Evening star., 1944-08-06

When the last war was drawing to q
close there was widespread optimism
among political and military men in all
the Allied countries that as soon as the
Central Powers were defeated long
period OF peace would follow All bel
Igerents, it was thought then, would re-
quire much time to lick the deep wounds
which four years Of war had inflicted on
them. Moreover, the distinctions caused
by total war were such that no political
group or dictator was thought to be
criminal enough to start all over again.
There Is no such optimism today
among many responsible men In WASH
ington. They all hope for the best and
fear the worst. The talk about the pos
sibility Of World War III Is not confined
to inveterate pessimists or those who
never see silver lining under any cloud.
It Is being discussed in a factual man
ner, although the devastations caused
by the present war far exceed those Of
the last. At the same time 1t is fully
realized that the technical develop
ments-particularly the robot bomb
will in the course Of time be developed
to such an extent that another war will
put an end to all civilization as 1t has
been known heretofore.
Even dyed-in-the-wool pacifists no
longer are pressing for a general de-
mobilization at the end of the war.
Military men and politicians Of both
parties admit frankly that total de-
mobilization of the American forces
would be folly under the present circum-
stances, not so much because unemploy-
ment must be avoided by gradual de-
mobilization, but because the United
States cannot risk being caught unpre-
pared in the chaotic conditions the
world is likely to see after the Japanese
and the Germans have been defeated
on the battlefield.
Wilson's Plan Killed Later.
1t is possible that this condition may
have been averted If the American ideals
as expressed in the American British
agreement of August, 1941, known as the
Atlantic Charter, had been sincerely ac-
cepted by the 80 United Nations gov
ernments which signed them on January
/, 1912, at the White House.
From the vague glimpse we get Of the
political developments among the Allies,
it appears that the sound principles laid
down by President Roosevelt and Prime
Minister Churchill are sharing the fate
Of the 14-point program Of President
Wilson. The only difference is that
while Mr.. Wilson's permanent peace
plan began to be trampled under the
feet Of our associates after the war
ended, the Atlantic Charter Is rapidly
being reduced to only q pious wish while
the iishting b still going on.
Many political observers believe that
the short and crisp principles announced
in the charter would have been main
tanned had TIE American Government
persisted in its integral fulfillment re-
gardless Of what our associates had to
say. Had this Government refused to
be moved by considerations of POLITICAL
military "expediency" and by commit
ments," it Is probable that our military
victory would have been followed by a
long era of peace. That peace would
not have been unlike the one which fol-
lowed the Napoleonic wars. The wise
Treaty of Vienna forced the defeated
French to pay no other penalty than
the return of what they had conquered
by force and subsequently set of a tre-
mendous era of sound economic and So
cial development which lasted until 1914,
interrupted only by minor conflicts.
The defeat of the Germans is a mat
ter of weeks; the defeat of the Japanese
Is matter of not more than a year.
Peace terms are being discussed by a
vast body of experts in London and
Washington. But, as matter of fact
there are only two types of peace which
can be imposed after total war. Under
the Roman peace, the defeated nations
are subjected to the harshest possible
treatment; the enemy is actually brought
into serfdom; most of the men are
either killed or sent into faraway exile
while the women are offered as a prize
to the victorious soldiers. The enemy
territory is placed under strict military
jurisdiction and governed by men with
an iron hand.s There is no mercy for
the defeated peoples.
The Romans understood how to apply
this type of peace, which was expressed
In the words "vae victis" (woe to the
Defeated Whether such q peace can
be enforced on nation of 10000, 900
persons is diflcult to say. Whether the
people in Great Britain and the United
States would indorse such peace is
another matter.
The other type Of peace which could