The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1919-10-03


declare"
Now. my fellow citizens (applause).
Now wait minute. You want TO applaud
ing Of it, and If you have knife In your /
hands with which you intend TO cut out the /
heart Of this covenant applaud, but If you
and want it TO have purpose in it, want it
TO be something subscribed to by red |
booded nation. withhold your applause. I'm |
derstand this thing before you form your SEN |
timent with regard to it. This Is a rejection
Of the covenant. (Applause.) This Is an abb
solute refusal to carry any part of the same
league carry. Does the United States want to
be in on that special footing2 (Cries of no,
MOI Does the United States want to say
to the nations with whom it stood in this
great struggle, "We have you through
on the battlefield, but now we are done.
lCries of mol I'VE are not intending to
stand by your"
Article Ten Discussed.
why my fellow citizens, article is an
engagement on the part of the great fighting
nations of the world, because all the great
lighting nations are going to be members
of the league, that they will observe. re-
spect and preserve against external agrees
sion the territorial integrity of existing po-
liticai undergraduates of the other members Of
the league. That is cutting into the heart of
all war. Every of any consequence that
you cite originated in attempt to seize
the territory interfere with the political
independence of some other nation. We
went into this war with the sacred promise
that we regarded all nations having the
same rights, whether they were weak or
strong, and unless we engage to sustain the
weak we have guaranteed that the strong will
prevail. we have guaranteed that any imperial
istic enterprise may revive, we have guaran-
teed that there is no barrier to the ambition
of nations that have the power to dominate
| we have advocated the whole position of right
and substituted the principal of might
This is the heart of the covenant, and what
are these gentlemen afraid of? Nothing can
be done under that article of the treaty
| without the consent of the United States. Gap
plause) / challenge them to draw any other
deduction from the provisions of the
| nant itself. In every where the league
| takes action, the unanimous vote of the coun-
| sci of the league is necessary. The United
States Is a permanent member of the coun-
sci of the league. Its affirmative vote is in
every case necessary for every affirmative
or for that matter every negative action.
Defends Article Ten.
Let US go into particulars. therefore.
| These gentlemen say, We don't want the
! United States drawn into every little Euro
| pean squabble. Why. of course we don't, and
/ under the league of nations it is entirely with
| out our choice of whether will not. The
processes of the question of the league are
certain to be this.
When trouble arises in the Balkans, when
/ somebody sets up a fire somewhere in cen
! trail Europe among those little nations, which
| are for the time being looking upon each
! other with good deal of jealousy and sus-
/ picion because the passions of the world have
not yet cooled whenever that happens coun-
! sci of the league will confer to the best
methods of putting out the fire. If you want
| to put out fire in Utah, you don't send
! to Oklahoma for the fire engine. If you want
to put out fire in the Balkans, if you want
to stamp out the smoldering flames in some
4 parts of central Europe. you don't send to
the United States for troops.
The counsel of the league selects the pow
/ ers which are most ready, most available, most
/ suitable, and selects them at their own con-
sent, that the United States would in no
such circumstances conceivable be drawn in
| unless the flames spread to the world, and
| would they then be left to themselves if they
| were not members of the league2 You have
! seen the fire spread to the world once? Do
you wish it to spread again? If you saw
human liberty again imperied, would you
wait to be member of the league to
go in
Why. my fellow citizens, the whole thing
goes directly to the conscience of the United
States. If the fight is big enough to draw
the United States in, predict that they will
be drawn in anyhow. and if it is not big
enough to bring them in, it is inevitable that
they can go in or stay out, according to the
decisions of the counsel. which dependent
upon their own votes.
Moral Force Only.
Why are these gentlemen afraid? There
is no force to oblige the United States to
do anything, except moral force Is any man.
any proud American, afraid of moral force
Is any afraid that the United States
will resist the duress of duty2 Why, | am
so intensely conscious of the great conscience
of this nation, the inevitableness as
well as the dignity and the greatness-such
declarations as President Grant has made.
aigning all of the great organized moral forces
of the world on the same side.
1t is inconceiveable that they should be on
different sides that there is no necessity
for the last part of this reservation Every
body in the whole United States, and l say
that advisedly, almost every public man, every
statesman in the world, knows that in order
for the United States to go to it is
necessary for congress to act. They don't
have to be told that, but that is not what
this resolution says.
Reservation Is Withdrawal.
This resolution says the United States as
sumes no obligation under the provision of
article to preserve the territorial integrity
or political independence of any other coun-
try. We don't want advice to create the pre-
sumption that will do the right thing. We
don't want to be committed to any more trou-
ble but when we say that every time case
arises that congress will independently check
it up and determine whether there is any
moral obligation and after determining that.
determining whether it will feel the moral
obligation of any act. In other words. it is
an absolute withdrawal from the obligations
of article x, and that is why / say that it
would be a rejection of the covenant and
thereby a rejection of the treaty, for the
treaty cannot be concluded without the cove
nant, so / appeal, 1 appeal with confidence,
my fellow countryaen, to the man whose judi
ment l am told have number of reserva-
tions of this sort l appeal to him to look
into the matter again. know some
of the gentlemen who anxious to
have a reservation of that sort. / know them
to be high-minded. patriotic Americans.
know them to be men of mature judgment in
that respect and respect them much as !
respect any man, but they have not looked
into the matter. Are they willing to ask the
rest of the world to go into this covenant
and let the United States assume none OF
, its obligations and let have all of the adj
, vantages and none of the responsibilities Are
they willing that America should
ask for special exemption, should seek
, special privileges should ask to go into
the arrangement and depend upon any judg-
ment but its judgment. 1 confidently
believe. my fellow citizens, that they will dc
no such thing. That is not interpreta-
ton of the covenant.
Choice Up to People.
have been trying to interpret il to you
That is rejection of the covenant and il
that is adopted the whole treaty falls to the
ground. My fellow citizens, must realize
! that a great and final choice is upon the
people. Either we are going to guarantee
civilization or we are going to abandon
it. 1 use the word with a purpose almost
that it may carry meaning, but never