The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-01-01
Secret Diplomacy.

AS lighting gives place 10 negOIldIlVil
we can more clearly see the mischief
worked by secret diplomacy. 1t perhaps
served well enough the purposes OF the
old regime, in settling the disputes OF
princes, in which the people had no
share; in democracy it is not merely
out of place but a source of danger. The
government which dare not or will not
take the people into its confidence is per
petually in danger Of exposure, and be-
comes nervous, irritable, and despotic be-
cause in constant fear that its hidden
weakness may be brought to light.
Even in countries whose essential aims
were of the nobest character, there has
been, as il we'll known, popular unrest
due to suspicion that other less credltable
aims were being kept from the people.
IL is instructive, for example, to turn
back to the famous "no annexations" de-
bate in the British House of Commons on
May l6, 1917. The opposition members
who called for restatement of war aims
to fit the conditions brought about by
the Russian revolution showed no lack of
patriotism, but their uneasiness about
rumors of secret bargains and imperialist
aims now appears to have had some
foundation. But they could get no salts
faction, the spokesman for the war cab
met parrying the resolution for mo an
nexations, no indemnities" by suavely
asking If Armenia, then, was to be given
back to the Turks, and if Belgium
wrongs were not to be paid for-eKcep-
tons which the governments critics were
quite willing to make. Looking back
upon this and other episodes, the British
public may perhaps feel that they have
not been quite frankly dealt with by the
government. Probably no statesman
would assert that the people of entente
countries would have borne what they
have borne for such peace as the i'm
perialists would make.
It has become increasingly lear also,
that the alarming strength of the bolshe
Wiki has been in great part due to their
cleverness in perceiving the immense pos
sibilities, in a democratic age, Of public
diplomacy. Putting altogether to one
side their socialistie views, and consider
ing only their attitude toward interna
tional questions, we can see how adroitly
they have turned against the democratic
countries democracy's best weapon. Their
opportunity was great because in the en-
tente nations the people were being kept
in ignorance of what the diplomats we're
doing, and the governments were in con
slant fear that certain secret arrange
ments would come to light. The bolshe
wiki were smart enough to go straight to-
the people with program that the peo-
pie wanted. IL was not a bolshevist pro-
gram, but one shaped to meet the general
desire for peace. It's formula, mo an
uexations, no indemnities," appealed toI
nearly the entire Russian nation, and
helps to account for the acceptance by
Russia of the Lenine government. But
beyond that, it made a strong appeal to
the common people of all countries, and
the bosheviki, knowing from the secret
treaties found in the archives what the
entente governments were driving at, had
a formidable chance for propaganda.
The Germans found the glaring publ
city of bolshevist diplomacy awkward to
deal with, as the reaction from the Brest.
Litovsk treaty showed. But democratic
countries have at their disposal the best
of antidotes. Turning on the pitiless
white light of publicity robs propaganda
of half its terrors. The phase of bolshe
visit propaganda which has been most Sc
rious abroad has indeed been its strong
nti-imperialism, which is not necessarily
bolshevist at all It took the allies at
disadvantage only because diplomacy in
democratic countries has not yet been
fully made democratic. That at all
stages diplomacy should be public would
be extreme ground to take, but there is a
clear distinction between a privacy which
facilitates discussion and a secrecy which
hides from the people the bargains to
which they are pledged. If democratic
countries have left it to the fanatics of
Moscow to show how strong a force open
diplomacy can be made, they have them
selves to blame, and they should not al
low dislike for the bolsheviki to deter
them from reform long overdue. This
war has seen too many secret bargains,
not all of them in the public interest, -
Springfield Republican,