Evening star., 1942-11-11
Armistice Doy

Armistice Day
Twenty-four years ago today mil
lions of people confidently believed
That never again would humanity be
involved in general war. For many
months they had been taught to ex-
pect an endless period of peace to
follow the defeat of the Central Pow
ers. The universal longing for such
an end to their sufferings had much
to do with the willingness of thou
sands OF inhabitants of Germany and
Austria to accept failure without fur
ther struggle. They had been told
that they would be accepted into the
family Of nations if only they would
cease fighting and establish repre-
sentative governments with which
the victorious Allies might deal.
But the hopes and expectations of
mankind were disappointed. Not
even now is it altogether clear why
the instinct for peace and justice
which was demonstrated in the joy
with which all countries welcomed
the armistice of November II, 1918,
should have been fruitless. The
crowds that cheered Woodrow Wilson
In Washington, London, Rome and
Paris were motivated by appreciation
Of the high ideals which he had ex-
pressed for the elimination of armed
strife from the affairs of the human
race. He was not alone in his dream
Of one great civilized community en-
bracing all parts of the globe. His
popularity everywhere derived from
the fact that he was truly the per-
sonification of new conception of
international harmony and co-opera-
ton.
Exactly why and how his program
for world reconstruction was frus-
trated probably never will be settled
to the satisfaction of divergent stu
dents of history. Many theories of
explanation have been offered, but
none of them has been entirely salts
factory. What is certain is that the
armistice ushered in only an era of
troubled truce which finally, on Sep
tember l, 1889, terminated in another
and a more costly conflict. Mean
while, the capacity of aggressor states
to injure their neighbors was in
creased by the development of new
machines and new methods of at
tack. The danger of militant greed
to the existing system waxed more
alarming month by month until it
was plain to the citizens of Great
Britain and the United States, if not
to all other democracies, that nothing
less than superior strength and more
compelling determination would save
the remnants of freedom in the
earth. Long before Pearl Harbor the
accredited representatives of the
English-speaking com m n wealths
had put into language the aspiration
of all men of good will for righteous
ness and fellowship among peoples.
The Atlantic Charter now has become
a pronouncement for application to
the whole planet. It furnishes a
target to which the constructive
genius Of the species may be directed
In the prevailing crisis. The best
values of Wilson's fourteen points
are included in its provisions for "the
right of all peoples to choose the form
of government under which they will
live";; "the enjoyment by all states,
great or small, victor or vanquished,
of access, on equal terms, to the trade
and to the raw materials of the world
which are needed for their economic
prosperity; "the fullest collabora-
ton between all nations in the eco
nomic field with the object of secur-
Ing, for all, improved labor standards,
economic advancement and social
security" and "a peace which will
afford to all nations the means OF
dwelling in safety within their own
boundaries, and which will afford
assurance that all the men in all the
lands may live out their lives in
freedom from fear and want"
Sacrifice necessarily is required for
the achievement of such a goal. Or
ganized force is demanded for the
accomplishment of the abandonment
Of force to which all reasonable in
dividuals look forward. But the CIV
Ing, the toiling, the fighting and the
dying that are imperative for the
preservation and expansion OF liberty
and fraternity in the world are
offered cheerfully. On Armistice Day,
1912, q new optimism and new faith
are apparent on every hand, even in
the territories temporarily conquered
by the enemies Of God and man alike.
Serving Notice
Those persons who have been ready