Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-10-29

| our small army overseas without u sur.
! hcient number of o,rrconts or shoes
we got uniforms from the British. and
/ two-thirds Of the Ships IN which W.
| fcrried our troops across the ocean were
| from the british: we cot our cannon
and our machine guns from the hard.
| pressed French. tho tanks from the Brit.
| ish and French; we had practically nO
| airplanps at the front until seventeen
mouths after we went To war--in short
our governmental shortcomings were ~
lam entable that even now we can A9h,
| nt all only because of the weapors OUT
allies give us.
II hold that 1t was foolish and evi
thing to have failed 10 prepare during
/ the two years and n half after the world
war began. and n foolish and evil thing
to have shown the hesitation and delay
and incompetency displayed in making
our strength effective. which we showed
for over year after we had finally
helplessy drifted stern foremost into
the war hold that it is our duty now
70 insist upon the maximum efficiency
and upon absolute disregard of all po-
itical cons sderations in speeding up the
war. Let us try TO win 1t at once but
let us set ourselves resolutcly to win 1t
| no matter what the cost and no matter
how long 1t takes.
Must Face Blunders
Il hold that 1t is necessary clearly tc
| face the dreadful hlunders and worse
| than blunders that have been made in
| order to avoid repeating them in the
| future. But | hold with even greater
| tenacity that it is our duty to treat
| these blunders not in any way az an
excuse for failure TO do our duty. but
ne " nii tip11a1 ipnnptira - y,f i,,e q
every ounce of strength we have to win.
| ming the war. II we had prepared ir
| advance the war would have been over
| ninety days after we entered it.
"If the administration haa used with
| moderate efficiency the resI,,ts Of tb,
| lavish generosity of Congress our armie.
| and rho Allied armies would have beer
doing last March what they actually
| are doing now in October. I trust our
| people will keep well in mind. as les.
son concerning the mere money cost OF
| unpreparedness. that the enormous sums
we have had to raise by taxation and
by borrowing are at the very least twice
rs great as if' we had begun to prepare
in advance. without hurry and confusion
| and without the attendant waste and
extravaganza and pro1teering, and with
the patriotic ana pus'nessike retusai 10
consider politics or anything else except
| winning the war.
1--WE should accept no peace not based
on the unconditional surrender of Ger
many and her vassnl allies. AustriH and
| Turkey. and upon the freeing ." the
subject races Of Austria and Turkey
from the yoke Of the Austrian. the Mag
var and the Turk. Therefore. it is in
eXcusable in us, and is reflection upon
our good faith, to. have remained so lonG
| Hprl n fTy
it is mere hypocrisy 10 talk Of making
the world safe for democracy so long
as we are not at war with Turkey ant
| nave not insisted upon putting the Turk
| out OF Europe ana freeing the Armenian
| ana the syrian or all creeds from ms
| yoke ana giving Palestine to be maze
jewish state
| Freedom for All Nations
II would not subject the German oi
the Magyar to the dominion of any on.
alsc. But neither would ! permit then
to lord it over any one else The tru,
way TO put a stop to Germany's abiIit,
again to convulse the world by an ef
| fort to secure world domination is Il
give. not autonomy, but freedom to al
the nations that now COVER under II,
tyranny of Germany and her Allies
Belgium. of course must be restored
and amply indennifiad and all the
gold that Germany has cannot repay
Belgium the frightful wrongs so wan
tonly committee against her by Ger
many during the last four years
France must receive back Alsace ant
Lorraine. and Germany be forced
to carry out her broken promise tc
the Danes of North SchIeswlg.
"All of Poland must be n separat,
commonwealth, with a seafront on th,
Baltic; Finland the Baltic provinces
Lithua mia and Ckrania must be made a.
absolutely independent of Germany a,
Of Russia the Czecho-Slovaks and tn,
Jugo- Slays mus. be made into indepeud
ent commonwealtrs: the Rumanians II
East Hungary restored to Rumania
the Italians of Southwestern Austrif
ioined TO Jtaly. the Greeks saferuarder
in their rights. Constant;nonIe n,ad,
! a free CITY, and all other Injustice,