Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-06-22

enforcement Of peace. One Is that the
United States would have to engage IN
an "entangling alliance" with Euro
pean and other foreign nations. The
other is that the United States under
the plan proposed would be moro IN
danger Of being drawn into war than
1t Is today and might easily find itself
in a situation where 1t would have to
contribute heavily In ships and men
and guns to European war in which,
it had only an indirect interest.
Pledged to Make War.
"The proposed league to enforce
peace would get us out of the frying
pan into the fire." said an army expert
today. Certainly 1t does not harmon
!ze with the idea of unpreparedness."
1t IS pointed out that thus far con-
gress has refused to take the measures
which most military men deem neces-
sary to prepare the United States for
defensive war. But under the league
to enforce peace the United States
might quickly find itself confronted
with situation where it was pledged
to enter on q war of offense.
The plan of the league of nations as
proposed in the resolutions offered by
President Lowell, Of Harvard. and
adopted, is that the signatory powers
shall be bound to submit justiciable
questions to judicial tribunal and to
submit questions other than justiciabis
to council Of conciliation for hear
ing, consideration and recommends
ton. Further, 1t is provided that the
joint powers shall together use their
economic and military forces against
any Of their number that goes to war
without submitting the question in dis
pute in the manner mentioned.
Nations Would Not Join.
Those who find little to hope for
from the plan say that in the first
place, under the present conditions OF
national hatreds, it would be impossi-
BILE to get all the leading nations into
the league. Under the working of the
resolution, a nation not signatory
would not be subject to the rules OF
the league. That is, if nation did
not sign the agreement and chose to
turn suddenly on power signatory to
the league, the league would not be
bound to help repel the obstreperous
non-member. The league, according
to the resolutions Of President Lowell,
does not purpose to go to the point OF
compelling its signatories to obey Its
rules and also compelling non-members
to keep hands off signatories.
An objection urged as already noted,
so far as the United States Is con-
cerned, is that the country would ex-
pose itself to participation in world
war and an offensive war at that by
Joining the proposed organization.
This is the illustration given by one
authority who objected to the league
today. Suppose, he said, that the league
was formed with all the chief nations
signing the agreement Suppose Ger
many and France or Germany and
England, to illustrate, had trouble, as
might we'll occur by reason OF their
old grudges. Not waiting for formali-
ties, Germany might suddenly launch
a drive at her enemy. This Is not a
far-fetched superstition in view Of the
way the present war has developed.
What then? Then the United States
would have to join the other powers
to whip Germany. What would that
mean? Germany has anywhere from
100000 to 100000 fighting men.
They would be at least as we'll, If not
better, prepared as those Of rival ma
lions. To overcome them, the nations
that undertook the job Of enforcing
peace would have to furnish huge arm
les On the basis Of population, the
United States would have to furnish
anywhere from 100000 to 100000
men for land service, to say nothing
Of ships. guns, munitions and the like.
Viewed in this light, it can be set
down as certainty congress Is not
going to hasten into any plan OF a
league to enforce peace.
Congress is much more likely to take
steps to- enhance the defensive power
of the United States than it is to enter
ct this time into worldwide alliance.
It is likely to do this, not on the theory
that there is no merit in the idea OF
world alliance against war, but on the
theory that the time Is not ripe for 1t,
that the abolition Of war and prepared
ness must be an evolution. and that
in the meantime it would be just as
well for Uncle Sam not to hang up his
gun. That element in congress which
wants to abolish all armament in this
country is not likely to favor the plan
since it would contemplate, II carried
out in the spirit intended, that this
country would have to be prepared II