The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-04
DIFFICULTIES AHEAD


 States.
 DIFFICULTIES AHEAD But we cannot stand in the shadow | of this war without knowing there are l things which are in some senses more difficult than those we have undertaken. because, while it is easy to speak of I right and justice it is sometimes diffi- cult to work them out in practice, and ! there will be required purity of mo Hives and disinterestedness of object ! which the world has never witnessed be- fore in the councils of nations. ! Tt is for that reason that it seems | to me you will forgive me if l lay some l of the elements of the new situation be- | fore you for a moment. The distinguish l ing fact of this war is that great em- 1 pires have gone to pieces. And the char acteristics of those empires are that l they held different people reluctantly to- gether 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 influence; and they were always 1 being penetrated by intrigue of some sort | of another; that north of them lay dis | turbed populations which were held to- gether not by sympathy and friendship | but by the coerciye force of military power. INTRIGUE CHECKED Now the intrigue is checked and the l bands are broken and what we are go- ing to provide is new cement to hold the people together They have not been accustomed to being independent. They must now be independent.
 | T am sure that you recognize the prin. | ciple as I do--that 1t is not our privilege | to say what sort of a government they should set up. But we are friends of those people and it is our duty as theA friends to see to it that some kind of 1 protection is thrown around them-som< thing supplied which will hold them to- gether. ,. .. .srhere is only one thing that holds nations together, if you exclude force
 and that is friendship and good wii.. The only thing that binds men together lis friendship, and by the same token the only thing that binds nations to- gether is friendship. Therefore our task at Paris is to organize the friendship of the world-to see to it that all the moral 1 forces that make for right and justice and liberty are united and are given a vital organization to which the people of the world will readily and gladly re- spond.
 'In other words, our task is no less colossal than this To set up new inter
 national psychology, to have new real 1 atmosphere. I am happy to say that in lmy dealings with the distinguished gen tlemen who lead your nation, and those who lead France and England l feel that atmosphere gathering that desire to do justice. that desire to establish friendliness, that desire to make peace
 rest upon roight; and with this common purpose no obstacles need b formidable.
 TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES
 "The only use of an obstable is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is not to frighten them, but to challenge them. So that it ought to be Jour pride to overcome everything that stands in the way.
 l We know that there cannot be another balance of power. That has been tried and found wanting, for the best of all Ireasons that it does not stay balanced 1 inside itself, and waste weight which ldoes not hold together cannot consti- tute make weight in the affairs of lmen
 Therefore, there must be something lsubstituted for the balance of power. and II am happy to find everywhere in the air of these great nations the conception lthat that thing must be a thoroughly united league of nations.
 What men once considered theoretical land idealistic turns out to be practical land necessary We stand at the opening
 of new age in which new statesman
 ship will, I am confident, lift mankind
 to new levels of endeavor and achieve |ment"
 l GREETED BY APPLAUSE
 During his speech the President con
 stantly was interrupted by outbursts oi
 applause, and when he ended he was
 accorded an ovation which lasted unt
 he passed through the exit of the build
 ing Outside the throngs in the street 'I took up the demonstration, which con
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