The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-07-26
NO COMPROMISE.

NO COMPROMISE.
The suggestion by former President William
H. Taft of plan for middle ground, on which
republicans and democrats may meet, and pass
the covenant of the League of Nations, will hard
" meet with the approval of staunch supporters
of the president, that great majority Of people
who believe in accepting the covenant without
reservation.
The American people, as whole, are for the
League of Nations and in every straw vote that
has been taken, have declared in favor of ratifi-
cation Voting contests by Yale University and
q poll of the Literary Digest of 1877 daily news
papers, showed the people supporting the league
four to one.
It is claimed by some who are in favor OF the
league with reservations" some who are not
in favor at ALL that the the people are for
the league is because they do not understand it,
in all its varying ramifications.
But it may be that the people as whole are
better informed, saner and less biased for OF
against than those republicans who are opposing
the ratification for partisan ends.
The fact of the matter is that the great ma.
jority of the people realize that they are unfa-
miliar with international law, just as most OF the
members of the senate are. The reason they sent
President Wilson and the American board OF
arbitrators to France to take part in the peace
treaty was because these men knew not only the
principles of government which bind nations
but are versed in the laws of diplomacy. They
have the same faith in these representatives that
they had in Pershing and Foch and Haig. They
knew that these great leaders knew more ABOUT
war than they knew. They realized that 1t was
possible that they might make mistakes. But
they believed that mistakes made by men trained
in warfare would be less costly than mistakes
l. Ixxv ,xryIo
The people of the United States feel much the
same about the covenant. They realize that il
may be imperfect in many ways, but they be-
lieve that it is as perfect as Wilson, and Lloyd
George and Clemenceau and their conferes car
make it. It is the best there is. And as it is
it is far better than it will be if butchered by thu
senate, who have spent far too much time IL
heated controversy to take any calm, sane view
Of the league and what it represents
Again and again the people of the Unitet
States are warned against any entangling al
liances. The men who sound these warning
notes do not seem to realize that had it not beer
for entangling alliances civilization might neve
have been saved from the grip of the monstel
of autocratic government.
The fact that there was an alliance between
the entente meant that Great Britain threw il
Its forces with France. Had it not been for thi
alliance and the fact that Great Britain guardet
the channel ports, Germany's boast that sh
would make the United States her prize nigh
be more than verbiage today.
The American people may far more safel
trust President Wilson and the men who sat a
the peace table than those who seek to quibbl
and compromise. Had the men who won tn
battles of the great war stopped to temporiz
and to squabble instead of moving forward q
the command of those who were their leaders
war history would have been far different thai
it is.
The people have trusted those men whom the
have made their leaders and their trust has nc
been betrayed. 1t is safe to say that interns
tional affairs, carefully considered as they hav
been by the greatest minds of the age, are ia
more likely to he in safe hands as they now are
than when left to the senate, which so far ha
not distinguished itself for anything exceI
heckling those who are endeavoring to brin
about democratic peace, in which all nation
may share.