Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-10
ENGLAND WARY
OF PEACE TALK
People Believe Only Decisive De-
feat Can Convert Germans
to Democracy
Bv GILBERT VIVIAN SELDES

T,HE cables have Just brought over the
l. thrilling news that Senator Lewis wants
to talk peace with Doctor Mchaelis.
Somehow It seems funny. in club which
once looked out on the Embankment. but
now looks out on q row Of Incredibly ugly
huts where the overflow OF great govern
ment department is housed. to read about
Senator Lewis It's funny because never
heard Of Senator Lewis" before There was
"Jim Ham" once. but one never heard
| Of him MS an authority on International
affairs. Can this be he7
And II Is funny because II Is no sudden.
Here we are, not even celebrating our first
anniversary Of war, and one OF our Senators
grasps at the first straw--even at the frst
man OF straw--which Germany throws out,
Are we drowning? Are we downhearted?
| Or are we misled?
| Here in England we have just gone
| through the bltterest week Of the war and
| yet even our moderates haven't been able
| to take Doctor Mlchaelis seriously. U feel
| that | ought to explain that this Michaells'
| Is the German Chancellor at tho moment of
| writing; somehow I have grave doubts
concerning his tenure Of position; by the
time this is printed he may be forgotten)
He has made speech signlfying nothing
except that hs is the German Government.
And we have remembered that President
Wilson has made a distinction between the
German Government and the German
people In the Germans own comic papers
they represent the people as "arme Michel"
poor Michael. And the decision we have
to make is between Michel and Michaelis
II is funny all too funny TO find that some
or us think we can talk peace with Mlchaelis
so long before we have learned to talk war
with Michel.
The Real Danger
1t is not my business as foreign corre-
spondent to write criticism of domestic
politics 1t Is my business to report on the
condition of Europe. as / see II, and to
describe its experiences for tho benefit Of
those who are interested. And / mention
Senator Lewis and his benevolent attitude
toward Prusslan bluff because there is n |
danger In 1t, a danger which the expetIeqce |
OF our allies can help us to meet
Ihe danger Is this: That so many Amer |
icans thought that Germany would throw |
up the sponge when we came into the ring. |
Many Englishmen secretly hoped for the |
same thine. Millions Of US still feel that |
betore our army strikes home Germany |
Will sue for peace. And so we are Glad |
"neh she offers peace, even in the trucuent |
ana unrepentant words Of Mlchaelis
POSSIBLY Germany will sue for peace
III she does 1t will not be because she thinks |
we are eager for It, but because she thinks |
we are eager for war. But It is extremely
unlikely.
Another prong of this floating mine NJ
German intrigue is even more serious for
IL Is based not on hope but on fear That
100, we have gone through on this side It
Is the rear that we shall never be able to
MAKE a better peace than we can now.
Ia.,
a snare.
The two things nearly cancel each other
ana the arguments against them are
on the face OF 1t, incongruous But let us
state them.
First Germany will probably not sIs for 4
peace because she very obviously believes
that she can make n better peace by hold
ing out. II she stops to compare her sit-
uation on July 23, 1917, with her position
July z5' 1916, when the Somme battle was
sui raging, she finds herself mIlitarily at
an advantage, If not over her enemies. at
least over herself. 1 have lost count of
the nations which have declared war against |
her since July. 1915. But I know that
she has put out Rumania. has smashed Rus
sla 80 hard that we are still trembling for
Petrograd and separate peace, not nesoti.
ated, but dictated by sheer military su-
periority And we all know that she ia
preparing an offensive against American
submarine history. She can hold out Mt
home and the morale of her troops Is def
lnlteiy not shattered. As / write she is
attacking on three fronts 1t Is not the
work OF demoralized nation.
We Can Win in the Air
1t is always the safer way to look at
things from the vantage-point of your
enemy, and that is what | have lust done
Germany does not see herself In the at
titude of defeat. Why on earth should she
give up everything she may gain for the
sake OF a Few months more of peace when
she can do so well by herself at the expense
of few months more Of war?
Now, the second point: VIII we ever be
able to do better for ourselves than we
can noY? In the military sense, yes. In
the political sense. yes In the moral sense.
yes
In the first place, the United States can
get its army into France and can keen
and provision II there.
In the second place, even II GERMANY |
should defeat Russia and release her ar
mics and those Of Austria, she could mot
stahd the strain which Britain. France and
the United States could bring to bear unop |
her. We could stand 1t Just ten minutes
longer. Those ten minutes would win the
war for us.
We can beat Germany in tho air. nj.
though she Is already preparing land de-
ichstS against alr-WOrK winch of in. |
credible cleverness. She has developed new
means OF camoufage. smoke barrage, eyery-
thing which conceals But once we have
beaten her in the air we have beaten her
And we can do IT,
Wen, II we 60 1t on the field and par-
ticularly II the United States has a decent
share In the doing Of it. we insure the
KIND or peace we are working for II ia
not necessary to describe that now We are
all vague as to certain points But we
have our scheme and we can impose II on
Germany We can purge our allies Of any
small desires and We can partake of the
good things which the peace should bring
We cannot do any Of these things now.
No German Revolution
Peace now is peace with the Hohenzol.
lerns-an agreement with death and a cove
nant with hell II there ever was one.
am not one of those who believe that n
revolution In the form Of German govern
ment will make everything all right, That
Is bit too easy. But 1t Is certain that
peace without victory means the success Of
the worst elements In Germany and the
continuance of that system which has cor-
rupted the vast majority of Individual Ger
mans SO that they cannot distinguish. as we