or union with Germany. The right to vote will belong to all inhabitants over twenty, resident therein at the signature. The League will take into account the opinions expressed and decide the ultimate sovereignty. In any portion restored to Germany the German Government must buy out French mines at their appraised value, which if not paid for in six months pass finally to France. In case that Germany should buy the mines, the League will decide how much coal shall be annually sold to France.
SECTION IV.
"Germany recognizes the total independence of German-Austria in the boundaries traced." She recognizes the independence of the Czecho-Slovak state, including the autonomous territory of the Ruthenians south of the Carpathians, accepting the frontiers as will be determined, which in the case of the German frontier follows the frontier of Bohemia in 1914.
POLAND.
Germany cedes to Poland the greater part of upper Silesia, Posen, and the province of West Prussia on the left bank of the Vistula. A Field Boundary Commission of seven, five representing Allied and Associated Powers and one each representing Poland and Germany, shall be constituted to delimit this boundary. Special provisions to protect racial, linguistic or religious minorities and secure equitable treatment of commerce for other nations will be laid down in a subsequent treaty.
The southern and eastern frontiers of East Prussia as touching Poland shall be fixed by plebiscites, the first in the regency of Allenstein between the southern frontier of East Prussia and the northern frontier, or Regierungsbezirk Allenstein, from where it meets the boundary between East and West Prussia, to its junction with the boundary between the circles of Oletsko and Angerburg, thence the northern boundary of Oletsko to its junction with the present frontier. The second plebiscite will be held in the area comprising the circles of Stuhm and Rosenberg and the parts of the circles of Marienburg and Marienwerder east of the Vistula.
In each case German troops and authorities will move out within fifteen days of the peace and an international commission of five members appointed by the Allied and Associated Powers will arrange for a free, fair, and secret vote.
Regulations will be drawn up by the Allied and Associated Powers assuring East Prussia full and equitable use and access of the Vistula. A subsequent convention will fix terms between Poland, Germany, and Danzig, to assure railway communication across German territory on the right bank of the Vistula between Poland and Danzig, while Poland shall grant free passage from East Prussia to Germany. The northeastern corner of East Prussia about Memel is to be ceded by Germany to the Associated Powers, the former agreeing to accept the settlements made, in particular as regards nationality.
DANZIG.
Danzig and the territory near it is constituted a free city under guaranty of the League of Nations. A high commission appointed by the League and the president of Danzig shall draw up a constitution in agreement with the representatives of the city, dealing with all differences between the city and Poland. The boundaries of the city shall be delimited by a commission appointed within six months of the peace of representatives chosen by the Allied and Associated Powers and one each for Germany and Poland. A convention, the terms to be fixed by the Powers, will include Danzig in the Polish customs frontiers through a free area in the port; insure Poland free use of the city's waterways, docks, the control of the Vistula and the whole railway system within the city, and telegraphic and telephonic communication between Poland and Danzig; provides against discrimination against Poles in the city, and places its foreign relations and the diplomatic protection of its citizens abroad in charge of Poland.
DENMARK.
The frontier between Germany and Denmark, will be fixed by the self-determination of the population. Ten days from the peace German troops and authorities shall evacuate the region north of the line running from the mouth of the Schlei, south of Kappel, Schleswig, and Friedrichstadt along the Eider to the North Sea south of Tönning; the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils shall be dissolved and the territory administered by an international commission of five, of whom Norway and Sweden shall be invited to name two.
This commission shall insure a free and secret vote, and draw a new frontier on the basis of the plebiscite, Germany renouncing all sovereignty over territories north of this line in favor of the Associated Governments, who will hand them over to Denmark. All military works on islands of Helgoland and Dune will be destroyed by German labor under supervision of the Allies.
RUSSIA.
Germany agrees to respect the independence of all territories which were part of the Russian Empire. Accepts abrogation of Brest-Litovsk and other treaties, and recognizes all treaties of the powers with states part of former Empire. The Allied and Associated Powers reserve the right of Russia to obtain restitution and reparation on the principles of present treaty.
SECTION V.
Outside Europe, Germany renounces all rights as to her own and her allies' territories to all the Allied and Associated Powers and will accept whatever measures are taken by the five powers.
Germany renounces in favor of the Allied and Associated Power her overseas possessions. All property of the German Empire, or state, passes to the government exercising authority in the territory. Provision will be made for the repatriation of German nationals and of German subjects holding property. Germany undertakes to pay damages to French nationals in the Cameroons who suffered from acts of German civil and military authorities between January, 1900, to August 1, 1914.
CHINA AND SIAM.
Germany renounces in favor of China all privileges and indemnities resulting from the Boxer rebellion of 1901, and all public property except diplomatic and consular establishments in the German concessions of Tientsin and Hankow, and in other Chinese territory except Kiauchau, and agrees to return to China all astronomical instruments seized in 1900 and 1901. Germany accepts the abrogation of concessions at Hankow and Tientsin, China agreeing to open them to international use. Germany renounces all claims against China, or any allied or associated government, for the internment or repatriation of her citizens in China, and for seizure or liquidation of German interests. She renounces in favor of Great Britain her state property in the British concession at Canton, and of France and China.
Germany recognizes that all agreements with Siam ceased July 22, 1917. All German property but consular and diplomatic premises pass to Siam. Germany waives all claims against Siam for seizure of German property during the war.
LIBERIA.
Germany renounces all rights under international arrangements of 1911 and 1912, regarding Liberia. All commercial treaties and agreements between herself and Liberia are abrogated and she recognizes Liberia's right to determine the status and condition of the reestablishment of Germans in Liberia.
Germany renounces all her rights, titles, etc., under the act of Algeciras and French-German conventions of 1909 and 1911, and all arrangements with the Sherifian Empire. She undertakes not to interfere in any negotiations as to Morocco between France and other powers, accepts the French protectorate and renounces the capitulations. The Sherifian Government shall have complete liberty of action over German nationals. All German property may be sold and the proceeds deducted from the reparation account.
EGYPT.
Germany recognizes the British Protectorate over Egypt and renounces the capitulations and all treaties, etc., concluded by her with Egypt. She undertakes not to intervene in any negotiations between Great Britain and other powers. She consents to the transfer to Great Britain of the powers given to the late Sultan of Turkey for securing the free navigation of the Suez Canal. German nationals will be dealt with as in Morocco. Anglo-Egyptian goods entering Germany shall enjoy the same treatment as British goods.
