Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-18
DR.. WILLIAM I. HULL
On the LEAGUE Of Nations

THE League Of Nations not only will not
i solve the problem of world peace, but In
its present form will prove far worse than
no league at all. says DR.. William l. Hull,
professor Of history at Swarthmore College
and noted opponent of mlitarism. Doctor
Hull. just back from England where he at
tended the world conference of Friends, says
he voices the sentiments Of the conference in
this statement.
while the acrimonious debate which has
held up this country from making peace Off
cially with Germany has proceeded since the
armistice on the issue of whether we shall
have President Wilson's covenant or one
with reservations as sponsored by Senator
Lodge, it Is the opinion Of Friends that
neither will solve the peace problem.
'"Those favoring the league in it's entirety
say that il is the only solution. while others,
pointing to the qualifying circumstances,
state that half loaf is better than none.
Both assertions may be answered by the
statement that any part Of poisoned loaf
is worse than none at all.
at is my opinion, as well as the opinion
Of most Of those who attended the Friends
conference. that the League of Nations pact
as outlined at Versailles will not only be
failure. but that it will lead. If followed in
its present form. to serious international dis
astcr There Is no question that there
should be n League of Nations, but it should
be a democratic rather than diplomatic
one.
"As at present constituted. the League Of
Nations pact furnishes a spectcr in the not
far distant future Of great war of empires,
far greater and more disastrous than the one
which has just ended.
eve oppose the present league pact on six
general grounds First of all. AS just said,
it should be II democratic and not dipo-
matte one The present agreement opens tho
way for continuance of the secret diplo-
macy, intrigue and coalitions that bred the
last war. A democratic league, that would
admit real representatives of the peoples of
the various countries of the world to its
councils, where the voice of the people could
act as check TO individual decision and
action, would make impossible such a con
dition.
Three Powers in Control
"All nations should be admitted to the
league without any conditions. As il now
stands five powers, according to the pact.
have permanent control over the dcStinics
of the world. This is really reduced to three
when you consider that Japan is too far
away to figure effectively and that the
United States has not yet entered. England
France and Italy then are left to hold the
reins of power
"Then there is the ground of military CO.
crcion and economic boycott The former
opens the way lOr tne Olu SWORD OF DHlnOcleS
to hang over our heads and to put us once
again in the power Of that dread tyrant,
militarigm. 1t also tends to nt1ame and re-
tard those peoples who are struggling to
work out their national destinies and to pro-
mote chaos rather than organization.
"The economic boycott being practicod
against the one time central powers and
Russia is a vast mistake. 1t il manifcstly
impossible for peoples Of nations struggling
to right themselves to produce any other
condition than disorder and decentralization
and destruction when they arc unable to get
food and money and other necessities of life.
No people can be expected to act in sane
and rational manner when deprived of these
things. As II matter of plain, hard facts,
this blockade has really, through starvation
and other troubles, killed more people than
did the war.
Should BE No Armaments
There should be no armaments for in
tprnational purposes. Mounting up of arma
ments among countries tends eventually to
lead to other wars. 1t is necessary to have
military protection as a matter of regulation
in individual countries themselves but not
outside of that.
IF the various states of this country had
proceeded on that basis the constitution
would have been but scrap of paper 1t is a
significant fact that the growing intelligence
OF people has made military strength in in
diyidual countries less and less important.
while armaments of countries of the wo-'J
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