Evening star., 1919-11-16

conference and added fuel to the
flames of world anarchy. If he had
been an extreme conservatives
"stand-patter"-he would have sur
rendered to the demands for the old
fashioned cynical peace that most of
the leaders in Europe desired. And
that would have opened the way for
a speedy outbreak of new wars; and
another kind of anarchy. The clean
issue at Paris was between organiza-
tion and anarchy.
But the President was neither Of
these: he was true liberal. While
he kept his purpose clear and never
for a moment wavered in his judg-
ments of right and wrong, yet he
looked open-eyed upon the world as
it is. He saw-none more clearly
that if the world Is to progress the
various groups must be willing. first
of all, to try to understand one an
other, and then, in spite of wide diff
ferences of interest, try to work to-
gether. Common council" accom-
of his If the President had not this
supreme faith. which is truly the
essence of religious faith. in the
reality of human brotherhood, he
never could have "gone through" at
Paris: he never could have made the
league of nations the inexorable min
imum of his demand. He really. and
genuinely, and honestly, believes that
human brotherhood will work if men
give 1t half chance.
Treaty Tremendous Document.
The treaty as we now have it. a
great bulky volume of PA pages, in
two languages. is tremendously hu-
man document 1t has in it all the
unimaginative greeds, the fears. the
vanities. the petty interests of the
nations: but it also has in it the finest
aspirations and hopes of the world.
the beginnings of a world league.
the principles of a new colonial pol
icy, the halting initiation of new
adjustments between labor and cap
ital. the desire for the protection of
racial and religious minorities. 1t is
ali there-just like life-for the new
world to use as it will. And the
aspirations, the hopes. the forward
looking, the moral aspects, were put
there by our American President
and no one else. 1t is the fault now
of the nations if they act only upon
the settlement and not upon the new
idealistic principles laid down.
The criticism of the President in
America comes from both extremes
the old ''standpatters." typified by
Senator Lodge. who cannot see that
distrusts all new ideas. and from what
may be called the younger. radical
group. who complain bitterly because
Wilson did not somehow utterly re-
make defective world at Paris. Sem
ator Lodge. Senator Knox and the
radicals have made strange bed
fellows, indeed, in their fight on the
President and the treaty. And neither
side tells us if we reject the treaty
and the league, what alternative
there is. But. as the great, solid.
sensible. forward-looking mass of
people in America slowly learn the
facts, theys are going to understand
what happened at the conference, and.
in general, approve it. Time and
again. at Paris. I thought that if
groups of my neighbors in Massa-
chusetts could have sat in at this
conference or that, and heard the
whole case. seen all of the difficulties
involved. they would have come out
just about where the conferees finally
came out.
The treaty is going to be ratified
and the league of nations started, and
the same American idealism which
the President so doggedly struggled
to represent at Paris against such
desperate odds is going to furnish
the drawing force within the league.
If the covenant has to be changed.
why. the machinery is there to change
it. and If the treaty is defective in
pla aces-as it certainly is-that also
will be changed. when the world re-
covers from the exaggerated passions
and fears .engendered by; the war.
Copyright, 1919. by United Feature Syndicate.J