The Washington times., 1918-02-11

| into which win render such thing,
impossible for the future; and thoss
covenants must be backed BY ths
united force Of all the nations thai
love Just Justice and are willing "a
maintain It at any cost II tsrritor.
ial settlements and the political rsia.
tions Of great populations which
have not the organised pewer to re.
Sist are to be dStsrninSd by the con.
tracts Of the powerful EoveFnmsntI
which consider themselves most al.
reetly affected. as Count Won Hart.
ling proposes, why may not economic
questions also!
1t has come about In the altered
world in which we now find oursslvS.
that Justice and the rights Of peoples
affect the whole field Of intsrna-
tional dealing a. much a. access 70
raw materials and fair and equal con.
dItiOns Of trade.
Count ron HertlInE wants the Is.
sentIal basss Of commercial and In
duStrial life to be sGfSguardsd BY
common Agreement and guarantee,
but he cannot expect that to be con-
cedsd him II the other matters to
be determined by the articles of
peace are not handled In the sGnS
way ss items In the Anal Aoeountins.
He cannot ask the bsnsAt OF csn.
mon agreement IN the ens nsld vita.
out according II In the other. take
It for granted that he sees that sep
arats and selfish eompaess with re-
gard to trade and the essential ma
terIals of manufacture would AFFORD
no foundation for peace. Neither, he
may rest assured, will separate and
selhsh conpaetS with regard to prov
inceS and peoples.
Count Czernin seems to see the fun.
damental elements OF peace with
clear eyes and does not seek to OBJ
scure them, He sees that an Inds-
pendent Poland, made up OF all the IN
disputably Polish peoples who lie con-
tiEuouS to one another, is 4 matter Of
European concern and must, Of eourss,
be conceded; that Belgium must De
evacuated and restored. no matter
what sacrifices and concessions that
may involve. and that national GSpIra-
tions must be satisfied, even within
his own empire. In the common inter
est OF Europe and mankind. II he Is
silent about questions which touch
the interest and purpose of his
allies more nearly than they touch
those Of Austria only, It must. OF
course, be because he feels con-
strained, / suppose, to defer to Ger
many and Turkey In the circum-
stances.
Seeing and concedInE. a. he does,
the essential principles involved and
the necessity OF candIdly applying
them, he naturally feels that Austria
can respond to tho purpose OF psecs
a. expressed by the United States with
less embarrassment than could Ger
many. He would probably have gone
much farther had It not been for the
embarrassmsnts OF AustriA'a alliances
and OF her dependence upon Germany.
After all. the test OF whether Il 10
possible for either government to 50
any further in this comparison OF
viswB iS simple and obvious. The
principles 10 be applied GyS thSss:
First. that each part Of the nnai
settlement must be based upon the
essential justice Of that particular
case and upon such adJuGtnSnts a.
are most likely to bring q peace that
will be permanent:
Second, that peoples and provinces
are not to be bartersd about from
sovereignty to sovereignty a. II they
were mere chatteIs and pawns In I
game. even the great game. now for.
ever discreditsd, of the balance OF
power; but that
Third. every territorial settlement
involved in this war must be made
in the interest and for the beneft Of
the populations concerned, and not -