The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-21
HARDING STAND
 AS HIRAM SEES T
Marionette Stands For Out right Rejection of League,
 Declares Johnson
By Associated Press

!
 Hoboken, N. J.. October 2O.-Senator Harding stands for outright rejection of the League of Nations, and there is notn- ing ambiguous uncertain in his declar- ations of attitude, Senator Hiram John- son of California, league irreconcilable, 'y declared in an address here tonight.
 For reasons of their own," Senator Johnson said, certain interested individ- uals and newspapers may mtsrepresent and misinterpret his words. I resent these imputations upon the sincerity of the utterances of the candidates, and the manifest endeavor in some quarters to distort his plain language.
 From those who believe as I do, he l. is entitled to not only the warmest com mendat1on, but the strongest advocacy Hand most enthusiastic support The is- sue today is the League of Nations, which Cox says he will take his country into and which Harding says he won't.
 The men and newspapers who pretend to be friends of Senator Harding, and try into the League of Nations, do him distinct dis-service and pay him sorry compliment. I speak, of course. solely from the public utterances Of our candi- date, and these utterances make plain beyond cavil that when Senator Harding is President he will not take the United States into the league.
 He characterized the league as a mili- tary alliance which menaces peace and threatens all freedom He called it the supreme blunder,' and asserted that he would leave America free, independent and self reliant, but offering friendship to all the worid.'
 "He instanced the war between Poland and Russia as indicating what we would have been let in for, in the language of Secretary Lansing. but for the action of the Senate, and this Polish-Russian var, he said, brought home to us the danger of committing ourselves in ad- SaEce to causes that we knew not of "Again, he referred to America as a member Of the league as one in pitiful minority among many states in merged world government and included himself among those who had opposed what we sincerely regarded as a betrayal of our own country in the interest Of others He deprecated his vote for reservations and said that conditions had now changed. Experience had brought enlightenment.
 "I am unable to understand the intel E or misconstrue these words, and I do not appreciate the friendship of individuals who, in the teeth of declarations describ- ing the league as a military alliance menacing peace and threatening all free- dom, the supreme blunder obviously 1m- potent, resting upon the power of might, not of right will still insist that the words are meaningless, and that Sen- ator Harding intends something elsesthan he says.
 "To make doubly plain his meaning. he said: I ain opposed to the very thought of our republic becoming a party to so great an outrage upon other peo- pie who have as good a right to seek their freedom as we had in 176, and the same right to develop eminence under the inspiration of nationality as we had for ourselves"
 Joining league with countries that owe the United States s10,000, 900 is like merchant placing himself in the hands of his debtors, Senator Johnson said.