Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-06-26

the treasury. In Belgium eight hundred
thousand are In the same condition. In a
population OF less than 100000 this rep
resents about the whole Industrial sec
ton. No amount of money advanced, no
amount OF debts forgiven can save Eu-
rope. She must go to work, and we must
help her TO go to work.
1t is sheer folly to think that we can
stand aloof in our SPLENDID isolation and
let Europe revert to chaos.
On what tenable ground can we aban-
don Europe now with our work half
done? From tho beginning the problem
involved more than crushing the Hun.
Up to the present hour our work out
ranked that of the good Samaritan. We
helped to drive the thieves off, and the
problem Is shall we now leave the victim
TO bleed TO death? The priest ana rne
Levite, seeing the victim Of the thieves,
passed by on the other side, but the
good Samaritan went to him, bound I'D
his wounds, pouring In wine and oil, set
him upon his own beast, took him to an
inn and promised TO pay the innkeepers
bills. certain lawyer you will recall
had sneeringly asked Christ who IL my
neighbour Christ rected this parable
by way Of answcr. and then In turn
asked the lawyer (which of the three,
priese, Levte or the good Samaritan,
was neighbor to him that fell amongst
thieves?'' Even the lawyer needed no
prompting. He said: He that showed
mercy on him
LEAGUE OF NATIONS NECESSARY
Whether or not the republican reac-
tionaries in the United States Senate de-
lay peace because they object to the so.
called League of Nations covenant, con-
tained in the treaty, we must at once
enter an economic and industrial League
Of Nations or Europe perdshes. That
league will be made by commercial ne
cessty, power which does not act by
or with the advice and consent of the
| United States Senate: body, by the
way. composed largely OF lawyers
amongst whom the parable Of the Good
! Samaritan. originally delivered to law
/ yer. seems to be unknown.
John Fiske points out that the impulse
which led to the Annapolis convention
and to the immortal Congress in indie
pendence Hall which wrote our great
charter, was primarily commercial. Here
too the movement which may ultimately
lead to a union of democratic peoples
promises to take effective origin in COM
merce. But political as we'll as a COM
mercial union of peoples must come il
the relations of nations are to be stabil-
lied and civilized.
That union of peoples, symboliZed by
our federal constitution, is coming. Yes;
1t is coming or more and worse wars
are coming and chaos is coming. I be-
lieve that sort of union is as certain to
come ultimately as laws of gravitation
are certain to be constant in their opera
ton II will not include all the world
for many centuries; only a part Of the
world Is ready for it. But while its or
ganzation could not soon include all
peoples it could soundly include so large
portion of humanity that it's physical
and moral power would nightly mould
all nations.
AS we hesitated and dilly-dallied and
tried not to see our duty prior to April
6, 9171. or some of our leaders now hesi-
tate and shilly-shally over the League Of
Nations proposed-and a poor thing it is
at best-and so they will hesitate and
shilly-shally over our part in the eco
nomc and reconstruction problems which
face Europe. Those problems involve US
just as certainly as the sinking of the
Lusitania meant that we must fight.
Food production in Europe and in Rus
STA has largely ceased. Europe is hungry.
It will probably become hungrier. Be.
fore they starve men become savages,
The danger now is that the very founda-
tons of European society may crumble:
that even Great Britain may not escape.
He Is fool who thinks all that can hap.
pen and leave us safe-safe in what he
Is pleased to call our splendid isolation.
AS France has been the political frontier
of civilization for hundred years and
its fghtlng front for five years. even so
axal Drit~ ~,
become the industrial and social frontiers
of civilization. Our splendid isolation will
protect If we fail to act just about as
much as German faith protected Belgium.
The assault will come, however, from real
necessity, and not from a lying pretensa
If we do not direct those conditions, those
conditions will direct us. There is es.
cape,-just as there is no escape from
other wars so long the relations OF
nations are controlled by the rules Of
pure savagery, as they are to-day.
This therefore is the cVuse, greater than
democracy, greater than country, for
which these sons of the university dieds
They died that human servitude which
the Hohenzollerns and Hapsburgs under
the guse of efficiency sought to fasten
on the world might be forever ended
They died that the brutal law of SOW.
ereiEnty, winch now DIVIDES men INTO
hostile camps and directly OF indirectly
breeds war, might be softened.
They died that international savagery
might also die.
They died that international Justice
might be born.
They died to create the unprecedented
opportunity which faces US to-day.
Therefore pay our poor tribute to
these heroes sons Of Vermont, most Of
them; beloved children of the university.
all of them. We enthrone them in our
history and traditions in these words OF
the Immortal Bard:
when wasteful wars shall statues over
turn,
And broiis root out the work OF masonry
Nor Marsls sword nor wars quick hre
shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all-obivious enmity
Shall you pace forth your praise shall
still find room
Even In the eyes of all posterity."
DEERFIELD PULP co.