The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-12-18

the United States. recognizing that
Britain and France are participa ting
IN the compact. the first American
question must naturally be: Why not
tr ythls conference and entente
method in the case of those Euro
pean differences which today pre-
vent economic and political peace
ana reconstruction In the world 4?
Have we not found the key TO the
whole situation? And at the same
time we hear on other sides the as
sertion that what has been created
in the Pacific is no more than n
league of nations modelled upon the
Paris plan.
No useful purpose can he
served nowby any stirring OF the
old issues OF the league OF na-
tons combat, yet II Is essential 10
perceive that In reality the treaty
of Washington differs vitaIy from
that of Versailles and finds its
points of resemblance with that
AnGio-Frcnch entente which I
have already cited. The trouble
with the situation which Mr.. VIII
son faced mt Paris was that for all
practical purposes war was still
going forward. Actual fighting
s,ice. bn. The main business before
the world was the liquidation OF II
war.
This business of liquidating a war
carried with ii very evil but not
less necessary circumstances. The
victors were entitled to impose upon
the conquered terms which, while
by no means in excess OF the deserv-
ing OF Germany, We're bound to be
regarded by Germany as unjust. In
a measure Germany was in the po-
sition of a criminal up for trial and
for sentence, but IL the guilt was
undeniable, there was nothing which
suggested that there was or was
likely to be any penitence or any
moral submission to the verdict OF
the court.
Thus, when the LEAGUE Of nations
was created IL became in the ma
ture of things the body and the force
which was to carry out the terms OF
the treaty of Versailles, the treaty
which imposed just but very terri
BILE punishment upon Germany and
denied to the German culprit mem
bership in that league. itself. Be
yond all else it seems to me that this
circumstance carried with it the
was created at Paris. Despite all
the effort of Mr.. Wilson to avoid
the danger, the league was in its es-
sence an alliance of the victorious
nations to impose obedience to the
treaty of Versailles upon the coun-
tries who had disturbed world peace
and in the end lost the world war.
This fact has paralyZed the
league ever since, II has paralyZed
il far more than the failure of the
United States to ratify Now II
must be clear that the treaty OF
Washington, the four power entente
in the Pacific Ia something totally
different from the Paris agreement.
Four nations all having integests in
the Pacific, rivals, perhaps, in-a GER
tain sense. but neighbors in any case,
have come together to make treaty
the underlying purpose of which is
to avoid a war none desires and as
a first step they voluntarily recog-
nize the existing situation of each
country as just and right and be-
yond challenge.
The Real Difference.
You have. then, all parties In IN
terest animated by the same puf-
pose and equally prepared to accept
things as they are; you have the VIII
for peace. In Europe, on the con-
trary, the situation in 1918 and In
1921 Is something quite different
The trouble Is that there is no
readiness on the part of many ma
tions to accept their present condl-
tion as permanent or to bow TO the
treaty of Versailles, which Is the
law of Europe, as just To take the
case of France and Germany as an
example, each regards war with the
other as inescapable and therefore
thinks and acts in accordance with
that belief. -,
This Is the real difference In the
case of the league Of nations ana
the treaty OF Washington There
are differences in the language OF
the documents which impress the
LAWYERS, which, let us agree IN the |
case OF the Washington document, I
nightly reduce the responslbilltlea
i'm the Paris version, But /
accepting all of these differences 4
the main divergence is in the conul-
tlons: one agreement Is based upon
war, the other upon peace.
Before the Association
President Ha ding has said that ne
homes for an extension Of the con-
ference idea, that he dreams or an
a associa:ion of nations, obviously
modelled upon the Pacific associa,
lion. which has just been iormeu
here In Washington. Bus before