Springfield weekly Republican. [volume], December 28, 1916, Page 2, Image 2

About Springfield weekly Republican. [volume] (Springfield, Mass.) 1851-1946

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2
THE PRESIDENT’S NOTE
The lull significance of Mr Wil
jon’s note to all of the belligerent
fcovernments Is not easy to estimate
at this moment, without the posses
sion of diplomatic information which
may ba his alpne. It the president
has. received word from the entente
goveran-ents tha,; .an expiession ot
hto view’s would not be unwelcome,
the note lie has written assumes an
lmporta.no. in its bearing on peace,
that could not be exaggerated. Both
the for.-n and the expression of the
note, however indicate that the pres
ident has acred on his own initiative
in seising the opportunity to throw
into toe scale in behalf of peace the
whole influence of the United States
c government.
The president takes care to say
that he does not offer mediation. In
a technical sense, this is true. What
he has done take- on the form of
intervention, perhaps. At a critical
moment, he steps forward and
. virtually insists on a bearing in the
interest of neutrals. It is a bold act,
for it -nay not be entirely welcome
to the entente powers, yer it is an
■act which is abundantly justified by
■ tb* conditions in which the neutral
nations now- find themselves.
• The Republican a week ago
presented the argument in support of
such an act by the president, in this
hour of peace discussions, at bellig
erent capitals, as would impress "the
•beliig-erents of both groups with the
Mesire of the neutral world for the
Nearly restoration of peace.” What
the president has done is almost pre
cisely In lipe with what was then
’urged upon him; for his suggestion
to the belligerent governments is
Simply this, that they now proceed
to compare views as to what they are
fighting for and avow their respective
objects in continuing the war. Hither
to, neither side has been precise
enough in its declarations to disabuse
the other of wrono impressions con
cerning ths ultimate intentions
of the enemy. In brief, the Ger
' mans should be given the opportun
ity to demonstrate thst they do not
seek "world domination." and the en
' tents nations thouk be given the op
portunity to prove to the bulk of the
German people, who sincerely believe
that they have been engaged in a
•‘defensive war.” tha*. no purpose
exists to "crush” Germany. If, by
these definite sounding’ of each oth
er’s purposes, misconceptions are
cleared awav, the approach to peace
is facilitated and tha speed of the ap-
' proach is accelerated
The president justifies his quasl
- intervention on the strongest pos
sible ground in reminding the two
alliances that the neutral nations, the
greatest of which he represents, are
profoundly affected by the war and
that their concern for its early con
clusion arises out of a manifest neces
sity to determine how best to safe
guard their interests if the war is to
be prolonged. In view of the treat
men accorded to neutrals in the past
, 2% years, the belligerent governments
must concede the convincing force of
this justification.
This is no ordinary war; and it is
no ordinary position In which the wa
has placed neutrals. For nothing is more
plearly threatened, in case the war
goes on, than that neutrality will be
come unbearable and that the by
standers, in spite of themselves, will
be drawn into the struggle. Our own
history in the prolonged Napoleonic
wars furnishes Americans with the
most convincing illustration of this
danger, for the deplorable conflict of
1812-14 between Great Britain and
the United States was brought on by
the outrages which the European bel
ligerents Inflicted upon a neutral
country. In order to avoid a similar
catastrophe as the ripe conclusion of
our present effort to maintain a just
.neutrality, the president is warrant
ed in his very frank and direct ap
peal and suggestion to warring Eu
rope concerning the possibilities of
an early peace.
The speech of Premier Lloyd George,
as may be shown by the full text of
'his utterances on the German peace
proposal, has afforded to the president
an opening for his statement of the
neutral attitude tn the crisis which
the war has reached. The premier,
as British comment on his address ad
mits, did not close the door to ex
changes with the central powers. Said
the premier, in concluding that part
cf his speech: "We will therefore wait
•until we hear what terms and guar
•antees there are, better than those,
•surer than those, which she so light
•ly broke.” The essence of this dec
laration is the waiting attitude it es
tablishes on the part of the British
government, which is now the predom
inant partner of the entente; it pro
claims in effect Britain's willingness
to listen to a more precise definition
• of what Germany regards "as an ap
•propriate basis for the establish
•ment of a lasting peace.” And this
willingness to listen to further peace
discussion enables the president,
Without offense, to promote the peace
cause in the interest of the neutral
nations.
That the president’s appeal and sug
gestion are welcome to, Germany can
not be disputed. Germany will be
.encouraged to persist in the peace en
terprise. But Germany is not to be
condemned for her peace proposals
before their character is known; nor
is the president to be condemned for
taking a position that must insure
that the proposals receive decent and
adequate consideration, as well as a
desirable publicity. It is a great and
splendid and glorious enterprise into
which the president has at last thrown
.■himself, and it is a well-grounded con
viction that he has behind him the
predominant sentiment of the greatest
of the neutral nations, whose views
and desires cannot but have weight
upon the governments that must de
cide whether the most colossal ot wars
■han be indefinitely prolonged.
