Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-16

cure the Shantung peninsula in
China for Japan in return for some
islands England coveted in the south
ern Pacific. This dirty deal has
ference, and thus we have two sup
porters of the league proposition
not only conniving for the sharing
of enemy territory, but actually plot
ting successfully the carving up of
a friendly power, China, upon which
Japan has laid covetous eyes.
How far can this thing go and the
peace league continue to operate
successfully?
Also, there is the action Of Japan
toward China in general and toward
Korea in particular, where 1t is
charged. and not denied. that Japan
ese troops drove native Christians
into their churches and shot them,
taking a leaf out of the notebook of
the Hun and adding interest thereto.
Are we to be party to the gobbling
UP of China by Japan, or are we to
condone in Japan what we went to
war with Germany to stop?
Surely, it is we'll for the Senate to
pause and consider this league the
President would have us bolt with
out even the formally of chewing
Most certainly If we adopt it we must
make reservations. America never
will enter an agreement whereby
the votes of a number of European
powers will make us a party to the
theft of Chinese territory or the
slaughter of freedom-loving Koreans
or any other liberty-loving people
having the hardihood to stand up
for what they regard as their
fundamental rights.
We may as well make our position
clear now as later. We in America
have no objection to a peace league
as such. Indeed, we will go a long
way to preserve the peace of the
world, for we abhor war. But we
will never consent to sign away our
own will and opinions. We must
stand ready at all times to act in
right and wrong. Our national in
stincts have never failed us. Every
war we have fought has been for the
rights of humanity. We will never
align ourselves as a people with any
plan that has any other thing for it's
object than the ,betterment of the
world, and some of the loosely con-
structed provisions of the peace
league might lead us in the opposite
direction unless we interpret them
clearly according to our views and
unless we leave ourselves free to
form our own conclusions as to what
constitutes right and wrong and to
act thereon. History shows us that
we are much better judges of this
than are the great majority of ma
tions which it is proposed shall be
members of the league.
If it comes down to a war between
China and Japan all our sympathies
will lie with China, for it is evident
that japan is the aggressor, and all
the treaties in the world would not
take our young men abroad to fight
such battle. 1t would be monstrous
and the country would not stand for
it.
Let us put into our treaty reserva-
tions, with all the clarity of language
possible, just where we stand on these
matters. Let us go with clean hands
to the other nations of the world
and say to them: I'VE will accept
the treaty with these reservations.
They embrace our best thought and
our earnest convictions as a people.
They ask nothing unreasonable.
They will bear the closest analysis.
You can take them or leave them.
They constitute our last word on the
league of peace"
Then we shall see whether or not
all the other nations are sincere.
The court case of the 2.75 beer