Evening journal., 1918-04-17
EVERYTHING TO WIN The WAR

On the eleventh day Of last month the
president addressed 10 Congress an an
swer 20 declarations Of war aims made
previously by Hertllng In Germany and
Czernin In Austria. Next day the Eve
ning Post Of New York appeared with
a large headline on the front pare
Peace Negotiations Begun. At the Same
Time nearly every newspaper in Amer
lea carried a Washington dispatch in
dicatlng that the President had inaugu-
rated a new kind Of peace negotiations
by interchange Of speeches at long dis
lance. Heaven forbid that we should
hoid Mr.. Wilson responsible for what
the newspaper editors and correspond
ents read into his speeches: but In
thls particular case the deduction was
so unanimous that there must have been
some good reason for the general be-
Hef In the coming Of peace. Public feel
ing veers from one extreme TO another
IN such matters, and II is within the
bounds OF possibility that before this
page Is Issued from the press, some
thing viii have happened to make the
country reject the very thought OF
peace. AT the moment Of writing, how
ever, that seems unlikely. Peace Is in
the air. We are constantly told by
people In authority that this Is TO be
the decisive year and that peace must
come before next winter. That may be
true, President Wilson may or may
not have intended to begin peace ne
gotiations at long distance. as the press
declared. II is certain that we can be-
gin negotiations any day we please with
Germany and can have peace as soon
as we please But let us not fool our
selves or be fooled. Any peace made
today VIII be a victorious peace for
Germany.
Any peace made this year will be a
victorious peace for Germany.
TO our mind the man who is willing
TO make peace on such terms Is an
enemy OF the Allies, an enemy OF HUI
manlty and an enemy Of the United
states. We do not blame Roumania il
she IS forced TO such a peace, or the
Ukraine, which hes already made such
a peace A small country cut of from
all communications with the outside
world, unable TO arm itself or 10 get
supplies enough TO wage a war OF any
KIND must choose between utter de-
struction or a compromise with orimi-
mails. But no such dilemma faces us.
We are not a small country; we have a
population far greater than that Of
dermany; our resources are Of infinitely
Vaster proportions. We can arm our
selves and we can feed ourselves for
an Indefinite period. We are entering
upon a war with nation whose armies
nave suffered terrific losses during three
and half years and whose civil pOpu-
lation IS already hungry. Our adver-
sary has three allies, only one OF which
Is a first power; the other two are not
to be compared in power or resources
with any Of our big States like New
York or Illinois or Pennsylvania. We
are not alone in this controversy. As
Allies we have three flrst-cass powers,
to say nothing OF a host Of small
friends. one Of our Allies commands
the seas so that we can place our troops
today on German soil and fight there
and we can send our 3.rplsnes all over
Germany. But not a single German
soldier can come within three thous-
and miles OF America, nor can our cit
les be bombsrded by German airplanes.
Is IL conceivable that in such circum-
stances the United States will do what
poor Rumanla, absolutely at the mercy
q
acknowledge ourselves defeated by Ger
many; and acknowledge defeat before
we have modified per cent. OF our
population or struck a blow IN The
fleld2 Is that the kind Of nation we
are9
Hundreds Of thousands OF ordinarily
sane American citizens are constantly
telling us that this is just the kind OF
a nation we are, that this IS Just what
we are going to do We are going
to lie down before Germany without
even attempting 10 Tight her. A large
portion OF the press seems TO think
this is precisely what we ought 90 do.
They don't say it in exactly these
words. They don't state definitely that
a nation much smaller than ourselves
and plnloned by other enemies so that
she cannot even reach us TO strike
us blow has nevertheless crushed the
fighting spirit out OF us They don't
put it as boldly as that But they ac-
cept the idea without a murmur that
we can treat with Germany now while
she is victorious and before we have
begun to Tight her and treating with
Germany means that we are willing 30
bargain with her on tho basis OF what
she has got What else do the words
Peace Negotiations Begun mean2
Any peace with Germany this year
is a victory for Germany
Let us face the facts Germany has
already absorbed about an she wants
ON the East front, all she can easily
digest. She has Lithusnia, Comland,
Russian Poland, territory as large as
Prussia itself with a huge population
and great pOtentiality. II we start ne
gotiatlons with her now or at any fu-
ure day before she is defeated, we have
TO start with an those countries al
ready part OF the German system. She
also has Belgium and northern France.
A year ago we might almost have talked
her out Of Belgium; we could certainly !
have talked her out Of northern France. /
Today the situation is different. She is |
facing West without any enemy on her /
Eastern front. she can sit on her con- /
quests in Belgium and France and defy /
us TO put her out. SO II we are going /
TO conduct war by negotiation we shall |
have TO look around for a talking /
point" Our only possible talking /
point" is the fact that England holds /
practically all the German colonies, and I
her armies are encamped in the heart /
Of Mesopotamia, which the Bagdad /
Railway was to make a German prov /
ince 10 is just conceivable that Ger ]
many might bo willing to give up Bel !
gium and northern France in exchange /
for her old colonies. That would be /