Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-01-04
PRESIDENT TELLS ITAL-
IANS A LEAGUE OF Ma
TONS Is MOST VITAL
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ooo. ,Cogg,nHed From Page one.l
coming to Europe, and he made the
remark during the day that the
weather reminded him OF that at
home.
During the day King Victor En-
manuel presented General Diaz to
President Wilson, who complimented
the Italian commander in chef on
the magnificent achievements of his
army.
The president expressed regret that
he would be unable 10 visit the Italian
battle front owing to lack of time
and the necessity of returning to Paris
as soon as possible for the work of
the peace conference.
l. S. Found to Italy,
President Wilson, speaking in the
chamber of deputies today, said;
You are hestowing upon me an un-
precedented honor which | accept be-
cause | believe that Il is extended to
as the representative of the great
people for whom / speak. And | am
going to take this first opportunity
to saw how seriously the heart of the
American people has been with the
great people of Italy.
ferent at times, but our hearts have
never been far away All sorts of
ties have long bound the people of
our America to the people of Italy,
and when the people of the Unit 81
States have witnessed its sacrifices, its
heroic actions upon the battle field
and its heroic endurance at home
its steadfast endurance at home
touching us more nearly to the quick
event than its heroic action on the
battle field-we have been bound by
a new tie of profound admiration.
Then back of it all, and through
it all running like the golden thread
that Wove it together was our knowl
edge that the people of Italy had
gone into this war for the same eX-
allied principle of right and justice
that moved our people.
But We cannot stand in the shadow
of this war without knowing there
are things which are in some senses |
more difficult than those we have
undertaken. because. while it is easy
to speak Of right and justice, it is ,
sometimes difficult to work them out
in practiCe and there will be required
a purity Of motives and disinterested- |
ness of object which the world has |
never witnessed before in the councils /
of nations.
1T is for that reason that it seems
to me you will forgive me if | lay |
some of the clements of the new sit
uation before you for a moment. The |
distinguishing fact of this war is that !
great empires have gone TO pieces. |
And the characteristics of those en- |
pires are that they hold different neo-
pies reluctantly together under the !
coercion of force and the guidance of !
intrigue
The great difficulty among such
states as those of the Balkans has
been that they were always accessible
to secret influences; and they were |
always being penetrated by intrigue
of some sort or another; that north |
of them lay disturbed populations
which were held together not by his
tory and friendship, but by the Cocrc- |
i've force of military power.
Allies Not to Dictate.
Now the intrigue is checked and ,
the bands are broken. and what we
are going to provide is n new cement
to hold the people together. They
have not been accustomed to being
INDEPENDENT. They must now be in
dependent.
Il am sure that YOU recognize the
principle as | do--that it IS not our
privilege to say what sort of a gov
eminent they should set up. But we
are friends of those people and it is |
our duty as their friends to see to it |
that some kind of protection is thrown
around them.
There is only one thing that holds
nations together, if you exclude force, |
and that IS friendship and good will. !
Therefore, our task at Paris IS to or
game the friendship of the world
to see to it that all the moral forces
that make for right and Justice and
liberty are united and are given Il
vital organization to which the peo-
pies of the world Will readily and
gladly respond.
In other words our task is no less
colossal than this To set up a new
international psychology; 10 have a !
new real atmosphere. | am happy to
say that in my dealings with the dis
tingushed gentlemen who lead your
nation and those who lead France and
England, / feel that atmosphere
gathering, that desire to do justice,
that desire to establish frien1iness,
that desire to make peace rest upon
right; and with this common purpose
no obstacles neew be formidable.
I'VE know that there cannot be an
other balance of power. That has
been tried and found wanting, for the
best of all reasons, that it does not
stay balanced inside itself.
therefore there must be some |
thing substituted for the balance of
power, and | am happy to find every
where IN the air of these great ma
tons the conception that that thing
must be a thoroughly united league of
nations.
What men once considered theo- !
retical and idealistic turns out to be
practical and necessary. We stand at
the opening of a new age in which
a new craftsmanship will. ! am con-
fident. lift mankind to new levels of
endeaVor and achievement