The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1919-03-07
Washington Letter.
POINDEXTER DRAWS
FIRST BLOOD

Washington, March 4.-(Special
correspondence -"The degree of au-
thority, control, or administration to
be exercised by the mandatory state
shall, if not previously agreed upon
by the high contracting parties in
each case, be explicitly defined by the
executive council in a special act of
charter" The preceding sentence is
from Article 10 of the proposed con-
stitution of league of nations. Sena
tor Poindexter, in his address before
the Senate upon the subject makes
clear the result, if this article is
agreed to and becomes binding upon
the members of the league. "No such
colossal burden or entangling alliance
was ever before conceived in the
world" said the Senator from Wash
ington. "Instead of being an instru-
m ent of peace it is the fertile seed of
war-the dragons teeth from which,
when sown, armed soldiers will
spring"
The crowded galleries of the Senate
on the day of this, the opening gun
against the efforts of Mr.. Wilson to
gag the Congress of the United States,
until he could explain" the many
meanings of this important document
listened with the closest attention
Not cound marred the address or its
accompanying debate, except an oc-
casional expression of approval, once
or twice in the form of applause. "The
further scope of this guardianship
continued the Senator, "to which the
United States pledges itself by this
article, (article 19) is unlimited and
underlined and presumably would be
left to the unlimited and underlined
discretion of the league of nations.
How much responsibility shall be as
sumed by the mandatory state it is
not for us to determine. 1t is for the
league to determine, and when deter
mined by the league we become re-
sponsible for it,"
In discussing further the result OF
this article, Senator Poindexter point
ed out where the provision exists that
the league can appoint one of the
nations as a mandatory, and nothing
else is given on the subject, it is plain
that no discreation is left in the man
datory itself. 1t would further re-
quire an express provision to enable
member to refuse to obey an order
made by the league, he said. Refer
ing to the various peoples of the
world, for whose welfare the United
States, under this article would be,
come responsible, the Senator quoted
that part which states that, "the man.
datory must be responsible Ito the
league) for the administration of the
territory, subject to conditions which
will guarantee freedom of conscience
or religion, subject only to the main
tenance of public order and morals
the prohibition of abuses, such as the
slave trade, the arms traffic, and th'
liquor traffic" "Not satisfied with tn,
service to mankind, greater than al
Others" explained the Senator, "whicl
has been rendered by the establish
ment of a government without class
with equal opportunity, and subject t.
the control of the people, in the Unit
ed States and with the protection
which we have extended under the
| Monroe Doctrine to other nations il
the Western Hemisphere, we thus un
dertake, practically unsolicited anc
unsought, to extend our responsible
ties and cares into the uttermost part:
of the earth. The expense, labor, anC
sacrifice of life which will be the di
rect result of the performance Of
such an obligation on the part Of the
United States are past calculation"
If the United States has Travelled
the road to national life to the point
where we can afford to give up oul
rationalism for a policy Of irterna
tionalism, Senator Po'ndc".er is una
| bic to see it. Let those who dream o.
a Capitalization of world power in al
international tribunal, n Utopia, as j
were, where brotherly love will abide
ponder long and think deeply over thi!
red-blooded sentence from the Sena
tors speech: at is an insidious men
ace, undermining the prnciples OF the
localZation of government, of nation
atty, and substituting for them th'
principle Of despotic internationalism
in which the self-determiaation of a.
peoples will be merged"
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