; the cause of international peace, as an
ultimate ideal, has always been advocated in the abstract; the idea of a
League of Nations has frequently been mooted. But it was Wilson's fate to
be ruler of a great nation at the moment when the need of peace, justice,
and international organization was more clearly demonstrated than ever
before in the world's history. Germany's cynical disregard of Belgian
independence, the horrors and waste of the war for which Germany was
chiefly responsible, the diplomatic disorganization of Europe, which
permitted this world disaster, desired by merely a handful of
firebrands--all these tragic and pitiful facts had been burned into the
mind of the age. There was a definite determination that a recurrence of
such catastrophes should not be permitted. The period of the war will be
regarded by future historians as one of transition from the international
chaos of the nineteenth century to an organization of nations, which,
however loose, should crystallize the conscience of the world, preserve
its peace, and translate into international politics the standards of
morality which have been set up for the individual.

In this transition President Wilson played a part of the first importance.
His role was not so much that of the executive leader as of the prophet.
He was not the first to catch the significance of the transition, nor did
he possess the executive qualities which would enable him to break down
all obstacles and translate ideals into facts. But he alone of the notable
statesmen of the world was able to express adequately the ill-defined
hopes of the peoples of all nations. He gave utterance to the words which
the world had been waiting for, and they carried weight because of his
position. Alone of the great powers the United States had no selfish
designs to hide behind fair promises of a better future. As President of
the United States, Woodrow Wilson might look for the confidence of Europe;
there was no European Government which could arouse similar trust. So long
as the war lasted, the President's success as a prophet of the ideal was
assured, alike by his ability to voice inarticulate hopes and by reason of
his position as chief of the most powerful and most disinterested nation
of the world.

But with the end of the war he faced a new task and one which was
infinitely more difficult. The flush of victory obliterated from the minds
of many in the Allied countries the high ideals w