Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1919-07-16
NECESSITY OF A
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Should Eliminate War in Ninety
Nine Out of One Hundred
Cases.

I wish to maintain the proposition
that a League of Nations is not only
desiralle but an absolute necessity
and fer three reasons, any one of
which would be sufficient to justify
that phrase.
First, it is a necessity for winding
up the war. We must not forget that
this war has unsettled almost every
thing; has destroyed nations, and
has created new nations on paper,
such as Finland, Poland CZecho Slo-
vakia, Jugo- Slavia, the Ukraine ,and
the Balkan States and some semi
independent bodies ike Armenia, the
Caucasus, and Palestine. These small
states will be even more at the mercy
of the great states than Belgium was,
if we do not guarantee in some way
their independence.
Then there are the great problems
of the landlocked countries, which
must have an outlet to the sea, and OF
certain international areas, like the
Bosphorus, which must be admins
tered by league of nations. Then
there are the German Colonies, which
need for obvious reasons, to be ad-
ministered internationally.
Finally, as Mr.. Taft predicted, this
peace treaty is as long as the moral
law. 1t will require Interpretation,
and it will require enforcement, for
both of which we need league of
nations.
Secondly, we need it in order to
stitutcd a veritable curse even in
times of peace, competitive arma-
| ments.
International cut-throat competition
in armies and navies leaves the ma
tions In he end in substantially the
sane relative positions as in the be-
| ginning. Yet we must each in self
delnuA-- keep ur in this race. To Eu-
rope this will mean economic ruin; to
us, high taxes.
There are business men who are
| fighting shy of the idea of a league
of nations with the thought that it is
going to unsettle trade internationally
afraid, perhaps, that the tariff will
be disturbed in some way. But any
possible gain that could be had by
maintaining the status quo would be
cancelled many times over by the loss
from the taxes-enormously high
which would be required to keep up
our end in this international compe-
tition in ornaments. Our own coun-
try, in spite of it's wealth, would be
reduced a long way toward poverty
This world would be scarcely fit to
live in.
We have reached the parting of the
ways as to our policy on armaments
Either we must compete with the rest
of the world, or combine with the
rest of the world.
The third and most important rea-
son for league is to prevent the re-
currence of a world war.
A league should eliminate war in
80 out of 100 cases, because it af-
fords another way than war to settle
the inevitable disputes. A collective
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