New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-27
A STALEMATE PREDICTED
The Presidents Speech Upheld as Shown,
the Way to Lasting Peace
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

n
very tender spot when be speaks Of q "pese.
without victory The Allied governments.
and their supporters In the United Stat.
construo the speech as restricting or limit,
Ing the scope Of their further atiemrts ..
Gust the Teutons and "crush" them. In nj,
they are mistaken, because Allied inefacieucv
wastcfulness and ineptitude have autom...
ically brought the war 10 that condIuo,
called stalernate. Photographs arriving her.
show German trenches Of exquisite design and
comfort along the Western front. What cor.
Of commanders are they that would PERM,
such trenches TO be constructed under tk.i,
very guns and eyes7 IL IS common knovl.
edge that the British generals have bothered
more over a possible German occupation o,
Calais than they did about Verdun; TIA,
England's great army has been more blur
than fact; that Russia trembles on the cdr,
of seething caldron Of revolution and re-.
turn TO blacklist reactionaryism. Britain A.
the Dardanelles made sorry mess Of thins,
mainly because she cannot stand any los.
without fearful agonizings and believing on
the part of the slackers back home Hss
Britain been willing to lose fifteen or twenty
ships, she could have gained her point at Gal.
lipol.
II the Allies want victory, why do they no:
sail in and get it? II Is worthy of note that
all the talk of fighting on comes from Lon
don, Paris, Petrograd. The men in the
trenches, the people working in hells called
munition factories-have they been asked.
The diplomats pretend to speak for the PEG.
pie The Tribune, FOR instance, claims that
the Presidents attitude is not Representative.
of the coUntry's feelings in the peace matter.
II a President elected by majority Of the
people does not truly represent their views,
how can Prime Minister, mouthpiece Of
royalty, which seeks further glory for the
crown, be held to speak truly the mind o,
the masses? The President has had the aeu-
men TO realize the hopelessness OF this war
the eternal deadlock that exists Instead
of putting the matter bluntly, he has put the
matter as being one Of the great essentials
to permanent peace-"peace without victory
The strange part Of the situation is that the
Allies and Central Powers alike know the Ut
ter futility OF the entire war. The remain
der of the war will be consumed in killings
and in bluffing.
Re other portions of the Presidents speech,
the Wilson Doctrine, as il were-when he
speaks of a redistribution Of lands and PEG.
pies as another essential of permanent peace
he touches on one of the main causes Of the
war reaignment would affect the Central
Powers just as seriously as it would the Al
lies 1t would affect the whole world; those
who have profted most by the sword Of con-
quest would suffer more than the honorable
nations.
II the published dispatches arc true, Italy
might we'll take umbrage at the Presidents
suggestion of seaports for all nations. We
are told that Italy wants all Of Austria's
coast line for her own as a price Of peace,
proving, of course that Italy like the rest is
into the war to get ell she can out Of It, The
peace plan Of Mr.. Wilson demands sea out
lets for all-Russia and Austria, Teuton and
Ally.
The President probably knows that pese,
will bring the restoration OF Belgium; there.
fore it was not necessary to mention her IL
his speech. Poland however has been in
Of partition and subjugation for
long, long time. An amalgamation Of heI
original provinces would achieve triple pur-
pose in one stroke. Poland would be rens-
tionalized, buffer state would be placed be-
tween two peoples always at daggers drawn
the Teuton and Slsv. IL would also serve
to keep darkest Russia within bounds. Bel.
GUM did not syrve to keel Germany from
making war on England and France, but It
defeated Germany in her purpose and made
possible the defeat of the Marine.
Woodrow Wilson stands out in the bright
MONDAY and shows unerringly the way to
lasting peace and concord, for the world 20
take or leave. The powers intelligence tells
them that he has laid down the only true
course to attain a desirable end; their greed
impels them to refuse acquiescence.
This speech and other acts of our Pres-
dent are the very antithesis of what the
American people have been led 20 expect Of
our public men. His acts are revolutionary
because they are new. Our rules Of national
conduct have been laid in accordance with
those promulgated by George Washington or
Abraham Lincoln. The isolation theory is
now obsolescent, our ocean frontiers cannot
be SO thoroughly guarded as land frontiers
can be. unless we have a mighty feet on both
coasts. In Washington's day the ocean was
a month wide, to-day it is scarcely fv days
wide. Lincoln's blockading feet woult no.
be worth tin whistle to-day. II is 70 be
very seriously doubted if our first President
were alive to-day. whether he would hold the
views he held in his day
DANIEL SNIyELY.
New York, Jan. rs, 1917