prescription of open, just and honorable relations between
nations, by the firm establishment of the understandings of
international law as to actual rule of conduct among
governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous
respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized
peoples with one another."
Are not these methods such as America has made her own? Have we not in
many treaties accepted obligations not to make war until all peaceful
methods of settling disputes shall have been exhausted; have we not
striven to make the principles of international law rules for the
government of nations; and was not one of the main points in the
indictment of Germany on which we prosecuted the war against her that
she had flouted the sanctity of treaties and made them mere scraps of
paper?
The objects of the League therefore, as set forth in the Covenant, are
expressive only of policies and principles to which the United States
has given a consistent and unbroken adherence from the days of the Jay
Treaty to the present hour. How are these objects proposed to be
attained in the text of the Covenant? What is there in its provisions to
justify the frantic abuse that has been heaped upon it by its opponents
and to sustain the final accusation that it is "un-American?"
MACHINERY OF THE LEAGUE
First, as to the Machinery of the League. There is an Assembly of its
members to which each Sovereign State may send delegates. There is an
Assembly of its members to which each nation necessarily has one vote.
In the United States Senate, Rhode Island and New York have equal
representation, despite disparity in wealth and population. The
principle of sovereignty requires this recognition of equality. But the
powers of the Assembly are restricted to voting upon the admission of
new members to the League, the addition of members to the Council, the
disposition of international disputes which may be referred to it by the
Council under Article XV, and the general consideration at its meetings
of "any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting
the peace of the world." This general authority only can embrace the
right of discussion, save in very exceptional cases, as by Article V,
"decisions at any meeting of the Assembly or of the Council shall
require the agreement of all the members of the League represented at
the meeting."
The actual governing body of the League is the Council, which is to
consist of representatives of the five greater powers,--the United
States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, together with
representatives of four other members of the League selected by the
Assembly from time to time. These numbers may be increased, but only by
the unanimous vote of the Council, approved by a majority of the
Assembly.
As noted above, save in the very few expressly expected cases, the
Council can reach decisions only by unanimous vote. What are to be its
functions? They need not be enumerated in detail here. Briefly, they
deal with the reduction of armaments, the control by governments of the
private manufacture of munitions and implements of war, the
consideration of any war or threat of war--"of any circumstance whatever
affecting international relations which threatens to disturb either the
peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace
depends." They require the formulation and submission to the members of
the League for adoption of plans for the establishment of a permanent
Court of International Justice. They empower the Council to endeavor to
effect a settlement of any international dispute which shall not be
submitted to arbitration by the parties; to investigate, consider and
report upon any such dispute, and to publish its conclusions.
The parties to the League solemnly covenant and agree that if any
dispute shall arise between them likely to lead to a rupture they will
submit it either to arbitration or inquiry by the Council, and that in
no case will they resort to war until three months after the award by
the arbitrators or the report by the Council. They agree also to carry
out in good faith any award that may be rendered, and not to make war
against any member of the League that complies therewith. If a report by
the Council is unanimously agreed to by its members, other than the
representatives of the disputants, the members agree not to go to war
with any party to the dispute which complies with the recommendations of
the report.
OBJECTIONS TO THE PLAN
It is objected by some that the decision of questions between nations by
these provisions is left to a body of delegates composing the Council
who are not bound to decide according to rules of international law, but
may reach conclusions merely as political expediency. This seems a
strained interpretation. The members of the League agree to submit
either (1) to arbitration or (2) to investigation by the Council, every
dispute which may arise between them likely to lead to a rupture and in
no case to resort to war until three months after the award by
arbitrators or the report by the Council. They declare (by Article XIII)
"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," to be among those
which are generally suitable for submission to arbitration.
Disputes of the character thus enumerated are what are known as
justiciable, _i. e._, subject to be decided by a Court by the
application of the recognized principles of international law.
Mr. Root recommended that such disputes should be required to be
arbitrated. The Conference at Paris, like those at the two Hague
Conferences, would not agree to that. But in view of the declaration
just quoted, any power which should bring before the Council a dispute
of the character mentioned, but which it was unwilling to submit to
arbitration, would have the burden of showing convincing reason for such
attitude.
When the first draft of the Covenant was before the country, American
critics objected that it would compel the United States to submit to
arbitration on inquiry by the Council purely domestic questions such as
tariff, immigration and coastwise traffic. To meet this objection, there
was inserted in Art. XV the following paragraph:
"If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them,
and is found by the Council to arise out of a matter which by
international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of
that party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no
recommendation as to its settlement."
To this it is objected that the determination of the question whether or
not a matter of dispute is by the rules of international law solely with
the domestic jurisdiction of a member is left to the Council and not to
the member. Surely, it requires no explanation to demonstrate, that if a
member State may oust the Council of jurisdiction to inquire into a
given dispute which threatens the peace of the world merely by itself
asserting that it arises out of a matter within its exclusive domestic
jurisdiction, a very imperfect means of averting war will have been
provided, and the League Covenant will hardly have more efficacy than
the second Hague Convention. Remember too, that the reports of the
Council must be unanimous, and the unreasonableness of the objection to
the provisions cited will appear.
MEANS TO PREVENT WAR
Articles XI to XVI constitute the heart of the Covenant, the most
effective means ever formulated to prevent war. The agreements of the
nations not to resort to war until the processes of arbitration or
inquiry are exhausted, are buttressed by the provision that should any
member violate these agreements it shall _ipso facto_ be deemed to have
committed an act of war against all the other members of the League,
entailing as a consequence commercial boycott, expulsion and the
application of armed force, if the members shall so determine. The
employment of force in this case, as in every other contemplated by the
Covenant, is not left to the decision of Council or Assembly. They can
only recommend. The member States agree _not to go_ to war. There is
nowhere in the document any provision compelling them _to go_ to war.
Even where one State in violation of its Covenant threatens the peace of
the world, the utmost the Council can do is
"To recommend to the several governments concerned what
effective military or naval forces the members of the League
shall severally contribute to the armaments of forces to be
used to protect the covenants of the League."
Much heated objection has been directed against Article X, which reads
as follows:
"The members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as
against external aggression the territorial integrity and
existing political independence of all members of the League.
In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or
danger of such aggression, the Council shall advise upon the
means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.'
Again, it is left to the determination of each State what force it shall
employ to enforce this provision. As a matter of fact, this article adds
little, if anything, to the provisions of Article XI, which declares
that "Any war or threat of war ... is hereby declared a matter of
concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that
may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations." Any
external aggression against the territorial integrity or political
independence of a member of the League would amount to a war or threat
of war, and would invoke action under Article XI, if not under Article
X. But the guaranty of Article X is very necessary as affording a moral
protection to the new nations brought into being through the peace
Conference. The United States of America, whose President formulated the
principles of peace to which these Nations owe their existence, can not
afford to shirk responsibility for their protection. The Covenant
abolishes the evil of secret treaties between the nations composing the
League, while preserving the effectiveness of existing treaties of
arbitration.
[Illustration: Copyright Harris & Ewing
=William Howard Taft=
An earnest supporter of the President and his administration throughout
the war, though of the opposite party.]
THE MONROE DOCTRINE
To meet the objection that the Covenant would deprive us of the Monroe
Doctrine--a national policy adopted by the United States as its own and
maintained for its own protection--Article XXI of the amended Covenant
provides that--
"Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the
validity of international engagements such as treaties of
arbitration or regional understandings like the Monroe Doctrine
for securing the maintenance of peace."
The phrase "regional understanding," as applied to the Monroe Doctrine,
is not a happy one. But the article certainly excludes the Monroe
Doctrine from modification or effect by the treaty. It secures from
every one of the thirty-two original members and the thirteen other
states which shall be invited to join the League, a recognition of the
existence of the Monroe Doctrine and an agreement that it is not to be
affected by anything contained in the Covenant. Certainly _that_ is not
an un-American result to accomplish, and when one reads Dr. Hill's
statement that the Covenant "does not embody our traditional American
ideals," one wonders in what museum of forgotten lore the learned doctor
has found those "traditional ideals" preserved. Dr. Hill's so-called
ideals conflict with the expression in this great treaty of the
peculiarly American ideal of averting war by providing peaceful methods
of settling disputes among nations, with the express recognition by all
the other nations of the doctrine that "was proclaimed in 1823 to
prevent America from becoming a theater for the intrigues of European
absolutism," and with the official commentary of the Delegates of Great
Britain which says that--
"At first a principle of American foreign _policy_, it (Monroe
Doctrine) has become an international _understanding_, and it
is not illegitimate for the people of the United States to ask
that the Covenant should recognize this fact."
GERMAN COLONIES
One of the most difficult problems presented to the Peace Conference was
the disposition of the former colonies of Germany in Asia, Africa and
Australasia, and of the communities formerly belonging to the Turkish
Empire. It was recognized that the victors in the war shared a common
responsibility for the just and wise treatment of these peoples, who
were utterly unable to stand alone. The method adopted declared all of
them to be wards of the League of Nations and provided that they should
be governed by Mandatory Powers willing to undertake the task and
appointed by the League under charters framed by the Council. These
Powers would be answerable to the League for the right exercise of their
powers, and subject to inspection and report. A great deal of
impassioned rhetoric has been expended over these provisions, upon the
false assumption that thereby the United States was committed to a
responsibility for the government of remote regions of the earth. The
Covenant commits us to nothing. Our participation in the war has
entailed upon us a common responsibility with our Allies for the
protection and wise government of these communities. We no more can
escape that responsibility with honor than we could after the Spanish
War escape responsibility for the Philippine Islands.
But it is for the American Congress to determine the extent of
recognition of our duty and the means by which we shall discharge it.
In the case of the Philippine Islands, the United States set for the
world a great moral example in the government of colonies, not in its
own interest, but for the benefit and exclusively in the interest of the
inhabitants of possessions which fell into our hands as a consequence of
the war with Spain. The principle thus proclaimed and practiced has been
followed in the case of the colonies and territories which the World War
has left at the disposition of the Allied and Associated Nations. This
principle, in the words of the Covenant, is "that the well-being and
development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilization." The
best method yet devised for giving practicable effect to this principle
undoubtedly is,
"That the tutelage of such peoples be intrusted to advanced
nations who, by reason of their resources, their experience or
their geographical position, can best undertake this
responsibility, and who are willing to accept it, and that this
tutelage should be exercised by them as mandatories on behalf
of the League."
This is the American attitude toward undeveloped peoples. To remove
these provisions from the Peace Treaty would be to _de_-Americanize the
Treaty.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
The Covenant brings within the cognizance of the League the regulation
of international relations affecting (1) efforts to secure and maintain
fair and humane conditions of labor for men, women and children--a
subject elaborated and provided for in great detail in Part XIII of the
Peace Treaty; (2) the execution of international agreements with regard
to traffic in women and children, and in opium and other dangerous
drugs; (3) the trade in arms and ammunition with the countries in which
the control of this traffic is necessary in the common interest; (4) the
prevention and control of disease.
The members of the League further agree (1)
"To make provision to secure and maintain freedom of
communication and of transit and _equitable_ treatment for the
commerce of all members of the League,"
and (2)
"to encourage and promote the establishment and coöperation of
duly authorized voluntary national Red Cross organizations
having as purposes improvement of health, the prevention of
disease and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world."
All these are subjects customarily dealt with in international
agreements. These provisions are designed to bring into coördination
with the League and make more effective all provisions concerning such
matters.
The framers of this great program recognized that it was, necessarily,
an experiment, and that experience doubtless would develop defects and
suggest needed changes. Provision is therefor made for amendments which
should take effect when ratified by the members of the League whose
representatives compose the Council, and by a majority of the members
whose representatives compose the Assembly. But, preserving the theory
that the League is to be an alliance of Sovereign Powers, it also is
provided that no member shall be bound against his will by any such
amendment. It may dissent, and thereby cease to be a member of the
League.
Finally, any member may, at will, after two years' notice, 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."
No jurisdiction is vested in any organ of the League to determine
whether or not in any instance this condition has been complied with. It
is conceivable that pending some arbitration or inquiry by the Council,
the application of a commercial boycott or other disciplinary process
for violation of a provision of the Covenant, the offending power should
seek to escape the jurisdiction of the League, by exercising the right
of withdrawal. The period of notice probably is too long to allow of
this, and yet the slow process of international procedure might require
more than two years to reach a conclusion. Does it not seem fair that
before a nation should withdraw from this great association it should be
required to fulfil its obligations under the treaty?
