Evening journal., 1916-05-23
WHY Germany Cries for Peace

loo or France at Sedan. Any such
Interpretation OF the Germany offers
OF peace is moonshine. Germany can
go on, II she has TO. But there Is no
longer any prospect Of winning any
thing commensurate with the effort
and there is very real danger that de-
feat or exhaustion In the future may
destroy the credit of the army and OF
those leaders who would make Ger
many greater with the mass Of the
people Germany is willing TO pay. in
sacrifice Of a portion OF what she has
seized, for the chance to keep her fu-
ture intact and prepare for "The
Day. which has been postponed but
not foregone.
This is why peace proposals fall
upon deaf ears in Allied capitals. This
is why those who are most eager to
see real peace are most suspicious Of
any peace made now al the request Of
the nation which on every front
stands on foreign soil and so far is
able TO bring forward fresh troops
without evident difficulty whenever
new effort is 10 be made. The mood OF
the Allies now was the mood Of
Europe in 1914 in 1915. OF the North
in 1864 This mood entirely escapes
our naive mediatOrs. who think moth
ing OF Importance except to terminate
the slaughter OF today and are care
less whether such termination would
be an end or a postponement.
Germany has lost the present war.
D Nsn Oh III HNHaa
housetops. She is ready for peace on
terms that give her next to nothing
for her great sacrifices But why?
Because she desires to preserve the
possibility OF resumption of her at
tack subsequently. when her diplom-
/ acy shall have separated the nations
which. united, have baked her. She
desires to preserve the glory Of her
army and TO he able to enlist her
people by asserting that what was al
most accomplished in 1914 can be ac-
complished in 1924.
The men who are fighting the Ger
mans are just as anxious to get them
selves out Of the trenches as men can
Nc, but they are a little more anxious
% keep their own boys out OF t.ese
trenches few years hence Therefore
they are willing to go on. Germany
has lost a war. but her enemies have
only in part won a war; they have
blocked. not convinced. Germany.
They are fighting now to establish the
fact that a German attack upon Euro
pean civilization can never succeed,
and that the cost of IL is beyond all
conceivable profit This. and not
peace terms. is important; this. not
peace terms. is the thing that pro-
longs the war and will prolong II un-
I'll the Allied purpose is realized or
Allied strength fails
II is Of the utmost Importance that
Americans should not permit them
selves to be taken in by the present
German campaign for peace or nv
their own horror OF slaughter. II We
are to have a durable peace after all
this struggle and sacrifice. IL can only
come when Germany renounces her
determination to upset the balance Of
the world. She has not renounced
, Peace now means new war at nc
[ distant date. because the Germans
still believe. and they have every rea.
: son TO believe. that what they have al.
J most accomplished this time, they will
, accomplish next time
. This spells a continuation OF arma-
7 ments, a prOlongation OF that situa-
tion OF ornaments a prolongation OF
b that situation which before the war
! had become only an armed truce. II
/ means that the Eastern Question will
! be embalmed in the treaty OF peace
b and the problem OF Alsace-Lorraine
. Iperpetuated. II means that we shall
have Europe still divided into alli-
ances. II means all this because the
b real issue Of the war has not been set
J tied. II has been proven that Ger
many cannot destroy European civil
r ization and the settlements of Euro
b pean congresses on the battlefield this
time. But no German has the small
I est reason for doubling that he can do
. it in the future. if his diplomacy makes
! the work of his army one whit less
, impossible.
, II Napoleon had made peace before
: Leipsiz, It is probable that the Napol-
comic peril TO Europe would have en-
b dured for another decade. His am
! bition and his self-confdence blinded
J his judgment. The Germans are seek
ing to profit by his mistakes. II was
! only at Chaumont that the Allies at
J last grasped the real Napoleonic prob
lem and determined TO abolish il. The
) peace Of the world depends upon the
] final destruction Of the German idea OF
world power built on the ruins OF
other nations. Germany seeks peace
5 now to preserve the idea: she recoils,
to leap forward later. The day will
, come when there will be no one in
t Germany who holds this idea. because
4 the exhaustion OF war will carry the
o message, even II no hostile soldier
| crosses the German frontier It is
for this time that those who really
e would serve the cause of peace mus
= wait.