OCR Text |
Show ENGLISH PEACE TALK. The Lomlon Nation, iu what seems to be a broad-minded and generous spirit, urges the nations of Iurope to make peace. Let all ideas ol: crushing crush-ing the central empires aud recon-btructin recon-btructin Kurope on t heir ruins be abandoned, says the editor. Let us establish a concert of Europe, taking in the Germanic -empires, and let us sacrifice our territorial ambitions. Let us ask merely (that the dispossessed nations Belgium, Montenegro and Serbia be re-established. One of a suspicious nature would be tempted to think that the editor i ' heading a secret anti-Russian propa-gnnda. propa-gnnda. No mention is made ' of a re const rue ted Poland as a part of the czar's empire and no provision is suggest sug-gest ed for Kussia 's desires tu obtain a warm water port . On the contrary, the writer points out indirectly that exclusive occupation by "Russia of the Dardanelles is apt to cause a recur- rence of war. The proposals appear especially hopeless hope-less now that Kumnnia has joined Russia Rus-sia in a drive against the Germanic powers. Rumania enters the conflict expressly to obtain thousands of miles of additional territory. It is all very well to talk altruistically about abandoning aban-doning territorial ambitions, but the allies have s-o involved themselves that there must be a bargain counter division divi-sion of territory among themselves. A set t lenient on the basis of a concert of all the European powers would have been easier were it not for the participation partici-pation of Italy and Rumania. They are frankly in the war for aggrandizement. aggrandize-ment. It is trim they have been forced in and t heir wish to obtain com pen a-L a-L tion for being in cannot be harshly J censured under the circumstances. I -hit W the fact that I hey are in makes a set tlement such as the London Nation suggests most difficult. France "might agreo without an excess ex-cess of humiliation to abandon hope of recovering Alsace and Lorraine; England Eng-land might return the German colonies to obtain the re-establishment of the dispossessed nations, but could Russia give up her desire for free access to the seas I With both Rumania and 1 taly wiu-ni wiu-ni ng, even though slowly, the early consideration of peace proposals seems out of the question. it is quite possible that in Great Britain a faction has arisen which fears Russian expansion more than G crmnn militarism. At all events the Nation 's suggestions see in to show a veiled fear of the Russia of the future if the war is permitted to proceed un- til Germany and A ust ria have been crushed. |