PROBABILITY OF WAR MINIMIZED
The treaty of peace with Germany deals with many questions of vital
import to European nations, but with which America has but little direct
concern. Part I, the Covenant, is the section which touches us most
nearly. It is the part which embodies the idealism of our people, and
through which we are enabled to discharge the responsibilities we
assumed by formulating for friend and foe the conditions of peace. Human
nature changes but little from century to century, but the highest and
purest aspirations of the human heart find expression from age to age
with greater force and with wider acceptance. Doubtless, in the future,
the passions of man will again flare up in bloody wars, but the
creation of an adequate machinery for discussion and cooling reflection,
must tend to minimize the probabilities of war. The spirits of millions
of slaughtered youth who sleep in the fields of France and Flanders call
out to us, for whom they died, to consecrate their sacrifice by a new
and greater endeavor to safeguard the future peace of the world.
The conferees of Paris have formulated a measure for this purpose. It is
not perfect. Experience may develop even greater imperfections than
study has revealed. But it contains much of hope and promise. It is
practical; it is subject to amendment. It commits no one irrevocably to
its provisions. It is instinct with American idealism. It is in accord
with the best American traditions. Washington, Lincoln, McKinley, and
Roosevelt--each has contributed to the establishment of some of its main
provisions. No partisan, no provincial prejudice should be permitted to
influence or control the judgment of our people concerning it.
* * * * *
=When Peace Came to Verdun=
It was 10:45 on the morning of November 11th in Verdun. The Germans had
thrown a barrage over the little French city, now immortal; and shells
were falling, plowing up the earth that had been turned over and over,
ground to powder by four years of artillery fire. Would the Germans stop
at 11 o'clock? Reason said "yes." Everyone in Verdun knew that at that
hour the armistice would go into effect.
It was 10:50. The guns continued bellowing. A feeling deeper than reason
came over those in the city that the Germans would not stop. Verdun had
lived through four years of fire, smoke, thunder, blood, and ruin.
Sometimes for days there would be a lull, but the guns were never quiet
long. The Germans never forgave the "they-shall-not-pass" spirit that
had hurled them back just as the prize--this military key to the West
front--seemed within their grasp.
It was 10:55. Men were crouching between buildings. They kept
coming--doughboys, Morrocans, English soldiers, more doughboys. Even the
general and his aids began to look anxious.
"Then," says B. C. Edworthy in _Association Men_, "as suddenly as though
God himself had dropped a wet blanket over the crackling flames of hell
and at one blow had extinguished them all, the firing ceased. There was
an instant's pause, in which it seemed as though the world had come to
an end. Then from the forty bells, high in the still untouched towers of
that old cathedral at Verdun, which had witnessed the most heroic
sacrifice of life and love save that on Calvary alone, pealed forth as
did the voices over the Bethlehem hills those silver tones that once
again were saying, 'Peace on Earth.' The men were joyously and
deliriously leaping about, yelling and shouting and singing and kissing
one another. Slowly those heavy cathedral doors opened and in rushed
about six hundred of the Allied soldiers."
There were Mohammedans, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants. They pressed
forward into the choir space, the roofs above them open to heaven. A
simple impromptu service of thanksgiving followed. An English soldier
led the Doxology, and all who knew the hymn joined in. Six hundred
worshipers knelt, each soldier praying according to his faith.
Mohammedans bowed to the stones, Catholics crossed themselves, Jews and
Protestants with moving lips bent their heads or lifted their faces to
heaven. Dr. Oscar E. Maurer, of New Haven, Conn., led the _Lord's
Prayer_. As the strange congregation rose, the Americans began "My
Country 'tis of Thee," the English joining in with "God Save the King."
There could be only one closing hymn in that battered shell of Verdun
Cathedral. Now, as though it had been arranged, the French pushed
forward and began the "Marseillaise." It was the singing of the soul of
a nation, a soul redeemed:
_Allons, enfants de la patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé_
Peace had come to Verdun, deliverance to France, safety to the world.
With the last words of the national hymn of France, the service was
finished, and the worshipers turned and reverently left the building.
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES AND THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
(Signed June 28, 1919, Rejected by the United States, November 19, 1919
and Again Rejected, with the Lodge Reservations, March 19, 1920)
The preamble contains the names of the plenipotentiaries that took part
in the negotiations and signed the treaty, with a few exceptions: Dr.
Hermann Müller and Dr. Johannes Bell were substituted for
Brockdorff-Rantzau and his associates, China's delegates refused to sign
on account of the Shantung concessions to Japan, and Italy was
represented by a new commission headed by Signor Tittoni, the new
Foreign Minister.
The text here reproduced is the revised edition of the treaty
distributed in French and English among the delegates at the time of the
signing. The copy actually signed is deposited in the archives of the
Republic of France in Paris.
PREAMBLE
The United States of America, the British Empire, France,
Italy, and Japan, these powers being described in the present
treaty as the principal Allied and Associated Powers; Belgium,
Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala,
Haiti, the Hedjaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru,
Poland, Portugal, Rumania, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State; Siam,
Czechoslovakia, and Uruguay, these powers constituting with the
principal powers mentioned above the Allied and Associated
Powers of the one part; and Germany, of the other part: Bearing
in mind that on the request of the Imperial German Government
an armistice was granted on Nov. 11, 1918, to Germany by the
principal Allied and Associated Powers in order that a treaty
of peace might be concluded with her, and the Allied and
Associated Powers being equally desirous that the war in which
they were successively involved directly or indirectly, and
which originated in the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary
on July 28, 1914, against Serbia; the declaration of war by
Germany against Russia on Aug. 1, 1914, and against France on
Aug. 3, 1914, and in the invasion of Belgium, should be
replaced by a firm, just, and durable peace;
For this purpose the high contracting parties represented as
follows:
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, by:
The Honorable Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States,
acting in his own name and by his own proper authority;
The Honorable Robert Lansing, Secretary of State;
The Honorable Henry White, formerly Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United States at Rome and Paris;
The Honorable Edward M. House;
General Tasker H. Bliss, Military Representative of the United
States on the Supreme War Council;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
IRELAND AND OF THE BRITISH DOMINIONS BEYOND THE SEAS, EMPEROR
OF INDIA, by:
The Right Honorable David Lloyd George, M. P., First Lord of
his Treasury and Prime Minister;
The Right Honorable Andrew Bonar Law, M. P., his Lord Privy
Seal;
The Right Honorable Viscount Milner, G. C. B., G. C. M. G., his
Secretary of State for the Colonies;
The Right Honorable Arthur James Balfour, O. M., M. P., his
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;
The Right Honorable George Nicoll Barnes, M. P., Minister
without portfolio; and
FOR THE DOMINION OF CANADA, by:
The Right Honorable Sir George Eulas Foster, G. C. M. G.,
Minister of Trade and Commerce;
The Right Honorable Charles Joseph Doherty, Minister of
Justice;
FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, by:
The Right Honorable William Morris Hughes, Attorney General and
Prime Minister;
The Right Honorable Sir Joseph Cook, G. C. M. G., Minister for
the Navy;
FOR THE DOMINION OF SOUTH AFRICA, by:
General the Right Honorable Louis Botha, Prime Minister;
Lieut. General the Right Honorable Jan Christiaan Smuts, K. C.,
Minister of Defense;
FOR THE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND, by:
The Right Honorable William Ferguson Massey, Minister of Labor
and Prime Minister;
FOR INDIA, by:
The Right Honorable Edwin Samuel Montagu, M. P., his Secretary
of State for India;
Major General his Highness Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh Bahadur,
Maharaja of Bikanir, G. C. S. I., G. C. I. E., G. C. V. O., K.
C. B., A. D. C.;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, by:
Mr. Georges Clemenceau, President of the Council, Minister of
War;
Mr. Pichon, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
Mr. L. L. Klotz, Minister of Finance;
Mr. André Tardieu, Commissary General for Franco-American
Military Affairs;
Mr. Jules Cambon, Ambassador of France;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ITALY,[27] by:
Mr. V. E. Orlando, President of the Council of Ministers;
[27] On account of the overthrow of the Orlando Ministry and the
formation of the Nitti Ministry, the treaty was signed by a delegation
headed by Signor Tittoni, the New Foreign Minister.
Baron S. Sonnino, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
Mr. S. Crespi, Deputy, Minister of Supplies;
Marquis G. Imperiali, Senator of the Kingdom, Ambassador of his
Majesty the King of Italy at London;
Mr. S. Barzilai, Deputy, formerly Minister;
HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN, by:
Marquis Saionji, formerly President of the Council of
Ministers;
Baron Makino, formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of
the Diplomatic Council;
Viscount Chinda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of H. M. the Emperor of Japan at London;
Mr. K. Matsui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
H. M. the Emperor of Japan at Paris;
Mr. H. Ijuin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
H. M. the Emperor of Japan at Rome;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS, by:
Mr. Hymans, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of State;
Mr. Van Den Heuvel, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of H. M. the King of the Belgians, Minister of
State;
Mr. Vandervelde, Minister of Justice, Minister of State;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA, by:
Mr. Ismael Montes, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of Bolivia at Paris;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL, by:
Mr. Epitacio Pessoa, formerly Minister of State, formerly
member of the Supreme Court of Justice, Federal Senator;
Mr. Pandiá Calogeras, Deputy, formerly Minister of Finance;
Mr. Raul Ferdnandes;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHINESE REPUBLIC,[28] by;
Mr. Lou Tseng-Tsiang, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
Mr. Chengting Thomas Wang, formerly Minister of Agriculture and
Commerce;
[28] Refused to sign on account of Shantung concessions to Japan.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC, by:
Mr. Antonio Sanchez de Bustamante, Dean of The Faculty of Law
in the University of Havana, President of the Cuban Society of
International Law;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR, by:
Mr. Enrique Dorn y de Alsua, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of Ecuador at Paris;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE HELLENES, by:
Mr. Eleftherios Venizelos, President of the Council of
Ministers;
Mr. Nicolas Politis, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA, by:
Mr. Joaquin Mendez, formerly Minister of State for Public Works
and Public Instruction, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of Guatemala at Washington, Envoy Extraordinary
and Minister Plenipotentiary on Special Mission at Paris;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HAITI, by:
Mr. Tertullien Guilbaud, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of Haiti at Paris;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE HEDJAZ, by:
Mr. Rustem Haidar;
Mr. Abdul Hadi Aouni;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS, by:
Dr. Policarpe Bonilla, on special mission to Washington,
formerly President of the Republic of Honduras, Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA, by:
The Honorable C. D. B. King, Secretary of State;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA, by:
Mr. Salvador Chamorro, President of the Chamber of Deputies;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA, by:
Mr. Antonio Burgos, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of Panama at Madrid;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF PERU, by:
Mr. Carlos G. Candamo, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of Peru at Paris;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE POLISH REPUBLIC, by:
Mr. Roman Dmowski, President of the Polish National Committee;
Mr. Ignace Paderewski, President of the Council of Ministers,
Minister of Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PORTUGESE REPUBLIC, by:
Dr. Affonso Costa, formerly President of the Council of
Ministers;
Mr. Augusto Soares, formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF RUMANIA, by:
Mr. Jean J. C. Bratiano, President of the Council of Ministers,
Minister of Foreign Affairs;
General Constantin Coanda, Corps Commander, A. D. C. to the
King, formerly President of the Council of Ministers;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE SERBS, THE CROATS, AND THE
SLOVENES, by:
Mr. N. P. Pachitch, formerly President of the Council of
Ministers;
Mr. Ante Trumbic, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Milenko R.
Vesnitch, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of
H. M. the King of the Serbs, the Croats, and the Slovenes at
Paris;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF SIAM, by:
Prince Charoon, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of H. M. the King of Siam at Paris;
Prince Traidos Prabandhu, Under Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE CZECHO-SLOVAK REPUBLIC, by:
Mr. Charles Kramar, President of the Council of Ministers;
Mr. Edouard Benes, Minister of Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY, by:
Mr. Juan Antonio Buero, Minister of Industry, formerly Minister
of Foreign Affairs;
[Illustration: Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States
On January 8, 1918, President Wilson outlined the fourteen points on the
basis of which the Allies should make peace.]
GERMANY,[29] by;
Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the
Empire;
[29] Treaty Signed by Dr. Hermann Müller, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of the Empire, and Dr. Johannes Bell, Minister of the Empire.
Dr. Landsberg, Minister of Justice of the Empire;
Mr. Giesberts, Minister of Posts of the Empire;
Oberbürgermeister Leinert, President of the Prussian National
Assembly;
Dr. Schücking;
Dr. Karl Melchior; Acting in the name of the German Empire and
of each and every component State.
WHO having communicated their full powers found in good and due form
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
From the coming into force of the present treaty the state of war will
terminate. From that moment and subject to the provisions of this treaty
official relations with Germany and with any of the German States will
be resumed by the Allied and Associated Powers.
PART I
The Covenant of the League of Nations
The high contracting parties, in order to promote international
coöperation and to achieve international peace and security by the
acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of
open, just, and honorable relations between nations, by the firm
establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual
rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and
a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of
organized peoples with one another, agree to this covenant of the League
of Nations.
