Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-02-01
WILSON AT PEACE CONFERENCE

Some idea of she difficulties m l. cspueh ""0"
Of the American peace delegation have to contend WIN III l az o.
set forth by an American official abroad who, knowing inside Iac's'
wrote to one of the leaders of the League OF NationS oVeme " LUIS n,
country regarding the antiWlSon propagano" hOm N""
which Paris is being flooded.
"Tbo napers here Paris and in England, y he declared, ARE
filed with news from the United States indicating that ~ PRESS
nnblc men and the people themselves are not in accord with M rre'
ident s views, and that America wishes the AlheS 10 MAKE he A"o
peace that they, the Allies, think best.
at is a dangerous and difficult situation and one very nara !"
meet If We come out Of it with a peace that is worthy hhe IL VIZ "'
be because of any aid we have received from the people at home.
Few Americans probably realize the difficulties our Delegates We
meeting Our politeness finds its way across the cable. As a matter
Of fact, the entente politicians expect us not only TO STAND 1"r 'neh
impcrialistic designs but to be most generous III helphg Mcm c"ii'
their load. They frequently suggest courteously that we should can
eel the debts of the Allies to us; go back to August l 1914 and snare
the cost of the war; apportion this cost according to the resources Oh
avery nation. In this calculation make allowance for loss OF man
power. Such are some Of the calls for tact confronting the f1eSiuen'
as he tries to force through democratic peace.
Only yesterday the cable told of what practically amounted u III
ultimatum on the part of President Wilson in regard to The 'erman
colonies. lie declared that America will not stand for q peace Oh
loot" 1t seems to be hard for the old time European diplomacy 10 u
realize Just what honesty and fair dealing, as impersonated by Presl-
dent Wilson, speaking the voice of America, means.
But the power of President Wilson is enormous. Just as Bis
marck dominated the peace of 1871 so President Wilson today looms
up as the one great personality at Paris today. He yields the power OF
a Metternich and the skill of q Talleyrand who were the great figures
at the convention Of Vienna.
II is. indeed, remarkable that out of the new world-America-.
should come this new character in world diplomacy, a man proclaimed
by the masses everywhere and whose influence with the people is such
that even the greatest statesmen of Europe dare not antagonlze nm
Zoo much.
Instead Of hampering and crhicizing, the American people, espe-
cially the officials at Washington, ought to be backing him up to a
man. President Wilson is in position to dictate an American peace
a peace that the American soldiers have been fighting fora peace
that will make a world safe for democracy. But the small, petty poll
tics of some Of the leaders in the United States senate, attributed
largely tH jeale9sy, and the antagonim of a few though very aggres-
sive enemies, representatives of interests that want to have things
their own way, are the greatest handicap that President Wilson has
TO contend with.
These leaders at Washington and the representatives OF the In
forests would like to have the world return to its condition before the
war and have everything move along as before. But that can never
he The habits and conditions of mankind have been Transformed In
four years Of war. We have got to adapt ourselves to a new order OF
things and in that new order labor and the common people are going
to have a bigger say. For these common people Woodrow Wilson IS
the spokesman today.
Only a day or two ago a leader Of the Socialist party III e'arls, III
addressing a gathering of his followers, declared that they must ac-
cept either Leninc, the Bolsheviki leader of Russia, or Wilson. That is
the choice that the whole world must make.
President Wilson represents rule of the common people through
law and order. Lenine stands for anarchy and wholesale murder.
There lis no other faction. Autocracy and putocraey have been wiped
off the mar, although some are still endeavoring to keep it alive.
With our own President in such a powerful position in the greatest
peace conference that has ever been held in the history of the world
II behooves us here at home to stand behind him and uphold his hands
that he may accomplish his purpose. To hinder him is only to play
into the hands of the European diplomats who are matching their wits
against the wits Of the American President. The very worst wilson
can do is far better than the best tina. the European leaders alone can
do. We no longer can keep out of the world politics. We tried to do
so in the war just ended and found it could not be done. Why not
therefore, play a leading role in bringing about a permanent peace
and see to il, as far as possible, that such a catastrophe as we have
Just experienced will not happen again. That is the aim of President
Wilson and if given proper support he will come pretty near accom-
plishing it.