The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-07-11

be no common tribunal Of opinion and
jud Ernent TO which liberal statesmen
could resort for the influences by which
one might secure their redemption.
league OF free nations had become a
practical necessity. Examine the treaty
OF peace and you will find that every
where throughout its manifold proyi-
sions. its trainers have felt obliged &c
turn to the league Of nations as an In
dispensable inStrumcntality for the
maintenance Of tho new order 1t has
been their purpose TO set up in the world
tho world Of civilized man.
That there should be league Of ma
tions TO steady tho counsels and main
tain the peaceful understandings Of the
| world. to make, not treaties alone. but
the accepted principles Of international
law as we'll. the actual rule Of conduct
| among the governments Of the world
| has been one Of the agreements accept
ed at first as the basis with the central
! powers. The statesmen OF all the bel
! ligcrent countries were agreed that such
! a league must be created to sustain the
/ settlements that were to be affected. But
| at first, I think there was a feeling
! among some OF them that. while II must
| he attempted. tho formation Of such n
! league was perhaps 4 counsel OF pcrfcc
! ton which practical mon. long expert
! cnced in the world Of affairs, must agree
/ to very cautiously and with many mis-
! gvIngS 1t was only as the difficult
i work Of arranging an all but universal
! adjustment of tho worlds affairs ad-
| vanccd from day to day from one stage
| of conference to another that II became
evident to them that what they wcro
| seeking would be little more than some
| thing written upon paper. to be inter-
preted and applied by such methods as
the chances of politics might make
! available If they did not provide =
| means Of common counsel which all
were Obliged to accept. common au-
! thority whose decisions would be recog-
nized as decisions which all must re-
| spect.
| And so the most practical. the most
! skcptical among them turned more and
| more to the league az the authority
| through which action was 10 be secured: :
tho authority without which as they had
/ como 10 SEQ. il would be difficult to give
! assured effect either to this treaty or to
| any other international understanding
upon which they were TO depend for the
maintenance Of peace. The fact that the
! covenant OF the league was the first sub
stantirc part Of tn" treaty TO be worked
out and agreed upon. while all else was
in solution. helped to mako the formula
| ton Of the rest easier. The conference
was after all not to be ephemeral. The
! concert OF nations WAS 10 continue
under n definite covenant which had
. been agreed upon and which ali were
! convinced was workable. Thoy could go
! forward with confidence to make ar
engagements intended to be permanent.
| Tho most practical Of the confcrecs were
| ut last the most ready to refer to the
| league Of nations the supcrintendcnc" OF
| all interests which did not admit of i'm
mediate determination Of all admins
trativc problems which were to require
a continuing oversight. What had seem
cd counsel Of perfection had com" TO
seem n plain counsel Of necessity. Tho
| league OF nations was tho practical
! statesmans' hope OF success in mH"y of
! the most difficult things nc was at
tempting
And il validated itself in tho thought
OF every member OF the conference "a
somthinG much bigger. much greater in
very way than n mere instrument for
carrying out tho provisions of a particu-
lar treaty. II was universally recog-
| nzcd that all tho peoples Of tho world
| demanded Of tho conference that il
OF free nations as would max" wars OF
! aggression and spoilation such as that
| Just ended forever impossible. a cry
has gone out from every homo in every
| St-iCken land from which sons and broth
crs and fathers had gone forth to tho
great sacrifice that R.rh n sacrifice nov
| or again should be cXacrr-. II was man.
fest why it had been enacted. 1t had
boon cXactrd because ono nation desired
~ Wait nF,., had Inn n
no means Of defense except armamcnts
and alv-ncc War had lain AZ tho heart
Of every arrangement OF Europc-of
cvcry arrangement Of tn" world that
preceded the way. Rcstive peoples had
hcCn told that fleets and armies which
thcy toilcd to sustain meant peace and
they now know what they had been tied
to: that fleets and armies had been
maintained To promote national hmhi'
! tions and meant war. They knew that
no old policy meant anything else bu,
force .forcc-always force. And they
knew that II was intolerahlc. Every
| tr,o heart In tho world. and every en-
liEhtcncd demand at whatever cost Of
indcpcrdcnt action. every government
that took thought for It's people or fol
Justice or for ordered freedom should
lend Itself to a new purpose and utterly
destroy tho old order Of international
politics. Statesmen might SEQ difficult
tics but the people could &C mono and
/ could brook no denial. A war In which
they had hccn hed white to beat tho ter.
ror that lny concealed in every balance
Of power must not end In a nero victory
Of arms and n now balance. Tho mon
stcr TINT had rcsortcd 70 arms must be
put IN chains that could not he broken.
Tho united force OF FREQ nations must