Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1919-04-04
ASSAILS SENATE FOR LEAGUE
CRITICISM.
Hamilton Holt Declares Covenant or
Bo!shcvism is the Issue-Says
Europe Needs If.

Europe Needs Ii.
The issue before the world today is
Bolshevism or the League of Ma
tons said Hamilton Holt, editor of
the Independent, who recently re-
turned from Europe.
There are men In the Senate who
are trying to see how much we can
get out of the League" said Mr.. Holt
INSTEAD of trying to put something
into it. | went over the battIefields
of Scicheprcy, Cantigny, Belleau
Woods, and Chateau-Thicrry, and
saw many American uniforms and
many American skeletons and | knew
that our young men had given their
all--and now we have the old men in
America telling the country to play
safe.
"The American people do not seem
to realize that Europe is on the verge
OF volcano. No one, think, could
have toured the countries over there
as ! have and not know this. The
war has been won, but even with the
peace delegates still engaged the Boil
shevist cloud grows big and black on
the horizon. There is danger in Italy,
IN France and even in Engladn. These
days are darker than any of the fate
Everywhere | went men asked me
If 1t were possible that we would re-
fuse to be party to the covenant.
This was inspired by the reports of
opposition to the President | did not
meet a single man in Europe who
thought League could succeed if
America was not included Many of
the representative men informed me
that revolutions were inevitable if
we did not join in the League.
1t has been suggested in the SEN
ate that the covenant is Il British doc
ument This is not correct. read
IN advance the draft brought to Par
Is by Lord Robert Cecil. 1t was the
most admirably worked out document
OF any presented by the delegations.
| am familiar with the original draft
presented by our delegation and
know that the covenant as finally
adopted is overwhelmingly American.
me preamble to the constitution is
word for word as Wilson wrote it.
Mr. Holt met the criticisms that
have been directed against the League
on the ground of vagucness of style
by saying that the copy brought to
this country by the President was
hastily written, and that the final
adoption would find the instrument
clear and precise in langr"yc. MIR.
Holt said that be had found this
vagueness perpleNing himself md
had been able to find fifty places
where rephrasing would make an i'm
provement.
Says Draft Needs Amendments.
Il think the covenant without a
single amendment is the greatest doc
ument since the Declaration Of indie
pendence," he continued, "but at the
same time | think that amendments
should be made for the purpos ofe
clarity. What dumfounded me since
my return from abroad is that a num-
Der of great men in this country,
especially in the Senate, are greatly
exercised over what we can get out
of the League of Nations, instead of
looking to what we can put in it.
Just year ago today landed in
England when the bank holidays were
being celebrated and which, like the
afternoon teas, could not be disturb
ed. The days were indeed very dark.
things were going wrong, but | did
not hear n single Englishman whim-
per. Shortly afterwards l went to
Paris and from there l went to see
the American Army, which had just
then made such n splendid showing
and had demonstrated to the world
that we could fight as well rs lend
money.
81 then made trip to Italy at n
time when German onslaught seem
ed imminent This was in the dark
est period of the night before the
dawn. Let us not forget right here
that our brave American fighters
would never have gotten to the bat
tleticlds but for England. 1t may be
fairly said that America never lost II
single foot of French soil which she
had once taken possession of.
81 paid my second visit to France
the first of the year, and the first
thing that impressed me was the fact
that the whole psychological situation
be great letdown. Our boys were
anxious to get back home and so
were the English soldiers, while the
French fighters were sick and tired
and full of gloom. A well-known
General said to me on this occasion
that if we had tried to get volun-
teers to go to the Balkans we would
have failed to enlist n single French
man or Britisher
1T may surprise you to know that
we are not as popular abroad us we
were {; year ago. During my first Wis
it to Engladn ! visited moving pic
ture theatre, and when pictures of
the allied statesmen and officers were
thrown on the sreen the likeness of
Sims, Pershing, and Wilson got the
most applause. saw the same pic
turc when | was over there in Jan
uary and. then our officers got no
more than the others, all of the ap-
plause being semi-perfunctory.
A FAITHFUL PREACHER GONE.