The diamond drill., 1919-04-26
The Worlds Next Step
NO. .
Nations
BY CLARENCE L. SPEED

1
shown IL has no desire 10 oppress the
weak or rob It's neighbors. there should
be any opposition at all 10 league OF
nations designed TO prevent others
from doing the things which the over
whelming majority OF US recognize as
wrong.
The honest. law-abiding citizen does
not object 10 state or national laws
against murder or theft because he
thinks that at some time he might be
sufficiently enraged or be reduced TO
such poverty as 10 desire 10 commit
these crimes. Instead he lends his In
nuence toward having laws passed
which Will provide restraint for the
murderer and give care to the poverty
stricken.
Yet we find people even in the
1 United States asking such questions
as, Are we going 10 permit anybody
10 tell us when we can or cannot go
4 20 war 90 protect our rights?" or Are
/ we going 10 send our troops across
the ocean 10 die In Europe or Asia at
the behest OF some power superior
10 our government"
This is national vanity, pure and
simple. We are going 10 do just those
things whether we want TO or not. We
have just got through sending our
| troops 10 Europe 10 die In war that
| we did not want IL was forced on us
against our Will by Germany. Our men
died and our treasure was expended TO
an extent wholly unnecessary just be-
cause 1--WE minded our own business"
or sat around acting. as we fondly
Imagined, on our own initiative. AS
a result we went 10 war when our
enemy was ready and we were not,
and we sacrificed thousands OF lives
and billions of dollars which might
have been saved had there been any
thing like league OF nations In ex-
istence In 1914.
Let's go back TO the outbreak OF the
European war and study that little.
Germany was in direct alliance with
| Austria and Italy. England, France
and Russia had an understanding"
Germany wanted war. She thought
the time had come when she could risk
battle with France and Russia at the
same time. She knew Austria was
with her and thought Italy was safely
on her side. Her diplomats told her
that England would not fight. She
did not dream that the struggle would
even last long enough to drag the
United States into II. japan, Canada.
China, Australia, Greece, Brazil she
discounted. Serbia and Belgium she
ignored. II seemed quite certain TO
the Germans that they could accom-
pllsh their purpose.
Now suppose there had been I'm ex-
istence at that time league OF ma
tions. Assume, for the sake OF argu-
ment, that Germany had corrupted
Austria 10 the point where she knew
that Austria would be with her. But
suppose Germany had known that
England. the United States, Italy Ja-
pan, Brazil and China and all the
other nations would have taken sides
against her. not one by one but all at
once and with all their power. do you
think for Il moment that Germany
would have dared 10 start the world
war?
And suppose again that Germany
had been insane enough 20 start n war,
even knowing that all the world might
come I'm. don't you think that the
United States, II IL had been a mem
Der of the league OF nations. and with
the approval of that body had voun-
tarlly joined In the war the day the
German troops crossed the Belgian
frontier would have saved thousands
of American lives and billions OF
American dollars by its prompt CO
operation?
What hope would Germany have
had II all the nations which finally
were dragged In against her one at n
time had combined on the first day
10 coerce her into behaving like a civil
lized state? The war would probably
have been over I'm four months instead
OF four years.
And though we got from this league
of our own creation a summons 10 at
tack Germany the first day she mis-
ntilhNtus huu Nouplltu Win IT. we
would have been acting with just as
much freedom OF action as we finally
did. We had to go TO war whether we
wanted 20 or not. We could not pro-
tect our legitimate interests nor could |
we keep our self-respect and stay out. |
And when that international commii-
nifty Is one that we ourselves hate !
helped 10 create and that is doing our |
will. why should We want 60 refuse
It's summons?
You will hardly find patriotic
American citizen today who regrets |
that we entered the war. In spite OF |
all II cost. You will find thousands |
upon thousands who regret that we
did not enter sooner. And yet at the |
SHINE time YOU will find thousands Of
misiotic Americnns-many who think |
slirg are ilic most patriotic nf ALL
who cannot abide the idea that there
should be any organization higher than
.our tvw tsuYernmpnt which could foil /