Germany accepts all arrangements which the Allied and Associated Powers make with Turkey and Bulgaria.
SHANTUNG.
Germany cedes to Japan all rights, etc., notably as to Kiauchau and the railroads, mines, and cables acquired by her treaty with China of 1907 and agreements as to Shantung. All German rights to the railroad from Tsingtau to Tsinan-fu, including mining rights, pass equally to Japan, and the cables from Tsingtau to Shanghai and Che-foo free of all charges.
SECTION VI.
THE GERMAN ARMY, ARMAMENTS, ETC.
The German army must be demobilized within two months of the peace. Its strength may not exceed 100,000 including 4,000 officers, to be devoted exclusively to maintaining internal order and control of frontiers. The great German General Staff is abolished. The army administrative service is reduced to one-tenth of the total in 1913 budget.
Customs officers, coast guards, etc., may not exceed the number in 1913. Local police may be increased with growth in population only, and none of these may be assembled for military training.
Within three months of the peace all establishments manufacturing arms and munitions of war except those specifically excepted must be closed and their personnel dismissed. The amount of armament and munitions allowed Germany is laid down in detail tables, all in excess to be surrendered or rendered useless. The manufacture or importations of asphyxiating, poisonous, or other gases is forbidden, as well as importations of arms, munitions, and war material. Germany may not manufacture such material for foreign governments.
Conscription is abolished. The enlisted personnel is to be maintained by voluntary enlistments for a term of twelve consecutive years. Officers remaining in the service must agree to serve to the age of forty-five. Newly appointed officers agree to serve for twenty-five years.
No military schools but those indispensable shall exist in Germany two months after the peace. No associations, such as societies of discharged soldiers, shooting or touring clubs, etc., may occupy themselves with military matters. All measures of mobilization are forbidden.
All fortified works in German territory within a zone of fifty kilometers east of the Rhine shall be dismantled within three months. Construction of new fortifications is forbidden. Fortified works on southern and eastern front may remain. Interallied commissions will see to the execution of the provisions for which a time limit is set, the maximum named being three months. Germany must afford them every facility to go to any part of Germany, pay their expenses, and cost of labor and material necessary in destruction or surrender of army equipment.
The German navy must be demobilized within two months of the peace. She will be allowed six small battleships, six light cruisers, twelve destroyers, twelve torpedo boats and no submarines, either military or commercial, with a personnel of 15,000 men, including officers, and no reserve force of any character. Conscription is abolished, only voluntary service being permitted, with a minimum period of twenty-five years' service for officers and twelve for men. No member of the German mercantile marine will be permitted any naval training.
All German vessels of war in foreign ports and the German high-sea fleet interned at Scapa Flow will be surrendered, the final disposition to be decided upon by the Allied and Associated Powers. Germany must surrender forty-two modern destroyers, fifty modern torpedo boats, and all submarines with their salvage vessels. War vessels under construction must be broken up, other war vessels may be placed in reserve, or used in commerce. Ships cannot be replaced except those lost, until at the end of twenty years for battleships, and fifteen years for destroyers. The largest armored ship permitted Germany will be 10,000 tons. All German fortifications in the Baltic defending the passages through the belts must be demolished. For three months after the peace German wireless stations at Nauen, Hanover, and Berlin will be permitted to send commercial messages only under supervision of the Associated and Allied Powers, and no more may be built.
CABLES—AIR FORCES.
Germany renounces all title to specified cables, the value of such as were privately owned being credited to her against reparation indebtedness. The armed forces of Germany must not include air forces for more than 100 unarmed seaplanes. No dirigibles shall be kept. All the air personnel must be demobilized within two months except for 1,000 men retained until October 1, 1919. No aviation grounds or dirigible sheds are allowed within 150 kilometers of the Rhine, or the eastern or southern frontiers. Existing installations will be destroyed. Manufacture of aircraft is forbidden for six months. All military and naval aeronautical material must be surrendered within three months, except the 100 planes specified.
PRISONERS.
Repatriation of German prisoners and interned civilians will be carried out without delay at Germany's expense by a mixed commission of Allies and Germans. The Allies have the right to hold German officers until Germany has surrendered persons guilty of offenses against the laws and customs of war. Repatriation is conditional on the immediate release of any Allied subjects still in Germany. Germany is to restore all property belonging to Allied prisoners.
GRAVES.
Both parties will respect and maintain the graves of soldiers and sailors buried on their territory and assist commissions charged with identifying, registering, etc., erecting monuments over the graves, and to afford each other facilities for repatriating the remains of their soldiers.
SECTION VII
RESPONSIBILITIES.
"The Allied and Associated Powers publicly arraign William II of Hohenzollern, formerly German Emperor, not for the offenses against any criminal law, but for the supreme offense against international morality and the sanctity of treaties."
Holland will be requested to surrender the ex-emperor, and a tribunal will be set up composed of one judge from each of the five great powers, with full guarantees of the right of the defense. It will fix the penalty which should be imposed.
Persons accused of acts violating the laws and customs of war will be tried and punished by military tribunals. If the charges affect the nationals of only one state, they will be tried before a tribunal of that state; if they affect the nationals of several states, they will be tried by joint tribunals of the several states concerned. Germany shall surrender all persons so accused and all documents and information necessary to insure full knowledge of the incriminating acts, the discovery of the offenders, etc.
SECTION VIII.
REPARATION AND RESTITUTION.
The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of herself and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies. The total obligation of Germany to pay is to be determined and notified to her not later than May 1, 1921, by an Interallied reparations commission. At the same time a schedule of payments to discharge the obligation within thirty years shall be presented.... She further agrees to restore to the Allies cash and certain articles which can be identified.
Germany shall pay within two years one thousand million pounds sterling in either gold, goods, ships, etc.; this sum being included in the first thousand million bond issue referred to later. Expenses such as those of the army of occupation and payments for foodstuffs, raw materials, etc., may be deducted at the Allies' discretion.
Germany further binds herself to pay all sums borrowed by Belgium from her allies as a result of Germany's violation of the treaty of 1839, up to November 11, 1918, and will at once issue and hand over to the Reparations Commission 5 per cent gold bonds falling due in 1926.
Germany is required to make compensation for all damages caused to civilians, such as injury caused by acts of war, exposure at sea, maltreatment of prisoners; damages to the Allied peoples represented by pensions and separation allowances, to property; damages to civilians forced to labor; damages in the form of fines or levies imposed by the enemy.
