The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-31
Wilson's Memorial Day Address.

who are civilized, to use our proper
weapons of counsel and agreement
to see to II that there never is such
a war again. Tho nation that
should now fling out OF this COM
mon concord OF counsel would be-
tray the human race,
Mothers sacrinces At an End.
So 1T is our duty to take and main
tain the safeguards which will see
to It that the mothers Of America
and the mothers of France and
England and Italy and Belgium
and all other suffering nations
should never be called upon for
this sacrifice again. This can DO
done. 1t must be done. And 1t
will be done.
The thing that these men left Us,
though they did not In their conn
sells conceive II. II the great instru-
ment which we have just erected
in the League Of Nations. The
League Of Nations Is the covenant
OF Governments that these men
shall nave not died in vain.
like to think that the dust of
those sons OF America who were
not privileged to be buried In their
mother country viii mingle with
the dust Of the men who fought for
the preservation of the Union and
that as those men gave their lives
in order that America might be
united, these men have given their
lives in order that the world might
be united. These men gave their
lives in order to secure tho free
dom Of q nation
These men have given theirs in
order to secure the freedom OF
mankind, and look forward to an
age when 1t will be just as impos-
sible to regret tho results OF their
labor as II is now impossible TO re-
gret the results Of the labor Of
those men who fought for the union
Of the States. look for the time
when every man who now puts
his counsel against the united SER
vice of mankind under the League
Of Nations will be Just as ashamed
OF II as II no now regretted the
union Of the States.
Older Regime stirs Again.
You are aware, as I am aware,
that the airs OF an older day are
beginning to stir again, that the
standards Of an old order are try
IN noa1x,aa IN
There is here and there an at
tempt to insert into the counsel
of statesmen the old reckoning OF
selhshness and bargaining and
national advantage which were the
roots Of this war, and any man
who counsels these things advo-
Gates q renewal of the sacrifice
which these men have made, for
II this Is not the ANAL battle for
right there will be another that
will be final.
Let these gentlemen who sup
pose that II Is possible for them
to accomplish this return to an
order OF which we are ashamed
and that We are ready to forget,
realize they cannot accomplish It.
The peoples Of the world are awake
and the peoples OF the world are
in the saddle. Private oounsels Of
statesmen cannot now and cannot
hereafter determine the destinies
OF nations
II We are not the servants of the
opinion of mankind we are of all
tho neflaaf tho
temptible, the least gifted with
vision. II we do not know our age.
we cannot accomplish our pur-
pose, and this age is an age which
looks forward, not backward;
which rejects the standard OF
national selfishness that once gov
erned the counsels OF nations and
demands that they shall give way
to a new order OF things in which
the only questions will be. "Is It
right?" ais IT just?" "Is 1t in the,
interest of mankind?"
Few Realize Changed World.
This is a challenge that no pre-
vious generation ever dared to
give ear to. So many things have
happened, and they have hap
pened so fast in the last four years,
that 1 do not think many OF us
realize what II Is that has hap
pened. Think how impossible il
would have been to get a body OF
responsible statesmen seriously to
entertain the idea OF the organic
zation OF q League OF Nations
four years ago. and think Of the
change that has taken place!
/ was told before came to
France that there would be con-
fusion OF counsels about this thing
and I found unity OF counsel. 1
was told that there would be OPP
position and found union OF ac-
ton. found the statesmen with
whom I was about to deal united
In the idea that we must have a
League OF Nations: that we could
not merely make a peace settle
ment and then leave It to make
itself effectual, but that we must