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Show lB AROUND THE PEACE TABLE H H A ND now that the greatest war the world has H ever known is over, the attention of the entire H civilized world is directed towards the coming H peacd conference, when the settlement will be ar- H rived at, and steps taken to insure that a like crime H shall never be repeated as long of the foundations H of the world 'stand. Momentous and weighty, for H truth, are the questions to be considered and ad- H indicated. It is a task which will call for the best H brain's of all the principal nations particularly H those who were arrayed against Germany and her H allies arid America's duty in this respect will be H one q the gravest. For America's participation H and deciding pressure in the conflict was more H nearly prompted by a desire for justice and the H general good of the race, stripped of selfish inter- H est, than any of the rest, and today she stands re- H vealed, not only as the greatest nation on earth, B but also as the friend of all deserving humanity. m In the deliberations soon to be undertaken at H the peaco table in France, the same unselfish spir- H it and singleness of purpose which has chai'acter- H ized 'our participation in the struggle must be up- H held' and maintained inviolate; and at the same JH time' we must guard well every avenue for the H possible recurrence of a like catastrophe, and must H withal insist upon justipe and retribution' wliere it H o is due, yet not being actuated by any of, the baser H instincts, such as revenge. In other words, we" j should seek to follow the injunction of the Master H given to his apostles, wherein He said, "Be .ye H therefore wise as serpents, but harmless as doves." H So long as any of the old governing regime remains H there will be no end of attempts to dicker and de- H ceivq in order to escape the rightful consequences H of their Jawless acts. There will be subterfuge, H deception and intrigue, and the ever pdesent plea H for sympathy. So that to arrive at a just and IB rational decision one which must appeal to the M innermost consciousness of the culprit as being H just .and right, as well as to the injured, calls for H calm, unimpationed judgment and a clear concep- m tion ,of right and wrong. H It is fitting that the President should himself H be a member of the delegation from this country, H for his personal views on many of the vital issues H involved are sound and should obtain expression H at the peace table. And there should be other able H representatives, for- it is too big a subject to be H entrusted to any one man. There should be one H or more trained legal minds included in our dele- B gation, and in order that our American institutions H and scale, of wages and piano of living may not be H placed on a level with Europe and Asia, there M ought to be one or more men in whom is thorough- H ly grounded those vital principles of protection H for American industries, as there will undoubtedly M be an attempt at the conference to foster such a S eolation between nations as will practically oblit- 1 crate boundary lines and approach the common m table and common wages for working classes. At H any ratewe may depend that England and other H European" nations will seek to obtain the free en- H try of their goods to this country, on terms of reci- H procity, which would amount to the same thing. H We regret to note that ex-President William H Howard Taft, who was mentioned as a possible 1 member of the commission has been eliminated. H Taft is a man of calm, deliberate judgment, has H a good legal mind, and certainly has had ample H experience in statesmanship. From every stand- H point he seems to be fitted for the task, and his fl loyal support of the administration during the war IB made the report that he was to be named as a H member of the commission from the United States H appear logical. We trust that the President is H not intending to apply the same measure of fit- H ness to his selections for the peace conference that H characterized his appeal to the voters on the eve H of the election, for we believe that there is need B for our very best men, regardless of politics. H iK' |