Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1917-12-20

false. and ~ must seek b. he IT
most openneD and candee a. to our
real aims to coovia>e them Of its false
ness. We are In fact fighting for their
emancipation from fear. along with
our own-from the fear - well as
from the fact Of unjust attack BY
neiGhb0rs or rivals or schemers after
world empire. No one Is threaten
ing the existence Of or the indepen-
dence or the peaceful enterprise of
tn German empire.
Not Again to es Trusted.
"The worst that can happen to the
German people IL this. that II they
should still. after the war u over.
continue to be obligated to live under
ambitious and intriguing masters In
terested to disturb the peace Of the
world. men or classes of men whom the
other peoples of the world could not
trust, 1t might be impossible to admit
them to the partnership Of nations
which must henceforth guarantee the
worlds peace. That partnership must
be a partnership Of peoples. not a mere
partnership Of governments. 1t might
be impossible. also. in such untOward
circumstances. to admit Germany to
the free economic intercourse which
must inevitably spring out Of the other
partnerships Of a real peace. But
there would be no aggression In that;
urI c,o1, N Sitrnkfop tnns.ttoh1n hn-
cause Of distrust, would In the very
nature of things sooner or later cure
itself, by processes which would as
suredly set in.
Wrongs Must BE Rishted.
"The wrongs, the very deep wrongs,
committed In this war will have to be
| righted. That of course. But they
| cannot and must not be righted by the
commission of similar wrongs against
Germany and her allies.
"The world will not permit the COM
mission of similar wrongs as a means
| of reparation and settlement. States
men must by this time have learned
that the opinion of the world is every
where wide awake and fully compre-
bends the issues involved. No repre-
sentative Of any s~elf-governed nation
will dare disregard 1t by attempting
any such covenants of s~elfshness and
compromise as were entered into at the
congress of Vienna. The thought OF
! the plain people here and everywhere
throughout the world, the people VIII
enjoy no privilege and have very sim
pie and unsophisticated standards of
right and wrong, is the air all govern
ments must %henceforth breathe If they
would live. 1t is in the full dtsclos-
ing light of that thought that all poll
cies must be conceived and executed in
this midday hour of the worlds life.
People Have No Say.
German rulers have'heen able to up
set the peace of the world only because
the German people were not suffered
under their tutelage to share the COM
radeship of the other peoples Of the
world either In thought or in purpose.
They were allowed to have no opinion
of their own which might be set up as
n rule Of conduct for those who exer.
cised authority over them. But the
congress that concludes this war viii
feel the full strength of the tides that
run now in the hearts and consciences
of freedom everywhere. Its conclu
sions will run with these tides.
Xan Sto,, +I.vro hnvn ham fplll
from the very beginning Of this stu
pcndous war; and I cannot help think
ing that IL they had been made plair
at the very outset the sympathy ant
enthusiasm Of the Russian people
might have been once for all enlisted
on the side of the allies, suspicion ant
distrust swept away, and n real ant
lasting union Of purpose effected. Ha'
they believed these things ut the yer!
moment Of their revolution and hat
they been confirmed In that belle
since, the sad reverses which have re
Gently marked the progress OF thei
affairs towards an ordered md stab''
government Of freemen might hav'
been avoided.
"The Russian people have beel
poisoned by the very same falsehood
that have kept the German people II
the dark, and the poison has been nd
ministered by the very same hands
The only possible antidote is the truth
It cannot be uttered too plainly or to
often.
/ Freedom Of the Seas.
: "Trom every point OF view. there
fore, It has seemed to be my duty t
speak these declarations Of purpose, t
t add these specific interpretations I
!, what I took the liberty Of saying to tn
senate in January. Our entrance int
the war hns not altered II nttitud
towards the settlement that must com
when II Is over. When ] said In Janr
ory that the nations Of the world wer
t entitled not only to free pathways W
}, on the sen but also to assured and III
molested access to those pathways
was thinking, and I nm thinking nov
not Of the smaller and weaker nation
r alone, which need our c%ountenance an
r support, hut also Of the great and pow
G erful nations. and Of our present en'
4 mics as we'll as our present associate
@ in the war. I was thinking, and al
Q thinking now. Of Austria hersel
among the rest. as well MS Of Serb
|. and Of Holland. Justice md equnlit
( Of rights can be had only Mt a gre'
price. We arc seeking permanent, NJ
h temporary. foundations for the peat
a Of the world and must seek this GU