The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-02-08

substantial and necessary aid to brine
it off they would be criticized al hom(
and suspected abroad.
Now the scheme OF the league Of
nations which the British have formu.
lated, which. with certain essential buj
not numerous notifications, will be ad-
vocated by President Wilson, seehS I
preserve certain influences in the world
Before this great conflict anne, Eng
land had reached a point Of saturatiol
IN the matter of imperial expansion
Her great problem had become to pre-.
serve, not to increase, and the bpfder
OF her empire vas more and AnorC
heavily felt as domestic conditions
f~oreshadowed complete transformation
at home.
Transform World.
Germany struck at the moment WAsE
she believed THAI both domestic prob,
lens and imperial problems would com.
bfne to-insure her success. She failed
but even in her failure she transformed
many conditions; she upset the world
that had existed. and che has stFONG
three continents with ruins Of the an.
cient systems which must be revised.
Nov the chief concern OF Great Brit.
am IS an empire is India India be,
rms ~ GlnraltAr INC az leest extends
% Hong Kong. To protect India, nov
that Turkey 10 eliminated, it will bs
necessary to deal with MesopotamiS
ana Palestine and Syria, Just as II was
q generation ago 70 deal with Egypt
Unless there ran be some system Ge.
NIsse which divides responsibility fol
and Mesopotamia ana Armenia, and
Strategic points liGe Constantinople,
England VIII have 20 take most Of
item 70 protect India, or else surrender
seme OF them to states who may de-
vSiop colonies OF their wi across the
vital pathway to the Near East. The
lustment before the world war than
any other European station. He hopes
y the league Of nations will nlace
me United States as the mandatory OF
me great powers in ~Constantlnople, In
Asie Minor and in Central Africa. His
anpltlon Is not to take German terri
lory, out TO prevent German territory
from returning to Germany, or becom.
sources. ~ -" AZ
Very frankly, therefore, Great Brit
am at Paris Is using the league OF
hattaies and the association Of America
TO supply guarantees and buttresses
for the immediate and not too encour-
aging future: \She feels herself not
strong enough TO add to her burdens,
- colossal on the imperial side before
me war, which In itself exhausted such
IN alarming fraction Of her
m men and In money, She feels that
the Americans could take over a por-
ton OF these burdens without threaten
Ing British safety.
Therefore. from the first moment az
ter l reached Europe, 1 heard on al
sides from Englishmen the same formu-
square their principles with their words;
TO apply the humanity and idealism
which was instinct in Mr.. Wilson'S
speeches; to stand ready to do our part
"a the world, to bring order and JUS
tee at once and liberation at the prop
or tllne to the oppressed nations.
Inc British view OF the league OF
nations which will prevail has already
envisaged a system of mandatories by
Which the respective great powers UNI
dertake the guardianship OF waste or
unhappy regions of the earth, respon-
sible to the league or nations on the
one hand but authorized to administer
the regions on the other.
Now someone must take up these
manufactures. The United States,
through Mr., Wilson, has steadily Or
posed the whole series or bargains, Sc
cret treaties, special arrangements, ct
cetera, made before we entered the
war, which would assign most Of these
regions to several great powers; but
II these r to go by the board, then
by virtue Of Mr.. Wilson'S formula ap-
piled by the Paris conference, France
Is not to have Syria, neither England
nor France is to have Armenia, neither
England nor France nor Italy Is to
have the German colonies in Africa,
then the whole question Is thrown open
again and nothing Is more certain than
that Europe win call upon US to accept
responsibility for some of these found
lings.
Now, British policy in all this has
worked with great astuteness. IT. has
analyzed what Mr.. Wilson really want
ed as contrasted with what people
thought he wanted; 1t has brought its
ablest and its wisest and its noblest
and its wickedest men to Paris. 1t has
accepted Mr.. Wilson'S league OF ma.
tions; it has officially penetrated It.
and has In a degree persuaded Mr.
Wilson that what he really wanted ia
the thing that Is going TO emerge, and
this is one of the real triumphs of the
peace conference,
But i is plain that there are many
difficulties In the way. The first peril
that the president might make demands
which the British government coult
not assent to, has disappeared. The
president has shown himself reasona.
BILE, conclliatoryy lacking even in any
plan of his w clearly thought out
thrown back upon the defensive foi
certain ideas, and 'hus brought to &C.
cept a system which in the main fol.
lows British ideas; but will this ides
and this plan be accepted by th'
consent TO adopt Armenia or Camerour
or Liberia? viii the senate agree tina,
the. United States become mandatory
forNlhe league of nations anywhere
thus breaking up its ancient policy and
Abandoning its time-honored traditions
II the senate does not then all ar,
rangements up to date at the Parii
peace conference go by the board ant
the league of nations as 1t will b,
worked but will unquestionahly be {
guarantee against war in the future
| within limits, 1t will have a beneficial
effect upon the world and the principles
expressed in It will nave much to d.
with the facts that are developed IL
making peace itself. But fundamental
ly this league of nations which the Eng,
fish and Americans are now agree,
upon, amounts to an Anglo American
alliance, And Its chief models hav,
been found in the machinery Of tn
British empire, as it existed, and hav,
been the contribution Of E~nglishmen.
British policy has been aotuated b,
the very frank recognition that the wal
| has changed the whole position O
Great Britain in the world, The cost
IN men, In money, and in prestige o
this struggle nave cut very deeply, thS
moral effects OF the submarine warfar,
In its later phase OF last years desper
ate campaign have left their marks >oi
the Englishmen. Therefore, in turnin,
to the league of nations, he turns I,
something which for him does no
merely have idealistic or Utopian val
ue, but practical and solid value, L,
a world organized under the league o
nations the British empire would es
cape some Of its most difficult prob
lens for the future, and would be as
sured of its maximum of security Ii
the time that is to come
It is far more true of Great Britain
than OF France or of Italy, whose con
Germs are European mainly, after ali
French and Italian policies are therefor,
far less professionally affected by tn,
league of nations question than British
Both will be dragged along; tho Ffencl
will make the necessary contribution o
| clarity, and logic, but the league OF ma
tons Is going TO be an Anglo-Ameri
can experiment, There would be n
such exponent IL British policy had no
adopted Mr, Wilson's purpose an,