The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-07-08
HOPE AND DESPAIR

President Wilson has returned to the states with the con-
seriousness Of having accomplished a stupendous work at the
peace conference in Paris.
No other individual has left the stamp of his personality so
firmly fixed upon the tangible achievements Of the conference.
He took the position that a nation that went to war for the
~vindication of right could submit to a %vanquished foe only a
peace of Justice.
His work in behalf of the weaker nations will stand out as a
strange venture in European diplomacy forced upon them by
an American statesman.
The interest henceforth viii. center about the peace treaty
and its consideration at the national capital. The league Of
nations will come in for its share of discussion, of dcnunciaton
and approval.
The position of some is that the league will produce the
very thing that it seeks to avoid.
But no opponent of the league of nations has volunteered
to Offer a substitute for it.
At least to the casual reader. the average citizen. who pays
the war taxes and bears the burden, believes the league is better
than nothing.
He believes it is better to have nations agree to deliberate
before they begin war than to have no agreement.
No one has suggested "a government by sanctiication," as
Senator Reed seems to think the president is about to set up.
In fact, the friends and advocates of the league OF nations
have been exceedingly modest in their claims for the benefits
that the league will bring.
They do not say that war will be known no more forever
They do not advocate d%emobilizing the army or scrapping the
navy.
They only say that an agreement among nations regarding
the settlement Of questions likely to produce war is better than
no agreement and certain war.
The league of nations, if ratified, is not going to set up a
paradise on earth or affect the price of cotton. Perhaps most Of
us will 60 through life unconscious, so far as operation is con-
cerned, that there is such a thing as a league Of nations.
The league is simply a written agreement among the powers
OF the world that they Will be guided by a given course OF con-
duct common to all.
1t is natural to suppose that an honorable agreement will
have the same influence in preserving peace that a written con-
tract between individuals has in preventing litigation.
When a man builds a house he enters into a written agree
ment with the contractor, They have a mutual understanding.
There must be a certain kind of material used; the foundation
must be laid in a given manner; there must be a certain number
of rooms. and provision is made for windows and doors. The
plans cannot be changed by one without the consent and agree
ment of the other. There is rarely cause for misunderstanding
or litigation, and never when both parties honestly cndeavor to
carry out the provisions of the contract.
When the nations enter into an agreement pledgng them
selves to observe the rights of others, and to follow a policy of
justice, regardless Of the discrepancy in the strength Of the
nations in controversy, there at least must be hesitation and
delay, instead OF precipitate action,
II the league will contribute to the saving of human life
if it will cause men to think Of the consequences before they
ARRAY nation against nation, then the league is a good thing until
something better is proposed,
The opponents OF the league would destroy the last vestige
of hope that the league holds out to a weary world, but they
offer nothing to take its place. The world war ought at least
TO leave a ray of hope that it will not return again.
The friends OF the league are those who hope; the opponents
are those who despair,