Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-08-07

I of military men that in future wars
! the method, more effective than gases
or bombs. will be the employment of
! the germs of diseases. carrying pesti-
lence and destruction. Any nation pre-
pared under these conditions. as Ger
many was equipped in 1914. could con-
quer the world in year.
| 1t is planned now to make this i'm
possible. A definite plan has been
agreed upon. The League of Nations
is in operation. very important
work. under its control. just completed
was participated in by the Hon. Elihu
Root. Secretary of State under the
Roosevelt administration. At a meet
| ing of the Council of the League of Ma
tions, February II, an organizing com
mittec of twelve of the most eminent
jurists in the world was selected: The
duty of this group was to devise a plan
for the establishment of a Permanent
Court of International Justice. as a
branch OF the League. This assignment
has been concluded by unanimous ac-
ton. This auSurs well for world peace
The question is whether we shall or
shall not join in this practical and hui
name movement. President Wilson, as
our representative at the peace table
entered the League in our name, in so
far as the executive authority permit
ted Senator Harding as the republi-
can candidate for the presidency, pro-
poses in plain words that we remain
out of it. AS the democratic candi-
date, ! favor going in. Let us ana
Iyze Senator Harding's plan of making
a German American peace. and then
calling for a new relationship among
nations assuming for the purpose of
argument only that the perfidious and
that dealt with Germany would possess
the power or influence to draw % ma
tiOns away from Il plan already at
! work, and induce them to retracc cv-
cry step and make a new beginning.
This would entail our appointing an
other commission to assemble with
those selected by the other powers.
With the Versailles instrument dis
carded, the whole subject of partitions
and divisions of territory on new lines
would be reopened. This diffiuclties
in this regard. as any fair mind appre-
ciates would be greater than they
were at the peace session. and we must
not attempt to convince ourselves that
they did not try the genius. patience.
and diplomacy of statesmen at that
time. History will say that great
was the Allied triumph in war, no less
a victory was achieved at the peace ta
BILE. The republican proposal means
dishonor. world confusion and delay. 1t
would keep us in permanent company
with Germany, Russia. Turkey and
Mexico. 1t would entail. in the ulti-
mate, more real injury than the war it
iself. The democra tic position on the
question as express d in the platform,
is:
".se advocate Immediate ratification
Of the Treaty without reservations
which would impair it's essential inteE-
, rity. but do not oppose the acceptance
of amy reservation making clearer or
more specific the obligations of the I'm
tied states to the League assOciGtcs.''
The first duty of the new administra-
. tion clearly will be the ratification of
the Treaty The matter should be ap-
preached without thought of the bitter
ness of the past. The public verdict
will have been rendered. and l am con-
fident that the friends of world peace
as it will be promoted by the League.
will have in numbers the constitutional
requisite to favorable senatorial ac
tion. The captious may say that our
platform reference to reservations is
vague. and indefinite. It's meaning, in
brief is that we shall state inter
probation of the covenant a matter
of good faith to our associates and
a precaution against any misunder-
standing in the future. The point is.
that after the people shall have spoken
the league will be in the hands of it's
friends in the Senate, and safe index
as to what they will do is supplied by
what reservations they have proposed
in the past Some months ago in con-
tributed article to the New York Tri-
bune. ] expressed my own opinion of
the situation as it then was / repro
duce it here
There can be no doubt but that some
Senators have been conscientious in
their desire to clarity the provisions of
the Treaty. Two things apparently
have disturbed them: First. they want
ed TO make sure that the League was
not to be an alliance, and that its basic
purpose was peace and not controversy.
Second they wanted the other powers
signing the instrument to understand
our constitutional limitations beyond
which the treaty making power can
not 60 Dealing with these two ques-
tions in order. it has always seemed to
me that the interpretation of the func-
ton of the League might have been
stated in these words:
in giving it's assent to this Treaty.
the Senate has in mind the fact that
the League of Nations which il en-
bodies was devised for the sole purpose
of maintaining peace and comfy
among the nations of the earth and
preventing the recurrence of such de-
structive conflicts as that through