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Show THE CITIZEN b actually express the conscious and subconscious psychology of the multitude. The call to the old watchwords of national pride and imperial might thrilled the soul of a people of proud tradition in ea battles and land battles. Appeals for the rescue of the little nations struck old chords of chivalry and sentiment though with a strange lack of logic and sincerity Irish demand for was unheeded. Base passions as well as ignoble instincts were men, did A. lie to self-governm- eh ent stirred easily. The sequels of the war have shown us how wedded are these English folk to the continuance of imperial power and how eager la- - tee a ere Playing possum until the election in the United States was over, three European powers announce a treaty entered into secretly for the protection of their interests in Asia Minor. In one of the articles outsiders are granted equal trade rights and in another article an Article X, by the way these rights are taken away. Thus do European nations exhibit that fine, upstanding honesty which apologists for the League of Nations were wont to dwell on as a guarantee of the worlds peace. The truth is that Europe takes the land and loot and leaves the idealism to the United States. Americans are shocked, now and again, to find our allies, who assured us they were fighting for liberty and justice, acting in this predatory fashion, but if surprise, is ever logical we should be surprised only when our European allies display unselfishness. They have been accustomed to secret diplomacy and selfish bartering through the ages and it is difficult for them, even when liberty and justice are enlightening the world, to acquire the virtues thev love to assume. ort set. ght ter etic itv and a in nate that that war rism Ives not But wholly aside from their proclivities they recognize that their empires are based on selfishness and must be safeguarded by selfish alliances. The average Englishman, Frenchman or Italian will assent readily enough to the formulas of liberty and justice so long as these principles remain in the realm of the ideal. They assent to the idea of a League of Nations founded on justice, or open covenants, on the freedom of the seas, on disarmament to the lowest point consistent with domestic security, on absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims and on the absolutely unmolested- autonomous - iable )n of shall of the nationalities formerly under Turkish rule, but when they form their league of nations they abandon their principles and adopt others more practical, securing them by secret treaties development of ,igcr- - wars. ce circle? The people of all countries were deeply involved in the general of Europe, says Gibbs. If so and who is such a fool now as to doubt it ? then all peoples must repent. The leaders who can point the way to a reconstruction of justice will deserve the gratitude of mankind through all the ages. blood-guiltine- ss ALLIES SHUT TRADE DOORS AGAINST U. S cls L France and Italy arc to build up their imperial power on the red. sands of militarism. How is the world to get out of this frightful rut, this old vicious it :d by The it ions c. but ritaiii alliance. Their statesmen do not blush when found out; on the contrary, they wrap themselves in the shimmering aegis of patriotism and claim that they have done what is best for their country and their They put their country first, while idealists in this country intoxicate themselves with lofty phrases about the superior claims of humanity. The Europeans admit, in theory, the superior claims of humanity, but they have their empires to protect and they know of but one means of protecting them organized force. They founded their league of Nations on organized force and then, fearing that the countrys far-flu- ng empire. league might collapse, proceeded to form secret treaties of alliance also founded on force. Having possessed themselves of Asia Minor and the German colonies in Africa and in the Pacific, by means of Wilsons fiction of mandates, they form alliances to preserve these territories to one another. We, too, were to help preserve these territories to our allies without having obtained any of the conquered regions. A typical example of the manner in which we were traded out of everything valuable, in exchange for a promise that we would be permitted to go on being idealistic, was the deal made with reference to the Island of Nauru, over Philippines way. It is the richest phosphate island in the world and England wanted it. No one outside the peace conference heard of the island during the Paris negotiations, but later the subject came up in the British parliament when it was learned that Great Britain had been given possession of Nauru. A question elicited from Lord Milner the statement that Great Britain had refused to join the League of Nations unless given the island and its guano. As the one delegate who was insisting on the League of Nations was President Wilson it was up to him to decide whether he should have his league at the price of a few bags of guano. He thought more of ideals than he did of guano, but Great Britain thought more of guano than it did of ideals, at any rate, at that particular moment. Great Britain was given the Island of Nauru, as Japan was given the Chinese province of Shantung, and the United States was given the right to preserve Nauru to Great Britain and Shantung to Japan by military force. In Asia Minor the three powers that signed the treaty of protection are closing the open door against the United States. Their reasons are not far to seek. Why, they ask themselves, should they give commercial advantages in their territories to an outsider who bears none of the costs of exploiting these countries and defending them ? It was the plan to have about 80,000 or 100,000 American soldiers in Armenia and this force was to help the British, Italian and French maintain possession of Asia Minor, but when it became apparent that the United States would not accept a mandate for Armenia and .might even refuse to have Article X in the league covenant, the three possessory powers joined in a contract to exclude from the profits all who did not share the burden of expense. And yet they want us to give them the $10,000,000 we have loaned them. tii'dify GREA T DEB A TE ON LEA GUE TO BE RENEWED shows be h bad iken i heir folk el iau- - :i OF St itcs- thought was virtually eliminated from the coumighty by the presidential election. It was the Wilsonian School which strove to maintain the impossible thesis that the United States ought to join the league of nations. By the league the advc: tes of the thesis meant the unmodified covenant which was tamed to establish an alliance of the nations to enforce peace. The presidential election might just as well have been a world One school of nts of the election so far as such a league is concerned. The refusal of the United States to join a military alliance has made it certain that the Wilson covenant must be substantially modified or replaced. The two chief schools of thought to be heard at the conferences will call are represented on the one side by the president-eleSenators Johnson and Borah and Knox and on the other by former President Taft, Elihu Root and former Attorney General Wickcrshatn. ct t ' i i |