The Washington times., 1923-06-05
HARDING STAND
ON LEAGUE IS
CLEARING
Intimate Friend Explains What
President Meant by ways
and Agencies Of Peace"
By WTLLIAM HARD.

BY WILLIAM HARD.
The first really Illuminating light
that the Presidents recent foreign
policy statements have received was
provided today by an intimate of
the Presidents who has an ex-
ceptior1al opportunity to observe the
workings of the Presidents mind.
Without attempting to quote from
the President or in any way to be
authorized to speak for him, this
gentleman provided point Of view
which genuinely explains the Presi-
dents recent illusions to the world
peace mission of the United States
and which also at last, suggests a
possible explanation Of that great
and continuous mystery called IAN
Association of Nations"
The Presidents Memorial Day
speech In Washington raised the
liveliest apprehensions here among
Republicans who dread not only the
League OF Nations but also any and
all other international organized
governmental bodies. In that speech
the President said that the United
States should establish the ways
Of peace throughout the world" and
should establish agencies of
peace"
His allusion to ways and
agencies" of peace and his use of
the word establish" created in
many quarters the impression that
the President was about to come
forward with some new plan Of
world peace and that perhaps this
plan would be an Association Of
Nations" in justification of the
phrase so often used in the cam
paign Of 1920.
DisIikes Word Isolation"
For some time now it has been
quite apparent that the President
has acquired a strong dislike for
the word Isolation" as q present
ment Of his foreign policy. He
nanifestly is determined not to be
regarded as an "isolationist." Day
by day he has used stronger and
stronger language in the direction
Of emphasizing his conviction of
the large part to be played by the
United States in world affairs.
The puzzle has grown, therefore,
as to what new intention in prac.
tice could lie behind this increas.
ing volume of new expression Of
world feeling. Is the President
going to take us into the League
Of Nations in precisely the same
way in which President Wilson took
us into the war-namely, by first
being against it and by then feeling
forced into 1t with the country
sympathetically applauding botn
times?
In order to try to arrive at the
heart of this puzzle this writer
today approached several persons,
who recently have exchanged views
on international affairs with the
President and asked them for their
conclusions and solutions. They all
of them agreed on certain state.
ments Of fact. One of them, out
Of a particular intimacy with a
consideration of such matters, add
ed an explanation which puts the
whole development OF the Presi-
dents foreign policy. from his in
auguration to date, into a light
which renders it at, least consistent
with itself even If not convincing
to it's opponents.
Speak In Capital Letters.
People are always speaking"
said this gentleman, of an Asso'
citation Of Nations in capital letters
They speak of 1t with capital
AZ and capital IN" just as they
would speak of the present League
of Nations with a capital Il ana
a capital IN" and a house to live
in at Geneva, Switzerland, or some
where else"
This way of talking Of it," CON
tinued the Presidents friend is
not to my mind in harmony with
the object held in view by the
policy of this administration:
cannot make out, and l do not be-
lieve, that the President Is con
templating q membership by the
United States in any internatlonal
organized body whether called
league or called an association
which would have the physical me
chanical character Of the preseh
league at Geneva.
''The thing that the President
has in mind, venture to believeh
is a thing much less mechanical
and concentrated and much more
flexible and adaptable to the great
ly varying conditions existing in
the various different parts OF the
world.
"You will arrive at his point Of
view with greater success, l think,
II instead of writing dispatches
about an Association Of Nations
in capital letters you would try
writing a few about the asso-
citation of nations in lower-case
small letters.
Not Agency, but Agencies.
You will notice that the Presi-
dent does not speak of AN agency
Of peace. He speaks of agencies
Of peace. From his point of view
the fourpower treaty is such an
agency, though it establishes no
semblance of any super-government
over the United States, Great Brit
ain, France and Japan.
From his point of view the
world court is such an agency,
though it in no way establishes
any governmental force which
in any way could seek to impose
its will forcibly on the world.
Agencies which represent a
voluntary movement toward con-
ference regarding a given set of
problems, or agencies which rep
resent voluntary resort to law
for the settlement of given dis
putes seem to appeal to the Presi-
dent as agencies which could be
called ways of peace.
Taken together, and If developed
to tit the whole round of world prob
lens, they would bring all nations
into pacific association with one
another. The result would be that
the association of nations in the
world among one another in ways
leading to peace would be pro-
NOTED and ultimately perfected.