Evening star., 1939-12-06
Riqhts of Small Motions

Rights Of Small Nations
On May 20, 1915, President Wood
row Wilson, speaking at Charlotte,
North Carolina, discussed the prob
lem of the little nations in the settle
ment which he hoped would follow
the war then raging in Europe. The
record shows that he postulated
three principles, as follows: First,
that every people has the right to
choose the sovereignty under which
1t shall live; second, that the small
states have the same right as the
great to have their sovereignty and
territorial integrity respected; third,
that the world has the right to be
free from having it's peace disturbed
by aggression and disregard of the
rights Of others" Within a few
months both the allies and Germany
had agreed to these stipulations in
general If not in specific terms. In
1917 the Council Of Workers and
Soldiers Delegates in Petrograd an
nounced a Russian peace formula"
demanding termination of the pre-
vailing strife with mo annexations,
no indemnities, free development for
all nationalities." The spokesman
for the United States replied: mo
people must be forced under SOW
ereignty under which 1t does not wish
to live. No territory must change
hands except for the purpose of Sc
curing those who inhabit it a fair
chance of life and liberty. No in
IDENTITIES must be insisted on except
those that constitute payment for
manifest wrongs done. No readjust-
ments of power must be made except
such as will tend to secure the future
peace of the world and the future
welfare and happiness Of its peoples"
Mr.. Wilson also expressed the same
ideal in his note to Pope Benedict
XIV, in which he repudiated "puni-
tive damages, the dismemberment of
empires, the establishment of selfish
and exclusive economic leagues and
declared: 1--WE believe that the in
tolerable wrongs done in this war by
the furious and brutal power of the
imperial German government ought
to be repaired, but not at the expense
of the sovereignty of any people"
He reasserted his convictions on jan
uary 8, 1918, in his Fourteen Points,
the fifth of which read: "A free,
open-minded and absolutely impair
tial adjustment of all colonial claims
based upon a strict observance of
the principle that in determining all
such questions of sovereignty the
interests of the populations CON-
cerned must have equal weight with
the equitable claims of the govern
ment whose title is to be determined"
and on February II of the same year
in his Four Principles, in which he
insisted: peoples and provinces are
not to be bartered about from SOW
ereignty to sovereignty as if they
were chattels or pawns in a game"
and every territorial settlement in
volved in this war must be made in
the interest and for the benefit of
the populations concerned, and not
as part of any mere adjustment or
compromise of claims amongst rival
states"
These sentiments were accepted by
the citizens of the United States
whom President Wilson represented.
It is not too much to allege that
American soldiers died for them The
Peace Conference at Versailles in
1919 forgot, or at least pretended to
forget them, yet they have remained
doctrine which the democracies of
the earth indorse in constant theory
if not invariably in practice.
Meanwhile, Japan seizes Manchu
kuo and invades China; Italy takes
Ethiopia and Albania; Germany an
nexes Austria and ho-Slovakia
and conquers half of Poland; Russia
joins in the theft of Polish territory,
coerces Estonia, Latvia and Lithua-
MIA and attacks Finland. Thus eleven
small countries have lost their inde-
pendence and four imperialistic
powers by their policies of dishonor-
able expansion have affrighted civil
lization. What helpless victim may
be next on the list of the quartet of
brigands no bystander may guess.
One fact, however, is plain: Millions
of Americans who love justice and
peace are weary of the turmoil, greed
and violence which Woodrow Wilson
vainly sought to control and which
still require correction.
Roll Labor Wins