New-York tribune., 1920-09-13
Poland and the Le,a.,e,,u.1et, LIE. o. 4,
No Failure of Principles Of lnserna.
donalism Seem
TO the Editor Of The Tribune.

TO the Editor Of The Trihuna. y
str' In your last Sundays supsa..
ment Frank Fl. Simonds paints s.
picture Of the League Of Nations th,s
brings great comfort to my friends VA
experience exceeding difficulty in and.
ing merit in anything ure.d BY prer,.
dent Wilson. I refer to Mr.. simons,,s
contribution headed "League's ra,,uys
to Help Poland Bad News for Iatsls
Nations"
II could accept the writer's dietur !
that "the actual policy Of the rsasr.
becomes contingent upon the domsstIs
situation in each Of the great poveras
that "a single political element IA en-.
domestic life Of q nation can arrest its
action," I should at once cease "a \.
an optimist, and give up all thoueAt
Of the possibility Of world Asssern,s,t
through any league Whatsoever or snv
international court that the seuiue 80
an Elihu Root might suggest. nut
with my faith in the underIv;n.
honesty Of mankind-the majority AZ
mankind-I hold that the thouvht ~
the self-determination of small n.o-
pies and the making Of democracy sass
for the world, in spite of all the neeyn
and irony that have been heaped upeu
them, possess dynamic power for th.
healing Of the nations greater than snv
that the world has yet seen, and thai
the League of Nations, inperfset
though 1t is, as the instrument fou
exalting and enforcing these truth,
will yet function in way to brine
universal joy and gladness to cha
hearts Of men. I am not yet willinv
to admit thst any such action as chat
OF the British Laborites or the rts,,.u
Socialists will be able to arrest MS
sional action when this concerted
world movement known as the lesxus
has become properly organized.
Without the participation of the
United States the league is as far fror,
being perfect organization as wer.
the European Allies before our countrr
took hand in the war, and probable
just as far from successful operation.
In the light Of the fact that we ara .
nation of 1oS,oo0,o0o of people, that we
were the deciding factor in the war
and that we are still nation of bound.
less strength and resources I maintain
that we have profound reason for he.
lieving with Robert Donald, late OF
The London Chronicle, that "the two
branches Of the English-speaking peos
pie, acting together harmoniouslv in
peace as they did in the latter period
Of the war, could have reconciled or
silenced the clashing interests Of Eu-
rope, led the new democratic states
carved out Of old tyrannical empires
gently but firmly into the paths Of
peace and established on sure and
lasting foundation the League Of Ma
tions."
Mr.. Simonds does not seem to con.
slider this view Of the situation. But
he does lay great stress on what he
thinks Congress wouldn't have done
had the President asked it to declare
war upon Russia. I do not believe
that the President thought of declar-
ing war upon Russia, or would have
wished to declare war even though VIC
had been member Of the league. I
think that what he would have wished
to do, had we been member of the
league, would be to send help to the
Poles just as France did, in case such
help was decided to be necessary. And
yet the result shows that such help was
not needed. Mr.. Simonds's expression
Of thanks to the military genius Of
France and the fighting capacity of the
Poles is, in and of itself, capital H.
lustration in refutation of the war
participation argument so often put
forth by the enemies of the league.
Membership in the league on the part
of the United States will not by any
means necessitate our continually be-
ing called on to take part in European
wars. No stronger proof Of this truth
is needed than may be seen in the fact
that by the action of France alone, "in
sending a thousand officers to Poland
and war material in considerable guam
tities," the "world" (in the words Of
Mr.. Simonds) "has emerged from one
more of the historic crises when West
ern civilization was at stake"
GEORGE P. F. HOBSON,
Brooklyn, Sept. 10, 1920.