Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-10-28
ENGLAND NOT YET READY FOR PEACE
Europe Must Freed from the
Pretext for Espionage-And the British Want
Control of the Sea
By GILBERT VIVIAN sELDEs

LONDON, Oct 13-The fact that Eng
land will not be able to throttle Germany
after the war is one of the most compelling
reasons for continuing the war until that
process will be unnecessary. I am baked
by the fact that the men in England who
say the most important things are the men
whose names must not be given But even
II the following were not said by man
widely known a scholar and historian,
and now making fine name for himself in
another field, it would be worth thinking
about. We were talking about "war after
the war when he said:
TITS all rubbish. There has never been
a peace in Europe which was not n peace
When this peace comes the war win not be
continued. That is why II must mean some
thing when peace does come. Germany will
have to see that England was not trying
to encrcle her with enemies And the rest
of Europe must be free of the menace of
commerce which is only a pretext for in
reference and espionage, and must be free
of the threat OF mllitarism That is all.
As for war after the war, II is a contra
diction In terms. 1t simply won't happen"
He went so far as to believe that there
would not even be n reform OF the present
system of free trade.
How about the man in the street? To be
sure, he couldn't insist with any effect on
peace being made today, but II he wanted II
badly enough he could give the Minister for
War and the Secretary for State and all
the other guns" a very unpleasant quarter
of an hour. The truth is that he doesn't
count beyond ten. The man who counts is
the man at the front, and by a paradox
which isn't so strange as II sounds. the man
who counts is the most unaccountable per-
son in England today. He doesn't talk
about war as whole. He talks about his
little bit. But II there is one thing sure,
1t is that he wants to see It through. II
he has children, or younger brohers, or
friends not in service now. he wants, pas
sionateIy and fiercely, that this thing shall
not come TO them He will be the greatest
force for world peace for a generation to
come.
FOR PEACE THAT WILL LAST
There are others who are not to be for
gotten. What do they think who lost their
nearest loved or their familiar friends.
their closest ties with life, since the war
began? II must be remembered that the
number has grown disproportionately since
July. What they think is certain to be
| sad But II is not necessarily a factor for
peace. In many cases there Is resentment
In many such numbness OF feeling that
there is no thought Of the war at all But
the inspiring thing can be found, for ex-
ample, in the letters written by simple folk
! TO the nurses who have the sOrrowful duty
OF announcing a sons death Simple folk
| who have not been Jingoes, who are not
| Interested in foregn trade, who have never
heard OF the balance OF power They are
| not putting pretentious notices In the
Times They have nothing TO hope for
/ as consolation But they write that they
| can bear their loss because they know that
| II means peace in the end which shall last.
/ IL is not 10 the British empire that they
| give their sons. but 70 the world. In a
| fine way they. too, are thinking OF the ball
ance In the ledger book. They have put
in so much OF priceless store. They
know that they viii never get II back But
they know that when the books are made
up there viii be something priceless on
the other side.
But behind this acaulesoence. which
passes beyond patriotism there is a feeling
/ Of confidence which cannot be overestnat-
ed II Is not trust In Sir Douglas Haig nor
In the fleet. nor In the men on land or on
sea. but trust in the factories which are
ali over England, on which the Ministry
OF Munitions spends sb,oo0,o 600 day. which
are not only keeping pace with the expendi-
ture on the Somme, but are actually laying
by a surplus and sending munitions TO Brit.
/ Il the number which impresses the Briton
Il is the fact that the war has al last
come 10 stage where All bis genius car
be put into H. He knows this job, hal
known II for centuries, In which he built uI
the solid tradition of an Industrial and al
engineering country Not Wellington bu
Stephenson Is winning the war And al
though the people Of Great Britain tan
about the victor Of waterloo they know
who realized that water might be turnes
into steam and steam could pfopei engines
That Is why Ne does uot want 70 give up
/ H3 has Iouo|<0I some bad 4<1[II1G4 4