613 
 
 ■M4 
 
 ALLIED and 
 AMERICAN 
 
 PEACE 
 TERMS 
 
 SAMUEL A. B. MERCER 
 
Class J) (pJJ3 
 Book__J 4 
 
ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 PEACE TERMS 
 
Allied and American 
 Peace Terms 
 
 As Seen by a Linguist 
 
 By 
 
 Samuel A. B. Mercer, Ph.D., D.D. 
 
 Professor of Semitic Languages, in the 
 
 Western Theological Seminary, Chicago, 
 
 and Editor of the Journal of the Society 
 
 of Oriental Research 
 
 The Young Churchman Co. 
 
 Milwaukee 
 1918 
 
-$£> 
 
 \1 
 
 vA^ 
 
 TO 
 
 H. M. M. 
 
 'Peace rules the day, where reason rules the mind' 
 
 
PREFACE 
 
 NO thinking person can remain silent 
 in the present world conflict; he 
 will deliver himself in private conversa- 
 tions, in public lectures, or in print. 
 The author of the present study believes 
 that what he has to say may be of inter- 
 est to a wider public than that which can 
 be reached through the spoken word. 
 His linguistic training has led him to 
 emphasize the part which language 
 plays in the formation of nationality 
 and the part it must play in the develop- 
 ment of internationalism. He realizes 
 also that with language must be asso- 
 ciated the functions of geography, poli- 
 tics, and history, as determinants of 
 nationality, in the growth of social 
 groups and in the ultimate development 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 of a world group. He has tried to sug- 
 gest that a just and lasting peace will be 
 a world peace if these determinants of 
 nationality can be translated into inter- 
 national terms. 
 
 The words of President Wilson and 
 Premier Lloyd George quoted in the 
 following pages are taken from reports 
 of their recent speeches of January the 
 eighth and the fifth respectively. 
 
 April, 1918. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. Introduction 1 
 
 II. War and Peace 5 
 
 III. The Application 14 
 
 IV. Towards a Just and Lasting Peace . . 54 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 AFTER the guns have ceased to fire, 
 the cannon to roar, and the soldiers 
 to fight, will come the most critical 
 period in the new world order in which 
 we are to live. Statesmen will meet to 
 inaugurate peace and to plan for the 
 future. Keen insight and high purpose 
 should prevail if peace is to be just and 
 lasting. The mistakes of the past must 
 not be repeated. As Lloyd George has 
 just said: "We can no longer submit 
 the future of European civilization to 
 the arbitrary decisions of a few negoti- 
 ators trying to secure by chicanery or 
 persuasion the interests of this or that 
 dynasty or nation." What Lloyd 
 
2 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 George has said in direct reference to 
 European civilization is true of the 
 world, for with a disrupted Europe the 
 world can never be secure, but with the 
 problems of Europe justly and endur- 
 ingly settled world peace is a possibility. 
 The first task of statesmen will be to 
 take steps to remove the provocation of 
 war. To do that it is fundamental that 
 a positive step be first taken. This will 
 consist in the recognition of the deter- 
 minants of nationality. As far as pos- 
 sible each nation must be accorded its 
 natural rights in order to avoid inter- 
 national irritation which is the ultimate 
 cause of all war. The determinants of 
 nationality are language, geography, 
 politics, and history. A linguistic group 
 with definite geographical barriers, with 
 regulated politics, and with an histor- 
 ical background, is a national unit. It 
 has a right to self-government and self- 
 determination, and should be interna- 
 tionally protected in this right. These 
 
PEACE TERMS 3 
 
 criteria of nationality are reasonable 
 and just to all and should be applied to 
 all nations alike. Their observance is 
 necessary to stability. 
 
 It must be remembered that religion 
 is not a criterion of nationality, and 
 should not be allowed to protrude itself 
 in the determination of nationality. 
 Religion must be free, and unlimited by 
 national barriers. It should not be used 
 to define nationality, and nationality 
 should not be allowed to limit it. 
 
 After a satisfactory delimitation of 
 nationality, the free nations thus formed 
 should concern themselves with the wel- 
 fare of those undeveloped peoples who 
 are not yet capable of self-government. 
 Such undeveloped peoples should be 
 entrusted to the care of those stronger 
 nations which have proved themselves 
 efficient in the protection of the weak, 
 with a view to developing, as soon as 
 possible, the power of self-government 
 inherent in all peoples. 
 
4 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 In the new world order in which we 
 are now preparing to live, violence 
 should not be used to settle disputes be- 
 tween free nations any more than be- 
 tween individuals. National irritation 
 must be removed by making the deter- 
 minants of nationality operative, inter- 
 national law must be re-sanctified, and 
 a confederation of free and liberty- 
 loving nations must be formed, as a 
 police force, until a world Common- 
 wealth is realized. 
 
II 
 
 WAR AND PEACE 
 
 WAR is usually caused by an irrita- 
 tion of the sense of nationality. 
 Nations, like individuals, have their 
 desires and ambitions, their responsi- 
 bilities and rights. Whatever tends to 
 thwart or irritate these makes for inter- 
 national strife. 
 
 The first step toward peace is a recog- 
 nition of the fact of nationality. A 
 nation is defined not by race, but by lin- 
 guistic, geographical, historical, and 
 political conditions. France is a nation 
 because it is a unit linguistically, geo- 
 graphically, historically, and politically ; 
 but not because of race, for the inhabi- 
 tants of France are not a unit racially. 
 
6 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 They are a mixture of the three chief 
 races of Europe, namely, the Alpine, the 
 Mediterranean, and the Nordic. And if 
 it be asserted that there is such a thing 
 as a French "race", even then nation- 
 ality could not be determined by race, 
 for there are French people other than 
 those living in France. There is no such 
 thing as a pure race in any European 
 country ; the three great races fused into 
 different groups of European peoples 
 long ago. This being so, there is no 
 race consciousness in Europe — a fact 
 which compels us to disregard it as a 
 basis for nationality. But Europe con- 
 sists of a group of separate nations de- 
 fined by language, geography, politics, 
 and history. 
 
 Language is the chief creator of 
 nations. By means of literature it feeds 
 the soul of a people and unifies them. 
 Language not only creates national feel- 
 ing but it also gives outward form to a 
 people's ideals. People who speak the 
 
PEACE TERMS 7 
 
 same language are bound by bonds 
 which with care are capable of defying 
 all barriers. A language can extend its 
 arms over seas and continents, across 
 rivers and mountains, and build up na- 
 tional feeling. The native of Newfound- 
 land feels the thrill of English national 
 sentiment and responds to it as readily 
 as does a Yorkshireman. No barrier 
 can effectively break the chain of 
 national love which binds him to the 
 motherland. 
 
 The unifying power of language, how- 
 ever, is usually limited. Language does 
 not always override geographical bar- 
 riers, but usually combines with them in 
 the formation and preservation of 
 national unity. Linguistic areas are 
 usually co-terminous with geographical 
 boundaries. A glance at the map of 
 Europe will show how true this is. The 
 whole continent seems, with few excep- 
 tions, to be cut up into definite linguistic 
 areas which correspond to geographical 
 
8 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 barriers. Frenchmen sweep eastward 
 till they are halted by the Vosges; 
 Czechs are confined to a plateau enclosed 
 by mountains. Geography and language 
 go hand in hand in the formation of na- 
 tional sentiment. They are the frontiers 
 of national existence. In fact, the lin- 
 guistic factor, depending upon com- 
 munication, is based upon geographical 
 foundations. A range of mountains or 
 a watershed, even in these days of rapid 
 transit, tends to strengthen the separat- 
 ing power of difference of language. Its 
 power was absolute in less favored 
 times, when European nations w r ere in 
 the process of formation. 
 
