IV

THE TREATY

57

reduced to the lowest point consistent with domesticsafety." (5). " A free, open-minded, and absolutelyimpartial adjustment of all colonial claims," regardbeing had to the interests of the populations con-cerned. (6), (7), (8), and (11). The evacuation and"restoration" of all invaded territory, especially ofBelgium . To this must be added the rider of theAllies, claiming compensation for all damage done tocivilians and their property by land, by sea, and fromthe air (quoted in full above). (8). The righting of" the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in thematter of Alsace-Lorraine." (13). An independentPoland , including " the territories inhabited by in-disputably Polish populations " and " assured a freeand secure access to the sea." (14). The League ofNations .

Before the Congress, February 11. —"There.shallbe no annexations, no contributions, no punitivedamages, . . . Self-determination is not a merephrase. It is an imperative principle of action whichstatesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril. . . .Every territorial settlement involved in this warmust be made in the interest and for the benefit ofthe populations concerned, and not as a part of anymere adjustment or compromise of claims amongstrival States."

New York , September 27. —(l) "The impartialjustice meted out must involve no discriminationbetween those to whom we wish to be just and those