>”. f -
THE AMERICAN POSITION
Lenstag’s Matement in
pressed too bluntly, and his later
modification of the language he had
used was evidently necessary to . pre
vent serious misunderstanding con
cerning the immediate purpose of the
government. Yet the secretary told
the unvarnished truth, disquieting as
it was, in saying that "more and
‘more our own rights are Upcoming
‘involved by the belligerents on both
sides’’ and that, in consequence, "we
‘are drawing nearer the verge of war
■ourselves”—a fact which entitles us
“to know exactly what each belliger
‘ent seeks ia order that we may reg
'ulate our conduct in the future.”
This language ought to please
Premier Lloyd George, inasmuch as
in his speech of Tuesday he criti
cized the tendency of responsible
British statesmen to conceal from
the British people the stern facts ot
the darker aspects of the war. He
had been in favor of truth telling and
plain speech. He now gets it in the
first statement, yesterday, by Secre
tary Lansing. There is no threat
whatever. Indeed, there is nothing
new in these utterances. A copy of
the president’s Cincinnati speech in
October must have been forwarded to
London by the British embassy in
Washington. The president then de
clared;—
The present war in Europe is the
last war of the kind, or of any kind
involving the world, that the United
States can keep out of. The busi
ness of neutrality is over, not be
cause I want it to be over, but I mean
this, that war now has such a scale
that the position of neutrals sooner
or later becomes intolerable.
In that statement, delivered before
his re-election, the president expressed
the germinal idea of his note to the
rival European alliances; and the
blunter version of the situation by Sec
retary Lansing only applies the idea ot
the Cincinnati address to the present
ctisls. There need be no misconcep
tion in the mind of anyone at home or
abroad, for it has long been apparent
that with the prolongation of the war
the danger that this country would be
drawn Into it would be increased. We
declared nearly a month ago, in dis
cussing the question of an offer of
mediation, which at that time did no
appear practicable or timely, that if
neutrality should become Intolerable
a vigorous effort to bring peace in
Europe should not be avoided. The
right of the United States government
to protect itself against the spreading
of the war to this country by pro
moting a peace movement, in cir
cumstances described, is as unassail
able as the primary right of self-de
fense: no belligerent right nor diplo
matic usage could stand in our way.
The president’s identic note is the
logical culmination of his policy of
neutrality, which was indorsed at the
polls in November by the American
people. The note is. in effect, an
effort to carry that policy of neutral
ity to final success. If the prolonga
tion of the war threatened the break
down of our neutrality, precisely as
our neutrality was at last broken
down a century ago. the president had
no alternative to addressing the bel
ligerents as he has done, at the most
propitious opportunity. A crisis has'
arrived requiring an expression of’
neutral sentiment, if ever neutral sen
timent is to be officially em
phasized. It is of no conse
quence that certain capitals now
profess to be surprised at the presi
dent’s action. The same capitals were
surprised at the German government’s
action in offering to outline a basis of
peace. If their sources of information
in Washington are inadequate, the
fact does not particularly interest us.'
The main thing is that the situation
as it confronts the United States at
this critical time be presented to the
belligerents in unmistakable terms.’
And that, at least, is now accom
plished.
It is reported from London that the
allies’ position is that unless the Ger
man government discloses in advance
the nature of the proposals Which it
would bring to a peace conference, the
allies could not consent to advance
the peace question into the conference
stage. The door is open for Germany
to enter on such a mission, and the
hope of ultimate success consists in
the fact that Germany will define
her terms with as much definiteness
as possible In order that she may not"
rebuff the president and-alienate still’
more the neutral sentiment in Amer-'
ica. The effect of the president's ac
tion cannot be measured unless the
effect on the German government’s
next step in the peace overtures be
estimated.
Germany wants peace, and whether
or not the desire springs from the
yearning to “cash in” at the flood tide
of her military successes, the. fact
remains that her chief foes of the en
tente are far from being conquered and
tha* they must be paid a round price
to be persuaded to lay down their
arms. That price Germany may be
willing to pay In order to get peace
when she wants it. She may be the
more willing to pay the prloe because
her rulers must realise that if a pro
longed war means participation in it
by the United States, then the par
ticipation would probably be on ths
side of her enemies.
A QUESTION OF VITAL INTEREST
That the question of the probable
duration of the war has come to bs
one of vital Interest to the United
States should be apparent from the
conditions under which the military
campaign of 1916 has closed. But
the recent political changes in Rus
sia. FYance and Great Britain, all sig
niflying a “sterner prosecution" of the
war. should leave no one In doubt that
a crisis has been reached. The Ger
man peace proposals Immensely ac
centuated what was clear enough al
leady. , ■,’t^
The president’s note to, the bib’
Ugerents wag primarily based on our
national interests. This is a neutral
nation, one reads, “whose intere-t*
have been tnost seriously affected by
‘the war amj whose concern for Its
•early conclusion arises out of a mMl
‘fest neosssity to determine how beet
THE SPRINGFIELD WEEKLY REPUBLICAN: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1916
to safeguard ’those interest's if the
“war is'to Continue." If is desirable
for the United States to form as ac
curate an idea as possible concerning
the probable length of hostilities if
they are to be waged to "the bitter
end.” But in order to form an idea
as to the war’s duration one needs
to know with some deflnltehess the
actual objects being sought by the
contending alliances.
