Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-03-03


young giant was getting tat and
lazy from lack Of exercise and the
| suuur self-assurance that nobody
dared to touch that chip.
Over in Europe. during the last
half of the life of the Monroe chip.
other giants were growing and train
ing and exercising and adding daily
to their athletic outfit and physical
strength. The American big fellow
was hopelessly Indifferent to these
evidences Of active rivalry. His bluff
had worked for going on century
and he was in no danger Of a trial
Of strength, any way. because the
other nations Of the world we're SO
afraid of each other that no one
| dared for a moment to turn his eyes
toward the western seas and be-
yond. No war was possible" be-
cause the very possibilities Of re-
suhant horrors, with the nations
prepared" as they were. would pre-
vent any nation or group OF nations
from precipitating the catastrophe.
And then we awoke! And now We
know that an European war saved
US the cost Of backing up our CEN
tury-old bluff. We should have had
| to make good" with Germany Gin
GLIDING Austria) or Japan. or both
and we were unprepared and too in
dolent to prepare-"too proud to
| fight" We were living off the fat OF
the land and proposed to go right on
doing so-in spite of Roosevelt and
Wood and Gardner.
Senator Lodge says. If We join d
| league it must be with a view to
maintaining peace in Europe. where
all the great vars have originated.
To us that seems sufficient reason
for joining league. If We can-as we
have, and he boasts-maintain the
| peace Of all the Americas, and our
moral influence will give backbone to
a league Of nations that will main
! tain the peace of Europe. shall We
withhold that influence for the sake
Of strutting up and down the ages
with chip on our shoulder" II Eu-
rope is willing to bind itself never
, to encrouci, upon the western hemia-
phere, shall we refuse to give NC
rale to such an agreement because
it will rob us Of a useless fetish?
! And, going further into the bug
bear that any agreement with Eu-
rope involves US in nine trouble pros
poets to one escape from war. can
We justify that claim by any reason
able logic
! Let US go back to the reason why
Europe has always been a Eotbed
Of confiict---:he jealousies of greed
rotten governments, scheming each
| to best another or others in the ex-
ploitation Of weaker nations and the
grabbing and developing" of COL
onies in remote and virgin regions
for the enrichment of European dy-
aast;es and toadying classes: while
the masses OF all were bowed to the
! earth under the burden of military
preparedness of each against the 9TH
or. There We have seen the bal
ance Of power scheme demonstrate
ed to wholesale slaughter Of mill
! lions. who had been struggling un-
tie faith that it was TO save them
from tho very fate it so relentless
iy and inescapably brought them.
Do VIC want more Of THAT? AZ
ter We have sacrificed q quarter mil
lion American lives and 90 billions G.
treasure and have brought our own
country to the b.orderland of bolshev-
ism, to end the horrors of Europe 5
carnival Of militaristic protection
from war, are We to permit them to
repeat the performance. or shall We
provide the strong moral influence
that will prevent their once more pill
ing up materials of war and provid-
ing the excuses to use them
We believe that American duty in
Europe was at no time so monument
al in 1915 as it is today, not only for
the safeguarding of untold millions
of helpless human beings there, bu.
to erect a barrier against the sure
tide that will otherwise soon reach
America.
And as to Asia, where serious
conflicts may arise at any moment
if European intrigues will let Asia
alone. and with Japan pledged to self
determination Of peoples. and Euro
pean nations adopting the Monroe
doctrine plan Of protective mandate
ries. Asia promises less fertile field
for trouble making than Central
America
Indeed it is fortunate that Euro
pean conflict so rarely involves Amer
lea. Once is quite enough; it is too
much! And that once would have
been impossible, if America with a
League Of Nations in 1914 had been
pledged to the protection Of Europe
from herself