The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-09-06
SHALL WE QUIT?


SHALL WE QUIT?
"Our own business? Is there mer-
chant present here, or any manufac-
! turer or any banker that can say that
our interests are separate from the in
terests of the rest of the world COM
merci4lly. industrially. financiallyE
And when he draws a picture to him
self, if he is frank, of what some gen
| tlemen propose. this is what he sees;
America minding her own business. and
having no other. Despised, suspected
distrusted; and on the other side of
the water the treaty and its operation
uninterrupted? Not at all. We are a
great nation, my fellow citizens, but
the treaty is going to be applied Just
the same whether we take part in it
or not.
'~Phe reparation commission created
by the treaty was created for the pur-
pose of seeing that Germany pays the
reparation. Not only that, but some
of you gentlemen know we used to
have trade with Germany. All OF that
trade is going to be in the hands ana
under the control of the reparation
commission.
IT humbly asked leave to appoint
member to look after our interests and
was rebuked for it. I am looking
after the industrial features of the
country: 1 would like to see the others
who are. They are forgetting the IN
dustrial interests Of the United states
and are doing things that are cutting
us off and our trade off from the nor
NAL channels because the reparatlon
| commission can determine where Ger
MANY buys, what Germany buys and
how much Germany buys.
Now, is. it minding our business to
keep out of that?
'T beg that you will not conceive OF
| the league of nations as a commission
| of the world for war. for that Is ex-
actly what it is not. 1t is a combina-
| ton for world for arbitration and dis
cusson.
| "Any member of the league which
breaks these promises with regard 10
arbitration or discussion is to be deem
ed thereby to have committed an act
| of war against the other members OF
/. the league; not merely to have done
any immoral thing, but by refusing to
| obey those processes to have commit
ted an act of war.
MERELY SHUT DOORS
'And you know what then happens,
You say, yes, we form an army and go
| to fight them Not at all. We shut our
doors and lock out; we boycott them
Just so soon as that is done they cannot
ship cargoes out or receive them shipped
| in; they cannot send Geographic mes
sage; they cannot send or receive let
| ter.
| II don't think that after that it would
be necessary to do any fighting at all.
Now, that is the league of nations-an
agreement to arbitrate and discuss, and
| an agreement that if you do not arbi-
| trate and discuss you shall be absolutely
boycotted and starved out.
"And there is added to this, this very
interesting thing: There can hereafter be
no secret treaties. The provision of the
! covenant is that every treaty or inter
national understanding shall be regis
tered, L believe the word is, with the gen
eral secretary of the league; that ythe
general secretary shall publish it in full
lust as soon as it is possible for him tt
publish it; that no treaty shall be valid
Which is not thus registered.
1T was very embarrassing, my fellow
citizens, when you thought you were ap
preaching an ideal solution of a moment
Gus question to find that some of your
principal colleagues had given the whole
thing away. And that leads me to speak
just in passing of what has given a greai
many people unnatural distress. / NEAR
the Shansung settlement; the settlement
with regard to a portion of the province
of Shantung in China.
Great Britain and others, as every
body knows, in order to make it more
certain that Japan would come into the
war and so assist to clear the Pacific OF
the German fleets, had promised tina
any rights that Germany had in China
should in the case of the victory of the
allies, pass to Japan. There was NJ
qualification in the promise. She wa:
to get exactly what Germany had. Ant
so the only thing that was possible tt
induce Japan to promise-and l want tt
say in all fairness-for it wouldn't be fail
if l didn't, that japan did very hand
somely make the promises which were
required of her--that she would retain il
Shantung none of the sovereign right:
which Germany had enjoyed there, bu
would return the sovereignty without
qualifications and to retain in Shantune
province only what other nationalitie:
had elsewhere; economic rights with re.
gard to development and administration
OF the railway and of certain mines which
had become attached to the railway
That is her promise
And, personally, haven't the sightes
doubt that she will fulfill that promise
| ARTICLE TEN
Article x cuts at the very heart and
is the only instrument that will cut tC
the very heart of the old system. We
are partners with the rest of the worlt
IN respecting the territorial integrity ant
political independence of the others.
They are all under solemn bond them.
selves to respect and preserve those
things; and if they don't preserve them
if they don't respect them and preserve
Them what happens? The council of thu
I league then advises the several members
of the league what it is necessary to do
We'll, but somebody says, suppose we
are party to the quarrel [ cannot sup
pose that, because I know that the
United States is not going to disregard
the territorial integrity or political in
dependence of any other nation But they
insist on the argument What these gen