The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-06-18
THE MAGIC RING


Liberal Observation-Disclosures viii
welcome these evidences of a grow.
ing realization that beating Hitler is
not enough, that a revolutionary
democratic dynamic is essential to
overcome the revolutionary fascist
dynamic But democratic dynamics
do not thrive during total war. Both
programs are based on military de-
feat of Hitler, which means that free
dom would wait while the last free
men on earth bled to DEATH
This week Miss Thompson sent her
charter members a form letter con-
tanning a portentous explanation of
the delay in the delivery of the rings.
Because of priorities," Miss Thomp-
son wrote. Il am. experiencing some
difficulties in that direction" Total
war is the most omnivorous of all
priorities. If it should come, free
dom-either as ring or in quadrup-
lets-will experience many difficult
ties
Peace and Power Politics
Among the casualties of the post
Versailles world was that noblest of
the fourteen points" which Woodrow
Wilson proposed on January 8, 1918,
as the basis for just peace: open
covenants openly arrived atm short,
the end of secret diplomacy. That
principle very mention of which
shocked the sauve professionals of
Europe's foreign ministries-fared no
worse than did the thirteen other
points, some of which were discarded
by the treaty makers of 1919, and
the rest of which have been discarded
since by Adolf Hitler and others. But
it was one of the first to go; the post
Versailles world has been as much
run by off-stage arrangements as was
the old pre-1914 world-or the war
time world of 1914-191S. Possibly the
principle was too noble in the first
place for world of nationalism and
power politics. At any rate, nowhere
are there more indications of secret
diplomacy today than in the fog and
confusion regarding whatever moves
have been made for peace-or at least
LILO C6SSdtlOu VI Wal. II VI uCOplI6 Lie
Presidents statement last Friday aft
ernoon, the belief among well-in-
formed observers in Washington that
peace talks are under way somewhere
was undiminished as the week ended
Whether they would come to anything
was another question
Indiscretion
Actually the President did not deny
that there was talk of peace, or that
some kind of proposals had come from
Berlin. What he did say, and say
was that Ambassador
Winant had brought no proposals
with him-quite another matter alto
gether The report persisted in
Washington - even after the Presi-
dents statement-that the terms had |
been at the White House for at least
two weeks. They may have come via
Hess-as many still insist. They may
have come via Madrid where Sir |
Samuel Hoare is still Britain's am
bassador And it is widely believed |
in Washington that some sort of talks
were in progress in Madrid last week
Ii it is Adolf Hitler'S desire to make |
peace now, the nazi propaganda ma
chine must be behind the idea, as the
President said it was. 1t is also true
that peace talk has increased since
Winant's arrival from
London. However, this was inevita-
BILE; any speculation as to why the
should come home now
mas automatically included the posi-
Dility of peace now. 1t simply is i'm
possible to blame all peace talk on
Dr.. Goebbels Machievellian schemes
The fact is that peace talk has ap-
Deared in many quarters to which it
would be difficult to link even the