The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-01-22
From Other
Editorial Pages
THE CANARDIERS


reasons best known to themselves, but
at which it is not exactly impossible
to make a shrewd guess, certain poll.
dcians, financiers and diplomatists
throughout the world have been en-.
gagged in circulating, industriously, sto,
ries to the effect that the war is com.
ing to an immediate end and have even
gone so far as TO declare that an armis.
tice may be looked for, on the Western
front, within sixty days. In the United
States these declarations have been
whispered sub rosa, and have also been
made almost publicly, and have been
accompanied by mysterious innuendOes
as to the financial stability of the rich.
est country in the world. As a result.
though these rumors are positively ludi.
crous, 1t is obvious that they are not
without very intentional and fell pur.
pose.
1t is naturally not desired that such
statements should get into the press, at
least not without a certain amount of
camouflage and circumlocution, which
Will present them with an iudistinctness
which viii render them difficult to ex.
pose, whilst making them, at the same
time, channels for the dissemination Of
suggestions of the most pestilent de.
scripton. Something of this nature
used to appear in the press Of the
| United States, when Count Won Bern.
storff reigned in the German embassy
| in Washington. and the talisman which
! opened the gates for it is not exactly
a secret to everybody. 1t has also been
heard of on the continent Of Europe.
where it is known under the nom de
guerre of Boloism. 1t has been heard
Of, too, in the clerical press Of Italy.
| But its sponsors have never been anN-
ious that it should find space in any
Of the great independent journals Of the
world, for the obvious reason that its
! nature is not unlike that Of Kaspar
| Hauser, in that strong light is dis.
! tinctly disagreeable to it,
! No one understands Boloism. shall we
| cell it, for want Of q better name, bet.
ter than does Mr.. Lansing, the secre.
tary Of state and when the whole story
Of the war comes to be told the nations
will learn how much they owe to the
ceaseless watchfulness Of the head Of the
state department and his assistant, the
counselor, Mr. Polk. They have been 70
| a large extent the Watchdogs Of the
Western hemisphere, they know also
| the intentions of the government Of the
| United States. And, consequently, Mr..
IAnsing's statement, il a completely
mixed metaphor may he excused can
serve as the lantern Of Diogenes in the
family cave dwellings of the KusDar
| HauSers.
Now Mr.. Lansing's statement is de.
ightfully direct and to the point lie
| 'tlgmatiZeS the armistiCe story as
canard, and adds that the whole tribe
Of canarders have now joined forces
with the pacifists TO spread the report
that the end Of the war is Immediately
in sight. AS Mr.. Lansing points out
every sane person is longing for the
end of the war, and with the honest
| pacitists the wish for this end is pcrpet.
| ially father to their thoughts Of an i'm.
mediate ending. But with the canar-
! iiers the intention is an entirely diff.
'erent one. With them the wish to see
| the preparations Of the United States
wasted ana delayed is father to the
thought which suggests the prospect Of
| IN immediate armistce az a reason for
slowing down these preparations. Ev-
I ,ry one knows by this time, the wealth
IF ingenuity which has been sQuan.
| Tered on paralyziug the arm Of the
! United States since the declaration Of
war But there is, perhaps, no means
| which would act more efficaciously than
that Of chloroforming the country VITA
| The belief that the certainty Of an i'm.
mediate peace renders the order Of full
steam ahead not only unnecessary but
wasteful.
| Now the internal condition Of Ger.
many, to say nothing of Austria-Huu-
| gary and Turkey, is such that re.
| 1uest for an armstice might become
necessary at any moment. Indeed as
has incessantly been insisted upon in
these columns had the allied powers
| all acted unitedlv, il might have been
present today. But so far Is it from
following that request for an armis.
tice would be followed by an armistice,
| that owing to the complete loss by the
allies Of all confidence in Germany $
word, ii is far more likely that ii would
be met by a more vigorous pressing Of
the war, unless the German general
| staff would consent to an immediate
withdrawal to the right bank Of the
Rhine, and to give other hostages to
fortune.
In these circumstances it is easy TO
understand the fun iniquity Of any cam
paign for retarding the preparations Of
the United States for joining in the war.
In the first place. it would be betrayal
Of her allies, to even contemplate such
q step, and, in the second, it would be
to be untrue to herself. Such things
would not of course, be matter Of any
| concern to the canardiers, but they are
| careful not to represent them in that
light. Their object is TO whisper them
into this ear, aNd to drop them into
that, until they have succeeded in en-
listing numbers OF entirely unsuspectng
people in u campaign OF undHuted Ger
man propaganda. With them it is not
50 much a question Of any good it may
do to Germany, as of what harm ii may
do TO the allies, and the two results
are not altogether inversely equal.
All this being 50, it was a wise as
well as fortunate decision which led
the president to address congress. His
speech had twofoid purpose. 1t was
intended to checkmate the design OF
Germany TO pose. before the world, as
the one power anxious to conclude
peace but unable to get the allies ia
confer with her. And it was also in
tended, whilst stating, in reply to Ger
many, the irreducible minimum Of the
terms Of the United States, to act as a
ringing call to arms to the people OF