The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1919-03-18
TWO GREAT SPEECHES

After the fire. still, Smail voice.
After the "resounding and glittering gen
eralties" of the Constitution Of the
League of Nations and the Presidents
earlier exhortations thereon, came two OF
of the most sane, statesmanlike and con-
vincing addresses that the United States
Senate has heard in this generation.
1t was fitting that Senator Lodge
should speak first and that he should do
SO in precisely the way that he did. For
there is always need of destructive crit
icism when an evil or an unfit thing is to
he defeated or is to be replaced with
good thing. The Constitution of the
League of Nations had been placed before
ms, the President had advocated it pub
licly at Boston and privately to Senators
and Representatives at Washington, and
the injunction of silence had been re-
moved. 1t was fitting that the leader of
the Senate, the associate of the President
in the treaty making power, should set
forth the objections TO that instrument,
and should indicate the particulars in
which it was incompatible with the Con-
stitution of the United States and with
the established policy and vital welfare of
this country.
This Mr.. Lodge did in way which
proved his warth to be the leader of the
Senate, and which caused feeling of pro-
found regret that he could not have been
among the representatives of this coun-
try at the Peace Congress. There was no
mere railing nor denunciatiQH. There
was destructive criticism, terribly and ir-
Feparabiy destructive; but in every case
there was convincing reason given for de-
Struction was that something far better
might be substituted. Mr.. Lodge made
it Enthusiastically plain that he yielded no
precedence even to the President in earn
est desire for the safeguarding OF the
worlds peace, and for the harmonious
cooperation Of all well disposed nations to
that end. But he made it equally plain
that that end was not to be attained by
the impairment of national sovereignty
or by duplicating of the nations in EN-
: barassing and entangling engagements;
and especially the beneficent influence
of America among the nations of the
world, which we have never hesitated to
exercise whenever humanity has called
for it, is not to be enhanced nor success
fully applied by forsaking or repudiating
those principles and policies which have
been the very basis and the origin of that
Influence. 1t was discreetly intimated
The next day that the President would at
tempt no reply to Senator Lodge, and al
SO that the later's address would be of real
service to the advocates of the League in
their revision of the Constitution. There
can be no question of the magnitude of
the public and patriotic service which the
Senator from Massachusetts rendered to
this nation and through it to the world, in
the delivery of that masterful address.
A fitting sequel and complement to
Senator Lodges address was that Of SEN
ator Knox; varying in style from it as
the speech of a former Secretary of State
and diplomat might be expected to differ
from that of veteran legislator. Sena-
tor Lodge had been destructive with in
cidental and implied construction. Sen
ator Knox was constructive with inciden-
tai destruction. And that was well, be-
cause there had been rash and insecure
complaints that the opponents of the
Constitution of the League of Nations
Rad nothing to offer in its place. Mr.
Knox demonstrated that they had some
thing to offer, and he himself offered it.
Laying aside mere emotionalism and the
Infatuation of the doctrinaire, he applied
TO the proposed Constitution four tests
OF merit, and demonstrated with impreg-
nable logic Of their superiority.