The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-03-05

and say that he had not tried to do it.
Mr.. Taft has set the picture for
you of what failure of this greatest
purpose would mean. We have been
hearing for all these weary months that
this agony of war has lasted because of
the sinister purpose of the Central En-
pircs, and we have made maps of the
course that they meant their conquests
to take. Where did the lines of that
| map lie. of that central line that we
used to call from Bremen to Bagdad?
fThey lay through these very re-
gions to which Mr.. Taft has called your
attention, but they lay then through
the United Empire, through the Austro-
| Hungarian empire, whose integrity
which Germany was bound to respect as
| her ally, lay in the path of that line of
| conquest; the Turkish empire, whose
interests she professed to make her
own. lay in the direct path that she
intended to tread
Intrigue Cannot Stand Publicity.
| And now what has happened The
Austro Hungarian empire has gone to
pieces and the Turkish empire has dis
| appeared, and the nations that effected
| that great result-for it was a result of
| hbcration-are now responsible as the
| trustees of the assets of those great
nations
You not only would have weak ma
tions lying in this path, but You would
have nations in which that old poison
Gus seed of intrigue could be planted
with the certainty that the crop would
be abundant; and one of the things that
the league of nations is intended to
watch is the course of intrigue. In.
! trigue cannot stand publicity, and il
the league of nations were nothing but
a great debating society it would kill
4 intrigue.
1t is one of the agreements of thi.
covenant that it is the friendly right OF
every nation a member of the league tc
/ cali attention to anything that it think:
will disturb the peace of the world, NJ
matter where that big thing IS occur
ring.
There is no subject that may toucf
the peace of the world which is exempf
from inquiry and discussion, and
think everybody here present will agree
with nae that Germany would neve
have gone to war if she had permitted
the world TO discuss the aggression
upon Serbia for single week.
The British foreign Office suggested
it pleaded, that there might be da,
or two delay so that the representa-
tives of the nations of Europe coult
get together and discuss the possibili
/, ties of settlement. Germany did no
dare permit days discussion. 1ol
know what happened. So soon as th'
world realized that an outlaw was a
large, the nations began one by one t.
, draw together against her.
= We know for certainty that i
Germany had thought for memcn
that Great Britain would go in witt
, France and with Russia she neve
/, would have undertaken the enterprise
and the league of nations is meant n
notice to all outlaw nations that no
only Great Britain. but the Unite
: States and the rest of the world vii
go in to stop enterprises of that sort
And so the league of nations /
nothing more nor less than the covenan
: that the world will always maintain tn
: standards which it has now vindieate
by some Of the most precious blood eve
: split.
! Vision of the People Only.
d :" The liberated peoples of the Au.
tro- Hungarian Empire and of the TURK
e ish empire call out to us for this thin&
$ 1t has not arisen in the council O
} statesmen. Europe is bit sick at hear
n al this very moment because it see
that statesmen have no vision, and tina
The only vision has been the vision Q
the people. Those who suffer see. Thos
q against whom wrong is wrought kno'
&c how desirable is the right and right
y cous.
I "The Hations that have long bee
u under the heel of the Austrian, tha
!" have long covered before the German
e that have long suffered the indescril
able agonics of being governed ~ I'll
n Turk, have called out to the world, gel
: Grafton after generation, for iustic
z for liberation, for suecor. and no cal
II met in the world has heard them.
Private organizations, rityin
is hearts, philanthropie men and womc
n, have poured out their treasure in ord,
II to relieve these sufferings bnt nc nj
! tion has said TO the nations responsib
ID You must stop; this thing is intole
+ able, and we will not permit it. An
N the vision has been with the people
IN My. friends, | wish YOU would T
e fleet upon this proposition. The visio
IF as TO what is necessary for great II
forms have seldom come from the &c
lie in the nations of the world. 1t Ii;
re come from the need and the aspiratt
N and the self assertion of great bod,
I'd Of men who meant TO lie free
OF And l can explain some of the eli
ne ieisms which have been levclled again