 Politics and history also play an 
 important part in the differentiation 
 and growth of national feeling. In fact 
 they are sometimes so powerful as to 
 defy the unifying power of language and 
 geography. Western Switzerland, both 
 by language and geography, belongs 
 to France, Northern Switzerland for 
 
PEACE TERMS 9 
 
 the same reason belongs to Germany; 
 and Southern Belgium belongs to 
 France, if determined alone by language 
 and geography. But politics and his- 
 tory have so bound the different parts 
 of Switzerland and of Belgium together 
 that the force of language and geog- 
 raphy have been overcome. The same 
 may be true of the relationship between 
 Germany and Austria. In other words, 
 lines of nationality are sometimes drawn 
 so sharply by political and historical 
 circumstances that neither linguistic nor 
 geographical influence, nor both com- 
 bined, can obliterate them. National 
 allegiance is formed and cannot be fore- 
 sworn. 
 
 In like manner, geographical barriers 
 often give way to a combination of lin- 
 guistic, political, and historical influ- 
 ence. The Rocky Mountains will never 
 divide the United States of America 
 into two countries, nor will they divide 
 Eastern from Western Canada. So also 
 
10 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 does language give way to a combination 
 of geographical conditions, on the one 
 hand, and political and historical influ- 
 ences, on the other. Quebec is French 
 in speech but it will probably never 
 secede from the rest of Canada to which 
 it is bound by geographical, political, 
 and historical ties. 
 
 In short, the determination of na- 
 tional frontiers, if the frontiers are to 
 be stable, is controlled by one or more 
 of the national determinants, language, 
 geography, politics, and history. But 
 once a nation has been formed, in which 
 there has developed a national spirit, no 
 repressive measures will avail to stifle 
 its sense of nationality; its submerged 
 energies will insist on bursting forth. 
 No amount of oppression will ever kill 
 the national feeling of Poland, and no 
 amount of coaxing will ever persuade 
 Ireland that she is in essence anything 
 else than Ireland. Of course, the poli- 
 tics and history of a nation may be so 
 
PEACE TERMS 1 1 
 
 interwoven with those of another which 
 speaks the same language and from 
 which there is no geographical frontier 
 to separate it that its destiny may be 
 inalienably wrapped up with that of the 
 other nation. This is certainly true of 
 Scotland and England. It is also true 
 of Ireland and England. In both Scot- 
 land and Ireland there is a distinct na- 
 tional feeling, as deep and patriotic as 
 that in England ; but the forces of lan- 
 guage, geography, politics, and history 
 are so strong as to make these three 
 countries a unit of combined nationality, 
 an essential confederation of states. 
 
 The unit of world life is normally the 
 nation; but time and experience will 
 most likely create a greater unit, the 
 commonwealth. A group of distinct 
 nations, speaking the same language, 
 and drawn together by politics and his- 
 tory, where geographical obstacles are 
 not insuperable, sometimes confederate, 
 as in the case of the German States. In 
 
12 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 this case, time has had the effect of 
 creating a larger unit of national life. 
 The same is true, only in a more demo- 
 cratic and ideal manner, of the common- 
 wealth of free nations which we call the 
 British Empire. Here is a group of 
 nations, speaking the same language, 
 related politically and historically, and 
 not separated by impassable geograph- 
 ical barriers, formed into a great con- 
 federacy. The specific nationality of 
 some of the units, Ireland, for example, 
 is slower of amalgamation into the 
 larger unit than that of the other units, 
 but time will firmly cement the whole, 
 and a larger unit of national life will be 
 formed. 
 
 No nation, however, can be success- 
 fully forced into confederation. Its 
 people are assumed to be free, self- 
 respecting, and self -determining, whose 
 national rights should never be violated. 
 On the other hand, no nation need 
 stand alone, but any may confederate 
 
PEACE TERMS 13 
 
 with others for comfort and safety and 
 thus contribute to the growth of the 
 larger unit. 
 
Ill 
 
 THE APPLICATION 
 
 THE determinants of nationality 
 thus outlined must form the basis 
 of all international adjustments. After 
 this war, when statesmen come to- 
 gether to lay the foundations of future 
 peace and intercourse, the mistakes of 
 the Treaty of Vienna in 1815, which 
 paid no attention to the legitimate 
 claims of national independence, must 
 not be repeated. The great problem will 
 be the delimitation of international 
 frontiers. To do the work in an endur- 
 ing fashion the determinants of nation- 
 ality will have to be the fundamental 
 principle of action. Peoples will have 
 to be grouped, so far as possible, accord- 
 
PEACE TERMS 15 
 
 ing to the force of language, geography, 
 politics, and history. If these factors 
 are neglected the foundations of world 
 peace will be insecure. 
 
 The world is weary of war, but its 
 weariness must not betray statesmen 
 into erecting unscientific barriers which 
 will not stand the test of natural growth. 
 They must brush aside as completely as 
 possible all personal and national de- 
 sires which are contrary to the growth 
 of independent national life, and set 
 themselves to a partition of Europe on 
 the basis of reason and justice. 
 
 The criteria of the right of national 
 independence must be language, geog- 
 raphy, politics, and history. These will 
 be found capable, if applied scientifi- 
 cally and justly, of solving most diffi- 
 culties of partition. In case, however, 
 a nation shows a genuine disinclination 
 to abide by the findings of the applica- 
 tion of these determinants, the will of 
 the people will have to be determined by 
 
16 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 the carrying out of a plebiscite under 
 a just international supervision. 
 
 The Allies realize, and the Central 
 Empires are beginning to be persuaded, 
 that a reasonable and just settlement of 
 the international problem must be the 
 main subject of a real peace. The Allies 
 have already declared their intention 
 of insisting upon the liberation of all 
 peoples capable of self-government. 
 
 Let us try to picture, in a general way, 
 how Europe can be so partitioned as to 
 insure national contentment and lasting 
 peace. And let us begin with Belgium, 
 which has endeared itself to the hearts 
 of all lovers of liberty and justice. 
 
 Linguistically and geographically, 
 Belgium is not a separate nation. The 
 South is French, the North is Teutonic ; 
 and there is no great natural barrier 
 separating Belgium from France on the 
 South or from Germany on the North- 
 east. But the forces of politics and his- 
 tory have been so strong as to create a 
 
PEACE TERMS 17 
 
 real unit of national life. And any ques- 
 tion of disharmony between Flanders 
 and Wallonia has been completely 
 answered by the common suffering of 
 the present conflict. History which is 
 now being made so rapidly in that tragic 
 country will never give way to language 
 and geography but will bind the whole 
 people with the iron bands of nation- 
 ality. 
 
