The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-03-01
Pv NORMAN HAPGOoD.


LONDON, Feb. 26-It is estimated
that it will take Is months merely to
get the British army back from France
to England when the war is over TRAIT
little detail may give an idea of the
task that follows the end of hosiilities.
When the few big points are agreed
upon the full working cut Of the set
Element may well take as much time as
has been occupied by the war itself.
The men who meet at The Hague or
Berne or wherever it may be will face
a puzzle more complex than confronted
those who planned a new Europe after
the overthrow of Napoleon.
Our own country ought to be prepsr-
ing itself as rapidly as it may for its
part, official or unofficial, in working
out the many sided problem. One of
the best known statesmen in the King
dom, whose name is honored through
out the United States said TO me yes
terday that the one part of the whole
lIldl HC NOulO INT W nave lCL u
absolutely to the United States, was
the most difficult OF all, nam, ly the
Balkans, Constantinople, and the ad-
joining part of Asia Minor.
Although Great Britain is a world
state and its inhabitants are accuslo ON
ed to thinking of remote parts of the
globe, as Americans seldom do, never.
theless even the British are just be-
ginning to realize the extent of the
complications that have grown out of
this struggle.
A distinguished expert of the Near
East said the other day that when ne
finds an American who realizes that
Bohemia is not the same place as Bull
garia he feels that he has found some
one with whom it is possible to con-
verse. Another special expert in East
ern matters was explaining his views
of the complications to me the other
day, and at the end l said: 'In such an
immense upheaval | imagine American
opinion is of relatively minor import
ance."
''On the contrary" he replied, lit
is all important. He expressed him
self strongly, no doubt, but also he ex-
pressed point of view that gains
strength daily. Obviously if our in
fuence is to be so great in the future,
our obligation to understand and to
prepare is correspondingly great.
The attempt to make the settlement
along the lines of nationality is, of
course, natural and right, but Its limits
need to be clearly understood. The
nationality principle is a useful one
when nationalities are as distinct as
they are in Western Europe. If you
divided Europe in three strips the word
Nationality will have different mean
ing for each of the strips. The West
ern strip contains countries, which,
whatever their origin, have become SO
thoroughly settled and accustomed to
the existing situation that the sense of
nationality with them means devotion
to the existing political unit. The CEN
trail strip, however, is made up of
about two dozen separate nationalities
many of which do not feel at home in
the larger political units of which they
have been made part.
Unfortunately the outlines of these
subordinate nationalties are not distinct
and their composition is not uniform,
80 that if you take part of an existing
empire away and make separate
state of it on the principle of giving in
dependence to the prevailing racial
elements, you find your new state also
with strong and disconnected minor
ity.
In the third strip, Russia, nationality
has still another meaning. There you
have gradually increasing sense of
national feeling among the elements
making up the immense, in choate and
widely scattered nation. So that, if we
except the Firms, the Poles and the
Jews there is an increasing national
feeling all over Russia in the sense in
which American national feeling has
grown until the separate states and
sections of the country have been SUBJ
ordinated to the union one and insep-
arabic.
1t is in Austria that the attempt to
make settlement on lines of nation
atty alone offers the greatest diff
Guilty. I.have heard it said that the
answer of the allies to President Will
son was written blsthe French and sub
~ ;A4ad tor