The Washington herald., 1918-05-12
An Inconclusive Peace.

An iHSOuCiusNc eoSc'
Perhaps the time will when the American
people will be the worlds umpire as to whether
the war will continue until the snake of military
autocracy is killed and cast off the earth, rather
than merely scotched.
We may take it for granted that the supreme
task of German propaganda will be to ensnare the
world in a peace which leaves the serpent alive
and ready to strike again, although playing dead
and officially defunct for the eyes of outsiders.
This task is not so very far away-perhaps it
will follow directly the failure of the present Ger
offensive, if it proves to be failure perhaps
the next German version of peace terms will con-
cede everything that civilization demands, far
the surface of things goes-it may concede every
thing except the wiping out OF militarism.
1t is certain as life and death itself that a peace
which does not leave Prussiansm crushed and
broken will mean, in the words of Sir Gilbert Muir
ray, that the defeated party will gather together
his resources and proceed to recover and to arm
Tor war OF revenge, just war of revenge" 1t
will mean the antthesis of disarmament, towards
which mankind now looks wistfully-rather in
crease of ornaments to such extent that the
traditional and balanced and prosperous
economic civilization will be lost entirely; the mill
tarists will be in despotc control in every strong
nation the globe.
Yet the lure of drawn war;" or peace which
leaves Germany still miltarst, although conceding
practically every territorial demand OF her enemies
except, perhaps, free hand in the East, will mean
absolutely that this will have to be fought
again. The great hope" that this war holds
out, the handspring OF the whole struggle dimly
enough realize it now is that some plan be
devised to prevent the renewal of its horrors
whether that plan take the exact form of the
League to Insure Peace" which President Wilson
advocates not.
The pulverizing OF Prussianism must be &C
companed by a policy OF reconciliation towards
the German people. year ago that policy of
President Wilson's seemed an abstraction that
seemed far, far away to those who had to
6ud in the Hun and the Bochc a hidcous defling
savage; but, nevertheless civilization, for its own
self-protection, must find way of purifying
the German spirit and bringing it within the civil
hzed pale Otherwise may we'll despair OF the
future, matter how overwhelming victory
in the may be.
What will be the alternative? One OF them
already has been pointed out by dplomats-that
Germany denied place in the sun" in the West,
will find in the East; that she will become an
Oriental rather than an Occidental power, joining
forces with Slavic, Ottoman, Mongolian and Japa-
nese nations to launch another shaft at the domi-
nance of Europeans One thing is certain-that
the 100000 of people in Germany and Austria
Hungary must have an outlet for their tremendous
energies after the II they cut off from
intercourse with the Western nations, they will
find their opportunity elsewhere. That is
tain anything in this world can be.
AS the proceeds, objective will become
clearer and clearer. 1t is the Moloch of mtarsm
that we are fighting. The peoples that chained
and enslaved by this Moloch must make free.
A policy of punitive aggression towards them, a
policy Of keeping them out of the family of civil
lized nations, will be OF the gravest danger.
Its first reflex will be the restoration of miltarism
to its throne in the central empires The way
to demilitarize Germany is to show the OF
the nation in bondage that their militarists have
lied to them about their enemies; that nobody
wants to make them subject people.
Therefore, there essential elements in
conclusive peace"-that is that will last, so
far as the mind of man can build it firm founda-
tions. The first is the killing of militarism. The
second is the return OF the Teutonc peoples to the
civilized fold. The first is matter which
the morale the courage and the sophistication of
the allied nations be trusted to bring about.
The second is which they must accept the
price of the future world peace towards which all
eyes are turned.
1t is the greatest glory Of America that this
policy is hers-that President Wilson has taken a
very real leadership of civilization. The murk and
cloud OF battle, the terrific strain and passions of
this present offensive, should make our OBJ
jective less clear in eyes.