Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-10

belligerent countries were agreed
that such a league must be Gre
ated to sustain the settlements
that were to be effected. But at
first 1 think there was a feeling
among some of them that. while
it must be attempted. the forma-
ton of such a league was perhaps
counsel of perfection which
practical men. long experienced in
the world OF affairs, must agree
to very cautiously and with many
misgivings.
Feared "Scrap of Paper"
It was only as the difficult work
of arranging an all but universal
adjustment of the worlds affairs
advanced from day to day from one
stage of conference to another that
it became evident to them that
what they were seeking would be
little more than som ething written
upon paper, to be interpreted and
applied by such methods as the
chances of politics might make
available if they did not provide a
means Of common counsel which all
were obliged to accept, common
authority whose decisions would
be recognized as decisions which
all must respect
And so the most practical, the
most skeptical among them turned
more and more to the league as the
authority through which interna-
tional action was to be secured, the
authority without which, as they
had come to see it, it would be diff
ficult to give assured effect either
to this treaty or to any other inter-
national understanding upon which
they were to depend for the main
tenance Of peace. The fact that
The covenant OF tho league was tho
first substantive part Of tho treaty
to be worked out and agreed upon.
while all else was in solution,
helped to make the formulation Of
the rest easier.
Conference Not Ephemeral
The conference was after all,
not to be ephemeral The con-
cert Of nations was to continue,
under a definite covenant which
had been agreed upon and which
ALI were convinced was workable.
They could go forward. with con-
fdence to make arrangements In
tended to be permanent Tho
most practical Of the comereeS
were ut hast tho most ready to re-
fer to the leaEDe Of nations tho
which did not admit OF Immediate
determination, Of all administra-
tive problems which Ware to re-
Qufre continuing oversight What
had seemed p counsel OF perfection
had come to seem q plain counsel
Of necessity. The league of ma
tons was the practical states
mans hope Of success In many Of
the most di8cult things he was
attempting.
Not Mere 1nstrunent-
And it had validated itself In the
thought OF every member Of the
conference as something much
bigger. much greater every way.
than q mere instrument for carly
ing out the provisions Of a par
ticular treaty. It was universally
recognized that all tho peoples of
the world demanded Of the confer
once that It should create such a
osuttnuing concert Of free nations
aSwould mako w2r1 Of aggression
and spoh2t1on such ~ this that
has just ended forever impossible.
A cry had gone out from every
home In every stricken land from
which SONS and brothers and
fathers had gone forth to the great
sacrifice that such q sacrifice should
never again be enacted It was
manifest why It had been enacted
It had been exacted because one
nation desired dominion and other
nations had known no means Of
defense except 8mzmeuts and al
liancea. War had lain at the heart
Of every aEranEeu1ent of the Eu-
rope-of every arrangement Of the
worid-that precsded the war.
FESTIVE peoples had been told that
fleets and armies which they toll
ed to sustain. meant peace: and
they now knew that they had been
lied to-: that fleets and armies had
been maintained to promote ma
tional ambitions and meant wae
Old Policy, Always Force.
They knew that no old policy
meant anything else but force,
force-always force. And they
knew that 1t was intoler2ble-
Every true heart in the world. and
every enlightened Judgment de-