The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-04-08

The Nation: According TO HI the
Paris dispatches, President Wilson
has authorized the Statement. that
the league Of nations plan is TO be
II tnteBI part of the peace treaty
\ Il this be true, we regard il as 9 de-
llberate. attempt 10 dragon the sen
ate OF the United States, and as
such. = logical and fitting climax 10
The whole discreditsble course Of the
Paris conference II Is the familiar
trick Of the rider The people o.
this country want the peace treaty
signed and ont OF the way. the bust
ness interests being especially i'm
rztient Of delay. At the same time,
they are very imperfectIy informed
about The implications Of the league
covenant. and reluctant 10 wade
through Ihe diplomatic .argon which
halfco1cezls its sinister purposes
Peace, TOO. il the immediate censsd-
Grafton; the matters canyassed il
The covenant appear remote. II the
senate refuses TO ratsfy treaty of
which the covenant is an integral
pars, X must carry a fearful burden
iUf obloQuy for obstructing peace; and
this apparently, Is just what the
IN view. We may be quite sure, too.
that every agency at the disposal Of
the administration will do its utmost
10 manufacture and strengthen pub
lie sentiment against the opposition
of the senate; and this, again, is
quite as it should be. II is quite ap-
propriste that this measure should
prevail, If il does prevail, wholly BY
z <nrr NJ fol f-l
and dragooning, rather than only In
part This alliance of victorious gov
enments, masquerading under the
pretentious lying title OF a league of
nations, organized for sheer eco
nomic exploitation. has nowhere in
its cons trution sincerity enough to
make fitting one single inch of
furtherance By aid Of any honora BILE
means whatsoever Il should con
rinue and end under no other than
the auspices Of its beginning.
We must make ii clear at the out
set that we do not discuss the gen
eral idea Of league of nations. AS
70 that, we spoke fully in our issue
OF March s. We believe that league
OF nations is inevitable, and that ii
viii come automatically and spon-
taneousiy, By means which politicians
do not contemplate. The removal Of
economic barriers and the restric-
tons now imposed by political gov
ernments upon industry and trade,
would, We believe, at once effect the
same free economic union among
world states that now prevails among
the United States Of America: and
we think that free economic union
is the only one that will have sta
bility or permanency. What may be
done By way Of further political
union, or closer political association,
among world states, we do not know
While we are sheptfcal about il, we
are aware that many able minds are
in favor or IL, in belief that some
good win come out OF the attempt
We wish 10 refrain from any dis
couragement of this optimism: hence
we must be understood as saying
nothing unfavorable at this time
about the general aspiration toward
a league of nations. We merely wish
10 expose the character OF the par
ticular proposal which President Will
son brought back from France, and
which he apparently intends, If he
can, 10 compel the senate TO RI tify
We do this the more freely because
the very aspiration we mention. the
pacific and friendly instinct of man
kind, can be so easily perverted to
support this proposal by reason of
the fact that IL bears the name of
the thing aspired to. No trick of
the politician is more common than
this; this il was. for instance, which
foisted bogus reform of the aomi-
mating system on the people of New
York state By calling it direct pri-
mary" This it may be, TOO. which
viii foigt this aIliance-contract upon