The Washington times., 1924-08-12

to be asked until 1t has been
definitely answered, what views
hold concerning the enforce
ment Of the Eighteenth Amend
ment and the statutes passed to
put 1t into effect. Why the ques-
ton; is 1t not the law?
i would hold in contempt any
public official who took with up
lifted hand an oath to support the
Constitution of the United States.
making at the same time a mental
reservation whereby a single word
of that great document IL ex-
cluded from his vow. An ad-
ministrative officer is no more
entitled to choose what statutes
he will or will not enforce than
Is a citizen to choose what laws
he will or will not obey. As well
might he ask to strike from the
Ten Commandments those he
was not inclined to keep.
Obedience to the law ls the
first duty Of every good citizen,
whether he be rich or whether
he be poor; enforcement Of the
law against every violator, rich or
poor, Is the solemn obligation OF
every OLLlCldA.
Court and League.
But all that we do viii be
undone: all that we build will
he torn down; all that we hope
for will be denied, unless in. con-
function with the rest Of man
Kind we can lift the burden Of
vast ornaments which now
weighs upon the world and 81
lence the recurring threat Of war.
This we shall not do by pious
wishes or fervid rhetoric. We
will not contribute to it as
nation simply by offering to
others, no more concerned than
ourselves, our unsolicited advice.
Providence does not give the
gifts of peace to those who will
not labor to achieve them. In
the name of the Democratic
party, therefore. / promise to the
country that no enterprise sin
cerely directed to this end will
lack our approval and co-opera-
ton.
we favor the World Court in
sincerity and not merely for cam
paign purposes or as an avenue
Of escape from the consideration
OF larger questions. We believe
1t a real advance toward the
peaceful settlement of information
al disputes; an advance from
which America cannot turn away
without proving herself false to
the teaching of a century. We
wish to see America as a nation
play her part in that reconstruc-
ton Of the economic life of Eu-
rope which has proven itself so
indispensable to our own well-be-
ing and prosperity.
We are ready for any confer
ence on disarmament, provided it
is so general in its membership
and so wide in its scope as to
be able to deal broadly with so
broad a theme We do not and
we cannot accept the dictum I'M
authorized by any expression Of
popular will that the League of
Nations is a closed incident so far
as we are concerned. We deny
the right OF any man to thus shut
the gates of the future against
us and to write the fatal word
Never" across the face of our
foreign policy.
Stands for League.
My own beliefs on this particu-
lar subject have been so frequent
ly avowed, and are / believe
so well understood as hardly
to need repetition. 1 yield to no
man in my resolve to maintain
Americas independence, or in my
unwillingness to involve her in
the Quarrels Of other nations.
Yet. from the day when the pro-
posal was first put forward I be-
leved that American duty and
American interests alike demand.
ed our joining, as a free and equal
people, the other free peoples Of
the enterprise. Nothing that has
since occurred has shaken me in
that belief. On the contrary, the
march of events has shown not
only that the League has. within
1t the seed Of sure survival but
that 1t Is destined more and more
to become the bulwark of peace
and order to mankind.
Fifty-four nations now sit
around its council table. Ireland,
/ rejoice to say, has shaken off
her long subsection, and once more
a nation has made her entry into
the League the sign and symbol OF
her glorious rebirth. The time can
not be far distant when Germany
will take the seat to which she is
rightly entitled. Russia, Mexico
and Turkey will make the roll,
with one exception. entire and
complete
None Of the nations in all this
frightening list have parted with
their sovereignty or sacrificed
their independence, or have I'M
safety at home or their security
abroad. I cannot reconcile their
experience with the fears Of those
who dread different fate for the
United States.
There are in this country sim
cere minds who oppose both the
World Court and the League and,
indeed, any organic contact with
other nations, because they wish
the United States to live purely
opportunist life. They wish no
obligation at any time to any other
powers, even the slender obligation
to consult and to confer.
People Must Speak.
I respect such opinions even
though ! do not share them; for,
on sheerest grounds Of national
safety cannot think it prudent
that the United States should he
absent whenever all the other
nations of the world assemble to
discuss. world problems But I
must be permitted to doubt the
intellectual honesty ~ those who
profess to favor organized inter.
national cooperation for peace