The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1919-07-19
PRESIDENT MAKES
PLEAFOR TREATY
BEFORE SENATE
Makes Assertion That League Of
Free Nations Has Become
practical Necessity"
MEANS RELIEF FROM WAR
Chief Executive Refers to It as an
Indispensable fundamentally for
the Maintenance Of the New
Order Set Up in Wortd.'

thS maintenance or tue HSW
Order Set Up in Worid.'
] Washington, July 1O.-The senate
! was called into session at T. O'Clock
and prayer offered by the chaplain,
/ Rev. Forrest J. Pret1yman, who asked
! divine guidance for the senate and the
/ chief executive in the work it was
about to undertake.
President Wilson spoke from 4 small
roStrum erected by the desk of the
reading clerk of the senate.
His address was as follows:
| Gentlemen Of the Senate:
The treaty Of peace with Germany
was signed at Versailles on the 18th
OF June. l avail myself of the earliest
opportunity to lay the treaty before
YOU for ratification and to inform you
with regard to the work Of the confer
ence by which that treaty was fOrmu-
lated.
The treaty constitutes nothing less
than a world settlement. 1t would not
be possible for me even to summarize
or to COnStrue its manifold provisions
in an address which must Of necessity
be something less than a treatise. My
services and all the information l pos
sess will be at your disposal and at
the disposal of your committee on
foreign relations at any time, either
informally or in session, as you may
prefer; and I hope that you will not
hesitate to make use of them.
shall at this time. prior to your
own study of the document, attempt
only general Characterization Of its
scope and purpose.
Problems Of Conference.
In one sense, no doubt, there Is no
need that I should report to you what
was attempted and done at Paris. You
have been daily cognizant of what was
going on thereof the problems with
which the peace conference had to deal
and Of the difficulty of laying down
straight lines of settlement anywhere
on a field on which the old lines of in
ternational relationship, and the new
alike, followed so intricate pattern
and were for the most part cut so deeI
by historical circumstances which
dominated action where it would have
been best to ignore or reverse them.
The cross currents of politics and Of
interest must have been evident t
you. 1t would be presuming in me t.
attempt to explain the questions which
arose or the many diverse elements
: that entered into them. shall attemp
something less ambitious than tina
and more clearly suggested by my dut.
to report to the congress the part i
: seemed necessary for my colleague
u and me to play as the representative
i of the government of the Unitet
{ States.
J., That part was dictated by the roll
America has played in the war and b.
the expectations that had been creates
in the minds of the peoples with whom
Il we had associated ourselves in tina
great struggle.
It Saw Supremacy Of Right PeriIed.
d The United States entered the wa
upon q different footing from ever
S other nation except our associates O.
S this side the sea. We entered it, no
e because our material interests wer
g directly threatened or because any spt
IS cial treaty obligations to which W
were parties had been violated, bu
sc only because we saw. the supremac,
S and even the validity, of right ever!
is where put in jeopardy and free GOV
e eminent likely to be everywhere in
IS periled by the intOlerable aggressio
"a of a power which respected neithe
"a right nor obligation and whose yer
system of government flouted tn
70 rights of the citizens as against tn
+ autOcratic authority of his governor
Il And in the settlements of the peat
we have sought no special reparatio
re for ourselves, but only the restoratio
u of right and the assurance Of libert
S everywhere that the effects Of the Sc
Element were to be felt. We entere
the war as the disinterested champion
of right and we interested ourselv(
III in the terms of the peace in no Oth'
~ capacity.
United States Timely Aid.
ID The hopes of the nations allie
against the central powers were at
~ very low ebb when our soldiers begg
- TO pour across the sea. There was e
~ eryWhere amongst them, except
their stoutest spirits, Il sOmber for
boding of disaster. The war ended
- November eight months ago. but W
nt have only to recall what was fearC
ed in midsummer last, only four ShO
k months before the armiStice, to ret
lc- ize what it was that our timely a
he accomplished alike for their mora
lot and their physical safety.
nd The first, acknowledgement a
ID. ton at Chateau Thierry had alreat
at taken place Our redoubtable sOldie
he and marines had already closed Il
In. gap the enemy had succeeded in ore
- ing for their advance upon Paris-h'
already turned the tide of battle ba
toward the frontiers of France al