=ARTICLE 1.=--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. Such accession shall be effected
by a declaration deposited with the secretariat within two months of the
coming into force of the covenant. Notice thereof shall be sent to all
other members of the League.
Any fully 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 that it shall give effective
guarantees 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, naval and air forces and
armaments.
Any member of the League may, after two years' notice of its intention
so to do, 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 2.=--The action of the League under this covenant shall be
effected through the instrumentality of an assembly and of a council,
with a permanent secretariat.
=ARTICLE 3.=--The assembly shall consist of representatives of the
members of the League.
The assembly shall meet at stated intervals and from time to time as
occasion may require at the seat of the League or at such other place as
may be decided upon.
The assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere
of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world.
At meetings of the assembly each member of the League shall have one
vote, and may have not more than three representatives.
=ARTICLE 4.=--The council shall consist of representatives of the
principal Allied and Associated Powers, together with representatives of
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 Belgium, Brazil,
Spain, and Greece shall be members of the council.
With the approval of the majority of the assembly, the council may name
additional members of the League whose representatives shall always be
members of the council; the council with like approval may increase the
number of members of the League to be selected by the assembly for
representation on the council.
The council shall meet from time to time as occasion may require, and at
least once a year, at the seat of the League, or at such other place as
may be decided upon.
The council may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere
of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world.
Any member of the League not represented on the council shall be invited
to send a representative to sit as a member at any meeting of the
council during the consideration of matters specially affecting the
interests of that member of the League.
At meetings of the council, each member of the League represented on the
council shall have one vote, and may have not more than one
representative.
=ARTICLE 5.=--Except where otherwise expressly provided in this covenant
or by the terms of the present treaty, decisions at any meeting of the
assembly or of the council shall require the agreement of all the
members of the League represented at the meeting.
All matters of procedure at meetings of the assembly or of the council,
including the appointment of committees to investigate particular
matters, shall be regulated by the assembly or by the council and may be
decided by a majority of the members of the League represented at the
meeting.
The first meeting of the assembly and the first meeting of the council
shall be summoned by the President of the United States of America.
=ARTICLE 6.=--The permanent secretariat shall be established at the seat
of the League. The secretariat shall comprise a Secretary General and
such secretaries and staff as may be required.
The first Secretary General shall be the person named in the annex;
thereafter the Secretary General shall be appointed by the council with
the approval of the majority of the assembly.
The secretaries and staff of the secretariat shall be appointed by the
Secretary General with the approval of the council.
The Secretary General shall act in that capacity at all meetings of the
assembly and of the council.
The expenses of the secretariat shall be borne by the members of the
League in accordance with the apportionment of the expenses of the
International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.
=ARTICLE 7.=--The seat of the League is established at Geneva.
The council may at any time decide that the seat of the League shall be
established elsewhere.
All positions under or in connection with the League, including the
secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women.
Representatives of the members of the League and officials of the League
when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy diplomatic
privileges and immunities.
The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its officials
or by representatives attending its meetings shall be inviolable.
=ARTICLE 8.=--The members of the League recognize that the maintenance
of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest
point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common
action of international obligations.
The council, taking account of the geographical situation and
circumstances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction
for the consideration and action of several Governments.
Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least
every ten years.
After these plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments,
the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded without the
concurrence of the council.
The members of the League agree that the manufacture by private
enterprise of munitions and implements of war is open to grave
objections. The council shall advise how the evil effects attendant upon
such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the
necessities of those members of the League which are not able to
manufacture the munitions and implements of war necessary for their
safety.
The members of the League undertake to interchange full and frank
information as to the scale of their armaments, their military and naval
programs and the condition of such of their industries as are adaptable
to warlike purposes.
=ARTICLE 9.=--A permanent commission shall be constituted to advise the
council on the execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on
military and naval questions generally.
=ARTICLE 10.=--The members of the League undertake to respect and
preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and
existing political independence of all members of the League. In case of
any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such
aggression the council shall advise upon the means by which this
obligation shall be fulfilled.
=ARTICLE 11.=--Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting
any of the members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of
concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that
may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In
case any such emergency should arise the Secretary General shall on the
request of any member of the League forthwith summon a meeting of the
council.
It is also declared to be the friendly right of each member of the
League to bring to the attention of the assembly or of the council any
circumstance whatever affecting international relations which threatens
to disturb international peace or the good understanding between nations
upon which peace depends.
=ARTICLE 12.=--The members of the League agree that if there should
arise between them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, they will
submit the matter either to arbitration or to inquiry by the council,
and they agree in no case to resort to war until three months after the
award by the arbitrators or the report by the council.
In any case under this article the award of the arbitrators shall be
made within a reasonable time, and the report of the council shall be
made within six months after the submission of the dispute.
=ARTICLE 13.=--The members of the League agree that whenever any dispute
shall arise between them which they recognize to be suitable for
submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by
diplomacy, they will submit the whole subject-matter to arbitration.
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, are
declared to be among those which are generally suitable for submission
to arbitration.
For the consideration of any such dispute the Court of Arbitration to
which the case is referred shall be the court agreed on by the parties
to the dispute or stipulated in any convention existing between them.
The members of the League agree that they will carry out in full good
faith any award that may be rendered, and that they will not resort to
war against a member of the League which complies therewith. In the
event of any failure to carry out such an award, the council shall
propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto.
=ARTICLE 14.=--The council shall formulate and submit to the members of
the League for adoption plans for the establishment of a Permanent Court
of International Justice.
The court shall be competent to hear and determine any dispute of an
international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The
court may also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question
referred to it by the council or by the assembly.
=ARTICLE 15.=--If there should arise between members of the League any
dispute likely to lead to a rupture, which is not submitted to
arbitration in accordance with Article 13, the members of the League
agree that they will submit the matter to the council. Any party to the
dispute may effect such submission by giving notice of the existence of
the dispute to the Secretary General, who will make all necessary
arrangements for a full investigation and consideration thereof.
For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate to the
Secretary General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case
with all the relevant facts and papers, and the council may forthwith
direct the publication thereof.
The council shall endeavor to effect a settlement of the dispute, and if
such efforts are successful, a statement shall be made public giving
such facts and explanations regarding the dispute and the terms of
settlement thereof as the council may deem appropriate.
If the dispute is not thus settled, the council either unanimously or by
a majority vote shall make and publish a report containing a statement
of the facts of the dispute and the recommendations which are deemed
just and proper in regard thereto.
Any member of the League represented on the council may make public a
statement of the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions regarding
the same.
If a report by the council is unanimously agreed to by the members
thereof other than the representatives of one or more of the parties to
the dispute, the members of the League agree that they will not go to
war with any party to the dispute which complies with the
recommendations of the report.
If the council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed to by
the members thereof, other than the representatives of one or more of
the parties to the dispute, the members of the League reserve to
themselves the right to take such action as they shall consider
necessary for the maintenance of right and justice.
If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is
found by the council to arise out of a matter which by international law
is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the council
shall so report, and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement.
The council may in any case under this article refer the dispute to the
assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the request of either
party to the dispute, provided that such request be made within fourteen
days after the submission of the dispute to the council.
In any case referred to the assembly all the provisions of this article
and of Article 12 relating to the action and powers of the council shall
apply to the action and powers of the assembly, provided that a report
made by the assembly, if concurred in by the representatives of those
members of the League represented on the council and of a majority of
the other members of the League, exclusive in each case of the
representatives of the parties to the dispute, shall have the same force
as a report by the council concurred in by all the members thereof other
than the representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute.
=ARTICLE 16.=--Should any member of the League resort to war in
disregard of its covenants under Articles 12, 13, or 15, it shall =ipso
facto= be deemed to have committed an act of war against all other
members of the League, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it
to the severance of all trade or financial relations, the prohibition of
all intercourse between their nationals and the nationals of the
covenant-breaking State and the prevention of all financial, commercial,
or personal intercourse between the nationals of the covenant-breaking
State and the nationals of any other State, whether a member of the
League or not.
It shall be the duty of the council in such case to recommend to the
several Governments concerned what effective military, naval or air
force the members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed
forces to be used to protect the covenants of the League.
The members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually
support one another in the financial and economic measures which are
taken under this article, in order to minimize the loss and
inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will
mutually support one another in resisting any special measures aimed at
one of their number by the covenant-breaking State, and that they will
take the necessary steps to afford passage through their territory to
the forces of any of the members of the League which are coöperating to
protect the covenants of the League.
Any member of the League which has violated any covenant of the League
may be declared to be no longer a member of the League by a vote of the
council concurred in by the representatives of all the other members of
the League represented thereon.
=ARTICLE 17.=--In the event of a dispute between a member of the League
and a State which is not a member of the League, or between States not
members of the League, the State or States not members of the League
shall be invited to accept the obligations of membership in the League
for the purposes of such dispute, upon such conditions as the council
may deem just. If such invitation is accepted, the provisions of
Articles 12 to 16 inclusive shall be applied with such modifications as
may be deemed necessary by the council.
Upon such invitation being given the council shall immediately institute
an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute and recommend such
action as may seem best and most effectual in the circumstances.
If a State so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of
membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and shall
resort to war against a member of the League, the provisions of Article
16 shall be applicable as against the State taking such action.
If both parties to the dispute when so invited refuse to accept the
obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such
dispute, the council may take such measures and make such
recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the
settlement of the dispute.
=ARTICLE 18.=--Every treaty or international engagement entered into
hereafter by any member of the League shall be forthwith registered with
the secretariat and shall as soon as possible be published by it. No
such treaty or international engagement shall be binding until so
registered.
=ARTICLE 19.=--The assembly may from time to time advise the
reconsideration by members of the League of treaties which have become
inapplicable and the consideration of international conditions whose
continuance might endanger the peace of the world.
=ARTICLE 20.=--The members of the League severally agree that this
covenant is accepted as abrogating all obligations or understandings
inter se which are inconsistent with the terms thereof, and solemnly
undertake that they will not hereafter enter into any engagements
inconsistent with the terms thereof.
In case any member of the League shall, before becoming a member of the
League, have undertaken any obligations inconsistent with the terms of
this covenant, it shall be the duty of such member to take immediate
steps to procure its release from such obligations.
=ARTICLE 21.=--Nothing in this covenant shall be deemed to affect the
validity of international engagements, such as treaties of arbitration
or regional understandings like the Monroe Doctrine, for securing the
maintenance of peace.
=ARTICLE 22.=--To those colonies and territories which as a consequence
of the late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States
which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet
able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern
world, there should be applied the principle that the well-being and
development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilization and that
securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this
covenant.
The best method of giving practical effect to this principle is that the
tutelage of such peoples should be intrusted to advanced nations who by
reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical
position can best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to
accept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as
mandatories on behalf of the League.
The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of
development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory,
its economic conditions and other similar circumstances.
Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have
reached a stage of development where their existence as independent
nations can be provisionally recognized subject to rendering of
administrative advice and assistance by a mandatory until such time as
they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a
principal consideration in the selection of the mandatory.
Other peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such a stage
that the mandatory must be responsible for the administration of the
territory under conditions which will guarantee freedom of conscience
and religion, subject only to the maintenance of public order and
morals, the prohibition of abuses such as the slave trade, the arms
traffic and the liquor traffic, and the prevention of the establishment
of fortifications or military and naval bases and of military training
of the natives for other than police purposes and the defense of
territory, and will also secure equal opportunities for the trade and
commerce of other members of the League.
There are territories such as Southwest Africa and certain of the South
Pacific Islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their population or
their small size, or their remoteness from the centers of civilization;
or their geographical contiguity to the territory of the mandatory, and
other circumstances, can be best administered under the laws of the
mandatory as integral portions of its territory, subject to the
safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the indigenous
population.
In every case of mandate the mandatory shall render to the council an
annual report in reference to the territory committed to its charge.
The degree of authority, control, or administration to be exercised by
the mandatory shall, if not previously agreed upon by the members of the
League, be explicitly defined in each case by the council.
A permanent commission shall be constituted to receive and examine the
annual reports of the mandatories and to advise the council on all
matters relating to the observance of the mandates.
=ARTICLES 23.=--Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of
international conventions existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the
members of the League:
(a) will endeavor to secure and maintain fair and humane
conditions of labor for men, women and children, both in their
own countries and in all countries to which their commercial
and industrial relations extend, and for that purpose will
establish and maintain the necessary international
organizations;
(b) undertake to secure just treatment of the native
inhabitants of territories under their control;
(c) will intrust the League with the general supervision over
the execution of agreements with regard to the traffic in women
and children and the traffic in opium and other dangerous
drugs;
(d) will intrust the League with the general supervision of the
trade in arms and ammunition with the countries in which the
control of this traffic is necessary in the common interest;
(e) will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of
communications and of transit and equitable treatment for the
commerce of all members of the League. In this connection the
special necessities of the regions devastated during the war of
1914--1918 shall be borne in mind;
(f) will endeavor to take steps in matters of international
concern for the prevention and control of disease.
