The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1919-03-07
A LEAGUE OF NATIONS
WILL MAKE FOR PEACE

semble at Versailles there will come
a league of nations. The purposes
of this league of nations will be to Sc
cure Justice as between nation and
nation, to protect the little peoples
against arbitrary exercise of might
by the strong nations, to settle inter-
national disputes and to prevent wars
No reasonable person expects that
such league of nations will work al
ways without friction, or that it will
summarily end injustice in this world,
or make war an impossibility. 1t
will not have to do all these things to
justify itself. Our state and nation
al laws do not prevent acts of injus-
tice and violence, or protect all citl-
zens from oppression and outrage.
Our national constitution has not abb
solutely prevented the states it bound
together from falling out and fight
ing among themselves. Yet we know
that laws for the protection of life
and property and for the decision of
disputes between man and man ac-
cording to the principles of right are
of great benefit, and we are not yet
willing to say that our national con-
stitution is not a restraining and SOL
idifying force.
1t is no argument against league
of nations that men of ability and in
fiuence and high position argue that it
is an unworkable thing. The world
is full of men who doubt every thing,
but the world moves on from change
to change despite their doubt and
their opposition. William Marion
Reedy forcibly states the position and
the real Importance of these men
when he says:
All our realists are against the lea
guero Of nations, all ou, idealists for it.
But without idealism the world has
no objective and all our best realities
in life and government were once
ideals scoffed by practical men. That
is why "the dreamer lives forever
while the toiler dies in a day"
And Rabbi lsadore Lewinthal of
Nashville forcibly shows the necess-
ty of league of nations, of a new
order of things in international deal
ings, when he says:
The peace we hope to come now is
not a negative physical condition.
state that is good merely because it is
the opposite of war. We want some
thing more positive, real harmonic
ing-yes, even uniting of parts.
There is difference between the re-
pose of a balanced seesaw and that of
house with solid foundations The
peace that preceded this war was a
condition of equilibrium maintained
by fine balancing of powers, like
that of seesaw always latently, and
often openly hostile to one another.
What we want is not a peace which
is an equilibrium between opposing
forces, but one that shall be the har
mony of friendly people; not bal
ance, but a concord of power.
Such a peace can be established on
ly in righteousness, it can be realized
by the establishment Of the relations
between nations on basis Of justice.
Yes, it is a stupendous task to re-
organize the world, to create league
of nations, to establish justice on firm
but that is the peace we
want. The war has been gigantic
we want a gigantic peace.
There will be a league of nations.
1t will not likely accomplish all that
we hope for it to accomplish, but it
will be another great step forward in
the progress of humanity, and the !
very organization of such league
will work for international justice,
understanding and in
ternational respect for law. 1t isl
good to have the difficulties of such a
league pointed out, to have the case
against it stated as strongly as may
be, by the men who, for one reason
or another, disapprove its present or
ganization; but it must not be for
gotten that the future belongs not
to these practical men, but to the
and theorists" who are
wise enough and strong enough to
band the nations together to work for
peace and justice and then to face
fearlessly all the dangers Of future