Norwich bulletin., 1919-07-11
PRESIDENT TELLS SENATE
 LEAGUE IS A NECESSITY
Declared Was Demanded By All the Peoples of the World Asserted That For the United States to Reject It i Would Break the Heart of the Word'-The Senate Received the President With Cheers and Listened His Words in Grave Silence

you with regard to the work of the conference by which that treaty was formulated.
 The treaty constitutes nothing less | than world settlement. It would not be possible for me either to sum marize or to construe it's manifold provisions in an address which must
 of necessity, be something less than
 a treatise. My services and all the in- formation I posses will be at your disposal and at the disposal of your committee on foreign relations at any | time, either informally in session.
 as you may prefer; and I hope that you will not hesitate to make use of them. shall at this time prior to your own study of the document at | tempt only a general characterization of it's scope and purpose.
 | In one sense, no doubt, there is no 1 need that I should report to you what was attempted and done at Paris ] You have been daily cognizant of what
 was going on thereof the problems | to deal and the difficulty of laying down straight lines of settlement any | where a field on which the old l lines of international relationship and l the new aloke, followed so intricate | a pattern and were, for the most part cut so deep by historical circumstance
 es which dominated action where it | would have been best to ignore or
 reverse them. The cross currents of l politics and of interest must have | been evident to you. It would be | presuming in me to attempt to explain i the questions which arose or the many diverse elements that entered into them. I shall attempt something less ambitious than that the more clear ly suggested by my duty to report to the congress the part it seemed nec- l essary for my colleagues and me to play as the representatives of the gov ernment of the United States.
 The part was dictated by the role America had played in the war and by the expecta tions that had been ere ated in the minds of the peoples with whom we had associated ourselves in | that great struggle.
 Why We Entered the War The United States entered the war upon different footing from every other nation except our associates on this side of the sea. We entered it. not because our material interests l
 Were directly threatened or because any special treaty obligation to which |
 we were parties had been violated 1
 but only because we saw the supren- acy, and even the validity or right everywhere put in jeopardy and free government likely to be everywhere mperifed by the intolerable aggression l of. power which respected neither i
 system of government f1outed the ] rights of the citizens as against the autocratic authority of his governors l And in the settlements of the peace we have sought no special reparation for ourselves but only the restoration VI A1SH dIu luo assurance or liberty 1 everywhere that the effects of the 1 settlement were to be felt We entered the war as the disinterested cham pions of right and we interested our selves in the terms of the peace in no |
 other capacity.
 Nations Were Totterins.
 The hopes of the nations allied | against the central powers were at a 1 very low ebb when our soldiers be- | gan to pour across the sea. There | cept in their stoutest spirits a sombre foreboding of disaster. The war end | ed in November, eight months ago but | you have only to recall what was months before the armistice, to real ize what it was that our timely aid accomplished alike for their morale | and their physical safety. That first Chateau Thierry had already taken place. Our redoubta ble soldiers and l marines had already closed the gap the enemy had succeeded in opening already turned the tide of battle back towards the frontiers of France, and begun the routs that was to save Europe and the world. Thereafter back back-were never to thrust sue cessfully forward again.
 France Had Lost Heart
 .: And yet there was no confde-t nope Anxious men and women, lc ing spirits of France. attended t-e celebration of the Fourth of July last year in Paris out of generous courte~v with no heart for ,festivity, little : TOT hope But they came away wlcn something new at their hearts. They have-themselves told us so. The mere sight of our men-of their vigor Of the confidence that showed itself in every movement of their stalwart figures and every turn of their swing n 1ajr Sfn hending eyes and easy discipline, in their indomitable air that added spirit to everything they did-made every one who saw them that memora ble day realize that something had hap- pened that was much more than - mere incident in the fighting, some thing very different from the mere ar rival of fresh troops. A great moral force had flung itself into the strug- gle The fine physical force of those spirited men spoke of something more great ideals of a free people in their hearts and with that vision were un- conquerable. Their very presence brought reassurance, their fighting made victory certain.
 They were recognized as crusaders and as their thousands swelled to millions. their strength was seen to mean salvation And they were fit men to carry such a hope and make good the assurance it forecast Finer men never went into battle; and their of hcers were worthy of them.
 Praise For U. S. Troops.
 This is not the occasion upon which to utter a eulogy. of the armies Amer ica sent to France. but perhaps since am speaking of their mission I may speak also of the pride I shared with every American who saw or dealt with them there. They were the sort of men America would wish to be rep by. the sort of men every American would wish to claim as feI- low c0untrVIn6n and 6nS in . 1 , great cause. They were terrible in battle and gentle and helpful out of it. remembering, the mothers and the the wives and the little chil- 1 dren at home. They were free men under arms. not forgetting. their ideals of duty in the midst of tasks of vio- fence. I am proud to have had the privilege of being associated with
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