The Washington times., 1915-04-18
If THE WAR SHOULD END NOW

If the war should end now and
Germany should be allowed to make
terms on the basis of the status quo
ante, Great Britain would have TO
hand back to her the material for the
making of two or three empires. All
the substantial gains that have come
to any powers thus far have ac-
crued to the account of Germany and
Britain. Germany holds most of Bel
gium and one of the most valuable
industrial and mining sections of
France. She is at Antwerp, first
seaport of the Continent. On the
other hand, England has seized i'm
mense German possessions in the
Pacific, in Africa, and in Asia. The
Mesopotamian empire, nominally
Turkish, but rapidly falling under
German domination, has been wrest-
ed from the Turks; the German
owned Bagdad railroad will presently
be British line; the Turk will pay
the penalty for his interference in
the war, of losing great part of his
Asiatic possessions, even if he saves
Constantinople.
1t is not impossible that Germany
would be very we'll satisfied to make
peace on the basis of today's posi-
ton, retaining what she holds in Bel
gium and France, and giving Eng
land her colonies. But that peace
is manifestly impossible. The allies
are bound to act together, and
neither France nor Belgium will be
sacrificed by them in order to secure
peace unless they are conclusively
defeated, which seems quite impos-
sible.
But no matter when the war ends,
England will be the greatest gamer
by it. Her colonial empire will be
rounded out, buttressed and perfect
ed in its wide-ranging parts. Her
most dangerous rival for control of
the seas, either in peace or in war.
will have been retired. German
commerce will have been wrecked
and British trade will be the largest
gamer.
AS against these immensely i'm
portant things that Britain stands to
gain, France has only to hope for
some expansion of her territory in
Africa, and for the removal of the
German menace from the horizon of
her future. France will carry the
largest share of the war burden, and
receive the most dubious share of it's
benefits. Russia, presumably, will
get Constantinople; if she does not
get its sovereignty Immediately, she
will at least have pushed her glacial
line several steps farther toward it
and her prospect of getting it in
another generation will be vastly
| improved. Constantinople to Russia
the German colonies to Britain, per-
haps the Adriatic provinces to Italy
everybody stands to gain big and
positive benefits save only France.
1t may be urged that France, in
the removal of the Prussian menace
will after all be the greatest gamer
That would be true-if the menace
were definitely, finally, unquestion.
ably removed. But it will not be, un.
less a peace of positively revolu.
tionary sort is made, imposing terms
on Germany that nobody is able, to-
day, to imagine her accepting. Ger
many will lie right across the Rhine
as she has lain through the cen
turies; glowering at France, dream
ing of revenge. She will doubtless
direct her first and most intense
hatred against Britain; but that will
be of rather small consequence tc
Britain, because Germany will be
unable to crafty that hatred so long
as Britain controls the seas.
Making a peace, then, on the basi:
| VI 1Iy SSI VI SollNllloIlo oilOl VI G
crushing defeat for Germany, will
be peculiarly difficult for the allies
They must keep on fighting, it woult
almost appear, because if they stoI
fighting their present enemy the!
will be in danger of quarrelinf
among themselves. Not that the!
will fall into a var as the Balkan
allies did; they are too sane, too ex
hausted, too much amenable to de
cent public opinion, to do that. Blu
next to making war among them
selves would be making makeshif
peace that would point the way to ,
quarrel among themselves later
That is why the prospect for al
early peace is not bright. The gen
eral condition, military and diplo
matte, looks more like another yea
of war than it has at any time sine
the battle of the Marne.