Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-10-21
'BEL|EvES HARDING
THE SAFER MAN
Pres. Thomas Wants a League
But Not the Wilson or the
Cox Kind

Ing" President Thomas contends that the
Wilson League of Nations violates the
fundamental principles OF American gov
ernment." The article follows; ~ dwell
In house by the side of the road and l
try to understand and sympathize with
che feelings and thoughts, the en-
thusiasms passions and resentments OF
those who pass my door I kndled my
anger at the fires Of their wrath against
the German bayonets which inpaled
Belgian babies and forced my way alike
into their sufferinss and their cagerness
as they sent their sons TO France for
vengeance. n Is good 70 be close 10 the
heart of this brave, honest. fair.minded,
Justice loving people. 7 shall vote for
Senator Harding IN order that ! may
claim fellowship with the great masses
Of the people, IN their disappointment and
Indignation az President Wilson's man
ngement of the peace negotiations. both
abroad and at home. from the day Of the
srr1istice until now
Those feelings are justified. The SOL
d,er did his toh maenifcenty. but the
statesman who represented him at the
peace table made a sorry mess of things
He turned admiration for American valor
into contempt for American intelligence.
Read Keynes Economic consequences of
tbs Peace, or any other inside story of
the Versailles conference and YOU are
forced 70 admit it, Mr.. Wilson changed
the good will Of Europe toward us into
.corn and hatred. He forfeited absolutely
the position Of moral leadership
which America had gained He staked
everything on a crude and ili-digested
plan for permanent peace. which there Ia
no evidence he had ever thought of until
a few weeks before he left for Paris, and
failed even 70 accomplish immediate
pesce When he landed in France the
whole world was eager for Just and
permanent settlement; when he departed
a score Of wars had famed up and many
of them are raging still. The gathering at
Versailles the most disappointing
conference in which great nations ever
participated, and the man most re-
sponsible for the failure was President
Wilson. The coming election is the first
opportunity of the ctizenry of America
to register their judgment whether they
were Justly represented at the peace con-
ference, and for the honor and good name
of my country | want TO be among those
~ho vote that they We're NOT.
OBJECTIONS TO WILSON LEAGUE
L shall vote for Senator Harding be-
cause I believe IN a League Of Nations
Mr. Wilson's league is dead. Europe takes
that for granted and is fighting its wars
as if no league had ever been proposed
Even the election of Mr.. Cox would not
put life into that league nor bring about
American participation in it. There would
Still be the Senate to reckon with.
Now I do not find all of my church
and college friends doing Justice to the
Senate objections to Mr.. Wilson's league
In this matter the people as whole
are nearer right than the intellectuals.
The fundamental difficulty with Mr.. Will
sons league is not the voting power of
the British colonies. nor the inadequate
safeguarding Of the Munroe Doctrine
nor any similar detail serious as those
questions may be. The great objection to
II is that 1t violates the fundamental
principle of American government, which
Is that power NAV be exercised in the
name Of the people only by those chosen
to represent them Under Mr.. Wilson'S
league plan some citizen whom no citi-
zen has voted for who would be entirely
beyond the reach and control Of any
elective body. would have full power and
authority to commit this nation on all
matters of foreign policy. on questions of
the largest ConceiVa BILE importance, and
the country would be absolutely hound
10 the consequences Of his decisions. Read
the league covenant and IL that Is
not true
WAYS AND MEANS ARE WRONG
England can consent to such An ar
Management, because she has govern
ment' subject to recall the moment that
any representative such her league
delegate. loses the confidence of the peo-
pie But under our system there is no
such possibility. as we elect our pres-
dent for a definite term and for specific
duties. which do not include many mat
ters which would come before our league
representative for decision. I do not be-
lisve that the American people will ever
consent-or ever ought to consent-to
commit the determination of their rela-
tions to all other peoples of the world
TO some one person in whose selection
they have no choice and over whose acts
they can exercise no control, That would
be TO abandon democracy. The instinct
Of the rank and file to hold back from
such abandonment Of their constitutional
/ right 10 act through their representa-
/ tives is wiser than the impulse of the
/ few In church and college TO plunge into
this league because II is announced IN
the name of idealism and world peace.
The children of this world are wiser
IN their generation than the children Of
light. and one of the frequent frolics Of
the children of light Is to follow bindly
some leader with a pous vocabulary. The
.
dispatches came from Paris, came out
with the Aarng commemorative
| League of Nations is Right" The Idea
Of It is grandly right but the ways and
, means are decidedly wrong and absolutely
un-American. They are opposed to the
principles Of jefferson, the concepts of
/ Washington, the principles of Lincoln at
Gettysburg. The more carefully con-
s!der the fundamental principles Of gov
eminent involved in Nj. Wilson's league
the more convinced that the growing OPP
position 10 It has been based upon sound
judgment
AN EFFECTIVE LEAGUE
"oa the other hand ! do not under
stand that a Republican vote is an
Abandonment of the idea Of the parlia-
nent of man, the federation OF the
world Senator Harding is committed
by his platform To an agreement
among the nations to preserve the
peace of the world" he is pledged to
an international association based on
international lustice-which shah Sc
cure instant ana general international
conference whenever peace shall be
threatened The way to an effective
league is TO sustain him in carrying
out this pledge. II We are To have a
league al all it must be without de-
priving the people of the United
States in advance of the right to de-
terInine for themselves what is Just
and fair when the occasion arises.
The quotations are from the Repub-
licsn platform, which is not a denial
of American responsibility in world
se,tr nf al