The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-04-15
BORAH AS LEADER

Senator Borah is ingenious in his 2igumenta i've process and t7 Tany hearers nc oill appear cony.Lcini. IL will be observed, howe, CT, that the Idaho senator, in presenting his lnoict- ment of the League of Nations, passes over everything that is reported favor ahle to the league, and concentrates attention upon what ne calls the leagues failures. These failures, or some of them, are unquestionably fail ures in spite of the league or outside the leagues sphere of influence, but all are charged py the senator to the league, and he paints very dark pie ture, tending to show that the situa ton is hopeless. ss
 This is the method of the special pleader, but is it becoming in a public servant whose only desire should be to lead the people to right thinking.
 Even if 1t be granted that the league ilas nnt accomplished its ooJeet, enere i. no justice in backening its charac- CT by holding it acco -1tanle for :ail- ule to do the lrn porslUe c: s'.e tn;i,.. It never professed to oe able to do.
 Senator Borah comI iains that dur ing the last three years twelve coun- tries have resorted to war to settle their disputes and that political amhi- ton continues to rule Ill Europe. The argument is not sounI. 1t is equlva lent to saying that a law should be re pealed because it continues to be vio- lated. What should be studied is the wars or threatened wars the league has been the means of averting. Lord Robert Cecil has called attention to these. Also, fair treatment of the subject would make allowance for the difficulties of the situation following tine greatest war in history. There were immense injustices perpetrated Ill that war, and the effort had to be made afterwards to find a remedy fol them-all in an entirely new field of human effort. The fact that there nave been mistakes made, failures of effort and survival of long established ambitions, should n3c sta.u | lHe way Jf recognition of the s..lcere ef. orts made to bring about better state ,,f things, CT of what has been ,cm- lhshcd it. that uire.uot. Nothing can ,e done, saye i;cna'e: oo.ah, 1T .ll war is branded as crime. he, however, sshores the Ia4i thaC Wal cennoi be branded as q c1Iine except oy the un- .'n of nations of ..ke ,nird l:.1 pdr JuSe, ;.etei ,.il..C,. to p1eS,'it var Yht. senator would put the ca1t oefore the .lorse, and saye there Can DC TO su. cessful movement until this IS done. Ii is clear, nevertheless, that the ieaS- must come inst, ai.d la. the orc the leasde $ strengthened u 9 eleater wll be US influence Tn pre-. ent. lrg val. le senator's phrase, 1 he place, therefore, for missionary work for peace, 1t seems to us, is not in the United States, but in Europe" sur lenders the ldeaj oi worlds peace. IL IS the same as saying that we must wash our hands of any effort for the worlds peace, until the nations of Europe have abolished war; and that is a confession that we do not expect ever to do anything or to see anything done.
 The senator makes brave sno of wanting a powerful league to com mand the peace, and an international court with teeth, but his underlying argument is negative. He dcesn t want the United States to do anything, and he hasn't belief that Europe $ capable of doing anything. For q leader, aspiring to show the people of the country the right way, this is very unhappy conclusion. It demon- strates that in Borah there is no real leadership.