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INTRODUCTION

HERE was probably a time, at the beginning of this war, when most of us in the United States thought the Ukraine

was a musical instrument. At least, we were so ignorant of the peoples and the problems of Europe that we had little understanding of the conflict, and little concern with the fundamentals of settlement. Those days have gone forever.

Whether we like it or not, we are now citizens of the world. By virtue of a struggle against military despotism, which has involved us as it has involved nearly all the civilized nations of the earth, we are compelled to do our part in curing the world maladies out of which this great plague of war has come upon us. In order to aid intelligently, we have to inform ourselves, to educate ourselves, to learn the world that has suddenly called upon us for responsible cooperation, and to study the peoples, races, states and problems with which we shall have to work.

Such volumes as this "2,000 Questions and Answers About the War" are the text-books with which we shall have to begin. It gives the background of difficulties out of which the war arose. It relates the development and progress of the conflict that widened to include us as the aims of the great imperial enemy of our peaceful civilization developed and progressed. It indicates the necessary basis for a permanent settlement of the terrible dispute.

In other countries, where the policy of the nation has been in the hands of a governing class, such knowledge can be left to the officers of administration and the legislative advisers who control them.

Here it must be the possession of the whole people, in order that we may be able successfully to carry out President Wilson's famous aim "to make the world safe for democracy."

This war will not be won until it becomes part and parcel of every individual life, until it dominates every thought and activity. This burning consciousness can be gained only through an exact knowledge of the facts in the case, for it is in the simplicities of truth that America and the great liberal nations find fullest justification. The "2,000 Questions and Answers," in my opinion, constitute a vital part of the national defense.

GEORGE CREEL.

Plate VI

Plate VII

Plate VIII

Plate IX

Plate X

Highlands of Northern France (With Battle Lines)
Eastern France and Alsace-Lorraine (With Battle Lines)
Austro-Italian Frontier (With Battle Lines)

Western Russia, Poland and Russo-German Frontier Plate XI

Balkan States (With Battle Line)

Asia Minor (With Battle Line)