The sums for reparation which Germany is required to pay shall become a charge upon her revenues prior to that for the service or discharge of any domestic loan.
In case of voluntary default by Germany the Allied and Associated Powers shall take measures which Germany agrees not to regard as acts of war, and may include economic and financial prohibition and reprisals.
The Reparations Commission shall consist of one representative of the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium, a representative of Serbia or Japan taking the place of the Belgian representative when the interests of either country are particularly affected, with all other Allied Powers entitled, when their claims are under consideration, to the right of representation without voting power. The commission shall permit Germany to give evidence regarding her capacity to pay and assure her opportunity to be heard. Permanent headquarters will be established at Paris, which will become the exclusive agency of the Allies for reparations. Majority vote will prevail, except that unanimity is required on questions involving the sovereignty of the Allies, the cancellation of all, or part of Germany's indebtedness, the time and manner of selling, negotiating, etc., bonds issued by Germany.
The commission may require Germany to give issues of bonds from time to time to cover claims not otherwise satisfied. Bond issues are required presently of Germany in acknowledgment of its debt as follows: 20,000,000,000 marks gold payable not later than May 1, 1921, without interest; 40,000,000,000 marks gold bonds bearing interest at 5 per cent under terms fixed by the commission. Interest on Germany's debt will be 5 per cent., unless otherwise determined by the commission. Payments not made in gold may be accepted in the form of properties, commodities, businesses, rights, concessions, etc.
The German Government recognizes the right of the Allies to the replacement ton for ton and class for class of all merchant ships and fishing boats lost or damaged owing to the war, and cedes to the Allies all German merchant ships of 1,600 tons gross, and upward; one-half of her ships between 1,600 and 1,000 tons gross, and one-quarter of her steam trawlers and other fishing boats, to be delivered within two months to the Reparations Commission. Germany further agrees to build as reparation merchant ships to the amount not exceeding 200,000 tons gross annually during the next five years. All ships used for inland navigation taken by Germany from the Allies are to be restored within two months; the amount of loss not covered by such restitution to be made up from Germany's river fleet up to 20 per cent thereof.
To effect payment by deliveries in kind, Germany is required for a period of years varying in each case to deliver coal, coal-tar products in specific amounts to the Reparations Commission. The conditions of delivery will be modified so as not to interfere with Germany's industrial requirements.
DEVASTATED AREAS.
Germany undertakes to devote her economic resources directly to the physical restoration of the invaded areas, replacing destroyed articles by the delivery of animals, machinery, etc., existing in Germany and to manufacture materials needed for reconstruction.
Germany is to deliver to France annually for ten years coal equivalent to the prewar output of Nord and Pas de Calais mines, and the annual production during above ten-year period. Germany further gives options over ten years for delivery of 7,000,000 tons of coal per year to France, in addition to the above, of 8,000,000 tons to Belgium, and of an amount rising from 4,500,000 in 1919 to 1920 to 8,500,000 in 1923 to 1924 to Italy, at prices fixed as prescribed in the treaty. Provision is also made for delivery to France of benzol, coal-tar and ammonia.
Germany is to restore within six months the Koran of the Caliph Othman to the King of the Hedjaz, the skull of the Sultan Okwawa to Great Britain, and to the French Government papers and flags taken in 1870. For destroying the Louvain library Germany is to hand over manuscripts, rare books, etc., to the equivalent of those destroyed.
Germany is also to hand over to Belgium the wings of the altar piece of "The Adoration of the Lamb" by the Van Eyck's, now in Berlin, and the wings of the altar piece "The Last Supper," now in Berlin and Munich.
FINANCE.
Powers to which German territory is ceded will assume a portion of the German prewar debt, the amount to be fixed by the Reparations Commission, except Alsace-Lorraine and Poland. If the value of the German public property in ceded territory exceeds the amount of debt assumed, the states to which the property is ceded will give credit on reparation for the excess, excepting Alsace-Lorraine. Mandatory powers will not assume any German debts, or give any credit for German Government property. Germany renounces all right of representation on, or control of, state banks, commissions, or like organizations.
Germany is required to pay the total cost of the armies of occupation as long as they are maintained in German territory, this cost to be a first charge on her resources. The cost of reparations is the next charge, after making such provisions for payment for imports as the Allies may deem necessary.
Germany is to deliver to the Allied and Associated Powers all sums deposited in Germany by Turkey, and Austria-Hungary, in connection with the financial support extended to them during the war, and to transfer to the Allies all claims against Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, or Turkey in connection with agreements made during the war. Germany confirms the renunciation of the treaties of Bucharest and Brest-Litovsk.
Germany will expropriate any rights or interests of her nationals in public utilities in ceded territories, or those administered by mandatories, and in Turkey, China, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, and transfer them to the Reparations Commission which will credit her with their value.
SECTION IX.
OPIUM.
The contracting powers agree, whether or not they have signed and ratified the opium convention of January 23, 1912, or signed the special protocol opened at the Hague in accordance with the resolutions by the third Opium conference in 1914, to bring the said convention into force by enacting within twelve months of the peace the necessary legislation.
RELIGIOUS MISSIONS.
The Allied and Associated Powers agree that the properties of religious missions in territories belonging to or ceded to them shall continue in their work under the control of the powers, Germany renouncing all claims in their behalf.
SECTION X.
ECONOMIC QUESTIONS.
For six months Germany shall impose no tariff duties higher than the lowest in force in 1914. For wines, oils, vegetable oils, artificial silk, and washed and scoured wool, the restriction obtains for two and a half years more. For five years, unless extended by the League, Germany must give favored-nation clauses treatment to Allied and Associated Powers. She shall impose no customs tariff for five years on goods originating in Alsace-Lorraine and for three years on goods originating in former German territory ceded to Poland, with the right of observation of a similar exception for Luxemburg.
SHIPPING.
Ships of the Allied and Associated Powers shall for five years and thereafter under condition of reciprocity, unless the League otherwise decides, enjoy the same rights in German ports as German vessels, and have most-favored-nation treatment in fishing, coast trade, and towage, even in territorial waters. Ships of a country having no seacoast may be registered at some place within its territory.
UNFAIR COMPETITION.