 Belgium's history has been a very 
 troublesome one just because of the dual 
 tongue and the lack of effective geo- 
 graphical barriers. The nation has been 
 brought forth with the greatest diffi- 
 culty. The two diverse languages and 
 regions, Flanders the lowland, and Wal- 
 lonia the upland, have lived side by side 
 with greatest discord. The Treaty of 
 Vienna linked Belgium up with Holland 
 but the predominant French culture of 
 Belgium broke the bonds. It would be a 
 mistake to try to incorporate Belgium 
 into any other nation whatever, even 
 
18 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 with Prance, in spite of the predominat- 
 ing character of French culture in Bel- 
 gium. Belgium has been born into the 
 family of nations. She has national 
 ideals and a national heart. She must 
 stand alone. Her liberty must be guar- 
 anteed. The Allies reasonably and 
 justly insist upon her independence ; her 
 political and historical life demands it, 
 her linguistic and geographical char- 
 acter permits it, and international peace 
 will surely grant it. 
 
 While there is a firm national feeling 
 in Luxemburg, that feeling is not suffi- 
 ciently strong to counteract the influence 
 of language and geography which point 
 to a logical inclusion of that country into 
 the German confederacy. The language 
 spoken in Luxemburg is a Low German 
 dialect, and the broken surface of the 
 Ardenne hilly region is not a sufficient 
 barrier to separate her from Germany. 
 However, in case there should be any 
 disinclination on the part of Luxemburg 
 
PEACE TERMS 19 
 
 to join the German confederacy, a ple- 
 biscite should be instituted whereby the 
 will of the people would be expressed. 
 But Luxemburg, judged by the criteria 
 which we have adopted, is predestined 
 to belong to Germany. The same may 
 be said of the territory of Moresnet, a 
 little neutral state of less than four 
 square miles in area. 
 
 About the nationality of France, on 
 the basis of our criteria, there is no 
 doubt. Nor does there seem to be much 
 doubt that not only Lorraine but also 
 Alsace should be a part of France. An- 
 other of the mistakes made by former 
 treaties was the robbing of France of 
 these two states. Linguistically and 
 geographically Lorraine is a part of 
 France. It is so politically and histor- 
 ically. The treaty of Frankfort in 1871 
 violated these natural ties, and nature 
 will have her revenge. 
 
 As to Alsace the case is not so clear. 
 The physical features of Alsace mark it 
 
20 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 off from surrounding regions. Through- 
 out the Middle Ages it was a province 
 of German speech. In 1910 the census 
 recorded over eight times as many Ger- 
 man-speaking people as French. But 
 the national feeling of Alsace is very 
 strongly French, and that, with its polit- 
 ical and historical life, will perhaps 
 prove a stronger bond than that of lan- 
 guage and geography, especially as the 
 geographical features render it as sep- 
 arable from Germany as from France. 
 Consensus of international feeling 
 strongly favors a return of Alsace to 
 France, but in case of doubt a plebiscite 
 of native-born Alsatians would settle 
 the question. 
 
 Switzerland's integrity as a nation 
 cannot be questioned. Her political and 
 historical life, strengthened by her 
 physical features, preserves her a unit 
 in spite of the diversity of the language 
 of her people. The overwhelming ma- 
 jority of German-speaking Swiss is just 
 
PEACE TERMS 21 
 
 as loyal to Helvetia as are the French 
 or the Italian-speaking inhabitants. 
 
 Italy's rights have manifestly been 
 violated by past treaties which were 
 merely " arbitrary decisions of a few 
 negotiators trying to secure by chicanery 
 or persuasion the interests of this or 
 that dynasty or nation ' ' (Lloyd George) . 
 The Trentino belongs to Italy by all the 
 rights of language, geography, politics, 
 and history ; and no power of man can 
 permanently keep her from it. 
 
 Although Italian politics, history, 
 and culture are supreme on the east 
 shore of the Adriatic, there are eight 
 times as many Slavs there as Italians. 
 The nationality of this whole region will 
 be difficult to determine. But statesmen 
 will do well to bear in mind the determi- 
 nants of nationality, and with due refer- 
 ence to their comparative weight will 
 most probably make a reasonable and 
 just decision. But the question must be 
 settled, and in a satisfactory manner, if 
 
22 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 permanent peace is to ensue. To this 
 end the Allies have already dedicated 
 themselves. President Wilson has just 
 said: "A readjustment of all the fron- 
 tiers of Italy should be effected along 
 clearly recognizable lines of nation- 
 ality". With reason and justice guided 
 by the determinants of nationality, this 
 end can be consummated. 
 
 The Balkan situation is a puzzle. But 
 if our criteria be observed, order can be 
 restored. The provinces of Carniola and 
 Illyria, on the borderland of Italy and 
 Austria, must belong to one or the other 
 of these two nations. The two provinces 
 possess no marked political, historical, 
 or geographical distinction, and are ap- 
 parently not capable of self-govern- 
 ment. Their only distinction is their 
 language, which is Slovene. A plebi- 
 scite would most justly decide the ques- 
 tion. In case the decision should favor 
 Italy, a right of way for Austria to the 
 Adriatic with Trieste as an interna- 
 
PEACE TERMS 23 
 
 tional city should be arranged, as every 
 nation should if possible have access to 
 the sea. 
 
 The Jugo-Slavs of Croatia, Slavonia, 
 Dalmatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and 
 Montenegro are sufficiently one in lan- 
 guage and political temperament to 
 guarantee national stability. They are a 
 Slavic people, and the physical features 
 of their home are homogeneous enough, 
 with the aid of a common language and 
 temperament, to enable them to develop 
 into a strong, independent nation. 
 Italy's claims, especially on the Dalma- 
 tian coast, must be carefully and sym- 
 pathetically considered, but it must be 
 remembered that there are eight times 
 as many Slavs as Italians on the eastern 
 shores of the Adriatic. 
 
 Albania is populated by an Aryan 
 people and speaks a language (Skip) 
 which has very little in common with 
 that either of the Jugo-Slavs or of the 
 Greeks. The position is an independent 
 
24 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 one between Jugo-Slavonia and Greece. 
 Yet there is no national feeling among 
 them. They have no common aim, but 
 they are intolerant of any alien author- 
 ity. In short, they have not yet com- 
 pletely passed out of the nomad into the 
 agricultural stage. But their linguistic 
 and geographical conditions warrant a 
 state of independence, and with the 
 passage of time and sympathetic guid- 
 ance they can easily be conceived of as 
 developing into a strong and independ- 
 ent nation. At any rate it would be a 
 mistake to force them under the control 
 either of Jugo-Slavonia or of Greece 
 or yet of Italy. An oversight by Italy 
 as the nearest strong nation may be 
 arranged with a view to later inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 To Greece by all the rights of lan- 
 guage, politics, and history belong Crete 
 and certain islands near the coast of 
 Asia Minor. It is, however, question- 
 able whether the geographical position 
 
PEACE TERMS 25 
 
 of the islands on the coast of Asia Minor 
 should allow them to belong to Greece. 
 They are so closely bound up with the 
 life of Asia Minor, that only a plebiscite 
 of the natives ought to decide their des- 
 tiny. But a large part of Macedonia, 
 stretching far eastward into present 
 Bulgarian territory, belongs by reason 
 and justice to Greece. The boundary 
 line between Bulgaria and Greece would 
 have to be carefully considered. 
 
 Bulgaria must be bounded on the 
 north by the Danube, on the west by the 
 territory of Jugo-Slavonia— a boundary 
 line which can easily be made on a phys- 
 ical basis— on the east by the Black Sea, 
 but on the south its rights must be 
 weighed over against those of both 
 Greece and Turkey. 
 
