Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-15
DECLARES LEAGUE
WORLD PEACE STEP
Mr.. Underwood Tells Senate
1t Does Not Involve Sacri-
flee of Sovereignty.

Characterizing the league OF ma
tons as practical step toward world
peace involving no sacrifice of nation
Al sovereignty. Senator Underwood.
democrat. of Alabama, urged in the
Senate today acceptance of the league
covenant without amendment or res
ervation.
THE great causes of war" he said
may be paraphrased in two words:
National selfshness.' Until the civil
ization of the world is prepared to de-
throne its own selfish ideals and to
recognize the rights of other peoples.
the inherent causes of war must con-
tinue to exist.
Il am not prepared to say that the
adoption of the present treaty car
ries within itself the elimination of
these causes of war. or that in the
end there will be no more wars. but l
90 say that. within the folds of this
treaty. we find an agreement between
the great nations of the world that
proba bly, will in the future carry the
questions of national dispute to
court of final arbitration. and in
many. if not most. instances avoid
the horrors and injustices of war.
Not Supergovernment.
IT do not regard the organization
Of the league as a supergovernment.
No supergovernment could exist
without power to maintain itself.
Within itself the league has no power
TO levy taxes. and without revenue
government cannot long exist. The
league has no power to raise armies
and navies, and without military
forces it cannot defend itself. With
the right to withdraw. 1 feel that
there is no need to fear the dangerous
80 <1. I1v, ,tal
principles and rights of the American
people. Therefore / am willing to
take it and try it, and hope that, from
the seed that is planted today, in its
fruition the final peace of the world
may be found.
L am more interested in the prin-
ciples enunciated in the clauses relat-
ing to the league of nations than I
am in the power given for it's gov
eminent. for on those principles the
future life Of the league must depend
] would have been glad to subscribe
trarily limited the ornaments of the
world. Such decree is not found
within the contract. but there is a
covenant that seeks to keep the peace
of the world, that authorizes the ex-
ecutive council of the league to con-
slider how much the present arma-
ments of the nations should be re-
duced.
Another vital principle that We
are asked to agree to is that all of
the members of the league shall SUBJ
nit diffe rences between them that are
not capable of being settled by nego-
tiations before tribunal to be COM
posed of judges OF arbitrators agreed
TO by them, and after entering into
the arbitration they are required to
abide by the award.
Greatest Peace Principle.
But the greatest principle Of the
league tending to keep the peace of
the world is that which declares that
the high contracting parties to this
treaty shall undertake to respect and
preserve against external aggression
the political independence and the ter
ritorial integrity of every member Of
the league Most of the wars that
have been waged in the ages that
have passed have had as their govern
ing cause the desire to conquer and
control another people or to expand
the territory of the country that is
the aggressor in the war. Prevent
the incentive for war growing out of
a selfish desire for aggression. as the
overweening force of this covenant
will do, and few actual causes of war
will remain that cannot without diff
fculty or danger be submitted to the
high court of arbitration.
You may say: Then. why should
We become involved in an alliance
that may drag US into the disputes,
the disasters and the dangers of other
nations? This was the doctrine our
fathers believed in. and one that I
am slow to yield. But we face a con-
dition, not theory. Time and space
have been eliminated. Dangers to
our people and our republic that were
not dreamed of a century ago con-
front us today at our very doors. a
threatening menace to our lives, our
civilization and our institutions.
Shall We continue to dream of the
ideals of the past, or meet as practi-
cal men the dangers of the future?
For me there is but one course to
pursue"