Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-03-06
Great Audience at
Metropolitan Opera House,
New York, on the Eve of His
Departure for Europe
TAFT ALSO A SPEAKER
President says Tint II IL Inconcciv-
able That We should Now Djs1p-
point the Nations Of Europe by Not
Becoming a Party to Their Peace Plan

return to the peace conference. Presi-
dent Wilson delivered an address here
tonight at the Metropolitan opera house
urging establishment Of a league IF ma
tions. Former President Taft speakinr
from the same platform, also outlined
his reasons for believing that a league
should be formed to prevent future
wars.
Governor Smith Of New York presided
at the meeting and introduced both
President Wilson and Mr.. Taft.
The President and Mr. Taft walked
on to the stage arm in arm. They were
applauded for several minutes. The
audience remained standing until the
President took his scat.
Governor Smith opened his speech by
paying a tribute TO the part the New
York soldiers had played in the war.
The war is not yet Won" he said,
"and will not be until the golden rule Ia
written into the international law of the
world
He introduced Mr.. Taft as the man
who had worn the purple of the Presi-
dent of the United States and with grace
and honor"
MR.. TAFT's SPEECH
The President smiled broadly when MI.
Taft referred to the resolution intro.
duced In the Senate last night by Senator
Lodge proposing rejection of the league
OF nations constitution as now drawn
IF the President insists, as hone
he WILL" said Mr. Taft that the
league be Incorporated in the peace
treaty, and brings it back then the
responsibility for postponinp peace is
with the body that refuses to ratifv
it,"
Referring to the argument against
a league that participation by the
United States would be in opposition
TO the principles laid down by George
Washington, Mr.. Taft declared he be-
lieved Washington, if he lived TODAY.
would be "one of the most earnest and
pressing advocates of the covenant"
Washingtons attack on "entangline
alliances" he said, was an attack on
| defensive and offensive alliances
with one nation against another"
PRESIDENTS SPEECH.
President Wilson said:
My Fellow Citizens, accept the
invitation of the air just played | will
not come back till it's over, over
there And yet I pray God. in the in
terest OF peace and of the world, that
| may be soon.
The first thing that I am going to
tell the people on the other side Of
the water is that an overwhelming
majority of the American people is in
| favor of the League of Nations |
know that that Is true. | have had
| unmistakable intimations of It from
all parts of the country, and the voice
rising true in every case, account
myself fortunate to speak here under
| the unusual circumstances Of this eve
ming. | am happy to associate my
self with Mr.. Taft in this cause lie
. has displayed an elevation of view
and r. devotion to public duty. which
Is beyond praise.
And I am the more happy because
| this means that this is not a party
issue. No party has the right 70 ap-
propriate this issue. and no party will
| In the long run dare oppose it,
| I'VE have listened to so clear and ad-
nrable an exposition of many Of the main
! features of the proposed covenant of the
League of Nations, that II is perhaps not
necessary for me to discuss in any par
ticular way the contents Of the document
l will seek rather to give you its setting
7 do not know when I have heen more in,-
pressed than by the conference Of the
commission set up by the conference of
peace TO draw up a covenant for tie
! League Of Nations The representatives
OF fourteen nations sat around that board
not young men. not men iueNpcrieuct
in the affairs of their own countries. not
! men inexperienced in the politics of the
world and the inspiring influence of
| every meeting was the concurrence of
purpose on the part of all those men to
come to an agreement and an effective
working agreement with regard To this
league of the civilized world
There was a conviction in the whole inn
/ pulse, there was conviction of more than
one sort; there was the conviction that
| this thing ought to be done and there
was also the conviction that not a mau
| there would venture to go home and say
| that he had not tried to do it,
"Mr Taft has set the picture for YOU of
what a failure of this great purpose would
mean. We have been hearing for all these
weary months that this agony of war has
lasted because of the sinister purpose Of
maps of the course that they meant their
conquests to take. Where did the lines of
| that map lie, of that central line that we
used to call from Bremen to Bagdad?
"They lay through these very regions
! to which Mr.. Taft has called your atten-
| tion, but they lay then through the united
| empire. through the Austro-iungarian
empire whose integrity which Germany
J was bound to respect as her ally lay in
Gnd Pm