 The Roumanians are a Latin people, 
 and therefore distinct from their imme- 
 diate neighbors. After many years of 
 subjugation to the Turks, Roumania has 
 in recent years, as a result of successive 
 
26 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 rebellions, grown into an independent 
 nation. But its national boundaries do 
 not yet extend sufficiently far to include 
 all Roumanians. In Roumania itself 
 are about seven million people, but just 
 beyond the borders of the present king- 
 dom are three million other Roumanians 
 who are anxious to join their country- 
 men in a greater Roumania. 
 
 Linguistically, not only Transylvania 
 but also Bessarabia should be included 
 in the country of Roumania. There are 
 no geographical obstacles, and all the 
 conditions that go to foster political and 
 historical unity are present. A portion 
 of the Dobruja, say Silistria, for the 
 same reason, will probably have to be 
 joined to Bulgaria. The boundary 
 should be made with sympathy and care, 
 as also the boundaries between Transyl- 
 vania and Hungary and between Bessa- 
 rabia and Russia. 
 
 The Czecho-Slovaks, very completely 
 separated by Austria and Hungary 
 
PEACE TERMS 27 
 
 from their kinsmen, the Jugo-Slavs, 
 should form an independent nation. It 
 should include the present territory of 
 Bohemia and Moravia. The greatest 
 difficulty in connection with the possible 
 independence of this Czecho-Slovak 
 nation is that it would have no access to 
 the sea, a condition which President 
 Wilson feels is so necessary. Another 
 possible solution, which should be de- 
 cided by a plebiscite, would be the estab- 
 lishment of the independent equality of 
 Bohemia, Moravia, and Austria into a 
 confederation, with possibly Illyria and 
 Carniola, all forming an Empire or a 
 United States. 
 
 A similar difficulty presents itself in 
 connection with Euthenia. Euthenians 
 are Slavs, and most akin to the Little 
 Eussians. Hungary likewise presents a 
 difficulty. The inhabitants, who are 
 Magyars and Asiatic in origin, form a 
 linguistic unit. Perhaps Hungary, 
 Euthenia, Moravia, and Bohemia could 
 
28 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 be formed into a confederation with 
 Austria. Linguistically we have in this 
 combination four separate nations ; his- 
 torically Bohemia is a distinct nation- 
 ality, as are also Austria and Hungary. 
 Bohemia also has a keen sense of sep- 
 arate nationality. But geographical^ 
 they all form a unit, and access to the 
 sea could be procured by way of Trieste. 
 Most doubt exists as to the destiny of 
 Ruthenia, but as in the case of Carniola 
 and Illyria a plebiscite would decide 
 whether it should unite with Little 
 Russia, or with the Austrian confeder- 
 acy, or stand alone. The one thing 
 which future statesmen should make 
 certain is that each of these states should 
 be free and equal, and a confederation 
 should be encouraged. 
 
 Lloyd George has just declared that 
 genuine self-government on true demo- 
 cratic principles must be granted to 
 those Austro-Hungarian nationalities 
 who have long desired it. And Presi- 
 
PEACE TERMS 29 
 
 dent Wilson says that autonomous de- 
 velopment must be accorded to the peo- 
 ples of Austria-Hungary. That would 
 be brought about by due regard to the 
 determinants of nationality. 
 
 The head of the confederation already 
 referred to would be Austria. But she is 
 a Teutonic nation, distinct in every way 
 from Hungary, and different from Bo- 
 hemia, Moravia, Ruthenia, Illyria, and 
 Carniola in language and history. If the 
 problem of access to the sea could other- 
 wise be solved the most natural combi- 
 nation of these states would be : a union 
 of Austria with Germany with which it 
 is closely related ; the erection of a sep- 
 arate nation of Hungary ; the combina- 
 tion of Bohemia and Moravia into one 
 state ; the union of Ruthenia with Little 
 Russia ; and the combination of Illyria 
 and Carniola under the protection of 
 Austria as a part of the German Em- 
 pire, or, most appropriately, their 
 union with Italy. 
 
30 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 The problem of the partition of the 
 Austro-Hungarian Empire is a difficult 
 one, but a necessity to the stability of 
 Europe. If the work can be accom- 
 plished with due regard to the condi- 
 tions of language, geography, politics, 
 and history, the result will be lasting. 
 
 At last, statesmen have uttered the 
 name of Poland. From 1863, when the 
 Polish question had for the fourth time 
 brought Europe to the verge of war, 
 until now, rulers have not dared to raise 
 this difficult question. Poland, once a 
 mighty nation, is now nothing but a 
 problem— but a problem which must be 
 solved if a just and lasting peace is to 
 ensue. 
 
 Geographically, Poland is hard to 
 define. There is a strange lack of de- 
 termining boundaries on both east and 
 west, but it should extend from the Bal- 
 tic in the north to the Carpathians on 
 the south. However, linguistically, po- 
 litically, and historically, Poland is a 
 
PEACE TERMS 31 
 
 unit. She desires national indepen- 
 dence, and it should be accorded her. 
 Her restoration should be complete. 
 Prussia must give up her Polish lands ; 
 Galicia must be restored by Austria; 
 and Russia has already promised to give 
 up that portion of Poland which is 
 within her boundaries. 
 
 There are over twenty million Poles, 
 and they should govern themselves. 
 Their outlet to the sea will naturally be 
 the old Polish city of Danzig. If resto- 
 ration be brought about, the Niobe of 
 nations will once more be a flourishing 
 state, capable of taking its place in the 
 great procession of independent modern 
 nations. 
 
 There is a group of small provinces 
 on the south-eastern shore of the Baltic 
 Sea which need adjustment. They are : 
 Lithuania, Kurland, Esthonia, and Li- 
 vonia. The people of Lithuania, Kur- 
 land, and Livonia are Aryans, while 
 those of Esthonia are Finns. Geograph- 
 
32 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 ically, they are a unit; linguistically 
 there are two groups; but historically 
 and politically only the Lithuanians are 
 conscious of any distinct national de- 
 sires. They may be erected into four 
 independent states in the Eussian con- 
 federation, or into a separate confeder- 
 ation of southern Baltic States. 
 
 Finland was transferred to Eussia in 
 1809, but linguistically, geographically, 
 and historically she is a unit, and should 
 form an independent nation. Eussia 
 has already shown indications of recog- 
 nizing her independence, and Sweden 
 has welcomed her as a sovereign people. 
 No valid argument can be discovered 
 against the freedom of Finland. All the 
 determinants of nationality are present, 
 and the people have a strong sense of 
 national independence. It was only the 
 power of Sweden first, and then that of 
 Eussia, which has held her in bondage 
 up till now. She has already been wel- 
 comed into the company of free nations, 
 
PEACE TERMS 33 
 
 and the world peace will have no diffi- 
 culty in recognizing her place. 
 
 About Sweden, Norway, and Holland 
 there is no question of integrity. Inter- 
 national frontiers are well defined, and 
 future international agreement should 
 be such as to cause these countries no 
 alarm. 
 
