New Britain herald., 1918-02-11
WILSON REJECTS
HERTLING PEACE
Continued From First PagC).


and maintain and every item Of it
must be submitted to the common
judgment, whether it be right and
fair. an act Of justice rather than
bargain between sovereigns.
The United States has no desire
10 interfere into European affairs or
70 act as arbiter in European terri
horial disputes. She is quite ready to
be shown that the settlements she
has suggested are not the best or the
ulost enduring. They are only her
rwn provisional sketch of principles
md of the way in which they should
be applied. But she entered this war
because she was made partner,
Mhcthcr she would or not. in the suf-
fdrings and indignities inflicted by the
military masters of Germany. against
The peace end security of mankind;
and the conditions Of peace Will
touch her as nearly as they will touch
any other nation to which is entrust-
ed q leading part in the maintenance
of civilization.
She cannot see her way to peace
until the causes of this war are re-
moved, its renewal rendered, as near
Iy as may be. impossible.
This war had its roots IN the
disregard of the rights Of small ma
lions and of nationalities which
lacked the union and the force to
make good their claim to determine
their own allegiance and their own
forms Of political life. Covenants
must not he entered into which will
render such things impossible for the
backed by the united force of ali the
nations that love justice and are
willing to maintain it any cost. If ter
ritorial settlements and the political
relations of great populations which
have not the organized power to re-
sist are to be determined by the con-
tracts of the powerful governments
which consider themselves most di-
srectly affected rs Count Won Hertllng
proposes, why may not economic
questions also? 1t has come about in
the altered world in which we now
find ourselves that Justice and the
rights of peoples affect the whole
field Of international dealing as much
us access to raw materials and fair
and equal conditions of trade. Count
Won Hertling wants the essential
basis of commercial and industrial
life to be safeguarded by common
agreement and guarantee, but he
cannot expect that to be conceded
him if the other matters to be de-
termined by the articles of peace are
not handled in the same way as items
in the final accounting. He cannot
esk the benefit of common agreement
in the one field without according it
. in the other. | take it for granted
he sees that separate and selfish
compacts with regard to trade and
the essential material of manufac-
ture would afford-~no foundation for
peace. Neither, he may rest assured,
will separate and selfish compacts
with regard to provinces and peoples.
Count Czernin seems to see the
Fundamental elements Of peace with
clear eyes and does not seek to OBJ
scuro them. He sees that an indie
pendent Poland made up of all the
indisputably Polish peoples who lie
contiguous to one another, is a mat
, ter Of European concern and must,
of course, be considered; that Bel
sium must be evacuated and re-
stored, no matter what sacrifices and
concessions that may involve and
that national aspirations must be sat
in the common interest of Europe
and mankind. If he is silent about
questions which touch the interests
and purpose of his allies more nearly
than they touch those of Austria
only, it must of course be because he
feels constrained, I suppose, to defer
to Germany and Turkey in the cir
cumstances. Seeing and conceding as
he does the essential principles in
volved and the necessity of candidly
applying them. he naturally feels
that Austria can respond to the pur'
pose of peace as expressed by the
United States, with less embarrass.
1ment than could Germany. He would