Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1921-10-08
TO URGE US TO JOIN
THE LEAGUE,

AL LA1EhN "
The usually well-advised Edwin
L. James cables to his paper, the
New York Times, that England and
France are going to invite us to poin
the League of Nations. This is quite
inter-important, if true, and quite
interesting if it be only no more than
a trial balloon.
Great Britain and France says
Mr.. James, will raise at Washington
the question of the adherence of the
United States to the League of Ma
tions. If this comes as a surprise to
the Washington administration it is
nevertheless the decision the Lon
don and Paris governments have
reached.
They do not consider that it will
be necessary to add any item to the
existing agenda of the November
conference, but will bring up the
League under the discussion of dis
armament, and particularly land dis
armament. 1t is understood that the
initiative will come from the British
representative at Washington"
The argument that, in the opinion
of this correspondent, the Allied dele
gates will offer, is that it is not pos
sible for the question of disarmament
to be disposed of by the big powers
alone, as President Harding and Sec
rotary Hughes commended when they
elected to invite only the big bow
vows to their parley. 1t is less dam
gerous othe peace of the world,
they will say, for some of the small,
irresponsible, and easily irritated ma
tons to have too large ornaments
than for the great powers, with more
poise and better regard for equili-
brium, to maintain vast fleets and ar
mics. Therefore disarmament must be
general. And uniformity can be OBJ
tanned only through the League.
Quite sound. But the great powers
themselves have not proved entirely
that they may be trusted with edged
tools. 1t was not the high-mettled
Balkans that started hte Great War,
but the weighted military pow
ers of Germany and Austria. Serbia
showed disposition to yield, but
Germany forced her "ally in shining
armor" to force war upon Serbia, and
of course, upon the world.
Conditions, however, have been
changing in this respect. The world
today is such that spark
from the smallest state of Europe
might kindle universal war. The
only safe program, therefore, is to
force all governments alike to dis
arm.
And to do this all must be in or
under the League of Nations.
If Great Britain and France, acting
presumably in unison with the other
bigpowers at the Conference, should |
invite America to join the League,
what probably would be the effect? |
Would the present Administration go
so far as to scrap its stodgy declara-
tions about the fossilized state of the
League, its utter defunctness, and,
putting in cold storage, along with
the brains of the New York Tribune,
its "hate' of Wilson and things Will
sonian, consent to reconsider mat
tiers and reopen a slammed door?
1t would take some NERVE" to do
this. But, then, it has required some
nerve" to take the present stand
of the Administration in the face of
its own contrary assertions and pro-
nouncements. 1t demanded a large
quantity of nerve" to refuse to
stand with our Allies, to break away
from them, and to violate our pledge
not to make a separate peace with
the common enemy. If it had nerve"
enough to do these curious things,
we need not fear that "nerve" will
fail in making the complete surren-
der.
Clemenceau, "The Tiger" declared
in a speech on October 2 that Ameri-
cans are failing in their duty to their
friends. Thanks to the Treaty of
said he, their acts at
this moment are being decided by
ours" Everybody, except ourselves,
sees clearly that we can not possibly
escape from the Treaty of Versailles.
And, t ocarry out the full purposes
of the peace made at Versailles, it
will be necessary for US to join the
rest of the nations of the world in
the Covenant of the League.
This invitation may be conceived
Tor the purpose of giving to the Hard |