The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1919-07-15
WILSON ACCOUNTS FOR
HIS LABORS AT PEACE
TABLE IN EUROPE

Washington, July 1.-THE peace
treaty with its league of nations COW
enant was laid before the Senate by
President Wilson today in an address
accounting to the country for his
part in the negotiations at Versailles.
The league, declared the President,
was born of the conviction of practi-
cal statesmen that an international
concert had become world neces-
sity to end the old order and guaran-
tee civilization. He asserted that in
such concert the world looked con-
fidently to America for leadership
and added that while the treaty
might not be exactly as the Ameri-
can delegation had written it no
vital principle had been sacrificed by
the necessary compromises.
Received With Cheers.
The Senate, already divided in a
bitter fight over the league proposal,
received the President with cheers
and listened to his words in a grave
silence. When he had concluded
there was another burst of cheering
until he had passed out of the cham
Der and gone to his capitol Office,
where he talked for an hour with the
senators who wished to ask about
specific features Of the treaty or of
the negotiations. In these confer
ences the President discussed freely
such subjects as the disposition Of
Shantung, the German indemnities
and Irish freedom.
Many Questions Omitted.
In his address, however, there was
no direct reference to many Of the
questions around which the Senate
debate had centered, the President
declaring he could not construe de-
tails of the treaty in a short address.
He did not directly mention the
Monroe Doctrine, Shantung or the
obligations assumed under article 10
Of the league covenant, nor did he
allude to the proposal to write reser-
vation into the ratification. He as
serted hope that he would be given
opportunity to discuss details later,
either with the whole Senate, or the
foreigns relations committee.
my services and all the .informa-
ton I possess" said Mr.. Wilson,
"will be at your disposal and at the
disposal Of your committee on for
eign relations at any time, rather in
formally or in session, as you prefer
them, and I hope that you will not
hesitate to make use Of them"
American isolation, the President
asserted, vas ended twenty years
ago, when the Spanish-American> war
put the nation IN partial control of
Cuba and the Philippines.
"But we have not exploited them,"
he continued. eve have been their
friends and have sought to serve
them. There can be no question of
our ceasing to be a world power. The
only question is whether we can re-
fuse the moral leadership that is Of
fered us, whether we shall accept or
reject the confidence of the world.
The stage is set, the destiny disclosed
it has come about by no plan of our
conceiving, but by the hand of God,
who has led US into this way. We
cannot turn back. We can only go
forward with lifted eyes and fresh
ened spirit, to follow the vision"
Alluding to the skepticism with
which the plan for league of ma
tions first was received, the President
said that as the peace negotiations
proceeded it became apparent to all
the deleagtes that such a concert was
a practical necessity" demanded by
"al the peoples of the world"
For the United States to reject it,
he asserted, would "break the heart
of the world"
/: Pointing out that minor compro-
misses were necessary to secure the
support of all of the interested ma
tions, he continued:
"The treaty as a result, is not ex-
actly what we would have written.
It is probably not what any one of
the national delegations would have
written. But results were worked
out which on the whole bear the
test. l think that it will be found
that the compromises whcih were ac-
cepted as inevitable will not cut the
heart of any principle.
In disregard of precedent the Sen
ate received the address in open ses-
sion and afterward ordered that the