Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1919-02-16
France, More Than Any
Other Country, Satisfied
With League Plans.
TEXT IS NOT FINAL;
BUT HONEST EFFORT
Must Be Presented to World for De-
Liberation and Final
Adoption.

Paris, Feb. l5.-In presenting the
views Of France regarding the COW
enant of the league of nations at yes
terday's plenary session of the peace
conference, Leon Bourgeois, French
representative on the commission
which framed the covenant spoke as
follows
81 rise to express the deep salts
faction of all, and of France more
than any one country, because she is
among the countries who have most
suffered to see unity Of our wills and
of our hearts in passionate ad-
hesion to the principles of the league
of nations. That act of faith we
shall do in spirit Of cordiality and
good will that has been that Of the
committee. Under the eminent chair
manship of President Wilson the COM
mittee has worked with all their
hearts to attain this great object.
Lord Robert Cecil has said we
now present to the conference and
to the world the result of our work,
but we do not present it as some
thing that is final, but only as the
result of an honest effort, to be dis
by the conference, but the public
opinion of the world.
Present TO World.
eve are unanimous IN our opinion
that this scheme must be presented
to the world, as it resulted from our
deliberations. We must preserve the
character of unanimity which it's
it's note has given il. We still retain
our rights when further discussion
takes place to state more definitely
our views on some details. Sign0r
Orlando has said how difficult 1t
seemed at the beginning to conciliate
two apparently contradictory princi-
ple1-that of the sovereignty of ma
tons, and that of the limitations that
nations must accept in order to secure
the reign of right and justice. That
Cancellation has taken place without
effort and we have demonstrated
movement, as Signor Orlando said, by :
walking.
eve rise to prevent the renewal Of
war like that which we have just
seen. We rise to the appeal Of all
those who have fallen to spare their
offsprings the renewal of such an
ordeal. We are persuaded that no
war in the future can be limited to
small area. The interdependencA of
the different parts and different in
terests of the world has become such
that no conflict can be limited. It
is that the whole world may keep it.
Self from danger that we today have
ordained that right and justice must
be the basis of settlement in all the
conferences In the view of just peo-
pie, there are no small and no great
states. All are and will be equal
before the principle of international
justice, and in the tribunal that will
give the decisions the judges will sit,
not as the representatives of one par
ticular nation, but as the representa-
tives of international right.
Pledge Integrity.
"This is a principle to which we
are particularly attached. All the
states, in consentihg to submit to in
ternational justice take at the same
time definite pledge to guarantee to
each other the integrity, Of their ter
ritories as established by the settle
ment of the present peace treaty, and
also to guarantee their political in
dependence against future aggres-
sion. This is the object Of our
scheme. l hope the means which are
suggested by it will allow us to at
tain our object.
1--WE have established certain
number of judicial principles and in
ternational organizations binding the
states together, binding them to a
common work and binding them to
the truce without which their COM
mon DEVELOPMENT would be impOSsi-
BILE. These organizations, the crea-
tions, for which in the last article Of
the covenant are similar to some
which have existed already, but which
were scattered through various parts
of the world and which had never
been brought together to form part Of
the common body of humanity. The
foundation is laid and we are GER
tain that the organizations will be
multiplied and will help humanity
more and more to attain its common
aims
Provided for Possibility.
"And, supposing that there is on the
part of the aggressor will to pre-
cipitate situation, then we must pro
vide for the possibility. For this
purpose it would be desirable to have
II the means or resistenc3 studied. ana
concerted action prepared before the
OCCASION arises. This would Be the
best check against any ill-desixn.
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