7 Unless they buried the hatchet once and for all,
8 And started over,
9 With something like a League of Nations to help them sort out all their petty quarrels and disputes,
10 So they wouldn't annihilate the planet the next time some afeeble-minded aristocrat bit the dust on a road trip.
CHAPTER 821 And so Wilson talked,
2 And the Brits and the Italians and the Russkies listened,
3 bAnd the Frogs pouted,
4 And eventually they all agreed to a ccompromise.
5 Wilson had wanted peace terms that wouldn't destroy the Krauts,
6 Or even make them bitter,
7 dBecause if you were nice to the Krauts, they would be nice back.
8 The Frogs had wanted peace terms that would basically transfer the entire gross national product of Germany to the Allies,
9 eForever,
10 And so much the better if the Krauts were bitter,
11 Because with terms like that, bitter looks would be about all the hostility they'd be able to afford,
12 fForever.
13 The way things turned out, the terms of the treaty that everybody signed were somewhere between what Wilson wanted and what the Frogs wanted.
14 For example, the Krauts had to pay war reparations,
|
|
15 gNot quite enough to destroy their country forever,
16 hBut definitely enough to make them bitter,
17 iWhich satisfied nobody on either side,
18 jAnd was about par for European diplomacy.
CHAPTER 831 In spite of all the grousing everybody did about the kTreaty of Versailles,
2 Wilson had gotten the thing he wanted most,
3 Which was agreement by the Europeans to participate in a lLeague of Nations,
4 mAs soon as the U.S. Congress approved the idea too.
5 And so Wilson went home to America,
6 nAnd explained everything to the Yanks,
7 oWho weren't interested,
8 pAt all.
CHAPTER 841 The way the Yanks looked at it,
2 qThe Krauts had killed a few hundred Yanks,
3 rAnd the Yanks had therefore been obligated to get even,
4 sNo matter how much it cost,
5 tAlthough one hundred thousand doughboys was a little on the high side,
6 Any way you looked at it,
7 But at least it was over now,
8 uAnd settled,
9 vAnd time to go back to making money and other important things like that,
10 wBecause who needs Europe anyway,
11 And it's just not smart to be involved with them on any continuing basis,
|