=ARTICLE 24.=--There shall be placed under the direction of the League
all international bureaus already established by general treaties if the
parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaus and all
commissions for the regulation of matters of international interest
hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction of the League.
In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general
conventions but which are not placed under the control of international
bureaus or commissions, the secretariat of the League shall, subject to
the consent of the council and if desired by the parties, collect and
distribute all relevant information and shall render any other
assistance which may be necessary or desirable.
The council may include as part of the expenses of the secretariat the
expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed under the direction
of the League.
=ARTICLE 25.=--The members of the League agree to encourage and promote
the establishment and co-operation of duly authorized voluntary national
Red Cross organizations having as purposes the improvement of health,
the prevention of disease, and the mitigation of suffering throughout
the world.
=ARTICLE 26.=--Amendments to this covenant will take effect when
ratified by the members of the League whose representatives compose the
council and by a majority of the members of the League whose
representatives compose the assembly.
No such amendment shall bind any member of the League which signifies
its dissent therefrom, but in that case it shall cease to be a member of
the League.
ANNEX
I. Original members of the League of Nations signatories of the treaty
of peace.
United States of America.
Belgium.
Bolivia.
Brazil.
British Empire.
Canada.
Australia.
South Africa.
New Zealand.
India
China.[30]
Cuba.
Ecuador.
France.
Greece.
Guatemala.
Uruguay.
Haiti.
Hedjaz.
Honduras.
Italy.
Japan.
Liberia.
Nicaragua.
Panama.
Peru.
Poland.
Portugal.
Rumania.
Serb-Croat-Slovene State.
Siam.
Czecho-Slovakia.
States invited to accede to the covenant.
Argentine Republic
Chile.
Colombia.
Denmark.
Netherlands.
Norway.
Paraguay
Persia.
Salvador.
Spain.
Sweden.
Switzerland.
Venezuela.
[30] Refused to sign.
II. First Secretary General of the League of Nations. The Honorable Sir
James Eric Drummond, K. C. M. G., C. B.
PART II.
Boundaries of Germany
=ARTICLE 27.=--The boundaries of Germany will be determined as follows:
1. With Belgium: From the point common to the three frontiers of
Belgium, Holland, and Germany, and in a southerly direction; the
northeastern boundary of the former territory of neutral Moresnet, then
the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Eupen, then the frontier between
Belgium and the Kreis of Montjoie, then the northeastern and eastern
boundary of the Kreis of Malmédy to its junction with the frontier of
Luxemburg.
2. With Luxemburg: The frontier of the 3d August, 1914, to its junction
with the frontier of France of the 18th July, 1870.
3. With France: The frontier of the 18th July, 1870, from Luxemburg to
Switzerland, with the reservations made in Article 48 of Section 4
(Sarre Basin) of Part III.
4. With Switzerland: The present frontier.
5. With Austria: The frontier of the 3d August, 1914, from Switzerland
to Czechoslovakia is hereinafter defined.
6. With Czechoslovakia: The frontier of the 3d August, 1914, between
Germany and Austria from its junction with the old administrative
boundary separating Bohemia and the Province of Upper Austria to the
point north of the salient of the old Province of Austrian Silesia
situated at about eight kilometers east of Neustadt.
7. With Poland: From the point defined above to a point to be fixed on
the ground about 2 kilometers east of Lorzendorf: the frontier as it
will be fixed in accordance with Article 88 of the present treaty;
thence in a northerly direction to the point where the administrative
boundary of Posnania crosses the river Bartsch; a line to be fixed on
the ground leaving the following places in Poland: Skorischau,
Reichthal, Trembatschau, Kunzendorf, Schleise, Gross Kosel,
Schreibersdorf, Rippin, Fürstlich-Niefken, Pawelau, Tscheschen,
Konradau, Johannisdorf, Modzenowe, Bogdaj, and in Germany: Lorzendorf,
Kaulwitz, Glausche, Dalbersdorf, Reesewitz, Stradam, Gross Wartenberg
Kraschen, Neu Mittelwalde, Domaslawitz, Wodelsdorf, Tscheschen Hammer;
thence the boundary of Posnania northwestward to the point where it cuts
the Rawitsch-Herrnstadt railway; thence to the point where the
administrative boundary of Posnania cuts the Reisen-Tschirnau road: a
line to be fixed on the ground passing west of Triebusch and Gabel and
east of Saborwitz; thence the administrative boundary of Posnania to its
junction with the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Fraustadt;
Thence in a northwesterly direction to a point to be chosen on the road
between the villages of Unruhstadt and Kophitz: a line to be fixed on
the ground passing west of Geyersdorf, Brenno, Fehlen, Altkloster,
Klebel, and east of Ulbersdorf, Buchwald, Ilgen, Weine, Lupitze,
Schwenten; thence in a northerly direction to the northernmost point of
Lake Chlop: a line to be fixed on the ground following the median line
of the lakes; the town and the station of Bentschen, however, (including
the junction of the lines Schwiebus-Bentschen and Züllichau-Bentschen,)
remaining in Polish territory;
Thence in a northeasterly direction to the point of junction of the
boundaries of the Kreise of Schwerin, Birnbaum, and Meseritz: a line to
be fixed on the ground passing east of Betsche; thence in a northerly
direction the boundary separating the Kreise of Schwerin and Birnbaum,
then in an easterly direction the northern boundary of Posnania and to
the point where it cuts the river Netze; thence upstream to its
confluence with the Küddow: the course of the Netze; thence upstream to
a point to be chosen about 6 kilometers southeast of Schneidemühl; the
course of the Küddow;
Thence northeastward to the most southern point of the re-entrant of the
northern boundary of Posnania about 5 kilometers west of Stahren: a line
to be fixed on the ground leaving the Schneidemühl-Konitz railway in
this area entirely in German territory; thence the boundary of Posnania
northeastward to the point of the salient it makes about 15 kilometers
east of Flatow; thence northeastward to the point where the river
Kamionka meets the southern boundary of the Kreis of Konitz about 3
kilometers northeast of Grunau: a line to be fixed on the ground leaving
the following places to Poland: Jasdrowo, Gr. Lutau, Kl. Lutau and
Wittkau, and to Germany: Gr. Butzig, Cziskowo, Battow, Böch, and Grunau;
Thence in a northerly direction the boundary between the Kreise of
Konitz and Schlochau to the point where this boundary cuts the river
Brahe; thence to a point on the boundary of Pomerania 15 kilometers east
of Rummelsburg: a line to be fixed on the ground leaving the following
localities in Poland: Konarzin, Kelpin, Adl. Briesen, and in Germany:
Sampohl, Neuguth, Steinfort, and Gr. Peterkau; then the boundary of
Pomerania in an easterly direction to its junction with the boundary
between the Kreis of Konitz and Schlochau;
[Illustration: Copyright Press Illustrating Service
President and Mrs. Wilson Waving Good Bye
This picture was taken as they were starting out for their first trip to
the Peace Conference.]
Thence northward the boundary between Pomerania and West Prussia to the
point on the river Rheda about 3 kilometers northwest of Gohra, where
that river is joined by a tributary from the northwest; thence to a
point to be selected in the bend of the Piasnitz River about 1½
kilometers northwest of Warschkau: a line to be fixed on the ground;
thence this river downstream, then the median line of Lake Zarnowitz,
then the old boundary of West Prussia to the Baltic Sea.
8. With Denmark: The frontier as it will be fixed in accordance with
Articles 109 and 110 of Part III., Section XII., (Schleswig.)
=ARTICLE 28.=--The boundaries of East Prussia, with the reservations
made in Section IX. (East Prussia) of Part III. will be determined as
follows:
From a point on the coast of the Baltic Sea about 1½ kilometers north of
Pröbbernau Church in a direction of about 159 degrees east from true
north: A line to be fixed on the ground for about 2 kilometers, thence
in a straight line to the light at the bend of the Elbinger Channel in
approximately latitude 54.19½ north, longitude 19.26 east of Greenwich;
Thence to the easternmost mouth of the Nogat River at a bearing of
approximately 209 degrees east from true north;
Thence up the course of the Nogat River to the point where the latter
leaves the Vistula, (Weichsel;)
Thence up the principal channel of navigation of the Vistula, then the
southern boundary of the Kreis of Marienwerder, then that of the Kreis
of Rosenberg, eastward to the point where it meets the old boundary of
East Prussia;
Thence the old boundary between East and West Prussia, then the boundary
between the Kreise of Osterode and Neidenburg, then the course of the
River Skoppau down stream, then the course of the Neide up stream to a
point situated about 5 kilometers west of Bialutten, being the nearest
point to the old frontier of Russia, thence in an easterly direction to
a point immediately south of the intersection of the road
Neidenburg-Mlava with the old frontier of Russia;
A line to be fixed on the ground passing north of Bialutten;
Thence the old frontier of Russia to a point east of Schmalleningken,
then the principal channel of navigation of the Niemen (Memel) down
stream, then the Skierwieth arm of the delta to the Kurisches Haff;
Thence a straight line to the point where the eastern shore of the
Kurische Nehrung meets the administrative boundary about 4 kilometers
southwest of Nidden;
Thence this administrative boundary to the western shore of the Kurische
Nehrung.
=ARTICLE 29.=--The boundaries as described above are drawn in red on a
one-in-a-million map which is annexed to the present treaty. (Map No.
1.)
In the case of any discrepancies between the text of the treaty and this
map or any other map which may be annexed, the text will be final.
=ARTICLE 30.=--In the case of boundaries which are defined by a
waterway, the terms "course" and "channel" used in the present treaty
signify: in the case of non-navigable rivers, the median line of the
waterway or of its principal arm, and in the case of navigable rivers
the median line of the principal channel of navigation. It will rest
with the boundary commissions provided by the present treaty to specify
in each case whether the frontier line shall follow any changes of the
course or channel which may take place or whether it shall be definitely
fixed by the position of the course or channel at the time when the
present treaty comes into force.
PART III
Political Clauses for Europe
SECTION I.--_Belgium_
=ARTICLE 31.=--Germany, recognizing that the treaties of April 19, 1839,
which established the status of Belgium before the war, no longer
conform to the requirements of the situation, consents to the abrogation
of the said treaties and undertakes immediately to recognize and to
observe whatever conventions may be entered into by the principal allied
and associated powers, or by any of them in concert with the Governments
of Belgium and of the Netherlands, to replace the said treaties of 1839.
If her formal adhesion should be required to such conventions or to any
of their stipulations, Germany undertakes immediately to give it.
=ARTICLE 32.=--Germany recognizes the full sovereignty of Belgium over
the whole of the contested territory of Moresnet, (called Moresnet
Neutre.)
=ARTICLE 33.=--Germany renounces in favor of Belgium all rights and
title over the territory of Prussian Moresnet situated on the west of
the road from Liége to Aix-la-Chapelle: the road will belong to Belgium
where it bounds this territory.
=ARTICLE 34.=--Germany renounces in favor of Belgium all rights and
title over the territory comprising the whole of the Kreise of Eupen and
of Malmédy.
During the six months after the coming into force of this treaty,
registers will be opened by the Belgian authorities at Eupen and Malmédy
in which the inhabitants of the above territory will be entitled to
record in writing a desire to see the whole or part of it remain under
German sovereignty.
The results of this public expression of opinion will be communicated by
the Belgian Government to the League of Nations, and Belgium undertakes
to accept the decision of the League.
=ARTICLE 35.=--A commission of seven persons, five of whom will be
appointed by the principal allied and associated powers, one by Germany
and one by Belgium, will be set up fifteen days after the coming into
force of the present treaty to settle on the spot the new frontier line
between Belgium and Germany, taking into account the economic factors
and the means of communication.
Decisions will be taken by a majority and will be binding on the parties
concerned.
=ARTICLE 36.=--When the transfer of the sovereignty over the territories
referred to above has become definitive, German nationals habitually
resident in the territories will definitively acquire Belgian
nationality ipso facto, and will lose their German nationality.
Nevertheless German nationals who become resident in the territories
after the 1st August, 1914, shall not obtain Belgian nationality without
a permit from the Belgian Government.
=ARTICLE 37.=--Within the two years following the definitive transfer of
the sovereignty over the territories assigned to Belgium under the
present treaty, German nationals over 18 years of age habitually
resident in those territories will be entitled to opt for German
nationality.
Option by a husband will cover his wife, and option by parents will
cover their children under 18 years of age.
Persons who have exercised the above right to opt must within the
ensuing twelve months transfer their place of residence to Germany.
They will be entitled to retain their immovable property in the
territories acquired by Belgium. They may carry with them their movable
property of every description. No export or import duties may be imposed
upon them in connection with the removal of such property.
