The Washington herald., 1919-02-05

hnIf America groans under him ms
IN affection. N cannot he helped
no man can be great and popular ~
the samc time before his death, ex-
ccpt at "A distanceI but there nr-
times when the neighbors Of ~
iastrous men are In danger of naaL
Ing themselves ridiculous by TN
familiarity which expresses itsel
In the old formula, Woodrow VII
son n grent man! Why I knew his
fatber.-
Rightly or wrongly. Europe IL
deeply impressed by Wilson, and is
not Impressed at all by the thou
ssnds cf doubtless prodlgiousiy able
American ward bosses who know
themselves TO be greatly superior 10
himi and that fact must be accepted
for the moment unless American
democracy Wishes to be sent down
q. n political failure which hns
actually produced greater pelit-
IcaI success than IL Is capable of np-
preciating.
Pros and Antis In ParIey.
With all this in view, we can see
the Peace Conference as II really
must be. II must consist largely OF
anti-Democrats and anti Republic
ans who. by choosing their phrases
prudenuy. can profess their real
views with less risk thCn their op-
ponents can contradict them.
1t will consist TO sCme extent Of
Democrats and Republicans who
have lost the courage Of their opin-
ions by living in q continual minor
ity and fighting Ysinly against a
public school system by which every
generation, no matter what phase
of enlightenment il may have been
born into through the efforts Of
some gifted and lucky band Of re-
formers. is deliberately replunged
into the ideas of the reign OF Heny
VIII: so that the stone OF Sisyphus
rolls back on the wretched reform
ers every thirty years, and re-es-
tabIishes the idea of a feudalism
thoroughly corrupted by capitalism.
That is to say. all members OF
the conference will be oppOrtunists'
though some OF them will be seek
ing opportunities for reaction and
some for progress.
And the reactionists. though not
the party OF the people. will be
fortified by the certainty that their
views can always be made to appeal
strongly to popr-lar prejudice, intel
ligence and arrogance. while the re-
formers. ostensibly the party Of the
people, will have more cause TO
dread popular persecution than TO
depend on popular support.
Greed nnd RRncor Go Far.
In such a miserable situation pol
: itIcaI ambition. without scruple or
principle. goes far. the greed and
rancor which abuse victory BY
graspinE at pluEdeT and vengeance
with both hands open and both eyes
shut go stiII further. because mere
ambition will comply with il as the
cheapest road to success.
There is only one force that can
beat both. and that force Is the en-
tirely mystic force OF evolution ap-
piled through the sort of living
engine We call the man Of principle.
Principle is the motive power in
/ the engine. its working qualities
are integrity and energy. conviction
and courage. with reason and lucl-
dity to show them the way.
il is because Europe knows in its
heart that only such living engine
can dominate the faithiess, the con-
ventional. tho fec bic. the greedy. the
moraIized fgureheads of the con-
ference. that Europe is proclsiming
President Wilson as that man: not
vet sure that he viii hold out TO the
end as he has begun. but quite sure
that there is no hope from the
others.
Failure May Mean Chaos.
II he fails. Europe will either set
tie down in despair to drudge along
until the next war is ready to engult
it. or else throw official and demo-
cratic parliaments and conferences 10
the winds and try Syndicalism, Boil
shevism. SpartaCus dictstorsh nip, and
even Choas and Anarchy. that they
may work out their natural remedy
through what blOOdshed and destruc-
ton NAV be necessary sooner than
trust any longer to established lnsu-
tutiOnS that can do nothing but pre-
pare for holocaustS. Of which each as
il approaches seems 10 be the day OF
doom for civilization.
Here. tnen is no little diplomatic
lob which anyone Of half a dozen
American notables might do as well
a. another. but labor Of Hercules
only to be achieved by man who -
hoTS COnCourS-a genuine worthy not
to he enlisted at any price IN the
seven humburGS OF Christendom who
made this war and are already striv-
ing for the job Of making another.
A mere dema EoEue rsllying the
ProCressives and bullying the reac-
tionaries. will not suffice. Any po-
IiticaI platform puGilist can rally and
bully. There must be force Of such
huf rnRaI do Tnn1f hPT-f he
force in the presence OF which evil
r--.--.- hnnrt ....a nr--ll