The St. Joseph observer., 1921-10-29
servatlon is coming constantly closer
home to us.
THE COST or OUR Isolation"


committee of the New York Chamber
of Commerce to Europe, said commit
tee having now returned and made its
report.
The one Of the two opinions, is that
the United States even as matter Of
economic necessity, cannot afford to
shirk its duties in respect to the set
tlement of the various questions grow
ing out Of the war. The other is that
none Of the great nations, including
the United States, can continue to
cxpend so large a part of its entire
revenue. derived from taxation which
is now almost unbearable, in prepara-
tion for future war if the present
civilization is to continue"
This is the conclusion that most
Americans arrive at after an impair
tial investigation Of European condi-
tions. We cannot get away from
Europe and we cannot get away from
the economic consequences Of COM
pGIlllNS armament nv NhtOiS Nbh
stand against the inexorable facts.
Chairman Lasker OF the shipping
board, in a speech made, stated a
very important business truth when
he said that, generally speaking, the
last 10 per cent of production makes
the market" 1t is because this last
10 per cent OF production has been
destroyed by the collapse of our
European markets that there are
nearly 100000 men out OF work in
this country. The responsibility for
the collapse Of the European markets
rests more upon the United States
senate than upon any other agency.
II the senate in the summer of 1919
had set out deliberately under the
leadership Of Henry Cabot Lodge to
wreck American prosperity It could
not have adopted a more effective
! policy than the one that it followed in
the name Of a bogus Americanism.
II the treaty Of Versailles had been
ratified the peace Of Europe could
have been stabilized by this time with
tho active assistance Of the United
States. With the peace Of Europe
stabilized, the economic situation
would have been stabilized and Amer
| lean business vould be pursuing its
way, subject only to such difficulties
as the inevitable liquidation of war
| prices made necessary. Instead, the
| United States, through the senate has
so added to the sum total of inter-
national confusion that nothing has
been settled.
Now that the limitation of arma-
mcnt has become a matter that can
not be longer disregarded, the United
States is again handicapped by the
record Of the senate. The easiest and
the most scientific method of arriving
at an agreement for the limitation Of
armament lies through the league of
nations, but tho league cannot solve
! the problem while the richest and
most powerful OF the nations refuses
| to cooperate to maintain the peace
of the world.
Mr.. Harding has adopted the ex-
! pedient of a separate conference to
consider not only the question of
armament but the questions Of the
Pacific and Far East; but it is appar-
ent that IL an agreement is reached,
that agreement will not be self-en-
forcing. There must be an impartial
agency which can determine whether
the nations concerned are holding to
their pledges, and the only such agen-
tions. No matter what the starting
point of any constructive foreign pol
icy may be, it comes back to the
league Of nations, and yet the league
remains anathema to the administra-
tion simply because the republican
senators decided that by preventing
ratification they could discredit Pres
ident Wilson.
Everything that the committee Of
the Chamber Of Commerce advocates
could be done If the United State!
senate had ratified the treaty of Yer
sailles. Instead, the United States
made a separate peace with Germany
and the whole foreign policy of tn
administration is based not on tht
best interests of tho country but OIL
, the partisan prcjudices OF a decaden
Z senate. Some day it will be wei
z worth while for the American peopl
, to figure out in dollars and cents wha
they have paid for the luxury o
shirking their responsibilities ant
! evadlng their obligations, They will
q find that it has been the most expen
, sive experiment in Isolation" tina
was ever undertaken.
4 |
a VVIE PLIGHT or OTR CORN CRnI