ovak state includes
millions of Germans and Magyars. The boundaries of Rumania were extended
to include many non-Rumanian peoples. Bulgars were sacrificed to Greeks
and to Serbs. In the settlement of each problem the balance always
inclined a little in favor of the victors. But the injustices committed
were far less extensive than might have been expected, and in most cases
where populations were included under alien rule, the decision was based
less on political considerations than on the practical factors of terrain,
rivers, and railroads which must always be taken into consideration in the
drawing of a frontier. Wherever the issue was clean-cut, as for example
between the selfish nationalism of the Italians in their Adriatic demands
and the claim to mere economic life of the Jugoslavs, the old rule which
granted the spoils to the stronger power was vigorously protested.

Whatever the mistakes of the Conference, Wilson secured that which he
regarded as the point of prime importance, the League of Nations. This, he
believed, would remedy the flaws and eradicate the vices of the treaties.
No settlement, however perfect at the moment, could possibly remain
permanent, in view of the constantly changing conditions. What was
necessary was an elasticity that would permit change as change became
necessary. If the disposition of the Saar basin, for example, proved to be
so unwise or unjust as to cause danger of violence, the League would take
cognizance of the peril and provide a remedy. If the boundaries of eastern
Germany gave undue advantage to the Poles, the League would find ways and
means of rectifying the frontier peacefully. If Hungary or Czechoslovakia
found themselves cut off from sea-ports, the League could hear and act
upon their demands for freedom of transit or unrestricted access to fair
markets. That the League was necessary for such and other purposes was
recognized by many notable economic experts and statesmen besides the
President. Herbert Hoover insisted upon the necessity of a League if the
food problems of central Europe were to be met, and Venizelos remarked
that "without a League of Nations, Europe would face the future with
despair in its heart." Because he had the covenant of such an association
incorporated in the German treaty, Wilson accepted all the mistakes and
injustices of the treaty as minor details and could say of it, doubtless
in all sincerity, "It's a good job." Conscious of victory in the