The Washington herald., 1920-02-17
u. S. International Difficulties
Caused By Failure of Europe
Put Confidence in America
By STEPHEN BoNsAL

When our ancestors came to these
shores they ran many dangers. the
uncharted seas. the rock-bound
coast of New England, the low
shelving sand shores of Hatteras
and of Virginia were so many perils
that had to be encountered before
anchor was dropped in the desired
haven. Today. the problems of
navigation have been solved. AS
you are blown by tempestuous
winds and seas that run mountain
high upon, an unfriendly. current
beset shore, you are no longer de-
pendent upon sun observations that
frequently fail, or upon dead reck-
oning and the tefl-tale talk OF your
lead line to ascertain your position.
A fash from a radio compass upon
projecting headland tells you
where you are, and with this GER
tain knowledge all danger disap-
pears
ship In Danger.
have been convinced for some
months that our ship of state was
running great danger from it's un-
certain course. the perplexity of its
steersmen and from the undoubted
fact that its confused course is no.
"ntTt u uO"n inc ASNo6
charts of nations. The treaty that
we drew up has not been ratified.
and the war that we won has not
been ended-for us. Our associates
and our allies Of yesterday haze
made peace with out common enemy,
but we remain outside the breast
works which we captured. Before
attempting to make plain the de-
tails a the anomalous and exceed
iingly dangerous posture in which
we find ourselves, | will try to ap-
ply the revealing light Of the radio
compass to our political situation
and read by flashes the clearly in
dicated dangers that menace our
hitherto free and unhindered course.
A radio flash should be very ac-
ceptable at this moment to those
who steer our ship of state. Since
the day of the armistice we have
been sailing in sunless uncharted
seas. our voyage has been subjected
to the eXasperating delays which
come from indecision and ignorance.
delays which in world politics have
entailed a loss of that very moral
prestige with which We saved hu-
manity as recently as 1918. That
moral prestige was. indeed, an as
set in which. thanks to the fathers,
we were not lacking when the
emergency came.
secret Meeting.
The first flash I tioIsnt to read
came clearly before my eyes on De-
cember 12. 1919. On that date NJ
Clemenceau. the French prime ri =
lister. an avowed imperialist. a frank
as well as a formidable enemy OF
open covenants openly arrived at,
went to London and. accompanied
by the Italian minister of foreIgn
affairs. sought to achieve in secret
conference there a settlement of the
Adriatic question, which President
Wilson had blocked in Paris. Glenn
enceau and his new associates found
/ in charge of the British foreign
office not the amiabIe and rea son.
able, IL somewhat spineless, Mr.. Bal.
four, but Lord Curzon. who had dis
: placed him a few weeks before. Sc
the new foreign minister of Great
! Britain was ancestrally allied with
, Blenheim House and bore a name
associated with conquest and gilded
over with it's spoils. He is "a very
superior person" as the music hal
people had it in London a few year.
point to say that Lord Curzon ha.
ever been the advocate. and the
very intelligent and persistent ad
vocate. of every British aggression
that has helped to complicate the
world situation during the past q
years. 1t has been said of him, anC
with much truth. that his preda.
tory past has led from Persia t.
Pata gonia. where he tried to snipt
away a few islands from Argentina
and that he strongly bankers aftel
Tie sterile but strategically import
ant lands of the Indian Pathans
much as he does after the oil well.
of Persia and of Mesopotamia. II
this latter feature of his program
he has. of course, Lord Fisher and
the other believers in the coming Of
the oil age behind him.
Knows What He Wants.
George Curzon does not want the
earth. He would not put it thai
way" said a very close, American
observer of this interesting and sig.
nificant English minister today
Whatever his failings may be, hi
has the yirtue-not a common one
in these perplexing days-of know
ing exactly what he wants. He re.
CARDS himself as a reincarnation Of
the John Bull of Palmerston's day
not the modified Gladstone figure
and while he would, and indeed ha.
protested against the accusation
that he wants the earth, Curzor
cannot consistently deny that ht
wants all the lands that join his'n
Gas they say in my county,, anC
some of the seas"
II.
cal compass announced that the ole
gang was going into secret confer.
ence for the purpose of getting il
control. America had given the
knockout blow that won >the war
but she was not to be represented
on the steering committee that il
had been hoped would lead our war,
cracked world into safer ShanneIs
charted in fairness and lighted BY
justice. Britishers like Gen. Smut.
and Lord Robert Cecil, who
shoulder to shoulder, fought with
President Wilson the first battle oi
the new international freedom, wer,
conspicuous by their absence from
this assembly. Indeed, all idealist,
had been eliminated. Only practica
men were in control. Some of then
were the very men who helped L
give Bosnia and Herzegovina t,
Austria in fiagrant violation of tn,
treaty of Berlin. and so laid tn,
foundations of the <world War, IL
whose disastrous shadow we still
sit.
Bernstorff Cable.
Very graceful things were said
of course, at this meeting in regarC
to our regrettable absence. anC
promises of good behavior were no
lacking, but they were couched il