New-York tribune., 1917-10-14
The Shadow of a New World


On a clear day. as the sun sinks in the
west. a spreading shadow slowly climbs
the eastern sky-the shadow of the globe
itself. So. as the flames of war begin to
burn themselves out there is rising upon
the horizon Of the future, mystical and
vast. the shadow Of new world.
In the beginning no one anywhere
erasped the meaning Of the war, and few
even realized what it was about. The Ger
mans raucously repeated their alliterative
formula Of world domination or down
fall" but without conceiving the gigantic
reactions it compelled. The Allies as then
constituted. struggled confusedly for a
status Quo onte-to force the Hunnlsh
food back within its former confines. As
the conflict grew one hypothesis after an
other was proposed and rejected-"the
capitalists war" the trade war the
race war" "the war Of penalty for Euro
pean politics" Gradually the cleavage be-
tween kings and people was perceived.
Finally. even before the Russian revou-
ton. the issue between slavery and free
dom Lincoln's issue. and the one cause,
with a single lamentable exception, for
which America has marched to battle, be-
came unmistakably clear.
With that stern and majestic vista wide
before us. it is a little disturbing to hear
the pacifsts still chanting Justify as ever
that all war is insane. We may discount
the German harmonics in this chorus but
when we distinguish such voices as those
of Roman ROLAND and Maxim Gorky it is
necessary. in order that we may justify
ourselves 10 posterity and know that our
new world is not to be builded on
lunatic's dream, to inquire if, or even how
far, they are right. $500
To get at the root Of the matter let us
conceive an analogy. a man happens to
be locked in room with murderous
madman. Just as mankind is locked in the
world with German militarism, which,
after all, is the perfect poison flower OF
Germanism. The maniac attacks. The
others frs. impulse is defensive-to hold
the aggressor. But in the ferocity Of the
assault he discovers at once that he must
sUbdue that mailman or die.
In the atavism Of the struggle that fol-
lows, the mere physical crash Of bone on
bone and clutch Of flesh on flesh, there
NAV seem little to choose between the two.
In that immediate sense war doubtless IS
the dethronement Of reason--we are max
ing that admission in the effort to de-
strov militarism, which is the father of
wars. But to ignore the fact that the man
defending his life with the full fury of his
body will, if he survives return to reason,
while the mailman never Will, and to put
them on parity of dementia is clearly an
intellectual crime. And to scream peace
at the defender in the midst of his fight
is worse than an irresponsible insanity-it
is sheer nihilism.
You cannot spread an analogy across
the field Of German atrocities or the shud-
dering future of a German triumph, with
the bloody pulp Of civilization a spawning
ground for the morals Of the tiger and the
shark. But YOU can sense something Of
the future Of our own world in the first
flush of new values that overwhelms the
lust man who has faced death and won.
He can no longer take life for granted, or
the pretences and falsities which he had
regarded as inseparably a part Of it. 1t
seems a virgin gift, 10 be appraised and
made use Of to q better end.
So it will be with the world. Liberty
has been reborn on this earth. The cry Of
tod Gro c,rrh a
myriad of throats and in such wracking
gasps Of choked conviction that its golden
syllables will not again he blOtted into
musty state papers and forgotten. Those
who have fought to free the world will
not tolerate any more those old Stacking
hvpocrisies, acceptances and inequalities
in which we had comfortably wrapped
ourselves against the cold wind of truth.
The keen air is blowing everywhere now.
There has been a thunderous emphasis on
cid verities. and the common man knows
that the old truths are freshly true.
The Russian revolution may sprawl and
rend itself-even those who love liberty
best sicken at It's grotesque spasms. But
do not let us make any mistake. It Is IN
calculably the greatest portent ana thus
far the most concrete result Of the war.
And men of many nations, having been
forced TO consider the state in which the
Germans would have them live, are eX-
amining the state in which they do live.
Seeds of revolt are terminating IN Eng
land. in France and here. Only IN Junker-
land, the lost and damned, does all seem
,tagnant. Evil and msdirected resent
rents, bitter determinations to seize with