The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-23

l planahOn.
 [ When I offer these observations make no complaint of his MaJesty's l government We must make great allowances for the difficulties in which they have found themselves. We are not standing alone, fortunate ly, in this war.
 We have our Allies to think of, and no doubt, in the emergencies we have had to face, decisions have had | to be taken hurriedly, obligations have had to be incurred, confidences have had to be respected, and I am sure I am expressing the view of ev- cry Briton when I say that it is un- thinkable and altogether remote from our thoughts that we should in any way be disloyal to the Allies who have fought so gloriously on our side in this war.
 But may I be allowed to express my entire concurrence with what was said as late as the 18th of January by the Prime Minister, when he told his hearers that the time had come for restating our aims in way when would carry with us all the moderate and rational opinions of this and all other lands? And he was able to ada and I gladly dwell on this, that al most simultaneously the same idea had come to President Wilson.
 Anticipated the Premier , Now, may I suggest that if, in these l circumstances, humber folk had come to similar conclusion, we were i not out of order in anticipating by a Ia f our own Prime Minister on the one i hand and the President of the Uni ted States on the other?
 May add a. second observation?
 believe we all of us are ready to prolong this war, terrible as it is until we can get a clean peace. But it is our desire that the time for obtaining that clean peace should if possible not be too long delayed and that no opportunity should be neglected of bringing it nearer. May I again place myself in line with the Prime Minister when he said: q would not have this war for a second on my soul if I could stop it honor ably?" I think that is the feeling of the people of this country generally
 Some of us cling to the hope ot obtaining a clean peace by negotia- ton, but others again believe that il is unobtainable unless you have hae crushing victory over your adver' ! saries first.
 It is not true to say that victory 1T the field os not really complete vic tory until one belligerent has got the i other so completely at his mercy tha he can impose upon him any terms no matter how humiliating- los of territory, the payment of colossa indemnities, the surrender of thu fleet, and so on-and most of us, think, can recall statements whicl used to be made in England earlie in the war when terms of that kint were freely held up as the only term which we should be prepared to en tertain. You may obtain a victor. of that kind in one of two ways. Yo1 may obtain it by crushing your op ponent in the field, or by what i commonly spoken of as a process o attrition-gradual attrition. We hay had some very glorious successes il the field, but I don't know whethe any high authority at this moment prepared to tell us that a crushin q victory in the field is within sight.
 Indeed, we are constantly tolG constantly led to accustom ourselve more and more to the idea of a vic tory which can be accomplished b the gradual exhaustion of the re sources, military and economic of tn cnemy-a process of attrition whic would continue until, to use a phras which see my friend, the Presider of the Board of Agriculture, is yer fond. of using, "Victery rests with tn side which has got the last ston of meat and the last quarter of whes in his possession"
 What Delay Means
 What I thing occurs to me abol proposals of that kind is that tf process of attrition, that kind of attr ion must of necessity ake very Tor inc to accomplish. I see it state I have seen it stated by people WI have given a great deal of attentic to the subject, that it will take tv years Well, if that is so; are we n justified in asking ourselves what delay of two years really means delay of two years measured by u casualties, in the destruction of o, great industries, in addition to o1 nation obligations?
 I think it was stated the other d; on the authority of Sir Edward Hol en that the war debt at this nome stood at something like five thou and millions sterling, and a very o dinary rough -andready calculate would enable us to conjecture u amount of the sum at which it wou stand supposing this war were to
 waged for two years longer. In a dition to all these things, is it not O outy to consider what delay of tV years mean if you measure it in t addition which must necessarily ta place to the already vest load of h man sorrow and suffering the civ ized world has to bear?
 This is a load, remember, which
 borne by blameleSs people, won
 and children, suffering all over t world.
 We see. not in one country, but