Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War, Volume XII : $b The Great Results of the War
History
Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War, Volume XII : $b The Great Results of the War
League of Nations; Treaty of Versailles (1919 June 28); World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Economic aspects; World War, 1914-1918 -- Finance
I use here as an example a Serbian delegate, not that the Serbian
delegates were more prone to passion than anybody else. We were all
fighting like mad to make peace. We realized that though fundamentally
we all had the same aim, yet as to methods our views were so divergent,
that when we entered into conference at ten o'clock in the morning we
should probably have one continuous struggle, with interludes for
luncheon and dinner, until perhaps late in the evening. These struggles
never ceased altogether, but as we got to know one another better, they
of course let up materially, and we got on amicably and effectively.
THE COMMISSION ON REPARATIONS
No sketch of the Peace Conference, even one as cursory and superficial
as this, could give any idea of the picture without a more detailed
reference to the workings of some particular Commission that played an
important part in the building up of the Peace Treaty. Hence I may be
permitted to mention the Commission on Reparations. All things
considered, this was perhaps the most important Commission at work.
The original Commission on Reparations was divided into three
sub-commissions. Commission Number One was to determine upon what
principles reparation should be demanded from Germany, that is to say,
what items of damage should be included. In addition to physical damage
inflicted by Germany upon the Allies, by reason of her aggression on
land or sea, and from the air, should the cost of pensions for dead
French soldiers be claimed? Was the entire cost of the war as waged by
England, for instance, to be included as a charge against Germany? In
other words, just what categories should be adopted in order to define
Germany's liability?
This Commission Number One sat for weeks, and it was only towards the
very end that it succeeded in establishing the categories. At the start
there was a sharp divergence of opinion among the various delegations.
The American delegation pointed out that under President Wilson's
Fourteen Points costs of war would have to be excluded. The British
delegation maintained otherwise. The French thought the costs of war
ought to be included, but deemed the matter academic, inasmuch as
Germany could never pay the total war costs. And so the argument ran.
Sub-commission Number Two on reparations had for its object to determine
what Germany's capacity to pay was, and what the proper method of
payment should be. Sub-commission Number Three was to devise sanctions
or guarantees by which the Allies should be assured of receiving the
payments finally determined upon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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