Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-07-04
iOMPSON SAYS
LEAGUE SHOULD
CONTROL WORLD
Former States Attorney Deaes
Foes Of Nations Greatest
Need.
Especial Moline service.)


Floyd E. Thompson, justice of
supreme court. spoke before hun
dreds Of East Moline'a patriotic
and loyal citizens this afternoon,
rendering to them an independence
grafton vel: worth mention. Mr..
Thompson defined democracy. au-
Z tocracy, and explained the differ
ence between the two with that Of
a republic. = Defending the league
OF nations, Mr. Thompson said:
1t Is purely a gentfemen's agree
ment. 1t can not possibly endan-
ger our safety any more than it is
now endangered. The fear is ex-
pressed that all the other mem
bers OF the league will conspire
against the United States and force
condition upon us which we can
not honorably accept. Such an ar
gument is ridiculous and should
not be for a moment considered
by an intelligent people If all the
nations of the world arc going to
eonSpire against us to destroy our
existence and national honor, they
can Just as well do 1t without our
being a member of the league. 1t
IS not going to place US in any
g-eater danger by being present at
he conference, so thai we can get
f-st-hand information of the con
7f2Iracy before they intiict the con-
elton upon US.
Why all this great clamor
a&ainst the league? President |
Roosevelt in his last book said |
that the only possible remedy for |
war was a league OF nations. so
organized that they could enforce |
peace and punish a nation that |
threatened to disturb peace. SEN
Rtor Lodge in an address before |
3 graduating class of one of our
eastern universities, declared that |
there was no other way to- insure /
peace in the world than to organ
tze all the nations into a league. T
and he there urged the young men |
who were preparing to meet the I
responsibilities of citizenship to /
work to the end that a league of
nations might be perfected. While
Senator Knox was secretary of
state he said, in discussing the
pan-American situation and the
continual petty wars that iu
our Latfn-A'nerican neighhors,
the only way to remedy the situa-
ton was to organize a league of
nations, so that these disputes
might be submitted to arbitration,
and so that right and justice might
be enforced without impoverishing
the people with war. Now we see
Lodge and Knox and Reed and
others opposing the league bitterly
and we can not help but inquire, I
Why? If it be for a partisan, DO
litical issue, they viii find it to be
very much like the farmers mule
which had but two things wrong
with it: N the first place, it was
hard to catch, and in the second |
place, it was not worth a damn |
after it was caught. And so with
this issue which these distinguish
ed gentlemen attempt to raise.
They are having great difficulty
raising the issue, and after they
get it they will ind it is not worth
the getting. 1t looks very much az
If they want league of nations,
but each of the distinguished gen
tlemen want to be the author of 1
the covenant Of the league. They
raise q great hue and cry because
= "a J1AAC0 All
with the other nations OF the world
10 perfect this great joint treaty
IN an attempt to make the whole
world safe for democracy. They
seem to forget that shortly before
We entered the war this same con-
sress OF the United States enacted
! law by which they directed the
president to Immediately under
AXE the preparation Of a plan to
De submitted to the nations of the
world as soon as the great world
var was terminated, having for its
purpose the guaranty against an
Ither such disastrous conflict. The
was specifically directed
o take all steps necessary to per-
ect such league, and now THAI
le has done just what they SOL
imn1y directed him to do by legisla-
i've enactment, we wonder why
hey criticize. I shall not attempt
o express my views of the motives
u these honorable men. ! shall
,lace the responsibility OF deter
mining thsir motives with you.
That Is where the responsibility
'elongs. AS l said at the outset,
'ou must yourself determine what