The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-12-31

30 VIII say to the senator this great
movement has been argued for many
years n there was such a time
Tor its accomplishment as right now.
IAN Nations at the table viii be WILL
ing TO give up something in return for
that Which each may want most. All
want to have the right TO live in peace.
surely with the great ability that will
tional arrangement can be made by
which the rights Of nations shall be
protected along the lines suggested by
u W great president. Senators say
there should be no league Of nations.
My reply Is there is a league Of nations
now. Both senators aver that, and |
agree, with them on this point. There
Is indeed no technical league existing
between the United States and the
other allies but p reality and truth
we find Great Britain, the United
states, Francel italy, Belgium, Serbia,
south American countries, portions of
Africa, portions OF Asia, all acting to-
gether for the purpose Of putting an
end to the autocratic. military and in
humane power Of Germany, and at the
same time prohibit any nation to act
ike Germany has acted recently. They
are ali parties to the lawsuit; there is
no reason why Q final decree should
not be made as to the rights and in
~terests OF every one of them The
league that we have already is the be-
ginning of a splendid league. 1t is
wholly immaterial whether we invite
Germany to come in or not, OF Austria
10 come In or not, or Turkey to come
in or not, or whether Bulgaria comes
in or not. None Of them will have any
great Influence, for no league Of ma
ti9ns ought 70 be created out of tbs
simply an orderly development of the
present league. which has already been
created by this world war, and for the
present without regard to Germany,
save to destroy forever her autocratic
and ambitious power. . No league
distinguished senators. My answer is
that it has already been created in fact
by the war, and all the president asks
and all that the American people ask
is that the terms upon which the league
has already In fact been founded. and
the purposes which have already been
in fact agreed TO, shall be promptly
ratified by the peace council, and so
amplified as to make future wars i'm
possible.
Senator Knox's resolution, If passed,
would 80 declare. Senator Knox, in his
speech, earnestly favors postponement.
Senator Lodge says to attempt to form
a league now would only be to embar-
rass the peace that we ought to make
at once with Germany, and he thinks,
too. that IT ought to be postponed,
Mr.. President, there was a
better time for America to get re-
suits than in this peace conference now
about to i've Every nation repre-
scented in that council will want some
thing, and want II badly. England will
want indemnities, She will want all the
colonies she cal get, She will want all
the warships she q get. She will
want all the merchant vessels she can
pAt Gha will want all tho tarrttnrU that
she a get. France will want indem-
mites. She will want restoration Of
territory, She will want as many col
onies as she can get. She likewise will
want ships, merchant and war. Italy
will want indemnities, colonies, ships
and restoration of territory.
ION the other hand, the United
States will stand alone in wanting no
material advantage Of any kind, ma
ture or description, She will stand
alone as wanting Only a square deal
for all, Take the United States and
her fight for freedom of the seas, for
equal justice to all nations, great and
small, for open diplomacy, for dlsarma-
ment. for a guaranty of future peace;
II you take all these out of this con
ference, the conference will degenerate
into a second treaty of Vienna, which
was simply a disgraceful fight over
spoils of the Napoleonic wars. In
deed, war actually broke out again be-
fore the treaty was published, There
never was ouch a time. Mr., President,
for America to get an enduring peace
and all else that she has so justly saked
for. rs at this time when all tho other
nations have selfish demands they are
putting forward and when America de-
sires nothing hut the right.
Secret Diplomacy.
Every well-informed man knows
what secret diplomacy means. Sem
ators refer to 1t as If it was vague
and indefinite. They even sneer at this
proposal. Everyone knows that in Eu-
rope there were treaties Of peace be-
tween the various nations that were
generally known, and that other secret
understandings as to the balance of
and various other International
subjects were entered INTO secretly be-
tween the great nations. As an Illus
of this: In 1911, believe it
was, Serbia and Montenegro went to
war against other Balkan states. Serbia
and Montenegro won the war and won
a sea front and then there was a
treaty OF peace, and the peace confer
ence was held In accordance with a
understanding between Germany
and Austria and Great Britain and Italy
and the peace treaty restored tho statu
fhNs III Nv "'Ahot w Use ivy IuAltldl
simile again. Serbia and Montenegro
won the war on the evidence and in
the field of arms, but they lost on
the judgment, and they failed to get
that which they had fought for and
won, aud they still have no %seacoast.
why? 1t was because of the secret UNI
Outstanding between the great powers,
and this was what the president aimed
at, and the only thing he aimed at,
as believe. The secret agreements
causes Of a .".'"S "" po
Senators Lodge and Knox want no
freedom OF the seas now. 1t win be
remembered, senators. that Germany
staked off a large portion of the seas
in front of Europe and notified all ma
tons, belligerents and neutrals, that II
they sent their ships in those waters
thus staked off that German subma-
rineS would sink them without warm
ing. 1t was one Of the very causes
indeed, the principal Cause-for which
America entered the war. namely, to
protest against this unlawful use OF
the seas, and yet these distinguished
senators say that after having won
the war We can not have a Judgment
and Il guaranty that Germany shall nor
do so again and other nations shall
not do in the future as Germany did
IN the past IN this regard. Ii it was
wrong LOT Germany to mark Off these
seas in defiance Of neutral rights, IN
would be wrong for any other nation
to mark off the seas in like manner
Economic Barriers.
Now, senator's. il seems to me that
such a provision on economic barriers
IN the peace terms as suggested by the
president would come as a matter AZ
course. Here are'all the nations OF the
earth gathered together at the end ~
the greatest war In all history. The
allies all agree, Their antagonists are
all willing to agree, They can not keen
from agreeing If they wanted TO, X
Is a question of right and fair and
square dealing between all of these ma
tons who already have formed an IN
formal league. Practically all of these
nations have already associated them.
selves together to secure the peace OF
the world, We all know thar In tho
past economic barriers have been thu
most prolific causes Of war There II
no reason for this, and surely THIS