Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-06-19
(Follo.Oing is the text, in part, of a ra
broadcast by Rupert Hughes, on June 81

HUGHES-It is one of the sad and confusing
truths of human experience that the so-called
ideasts prefer their dreams and theories to truth.
Nobody is more reckless in the DISTORTION of
HARD COLD FACTS.
That is one of the chief reasons why ideals
fail and dreams turn out to be nightmares. They
were BASED ON FICTION NOT ON FACT.
WHEN World War was over and the League
w of Nations was proposed, it was promptly
opposed both by the Indifferent and the hostile
The Constitution prevented the president
from making treaty with the other nations for
such league unless two-thrds of the senators
cOncurred.
More than one-third of the senator's stub
bornly refused to accept the treaty it Writ
ten They especially denounced Article X, Which
the president refused to giUe up.
The proponents of the league called their
opponents "willful few" and denounced them
not only as enemies of the human race, lovers of
war and haters of peace but also as dogs in the
manger thwarting the will of 'the great bulk of
the people," They centered their reviling on Sen
ator Henry Cabot Lodge.
The United States did not enter the league
and the league failed the believers in it added
to their other accusations against Senator Lodge
and his Wful few the blame for the failure of the
league.
They are now blaming Lodge and his group
for the present war; because, as they WENT ON
TO IMAGINE, if we had entered the league it
would not have failed and World War II would
never have come about.
ONLY this week heard a speaker repeat this
- already classical golden legend of the league.
He used it as an argument for taking away from
the Senate its horrible power to block treaty by
the willful Stubbornness of one-third minority
plus one
fla that too
situation might be improved if the treaty-sanc-
tioning power were so changed that simple
majority of both houses of Congress could
ratify it.
He admitted that he didn't see HOW this
could be DONE for he argued, it was one of the
sad mistakes of the makers OF the Constitution
to give the Senate such power; and it could only
be removed by constitutional amendment, which
could not be submitted to the people without the
approval of the SENATE.
And he doubted that the Senate would ever
sacrifice the power given it.
He regarded all this as a great misfortune.
But !, for among many, hope the Senate Wiu
NEVER surrender the posOer most sOi'ely entrusted
to it.
1t seems to me a splendid SAFEGUARD that
the Senate is able to make treaties DIFFICULT
TO MAKE.
To me, it is not at all horrible fact that one
third of the Senate kept us out Of the League of
Nations and prevented the rest Of the Senate
UNDER HEAVY POLITICAL PRESSURE and
during after-war hystera, from binding this
nation to join perpetual federation of nations
especially as we should have had only ONE VOTE
in the league to FIVE votes for the British En-
pire, which had lately become a commonwealth
of five independent nations, each of which quite
properly demanded a vote.
THE first league was dearly desired by many
L people, some of them very eminent; but when
they say that the bulk of this nation wanted it,
and only few senators thwarted the will of that
bulk, they are simply REPEATING FALSE
HOOD that grows more sacrosanct by repetition,
but does not become any LESS FALSE.
You can't change lie into the truth either by
believing it or repeating it.
Yet many of the leading publications, many
statesmen, clergymen, professors and What not
still insisted that, to the bulk of the people, the
league was their very hearts desire.
President Wilson was so convinced Of this
that he went over the heads of the stubborn sem
ators to carry his appeal to the people.
There followed one of the GREATEST
IT'D IL.