Evening star., 1917-12-30
INDEPENDENCE OF EASTERN EUROPE
GRAVEST DANGER OF A COMPROMISE
PEACE, BELIEVES FRANK H. SIMONDS

dom and, no longer meuaced bv the
HuSah ~ Danger. may easily srayHate
friendship with France
Remains Greatest Problem.
AND SO. after all. the Serbian. tina p.,.
kan problem remains the sreatest ,tn,,.
problem for which no s-,,l.u.n, ~.
oeen ioreshadowed by the history IN yh~
put even this problem has been
o. asinpnned The allied dream of creating
Sit. Juso-siavic state from Ffume 10
recent events. The fact that x,-srsH
seems destined to survive. and to snrvtve
Win = measure OF military strenrfh -
nrehs rre shd h1 OF the war. makes It highly i'm
taSs 1rcn, ina. @ tne allies viii be aba to
rom ner Croatia or Dalmatfa. inst
~ - tnear ability to take TransyIvsnis Ana
Ine bukovina Is open to rraye dn,,h,
Sonceivaoly. Bosnia and Herxesovtns
az. ye. oe Won for Serbia. and n they
are q real Serb state will be crests6
put as things stand today this ts an -
treme hope ' 70 an ex-
To restore the status o,,o amt. IN g.
Saikans would be for the allies To vsr
60, var. IN terms. because II was to de-
9s .his situation that Austria invited
ana Germany risked a world vsr NJ,
70 erect Serbian state. with aecs.. -
ehe sea and thus. to her friends fhs
ma safielme powers. would be to leave omen
Atfa-
tria. the Balkans and in Asia,is r,,.z Hus
IL would be to insure new encountsr, -
tween Britain and Germany. such hssr-
IN. me case, Britain is bound to insist ,,no,,
es.oiation OF Serbia, and the United
states and the French are bound 20 .,,,,-
port this British course. because svss,,
moral ana national consideration entftIes
the serbs to liberty: and. II their iihs,s,
s1,ss. ssacrineed. the old Balkans chaos
aIter this war. We shall sooner
Or later have new troubles rrovinS c,,s
a.. iresn virus coming from this fester-
ing sore and poisoning the whole Wori6
syssem as 1t has in the past.
nus; ~ east and west, things tsnd
70 .eacn condition which may endure
wnich at the congress of Brest-I,itovsse
germany Is seeking to put in An an
during form. II allied defense IN ~.
west and Russian collapse in the eass
nave on the one hand shattered and On
the other fortified German smhitsnr.
It Is clear that in the Baikans the -.
iution IL sttll to seek. Herbia rernains
IN German hands, but every considern.
tion OF honor and OF safety compeis the
Ioes OF Germany to resist any settis-
substantially intact, Although ve ~
pound to recognize that the larger a.
pirationS OF the allies, the creation az
Jugo-Slavfa. like the italian ambition
,or mastery Of the eastern Adriatic,
during diminution.
AS to Asia and Africa, shall not en-
deavor to discuss these continents ana
their problems at this time Yet II n
clear that with the British at Baedad
complete domination Of Turkey are
gone. while British conquest Of Ger
manys African colonies gives the Enr.
iish valuable basis for negotiation. 81.
In the end. peace il made by barter and
exchange and around the green table.
mia nfo1 he -
readiness in Britain, faced by Lloyd
George recently. to send the question Of
the. German colonies to = peace con.
gress.
Fail to Right Old Wrongs,
In sum. it seems to me that the sit.
uation that exists as the new year opens.
while 1t points unmistakably to the per :.
ststence OF the present and mast deci.
sions on the west front and between
Germany and her western enemies-de-
ctsions which insure the defeat of ali
IGermany's purposes with reference to
France and to Great Brftafn-it quite
as manffestly points toward a failure
OF the world allied against Germany to
attain that general settlement Of old
wrongs and grievances which all OF us
have hoped to see.
1t is q grim bit Of humor that the
Russian revolution. which wss to nee
men and to bring Justice to mankind.
4
dashed the hopes for liberation OF many
millions Of men and women in Europe.
Proclaiming peace. the Russian extrem.
lists have unmisfakably prolonged the
war; protesting to bring liberty. they
have helped to confirm the slavery OF
Poles Czechs. Rumanians and Serbs Of
Austria, as well as on their own iron.
tiers.
The greatest dangers that now face
the world are not that Germany win
he hot .l~ -. nj
gfum or reduce France to tho estate
OF a vassal. These dangers are no long
er real What is to be feared 10 that
the growth Of war weariness will bring
with 1t a rapid abandonment OF all the
idealistic aspirations of the nations at
war with Germany. and that the closs
of the war will see, not settlement.
not general liquidation. but per-
petuation Of all the old problems out
Of which the war came and out Of which
other wars seem bound to come.
The greatest single gain the war
could bring-the defeat of German am-
billions in the west for the destruction
Of France and Britafn-is now assured.
not only for the moment, but IL would
seem for the future, because both Brit
guard hereafter. and Britain has now
millions Of trained troops to send to the
aid of the French should another Ger
man attack be made within the next
QeCdQe. Inc western COHuIllOuS OIL 6us
rope are not to be modified in Ger.
many's favor. and outside Of Europe the
conditions have been greatly modified
to the disadvantage Of Germany, II only
by reason of the vast harvest Of hate
and contempt she has sown In belltg>
erent and even in neutral nations.
Freedom for Subject Races.
But only less to be desired fs a settle
ment which should give the subject
races of Europe liberty. And, to cay
the least. the chances of realizing this
gain now have been gravely reduced by
Russia's desertion. The possibility that
come to a peace on the basis OF the
situation before the war. but with q
perpetuation OF all the old rancors and
the old wrongs. has become far more
considerable as a consequence OF the
events of the past year
This means that the conditions OF
1914, the armed truce and the con-
tinuance of nations in arms. are un-
mistakably becoming more probable
than they seemed even last year. This
is a more reasonable basis Tor pes
ent military outlook. Peace will not
leave Germany in France or Belgium,
it will not leave Germany master
OF the continent or Of the world:
decision on these points was had at
the Marne at Verdun and in the sub
marine war. These issues may be
marked as settled.
On the other hand, the collapse OF
Russia has left Germany stiIl strong
and united. still holding to her mill
tary gospel of blood and iron. to the
l,< III rtr,sz <,raf nj