The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-11-03
The Peril OF A
Prussian Peace
NV ,Jonn Spar9OD

vi ilOle tudu d quarter VI Ceutul
l have gladly given myself unreser'
vedly to the war upon war.
l am still an ardent antimilitarist
and racifist. l nate war as much as
ever | did. Above all else l want to
see peace securely established.
/ Nevertheless, l confess that at this
time l am more afraid of Prussian
: peace than l am of a continuance of
! the war, horrible as that is. Prus-
! sian militarism seeking to shape the
conditions of world peace is more to
| be feared than when it is sharpening
! its sword for war.
! The essence of Prussian militar-
! ism is this: 1t organizes all the re-
! sources of civilization to the end of
| establishing dominion over all peo-
| pies. With fiendish ingenuity it has
perverted to that ignoble and base
! end all the finest achievements of
! civilized man. In order that these
i mighty forces may be made of bene-
! fit to all mankind, and that the free
/ dom of all peoples may be secured,
and fraternal cooperation be sub
! stituted for brute force in the orga-
nization of the life of the world,
{ Prussian militarism must be de-
! stroyed.
! If l am asked whether militarism
/ is only dangerous when it is Prus-
sian; whether it is not fact that
! French militarism, British militar-
! ism ,andnow American militarism, ARE
equally perilous and Objectionable,
. l answer that the essence of militar-
ism lies not in the possession of
trained armies, we'll equipped. 1t
! lies, rather, in the determination to
, use these forces for conquest and
dominion.
At present England is great ar
my camp. Industrially it is vast
arsenal. But England has not orga-
nized her resources for the purpose
of conquest and dominion. Instead,
she has created the vast military ma
chine she has in order to protect her
self and her neighbors against Ger
many's aggression. England has be-
come great military nation, tempo
rarily, but she is not a militaristic
nation.
France, too, has been forced to
develop her military power to an ex-
tent undreamed of, but France is not
militaristic nation.
selves in a position similar to the po-
sition of France and England. Hating
war and militarism, as our history
clearly and abundantly proves, we
have been compelled to develop an
the rights and the lives of our citi.
zens and those international princi-
Piles and institutions, without which
ri yot hn oil foi cd
We have no desire to dominate the
world. We seek no aggrandiZe-
ment, no anneXationS of territory, no
commercial advantages. We do not
even seek revenge for the wrongs we
have suffered at the hands of Ger
many. Our sole purpose is the es-
adjustment of the security of all ma
tons against the lawless and despotic
conduct of nation which acknow-
Lodges no right save might, the
great power which despises the meth
DDS of civilization and insists upon
the methods of barbarism.
Militarism is repugnant to us. We
prefer the pillow to the sword. We
are happier in the triumphs of in
dustry than in the triumphs of war.
We fight only because we must; be-
cause the argument of brute force is
the only argument the Prussian bar
barian can comprehend or respect.
If peace were made today upon
the terms which Prussia has caused
to be circulated throughout the
world there could be no guarantee
that the peace would be enduring.
The vast Prussian military machine
would be maintained. Still all the
resources of the German Empire
would be organized for the purpose
of dominating and ruling the life of
the world and of subjecting all ma
lions to the will and purpose of Ger
many. Under such conditions no ma
ton which preserved that self-re-
spect and love of independence
which are essential to freedom and
progress would dare lessen its arma-
ments. To do SO would be equlva-
lent to suicide. The nations would
have to continue to waste their SUBJ
stance in military preparations
against the inevitable day of German
assault.
The United States, which has new
er heretofore maintained an army of
any size, would have to maintain as
a part of its permanent organization
4 vast army, capable of meeting any
other vast army. 1t would have to
enter into alliances with other ma
tons as means of protecting itself
against other alliances. The Prus-
sian peace would thus fasten upon
Us, and upon all other nations, mill
tary burden as great as that which
the war has forced upon US and
them.
If, instead of a premature peace
upon terms dictated by Prussia, we
wait for the peace which will be pos
sible upon our own terms, and those
of our allies, when Prussia is obliged
to acknowledge defeat and to sur
render, we shall be in a position to
throw off the military burden which
would crush us TO the ground.
We are for peace, now as ever,
but not for the peace which Prussia
would impose upon the world-the
peace which comes from submission
to the tyrant's yoke. We are for the
peace of justice and righteousness;
and we mean to attain it, no mat
ter what the sacrifice may be.