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Show THE CITIZEN i JURIST OPPOSES LEA GUE a citizen whose brain was begin IFning to reel with the clash of arguments about the League of Nations were seeking .for the opinion of a strong, sane, trained mind in his own community he naturally would pass in mental review his fellow citizens who had gained reputations for judgment during long careers. And if, after most careful consideration, he should select as his mentor, Judge Ogden Hiles, would not his choice meet with universal approval? At any rate The Citizen thought so and called on Judge Hiles. The Citizen did not know that Ogden Hiles was a Wilson man. It did not know what were his views on the League of Nations. It learned that he was for Wilson and against the league. That is a rather odd combination, and, on that account, all the more Interesting. years Judge Hiles is seventy-thre- e old. He was bom Sept 17, 1846, on his grandfathers farm in Salem county, New Jersey. When the Civil war came he had not completed his schooling, but he did not consider himself too young to fight. Nor was he a conscientious objector, although his forebears had been Quakers. He joined the Twelfth United States in- fantry in 1861, enlisting for three years, but served through the war. He was wounded slightly at Fredericksburg and seriously at Gettysburg. tear in his eye as THERE wasof athese old times and the interviewer fancied that some poignant memory of war had suddenly thrust a dart into his soul. It was a memory of war but not of the Civil war. My nephew, Henry, was killed in the Argonne just before the armistice was signed, he said. Henry was my brothers boy Henry Hiles. Guessing the unasked question on the lips of the interviewer, he said: No, I have no sons. I never have been married. Then he told a story which seemed to explain the tear still more. Henry had gone away to war as a private soldier in emulation of his uncle, who served in the ranks throughout the struggle of the states. Henry was out here from Omaha a few years ago, said the judge and I quoted to him the words of Dr. Johnson who said that a man who had never been a soldier was inclined to think mainly of himself. Henry got it twisted and told his father that Uncle Ogden had said that a man who had never been a soldier was a pretty mean man. When the war broke out he was foreman of a large body of men, but he volunteered as a private. Some have to be privates, you know, added the judge, and I am glad that I was. before the Civil war his had located near Burlington, Iowa, and it was to that town that Ogden returned when the conflict was JUST ended. He acquired a little law, departed for California,' went to Virginia City in the bonanza days and studied law in the office of Thomas H. Williams. In 1869 he was elected district attorney. From Virginia City he went to San Francisco. In 1886 he came to Salt Lake City to be assistant to United States District Judge Dickson. Retiring from this position in 1889 he went into partnership with Judge Powers. From 1896 until 1901 he was district judge. not weaken ourselves by mixing in European feuds. The peace treaty is making nations of peoples who have not shown themselves capable .of In fact, some of them have given convincing proofs that they are unfitted for nationality. Moreover, there are races, not only in Europe, but in Asia Minor, that have revealed through the centuries their unfitness for government. Great Britain and France must deal with these nations, but they would be glad to shift the burden as much as possible and have us pull their . self-governme- TT WAS his painful duty to deal with L chestnuts out of the fire. That is what I mean by involving ourselves in the affairs of Europe. We not only take on our shoulders all the old racial and religious feuds, but Morewe are constantly involved. over, we bring down upon ourselves the animosities of those races we are required, from time to time, to discipline or oppose. If, for example, a dispute arises which threatens war we are immediately entangled in the many of the polygamy cases and he sentenced not a few convicted under -- the statute against plural marriages. Today he recalls the experiences of that time with profound regret. No community, he said, is so unhappy as one divided by religious prejudices. The man who stirs up religious ' prejudice is acting most foolishly. Senator Sherman was led into that bad blunder only the other day when arguing against the League of Nations. I am against the League of Nations, but not on the grounds Senator' Sherman cited. QUITE naturally this opened the for a discussion of the league plan and Judge Hiles pressed his views somewhat as ex- I am a Wilson man and yet I am opposed to the League of Nations, be- lieving that Senator Borah has taken the right position. I have no sympathy with those who found their opposition on mere partisanship or hostility to Mr. Wilson. Our motives should be worthy of our national greatness. We should oppose the league only if we believe that it will menace our free institutions and tend to impair our greatness as a nation. Many reasons of more or less weight have been put forward in opposition to the league, but, to my mind, the fundamental flaw, so far as we are concerned, is the entanglement of a free race with the slave races of Europe. When I say that the league will involve us too much in the politics of Europe I mean that the league will involve a great, free people a people long trained in demin the ocracy and disputes of races which have not shown themselves capable xof controversy. Ultimately we take one side or the other. The side we oppose becomes an enemy. The longer the league endures the more enemies. Do you think the treaty will be ratified with the league in it? asked The Citizen. Yes. The Senate cannot make reservations that will change the entire purport of the treaty. If this is done the treaty is not really ratified. It i3 probable that some minor reservations can be made safely. And what is to become of the league after it is established? I think it will disintegrate. The American people will become dis- - gusted with its operations and draw. A mighty, free people will not be content to be made the catspaw of slave races or of races little capable of governing themselves. Of course, I make this prediction with reserve. Some of the framers of the constitution expected it to .tail, we but know that it provided an adequate foundation for a strong and free nation. Ten amendments were quickly added to strengthen it and here the judges eyes twinkled the courts also have amended it view of the judges opinions on League of Nations his opinions on Shantung may be a trifle surpris- IN ing, but they are consistent with his theory about the varying ability of races to rule themselves. We should be careful not to offend Japan, he said. We have a treaty with Japan in which we agree to grant to her nationals the rights and privileges which we grant to the nationals of the most favored nations, and yet some of our states pass laws to take away their property or nullify their leases. The Japanese point out with justice that we deny to them rights and privileges which we grant, for example, to the Germans. China is a great nation only in numbers. The Chinese have not displayed a gift for government On the other hand the Japanese have revealed a strong national character and governing capabilities. I do not approve of the Shantung award. An cannot look upon it with favor, but we must ask ourselves whether it is a sufficiently (Continued on Page 17.) American 4 self-governme- nt self-governme- the fingers of one hand the races which, from the time of Pericles down to our own, have really shown capacity for gov- - t GO TO You can count on ernment. We have produced an American race which has demonstrated its capacity for a government free and democratic. Washington saw the danger of entangling such a people in the disputes of Europe. We Should not minimize that danger today. OW that we have made a suc-ces- s of our government there is all the more reason why we should with- ALTAIC TODAY Enjoy the amusements, the frolics on Sunset Beach. Take a basket lunch. Trains at 9:30 a. m, 2, 2:45, 3:30, 4:15, 5, 5:45, 6:30, 7:15, 8, 8:45, 9:30 and 10:15 p. m. , |