Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-01-04
President in Rom e
Speech Declares Idea
Has Been Tried and
Found Wanting-A
Thoroughly United
League of Nations
Finding vOr-
Task at Paris is to
Organize the Friend
ship of the World

home. Jan. 3--in Parliament house
:. joint reception was given President
| Wilson. The function was IN impress
sive one. The large and distinguished
gathering gave the President an ova-
ton. The President spoke as follows:
Your Majesty and Mr. President
OF the Chamber: You are bestowing
upon ME an unprecedented honor,
which | accept because I believe that
it extended TO me as the represen-
| speak. And l am going to take this
first opportunity to say how entirely
the heart of the American people
has been with the great people OF
Italy. We have seemed. no doubt. in
different at times to look from a great
distance but our hearts have never
been far away All sorts Of ties have
long bound the people of America to
the people of Italy and when the peo-
L
this peaple, have witnessed its Suf-
ferings. its sacrifices, its heroic ac-
tions upon the battlefield and its
heroic endurance at home. its stead
fast endurance at home touching
more nearly to the quick even than
its heroic action on the battlefield.
we have been bound by a new tie OF
| profound admiration. Then back OF
! 1t all anu through it all running like
| the golden thread that wove it to-
gether was our knowledge that the
people OF Italy had gone into this war
| for the same exalted principle OF
. right and justice that moved cur own
| people. And so | welcome this oppor.
| tunity of conveying to you the heart
| felt greetings of the people Of the
nited States.
' But We cannot stand In the shadow
| Of this war without knowing those
are things which are in some senses
| more difficult than those We have un-
dertaken because. while it is easy
! to speak OF right and justice. it ~
sometimes difficult. to work them our
| in practice and there will be required
Il purity of motives and disinterest-
ednesS of object which the world has
| never witnessed before in the council
OF nations
, 1t is for that reason that it seem.
10 me You will forgive me il la
some Of the elements of the new Sit
uatIun before you for a moment Trio
, distinguishing factor of this war is
, that great empires have gone (,
pieces. And the characteristics Of
| those empires are that they held diff
ferent peoples reluctantly together
! under the coercion of force and the
guidance of intrigue.
The great difiic ulty among such.
states as those of the Balkans la,
! been that they were always access
ible to secret influences. that thcy
were always being penetrated by in
| trisue of some sort or another: tina
north of them lay disturbed popula-
tons which were held together not
! by sympathy and friendship but by
! the Coercive force of a military DOW
er.
! Now the intrigue is checked and
the bands are broken. and what We
are going to provide is a new cement
TO hold the people together They
have not been accustomed to being
| independent They must now be in
dependent
4 am sure that YOU recognize tho
principle as I do-that it is not our
| privilege TO say what sort Of gov
eminent they should set up But We
are friends of those people and It il
our duty as their friends to see 10
It.,
thrown around them-somcthinS sup
! Piled which will hold them together
There is Only one thing that holds
| nations together, if you exclude force.
and that is friendship and good viii.
Tho only thing that binds men to-
gether is friendship. and by the same
token the only thing that binds ma
tions together is iendship. The-s-
fore, our task al Paris is to organize
! the friendship of the world-to see SO
1t that all the moral forces that mas
for right and justice and liberty are
united and are given a vital organ
,zation to which the peoples Of the
; world will readily and gladly responL.
! In other words our task is ~
| less colossal than this: To set up
| new international psychological
have a new real atmosphere. am
| happy 10 say that. IN my dcalings
with the distinguished gentlemen who
| lead your nation. and those who lead
France and England, feel that a.
mosphere gathering. that desire TO
do Justice, that desire to establish
friendllEess. that desire to make
peace rest upon right. and with TIL
common purpose no obstacles neeI
be formidable
The only use Of an obstacle Is 20
be overcome. All that an obstacle
does with brave men is not to fright
Gu them, but to challenge them. So
that it ought to be our pride to over
como everything that stands in tine
way.
We know that there cannot be
another balance of power. That ha
been tried and found wanting. for
the best of all reasons that it does no,
stay balanced inside itself and {.
weight which does not hold together
cannot constitute makeweight III
the affairs Of men.
Therefore there must be some
(ContintAad an 0aoa a-CAl n