 But with Denmark the case is differ- 
 ent. The provinces of Schleswig and 
 Holstein belonged to Denmark previous 
 to 1866, when they were annexed to 
 Prussia. According to our criteria 
 Schleswig belongs rightly to Denmark 
 and should be restored to her. But Hol- 
 stein is linguistically, politically, and 
 historically a part of Germany. It will 
 probably be difficult to settle the geo- 
 graphical frontiers between Denmark 
 and Germany, but they should follow as 
 closely as possible the lines of language 
 and history. A plebiscite would un- 
 doubtedly give Holstein to Germany and 
 Schleswig to Denmark. 
 
34 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 Whatever the fortunes of war may be, 
 German territory will remain intact. 
 The Allies do not intend to interfere 
 with that. Both Lloyd George and Wil- 
 son emphatically declare that no one 
 wants to disrupt the German confeder- 
 acy. The German provinces, of course, 
 excepting Schleswig, Lorraine, and Al- 
 sace, form a perfect unit, linguistically, 
 geographically, politically, and histori- 
 cally. There is a keen sense of national- 
 ity, although, perhaps, an exaggerated 
 and unjust one. The German people 
 will be accorded the same power of 
 self-determination as all others whether 
 small or great. Their political institu- 
 tions will not be interfered with by 
 foreign nations, but they will be com- 
 pelled to assume the same attitude 
 toward others. They will not be per- 
 mitted to retain in subjection any na- 
 tions which demand freedom, nor will 
 they be allowed to assume control of any 
 independent nation against its will. 
 
PEACE TERMS 35 
 
 Austria may elect to become a state in 
 the German confederacy, and so may 
 Holstein, Luxemburg, and Moreset ; but 
 Lorraine and Alsace, Schleswig and Po- 
 land, must be given their freedom unless 
 by a plebiscite the peoples of these 
 provinces freely decide to remain in the 
 German confederation. 
 
 In the British Isles there is one dis- 
 cordant note— Ireland. A plebiscite in 
 Scotland and Wales would show how 
 truly they are in accord with England, 
 the leader of the confederacy. All the 
 determinants of nationality combine to 
 strengthen the union of England, Scot- 
 land, and Wales into one nationality. 
 Further proof of the unity of these 
 states is unnecessary. 
 
 Linguistically, politically, and histor- 
 ically Ireland belongs to the same group. 
 This is likewise true geographically, for 
 rivers and seas do not form impassable 
 national barriers. Moreover the secur- 
 ity of Ireland is bound up physically 
 
36 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 with that of Great Britain. The chief 
 cause of irritation in Ireland is con- 
 fessedly religion. But a study of 
 the unity of the United States or of that 
 of the German Empire or of that of 
 Serbia will show that religion cannot be 
 used as a criterion of nationality. Ire- 
 land's irritant keeps cropping out in 
 Quebec. But both Ireland and Quebec 
 are so essentially bound up with their 
 neighboring provinces and countries 
 that it is questionable whether even 
 a plebiscite should be allowed to sepa- 
 rate them. Would the United States 
 agree to the secession of, say, Massa- 
 chusetts? If so, it is conceivable that 
 Canada would agree to a secession of 
 Quebec, or Great Britain to a secession 
 of Ireland. 
 
 Ireland must be given Home Eule. 
 She must be as free as Scotland or 
 Wales, but the determinants of nation- 
 ality render a verdict in favor of her 
 remaining in union with Great Britain. 
 
PEACE TERMS 37 
 
 An objection may be made to a com- 
 parison of the relationship of Massachu- 
 setts to the United States with that of 
 Ireland to Great Britain. It may be 
 said that the Irish are a different race. 
 Even if this were so, we must remember 
 that race is no criterion of nationality, 
 as we have already seen ; and, further- 
 more, the Irish are not a pure race. 
 But while the Irish are different in chief 
 racial characteristics from the English, 
 they are not different in this respect 
 from the Welsh and Scotch. Even raci- 
 ally, an impartial student would place 
 Ireland in the same national group as 
 Wales and Scotland, which are already 
 closely united with England. 
 
 As soon as Ireland learns the lesson of 
 religious freedom there will be no ques- 
 tion about her place in the British con- 
 federation. There are signs that point 
 to this consummation. The Eoman 
 Catholics of the south, though having 
 the numerical advantage, should not 
 
38 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 attempt to force their will upon the 
 Protestants of the north, who, though 
 inferior in number, are admittedly 
 superior in human development. Ire- 
 land is not a unit in political thought, 
 and until she is, the constraining criteria 
 of national life will bind her to Great 
 Britain. 
 
 Eussian stability is a necessity to 
 European peace, especially western 
 Russia. Now that the Empire is over- 
 thrown, it is difficult to predict what the 
 final outcome in Russia will be. The 
 Great and Little Russians, by all the 
 criteria of nationality, belong together. 
 It is possible that two independent na- 
 tions may be formed, but linguistically, 
 geographically, politically, and histor- 
 ically, they are one. 
 
 Siberia may be formed into a separate 
 nation, as also other portions of eastern 
 Russia, but this question lies outside our 
 present interest. Russia, however, must 
 give up Finland, Poland, and perhaps 
 
PEACE TERMS 39 
 
 Bessarabia, Livonia, Esthonia, Kurland, 
 and Lithuania. Let us hope that Russia 
 will develop into a great democratic 
 nation or confederation of nations, 
 whose weight will be placed into the 
 balance of a just and lasting peace. 
 
 As to Turkey, let it be remembered 
 that there is no such thing as a Moham- 
 medan criterion of nationality. Turkey 
 is not a nation because it is Mohamme- 
 dan, any more than the United States is 
 a nation because it is Christian. Reli- 
 gion does not make a nation. There are 
 more Mohammedans outside of Turkey 
 than in it. The assumption of the Cali- 
 phate by the Sultan of Turkey is a viola- 
 tion of religious rights. The Sultan is 
 no more the head of the Mohammedan 
 Church than King George is of the An- 
 glican Church or Emperor Charles is of 
 the Roman Catholic Church. He may 
 assume the role of protector, but that 
 is a different matter. Religiously, Mo- 
 hammedans have long demanded a sev- 
 
40 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 erance of the Mohammedan Caliphate 
 from the Turkish Sultanate, and very 
 recently, in June 1916, Hussain, the 
 Grand Sherif of Mecca, has declared 
 his independence. The Caliphate be- 
 longs to Mecca and not to Constanti- 
 nople. But, as we have seen, religion is 
 no criterion of nationality. 
 
 By all the laws of nationality, the 
 Turks are an independent people and 
 nation. They are of mixed race, but so 
 are the majority of modern peoples. It 
 has been said that Turkey is a theocracy. 
 This may be granted. But she is never- 
 theless a nation. Her theocratic char- 
 acter has been assumed, but her lan- 
 guage, geography, politics, and history 
 all proclaim her a nation. The Jews 
 formed a theocracy, but they were never- 
 theless a nation. 
 
 But Turkey has violated the independ- 
 ence of other peoples, towards whom she 
 has been murderous and tyrannical. 
 The Allies realize this and in their reply 
 
PEACE TERMS 41 
 
 to President Wilson's note, before 
 America entered the war, they declare 
 for the " liberation of the people who 
 now lie beneath the murderous tyranny 
 of the Turks, and the expulsion from 
 Europe of the Ottoman Empire, which 
 has proved itself so radically alien to 
 Western civilization" (§8). 
 
