New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-18
The Atlantic
World

TINE safety of the Atlantic highways is
something for which America should
fight. Why? Because on the two shores
of the Atlantic Ocean there has grown up
profound web of interest which joins together
the Western world. Britain, France, Italy,
even Spain, Belgium, Holland. the Scandina-
Wan nations and Pan-America, are in the main
one community in their deepest needs and their
deepest purposes. They have a common inter-
est in the ocean which unites them. They are
to-day more inextricably bound together than
most even as yet realize. But if that commu-
nifty we're destroyed we should know what we
had lost. We should understand then the
meaning of the unfortifed Canadian frontier,
Of the common protection given Latin-America
by the British and American fleets.
Il is the crime of Germany that she is try
ing TO make hdeous the highways by which the
Atlantic powers live That is what has raised
US against her in this war. Had she stood on
the defensive against France and Britain, had
she limited the war to the Balkans and the
Eastern front where it originated, and clearly
thrown in her lot with the Western nations,
she would have had their neutrality and prob
ably their sympathy. But when she carried
the war to the Atlantic by violating Belgium,
by invading France, by striking against Brit
ain. and by attempting to disrupt as, neutrality
of spirit or action was out of the question And
now that she is seeking to cut the vital high
ways of our world we can no longer stand by.
We cannot betray the Atlantic community by
submitting. II not civilization, at least our
civilization is at stake.
A victory on the high seas would be tri-
unph of that class which aims 10 make Ger
many the leader of the East against the West
the leader ultimately Of a German-Russian-
japanese coalition against the Atlantic world.
It would be utter folly not TO fight new TO make
its hopes failure by showing that in the face
of such threat the Western community is a
unit.
It would be great mistake to suppose, how
ever, that we are dealing with snge-minded
Germany. We wage war on Germany as long
as she commits her destiny to those who would
sparate her from the Western world. By rights
Germany should be powerful and loyal mem
Der of the Atlantic world, and she will be if
this war is effectively fought and wisely ended.
Our aim must be not to conquer Germany as
Rome conquered Carthage, but 70 win Germany
as Lincoln strove to win the South, to win her
for union with our civilization by the discredit-
ing of those classes who alone are our enemies.
1t is no paradox and no sentimentslity to say
that we must fight Germany not to destroy her
but to force her and lure her back 20 the civil
ization in which she belongs. She is rebel
nation as long as she wages offensive war
against the Western world.
We do not believe that the bulk of the Ger
man people or even the better part OF her
civilian leaders honestly hope to overthrow US.
They are gambling we believe, on the prospect
Of an early peace. But, if by any chance the
submarine should succeed, the party Of Won
Tirpitz would be invincible. We cannot there
fore take any chances Of allowing the campaign
70 succeed. 1t must be made 20 fail in two
ways by demonstrating that the sea can be
kept open, and by enlisting our strength on the
SIDE of the Allies. That would be a German
failure, indeed, because it would be clear then
that the assault on the West had merely
doubled the power Of the West.
These. we believe, are the main causes why