The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-10-04
THE CAUSE OF WARS.


treaties Of peace and is about put forth two more
demonstrating 70 tie world the fatal character Of the
departures from right and justice which the allies have
made war is developing in the Adriatc which threat
ems to involve the United States-the United States
nation whose very existence has been perpetuated by
avoidance of Old World complications. Another il
brewing in the Orient which also threatens to involve
the United States. third war; of stupendous portent
is growing of the failure of the allies to the
Russian people from the grasp of Germany. This wal
will, of course involve the United States.
The root of the failure at Paris goes down to the in
ected soil of secret diplomacy When the statesmen
sembling at Paris began their secret bargaining they
threw away the victory over Germany. That fact il
beginning to appear in naked and terrible outlines
people after people become involved nthe bros re
sutng from failure and injustice at Paris The stranges
figure of all is the United States nation that
with other nations always open book and whose
treaties always submitted the Senate and made
public Now, through processes which the people d.
not understand the United States involved in Russia
in the Adriatc, in China and in Africa with prospec
whatever of withdrawal before the shedding of the bloo
of Americans in strange quarrels.
The supreme council at Paris charged with tn
duty of making effective peace by imposing its owl
terms upon poweress enemy. The council had tn
worlds triumphant power concentrated in its hands,
held the power of life and death nations. 1t wa
restrained by instructions for was composed of tn
md who oriuinatnd instructions no
amenable any written constitution 1t made its rule
as it went along 1t defined its limitations ant
laid down it's own principles of action. AS creator
greater than its creature the conference create
than League of Nations.
Yet when the test came this all-powerful body prove
feared the peoples and presumed to itself above then
in wisdom and virtue 1t dared not submit to the people
of the world daily complete record of its doings be
cause those dongs would bear the light truth ant
justice Those doings consisted of bargainingk ovel
secret treaties made before and during the war; which
chattes, exactly President Wilson declared woult
never be tolerated again.
In the Of this bargaining all the victorious pow
became involved the United States included Thus
secret treaty required the powers to sanction the mutt
aon of one of their allies Lacking the courage
to trampe down that infamous secret bargain the con
ference accepted it. and for all time wrote itself down
the betayer of China Lacking the courage to 60 forth
and befriend the Russian people, who had suffered 6E
per cent of the death losses of the allies the conference
actually proposed to meet the slayers of Russia with
view to making such peace with them as would leave
them in control of their spoils. Confronted with diem
ma arising from effort to reconcile two irreconcabt
peace points," the conference denied to Italians the
right to live under the Italian flag Finally overwhelmed
by problems caused by the conflict between Justice anC
secret treaties the conference dumped dozen incipen
wars into an article of the peace treaty by providing
that League of Nations should become sovereign over
territory conquered from Germany Turkey Austria anc
Bulgaria The nations anxious gain control over these
enemy territories now beginning the process which
ends in war;
Europes policy of saying one thing and doing another
IS Europe's If Europe wishes to talk of open
diplomacy and continue the practice of making secret
treaties let Europe do If Europe has made secret
treaties intended to offset the provisions of the proposed
League of Nations, there is no means whereby Ameri-
cans can even know of the act much less prevent it.
But Americans can keep the United States out of the
mtrgues, bros enmtes and resulting from secret
bargains if they wish to do so.-Washngton Post
II RE