New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1917-06-02
A WARRIOR NOW CRIES FOR
DIPLOMACY.

lie new fepuDllc IS one OF the
Iablest, most candid, and Least
stupid weekly publication Of Ma
tional circulation in America.
1t was a leading and uncom
promising advocate of participa
ton by the United States in he
European war, 1t frankly ack-
BnoWledeed that our neutrality
toward the Central Powers was
unfriendly and toward the En-
tente Allies was friendly. While
swarm Of dissemblers were
weaving transparent fictions of
"neutralitv" around their war
aims, The New Republic candid
ly advocated combination with
the Allies because it believed this
would further our interests.
The New Republic anticipated
the Presidents lead. 1t came
strong for the war and strong for
the programme which the govern
meHt has followed.
And now that we are in the war,
and moving full speed ahead, this
Journal comes out for diplomacy
as the weapon We should use for
the settlement of the war.
We think that The New Repub-
lie was too intelligent from the
start to heed the unfounded
yarns wholesaled to the American
people about the time the admin
istratlon was getting ready to go
to war. Its editors seem too we'll
informed generally to believe
those stories of strikes and hold
ups in Germany. These stories
ran concurrentlv with other stor-
les Of the relation Of the Allies
over the Russian revolution. They |
served to create a popular impress
sion that the declaration Of war
against a lettering power was a
title matter They were good
'nough as "press agent dope"
nut the great intelligent interests
which guided our country into
he war could not, in our judg-
nent. have believed them.
Now, with the nation embarked |
II a war to save civilization, to
estroy the power Of the German
uling class, we find the New
,epublic turning squarely about '
rging that the price of all this {
ill be too great to pay in men S
nd money. 1t urges that the
overnment get us out by diplom-
cy.
It says that if Russia "bolts" \
le war we would need to raise q
,ur billion dollars a year by tax +
lion. must expect to have several
illions Of men killed and wound +
|, must count on an ultimate ma o
onal debt for forty billions of \
ollars. It urges that if we real h
plan to do what it was an q
we were going to do, v
e should conscript all able bod n
d men between twenty and for h
?, and should put four millions f
men into the training camps. q
So remarkable is this expression e
lat we reproduce it in large else
mere. Here was a frank expon-
1t of war, one Of it's most intel
gent and candid opponents, now !,
lvocating an about face from :,
lie consequences of it's own adj -
ce, before an American soldier \
IS reached the firing lines in Eu-
'pe. :.
This expression may be typical n
many which we shall hear from "
lose who shouted so Justify for n
ar before war was undertaken. :,
ne prediction of The New Re- q
lblic will not, in our judgment, d
me true. There will be no rev. 4
ution in America. :
Four millions of lives, forty ,
lions of dollars will mean no
ch sacrifice to the American
,ople in 1920 as that made by
e people of the Southern st, tes
1860 to 1865. The German
,vernment is directing the fight
@ forces of 170,000,000 Of peo- \
e.
If it concludes a separate peace
it'll Russia, and subsequently
rms an alliance with Russia.
ere would undoubtedly he de
y and difficulty in the ulti,hate
inquest of Germany by the Uni f