The Washington herald., 1917-03-18
THE WASHINGTON HERALD SUNDAY MARCH Is. 1917

however, much the "jineoes" and the
imperialists tried to make II appear as
J such.
Divested Of emotionaiisnn. the question
was whether We would take the only
form OF PREPARATION and disavowal ft was
In Germany's power TO make without
recourse to the "heroic remedial purge"
OF war. There are persons who have
argued as IL war would have restored the
hundreds OF American lives which were
snuned out; as II war were q sacred
rite through which national honor could
De avenged; as II there were no moral OF
Isrtrttual alternative but war; as II we
could be true blood-allies Of nations
which admittedly are In an epic night fc-
their existence. while for us II would
only have been a war for revenge.
.Tne course actually pursued by tie
President. marred at first by the out
raReous ineptitude Of former Secretary Of
State Bryan. resulted, In the end. ir.
the casting out Of Won Tirpitz from the
German admiralty, the marked limitation
OF the Illegal submarine campaign for
nearly two years, and a settlement which
was accepted in principle by the United
States.
! STAYED on LawIessness.
Note writing" received ridicuIe as
1pure futility, but as a matter Of fact It
twas not futile. as a dispassionate review
OF our diplomatic correspondence with
Germany will show. II had suficient
show OF force in II to stave of Teuton
lU-boat lawlessness in greater or less de-
gree from AprH. 1915. to February. 1917.
IGnd this, merely as practical achieve
Elent in the saving OF tonnage which
might otherwise have been lost, fas been
lof the highest value to the entente in the
winning of the war. Had the United
States troken and drifted into war with
IGermany after the Lusitania crime. 1t s
possible to believe that unrestricted SUBJ
marine warfare never would have been
discontinued by Germany. in view Of the
fact she had nothing to gain by stopping
IT,
When the Sussex case came up. mote
writing" forced precipitate German re-
treat and won temporary victory.
This statement OF course is disputed
and conjectural; many observers say
the British navy stopped the U-boat out
RACES: but discussions as to causes are
not so important as the fact itself: the
Ifact taht, after both the Lusitania and
the Sussex notes. Germany made radical
concessions to American demands. She
lbroke her pledge when she found II ex-
lpedient to do SO; but the future will show
that the delay and the restrictions placed
ION German U-boats by the American
stand for our maritime rights has been
lof the highest strategic value in the for
tunes OF the war.
United Nation Back of Wilson.
When the President finally broke with
Germany, he found a united nation be-
hind him: he found that his forbearance.
his delay. his restraint had paid him the
highest dividends in the unification OF the
| sentiment of the country.
There was a universal feeling that he
had exhausted all honorable means Of
averting a break. and had failed through
German delinquency. There were no
longer any obscuring technicalities as to
whether mistakes had been made by
submar rine commanders, any conflict Of
evidence about warning" and visit and
search" any fne-span legalism as to
whether the ship in question was a pri-
vate or public vessel. We broke" on
an issue, that was clearly Joined.
THE PRESIDENTS PEACE PLAN"
Nothing has been more generally mis-
understood, at home and abroad. than
the Presidents celebrated note to the
bellgerents following the German peace
proffer of December Il It was not only
formal announcement of our abandon
ment OF Isolation" It was an offer to
place the resources and power of Amer
lea in any world organization to guar
! antee the whole against the aggression
of any one, or any group, OF its integral
parts.
On this point the comment Of the New
| Republic Is most interesting:
For the first time in the history of the
country an American official document
has made European business American
business by Offering to abandon the
isolation OF the past and from a RESPONSE
BILE part Of the European international
system. The note expressly declares the
American people stand ready, and even
eager, to cooperate in the protection Of
weaker nations against violence with
every influence and resource at their
command"
world. not. as Canning said. to redress
the balance OF the old, but for the better
purpose Of lending to the European bal.
ance the influence and power OF a disin-
} terested outsider and by So doing to con-
vert an unstable equilibrium OF con-
, ficting forces into a concert.
what Note Pledges.
What we say to Europe is this:
} We will guarantee with our resources
, and our lives the objects OF the western
= democracies but before we do that those
objects must be distinguished from the
objects OF the imperialists. The note Is
: a declaration Of our alliance with the
liberals Of Europe"
|
, and the Senate address. is anti-German
| in its implications. What could be fur
/ ther from German imperialism. German
autocracy, than the program which the
= President outlined7 Its direct appeal was
/ to the liberals Of France and England; !;
, an attempt to restore their morale in the
face OF the Imperialism which war had
intensified in those nations.
In the light OF what Is known now, in
} the light OF what has transpired in the
: last month. does not the note. and the
}, address, constitute q repudiation OF all
/ that Germany stands for before the
. world. despite the exploded pretensions
. che has made from time to time as a pro-
: tector Of small nationsf
From this point Of view the peace note
not only reveals the Presidents diverg-
l ence from the path of neutrality, but
3 the fact that he realized that the whole
course OF American self-interest de-
manded that the nation be not found. at
the close OF the war. high and dry with q
ISterile neutrality as its sole asset to be-