It might be five years or 10 years
before the entente' powers could de
stroy Prussian militarism in any such
sense as Napoleon destroyed the Prus
sian militarism created by Frederick
the Great. Do the entente powers
literally Intend to destroy Prussian
m'lltarlsm? If they do; the end of
the war in Europe may not be in sight
ip the year 1925. Premier Llovd
George said that the entente demands
"complete restitution, full reparation
'and effectual guarantees.” Does
"complete restitution” mean the sur;
render of the whole of Alsace-Lor
raine by Germany to France? Germany
has had possession of those two prov
inces 45 years. "Full reparation”
means what? Cari anyone define
"effectual guarantees”? Russia is un
derstood to have been promised Con
stantinople; Is the war to be indefi
nitely prolonged in order that the tra
ditional ambition of the Muscovites
tnav be realized?
But what of Germany’s terms? Will
she refuse to indemnify the Belgians?;
Has she designs.on Antwerp, or the
iron deposits in French Lorraine? Does •
she Intend to keep Russia’s Baltic
provinces? What must Austria-Hun- ■
gary have in the Balkans, and what ■
is to be the future of . Turkey in Eu-i
rope? Wjll Germany agree to a limit
ation of armaments when peace comes? '
Answers to these, questions could not
now be given, perhaps, with an ex- i
pllcitness from which there would be
no subsequent deviation; but, approxi-1
mately. wo wish to know the price
which the central powers are now pre- '
pared to pay for peace. By comparing
their terms with the terms of their
enemies, we might accomplish two
things—first, determine how long the
war might last and -thus estimate its
effects upon pur.own interests; sec
ond. form a.judgment concerning the
reasonableness and the justice of the
conditions of peace either side was
contending . for in the later years of
warfare - .
If the war is to- be indefinitely pro
longed. as it must be in case Prussia^
militarism is to be destroyed, or in
case on the other hand* justice is not
to be done to Belgium, the United i
States would be .fully justified in re
considering Its position In the light of
the war’s character. The war pro
longed, according to present indications,
would become more ruthless on both
sides and less than ever regulated by
international law in regard to belliger
ent treatment of- neutrals. As a
Washington dispatch has pointed out:
"On the sea this country may be :
‘caught between, conflicting belligerent
‘interests. Lloyd George's statements
'that alFßlltlsh ships WiU be nation
alised'together with ‘the apparently
'Official German decision to treat such ,
'ships as liable to sinking on sight
‘has led to the growing conviction that;
‘it will be essential for the safety of;
■Americans, both passengers and sail-1
‘ors.-to lay down some flat distinctions j
'as to -what are private ships and what;
‘are naval auxiliaries." In brief, new
conditions may force the United States .
government to consider whether it J
should not itself make and enforce new ,
law, to suit its own interests, as oc- |
caslons arise, and abandon the effort
to maintain in full effect the interna- i
tional law that existed before this war!
began.
We should also be forced, perhaps,
to consider seriously whether the in
terests of the United States would not
be best served by abandoning neutrali
ty altogether, in case our own making
of international precedents and estab
lishment of new rules toward bel
ligerents should bring us Into grave
conflict with either of the European
alliances. Movement in that direction
would involve a choice between the
alliances, because a third coalition
wholly independent of the Other two.
If riot hostile to both of them, would
be manifestly out of the question. The
German government well knows what
the probabilities are. in case such a
choice should be forced upon us and it
must now bld high for peace in order
to swing American sympathy suffi
ciently in the direction of the central
powers to nullify the pro-entente sym
pathy which has prevailed here since
the invasion of Belgium. -
, In his celebrated, reply to Hayne,
Daniel Webster began his speech with
a reminder that there comes a time
during a storm at sea when the ex
perienced mariner will take fresh ob
servations in Order to determine pre
cisely whether the Ship is still on its
true course,' and he called upon the
American' people to make a fresh as
sessment of the conditions before
them, tn the fateful controversy be
tween the North and the South, even
then developing Sinister tendencies.
In the present crisis of the world war,
our government needs to take fresh
observations concerning its course;
and it was with a view to facilitating
them that the president has sent to
-all the belligerents his historic note.
PEACE AND BALANCE OF POWER
While the balance of power may be
an awkward "war aim” to present as
ground for a refusal to discuss peace,
it is none the less a serious obstacle
to negotiations. That the old balance
of power had been seriously deranged
by the growing might of Germany was
apparent-even .before the war. On pa
per the coalition attributed to Edward
VII appeared big enough and strong
enough'for a "league of peace,” but
Germany knew its own strength, and
has surprised the world with the reve
lation. ... „
But while the excess of Us military
strength over that of any other state
has proved greater than its rivals had
imagined, the difficulty In restoring the
lost of power |
paradoxically, in the growing weakness
of Germany's allies. The' four groat
powers of the entente are all inde
pendent nations, standing on an equal
footing and retaining their own inter
ests and ideals. The four nations of
the Teutonic alliance, on the contrary,
are fast forming themselves Into an
empire through the acceptance by' the
weaker members of German domi
nance.
