The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-02-11

1
patches is It possible thAt Count Won
Heftling does not sec that docs mol
grasp 1t, is In fact living In his thought
In world dead and Ronel Has he
Utterly forgotten he reichstag resolu.
lions OF the ninieenth Of July, has hc
deliberately ignored them They spoke
Of The condition Of a general peace not
OF national aggrandiremcnt or Of ar
rangements between state and state.
Problems Affect whole World.
The peace oi the world dcnend, upon
the Just settlement oi each OF the
several problems 10 which ! adyerlcd
in my recent address to the congress
! Of course, do not mean that the peace
Of the world depends upon the acccp-
tance OF any particular set OF lug
gestionS as TO the way in which those
problems are to he dealt with mean
only that those problems each and all
affect the whole world; that unless
they are dealth within a spirit OF un-
selfish and unbiased justice, with q
view TO the wishes. the natural conncc-
tions, the racial aspirations, the Sc
eurity and peace OF mind OF the peo-
pies involved, no permanent peace will
have been attained. They cannot be dis
cussed separately or in corners None
Of them constitutes a private or separ-
ate interest from which the opinion pi
the world may he shut out Whatever
affects the peace affects mankind and
nothing settled by military force, II
settled wrong, is settled at all II will
presently have 10 he reopened
Speaking Before World.
Is Count gon llerlling not aware
that he is speaking IN the court OF
mankind that all the awakened nations
OF the world now sit in judgment on
what every public man, Of whatever
nation, may say on the issues Of a con
flict which has spread to every region
OF the world? The rcithStag reSolu-
tions Of July themselves frankly ac-
oepted the decisions Of that court There
shall he no annexation, no contrlbu-
tionS. no punitive damages
Peoples are not 10 be handed about
from one sovereignty to another BY
an international conference or an un-
derstandng between rivals and an
tagonistS National aspirations must
be respected peoples may now be
dominated and governed only by their
own consent "Self.delerminatlon" IS
not a mere phrase. 1t is an imperative
principle OF action, which statesmen
will henceiorth ignore in their peril
All Must Contribute TO Peace.
We cannot have general peace for
the asking or by the mere arrangement,
OF peace conference. II cannot be
pieced together out Of individual
understandings between powerful states.
All the parties TO this war must Join
in the settlement OF every issue any
where involved in it because what We
are seeking is a peace that We can all
unite TO guarantee and maintain and
every item OF 1t must be submitted to
the common judgment, whether i, be
right and fair. an act OF justice, rather
than bargain between sovereigns.
The United States has no desire to
interfere in European affairs or to act
as arbiter in European territorial dis
putes We would disdain 10 take adj
vantage Of any internal weakness or
disorder to impose her own.wll upon
another people. She is quite ready to
be shown that the settlements she has
suggested are not the best ~ the most
enduring. They are only her own pro-
viSional sketch of principles and of
the way in which they should he ap.
piled
Partner OF Sufferiugs.
But she entered this war because she
was made a partner. whether she would
or not, in the Suiicrlngs and indlgni-
ties inflicted 10y the military masters
OF Germany against the peace and Sc.
curity Of mankind; and the conditions
OF peace will touch her as nearly a,
they will touch any other nation TO
which is entrusted a leading part in the
maintenapce OF civilization She can
not see her way 10 peace until the
causes of this war arc removed, its re.
newal rendered as nearly as may be.
impossible
Where War Had Roots
lhls war had IT'S roots IN the diSrc-
gard OF rights OF small nations and Of
nationalhieS which lacked the union
and the force to make good their clam
to determine their own allcgianccS aud
their own forms OF political life Cove
nants must be entered into which wIl
render such things impossible for the
future; and those covenants must b..
backed by the united force Of all the
nations that love Justice and are wiling
to maintain it at any cost.
II territorial settlements and the ou-
lltlcal returns OF great population,
which have not the organized power ~
resist are to be determined by the con
tracts Of thc powerful governments
which consider themselves most direct.
ly affected as Count Won Hcrtiug pro-
poses, why may not economic questions
! alSo'
Peoples Rights First.
II has come about in the altered
world in which we now find ourselves.
that Justice and the rights OF people,
affect the whole field of international
dealing as much as access to raw ma
terials and fair and equal conditions Vt
trades Count Won Hertlrng wants the
essential bases OF commercial and i'm
dus,rlal life TO be safe uardcd BY com
mon agreement and guarantee, but he
cannot expect that to be conceded him
If matters ate to be deterwincd by the
articles of peace are not handled in the
Game way as items IN the final ac
counting, He cannot ask the benefit #
common agreement in the one field
without according it in the other