Germany undertakes to give the trade of the Allied and Associated Powers safeguards against unfair competition, suppressing the use of false wrappings and markings and on condition of reciprocity to respect the laws and judicial decisions of Allied and Associated States in respect of regional appellations of wines and spirits.
TREATMENT OF NATIONALS.
Germany shall impose no exceptional taxes or restrictions upon the nationals of Allied and Associated States for a period of five years, and unless the League acts, for an additional five years German nationality shall not continue to attach to a person who has become a national of an Allied or Associated State.
MULTILATERAL CONVENTIONS.
Some forty multilateral conventions are renewed between Germany and the Allied and Associated Powers, but special conditions are attached to Germany's readmission to several. As to postal and telegraphic conventions Germany must not refuse to make reciprocal agreements with new states.
She must agree, as respects the radiotelegraphic convention, to provisional rules to be communicated to her. In the North Sea fisheries, and North Sea liquor traffic, convention rights of police and inspection over associated fishing boats shall be exercised for at least five years only by vessels of these powers. As to the international railway union, Germany shall adhere to the new convention when formulated. China, as to the Chinese customs tariff arrangement of 1905 regarding Whangpoo and the Boxer indemnity of 1901; France, Portugal, and Rumania as to the Hague Convention of 1903, relating to civil procedure; and Great Britain and the United States as to Article III of the Samoa Treaty of 1899, are relieved of all obligations toward Germany.
BILATERAL TREATIES.
Each Allied and Associated State may renew any treaty with Germany, in so far as is consistent with the Peace Treaty, by giving notice within six months. Treaties entered into by Germany since August 1, 1914, with other enemy states, and before or since that date with Rumania, Russia, and parts of Russia, are abrogated, and concessions granted under pressure by Russia to German subjects are annulled. The Allied and Associated States are to enjoy most-favored-nation treatment under treaties entered into by Germany before August 1, 1914, and during the war.
PREWAR DEBTS.
Clearing houses will be established, one in Germany, and one in each Allied and Associated State for the payment of prewar debts and those from contracts suspended during the war. For adjustment of proceeds of liquidation of enemy property and settlement of other obligations each state participating assumes responsibility for debts owing its nationals, to nationals of enemy states, except in case of prewar insolvency of the debtor. Proceeds of sale of enemy properties in each participating state may be used to pay the debts owed the nationals of that state. Disputes to be settled by the courts of the debtor country.
ENEMY PROPERTY.
Germany shall restore or pay for all enemy property seized or damaged by her, the amount to be fixed by a mixed tribunal. German property within Allied or Associated States may be liquidated as compensation for property of their nationals not paid for by Germany, who will compensate her nationals for such losses.
Prewar contracts between Allied and Associated States—excepting the United States, Japan, and Brazil,—and German nationals are canceled except for debts for accounts already performed.
For the transfer of property, leases of land, mortgages, etc., arbitral tribunals of three members, one from Germany, and one each chosen by Associated States, shall have jurisdiction over all disputes.
INSURANCE.
Fire insurance contracts are not dissolved by the war even if premiums have not been paid, but lapse at the date of the first premium falling due three months after the peace. Life insurance contracts may be restored by payment of accumulated premiums and interest. Marine insurance contracts are dissolved by the outbreak of war except where the risk insured against had already been incurred. Reinsurance contracts are abrogated unless invasion has made it impossible for the reinsured to find another reinsurer. Any Associated or Allied Power may cancel all contracts running between its nationals and a German life insurance company, the latter being obligated to hand over the proportion of the assets attributable to such policies.
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY.
Rights to industrial, literary, and artistic property are reestablished. Special war measures of the powers are ratified, and the right reserved to impose conditions on the use of German patents and copyrights in the public interest. Except as between the United States and Germany prewar licenses and rights to sue for infringements committed during the war are canceled.
SECTION XI.
AERIAL NAVIGATION.
Aircraft of Allied and Associated Powers shall have full liberty of passage, etc., and equal treatment with German planes in German territory and with most-favored-nation planes as to commercial traffic. Germany agrees to accept Allied certificates of airworthiness, competency, etc., and to apply the convention relative to aerial navigation concluded between the powers to her own aircraft over her own territory.
SECTION XII.
TRANSIT, PORTS, WATERWAYS.
Germany shall grant freedom of transit through her territories by mail or water to persons, goods, from or to any of the Allied and Associated Powers without customs or restrictions. The powers shall have equal rights with her own nationals in her ports and waterways.
Free zones existing in German ports on August 1, 1914, must be maintained with due facilities as to warehouses, etc., without charge except for use and administration.
The Elbe from the junction of the Ultava, the Ultava from Prague, the Oder from Oppa, the Niemen from Grodno, and the Danube from Ulm are declared international together with their connections, and will be placed under international commissions.
The Rhine is placed under a central commission to meet at Strassburg, within six months of the peace. Germany must give France all rights to take water to feed canals between the two extreme points of her frontiers. She must also hand over all drafts and designs for this part of the river.
Belgium is permitted to build a Rhine-Meuse canal, Germany to construct the part within her territory. The Central Rhine Commission may extend its jurisdiction over the lower Moselle, upper Rhine and lateral canals. Germany must cede to the Allied and Associated Governments certain vessels and facilities on all these rivers as specified by an arbiter named by the United States.
In addition to most-favored-nation treatment on her railways, Germany agrees to cooperate in through-ticket services between Allied, Associated, and other states, to allow the construction of improvements and to conform her rolling stock to enable its incorporation in trains of the Allied and Associated Powers.
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA.
To assure Czecho-Slovakia access to the sea toward the Adriatic she may run her own through trains to Fiume and Trieste. Germany will lease her spaces in Hamburg and Stettin, the detail to be worked out by a commission.
THE KIEL CANAL.
The Kiel Canal shall be free and open to all ships of all nations at peace with Germany; subjects, goods, ships to be treated on terms of absolute equality, and no taxes may be imposed but those necessary for upkeep and improvement.
SECTION XIII.
INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION.
Members of the League of Nations agree to establish a permanent organization to promote international adjustment of labor conditions to consist of an annual conference and a labor office, the former composed of four representatives of each state, two from the government and one each from employers and employed.
The international labor office will be established at Geneva as a part of the League. It is to collect and distribute information on labor throughout the world, publish a periodical, and prepare agenda for the conference. The first conference will take place in October, 1919, at Washington to discuss the eight-hour day, prevention of unemployment, child labor, and similar questions.
