The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-01-06
PRICE SAYS LEAGUE
OF NATIONS SHOULD
Be OF RIGHT men

! Attorney S. G. Price in very con-
vincing address on Tho Proposed
, League Of Nations" spok" to the Mems
: Sunday Morning Club Of the Emmanuel
! ISap,iSi church vest crday morning, tho
: large number nearly nllinE the room
! at 1hr Y NJ. G. A. Mt. {. burgess
Taylor will speak before th- club next
! sunday on The New Outlook"
! Attorney Prr" spoke in part as fol-
lows: If in tho forthcoming peace
conference there is no adequate means
! established to effectively do away
! with war. all We have recently spent
in blood and treassrc will have been
spent in vain. What will maze any
agreement worth while. however. is tho
character behind the signatures 20 my
final document. Tho thinking. lnteII-
gent. moral citizenship of a country -
its greatest asset. Its leaders or" d.
rcctnd and supported by the great force
known as public opinion When lne
pence treaty is finally evolved II Will
have to be approved by the senate u!
the United States. a body which rep
rcscnts III" rank and file OF our clt-
Zcnry.
Il confess That my fnith in treaties
has received n shock in later years.
In the recent war treaties have been
shown To be OF no avail. Germany IN
signing with others the solemn cove
nant To preserve as we'll Rs observe
the neutrality Of Belgium was as NOR
ally obligated az any ot III" other cove
! nantors. hut the treaty was worthless
because OF GrrInany's craven, moral
failure. Treaties arc worth no moro
or no less as such than the weakest
party to them. 1t seems TO he pro-
posed in the coming peace conference
~
formed b. having every nation made
n party 10 the arrangement; and that
this League Of Nations will turn Its
force uron any offending nation TO
bring il TO time. To mo this is a very
doubtful arrangement on which 70 cs-
tRblish future world Justice We arc
here enthronIng force as did the Ger
mans TO bring about results. and tho
good old German god becomes the goo
the world must worship. But it is ar
Eued that limited armament and An
international police force will meet
tho need. This will have to be headed
up BY some man or body Of men. and
just suppose in the course of time they
should for selfish or commercial reasons
make demands upon us which We could
not allow?
The moral value Of a league Of NIL
tho nations will in tho md be worth
no moro than those signatori"s 10 Il
! who arc on the lowest moral plain.
| Who could have faith in q treaty to
which Germany. Austria or Turkey
were parties? An agreement mad" be-
! tween n man and crook is valuable
| only insofar as tho crook keeps or docs
not keen his agreement. y contract 10
worth no moro :har tho moral value of
! tho weakest man making il,
| If tho character o. the individuals
making a covenant alone makes 1t
wOrrhful. then the coming league or
na;ionG should not. in my opinion, b"
made M Of the morally weaker nation"
/ in any part whatsoever. The natinn8
{ only with proven moral character III
| their rn;rilj gent and cultured Ci'izcnry
a!vn" should assume this tremendous
/ obligation.
"Am"rra. Great Britain. Franco. E"'-
GUM. Italy and Japan arc morally
akin, and haze shown themselves hn-
;iurally sensitive 10 international
hrn"r and ar" alike in ideals AMI moral
: aspirations. Thrs" nations, winch by
history and test. have shown broad
conception Of International jusuc" and
homer should aluu" make ZIP IN" com
irE league nC nations /" max" its coy
| ruanls permanently. valid. Til" NOR
ally weaker nations shouli b. lndividu-
ally added wh,rr|"" they snow Il wnr-
, Thy moral right /" II" a Part Of tho
constructive E"rti naI,ac"nl"Et or the
world. I'uturH International rnlicy
should not risk N ary MAY he defeat
!; has almost suffered. due I" n"
moral nud ,r."lIual failure of any mod
c,n rarrrm l.;.r Germany"
; III" n'n" Ciuh oc IA" Tmm"nu'l Zap