The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-06-18
McCumber, Republican, Up
holds League as Consist
ent With Constitution.
OPPONENTS ATTACKED
Campaign of Distortion Of
Facts Deplored- I
Race Endangered. ~

I q republican MEMBER OF tne ~ =
relations committee, told the " :
today the league covenant offel e
only present hope of preventing al
ture and more terrible wars.
Replying to arguments of many
republican. senators, he upheld the
| league as entirely consistent with the
American Constitution and devoid of
any ability to dangerously entanglc
or curtail American interests.
TN twenty years of service in the
senate" said the North Dakota sena-
tor. II have known but one instru-
ment whose terms have been so will
fully misinterpreted and SO grossly
misrepresented as the covenant of
the league of nations. 1t is regret
table that the mighty power of elo-
quence Is used to defame and distort
the true meaning of an instrument,
the most important that ever APP
pealed 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 nations. So desperate
will be the next war that all the hate
, and all the venom created by this
struggle will be infinitesimal COM
pared with the next. And against
what race will all these weapons of
death be used? Against the white
race"
Isolated No Longer.
Quoting the declaration of Senator
Johnson, republican, of California,
that America by virtue of her isola-
ton does not need the European
powers "as partners" Mr.. 'McCum-
Der said isolation had long since
broken down, an European quarrel
having cost this country in the past
five years $4,000 lives and 100000
900 900.
"There is no moral duty incumbent
upon any man 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 one of us would
have written this covenant just as it
has come to us. But this covenant
represents the deliberations of ma
lions. 1t deals with complex situa-
tons. 1t comes to us as a compro-
mise compact. And to secure the
support of this country special con-
cessions haye been made to us. Our
Monroe doctrine is by this instrument
given a world sanction.
"The members of the league under
take to preserve the territorial integ-
rity only against external aggression.
1t has been asserted and reasserted
in all the false attacks on this in
strument that the United States
would be compelled to help Great
Britain preserve her domain against
her own internal revolutions or re-
bellions. Nothing could be more
false. 1t is only against external
aggression that the league assures its
protection"
War Science Only Beginning.
"The nation most learned, most
thorough and assiduous will take the
lead in a nefarious design to man.
ufacture gas bombs that will wipe
out of existe nee in a single night
raid, New York, or London, or Paris,
or Berlin" McCumber continued.
THE science of both aircraft and
chemistry for war purposes is at
present only in its experimental
stage"
The old glory of noble and hon
orable battle will give way toy the
evil necromancy of chemistry, to in
sidious germ producing poisons.
Even since the date of the signing
of the armistice last November, we
have perfected flying machines ten
times more powerful than those used
during the greater part of the war.
am credibly informed that we now
have in fair prospect of completion
bombs which, if dropped by a single
ri DO V@x.I-
or London, would not by mere ex-
plosions or fire, but by poisonous and
insidious gases, destroy all life in
such city. The nations first and
foremost in the invention of such
satanic methods will be triumphant
over the nations whose, hearts rebel
against such hideous purposes.
Though the civilized world was
against Germany in this war; that
country through her preparedness
and her study of death dealing de-
vices destroyed two lives to off set
every German killed in battle. Her
development of the U-boat enabled
her to sink fifty tons of enemy ship
ping for every ton sunk by all of
her enemies. 1t enabled her to send
to the bottom of the ocean 404 war,
ships with loss of only 216 of her
own warships 1t enabled her to de-
stroy the property of civilians to
the value of $25, 900, 100000, without
the loss of dollars worth of her
own property.
80 desperate will be the next war
that all the hate and all the venom
created by this struggle will be in
finitesimal compared with the next.
Nations now wounded and bleeding,
struggling with desperate effort to
build up their industries, must so
live and so slave as to be able to
devote the greater part of their en-
ersies to creating implements OF war
for their own safety"
Council Of Five Decides Vital Issues.
Referring to charges that the
United States would be at a disad-
vantage in the league because it has
only one vote, the speaker said the
important decisions would be made
in the council where the only votes
would be one each for the five great
powers, with unanimous action re-
quired to effect a decision or to
transfer consideration of a question
to the assembly. Answering objec-
tions that Great Britain would have
too many votes in the assembly, he
continued:
what would be the danger of
having Canada, Austrania and New
Zealand blood of our blood and bone
of our bone, made members of the
assembly? You give black Haiti a
vote, you give black Liberia vote.