The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-09-05
Challenge Issued to Critics Of Leagueby
Presidents Speaks to Indianapolis Audience

again. then all our ideals and pur-
poses have been disappointed, for we
did not so into this war merely to beat
Germany. We went into this war to
beat all purposes such as Germany en-
tertained. (Applause). And you will
remember how the conscience of man
kind was shocked by what Germany
did, not merely by the circumstance to
which I have already adverted, that
unconscionable demands were made
upon a little nation, which could not
resist but that Immediately upon the
beginning of the war solemn engage
ments of treaty were cast on one side,
and the chief representative Of the i'm
perial government of Germany said
that when national purposes were un-
der discussion treaties were mere
scraps Of paper.'And Immediately up
on that declaration the German armies
invaded the territories of Belgium,
which they had engaged should be in
violate-invaded those territories with
the halw avowed purpose that Belgium
was necessary to be permanently re-
tanned by Germany in order that she
should have a proper frontage on the
sea and proper advantage in her
contest with other nations of the
world. So that that act, which was
characteristic of the beginning Of the
war, was violation of the territorial
integrity Of the kingdom of Belgium.
We are presently, our fellow coun-
trymen, to have the very great plea
sure of welcoming on this side Of the
sea the Queen and King of the Bel
gians IApplause). And I, for one, am
perfectly sure that we are going to
make it clear to them that we have
not forgotten the violation of Belgium,
that we have not forgotten the intol-
lerable wrongs which were put upon
that suffering people. l have seen
their devastated country. Where 1t
was not actually laid in ruins, every
factory was Quilted of it's contents; all
the machinery by which it would be
possible for men to go to work again
was taken away, and those parts OF
the machinery that they could not take
away were destroyed by experts who
knew how to destroy them.
Purpose to Crush Belgium.
Belgium was a very successful COM
petitor of Germany in some lines OF
manufacture, and the German armies
were sent there to see to 1t that
that competition was put a stop to.
Their purpose was to crush the in
dependent action Of that little king
dom-not merely to use it as a gate
way through which to attack France.
And when they got into France they
not only fought the armies of France,
but they put the coal mines of France
out of commission, SO that it would be
a decade or more before France can
support herself with coal from her
accustomed sources.
You have heard a great deal about
Article Ten of the Covenant of the
League of Nations. Article Ten speaks
with the conscience of the world.
applause Article Ten is the article
which goes to the heart of the whole
bad business (applause), for that ar
ticle says that the members of this
League-and that is intended to be
all the great nations of the world
engage to restrict and to preserve
against all external aggression, the
territorial integrity and political in
dependence of the nations concerned.
That promise is necessary in order to
prevent this sort of war recurring, and
we are absolutely discredited If we
fought this war and then neglect the
essential safeguard against it. Cap
plause).
You have heard it said, my fellow
citizens, that we are robbed of some
degree of our sovereign, independent
choice, by articles of that sort. Every
man who makes a choice to respect
the rights Of his neighbors, deprves
himself of absolute sovereignty, but
he does it by promising never to do
wrong. and | can not, for one, see
anything that robs me Of any inherent
right that ought to retain, when
promise that | will do right. CAP.
plause).
What Article Ten Does.
We engage, in the first sentence of
Article Ten, to respect and preserve
from external aggression the territor-
ial integrity and the existing political
independence, not only of the other
member states. but of all states And
if any member of the League of Ma
tons disregards that promise, then
what happens? The council of the
league advises what should be done
to enforce the respect for the cove
| nant, on the part Of the nation at
, tempting to violate it. And there is
no compulsion upon us to take that
| advice-eXcept the compulsion of our
gooQ conscience and judgment. Sc
that it is perfectly evident that if, in
| the judgment of the people of the
United States, the council adjudged
wrong, and that this was not an oc
casion for the use of force, there
would be no necessity on the part OF
the congress of the United States tc
vote to use force. But there could be
! no advice Of the council on any such
subject without unanimous vote, and
our own. And if we accepted the ad
vice We would be accepting our owr
advice. For | need not tell you that
the representatives of the government
of the United States would not vote
without instructions from their gov
eminent at home, and that what we
united in advising. we would be Ger
tain that our people would desire tc
do
There is in that covenant not one
note of surrender of the independent
! judgment of the United States, but
an expression of it, because that in
dependent judgment would have tc
join with the judgment of the rest.
Economic Pressure.
But when is that judgment going tc
be expressed my fellow citizens? Only
after it is evident that every other re
| foi1