Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-21
AFTER. EUROPE
BY Clinton W. Gilbert
STAFF Correspondent at Washington OF the
Evening Public Ledger
AN ARMY officer of one of the Allied

An ARMY officer OF one of the Allied
LlPowers stationed at Washington gives
a novel idea of how big will be the task
Of international organization after the
war.
You Americans talk cheerfully of
bringing back your army after the war
Is over. You won't get all your army back,
or rather you won't get a considerable part
of 1t back when peace is made. For ten
years n big international army will have
to be retained in Europe to keep peace
and restore order. You can't stop a thing
like this overnight and go back instantly
to the ways of peace"
What he said was evidently a common
place among the military men of Europe.
He said it with perfect confid nee and
seemed astonished that the fact was not
realized in this country After Germany
had been bcotCn he thought Il pould not
do to assume thdt she trns at once to be
trusted as n ciriliscd member of the 60
ciety of nations. France ,couid hare to be
on her 9unrd against her neiohbor.
But more than this, the international
policing of Russia had already been under
taken. for that in effect is what interven-
ton has worked out to be. Russia cannot
ne aDalluOllen TO It's own devices the IN
slant war is over. 1t will be an internal
tional task to restore order there. to re.
build the country, to recreate industry and
to give the whole structure thus erected
stability.
Russia is the cranary of ruropc. Eu-
rope has been starving too lon 10 watch
Russia's wheat fields neglected, while the
Slavs are slowly working out their own
salvation as a Safeguarding people. Tur-
key and Rumania will not be in better
condition to be left alone than is Russia.
What will happen in Austria when the
Allies cut loose her Slavic regions and
erect them into separate States no ono
knows. Revolution is conceivable there
and Europe may have another Russia on
its hands in the dual empire.
At ANY rate, when the war is over
AEurope will not be the old Europe.
An immense task of reconstruction
physical, moral, industrial, political-re-
mains to he performed. And an interra-
tional organization with an international
police force will have to be created in
order to effect it.
This international organization may not
be Mr.. Wilson's League of Nations. 1t
may be just a temporary league, spelled
with n small letter, for the reconstruction
of Europe. But a league it will have to
be, and it will probably be the continuation
of the league which it is proposed to effect
now and which is called the interallied
executive for the control of the materials
of war.
AS has been indicated in this correspon.
dence. such an executive control cannot be
limited in scope in the way in which it
was proposed to limit it when the creation
of it was first suggested by the Allied
Powers. You cannot separate war from
after-war. The problem of getting British
ships to carry our troops during the war,
to take an illustration from a situation
that is engaging the best diplomatic efforts
of this country and England. is IA problem
of supplying the British with ships after
the war. or at least of safeguarding her
foreign trade for some years after peace
is made. We demand ships to win the
war next year. and Britain in return de-
mands assurances for the future.
The point the Germans have made re-
Gently, that if the Allies did not look out
there would be only one great Power when
the war was ended. and that would be the
United States, has not escaped the atten-
ton of the Allies. England wants TO know
where it is going to stand after the war
hccore committing herself to further sac.
RI ces of shipping, and in our turn we
want to know where wa are & ling to- stand
in the peace conference if we commit our
selves now to after-the-war assurances to
the Allies.
THERE cannot be interallied unity of