Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-29

| has wrought its changes. But I read
| them when uttered looking for, much
meaning in them--under the sway OF
| the movcment-and found much mean e
| ing in them.
There were many such words in the
many speeches, implying united de-
mocracy of the world. the application
abrond of the American parallel. Again
| the men close to the President, re-
| sponsible with him for the conduct of
the war and for the plans of the future,
talked strangely in the language of
the great possession of that time which
| now seems so remote less than two
years later. More than one man of the
sort mentioned above, at the elbow of
| the President and certainly in con-
tact with his thought, explained Amer
| ica's big navy program. persisted in
after the conclusion of the armistice,
on the ground that America possessing
n great coast line to defend. would be
called upon to make large contri-
button in ships of war to the league
of nations. And in this case the
strength of the idea did not carry in
vcrsey as the square of the distance
from the President. 1t was as strong
at Paris MS il was at one time in the
Presidents own circle Mt Washington.
The French understood the league to be
a supcrstntc and fought for it.
And two days before the President S
adhesion to the Smuts plan, leading
American lawyer at Paris, one of whose
duties was supposed to be the drafting
of n plan for a league of nations, said
that he and his legal associates were
doing nothing because they could not
find out whether the President favored
superstate or not! Now, OF course,
American experts at Paris were III Il
bad way and had difficulty in ascertain
ing what the President wished. 1t is
not conceivable, however, that the
President himself did not know whether
he favored a superstate or not at the
time this expert was uncnlightcncd. But
the point is that an able lawyer, having
access certainly to Colonel House ana
Secretary Lansing, two days before
the American position was announced,
took the superstate seriously. When
cabinet members Mt Washington just
before the Peace Conference and lega
experts at that conference were caught
in this whirl of muddled thinking there
is excuse for me and for you if you
were one of the addle Drained, too. For
it was muddled thinking
One moments clear thought wouC
nave SlONu lluJ SuDtISlule WIS III
possible: that it would have required
constitutional amendments in thh
country that would never have gon,
through that it would have demande
Surrcnders of sovereignty everywher,
that no nation certainly in this ag'
would consider for a moment. But the
point is that clear thinking was i'm.
possible. We were caught in move.
ment, We had come to believe one
thing so big that nothing seemed i'm.
possible. Besides there was the Great
War, the most tremendous thing in
history. Everybody expected some
thing tremendous to come out of it.
Just now we are surprised that so lit
tie has come out of it. Probably we
ire deceivng ourselves just as much at
his moment as we were two years ago
mt in the opposite direction. The war
nd the movement destroyed the critica
faculty. They made us all credulouS
They made Us accept promises and even
mere phrases without stopping to ana
I'VE them, without asking their prac
ticability.
Freedom of the Seas
Probably Mr.. Wilson thought almost
as loosely as the rest of us. TO get
the whole world going with you you
have to let yourself go, too. And there
is the case of the freedom of the seas.
1t was one of the fourteen points. Great
Britain had reserved the right to refuse
its support of that point. When Mr..
Wilson announced his decision to 90
abroad he told Democratic senator's that
he would go primarily to fight for the
freedom of the seas. Yet at Paris the
issue disappeared utterly.
Mr., Wilson himself explained its dis
appearance thus:
"Well, that's joke on me. You see
thought before | came here that there
was such an issue as the freedom of the
seas But | find that there is none. |
failed to think the thing out. You see
it is this way: When there is league
of nations there can be no neutrals. And
when there are no neutrals there can
he no one who is interested in the free
dom Of the seas, the question only aris
ing in case of war" The explanation
seems to explain. At least we must ac-
cept it,. But it shows by his own con
fession that Mr.. Wilson failed to think
out his own program. What he took for
one of his biggest issues was no issue
at all !
Well, no matter whose fault it was.
whether it was Mr. Wilson'S fault or
our own fault, or the fault of the men
who surrounded Mr.. Wilson and who
misunderstood him and contributed to
muddying public thinking, whether eff
feet Of the leader on the mob and of
the mob on the leader, we went, the
whole world popularity speaking, went
to Paris in an absurdly expectant mood
| went there in that mood
Everybody was inevitably doomed to
disappointment. The thing simply could
not be done. This was not the mlllen.
mum. 1t was the same old wicked
world gathered together, seeking selfish
advantage and in many cases forced to
be selfish by sheer disaster inevitably
ahead. which looked as IL it would sure
ly befall If Mr.. Wilson's plan of not
discriminating between those to whom
we wished to be just and those to whom
we did not wish to be just should be
carried out. 1t was a sinking ship,
save himself who-c situation, in
which the man to whom we did not
wish to be just had little chance of
sentimental consideration.
I include Mr.. Wilson in a share of
the blame as one possibly at fault be-
cause he confessed to unclear thinking
the unclear thinking of those close to
him, about the superstate and about
treating Germany like the South sug-
gests, though, of course, it does not
prove, further unclear thinking on his
part. And because, beyond a doubt. he
thought unclearly about the famous
secret treaties, or thought about them
not at all, believing himself sufficiently
in his own notion Of the changed spirit
of the world to conclude that the mere
publication of those treaties by the
Russian revolutionists had been enough
to destroy them,
At any rate the denunciation of those