The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1920-09-15
SENATOR Il. RD|N
APPEALS ! OR
AMERICA SNI

Marion, Especial 5, alsatoi
Warren G. Harding, Republe.,i nomi
nee for President, in a spe 1li deliv
cred to delegation from Indiana
which called on him here to pledge thu
support of Indiana Republicans, de
clared that twice President Wilson hat
an opportunity to obtain ratification
of the League of Nations covenant
and that he put ratification aside be
cause he would not accept reserva
tions designed solely to safeguard
American rights. Senator Harding
said
Il greet you in a spirit of rejoicing
not rejoicing in the narrow personal
or partisan sense, not in the gratifying
prospects of party triumph NOT in the
contemplation Of abundance ia the
harvest fields and ripening corn fields
and maturing orchards; not in the re-
assuring approach of stability after a
period of wiggling and wobbling which
magnified oar unceriaialy- ly-though a'l
of these arr ample for or wide re5oi-
fng-but l rejoice that America is stlh
free and independent and iIi i position
of self-reliance and holds to the right
of self-determlnation, which are price
less possessions in the present tulbu-
Ience of the world
.Let us suppose the senate had rati
fled the peace treaty containing the
league covenant as submitted to it by
the president in July of last year
What would be the situation confront
ing our common country today? To my
mind there is but one answer. Before
this day we would have been called
upon to fulfill the obligations which
we had assumed under Article 10 OF
the league covenant, to preserve the
territorial integrity of Poland as
against external aggression.
81 shall not now attempt TO measure
the boundless sympathy for tile just as,
pirations and restored independence OF
Poland. Our present concern is the
international situation which Poland
has brought to our attention
1.-THE council Of the League of Ma
tions would have reasoned, and rea-
soned correctly that the United
States could furnish the munitions,
and, if necessary, the men to with
stand the hordes advancing from Rus
sia far more easily than could the
exhausted nations Of Europe. More
over, inasmuch as this would be the
first test of the scheme OF world gov
elnment which was formulated and de
manded by the President, speaking fol
the United States, the fact of IA special
Responsibility, resting upon our shoul-
ders. manifestly would have been UNI
deniable. Und0ubfedlX the league
council, in advising upon the means
by which the obligations to Poland
should be fulfilled, as provided in the
covenant, would have SO held and
probably the conscience of America
certainly the opinion of the world,
would have sustained that judgment. |
1.-THE conclision thar our country
might now be confronted by such
if the senate had ratified |
the league covenant, requires no /
stretch of the Imagination. None can
deny that it is possible To many can
did minds. as to my own. such a dis
tressing situation viii seem highly |
probable Let us assume that the rati.
fication had taken place. Let us as
sumo, further, that the performance
of The allotted task required the waging
of war upon the Russian PEOPLE, as OF
course, it would, what would result
what would Of necessity have to re-
suit? Nothing necessarily, we are glad
" informed, since only the congress
can declare war, and the congress
might reject the appeal of the execu-
tive But would the congress do that?
Could the congress do thar without
staining indelibly the honor Of the ma.
tion2
81 answer, no. and say it not on
my own authority alone Back of my
Judgment stands the President of the
United States Upon that point there