The sun., 1919-09-13

gnrded az thereby ipSo IactO 10 nave
committed an act Of war against the
other members. The way II origi-
nally read was: "Shall thereby ipso
facto be deemed at war with the
other nations" and 1 said: mo,
cannot agree to that. That provi-
sion would put the United states
at war without the consent of the
Congress Of the United States. And
I have no right in this part OF the
covenant. or any other, to consent
to a provision which would deprive
the Congress OF the United States Of
It's free choice whether 1t makes
war or not"
At every point in the covenant
whore II was necessary to do so
insisted upon language which would
leave the Congress of the United
States free.
had finished about Article X.
You will say II Is all very we'll, what
you say about the word Of the United
States being necessary. provided the
United States Is not one of the parties
TO the dispute. In that case 1t cannot
vote. That is very true. But In that
case II has got the fight on its hands
anyhow. Because II 1t is one Of the
parties to the dispute the war belongs
to 1t. 1t does not have to go into 1t.
Therefore II cannot be forced by the
vote into the war. The only thing
the vote can do is to force IL out OF
the war.
And / want to ask you to think
what It means when 1t is suggested
that the United States may be a
party. A party TO what? A party
to seize somebody else's property?
A party to infringe some other
country's political Independence?
Is any one willing to stand on this
platform and say that the United
States Is likely to do either of these
things? challenge any man to
stand before an American audience
and say that is the danger.
An, but some one may seek to
seize our territory, impair our polit-
ical independence. Well, who?
Who has an arm long enough?
who has the auducity great enough
to try to take a single inch OF Amer
lean territory. to seek to interfere
for one moment with the political
Independence of the United States?
These gentlemen are dreaming of
things that can't happen. And I
cannot bring myself to feel uneasy
about things that know are not so.
The great difficulty In this discus
sion as In many others is the num-
Der of things that men know are
not SO.
Domination of Britain.
There Is another matter: / have
forgotten who II was that said it,
but | wouldn't mention his name II
l remembered it, that this covenant
was an arrangement for the domi-
nance of Great Britain. They base
that upon the fact that in the as
sembly of the council, six units of
the British Empire are represented.
whereas the United States is repre-
scented as only one unit. Alike in
the assembly and the council. the
vote of the United States is an abb
solute veto. We can always veto,
always offset with one vote the
British Six votes. i must say that
I look with perfect philosophy upon
the difference in number.
The justification for the representa-
ton of more than one part OF the
British Empire was that the British
Empire Is made up of semi-inde BEND
ent pieces, as no other empire In the
world is. You know how Canada, for
example, passes her own tariff laws,
does what she pleases to inconven-
ience the trade OF the mother coun-
try.
The only thing that seems 10 me
weak about the league Is that a
unanimous vote will sometimes be
very difficult to get, and the danger
is not action but inaction. The dam
ger is not that they will do some
thing that We do not like. but that
upon some critical occasion they
won't do anything.
Read Article X. again and read
Article II.
Article II. makes 1t the right of
any member OF the league, however
weak and small. 10 call attention to
anything anywhere that is likely to
disturb the peace of the world and
draw it into debate. draw 1t into the
open, draw 1t where everybody can
know the facts and talk about It. II
IL the only time, my fellow country
men, In the history OF the world
where the weak and oppressed and
FESTIVE peoples have been given
hearing.
secret agreement OF every kind in
valid.
Safeguards Oppressed.
In every direction the safeguards
of this treaty are thrown around
those who are oppressed.
/ leave the verdict with you, and
beg, my fellow citizens, my Repub-
hcan fellow citizens that you will
not allow yourselves for the moment,
as I do not allow myself for one
moment, as God knows my con-
science, TO think OF 1920 when think
ing about the redemption of the
world.
My present point is to dissocIate
the League of Nations from the pres
ont speaker, ] did not originate II, 1t
Is not my handiwoTk, 1t has originated
out OF the consciences and thought
OF men who wanted justice and peace
for generations. And my relation to
1t is just what my relation ought to
be to every public questionable re-
lationship which a man bears to his
fellow citizens when he tries to in
terpret their thought and their con-
sciences. That is what I conceive
to be my part in the League of Ma
tons
admit the distinguished history
of the Republican party. I do adj
NIT that 1t has been the creator
of great constructive policies and I
should be very sorry to sed it lose
the prestige which it has earned by
such policies. should be very sorry
to have any man feel that there Is
any embarrassment in supporting a
great world policy because he be-
Ionged to a great constructive party,
and that party an American party,
a party Of that people which has
done the most advanced thing in the