The Washington herald., 1918-12-22

tyetD-the President is appealing. he
expects that constituency to be IN
adequately represented at the confer
ence. And he has not colored the
American delegation with distinctly
socialist tint. Mr.. Lansing. Mr.
Houston. Mr. White and Col House
are anything but Reds. They are far
from the shell pink socialists who IN
fest New York, and there Is no hope
that any of our American delegation
ina parliamentary rough and tumble
could hold their own with LLOYD
George or Clemenceau.
Either the British or the French
man would outtalk any or all of our
peace delegates in a gala fest Nor
will the President sit in swith the
delegates. Certainly no one expects
him TO debate the merits of his case
with the strong debaters of Europe
President Wilson never debated. He
doesn't even assert forensically but
rather ventures to suggest and by
leave to offer and "may-I- -not-hope'
'or ''see the possibility" of Ukase No.
a being accepted; and then. having
tossed it out of the cosmos returns
to the cloisteri He has legislated
thus through Congress. He expects
to function thus at the peace con-
gress. He will make definite and GER
tain his fourteen points under the
three headings above suggested. Then
the subsequent proceedings will "in-
terest him no more" He will have
the prestige of the triumphant pro-
cession across the earth, behind his
program: he will have advertised 1t
to the European masses, who accord
ing to the Wilson theory accept the
program strongly; he will place the
United States officially behind his
program without reserve or qualifica-
tlon-even though it is sweeuy eluci-
dated in the subtunctive Woodland
then having spoken upon such formal
occasions as seem wise, Mr. Wilson
Will fade out like a movie film.
What VIII BE the Resultsf
And the program will be before Eu-
rope with no one to defend 1t who
can talk for sour apples. And hence
no one to modify it. .
II 1t is adopted II will be the Wilson
programmed the House plan, the
lansing proposal or the White resolu-
ton. And IL It is rejected-it will be
the Wilson plan. And then what?
Mr.. Wilson has just one bag of
tricks. 1t is putting the fear of God
INTO his adversaries. He made the
Republicans vote for the Adamson
law, gnashing their teeth as they
voted! He made the Southern Dem
ocrats take conscription and a strong
nationalism. damning the hand that
ted II to them. There was no de-
oate' no explaining; no persuasion.
Just mild subjunctive ukase with
T. N. T. bomb in its disobedience;
and the fear of baked socialism turn
ing Bolsheviki in allied lands is the
merry little hand grenade which the
PRESIDENT has coated with the choco-
late eclair of his gentle self-deprecat-
ing suggestions and has so diffidentIy
passed into the situation in his we'll
known potential mood The allied
leaders have known for a month what
ne was bringing 10 Europe North
cliff' who has been welcoming the
American President while he abused
Lloyd George. may have suspected
what is in the Presidents package,
But now Europe Is beginning to real
ize it,
No one can predict what the result
VIII be. The President is running
true to form; he Is treating the confer
ence as he has handled Congress for
Tour years. And it remains to be
seen whether the conference reacts to
the wilson treatment as our American
Congress reacted. But the spectacle
OF the President coating his radical
democracy in the saccharine and soft
soap of his persuasive rhetoric and
thus while the fuse fizzes-disappear-
ing as gently and as innocently as
the Cheshire cat with revolutionary
cream on its -whiskers, will be we'll
worth watching.
II Is not necessary to agree with
this program to report it fairly. And
unless all his friends are fooled or
unless they are fooling their friends.
the foregoing is a fairly accurate
guess on the situation that is unfold
ing these days in France.