Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1920-05-17

mental Europe.
-Four, open diplomacy. Heretofore
Iall nations have been able to make
secret agreements and treaties OF al
offensive and defensive character
They engendered great suspicion, great
hard feeling and frequently Of them.
selves led to war. In the League, every
treaty must be recorded with the secre.
tariate.
Great Step Forward.
""These four provisions constitute the
greatest step forward toward continu.
GUS and universal peace that ever has
been noted in recorded history"
Mr.. Taft than analysed in detail the
various fourteen reservations. He
groups them under three heads: Six
are merely interpretive; two that are
merely declaratOry of our cOnstitu-
tiOnal law, and six that qualify and
cut down the obligations of the United
States.
An amendment, he explained, is some
thing that changes the obligations of
all the nations toward one another
a reservation, something that only
changes the obligation Of the United
States.
These reservations are in respect to
withdrawal from the League, the hear
ing Of domestic questions, the Monroe
Doctrine, the boycott, the Shantung
agreement, the labor question, repre-
sentation in the League, and a number
Of other OF lesser Importance. OF
these, the most important are those
having to do with the Monroe Doctrine
and article 10.
The Monroe Doctrine.
1.-The covenant provides that regional
understandings like the Monroe Doc
trine shall not be affected by the
League. That was not satisfactory to
the senate and this reservation was
put in:
1.-The United States will not submit
to arbitration or to inquiry by the as
sembly Or by the council any ques-
lions which, in the Judgment of the
United States, depend upon or relate
to it's long established policy, common.
ly known as the Monroe Doctrine
said doctrine is to be interpreted by
the United States alone and the doe
trine is hereby said to be wholly out
side the jurisdiction of the. League of
Nations and entirely unaffected by any
provision contained in the treaty of
peace with Germany.
IF it is lot to be submitted" declar-
ed the speaker, land is to be interpret
ed by the United States alone, it would
seem to follow without a stretch OF
your logical faculty that it is outside
the jurisdiction of the League.
SvVhnf did thn InnpnerufS lnp VhnV
announced that they would concur in
this reservation if they would leave
out the words, Said doctrine is to be
interpreted by the United States
alone In other words, the Republi.
cans have insisted on saying the same
thing three times, but the Democrats
will say it only twice"
Article 10.
The article 10 reservations Mr.. Taft
took up in detail, reading the article,
the Republican reservation, and Demo.
cratic reservation and the reservation
which he himself proposed.
This article is objected to by u great
many people on the ground that it will
involve us in constant war and carry
our boys to the remote places Of the
world. In Mr.. Taft's judgment, this
article is merely an enlargement OF the
Monroe Doctrine. 1t threatens aggres.
sive nations who attempt to seize ter
ritory in any part of the world as the
Monroe Doctrine threatens nations who
attempt to seize territory in the West.
ern Hemisphere. The three reserva'
tons which have been offered differ
only in words, but the president re.
fuses to accept.
IF the president continues" Mr.,
Taft declared, then we will have nc
solution, because he announces he will
veto the peace resolution now before
the, senate, and that will leave us just
where we are-we will not have any
solution of this matter, and all the
world needs it so much, until March
4 when we may hope Il president will
come in that will not love article III
so much"
The church was crowded and the dis
tinguished speaker was frequently i'll
terrupted by applause.