Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-01-05
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS--
WHAT 1T REALLY. MEANS
BY JOSIAH f. REED.

If Mr.. Taft feels that it is matter
of good faith for us to stick by Will
sons fourteen points now that they
have been accepted with certain
modifications) as a basis for the arm
istics, it is equally clear that Senator
Lodge does not feel that way about it
at all. He assumes that we are not
bound in any way by the fourteen
points, and has come out flatly in
favor of an alliance ms, cad of league
of nations. Lodge holds that since the
senate shares the treaty making re-
sponsibiity with the president, the
president can not commit the senate
in advance to any peace settlement.
Now, of course, it would be very
easy to praise Taft for his broad
craftsmanship and accuse Lodge OF
playing party politics. There may lie
some who feel that Lodge is more
anxious to discredit Wilson's view than
to advance his own. But, such ideas
are themselves narrow and partison
Let us rather assume that Lodge has
come honestly to different conclus-
ion from Wilson and Taft. Certainly
his brilliant mind and long experience
enable him to a fair hearing. Let me
quote from Lodge today
I'VE must not lose In the terms of
peace the fruits of the great victory
which the armies of the allies and of
the United States have won. A heavy
responsibility, therefore, rests upon
everyone who is to have any part, no
matter how small, in the making of
peace.
The questions involving peace with
Germany and he settlement of the
questions growing out of the peace,
without which it cannot be establish
ed, are in themselves almost appalling
in their difficulty and in their magni-
tude.
las one of the greatest and most
powerful of the civilized nations, if we
are to have a lasting peace now we
cannot avoid the problems which the
war has bequeathed us.
I'VE went to war to save civiiza-
ton We cannot halt or turn back
now. We must do our share to carry
out the peace as we have done our
share to win tive war of which the
peace is an integral part"
The above quotations are taken
from Lodges speech before the senate
onNDecember 2lst. These axe ringing
y
patriotic American. Senator Lodge
recognizes. as everyone must, that It'll
is not sufficient to have won the war
We must not seek to escape the re-
sponsibilities the war has brought us
But instead of urging q league of
nations as the logical instrument to-
enforce justice and carry out the
terms of the peace, Lodge would car
ry over our present alliance, leaving
the question of the league to be set
tied if at all at some future date To
quote again:
at is the duty of/the allies and the
United States to meet and determine
what terms they will impose upon Ger
many But making peace by inn
posing the terms which we think prop
err upon Germany is only half theI
work which at this moment must be
done. The peace must not ouly bel
made and agreed to, hut it must be |
effective. Nothing can be ac-
complished unless we work in COM
plete harmony with those who are as
ISOLATED with us in the war against
the central powers. To attempt I'M
any way to separate us from our al |.
lies now or to prevent unity of action
is as harmful as such efforts We're
when we were fighting in northern!
France and on the plains of Flanders" |
Senator Lodge sees clearly enough |
that to arrange terms of peace is only |
preliminary. There must be some
way for carrying out those terms. And !
If we pause to make IA league of ma
tons, he thinks we are certain to de-
lay peace and may even introduce dis |
union in the ranks of the allied ma |
tons. And quote again:
could anything be more unwise
than to introduce subjects which may
lead to division among the nations
which have conquered Germany, and
retard the settlement of all the diff
culties to which this war has given
rise?"
I'VE all are equally DESTROYS to pre-
vent the recurrence Of wars. We all !
are deeply in sympathy with the pur-
poses which the words League of ma
tons are supposed to imply. But we
ought to be extremely careful that in
our efforts to reach the millennium of
and eternal peace We do rot
create a system which will breed dis
sensionS and wars !
The obvious answer to this is that
it is because the old system has bred
so many dissensons and wars and !
worked so much injustice that we are
talking of a league of nations at all. |
The league of nations could hardly
make matters worse
But, leaving that and leaving the
fact that neutral opinion is over
whelmngly in favor of league as
more likely to prevent war and do JUS