Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1917-05-19
WHY WE BELIEVE TIE EURO
PIGAN GOVERNMENTS MUSL
EITHER MAKE PEACE THIS
YEAR Or FACE UNIVIIK-
SAL REVOLUTION.

EITHER lAlAE PEACE THIS
YEAR Or FACE UNIVEH-
SAL REVOLUTION.
From the New York American Of
May IS.
Evidently our Government has a
very mistaken conception of Russian
conditions, or it would not send Mr..
Elihu Root to Petrograd at the head
of the American Commission. That
is precisely like trying to soothe
mad bull by extending to him a
bright red rag Mr.. Root will be
about as welcome to the Council Of
WorlImen's and Soldiers Deputies
the real Government of Russia at
present-as Mr.. Balfour would be at
gathering of United Irishmen. 1t
becomes palmer every day that the
official Washington mind is utterly
unable to understand present con-
ditions in Europe. The official Wash
ington mind continues to think of
Europe as the Europe of 1913-as a
group of established and enduring
governments, with which enduring
treaties and alliances can be made
and to which huge loans can be made
with perfect confidence. The official
Washington mind takes it for grant
ed that the war will continue as long
as the governments of Europe decide
TO continue it; that peace will be
made only when the governments
decide to make peace and only upon
the terms decided upon by the vic
torious governments. The official
Washington mind seems to take it
for granted that when the govern
ments have made peace and have ar
ranged the division of whatever
spoils there may be, the peoples are
going quietly back to work for their
former masters, to live under the
same institutions, to be- in short, the
same nations, guided and controlled
by the same financial, aristocratic
and diplomatic castles that have ruled
them for many centuries These
seem to be also the views and con-
ceptions of the public journals and
of most private citizens, who natur-
ally have no other sources of infor-
nation and of opinion than the
public journals. We can excuse the
private citizen, but it is amazing that
men who are hailed as statesmen
cannot see what is going on before
their eyes; cannot see that Europe
of 1913 has vanished as completely
as the Europe of the Dark Ages;
cannot see that the proletariats have
at last in their hands the weapons
and in their minds the thought and
in their hertas the resolve to do away
with all the old distinctions and
social inequalities; that the institu-
tions of government and laws which
still seem to be solid and enduring
edifices are in reality only hollow
shells, mined and ready to be blown
to pieces when relief from the
pressure of outside war gives the
peoples time and opportunity to
overthrow and to rebuild the fabrics
of society. This talk about auto
cracy still to be overthrOwn and dem
ocracy still to be saved and estab
lished is proof enough of the mental
incapacity of so many men, esteemed
wise to realize what has happened
in Europe. For the war has already
achieved those two tremendous re-
suits. They are accomplished facts.
The basis of any government and Of
any institution is the state of mind
of the masses and the inability of the
masses or the ability of the masses
to impose their desires upon govern
ment. Now, any thinking mind must
perceive that the masses in every
country in Europe have the ability
to set up at any time any form of
government or any institutions and
laws they desire, because the masses
of Europe. for the first time in his
tory, ARE CITIZEN SOLDIERS.
equinned with all the weapons and
munitions of war and as able to sub
jugate their masters, to coerce their
officers and to overthrow their gov
ernments as were the Russian citizen
soldiers. In 1848, when Europe rose
and struck for freedom, the rebels
could neither mobilize nor communi-
cate quickly with one another, be-
cause there were neither railways
nor electric telegraphs. So they were
beaten in detail. In 1898 one mon
arch could and did lend another
thousands of mercenary standing
troops to beat that others subjects
into submission In 1917 there are
no mercenaries, no standing troops,
no Pretorian Guards Thew were all
shot to pieces long ago on the battle
fields-nOurishing, with the hugest
satire the world has ever seen, the
tree of universal human liberty with
the blood of tyrants' hirelings. The
millions of men now in the camps
and trenches OF Europe are not mer-
cenaries. not hirelings. petted and
trained to shoot down rebellious sub
iects-THEY ARE THE PROL-
ETARIATS THEMSELVES. And
whenever they decide to quit Staying
one another at their masters orders,
and decide to go home and take over
the control of their own countries,
to constitute themselves the lawmak-
ers. to abolish the institutions Of
property in land and of private ex-
ploitation of public functiOns-that
day they will accomplish these things
because they have in their hands the
weapons with which to make good
their purposes and resolves. Every
day the signs of this coming revolu-
tion multiply faster and faster. The