Milford chronicle., 1920-09-10
The HEART OF The LEAGUE

Washington, September calling
upon the people to commit Article
Ten of the League of Nations cove
nant to memory, the Republican Pub
licity Association, through its pres
ident. Hon Jonathan Bourne, Jr., is
sues the following statement from its
Washington Headquarters:
1T is probable that many of our
citizens 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 it should be accepted by this
nation. Some have a visionary idea
that world peace somehow would be
established and made permanent if
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 notion
that the independence OF the United
States would be compromised in some
way if the covenant were adopted,
but, they, too, would have difficulty
in explaining their misgivings were
they called upon for a reason.
Nov, it requires no profound
study of the-26 sections of the cove
nant, nor of the many wordy treat
ises that have been written upon it,
to bring home to every one of our
citizens a vivid realization of just
what would happen if the United
States were bound by its terms today,
and what the future would hold for
America were its restrictions to be
applied to our progress. 1t is true
that every one of those sections con-
tains provisions more or less direct
ly affecting our welfare. but there is
one short sentence of the covenant
that contains more potential evil for
American than all the rest of the
document together. That sentence is
contained in the famous Article Y,
and reads as follows: THE members
OF the league undertake to respect
and preserve as against external ag-
gressiOn the territorial 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 I
Of the league, to use Mr.. Wilson's !
own characterization. Therein lies
the pith and substance of the whole /
contract and proper understanding /
Of what it means is sufficient educa- |
ton on the much-discussed league to /
give every one a comprehension of its |
dangers. We're the United States a I
member of the league it would be |
bound under that provision to go inn /
to the assistance of any |
one of the As other member nations, |
more or less, the moment it was |
with attack by another |
American would be solemnly ]
bound to preserve the territorial in |
tegrity' of each separate one of that |
multitude of countries, great and |
small That obligation would be dis /
Iinct from the undertaking entered |
into by any other member. 1t would |
matter not to us whether the other /
undertook to carry out /
their contracts or not. Whether they |
OF any of them took steps to preserve !
one of their number from attack, it |
would be up to the United States to /
do so individually. The only alterna-
tive would be a disgraceful repudia- /
lion by Congress and the people of /
most sacred covenant.
Now, Poland is one of those 45 I
nations. Some of the others /
are India, China, Czechoslovakia, /
Greece, Haiti, Hedjaz. Japan, Portu-
gal, Roumania, Serbia, Siamfi Switzer-
land and Persia. Poland at this I
is attacked along hundreds /
Of miles of her frontier. Were we in I
he league our armies even now |
would be engaged in bitter warfare
On the Polish-Russian front, and bill
lions of supplies and hundreds of 4
thousands of American soldiers would 4
be hurrying across the Atlantic. War
against many of the other countries
Is likely to break out at any time,
the United States would .
be compelled to duplicate its program
m Poland. How long would it be be-
lore our own fair land would be re-
iuced to the level of many of the ma
ions of Europe-bankrupt in men,
money, and morale?"