New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-04-06
The Big Work

The classification of this big ideal
has been the work of this last year.
In their Impotence with the small re-
suits achieved on the material side dur
ing the last year honest critics of the
nation take for granted all the prog
ress toward realization of what we are
fighting for as inevitable. The mere
being in the war, they say, was certain
to bring national unity and the will to
win. So it was to large extent. But
not to the full extent. President Will
sons ability to see and to state the is
sues for which America is fighting has
done much to create the condition of
mental preparedness that exists to-day.
compared with the condition of mental
shock and bewilderment that existed
on April 6 last year.
AS Americas aims have become clear
er the Allies have had to modify their
aims. AS Lloyd George and other
statesmen abroad declare their pur-
poses there has been increasing en-
phasis put upon the international OBJ
jects Of the Great War and a decreas
ing emphasis upon the purely nation
alistic ends with which the European
foes Of Germany originally took up
arms. This process is imperfect
Europe still renders lip service rather
than heart service to Mr.. Wilson's ideal
of international government. Europe
still thinks in terms Of Balance of
81 70 toy
torial readjustments and frontier rec
tifications." But still the necessity of
fighting for aims that America, the last
great reservoir of men and wealth, will
fight for has sensibly affected the pur-
poses of Europe.
Military unity has been accomplished
among the Allies partly as result Of
their having more nearly than in the
past one clear single aim and partly,
of course, as result of the pressure
of military necessity.
Complete diplomatic unity is still to
be accomplished. Here the Presidents
weakness as an organizer manifests
itself. He plans international or
ganization after the war. But inter-
national organization here and now,
among the Allies, who are most Of the
world, although it is in his power to
enforce it. the President. from his
personal inclination toward aloofness,
himself chiefly prevents.
Having a big ideal to fight for, we
have got together a splendid army to
fight for it, I put the army among the
moral successes Of the year, partly be-
cause Napoleon says that morale is
three-fifths of war and partly because
this army of ours chiefly has morale;
1T lacks the means to fight with, ex-
cept SO far as they can be borrowed
from France and England The thing
which a year ago seemed hard to do,
to get the country to accept compul-
sorry service, to collect and train more
men than we ever had in camp at any
one time before, to officer them, has
proved easy. The country has cheer
fully made the sacrifices. 1t is pre-
pared for the vastly harder sacrifices
of the months to come. The young
men who were to be leaders in the
great industrial army of the country
have promptly stepped out of rank to
become leaders in its military forces.
Experts agree that these graduates of
Plattsburg camps are or will soon be
better officers than those who had
made profession IF war.
A Splendid Thing
The year has brought forth a SPLEEN
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