The Washington times., 1919-03-05
EXECUTIVE
SAYS NOONE
WILL DARE
T0OPPOSETT
sew YORK. March 5.-PresIdent

will not come back till it's over over
- there.e and yet 1 pray to God. in the
interests of peace and of the world
that that may be soon.
,gThe .fiFst thing that. 1 am golns
to tell the people on the other side
Of the water is that an overwhelm'
ing majority of the American people
10 in favor of the league of nations
] know that that is true; I have had
unmIstakable intimations of il from
all parts of the country, and tho
voice rings true in every case
count myself fortunate to speak here
under the unusual circumstances Of
this evening. 1 am happy to associ'
ate myself with Mr.. Taft in this
great cause. He has displayed ar
elevation of view and q devotion to
public duty which is beyond praise
Not a Party Issue.
"And I am more happy because
this means that this is not party
issue. No party has the right TO ap-
propriate this issue, and no party
will in the long run dare oppose II.
ave have listened TO so clear and
admirable an explanation of many OF
the main features OF the proposed
covenant of the league Of nations
that IT is perhaps not necessary for
me to discuss in any particular way
the contents Of the document. ] vii!
seek rather to give you its setting.
81 do not know when I have been
more impressed than by the confer
ences Of the commission set up by
the conference Of peace to draw up
a covenant for the league Of nations.
The representatives Of IA nations sat
around that board-not young men
inexperienced in the affairs Of their
own countries, not men inexperienced
in the politics of the world; and the
inspiring influence of every meet
ing was the concurrence of purpose
on the part Of all those men to come
to an agreement, and an effective
working agreement with regard to
this league Of the civilized world.
There was a conviction in the
whole impulse; there was co1Vic-
tton Of more than one sort; there
was the conviction that this thing
ought TO be done, and there was also
the conviction that not a man there
would venture to go home and say'
that he had not tried to do it.
what Failure WouId Mean.
Mr.. Taft has set the picture for
you Of what a failure CT the great
purpose would mean. We have beer
hearing for all these weary months
that this agony OF war has lasted be-
cause Of the sinister purpose OF the
central empires, and we have made
maps Of the course that they meanE
their conquests to take. Where did
the lines Of that map lie, of that CEN
trail line that we used to call from
Bremen TO Bagdad?
They lay through these very re.
Eions TO which Mr.. Taft has called
your attention. but they lay then
through united empire. The Austro-
Hungarian empire, whose integrity
Germany was bound to respect as her
ally. lay in the path OF that line OF
conquest; the Turkish empire, whose
interests shes professed to make heS
own, lay in the direct path that she
intended to tread.
And now what has happened: The
Austro-Hungarian empire has gone 10
pieces and the Turkish empire has
disappeared, and the nations that eff
fScted that great resultATfor il was a
result in liberation-are now respon-
sible as the trustees Of the assets OF
those great nations. You not only
would have weak nations lying in this
path, but you would have nations in
which that old poisonous seed OF in
trigue could be planted with the GER
tainty that the crop would be album
dant; and one OF the things that the
League Of Nations is intended to
watch is the course Of intrigue.
Says IL Would Kill Intrigue.
Intrigue cannot stand publicity,
and il the League OF Nations were
nothing but a great debating society
il would kill intrigue.
1T is one Of the agreements Of |
this covenant that il is the friendly /
right Of every nation as a member |
Of the league, to call attention TO any
thing that il thinks will disturb the /
peace OF he world. no matter where !
that thing is occurring.
There is no subject that may touch |
the peace Of the world which is ex-
empt from inquiry and discussion, and |
] think everybody here present will |
agree with me that Germany would |
never have gone to war il she had |
permitted the world to discuss the \
aggression upon Serbia for a single l
week.
The British foreign office sug-
Eested, IL pleaded, that there might be |
a day or two delay so that the repre-
sentatives OF the nations Of Europe /
could get together and discuss the /
possibilities Of a settlement. Germany |
did not dare permit days discussion. /
You know what happened. SO soon as
the world realized that an outlaw was /
at large. the nations began one by |
one to draw together against her.
Notice TO Outlaw Nations.
I'VE know for q certainty that II /
Germany had thought for a moment /
that Great Britain would 60 in with
France and with Russia she never
would have undertaken the enter
prise, and the league of nations is
meant as a notice TO all outlaw ma
lions that not only Great Britain, but
the United States and the rest Of the
world Will 60 in to stop enterprises
OF that sort And so the league Of
notions 10 nothing more nor less than
the covenant that the world will al
ways maintain the standards which il
a. now indicated by some Of the
most precious blood ever split.
The liberated peoples OF the Aus
empire and Of the
empire call out to us for this
Thing. 1t has not arisen in the :
council OF statesmen. Europe is a
pit sick IT heart a. this very moment