The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-18
WAR ECHOES

Britain, France, Spain and China into signing peace treaties which provide fol reference of international disputes to trib- unals that will try reason before there is a resort to the sword and which es- tablish tke principle of a years mora
 torium before the declaration of war. Of course, the cynical and the worldly will l smile the customary smile of superior 1 wisdom, but really it seems to us those peace pacts are a pretty good answer to those cannon. They give assurance that l the peace sentiment of the world is not
 dead or even sleeping. and that at least
 two of the belljgerents in the present var are quite willing 70 avoid another If | such treaties had existed among all inc powers engaged in the destructive con l test now going on. the war might have been delayed long enough to give them all
 chance to cool off. What these treaties
 do is to strengthen international obiiga- tions to preserve the peace and to build UP
 public sentiment which no nation will
 lightly disregard We rather think the
 dove of peace is going to be one Of the
 most popular of our domesticated birds. and that he will not fall victim 10 the hawk nearly so often as formerly.
 Washington Post Great Britain is not idle in taking advantage of the inability of Germany to defend her colonies. One
 by one these more or less valuable bits
 of the earth are being snapped up. and
 as long as the German fleet is bottled un
 1t may be expected that the absorption
 of German colonies will continue while
 ( I, J-f4 rS1.~ k.1r 1g the Samoan group was followed by the seizure of the Bismarck archipelago, and
 there is military activity in Togoiand and German East Africa, presaging 'he capture of great stretches of territory in the derk continent.
 The conquest of German East Africa
 by tho British will open a clear path from Caif to the Cape. This German possession extends from the equator to F degrees south. It was acquired in iss5. comprises 364,000 square miles, and has population of 7,0o00o0. It extends between Uganda and British East Africa to Rho- desia, containing some very rich territory.
 Already Lake Victoria, on the northern
 border has passed under control of Great
 Britain. enabling the British forces to operate effectively.
 German southwest Africa contains about 322, 900 square miles, with a population of about 200,000, of which about 7500 are
 whites. mostly Germans. The country is
 rich in diamonds, and is capable of pro ducing much minueral wealth.
 Other prizes awaiting capture by the British are the Caroline, Solomon, and Marshall islands. in the Pacific, which are of some importance as cable and way sta tions.
 Louisville Anzeiger: The causes which led to the present struggle in Europe are too little understood and appreciated in this country. Let me try to sum them up by means of an imaginary parallel. Servia and the other Balkan states have been to Austria-Hungary source of continual trouble very much like Mexico on our southern border, only worse. Now, suppose Spain were ambitious to gain a foothold on the American continent. And to this end Spain were continually To-
 menting insurrections in Mexico. Not con- tent with this, the Mexicans, under Span- ish instigation and by means of Spanish gold, were organizing revolutionary so- cieties in those American states, like Ari- zona and New Mexico, where there was large and unstable Spanish population Now, suppose the vice president of the United States, travelling with his wife through Arizona, were assassinated by a Mexican and the crime directly traced to the Mexican capital Would not the United States be perfectly justified in any steps would not national honor and justice de- mand-rhat full reparation be exacted from Mexico, and that American officials be permitted to investigate and discover the real instigators of the crime? If Spain, as Russia has done, showed itself willing and ready to plunge the world
 into war, in order to forestall such inves- tigation, would not the common sense of
 mankind assume that Spain was afraid
 her own guilt or complicity in the crime
 would be uncovered'
 have endeavorsd to give you a fair
 parallel for the situation as 1t exists in
 Europe. It should be understood, definitely and clearly, that the Czar. the despotic
 ruler of benighted millions. is the man
 who has precipitated the European war.
 He could have averted it, but chose rather to rush to the defense of the murderers
 who, there is every reason to believe, were
 instigated by Russian intrigue and sub sdized by Russian rubles. Evan Londons
 Special cable represented the Kaiser
 almost going down upon his knees to
 induce Russia to desist from mohiliza-
 tion." Almost going down upon your
 knees is not war-lilse act. and the Cyar
 who would precipitate such war when
 two of his royal cousins were using all honorable means to deter him is either ali inhuman monster or is playing for s tre- mendous stake.
 Commercial rivalry. In which Germany has been very succeysful, has embittered feeling in Great Britain toward the Ger mans. The British jingoes have used this sentiment for years to> stir up war be- tween England and Germany. The Kaiser has for % years been the guardian of Europes peace. Everyone expected. when ne came to the throne, that he would speedily plunge his empire into war. In- stead Of so doing he has led 1t in cam
 paign of pacific expansion without paral-
 Tel in modern history. Why should he now be maligned, why should Germany
 be made the target of msrepresentatio
 and contempt. because he is supporting an ally in just cause? Why should the sympathies of the Anglo-saxon world be diverted to Russia, which stands for everything reactionary and brutal, which exiles and massacres its most intelligent citizens, which still keeps alive in the diplomacy of the world the poison-and- d do uuor mol nf for Nol1 f,,e< cf