New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-10-30

noted that this ultimate test applies IN
the same way to Servia as to Belgium
and Britain. The Servians may not be
a very peaceful people, but on the oc-
cason under discussion II was certain
" thew who wanted peace. You may
choose to think the Serb a sort OF a
born robber; but on this occasion 1t
was certainly the Austrian who was
trying to rob Similarly, you may call
England perfidious as sort OF ms
torical summary, and declare your pr!-
vate belief that Mr.. Asquith was vowed
from infancy to the ruin of the German
Empire-a Hannibal and hater OF the
eagles. But when all is said, 1t Is
nonsense TO call a man perfdlous be
cause he keeps his promise. IL Is aD-
surd TO complain of the sudden treach-
cry of a business man in turning up
punctually to his appointment, or the
unfair shock given to a creditor by the
debtor paying his debts.
Lastly, there is an attitude not UNI
known in the crisis against which
should particularly like to protest.
should address my protest especially
TO those lovers and pursuers OF peace
who, very short sightedly, have oc-
casionally adopted it. | mean the at
titude which is impatient of these pre-
l;minary details about who did this or
that and whether it was right or wrong
They are satisfied with saying that an
enormous calamity called war has been
begun by some or all of us, and should
be ended by some or all OF US. To
these people this preliminary chapter
about the precise happenings must APP
pear not only dry land it must Of
necessity be the dryest part of the
task, but essentially needless and bar
rem. | wish 10 tell these people that
they are wong; that they are wong
upon all PRINCIPLES of human justice
and historic continuity; but that they
are especially and supremely wrong
upon their own principles of arbitra-
tion and international peace.
About Peace Lovers.
These sincere and high minded peace
lovers are always telling Us that citl-
zens no longer settle their quarrels by
private violence, and that tion9
should no longer settle theirs by public
violence. They are always telling US
that we no longer fight duels, and need
10 lorPe wage wars. In short, they
perpetually base their peace proposals
on the fact that an ordinary citizen no
longer avenges himself with an axe
But how is he prevented from aveng-
ing himself with an axe? If he hits his
ueighbor on the head with the kitchen
chopper what do we do? Do we all
Join hands, like children playing null
berry bush, and say: 1--WE are all re-
sponsible for this. but let US hope 1t
viii not spread. Let US hope for the
happy. happy day when he shall leave
off chopping at the mans head, and
when nobody shall ever chop anything
forever and ever" DO we say: Let
bygones be bygones. Why go back to
all the dull details with which the
business began? Who can tell with whit
sinister motives the man was standing
there within reach Of the hatchetE
We DO not We keep the peace nm pri-
waite lie by asking for the facts o.
and the proper object or
We do not 20 into the dull
details; we do inquire into the Origins;
we do empuatically inquire who II was
that hit first In snort, we do what }
have done very briefly In this place.
Given this, 4 Is indeed true that be
hind those facts there are truths
truths Of terrible, of a spiritual sort.
In mere fact the Germanic power has
been wrong about Servia, wrong about
Russia. wrong about Belgium. wrong
.bout England. wrong about Italy. But
there was rcascu for its being wrong
and OF that root reason.
which has moved half the world against
IL. ( shall speak later in this series.
For that is something TOO omulpresent
tc be proved. too indisputaDle 10 be
helped by detail It Is nothing less
rhau the locating, after more than
hundred years Of determinations and
wrong explanations, Of the modern
European evil-the finding Of the toun-
tain from which poison has flowed
upon all the nations OF the earth.