The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-13

filled it's national obligations and the oblieations under the covenant. Ana gentlemen object that it is not sald , who shall determine whether 1t has ! fulfi11ed ifs international obligations and it's obligations under the cove nant or not.
 Having sat at the table where the ] instrument was drawn, I know that that was not done accidentally, because that is a matter upon which no ha- ton can sit in judgment upon another That is left to the conscience ana to the independent determination or the nation that is withdrawing. And there is only one jury that it need tear ana that is the great embodied jury eX- | pressing the opinions of mankind tAp- | plause)
 1 There is one part of the covenant the principal part of it, where it speaks of arbitration and where 1t provides 1 that any member state failing to keep | these covenants-these particular covenants--shall be regarded as thefe- by ipso facto to have committed an act of war against the other members. The way it originally read was shall l thereby ipso facto be deemed at war with the other nations and said, l No, I cannot agree to that. That pro
 vision would put the United States at
 war without the consent of the con gress of the United States. l have no
 
 any other to consent to a provision
 which would deprive the Congress Of the United States of its free choice
 whether it makes war or not (Ap-
 plause.)
 CONGRESS LEFT FREE "At every point in the covenant where it was necessary to do so in sisted upon language which woulo
 leave the Congress of the United states
 free.
 " CT had finished about Article 10. You will say it is all very well. wha1 you say about the word of the Unltec States being necessary provided th' United States is not one of the parues d to the dispute In that case it canno }. vote. That is very rue, But in tha t case it has got the fight on it's hands l. anyhow Because if it is one of th' iparties to the dispute the war belong e to it. It does not have to go into Il {: Therefore, it cannot be forced by tn tt vote into the war. The only thing tn n vote can do is to force It out or LII IS war.
 And I want to ask you to think wha ,f it means when it is suggested that tn " United States may be a party. A part IT to what? A party to seize somehod l. e,ses property? A party to infringe som
 other countrys political independence? l. "Is any one willing to stand on thi c,
 likely to do either of these things Id challenge any man to stand before a at American audience and say that that ot the danger
 Id "Ah. but some one may seek to sei1 e. our territory, impair our political ind m pendence Well, who? Who has an ar Ill long enough? Who has an audaci' C. great enough to try to take a single inc
 of American territory? Applause al cheers). Or to seek to interfere for oi ,l- moment with the political ndependen
 of the United States. These gentlem' ny are dreaming of things that can't ha I pen And cannot bring myself 10 ie en uneasy about things that l know are n he so. The great difficulty in this discussio of as in man, others, is the number he things that men know are not so. in VETO ALWAYS POSSIBLE -n- .sT'here is another matter-I have fc
 gotten who it was that said that, hut ger wouldn't mention his name tf reme' re bered it Oau~hter) that this covena lat ,,.as on arranger,ent for the dominar ul- of Great Britain They base that up - the fact that in the assembly of
 council six units of the British Emp
 are repres,nted whereas the Hnf
 states is rerreeented as cnlv one UT 51 Mike in the assembly and tho co'm III the vote of the United States is
 absolute veto. We can always we
  nat vote the British six votes. l m
 cav that look with perfect philosop eat upon the difference in number ,an .'The justification for the rApresen ra tion of more than one part of the f' ish Empire was that the British Nnop by is made un of semi-indeDerdence plee est os no other eunre in the world is. } r, know how Canads, for example pas i"' her own tariff laws does what -ce. r,eases to inconvenience the trade Of ere. Nother country.
 .s orhe only thing that seems to me w about the league is that an uranim u ', vote win sometimes be very difficult ned pet. And The danger is not action us inaction. The danger is not that I 'fui will do something that we do not ! our hut that. upon some critical occas No they won't do anything. Ad- Read Article 10 again and read A ah- cle H.
 Article Il makes it the right of