The sun., 1919-02-25
Our Birthright Mt stake.

Before we Americans can fairly
discuss and judge President WILSON'S
specific Views on the League OF Ma
tons we must hear more from him
than we heard at Boston yesterday,
and we must know more than he has
permitted us to know from any place
at any time.
One thing which he said at Boston,
however, this newspaper and, we
make no doubt, the American people
cannot fail to reject Immediately. Mr..
WILSON declared that we went over
10 Europe and plunged into the bat
tlefelds there solely for the sake of
humanity.
We did nothing of the kind. en-
phatically nothing Of the kind. We
went over there to help save France,
to help save England and to help
save Italy, and saving these coun-
tries meant saving ourselves. as with
France and England and Italy licked
our turn would have come next. In
his speech Mr.. WILSON went on to
say:
II have had this sweet revenge.
Speaking with perfect frankness in the
name Of the United States. have ut
tered as the objects OF this great war
ideals. and nothing but ideals, and the
war has been won by that Inspiration
Men were fighting with tense muscle and
lowered head until they came to realize
those things. feeling they were fighting
for their lives and their country. and
when these accents of what It was all
about reached them from America they
lifted their heads, they raised their
eyes to heaven; then they saw men in
khaki coming across the sea In the spirit
of crusaders and they found that these
were strange men. reckless Of danger
not only but reckless because they
seemed to see something that made that
danger worth while. Men have testified
10 me in Europe that our men were
Possessed By something that they could
only call a religious fervor. They were
not like any OF the o,her soldiers. They
had a vision, they had dream. and
they were lighting in the dream. And
fighting in the dream they turned the
whole tide OF battle and 1t never came
back"
Now this Is merely mawkish
dream OF Mr.. WILSON himself. 1t is
true, 1t Is splendidly true, that going
over to Europe to fight for the lives Of
France, England and Italy, which in
the finality meant fighting for our
selves as well, we did carry over our
ideals. These were that we did not
want to put any race under our
heel. We did not want anybodys
yassalage. We did not want any
bodys territory. We did not want
anything from anybody.
But the American people, as we
see them and know them, can never
agree that they went into the war,
or ever would have gone into it, ex,
cept to help save ourselves and the
Allies, who could be saved only by
fighting as our men fought and win.
nlls~ss they helpediSS-in. Our men
fought with the American fervor
which has burned In all their wars.
They were inspired to win as they
always have been inspired to win, by
an Incompatible love of their country
to which they were glad to give their
lives In a very glory of combat. 1t
was natlonallsm, not international.
ism, which crowned their valor with
triumph.
Except as another mawkish vision,
therefore, 1t cannot possibly follow
as President WILSON states it, that
We must go on till the crack Of doom
carrying the burden OF the whole
world, with no care for our own
with no thought Of our own--with
the single purpose, whatever it may
cost us, to whatever end it may bring
us, Of serving Mr.. WILSON'S general
humanity. The American people will
never stand for such mad squander
of their noble birthright.
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