The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-01-08
Shall We Go Back
or Go Forward?
(By Norman Hapgood.) }

Senators Knox, Reed and Lodge are
taking as heavy a responsibility as
anv set of men could take when they
endeavor to prevent the formation OF
a League of Nations at the only time
when there is any real probability c1
its being possible to form it. Long
aeo the Prime Minister Of England
j said that at the end Of the war there
wo,,ld come a critical moment when
the mind Of mankind would be fluid;
when we should be accustomed tc
doing great things, unprecedented
things: when we could, If we wished
take such steps upward that the ter
rib1e cost Of the war would be justi-
fed. But, Mr.. Lloyd George went or
TO argue, once let that moment pass
and we shall sink back into our Gus
tomary fears, and there will be moth
ine to compensate for ali the lives
and ali the, destruction Of prosperity
In endeavoring to prevent the sue
cessful beginning Of League OF Ma
tions. Secretary Reed comes out
bluntly with opposition to the whole
idea, and few Of the less lntelll-
gent senators back him up. Cleverer
ones, among those who wish to defeat
the League, follow the policy Of Sen
ators Lodge and Knox, and are fight
! ing for delay, the usual device of ex-
perienced politicians when they are
trying to defeat a measure in which
all elevated and disinterested consid-
erations are against them.
D1oc;Joyt VU;Jcnn>c pupnOca
The American people ought to un-
derstand that the presidents activl-
: ties abroad at the present moment
are due to no sudden impulse. They
are the following out of the faith that
he has had from the begin
ming. He has been compel
ed to change his course in
detail frequently, as any good helms
man tacks according to wind and tide
mad the accidents of a, rocky coast. But
he has always aimed at peace bas-
ed on mutual understanding, mutual
confidence and mutual welfare among
the nations. He has read history, and
he knows how at the end Of so many
Of the great wars the victorious alll-
ance has planned to preserve peace
by the exercise Of its own force, and
how Completely illusory every such
attempt has been. He is not trying
to force upon the governments Of Eu-
rope today the details of any plan.
He is, however, trying to bring to the
few men who happen to be the gov
ernments Of England, France and It
ally at the moment realization that
they will be building on the sand if
tLcy do not use this opportunity to
make a more disinterested and splr-
itual settlement than has been made
after other wars, had combination
With some International arrangement
that will help US to get rid Of tti.. 'ld
fears and the old antagonisms.
Messrs. Lodge and Knox are ..rils
liant men, but they represent the old
story, the distrust Of the people the
distrust Of IDEAS the distrust Of IDEAL
ism. They can themselves practical
and yet they stand for the thing that
has always failed and the thing that
brought this war upon US. They
stand for the holy Alliance applied
to the conditions Of 1919. They prac-
tically say: to mankind, "You cannot
do anything better than you haye
done so don't try whereas the pres
ident is, saying to the governments,
You must use above the limits OF the
politician and bureaucrat or civiliza-
ton .itaeH. may. die. -. -
+. LET us. look at one or two OF Mr.
Lodges arguments to see how Hlmsy
are the weapons even highly edn-
Gated man has to use when he goes
out in support Of prejudice against a
new truth. He says it will be a grave
thing for a sovereign nation to leave
to mankind in general the determl-
nation Of. whether question is vital
to. its independence and safety. Yes, 1t
was a. grave. thing when the head OF
every household in the village had to
leave in large part. the defense OF ms
family to the village police force and
the village courts. No doubt the
Lodges OF. that day viewed this step
with solemn alarm. 1t was a grave
thing when duelling went into the dis
card. Nothing, indeed, could have
seemed more destructive of honor and
manhood to the Lodges and Knoxes
of only a few decades ago than that a
man should not settle with pistols and
seconds a whole group Of wrongs
which nobody. thinks Of settling that
way now Any step ahead is grave
step, but the trouble is more danger
Gus to go forward than to stand still
and attempt to go backwards.
Tho Monroe Doctrine
Senator Lodge wishes to know
whether we are ready to abandon the
Monroe Doctrine. This would be an
excellent question for a high school
debating society. Any trained MIND
will realize we are simply extending
the Monroe Doctrine-if you inter
bret that. doctrine with any realiza-
ton of the march OF history. Not
even Senator Lodge and his predeces-
sors have been able to prevent the
discovery of the power Of steam, OF
the invention OF the telegraph and
telephone, or the bringing of the
whole world in closer communica-
rion than Boston was with New York
i in the days of Washington. The
11onroe Doctrine was formulated to