Nine principles of labor conditions are recognized in the treaty. They include the principle that labor should not be regarded as a mere commodity; the right of association of employers and employees; a wage adequate to maintain a reasonable standard of life; the eight-hour day, or forty-eight hour week; a weekly rest of twenty-four hours, including Sunday; abolition of child labor, education, and proper physical development of children, equal pay for equal work for men and women; equitable treatment of all workers lawfully resident therein, including foreigners; a system of inspection in which women shall take part.
SECTION XIV.
GUARANTIES.
As a guaranty for the execution of the treaty, German territory to the west of the Rhine with the bridgeheads will be occupied by Allied and Associated troops for fifteen years. If Germany faithfully carries out conditions, certain districts, including the Cologne bridgehead, will be evacuated in five years, certain other districts and territories nearest the Belgian frontier after ten years, and remainder after fifteen years.
If Germany fails to observe her obligations during occupation, or after fifteen years, the whole or part of the areas will be immediately reoccupied. If before the expiration of the fifteen years Germany complies with all her treaty undertakings, the occupying forces will be withdrawn immediately.
All German troops at present in territories east of the new frontier shall return as soon as the Allies deem wise.
SECTION XV.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Germany agrees to recognize the full validity of the treaties of peace and additional conventions to be concluded by the Allied and Associated Powers with the powers allied with Germany, to agree to the decisions to be taken as to the territories of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and to recognize the new states in the frontiers to be fixed for them. Germany agrees not to put forward any pecuniary claims against Allied or Associated Powers signing the present treaty based on events previous to the coming into force of the treaty.
THE STORY OF CANADA IN THE GREAT WAR
EDITED AND COMPILED
BY
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN A. COOPER
Late Commander of the 198th Battalion, Canadian Buffs
INTRODUCTION
By LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN A. COOPER
Late Commander of the 198th Battalion, Canadian Buffs
When the dark cloud broke on August 4, 1914, Canada was not wholly unprepared. While not a militaristic people, Canadians had always recognized that it was the duty of every able-bodied citizen to be prepared to defend his country in case of need. That principle had underlain the military policy of the nineteenth century both before and after Confederation. Every citizen of fighting age was theoretically a soldier, more or less prepared to take his share in national defense.
To this was added, in later years, a feeling that some day Canadians might be called upon to take a part in the defense of the British Empire should it become engaged in a supreme struggle. This feeling developed during the South African War when Canada took over the last garrison duties from the Imperial forces as well as the naval stations at Halifax and Esquimalt. The obligation of contributing men to Imperial defense was admitted and discussed at the various Imperial Conferences between 1900 and 1914. Assisted by British experts, certain military and naval preparations had been made with the intention of meeting any national emergency and any imperial necessity which might arise.
While these grave obligations may have rested lightly on the majority of the people engaged in agriculture, commerce, and railway building, the country was not mentally unprepared for the great call of August, 1914. This explains in part why the recruiting of her early battalions and the prompt dispatch of her first contingent of 33,000 men was so enthusiastically accomplished. Division followed division until in about fifteen months Canada had a fighting army corps in France. This accomplishment surprised herself not more than it surprised the Allies and the enemy. Canada's enlistment during the five years of activity totaled one-thirteenth of her population. Over four hundred thousand men, out of a population of about eight millions, actually crossed the ocean. Four divisions fought as such in France. Railway troops worked with every British Army, and forestry battalions did almost all the work of that nature required to supply the needs of both French and British forces on the western front. The casualties among Canadian troops were quite equal to those sustained by the more numerous armies of the United States, because of the greater duration of Canadian service.
Such success as the Canadians had in fighting was due largely to inheritance and environment. Many of those who fought were of British birth or were English, Scotch, Irish, or Welsh once or twice removed. The military instincts of the British and French races had been preserved to a remarkable degree in the Dominion. Added to this was the energy, adaptability, and initiative developed in a people living in small communities scattered through the vast open spaces of a country almost equal in area to the whole of Europe. The pluck of the pioneer, the tenacity of the settler, the self-reliance of the rider of the plains, the initiative of the woodsman, the skill of the shantyman and the prospector—all these combined to give the Canadian army a quality second to none among those engaged in the Great World War.
Remarkable also was the development of officer ability. The Canadian army, after the first two years, was officered entirely by Canadians. The business man, with his experience in organization and executive, became a military administrator in a wonderfully short space of time. The corps commander had never been in any military school except the Canadian militia. Of the seven or eight men who served as divisional commanders, not more than three could qualify as professional soldiers before the war. Of the brigadiers and battalion commanders probably 90 per cent had never attended a military school for more than a month. Canada's army was a citizen army, commanded and administered by men without business training. Such professional soldiers as Canada had before the war became administrators rather than leaders in battle. The war developed so much that was new in tactics and technique that the militia officer had almost an equal chance with the so-called military expert.
If the individual soldier ranked high in initiative and valor, he also must be credited with a loyalty to discipline and to his national traditions. He quickly acquired steadiness and obedience to his officers. He respected himself and his superiors. While never servile nor obsequious, he rendered such service as made the fighting units effective because of their cohesion and compactness. That was remarkably exhibited in the first great engagement in which Canadians took part, the Second Battle of Ypres. It was equally in evidence at Amiens, Arras, Cambrai, and Mons during the final period of the war. The Canadian never forgot he was a Canadian. He had such a sublime faith in himself and in his army as a whole, that his ambition was only fully realized when he was asked to do more than was usually asked of a soldier in this titanic struggle. He never despised the enemy, but he never lost the feeling that he was physically and mentally the enemy's superior. Excepting, perhaps, the Guards Division, the Fifty-first Division, and the Australians, the Canadian army yielded the palm to no portion of the British fighting forces.
Finally, Canadian success in the field of war was but a reflection of the determination of those who remained at home and who with wonderful fortitude, self-sacrifice, and determination backed the army to the limit. There were few tears and less mawkishness when the battalions moved out from their home towns on the long trail. The sentiment of the time was stern because of the prevailing spirit of duty and responsibility. But no nation has paid more honor to those who served nor has done more toward reestablishing the warrior in citizen life than have the Canadian people. If the pay of the soldier was good and the allowance to his dependents adequate, the effort and money expended on his reestablishment have been most generous. In raising Red Cross gratuities and other patriotic funds, the motto of Canadians was "Give till it hurts." In the production of food and of war material, the nation accomplished the seemingly impossible. In subscriptions to the national loans, patriotism reached heights undreamed of by bankers and financial experts. Nearly seventy million shells, made and exported by a country that never before made an explosive instrument of this kind; the purchase of over two thousand million dollars worth of Dominion Government bonds by a people who had never bought a million of such in their history—these are the tangible results by which one may measure the depth of Canadian loyalty and determination.
