Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-04
MR.. BALFOUR'S ANSWER

In his Metropolitan Opera House
speech last Friday President Wilson
said that the people of the world are
demanding that the leaders of their
Governments declare to them plainly
what it is, exactly what it is, that
they are seeking in this war, and
what they think the items of the
final settlement should be-"
For himself he said that there
must be a League of Nations, pio
vided for at the peace talce. Then
he called upon the leaders of other
Governments to speak out as plainly:
And 1 believe that the leaders of
the Governments with which we are
associated will speak, as they have
occasion, as plainly as have tried
to speak. l hope that they will feel
free to say whether they think that
l am in any degree mistaken in my
Interpretation of the issues involved
or in my purpose with regard to
the means by which a satisfactory
settlement of those issues may be
obtained"
We have England's answer to this
call, made with a precision, a def
niteness,' which leaves nothing to the
imagination. Mr.. Balfour began by
of a League of Nations. He accepted
the principle that it should be form
ed at the close of the war, not later.
Then he went further and said this:
Evidently we are bound to see that
the labors, the work which you re-
quire your new machinery to do.
shall not be greater than any ma
chinery can be asked to do" That
is, as he further explained, the map
must be so arranged that the great
occasions for wars will not over
whelm you" We must not leave all
the conditions favorable for the
outbreak of "a new war and then trust
to the formation of a League of Ma
tions to prevent it. He went on to
explain that wrongs must be set
right before the League of Nations
sets to work" and that it must have
"a clean slate to work upon" and
he stated definitely the wrongs he
had in mind.
First, he declared, we must not
"perpetuate the state of things which
exists in Central Europe" We must
not leave Germany in possession of
Russia or dominating her. We must
not deprive the small people along
the Baltic" of hope. We must not
| leave Poland's wrongs unredressed
/
been for all these generations, a re-
proach to all civilization" We must
not leave in their old position The
| subordinated peoples who have fol-
| generations been trampled in the
Austrian Empire under the heel oi
the German and Magyar minor
tiles"
We must not leave the Balkans IN
the condition which has constantly
provoked bloody wars among them.
selves" ana been the occasion ot
4 hostilities among their neighbors
We must not restore the bloody sway
of the Turk "over the territorie:
which have been torn from him
and leave him ito massacre at will
and plunder at will We mus
restore to Italy those population!
which will really make her indeed
| Italy Redeemed" We must relieve
Greece from the threat that has hunt
over her; we must restore Serbia ant
Belgium; we must allow France u,
resume her full place in Western
Europe" as it was before the Ger
man raid of 1870.
After you have carried out thes,
great reforms, after you have freeC
Europe from Prussian militarism
after you have restored Asia as vel
as Europe to a position in whicl
self-development is possible for th,
various nationalities which occup!
them then, and then only, will youl
League of Nations work.
The President could not have Ge
sired moro explicit answer. Th'
British position is clear, and 1t is il
accord with the principles the Presi
dent has laid down in his various
speeches. Unless these things ar,
done, the peace will be merely al
incubation of new wars, and rht
passions thus left to smolder woulC
in time burn up the League of Ma
tions like n cobweb. The League o.
Nations must be planned to stay. no
be disrupted by passions mightiel
than all its pledges, and to that end
as Mr.. Balfour said we must give 4
"a clean slate to work upon"