Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-12-23
LEAGUE PLAN
FOR NATIONS
Is GIVEN OUT
Printing of Cen
sored Article Setting
Forth Procedure.

Paris, Dec. 23.-The Matin today
was authorized to print the article
which was censored yesterday. The
article, the first headline OF which
read: Yesterdays Utopia Tomor-
rows Reality" sets forth the man
ner Of procedure of the promoters
Of a league of nations acting in
agreement with the allied. govern
ments.
The formation of a league of ma
tions, the article says, will be in
three stages. The allied govern
ments will decide the principles OF
such an organization, which will in
cIude compulsory arbitration and
limitation of armaments. Germany
and her former allies will then be
told that they must accept these
principles, after which the treaty
Of peace will be formulated. Later,
a conference will be held to discuss
the formation of a league. Neu-
trails will be admitted, the article
continues, but Germany would not
have an equal standing until she
has expiated her misdeeds, and be-
fore she can, an international or
ganization will be working.
VIII BE Three Stages.
There will be three stages" the
Natin SAYS. First, the allied gov
ernments will settle among them
selves the principles of a league.
AS a fundamental rule they will set
down the rights of peoples to decide
their own destinieS. AS practl-
cal consequence it follows that
there will be limitation OF arma-
ments and compulsory arbitration
among the nations. 1t seems indis-
pensable that at this point the en-
tente countries bind themselves
to put these clauses in the prelim-
inaries of peace.
1T has appeared absolutely nee
essary to the promoters that the
regime of the future world should
he fixed. in ITS main outlines before
there are any questions of indem-
mites and territories, so that for
the first time in history the delib-
eratiOns of the plenipotentiaries
should be dominated by higher
ideals than mere individual inter-
est.
W III NVAllt
"The second act will consist IN
notifying the enemy powers of the
fundamental principles laid down
in the preliminarias and requiring
from them their adhesion to these
principles.
The entente delegations will say
to Germany and her allies:
- Compulsory arbitration and
limitations of armament are inte-
graI parts of our conditions. You
must subscribe to them at once.
You will know later how these
principles are to be applied
The preIiminaries, once signed,
details Of the peace treaty will be
discussed among the belligerents,
and only after the signing OF this
treaty of peace proper Will the
third stage be reached. This VIII be
a universal conference, to settle the
new relations. to be recrcated be
tween the peoples.
Germany Must Atone First.
TO this conference neutrals may
be admitted. No nation, however,
will be admitted TO full member
ship in the league of nations if it
does not offer sufficient guarantees.
Germany, having started the war,
will have been condemned by the
peace conference to make restltu-
tion and reparation. She can not
be regarded as being on an equal
footing with other nations until she
has paid her debts. Germany has
committed crime and she must
atone for it before she can be ad-
mitted to the ranks of honest and
civilized peoples.
Will BE in Operation.
meanwhile. the other countries
will be united by formal agree
ments. a world police will have
been created and sanctions Of all
kinds will have been instituted An
International tribunal will be work
ing and the spectre of war, as far
as it is humanelv possible, win be
barished from the path Of civiliza-
ton