Milford chronicle., 1920-12-31
UNCLE TED'S
BEDTIME STORIES
PANDORA's BOX AT GENEVA

II ndS bcGH Il lOuS tlutts 0uCit leu
since you have told us anything about
the Worlds Club" Jack reminded his
uncle as they called Ruth and settled
themselves in front of the fire for
the evenings story. Have the MEM
bers been doing anything to bring
peace into the world. as lots of peo-
pie said they would just as soon as
they had a meeting and laid their
plans?"
mo, they have not" replied Uncle
Ted. Il am glad you have spoken of
the World Club, because the first meet
ing has just come to an end at Gene
va, Switzerland. The members met on
November 18th and elected one of the
Belgian delegates as presiding officer
Then the discussions began, and
such time as they have had of it!
Almost everyone who spoke found
some fault with the covenant, which
they were all sworn to obey, and eth
er urged some change in it to suit
the special interests of his country or
else refused to be longer bound by its
terms. am just going to review brief
ly what happened at the meeting, as
it proves the wisdom of our own Re
publican Senators who said that the
world peace club was really world
war club, and predicted that the men,
bers never could act together when
it meant the surrender of any selfish
/ interest.
"The meeting had been in session
I only three days when it was voted to
organize a World Club Army, COM
posed of soldiers from England,
France, Belgium, and Spain. and send
it to place called Wilma in the midst
of the bloody uprisings in Russia to
keep order while the people of the
city voted as to whether they should
become citizens of Lithuania or OF
Poland. How would we like to have
our soldier boys sent on such an er-
rand. and yet that is the very first
thing they would have been ordered to
do had the United States Joined the
World Club.
"The next day. November 18th there
was more trouble. A long note was
received from Germany protesting
against the way the more powerful
members of the Club, like England
and France, have been using the for
mer German colonies for their own
benefit. Under the World Club plan
those colonies were to be protected
by the countries given charge OF
them. and the natives taught to use
and enjoy what they produced, the
way people do in civilized nations.
But Great Britain, in particular, has
sought to make herself rich at the
expense of those new territories. The
other members of the World Club saw
the Justice of the German complaint, (
and tried to review the action by
which most of the colonies had been I
given to England, France and Japan. I
But those three countries refused to /
permit the forty or more other men, (
bers to have anythink to say about it,
and one of the most serious disputes /
of the whole meeting resulted; in
fact, almost the last things that were
said were some hot words passed be-
tween the English delegate and the
from some of the small
Ter nations.
zone of the features of the World
Club plan called upon all members to
stop raising armies and building bat
yet one of the Belgian dele
gates, who is a pacifist, said that he
did not believe in such a policy, and
urged that the World Club appoint
general staff of military men to study
the best ways to wage war. He said
he was convinced the World Club
would have to compel obedience to
its command by force of arms. Which,
of course, is exactly what Republi- I
can Senators predicted would be the
case.
Some of the members of the World
Club did not take part in the Great
War, but they did sign the club plan
which, in effect, provides that all
members shall assist in enforcing the
treaty by which the war was ended. !
Those neutral members protest against
.aking part in that enforcement, but I
)f course they have signed the plan Q
md their complaints are too late. All S
hey can do now is to grumble and
)bey the orders of the other men, G
)ers."
Didn't the meeting do anything at
Ill except quarrel" anxiously inquir- /
ID Ruth. "I should think that at least I
me man in a peace meeting of that e
lind would have tried to smile and /
make people feel happy ?
81 should think so, too" agreed I'm 0
lie Ted, "but, so far as I have been e
bile to learn, every day brought up 4
something new to kindle the anger v
# the delegates and make even more Q
emote the chance of doing anything H
or world peace. For instance, the day a
fter the last incident of which / s
poke, one of the club committees re-
orted that no changes would be q
1ade in the club plan. Several MEM u
ers have urged certain amendments
hat their countries earnestly desired II
D have adopted, and when they we're u
II turned down there was great dis :
abstraction. One delegate, the man
rom Argentina, was so angry that he
rent home.
"You remember, children. that Pres
lent Wilson said that the heart of
le world club plan was the para
raph that says every member shall
rotect the territory of every other
Iember. The fight against that pro-
sion, more than any other, was what
efeated the plan in the United States
nd il is against that very provision
lat the members at Geneva were lou
EST in complaint. Denmark said she
ould not send an army for such a
1rpose unless her parliament ex-
-essly gave permission, and 1t is GER
in that the paragraph can never be
lforced in the way President Will
N wanted it.
There is one thing, however, that
| the forty or more members of the
orld Club were agreed on. And that
chO hn-