Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-09-18
LEAGUE Of NATIONS
FORGING To FRONT
As ISSUE FOR 1924
BY ROBERT T. SMALL

! SPECIAL Gable to The Atlanta Journal and
Chicago Daily News-Copyright, 1928
NEW YORK, Sept. 15.-Political
observers returning from abroad
and New York has been filled with
them lately-are convinced that
| there will be no escaping the League
of Nations issue in the next presi-
Dental campaign. The international
situation is certain to remain acute
and Americas relations with the rest
of the world must come in for great ,
er and greater consideration.
When Fred Upham. the hard head
ed if not hard boiled" treasurer of
/ the Republican national committee, ]
a regular of the regulars, came
! home to announce that the United
States must act in Europe if the
world is to be saved, he but express +
ed the views of others who have fol
lowed him. Then there are those
! who say that America should thank
| her lucky stars that she is not in
on any of the European strife and
| trouble and that she should continue
! to keep her skirts clear of all pos
! Slbility of ENHANCEMENT.
/ These divergent views are the
| basis for the statement that the in.
| ternational situation can not be kept
| out of the next campaign no matter
! now loudly the tOm-tOmS of domestic |
| questions may be beaten. The battle
will have to be fought al over again |
| and the Democratic leaders who
talked with Governor Cox during his |
long visit to the metropolis said they
felt their party was in a much bet |
ter position than the Republicans to
'thresh out" International questions |
This they said, was because the /
Democratic party will come out
straight for participation in the
League of Nations, for joining the ,
World Court organized under the
league, and for a general foreign re-
Iatlons program Of helpfulnesA.
Committed to World Court
The Republicans, it is contended
will be handicapped by the division /
in their ranks. President Harding
committed his party, so far as he .
could as the constituted leader of I
1T, to the world court. 1t is conf |
IDENTIFY believed by the Republican
leaders that President Coolidge will .
follow in Harding's footsteps on this
issue. He has virtually said as much. !
On the other hand some of Mr.. Cool !
Hges strongest supporters for the ;
next nomination are opposed to the
court. The Republicans are faced by
the necessity on the stump of op-
posing the League of Nations but ,
Of approving the world court which |
was created by the league. The claim
OF some of the Republicans that the |
court can be divorced from the |
league is contested by the Republi.
cans who oppose entry into any sort |
of court
The Democrats claim the Repub.
leans will not be able to place their
attitude clearly before the people and /
that this will give strength to the
more definite Democratic platform.
George w. Wickersham, attorney :
general under President Taft, and j
recently an observer in Europe, has
just come out with a strong defense |
of the League of Nations in its !
handling of the Greco-Italian con- |
troversy. Mr.. Wickersham was one |
of the 81 distinguished Republicans !
who, in the campaign of 1920, made |
a public appeal for support of Mr.. |
Harding on the ground that he |
would have a definite plan for an |
association of nations-a more prac.
teal plan, it was declared, than any. |
thing the Democrats could devise |
The Wickersham statement is taken |
as an indication that the attitude |
of the prO-league Republicans of 1920 |
has undergone no change but per- |
haps, has grown stronger than ever. |
for they are once more talking of |
the league as it exists, rather than !
an association to be formed at some |
time in the future.
Bitter Fight Forecast
Nor have the johnson and nj her |
anti-league wings of the party |
shown any signs of weakening, so
it is safe to say that in the next |
Republican convention the fight on |
the foreign declarations of the G.. o;
2. platform is going to be one of the |
| bitterest in the history of the party |
The resolutions committee, which |
will draft the platform, will be more |
carefully selected than ever before |
and the craftsmanship of the COM
mittee will be in a position of the |
greatest responsibility.
One great difficulty about the |
League of nations issue in d cam |
| paign is the Hypothetical quality |
of it. The opponents of the league |
say it has failed, that it was doomed |
to failure from the start, and that |
| the United States did the wise thing |
in staying out. The friends of the |
league say the reason it is weak to-
day is because the United States has |
not lent it's moral support to it. They |
say that if America were in the |
| league, the moral force of the league |
would be so great that no nation |
would wish to defy its mandate and |
stand scouraged before the world. !
But SO long as the United States |
| scouts the league it is not surpris |
ing that the smaller powers are in
clined to treat it in the same manner |
when some curtailment of their aims |
is the, issue.
The Democratic national commit |
! tee is proceeding with much pub |
licity on the tariff and other domes
| tic questions. Many Democrats I'm.
doubtedly favor a domestic cam
paign but as the international situa-
| ton presses forward more and more |
the likelihood of that issue being the !
paramount one next year grows |
greater and greater day by day.
-Four Missing Aviators
A CC