=ARTICLE 38.=--The German Government will hand over without delay to the
Belgian Government the archives, registers, plans, title deeds and
documents of every kind concerning the civil, military, financial,
judicial or other administrations in the territory transferred to
Belgian sovereignty.
The German Government will likewise restore to the Belgian Government
the archives and documents of every kind carried off during the war by
the German authorities from the Belgian public administrations, in
particular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Brussels.
=ARTICLE 39.=--The proportion and nature of the financial liabilities of
Germany and of Prussia which Belgium will have to bear on account of the
territories ceded to her shall be fixed in conformity with Articles 254
and 256 of Part IX. (financial clauses) of the present treaty.
SECTION II.--_Luxemburg_
=ARTICLE 40.=--With regard to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Germany
renounces the benefit of all the provisions inserted in her favor in the
treaties of Feb. 8, 1842; April 2, 1847; Oct. 20--25, 1865; Aug. 18,
1866; Feb. 21 and May 11, 1867; May 10, 1871; June 11, 1872, and Nov.
11, 1902, and in all conventions consequent upon such treaties.
Germany recognizes that the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg ceased to form part
of the German Zollverein as from January 1, 1919; renounces all right to
the exploitation of the railways, adheres to the termination of the
régime of neutrality of the Grand Duchy, and accepts in advance all
international arrangements which may be concluded by the Allied and
Associated Powers relating to the Grand Duchy.
=ARTICLE 41.=--Germany undertakes to grant to the Grand Duchy of
Luxemburg, when a demand to that effect is made to her by the principal
Allied and Associated Powers, the rights and advantages stipulated in
favor of such powers or their nationals in the present treaty, with
regard to economic questions, to questions relative to transport and to
aerial navigation.
SECTION III.--_Left Bank of the Rhine_
=ARTICLE 42.=--Germany is forbidden to maintain or construct any
fortifications either on the left bank of the Rhine or on the right bank
to the west of a line drawn fifty kilometers to the east of the Rhine.
=ARTICLE 43.=--In the area defined above the maintenance and the
assembly of armed forces either permanently or temporarily, and military
maneuvers of any kind, as well as the upkeep of all permanent works for
mobilization, are in the same way forbidden.
=ARTICLE 44.=--In case Germany violates in any manner the provisions of
Article 42 and 43 she shall be regarded as committing a hostile act
against the powers signatory of the present treaty and as calculated to
disturb the peace of the world.
SECTION IV.--_Sarre Basin_
=ARTICLE 45.=--As compensation for the destruction of the coal mines in
the North of France and as part payment toward the total reparation due
from Germany for the damage resulting from the war, Germany cedes to
France in full and absolute possession, with exclusive rights of
exploitation, unincumbered and free from all debts and charges of any
kind, the coal mines situated in the Sarre Basin as defined in Article
48.
=ARTICLE 46.=--In order to assure the rights and welfare of the
population and to guarantee to France complete freedom in working the
mines, Germany agrees to the provisions of Chapters 1 and 2 of the annex
hereto.
=ARTICLE 47.=--In order to make in due time permanent provision for the
government of the Sarre Basin in accordance with the wishes of the
population, France and Germany agree to the provisions of Chapter 3 of
the annex hereto.
=ARTICLE 48.=--The boundaries of the territory of the Sarre Basin, as
dealt with in the present stipulations, will be fixed as follows:
On the south and southwest: By the frontier of France as fixed by the
present treaty.
On the northwest and north: By a line following the northern
administrative boundary of the Kreise of Merzig from the point where it
leaves the French frontier to the point where it meets the
administrative boundary, separating the commune of Saarhölzbach from the
commune of Britten; following this communal boundary southward and
reaching the administrative boundary of the Canton of Merzig so as to
include in the territory of the Sarre Basin the Canton of Mettlach, with
the exception of the commune of Britten: following successively the
northern administrative limits of the Cantons of Merzig and Haustadt,
which are incorporated in the aforesaid Sarre Basin, then successively
the administrative boundaries separating the Kreise of Saare Louis,
Ottweiler, and Saint-wendel from the Kreise of Merzig, Treves, (Trier.)
and the principality of Birkenfeld as far as a point situated about 500
meters north of the village of Furschweiler, (viz.: The highest point of
the Metzelberg.)
On the northeast and east: From the last point defined above to a point
about 3½ kilometers east-northeast of Saint Wendel:
A line to be fixed on the ground passing east of Furschweiler, west of
Roschberg, east of points 418, 329, (south of Roschberg,) west of
Leitersweiler, northeast of point 46'4, and following the line of the
crest southward to its junction with the administrative boundary of the
Kreis of Kusel;
Thence in a southerly direction the boundary of the Kreis of Kusel, then
the boundary of the Kreis of Homburg toward the south-southeast to a
point situated about 1,000 meters west of Dunzweiler;
Thence to a point about one kilometer south of Hornbach: a line to be
fixed on the ground passing through point 424, (about 1,000 meters
southeast of Dunzweiler,) point 363, (Fuchsberg,) point 322, (southwest
of Waldmohr,) then east of Jagersburg and Erbach, then encircling
Homburg, passing through the points 361, (about 2½ kilometers northeast
by east of that town,) 342, (about 2 kilometers southeast of that town,)
347, (Schreinersberg,) 356, 350, (about 1½ kilometers southeast of
Schwarzenbach,) then passing east of Einöd, southeast of points 322 and
333, about 2 kilometers east of Webenheim, about 2 kilometers east of
Mimbach, passing east of the plateau which is traversed by the road from
Mimbach to Böckweiler, (so as to include this road in the territory of
the Sarre Basin,) passing immediately north of the junction of the roads
from Böckweiler and Altheim, situated about 2 kilometers north of
Altheim, then passing south of Ringweilderhof and north of point 322,
rejoining the frontier of France at the angle which it makes about 1
kilometer south of Hornbach, (see Map No. 2, scale 1-100,000, annexed to
the present treaty.)
A commission composed of five members, one appointed by France, one by
Germany, and three by the Council of the League of Nations, which will
select nationals of other powers, will be constituted within fifteen
days from the coming into force of the present treaty, to trace on the
spot the frontier line described above. In those parts of the preceding
line which do not coincide with administration boundaries, the
commission will endeavor to keep to the line indicated, while taking
into consideration, so far as is possible local economic interests and
existing communal boundaries.
The decisions of this commission will be taken by a majority and will be
binding on the parties concerned.
=ARTICLE 49.=--Germany renounces in favor of the League of Nations, in
the capacity of trustee, the government of the territory defined above.
At the end of fifteen years from the coming into force of the present
treaty the inhabitants of the said territory shall be called upon to
indicate the sovereignty under which they desire to be placed.
=ARTICLE 50.=--The stipulations under which the cession of the mines in
the Sarre Basin shall be carried out, together with the measures
intended to guarantee the rights and the well-being of the inhabitants
and the government of the territory, as well as the conditions in
accordance with which the plebiscite hereinbefore provided for is to be
made, are laid down in the annex hereto. This annex shall be considered
as an integral part of the present treaty, and Germany declares her
adherence to it.
ANNEX
In accordance with the provisions of Articles 45 to 50 of the present
treaty, the stipulations under which the cession by Germany to France of
the mines of the Sarre Basin will be effected, as well as the measures
intended to insure respect for the rights and well-being of the
population and the government of the territory, and the conditions in
which the inhabitants will be called upon to indicate the sovereignty
under which they may wish to be placed, have been laid down as follows:
CHAPTER 1.--CESSION AND EXPLOITATION OF MINING PROPERTY
1. From the date of the coming into force of the present treaty, all the
deposits of coal situated within the Sarre Basin, as defined in Article
48 of the said treaty, become the complete and absolute property of the
French State.
The French State will have the right of working or not working the said
mines or of transferring to a third party the right of working them,
without having to obtain any previous authorization or to fulfill any
formalities.
The French State may always require that the German mining laws and
regulations referred to below shall be applied in order to insure the
determination of its rights.
2. The right of ownership of the French State will apply not only to the
deposits which are free, and for which concessions have not yet been
granted, but also to the deposits for which concessions have already
been granted, whoever may be the present proprietors, irrespective of
whether they belong to the Prussian State, to the Bavarian State, to
other States or bodies, to companies or to individuals, whether they
have been worked or not, or whether a right of exploitation distinct
from the right of the owners of the surface of the soil has or has not
been recognized.
3. As far as concerns the mines which are being worked, the transfer of
the ownership to the French State will apply to all the accessories and
subsidiaries of the said mines, in particular to their plant and
equipment both on and below the surface, to their extracting machinery,
their plants for transforming coal into electric power, coke and
by-products, their workshops, means of communication, electric lines,
plant for catching and distributing water, land, buildings, such as
offices, managers', employes', and workmen's dwellings, schools,
hospitals, and dispensaries, their stocks and supplies of every
description, their archives and plans, and in general everything which
those who own or exploit the mines possess or enjoy for the purpose of
exploiting the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries.
The transfer will apply also to the debts owing for products delivered
before the entry into possession by the French State, and after the
signature of the present treaty, and to deposits of money made by
customers, whose rights will be guaranteed by the French State.
4. The French State will acquire the property free and clear of all
debts and charges. Nevertheless the rights acquired, or in course of
being acquired, by the employes of the mines and their accessories and
subsidiaries at the date of the coming into force of the present treaty,
in connection with pensions for old age or disability, will not be
affected. In return, Germany must pay over to the French State a sum
representing the actuarial amounts to which the said employes are
entitled.
5. The value of the property thus ceded to the French State will be
determined by the Reparation Commission referred to in Article 233 of
Part VIII. (Reparations) of the present treaty.
This value shall be credited to Germany in part payment of the amount
due for reparation.
It will be for Germany to indemnify the proprietors or parties
concerned, whoever they may be.
6. No tariff shall be established on the German railways and canals
which may directly or indirectly discriminate to the prejudice of the
transport of the personnel or products of the mines and their
accessories or subsidiaries, or of the material necessary to their
exploitation. Such transport shall enjoy all the rights and privileges
which any international railway conventions may guarantee to similar
products of French origin.
7. The equipment and personnel necessary to insure the dispatch and
transport of the products of the mines and their accessories and
subsidiaries, as well as the carriage of workmen and employes, will be
provided by the local railway administration of the basin.
8. No obstacle shall be placed in the way of such improvements of
railways or waterways as the French State may judge necessary to assure
the dispatch and transport of the products of the mines and their
accessories and subsidiaries, such as double trackage, enlargement of
stations, and construction of yards and appurtenances.
The distribution of expenses will, in the event of disagreement, be
submitted to arbitration.
The French State may also establish any new means of communication, such
as roads, electric lines, and telephone connections, which it may
consider necessary for the exploitation of the mines.
It may exploit freely and without any restrictions the means of
communication of which it may become the owner, particularly those
connecting the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries with the
means of communication situated in French territory.
9. The French State shall always be entitled to demand the application
of the German mining laws and regulations in force on the 11th of
November, 1918, excepting provisions adopted exclusively in view of the
state of war, with a view to the acquisition of such land as it may
judge necessary for the exploitation of the mines and their accessories
and subsidiaries.
The payment for damage caused to immovable property by the working of
the said mines and their accessories and subsidiaries shall be made in
accordance with the German mining laws and regulations above referred
to.
10. Every person whom the French State may substitute for itself as
regards the whole or part of its rights to the exploitation of the mines
and their accessories and subsidiaries shall enjoy the benefit of the
privileges provided in this annex.
11. The mines and other immovable property which become the property of
the French State may never be made the subject of measures of
forfeiture, forced sale, expropriation or requisition, nor of any other
measure affecting the right of property.
The personnel and the plant connected with the exploitation of these
mines or their accessories and subsidiaries, as well as the product
extracted from the mines or manufactured in their accessories and
subsidiaries, may not at any time be made the subject of any measures of
requisition.
12. The exploitation of the mines and their accessories and
subsidiaries, which become the property of the French State, will
continue, subject to the provisions of Paragraph 23 below, to be subject
to the régime established by the German laws and regulations in force on
the 11th November, 1918, excepting provisions adopted exclusively in
view of the state of war.
The rights of the workmen shall be similarly maintained, subject to the
provisions of the said Paragraph 23, as established on the 11th
November, 1918, by the German laws and regulations above referred to. No
impediment shall be placed in the way of the introduction or employment
in the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries of workmen from
without the basin.
The employes and workmen of French nationality shall have the right to
belong to French labor unions.
13. The amount contributed by the mines and their accessories and
subsidiaries, either to the local budget of the territory of the Sarre
Basin or to the communal funds, shall be fixed with due regard to the
ratio of the value of the mines to the total taxable wealth of the
basin.
14. The French State shall always have the right of establishing and
maintaining, as incidental to the mines, primary or technical schools
for its employes and their children, and of causing instruction therein
to be given in the French language, in accordance with such curriculum
and by such teachers as it may select.
