Evening star., 1940-12-26

lives with mechanized weapons.
The Nazis did not agree to re-
frain from air attacks as a conSe-
quence of any understanding in ad-
vance. Both sides haughtily re-
jecJed the truce ioea when formally
proposed a few weeks ago. But out
of Difference to the opinion of man
kind the two belligerent govern
ments OF their own initiative re-
Trained. This means that what the
world thinks is still important in
Maitland as in Britain, and also it
means that inside Germany are still
millions who respect and pay hon.
age to the principles of Christianity,
even though they have allowed their
rulers to grow cynical about de-
mocracy and human brotherhood.
The Christmas truce serves more,
however, to emphasize that in Brit
ain as well as in Germany there
is a blindSpot on the subject of the
moral force and moral power that
can and does affect the destiny Of
peoples. In the United States, too,
there has arisen a hardness and in
tolerance which sweeps aside even
the mention of peace as so much
trucking to the dictators and as
a willingness to surrender basic
rights through negotiated treaties.
Tydings Speaks Out.
All this merely throws up
smokescreen around the proper use
of moral force in bringing an end
to the war. Nobody ever accused
President Wilson of appeasement
even though he made speeches again
and again outlining possible bases
of peace. Not syllable of this kind
has come from American spokesmen
with the possible exception Of Sem
ator TydingS, Democrat, of Mary
land. who in the last few days gave
an outline of what a just peace
could be. He did not concede that
Britain had to surrender to Ger
many or that the small nations of
Europe had to accept the military
status quo. He insisted that there
must be freedom for the small ma
tions.
1t will be argued that Germany
doesn't want any such setup. But
nobody can really speak with au-
thority on what the German people
will take if they can be assured of
some of the war aims which have
thus far prompted them to swallow
Hitlerism as a means of removing
economic injustices which they hold
against the British Empire.
The Wilson administration found
it advantageous to talk peace all
the time, not only when we were
neutral, but when America was
actively engaged in the war and her
troops were in France at the battle
front. Mr. Wilson's craftsmanship
saw beyond the brutality of war;
making. 1t rose above the swash-
buckling and threats and bluster
with which present day spokesmen
of governments fill the air.
May Have Been Tactless Speech.
Viewed in the light of the strategy
of propaganda which helped to win
the war for the Allies in 1913
when the Kaiser, who was believed
then to be as firmly intrenched as
Hitler is today, was overthroWn-
the speech this week by Winston
Churchill addressed to the Italian
people may have been tactless. For
it was quickly seized upon by the
italian press as means of rallying
public opinion in Italy. Appeals to
patriotism can always be used to
overcome extremely worded state
ments from the outside attacking
the rulers of country. 1t would
have been far better if Mr. Churchill
had assumed for the purposes of his
address that Mussolini was not a
devil but a fool in allowing Italian
destiny to be decided by Hitler.
There are many more people in
Italy who would be willing to help
get rid of Mussolini because they
think he was duped than because,
as it was alleged, he was a traitor
to italian interests.
Christmas furnished a grand oc-
casion for the expression to all the
world of the principles of peace-a
reiteration of the philosophy of
Christ in a world of hatred and
bitterness. 1t takes long time to
change the mood of an intolerent
nation and sometimes immediate re-
suits are not forthcoming, but this