The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-01-31
WHY TIE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
FAILED AND HOW TO RE-
CONSTRUCT IT. - "s'
Written for The Catholic Bulletin
by VIM. F. Markoe.)

IN loom ND on all sides of the horizon,
all emphasizing the necessity for some
sort of union, or league OF nations,
to preserve world-peace, promote ana
stabilize the common interests of hui
manitv. and make the horrors OF war
forever impossible. Naturally. our
own United States CT America WIN
more than century OF experience be-
hind it, offered the most popular moo
el for such imaginary declarations as
The United States Of Europe, OF
THE United States OF the World.
DR.. Frank Crane, the we'll known edl-
torial writer. addressed an open let
ter" to President Wilson in which ne
drew a glowing description or me
United tSates of the World. MT.
Wilson himself soon became fascin-
ated with the idea. and contributed
several striking pen pictures OF ms
vision to an anxious and eNpectant
world. What all men recognized was
The need of some sort of world trlbun-
IL with universal Jurisdiction and au-
1hority to settle disputes and quarrels
between nations as ordinary courts
settle disputes and quarrels between
Individuals. If the pen IS really
"might!er than the sword" there must
be some solution to the problem which
will prevent the periodical appeals
to the sword.
Unfortunately, the great majority
of men today seem to know little or
nothing of world history. Hence
they do not know, or deliberately ig-
more, the fact that such tribunal
already exists, and has existed in
the world for centuries, exercising its
benign influence whenever and wher-
ever invoked, with unfailing success
among all the nations Of Christendom,
from the day of its memorable moral
victory over Attila, King of the Huns,
down through all the centuries OF
cur own time, when our own govern
ment appealed to it to settle the veXed
.'Friar Question" for us in the Philip
pines. This it did so satisfactorily
that former President Taft, our spe-
cial ambassador appointed for the oc-
casion. never tired of telling his au~
dlenccs of the wonderful 'world-p0W
or" he had discovered in the person
of a venerable old man lettering on
the brink of the grave, who, in the
long line of his noble descent, bore
the famous title of Leo XIII Many
had heard only of the modern Hague
Tribunal which proved so gigantic a
failure that it is comparable only to
the Tower of Babel The World War
broke out within thirty or sixty DAYS
after the completion of the Ra5ue
Peace Palace and the unveiling of the
statue of Andrew Carnegie, its multi
millionaire promoter. just as all the
minor wars for ten, years previously
had broken out simultaneously with
the completion of every important
part of the vast edifice. Like the an
cient inhabitants Of the globe who
ridlculed the curious looking Ark.
built by Noah at Gods command, to
save the race from destruction by the
flood, yet put faith and confidence in
their lettering Tower of Babel: SO
men today ignore the means provided
by the Creator Himself for the pre-
seryation of peace on earth among
men of good will, and try to substi
tute something Of their own manu-,
facture in place of it called League
of Nations The reasons for their
failure are many, but here are few
of them.
First-There is only one keystone
that will fit the vacant place in the
great moral arch of society which
must bear the weight of the perma
nent Peace Palace dedicated to the
preservation of world-peace. This is
the Stone" that was rejected by the
builders" Until it shall be restored
to it's proper place of honor and dig
nifty as head of the corner" modern
architects of modern would-be perIna
nent peace palaces will find them
selves building on a foundation Of
Quick-sand. Most writers today de
iiberately suppress the condition or
which world-peace is promised to hu
manity, namely, ito men of gooC
WILL, and substitute a general promise
of good will to men, without any
condition precedent. 1t is amazing
how many writer's of supposed erudi
ton and integrity will do this delib
erately and shamelessly in spite O.
the official edition of the Vulgate il
use for centuries throughout al
Christendom, in which the meanins
of the words is unmistakable, viz.
Gloria in excelsis Dec, ct in terri;
Pax Hominibus Bonae Voiuntatis."
is useless to mince words, Or mini
mize the fact, that world-peace is i'm
possible without this necessary mora
condition on which it rests -
Second-World-pea depends NOR
on moral, than on material, conditions
1t is, therefore, impossible to subst
tute modern, man-made, mechanical
morality for the moral code reveale,
by the Creator and Redeemer, first, il
the Ten Commandments before Christ
and, second, in the infallible mora
teaching of His church since Chris
The failure of the attempt has becom
as patent to the world today, as tn
fiasco of the Tower of Babel of ole
Thirdly thus usurping the pre-
negatives, of the Almighty and ignol
ing the inalienable rights Of His d
yinely appointed Vicar on earth, VIII
openly and fearlessly claims this it'll,
and never ceases to protest agains
violations of his rights, humanity