The Washington herald., 1919-07-20

70 Asflnition Of indiana sentiment
eoneernias the fGht in coukress over
the specific points Ia the covenant to
which objection u taken. I asked
him how Indiana would regard, the
amendments. reservations and so-caIi-
ed clarincation proposed by opponents
of the President.
1--WE do not think these things mat
ter" was the answer, to me, surpris-
ing. We think out here thar the
principal Of the league Is the main
thing, The so-called fight in WASH
ington Is merely politics. One side
wants to change the wording SO the
other side cannot claim all r.ie credit
for putting through the treaty. But il
comes to the same end, and we are
not much interested In this Article 10
or Monroe doctrine discussion. OF
course, the treaty will be ratified for
the country"
Republican lion lying down with the
Democrat lamb, demands its ratifica-
ton and insists that America take her
part In the League. Not to do so
would ne cowardly, and a betrayal
OF what our men fought for. Those
politicians out here who started out to
oppose the league as a party issue
soon found public sentiment was over
wheimfng against them. and are now
lying mighty low. :,
Says Wilson was Tricked.
To this man. and to many others
since. put some OF the objections
that are brought In the East. and in
Europe The. Middle West seems sur
prised 10 hear that many eminent
european liberals view the Treaty and
the league with abhorrenoe, on the
ground that Wilson, his mind filled
with vague idealism but lacking know
ledge OF the intricacies of Old World
politics, was tricked in Paris. Charges
have Numbered through the European
liberal press, and found echoes. in the
eastern United States to the effect that
the league 10 mere Anglo-American-
French alliance to rule the world, keep
Germany and Russia in permanent
suo1ection as 'proietarian nations
and that the rights of the smaller
peoples cannot hope for sympa thetic
hearing efore the bsupreme tribunal
as now constituted,
II used to be unusual, in this coun-
try. to bring "church opinion" into
analyses of political questions. But
what happened on July ! shows tina,
church people" can get results wher
they set out for them. Speaking by
and large there Is no doubt thai
churches of the Middle West are fol
the league. as strongly as they wer,
against John Barieycorn. and thii
fact is of great Importance in sizing
up sentiment.
When l was in Europe in the early
days of the war, it was an article
Of faith among allied propagandist,
that the West held back America
from fighting. that the West was sunl
in materialism and too purely selfisf
to care who fought and died and
starved outside the West This sland
er the West, Middle and Far wes
alike. nobiy disproved in France anc
In the loan campaigns. But il Is true
today as 1t was then that the Middle
West does not greatly care abour
boundary lines. economic agreements
or indemnities. And the cry of "Hacl
the Kaiser" once a popular slogan
falls entirely fiat. The Middle Yves,
makes Up. in Its intense and purely
unselhsh and idealistic enthusiasm for
the ideal league of nations which II
seems to believe possible, for its
apathy concerning material issues oi
vast importance to which the East il
more awake.
To the Indiana authority / have
quoted ] mentioned the controversy
raging in Europe about the fourteen
points. Having accepted president
Wilson's principles as basis for
peace. 1t is charged by radicals and
liberals In the East and in France
and England that about nine of the
fourteen points were repudiated In
the peace treaty, after President VIII