Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-07-10
COMPLETE TEXT
of
WILSON SPEECH

peace treaty and the league of
nations to the senate today,
spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the Senate:
The treaty of peace with Ger
many was signed at Versailles
on the 28th Of June. / avail
myself of the earliest oppor-
tunity to lay the treaty before
you for ratification and to in
form you with regard to the
work of the conference by
which that treaty was formu-
lated.
The treaty constitutes moth
ing less than a world settle
ment. 1t would not be possi-
BILE for me either to summar-
ize or to construe its mani
fold provisions in an address
which must of necessity be
something less than a treat
ise. My services and all the
information l possess will be
all at your disposal and the
disposal of your committee on
foreign affairs at any time,
either informally or in ses-
sion, as you may prefer; and
1 hope that you will not hesi-
tate to make use of them.
shall at this time, prior to
your own study of the docu-
ment, attempt only a general
Characterization of it's scope
and purpose.
Will Report Peace Work.
In one sense, no doubt, there
is no need that l should re-
port to you what was attempt
ed and done at Paris. You
have been daily cognizant of
what was going on thereof
the problems with which the
peace conference had to deal
and with the difficulty Of lay
ing down straight lines of set
tlement anywhere on a field
on which the old lines of in
ternational relationship, and
the new alike, followed so in
tricate a pattern and were for
the most part cut so deep by
historical circumstances which
dominated action where it
would have been best to ig-
more or reverse them. The
cross-currents of politics and
of interest must have been ev-
ident to you. It would be pre-
Stunning in me to attempt to ex-
plain the questions which
arose or the many diverse
elements that entered into
them. 1 shall attempt some
thing less ambitious than that
and more clearly suggested by
my duty to report to the con-
gress the part it seemed nee
essary for my colleagues and
me to play as the representa-
tives of the government OF the
United States.
Dictated by War Role.
That part was dictated by the
role America had played in the
war and by the expectations
that had been created in the
minds of the peoples with
whom we had associated our
selves in that great struggle.
The United States entered
the war upon a different foot
ing from every other nation ex-
cept our association on this
side of the sea. We entered it,
not because our material inter
ests were directly threatened
or because any special treaty
obligations to which we were
parties had been violated, but
only because we saw the su-
premacy and even the validity
of right everywhere put in
jeopardy and free government
likely to be everywhere imper-
lied by the intolerable aggres-
sion of a power which respect
ed neither right nor obligation
and whose very system of gov
ernment fouted the rights of
the citizen as against the auto
cratic authority of it's govern
ors. And in the settlements of
the peace we have sought no
special reparation for our
selves, but only the restora-
tion of right and the assur-
ance of liberty everywhere that
the effects OF the settlement
were to be felt. We entered
the war as the disinterested
champions of right and we in
terested ourselves in the terms
of the peace in no other ca
pacity.
Yankees Saved World.
The hopes of the nations al
lied against the central pow
ers were at a very low ebb
when our soldiers began to
pour across the sea. There
was everywhere among them,
except in their stoutest spirits,
a sombre fear OF foreboding
disaster. The war ended in
Novemb ber. eight months ago, but
you have only to recall what
was feared in midsummer last.
four short months before the
armistice. to realize what 1t was
that our timely aid accomplish
ed alike for their morale and
their physical safety. That
first, never to be forgotten ac-
tion at Chateau Thierry had al
ready taken place. Our re-
soldiers and marines