The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-05
STOPPED COMPETITION

Belgium was very successful con- petitor of Germany in some lines of manufacture. and the Gereman armies were sent there to see to it that that competition was put a stop to. Their purpose was to crush the independent action of that little kingdom-not merely to use it as gateway through which to attack France. And when they got into France they not only fought the armies of France, but they put the coal mines of France out of commission, so that it will be a decade or more before France can supply herself with coal from her accustomed sources.
 You have heard a great deal about Article 10 of the covenant of the league of nations. Article 10 speaks the con. science of the world. Article 10 is the article which goes to the heart of this whole bad business, for that article says that the members of this league-and that is intended to be all the great na- tions of the world-engage to resist and to preserve against all external aggres- sion the territorial integrity and politi- cal independence of the nations con- cerned. That promise is necessary in or der to prevent this sort of war recurring and we are absolutely discredited if we fought this war and then neglect the essentials safeguards against it.
 You have heard 1t said, my fellow SitAESIS, tAdl we are TODDtu or some degree of our sovereign, independent choice, by articles of that sort. Every man who makes choice to respect the rights of his neighbors, deprives him. self of absolute sovereignty, but he does it by promising never to do wrong. and I cannot, for one, see anything that robs me of any inherent right that I ought to retain, when I prom ise that I will do right.
 lNnNCCJEAyCYS ONrU " CnAnrYr
 we engage, in the first sentence of article 10, to respect and preserve from external aggression, the territorial integrity and the existing political in- dependence not only for the member states, but of all states, and if any Der of the league of nations dis regards that promise, then what hap pens? The council of the league ad- vises what should be done to enforce the respect of that covenant, on the part of the nation attempting to vio- late it. And there is no compulsion upon us to take that advice-except the compulsion of our good conscience and judgment. So that 1t is perfectly evident that if. in the judgment of the people of the United States, the coun- Gil adjudged wrong, and that this was not an occasion for the use of force, there would be no necessity on the
 
 States to vote the use of force. But there could be no advice of the council on any such subject, without a unani- nous vote. and the unanimous vote would include our own. And if we ac- cepted the advice we would be accept ing our own advice. For I need not tell you that the representatives of the government of the United States would not vote without instructions from their government at home and that what we united in advising we could be certain that our people would de- sire to do.
 There is in that covenant not one note of surrender of the independent judgment of the government of the United States, but an expression of it because that independent judgment would have to join with the judgment of the rest
 But when is that judgment going to be expressed, my fellow citizens? Only after it is evident that every other resource has failed. And I want to call your attention to the central machine of the league of nations. If any mem Der of that league, or any nation not a member, refuses to submit the Ques- tion at issue, either to arbitration or to discussion by the council, there en- sues automatically, by the engage ments of this covenant, an absolute economic boycott. There will be no trade with that nation by any member of the league; there will be no inter- change of communication by post or telegraph; there will be no travel to or from that nation; it's borders will be closed; no citizen of any other na- tion will be allowed to enter it and no one of it's citizens will be allowed to leave it.
 TO BE DRAMATICALLY SEALED