 On further reflection the Allies, in- 
 cluding America, have modified this 
 demand. They still rightly insist upon 
 the liberation of enslaved people, but 
 they do not stipulate the expulsion of 
 Turkey from Europe. Wilson says: 
 "The Turkish portion of the present 
 Ottoman Empire should be assured a 
 secure sovereignty". Notice that he 
 says " Turkish portion", assuming the 
 need of liberating non-Turkish peoples. 
 Lloyd George says: "We do not chal- 
 lenge the maintenance of the Turkish 
 Empire in the homelands of the Turk- 
 ish race with its capital at Constanti- 
 nople". Notice the phrase "home- 
 
42 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 lands", which is equivalent to Wilson's 
 " Turkish portion". 
 
 Lloyd George, however, goes a step 
 further, namely, in defining Constanti- 
 nople as being within Turkish " home- 
 lands". The Allies' earlier idea was to 
 limit Turkey to Asia Minor, where, ac- 
 cording to all the determinants of na- 
 tionality, the Turkish nation should find 
 a home. But, of course, the strip of 
 country on the European side of the Bos- 
 phorus is inhabited predominantly by 
 Turks, and if Turkey is to retain Con- 
 stantinople the surrounding territory 
 should be included. 
 
 However, the boundaries of Bulgaria 
 and Greece, on the basis of language, 
 geography, politics, and history, could 
 be extended further south and east. The 
 vilayet of Constantinople would remain, 
 but in a reduced form. But all the 
 Allies demand that the passage between 
 the Black Sea and the Mediterranean 
 be internationalized and neutralized. 
 
PEACE TERMS 43 
 
 It is questionable whether the vilayet 
 of Constantinople should not be given to 
 Greece or to Bulgaria, although the cri- 
 teria of nationality are in favor of its 
 present owners. At any rate the Bos- 
 phorus and the Dardanelles should be 
 made international and neutral. 
 
 It is natural that great and strong 
 nations should assume or be given the 
 oversight of groups of peoples who are 
 both weak and undeveloped and who 
 have no sense of nationality. It has al- 
 ways been so and has usually proved 
 beneficial. No one will deny the good 
 Great Britain has done in India and 
 Egypt and the advantages derived by 
 Cuba from the fostering care of the 
 United States. But there are limita- 
 tions, and one would need to be very 
 brave to undertake a defence of the 
 Turkish Empire's treatment of her de- 
 pendent peoples. On the contrary, it is 
 no injustice to say with the Allies in 
 their reply to President Wilson's note, 
 
44 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 that the Ottoman Empire's rule over her 
 dependent peoples has been a " murder- 
 ous tyranny". The right to exist as a 
 free and sovereign nation cannot be de- 
 nied to Turkey in spite of her barbar- 
 ities. But her rule of " murderous 
 tyranny" over other peoples can in no 
 possible manner be justified. If her 
 rule were beneficial and her subject 
 peoples were undeveloped and not ready 
 to govern themselves no one would 
 dream of interfering. But her rule has 
 been tyrannous in the extreme, and 
 though her subject peoples have shown 
 themselves incapable of self-govern- 
 ment they must be removed from under 
 her control. 
 
 Armenia should be freed and placed 
 under the tutelage of a strong European 
 nation till she is capable of self-govern- 
 ment. This is necessary in order to 
 preserve her from spoliation and disin- 
 tegration. All the conditions of nation- 
 ality exist in embryo ; but they need to 
 
PEACE TERMS 45 
 
 be developed. Care should be exercised 
 in fixing natural geographical boun- 
 daries as clearly as possible, and pro- 
 tection should be afforded her till she 
 comes of age. The same is true of 
 Kurdistan and Syria. Both are nations, 
 but in an imperfect state of develop- 
 ment. They must be nursed and cared 
 for. Their boundaries must be fixed and 
 they must be encouraged in self-govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Because of the great interest of 
 France in Syria, it would be according 
 to justice to appoint France the guar- 
 dian of these three peoples. France has 
 shown herself to be a careful and hu- 
 mane ruler of undeveloped peoples, and 
 nothing would make more for perma- 
 nence among these peoples than the 
 guiding and controlling hand of France. 
 
 Palestine is not a nation at all. There 
 is not another country like it in the 
 whole world. But all the elements of 
 nationality are there in undeveloped 
 
46 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 and unused form, except a people, in the 
 strict sense of the term, and a language. 
 There can naturally be no nation with- 
 out a people. But there is a peculiar 
 people scattered among the nations of 
 the earth which has never lost its iden- 
 tity. It is the Jewish people. Many 
 Jews long to see their ancient home, the 
 abode of their ancestors, restored to 
 them. They would return thither in 
 thousands. It is a small country in 
 area, and the Jews would soon become 
 the predominating population, without 
 doing violence to its present inhabitants. 
 Palestine is so bound up with religious 
 sentiment, Jewish, Christian, and Mo- 
 hammedan, that the erection of Pales- 
 tine as a neutral country under interna- 
 tional protection, with perhaps the 
 United States of America in the chair, 
 would be most conducive to stability. 
 Jewish settlements could be encouraged 
 with the hope that a Jewish nation would 
 develop and become permanent. But it 
 
PEACE TERMS 47 
 
 seems that even if Palestine should de- 
 velop into a Jewish nation, with all the 
 rights and liberties of a nation, never- 
 theless a proviso is necessary. Jerusa- 
 lem and other towns in Palestine are not 
 only Jewish but also Christian and Mo- 
 hammedan shrines. Consequently one 
 of two things should happen : Palestine 
 should be constituted as a permanent 
 international and neutral country, gov- 
 erned by an international board; or it 
 should be restored to the Jewish people, 
 at first under international direction, 
 but with the idea of gradually develop- 
 ing into a nation, provided certain loca- 
 tions and shrines, and approaches to 
 them, be subject to international con- 
 trol. In any case Palestine cannot re- 
 turn to the Turk. 
 
 East of Syria and Palestine and south 
 of Kurdistan are the regions of Mesopo- 
 tamia and Arabia, and west of Arabia is 
 Egypt. Great Britain has already ac- 
 complished wonders in Egypt. Any one 
 
48 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 acquainted with the modern history of 
 that country knows what strides have 
 been made under British rule. No one 
 who has the welfare of undeveloped peo- 
 ples at heart would ever dream of de- 
 siring to see Great Britain give up her 
 splendid work. It must be continued. 
 
 The people of Arabia have recently 
 proclaimed themselves a separate mon- 
 archy under the Grand Sherif of Mecca, 
 who has taken the title "King of 
 Hedjaz". Arabia, as is well known, is 
 not ready for self-government. There, 
 as in Egypt, are in embryo all the de- 
 terminants of nationality, but they are 
 as yet undeveloped. 
 
 The site of the ancient empire of 
 Babylonia and Assyria can be made the 
 most prosperous country in the world 
 with proper care. Turkey has crimi- 
 nally neglected this paradise, with the 
 result that to-day it is one of the most 
 miserable countries in existence. 
 
 The British, who have recently con- 
 
PEACE TERMS 49 
 
 quered Bagdad, and who have shown 
 themselves in India and Egypt to be so 
 capable in handling Mohammedan peo- 
 ples, should be asked to take both Meso- 
 potamia and Arabia under their protec- 
 tion. Great Britain has the experience, 
 and she has the ability, and if these por- 
 tions of the Ottoman Empire are to de- 
 velop and grow into self-respecting and 
 self-governing peoples no one can lead 
 them to that end better than Britain. 
 
