New-York tribune., 1918-12-14

Mh'ch stand in the same catoo,rv
M:oreoVer there are some very h;w M.
,.s sle's whose recent action would make
ae ae''anee on any Of their promises nroof
Va a !eeole intellect on our part. Most
Sei'ainly germany and Turkey ought
W s'' on the mourners' bench a GOOD
many years before we admit them IN
,eliowship. Russia's action during tho
ias' year would make any internationa
guarantee of action on her part worth
plcc'seiy nothing as warrant for
promise or action on our part.
Let Only Present Allies In
"Iherefore, let us begin bv includ-
ing IN the league only the present All.
iies' and admit other nations onlv as
.he'r conduct, pcrsevcered in through y
ee." OIL years, warrants it. Let us ex-
phcitiy reserve certain rights--to our
'srr''orial possessions, to our control
OF o. immigration and citizenship to our
Nsca' pohcy and to our handling of
our domestic problems gcnerally-as
noV 10 be questioned and not to be
brought before any international tribu-
nai. AS regards impotcnt or disorder
70 nations and peoples outside the
league, let us be very cautious about
guaranteeing to interfere with or on
behalf Of them where they lie wholly
outside our sphere of interest; ana let
US announce that our own sphere of
special concern in America (porhaps
UNITED to North America or some
where near the equator) is not to be
lnfringed on by European or Aslatic
powers.
Moreover. let us absolutely decline
any disarmament proposition that
would leave us helpless to defend our
selves: Let us absolutely refuse to
aooilsh nationalism; on the contrary,
let us base a wise and practical inter
natlonai1sm on sound and intense ma
tionalism. There is not and never has
been the slightest danger of this
country being militaristic or a menace
20 other nations. The danger is the
exact reverse. Keep our navy as sec
ond to that of Great Britain. Intro
duce universal military training; say
nine months with the colors for every
Young man somewhere bet2een the
ages of nineteen and twenty three, with
extra intensive training for the officers
and commissioned officers, and
technical, industrial and agricultural
training of tho most practical kind. in
the schools for the boys of sixteen to
eighteen.
Would Then Have an Army
owe would thereby secure an army
which would never be desrous of an
offensive war; and its mere existence
would be the best possible guarantee
that we would never have to wage an
offensive war. Prepare in advance the
material necessary for the use Of our
first line when called out; don't for
way only because our allies gave us at
the battle front the necessary cannon,
tanks, gas machines, airplanes and ma
chine guns--fOr until almost the end
of the war we had practically none Of
our own on the fighting line.
Let us go into such league But
let us weigh we'll what we promise;
and then train ourselves in body and
soul to keep our promises Let us
treat the formation of the league as an
addition to but in no sense as a sub
stltute for preparing our own strength
for our own defence. And let us build
a genuine internationalism, that is, a
genuine and generous regard for the
rights of others, on the only healthy
basis: sound and intense develop
ment of the broadest spirit Of Ameri-
can nationalism. Our steady aim must
be to do justice to others and to Sc
cure our own nation against injustice;
and we can achieve this twofold aim
only if we make our deeds square with
our words"