Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1920-08-31
GETTING TANGLED UP.

GETTING TANGLED UP.
Candidate Harding seems to be getting tan
gled up in his position on the League of Nations
and the first thing he knows he will lose the
support Of Senators Johnson, Borah and other
last ditchers, who will have good ground to claim
that they were deceived and double crossed
The Republican candidate who has been front
porching about the United States standing alone
and not getting mixed up in European affairs
stated last Saturday that if he was elected presi-
dent he would Immediately construct "a world
association on the framework Of The Hague
clothed with such attributes of the League OF
Nations covenant as may be found safe and
practicable" He thought it might be done by
putting teeth" in The Hague court.
But Mr. Harding this has already been done
by the League Of Nations you want to scrap.
That is what Elhu Root has been doing for
weeks across the water. Under Article Ia of the
league covenant it was agreed that an interna-
tional court of justice should be established at
The Hague to settle questions Of international
law. The members of the League Of Nations
comprising 20 nations now, invited all the big
iurists from all civilized countries to meet at
The Hague and devise rules and methods of pro-
decisions. They asked Elihu Root among others
and he accepted and is said to have rendered
valuable service to the League of Nations with
his suggestions. Of course he did not represent
the United States which is not a member, but
he gave his service to the league as an Individual
Now this proposition to kill off the League Of
Nations with it's 20 members, and appropriate
the dead leagues clothes to dress up a new
League of Nations not yet born, but to be chris
tened when it is born "A World Association of
Nations to Preserve Peace or some such title
sounds little premature to US. How does Sen
ator Harding know that it will ever be born?
Has he engaged Senators Johnson, BOrah and
Reed as political midWives when the event comes
on? If so is he sure the infant will live long
enough to get any teeth" These gentlemen
are opposed to any teeth in any world agree
ment we know. Then when it comes to clothing
the new infant with the clothes Of the present
world League of Nations after cutting them
down to fit the young one, there may great
difficulties arise. No husky young one will give
up his pants without struggle, for the use Of
another naked kid, and the present League Of
Nations seems in a husky and growing condition
and not likely to part with its garments on the
say SO OF Senator Harding, even if he should
come to be president Harding
We can see that Brother Harding is getting
into swampy ground with much dead and down
timber in it in his desire to satisfy the Repub-
licans who want League of Nations very much
like the present one and the Republicans who
want no League of Nations at all, but insist on
this country following a policy Of complete iso-
lation from European affairs such as President
Washington recommended more than a century
ago. This attempt on the part Of Candidate
Harding to straddle the League of Nations fence
can only result in injury to himself It is too
broad straddle. Moreover the opponents of the
league and the friends Of the league can no more
be mixed than fire and water. The effort to do
50 will surely produce an explosion Better
stand on no league at all Senator Harding. This
new league under another name and clothed in
the attributes" Of the old league is a dangerous