Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-10
MOST SKEPTTCAL OF PEACE CONFEREES
TURNED TO LEAGUE, DECLARES PRESIDENT

freedom should lend itself to a
new purpose and utterly destroy
the old order of international poll
tics. Statesmen might see diff
culties. but the people could see
none and could brook no denial.
A war in which they had been bled
white to beat the terror that Law
concealed in every Balance Of
Power must not end in a mere vic
tory of arms and a new balance.
The monster that had resorted to
arms must be put in chains that
could not be broken. The united
power of free nations must put a
stop to aggression. and the world
must be given peace. If there was
not the will or the intelligence to
accomplish that now, there must
be another and a final war and the
world must be swept clean of
every power that could renew the
terror.
League Mankind's Hope.
merely an instrument to adjust
and remedy old wrongs under a
new treaty of peace; it was the
only hope for mankind. Again
and again had the demon of war
been cast out of the house of the
peoples and the house swept clean
by treaty of peace. only to pre-
pare time when he would enter
in again with spirits worse than
himself. The house must now be
given a tenant who could hold it
against all such. Convenient. in
deed Indispensable. as statesmen
found the newly planned league of
nations to be for the execution of
present plans of peace and repara-
ton, they saw it in a new aspect
before their work was finished.
They saw it as the main object
Of the peace as the only thing that
could complete it or make it worth
while. They saw it as the hope of
the world. and that hope they did
not dare to disappoint Shall we
or any other free people hesitate
to accept this great duty? Dare
we reject it and break the heart
of the worid7
And 80 the result Of the confer
ence of peace, so far as Germany
b concerned, stands complete. The
difficulties encountered were very
many. Sometimes they seemed in
superable. 1t was impossible to
accommodate the interests of SO
great body of nxtions-interests
which directly or indirectly affect
ed almost every nation in the
world-without many minor COM
promises. The treaty, as a result.
il not exactly what we would
have written.
Results Bear Test.
It Is probably not what any one
of the national delegations would
have written. But results were
worked out which on the whole
bear test. I think that it will be
louAu lu[AI LILO COMPROMISES W alSaA
were accepted as inevitable no.
where cut to the heart Of any prin-
ciple. The work Of the conference
squares. as a whole. with the prfn-
the peace as wen as with the
practical possibilities of the inter-
national situations which had to be
faced and dealt with as facts.
shall presently have occasion
to lay before you a special treaty
with France, whose object is the
temporary protection of France
from unprovoked aggression by
the power with whom this treaty
Of peace has been negotiated It's
terms link it with this treaty.
take the liberty. however. Of re-
serving it for special explication
on another occasion
o 8. Object in War.
The role which America was 10
play in the conference seemed de-
termined, as have said, before my
colleagues and ! got to PARIS
determined by the universal ex-
peoations Of the nations whose
representatives. drawn from all
quarters Of the globe, we were to
deal with. It was universally
recognized that America had en-
tered the war to promote no pgf-
vate or peculiar interest Of her
own, but only as the champion of
rights which she was glad to share
with free men and lovers Of Justice
everywhere. We had formulated
the principles upon which the
settlement was to be made,-the
principles upon which the armistice
had been agreed to and the parleys