The Tomahawk., 1919-07-17
son SPEAKS
BEF0RE SENATE
Says League of Free Nations Is
cticaI Nee cessity to Assure
Future of World.
AMERICA I FRIEND IT ALL

Moral Leadershlp Of World Offered to
United States and Question Shall
We Accept or Reject It-Amsr-
lea Made Victory Certain.
Washington July ollowing -is
Il President Wilson's address before the
United States senate:
Gentlemen Of the Senate: The
treaty Of peace with Germany was
signed at Versailles on the. 28th Of
/ June. I avail myself Of the earliest
opportunity to- lay the treaty before
you for ratification and to inform you
with regard to the work of the con
ference by which the treaty, was form
ulated. s5 II $!@.,a5. !, 4 5,;3% t$li5 z
The treaty constitutes nothing less
i than world settlement. It would not
be possible for me. either to sum
marize or to construe its manifold pro
I visions in an address which must Of
necessity be something less than q
treatise. &
MY services and all the information
possess will be at your disposal and
at the disposal of your committee on
foreign relations at any time, either In
formally or in session, as you may pre-
Il fer, and i hope that you will not hesi-
tate to make use of them. shall at
this time, prior to your own study Of
B the document, attempt only general
/ characterization of It's scope and pur-
pose. Il.
"tiistoricai circumstances" Control.
In one sense, no doubt, there is no
need that I should report to you what
was attempted and done at Paris. You
have been daily cognizant Of what was
going on there eof the problems with
which the peace conference had to
4 deal and of the difaculty of laying
down straight lines Of settlement any
where on field on which the old lines
4 Of international relationship. and the
1 new, alike, followed SO intricate q pat
tern and were for the most part cut
, so deep by historical circumstances.
which dominated action where it
would have been best to ignore or re-
4 verse them. The cross-currents OF
politics and of interest must have been
evident to you. It would be presum-
ing In me to attempt to explain the
I questions which arose or the many d.
verse elements which entered into
them. shall attempt something less
ambitious than that and more clearly
4 suggested by my duty to report to the
congress the part It seemed necessary
for my colleagues and me to play, as
I. the representatives Of the government
1 5of the United States, .f Z.
American Role Determined. R.
That part was dictated by the role
America had played In the war and by
the expectations that had been Gre
ated In the minds of the peoples with
whom we had associated ourselves In
/ that great struggle. 3l. ~
q The United States entered the war
upon different footing from every
other nation except our associates on
this side the sea. We entered 1t, not
because our material interests were
directly threatened or because any
special treaty obligations to which we
were parties had been violated, but
only because. we saw the supremacy
and even the validity. Of right every
4 where put in jeopardy and free gov.
ernment likely to be everywhere i'm
I periled by the intolerable aggression
OF power which respected neither
right nor obligation and whose very
! system of government houted the
rights Of the citizens as against the
autocratic authority Of his governors
\ And In the settlements Of the peace
I; we have sought no special reparation
for ourselves, but only the restoration
Of right and the assurance Of liberty
everywhere that the effects OF the
Y settlement were to be felt.
u. .. Champion OF Risht.
e. We entered the war rs the disinter
ested champions Of right and we In
4 terested ourselves in the terms Of the
peace In no other capacity.
The hopes Of the nations allied
against the Central Powers we're ct Z
very low ebb when our soldiers began
to pour across the sea. There was
everywhere amongst them, except II
their stoutest spirits, somber fore
! boding Of disaster. The war ended n
November, eight months ago, but you
have only to recall what was feared
IN midsummer last, four short months
before the armistice, 20 realize what
It was that our timely aid accom-
plished alike for their morale and
& their physical safety.
That first, never to be forgotten &C
tion ut Chateau Thierry, had already
taken place. Our red0ubtable soldiera
!. and marines had already closed thu