 Before a world peace can be brought 
 about the status of Germany's colonies 
 must be settled. On this score, Presi- 
 dent Wilson has just said : i i The inter- 
 ests of the populations concerned must 
 have equal weight with the equitable 
 claims of the government whose title is 
 to be determined." Now, no one de- 
 mands that France, Belgium, Italy, or 
 Great Britain give up their colonies. 
 The peoples of these colonies must be 
 under the protection of some strong na- 
 tion. They are not ready to take the 
 
50 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 reins into their own hands, and if they 
 were deserted they would be at the 
 mercy of all the forces of disintegration. 
 No, they are in safe keeping. Witness, 
 for example, the colonies of Great 
 Britain which are gradually being given 
 their independence. Newfoundland has 
 just been proclaimed a Dominion, Can- 
 ada has long ago been such, and Aus- 
 tralia is a great Commonwealth. They 
 have the right to secede. They possess 
 all the determinants of nationality, but 
 they prefer to remain, not so much 
 under the protection of Great Britain, 
 for they are now laying down their 
 precious lives to protect her, but asso- 
 ciated with her in the great Common- 
 wealth of free and equal nations which 
 we know as the British Empire. 
 
 But there is a decided question as to 
 whether the former colonies of Germany 
 should be returned. It would be per- 
 fectly safe to apply President Wilson's 
 criterion to the former German colonies, 
 
PEACE TERMS 51 
 
 for, with the exception perhaps of Ger- 
 man South East Africa, they would al- 
 most to a man vote for their liberation. 
 And so would German South East 
 Africa if only genuine native-born in- 
 habitants be permitted to vote, and if 
 the askaris, or German mercenaries, be 
 excluded. Even were they included it 
 would be safe to guess that a large 
 majority would oppose German rule. 
 
 However, it is highly questionable 
 whether the native inhabitants of Afri- 
 can colonies are in a state of sufficient 
 development to make a choice. It is 
 not always wise to allow children their 
 choice, and many inhabitants of Africa 
 are yet but children. 
 
 In South Africa there has been set up 
 in a most remarkable manner a great 
 free, self-governing nation. A few years 
 ago these peoples were at bitter war with 
 Great Britain, but now are giving their 
 best and their all to her in her fight for 
 justice. What Great Britain has done 
 
52 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 in South Africa has never been paral- 
 leled in the history of the world. She 
 has proved herself incomparable as a 
 colonizing power. On the contrary Ger- 
 many is notoriously stupid in her deal- 
 ings with colonial people. No greater 
 blessing could possibly come to the 
 former German colonies in Africa than 
 that they be turned over to the genius 
 of Great Britain's colonizing power. 
 What a triumph to " Darkest Africa" 
 if from Egypt to Cape Colony and from 
 Kamerun to East Africa there were 
 established a great confederation of free 
 nations in union with the rest of the 
 mighty Commonwealth of Great Brit- 
 ain ! This is no dream ; it is the convic- 
 tion of many of the greatest minds of 
 Great Britain and South Africa. It 
 would be a crime to humanity to do any- 
 thing which would help to retard or 
 prevent this development. Great Brit- 
 ain at the peace tables cannot appear too 
 insistent upon her claim as conqueror in 
 
PEACE TERMS 53 
 
 Africa because of the stand which she 
 has always taken for freedom and lib- 
 erty, and too great concern on her part 
 may be interpreted as land-grabbing. 
 But the other free nations should see to 
 it that her genius in colony building 
 should be entrusted with the noble task 
 of bringing democracy and liberty to 
 Africa. 
 
IV 
 
 TOWARDS A JUST AND 
 LASTING PEACE 
 
 THE essence of autocracy is intoler- 
 ance; that of democracy is toler- 
 ance. In an autocracy an individual or 
 group of individuals undertakes to have 
 its own way, and to subject everything 
 to its will. In a democracy the govern- 
 ment is of the people, by the people, and 
 for the people. A democracy must have 
 a leader and a government, but they 
 will act only with the consent of the 
 governed. 
 
 An autocracy has certain inherent ad- 
 vantages over a democracy. In an au- 
 tocracy a decision can be made more 
 rapidly than in a democracy ; action can 
 
PEACE TERMS 55 
 
 be more concerted ; and laws can be more 
 easily enforced. An autocracy is apt to 
 be more orderly and systematic than a 
 democracy. But the claim of democracy 
 to universality consists in its essential 
 liberty and justice. Government must 
 be by the consent of the governed. 
 
 There are certain things which de- 
 mocracy cannot do with the same ease 
 as an autocracy, and there are other 
 things which it cannot do at all. God 
 cannot make a valley without two hills, 
 nor can democracy govern without cer- 
 tain justified restrictions placed upon 
 all. In other words, liberty and license 
 must be carefully and clearly differenti- 
 ated. Law and order must prevail ; but 
 it must be just and the same for all, 
 whether governors or governed. In an 
 autocracy the voice of one or of a small 
 group alone is heard; in a democracy 
 every man may speak. 
 
 The new world in which we are to live 
 must be a democratic world as far as 
 
56 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 possible. It should at least be demo- 
 cratic as far as international relations 
 are concerned. Nothing should be done 
 internationally without the consent of 
 all nations. But democracy, ideal 
 though it be, cannot be forced upon an 
 independent nation. Lloyd George has 
 well said that Germany's form of gov- 
 ernment is a question for the German 
 people to decide. If they want an autoc- 
 racy no one can forbid it. They can have 
 tyrants as rulers if they choose. But 
 what other nations will insist upon is 
 that Germany act toward other nations 
 in an international democratic way. 
 This is exactly what the Allies are fight- 
 ing for. They intend to establish an 
 international democracy, or, in other 
 words, an international law which is ab- 
 solutely democratic. Then each nation 
 will be free to choose its own form of 
 government but it will not be free to act 
 toward other nations in any other than 
 a democratic way. 
 
PEACE TERMS 57 
 
 The world's greatest and noblest pur- 
 pose at this moment is to " achieve a 
 righteous end to this war" (Lloyd 
 George), and when the statesmen as- 
 semble around the table of peace the set- 
 tlement which they should have in mind 
 is one which must not bear the seed of 
 future war. 
 
 But there must be a definite and 
 specific purpose in the minds of Allied 
 statesmen in their battle of words 
 around the peace table. This purpose 
 has already been enunciated. As far as 
 possible all causes of war must be re- 
 moved; in other words, national boun- 
 daries must be settled not necessarily in 
 accordance with the wish of any one 
 nation or group of nations, but accord- 
 ing to justice and the determinants of 
 nationality. In settling the frontiers of 
 nations the following principle, enunci- 
 ated by Lloyd George, must be borne in 
 mind: " Government with the consent 
 of the governed must be the basis of any 
 
58 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 territorial settlement." In the estab- 
 lishment of international law, President 
 Wilson's principle must be remem- 
 bered: " Justice to all peoples and na- 
 tionalities, and their rights to live on 
 equal terms of liberty and safety with 
 one another, whether they be strong 
 or weak"; " unless justice be done to 
 others it will not be done to us." Only 
 in this way can the sanctity of interna- 
 tional treaty be reinstated. There must 
 be "no secret understandings of any 
 kind" (Wilson) ; everything must be 
 open and above board. There must be 
 no "most favored" nations, for as 
 Lloyd George recently said, speaking 
 for Great Britain: "Equality among 
 nations, small as well as great, is one of 
 the fundamental issues this country and 
 her allies are fighting to establish in this 
 war." All national aggression must be 
 swept away and each nation must be 
 allowed to develop within its national 
 rights. 
 
