The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-05

can be settled upon an ideal basis.
Well, l never came into intimate
contact with them before, but II
they used to be that way they are
not that way now. They have
been subdued. II that was once
their temper. by the awful sig
nihcance of recent events and the
awful Importance of what Is to
ensue; and there Is not one of
them with whom l have come in
contact who does not feel that he
cannot in conscience return to his
people from Paris unless he has
done his utmost to do something
more than attach his name to @
treaty OF peace.
See League Is vital.
Every man in that conference
knows that the treaty of peace In
itself will he imperative, as Mr..
Taft has said, without this constant
support and energy Of a great
organization such as Is supplied by
the League OF Nations.
And men who when I first went
over there were sceptical Of the
possibility of forming a League of
Nations admitted that II we could
but form 1t, II would be an in
valuable fundamentally through
which to secure the operation Of
the various parts Of the treaty; and
when that treaty comes back gen.
tlemen on this side will find the
covenant not only in It, but so
many threads of the treaty tied to
the covenant that you cannot dis
sect the covenant from the treaty
without destroying the whole vital
structure. The structure of peace
will not be vital without the League
OF Nations, and no man is going to
bring back a cadaver with him.
1 must say that 1 have been pug
zled by some of the criticisms-not
by the criticisms themselves;
can understand them perfectly,
even when there was no foundation
for them; but the fact OF the criti-
cism. 1 cannot imagine how these
gentlemen can live and not live in
the atmosphere of the world.
l cannot imagine how they can
live and not be in contact with the
events OF their times, and l par
ticularly cannot imagine how they
can be Americans and set I'D a doc
trine of careful selfishness thought
out to the last detail.
Criticisms Lack Generosity.
1 have heard no counsel of gem
crosby In their criticism. / have
heard no constructive suggestion.
have heard nothing except will
IT not be dangerous to us to help
the world" 1t would be fatal to
US not to help 1t.
From being what will venture
to call the most famous and the
most powerful nation in the world
we would OF sudden have become
the most contemplate. So, / did
not need to be told, as have been
told. that the people Of the United
States would support this covenant.
am an American and l knew they
would.
What a sweet revenge it Is upon
the world. They laughed at us
once. they thought We did not mean
our professions Of principle. They
thought SO until April OF 1917. 1t
was hardly credible to them that
We would do more than send a few
men over and go through the forms
OF helping. and when they saw null
titudes Fastening across the sea,
and saw what those multitudes
were eager to do when they got to
the other side they stood at amaze
and said, THE thing is real. this
nation Is the friend of mankind. as
II said IT was"
Tho enthusiasm. the hope. the
trust. the confidence in the future
bred by that change OF view is in
descr!bable. Take an individual
American and you may often find
him selfish and confined TO his
special interests; but take the
American in the mass and he Is
willing to die for an idea.
The sweet revenge, therefore, Is
this, that we believed in righteous
ness. and now We are ready to
make the supreme sacrifice for II.
the supreme sacrifice Of throwing
In our fortunes with the fortunes
VI hl. 2alS " an
speaking OF Washington's utter
ence about entangling alliances,
and IL he will permit me to say so.
he put the exactly right interpreta-
ton upon what Washington said,
the Interpretation that Is inevitable
II you read what he said, as most
of these gentlemen do not.
Explanations Needless.
The only place a man, can feel at
home is where nothing has to be
explained to him. Nothing has to be
explained to me in America, least
OF all the sentiment Of the Ameri-
can people. l mean about great
fundamen tal things like this.