Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-09-05
Tells Large Crowd in Indian
apoIis Thursday Night That
League of Nations Will Make
All Wars Impossible.
FIRST SPEECH MADE
IN COLUMBUS, OHIO
Says Men in Khaki Will Never
Have to Cross Seas Again
When Treaty With Ger
many Is Accepted.

Associated Press.)-"Put up or shut
up," was the advice given opponents
of the league of nations by Presi-
dent Wilson here tonight in the sec
ond address of his 10000 mile
tour of the United States. "lf
the critics of the league have some
thing better to suggest" said the
president, II hope they will hold
their convention and do it now.
He said the league opponents
could not hope to defeat the pro-
gram except by offering something
better.
The economic and arbitration sec
tions of the covenant, he asserted,
would keep war on the outskirts
and make it only "last resort"
Opponents of the league of ma
tions, he said, had discussed only
three out of twenty-slx articles OF
the covenant. The articles which
would make war improbable had
been overlooked.
Calling on opponents of the
league of nations to present bet
ter program" for peace, President
Wilson declared it is case of put
up or shut up.
The president said his speaking
trip was partly to point out how
absolutely ignorant of the con-
tents of the covenant some of those
were who opposed the league.
IF they read the English Ian
guage at ALL" he said they do not
understand it as | do"
The president said he wanted to
forget and wanted the people to
forget that they were republicans
or democrats.
An American First.
81 am an American" he declared,
"and champion of the rights which
America believes in"
At this the crowd cheered and
there was another outburst of cheer
ing when he declared he had mot
the slightest doubt" what the ver-
dict of the people would be.
Some delegations, he said, came
to the Paris conferences with
causes which were not considered
properly within the scope of the
peace conference. In that connec-
ton, he pointed out, that under Ar
ticle II any threat of war could
be investigated by the league.
AT present." he said, I'VE have
to mind our own business. but un-
der the covenant and the league we
can mind other peoples business" ."
Refers to Ireland.
There wasn't an oppressed people
anywhere. he said, that could not
get attention for its case under the
league. He did not mention any
oppressed people by name. but
many of his hearers remarked that
they thought he spoke of the case
of Ireland.
Referring to the Shantung settle
ment the president pointed out that
Japan repeatedly had promised to
return the peninsula to China. He
did not go into the subject at
length, however, but mentioned it
in emphasizing that the covenant
would refuse to recognize the
validity of secret treaties.
The president said he could look
the mothers of the country in the
face proudly because he had kept
his promise to do all he could to
prevent any more war.
This league" he said, rs the only
conceivable arrangement which will
prevent our sending our men abroad
again very soon."
When Gov. James P. Goodrich
mentioned that the meeting was to
hear the president, the crowd
cheered for several minutes and the
governor could only stop them by
presenting Mr.. Wilson.
1t was 10 minutes before the
crowd was quieted, and the presi-
dent proceeded. He traced the in
cidents from which the great war
started, saying the significant cir
cumstance was that Austria and
Germany did not dare to discuss"
the demands made on Serbia. 1t
generally was admitted abroad, he
asserted, that if there had been dis
cussion there would have been no
war.
Poland Given Unity.
Explaining how the treaty freed
many small peoples, the president
said that Poland, for example, had
been given "a unity she could not
have won and an independence she
cannot maintain" without aid from
the great powers.
The presidents speech here was
interrupted several times by noise in
the rear of the great elliptical enclos-
ure. Mr.. Wilson's voice did not
Continued on Page IA, Column u