Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-01-01
The Peace Policy

has been understood that the mind
meetings" at Marion with President
elect Harding have been devoted
mainly to the subject Of world rela-
tionships and the entrance of this
country into an association of
nations" Mr.. Harding having now
turned his conferences to consider
alton Of domestic affairs. it may be
permissible to attempt to conjecture
what his foreign policy will reveal.
working from the meager bits of in
formation vouchsafed by his con-
ferees.
OF the men who have been invited
to Marion, the greater number have
been those who favored sweeping
changes in the existing covenant of
the league of nations or those who
would reject It altogether This fact
has led some observers to believe
that Mr.. Harding contemplatcs the
making of an entirely new agreement
among nations on a different basis
than that on which the present
league rests.
On the other hand many of his
most trustworthy advisers have
pointed out that 1t will be impracti-
cable If not impossible to assemble
Al nations to draft a new league
covenant. The league and the peace
treaty are so interviewer that in
many cases enforcement of the latter
depends upon the continued existence
of the former. Hoover told Mr..
Harding that it would not be practi-
cable to set the league wholly aside
because it would reopen innumerable
questions closed in documents al
ready executed" Mr.. Root holds a
similar view and so do other men
among those intimately acquainted
with the status of treaty affairs.
Mr.. Harding himself during his
campaign repeatedly stated his be-
lief that it would be necessary to pre-
serve the treaty. He recognized that
it contains much both of good and
bad and he said:
Il would take and combine all that
Is good and excise all that Is bad. If
the league has been SO interviewer
into the peace of Europe that it's good
must be preserved in order to stabil-
lie the peace, then it can be amended
Or revised. 1 recognize that
the worlds peace is now to a great
extent intertwined with the settle
ment of Versailles. From that settle
ment I would save all that 10 good
and useful. 1t is our thought to i'm
prove. to save and build upon what
ever is good, rather than to abandon
the good there is and repudiate the
worlds aspirations for peace"
AS Mr.. Taft reports his understand
ing of the Harding plan, 1t would
embody IAN elastic bond with very
strong ties of honor and moral obli-
CATION" but mo alliances or any
treaties" The President-elect con-
ceives the world as community of
nations whose desire and duty it is to
promote harmony and cooperation.
AS to the manner of going about the
business Of assuring world peace he
says:
What does one do in any town
meeting when one wants a good
thing brought about? The first thing
Is to convince the ten men who lead
In the community of the wisdom and
practicability of the idea. Very well,
then-if that applies to men, it must
apply to nations
From this it seems probable that
he will undertake to bring about some
agreement and understanding he
tween Great Britain, France, Japan,
Italy and the United States for a
general international code of con-
duct to be determined by a perma-
nent court of justice to which the
smaller nations may subscribe.
Mr.. Harding's consistent method of
procedure, differing from that of
President Wilson, is to bring men to-
gether~ and take counsel. He prom
Used in his campaign to do that and
he is doing 1t, even before he takes
office. He believes that it can be done
with nations and that conferences at
frequent periods can be productive of
much mutual benefit.