Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-08

yes Your term humanity" implies too
much, or, possibly, l should say too little,
for it implies oversimplifcation of the
most complicated political problem, or else
an extension of international government to
too intimate relation to individuals
The United Nations" like the United
States" implies the continued existence of
the nations in everything to which they are
competent; for the union would only cover
the international or world questions, to
which no nation is competent No nation
is competent to handle international af-
fairs any more than any State is compe-
tent to handle national affairs or any in
dividual State affairs. The individual who
conceyes himself able to handle what be-
longs to the State is a criminal, and a State
which starts out to handle national affairs
is at once in rebellion and treated accord
ingly, and l believe that lbefore your chill
dren and mine are old any nation that pre-
sumes to run world affairs will be cata-
logued as in crime and rebellion, and
treated accordingly by the United Nations,
who alone have the right to world jurisdic-
ton.
If that is true. and no one can question
1t, the problem of greatest Importance, even
now. while the world vigilance Commit
tee" the Allies, is bringing a group OF
nation bandits to bay, is the creation of
an organ of government, constitution. Let
us not make the mistake that the States
did in 1875 and suffer for decade or
more merely for want of a real consttu-
ton for the United Nations" The same
mode of thought that now raises it's eye
brows when one says more than Inter
national police" or so-called Supreme
Court" because one is hot constructed to
see theu feasibility of a police" floating
about the world undirected by separate
government of United Nations" is precisely
the same mode of thought as that which
In 1776, and for dozen years after, op-
posed a real government for the United
States by our present Constitution-the
oldest and best in the world. The cry then
was just the same, especially from State
officials who wanted to be free to be bandits;
New Workers, who wanted to make sur
rounding States pay her tariff; Pennsyl-
vana that wouldn't give up its half-million
starin 1t collected from neighboring cities to
pay her own expenses, and timid little
states like Delaware who were afraid TO
join the big ones except on an equality. And
as for President of the U-n-i-t-e-d
S-t-a-t-e-s," they held up their hands in
molly horror when James Wilson proposed
It Pennsylvania for dozen years nearly
killed him, chiefly because he wanted even
TINS State to have a single executive and
double Legislature, instead of a hydra
headed executive and single Legislature
which they persisted in having, in fear of
that awful thing-a single Governor of
Pennsylvania
Funny, isn't itP They got over It. too.
only after they got convinced of II as good
--mirabile dictu for the United States
IN 1887! They are still in the throes of that
awful fear for President of the United
NATIONS; and yet am convinced that IL a
constitution now existed and an election
were ordered I'm the UNITED Nations" under
1t Woodrow Wilson would receive almost as
great majority as our own did in 1873.
But we have no constitution, because we
persist in talking about opportunities in1
stead OF the real thing-a double LeRisIa-
ture. single executive, a judiciary. an
electorate, the power OF the purse (not
press), out of which will come a proper no.
lice, capital and real, not pseudo, inter
national law, made by the United Nations,,
OF tho world for its peculiar field And
there will still be nations just as there are
States In the United States nor will ths
powers Of the United Nations' be the same
as the powers Of the single nation, for thew
will be as different from those Of the ma
tions as these are different from those OF
the State.
Yes. we even pick out capital. The
Hague and even capitol and set up an
imitation supreme Court'-a back door
and front door with even doormat. but
no house Wv go to the ostrich and are
wise. BURTON AI,VA KONtSG.1
swarthmore, Pa, November z.