Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-06-08

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States he 4ecaded 70 make the league
with Germany. Thus he represented to
tho senate, ana lntendedstospressat a
dilemma from which hb%belteved there
no escape. In order Il have. peace
with Germany he meant to compel
tho SENATE to accept with 1t t~he.LeaSue
Of Nations. It was indeed q ddtIieult
situation which he thus created. But
republican senators believed their duty
to be. clear before them and dld not
Of them in March, 1919. signed a
statement, setting forth that the first
draft of the league as Mr.. Wilson
brought 1t back. announcing that It
be taken just as it stood, could
not be accepted by the senate in that
form. n president returned ito Eu-;
rope with this warning before him and
before the world He admitted. a few
slight changes n the covenant, for the
part uninportAnt and some Of
which made the second draft worse
than the arst. He forced the allied and.
associated spowefs to yield Ito his de-
mand that the covenant ofithe league
be interviewer with. the treaty
OF peace. To accomplish this he sur
rendered the. pffaciple oflthe freedom
OF the .seAs-whakever that may have
'been>--stoHG Great Britain. and he made
promhsesI an1 sconcesstofapto France
not vet fGlAlled-which Drought him
the Frenc support. Having thus car
rfAA h1H vHA{SkS ekNA~A ~ L~A~N "a.
treaty with Germany home and, laid
it before the senate. To the great mass
OF h e,American people he said: This
covenant OF the League of Nations will
bring to the world a lasting peace"
everyone desired lasting peace and
without apaustng to. consider or even
to read the covenant, thousands upon
thousands. of good people united. In the
demand that the senate ratify and
take league at once and without
consideration, just as it stood. The re-
publicans of the senate, perceivine the
dangers of the league, determined to
resist MI. Wilson'S demand, even at
the S of delaying the treaty Of
peace with Germany. They felt. that
the one thing necessary was Ito have
the people understand the treaty, that
they might realize what it meant, and
what it Threatened. 30 the long debate
began audit has lasted for more than
q year. At the outset that portion Of
the people who wished an tinstantane-
u and UNQUALIFIED acceptance Of q
covenant which most Of them. had
never read had possession in large
measure Of the press and other meth
DDS Of obtaining publicity ana thus
were able to keep up q continual cry
for immediate ratification. Tho vocal
part OF the community felt almost
universally - they listened to each
other's voices, that the whole country
was behind them, but they forgot the
e tnarticulate masses of the peo-
work and their business, who did not
write letters to the newspapers or
publish circulars or spend millions in
spreading their views through power
full organs and active associations but
who simply loved their country and
thought first OF the interest of Ameri-
ca. The debate In the senate spread to
them. They read, the speeches, they
listened to the arguments, and. what
was a more important, they began
to read and discuss the covenant of
the league themselves, in the street,
by he ffresides. wherever men and
women meet together. They began, to
understand the league. They began
to know what it meant. They Jaw
it was an alliance and not q league
for peace. They saw that it did not
mention the Hague conventions which
We all desired to have restored Is
foundations for further extensions
did nothing for the development Of
international" law. nothing for a world
court and judicial decisions. and. moth
ing looking. towards IN FAGreeUent a.
to dealing with non-justiHahle lques-
tons These real advances toward
promoting peace. these constructive
measures were Ill dtsreEar0ed; ana the
only court mentioned was pushed In
to an obscure Corner. The people, b.
gan to. perceive with an intense clear
mesa that this alliance, silent al to real
peace agreements, contained clauses
which threatened the very existence
of h United States as an independ-
ent power-threatened it's sovereign
ty. threatened its peace, threatened it's
life. The masses of the people became
~articulate. Public opinion steadily
changed and today the number Of
Americans who would be willing to
accept the covenant of the League of
Nations just as the president brought
1t back from Europe Is negligible. The
American people will never accept
that alliance with foreign nations pro-
posed by the president. The president
.AAed1flAifle Hhs ~rleX1Dl He
is determined to have that treaty -
he brought it back or nothing and to
that imperious demand the people will
reply in tones which cannot be mis-
understood. No man who thinks Of
America first need fear the answer.
Tho Famous Article 10.
Mr.. Wilson said in q recent letter to
Senator Hitchcock: "For my own part
I am not willing to trust to the coun-
sci of diplomats the workings out of
any salvation Of the world from the
he said this in behalf of an Alliance
whose representatives will all b Dip