The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record. (Butler, Mo.) 1918-1950, 1919-09-18
$3.50 PER YEAR
SIX TO OUR ONE.

ether the claim that Great Britain
has six votes to our one III the
league and therefore would dominate
us. The President has unwisely in
vited the attacks upon himself, and if
this were a political campaign we
would be disposed to join in much of
the cheering aroused by the criticism
OF his conduct. But this is not po-
litical campaign, and the personality
and mistakes OF Mr.. Wilson have
nothing whatever to do with the
rishtneSs or wrongness OF the cove
nant of the league. That is written
document that must be construed
from its words, without regard to the
thoughts or acts or failures of MIR.
Wilson or anybody else. 1t is a con-
s,itution, designed to stand per-
manently as the basis of interna-
tional cooperation for the prevention
OF war and the promotion of the
worlds welfare. Fifty years from
now Mr. Wilson will be dead, and
possibly forgotten, except as name
associated with a great event is our
history, and the covenant of the
league, if the league survives, must
stand on its own legs, wholly unsup-
ported by the personalities of the
past. The constitution of the United
States has never been weakened by
the personal defects of the men who
made it. nor is lt--ever~ interpreted
upon the basis of what its trainers
failed to do in creating it. 1t stands
today because of its inherent merits.
And SO with the covenant of the
league. 1t must be judged wholly
and absolutely by what it is, by what
1t says, upon its merits. If it does
not contain within itself the merit .oi
Lie it should not live and will not
live, and nothing cxtraneous at its
birth can add an hour to its exist
ence or take an hour away.
But when Mr. Johnson turns to his
six to one" theme he is dealing
with the covenant, and his criticism
has at least the quality of pertinency.
1t has, however, no other merit, and
it is dangerously and unwisely mis-
leading. Mr. Johnson seeks to I'M
press, and does impress many. with
the notion that Great Britain would
have a power superior to us in the
league. 1t is claim that appeals at
once to American pride and to ira
divonal and racial antagonsms
What are the facts? The League OF
Nations, let ii be said in the first
place. Is an agreement to cooperate
Tor certain purposes, the prevention
OF war being the chief one. To facil
itate cooperation two bodies are Gre
a,ed, an Assembly and a Council
Both bodies are advisory. Neither
body has any initial power of COM
mand over any member nation.
Nearly all the work of the league and |
nearly all its advisory and supervis- |
cry powers are intrusted to the |
Council, which is composed OF nine |
members, one from each of nine |
countries, five of which countries are
permanently represented in the
Council, namely, the United States,
the British Empire Gas a whole),
France. Italy and Japan. Thus the
United States is always in the Coun-
Gil, wholly equal to any other nation.
The assembly is composed of rep
resentatives from all the countries
that are members of the league.
Each country may have three dele
gates, but none may have more than
one vote. The original members OF
the league are all those countries
which, except Russia, declared war,
or were deemed to have taken part
in. the war, against Germany, and are
signatories to the treaty with Ger.
many. They number thirty-two- and
include, besides Great Britain, the
countries of Canada. Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa and India.
Each OF these countries therefore has
vote in the Assembly. They can
have none in the Council. There arc
in addition thirteen neutral states
that have been invited to become
members, making the total expected
membership forty-five. As every ma
ton, no doubt, would send its full |
quota of delegates the Assembly, at |
its beginning would be composed Of |
Iss members. with forty-five votes,
each delegation voting as a unit It'll
is upon this arrangement that SEM
ator johnson and Senator Reed base
their terrifying warnings as to Brit |
ish domination.
But the Assembly is not legislat-
i've body, nor is it endowed with any
powers of command. Its primary |
purpose is discussion, to be, in short,
4 forum for the expression of public |
opinion on international matters. Its
functions as they are expressed in
the compact are extremely limited. |
1t has some powers relating to or
Ranixation and membership, but aside |
from these its authority in interna-
tSonal affairs IS confined to giving |
advice ON certain subjects and max
ing =, report on any dispute that may
BE submitted to i. an event that
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