Evening journal., 1916-02-24
Peace, War and Honor
CFrom The New York Tribune.)

Apologists for Mr.. Wilson are ma
turaily anxious to break the force Of
the indictment against the Admins
tratiOn's foreign policy drawn by Mr.
Root. They profess TO welcome the
issue raised by Mr.. Roots speech on
the ground that it must put the Re
publican party in the attitude of con-
demning peace and approving war
Thus "The World" said on Thursday:
''In so far as Mr.. Root has power to
commit the Republican party to a
foreign policy in opposition to the
policy of the Wilson Administration
that policy is a policy Of war"
This wholly misrepresents the view
of those who have~Fritlcised Mr.. VIII
SONS foreign policy. II also misrepre-
sents the attitude OF the President and
the conditions which he has faced
when it suggests that with him il
has always been a question simply
Of preferring peace to war
No party in this country desires
war for wars sake, and no govern
ment which tho American people
would install'in power would deliber-
ately seek war But. on the other
hand. no government, simply by wish
ing Il, can avoid war IL takes two
70 keep the peace. A man can al
ways avoid fighting if he starts to run
and keeps on running. But a coun-
try cannot run away when il is at
tackled. Belgium could not run away
when the German armies rushed over
her eastern border. The United States
cannot crawl into its shell, withdraw
from all contact with the rest OF the
world, forbid its citizens to travel OH
the seas and cease TO sell its merchan-
disc abroad. So long as we maintain
intercourse with other countries
even with neutrals we are likely to
see our rights abridged by belliger-
ents who are so intent on pursuing
their own interests that they care lit
tie TO what extent they sacrifice ours.
Mr.. Wilson has recognized that he
is not free to choose peace or able to
compel It. In his recent speeches in
the west he said that he could not
tell what a day or an hour would
bring forth; that the United States,
though wishing for peace, was liable
to be drawn into war at any time
by some flrebrand act on the part of
one or other of the belligerents.
The President has not been at all
times sor peace at any price lie .isk-
ed war by intervening in Mexico to
oust Huerta, and he actually made
war on Huerta's de facto Mexican
government. At the beginning of the
German submarine campaign he sent
the German government his "strict
accountability" letter. which contain
ed definite threat of war. He play
ed with the idea of war in all the
Lusitania notes, hoping that the
world would never discover (as IL
soon did discovery that whatever
firmness there was in them was only
a matter of form and phrase.
If the Democratic party expects to
make its campaign this year on a
platform which insists on an unwav-
ering and unconditional peace policy,
the logical nominee for the Presiden-
cy is not Mr.. Wilson. but MIR. Bryan.
Mr.. Bryan is openly FOR peace at any
price including lives and honor. He
has favored surrendering rights the
exercise of which might bring us into
conflict with the beligerent nations
When Secretary of State he ordered
all Americans out of Mexico, in order
to escape the dlstasteful duty of de
manding protection for their lives an6
property. After signing the strict
accountability" and other threatening
notes TO Germany he had the candOl
to admit that they meant nothing and
were written merely for political effect
at home. He wanted to forbid American
citizens from travelling on the mer
chant vessels of the nations at war
He was willing to make any renunci
alton of right and submit to any sur
render of neutral privilege which
would help to keep the United States
clear of controversies with the bellig
erent powers. He still opposes al
measures of military preparedness,
because he wants to make the peo
pie of this country realize the hope
lessness of taking up arms under any
provocation or in any cause.
With Mr. Bryan as a candidate thu