The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1919-09-12
Plebiscite Decided on Upper Silesia

"When we came to draw the line
between the Polish people and the
German people, not the line between
Germany and Poland-there was not
any Poland, strictly speaking-the
line between the German people and
the Polish people. There were dis
tricts like the upper part of Silesia,
or rather the easter part of Silesia,
which is called Clipper Silesia," be-
cause it is mountainous, and the 9th
er part is not. High Silesia in chief
ly Polish, and when we came to draw
line to represent Poland it was nec-
essary to include high Silesia, if we
were really going to play fair and
make Poland up of the Polish peoples
wherever we found them in suffi-
GENTLY close neighborhood to one an
other.
"But it wasn't perfectly clear that
Upper-that high Silesia wanted to
be part of Poland . At any rate there
were Germans in high Silesia who
said that it did not, and, therefore,
we did there what we did in many
other places; we said Very we'll,
then, we will let the people that live
there decide We will have re-
ferendum within a certain length of
time after the war, under the super
vision of an international commits
sion, which will have a sufficient
armed force behind it to preserve
order and see that nobody interferes
with the elections. We will have an
absolutely free vote and high Silesia
shall go either to Germany or to Po-
land, as the people in high Silesia
prefer.
''And that illustrates many other
cases where we provided for a re-
ferendum, or a plebiscite as they
choose to call it; and are going to
leave it to the people themselves, as
we should have done, what govern
ment they shall live under.
cit is none of my prerogatives to
allot peoples to this government and
the other. It is nobody's right to do
that alloting, except the people them
selves, and want to testify that this
treaty IS throughout with the Ameri-
can principle of the choice Of the
governed.
"Of course at times it W. It lrt her
than we could make pra> 'ca yol-
icy of, because various peopies were
keen upon getting back portions Of
their populations which were sepa-
rated from them by many miles of
territory, and we couldn't spot over
with little pieces Of separated states.
81 even had to remind my Italian
colleagues that if they were going
to claim every place where there was
large Italian population we would
have to cede New York to them, be-
cause there are more Italians in New
York than any Italian city.
Magma Charta of Labor
"But i beEeve-I hope-that the
Italians in New York city are as glad
to stay there as we are to have them
1 would not have you suppose that l
am intimating that my Italian col
leagues entered any claim for New
York city.
We, of all peoples in the world,
my fellow citizens, ought to be able
to understand the. questions of this
treaty and without anybody explain
ing them to US; for we are made up
out of all the peoples of the world.
dare say that in this audience there
are representatives of practically all
the peoples dealt with in this treaty.
You don't have to have me explain
national ambitions to you; national
aspirations. You have been brought
up on them; you have learned of
them since you were children, and it
is those national aspirations which
we sought to realize, to give an out
let to, in this great treaty.
But we do much more than that.
This treaty contains, among other
things, a magma charta of labor-a
thing unheard of until this interest
ing year of grace. There is a whole
section of the treaty devoted to ar
rangements, by which the interests
of those who labor with their hands
all over the world-whether they be
men or women or children-are all
Of them to be safeguarded. And
next month there is to meet the first
assembly under this section of the
IL LII L 1rrill