39. THE WPA DENOUNCED THE VERSAILLES PEACE TREATY

The Woman Voter reported:

Letter from Miss Vida Goldstein,

Geneva, Switzerland, 8 June 1919 -

The greatest interest centred around

the discussion of the Peace Terms

and the following resolutions were agreed to:

“This International Congress of Women

expresses its deep regret that the Terms of Peace

proposed at Versailles should so seriously violate

the principles upon which alone a just and

permanent peace can be secured,

and which the democracies of the world

had come to accept.

- By guaranteeing the fruits of the secret treaties

to be the conquerors, the Terms of Peace tacitly

sanction secret diplomacy, deny the principles of

self-determination, recognise the right of the

victors to the spoils of war, and create all over

Europe discords and animosities which can only

lead to future wars.

- By the demand for disarmament of one set

of belligerents only, the principle of justice

is violated and the rule of force is continued.

- By the financial and economic proposals

a hundred million people in the heart of Europe

are condemned to poverty, disease and despair,

which must result in the spread of hatred

and anarchy within each nation.”

Woman Voter 1 September 1919 State Library of Victoria

Paris Peace Conference at Versailles 1919,
Dignitaries gathering in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, France,
to sign the Treaty of Versailles 28 June 1919. Encyclopaedia Brittanica Inc.

=== 40. THE WPA REPORTED THE WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ===