The sun., 1919-02-15

conditions which can be effected by con-
ference and discussion. anticipate that
there will he very great usefulness in
tho bureau OF labor which 1t is contem-
plated shall be set up by the league.
Men and women and children who
work have been In the background
through long ages. and sometimes
seemed 10 be forgotten while Govern
nlonts have had their watchful and sus-
p.c!ous eyes upon the manouvres of one
another, while the thought Of statesmen
has been about structural action and
the larger transactions Of commerce and
Of finance.
Now, II may believe the picture
which ! see, there comes into the fore
ground the great body OF tho laboring
people of the world, the men and women
and children upon whom the great hnr-
den OF sustaining the world must from
day TO day fall. whether we wish Il to do
so or not. people who 20 to bed tired and
wake UP without the stimulation OF lively
hope. These people will be drawn into
the field OF International consultation
and help. and will be among the wards
Of the combined Governments OF the
world. This Is, take leave to say, a
very great step n advance in the mere
conception of that.
Then. as you will notice. there Is an
imperative article concerning the pub
licity Of all international agreements.
Henceforth no member OF the league
can claim any agreement valid which
Il has not registered with the Secretary
General. In whose Office. of course. II
will be subject to the examination OF
anybody representing member Of the
league. And the duty Is laid upon the
Secretary-General to publish every
document OF that sort at the earliest
possible time.
Il suppose most persons who have
not been conversant with the business
ot foreign affairs do not realize how
many hundreds Of these agreements are
made In a single year and how dill
cut 1t might be to publish the more
untnportant OF them Immediately. How
unntcresting It would be 10 most Of the
world 20 publish them Immediately. but
even they must be published Just as
soon as 1t Ia possible FOR the Secretary
General TO publish them.
An End to Exploitation.
Then there Is n feature about this
covenant which. to my mind. is one OF
the greatest and most satisfactory ad-
vances that has been made. We are
done with annexations OF helpless peo-
Powers to be used merely for exploita-
ton. We recognize in the most solemn
manner that the helpless and undevel-
oped peoples Of the world. being In that
condition, put an obligation upon US to
look after their interests primarily be-
fore we use them for our interests,
and that In all cases % this sort here
after Il shall be the duty OF the league
TO see that the nations who are assigned
as the tutors and advisers and directors
OF these peoples shall look to their inter
ests and their development before they
look TO the interests and desires OF the
mandatory nation itself.
There has been TO greater advance
than this. gentlemen II you look back
upon the history of the world you will
see how helpless peoples have too often
been n prey TO powers that had no con-
science In the matter. II has been one Of
the many distressing revelations OF re-
cent years that the great power which
has just been, happily. defeated. put in
toierable burdens and intustlces upon the
helpless people OF come Of the colonies
which Il annexed to itself. that its in
terest was rather their determination
than their development, that tho desire
was 10 possess their land for European
purposes. and not 10 enjoy their conf
dence in order that mankind might be
lifted in these places to the next higher
level.
Hope for the Helpless.
wow, the world, expressing its con-
science In Law. SAYS there is An end NJ
that. that our conscienres shall be set
tied TO this thing. States will he pic1;ed
ont which have already SHOWN that they
can exercise conscience in this mat
ter. and under their tutelage the help
less peoples OF the world will come into
a new light and into a new hope.
80 think l can say OF this docu-
ment that IL Is at one and the same
time practical document and human
document. There is a pulse of sympathy
IN Il. There !s compulsion of con-
science throughout II. II is practical,
and yet II is intended to purify, to rec
tify. to elevate
And | want 10 say that, 80 FAR az my
observation instructs me, this is IN one
seuse a belated document. l believe that
the conscience OF the world has lorg
been prepared To express itsel: in eone
such way. We are not Just now discov-
ering our sympathy FOR these people and
our Interest In them. We are simply ex e
pressing It, for II has long been felt. and
in the administration OF the affairs Of
more than one OF the great states repre-
scented here-so far as | know. all of the
great states that are represented here
that humane impulse has already e1-
pressed itself IN their dealings with
their colonies. whose peoples were yet at
a low stage Of civilization.
A Covenant of Frlendship.
I'VE have had many instances of col
n7tA "a insn stAl, nf ,y,la t.a
self government. This is not the dis
covery OF a principle. II IL the universal
application OF principle. II is he
agreement OF the great nations which
have tried to live by these standards I'm
their separate administrations 20 unite
in seeing that their common force and
their common thought and intelligence
terprise. think 1t Is an admission,
therefore. for the most profound salts
faction that this humane decision should
have been reached in 81 matter for
which the world has long been waiting
and until a very recent period thought
that II was still too early TO hope.
MANY terrible things have come out
OF this war, gentlemen, but some very
beautiful things have come ont OF II.
Wrong has been defeated. but the rest
OF the world has been more conscious
than Il ever was before OF the majority
Of right. People that were suspicious
Of one another can now live az friends
and comrades In n single family. and
desire TO do so. The miasma OF dis
trust OF introgue, Is cleared away. Men
are looking eye to eye and saying: We