The Washington times., 1919-02-12
by GEORGE BERNAIvD SHAW.

LONDON. Feb. l2.-AnyOne who ha )
fully grasped the situation of the
European powers and mastered the
history OF the war. IA liberty which
none Of the beIligerents could per-
init even to themselves in private be-
fcre the armistice, but which is now
rot only free to us all. but highly
desirable. will be sugges ed by a sec
oud reading Of Mr.. Wilson's speeches
of January s. 1918 uhG fourteen
Foints). and his elucidatiOn of IL on
September q.
When these speeches were deliv-
cred, they passed for an arraignment
of the central empires and a demand
upon them for securities for good be
havior
Today they have scarcely any
meaning except as against Mr.. Will
sons own allies. One can almost
hear Mr.. Balfour. Lord Grey and
Lord Robert Cecil n. Pichon, NJ.
Poincare and Baron Sonnino saying:
Means the Allies.
Il trust you don't mean us" and
Mr.. Wilson replying, with his jaw set
in a halo of his famous smile: You
are too modest, gentlemen. do
mean you, and, the central empires
row being disposed of, nobody else"
1t may prove that at this point the
fat is in the fire. That French
dipIomatists and English country
gentlemen of 100000 a year are TO
allow themselves to be mastered by
an American professor is a phenOme-
non which to them will appear moth
ing short of apOcalyptic, and some
of them have given anguished ex-
preston to this feeling in private.
But the Presidents extraordinary
personal success in London has put
an end to such snobbish reCalcitrance
in England. Today the role of Char
lemagne is to him who can play it;
the tiara to him who can pontificate.
After the banquet at Buckingham
palace and the reception at the guild
hall, no doubt remained AZ to who
was king, by divine right of character
and personality, in western Europe.
Old Order Wins.
But even while Mr.. Wilson was
speaking at the guild-hall, the votes
cast at the general election a fort
night before were being counted; and
next day the count revealed an over
whelming majority in Parliament for
the party against which Mr.. Wilson
will have to fight tooth and nail in
the peace conference il he is to carry
his fourteen points.
| 81 find in my welcome" said the
President at the guild-hall, "the
thought that they (the allied nations)
have fought to do away with the old
order and establish a new one, anC
that the key Of the old order wa:
that unstable thing which we used to
I call the balance of power, thinG
which was determined by the sworc
which was thrown in on the one side
or the other, a balance which wal
maintained by Jealous watchfulnes:
and an antagonism of interests which
though 1t was generally latent, wal
always deep-seated."
Unfortunately the old order wa
inst then receiving a five years leas'
of parliamentary supremacy from tina
norton Cabout half) of the registered
electors Of the United Kingdom Whicl
took the trouble to vote.
AS far as they can be said 10 nav
voted for anything definite ire
voted for hanging the Kaissr: an
the degree Of their political sagaci;,
may be inferred from the fact ths
IN order to secure that sat stacuol
thew put into power the party who
will certainly do its best TO rcstor
the Prussian monarchy, and whicI