New-York tribune., 1916-02-26
The Truth at Work.

should be put upon the diplomacy through
which he and Mr.. Lansing have been seek
ing to maintain peace with Germany.
Naturally angered at the waivers of right
which the Democrats in Congress are will
ing to concede in order to avoid friction,
he has served notice that he will not be
party to any open abandonment of honor
and self-respect He does not want the
sort of peace that can be bought only by
national humiliation.
In announcing that he is not for peace,
unless it is based on honor, the President
bluntly dispels the illusion under which
most Of the Democrats in Congress have
been supporting his diplomacy. They have
believed that his policy aimed at preserving
peace, even if it were necessary now and
then to admit a slight discount on honor.
They have lost no opportunity to say that
whatever else the Presidents policy had
failed to accomplish it has at least kept
the country at peace. Those who criticised
the Administrations diplomacy were loud
ly accused of seeking to plunge the nation
into war The tortuousness of the negotia-
ticns with Germany; their failure tc make
good the warning Of the "strict accounta-
bihty" note of February 10, 1915; the
painful lack of correspondence in them
between phrases and action-all these were
interpreted by the Democrats in Congress
as evidences of The Administrations will
ingness to accept peace without haggling
over the price.
The Democratic party in the House, if
not iE the Senate, was in sympathy with
Mr. Bryan when he advanced the idea that
there could be no possible trouble with
Germany over violations of the rules of
warfare at sea if only American citizens
were forbidden to travel on belligerent
merchant ships or on ships carrying NUM-
tions. 1t accepted Mr.. Bryan's assurance
that he and Mr.. Wilson were agreed as to
the necessity of maintaining peace, differ
ing only as to methods. Therefore it has
viewed with growing irritation in the last
lew udNc NudJ IL Noilolutltu al
tion on the Presidents part to allow the
question Of maintaining peace to be COM
phcated by embarrassing considerations of
neutral rights and national honor.
The explosion of Tuesday and Wednes-
day last was bound to come, because the
Democrats in Congress misconceived the
policy which the President was following
II was not a peace-at-any-pric policy
such as Mr.. Bryan would have stuck to
In form and phrase it was aggressive anC
combative, although in spirit it was thor
oughly pacific When the pinch came, how
ever, the President was unwilling to repu
date phrases which most of the Democrats
in Congress were entirely willing to sacri
flee in order to avoid further friction.
The Democratic party in Washington
was held together by the fiction that the
mastery diplomacy Of the Administration
had kept the country out of war and coulC
be depended upon to keep the country out
of war indefinitely, no matter what might
happen. Mr.. Wilson's letter to Senator
Stone has shattered that fiction. The
Democratic leaders in the House are in
\ censed at the President for telling the
country the truth-for compelling them tC
seek hyphenated support at the polls by
openly advocating a surrender of Amer
can rights in Germany's interest Mr.. vii
sons refusal to participate in that base
ness leaves the Democrats in Congress:
stripped of all pretence of patriotic feel
ling and service-condemned by their OWL
President as men who are ready TO yielc
what 'the United States cannot yield with
out conceding her own impotency as &
nation and making a virtual surrender Of
her independent position among the ma
tons of the world"
There is much biting and wholesom,
truth in Mr.. Wilson's letter to Senator
Stone. There is also some truth that cut:
the other way in Senator Stones letter
TO the President. If the Democratic party
is torn to pieces over Mr.. Wilson's foreign
policy, the fault is not all on one side
Mr.. Stone reports that Democratic Con
gressmen are suspicious that the Presden
is getting up a scare over relations witt
Germany merely in order TO promote hi:
military preparedness legislation. Ever
Democratic leaders feel that the Admins
tration has yielded in large measure tC
the exigencies of domestic politics in for
mulating its foreign policy. They are nc
longer constrained by loyalty from com
planning that in the present stage of the
controversy with Germany the President
still puts the necessity of obtaining paper
diplomatic victory" or the success Of his
preparedness programme before every
other object.
Mr.. Stone also refers to :he remark
able circular issued by Secretary Lansing
.o tho AllifN no,vers in which this intima-