Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-03-07
IIla RR0TnER,N KEEPER


No man pufteta piece OF new cloth
into an old garment, for that which Is
put til To flIi Ii up taketh from the
garment, and The rent IL made worse. .
Tfia trainers of the new League III Ma
tions hare obviously taken this saying
to heart They have grasped the fact
unnoticed apparently by their OPP
ponents, that d new heaven and new
earth have emerged from the war
clouds which have cnshrouded the
globe during the years of the great
war, and that the policies 81 the Loii-
y0ises. the Metternichs, and the Bis
inarcks, stayed upon secret diplomacy,
balances of power. and standing arr
mics, have become as discredited rs
the prescriptions of Cos or the the
oIogy OF the Walnut-Tree Yard
Now as far as ii Is possible to tell
in the present year OF grace, IT was
Mr.. Wilson whose faith In the ideal
Induced the world 10 accept the theory
of the league. and Jan SHUTS whose
practical mind reduced the dream to-
words AT MI events Mr. Taft has said
that there ii more of Jan SHUTS than
anybody else In the preliminary
draft Of les constitution. To-day. how.
ever, that is not The point Whether
General SHUTS has Interpreted Presi-
dent Wilson's ideals Ia the best possi-
Bile way Is d question which will come
up for consideration all IN due time.
end can then be calmly and jndiciaIly
considered and decided. For the mo-
ment the question ii, What exactly is
the presidents ideal, and what does
ii all mean and amount to-? For, let
there be no mistake about this, the
ideal ID the presidents This paper
says that which Il does know, when 1t
says that when Mr.. Wilson landed first
In Europe he was confronted not ex-
actly with opposition to the League of
Nations. but with something perhaps
more difficult to overcome than OPP
position. The whole story will be told
some daY but the time III not yet
still. the president never said a truer
word than when he declared that few
things were less comprehensive TO
him than the ignorance Of the oppon-
ents to the league OF the changed con-
Siltions in the world
1t Is possible that the president him
self was u little surprised at the readi-
ness he found Iii Europe to work with
him III The formation of the league.
The pathetic littio aopntation of maim-
al Italian soldiers who came to inspire
him with The courage to 90 mn with his
work was only typical 81 the great
longing for something better thans The
past which is sweeping over the
world, Il was not. therefore, IN actual
opposition that the difficulty Of the
president lay. II was rather, as he
himself explained In his Boston
speech IN d distrnst Of idealism which
led the trained diplomatic mind to re-
card hts views as esnbodylng that hid
eously lrreducible minimum some
thing too good 10 be true. With the
great body Of the people, the people
who shouted joyonsly and enthusiasts
ticaily as his carriage went by, It was
different They had never spent
weary hours in the hopeless strnggie
Ot attempting % reconcile national as
piration, or to suhdue national pas
sions They were ignorant enough. il
the paradox may be employed. to be-
Iicve that an entirely new diplomatic
garment might be woven. Mr.. Wilson
thought sd TOO HI the chancelleries
men were still mesmerlxed by human
nature, hoping for something better.
but wondering whether the piece of
new cloth they proposed. would not
merely have the effect Of making the
rent worse
II was the icicle of human disbelief
Id good that Nr. Wilson had 10 melt
rather than d fortress 81 opposition
that he had 10 storm There we're
from the firat. Of course, few men
lin the chancellerles ready to warm
their hands at the fire Of his faith. but
the great mass were Thomases. not
anxious to oppose. but doubtsrs In
every fiber Of their being When once
ne had given reason for the faith
that was ID him. ne found. however,
that the Thonases we're quite willing
to I'M numbered amongst the faithful.
md froEn thai moment Il was not D
question 81 4 L should be done, but
how Il should BE done II the matter
Of the League os NatAouas II any rate,
the President q tha United States