THE KING’S BUSINESS
969
The object of this war is to deliverthe free peoples of the world from the menace and the actual power of a vast m ilitary establishm ent controlled by an irresponsible government which, having secretly planned to dominate the world, proceeded to carry the plan out w ithout regard either to the sacred obligations of treaty or the long established practices and long cherished principles of international action and honor; which chose its own time for the w ar; delivered its blow fiercely and suddenly; stopped a t no barrier either of law or of m ercy; swept a whole conti nent w ithin the tide of blood—not the blood of soldiers only, but the blood of innocent women and children: also of the helpless poor; and now stands balked but not defeated, the enemy of four-fifths of the worlds This power is not the German people. I t is the ruthless m aster of the German people. I t is no business of ours how th at great people came under its control or subm itted with temporary zest to the domination of its purpose, but it is our business to see to it th at the history of the rest of the world is no longer left to its handling. To deal w ith such a power by way of peace upon the plan proposed by his holiness the pope would, so far as we can see, involve a récupération of its strength and a renewal of its policy; would make it necessary to create a perm anent hostile combination of nations against the German people, who are its instrum ents, and would result in abandoning the newborn Russia to the intrigue, the manifold subtle interference and the certain counter revolution which would be attem pted by all - the malign influences to which the German government has of late accustomed the world. Can peace be based upon a restitution of its power or upon any word of honor it could pledge in a treaty of settlem ent and accommodation? Responsible statesm en m ust now everywhere see, if they never saw before, th at no peace can rest securely upon political or economic restrictions m eant to benefit some nations and cripple or embarrass others, upon vindictive action of any sort or any kind of revenge or deliberate injury. The American people have suffered intolerable wrongs at the hands of the imperial German gov ernment, but they desire no reprisal upon the German people, who have them selves suffered all things in this war which they did not choose. They believe th at peace should rest upon the rights of peoples, not the rights of governments—the rights of peoples great or small, weak or powerful— their equal right to freedom and security and self-government and to a participation upon fair term s in the economic opportunities of the world—the German people, of course, included, if they will accept equality and not seek domination. The test, therefore, of every plan of peace is th is: Is it based upon the faith of all the peoples involved or merely upon the word of anl ambitious and intriguing government, on the one hand, and of a group of free peoples on the other? This is a test which goes to the root of the m atter, and it is the test which m ust be applied. The purposes of the United States in this war are known to the whole world—to every people to whom the tru th has been perm itted to come. They do not need to be stated again. We seek no material advantage of any kind. We believe th at the intolerable wrongs done in this war by the furious and brutal power of the imperial German government -ought to be repaired, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of any people—rather a vindication of the sovereignty both of those th at are weak and of those th at arc strong. Punitive damages, the dis memberment of empires, the establishm ent of selfish and exclusive economic leagues, we deem inexpedient and in the end worse than futile, no proper basis for. a peace of any kind, least of all for an enduring peace. T hat m ust be based upon justice and fairness and the common rights of mankind. We cannot take the word of the present rulers of Germany as a guarantee of anything th at is to endure, unless explicitly supported by such conclusive evidence of the will and purpose oi the German people themselves as- the other peoples of the world would be justified in accepting. W ithout such guarantees, treaties of settlem ent, agreements for disarmament, covenants to set up arbitration in the place of force, territorial adjustm ents, reconstitutions of small nations, if made w ith the German government, no man, no nation could now depend on. We m ust await some new evidence of the purposes of the great peoples of the central powers. God grant it may be given soon and in a way to restore the confidence of all peoples everywhere in the faith of nations and the -possibility of a covenanted peace. ROBERT LANSING, Secretary of State of the United States of America. President Wilson has written many wise state papers, but we question whether he has ever shown himself to be such a wise and courageous statesman as in this letter to the Pope.
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There is a great sculptural representation of the Cruci- fixion in marble by one of the masters. Its peculiarity is that if you stand and view it from a distance it is all out of proportion. But there is a stool close by,
Sit Close and Look Up.
almost underneath it, on which you are required to kneel, and from this lowly place you may look up and sefe the Christ and the Cross in all their glory, beauty and proportion. Have you seen the Cross yet in its true light and meaning? If you stoop you will be able to see it.
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