The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1920-03-05
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Follow the Great
World War;
HOPE FOR PERMANENT PEACE
Those Who Fought, and Those Who
suffered at Home. Alike Favor
Some Form Of q League
Of Nationa
ey FRANK coMERFoRD.

tion when the war came to an end.
The terrible waste was telling. En-
durance had reached the breaking
point With pence one thought ran
around the world: There must be no
more war. The men who did the fight
Ing said II loudest.
I'm glad ! had q chance to do my
part-I wouldn't have missed the
show for million dollars, and
wouldn't take million dollars to 20
through II again." Is the way they
put 1t. Everywhere In Europe heard,
1T Is over, It Is finished, thank God"
The first thought Of reconstruction
was plan to make peace permanent.
The laboratory and the machine
shop gave to this war terrible mean
Ing, new agencies had been intro
duced to kill and main men. liquid
nrs, mustard gas, high explosives,
bombs from the clouds. torpedoes from
the sea depths. The world was hor-
rlfed. The length Of the war. the
number Of dead and crippled, the raid
Ing and bombing Of defenseless cities
taught the world that an end must
be put to war II civilization was to
live.
So the people, particularly the work
Ing people, took heart when a League
OF Nations was suggested as means
OF enforcing peace. They placed their
hopes In II. They had suffered most
from the war. The dead were large
ly their dead. The returning cripples
were blood Of their blood As they
put II, they were from their class.
OF course the sons Of the other class
fought, shared the hardships, paid the
price. but they were few. The group
from which they came is small, while
the toll Of casualties from labors
ranks was large.
All men know that controversies
between nations are Inevitable. In
the absence Of some scheme of arbi-
tration there Is but one way that these
controversies can be settled. II Is
fOrce-War.
1t IL not uncommon for individuals
to have serious differences Of opinion.
Every lawsuit, and there are thousands
Of them In every city Of every country,
represents q difference Of opinion. II
We did not have courts providing
peaceful determination of these dis
putes, the litigants would be com.
PEELED to settle their differences by
force. Assault and battery would
succeed orderly procedure. Nations
have been without peaceful means
Of adjusting their difficulties, and as
consequence they have been COM
PEELED to resort to force. Until some
scheme of arbitration Is created, to
talk peace IL to waste words, to hope |
for It is idle dreaming.
Peace Conference Fell Short.
The peace conference met in Paris.
Labor watched 1t. At an early stage
In Its proceedings intrigue was dis
covered at work. Wrangling, bickers
Ing. bargaining and trading for com
mercial advantage occupied the time
and thought that the world expected
would be devoted to the building up of
league that would at least decrease
the chances Of future wars States
men In their blind devotion to ex-
pediency lost sight Of the great rea-
son for the conference. They talked
OF boundary lines, discussed frontiers.
and always from the point of view of
financial and military advantage to
their respective countries. II was no.
ticed that the territories over which
they Quarreled were rich In minerals
or some other thing Of great CONNER
cial advantage. They sQuahbled over
spoils. Then, too. these men who
were supposed to be concerned In the
future peace of the world, In arguing
over frontiers urged their respective
claims on the grounds that their re-
spective countries needed these from
tiers to make them secure In future
wars. What future wars and why the
discussion OF future wars at a confer
ence, the object Of which was future |
peace!
Working men watched listened and
thought. They construed these bick- I
erings and wranglings as evidence of /
he fact that there is an interest In -
ne world which does not believe In 1
diving up force. am only reporting '
he truth when add they suspect this |
interest is Capital.
II the League of Nations fails this
uspicion will be confirmed. The
movement toward an internationalism t
I the workers will be given great v
mpetus. The League of Nations fail +
ag. they argue there Is only one other a
leans Of preventing war. 1t is for
10 men who make up the rank and t
10 Of the armies in time of war; the t
lillions recruited from shops. fac 4
'ries and fields, to get together and
'ganise an international labor au- c
lority to save the working men from n
n. Such q movement would take a
way from governments an important "
ID necessary function and give b Il