PEACE TERMS 59 
 
 With the end of war will come the 
 period of reconstruction. It is then that 
 clear heads and true hearts will be 
 needed. It is then that there should be 
 set on foot that movement which char- 
 acterizes the United States of America 
 and the British Empire, namely, con- 
 federation. The confederation of states 
 must expand into the confederation of 
 nations. President Wilson has ex- 
 pressed the idea in a general way: "A 
 general association of nations must be 
 formed under specific covenants for the 
 purpose of affording mutual guarantees 
 of political independence and territorial 
 integrity to great and small states 
 alike.' ' 
 
 To be more specific: the doctrine of 
 united sovereign states, applied by the 
 United States of America when the 
 Union was formed, and by Great Britain 
 in the building up of her empire, must 
 be applied internationally. It might well 
 begin by a loose confederation of the 
 
60 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 United States of America and the Brit- 
 ish Empire. There need be no change 
 in the form of either government, 
 but an entente equivalent to a confeder- 
 ation might well be established. Into 
 this confederacy might come democratic 
 France, and Belgium, and Italy. Other 
 nations would join, one after another, 
 each sovereign in itself, independent and 
 self-governing, but recognizing certain 
 international agreements which would 
 constitute the confederacy. Such a con- 
 federation of democratic nations would 
 be in itself strong enough to police the 
 world in the interest of liberty and 
 equality. And it is not beyond reason to 
 believe that in time the whole world 
 would be brought into this confedera- 
 tion of free nations, which would not be 
 a British Commonwealth or a United 
 States of America, but a United States 
 of the World. 
 
 In view of this, certain interesting 
 developments may be noted : 
 
PEACE TERMS 61 
 
 With a confederation of the nations 
 of the world, the problem of the freedom 
 of the seas and international waterwavs 
 would be solved. As long as there re- 
 mains an untamed and irresponsible 
 nation there can be no such thing as free- 
 dom of the seas. This war has surely 
 taught that. The seas being seas, it is 
 questionable whether their freedom can 
 ever be consummated until a world con- 
 federation has been established, for as 
 long as any one nation refuses to abide 
 absolutely by international agreement 
 there is danger of her running amuck 
 on seas where there naturally can be no 
 frontiers. Certain specific waterways, 
 however, can be internationalized and 
 neutralized, just as easily as the deter- 
 mination of certain frontiers. We have 
 seen that the Bosphorus and Darda- 
 nelles should be internationalized and 
 neutralized, especially, for the purpose 
 of affording to Russia, Bulgaria, Rou- 
 mania, and Armenia a free passage to 
 
62 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 the sea. The same may be said of 
 the Suez Canal, the Kiel Canal, the 
 Panama Canal, and the Straits of 
 Gibraltar, or any other such passage 
 or waterway. This would be settled by 
 international agreement. 
 
 Another interesting development may 
 ensue as a result of world confederation. 
 As we have already often observed, lan- 
 guage is the chief determinant of nation- 
 ality. In fact, the greatest deterrent to 
 internationalization is diversity of lan- 
 guage ; it is also a source of much inter- 
 national misunderstanding. But on the 
 other hand, the love of language is sec- 
 ond only to the love of country ; in fact, 
 the love of country is inalienably bound 
 up with love of language. All that is 
 dear and sacred in the feeling of nation- 
 ality is stored up in language, and 
 language is required to bring it to 
 perfection. 
 
 Now, in a world confederation, such 
 as that just described, almost every 
 
PEACE TERMS 63 
 
 nation would speak its own language. 
 While this would be a source of some 
 difficulty, it should not be discouraged 
 because of the close bond between lan- 
 guage and nationality. But there could 
 be established by international agree- 
 ment an official language by means of 
 which all international business would 
 be conducted. This language should be 
 a living one, preferably English, because 
 of the probable great majority of Eng- 
 lish-speaking states in the first stages of 
 the confederacy. Thus, most people in 
 time would become bilingual; each na- 
 tion using its own language, but capable 
 of speaking the official and international 
 tongue. And it is not altogether Uto- 
 pian to believe that in the far distant 
 future the whole world may be brought 
 to speak one language. This in itself 
 would be the means of preventing count- 
 less causes of international irritation; 
 it would be the source of mutual under- 
 standing; it would form a common 
 
64 ALLIED AND AMERICAN 
 
 object of love; and it would help to 
 translate national love into terms of 
 world love. 
 
 Finally, the meaning of this world 
 crisis should be considered. A bird's- 
 eye view of the whole history of man- 
 kind upon this planet will show a re- 
 markable fact about the developments 
 of human society. It will teach us that 
 the earliest unit of social life, among 
 primitive peoples, was the family. 
 Everything centered in that unit. With 
 the development of the race, groups of 
 related families formed clans; then, 
 groups of clans formed tribes, and, fin- 
 ally, groups of tribes amalgamated into 
 nations. This is where we are to-day. 
 Human society at the present time is 
 made up of a group of nations. Anthro- 
 pologists and historians assure us that 
 this is how ?^man society has developed. 
 But is that the last step? Surely not. 
 The next step may take thousands of 
 years, just as each step in the past took 
 
PEACE TERMS 65 
 
 many centuries, but it will certainly be 
 made. 
 
 We are witnessing the birth pangs of 
 a new world order, namely, internation- 
 alism. The step human society is now 
 girding up its loins to take is the group- 
 ing of nations into a world system, into 
 internationalism. This will fulfil the 
 eternal principle of unity. Scientists 
 tell us of the unity of humanity ; evolu- 
 tionists tell us how this unity gradually 
 came about; and philosophers tell us 
 that suffering is one of the fundamental 
 conditions of development. All these 
 elements are observable in the present 
 world conflict. We are witnessing the 
 beginning of a new era. 
 
 The determinants of nationality have 
 been seen to be language, geography, 
 politics, and history. In a developed 
 form they will become th', r leterminants 
 of internationalism. The next step in 
 human development will witness the 
 growth of a world language, wlrch will 
 
66 PEACE TERMS 
 
 become as dear to the human heart as 
 any one language of the past had be- 
 come to any one nation. National geog- 
 raphy will develop into world geogra- 
 phy, and " national barriers" and "the 
 freedom of the seas" will become merely 
 interesting historical relics. World 
 politics will be the order of the day, when 
 the great Commonwealth of Nations is 
 established. And national history will 
 be interesting only as a means of tracing 
 out the evolution of human society from 
 its primitive to its more developed form. 
 Then, diversity will become unity, na- 
 tionalism will become internationalism, 
 and a just and lasting peace will be 
 realized. 
 
Deacidified using the Bookkeeper pre 
 Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxid( 
 Treatment Date: ..... op* 
 
 PreservationTechnolo 
 
 A WORLD LEADER IN. PAPER PRESERV 
 
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