The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1922-09-22
Too Grave for Politics.


world affairs are citing the Greel
debacle and Turkish atrocities IL
Asia Minor as proof of the incapacity
S and impotency OF the League of Ma
S tions to prevent wars and preserve
: peace. A few, but not many, will
l be deceived by such specious reason
: ing. The majority of reading and
9 thinking people in this country know
| it was the supplanting of the league
| by conferences of reparations COM
missions, ambassadors and supreme
: councils and such like that brought
= about The failure to preserve order
and peace in the world. Reading
) people know also that when the
United States abandoned the league
, the other great nations lost hope in
it and consigned it to secondary
, position in the handling of world
matters. Several of the great powers
thought they could readjust world
affairs among themselves and the
failure of their efforts is written in
blood along the corridor to Asia.
Now, there is no way of say
ing what the league might have done
had the United States been mem
Der and had the issues out of which
this new disaster has come been re-
TERED to it for settlement. Claims or
counter claims along this line are
purely speculative, but one thing is
, certain-the league could not have
done any worse than the many con-
ferences, nor could it hardly have
done as poorly. We may have our
views as to whether or not France
and Great Britain would have risked |
the friendship of the United States
and the other nations that would be
behind this country in order to give
encouragement to Turkey and
Greece respectively.
But the thing has been done not
by the league or because of the
ASt5uS 1llSOl1lp UuL ny IuB
various bodies that were set up under
the old order as a substitute for the
league. Nothing can be accomplished
right now by political discussion of
the matter, as the conditions facing
the world are entirely too grave for
political partisanship and chickering's.
With Soviet Russia backing I'D the
victorious Turks, it is not too much
to say that all of Southern Europe
is Immediately menaced, while all
of Europe stands in danger of re-
newed hostilities. The possibilities
of the Turkish victory are too grave
to be discarded. 1t could mean the
return to arms of some of the ma
tons engaged in the late war and it J
might be the spark to kindle a war
throughout the whole
Mohammedan world. As it is, the Z
allied soldiers opposing Mustapha l
Renal, should he endeavor to take l
Constantinople, would have a big |
force of Turks in their rear as well |
as in front of them, and should Rus
STA go to the aid of the Turks the sit
uation might indeed be terrifying.
No one need be an alarmist to con- c
slider the possibilities of a Moham- [
medan threat against the Christian '
W orld. If the yellow and black fol- e
lowers of the prophet should attempt a
to beat down the white peoples it q
would be test of strength that we in S
this country could not view with a
Indifference or unconcern. Nor could a
we escape the evil effects if the Eu- S
'opean struggle should be revived out T.
II the conflict in Asia. We could not n
ut idly by while Europe was being Ii
'yerrun or even while she DESTROYED a
herself in another fratricidaI war In g
'ur own defense, if for no other rea- d
on, we would be drawn into the vor- b
ex and our splendid isolation" e.
would be shattered just as easily as
t was in 1917. d
1t would surely be the tragedy of v
ragedies if our attempt to escape OF
rom the troubles of the world should 81
re the very move that would bring Of
is back again into the maelstrom of II
laughter and destruction. But it IL
gould be no more strange nor un- Ell
lsual than was the necessity for lis W
o enter into European war over IL
i've years ago to protect our national p'
Existence. AS we said above, the sit ii
Iation forbids thinking in political Ell
erms, and we hope that those who II
we're instrumental in defeating the bl
league of Nations will view events al
Ver there with clear, unbiased de
nlnd. We hope also that they will
axe full account of future possibili- -
ics.-Memphis Commercial AppeaI =
Never criticise mans clothes. He ca
ley be supporting en- auto.-Nash- So
lille Tennesscan.
When the average Congressman ST
ants to give concrete example he su