New-York tribune., 1918-12-05
Out Of Darkness Into Darkness

On the day the President sails for
France the newspapers print speech
on the American peace programme by
Senator John Sharp Williams, the only
member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee reputed to enjoy Mr.. Wilson's
confidence.
1t illustrates the absolute befuddle-
ment of the public mind with regard to
the Presidents purposes that no one can
take Mr.. Wiliamss remarks seriously
They fly in the face Of any normal
and commonsense Interpretation of the
league Of nations and freedom of the
seas. declarations embodied in Mr.. Will
sons Fourteen Articles. They are ex-
travagantly contradictory of the ideas
which the President seemed to be con-
Veyipg in the statements of peace condi
tions which he has been making for the
last twenty-thee months
What is Mr.. Wlliams's definition of
freedom of the seas? 1t is that the two
leading naval powers in the world
Great Britain and the United States
shall assume joint control Of the seas
No other nation is hereafter to make war
without being boycotted by these two
naval powers, without suffering exclu-
sion from the high seas and an embargo
on all the raw materials and other prod
ucts carried in ocean commerce. Pope
Alexander VI divided the South Atlantic
between Spain and Portugal. Great
Britain and the United States are to
divide all the seven oceans between them
and their fiat is to be law on all, just as
Secretary Olney once said that, under the
Monroe Doctrine the fiat of the United
States was law on the American CONT
nent.
This is a curious elaboration of the
sense Of President Wilson'S Article II,
which promises: 'Absolute freedom of
navigation upon the seas outside terri
torial waters, alike in peace and in war,
except as the seas may be closed in whole
or in part by international action for the
enforcement of international covenants.
Ii the policing of the seas is to be put
into the hands of two paramount ma
tions what becomes of the theory of a
league of nations, great and small, free
and equal? Nh Williams is not the man
to run away from his own logic. He says:
The two English speaking countries,
the United States and Great Britain, can
maintain league of nations, even IL
France. Belgium, Italy and other nations
refuse TO have part in it. If the two
English speaking nations go into it we
can, by our power, by our control over
raw materials, by our control natu-
raj resources, force the other nations OF
the world to do the leagues bidding
Is this the promised end of Mr.. Will
sons dream Of internationalism We
cannot believe that MI Williams is right
Wilson is going to Europe for" Great
Britain is a friend of the United States
But when did we renounce our tradi-
tional friendship for France? Or Italy?
Or Belgium? Or Japan? When did we
lay aside our chivalrous regard for the
sovereign rights Of the smaller nations
The natural assumption must be that
Mr.. Williams doesn't know any more
about the Presidents intentions than dc
the other 80 999,99 Americans in whose
behalf the trip to Paris was projected.
If he is right about the freedom of the
seas then the freedom of the seas is al
ready a ghost out of the international
law books.
If he has accurately forecast the form
which the league Of nations is to take
then Heaven help the league of nations.