The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-03-12

in order to reach a common under standing, rather than to follow the backward paths of selfish diplomacy backed up by armies and navies, in determining the future rights Of the people of the world.
 Treaty Is Not an Alliance
 You may caIl the Versailles treaty ar alliance. I voted for it because believed that it was a sincere effort to secure the peace of the world by
 mutual understanding. The present treaty is not an alliance, but if it were an alliance. intended to keep the peace through arbitration rather | than through force, I should support i it. The dangers of past alliances have i not been due to the fact that they 1 were binding agreements between | the powers that signed them, but be- | cause they contemplated the use of 1 force for the benefit of the signatory | powers. An alliance based on right | and justice between nations, intended sto aid in securing the peace of the l world, would not be offensive to me. i The first step in any effort to keep 1 the peace among nations must be based upon mutual agreement to respect the rights of others. The four 1 power pact does that. Its defeat, in l my opinion, would be a backward step in the life of this nation. If the Senate of the United States ratifies this pending treaty, l am fully satisfied that there will disap- pear not only any real cause for War i but there will no longer exist the l opportunity for war that has threat
 ened us in the past two decades; and peace will be establis shed between l the four great sea powers that now l control the destinies of the Pacific ocean.
 | Includes Only Four Powers
 There has been some criticism of this treaty because it has been | limited in it's terms to include only l the United States of America, the British empire. France and Japan. The primary purpose of the compact | is to maintain the peace, and for the next 10 years one would have a very 1 vivid ina agination to picture the peace 1 being disturbed in the orient by any other powers Germany is down and ! out al least for the next half century to come. All semblance of govern ment is destroyed in Russia. Trans
 portation facilities have almost per
 ished with stable government. Man
 ufacture is dead. And only feeble
 efforts of agriculture production sus- l tain the lives of a great people. This l will not continue to exist forever. l The day will come in the future when l q stable government recognizing human liberty, protection of property,
 the safety of the person and national l freedom, will again be established in
 Russia And if it comes with the re-
 publican form of government. I pre-
 dict that there will be the rebirth of a great life in the history of na-
 tions. But nobody can dream that
 such a happening can occur in the
 next 10 years, the life of this treaty. Smaller Nations
 ''It may be said that no danger may
 threaten the powers to the compact, l because it has not been extended to the other powers, but that an injus- i tice has been done to the smaller na-
 tions in the questions involved in far
 eastern possessions. The answer to
 that criticism is already at hand. Arrangements have been made by
 separate agreements between the
 signatory powers asd Holland to ex- tend to the Dutch East Indies pos- sessions that same guarantee of pos
 session and recognition of integrity which the four-power treaty bestows
 upon the four signatory nations. 1 This is only an act of justice to Hol- land, whose interests on the material
 side in the regions of the far east. are as great as those of any of the powers who signed the pact. and what 1 has been granted to Holland un- doubtedly would be freely granted to any other power that desired it. hav- l ing possessions in the region of the l Pacific.
 Basis For Peace
 We therefore have, as a result of
 the four power treaty and the ex-
 tension of this treaty the Dutch
 East Indies, a solid baa $ for peace between the United States. the Brit | ish empire, France, Japan and the Netherlands. I do not see how any one can conceive, during the life of
 this treaty, that any difference of opinion or conflict of interests be-
 tween the signatory powers thereto
 can arise. It is not an agreement that leads to war It is not an all liance for cooperation in time of
 war It is not an alliance that draws | the sword. But it is an agreement
 intended to lay aside the sword, to abandon force, that all differences i may be determined by national un- derstanding and arbitration. This
 treaty is a regional agreement that
 has been made on honorable terms and satisfactory to all concerned; l entered into, not with the compelling l force exercised by the victor over the 1 vanquished, but in the full tide of 1 peace. It represents no infringe
 ment of the national rights of others, nor is it purchased by the alienation
 of any territory of any of the powers
 who have signed it. In my judg-
 ment, it stands as model regional