New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-12

Izatiou, and has openly boosted that the day
would. nay, must come, when civilization
would bow 70 her will. Third, her leaders
have taught her people from earliest enid
hood that cxpediency should be the sole
Guido in the conduct Of the state, that any
thing desired by the state which 1t IS abe
By ia might 20 take 1t f. right that 10
should have. Fourth, her conduct OF the
present war. her outrages on land and sea,
admitted in her sophisticated and specious
attempts at Justification show that she not
only accepts in theorv but that she IS pre-
pared 20 carry 70 their last logical limits
these accursed doctrines.
These things being true, certain conclu-
sfons inevitably follow, namely: first, that
the fears which, for two decades, have chilled
1.-The hcarts of the other nations Of Europe
wero more than justifable; second, that
Germany, rather than being force making
for the advancement OF civilization, Is the
one GREAT menace % civilization (Kultur IS
not ANONYMOUS with civilization, II lacks
the humanitarian element; and, third, that
F If this distorted and misshspen thing, this
monster Of self-conceit, suspicious Jealousy
cruel hate military might and false moral
standards is successful in the present great
struggle. civilization, stunned and shattered,
Iwil find that the clock Of time has been
turned back hundreds Of years That once
again. as in the turbulent days Of the ninth
and tenth centuries. the weak would have no
rights which the strong would be bound to
respect with this difference, that the prin-
ciple would operate as between states in
stead Of as between individuals or maurauding
bands.
Is not the United States concerned in a
matter the issue Of which is pregnant with
such possibilities? The ideals, the ambi-
tions. the moral standards OF the Entente
Allies are the ideals, the ambitions and the
moral standards for which our fathers fought
ard which ever since, m our internal as
well as i'm our external relations, We have
striven 10 maintain and 20 promote There
fore. because the Entente Allies are giving
without stint in blood and treasure for the
preservation Of all that we deem highest
and best, Q is, and long has been, the
supreme moral duty Of the United States,
abandoning the solemn farce OF friendship
with and for a state whose acts and whose
morality are, and for months have been,
those Of the savage, 20 sever all diplomatic
intercourse with her and give to the Entente
Allies the support and comfort that would
inevitably result from such action.
The Practical Considerations
/ II 10 some the advocacy Of such a course
appears % be the i'll considered bsbbling OF
sentimental moralist or the promptings Of
an heterogeneous partisanship, it may be
pointed out that there are considerations
practical enough, and selfish enough, to APP
peal TO the hardest ~ heads.
There have come 70 US from time to time,
even before this war was thrust upon Europe,
hints that, in the funess of time, Germany.
because her interests demanded it, would
-. H.,
phere. that she would put to the test the
Monroe Doctrine. It has even been broadly
circulated that were she successful in the
present war she would endeaaor to hold our
Eastern States for a ransom which would
reimburse her for the frightful expense 70
which she has been put. In reply to such
suggestions it is urged, first, that Germany
has repeatedly assured us that she has ab
solutely no intentions inmical TO our inter-
ests, either by way of aggressions upon our
neighbors to the south, or by hostile move
against ourselves, and second, that even II
she had, in the condition of exhaustion in
which she will find herself after the present
war, even If victorious she would be unable
to carry out any such move. In answer to
the first Of these contentious it is only
necessary again TO call attention to the fact
that Germany repeatedly assured Belgium
territorial neutrality and to repeat that, in
such matters, the word of Germany or Of her
officials is worthless, absolutely worthless.
In answer to the second, it must be borne
in mind that, with Germany victorious, her
feet will, in all probability, be intact and
that she will have an army of at least
million or more troops, trained veterans;
that she will omit no measure that holds out
even a possibility of recouping her financial
losses. and that to this end she might stpu-
late territorial cessions in Canada which
would enable her TO mobilize troops there at
leisure. She might possibly see an oppor-
tunity through Mexico.
We Must Abandon Neutrality
The Entente Allies alone to-day stand
between US and the loss of that civilization
for which we have striven and for which we
stand Their defeat and subsection mean
that sooner or later, probably sooner, we
would have 70 meet Germany single handed,
with what result only fatuous ex-Secretary
OF State and his blind followers can doubt
Their victory means the security Of all that
is dearest 10 them and TO US. Therefore,
because we could not hope successfully to
meet Germany alone, and because our union
with the Entente Allies would absolutely
insure her defeat, practical self-interest,
added TO moral considerations, dictates that,
with a courage born Of conviction, we aban-
den a neutrality already CALLING and strained
to the breaking point and throw the whole
weight of our great influence and unbounded
resources into the scale on the side Of the
Entente Allies.
WILLIAM HOWARD DOUGHTY. Jr.
Assistant Professor in Government, Will
Jams College.
WilliamStoWn Mass Dec O. 1915