The Coolidge examiner. [volume] (Coolidge, Ariz.) 1930-current, 1939-03-23
A r | Z 0 N A
AIR . ..:....
TOLD YOU so

There is no comfort in being able
to say Il told you so" in regard to
Hitler's latest steal in Europe.
Ever since the World War treaty
we have been strongly opposed Il
war and have hammered against 1t
as best we could.
Along with that attitude we have
been in favor of the League OF
Nations and have felt that the
United States betrayed the league
by failing to join from the begin
ming. The idea of the League of
Nations had it's birth in our own
land and was accomplished by the
determined efforts of Woodrow
Wilson, then our president. The
failure of our country to go into
it broke his heart.
The defeat of the League in our
country was the result of politics.
The campaign against it was bitter
and successful. In order to defeat
it the politicians, chiefest among
them Henry Cabot Lodge, launch
ed the slogan that we must never
again fight another war on foreign
soil. that we should stay at home
and attend to our business, that we
should not mess in European
scraps. The idea was put over
successfully.
For twenty years we have felt
SNUG in our isolation from those
foreign entanglements. We were
far removed from the troubles of
others. We were safe. We were at
tending to our own business. Others
could take care of themselves. We
had been fools to have ever gone
over there in the first place.
We completely ignored the truth
OF the statement that he who would
save his own life must lose it, he
who would lose his own life should
keep it. That was good religious
teaching to quote but it didn't
apply to our nation.
NONE LIVE ALONE
But today we have suddenly dis
covered that no nation. as no in
dividual. lives alone, nor can. The
things that We insisted were none
OF our business have suddenly be-
come definitely our business be-
cause they effect us, distance or
no distance.
A mad man running rough shod
through Europe may be miles re
moved from us bat what he does
effects us just as much as if he
were running thru our own land.
BELIEVE IN WAR
AS much as we have been against
war there are times when a man
must or should fight. Peace is not
obtained, nor security, by refusing
to fight at all times.
There are tines when what we
would like to do and what should
be done are far apart and leave
little choice.
No permanent peace and no
permanent respect fer information
al law and agreements can be
maintained when selfish nations
are allowed to take things in their
own hands and travel along a
course in utter disregard of the
rules of the game or the rights OF
nations and peoples.
When any nation takes that at
titude it is something to fight over.
Because we have tried to ignore
this fact we find the world today
in the biggest mess 1t has ever
known. More than that. we find
ourselves sitting on the brink OF
another world war that we cannot
possibly stay out of if, and when,
1t starts.
ABOUT FACE
Today the United States is trying
to effect a face-saving right-about
fact on the stay-athome business.
Today we are definitely and openly
taking steps to obligate ourselves
to stand by and fight with other
nations for the safety of the world.
II we had taken that definite and
firm step twenty years ago and had
gotten into the League of Nations
where we could have thrown our
force and influence into each small
situation that appeared on the
scene the present situation would
never have developed.