Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-11

be discussed separately or in corners.
None of them constitutes q private or
separate interest from which > the
opinion of the world may be shut out.
Whatever affects the peace affects
mankind, and nothing settled by mill
tary force, it settled wrong. is settled
at ALL 1t will presently shavesto be re-
opened.
PEOPLES EVERYWHERE
MUST BE FREE.
Is Count Won Hertling not aware
that he is speaking in the court of
mankind, that all the awakened ma
tons of the world now sit in judgment
on what every public man, of what
ever nation, may say on the issues of
a conflict which has spread to every
region of the world? The reichstag
resolutions Of July themselves frankly
accepted the decisions Of that court.
There shall be no annexations. no
contributions, no punitive damages.
Peoples are not to be handed about
from one sovereignty to another by
an International conference or an un-
derstanding between rivals and an
tagonists National aspirations must
be respected, peoples may now be
dominated and governed only by their
own consent. self determination" is
not mere phrase. It is an imper-
ative principle of action, which states
men will henceforth ignore at their
peril. We cannot have general peace
for the asking. or by the mere ar
rangements of a peace conference. 1t
cannot be pieced together out Of in
dividual understandings between
powerful states. All the parties to
this war must join in the settlement
Of every issue anywhere involved in
1t because what we are seeking is
peace that we can all unite to guaran-
tee and maintain and every item of it
must be submitted to the common
judgment whether 1t be right and
fair. an act OF. justice, rather than a
bargain between sovereigns.. The
United States has no. desire to inter-
fere in Europeap Affairs or, to act as
aradtei in EWopean terrltDrfa1 Y dis
putes We would. dIsdatn to take ad-
vantage Of ,aasssAnterIsal weakness aor
disorder to impose her own win upon
another people. She IL quite ready to
be shown that this settlements she has
suggested are not the best or the
riost enduring. They are only her
own provisional sketch of principles,
am, of the way in which they should
be applied. But she entered this war
because she was made, a partner,
whether she would or not, in the suf-
ferings and indignities inflicted by the
military masters of Germany against
the peace and security of mankind;
and the conditions of peace will touch
her as nearly as they will touch any
other nation to which is entrusted a
leading part in the maintenance of
civilization. She cannot see her way
to peace until the causes of this war
are removed, its, renewal rendered as
nearly as may be- impossible.
WAR CAUSED BY
DISREGARD OF NATIONS.
This war had its roots in the disre-
gard Of the rights of small nations
and of nationalities which lacked the
union and the force to make good
their claim to determine their own al
legiances and their own forms of po-
litical life. Covenants must now be
entered into which will render such
things impossible for the future, and
those covenants must be backed by
the united force Of all the nations
that love justice and are willing to
maintain 1t at any cost. If territorial
settlements and the political relations
of great populations which have not
the organized power to resist are to be
determined by the contracts of the
powerful governments which consider
themselves most directly affected, as
Count Won Hertling proposes. why may
not economic questions also? 1t has
come about in the altered world in
which we now find ourselves that JUS
tice and the rights of peoples affect
this whole field of international deal
ing as much as access to raw materials
and fair and equal conditions of
trade. Count von Hertling wants the
essential bases Of commercial and in
dustrial life to be safeguarded by
common agreement and guarantee,
but he cannot expect that to be con-
ceded him if the other matters to be
determined by the articles of peace
are not handled In the same way as
items in the final accounting. He can
not ask the benefit Of common agree
ment in the one field without accord
ing it in the other. take it for
granted that he seeslthat separate and
selfish compacts with regard to trade
and the essential materials of manu-
facture would afford no foundation
for peace. Neither, esmay rest as
sured, will separate and selfish COM
pacts with regard to provinces and
peoples. r.-."