The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-06-18
REPUBLICAN SCION
DEFENDS LEAGUE
AS WORLDS HOPE
Senator MCCumber Declares
Opponents Have Conducted
Campaign of MiSrepreSen-
tation to Defeat Wilson.

WASHINGTON, June 16.-Declaring
opponents Of the league Of nations have
tation and distortion, Senator McCum-
Der, OF North Dakota. a Republican
member Of the foreign relations COM
mittee, told the senate today the league
covenant offered the only present hope
OF preventing future and more terrible
wars.
Replying to arguments OF many Re-
publican senators, he upheld the league
as entirely consistent with the Ameri-
can constitution and devoid OF any
ability TO dangerously e~ntangle or cur
tail American interests.
In 20 years Of service In the SEN
ate" said the North Dakota senator, Il
have known but one instrument whose
terms have been so willfully misinter-
preted and so grossly misrepresented
as the covenant Of the league Of ma
lions. II is regrettable that the mighty
power OF ~eloquence Is used to defame
and distort the true meaning OF an in
strunnent, the most important that ever
appealed to the heart or the soul of
man.
Suppose we now refuse to Join with
the rest Of the world in some scheme to
prevent war, What will happen? As
surely as the sun shall rise, every
great nation will proceed to devise
means for the wholesale destruction Of
nc j pp hNoItidLt Vii ne the next
war that all the hate and all the venom
created by this struggle will be in
finttesimal compared with the next.
And against what race will all these
weapons of death be used? Against the
white race"
Quoting the declaration Of Senator
Johnson, Republican, of California, that
America by virtue Of her isolation does
not need the European powers las part
ners," Mr., McCumber said isolation had
long since broken down, a European
quarrel having cost this country in the
past five years $4,000 lives and $40, O00.-
| 900. 900.
Like Mankind.
There is no moral duty incumbent
upon any mar in his relation to his
fellow man. he continued. that is not
equally incumbent upon a nation in its
relation to every other nation,
"Of course not n of us would have
written this covenant just as II has
come to us, But this covenant repre-
sents the deliberations of nations. II
deals with complex situations. 1t comes
TO us as a compromise compact. And
to secure the support Of this country
special concessions have been made TO
us. Our Monroe doctrine is by this in
strument given a world sanction.
The members Of the league under
take to preserve the territorial integ-
rity only against external aggression.
II has been asserted and reasserted in
all the false attacks on this instrument
that the United States would be com
PEELED to help Great Britain preserve
her domain against her own internal
revolutions or rebellions, Nothing could
be more false. II is only against eX-
ternal aggression that the league as
sures its protection"
Referring to charges that the United
States would be at a disadvantage in
the league because It has only one vote,
the speaker said the important de
cisions would be made In the council
where the only votes would be one each
for the five great powers with unani-
nous action required to effect a de-
| cision or to transfer consideration of a
question to the assembly. Answering
objections hat Great Britain would
have too many votes in the assembly,
he continued;
What would be the danger to us OF
having Canada, Australia and New
| Zealand. blood Of our blood and bone OF
| our bone, made members Of the assem-
hly2 You give black Haiti a vote, you
give black Liberia a vote. But you
would deny the great, independent com =
monwealth Of Canada the right to raise
| her voice"
Mr.. McCumber also declared he per-
sonally would be opposed to leaving
Germany out OF the league, fearing that
action might lead to future divisions
and jealousies.