This is an aspect of the case which
England failed to perceive in time.
When the war broke out its concep
tion of preserving the balance of pow
er did not go far beyond the old tra
dition of defending the Low; countries
and using sea power to down any am
bitious successor to Napoleon. On
the east the barrier to Teutonic ex
pansion was not England but Russia,
and English policy had so long been
centered on keeping Russia out of
Constantinople that public sentiment
could hardly be expected to switch ab
ruptly to the contrary theory that
Russia should have It in ordef to block
Germany.
The balance of power, in fact,
is not and never has been a
popular “war alm;” many wars have
been fought over it, but if statesmen
understood what they were about they
have not cared, as a rule, to enlighten
the people, who can appreciate na
tional defense or even a war for tan
gible ends like annexation, but have
I little interest in the higher mathe-
I mattes of statesmanship. Hence the
I prevalence of sham issues, and the
• general bewilderment like that of old
I Casper when asked what good came
I of it—“ Why that' I cannot tell,” said
lie, “But 'twas a famous victory.”
If English statesmen had been less
preoccupied with Belgium, and better
versed in German political literature,
they might have seen in time the dan
ger that the great central em
pire dreamed of by pan-Germans
might come automatically as a
consequence of the war. It was not
necessary for Germany to conquer its
enemies; it had only to conquer its
allies, and in this process the entente
powers have been laboring at the
forge, helping Germany to weld its
European-Asiatic empire together. The
ascendancy which it has established
in Austria-Hungary. Rumania, and
Turkey is now all but absolute, and
will not be easily broken, so' great has
been the increase of German prestige
in the east. If the balance of power
was their end. the allies should have
spared no effort from the beginning
to cut the central empire in two at its
weak spot in the Balkans. For the
failure to do this there were various
causes, some creditable, like England’s
reluctance to harsh measures with
these small states, and others of a less
creditable sort. But the Controling
cause was probably a failure to com
prehend that Germany might, menace
the balance of power, not. by annex
ing Belgium or conquering France,
hut by bringing its allies under tight
er control, much as Pru^siji did in. the
founding of the German empire. .
As a motive for . continuing the ; war
this is perhaps riot; easy to Airing for-,
ward directly, for even in England the
wisdom of the historic doctrine 6? the
balance of power has been sharply
attacked in our time, though nobody
has brought forward a workable’ sub
stitute short of the federation of Eu
rope. In Germany the doctrine has
been bitterly resented ever since the
first challenge to British sea power.
To be sure. England had saved Ger
many by downing Napoleon, but this
counted for little beside the fact that
England had incidentally won a great
empire. As a rule, the most powerful
state in Europe has denounced the
doctrine, while the menaced Weaker
states have at least found it too use
ful to complain of. The German view
has been that if German supremacy ill
Europe were conceded peace and good
relations would be secure because the
Grmans are not an aggressive people.
The opposed view has been that no
state can be trusted with power to
which there is no check, and that Ger
many is no exception.
Aside from the "concrete" aims
which President Wilson has invited
the belligerents to state, this question
of the balance of power is now per
haps the most formidable obsta
cle to peace: this is what lies
behind the British declaration that
“Prussian military domination must
'be overthrown.” In Germany, if
not in neutral countries, this
aspect of the Case is not ignored,
and is probably the cause of the read
iness ot the German government,
which might otherwise seem surpris
ing, to discuss reduction of arma
ments, and a peace league to take the
place of the great rival alliances. On
the entente side such a proposal nat
urally would be met with some sus
picion unless provision were made for
ending the control of Austria, Bulga
ria and Turkey which Germany has
established during the war. The prob
lem of the balance of power has taken
on a new form which requires fresh
and anxious calculations, and the ma
neuvers on both sides will be the
greatest game of diplomacy ever
played, with Germany for ths present
holding most of the trumps. .
THE PRICE TO PAY
From the distance, there is a touch
of drollery in the fact that, while in
London and Paris President Wilson's
peace note is generally interpreted as
a blow to tha entente, in Berlin -there
are publicists of repute who interpret
it as a blow to the central powers
"Wllsori’s step," according to count
von ReveritloW. “is nothing but an ef
fort to save England from catastro
•phe." Here Is evidence, surslf, that
it 1c Impossible to please everybody,
Perhaps the world needs reminding
that slnbe the War began the Ameri
can government’s notes have been
written primarily to safeguard Ameri
can interests. It is a matter of »»c
---ontary importance to the United
States whether a note pleases London
n r pleases Biriin. The United States
covernment 1* atm a neutral govsrfc
ment-a fact whose meaning millions
Jot people both sides ot the At*
lantlc seem- never to have thoroughly
digested. , ।
It so happens, in the present case,
that there is more jubilation in Ber
lin than in Paris or London. But do
the German people and their rulers
appreciate fully the significance of this
latest note? Let us tell them some
thing. The primary interest of this
country lies in the maintenance of its
own peace, and, consequently, in the
restoration of the peace of the world.
