New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-19
A JAPANESE VIEW OF PEACE
All the Beleerens Helpless Together Prussianim 10 DC
Crushed and All the Allies Ambitions Satisfied

ism is completely broken up, no permanent
neace can be hoped for unless the civiliza-
ton of all the powers is brought to muen
higher level. Waged under any circum-
stances, war is the destroyer Of peace, and IL
is gross miscalculation to expect perma-
nent peace to spring from war. b.
"Iet us assume, then, that the Allies object
in the present war is the invasion or conquer
ing of Germany This object is no more easy
for them to accomplish than the other. II Is
even an illusion impossible to realize Su-
periority of troops is essential to the con-
quest of any state, and yet past as well as
present facts show that the arms OF the Al
lies are by no means superior TO those OF the
enemy, though they may not be INFERIOR 20
them. If their military strength Is evenly
matched, how can conquest be erected! oo
far from hoping for the invasion OF Germany
the existing conditions make one rear
whether the Allies will be ever successful IN
recovering their lost territory from the en-
emy's hands.
"Apain. conceding that the Allies can COM
pletely conquer Germany in ten or twenty
years time. il is open to grave doubt II what
they gain can more than compensate them for
what they lose Napoleon followed up his
victory at Jena and succeeded in driving back
the Prussians west of the Rhine, to say notn-
ing of having wrested away half Of the Prus'
sian territory. But Napoleon exhausted the
nations strength by these long years Of war
fare and courted gradual ruin. In the mean
time Prussia again crossed the Rhine and re-
covered her lost territory. Not only ala
France gain nothing, but she was always be-
hind Prussia in recovering from the effects
of the war, which resulted in her miserable
defeat in the Franco -Prussian War. The Al
lies must learn lesson from those in the
Franco -Prussan War. The Allies must learn
lesson from these historical facts.
"As meaningless as the conquest Of Ger.
man territory by the Allies is the so-cailed
common object Of the Entente Powers, for
the aims they wish for vary. France has
some other territorial ambitions in addition
to the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine; Britain
wants to take possession Of the German col
onies in Africa; Russia has an eye to the pos
session of Constantinople, together with the
Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and Italy,
Serbia and Rumania each have their re-
spective territorial desires. 1t is impossible
to satisfy all these different ambitions, We,
the war must be continued in case any one OF
the Allies cannot have her desires satished'
for the Allies are in duty bound to carry on.
II would, however, be the height Of folly for
the Allies TO go on making unlimited sacri-
fees until they were reduced to the most de-
plorable conditions because they were under
a mutual obligation to do so. 1t might be
proper for the Allies to put forth such claims
and have them accepted by the enemy as the
result of victories in the war, but it is not
right to regard the realization of these de.
mands as the object of the war. But should
the Entente Powers make this their common
object in the war, it must be expected that
the struggle will continue until all of the
belligerents fall helpless together"