Grand Forks herald., 1919-01-20

To tho world at large the cessation
NJ hoatilities was almost as great q
surprise as was the breaking out o.
the war. In official circles. the emu
was confidently counted on Tor seveIaI
weeks before It was accomplished. %
engaging Of every effort OF mina anu
was the prosecution OF the War, t.eeS -
seemed little haste for tnougnt "
Glide. says n. H. Windsor in the Feb
ruary issue Of the Popular Mechanics
magazine.
No problem which has ever engae-
ed a congress of nations compares
, with the responsibility and magnttuoe
of the work before the peace com
mission. Like all great bodies u ap-
pears to move slowly, put ~ n. uu.
time, like a huge ship, it will cast
loose. get under way and starr IT, on u!,I1 M
prove to be is of momentous impor-
tance to every human being on TINS
earth, and to millions yet unborn. lts
Importance politically and socially Is
SO far beyond anything in the past.
that historically 1t may almost rank
with those great upheayals OF nature
in which our earth was born.
That the men. upon whose shou.
ders rests the formation Of right
| ana IaSLlHS SSIIlCIIICNI, ISoh"O eAA>>A
responsibility, may be accepted.
The countercurrents OF, wind and
wave of suggestion which reach US
indicate the careful approach OF the
actual negotiations. and give hopeful
promise OF sane and safe decision.
| The whole affair is so vast. and Its
| interests and dependent interests sc
many and far-reaching, the undertake
ing is something like the ministra:
tions of relief and reorganization
which Immediately follow a great
flood or conf1agration. However, as in
those disasters, each day tends to
| first progress may seem slow.
In this effort the best minds OF the
world are enlisted for its solution, and
it seems, with generous harmony OF
purpose. The effort of the Huns to
throw monkey wrenches in the gears
| has thus far only bruised their own
| hands.
To those Of us who demand the per;
sonal punishment in the persons OF
the chief offenders-which should in
clude all of us-the sheriff seems a
bit slow in arrestjng the criminals
who have already been indicted in the
court of world opinion.
In the meantime it behooves us tt
keep the faith, and, because the gas
and liquid fires are no longer hurled
at ourselves and the allies. do not for:
get the spirit of arrogance and hate
which conceived them. Not one single
repentant word has come out of Hun
dom. On the contrary the spirit o.
! defiance burns as brightly as ever
Ever and anon appear illusions tt
1.-The next war" while in an appea
to the allies, Fisher says:
I'VE do not come TO you in sack
cloth and ashes. doing penance. W.
come as men, conscious of havin.
cleared away the old system. W.
come with pure hearts. That is VIII,
we remind you that we are 10000, 00'
human beings who want to live, ant
that it is your duty to forget and t,
help US reconstruct the new world"
We maybe more forgetful as ma
tion than we should, but with ou
wounded and dyinEs reaching ou
shores by the shipload. with thou
sands more to come for months. W.
resent being told it is our duty t.
forget"-and it will be noticed we ar
not asked to forgive"
What we need to guard oursclve
against is the danger of relapsing int,
indifference to the crimes and horror
which the Huns inflicted on humani
ty.
i Even now the Hun in our midst !
rapidly resuming his attitude of ar
rogance and insult to our flag; eau
tiously. but none the less deliberately
Ships already are afloat headed thi
l-way with cargoes of German mad
goods, stored for years in neutral G!
European, countries, whose value run