New-York tribune., 1917-07-18

democracy or decency. Nothing that we
love or hold to in this world is safe If the
German idea stands unrepealed. You can't
live at peace with man who believes ne
has an inherent right to murder you, dis
honor YOUR wife and cripple your children
whenever he can serve his own interests
bv such a course and has the power to do
these things.
The German has asserted the right to
murder, to main, to abuse, to destroy, 70
attack the weak and the unarmed, the IN
nocent and the helpless, to destroy the
beautiful and deile the sacred, whenever
his interests seem to be served thereby
He has applied this doctrine to his neigh
bors for three years. He is still applying
it. He has built up whole BODY OF
doctrine founded on the essential detail
that physical force makes moral right and
that the strong man is entitled TO use his
strength to serve his own ambitions, appe-
tites, material interests.
AS a result the whole world has gone to
war with the German. 1t has not con-
quered him, but he has not conquered it.,
nor Is there left any real belief In his
mind that he can now and at this time
conquer the world. But can the world
afford to leave the issue at this point?
The Tribune believes not. We must have
a settlement, we must have decision.
We must have it on the battlefield II 1t
cannot be had elsewhere. And it can only
be had elsewhere if the German people lay
aside this idea and in advance Of military
decision consent to make that reparation
which must be made.
Abraham Lincoln in 1864 perceived with
utmost clarity that there must be a deci-
sion in the dispute between the North and
the South, because Of the two ideas only
one could possibly prevail. One may not
compare the Civil War with the present
war, because both sides remained loyal to
their common ideal Of humanity and of
civilization, but it is still plain that two
ideas were in conflict and there had to be
decision, that there might be peace
thereafter for those who were to come.
We must have decision in the present
war, a clear, unmistakable and immutable
decision. Our civilization will have to be
vindicated or abolished The German idea
and the idea of the rest of mankind can
not live side by side, because the German
idea is at bottom founded upon the ar
rogated right to destroy all else in the
world when it peases and as it pleases.
The man who lives in the vicinity of
tiger may have no animosity in his heart
toward the tiger, but he will, nevertheless,
have no choice of procedure, and the Ger
mans have left us no choice.
When one speaks of a peace founded
upon the doctrine Of no annexation and no
indemnity, we can all subscribe to it If it
means no application to Germany Of Ger
man methods, no seizure of German prov
inces, no effort to do in the Palatinate
what Germany did in the case of Alsace-
Lorraine, no attempt to carry off the visi-
BILE wealth Of the country by a punitive
indemnity, by an indemnity collected as
war booty, as sheer plunder, as Germany
exacted an indemnity in 1871. But who
can subscribe to it If 1t means that Ger
many shall not make reparation for what
Germans have done in Belgium, Serbia
and France, so far as reparation can be
made? Who can subscribe to it if it means
the perpetuation Of the German wrong of
1871, the wrong that survives in Italia
Irredenta?
III the German people think as we think
now, they will themselves recognize what
must be done in the case Of Belgium, as
the Russian democracy recognized that
the imperialstic ambitions Of the Roma
noffs must be laid aside and the policy of
enslaving other peoples abandoned. But if
the German people do not recognize this,
we have no choice but to fight until they
do, until the power to apply this doctrine
is taken from them, or until We can fight
TO more and must ourselves surrender to
the German idea. We are nearer to VIC
tory than ever in this war, but because we
are nearer we must keep on: we have no
choice, for if we hesitate now all these three
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