The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-09

ests therein, he fcrsets that the
coufsels OF more than twenty nations
were combined ana rendered unari-
niousiy in the adoption of this great
instrument
Settles Europe's Land Titles.
Everybody admits nat Il is a oom-
plets settlement OF tne matters which
led up to this war, and that II con-
tAins the complete machinery which
provides that II shall stay settled.
You know one OF the greatest DIM
culties in our own domestic affairs Is
unsettled land titles. Suppose that
somebody were miechieyouely TO tam
per with the land records Of the state
of Nebraska and that there should be
a doubt as to the lines of every farm.
You know what would happen. With
in six months all the farmers would
be sitting on their fences with shot g.
gun Litigation would penetrate
every community, hot feeling would
be generated - contests not only Of
lawyers but Of the farmers them
selves would arise.
one of the interesting things that
this treaty does IL TO settle the land
titles Of Europe, and to settle them in
his way. on the principle that land
belongs to the people that live on it,
This IL actually the first time in
human history that that principle
was ever recognised. and yet that
IL the fundamental American prin-
cipie The fundamental American
principle IL the right Of the people
that live In the country to say what
shall be done with that country
We have gone SO far in our asser-
lions Of the popular right that we
not only say that the people have the
eight to have a government OF their
own that satisfiee them but that they
have the right to change It In any
respect any time. Very well. That
principle lies at the heart Of the
treaty There are people in Europe
who never before could say that the
land they lived on was their own and
that the choice they would make OF
their lives was their own choice.
/ know there are In Nebraska
those who came from that country
OF trasicai history. the now restored
Republic OF Poland, and want to
call your attention to the fact that
Poland is here given her complete
restitution, and not only IL she given
the land that formerly belonged to
the Poles but she Ia given the lands
which were occupied by the Poles and
now are occupied by, and have been
permitted to remain under. other SOW
ereignty, and she lie given that land
under q principle that all our hearts
approve Of. You take what In Europe
they call High Silesia, the upper por-
ton Of the district Of Silesia. The
very great majority of the people In.
High Silesia are Poles, and the Ger
mans contested the statement that
most of them were Poles.
We said: 'Very we'll. then, II 10
none Of our business. and we will
let them decide it. We will put sufe
ficient armed forces into High Silesia
to see that nobody hampers with the
process of the election and then will
hold a referendum there. and those
people can belong either to Germany
or to Poland, as they prefer, and not
as we prefer"
People Decide Their Own Lot.
And wherever there was a doubt
full district we applied the same prin
ciple-that the people should decide,
and not the men sitting around the
peace table at Paris. s..4r.
So that when these referenda are
COiupicttu tuC idiio titASc Va e3e'SfS
will be settled and every country
will belong TO the people that live
in 1t, to do with II what they please.
Now, you seldom hear of this
aspect of this treaty; you have hear
of the council that the newspaper
men call the big Four" We have
a very much bigger name for 1t than
that We call ourselves the Supreme
Council of the principal Allied and
Associated Powers, but we had no
official title and sometimes there wer
five of us instead of four. But those
represented, with the exception OF
Germany, were the great fighting ma
lions of the world. They could have
done anything with this treaty that
they chose to do because they had
the power to do what they wished,
and they chose to do what had never
been chosen before-to renounce
every right OF sovereignty in that
settlement to which the people con-
cerned did not consent
That is the great settlement which
is represented in this volume, and 1t
contains among other things a great
charter of liberty for the working
men Of the world.
For the first time in the history OF
the councils of mankind they are to
be drawn together and concerted for
the purpose of defending the rights
and improving the conditions of the
warking people and the women and
children all ,over the world. Such
thing as that was never dreamed Of
before.
And what you are asked to de-
termine in discussing the League OF
Nations Is the method OF seeing that
this thing is not interfered with.
And there is no other way except by
a universal League of Nations. and
what Ii proposed here is uni
versal League of Nations. Only two
nations are, for the time being. left
out One of them is Germany, be-
cause we didn't think that Germany
was ready to- come in; because we
felt that she ought to go through a
period of preparation; because she
says that she had made mistake,
and we now want her to prove 1t by
not trying 1t again.
She says that she has abolished all
the old forms of government by which
little secret councils of men, sitting
nobody knew exactly where, could
determine the various fortunes of
that great nation, and incidentally
try to determine the fortunes Of men.
and we want her to prove that her
situation Is changed and that 1t is go
ing to stay changed.
Absolute boycott Provided.
u ia IN ahsnt,ta bnyootF ~ fha a.