The daily Alaska citizen., 1919-09-02
\ PARALLEL. TO LEAGUE RATIFI-
 CATION
CAT ION
Christian Science NOnitOr)


 Any American citizen who is consclen' tiouSv in doubt as to whether the league o1 nations covenant ought to be ratified by the United States can hardly be recommended tc a more illmnatiyc bit of reading than those Dagcs of history which cover the period II United States affairs when the several state> were in process of ratifying the federal con stitution. If the doubts and fears the hopes and the faiths, of one political situation were ever closely paraIIeIed by those oI another widely scparatcd from the first ill point of time those of the trying days when the con- stitution was pending before the thirteen or ioinal states now have their striking counter part in the doubts, fears, hopes faiths, ot the Nation as it faces the question of rautyn@ the Ieaoue of nations covenant. And just as the states rose over their mis&ivings in those days finding a way in which to raUty and yet tc provide for desired changes, so today 1t m@h1 be aroucd that misQilings of exactly similar nature, though of wider range, are going tc be overcome by the Nation Now, as then, Ii there is anything in the historical argument the alternative to ratification is the force that will ultimately lead the Nation to ratty.
 In those days when the constitution was hanging in the balance, the State ot NasSa- chnsctts offered the parallel to the Nation II this present question of the league of nations If Massachusetts should refuse to ratliy, 1t was generally felt that an effective fedora nnion would be impossible. Yet Massachusetts was intensely devoted to the idea o1 the 1n- dependent rights of the state Its people felt ;t to be important that they should manage their own affairs, instead of having these man aged bv other people, To Massachusetts lolK therefore, the new constitution seemed to dele' gate too much power to a governing Dody nee essarilv remote from most ot its constituents thus opening the way to some sort o1 tyranny It was feared that the congress eStaoI1SIle' under the constitution might contr1Ne to per Detuate itself: 1t was assumed tIlal DeC"uSe the vay would be open to abuse Ot the federa mower the federal power would never be pro- rer1, used. it was asserted that the wealthy r,ocsac framed the constitution and would use if ae a means of exploiting their poorer leI- lows. On the other hand, some ol the D'oa" CT views advanced were to the effect lhal tI!' constitution offered orderly government, II n1ace of the anarchy of ShayS1Sm thru Wil1C the state had been passing; that It Would o' better to make trial of such benefits as the constitution provided than to suffer the cor tinuance of the evils incurred thru us lacN that while the wealthy might ind thelr III terests subserved by the constitution tI'e'' poorer fellows would benefit Tn exactly tl'' same way, if not in the same degree
 How the Massachusetts dec1Slon was lo"s held in the balance how popular meetings out side were employed to influence It, no" charqes of corruption were banded about told bv Iohn Fiske in pages ot h1s Or'''ca Period of American History that might, "'t' 2 few nominal changes almost be nnaue u aDD1v to the discussions ot the great cover ant now pending The parallelism IS perhaps most clear, however, in those words Tn winch at the crisis, Washington Suddenly threw himself into the breach with that mtall1ble judgment of his which always saw the way tc victorv," and conjured up vision o1 the al formative. "If another federal convention Is attempted" he said according to Fiske's ac- count, "its members will be more dlscordant and will agree upon no general plan The constitution is the best that can be obtained at