If war should come ultimately, how
ever, the Americans of the West, who
are just now the most pacifist of the
American people as a whole, would
know that the president, whom they
trusted to keep them out of -war. had
risked much and done everything to
bring the European struggle to an end
before it involved the United States.
The president’s peace note is un
doubtedly popular In the West. Mr
Mann of Chicago, the republican
minority leader in the House of Rep
resentatives. has publicly approved of
the president’s course, saying: "Re
•jardless of partisanship. I believe the
•whole people warmly congratulate
‘end commend the president for any
■effort he has made or mav make to
“ward obtaining peace in the world
‘again.” With their usual blindness
In regard to American sentiment on
war questions, many people living
east of the Alleghany mountains now
ignore that very considerable part of
the United States bevond the Alle
ghany mountains. But the president’s
peace note must convince all of west
ern America, clear to the Pacific
coast—which, according to an exas
perated Englishman, is no less than
2.C00,000.000 miles from London —that
Wilson has done his best for peace.
Wliat a tremendous contribution that
fact must be toward national unity in
care the worst should come In our
relations with a more ruthless and
desperate Germany!
Nor could the German government
now reproach President Wilson with
haying dpne nothing to promote a
peace settlement, in case he should
protest, later on against a resort to
a form of warfare on , the sea as un
restricted as the Tlrpitz party could
desire. What would complete failure
on the part of the president to show
an interest in the peace overtures
from Berlin have involved. With the
war being carried into still more reck
less and barbarous stages as the com
ing year wore on? "You cared noth
ing for peace, when we offered it,”
Berlin could have said; "you did noth
'ing even to gain for us a hearing in
‘outlining our idea of a settlement. It
‘lies not with you to complain if now
'the war power of Germany strikes to
'the uttermost of its strength." In
meeting such a justification for Ger
man frightfulness on the sea, the
president would have found himself
lame and futile. But now he will pos
sess a powerful moral leverage in as
serting America’s rights, because he
can hereafter point to a downright
peace effort In which he risked the
friendship of the entente powers and
brought down upon his head the fresh
damnattofi of his implacable 'critics
and enemies at home.
To Germany Mr Wilson's perform
ance means that, even if the war is to
run into a period of pitiless blackness
and bleak attrition hitherto undreamed
of on the part of civilized peoples, the
president of the United States has now
made it more dangerous than ever
before for the German government to
provoke America into participation in
th* conflict. For, by his peace note,
Mr Wilson has demonstrated to the
pacifist West, which is the great heart
of American nationalism, that he has
exhausted his powers in promoting the
peace cause; and he has also demon
sti-ated to Germany that no unneutral
sympathy with Germany’s enemies
could restrain him from seeking an
honorable end of the war. in accord
ance with the expressed desires of the
German government and people.
In brief, Germany needs peace to
day more than she did before the
president sent his note to the bellig
erent powers. Consequently she must
be prepared to pay a higher price for
it. Her peace offer must be so mod
erate in its claims as to embarrass her
most vindictive and irreconcilable foes,
delight neutral nations and surprise
the world. Germany, if she will, can
end the war by presenting conditions
of settlement so reasonable as to make;
insistence by her enemies on further I
carnage in the field seem like a crime
against civilization.
This opportunity has surely been
placed within her reach, despite possi
ble intrigues against her by chauvin
ists in London, Paris or Petrograd,
through the action if President Wilson.
And such an opportunity the bleeding
if valiant Germany of the present
hour cannot afford to neglect. Let
her pay the price.
ON PUNISHING GERMANY
Cable dispatches left it a little un
certain just what liberal utterance in
Farliatnent A. Bonar Law referred to
When he said in his speech Thursday
night in the House of Commons: “It
•the spirit of the speech to which we
‘have just listened were to permeate
‘the. country, I believe that all the
‘blood and treasure which have been
‘spent in the war would have been
‘spent in vain." By one account he
was. referring to Noel E. Buxton, wljo
had expressed the hope that “th* gov
‘ernment will welcome the aid of Amer
•iefc in negotlating.thetermsof peace.”
bat apparently the real reference wks
to Hastings B. L. Stplth. a liberal
member, who la in.the arthy and arose
In uniform to urge that Germany’s
terms be not rejected. He said that
if it was put to the men at the front
their vote would be practically unani
mous for peace, provided guaranties
could be obtained that Britain's hon
orable obligations would be fulfilled,
and he went on to say: “I ana not
'prepared to face the prospects of a
■military decision, which means a war
•ot attrition, unless I am convinced
I that there is no other way out” ■
Law. who represents the war govern
ment in the House of Commons, to
denounce talk of peace. Bonar Law
came into political prominence as a
“fighter.” it was as a fighter that he
was chosen in place of the mild-man
nered philosopher Balfour to head the
unionist party in its fight against the
liberal-radlcal-iabor-Irlsh coalition. As
a, political fighter he promptly commit
ted so many indiscretions that his
position as a leader was badly im
paired, yet he is regarded as an
honest, blunt and energetic man,
though lacking in perspicacity and
tact, and not free from po
litical bigotry. He could not com
mand a working majority when
given the opportunity, upon Mr As
quith's resignation, to form a cabinet,
yet he represents the Lloyd George
cabinet in the House of Commons, a
fact not of the happiest significance.
