The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-09-10
q The Editorial Page Of The Daily Ardmor@it@ q
A YAP ANENT YAP

w most serious flaw in the peace treaty. Here
tofore, as our reader, or perhaps readers, may
recall, we have defended the treaty, with its
necessary League of Nations, virtually in toto.
We have said that while it is not perfect
treaty it is the best treaty that can be made
under the circumstances; and we have contend
ed that the League of Nations will develop and
improve, like the constitution Of the United
States, so that it may solve in future all prob
lens left unsolved by the treaty.
And now, alas! we must recant, we must re-
mig, we must crawfish, we must turn tail and
take some of it back This is humiliating, but
for the sake of consistency let us suffer the
humiliation. Like Henry Clay, we would
rather be right than president-and certainly
in these days when the presidency is such an eX-
traordinarily hard job we prefer the Clay al
ternative. Yes, we must be honest with ourself
and the public; we must acknowledge our error
in supporting the peace treaty root and branch,
bag and baggage, without so much as the alter
alton of "t'' cross or the elimination of an "l'
dot.
We have learned, thus late in the day, that
under the terms of this pernicious treaty OF
peace the United States is to establish cable
station on the tight little islet of Yap, wherever
or whatever zap may be. And in the treaty
there seems to be no provision requiring the
formal consent or Selt-determlnatlon OF the
Yappers of the free and sovereign people OF
Yap, of the libertyloving and lazily loafing lal-
lapaloosas of Yap. From immemorial time, it is
to be assumed the Yappers have inhabited their
sapphire sea-set iset somewhere in the midst OF
one of the seven seas utterly unvext by the re-
,l1;, +l,, Of
the mainlands. Now are we, without their con-
sent formally and officially recorded to invade
their solitude and their sanctitude with splut-
tering cable messages telling about the troubles
of this weary world-even though the messages
merely get relayed by way Of Yap and never
escape to disturb the somnolent reveries of the
Yappers? Why, even the splutterng of the cable
'juice" in the station would be an invasion,
violation of the neutrality of Yap, which nature
has made sacred.
We respectfully call this perncious provi-
sion in the treaty to the attention of Senator
Lodge, Senator Borah, Senator Knox, Senator
Reed Senator FALL Senator Pondexter, Sen
ator Brandegee and other eminent defenders
Of the rights of small nations like China and
zap. China and her Shantung province being
somewhat larger, perhaps, than the sovereign
islet of zap, the clause may have escaped their
attention. We demand-and we will stand BY
MIR. Lodge and his followers if they will take up
our hue and cry-that every naked mothers
son and daughter who has the franchise on the
islet of Yap be permitted to vote on the estab-
fishing of this American cable station in their
midst. If they are not permitted the privilege
hay, the inbOrn rght-of referendum on
the ject, and the cable station is established
as provided in the treatY-We trust most sim
cerely that the bellies of zap will refuse to look
lovingly upon the young men from the United
States who operate the cable station, and that
the beauX of zap will hitch up their trousers
if they have any--and hurl big punches of
bananas at the operators, or cocoanuts, or some
thing.
But let us see to it that the entire treaty
including its necessary League of Nations, isl
turned down because of this great wrong toI
zap.