The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-12-11

When the matter is artfully put up- on the stage the instigators of war can hope after this novel and original fa- shion to fan anew the righteous wrath" of the starving, war-weary German people against the enemy, to exhibit it's inevitable fate of being bled white.
 The neutral press has naturally seen through the object of the whole pro- ject. The Berner Tagwacht of Dec. 1S very correctly writes:
 ."The move was at the same time a necessity arising out of internal poli- tics for the continuance of the war on the side of the Central Powers. Their people are weary of war, every one is crying for peace. Then what better means could be found for the reawakening of the war spirit than for the governments to set before their people their readiness to announce peace negotiations with the firm con- viction that it could not come to pass at the present time. Then the general understanding of the matter will be that the blame for the continuance of the war rests exclusively upon their opponents and not in the fact of the war and its conduct so far, and then will come to pass what the Central Powers, as every other party filled with lust of war, has need of, and what the Imperial Chancellor, won Bethmann Hollweg, as sly as ever, gave out as the purpose:
 Then will every German heart to the very last cottage flame out anew in righteous wrath against the enemy who will exercise no restraint in the slaughter of men if only he may carry out his plans of annihilation and rob- bery.'
 That is what is needed. This right eous wrath, which is always dying out when the humbug of the alleged pois- oning of open springs with cholera germs and of the French atrmen over Nuremberg becomes known, must spring into new life. They must have ir if they seek to prosecute the third Winter campaign with the former freshness and activity. The session ot the Reichstag staged with it's lavish extravaganza of sensational advertis- l ing, the issuance of notes, the speech of the Imperial Chancellor, all this i. a device of internal politics which neither has the object of bringing peace to pass nor can have the result of setting peace negotiation on foot Regarded as internal politics, it is z
 skillful move at chess, from the stand
 point of peace maneuver-that fl the significance of moment il
 world history"
 It is impossible to present mor'
 clearly and more appreciatively thai
 in the foregoing words the object O
 the whole farce.
 Thus this means of arriving at ,
 peace is-assuming that the proposa was meant to be in earnest-a tria
 with useless means.
 For 1t does not depend upon tn
 fact that a country is in principle de
 sirous of peace all fighting men wisl lpeace), but upon the conditions unde
 which they will conclude peace.
 The peace which the Allies wisl
 has often enough been explained b l their leading statesmen. It is exactl the peace of the dreams of the Ger man people, that German people
 bleeding. starving, not in the leas Icommitted to murder and annexation It is peace wherein questions of territorial nature sink into relative in significance. A peace secured by in \ tternational stipulations and courts c arbitration, guaranteed by limitation
 of armament, a peace which grant
 air and life to every people a peac
 which puts an end to the madness c
 the race to be the most highly armed la peace which reconciles discordan peoples and brings the thoughts of hu manity to victorious accomplish
 ment, peace which aboltshes tn concept of hegemony and the pre-em Einence of a single people and lifts tn !. great principles of freedom of IFS 'I out of the sphere of state rights u
 into the sphere of the rights of tn l people. That is the peace which mus : proceed out of the great grapple of tn 7 nations.
 , Can such peace be with the goy ernment which rules Germany today Never.
 The people, the great mass of tn lliberty-loving proletariat, would shot 7 for joy over such peace if 1t weI allowed to recognize as the end of th iwar anything but annexation. Bl just as little as it could prevent th crime of the declaration of war by i l government even 50 little could it a. f complish it's wish for peace.
 The German people, which now t wholly delivered over 50 the Praeto . lau Guard of it's agrarians and it's b = business, enjoys the right to hunge t to starve, to let its sons be butchere e but the right to express it's will
 taken away from it. Interned in pri n on, in dungeons, in desert country vi : lages, languish the few who essaye e to be it's spokesmen, Liebkneoht, Mel y ring, Rosa Luxemburg, waiting f. y their day. What advantage is it tn n the hunger belt must day by day, @ clinched tighter and tighter? The pc h pie, soldierized and gagged, will ha' l, to suffer more and yet much mo = and will not thereby acquire al y right to voice when it's fate is ul .,s der discussion.
 5, Let us assume--and we know tn h lat present it is quite impossible-l
 t~% ax,fe sa% n