The Washington times., 1914-12-13
GERMANY AND AMERICA

For good many years past, the
political and international comments
of the Cologne Gazette have been
characterized in the press of the
| world as semi-official." Just what
that means is not very plain to
Americans, for we have no
semi-official and no official news
papers in this country. But in
general way it is easy enough
to understand that the German gov
eminent has seen fit to use this i'm
portant provincial paper as a means
to voicing, to "trying out" with the
public, its views on important uues-
lions. In Great Britain at times the
liberal government has used the very
able and influential Manchester
Guardian in a like way.
When, therefore, the Cologne Ga
zette can be quoted as warning Ger
mans that the nation can never &C
cept the mediation of the United
States, because the United States is
too close to Great Britain, it is of
real Importance. Strangely enough.
the German newspaper admits that
the United States has maintained a
proper enough attitude of neutrality;
but it finds that we hive been Gin
differently NEUTRAL" our sympathies
are in fact, it believes, overwhelm-
ingly with England.
1t is hard to understand where
Germany would turn for a disinter-
ested friendship that could be en-
listed in the cause of peace at the
right time, if it dare not trust
America with that formality. Per-
haps the German editor suspects that
the United States wants to poise it
self at the middle of the see-saw, and
tilt it one way or the other, thus de-
termining the character and outcome
of whatever negotiations may pre-
cede or follow the establishment of
peace. Of course, the United States
would have no such attitude.
Considering the traditional fate of
the outsider who interferes to stop
family quarrel, it would probably
be Just as well for the United States
to be left out when the time for
peace discussion arrives. If Europe
doesn't need or want US, it is very
certain that this country will not be
injured. A few years ago the good
offices of this nation were rendered
IN the effort to end a war between
two great empires which are now al
lies. 1t was very commonly con-
ceded that no other country occupied
quite so advantageous a position,
from which to make that tender of
good offices, as the United States. 1t
seemed to be high national duty.
And it was done, as a duty, without
particular thought of the possible
unfortunate results to this country.
1t is no overstatement, then, to
say that the United States came out
of that peace enterprise with about
all the liabilities, and the other coun-
tries accrued about all the benefits.
The Japanese nation had been for
half century confident that their first
friend was the United States. But
the peace convention did not award
to them a complete satisfaction of
their ambitions and their pride; and
looking for somebody to blame, many
of their unthinking people decided to
blame the United States. They do
blame the United States to this day;
md Oriental experts declare with all
vehemence that Japanese sentiment
was turned from this country by rea-
son of our effort to appear as a
peacemaker.
Between Germany and England, it
would seem, the United States ought
70 be particularly fitted to mediate
Our population includes many mil
lions of descendants from the soil of
both countries. Our neutrality is not
questioned by even our German
critic.
But just at this time Germany is
being very bold before the world.
She sees no need for friends or medi-
alton or anything except to crush
her way through to victory. If she
succeeds, she will indeed have little
need for mediating friends; if she
fail, she will perchance take a milder
view of the exact attributes of their
neutrality. And if the United States
has no part or voice in initiating the
peace, probably the United States
will be better off.