The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1919-05-09
WHEN WILSON LOST THE LEAD

WHEN WILSON LOST HE LEHD
Ii begins to look as though the peculiar brand Of egotism that
prompts Woodrow Wilson to always play a lone hand, had finally trip
ped him up. 1t may be that in this weakness will be found his fatal
Unless there are a lot of modifying details which have yet not
United States are to bear with equanimiy our apparent abandonment
of perhaps the dearest principle OF the American people-that of the
rights of small and weak nations.
Perhaps we haven't abandoned this principle, but how else are we
to interpret the giving of Fiume to the Italians or the Shantung pro-
rendered, and that without a struggle.
The CALLING thing about it is the feeling that we have been-and
still are-kept in the dark both as to motives and results. And
the humihaing suspicion now intrudes that Wilson has pltted him
self against men shrewder than he in the game OF diplomacy and has
When Wilson abandoned, as he most assuredy did abandon, the
very first one OF his own famous Fourteen Points he lost his first
standings of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and
There has been none OF this since the very first sessions Of the
council OF four, behind closed doors, began to gamble with the des-
An absolute censorship on correspondents in Paris has kept the
world in the dark by preventing any stray items of news being sent
out. Correspondents and the press have been reduced to the plane of a
mere propaganda machine-not to disseminate NEWS, but to mould
public sentiment. We have been fed half-truths, and then always with
The pity Of it all is that America was in position to virtually en-,
force her principles OF the league OF nations. She had no AK to grind
when she demanded the right of seIt-deteermnation for small peoples.
And all of the other powers did have. There was nothing selfish in
make war impossible, that touched the greatest need of every nation
in Europe. Lett to themselves they could not hope to realize it. With
the United States backing it, they could.
The United States could best of all afford to hold aloof. Her
from the nightmare of sudden annihiation under which every European
nation must henceforth labor. And last and perhaps most potent Of
all, we hold for the present the commercial and financial supremacy Of
the world, and in no small sense may dictate through that power.
We were in a magnificent position to enforce altruisuC doctrines
upon the world and demand that they be given a fair try out. But
We have lost our opportunity. We have allowed ourselves to be en-
tangled in a maze of intricate. old world diplomacy and intrigue. We
permitted ourselves to be inveiged into playing the other fellows game
instead Of insisting upon our own-as we could have done, and made
it stick. We have played the part of Mr. Easy-Mark, in Europe's
confidence game.
Had Wilson from the start played with his cards upon the table,
with all America-yes, with all EurOpe-lned up behind him, he would
have won hands down. He held the trumps and did not need to play
the game. But he chose to play against his vest. And when he dis
carded his first point, open covenants, openly arrived at, he played
into his opponents hands and filled from a cold deck.
America still holds a strong position but she has sacrificed some
principles that must continue to lay our professed motives open to
suspicion or to contempt.