The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-24
Brands War as Criminal Mad.
ness. an Unspeakable Hor-,,
ror Without Definite Aim :.
..Possible Peace Terms

the average lifetime of q man, 1t is the most CHASTITY and
People have considered me a warrior an advocate Of
war: But ! am not; ! have always thought that another
great war WAS inevitable. on account Of the wrong ways
and methods Of the dipiomatsts. but I have never expected
that We should be the witnesses Of such a terrible war ..
this. Of such downright madness. It Is absurd to speak q
bringing the great nations to their knees. Of crushing this
great Power or that. 1t cannot be done. Neither Germany.
nor England, nor France. nor even Russia. can be crushed.
THE people who speak Of destroying nations are not
taking history into consideration. A great nation cannot
be destroyed, by war. And even II it could be ruined 1t u
absurd for the other nations to try to do 1t. 1t 8 as though
! would destroy everything in the house in which I expected
to live simply because I was angry at one Of the neighbors
living in the same house. The nations now at war will have
to live As %neishbors in the house which they are now Do.
stroyins. and the more terrible the hatred and the more sx-
tensive the destruction. the worse for all Of them.
II want to see the factors Of culture in every nation
maintained and not destroyed. The nations. the people.
have within them the qualities Of right and justice and love;
but this geological war. this atavistic slaughter. has besn
brought about by elements unfortunately represented in the
spheres of diplomacy everywhere. The passions that have
been aroused. the hatred that has been spread. have pots.
oned the people everywhere. The French are as unreal
sonable against Germany as Germany Is unreasonable
After all it cannot be denied that Germany has certain
virtues. Nor can It be denied that France has certain vr-
tues. The same il true Of England. Although there are
some foolish people among us who still say Colt strafe Eng
all we have emulated England In many ways. 1t is ridicu.
lous to speak of cultured nations a S savages. to close Our
eyes to the achievements Of the various nations, to their
contributions in different ways to the welfare of mankind.
but the people everywhere seem to be acting and speakias
as though they were all intoxicated. We are destroying the
house in which we expect to live In peace. .
II And that the time has come when this terrible cataS
tophc "dno sihiiaT stIo lHposslDle. ~
seems to me that mankind should no longer permit such
catastrophes to be brought about by the mistakes Of the
politicians. All great Powers must get together in order
to make an end to this unparalleled crime.
History will some day hx the responsibility and record
the truth as to the real criminals who have started this
war. But now the great minds of all the countries at war.
and especially Of the neutral Powers. ought to make
every effort to set Alright this calamity which has ~.
fallen Europe. Do not try to go into details as to who
vtsStsd the vsI.- for II You do you will not have peace
for q long time to come.
"As to the terms of peace. no one can tell whether
a nation has concluded peace upon satisfactory terms or
not for at least twenty years. The terms Of peace that
may seem satisfactory at the time Of their conclusion may
prove very unsatisfactory.
THE politicians and statesmen who sit in their hooks
and intrigue and plot see only one side of the big ques-
tions. and it is high time for mankind to guard itself
against calamites resulting from the Vaccinations Of
such politicians and d!plomatists.
The great minds Of the countries at war instead Of
fighting with their pens. instead OF emulating their
brethren who are hghtng with guns. should employ their
intellectual weapons to restore order and peace rather
than to stir up new hatreds and to encourage violence.
1t is easy for them to be heroes by shouting and clamor-
ing for vengeance. Blind passion may be a blessing in
the trenches. but not in the study. The great sacrifices
OF human life on both sides Of the Powers at war are in
vain. for no purpose will be achieved by them. And those
of us who are too old or too weak to go in defence of our
country on the battlefield, and those Of US who can exert
influence upon the world, must strive to restore peace as
speedily as possible.
Unfortunately this is the age Of small statesmen.
The nations are guided by mediocre men. In Europe I
regard Sir Edward Grey as one of the saner and better
minds among the statesmen"
I pointed to the portrait of Bismarck over Macmillan
Harden's desk and said: do you think we would have
had this war II we had a Bismarck to-day among the
dlplomatists Of Europe?"
IT am convinced that we should have had no war If
Bismarck were alive" declared Harden. The secret of
lasting peace is that the power of might shall after this
war be curbed. This cannot be done in war but in peace.
It is against the genius Of the times"
I asked Mr.. Harden about the efforts in behalf Of peace
by neutral countries. He answered.,
"The Popes plans for peace. his impassioned appeals
for peace. are fine. but they are more Of a decorative
nature. I believe that the United States. that President
Wilson. can do more for the peace of the world than any
other power. or course many people everywhere are dis
pleased with Americas attitude in this war. but you can
not please all the people with any policy, however just
and righteous 1t may be. I believe Americas attitude
has been correct, and that is why America can help In
bringing about peace.
america will be the mistress Of the world after tho
war. Europe will be bankrupt, ruined. America will he
In supreme command in commerce as we'll as in other
matters. 1t is most important for the world that such a
young. powerful part Of 1t has kept out of this war"
"In answer to the question regarding the Polish prov
inces now occupied by Germany. MI, Harden said:
THE Polish provinces are for us perhaps the most dim
cult problem. We must settle it In such a manner as TO
assure peace in our eastern provinces. I personally
would be opposed to a Polish state under Austrian sover.
eighty, as has been contemplated. | hope that We may
make no mistake in this direction, We must make tho
life Of the natonalites in Germany so agreeable that
they should not long for the old mode of life in the coun-
tries where they lived before, We cannot make them
German by force. We must not repeat the same mistake
that England made with regard to the Irish.
1.-THE Poles have disgraced themselves during this war
by the wholesale acts OF treason, especially in Austria.
try. ! cannot at this time make public all the facts In
this connection. At the end OF the war / shall tell the
whole truth. The cowardly way in which they accused the
Jews OF the crimes they themselves had committed makes
their crimes all the graver.
"As far as the Jews are concerned. l believe that their
condition will improve In Russia, as ! believe many things
will improve In Russia, as a result OF this war, and in Ger
many. too, anti-semitic tendencies will diminish" &.
Before l left his home he remarked once mores
III this war will not be the last great war, it is nothins
else than criminal madness. Europe will be absolutely
bankrupt II the war continues until April l believe that
II the question concerning Belgium could be settled nov,
the war would be at an end As for %indemnities. it should
be quite clear that If the war is ended three months
earlier all the Powers would save sums constituting large
indemnities."