Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-12

article belongs to a family iones prominent in the
portant posts in his native land Ills serviee to the
@Soyeanment @ has bee been tn y9rl1us eapaeles In is9S
the special invitation Of the German Emperor:
ST Petersburg, private secretary the Minister OF
E99reign Affairs at stoekholmi chamberlain to the
Reorganlgatlon Of the Consular and Dplomatic
eSesptona opportunties for the study Of ri inter-
national relations, Three years ago he declined a
make MAJ n his residence M in E9gl9nd His article beloy
fected Immediately after the present war.)
THE outlook for universal peace has
Il never been so promising as 1t is today.
The war in Europe, which draws all conti-
nents into its ring of misery and suffering,
which makes all unsafe is not only
the greatest of all wars. 1t can also become
the last of all. Every phase of the gigantic
struggle is daily brought home to a far
larger number of individuals than ever be-
fore were simultaneously touched by the red
hand of war. AS a consequence, nearly every
household on the civilized globe longs for
peace and broods over the ways and means
that could prevent the repetition of the in
sanity which brings the flower of European
manhood into a too-early grave
1t is for the United States to show how
permanent peace and, more important still,
general disarmament, can be secured. BY
common consent, America is the only possi-
BILE mediator between the contending foes
She is the most powerful nation among the
neutrals She is the unquestioned assimlator
of all the different nationalties which now
strive to injure and destroy each other in
the Old World She has as her President a
who enjoys a far more universal respect
than any other living statesman or monarch
The Return to Simple Principles
Under these circumstances, 1t would in
deed be objectionable If the self governing
people of the United States did not earnestly
turn their minds to the consideration of the
unique opportunity which offers itself to
them, and to them alone among all nations.
Before them they have a problem which
only has bafFled solution because no states
has as yet had the courage to look at
our planet with eyes undimmed by the preju-
dices of history The excuse for this po-
litical bankruptcy, If excuse there must be, is
the simplest fact that the explorer, the finan-
cier and the engineer have only in the last
few decades succeeded In Transforming the
earth into an entity where knowledge of
and intercourse with all parts haYe been
spread to every corner of the globe. This
final step in our evolution in space repre-
sents an entirely new situation which ought
to remould all our previous ethical, political
and economic conceptions. AS a matter of
fact, 1t has already done so. The general
unrest which at present pervades the whole
world shows that mankind instinctively, If
yet somewhat unconsciously, feels that some
revolutionary change is affecting the old
order of things.
Up till now, ethics, politics and economies
have had more or less national basis. They
must be- and are, intrinsically unsuitable to
the planetary epoch with it's throbbing
pulse of worldwide financial, commercial,
Industrial and intellectual exchanges. Our
previous conceptions have indeed been
thrown into the melting pot out of which 1t
Is the glorious privilege of our generation to
extract far more valuable stimulant than
those left to us by the often conflicting ef-
forts of our forefathers. To create order in
the complex chaos, which everyone of us
observes everywhere and which most of us
secretly fear, the most simple principles are
necessary.
The Trouble With the "Pacifsts"
In regard to peace and disarmament, the
conception Of the State entity opposed
to all other States must be done away with.
1t is nothing but the failure to see this that
has marred the well-meant efforts of all
pacihsts, whether before or after the appear
ance of Norman Angel. International rela-
tionshp must, in all its forms, be based upon
the relations which occur between private
individuals This demands the general ac-
ceptance of but four cardinal principles: that
of nationality, of universal free trade, of a
world citizenship and of an international
Jurisdiction.
With the principle OF nationality-that is,
the right of every nationality to govern it
self as 1t best thinks ft--only those will
quarrel who want to exert dominance over
others In America and Australia, the prin-
ciple is practically already carried out In
Asia 1t is gradually and, on the whole, peace
fully working it's way In great parts OF that
continent and in Africa, many races are,
however, not yet it to govern themselves as
fully independent members of the comfy of
nations. For differing periods parts of these
continents must yet be submitted to the
gradually relaxing rule OF alien nations who
possess a civilization that is superior at least
in it's international aspect In Europe, how
ever, no such necessities exist There is no
reason whatever why every European ma
should not become independent and
sovereign. However strange It may seem to
the average American who sees Danes,
Frenehmen, Serbs, Poles and Italians live
peacefully side by side with Germans and
Austrians, it is the adherence to artihcially
created conglomerations like the Hapsburg
Monarchy and the Turkish Empire and the
severance Of large and growing communities
like Poland and Alsaee-Lorraine from their
ties which is largely responsible for
the bloody tragedies which today hil our
startled eyes with heavy tears.
TTniVeysaI Free Trade