The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-04-04
SENATOR WArsoN's SPEECH

Editor Palladium:
There is an old saying that HE who
proves too much proves nothing
That was the weakness OF Senator
| Watson in his speech of Wednesday
night. He would have us believe that
the proposed constitution of the
League of Nations was all bad, and
much of it Intentionally bad; that
there was no good thing about it,;
no, not one.
| He gave arbitrary and imaginary
| powers to the executive council, where
| it's constitution gives the council ad-
| vfsory powers only-the right to rec
| ommend; and he built on this false
| foundation an eloquent and fallacious
appeal to the American people to pre-
serve their liberties which are about
to be destroyed by those foreigners; I"
and that while the United States had
but one vote out of nine, Great Brit
ain had five, and thus we were DELHI
erately putting our heads in the British
lions mouth. Whereas, the constitu-
ton itself reads that Each Of the high
contracting parties shall have one
VOTE" and 1t names Great Britain as
one of the parties. This construction
applies to both the body of delegates
and the executive council. It makes
the legal status Of the United States
precisely the same as that Of Great
Britain or any other member Of the
league.
Watson was equally unfair in his
| mandatory" argument. Instead OF
| both parties to a mandatory being
| subject to the caprice and dictation
| of the executive council, the constitu-
ton expressly provides, that the
wishes of the people over whom a
mandatory is to be chosen, must be
the principal consideration" and also,
that "the tutelage of such people
should be entrusted to advanced ma
lions who by reason Of their re-
sources, their experience or their geo.
graphical position can best undertake
this responsibility"
On the now popular subject of
Washington's warning against entang-
ling alliances abroad, the senator was
also unfortunate. In order to show
the inconsistency of President Wilson,
in such alliances, he quoted what the
latter said before we entered the Eur
opean war, which is very different
from appealing to Washington at this
late day; after this country has been
into such entangling alliances up to
its eyes for nearly two years,
1t was one thing for Wilson to call
popular attention to the significance
of such a new departure in our ira
ditional policy when the people still
had the power of choice, and quite a
different thing to appeal to the mem
DRY of Washington and his wise words
at this time, after we have taken the
plunge into the "seething cauldron" Of
world affairs in the very middle of a
world war. Mr.. Watson and the foam
ing Beverage are as much out of
place now in their solicitude- for old
traditions or for democratic ideals as
they were in keeping silent on that
subject before we entered the war,
when they We're demanding that we
enter the war-but when the issue
was open-they and their patron
saint, Roosevelt
By the way, 1t is interesting,
if not amusing, to note the belat-
ed devotion these Republican leaders
are now showing with tears in their
eyes to the traditions of the fathers,
in foreign affairs. They were not as
solicitous when purely selfish consid-
erations were at stake. They forgot
Washington and his words of warning
when they overthrow Queen Lii in
the Sandwich Islands by the menace
of American arms. They were not at
all worried about entangling alliances
when they had a chance to grab the
Philippines, for as Beveridge so elo-
quently-and with such unction-de-
clared they are rich and we will
keep them forever" They had no re-
orr hnr,
Colombia was robbed of Panama by
a foul conspiracy backed up if not |
engineered by the Roosevelt admins I
tration. No, not so! In each of these I
wrongs there was something to be |
gained-a plain and selfish end to !
be achieved-and the tender hearted !
Republican leaders were equal to the !
occasion!
But to return to Senator Watson's |
speech; the most significant thing
about it was what he omitted, and /
not what he said. He confessed that |
while he was in favor of a League of |
Nations, the hour was too late and the |
time too short for him to tell that |
vast, intelligent and interested audi
ence what kind of a League of Ma
tons he favored. Not a single para
graph, not a sentence, not a line or a
word did this constructive" states
man suggest as to a proper thought or
theory to incorporate into such an
document. All he did and |
all he said from start to finish, was to |
knock, knock. knock to tear down
and utterly destroy if he could the |
work of other and better men-the I
worlds leaders in constructive states |
He offered no aid to these |
world leaders-not q word as to how
to improve on their plan of a League !
of Nations, and yet such league is !
he says, as dear to his heart as the |
scenes of his childhood. But other
leaders, who were really
interested in such a league, have
found ways to show that interest by
friendly and helpful suggestions and |
the spirit of sympathy and co-opera-
ton. even anxiety, for its success.
Mr.. Taft, who is patriot first and
a partisan second, and Senator Lodge
and Secretary Root, did not fail to
make their real interest appear; but
Indiana's two senators agree in this
one thing only-to damn the League
Of Nations with faint praise 1t is an
attitude discreditable to them and one
hat I am Sllrpriced that Copotor Nou