The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1920-05-27
THE COUNTRY
NEEDS PEACE

NEEDS PEACE
The greatest need of this country
at this day and hour is for a state
of peace to be declared. Not exactly
as Mr.. Bryan says for the purpose Of
keeping the peace treaty out of the
campaign as an issue that might lose
tie election to the Democratic party
but for the larger reason that the
American people need relief from the
burdens of war which it appears they
must carry until a technical peace
shall have been declared.
The burdens placed upon commerce
and business in general are such that
they reach the inner life of every in
dividual and the country cannot con
tinue to prosper in a technical state
of war, with its attendant restrictions
and conditions which do not fit the
times.
No less important are the billions
of dollars of governmental expenses
which are being poured out for no
value in return, merely because a le-
gal state of war exists, when in fact
there is no war in which this country
is involved and peace is a fact OF
public and private knowledge though
a stranger to the statutes.
The league of nations having been
written into the peace treaty for the
purpose, candidly expressed by Presi-
dent Wilson, of compelling its adop-
ton, with an equally obstinate de-
termination upon the part of a Re-
publican senate on the other hand to
not allow it TO be adopted in its pres
plete. This state of things was car
ried as far as any national interest
could justify and was no doubt upon
the hypothesis that anything less than
an acceptance of the treaty without
reservations would be unacceptable
to the principal allies in the victor
ious war against autocracy. The
President, on the other hand, held
that to adopt the treaty with reserva-
tons would nullify it and constitute
national dishonor. The ruling forces
of the senate on the other hand held
that reservations preserving Ameri-
can sovereignty. the constitution and
traditions would not impair but would
in reality improve the real effective
ness of the treaty.
This was the issue for a time, but
finally came England and France witt
a clear-cut declaration that the reser-
vations as proposed by Senator Lodge
and advocated by ex-President Taft
and others would be wholly accept
able to them, thus virtually making
them applicable to the whole league
and would soon be accepted by all
To this idea all of the northern Demo
cratic senator's, save two, acquiesced
and it afforded an opportunity which
President Wilson could have taken
advantage of there and then and have
settled this vexed question several
weeks ago.
1t will most likely be the opinion
of the country at large that Mr.. Will
son should have taken advantage of
this opportunity and have relieved
the country of the burdens of wal in
time of actual peace.
While there will always be a linger-
ing belief in the absolute sincerity OF
Mr.. Wilson it will be generally
acknowledged that when he found he
could not get all that he demanded
he should have taken the next bes'
which would have been the adoption
of the treaty with reservations and
accompanying it a declaration OF
peace with the wartime burdens
thrown overheard weeks ago.
There is no way of safely attempt
ing a prediction of what the political
conventions will do with the peace
issue, now that it has reached the
stage that II has. but it most likely
will transpire. that the two platforms
will declare for the preservation of
American sovereignty and safeguards
to the constitution, and in fact, will
not be far apart on the real essence
of the issue.-IEly Times.