When the war broke out, the Hon. (afterward Sir) Sam Hughes was Minister of Militia and Defense. He possessed militia experience extending over many years and had seen active service in South Africa. The possibility of war in Europe in which the Empire troops would be engaged had long been in his mind, and he had studied in advance the possibilities of such a situation. Consequently when the first contingent was authorized he proceeded to discharge both the civil duties of Minister of Militia and the military duties of Chief of Staff. He it was who recruited, organized, administered, and commanded this first Canadian army. He was the driving power which brought success in the speedy dispatch of the first contingent and the raising and the training of subsequent divisions.
This very success in the end brought a change. General Hughes centralized too much power in himself to please all those with whom he was associated. The purchasing of supplies for the army was taken from his department and put in charge of a purchasing board. A Shell Committee was formed at his suggestion and this later grew into the Imperial Munitions Board. The administration of the troops in England was gradually organized and eventually placed under General (afterward Sir Richard) Turner at Argyll House, London. The control of the army in the field passed as a matter of course to the British authorities, who were responsible for food, clothing, transport, and administration from the moment the troops crossed the Channel.
Sir Sam Hughes resigned his post as Minister of Militia in the autumn of 1916. He was succeeded by Sir Edward Kemp, who later went to England as Minister of the Overseas Forces of Canada. His place in Canada was taken by General The Hon. S. C. Mewburn, who remained Minister for some time after the war closed.
In the field the first commanding officer of the little Canadian army was General Alderson, an English officer of experience. He was in charge when the First Division made its unique reputation at the Second Battle of Ypres. Later on General Byng, a younger English officer, was selected to command the corps, which he did with complete success. In process of time a Canadian was selected in the person of General (afterward Sir) Arthur W. Currie. He took over in 1917 and commanded with general satisfaction for the remainder of the war. On his return to Canada he was made Inspector General, the highest purely military office in the Canadian army next to that of the Governor General who is Commander in Chief.
After the Fifth Division was filled up, the unsystematic practice of sending reenforcements overseas by battalions and batteries was discontinued. In January, 1917, a new method of furnishing drafts was outlined. This necessitated the reorganizing of the whole army on a territorial basis. There was created in each military district in Canada a home battalion, with corresponding battalions in England and in France. The scheme was as follows:
M. D. No. 1—Western Ontario Regiment (one depot battalion in Canada, two reserve battalions in England, and 1st, 18th, 160th, 161st, and 2d Pioneers in the field).
M. D. No. 2—1st Central Ontario Regiment (3d, 4th, 5th, 15th, 20th, 75th, 123d, 124th, 134th, 198th, and 208th Bus.).—2d Central Ontario Regiment (4th C. M. R., 54th, 58th, 102d, 116th, 119th, 125th, and 164th).
M. D. No. 3—Eastern Ontario Regiment (P. P. C. L. I., 2d, 21st, 38th, 156th).
M. D. No. 4—1st Quebec Regiment (5th C. M. R., 13th, 14th, 24th, 42d, 87th).
M. D. No. 5—2d Quebec Regiment (22d and 159th).
M. D. No. 6—Nova Scotia Regiment (R. C. R., 25th, 85th, 185th).
M. D. No. 7—New Brunswick Regiment (26th, 100th).
M. D. No. 10—Manitoba Regiment (8th, 16th, 27th, 43d, 52d, 78th, and 107th Regt).
M. D. No. 11—British Columbia Regiment (2d C. M. R., 7th, 29th, 47th, and 72d).
M. D. No. 12—Saskatchewan Regiment (3d C. M. R., 5th, 28th. and 46th).
M. D. No. 13—Alberta Regiment (10th, 31st, 49th, and 50th).
The idea behind this scheme was to effect a closer connection between the military patriotism and pride of the home distinct with the battalions serving overseas. The hope was distinctly expressed that "the Canadian militia should inherit the honors and distinctions won in battle by the Canadian Expeditionary Force."
There is no question that this measure was founded in wisdom and that it worked tolerably well. It was not always possible to maintain it exactly, since the smaller provinces had too many battalions for their resources in men. Consequently Ontario, which produced most men proportionately, was called upon to reenforce units credited to other provinces. For example, the 2d C. M. R. ceased to be a British Columbian unit early in 1918, although its commanding officer was a British Columbian who continued to give British Columbia officers the preference. This, however, was quite on a par with the selection of generals in France; for, when the war closed, Ontario which contributed half the men in the ranks, did not have a single brigadier or divisional commander on active duty.
It is also interesting to note that the hope of the originators of the scheme with regard to the old militia inheriting the "Honors and distinctions" of the C. E. F. has been negatived by the action of the militia authorities of 1919 in disbanding all militia units which existed previous to the war. This action seems to have been based on a mistaken conception of the important part played by the Canadian militia from 1860 to 1914.
General Sir Arthur William Currie, who commanded the Canadian Army Corps in France from 1917 to 1919. He was later made Canadian Inspector General and Principal of McGill University.
Early in 1918 came one of the greatest discussions of policy that ever engaged the Canadian army leaders. The British had decided to reduce their brigades from four battalions to three to conform to the German changes and for other good and sufficient reasons. The Canadians were requested to conform to the new organization, and the chiefs of Argyll House decided that this should be done by creating two corps of three divisions each instead of one corps of four divisions. Thus, instead of five divisions with 12 battalions of infantry each, there would be six divisions of 9 battalions each, and the number of infantry battalions would be reduced from 60 to 54. This was to be accomplished by breaking up four battalions of the Fifth Division, the infantry of which was still in Witley Camp, England, and turning the other two into pioneer battalions for the Fifth and Sixth Divisions.
The scheme was so far planned and executed that the two battalions of the Fifth, chosen to be pioneers, had already commenced their training as such, and the four battalions to be eliminated had already been decided upon. Argyll House had even chosen, unofficially, the new staffs required.
