The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-12-31
THE STATUS QUO ANTE.
And the Position of the United States in
Relation to 1t.

When the pope last summer proposed
the virtual equivalent of the status quo
ante as the basis for peace negotiations.
/ il was pointed out that America could
not now view the restoration of the Eu.
ropean conditions existing before the
war with indifference. As President Viii
son had declared in his note TO the Rus.
sian provisional government in May, 1T
was the status quo ante out of which.
! this iniquituus war issued Our own en-
trance into the conflict, moreover, had
! finally driven home the truth that the
| United States would be almost surely
dragged into any general European war
in the future. The successful maintenance
of neutrality while Europe is abla2e can
never again be realized in practice.
Since August. when the popes peace
effort was made, the possibilities inner
emf in a peace based ON the status quo
ante have percepthly changed and the
effect OF the change upon America must
not be ignored. What confronts US now
is the prospect that an Immediate peace
negotiated according to the formulas of
Count Czernin would not only leave the
Balkan states wholly under Teutonic in
tluence, even if Serbia and Rumania were |
nominaly restored, but would leave Rus
sia presenting very soft frontiers to the |
central powers
The old Russia was stupid military |
autocracy that was inefficient aud over
weighted. but il did check very material
ly the Teutonic pressure through the
Balkans to Constantinople by virtue OF
its centralized command of vast military
resources. The new democratic Russia
may not be able to exert the same anti.
Teutonic influence as the old Russia in
Southeastern Europe for several genera
tons TO come. The menacing disruptNe
tendencies now being exhibited in the
empire, moreover, may not be fully coun
teracted in the near future A divided
Russia, recognized into number of in
dependent or acknowledgements states
would be anything but the strong mill
tary power which the rest of Europe has
had to reckon with since the time of +,
Peter the Great.
A new Russia with soft frontier, and
with lbs influence in the Balkans and at {
COnstantinople swept away, might be Il
made to fit the peace formula of mo an G
leXatons, but the fact would have TO II
Dc faced that such Russia would not !
DIItr1bllQ 10 tut thUNlltuHs tAlstltlR ne |
ore the war i'm international relations III
n eastern Europe the power of Germany :
would be supreme and unchecked. ii h
Russia were to go permanently to pieces :
lnder the pressure of the centrifugal r
orces now uppermost, the increase OF 3
ierman power would be comparatively 9
imtless in the East unless the prestige n
i Prussan mlitarism in the meantime s
we're destroyed. n
From the viewpoint of western Europe a
hese considerations magnify the need of a
rance for Alsace Lorraine. For France o
,ould be comparatively reduced to the
ank OF a second rate power, without the 4
Of the lost provinces, in case
erman LAnetration into Russia should
g facilitated by the present descriptive D
andencies of the empire and also by
ationalistic decadence promoted by so 4
alist extremists in power at Petrograd. /
Unless an enduring aud just peace =
ased upon a society of nations, includ r
" Germany, can. be brought about,
mericas interest in the European set =
ement is now much more a vital ques- p
on OF national security than il was six
onths ago. If the world il to remain in |
ie coming peace under the old order of
le balance OF power and competitive l.
-maments, as il must if the war is to
I'd with the Germany OF the war lords r
e real military lyictors = the whole
estern hemisphere will be seriously al
cted by the disappearance Of Russia as
military empire and by the virtual dis
,pearance of France from the ranks Of
e great powers. The difficulty of main
ming a counterpoise under those cir |
can easily be imagined
II we are finally TO be thrown back |
,on selfish considerations of vital ma
NAL interest the United States must
" support the western states OF Eu-
pc to the last ditch and do what it can
ward reorganizing Russia on the lines
federal republic strong enough To
lintain itself against its aggrandizing
utonic neghbors. Springfield Repub-
an