The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-10-31
REASONS WHY FREEDOMOF BELGIUM
Isl Al PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO
CAUSE OF DEMOCRACY EXPLAINED

l1HVn 6Aka 6Hats6O
there shall be neither victor nor van
pushed, the only kind Of peace
which. in their opinion, can be just
and lasting.
If they are right, Stockholm would,
indeed, be abundantly justified. But
of all illusory mirages this one OF
drawing the game" with the Ger
man Emperor is the most absurd1y
impossible,
I have endeavored to prove this
from the case of Belgium. I ought
not to have to labor the point to,
show that the. Western powers, living
henceforward confronted by an En-
peror with drawn sword. in a world
where the war had broken all the
ancient bonds and all the customs
which contributed to maintain equi-
librium and at all events to preserve
a precarfous peace, in world, more-
over, where a multitude Of new prob
lens furnished new occasions for con-
f1ict, would have no choice but to pre-
pare for another war, devoting all
their resources to it and concentrat-
ing all their thought upon it, miltar-
1SluE anu AUd11y IIuSS1dulS1AS L4CA1~
selves in anticipation of new and
more appalling carnage, unless they
were prepared to resign themselves
in abject submission to the law Of the
strongest.
What is this war, but the final
challenge flung by Prussianism to de-
mocracy? Read once more the man.
ifesto Of the German Intel1ectua1s.
Imperial Germany there proclaims
through the mouths Of her finest
| thinkers her political and social SUI
periority over all the rest of the
| world. And in this alleged super
| iority she sees the product Of her
| very imperialism. That constitutes
| for her the foundation of her right.
| It is in the name Of her irfperialist
superiority that she claim hegemony
! and calls upon democracy to submit
| in order that mankind may rise to the
| level of German perfection. # thu
4 democracies refuse. Germany sum-
mons them to the arbitrament of the
sword German warfare is pedantic;
lit assumes the character Of a. demon
stration It is not enough for the
i weaker to acknowledge himself de-
4 feated; he must confess that he had
4 been mistaken, that his constitutional
4 principles cid not permit him to as
4 sure himself CT that security without
Il which civilized existence is impossi-
BILE. He has no option but to enter
the school of the victor.
i Since the United States Joined the
coalition, and since the revolution in
4 Russia, the allied democracfes make
up population nearly three times
as large as that of the Central powers
| =, 1Ir I,>S, ioT
ulations which give them important
cooperation. Their wealth Is in
fnitely greater than that of theil
adversaries, and their industry more
J potent. We have had three years II
which to mobilize our resources. The
] sea is ours despite the submarines
We possess marked numerical super
iorfty on all the fronts. preponderancs
, of artillery on nearly all the fronts
and the advantage in material of al
: kinds. II in these circumstances de
) mocracy were unable to triumph
over the Emperor. 1t would be tn,
? most appalling confession on her par
: Of impotence, incapactty and weak
( ness. She would vanish from off tn,
: face OF the earth like other unfit ere
] atures eliminated in the struggle 70
: existence. Never has the inevitabl
: necessity of victory been impose,
: more imperative1y. This is a case o
: victory or death.
Among the Stockholm party ther
! were many people who recognize q
. we do the imperative necessity o
Q breaking the power of German I'm
d perialism, but who think that 1t ma
Q be awaited as the result of an inter
d nal revolution in Germany They rel
0 upon the German socialists and dem
o ocrats. AS the outset, it is well t
(, agree about the meaning of words
4 Who are democrats upon whose con,
q age reliance Is to be placed?
4 Are they the deputies who a fe'
a weeks ago voted the Motion of tn
r majority" in the reichstag? TT
o event has proved already how muc
q their sincerity was worth, and whs
>. the concessions with which they a.
r. satisfied amounted to.
o Are they the socialists of the nt
o 1ority? The Emperor has had r
It more jealous supporters 1t is throua
y their agency that he keeps the peop
1T the manifesto in which they implore
n the people to remain submissive whe
= 1t was manifesting nome unrest
sr Are they the socialists of the m
ID nority? Everyone acquainted vii
II the facts recognize their excellent il
ID tention rather after the fair thoue
" unfortunately it was. We raise Oh
hat to their courage, and If German
10 can be renewed from within 1t is a
Iy suredIy their influence that will do
le But is not that precisely the arg
IL mert which must persuade Westel