The daily banner., 1919-07-11

/ OF the loss OF everything II neId dear,
in deadly fear that its bonds were
| never to be lOOSened, its hopes for
ever to be Knocked and disappointed,
And the compulSion of what they
stood for was upon us who repre-
sented America at the peace table 1t
was our duty TO see to it that every
decision we took part in contributed,
so far as we were able to influence it,
TO quiet the fears and realize the hopes
OF the peoples who had been living in
that shadow, the nations that had come
by our assistance to their freedom.
OLD entanglements of every kind
stood IN the Way-promiSeS which gov
ernmentS had made to one another in
the days when might and right were
confused and the power of the victor
was without restraint Engagements
which contemplated any dispositions
OF territory, any extensions Of SOW
ere1gnty that might seem to be to the
interest Of those who had the power to
insist upon them, had been entered
into without thought of what the peo-
pies concerned might wish or profit by
and these could not always be honor
TO graft the new order of ideas on the
old. and some of the fruits of the
bitter.
But, with very few exceptions. the
men who sat with us at the peace
table desired as sincerely as we did
to get away from the bad influences,
the illegitimate purposes, the demor-
alzlng ambitions, the international
counsels and .eXpedients out of which
the sinister designs of Germany had
sprunfg as natural growth
The difficulties, which were many.
lay IN the circumstances, not often in
the men. Almost without exception
the men who led had caught the true
ana full vision of the problem of peace
as an 1ndiviSible whole, problem, not
of mere adjustments of interest, bur
of Justice and right action.
Two great empires had been forced
INTO political bankruptcy, and we were
the receivers. Our task was not only
to make peace with the central empires
and remedy the wrongs their armies
nad done. The central empires had
hven IN open violation of many of the
very rights for which the war had been
fought, dominating alien peoples over
Whom they had no natural right to
rule, enforcing, not obedience, but yeri-
table bondage, exploiting those who
were weak for the benefit of those who
were masters and overlords only by
force of arms.
There could be no peace until the
set right
That meant that new nations were
to be created-Poland, Czecho-Sloya-
kia, Hungary itself No part of ancient
Poland had ever in any true sense be-
come part of Germany, or of Aus
tria, or of Russia.
Bohemia was alien in every thought
and hope to the monarchy of which
she had so long been an artificial part
and the uneasy partnership between
Austria and Hungary had been one
rather of interest than of kinship or
sympathy
The Slavs whom Austria had chosen
to force into her empire on the south
were kept to their obedience by moth
ing but fear.
Their hearts were with their kins-
men in the Balkans.
The German colonies were to be
disposed of. They had not been gov
erneed; they had been exploited mere !
ly, without thought of the interest or
eyen the ordinary human rights of |
their inhabitants.
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