Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1920-03-17

stake
Your neighbor can make one too,
y our town will be what you want to
see,
1t isn't your town-it's you
Selected by Subscriber.
URGES A STRONG LEAGUE.
To the Editor Of Willmar Tribune:
Are We. as a nation. going to be a
Of the League OF Nations, SO
as to give it the moral and military
strength which it needs to be effective,
or are we to stay out, thereby cutting
the heart out Of it, and thus let the
world continue in the old rut, prepar-
inS for war. maintaining large standing
armies. powerful naNies. one nation
trying to eclipse the other: settling
disputes by the sword, and laying
for another World War,
:Ilort bloody than anything heretofore
seen" That is now the all important
question. y powerful propaganda is
now trying to create public opinion
AGAINST the League, using as a preteNt
that We must "Americanize the Treaty.
to prevent this country from "entang
ling alliances, when as a matter of
iavt it is plain that they might just as
Well come out barefaced and admit
that they want to kill it, for they know
Well that by setting the reservations
,uurttu proposed by Lodge and some
other Senators. we will practically be
out OF it. as it will SO weaken it that
il Will be tiZ"eled out and soon be dis
>.arGed as I; failure, which is no doubt
what they are after. 1t is hard to I'M
>lers1unu what is back of all this; one
ching is CERTAIN that if there is such
i IhinS as people who are so greedy
,hut they like to See the world con-
,inut in the same rut for the sake of
.ri>;,te material, it must be self evil
l,-,t that they are on the side of the
treaty killing.
There are no doubt some people who
nave been so "propasandad' that they
ghosts in broad daylight thinking
i:;,l We Will set in trouble by joining
me l-ea.uc, that We can afford to stay
Dut as We have nothing to do with other
l,ttions. This might look we'll on the
surface. but no country can be isolat-
ID, and entirely independent. Once a
war is started no one can tell who will
- dragged into it, nor how much SUI
erin- it will have to endure by reason
vt tic, war. Take Sweden and Nor
way, for instance, these countries, al
,nouch they We're not in the war, SUI
'tred greatly in many ways. There
.ore it behooves every nation to help
N the work Of banishinS all wars from
the face Of the Earth.
1t must be evident to all that we
nave Il moral obligation to mankind and
it is our duty to help preserve all
people, relieving distress and misery
wherever it may be, for otherwise We
might Just as Well cut out all the
drives; for funds for that purpose, call
Back all our missionaries, and let them
20 to the do.s' as far as we are con-
cerntu
Therefore. in view Of the fact that
there is so much propaganda to 1ntlu-
ence the people against the League of
Nations, it may be hard for our Con-
yressmen to know what the people in
general think about it. All those in
favor Of the League should make it
known, and object to the reservations
which, cuts us out of it,
The object of the League of Nations
is best explained by quoting the head
Ing or the preamble of the same, as
lOlloWs:
THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE
OF NATIONS.
The High Contracting Parties, In
order to promote international Coop
GRAFTON and to achieve Internal ional
peace and security by the acceptance Of
obligations not to resort to war, by
the prescription of open, just and hon
orahle relations between nations, by the
III III eStdDilSllIlleHl Oh the understand
nSS Of International law as the actual
rule Of conduct among Governments
and by the maintenance Of justice and
Il ScrupulOus respect for all treaty
ohllHations in the dealings OF orSaniZ-
cd Peoples with one another.
Agree to this Covenant Of the League
League OF Nations"
AS we know, the covenant consists Of
70 articles, and contains provisions for
no limo
without reSortinE to arms.
The much discussed Article 10, which
Wilson attaches much Importance to-
reads as follows:
The Members of the League under
take to respect and preserve as against
eN ternal aggression the territorial in
teSrity and existing political independ-
ence OF all Members of the League. In
case of any such aggression or in case
OF any threat danger of such az
SreSSiOn the Council shall advise upon
means by which this obligation shall
be fultilled.'
Various reservations to the League
have been proposed by few Senators
IN Congress-, as We know, the socalled
Lodge Reservation as to above article
reads in part as follows:
THE United States declines to as
sumo, under the PROVISIONS of article
~, or under any other article, any obli-
cation to preserve the territorial in
teSrlty or Political independence of any
other country or to interfere in con-
troVer*les between other nations mem
herS OF the league or not, or to employ
the military or naval forces of the
1lted states in such controversies or
tC adopt economic measures or not,
AGAINST external aggression etc. except
by action of the Congress of the United
States'
The above speaks for itself. If we
lrSt must submit to Congress whether
we ar to take a hand in quelling any
uprising between countries which NAV
threaten peace, the war might be both
begun and ended before our forces or
help could be sent. thus getting be-
Hond control, causing the same conflag-
ration over again as the one just ended.
An ounce of prevention is worth
hound OF cure. A league to be effect
i've must be ready to act. The mere
eS1stanc' OF such a League would be
su1nclent to prevent war No country
would ever think of starting it as thew
would not get started before they
would he surrounded by the forces
from every country which were mem
berS Of the League.
Let US have a strong league A weak
league is no league worthy of the
name.
-Willmar Republican.
Meeting Of Women's Auxiliary.
IhQr0 will ho