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Speech of Hon. Philander Chase Knox of Pennsylvania
Delivered within the Senate of the United States
Friday, August 29, 1919

Mr. President, I want on the outset to make my very own place completely transparent, that cause or excuse for false impression or misinterpretation won't exist. not anyone extra abhors Germany’s lawlessness, her cruelty, her gross inhumanity within the behavior of this conflict than do I. not anyone is extra decided than I to make her pay the complete penalty for the nice wrongs she has inflicted on civilization and at the global whose equipoise she has via her iniquities virtually destroyed. It mustn't ever appear to be ecocnomic for someone to violate the good everlasting legislation, of correct, and we needs to vindicate them now opposed to Germany if we're to avoid wasting ourselves from chaos. The observations I shall make are accordingly dictated via no maudlin sympathy for Germany, the felon who needs to endure the penalty incident to his crime.

But i'm vitally involved within the peace of this international, and peace we should have if it's possible. yet, Mr. President, i'm confident after the main painstaking attention that i will provide, that this treaty doesn't spell peace yet war—war extra woeful and devastating than the single now we have yet now closed. The device earlier than us isn't the treaty however the truce of Versailles. it truly is for this body—the coordinate treaty-making strength of this nice impartial state of ours—to make of the record a peace treaty if attainable, or if that be most unlikely, then we needs to positioned this kingdom in such relation to the treaty and to the powers of the realm that our voice might hereafter as heretofore be regularly raised for peace.

It is to be regretted that the entire subject has been so regrettably controlled, that there was quite a bit of useless secrecy, such a lot of occasions mere partial disclosure while the total fact may perhaps and may were advised, loads of assumed secret within the complete affair, that it has develop into most unlikely for any folks now not within the confidences to inform once we have arrived on the complete of any topic. it's no fault of mine if the evidence themselves shall communicate an impeachment of the knowledge, the aim, or the results of the negotiations.