The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-07-16
GAMBLING AT THE
FOOT OF THE CROSS


While the Saviour of men was dy-
ing in blood the brutal soldiers who
had crucified him threw dice for his
clothing at the foot of his cross.
Today the world is in crucial agony.
The vast masses of the ignorant Rus
sian peasantry have found themselves
freed from the yoke of age-long OPP
preston, and in the mad delirium OF
| freedom for which they had not been
prepared they threaten to ruin the
world. Brutal Bolshevik and UNI
speakable Turk wreak horrible veng-
eance upon those they hate or safe
their lust and vent their cruelty upon
defenseless women and helpless chill
dren. The women of Odessa are raw
ished by lustful brutes, who have them
in their power; and the women and
children of Adana, are ruthlessly
slaughtered for no other defense than
being Christians. The United States
Government could have stopped much
of this with word months ago, and
it would have spoken that word but
for the obstructive tactics of the Sen
ate. And what is the matter with the
Senate? A large majority of the
Senators of both parties have de-
clared themselves in favor of League
of Nations. Few of them have had
the hardihood to denounce such
league.
What, then, is the trouble? Simply
that presidential election is pending.
1t is we'll known that large major
ity of the American people favor
League of Nations, and the leaders OF
both political parties want credit for
framing the league in its final form.
That is the milk in the present politi-
cal cocoanut.
While young republics. which got
their political ideas from us, are
struggling for existence and threaten
ed with extinction; while our asso-
ciates in the world war exert them
selves to restore and maintain inter
national order, Notwithstanding their
own exhausted condition; while semi
barbarians threaten to imperil Chris
tian civilization and thus create
condition which would compel our sons
to go across seas again to fight; while
the destiny of humanity trepbles in
the balance, our political leaders use
public sentiment for pawn and gam
BILE for political advantage G1l the
spoils of office.
Our financiers are anxious to profit
commercially by the conditions Great
ed by the new world order. We want
to increase our commercial s9prem-
acy-one of the points we achieved as
a result of the war. We want to lay
tribute upon the necessities of all the
nations of the world. But we would
like to leave to other nations the
trouble and cost of keeping the world
in order.
We are too blind to see that our eff
forts to profit by the misfortunes of
other people are likely to Srir.g SIM
liar misfortune to us. While our Sen
ate talks and talks and talks, and
eliminates and recriminates, wSile the
offended dignity of little men blocks
the foreign policy of our government
and keeps the world in suspense, the
Russian radical, the South of Europe
Socialist, the anarchists of every type
SOW the winds of distrust and dis
content in our own land, ard already
there are signs that foreshadow the
whirlwind.
The world is now too small for a
nation to succeed in isolating itself.
We cannot be world power CONNER
cially and continue nation of Robi-
son Crusoes morally and politically.
Our flag goes with our trade, our cit
liens go with our flag, and our flag
must in turn protect our citizens.
We are now a world power, whether
we want to be or not; that much is an
accomplished fact. Our only choice
is whether we shall assume our share
of responsibility in conditions which
we have helped to create or try to shift
all the responsibility to other Shout
ders; whether we shall be among the
nations as helpful friend or merely
Yankee trader with a chip on our
shoulder.
Already our Secretary of the Navy
is telling Congress that the size of the
navy we shall need will depend upon
the fate of the League of Nations. The
size Of the army must depend upon
the same outcome. The whole plan of
universal military training, which our
military men are urging upon Con-
gress, with the heavy burden of tax
alton that it would entail, is based up
on the idea that we cannot live in
friendly relations with the rest of the
world and therefore must be prepared
to fight all corners at a moments not
ice. In short, we are in danger of re-
jecting all overtures at friendly I'M
derstanding with other nations and of
repeating the very folly for which we
helped to crush Germany. What has
become of our Christian idealism?
Unless we save ourselves from our
present breed of politicians, we are
headed toward chaos. We cannot af-
ford to allow our leaders to gamble
for party advantage at the foot of the
cross of selfishness and greed upon
which humanity hangs bleeding.
But we are not sounding note Of |
despair. The hearts of the masses of
this country are in the right place.
Politicians who think that our domi-
nant motive is self-aggrandizement or
nraad Of tratp ara nj a uipo with Era