The sun., 1919-09-05
WILSON'S SPEECHES
BREATHE DEFIANCE


their populations which were sepa-
rated from them by many mnes of
territory and we couldn't spot over
with little pieces Of separated states.
even had to remind my Italian
colleagues that II they were going to
claim every place where there was q
large Italian population we would
have to cede New York to them, be-
cause there are more Italians in New
York than In any Italian city.
But | believe-I hope-that the
italians in New York city are as
rlad to stay there as we are to have
them. / would not have you suppose
that am intimating that my Ital-
ian colleagues entered any claim for
New York city.
We of all peoples in the world,
my fellow citizens, ought to be able
10 understand the questions of this
treaty and without anybody explain
ing them to us; for we are made UP
out OF all the peoples of the world.
I dare say that in this audience
there are representatives of practi-
cally all the peoples dealt with in
this treaty.
You don't have to have me. explain
national ambitions to you; national
aSplItllOHS. lOu nave De6n DTOuRnt
I'D on them; you learned of them
since you we're children, and II Is
those national aspirations which we
sought to realize, to give an outlet
10, in this great treaty.
Did we do much more than that.
This treaty contains, among other
things. a magma carta of labor-a
thing unheard or until this interesting
year Of grace. There Is a whole section
Of te treaty devoted to arrange
ments, by which the interests of
those who labor with their hands all
over the world-whether they be
men, or women, or children-are all
OF them to be safeguarded. And next
month there is TO meet the first as
sembly under this section of the
league--and let me tell you it will
meet whether the treaty is ratified
by that thine or not.
There is to meet an assembly
which represents the interests of
laboring men throughout the world,
not their political interests. There
is nothing political about 1t. 1t is
the interests of men concerning the
conditions OF their labor, concerning
the character of labow which women
shall engage in, the character of
labor which children shall be per-
mitted TO engage in; the hours of
labor, and, incidentally, of course,
the remuneration of labor The la
Dor shall be remunerated in proper
ton, of course, to the maintenance
Of the standard of living which Is
proper for the man who is expected
to give his whole brain and intelli-
gence and energy to a particular
task.
hear very little said about this
magma carta of labor which is en-
bodied in Tins. II forecasts the day
which ought to have come long ago,
when statesmen will realize that no
nation Is fortunate which is not
happy. and that no nation can be
happy whose people are not con-
tented, contented in their industry,
contented in their lives and fortu-
nate in the circumstances Of their
lives.
II were to state what seems to
me to be the central idea of this
treaty II would be this: 1t is al
most a discovery in international
conventions--"that nations do not
consist of their government. but
consist of their people"
That is documentary idea It
seems to US to go without, saying to
us in America. but my fellow citi-
Gems, 1t was never the leading idea
in any other international congress
that I ever heard of that is to say,
any International congress made up
Of the representatives of govern
ment.
They were always thinking of ma
tional policy. of national advantages,
OF the rivalries of trade. of the adj
vantages of territorial conquest.
There Is nothing of that in this
treaty
You will notice that even the terri
tories which are taken away from
Germany, like her colonies, are not
given to anybody. There isn't sin
gle act of annexation i'm this treaty.
But territories inhabite Dy people
not yet able to govern themselves.
either because of economic or other
circumstances or the stage of their
development, are put under the care
OF Powers, who are to accept as
trustees, trustees responsible in the
forum of the world. at the bar OF
the League of Nations, and the
terms upon which they are to
exercise their trusteeship are out
lined They are not to use those
people by way of profit and to fight
their wars for them: they are not
10 permit any form of slavery among
them or Of enforced labor. They are
10 sec to II that there are humane
conditions of labor with regard not
only 10 the women and children but
the men. too. They are to establish
no fortihcations they are to regulate
the liquor and opium traffic; they are
70 see to 1t, in other words. that the
nVes Of the people whose care they
hssume-not sovereignty over whom
they assume, but whose care they
sssume-are kept clean and safe
and holy.
There again the principle of the
treaty comes out, that the object of
the arrangement is the welfare OF
the people who live there and not
the advantages of the Government.
Treaty Would Check Evils.
1t goes beyond that and It seeks to
gather under the common supervision
the League of Nations, the vsri-
Gus instrumentallties by which the
world has been trying to check the
eVlls that were in some places de-
passing men, like the opium traffic,
IKE the trafflc--for 1t was a traffic
IN men, women and children; like the
uarro In other dangerous drugs like
lhe traff1c in arms among unoivilized
people, who could use arms only for
ueir detriment for sanitation: for
.he work of the Red Cross. Why
uose clauses, my fellow citizens,
araw the hearts of the world into
league; draw the noble impulses of
he world together and make poem
of them.
used to be told that this was an
age In which mind was monarch
ana my comment was that II that
were true. then mind was one of
ulose modern monarchs that reigns
AND does not RoNarn hut az a rnatter