The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-12-26

also Is an overwhelming socialist con-
stituency; and the Belgian government
was dominated by the socialist five
years 6 and the government may be
again socialistic when it begins to func-
tion. TO this great European socialist
constituency-which is not ~bolshevist-
yetD-the president is appealing. He
expects that constituency to be made
quately represented at the conference.
ana he has not colored the American
uelegration with a distinctly socialist
n Mr.. Lansing, Mr.. Houston, Mr..
White and Colonel House are anything
but reds. They are far from the shell
pink socialists who infest New York,
and there is M hope that any Of our
American delegation in a preliminary
rough n tumble could hold their OWL
with Lloyd George and Clemencea
Either the British or the French man
would outtalk any or all Of our peace
delegates in a gala feast. Nor will the
president sit in with the delegates.
Certainly no one expects him to debate
the merits of his case with the strong
debaters of Europe. President Wilson
never debated. He doesn't even assert
forensically, but rather ventures to
suggest" and 'by leave to Offer and
''may-I-not-hope" or "sees the possi-
bility" of ukase No. Z being accepted;
and then having tossed it out of the
cosmos returns to the cloister! He has
legislated thus through congress. He
expects to function thus at the peace
congress. He will make definite and
certain his ID points under the three
headings above suggested. Then the
subsequent proceedings will interest
him M rnnrn ~ " y rui11 Iaxyo a.. --.
tige Of the triumphant procession
across the earth, behind his program;
he will have advertised it to the Euro
pean masses, who according to the
Wilson theory accept the program
strongly; he will place the United
States officially behindi his program
without reserve or qualifcation-even
though it is sweetly elucidated in the
subjunctive mood-and then having
spoken upon such formal occasions as
seem wise, Mr.. Wilson will fade out
like a movie film.
What Will Be Results?
And the program will be before
Europe with on one to defend it who
can talk for sour apples. And hence no
one to modify it.
If 1t is adopted it Will be the Wilson
program-not the House plan, the Lam
slug proposal or the White resolution.
And If 1t is rejected-it will still be the
Wilson plan. And then what?
Mr.. Wilson has just one bag of tricks.
1t is putting the fear of God into his
adversaries. He made the republicans
vote for the Adamson law, gnashing
their teeth as they voted! HI made the
southern democrats take CONSUMPTION
and a strong nationalism, damning the
hand that fed it to them. There was
no debate; no explaining; no persua-
sion. Just a mild ~subjunctive ukase
with a T. N. T. bomb in it's disobedi-
ence; n the fear Of baked socialism
turning bolsheyist in allied lands is the
merry little hand grenade which the
president has coated with the chocolate
eclair of his gentle self deprecating
suggestions and has so %diffidently
passed into the situation in his well
known potential mood. The allied lead
ers nave known for a month what he
was bringing to Europe. Northcliff,
who has been welcoming the American
president while he abused Lloyd
George, may have suspected what is in
the presidents package. But now
Europe Is beginning to realize it.
No one can predict what the result
will be. The president is running true
to form; he is treating the conference
as he mas handled congress for four
years. And it remains to be seen
whether the conference reacts to the
Wilson treatment as our American
congress reacted. But the spectacle
OF the president coating his n.dical de-
mocracy in the saccharine and soft
soap Of his persuasive rhetoric and
thus while the fuse acknowledgements
ing as gently and as innocently as the
Cheshire cat with revolutionary cream
on it's whiskers, will be we'll worth
watching.
1t is not necessary to agree with this
to report it fairly. And unless
all his friends are fooled or unless they
are fooling their friends, the foregoing
Is a fairly accurate guess on the stu
alton that is unfolding these days in
France
Copyright, 1918, The Wheeler Syndi.
cate.