France, I say, was thoroughly shocked at the frightful fate which had come upon so great a portion of her land and population. She seemed to have real fear that out of the ground, or from the sky, or from the waters of the earth, at the waving of the devil's wand, there would spring into being a fresh German army, ready to overwhelm her. It was this fear that led France to ask for a special Treaty by which England and America would pledge themselves to come to her aid in case of Germany's unprovoked attack against her. Those Americans who object to this have no conception of the real terror in France which led her to entreat her two most powerful Allies to make such a special treaty with her. France maintained, and with some reason, that during the formative period of the League of Nations, before it might become an effective instrument, if she did not have the psychological and practical protection of England and America, she must look to her own defense, and the only real defense she could conceive was to make the Rhine her eastern boundary. This suggestion of Marshal Foch, based upon sound military concept, was rejected by President Wilson and Mr. Lloyd George on the theory that it would mean the annexation of German territory, would change Germany's ancient boundary line of the Rhine, and inevitably lead to future trouble. [Illustration: Copyright Underwood & Underwood President Poincaré With the Swiss President, M. Gustave Ador, Driving to the Peace Conference in Paris.] "Very well," in effect answered M. Clemenceau, "we see your point, but if you will not allow us to fix this natural boundary for defense, then we must beg you to guarantee us by treaty your coöperation against German aggression. That coöperation you will never be called upon to render with military force, because if Germany knows you are pledged to come to our defense, that very fact will act as a complete deterrent to any aggression." This was the sound reasoning which led President Wilson and Mr. Lloyd George to agree to submit respectively to Congress and Parliament this special French Treaty; this is the reasoning which ought to lead Congress, as it has led Parliament, to ratify the French Treaty promptly. My belief is that after five years, this special Treaty will be abrogated by mutual consent, because by that time the League of Nations will be built up into such an effective instrument for the prevention of future wars, any special treaties will be deemed unnecessary. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS COVENANT If, in the foregoing paragraphs, I have given some idea as to how the Treaty of Peace was compounded, how it was made up of a mixture of virtue, selfishness, fear and justice, then perhaps I can proceed to describe briefly how the document was actually evolved. First, then, we deal with the drafting of the League of Nations Covenant: