Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-02-15

bined governments Of the world. This
ts, I take leave to say, a very great
step in advance In the mere concep-
ton Of that.
Then, as you will notice, there is
an imperative article concerning the
publicity Of all international agree
ments. Henceforth no member Of the
league car claim any agreement valid
which it has not registered with the
course. it will be subject to the exam
ination Of any body representing q
member of the league. And the duty
Is laid upon the secretary-general to
publish every document Of that sort
at the earliest possible time.
Il suppose most persons who have
not been conversant with the business
OF foreign affairs. do not realize how
many hundreds Of these agreements
are made in a single year and how
difficult it may be to publish the more
unimportant Of them Immediately.
How undressing it would be to most
of the world to publish them immedi-
ately. but even they must be publish
ed just as DOR as It is possible for
the secretary-general to publish them.
Then there is a feature about this
covenant, which. to my mind. is one
OF the greatest and most satisfactory
advances hat has beer made. We are
gone with annexations of helpless peo-
pies, meant in some instances by some
powers to be used merely for exploit
alton. Hereafter it shall be the duty
OF league to see that the nations
assigned as the tutors and advisers
and directors Of these peoples shall
look to their interests and their devel-
opment before they look to the inter.
ests and desires of the mandatory ma.
ton itself.
"There has been no greater advance
than this. gentlemen. It has been one
OF the man. distressing revelations of
recent years that the great power
ed, put intolerable burdens and in
justices upon the helpless people of
some of the colonies whtc hit annexed
to itself, that its interest was rather
their determination than their devel-
opment; that the desire vas to possess
their land for European purposes and
not to enjoy their confidence in order
places to the higher level. .
$50 I think I can say of this docu-
ment that it is at one and the same
time a practical document and a hu-
mar document. There is q pulse of
sympathy in it. There is a compul-
sion Of conscience throughout it. It
is practical, and yet 1t is intended to
purify, to rectify, to elevate.
we have had many instances Of
colonies lifted intothe sphere of COM
plete self government. This is not the
discovery Of a principle. 1t is the
agreement Of the great nations which
have tried to live by these standards
in their separate administrations to
unite in seeing that their common
force and their common thought and
Intelligence are lent to this great and
humane enterprise.
MANY terrible things have come
out Of it. Wrong has been defeated
but h rest of the world has been
more conscious than it ever was before
Of a majority Of right. People that
were suspicious Of one another can
now live as friends and comrades. The
miasma Of distrust. or intrigue, is
cleared away. Men are looking eve
to eye and saying, We are brothers
n have a common purpose. We did
not realize it before, but now we do
realize it and this is our covenant of
friendship"