It shall also have the right to establish and maintain hospitals,
dispensaries, workmen's houses and gardens, and other charitable and
social institutions.
15. The French State shall enjoy complete liberty with respect to the
distribution, dispatch and sale prices of the products of the mines and
their accessories and subsidiaries.
Nevertheless, whatever may be the total product of the mines, the French
Government undertakes that the requirements of local consumption for
industrial and domestic purposes shall always be satisfied in the
proportion existing in 1913 between the amount consumed locally and the
total output of the Sarre Basin.
CHAPTER II.--GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF THE SARRE BASIN
16. The government of the territory of the Sarre Basin shall be
intrusted to a commission representing the League of Nations. This
commission shall sit in the territory of the Sarre Basin.
17. The Governing Commission provided for by Paragraph 16 shall consist
of five members chosen by the Council of the League of Nations, and will
include one citizen of France, one native inhabitant of the Sarre Basin
not a citizen of France, and three members belonging to three countries
other than France or Germany.
The members of the Governing Commission shall be appointed for one year
and may be reappointed. They can be removed by the Council of the League
of Nations, which will provide for their replacement. The members of the
Governing Commission will be entitled to a salary which will be fixed by
the Council of the League of Nations, and charged on the local revenues.
18. The Chairman of the Governing Commission shall be appointed for one
year from among the members of the commission by the Council of the
League of Nations and may be reappointed. The Chairman will act as the
executive of the commission.
19. Within the territory of the Sarre Basin the Governing Commission
shall have all the powers of government hitherto belonging to the German
Empire, Prussia or Bavaria, including the appointment and dismissal of
officials, and the creation of such administrative and representative
bodies as it may deem necessary. It shall have full powers to administer
and operate the railways, canals, and the different public services.
Its decisions shall be taken by a majority.
20. Germany will place at the disposal of the Governing Commission all
official documents and archives under the control of Germany, of any
German State, or of any local authority, which relate to the territory
of the Sarre Basin or to the rights of the inhabitants thereof.
21. It will be the duty of the Governing Commission to insure, by such
means and under such conditions as it may deem suitable, the protection
abroad of the interests of the inhabitants of the territory of the Sarre
Basin.
22. The Governing Commission shall have the full right of user of all
property, other than mines belonging, both in public and in private
domain, to the Imperial German Government, or the Government of any
German State, in the territory of the Sarre Basin.
As regards the railways, an equitable apportionment of rolling stock
shall be made by a mixed commission on which the government of the
territory of the Sarre Basin and the German railways will be
represented.
Persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons, and mails, coming from or
going to the Sarre Basin, shall enjoy all the rights and privileges
relating to transit and transport which are specified in the provisions
of Part XII. (ports, waterways, railways) of the present treaty.
23. The laws and regulations in force n Nov. 11, 1918, in the territory
of the Sarre Basin, (except those enacted in consequence of the state of
war,) shall continue to apply. If, for general reasons or to bring
these laws and regulations into accord with the provisions of the
present treaty, it is necessary to introduce modifications, these shall
be decided on, and put into effect by the Governing Commission, after
consultation with the elected representatives of the inhabitants in such
a manner as the commission may determine. No modification may be made in
the legal régime for the exploitation of the mines, provided for in
Paragraph 12, without the French State being previously consulted,
unless such modification results from a general regulation respecting
labor adopted by the League of Nations.
In fixing the conditions and hours of labor for men, women, and
children, the Governing Commission is to take into consideration the
wishes expressed by the local labor organizations, as well as the
principles adopted by the League of Nations.
24. Subject to the provisions of Paragraph 4, no rights of the
inhabitants of the Sarre Basin acquired or in process of acquisition at
the date of the coming into force of this treaty, in respect of any
insurance system of Germany, or in respect of any pension of any kind,
are affected by any of the provisions of the present treaty.
Germany and the Government of the territory of the Saare Basin will
preserve and continue all the aforesaid rights.
25. The civil and criminal courts existing in the territory of the Sarre
Basin shall continue.
A civil and criminal court will be established by the Governing
Commission to hear appeals from the decisions of the said courts, and to
decide matters for which these courts are not competent.
The Governing Commission will be responsible for settling the
organization and jurisdiction of the said court.
Justice will be rendered in the name of the Governing Commission.
26. The Governing Commission will alone have the power of levying taxes
and dues in the territory of the Sarre Basin.
These taxes and dues will be exclusively applied to the needs of the
territory.
The fiscal system existing on Nov. 11, 1918, will be maintained as far
as possible, and no new tax except customs duties may be imposed without
previously consulting the elected representatives of the inhabitants.
27. The present stipulations will not affect the existing nationality of
the inhabitants of the territory of the Sarre Basin. No hindrance shall
be placed in the way of those who wish to acquire a different
nationality, but in such case the acquisition of the new nationality
will involve the loss of any other.
28. Under the control of the Governing Commission the inhabitants will
retain their local assemblies, their religious liberties, their schools,
and their language. The right of voting will not be exercised for any
assemblies other than the local assemblies, and will belong to every
inhabitant over the age of 20 years without distinction of sex.
29. Any of the inhabitants of the Sarre Basin who may desire to leave
the territory will have full liberty to retain in it their immovable
property or to sell it at fair prices and to remove their movable
property free of any charge.
30. There will be no military service, whether compulsory or voluntary,
in the territory of the Sarre Basin, and the construction of
fortifications therein is forbidden. Only a local gendarmerie for the
maintenance of order may be established. It will be the duty of the
Governing Commission to provide in all cases for the protection of
persons and property in the Sarre Basin.
31. The territory of the Sarre Basin as defined by Article 48 of the
present treaty shall be subjected to the French customs régime. The
receipts from the customs duties on goods intended for local consumption
shall be included in the budget of the said territory after deduction of
all costs of collection. No export tax shall be imposed upon
metallurgical products or coal exported from the said territory to
Germany, nor upon German exports for the use of the industries of the
territory of the Sarre Basin. Natural or manufactured products
originating in the basin in transit over German territory and similarly
German products in transit over the territory of the basin shall be free
of all customs duties.
Products which both originate in and pass from the basin into Germany
shall be free of import duties for a period of five years from the date
of the coming into force of the present treaty, and during the same
period articles imported from Germany into the territory of the basin
for local consumption shall likewise be free of import duties.
During these five years the French Government reserves to itself the
right of limiting to the annual average of the quantities imported into
Alsace-Lorraine and France in the years 1911 to 1913 the quantities
which may be sent into France of all articles coming from the basin,
which include raw materials and semi-manufactured goods imported duty
free from Germany. Such average shall be determined after reference to
all available official information and statistics.
32. No prohibition or restriction shall be imposed upon the circulation
of French money in the territory of the Sarre Basin. The French State
shall have the right to use French money in all purchases, payments, and
contracts connected with the exploitation of the mines or their
accessories and subsidiaries.
33. The Governing Commission shall have power to decide all questions
arising from the interpretation of the preceding provisions. France and
Germany agree that any dispute involving a difference of opinion as to
the interpretation of the said provisions shall in the same way be
submitted to the Governing Commission, and the decision of a majority of
the commission shall be binding on both countries.
CHAPTER III.--PLEBISCITE
34. At the termination of a period of fifteen years from the coming into
force of the present treaty, the population of the territory of the
Sarre Basin will be called upon to indicate their desires in the
following manner:
A vote will take place, by communes or districts, on the three following
alternatives: (a) Maintenance of the régime established by the present
treaty and by this annex; (b) union with France; (c) union with Germany.
All persons without distinction of sex, more than 20 years old at the
date of the voting, resident in the territory at the date of the
signature of the present treaty, will have the right to vote.
The other conditions, methods, and the date of the voting shall be fixed
by the Council of the League of Nations in such a way as to secure the
liberty, secrecy, and trustworthiness of the voting.
35. The League of Nations shall decide on the sovereignty under which
the territory is to be placed, taking into account the wishes of the
inhabitants as expressed by the voting.
(a) If, for the whole or part of the territory, the League of Nations
decides in favor of the maintenance of the régime established by the
present treaty and this annex, Germany hereby agrees to make such
renunciation of her sovereignty in favor of the League of Nations as the
latter shall deem necessary. It will be the duty of the League of
Nations to take appropriate steps to adapt the régime definitely adopted
to the permanent welfare of the territory and the general interests.
(b) If for the whole or part of the territory the League of Nations
decides in favor of union with France, Germany hereby agrees to cede to
France in accordance with the decision of the League of Nations all
rights and title over the territory specified by the League.
(c) If for the whole or part of the territory the League of Nations
decides in favor of union with Germany, it will be the duty of the
League of Nations to cause the German Government to be re-established in
the government of the territory specified by the League.
[Illustration: Copyright Underwood & Underwood
=President Wilson's Welcome in Paris=
A general view of the Place de l'Etoile, showing the President's
carriage, passing the triumphant arch on its way to the Murat Castle,
where President Wilson established his home during his stay in the
French Capitol.]
36. If the League of Nations decides in favor of the union of the whole
or part of the territory of the Sarre Basin with Germany, France's
rights of ownership in the mines situated in such part of the territory
will be repurchased by Germany in their entirety at a price payable in
gold. The price to be paid will be fixed by three experts, one nominated
by Germany, one by France, and one, who shall be neither a Frenchman nor
a German, by the Council of the League of Nations. The decision of the
experts will be given by a majority.
The obligation of Germany to make such payment shall be taken into
account by the Reparation Commission, and for the purpose of this
payment Germany may create a prior charge upon her assets or revenues
upon such detailed terms as shall be agreed to by the Reparation
Commission.
If, nevertheless, Germany after a period of one year from the date on
which the payment becomes due shall not have effected the said payment,
the Reparation Commission shall do so in accordance with such
instructions as may be given by the League of Nations, and, if
necessary, by liquidating that part of the mines which is in question.
37. If, in consequence of the repurchase provided for in Paragraph 36,
the ownership of the mines or any part of them is transferred to
Germany, the French State and French nationals shall have the right to
purchase such amount of coal of the Sarre Basin as their industrial and
domestic needs are found at that time to require. An equitable
arrangement regarding amounts of coal, duration of contract, and prices
will be fixed in due time by the Council of the League of Nations.
38. It is understood that France and Germany may, by special agreements
concluded before the time fixed for the payment of the price for the
repurchase of the mines, modify the provisions of Paragraphs 36 and 37.
39. The Council of the League of Nations shall make such provisions as
may be necessary for the establishment of the régime which is to take
effect after the decisions of the League of Nations mentioned in
Paragraph 35 have become operative, including an equitable apportionment
of any obligations of the Government of the territory of the Sarre Basin
arising from loans raised by the commission or from other causes.
From the coming into force of the new régime, the powers of the
Governing Commission will terminate, except in the case provided for in
Paragraph 35. (a)
40. In all matters dealt with in the present annex, the decisions of the
Council of the League of Nations will be taken by a majority.
SECTION V.--_Alsace-Lorraine_
The high contracting powers, recognizing the moral obligation to redress
the wrong done by Germany in 1871, both to the rights of France and to
the wishes of the population of Alsace and Lorraine, which were
separated from their country in spite of solemn protests of their
representatives of the Assembly of Bordeaux, agree upon the following
articles:
=ARTICLE 51.=--The territories which were ceded to Germany in accordance
with the preliminaries of peace signed at Versailles on the 26th
February, 1871, and the treaty of Frankfort on the 10th May, 1871, are
restored to French sovereignty as from the date of the armistice of the
11th November, 1918.
The provisions of the treaties establishing the delimination of the
frontiers before 1871 shall be restored.
=ARTICLE 52.=--The German Government shall hand over without delay to
the French Government all archives, registers, plans, titles, and
documents of every kind concerning the civil, military, financial,
judicial, or other administrations of the territories restored to French
sovereignty. If any of these documents, archives, registers, titles, or
plans have been misplaced, they will be restored by the German
Government on the demand of the French Government.
=ARTICLE 53.=--Separate agreements shall be made between France and
Germany dealing with the interests of the inhabitants of the territories
referred to in Article 51, particularly as regards their civil rights,
their business and the exercise of their professions, it being
understood that Germany undertakes as from the present date to recognize
and accept the regulations laid down in the annex hereto regarding the
nationality of the inhabitants or natives of the said territories, not
to claim at any time or in any place whatsoever as German nationals
those who shall have been declared on any ground to be French, to
receive all others in her territory, and to conform, as regards the
property of German nationals in the territories indicated in Article 51,
with the provisions of Article 297, and the Annex to Section 4 of Part
X. (economic clauses) of the present treaty.
Those German nationals who without acquiring French nationality shall
receive permission from the French Government to reside in the said
territories shall not be subjected to the provisions of the said
article.
=ARTICLE 54=.--Those persons who have regained French nationality in
virtue of Paragraph 1 of the annex hereto, will be held to be
Alsace-Lorrainers for the purposes of the present section.
