The sun., 1919-03-20
President lowell Of Har-
ward Cites Precedents for
Paris Covenant.
HE SEES "TEETH'' IN PLAN
Denies It Would Lessen
q. 8. Sovereignty-Sug-
gests Amendments.
Special DespafeA 20 Trs sus.


side of the question in his debate tonight
with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge on the
League of Nations az proposed by Presi-
dent Wilson:
Senator Lodge has been 90 long IN
public life and has rendered such emil
nent services that regard him not only
as statesman but almost as an institu-
tion. For his ability and courage have
the highest respect. and I have usually
been In accord with his opinions. More
over. have always been consistently
Republican But although 7 suspect
that We differ much less about League
of Nations than might appear on the
surface, / cannot agree with his utter
ances, and still less with those OF some
Of his Senatorial colleagues, on the draft
OF a covenant reported to the conference
at Paris.
Few if any Americans hold the doc
trine propounded by certain German
writers that war IL in itself good. Few
do not desire peace among men. and It
would probably be safe to 60 further and
say that the vast majority of our people
welcome the idea of a League Of Ma
lions to prevent war, even II II involves
some Inconvenience for US.
There Is naturally. however, much
difference of opinion about the form
crete plan that could be presented would
not accord entirely with most mems pre-
conceived ideas, IL they have any, or IL
they have not would involve difficulties
that they had not foreseen as inevitable,
with the result that criticism breaks
forth in abundance This has been and
must always be true of every step in
human progress. Every advance goes
through the stages OF general aspiration,
OF concrete plan and OF sharp criticism
before II becomes established The
process Is normal, healthy and instruc-
tive.
Before examining the nature of the
plan proposed in the Covenant Of Paris
II may he well to consider the minimum
essentials of an effective League of Ma
lions to prevent war. Every one will
agree that such league must forbid
. resort to arms before submitting the
question in dispute to a public trial, ar
bitration or inquiry of some kind and
probably it ought also to forbid q resort
to arms after an award which Is uni
versally believed to be right and Just.
Such delay before hostilities will not
prevent all wars. but 1t will make them
much less common, and 1t will wholly
prevent a nation from deliberately plan
ming a war. as Germany did, and seek
ing the advantage of surprise when Its
victims are unprepared. 1t Is generally
assumed that, IL Germany had not pos
sessed that advantage, she would not
have gone to war. Obviously, tho sub
mission to arbitration must be compul-
sory. for IL not, the condition Is nowise
different from what 1t has been hitherto
and the compulsion,--the sanction, as
the lawyers say,--the punishment for the
offender, must be such that no nation
would venture to incur It; for the more
severe, the more certain. the moro i'm
mediate the penalty the less the chance
that any bellicose nation would run the
risk.
Would Punish Automatically.
THE country that goes to war with
out submitting its case to arbitration
must be regarded as a criminal against
mankind. and treated instantly as an
outlaw and a common enemy by the rest
of the world, or by those nations which
bind themselves together for the main
tenance of order. For this reason the
League to Enforce Peace has always
insisted that the penalty should not be
decreed by council of tho league, which
would involve delay, possible disagree
ment and inaction, but automatically
that Is, the members of the league should
bind themselves Jointly and severally to
resist the aSgressor at once In this
way the members would stand together
and an attack on one would be ipso facto
an attack on all and II the league con-
tanned. as we expect. by far tho greater
part OF the world, no nation would, for a
moment contemplate war with such q
coalition. and therefore wars would not
occur before arbitration.
THE principle should apply not only
TO disputes among the members OF the
league, but also to dissensions between
other nations not belonging to the
league, because war, like fire. has a ten
dency TO spread. and no one in a COM
munity has a right TO start a confia gra =
ton which his neighbors have not a right
to put out.
although the penalty against tho ag-
gressor Is automatic in the sense that
It does not depend upon the action Of an
international council. nevertheless such
council for purposes. not of command.
hut OF consultation, ia highly beneficial.
1t tends TO remove friction by enabling
nations to understand one another's
point of view and to reconcile or adjust
differences before they reach an acute
stage. Most plans for a League of Ma
tons have, believe. proposed two such
bodies: one large and comprehensive, for
the discussion OF general problems. with
an opportunity for the presentation of
all possible opinions. but too large for
confidential interchange of ideas; the
other smaller, representing mainly those
countries on whom the burden, In ca so
OF breach of the peace. would chiefly
rest. a body small enough to work out
In detail recommendations to be sub
Tnitted to the members of the league
for acceptance, modification or rejection.
ut will, 1 think. be generally agreed
by ell persons who desire League of
Nations that these points are the essen
tial minimum OF any league that cam be
effective in preventing war. Let us
now examine how far the Covenant OF
Paris covers these points and what else
Il covers.
Phrasing Is Defective.
THE covenant is very defective in its
drafting. In places 1t is 30 obscure that
the meaning is often inaccurately' ex-
pressed and sometimes doubtful 1t Ia
easily misunderstood. and has In fact
been widely misunderstood. To give a
eing.o example Of what must be defec-
tive drafting Article XVI provides that
tf any country resorts to war In disre-
gard OF its covenant the members Of tho
league shall Immediately prevent all
financial, commercial and personal in
tercourse between the nationals Chat In.
the citlzens) Of the covenant breaking
State and the nationals of any other
State. whethSs q member OF the league
'sr-not. IL 81 mot diaa0ula ta sasnbsas