Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-10-19
THE PRESIDENTS REPLY AND
THE AUSTRIAN PROCLAMATION
The Governments Must BE Remade IN Ac.
cordance With the Wishes OF the
peonles Themselves

PAPIDLY moving events are proving
~ beyond the shadow Of a doubt that
justice is mighty and will prevail.
The program for the worlds peace
which Mr. Wilson laid down in his speech
of January is being accepted with a
speed beyond the widest dreams of the
| optimists. and it is being accepted
because il is just We entered the war,
according to the President, because vio-
/ lations of right had occurred which
touched us to the quick and made the
! life of our own people impossible unless
they were corrected and the world were
made secure against their recurrence.
We demanded that the world be made
| fit and safe to live in for every peace
| loving nation. All the peoples of the
world, as the President said, are part
ners in this interest, and we saw then as
we see now that unless justice be done
to others it will not be done to us. The
program of the worlds peace was based
on demand for justice.
1t was an ideal which Mr.. Wilson held
up and some of US were so lacking in
faith as to believe that it was impossible
of realization. For example, when he
said that the peoples of Austria-Hungary
should be accorded the freest opportunity
of autonomous development we all ad-
mitted that this ought to happen, but
that it was unlikely in our time.
Bat Vithin little more than nine
months from the date ,chen this ideal
tcas formulated the Emperor of Austria
has issued q decree setting forth that
Austria must become, in conformity NTH
the tCW of its people, a confederate State
IN ichich each nationality shall form on
the territory Which 1t occupies its o,cn
local autonomy"
This means federated Austria, made
up of States controlled by the Czecho-
Slovaks, the Austrians, the Illyrians and
the Ruthenians. The independence of
the Czecho- Slovaks of Bohemia has
already been recognized by France, Eng
land and the United States; but there
is no Czecho-Slovak government save on
paper. There is a large group of Czechs
which will be satisfied with autonomy
1t may be possible for Austria to con-
ciiate the malcontents and save her ter
ritory by the very course which Emperor
Charles has adopted, even though the
Czech leaders at present insist on abso-
Lutte independence. And the same policy
of conciliation can remove the causes of
discomfort among the other races in
Austria proper.
But the President in his reply to the
Austro-H Hungarian request for an armis-
tice says that conditions have changed
to such an extent since January that
the different peoples in Austria-Hungary,
and not he, must decide whether they
wish to have autonomy or absolute in
dependence. This is in line with the
spirit of justice which inspired the Janu-
| airy speech and an extension of it 20
meet changing conditions.
This policy of concilation has already
begun. The attempt to found re-
modelled Austria upon the principle of
justice is under ,cdy. There remains the
Polish question TO be settled and the
position of Hungary in the dual empire
must be readjusted. The disposition of
the Austrian territory inhabited by Ital
ians is still undecided. But the attitude
of mind which has led the Emperor to
issue his decree gives promise for an
equitable settlement of these issues.
But nothing of this kind acould haze
rt a L1 b,aa
for the learen of justice 1chick the Presi-
dent of the United States hid IN the meal
of the lVorld's thinking and left TO do its
perfect 1oork. The whole lump is not
yet leavened but the stuff is still active.
Before it began to manifest itself in
| Austria it showed that it was producing
some effect in Germany, for the changes
| in the Constitution of the empire enlarg-
ing the powers of the Rechstag over
war and peace are directly due to the
demand made from Washington that the
right TO make their will effective be
accorded to the people.
What is happening now gives promise
that the whole program will be adopted
| before there is an end to the changes in
| progress. Belgium will be evacuated
and restored. Germany will get out of
! Russia and the opportunity TO develop
their own institutions under the tutelage
of disinterested Powers will be given to
the Russians. The injustice done to
Alsace-Lorraine in 1870 will be undone.
The frontiers of Italy will be remade
on racial lines. The Dardanelles will be
opened to all nations. Serbia will be
restored with access to the sea and
Poland will be established with a port
on the Baltic and general association
Of nations will be formed for the pur-