Belding banner., 1918-03-13
WHEN WILL WAR END

i How long Will the war last! NC
one can answer this, says David Starr
Jordan. The present outlook is that
it will end when the German people
are ready to meet the other people of
the civilized world in an adjustment
! in the interest of friendship and
justice.
The final end must take one of
three forms more or less distinctly.
1t may be, as Louis f. Post and 9TH
ers have defined it, "a German Peace"
"a Tory Reace," or "a Peace of Dem
ocracy." Or, taking the names of
leading exponents of each, it may be
"a Reventlow-L -Ludendorff Peace" "a
Northcliffe Peace" or "a Wilson
Peace"
All our intelligence and all our re-
sources are pledged to the later. But
Democratic Control in place of the
irresponsible absolutism which now
dominates, and of which the Kaiser is
at once the agent and the victim. A
German Peace" which would leave
Belgium and France in the grip of
tyranny, is and has been from the
first unthinkable to all who care for
the welfare of humanity. To yield
to thes pirit of Empire is to admit
that might is right, that in the inter-
course of nations there is no such
thing as equity or justice. In every
empire the people must make their
way to Liberty. "Militarism not on
ly makes men arrogant and brutal;fit
makes them stupid" The prophecy
of the brave German democrat,
Johann Phillip Becker in 1862, is now
finding its verification. Though the
German nation may by no means
think of conquering and depressing
other peoples, as soon as it has given
birth to the monster of a united en-
pire, it will be no longer master of !
It's own fate, but only the ill-treated |
slave of the monster nursed by the
nation."
The dynasty, which owns the peo-
pie of a land, as a farmer owns his |
sheep, becomes a world-enemy. Vhe
lynastic system is the root of war. 1t
rests on three supports-force, in
.rigue and superstition, and it gath
RS to itself the arch-enemies of lib
,rty, the three war castes-the aristo-
ratio, the military and the plutocra-
lie. But business, big or little, is
lever the real cause of war. Capita
ism merely uses the machinery it
inds ready to it's hand. Neither do
vars originate with the people. 1t
axes a prodigious amount of lying to
tir up hatred anywhere. In the
words Of DR.. Nicolai of Berlin, "mofs
les are told In the shortest war than
AS sse to 1onSes' the "Sorthclife North Peace" the
President has set his face against it
nd it will never come to pass. The
United States has entered the war
Nth no possibility sof national gain. ,
twill see that none<of it's associates
hall gain anything not demanded by .
he. interests of justice. Final sue
ess is not a matter of boundaries {
ut of the temper OF the world. We {
ave announced that we do@not fight
he German people, but only the sys-
EN- which perverts and depresses
hem in so far as it is a menace to
he world. What response may we I
xpect from Germany? Not a social
nd political collapse such as has 8
ONE to Russia. The government of
.ussia had betrayed its people into
he hands of it's enemies. 1t was ]
orrupt, vacillating and inefficient. J
he government of Germany is eff 8
lent, persistant and desperate. Those I
iermans who oppose it most ener- r
etically hesitate to work for mill c
ary collapse, even if it lay in their
over to bring it about. They are h
etween two fires: in a way they face t
wo opponents: the allies and the 7
nperialistic armies. t