Polk County news. [volume] (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983, 1920-03-18
shah Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Fellow the Great
World War;
NOPE FOR PERMANENT PEACE
These WEs Fought, and Those Who
-eaHsfSd Et Home, Alike Favor
eoms Form Of a League
Of hStiona.
Article K.
- FRANK coMERFoRD.


nOR when the war came to an end
The terrible waste was telling. En-
duraRce had reached the breaking
point. With peace one thought ran
around the world: There must be nc
more war. The men who did the fight.
ing said 1t loudest.
I'm glad had a chance to do my
part-I wouldn't have missed the
show for million dollars, and !
wouldn't take million dollars TO 90
through 1t again" Is the way they
put 1t. Everywhere in Europe heard.
ut Is over, it is finished, thank God
The nrst thought of reconstruction
was q plan to make peace permanent
The laboratory and the machine
shop gave to this war q terrible mean.
ing. new agencies had been intro
duced to kill and main men. liquid
nre, mustard gas, high explosives,
bombs from the clouds, tOrpedOes from
the sea depths. The world was hor-
rified The length of the war, the
Rumber OF dead and crippled, the raid
ing and bombing of defenseless cities
taught the world that an end must
he put to war IL civilization was to
1--we.
: 30 the ptoEss particularly the r1nslSs
fitg people. took heart when q League
of Nations was suggested as means
OF enforcing peace. They placed their
hopes In 1t. They had suffered nosi
from the war. The dead were large |
ly their dead. The returning cripples |
we're blood Of their blood. AS they |
put 1t, they were from their class
OF course the Sous of the other class
fought, shared the hardships, paid the
price. but they were few. The group
from which they came Is small, while
the toll Of casualties from labor's
ranks was large.
All men know that controversies
between nations are Inevitable. II
the absence of some scheme of arb
tration there Is but one way that these
controversies can be settled 1t Is
f0rce-War.
2 1t, IS not uncommon for individuals
TO have serious differences of opinion
Every lawsuit. and there are thousands
of them IN every city of every country
represents difference of opinion. II
we did not have courts providing q
peaceful determination Of these dis.
putes, the litigants would be com,
PEELED to settle their differences by
force. Assault and battery would
succeed orderly procedure. Nations
Of adjusting their difficulties. and as
4 consequence they have been com
belled to resort to force Until some b
scheme OF arbitration is created, to d
talk peace is to waste words, to hope 5
'or 1t is idle dreaming.
Peace Conference Fell Short. .
I The peace conference met in Paris \
labor watched it. At an early stage r
d It's proceedings intrigue was dis Q
covered at work. Wrangllng, bicker
hgy bargaining and trading for com q
Hercial advantage occupied the time y
md thought that the world expected +,
would be devoted to the building up OF 7
| league that would at least decrease n
he chances of future wars. States Il
aeh In their blind devotion to eX. y
Iedlency lost sight Of the great rea. o.
bH for the conference. They talked d
( boundary lines. discussed frontiers II
nd always from the point of view OF q
hsncial and military advantage tC q
heir respective countries. 1t was no n
iced that the terri s,rles over which h.
hey quarreled were rich in minerals e
: some other thing Of great CONNER
ial advantage. They squabbled over
polls. Then, too, these men whC
ere supposed to be CONCERNED in the
iture peace of the world, In arguing :.
yer frontiers urged their respective i
aims on the grounds that their re q
pectlve countries needed these. from .
ers to make them secure In future :,
ars. What future wars and why the -
Iscussion Of future wars at confer e.
ice, the object Of which was future =,
sace?
Working men watched, listened and =
fought. They construed these bck :,
'Ings and wranglings as evidence OF !.
Ie fact that there is an interest In -
Ie world which does not believe ir -
wing up force. am only reporting 49,
Is truth when add they suspect this ~