The proposal was negatived eventually by the influence of the corps commander. Quite naturally, he did not take kindly to the reduction of his corps from four to three divisions. His four divisional commanders did not relish having their commands reduced from twelve battalions of infantry to nine. A protest was lodged with Sir Edward Kemp, who had recently arrived in England as Minister of Militia Overseas. After consultation with Ottawa, Sir Edward Kemp decided that General Currie was right and the request of the British authorities was refused. The logical consequence of that refusal was the break-up of the infantry of the Fifth Division, since four divisions were sufficient for the one corps which it was decided to maintain. Its artillery and engineers were already in France, and its machine-gun companies also passed over intact. The artillery retained its identity until the end of the war.
After the break-up of the Fifth Division, and because reenforcements for some months had exceeded casualties, the corps commander found himself with an abundance of troops. He therefore decided to enlarge his establishment, increasing the number of men in each infantry battalion, to change his pioneer battalions into engineer brigades with greatly increased strength, and to create machine-gun battalions instead of machine-gun companies. Even these changes left him with surplus men, and so came the creation of The Hughes Brigade (4,234), The McPhail Brigade (4,776), and Brutinel's Brigade, afterward known as the "Independent Force." The latter was composed largely of motor machine-gun units, cyclists, and cavalry, and was used as emergency corps troops. There was also an engineer motor-transport company, a tramway company, a field-survey company, several searchlight companies and various other corps accessories.
Here is seen one of the difficulties of coordinating the military forces of the Empire, a problem which tried the patience of the higher command. The overseas troops were magnificent in their fighting qualities, but the overseas officers were not always as sympathetic with the higher military control as might have been expected. The overseas business man makes a good soldier and a good general, but in either case he is prone to exhibit those elemental qualities which make him a trenchant and resourceful warrior.
Another of the outstanding problems which faced the Canadian army was the question of the supply of officers. Canada had an oversupply of officers from the start, and the army never quite recovered from the malady. This surplus was continually seeking to be absorbed while the officers in the field were quite as assiduous in trying to keep it from fulfilling its desires. Most officers who went over with the First and Second Divisions had friends of equal civilian rank with themselves in their commands and they desired to see these men rewarded with commissions earned in the field. As all four divisions were controlled largely by those who arrived in France in 1915, the surplus officer in the Canadian camps in England was usually forced to return home without fighting; to seek imperial service as town major—the lowliest employment in the army; or to serve as supernumerary without recognition. When the infantry of the Fifth Division was broken up, the surplus officer question became even more acute. As an example of the injustice which necessarily resulted, it may be cited that one former commanding officer from the Fifth Division was killed when acting as platoon commander in a battalion in the Second Division.
Another unfortunate result of the surplus officer was the creation of new posts for those who had to be absorbed. Many young officers were given unnecessary jobs in brigade, divisional and corps staffs who but made extra work for those who had already enough to do. In other words, the heads of the staff were overburdened with a multiplicity of juniors. The Canadian corps had, it is said, nearly as many staff officers as any other two corps in France. The primary causes, it must be remembered, were the free creation of officers in Canada and the lack of coordination between those in control of this function in the field and at home.
After the United States came into the war a British Canadian Recruiting Commission was established in that country to enable Britishers of military age to join either the British or Canadian armies. This was done with the approval and consent of the United States Congress. Twenty-seven recruiting depots and three divisional headquarters were established and by the end of the war 60,000 volunteers had been dealt with, of whom 42,000 were accepted. Of these about 30,000 went to the Canadian army.
The official report (Memo. No. 5) regarding the later phases of this work says: "Effective stimulus was given to the recruiting operations of the Mission by the announcement and conclusion of negotiations for satisfactory conventions between the United States and Great Britain and Canada, providing for mutual compulsory military service, whereby those of military age were compelled within a limited period to elect between military service in their country of residence or of origin."
When the war was concluded and the work of disbanding and repatriating the army was begun, there was again some conflict of opinion between the authorities at home and those in the field. The plan proposed by the officials in Canada provided for sending home the men in the order of enlistment. The corps authorities opposed this and asked that the units be sent home intact, disregarding the date of enlistment. Either scheme had its difficulties, but as usual the corps authorities had their way. The Third Division units came home first, followed by those of the First, Second, Fourth, and details. The various units returned to their territorial headquarters in Canada practically intact.
Thus ended Canada's greatest war achievement—a chapter full of conflicting theories and methods, redolent of minor errors and clash of ambitions, but on the whole creditable and glorious. Above everything else the patriotism, courage, gallantry, and self-sacrifice of all classes of people in the greatest of the British dominions overseas shines conspicuously and brilliantly.
The deeds of the Canadian army in this World War will vitalize the pages of the nation's history in all the years-to-be. The monuments in France and Canada, the sacred colors in cathedrals and public buildings, the bronze tablets which will be erected everywhere, will gather up and preserve the memories of those who died that others might live. Meantime those who served know that in all that was done they but followed the simple path of duty.
PART I—PREPARATION FOR WAR
CHAPTER I
CANADA BEFORE THE WAR
Canada was no more prepared than any other nation for the outbreak of the Great War. Because of their geographical isolation from the turmoil of international politics the Canadians were even more incredulous of war, in their mental attitude, than their kin across the waters. It is against this important fact as a background that one must consider the achievements of the Canadians during the war—and marvel.
Theodore Roosevelt once suggested that to maintain a "fighting edge" men should do continuous battle, but the Canadians have demonstrated the fallacy of this precept, in a military sense at least.
For over a hundred years Canada had known only an atmosphere of peace and almost continuous prosperity. Truly, during that period the mother country had frequently waged warfare along the outskirts of the Empire, and had even engaged in one or two wars of considerable magnitude, but never had she felt the danger so pressing as to send a call for help across the Atlantic.
Canadian help was, indeed, offered during the Crimean campaign, but before this impulse could materialize on the field of battle the need had ceased to exist. Again, during the South African struggle, the same impulse had been manifested, and nearly eight thousand Canadian volunteers did eventually reach the fighting front against the Boers. But these had been inspired by a spirit of adventure, rather than by any sense of patriotic duty.
There was everything in their environment to develop peaceful instincts in the Canadians. To the east and west were limitless expanses of sea; northward was the frozen Arctic; and to the southward was another people who, though thirteen times greater in population, was equally isolated from the political jealousies and rivalries of Europe, and their kinsmen in speech, customs, and, to a large extent, in blood also. From this direction no danger had threatened during the century, and danger from across the seas had been of too intangible a quality to reach the imagination.