The persons referred to in Paragraph 2 of the said annex will, from the
day on which they have claimed French nationality, be held to be
Alsace-Lorrainers with retroactive effect as from the 11th November,
1918. From those whose application is rejected, the privilege will
terminate at the date of the refusal.
Such juridical persons will also have the status of Alsace-Lorrainers as
have been recognized as possessing this quality, whether by the French
administrative authorities or by a judicial decision.
=ARTICLE 55.=--The territories referred to in Article 51 shall return to
France, free and quit of all public debts under the conditions laid down
in Article 255 of Part IX. (financial clauses) of the present treaty.
=ARTICLE 56.=--In conformity with the provisions of Article 256 of Part
IX. (financial clauses) of the present treaty, France shall enter into
possession of all property and estate within the territories referred to
in Article 51, which belong to the German Empire or German States,
without any payment or credit on this account to any of the States
ceding the territories.
This provision applies to all movable or immovable property of public or
private domain, together with all rights whatsoever belonging to the
German Empire or the German States or to their administrative areas.
Crown property and the property of the former Emperor or other German
sovereigns shall be assimilated to property of the public domain.
=ARTICLE 57.=--Germany shall not take any action, either by means of
stamping or by any other legal or administrative measures not applying
equally to the rest of her territory, which may be to the detriment of
the legal value or redeemability of German monetary instruments or
moneys which at the date of the signature of the present treaty are
legally current, and at that date are in the possession of the French
Government.
=ARTICLE 58.=--A special convention will determine the conditions for
repayment in marks of the exceptional war expenditure advanced during
the course of the war by Alsace-Lorraine or by public bodies in
Alsace-Lorraine on account of the empire in accordance with German law,
such as payment to the families of persons mobilized, requisitions,
billeting of troops, and assistance to persons who have been expelled.
In fixing the amount of these sums Germany shall be credited with that
portion which Alsace-Lorraine would have contributed to the empire to
meet the expenses resulting from these payments, this contribution being
calculated according to the proportion of the imperial revenue derived
from Alsace-Lorraine in 1913.
=ARTICLE 59.=--The French Government will collect for its own account
the imperial taxes, duties, and dues of every kind leviable in the
territories referred to in Article 51 and not collected at the time of
the armistice of the 11th November, 1918.
=ARTICLE 60.=--The German Government shall without delay restore to
Alsace-Lorrainers, (individuals, juridical persons, and public
institutions,) all property, rights, and interests belonging to them on
the 11th November, 1918, in so far as these are situated in German
territory.
=ARTICLE 61.=--The German Government undertakes to continue and complete
without delay the execution of the financial clauses regarding
Alsace-Lorraine contained in the armistice conventions.
=ARTICLE 62.=--The German Government undertakes to bear the expense of
all civil and military pensions which had been earned in Alsace-Lorraine
on the date of the 11th November, 1918, and the maintenance of which was
a charge on the budget of the German Empire.
The German Government shall furnish each year the funds necessary for
the payment in francs, at the average rate of exchange for that year, of
the sums in marks to which persons resident in Alsace-Lorraine would
have been entitled if Alsace-Lorraine had remained under German
jurisdiction.
=ARTICLE 63.=--For the purposes of the obligation assumed by Germany in
Part VIII. (reparations) of the present treaty to give compensation for
damages caused to the civil populations of the Allied and Associated
countries in the form of lines, the inhabitants of the territories
referred to in Article 51 shall be assimilated to the above mentioned
populations.
=ARTICLE 64.=--The regulations concerning the control of the Rhine and
of the Moselle are laid down in Part XII. (ports, waterways, and
railways) of the present treaty.
=ARTICLE 65.=--Within a period of three weeks after the coming into
force of the present treaty the Port of Strasbourg and the Port of Kehl
shall be constituted, for a period of seven years, a single unit from
the point of view of exploitation.
The administration of this single unit will be carried on by a manager
named by the Central Rhine Commission, which shall also have power to
remove him. He shall be of French nationality. He will reside in
Strasbourg and will be subject to the supervision of the Central Rhine
Commission.
There will be established in the two ports free zones in conformity with
Part XII. (ports, waterways, and railways) of the present treaty.
A special convention between France and Germany, which shall be
submitted to the approval of the Central Rhine Commission, will fix the
details of this organization, particularly as regards finance.
It is understood that for the purpose of the present article the Port of
Kehl includes the whole of the area necessary for the movements of the
port and the trains which serve it, including the harbor, quays and
railroads, platforms, cranes, sheds and warehouses, silos, elevators and
hydro-electric plants, which make up the equipment of the port.
The German Government undertakes to carry out all measures which shall
be required of it in order to assure that all the making up and
switching of trains arriving at or departing from Kehl, whether for the
right bank or the left bank of the Rhine, shall be carried on in the
best conditions possible.
All property rights shall be safeguarded. In particular, the
administration of the ports shall not prejudice any property rights of
the French or Baden railroads.
Equality of treatment as respects traffic shall be assured in both ports
to the nationals, vessels, and goods of every country.
In case at the end of the sixth year France shall consider that the
progress made in the improvement of the Port of Strasbourg still
requires a prolongation of this temporary régime, she may ask for such
prolongation from the Central Rhine Commission, which may grant an
extension for a period not exceeding three years.
Throughout the whole period of any such extension the free zones above
provided for shall be maintained.
Pending appointment of the first manager by the Central Rhine
Commission, a provisional manager, who shall be of French nationality,
may be appointed by the principal Allied and Associated Powers, subject
to the foregoing provisions.
For all purposes of the present article the Central Rhine Commission
will decide by a majority of votes.
=ARTICLE 66.=--The railway and other bridges across the Rhine now
existing within the limits of Alsace-Lorraine shall, as to all their
parts and their whole length, be the property of the French State, which
shall insure their upkeep.
=ARTICLE 67.=--The French Government is substituted in all the rights of
the German Empire over all the railways which were administered by the
Imperial Railway Administration, and which are actually working or under
construction.
The same shall apply to the rights of the empire with regard to railway
and tramway concessions within the territories referred to in Article
51.
This substitution shall not entail any payment on the part of the French
State.
The frontier railway stations shall be established by a subsequent
agreement, it being stipulated in advance that on the Rhine frontier
they shall be situated on the right bank.
=ARTICLE 68.=--In accordance with the provisions of Article 268 of
Chapter 1. of Section I. of Part X. (economic clause) of the present
treaty, for a period of five years from the coming into force of the
present treaty, natural or manufactured products originating in and
coming from the territories referred to in Article 51 shall, on
importation into German customs territory, be exempt from all customs
duty. The French Government shall fix each year, by decree communicated
to the German Government, the nature and amount of the products which
shall enjoy this exemption.
The amount of each product which may be thus sent annually into Germany
shall not exceed the average of the amounts sent annually in the years
1911--1913.
Further, during the period of five years above mentioned, the German
Government shall allow the free export from Germany and the free
reimportation into Germany, exempt from all customs duties and other
charges (including internal charges), of yarns, tissues, and other
textile materials or textile products of any kind, and in any condition,
sent from Germany into the territories referred to in Article 51, to be
subjected there to any finishing process, such as bleaching, dyeing,
printing, mercerization, gassing, twisting, or dressing.
=ARTICLE 69.=--During a period of ten years from the coming into force
of the present treaty, central electric supply works situated in German
territory, and formerly furnishing electric power to the territories
referred to in Article 51, or to any establishment the working of which
passes permanently or temporarily from Germany to France, shall be
required to continue such supply up to the amount of consumption
corresponding to the undertakings and contracts current on the 11th
November, 1918.
Such supply shall be furnished according to the contracts in force and
at a rate which shall not be higher than that paid to the said works by
German nationals.
=ARTICLE 70.=--It is understood that the French Government preserves its
right to prohibit in the future in the territories referred to in
Article 51 all new German participation:
1. In the management or exploitation of the public domain and of public
services, such as railways, navigable waterways, water works, gas works,
electric power, &c.
2. In the ownership of mines and quarries of every kind and in
enterprises connected therewith;
3. In metallurgical establishments, even though their working may not be
connected with that of any mine.
=ARTICLE 71.=--As regards the territories referred to in Article 51,
Germany renounces on behalf of herself and her nationals as from the
11th November, 1918, all rights under the law of the 25th May, 1910,
regarding the trade in potash salts and generally under any stipulations
for the intervention of German organizations in the working of the
potash mines. Similarly she renounces on behalf of herself and her
nationals all rights under any agreements, stipulations or laws, which
may exist to her benefit with regard to other products of the aforesaid
territories.
=ARTICLE 72.=--The settlement of the questions relating to debts
contracted before the 11th November, 1918, between the German Empire and
the German States or their nationals residing in Germany on the one
part, and Alsace-Lorrainers residing in Alsace-Lorraine on the other
part, shall be effected in accordance with the provisions of Section
III. of Part X. (economic clauses) of the present treaty, the expression
"before the war" therein being replaced by the expression "before the
11th November, 1918." The rate of exchange applicable in the case of
such settlement shall be the average rate quoted on the Geneva Exchange
during the month preceding the 11th November, 1918. There may be
established in the territories referred to in Article 51, for the
settlement of the aforesaid debts under the conditions laid down in
Section III. of Part X (economic clauses) of the present treaty, a
special clearing office, it being understood that this office shall be
regarded as a "central office" under the provisions of Paragraph 1 of
the annex to the said section.
=ARTICLE 73.=--The private property rights and interests of
Alsace-Lorrainers in Germany will be regulated by the stipulations of
Section IV. of Part X. (economic clauses) of the present treaty.
=ARTICLE 74.=--The French Government reserves the right to retain and
liquidate all the property, rights and interests which German nationals
or societies controlled by Germany possessed in the territories referred
to in Article 51 on Nov. 11, 1918, subject to the conditions laid down
in the last paragraph of Article 53 above.
Germany will directly compensate its nationals who may have been
dispossessed by the aforesaid liquidations.
The product of these liquidations shall be applied in accordance with
the stipulations of Sections III. and IV. of Part X. (economic clauses)
of the present treaty.
=ARTICLE 75.=--Notwithstanding the stipulations of Section V. of Part X.
(economic clauses) of the present treaty, all contracts made before the
date of the promulgation in Alsace-Lorraine of the French decree of 30th
November, 1918, between Alsace-Lorrainers (whether individuals or
juridical persons) or others resident in Alsace-Lorraine on the one
part, and the German Empire or German States and their nationals
resident in Germany on the other part, the execution of which has been
suspended by the armistice or by subsequent French legislation, shall be
maintained.
Nevertheless, any contract of which the French Government shall notify
the cancellation to Germany in the general interest within a period of
six months from the date of the coming into force of the present treaty
shall be annulled except in respect of any debt or other pecuniary
obligation arising out of any act done or money paid thereunder before
the 11th November, 1918. If this dissolution would cause one of the
parties substantial prejudice, equitable compensation, calculated solely
on the capital employed without taking account of loss of profits, shall
be accorded to the prejudiced party.
With regard to prescriptions, limitations, and forfeitures in
Alsace-Lorraine, the provisions of Articles 300 and 301 of Section V.,
Part X. (economic clauses) shall be applied, with the substitution for
the expression "outbreak of war" of the expression "11th November,
1918," and for the expression "duration of the war" of the expression
"period from the 11th November, 1918, to date of the coming into force
of the present treaty."
=ARTICLE 76.=--Questions concerning rights in industrial, literary, or
artistic property of Alsace-Lorrainers shall be regulated in accordance
with the general stipulations of Section VII. of Part X. (economic
clauses) of the present treaty, it being understood that
Alsace-Lorrainers holding rights of this nature under German legislation
will preserve full and entire enjoyment of those rights on German
territory.
=ARTICLE 77.=--The German Government undertakes to pay over to the
French Government such proportion of all reserves accumulated by the
empire or by public or private bodies dependent upon it, for the
purposes of disability and old age insurance, as would fall to the
disability and old age insurance fund at Strasbourg.
The same shall apply in respect of the capital and reserves accumulated
in Germany falling legitimately to other serial insurance funds, to
miners' superannuation funds, to the fund of the railways of
Alsace-Lorraine, to other superannuation organizations established for
the benefit of the personnel of public administrations and institutions
operating in Alsace-Lorraine, and also in respect of the capital and
reserves due by the insurance fund of private employes at Berlin by
reason of engagements entered into for the benefit of insured persons of
that category resident in Alsace-Lorraine.
A special convention shall determine the conditions and procedure of
these transfers.
=ARTICLE 78.=--With regard to the execution of judgments, orders and
prosecutions, the following rules shall be applied:
1. All civil and commercial judgments which shall have been given since
Aug. 3, 1914, by the courts of Alsace-Lorraine between
Alsace-Lorrainers, or between Alsace-Lorrainers and foreigners, or
between foreigners, and which shall not have been appealed from before
the 11th November, 1918, shall be regarded as final and capable of being
fully executed.