When Lloyd George speaks It is re
membered that he was a radical and
a pacifist up to the day when war
was declared against Servia; when
Bonar Law speaks we have to remem
ber that he represents acridly the same
forces in England which flagrantly
made war on the Boer republics. From
that source denunciations of Germany
do not come with the best grace.
If the government should follow the
line taken by this tory leader nego
tiation would be out of the question,
no matter what Germany might be
prepared to concede. "Can you get
‘any terms,” he asks, “more binding
‘than the treaty for the protection of
‘Belgium? Can you come to any con
‘cluslons on paper or by promises that
‘will give us greater security than wo •
‘had before the war?” Therefore the
war muse go on irrespective of the
terms which Germany might grant,
because Germany cannot be trusted to
keep its promises. It is specially to:
meet this argument, no doubt, that’
Germany has shown such readiness to:
discuss disarmament and organization
for peace. The view of She party;
which Bonar Law represents is given i
in the Evening Standard’s tart com-;
ment on President Wilson’s note: “He
'speaks of a league to insure peace and:
‘justice. Such a league already exists.
'lt consists of Great Britain, Russia,
'France, Italy, and smaller powers.”
The standing, however, of the entente
as a league to insure peace and jus- •
tice must obviously depend on pre-:
cisely the alms in regard to which
President Wilson seeks light. None
is given by Bonar Law, who declares:
“What are we fighting for?- Not ter
ritory, not greater strength as a na
‘Mon. We are fighting for two things
' —for peace now and for security for
‘peace in time to come.” It is exactly
what Germany has again and again
professed to be fighting for; as the
president says, when put in general
terms the professed aims of the bel
ligerents are virtually identical; the
way to tell gold from alloy Is to apply
the acid test ot concrete statement.
It »s obvious that England is not
fighting at the Somme to win lands
in Europe. But how about the Ger
man colonies which have come under
She' British flag? MoW about'Egypt!
and Cyprus, annexed slope file war,
began, and Mesopotamia where Turkish
valor has Interfered with annexation?
Is what has already been seized to be
handed back? It not, so far as keep
ing up the war for territorial gain is
concerned, Britain and Germany hold
the same position, for Germany has
taken all and more than all that it
can hope bo annex. As for security,
that argument works both ways; Ger
many needs security too, and Beth
mann-Hollweg and Viscount Grey are
agreed as to the measures which might
protect both sides if they can manage
to settle Sheir dispute.
Absolutely like what has been said
over and over again in Germany is
Bonar Law’s declaration that "This
'war will have been fought in vain,
■utterly tn vain, unless we can make
‘sure that it shall never again be in
‘the power ,of any state to do what
‘Germany has done.” The German
idea is to make Germany So power
ful that enemies will never attain
dare assail her; the Bonar Law idea
Is to make Germany so weak that it
can never again assail others. Both
Ideas are chimerical; there in always
a strongest state, and to destroy Its
primacy is to prepare the way for
another. Absolute security may
never be possible, but a nearer ap
proach to it may be had through
honorable settlements than by a war.
which annihilates the present Europe
to safeguard an uncertain future.
The essence of Bonar Law’s
speech lies in his demand that Ger
many be punished: “Is peace to come
‘in this war on the basis that the
‘greatest crime In the world’s htrtory
'is to go absolutely unpunished? It
’is my firm belief that unless all the
•nations in the world are made to
'realize that these moral forces can
•be vindicated there never can be an,
•enduring peace," Tn the abstract
those who believe that Germany was
the aggressor have often been tempt
ed to the feeling thus expressed; on
sober second thought most of them,
whether in neutral or entente coun
tries, have put aside the wish. For
the guilty, whoever they Were, no
punishment can be adequate; the in
nocent majority have already suffered
far too much.- “Vengeance is. mine. I
•will repay, salth the Lord.'’ It is
not tor nations to punish nations
and for the entente -to risk wreck
ing civilisation' in order to do to the
central powers what they have done
to Belgium. Servia, Rumania and Ar
menia would be but one more -futile
crime against humanity.
Germany will bi punished, amply,
terribly punished. lif4t Is forced to end
this war without profit. Ever since
It took over the Pruseish and Hohen
sollern tradition It has been taught to
believe that war is not ■ only honor
able. but. profitable. Blood and iron
was Bismarck’s formula for the found
ing of the empire, but he did not
overlook land and gold—nor the coal
and iron which Germany wants even
fob dffi an aLthe tmpke Mwrt
I A* KI A
France Bismarck extorted far more
than the war had cost. When this
war, whoever began it, broke out, the
governing class ip Germany. confi
dently believed that It would be
short, If not easy, gnd profitable.