Under these conditions the Canadians had devoted themselves exclusively to the labors and arts of peace: of agriculture, manufacturing, and trade and commerce. Vast natural resources lay before them awaiting exploitation and development. The psychology of the Canadian was entirely constructive.
There remained, of course, the sense of responsibility involved in the ties binding the people to the British Empire, a subconscious realization that when Great Britain was at war, Canada, too, would be at war. Yet here again environment and local conditions tended to reduce this consciousness to the quality of abstract theory, a mere convention. The native Canadian, though of British ancestry, knew England only through hearsay or the written word. And a considerable portion of Canada's population felt not even the tie of a common speech and literature. In so far as they recognized this bond, the temperamental self-reliance of the Canadian people was inclined to reduce it to a sentiment, rather than any deep feeling of dependence on the power of the British navy. A keen sense of economic independence and strength served still further to intensify this feeling. Whatever allegiance the average Canadian owed to the Empire must have been, and undoubtedly was, of the nature of an ideal—something far more abstract than the ordinary sentiment of patriotism—love of country.
In a people in this state of mind the first threat of a great war involving themselves could only have roused varying degrees of skepticism—while the first actual confirmation must have struck them with the impact of a thunderbolt.
Canadians were shocked—unutterably, outrageously shocked.
Casual observers, basing their judgment on the mental attitude of the people, as briefly outlined above, might reasonably have expected a quick return to the previous state of mind, at most a strong sympathy for the mother country, which might manifest itself in substantial contributions of funds, supplies, and perhaps a few battalions of enthusiastic adventurers. For, whatever might have been said at the time as a recruiting argument, Canadians felt no danger of immediate, or even future, invasion by European armies. When it came to that they had every reason to believe that the hundred million population of the United States would stand solidly with them, quite aside from the Monroe Doctrine. There was, of course, the possibility that Canada's trade with Great Britain, totaling half a billion dollars a year, would be destroyed in case of naval disaster to the British navy, but that would be only temporary. Whoever conquered would be willing to pay a stiff price for a portion of Canada's tremendous wheat crops, nearly 140,000,000 bushels in 1913. Economically Canada was in no way dependent on European countries.
But such a chain of deductions would have ignored the chief premise—the spirit of the people who made up the Canadian nation. For a hundred years, indeed, the people of Canada had pursued the paths of peace; for three generations they had known no stronger passion than that involved in ordinary political partisan strife.
Vice and idleness, not the pursuits of peace, render men soft and flabby in spirit. A pioneer stock does not require the continuous excitement of military warfare to maintain its combativeness; it needs only a just cause to rouse it to furnace heat. And that just cause the Canadians found in the attitude of England that Germany and Austria should not dominate the political destinies of peoples outside their frontiers. Within twenty-four hours all Canada was aflame with the war passion, but it was a passion thoroughly controlled by the reason behind it.
"When Great Britain is at war, Canada is at war!" became a popular slogan. Intermingling with that supreme indignation, with the fervent loyalty to the empire, was the sinking dread of the tremendous sacrifices, not only in material interests, but in blood, which would have to be made, and that dread was terrible because of the profound sincerity and determination of the people to enter into the struggle, to stay until the bitter end. There was nothing jubilant in the wave of enthusiasm which swept over Canada in favor of the war during that first week in August; that note would have been out of harmony with the grim determination which was the dominating element in the popular emotion which swept over the land. It was not the sort of emotion which would naturally manifest itself in noisy street demonstrations, especially among people of Anglo-Saxon blood.
Such demonstrations did, indeed, occur, especially in those districts where the population was predominantly of Latin blood. In Montreal and Quebec vast throngs paraded the streets during the first few days of August, 1914, carrying Belgian, French, and British flags, singing the "Marseillaise" and "Rule Britannia," and cheering the orators who addressed the crowds. But in Toronto and in other cities in the English-speaking districts the crowds, though they filled the streets before the bulletin boards of the principal newspapers, maintained a silence which was even more impressive.
Whatever undercurrents of opinion there might have been against a whole-hearted support of the Empire in the struggle, such as manifested itself openly in practically all the belligerent European countries, found little expression in Canada. Political party issue sank for the time being out of sight, and the popular voice, as expressed through the newspapers of diverse shades of opinion, and through the popular political leaders, was practically unanimous. And that voice demanded that Canada should strain every resource, should offer every available man, in Britain's support.
The Toronto "Globe," chief organ of the Liberals, was one of the first to enunciate the main issue of the great struggle impending—that it was a gigantic contest between the forces of autocracy and democracy, and that, in supporting England, Canada was not alone fulfilling her obligations to the mother country, but she was championing the cause of human liberty the world over.
"Because it is the world's fight for freedom," spoke that journal on August 4, 1914, "Britain, reluctantly but resolutely, speaks the word, and Canada also answers aye."
"There can be no question as to Canada's duty if the European War goes on," said the Toronto "Star" on August 4, 1914. "This country must do all it can to support the arms of Britain."
The Toronto "World," representing the Conservatives, urged the immediate organization of a fighting force of 50,000 men, to be sent across as soon as they could be trained. The Montreal "Star," having invited expressions of opinion from some hundreds of prominent political and industrial leaders and municipal officials, published them in full. Of the many pages of telegrams printed, only two failed to emphasize the need of an immediate contribution of money and men. The mayor of Quebec, the center of French Canada, was in favor of "all we can do to help the Empire in money, arms, and men." Alphonse Verville, representing French-Canadian labor elements in Parliament, believed that "we should be prepared to give Great Britain all the assistance she needs." Turning to his fellow citizens, the French-Canadian mayor of Montreal said: "The war is as much in defense of Canada as of Great Britain."
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, representing the opposition in Parliament, made a statement on August 4, 1914, of which the following is a part:
"I have often declared that if the mother country were ever in danger, or if danger ever threatened, Canada should render assistance to the fullest extent in her power. In view of the critical nature of the situation I have canceled all my meetings. Pending such great questions there should be a truce to party strife."
Even in the French provinces demonstrations of enthusiasm soon passed, giving place to intense energy in preparation. With a silent determination the people faced the gigantic task before them, unappalled. And a gigantic task it was, apparently, to a people so unprepared materially for the prosecution of warfare on so tremendous a scale as was now demanded of them, if their aid was to count. But if the spirit was there, so were the material resources, the raw material—and the men.