New-York tribune., 1918-02-14
MIR. Wilson's Offensive

A great political offensive against tn
Kaiser is taking place under the suprem
command of President Wilson. Severa
of its phases are bewildering, but perhaps
fusion is inherent in the effort. The res
is not confusion really, but want of u,n
derstandng on the part Of the observer
He does not have the key.
Comment is very busy with the differ
ence of opinion between Mr. Wilson anG
Lloyd George about Austria.
Mr.. Wilson thinks Count Czernin, the
Austro- Hungarian Foreign Minister, "sees
the fundamental elements of peace with
clear eyes," invites him to sustain peace
parley, and hopes that Germany will sec
in like manner, clearly.
Lloyd George thinks, as the Supreme
War Council of the Allies also thought
and solemnly announced on February 3 at
Versailles, that Count Czernin's words are
by the spirit of peace, wherefore the war
must go on to clean end
Mr.. Wilson may be right Lloyd George
and the Supreme War Council may both
be wrong.
Already it appears that Mr.. Wilson's
sermon to Germany will draw it's answer
from Won Hertling. The Imperial Chan
cellor will reply on Tuesday. That is
where response was hoped for
There is an unexpected reverbration in
Great Britain Notwithstanding Lloyd
Georges unsympathetc attitude toward
what is taking place, Or perhaps because
of it, Mr.. Wilson's offensive has the sup
port of the Asguith following and of those
in England who are now attacking the
Lloyd George government on the ground
that the Supreme War Council at Yer
sailles exceeded its military function and
usurped political power when it said any
thing at all about war aims and peace
prospects, On this issue yesterday, how
ever, Lloyd George received d very heavy
vote Of confidence in the House of Com
mons.
Thus do modern peace pareys proceed.
The world is hearing, or reading in the
newspapers, what formerly took place Sc
cretly in the moral darkness of diplomatic
chambers.
We are witnessing the spectacular OBJ
sequies Of secret diplomacy
Mr.. Wilson appears as the singe-handed
slayer of that dragon. He is the pro-
digious champion of "open covenants of
peace, openly arrived at, after which there
shall be no private international under
standings of any kind" That was the first
of his fourteen conditions 1t is suitable.
therefore, that he should have supreme
command of the peace offensive. 1t has
not been conferred upon him; but there
IS nobody else to do it in the way he pro-
poses. 1t Is his own high adventure.
The President believes the German peo-
pie are like other people, if only thew can
oe set free from the Hohenzollern spell.
We tear that the trouble with Germany
IS Germans. But we hope the President is
right
The President thinks the German people
can be persuaded by aggressive American
propaganda to Danish Junkerism. reform
their government and compel their rulers
to accept what we should call a lust and
reasonable peace
We fear that the only kind of American
propaganda Germany will understand is
an unlimited quantity of highly finished
industrial products delivered at high
velocity. Again, we hope the President is
right.
The President thinks the German peo-
pie are anxious to overturn their mill
taristic government and resort to the uses
Of peace.
We fear that the German government
presents to the German people at this
the aspect of a victorious govern.
ment (the only one there isl, and for that
reason it will be enormously difficult to
overturn it at all. Again we hope the
President is right.
There is in everything a Justly propor-
ioned risk.
II the President is wrong in his first
assumptions, as only the results will prove.
hen there is danger that his political Of
'ensive against the Kaiser through Aus