Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-08-24

Exploded Dy JurlStS
| (4) Some of our greatest American
| jurists have exposed the fallacy OF
| the claim of super-government. Mr.
William H. Taft, for example, says
'It is said the council is a managing
| body, that it is the super-sovereign
| There is no function to be performed
| by the council that is not advisory
''It is only partnership agreement
| Mr.. Hughes says: Each power will be
| the judge of what in good faith il
/! should do. In the case of the United
States, the guarantee will not be made
| good except by the action of congress
and it will be for congress to decide
whether we are bound and what we
should undertake" Mr.. Root has ex-
pressed himself similarly, as has ex-
Attorney General Wickersham.
(5) A careful reading of the League
covenant will reveal the fact that
there are no provisions which affect
American sovereignty. 1t is expressly
stated that decision at any meeting
| of the assembly or council shall re-
quire the agreement of all members
of the Lea que represented at the
meeting" The assembly is a gather
] ing for conference and discussion
The council is the executive body of
the League. The United States has a
representative on it and his vote can
negative any proposed action 1t is
! unthinkable that a representative OF
the United States would agree to any
thing which his government did not
sanction or which impaired our SOW
ereignty.
CO. Any nation in the League can
withdraw on two years notice being
given which is further security
against our being controlled by a
super-sovereignty.
CD The League of Nations involves
only such a limitation of sovereignty
as is involved in every treaty. The
contracting parties enter into agree
ments which become national obliga-
tions. In the League covenant the ma
tions agree that they will settle their
disputes by arbitration and that they
will not cut each others throats, steal
each others territory, or destroy each
others independent existence as ma
tions. Our arbitration treaties involve
| the same principles.
Few Utterances More Selfish
Mr.. Harding also opposes the Lea
que on the ground that it is un-Amer-
lean and will involve us in dangerous
foreign alliances and entanglements
He says he would rather have indus
trial and social peace at home than
command the international peace OF
the world Few more selfish state.
ments on questions of great import
ance to humanity have ever been ut.
tered. How different Mr.. Harding's
outlook from that of Mr.. Lincoln, who
said that he trusted that American
democracy would "Give hope not to
Americans alone, but to all mankind
the whole world round, that in some
coming day the burdens will be lifted
from their shoulders and every soul on
earth shall possess the glorious heri-
tage of freedom" MIR. Harding seems
to have no intellectual or moral per.
spectiye. and advocates policy which
would justify the criticism foreign
er has visited upon us, "a mercenery
rabble of states"
The mission of America is not sim.
ply to itself. We have a moral obi.
CATION to all nations, and we have nc
right to desert our allies at an hour
when we are living i'm a shattered
world and the forces of reaction and
revolution are stalking forth among
the nations. 1t is time for America
to be great In service, and above all
she should respond to the call of war
cursed humanity to lend a hand tC
make future wars impossible.
The war will be practically lost II
the world is to go back to the old or
der of indiyidualistic natiOnalism
competing ornaments, secret treaties
j intrigue for the balance of power ani
political ambition and party selfish
ness, where Mr.. Harding's position
would place it.
Time for World Amity
The time has come when Statesmen
should see that the complexities O.
modern civilization, and especially il
it's economic and commercial rela
tions, are such that the world canno
continue to be an arena for nation:
to compete for selfish advantages, bu
rather than national progress depends
on international cooperation, amt,
and good will. The old political phil
osophy of isolation furnishes no fit
ting solution for the problems of tn,
present. 1t is day for a "cosmi,
consciousness and a planetary pas
sion" and the man who has not caugh
the vision of internatiOnalism is be
hind the times, he is not fit to lead
progressive nation.
Mr.. Harding also objects to tn
League of Nations on the ground tha
it is ''a military alliance based ol
force" (which menaces peace an,
threatens all freedom instead of add
ing to their security" 1t is difficult t.
have patience with such an absur,
Misrepresentation. One would thinl
the League constitution was a mill
tary program for aggressive warfar
rather than an alliance to promot
lreace. The whole scheme of opel
covenants, disarmament, inquiry int
disputes, arbitration, and information
al court, international commission
land bureaus, exchange of information
uniting to resist wars of spoilatiol
and aggression by economic pressur
and military power, if the nations s
agree, publication of the facts of al
0isputes-all these provisions look t
. peac: and peace only. This covenan
adopted makes war a practical impos
sibility. We are told our sons may b
called to fight in foreign lands. A
Herbert Hoover says: There is n
cbligation for the United States to en-
gage with military operations, or al
low any interferences with our inter
mai affairs without the full consent c
our representative in the League,
who would, of course, be under In
Istruction from our government
All this talk about involving us
war without cur consent is pure pt
litical bunk. The opposition to th
League i'm Paris @aroSe entirely frol
the representative of the old milital
!stic regime who saw that 1t meaI
1.-THE sultimate abandonment OF the mi
itary force i'm the world.- From b,
ginning to end it is an alliance fG
Justice and peace.
II Mr.. Harding's objection is ths
there are some provisions to chec
war and cOmpel recreant nations