Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-28

the struggles of Louis "; the CO
and Napoleonic conflicts. are the
today. when the talk of peace is
At the outset it must be recognized
in what respect the present conflict
differs from or resembles the past. We
neither have. nor is there any promise
that we are to have. such a decisive
end to the present struggle as Water
loo brought to the Napoleonic wars.
There is no victory in the military
sense: there is gigantic deadlock and
a failure on either side to impose It's
will by success on the battlefield
Were there to be new congress OF
Vienna today Germany and her allies
would speak with quite as much
weight as would the members of the
alliance that is fighting them.
On the other hand, we do have some
thing that recalls the situation oe1ore
Utrecht. No nation is now exhausted,
as were all the nations that particl-
pated in the war of the Spanish success
sion. No nation is now reaching the
point where it must make peace be-
cause OF economic exhaustion. because
of internal misery. The sunering Is Is
was true 200 years ago, that the pront
for any participation in the war Is
not comparable with the cost, ana there
is no promise of decisive victory Tor
any nation in sight.
Peace of Westphalia Recalled.
To go back to the peace of West
phalia, that sealed the fate OF GER
many for nearly two centuries. 1t
gave France a hold upon the Rhlne
and Sweden a base upon the southern
shore of the Baltic; it destroyed the
fabric of German unity. IT opened tne
way for all the Louis XIV ana Napo-
leonic struggles that were TO come.
But the actual territorial changes were
not great. and the real issue OF the
strueele-religious liberty in Germany
was settled by compromise, ana oy
compromise that endured.
Now. il Europe is to change from tne
battlefield to the green table to settle
its present war it is plain that the
question of the terms must be settieo
at the very least between equals. mere
is no victor. 1t is plain, II peace is 70
he made which will endure, that the
evils that flowed from the peace OF
Westphalia must be avoided. TheTe
must be, not a truce, but maj nqui-
dation of all or most of the points IN
dispute between the nations involved
settlement such as that at Vienna or
in the Westphalia document can De eA-
pected.
Isues Confronting Europe.
What. then. are these questions that
must come before the next congress OF
Europe, if there is to be "a congress?
They are not difficult to indicate. They
are. speaking roughly, as follows:
l. Alsace-Lorraine.
. Trieste and the Trentino.
;. Poland.
A. The eastern question.
S. Colonial disputes.
1t will be seen that from this list is
excluded the question of Belgium, of
Luxembourg, Of the evacuation or
France. of indemnities. Germany has
indicated in her advances which are
not official. that she is prepared TO
waive these questions. Peace. unless
all the western conquests of Germany
are abandoned, is inconceivable. The
allies still insist that there shall be
payment of an indemnity to Belgium,
but 1T may be doubted whether even
Belgium would choose that the war,
with It's misery and suffering. SO far
as it affects King Alberts people,
should be prolonged in the hope of
cash payment hereafter.
Let US then take up in their order
these several questions. which are the
material obstacles to peace OF the
imponderables there are several which
will play a real part in preventing the
coming of peace for the present. I be-
field of discussion.
Alsace-Lorraine.
AS it stands at the moment there is
not the smallest reason to believe that
tn
peace on any basis that did not re-
store to them their lost provinces" l
say this with the views of all sorts of
Frenchmen. with whom l have recently
talked, clearly in mind These prov
inces represent to France a symbol of
integrity and national independence
The time may come in the future when
the French spirit will weaken. but that
time Is not in sight
On the other hand. it is unbelievable
that Germany would give up Alsace un-
less she was conquered as was France
in 1870. Alsace is quite as fixed in the
German mind in the French. On the
other hand, 1t is different in the matter
of Lorraine. and particularly of that
part of Lorraine in which the speech is
French, the district about Metz.
II the Germans desire peace and
could obtain it by ceding Metz. Ger
mans in this country have already sug
gested that this might be possible, pro-
vided the cession were in return for the
similar cession by France of French
colonial domain in Africa.
Such a settlement could be made only
IL there were a mutual remuneration of
further dreams of restoration" of ma
tional soil. Unless such settlement
were made and were loyalty accepted
by both sides the question would re-
main open. 1t is this question which
has weighed upon French and German
national and international life for near
ly half century. and unless it Is set
tied now it would be the basis for a
similar danger far in the future as
1t Is possible to see.
Trieste and the Trentino.
Italian desire to possess the Italian
speaking districts now under Austrian
control Is quite rs strong as the French
desire to regain AlsaSe- Lorraine. Before
the present war Austria, at Germany's
bidding. offered Italy the Trentino almost
but not quite in accordance with Italian
desires; the town of Botzen was the
only real exception. Conceivably, Aus
tria would now renew the offer
In the case of Trieste, however. there
is not the smallest chance that Austria
would part with it. unless it were
taken by arms. 1t is the natural port
of Austria: 1t Is the chief and only
real window Of the Austrian half of
the empire upon the sea. Its popula-
ton is mainly Italian. but the hinter-
land, which Italy also demands, is
utterly Slav. The same situation is