New-York tribune., 1918-03-03

phasizes ono issue of this world war.
PLAN to all classes of Americans, and
that IS that in this age of democracy
we do not propose to have a Hohenzoi-
dcn autocrat dominate Che destinies Of
this fair world.
Two Deadly Phrases
"There are phrases and phrases.
Two proud to fight was, we Will all
now agree, deadly phrase 1t not
only Inundated this nation in the ewes
Ct the world, but it sapped the spirit
of the people by presenting to them
tho ideal of a false pacfsm An
even deadlicr phrase was Peace with
out victory which sowed the seeds of
dlsntegration not only in Russia but
in the peoples Of its Allies. These UNI
fortunate platitudes may we'll be for
gotten III the later differences of the
President, when in felicitious language
2 hs held up to the American people the
great ideal Of justice. Thus, in his
great speech TO Congress OF last De-
cembcr, President Wilson nobly sum
married the whole situation as follows:
We are the spokesmen of the Amer
lcan people. and they have right to
know whether their purpose is ours.
They desire peace by the overcoming of
evil, by the defeat once for all of the
sinister forces that interrupt peace and
render it impossible. They are impa-
tlent with those who desire peace by
any sort of compromised deeply and in
dgnantly impatient-but they will be
equally impatient with US if we do not
make 1T plain to them what our objects
are and what we are planning for in
seeking to make a conquest of peace bv
arms. believe speak for them when
say two things: first, that this intol
cradle thing, Of which the masters of
germany have shown us the ugly face
TINS menace Of combined INTRIGUE and
lorce, which we now see so clearly as
tAe German power, a thing without
conscience or honor or capacity for
covenanted peace, must be crushed, and
II ~ be not brought utterly to an end
AT Ieast smut out from the friendly in
tcrcourse of the nations.
Voiced True American Spirit
These were noble utterances. vote
lnC the true spirit of the best Ameri
can sentiment, and admirably served
TO delc7t chc latent spirit of a false
p3clilsm, which is our chief danger.
They UNFOLD to the American people
a high ideal. They nerve us to our
great task. The Thing must be
crushcd.'
1.-The leader of people. who is
called upon to voice their sentiments
and direct their energies, has an oner-
GUS task and heavy responsibility.
He may make or mar the power of tho
nation. 1t will not do to say that this
as time for deeds and not for words
tor that III itself is a phrase that is
false through undue generalization.
but no phrase CT formula is valuable
mat does not square with the reali-
ties Of the present and voice the true
meaning of the people,
thus many phrases now in use.
such as the freedom of the seas and
the right OF self-defnition' of people
are unfortunate because they do not
represent realities. The freedom of
the seas, so called, means the right
OF n neutral, immune from search
seizure or capture. to sell goods to
a belligerent. This right we chal.
lenged in our own Civil War. and if
we had not denied the freedom of the
seas the Civil War would hnvo hcnn
prolonged and the cause of the Union
possibly defeated
We are denying now the right of
neutral nations to ship goods to Ger
many. and thus our assertion of .the
Freedom of the seas not only wounds
faithful ally. but is contrary to our
present and past policies. We do moi