The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-02-03
TAFT's SPEECH

TAFT'S SPEECH
Continued from Page One.)
a repetition. That pledge is now
Withdrawn and she aYoWs her purpose
to resume her shocking course.
Humanity and Justice Deficd.
IF war is to come between us she
win be the unprovoked aggressor.
We would avoid being drawn into the
European vortex by every honorable
concession. If she forces us into it,
she will do so by her defiance of plain
principles of justice and humanity
which should obtain between civilized
nations.
In spite of her great strength and
marvellous efficiency, Germany's mani
fest weakness has been in a failure
to understand other peoples and to
appreciate the moral forces working
in them. She may not know the spirit
of the good natured, tolerant, war
hating giant she now challenges. She
may overestimate, as she has done
before in the case of other nations,
the influence of sordid motives, of the
inertia of comfort and of diSSentient
elements among us, by which she may
expect to paralyze our action. She
may stir active patriotism in our
people which she does not suspect.
She may shock us into a real prepar a-
ton for war and the sacrifice it in
wolves as nothing else might.
She may push US at once into a
league to enforce a just peace. She
may force us into an organization of
our potential military strength on the
one hand, and into moral leadership
in the maintenance of international
justice on the other Thenceforth our
isolation from the wars and welfare
of the rest of the world would be at
an end. When peace would come, the
eyes of our people, in spite of warn
ings of statesmen, who are looking
forward, would be opened, not only to
the wisdom, but to the necessity of
our leading the nations into perma-
nent world league to enforce peace
Mr.. Taft continued as follows:
This National Chamber of Com
merce by more than two-thirds vote
of all its members gave its approval
to the first, second and fourth pro
posalS of the League to Enforce
Peace. 1t approved by a large ma
jority vote the third proposal involv-
ing the use of an international police
force, to suppress war Since then,
much support has been given to the
league in this country and by all the
belligerent nations of this great war.
Mr. Roosevelt, apparently without
reading its proposals, denounces the
league as feeble folly and as
because it would enforce the Judgment
of courts of arbitration. Then upon
learning that the proposals do not IN
Volve enforcement of judgments, he
characterizes them as a fragrant de-
ception of the public
Senator Borah denounces the plan
of the league to be "heinous, immoral
and vicious" Those are three for
midable adjectives, of which one
would seem adequate to carry the
argument. The senator, however,
qualities his words by disavowing in
tention to assail individuals. The sem
ator should look to his laurels in the
field of verbal warfare and slaughter,
because such leniency may exclude
him from the class of epithetlcal
statesmen.
With Difference to the ability of our
opponents to grasp our proposals by
intuition, we submit that before they
are contemporary rejected, or scat
tered into bits by verbal lyddite, they
are entitled to study. With the hope
of satisfying you of the natonal
chamber of commerce that in sup
porting the league you are void of
offence I ask you to consider the pur-
pose of the three important proposals,
how they work into each other, why
we have not gone further, and why
we thought it necessary to go as far
as we have.
The Purpose OF the League.
The purpose of the league is to or
ganize the worlds strength into an in
ternational police to enforce a proce-
dure with respect to issues likely to
lead to war, which will prevent all
wars but those which nothing can
| prevent.
The procedure to be enforced is the
submission of questions of a legal ma
! ture the decision of which must be
| guided by rules of law, to an inter
national court for its judgment, ano
| the submission of all other questions
| to an impartial commission to heal
| and decide, it's decision to take the
| form of a recommendation of com
| promise. The judgment of the lega
question by the court will be legally
| and in honor binding on the parties
| That is implied in a submission to g
court. >The recommendation of com
promise, however, is not in law or II
honor binding unless the parties &C
cept it. The league does not purpose
to enforce either. Sometime if the
league comes into successful opera.
/ ton, it may be thought well to en-
force judgments just as domestic
judgments are enforced. The diff.
! Guilty However, that even the supreme
court of the United States has in en-
forcing its judgments against sover-
eign states may give pause in taking
that step. The enforcement OF recon-
mendations of compromise presents &
still more serious problem. Nation:
may well hesitate to submit question:
| of policy and vital interest to the un
| limited discretion of arbitrator, un
guided by settled principles of law, fol
their final decision, and its enforce
ment by the World Police.
May Rid Us of Most War.
Practically if we enforce the pro-
cedure of the League, we shall take a
step which will rid us of most wars
If every issue between nations is
forced to arbitration and judgment OF
recommendation of compromise, il
will compel dc1iberation by those who
j 4l,ir,l- - he