The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1920-08-10
~HEARf OF
THE LEAGTEc

The LEAGtE'
1t is probable that many of our citi-
gems entertain a more or less vague
notion of the influence the league of
nations covenant would have upon
the welfare Of the United States In
case II should be accepted by this ma
ton. Some have a visionary idea
that world peace somehow would be
established and made permanent =
America should lend its power to the
league. They have made no real at
tempt to estimate the cost to them or
to their country of such a proceeding,
and permit their minds to dwell only
upon the blessings that would come
If war should be no more. Others
have a more or less well defined no
ton that the independence of the
United States would be compromised
in some way if the covenant were
adopted. but they too would have diff
fculty in explaining their misgivings
we're they called upon for a reason.
Now. it requires nj profound study
of the 26 sections of the covenant, MOI
of the many wordy treatises that have
been written upon it, to bring home to
every one of our citizens a vivid reali-
cation of just what would happen IL
the United States were bound by its
terms today, and what the future
would hold for America were its re-
strictions to be applied to our prog
ress. 1t is true that every one OF
those sections contains provisions
more or less directly affecting our
welfare, but there is n short SEN
tence of the covenant that contains
more potential evil for America thar
all the rest of the document together.
That sentence is contained in the ia
nous Article X and reads as follows:
"The members of the league under
take to respect and preserve as
against external aggression the terri
torial integrity and existing political
independence of all members of the
league"
Every man and every woman who
desires to cast an intelligent vote at
the polls this fall should commit that
passage to memory and ponder over
it in the weeks that follow before the
election. That sentence is the heart
of the league to use Mr.. Wilson's
own characterization. Therein lies
the pith and substance Of the whole
contract and a proper understanding
of what it means is sufficient educa-
ton on the much-discussed league to
give everyone a comprehension of its
dangers. Were the United States a
member of the league it would be
bound under that provision to &C i'm
mediately to the assistance of any one
of the As other member nations, more
or less, the moment it was threatened
with attack by another country.
America would be solemnly bound to
preserve the territorial integrity" OF
each separate n of that multitude
of countries, great and small. That
would be distinct from the
undertaking entered into by any other
member. 1t would matter not to US
whether the other signatories under
took to carry out their contracts or
not. Whether they or any of them
took steps to preserve n of their
number from attack, it would be up to
the United States to do so individu-
ally. The only alternative would be
disgraceful reputation by Congress
and the people of a most sacred cove
nant.
Now, Poland is one of those As
member nations. Some of the others
are India, China, Czechoslovakia,
Greece, Haiti, Hedjaz, Japan, Portu-
gal, Roumania, Serbia, Siam, Switzer-
land, and Persia. Poland at this mo-
ment is attacked along hundreds of
miles of her frontier. Were we in
the league our armies even now would
be engaged in bitter warfare on the
Polish-Russian front, and billions of
supplies and hundreds of thousands
of American soldiers would be hurry
ing across the Atlantic. War against
MANY of tho other countries iS likely
to break out at any time. %whereupon
tn United States would be compelled
to duplicate it's program in Poland.
How long would it be before u W
fair land would be reduced to the
level of many of the nations of Eu-
rope-bankrupt in men, money and
morale?