South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-01-28

- ltE chlef danger or the world to-day Is
that Germany. which cannot now have
a military victory should yet have a
diplomatic success. The great physical assault
has failed. Europe has not been conquered
by Germany and Austria; and is certainly not
going to be conquered by Bulgaria and Turkey.
But these later complications do tend to make
possible something else. which is not peril OF
war. but a peril of peace; and it is just pos
sible that such calamity may still come about
BY the combined pressure of the three forces
which, whether or not they work from the
same motive. certainly produce the same
sult-the Pacifsts. the Pessimists and the
Prussians
u is a good rule OF philosophy when regard
ing an end to refer to the beginning. That
dangerous iTrelevance in the mind whereby
things seem more real which only more
recent may to-day make men more bitter
against Bulgaria than against Prussia, and to-
morrow more bitter against Greece than against
either But the perspective of time is no more
actual than that Of space. And this attitude
IS every atom as impractical it would be for
& soldier sighting his rife over a molehill to
think il was larger than the mountain dotted
with the forts of his foes.
What We have to treat with at the end OF
the war is what we had to fight with at the
beginning of the war. And the very first thing
to do is to be quite certain that We realize
what the war is about II is a question that
can very easily be answered wrongly, or even
stated wrongly.
The Germans. for instance are now hard at
work manufacturing a legend that Germany
fought with her back to the wall against the
whole world and that therefore even her par
TALLY successful resistance must be regarded
as n moral victory. In mere history this OF
course. is quite farcically false The two
gigantic Central Empires took the field when
they had. and because they had an enormous
SupeTiOTity not only in munitions, but in men,
over any forces that could be brought against
them from anywhere during the most probable
period OF the campaign.
Upon the Meuse. upon the Marine, and again
upon the Aisne, they were quite double their
enemy. So far from it being the fact that
Frenchman and an Englishman combined to
attack a German, IL was in cold arithmetic the
fact that two Germans attacked one English
man and four Germans attacked two french
mon ANY one maintaining that Germany fought
the world is committed TO the remarkable
theory that in the late Summer OF 1914 Ger
many was twice big as the world. This.
however was not the case.
What went u with France and Russia
vas sufficiently large part Of Europe to he
fr he greater part OF the war the larger and
stronger Power OF the two. But what was this
section of Europe? How shall We define II.
and how explain its unity Of acton? This
e a really interesting question. In answering
r. We must also dismiss those priggish gener-
slizations about race which are themselves
the dregs Of the dingy Prussian culture. They
we're made by professors who lay down the law
sbout prehistoric man because they know no
history.
This is not a war OF Teutonism against the
s1avs unless the French are Slavs; nor a war
~ Teutonism against the Latins, unless the
Russians are French; nor war OF Teutonism
81 am unless the Turks are Teutons. The
prussians themselves have never taken any
yotice of these racial distinctions in practice;
svcant that they were always ready 10 grab
one kingdom because il was Teutonic GGd
another because Il wasn't The thing We have
10 fght is thing much better known 10