The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-10-28
TUESDAY. OCTOBER rs, 1919.
Mr.. MILLS ON THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS

mind with regard to the League of
Nations. They say it seems to them
to be veryinvolved issue which no.
body can understand or clearly ex-l
plain. But there is an explanation of
this state of mind which does not al
ways occur to them. In nearly every
instance where the writer has had |
discussion with such friends he has
found that they have not read the
text of the Covenant for themselves. |
and their information Is based upon I
the scrappy arguments in newspaper |
editorials and the reports of the in.
terminable and partisan debate in the |
Senate. The political dust which with
sinister purpose is being kicked up at
! Washington is mainly responsible for
this binding of their intelligence and
this bewilderment of their judgment
If the text of the Covenant mot the
whole Peace treaty. could be read
carefully by every citizen, or if a pre-
pared synopsis of it could be present
ed to him in an attractive form Of
printing, the writer believes that 1t
would not take long to convince the
great majority of the people that the
one thing to do and to do speedily. is
to ratify without any serious modfica
tion that Covenant of the League of
Nations.
If the issue should by any chance
linger over into the national election
-as, pray God it may not for the
sake OF the worlds peace! that
printing by millions of copies and the
clear-cut exposition accompanying it
would certainly carry the day The
points involved for a great national
debate, while they are far more seri-
Gus of course, are not nearly so tang
led up and dubious as were, for ex-
ample, the intricacies of the struggle
over the gold standard in 1896 or the
many tariff disputations with which
we have been familiar in our politi-
cal history
Read the Covenant!
Then you will see for Yourself how
the obstructionist Senators are fool
ing some Of the people They have
been doing it in their hypocritical talk
about the moral iniquity of the
Shantung provision" (Which is not in
theCovenant at all, but is an item in
the treaty of peace, and as a mistake
can only be corrected when the
League is established) They have
been doing it in the perfectly infantile
and silly rage over the six to one"
advantages which Great Britain is as
sumed to have over the United States
when it is really more a six to six
proposition, and fair all around. They
are doing it in this clustering pat
Iriolatry, not patriotism (see the dis
tinction in the New York Times of
/ Oct. y by Henry Van Dyke, to the
effect that we are signing away our
I sovereignty, when the fact is we are
Just agreeing as one of the high con
tracing parties with other honorable
nations-with whose sons our
sons have made an eternal sacri-
flee in holy cause-"in order to pro-
mote international cooperation, peace
and security" mot to resort to war;
but TO maintain open, just, and hon
orable relations" ito establish inter
national law" and ito maintain jus
tice and respect for treaties being
permitted even from this noble agree
ment to withdraw after due notice if
we want to. And they are doing it in
the terrible threatening of new wars
we are going to be involved in if we
adopt article ten, which is the heart
of the Covenant the provision which
has teeth in it for the prevention of
all aggressive war.
There is an impressive body of in
telligent and earnest opinion in this
country in favor of the ratification of
the Covenant The writer believes it is |
already a majority opinion. 1t will
grow as the twenty-six articles of the
Covenant have more publicity
Up to the present most of the de-
bate has centered on minor points,
and the superlative worth of the Co
venant as a whole is overlooked. But |
there are those who have read it and |
do understand it, Witness the reso-
lutions of the American Bar Associa-
ton, the Manufacturers Association, |
other business organizations, the Ad- |
vertisers' National Convention, Cham
bers of Commerce all over the coun-
try Labor Unions (Gompers stands
here with Cary, the colleges and uni
yersities without exception the great
denominations church bodies in both |
their state and national meetings
Last week the National Council of
Congregational churches. in session
at Grand Rapids, Michigan, adopted a
ringing resolution by very large ma
jority. Its statement is worth not