and perhaps all war between civilized
nations, will cease. It is obvious that in the interest of mankind the
war ought not to cease until Germany is convinced that her ambition for
empire in Europe and the world cannot be gratified. _Deutschland ueber
alles_ can survive as a shout of patriotic enthusiasm; but as a maxim of
international policy it is dead already, and should be buried out of the
sight and memory of men.

It has, moreover, become plain that the progress in civilization of the
white race is to depend not on the supreme power of any one nation,
forcing its peculiar civilization on other nations, but on the peaceful
development of many different nationalities, each making contributions
of its own to the progress of the whole, and each developing a social,
industrial, and governmental order of its own, suited to its territory,
traditions, resources, and natural capacities.

The chronic irritations in Europe which contributed to the outbreak of
the war and the war itself have emphasized the value and the toughness
of natural national units, both large and small, and the inexpediency of
artificially dividing such units, or of forcing natural units into
unnatural associations. These principles are now firmly established in
the public opinion of Europe and America. No matter how much longer the
present war may last, no settlement will afford any prospect of lasting
peace in Europe which does not take just account of these principles.
Already the war has demonstrated that just consideration of national
feelings, racial kinship, and common commercial interests would lead to
three fresh groupings in Europe--one of the Scandinavian countries, one
of the three sections into which Poland has been divided, and one of the
Balkan States which have a strong sense of Slavic kinship. In the case
of Scandinavia and the Balkan States the bond might be nothing more than
a common tariff with common ports and harbor regulations; but Poland
needs to be reconstructed as a separate kingdom. Thoroughly to remove
political sores which have been running for more than forty years, the
people of Schleswig-Holstein and Alsace-Lorraine should also be allowed
to determine by free vote their national allegiance. Whether the war
ends in victory for the Allies, or in a draw or deadlock with neither
party victorious and neither humiliated, these new national adjustments
will be necessary to permanent peace in Europe. All the wars in Europe
si