The Elk Mountain pilot., 1923-11-15
Armistice Day Address, Gunnison Nov H. 1928

l. 1914 the World War might have been averted but by
April 1917, do not that there was alternative
open to We had to go in. What is meant therefore
by the assertion that is is that if men
disposed the differences which lead to might
be equtably composed to make impossible open
rupture; an honorable choice might be provided more
complimentary to intelligence and Christian character
than blowing human flesh TO smithereens or smotherng
the spark of life with deadly gases.
Much of the difficulty in getting acceptance the
argument that is is due to the de-
plorable fact that the question does stand
merits. Since the League of Nations in the
presidential election sponsored by the political
parties and opposed by the other many apparently
seems that propose action for the abo
tion of is necessarily take partisan ground
ing could be farther from the truth The League of Ma
tions and the of world peace not identical
If citizen is honestly and integenty opposed
participation in the League of Nations that is
why he should be opposed to all international coop
Grafton to avert The fact is nobody has
posed and nobody propose, any other practicable
method of aboshing than by international action
The League of Nations is only plan of interna-
| tional action. 1t may be considered promising plan
or bad plan Personally, sceptical of it's possib
tiles President Wilson boasted that Covenant
of the League interviewer with the provisions of
the Peace Treaty that his opponents in the Senate could
not separate them. The implication that his oppo
nents would prefer the Peace Treaty the, Covenant
that they would indeed be willing to swallow something
dtatefu in order get the Peace Treaty adopted 1t
to have turned out according to the judgment of
careful critics. that the Versailles Treaty i'm
measureably than the Covenant that the most
damaging criticism of the League of Nations is that
it must obligations for the enforcement of the
Versailles and other treaties consequent to the The
should have been enforced by the nations
which profit from their enforcement No. it was
a grevous failure that they not constructed
in the interest of transparent justice that nation
could have gained selfish advantage worked out nation
al vengeance through their enforcement As it is the
focement of these treaties tends to engender not
to avert them That the League Nations, whose
chinery devised should be interlocked
with machinery unerringy devised to produce them is
of the grimmest ronies of history No. this is not
in its nature partisan question As Ambassador Her
rick courageousy said week ago about one phase
of it, 'The whole question rises above the camor and
partisan politics and whosoeer seeks to it
for political advantage sulies the of the dead
we are here to honor sr.
i Another serious obstacle the advancement of the
argument that is is American tradition
1t cannot be denied that American tradition is against
any kind of international organization "The Founding
Fathers ouspoken against participation in Euro
pean politics As early 1776 John Adams warned of
the caution needed in making alliance with France,
saying, 1--WE ought not to enter into alliance with her
which should entangle in future in Europe;
we ought TO lay it down as first principle and max
i'm to be forgotten, to maintain entire neutral
ity in all future European wars In 1888 Congress
passed Resolution to the same puport: 1.-THE true in
erest of the States requires that they should be little
possible entangled in the politics and controversies of
European natons In 1897 Washington in his Farewell
Address said Europe has set of primary interests,
which to us have none or very remote relation
Why by Intervening destiny with that of any part
Of Europe enange and prosperity in the tolls
If European ambition, rivalry, interest hunor or ca
price, In 1928 Jefferson, consulted by Monroe relative
the of conditions which prompted the Monroe Doc
trne, said: "Our first fundamental maxim should be-
never enangle ourselves in the broils of Europe
The Monroe Doctrine itself which notable
the theory and practice of international
relations the world the positon In
the European Powers in matters relating to
themselves we have never taken any part does it
omport with policy to do So the adherence of
early the doctrine of aloofness from the
politics Europe entirely beyond question Our re-
from Europe aversion from European po-
itca systems, from their monarchia and ecclesiastical
theories government, their colonial commercial and
navigation monopoes and natural and consuming
a desire theories of government and
to exploit natural resources, all served to make
us united whatever happened to be ones theory of
domestic politics. in the belief that joint action with any
> foreign nation to be avoided.
However, this is not complete view of our foreign
relations. The most important change in world rela
ons occurred in the ninetes of the last century, when
for the first time found ourselves producing more
goods than could consume and SO we needed for a
deeper than before foreign market for goods
: A bit later in the same decade went ito war with
SPAIN which put in possession of some lands in the
Far East Guam and the Philippines That brought
fully into the world politics. Right off, John
Hay found it good to propose his Open Door policy in
China and began negotiations with England, Germany
Russia Japan France and Italy to make it effective To
quel the Boxer uprising in China American soldiers from
the Philippines in combination with European troops and
japanese fought their to Pekings In 1903 gov
ernment tried "the commercial naturalization
the railways but the Japanese and Rus
slams would agree. In 1912 Secretary Knox ndorsed
six power China, of bankers agreeing
to participate with certain British French Russian Jap
anese and German bankers, but the next administration
blocked the plan the ground that the conditions of the
loan touched very nearly the administrative indepen
dence of China and that the responsibility OF our
a ment too direct t't "
3 In 1885 the United States was represented at the
-.