For a whole year Dr Helfferlch dan
gled the lure of a cash Indemnity b*-.
tore the people. When that was
abandoned there was still hope that
new territories, ■ new mines, new ave
nues of trade, would still repay the
nation for what it had suffered.
If the allies. Instead of seeking
to crush or to punish Germany, can
simply constrain it to leave the field
empty-handed, justice will have been
vindicated and Germany will have
learned, if it needs the lesson, that
war has ceased to be profitable. To
stand on that ground, while renounc
ing their'own selfish alms, would give
the allies firm moral ground, no mat
ter how long they have to keep up
the struggle. But to say In genera!
terms, as Bonar Law does, that they
are not warring for territory, is far
from adequate.
THE CALL FOR DISCIPLINE
Discipline has become rather a fad
in these days, and it is preached from
every quarter. We might almost fancy
that the country was ready to take
for its national hymn Wordsworth’s
ode to Duty, “Me this unchartered
‘freedom tires.” "I feel the weight of
‘chance desires.” The theme, is ad
mirable for pulpit and college com
mencement, and gives eloquence to
pleas for preparedness. And most un
doubtedly America needs discipline.
Yet between recognition of a mal
ady and readiness to take the medicine
for it there is a wide gap. What is
being called for mainly is discipline
for other people, a thing concerning
which it is easy to have positive views.
If a strong desire for discipline In the
first person were general, the subject
would not be up for discussion. We
should all be as hard as nails, and as
fit as fiddles, and hardness and fitness
would be too commonplace to talk
about. Flabbiness, and lack of the
resolution and persistence to cure it
are what make discipline seem so at
tractive.
That the need is coming to ba felt
and expressed is a hopeful symptom,
and if it lasts a cure may be looked
for, though the cure of a chronic mal
ady may be tedious. Discipline is te
dious; it is not the fascinating thing
it appears when held up as a panacea.
Most kinds of discipline are Imposed
on people by force and hold them with
an iron grip. Lean fields, hunger, and
Spartan drill have made the great
military states like Prussia disciplined
and invincible. Oatmeal, plus Calvin-
I»m and the tawse. disciplined Scot
land into greatness. England owes its
empire to the stern discipline of the
sea, and how cruel that was in the
days of sail every reader of history
knows.
The progress of civilization, in fact,
has been in great part an escape from
a discipline , that had become intoler
able. Poverty is a discipline Which
both nations and individuals, except
saints like Francis, do their best to
dispense with. To be under a stern
master may be capital training, but it
is not a training that men relish: they
do their best to be their own masters
and show themselves indulgent mas
ters. The apprentice system, with lean
fare, sharp supervision, hard work,
and sometimes blows, made good
tradesmen and artisans, but it
would not be tolerated noW, nor
can schoolmasters flog Latin into
reluctant youth. All are changes
for the better, no doubt, but with each
change a bit of. discipline has gone.'
and now we have a generation which
both craves discipline and fancies it
a pleasant thing!
It ought to be clearly kept in mind
that the only pleasant discipline is
that which is not imposed from out
side. but taken up because it satisfies
a real need. The effort may be hard
and Sometimes painful, but It is paid
for by the sense of reward. Soldier,
athlete, explorer, scholar, artist, all
have testified to the solid satisfaction
of a life of severe discipline, but it ho*
been a discipline giving them what
they wanted; there has been an ade
quate motive.
When a nation begins, as America
is doing, to feel the need for discipline,
the great problem is to find the ade
quate motive. Some think it is to b*
found in “preparedness," but this is
an illusion. When a state is danger
ously placed like Rome or Frussia.
constant peril and growing ambition
may enforce a military discipline. For
the .United States, so far as we can
now see, the motive for military prep
aration will never be adequate to give
a really national discipline. Only n
genuine and pressing need, or the
general belief that such a need exists,
can.force a nation to make the neces
sary sacrifice.
It Is tim*. therefore, while the pres
ent excitement hag brought an acute
and wholesome sense. of national de*
ficiencies, to look for a more compre
hensive remedy. Training camps are
good, but they affect but a limited
number and gj|ve only one kind of
training Discipline js needed all along
the Une, in school, in business, ’in the
home. Everywhere thihgs drift along
the line of least resistance. Girls, we
ar* tqld. suffer quite as much as boys
from the relaxation of the older dis
cipline. and military drill dote not fit
thrir case. The truth is u»t many
kinds of discipline are needed, a kind
of general tightening up. but most im
portant of all te the creation of a mo
tive for sSlf-dllscl{>Hne. Sometimes
caste spirit has given this, sometimes
ambitibn. sometimes religious •fervor
ot love of science or letter*. No sin
gle motive can bs brought to bear on
ail; th* need in a free ana dsmeoratlc
country with a very mixed -popula
tion and no castes is for the fullest
possible development of every motive
that can be turned to account to cor-
BBSS
is for America to try to effect a euro
in time and more, deliberately.
less drastic but more varied remedies,
fitted to all the aspects of a protean
malady. Universal military service is
very far from being a panacea. i
ATTITUDE OF BROTHERHOODS
There has been an increasing body
ot evidence since the presidential elec
tion that the railroad brotherhoods
were not altogether pleased with the
Adamson law, which was interpreted
by many- people last September as
a concession wrung from Con
gress by the threat of a strike. The
“hold-up” theory of the action of Con
gress is being shattered now that the
brotherhood leaders are showing a de
cided willingness to have the law re
pealed and to settle privately their
eight-hour dispute with the railroads.
