Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1920-03-18
REP EATS OPPOSITION


N0shiHgton.-DresiG wilson mas
Ta-stated Tor Democrats senators hts
opposition to any Peace sre.lr lgse2
yatiors which would %ear.e1 til .4.I
force Of Article 10, or otherwise n4.
teri&lly impair The provisions OF the
League covenant.
Without saying specifically what
qualification he would or would not
accept, he wrote. in a letter to Sena.
tor Hitchcock, that almost all of the
reservations, he had heard suggested
were lin effect virtual qualifications
of the treaty articles to which they
applied.
Il hear of reservationists and mild
reservationists.' the letter added, but
1 cannot understand the difference be.
tween a nullifier and a mild multi.
fer"
Discussing Article 10 particularly,
the President wrote that there was
no escaping the moral obligations
which are expressed in positive
terms" though there would be no OBJ.
lection to explaining in an i%nterpreta.
ton the constitutional methods by
which such an obligation would have
to be fulfilled. The very heart" Of
the covenant, he reiterated, would be
imperilled by weakening Article 10.
Regarding this article the president
says:
"Any reservation which seeks to de.
prive the League of Nations of the
force of Article 10 cuts at the very
heart and life of the covenant itself.
Any League of Nations which does
not guarantee as a matter of incon.
testable right the political indepen.
dence n integrity of each of its
members might be hardly more than
q futile scrap of paper, as ineffective
in operation as the agreement between
Belgium and Germany which the Ger
mans violated in 1914. Article 10 as
written into the treaty of Versailles
represents the remuneration by Great
Britain and Japan, which before the
war had begun to find so many inter
ests in common in the Pacific, by
France, by Italy-by all the grea'
fighting powers of the world of the
old p%retensions of political conques
and territorial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. 1t il
a new doctrine in the worlds affairs
and must be recognized or there is n,
secure basis for the peace which tn,
whole world SO longingly desires an,
SO desperately needs. If Article 10 i
not adopted and acted upon, the gov
ernments which reject it will, | think
be guilty of bad faith to their peopl
= Wln fln,y inl,,ool +o Mr. iI. =, G-:4
sacrifices of the war by the pledg
that they would be fighting to redeer
the world from the old orders of fore
and aggression. They will be actin
also in bad faith to the opinion of tn
world at large to which they appeale
for support in d concerted stan
, against the aggressions and prefer
sions Of Germany.
IF we were to reject Article 10, O
SO to weaken it as to take its fu
force out Of it, it would mark is "a
e desiring to return to the old world {
d jealous rivalry and misunderstanding
from which our gallant soldiers hav
y rescued us. and would leave US Will
4 OUT any vision or e conception {
justice and peace We would hay
O !aa,ue no lesson from tnc war, bU
h 81 ined atIN Tie r"gre, tl,, il had II
>, VOWED u. in liz maclstrou OF sure
jm&. II America has awakened. lis III
i, rr&l OF Che word has, to tho vision {
;. lrw gay IL ~hjch The mistake {
i. the p.y+t lTe TO be oorrr ted, ii wi
n welralo she opportunity to hare IA
RESPONSIBILITIES of Article tG