New-York tribune., 1919-11-09

that they have failed to achieve any
complete or approximate settlement
that the great questions which were
set before them a year ago remain
unanswered to-day.
Domestic Unrest Cr0.us
Out of this situation has grown
domestic unrest in every nation
which fought. If the Germans
assail their own leaders for hav-
ing consented to fatal terms in the
Peace Of Versailles, the French, the
British and the Italian people, and,
for that matter, the American peo-
Pile, assail their representatives for
failure to dispose Of the issues
raised by the war in such fashion
that peace or even approximate
peace would be assured.
To-day in America we are en-
crossed In q bitter political debate
over single detail in the peace
settlement; our whole legislative
and even our executive departments
have been engaged for nearly six
months in debate which has not
yet terminated and must terminate
before there can be peace in the
world. In France the debate, If
now ended, has been not less acute,
while the British Ministry which
brought back the most profitable
peace terms in British history found
itself in minority only the other
day and narrowly escaped resigna-
ton.
Meantime, while domestic unrest,
political and even more economic,
has postponed q return to peace in
the four great nations that in alli-
ance defeated Germany, multitude
Of rivalries has broken out between
newly liberated peoples, between the
recent allies and between the great
powers and smaller races. Back of
This lies the ever menacing shadow
Of Russia, where, if results are the
measure, western craftsmanship has
failed most conspicuously and COM
pletely. Not many months ago it
was estimated in the British House
of Commons that there were twenty
wars actually in progress and the
number has hardly decreased since
that time.
Russia Still Is battle-ground
Each newspaper brings fresh
reports of the fighting on at least
three fronts in Russia Italian and
Jugo-Slav troops face each other in
an armed truce on the Adriatic
about Fiume and Serb and Ruma-
nian troops are mobilized againsteac
other in the Banat, while Rumanian
soldiers, in defiance Of Allied man.
date, continue to occupy Hungarian
cities and provinces. Never was
the situation In Asia Minor more
critical than to-day, while the west
ern nations remain deadlocked over
the ultimate disposition Of the last
remaining fragment of Turkey in
! Europe, the Thracian hinterland of
Constantinople.
In all this chaos and confusion il
is plain that certain facts have been
established. Rightly or wrongly, it
is plain that the people of France
Great Britain and the United States
will not consent to fight new war
to restore order in Russia; they will
not supply the troops to expel the
Italians from Fiume or the Ruma-
mans from Budapest; they hesitate
even to furnish the troops necessary
II there is to be a fair election in
portions Of Germany to determine
whether the inhabitants shall remain
German or pass to Poland, to Den
mark, or to Belgium.
More than this, the course Of the
United States has almost amounted
to a reputation Of the essential
principle enunciated by President
Wilson in Europe, that America was
henceforth to emerge from her iso-
lation and in association with the
other liberal powers establish a
league of nations and contribute tc
the clothing Of its decisions with ade-
ouate authority. The ratification of
the Treaty Of Versailles in Washing
ton without amendment seems GER
tain, but the reservations, whose
adoption seems equally certain, de-
prive the treaty Of most of its moral
force by divesting it Of all guaran-
tees Of an American character.
Fe,o Issues Really Settled
In sum, then, the year which has
followed the signing Of the armistice
has served to demonstrate that the
| war itself settled few othor isevo.