The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1919-09-12
Facts and Fancies About
The League of Nations

The meeting at the Lyric on Thurs
day night in opposition to the league
of nations was a most successful one
fro mthe standpoint of it's promoters.
There was a big crowd and great en-
thusiasm. The speakers were all
adopts in the art of arousing emo
tons of an audience and the applause
which their periods commanded was
abundant and spontaneous 1t was
evident that the particular 5000 PEG
pie present at the Lyric were largely
opposed to the league of nations and
that the speakers were saying the
things which they wanted them to say.
1t is true that the audience was large
ly republican audience. OF the
prominent BaItimoreans" present,
practically all were republicans.
There was a sprinkling Of cOlored
brethren in the gallery. Much Of the
most vociferoG applause was given
to remarks made in disparagement
of President Wilson. But it would be a
very unfortunate thing if the repub-
licans of the country, through dislike
of President Wilson or for any other
reason unconnected with the merits
or dement's Of the league Of nations,
should allow themselves to assume a
position Of hostility to the league.
1t would be very unfortunate if they,
through thoughtlessness, or prejudice
should ally themselves with Johnson
and Borah rather than with Taft and
Hughes and Root. This, as the several
speakers of the evening all truly said,
is not partisan question and should
not be considered in partisan spirit.
The treaty that is finally ratified
should express the sentiment Of Am
erica and not of a party.
In view of this, fact it is desirable
that republicans as well as democrats
and all other citizens should forget
their craftsmanship and should form
their opinion as to the desirability
or undesirability of the league of ma
tons purely from a consideration Of
what it is and what will be the eff.
fects of it. To that end it would be
appropriate to discuss quietly and ra-
tionally the. arguments against the
covenant presented by the speakers
of Thursday evening.
One thing which underlies practi-
cally all the argument and which is
vital to any understanding of it is
the fact that. no one holds either the
peace treaty or the league covenant
to be perfect documents. no one be
.lieves that either viii bring about
the millennium overnight. What the
advocates of the treaty do hold is
that it marks a tremendous advance
over any other similar treaty in the
worlds history and q great step for
ward in international relations 1t
has many beneficent provisions
provisions that could never have been
incorporated in it but for the ideal
ism injected into it by American
pressure, that idealism which is the
target for so much scorn of such
"practical' men as Senator Reed. 1t
makes free and independent nations
OF hitherto oppressed peOples-the
Poles, the Czecho-SlOvaks, the JugO.
Slavs. 1t makes colonial governments
responsible to a tribunal composed
of representatives of all the civilized
nations of the world 1t points the
way to a reduction of ornaments. 1t,
OF course, puts an end to the German
menace-a menace the frightfulness
of which some of our people seem to
be beginning to fOrget-and it pre-
SCENTS rational plan, a plausible
plan and plan which represents the
best thought of the best min0s on
the earth, which have devoted them
selves to the subject, to make a rep
etitiOn of that menace as impossible
as human thought and concerted ac-
ton can make it. All of these ad-
Vantages. will be lost if the treaty
fails.
The opponents of the treaty say
that these advantages are apparent
only, and not real. An independent
Poland, an independent Czechoslov-
aka, and Independent Jugo-Slavia
have, indeed, been created, but they
VIII be controlled by the information
al bankers or the military cliques of
Europe. The colonizing governments
VIII still control the backward peo-
pies Armaments will not be effect
lively and fairly reduced The 1aaoue