Brotherhood sentiment at present
seems to be expressed authoritatively
by W. 8. Carter, head of the firemen,
in saying: "If the eight-hour day can
■be. established In any other manner,
‘the employes would be glad to have
•the law repealed.” "Neither side
■wanted the eight-hour law,” now says
Mr Stone, head of the locomotive engi
neers. "We didn't, I'm sure."
It may be that this new attitude of
the brotherhood leaders is due to the
president’s insistence In his address to
Congress upon the rest of his railroad
strike program, notably the compul
sory investigation act. It is to a de
gree on account of the proposed legis
lation that the brotherhood leaders
this week have gone into conference
again with the representatives of the
railroad executives with the purpose
of reaching a complete settlement
minus government intervention. Thia
development may be regarded as a
good sign, since it indicates that the
more they study the character and
trend of government action In rail
road strike Issues the less Inclined Are
the brotherhoods to view the govern
ment as something they can control.
The truth is that they see in it more
and more the representative, not of
a class or an organization, but of the (
whole people. It Is absolutely cer
tain that, sooner or later, the public
interest will dominate the government
in defiance of antagonistic interests.
Mr Gompers’s view has always been
that the unions Should avoid seeking
legislation on wages and hours of la
bor. The American federation of la
bor has hitherto stood for strict "col
•lective bargaining” without govern
ment intervention. The passage of
the Adamson law was directly in con
flict with the Gompers principle, al
though in the crisis of last summer
Mr Gompers did not protest against
the law*. He was placed in an em
barrassing position in the annual
convention of the ’ American fed
eration of labor last month on
account of the federal eight-hour
legislation, and the convention
would have been the scene of an Im
portant. if hot aft acrimonious, debate
if the subject had not been most care
folly excluded from the program in
the interest of harmony. The con
vention was the occasion of the^tor-s
mation ot ah entente between the fed
eration of labor and the railroad broth
erhoods. and that fact also served to
suppress discussion of the old contro
versy on the desirability of legisla
tion for the settlement of labor dis- ;
putes. , J
It is now clear, however, that the :
old Gompers idea is reasserting itself.
The brotherhood leaders seem deslr- I
ous of effecting such a settlement with |
the railroad executives that the need j
of federal legislation will be entirely |
eliminated, even to the extent of the 5
repeal of the Adamson law. The de-1
velopment must appear curious to 1
many people. Neither side in last sum-:
mer’s railroad controversy really got 1
what it wanted. The combatants ;
would have done better to have j
reached a private settlement than tel
have created such a crisis that the i
federal government’s intervention was 1
necessarily ' provoked. The brother-1
hoods perhaps have learned that ones .'
the government camel gets Its nose,
under the tent of organized labor, ith
is no fool's job to persuade the cre«ture
tc withdraw. Certain remaining parts,;
of the president’s railroad strika pro-;J
gram should now be enacted by Con- j
gress, whatever may be the outcome ‘
of the present New York confarenc* :
between the railroad companies and i
the’brotherhoods. The public interest-'
in the future should be adequately
safeguarded. ' i||
LINERS TO SAIL FROM HALIFAX |
There Is no reason to discredit the
unofficial report that the White Star
and Cunard liners are to sail hence-;
forth from Halifax instead of from;
New York; it flts in with the prompt; j
measure taken by the Lloyd George
government of cutting off shipping
news and with the plans of the ad
miralty for arming merchant ships;
At Halifax the censorship can be mads
as tight a« at Liverpool, and by iAak<
Ing the change ships can be armec
beyond the llpilts set for merchant
ships by the United States govern-^
merit.
Th* cost of sending passengers and
cargoes coastwise or by rail to a Cana;
dian port will be great, but this is o!
little consequence in comparison Witt
the increasing war risk, which ha.
become not merely a matter of pecu
nlary loss, but for Rugland a questlo
of national safety. It should not t
forgotten, either, that 1500 miles t,
Canadian railways are being torn u*
and dispatched to Franoe in urgerl
haste for the spring campaign. Eng)
la no must get its supplies across, an
the proposed plan is probably as gM
as ahy available in view of tha fallui
to make provision it due time, I
from the beginning of the submartrf;'
menace plans had been made on d
great scale for the construction d
fast blockade runners, the situnti^
would have been very different. H
QCIFQU DVRI IB TO