The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-10-21
HARDING WISH
IS FOR LEAGUE
FOR EUROPEANS
Wants Body to Live and Pros
per for Nations Across Seas,
Not for Speech Mis-
Understood.
NO CAUSE FOR ALARM
BY MARK SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON, Oct. I'll Every
once in so often, when President
Harding makes speech as he did this
week, expressing sympathy with the
general purposes of the League OF
Nations, it is promptly misinterpreted
by two different groups of persons
with two completely contrary biases.
President Harding's latest speech
had significance, but different sort
OF significance from that which was
attributed to at by those who from
one point of view, were made sus-
picious, and those who, from the op-
posite point of view were made hope
full
Every time Mr. Harding talks about
"a fresh hungering for understanding"
and "a new call for cooperation" and
"loyalties not limited TO sovereignties
or national boundaries" the irrecon-
cilable senators get stirred up. They
hurry out of their rooms in the senate
office building. creep cautiously along
the corridors, meet in secret corners
and whisper Has he gone back on
us?'
Grab at New Hopes
On the other hand the more ardent
partisans OF the league grab at new
hopes and say. Maybe he'll lead US
into 1t yet" Both groups are self de-
ceived by their own emotions. What
Harding means is that he sympathlzes
with the purposes and aspirations or
the League os Nations and hopes the
league will make progress towards
achieving them.
President Harding wants the League
of Nations to live and prosper. This
ought not TO be said without also say
ing that he wants it to live and prosper
as European or European and Asiauc
institution. He has no more thought
OF America joining the league as it now
exists than he had during the presi-
Dental campaign.
Rightly or wrongly, harpily or un-
happily, the amount of emotion that
was stirred up about the League of
Nations during the campaign last year
was such that so long as that emotion
lasts American entrance into the
League of Nations is not a live issue.
1t will take years for that emotion to
die down. When and il Americas
entrance into the present league, or
modified league, ever becomes a live
issue again, it will be determined by
Leer at League.
Meantime the difference between Mr..
Harding and the irreconcilables is that
the president wants the league to live,
whereas most of the irreconcilables
want il to die. They want it to die
partly because they fear that if it
lives our entrance into it may become
an issue and partly because they ale
the sort of men who can't have a
difference of opinion without wishing
their opponents were dead.
Several of the irreconcilables are
big men and some of them are pretty
small potatoes. AS TO these latter, the
league cannot be mentioned, without
arousing them to lecrs and every kind
of petty Misrepresentation of it.
The importance of Mr. Harding's at
titude lies in its relation TO the coming
armaments conference. The irrecon-
cilables, so far as they are willing for
the conference to come to anything
at all want it to put the League of
Nations out of business. to kill it and
bury It for ever. but that is the exact
opposite of what is going to be the
American attitude at the conference.
The American attitude will be one
of warm and sympathetic hope that
the League of Nations. as a European
or European and Asiatic ilsutution,
shall live and grow and be fruitful So
far as the conference involves any
questions which also involve the
League Of Nations, the American atti-
tude will be one of accommodation,
and not one of jealousy.
Copyright 1921 by the New York
Evening Post. lnc,)