The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1917. "PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY"

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2986, 25 January 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1917. "PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY"

President Wilson's declaration that tho peace which must come in Europo must be a peace without victory is, of course, quite irreconcilable with tho emphatic and oftrepeated statement of the Allies that they are determined to continue the war until the Central 'Powers have, been beaten and Prussian , militarism completely overthrown. The President states that he is seeking to face realities, and yot he fails to, see the great reality, that is; staging the whole world in the face. . IJe fails to see that peace in sense of the term is an ; utter impossibility until the efforts Q-f the Allies have been crowned ytth victory. It should bo obvious ■ to everyone who knows anything of the aims and aspirations of Germany that unless tho Allies impose victors' terms,on tho vanquished Central Powers tho termination of hostilities would bo followed by "feverish preparations on the part of .Germany for another and still fiercer conflict. Germany now knows that she cannot win this time. She is therefore anxious to bring the fight to a close before the Allies are in a position to deliver a knock-out blow. The Pan-Ger-mans are already talking about the next war, which thoy hope will result in the downfall of Britain and the creation o'f "tho United States of Europe, under German direction, and with the German Emperor for President." Nothing but defeat and humiliation will shatter the German dream of world-domin-ion. The mind of Germany is not going to be changed simply because she may deem it expedient to attach hor signature, to a peace treaty. German writers openly defend the idea that the State should, whenever it suits its purpose, promise peace with the intention of making war again as soon as it can do so with an advantage in its favour. President Wilson does not attempt to face these facts "without soft concealments." He talks in vague and general terms about the necessity for the nations joining together "to guarantee peace and justice throughout the world," but with "soft concealment" he glosses over the crimes of Germany. Mr. Roosevelt carries conviction when ■he says "it is base and evil to clamour for peace in the abstract when silence is kept about the concrete and hideous wrongs done to humanity _at this very moment." "Peace without victory"—peace before Germany has been thoroughly beaten—would be peace without justice, and peace without justice would be no peace at all. Scant consideration is given to the-claims of justice in Mr. Wilson's speech. He does not seem to care much about tho rights and wrongs of the case. He only wants to put a stop to the fighting. A distinguished American citizen, Dr. Eliot, formerly President oi Harvard University, takes ■ a far more rational and balanced view of the position. He is one of those who believe that righteousness should come before peace. I cannot conceive a worse catastrophe lor tho human race'than noaco in Europe now (ho says). If it were declared now, Germany would bo in possession of Belgium, and German aggressive militarism would have triumphed, j'liat would be a success for Germany after she had committed tho greatest crime that a nation oan commit-namely faithlessness to treaty rights. The sanctity of contracts would pass for nothing, and civilisation would be set "back for centuries. "Mr. Wilson's speech is variated by his failure to discriminate between the aims and methods of the Allies and those of the Central Powers. It leaves the utterly and manifestly false impression that both sides are equally right or equally wrong; that no great moral iprinciples arc involved; that nothing really matters except that Germany should be saved from tho punishment and humiliation she so fully deserves. Mr. Wilson does not stop to consider whether Germany ought to be punished or humiliated ; but from the moral point of view this is a vitally important point. It is worse than futile to keep on shouting "peace, peace," when there is no peaco. Referring to tho type of: pacifism of which Mr. Wilson has become such a persistent exponent, Mr. J. M. Beck, a prominent American jurist, points out with much force that it "fails to tako account of the great moral truth that the maintenance of justico is of infinitely more importance than the maintenance of peace, and that this world would not bo worth living in if, through meddlesome interference on the part of the United States, or through some other cause, the war were to end in an inconclusive peace, which would leavo the sacred cause of justico without vindication, and tho principles of humanity at the mercy of a school of political philosophy which asserts the supremacy of might over right." For half a century the German people have , ,'been sfc&ughfc. ihafc jvauda

and B? ft ,Sd - to conqT it diT ■ i,flls deport can only be di^, fl(!?d , jy dcfc . fc and d;s _ ■■■istoi, rfjifl vmtii Germany has been to Vccd to her knees Mn. Wilson's -expectations of a settlement guaranteeing peace and justice for all nations will never bo realised. The world would be more impressed with Ma. Wilson's Notes and lectures if he had been more successful in the direction of the foreign policy of tho United States. His failure to secure peace in Mexico might well have made him a little less fond of telling other nations how to manage their affairs and propounding great schemes for the regeneration of the world. In estimating the actual force and worth of-his polished but empty phrases it cannot be forgotten that his policy towards Mexico is a glaring example of political ineptitude, and in regard to the vastly greater issues of the' world war he has earned for America the unenviable reputation of being prepared to passively . tolerate international crimes, however black, that do not menaco is own selfish inerests.