When the judgment has been given between Alsace-Lorrainers and Germans,
or between Alsace-Lorrainers and subjects of the allies of Germany, it
shall only be capable of execution after the issue of an exequatur by
the corresponding new tribunal in the restored territory referred to in
Article 51.
2. All judgments given by German courts since the 3d August, 1914,
against Alsace-Lorrainers for political crimes or misdemeanors shall be
regarded as null and void.
3. All sentences passed since the 11th November, 1918, by the Imperial
Court of Leipzig on Appeals against the decisions of the courts of
Alsace-Lorraine shall be regarded as null and void and shall be so
pronounced. The papers in regard to the cases in which such sentences
have been given shall be returned to the courts of Alsace-Lorraine
concerned.
All appeals to the Imperial Court against decisions of the courts of
Alsace-Lorraine shall be suspended. In the cases referred to above, the
papers shall be returned under the aforesaid conditions for transfer
without delay to the French Cour de Cassation which shall be competent
to decide them.
4. All prosecutions of Alsace-Lorraine for offenses committed during the
period between the 11th November, 1918, and the coming into force of the
present treaty will be conducted under German law except in so far as
this has been modified by decrees duly published on the spot by the
French authorities.
All other questions as to competence, procedure or administration of
justice, shall be determined by a special convention between France and
Germany.
=ARTICLE 79.=--The stipulations as to nationality contained in the annex
hereto shall be considered as of equal force with the provisions of the
present section.
All other questions concerning Alsace-Lorraine which are not regulated
by the present section and the annex thereto, or by the general
provisions of the present treaty, will form the subject of further
conventions between France and Germany.
ANNEX
1. As from the 11th November, 1918, the following persons are ipso facto
reinstated in French nationality:
First--Persons who lost French nationality by the application of the
Franco-German treaty of the 10th May, 1871, and who have not since that
date acquired any nationality other than German;
Second--The legitimate or natural descendants of the persons referred to
the immediately preceding paragraph, with the exception of those whose
ascendants in the paternal line include a German who migrated into
Alsace-Lorraine after the 15th July, 1870;
Third--All persons born in Alsace-Lorraine of unknown parents or whose
nationality is unknown.
2. Within the period of one year from the coming into force of the
present treaty, persons included in any of the following categories may
claim French nationality:
First--All persons not restored to French nationality under Paragraph 1,
above, whose ascendants include a Frenchman or French woman who lost
French nationality under the conditions referred to in the said
paragraph;
Second--All foreigners not nationals of a German State who acquired the
status of a citizen of Alsace-Lorraine before the 3d August, 1914;
Third--All Germans domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine, if they have been so
domiciled since a date previous to 15th July, 1870, or if one of their
ascendants was at that date domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine;
Fourth--All Germans born or domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine who have served
in the allied or associated armies during the present war and their
descendants;
Fifth--All persons born in Alsace-Lorraine before 10th May, 1871, of
foreign parents, and the descendants of such persons;
Sixth--The husband or wife of any person whose French nationality may
have been restored under Paragraph 1 or who may have claimed and
obtained French nationality in accordance with the preceding previsions.
The legal representatives of a minor may exercise on behalf of that
minor the right to claim French nationality; and if that right has not
been exercised, the minor may claim French nationality within the year
following his majority.
Except in the case provided in No. 6 of the present paragraph, the
French authorities reserve to themselves the right in individual cases
to reject the claim to French nationality.
3. Subject to the provisions of Paragraph 2, Germans born or domiciled
in Alsace-Lorraine shall not acquire French nationality by reason of the
restoration of Alsace-Lorraine to France, even though they may have the
status of citizens of Alsace-Lorraine.
They may acquire French nationality only by naturalization, on condition
of having been domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine from a date previous to the
3d August, 1914, and of submitting proof of unbroken residence within
the restored territory for a period of three years from the 11th
November, 1918.
France will be solely responsible for their diplomatic and consular
protection from the date of their application for French naturalization.
4. The French Government shall determine the procedure by which
reinstatement in French nationality as of right shall be effected, and
the conditions under which decisions shall be given upon claims to such
nationality and applications for naturalization, as provided by the
present annex.
SECTION VI.--_Austria_
=ARTICLE 80.=--Germany acknowledges and will respect strictly the
independence of Austria. Within the frontiers which may be fixed by a
treaty between that State and the principal Allied and Associated Powers
she agrees that this independence shall be inalienable, except with the
consent of the Council of the League of Nations.
SECTION VII.--_Czechoslovak State_
=ARTICLE 81.=--Germany, in conformity with the action already taken by
the Allied and Associated Powers, recognizes the complete independence
of the Czechoslovak State, which will include the autonomous territory
of the Ruthenians to the south of the Carpathians. Germany hereby
recognizes the frontier of this State as determined by the principal
Allied and Associated Powers and the other interested States.
=ARTICLE 82.=--The old frontier as it existed on Aug. 3, 1914, between
Austria-Hungary and the German Empire will constitute the frontier
between Germany and the Czechoslovak State.
=ARTICLE 83.=--Germany renounces in favor of the Czechoslovak State all
rights and title over the portion of Silesian territory defined as
follows:
Starting from a point about 2 kilometers southeast of Katscher, on the
boundary between the Circles (Kreise) of Loebschütz and Ratibor: the
boundary between the two Kreise; then, the former boundary between
Germany and Austria-Hungary up to a point on the Oder immediately to the
south of the Ratibor-Oderberg railway; thence, toward the northwest and
up to a point about 2 kilometers to the southeast of Katscher: a line to
be fixed on the spot passing to the west of Kranowitz.
A commission composed of seven members, five nominated by the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers, one by Poland, and one by the Czechoslovak
State, will be appointed fifteen days after the coming into force of the
present treaty to trace on the spot the frontier line between Poland and
the Czechoslovak State.
The decisions of this commission will be taken by a majority and shall
be binding on the parties concerned.
Germany hereby agrees to renounce in favor of the Czechoslovak State all
rights and title over the part of the Kreise of Loebschütz comprised
within the following boundaries in case after the determination of the
frontier between Germany and Poland the said part of that circle should
become isolated from Germany: from the southeastern extremity of the
salient of the former Austrian frontier at about 5 kilometers to the
west of Loebschütz southward and up to a point of junction with the
boundary between the Kreise of Loebschütz and Ratibor: the former
frontier between Germany and Austria-Hungary; then, northward, the
administrative boundary between the Kreise of Loebschütz and Ratibor up
to a point situated about 2 kilometers to the southeast of Katscher;
thence, northwestward and up to the starting point of this definition: a
line to be fixed on the spot passing to the east of Katscher.
=ARTICLE 84.=--German nationals habitually resident in any of the
territories recognized as forming part of the Czechoslovak State will
obtain Czechoslovak nationality ipso facto and lose their German
nationality.
=ARTICLE 85.=--Within a period of two years from the coming into force
of the present treaty German nationals over 18 years of age habitually
resident in any of the territories recognized as forming part of the
Czechoslovak State will be entitled to opt for German nationality.
Czechoslovaks who are habitually resident in Germany will have a similar
right to opt for Czechoslovak nationality.
Option by a husband will cover his wife, and option by parents will
cover their children under 18 years of age. Persons who have exercised
the above right to opt must within the succeeding twelve months transfer
their place of residence to the State for which they have opted. They
will be entitled to retain their landed property in the territory of the
other State where they had place of residence before exercising the
right to opt. They may carry with them their movable property of every
description. No export or import duties may be imposed upon them in
connection with the removal of such property. Within the same period
Czechoslovaks who are German nationals and are in a foreign country will
be entitled, in the absence of any provisions to the contrary in the
foreign law, and if they have not acquired the foreign nationality, to
obtain Czechoslovak nationality and lose their German nationality by
complying with the requirements laid down by the Czechoslovak State.
=ARTICLE 86.=--The Czechoslovak State accepts and agrees to embody in a
treaty with the principal Allied and Associated Powers such provisions
as may be deemed necessary by the said powers to protect the interests
of inhabitants of that State who differ from the majority of the
population in race, language or religion.
The Czechoslovak State further accepts and agrees to embody in a treaty
with the said powers such provisions as they may deem necessary to
protect freedom of transit and equitable treatment of the commerce of
other nations.
The proportion and nature of the financial obligations of Germany and
Prussia, which the Czechoslovak State will have to assume on account of
the Silesian territory placed under its sovereignty will be determined
in accordance with Article 254 of Part IX. (financial clauses) of the
present treaty.
Subsequent agreements will decide all questions not decided by the
present treaty which may arise in consequence of the cession of the said
territory.
SECTION VIII.--_Poland_
=ARTICLE 87.=--Germany, in conformity with the action already taken by
the Allied and Associated Powers, recognizes the complete independence
of Poland and renounces in her favor all rights and title over the
territory bounded by the Baltic Sea; the eastern frontier of Germany as
laid down in Article 27 of Part II. (boundaries of Germany) of the
present treaty, up to a point situated about two kilometers to the east
of the Lorzendorf, then a line to the acute angle which the northern
boundary of Upper Silesia makes about three kilometers northwest of
Simmenau, then to where the boundary of Upper Silesia has its meeting
point with the old frontier between Germany and Russia, then this
frontier to the point where it crosses the course of the Niemen, and
then the northern frontier of East Prussia, as laid down in Article 28,
Part II. aforesaid.
The terms of this article do not, however, apply to the territories of
East Prussia and the free city of Danzig, as defined in Article 28, of
Part II. (boundaries of Germany,) and in Article 100 of Section XI.
(Danzig) of this part.
The boundaries of Poland not laid down in the present treaty will be
subsequently determined by the principal Allied and Associated Powers. A
commission consisting of seven members, five of whom shall be nominated
by the principal Allied and Associated Powers, one by Germany, and one
by Poland, shall be constituted fifteen days after the coming into force
of the present treaty to delimit on the spot the frontier line between
Poland and Germany. The decision of the commission will be taken by a
majority of votes and shall be binding upon the parties concerned.
=ARTICLE 88.=--In the portion of Upper Silesia included within the
boundaries described below the inhabitants will be called upon to
indicate by a vote whether they wish to be attached to Germany or to
Poland:
Starting from the northern point of the salient of the old province of
Austrian Silesia, situated about eight kilometers east of Neustadt, the
former frontier between Germany and Austria, to its junction with the
boundary between the Kreise of Loebschütz and Ratibor; thence in a
northerly direction to a point about two kilometers southeast of
Katscher; the boundary between the Kreise of Loebschütz and Ratibor;
thence in a southeasterly direction to a point on the course of the Oder
immediately south of the Ratibor-Oderberg railway: a line to be fixed on
the ground passing south of Karanowitz;
Thence the old boundary between Germany and Austria, thence the old
boundary between Germany and Russia to its junction with the
administrative boundary between Posnania and Upper Silesia; thence this
administrative boundary to its junction with the administrative boundary
between Upper and Middle Silesia; thence westward to the point where the
administrative boundary turns in an acute angle to the southwest about
three kilometers northwest of Simmenau;
The boundary between Upper and Middle Silesia; thence in a westerly
direction to a point to be fixed on the ground about two kilometers east
of Orzendorf: a line to be fixed on the ground passing north of Kein
Hennersdorf; thence southward to the point where the boundary between
Upper and Middle Silesia cuts the Stadtel-Karlsruhe road: a line to be
fixed on the ground passing west of Hennersdorf, Polkowitz, Noldau,
Steamersdorf and Dammer, and east of Strehlitz, Nassadel, Eckersdorf,
Schwirz, and Stadtel; thence the boundary between Upper and Middle
Silesia to its junction with the eastern boundary of the Kreise of
Falkenberg; thence the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Falkenberg to
the point of the salient which is three kilometers east of Puschine;
thence to the northern point of the salient of the old province of
Austrian Silesia, situated about eight kilometers east of Neustadt: a
line to be fixed on the ground, passing east of Zulls.
The régime under which this plebiscite will be taken and given effect to
is laid down in the annex hereto.
The Polish and German Governments hereby respectively bind themselves to
conduct no prosecutions on any part of their territory and to take no
exceptional proceedings for any political action performed in Upper
Silesia during the period of the régime laid down in the annex hereto,
and up to the settlement of the final status of the country Germany
hereby renounces in favor of Poland all rights and title over the
portion of Upper Silesia lying beyond the frontier line fixed by the
principal Allied and Associated Powers as this result of the plebiscite.
ANNEX
1. Within fifteen days from the coming into force of the present treaty
the German troops and such officials as may be designated by the
commission set up under the provisions of Paragraph 2 shall evacuate the
plebiscite area. Up to the moment of the completion of the evacuation
they shall refrain from any form of requisitioning in money or in kind
and from all acts likely to prejudice the material interest of the
country.