New Ulm review., 1921-06-01

I f + aH54 ! ~ ss ta { 4 + RI / 4
In the newspapers and in Congress
there has been much discussion recently
about the desirability Of disarmament and
the best means of bringing it about. The
man who started the, discussion was.
Senator Borah, the ablest and most
[resolute among the irreconcilable opponents
Of American lparticipa alton in the League M
Of Nations. But. the support which he
has received has come chiefly from news.
papers, such as the New y, Y,ork World and
Evening Post, which were strongly in IA
|fvor of the American ratification of the.
Treaty Of Versailles. In general those,
Americans who are urging the Immediate
Importance of disarmament belong to the.
group who ignored the errors, the Vi'1-
dictiveness, and the bad faith Of the
Treaty and considered that document a
desirable legal foundation for the future
peace of the world. At present they are
using their influence in favor both OF
disarmament and Of the ratification and
the execution / Of the Treaty. In our
opinion the two policies are ccntradlc-
tory. As long as the Treaty Of Ver-
| tic law Of Europe it is as vain to expect
effective disarmament as it was. to /. sex-: M
pect it when. the Treaty Of Vienna
determined the relations one to another
of the Powers of Europe.
By calling attention to the lllcompa-
lEtibility between executing the Treaty OF
Versailles and expecting the world to dis
arm, we are not disparaging the proposed
negotiation with Japan and Great Britain
for a limitation Of naval armaments. 1t
is possible, if not probable, that the gov
ernments of these three countries can
reach an agreement to restrict the build
ing Of capital ships under which subse-
quently favorable conditions might con-
stitute the first step in the direction OF
general and permanent disarmament. me
American government should open nego-
tlatiOns for such an agreement. But IN
that case itsbecomes a matter OF the Ut
most impoT tance to bring into existence
the subsequently favorable conditions
and so prevent relapse into the. mad
waste Of competition for naval supremacy.
The standards Of international behavior
establisehd by the Treaty of Versailles
will render the general conditions OF N
ternationa1 politics hostile to disarmament t: =
& The Iresupposition Of disarna. .ment IS
that nations feel enough confidence zee n
their fair treatment by other nations to
count IN the event Of disagreements upon
a conciliatory discussion Of the issue IS sl and a.
its impartial adjustment or adjudication
under some Jointly accepted rule. 1T I'M
plies the will and the means to base IN
ternational government on consert. ,Ihls
implication has no reality in the world
Of today, II, can have none turder the
terms Of the Treaty Of Versailles and ll11-
der the dictatorship of the Supreme Allied
Council. The victorious nations in Their
dealings with the vanquished nations have
subordinated all other laws to one su-
preme law, the law Of force. Those ma ma
tions which are disarmed and lacked poWe
Of resistance were ruthlessly coerced in SO
far as they refused to submit to the will
Of the victors. But the nations which.
retained some feeble power Of fighting
and used it to resist the dictates Of the
lSupreme Council have Jared better than
| they otherwise would. At no time II the
history Of the world has armament seemed
more indissolubly associated with national
independence and sef-respect than it has
under the existing government of Europe,
Take the case Of Germany. She is for
all practical purposes completely disarmled
and is enjoying all the advantages in the
way Of economy and demilitarizations
which disarmament can produce. She.
is the first great and economically power.
ful nation in the history Of the world
which has ever disarmed. It might have
been supposed that econsi dering she sur
rendered her arms on condition that she.
be treated in certain specific ways fairly
and considerably, the yictors would have ha'y
shown themselves scrupulous to vindieate3
lin their policy towards Germany their
own pretentions to higher standards Of
international behavior. Instead they have
taken the utmost advantage of the help