The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1919-05-13
THE MONROE DOCTRINE SAVED

THE MONROE DOCTRINE SAVED
When on January Ia The Tribune pro-
posed to amend the covenant of the league
of nations by including clause recogniz-
ing the Monroe doctrine there was a sub
stantial protest even in this country
against the simple plea for the preserva-
ton Of American rights.
Our best information from Paris now
is that the Tribune's amendment was
written into the covenant. 1t was writ
ten in according to the latest cables, on
the request Of President Wilson.
The president is said to have admitted
the validity of, the amendment after an
explanation that he had previously deem
ed the league covenant sufficient We do
not pretend to know that the covenant
would not have been sufficient; we mere
ly insisted there could be no question of
the meaning of the Monroe doctrine.
The president was wrong in resisting
the Monroe doctrine; but we think he is
right in supporting it; and we believe that
the league of nations will be much more
acceptable organization so far as the Un-
tied States is concerned with the Monroe
doctrine nailed into the covenant than it
ever could have been without it.
The Tribune does not seek any glory,
does not hasten to cry II told you So" nor
claim undue credit. We seek only to credit
the Monroe doctrine and the American
citizens who steadfastly insisted upon its
validity. We want to be sure of America
first.
A few days after the Tribune asked
k1xn 49, .,,c;o,, 80 kIa Mo,,~oo Look,.;Va Cav
ator Borah, quoting the editorial, declar-
ed, in his opposition to the league coven-
ant as it then stood that the Monroe doc
trine expressed his own convictions.
Those who had accepted the league be-
fore its plan had been announced and the
covenant before it had been published,
Immediately began campaign of Wifi
cation. Borah and his colleagues were
excoriated as "willful" obstructionists to
the presidents policy.
Among those who were not sparing in
their rebuke were President Lowell of
Harvard, former President Taft and Will
liam Jennings Bryan. These were sup
ported by many newspapers which did not
hesitate to deny utterly the propriety of
amending the covenant. The covenant
was regarded by these enthusiasts as a
sacred scrivening instead of document
prepared by mortals. That the Tribune
should regard President Wilson and 9TH
ers Of the big Four as mere mortals,
capable of the same emotions, passions,
and errors as other men, was regarded as
heresy.
Little by little there came change of
view. First one orthodox journal and then
another began cautiously to creep out
from the shadow of the cathedral with
the apologize statement that "of course
there is possibility of amendment. All
human documents are capable of change
One would be foolish to say that the cove
nant cannot be altered" This after weeks
of bitter arraignment Of those who only
sought to insert in the covenant "Ameri-
cans we are and Americans we will re-
MAN."
We are bound to give Mr. Bryan credit
for getting his eyes open in hurry. He
was one of the first to join Mr.. Borah in
the plea for the Monroe doctrine. Then
came Messrs Taft and Lowell, both hith-
erto violent advocates of the purity of the
original document.
All this opposition was opposition as
lately as when Mr. Wilson returned from
Paris for the week end and felt pro-
found shock in the discovery that the sem
ate would not rubber stamp his covenant.
II was as late as March that thirty-nine
senator's registered their flat protests;