Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-03-06
WILSON DEFENDS
LEAGUE CEARTER
continued from pagc oncJ


professcd to make her own lay in the
direct path that she intended to tread
And now what has happened? The
Austro-llungarian empire has gone to
pieces and the Turkish empire has dis
appeared. and the nations that effected
that great rcsut-for it was u result of
'iberationaro now responsible as the
trustees of the assets of those great
nations. You not only would have weak
nations lying IN this path but you would
have nations i'm which that old poisonous
seed of intrigue could be planted with the
certainty that the crop would he
ahundant and one of the things that the
League of Nations is intended to watch
is the course of intrigue. Intrigue can
not stand publicity, and if the League of
Nations were nothing but a great debat-
ing society it would kill intrigue.
1T is one of the agreements of this
covenant that it is the friendly right of
every nation a member of the league
to call attention to anything that it
thinks will disturb the peace of the world,
no matter where that thing is occurring.
There IS no subject that may touch
the peace of the world which Is exempt
from inquiry and discussion, and ] think
everybody here present will agree with
me that Germany would never have gone
to war II she had permitted the world
20 discuss the aggression upon Serbia
for single week
THE British foreign office suggested.
1t pleaded that there might be a day or
two delay so that the representatives
of the nations of Europe could get to-
gether and discuss the possibilities of a
settlement. Germany did not dare per-
init a days discussion You know what
happened. So soon as the world realized
that an outlaw was at largo. the nations
began one by one 20 draw together
against her
NOTICE TO OUTLAW NATIONS
I'VE know for Il certainty that if Ger
many had thought for a moment that
Great Britain would go in with France
and with Russia she never would have
undertaken the enterprise, and the league
of natiN1; is meant as notice to all
outlaw nations that not only Great
Britain, but the United States and the
rest of the world will go in to stop en-
serrrises Of that sort so the league
Of nations is nothing more nor less than
The covenant that the world will always
maintain the standards which it has
now indicated to some Of the most
precious blood ever split.
The liberated peoples of The Austro-
Hungarian empire and of the Turkish
empire call out to us for this thing. 1t
has not arisen in the council of states
men. Europe is bit sick at heart at
this very moment. because it sees that
statesmen have had no vision, and that
the only vision has been the vision of
the people. Those who suffer see
Those against whom wrong is wrought
hpu 1,g ira IL, 10.
righteous.
The nations that have long been under
the heel Of the Austrian. that have long
covered before the German. that have
long suffered the ndescribable agonies
Of being governed by the Turk, have
called OUT to the world, generation after
generation, for Justice for liberation, for
succor; ana no ""iinet in the world has
heard them.
Private organizations. plying hearts
philanthropc men and women have
poured OUT their treasure in order to
relieve These sufrorings; but no nation
has said 10 the nations responsible You
must stop; this thing is intolerable. and
we Will not permit it, And the vision
has been with the people.
My friends ! wish YOU would reflect
upon this proposition. The vision as to
what Is necessary for great reforms has
seldom come from the top in the nations
of the world. 1t has come from the need
and the aspiration and the self-assertion
of great bodies of men who meant to be
free And ! can explain some of the
criticisms which have been leveled against
this great enterprise only by the sup
position that the men who utter the
criticism have never felt the great pulse
of the heart of the world.
And | am .amazed--not alarmed but
amazed that there should be in some
quarters such a comprehensive ignorance
of the state of the world. These gentle
men do not know what the mind of men
is just now Everybody else does do
not know where they have been closeted :;
] do not know by what Influences they
have been blinded; but | do know that
they have separated from the general
currents of the thoughts of mankind
And | want to utter this solemn warn
ing, not in the way of threat; the forces
of the world do not threaten, they oper-
ate. The great tides of the world do not
give notice that they are going to rise and
run; they rise in their majesty and over
whelm might and those who stand in
the way are overwhelmed. Now the heart
of the world is awake, and the heart Of
the world must be satisfied
''Do not let yourself suppose for a mo-
ment that the uneas.ness in the popula-
tons Of Europe is due entirely to eco
monte Causes or economic motives. Some
thing very much deeper underlies it all
than that.
''They see that their governments have
never been able to defend them against in
trigue or aggression, and that there is no
force or foresight or of prudence in any
modern cabinet to stop war and therefore
they say: There must be some funda-
mental cause for this and the fundamen-
tai cause they are beginning to perceive
to be that nations have stood singly or
in little jealous groups against each other,
fostering prejudices, increasing the dan
ger of war, rather than concerning meas
ures to prevent it, and that if there Is
right in the world, if there is justice In
the world there is no reason why nations
should be divided in the support of justise.
"They are therefore saying IL you
really believe that there is right
If you really believe that wars ought
to be stopped. stop thinking about the
rival interests of nations, and think
about men and women and children
throughout the world.
Nations are not made to afford dis
tinction to their rulers by way OF sue
cess in the manoeuVres of politics;
nations are meant. if they are meant
for anything, to make the men and
women and children in them secure
and happy and prosperous. and no
nation has the right to set up its