Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-09-20
COAST PEOPLE
AWAKENED BY
WILSON TRUTHS
Audiences Startled to
Learn Actual Provis-
ions of League.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial to The Argus.)

near Ln1S or any OJn6r president Oh
the United States or public man,
Is the way San Diego heard Wood
row Wilson. Instead of a congest-
ed mass of human beings in a
stuffy, musty-aired auditorium,
with moving chairs and other dis
concerting noises, San Diego had
an open-air meeting in a big ath-
letic stadium and no less than S0,-
900 persons heard every word
spoken.
Must Go in Whole Heartedly
His speech itself contained little
that was new to the correspond
eIts travelling with the president,
but it seems as If Mr.. Wilson put
great deal more. emphasis than
usual on his intention to insist on
an unqualified adoption of those
portions Of the covenant of the
league which would make America
party to the preservation of the
territorial integrity of all coun-
tries. Mr.. Wilson said that Amer
lea had better not go through the
mockery of joining the league If 1t
did not mean to go into it whole
heartedly and not a basis of specia.
privilege, for he declared that to
give strong powers like the United
States specific exemptions would
be to disregard the principles of
equality and justice on which any
human partnership should be
based.
Not Debating johnson.
Los Angeles. Cal, Sept 90
President Wilson is giving five
days of his time to the state of
California, more than he has de-
voted to any other state on his
tour. Aside from the fact that Cal
ifornia boasts that it is the most
progressive state in the union and
therefore able to discern more
readily the wisdom of proposals
looking toward the advancement
and progress of human society,
Mr.. Wilson has been told that Cal
ifornia had received through the
speeches of its junior senator, Hi
ram Johnson, some erroneous i'm
pressions of what the treaty of
peace contains. The president has
not been debating with Senator
Johnson, but has been expounding
the treaty.
Hearers Startled by Truth.
So deeply rooted had been the
impression, for example, that Great
Britain had six votes in the League
Of Nations to Americas one, that
audiences have gone away wonder
ing how they had been led to be-
lieve such a statement. Mr.. Will
son has simply read the covenant
to them and disclosed that the
British empire and the United
States have one vote each in the
council of the league, the only
body that can accomplish action"
while the several colonies of the
British empire each have a dele
gate to the assembly which takes
no action but simply discusses.
The president calls the assembly
the voice of humanity" and the
council an instrument for the car
rying out Of the mandates of world
opinion when it has crystalized.
News to People.
When the president showed that
the assembly votes on no questions
except the admission of new mem
bers and that when it renders any
other opinion on an internationa,
question, no majority vote can be
valid unless It includes the affirma-
tive vote of all the states on the
council, of which, OF course, the
United States is a member, the
people act as If they have been
told something entirely new. Per-
haps it would have been better if
the president had explained the
matter OF voting and representa-
tion when he first got back from
Europe, as it certainly was raised |
then and has been gaining momen- |
tum in the public mind ever since, |
but such extensive publicity has |
just been given to the presidents |
that it Is doubtful wheth- |
er in the case Of any except those |
who are SO affected by the Irish !
question that they don't want |
Great Britain to have any votes at |
all, there will be much misunder- |
standing on this point hereafter.
Embarrassing to Him.
Indeed. Mr.. Wilson has felt him
self embarrassed on the other hand |
to discuss Britain's representa-
ton lest it give the people OF the
several colonies the impression |
that the United States didn't want |
to have them represented IN the
league For instance, Canada, |
which has made more sacrifices in |
human life in the late war than /
did America, gets nothing material |
out Of the war and her people are |
plainly insistent that hereafter /
they shall not be dragged into war
by the central government in Lon
don without an opportunity for the
people of Canada to express
through their representative YER
dict thereon. Again, South Africa,
TO whom the United States extend
ed an overwhelming sympathy in
the Boer war, has shown herself
through General Smuts, her repre-
sentative at the peace conference.
and General Botha, to be ever fur
ther advanced in her desires for