OCR Text |
Show v I Pioneers of Peace 1 . . . No. 4 Woodrow Wilton j. I o ! L-l Editor's Note: A rrn titles slay, ' last, apparently Will fee marked by war, aaether setback far the mca wa he, sabered far peaea. Hera la aaether af a series at ssertea their off arte. By WILLIS THORNTON It has been Woodrow Wilson's fare to go down In history aa the foster-father, at least, of the league of nations. Out of the greatest war came the greatest , concerted effort for peace, reall-' ration of an old dream of a "par llaraent of nations." . Woodrow Wilson, born In Staunton, Va, In 1856. grew up aa a boy In Georgia and South Carolina. The devastation, the Buffering of the Civil war were deeply cut Into his mind as he lived In the shadow of war's ruins. With this deep-rooted abhorrence abhor-rence of war, and the natural In cltnation of an Intellectual to reason rea-son rather than force, Wilson came to the presidency. As haa been the fata of so many peacemakers, peace-makers, he was almost Immediately Imme-diately confronted with a war situation sit-uation when in April, 1914, Vera Cruz was seized by American sailors after an affront by Huerta troops. Accepted Media tiea Wilson's heart was not in the venture, and he glady accepted an offer of mediation by Argentina, Argen-tina, Brazil and Chile to adjust the matter tn a meeting at Niagara Ni-agara Falls. The Villa episode waa likewise submitted to a Joint Mexican-American commission at New London, CSnn. Meanwhile, World war - enveloped en-veloped Europe. The senate quickly adopted a resolution urging Wilson to settle the war by mediation or arbitration. arbitra-tion. He offered his services In this capacity to all the warring countries. None was interested. Throughout 1913, Colonel House was in Europe for Wilson, sounding out the prospects for peace. House wanted to work out a peace offer which the allies al-lies would accept, then spring it on Germany, thus passing the onus to the latter if she refused. The allies did not accept. Ford Tries His Hand Another would-be peace-maker of 1915 waa Henry Ford. In December, De-cember, he embarked aboard the chartered Oscar II in a fantastic effort to "get the boys out of the trenches by Christmas." While the American press laughed. Ford and a select group of peace doves stormed Europe, but were unable to obtain an audience with anyone influential enough to stop the war. AU that came out of It waa . some whole-hearted wrangling among the peace delegates on the Oscar. ... German Willing to Mediate In 1918, Germany, hard pressed, said she would accept the U. S. as mediator, but the allies refused. re-fused. As 191T opened, Wilson made his last offer, proposing his famous fa-mous "peace without victory." Both sides reviled him. ' Then it was the fate of Wilson the peacemaker to lead his own country Into war, and to try to make such a peace as would halt wars of the future. Peace must be organized; for the first time a league of equal member-nations waa to try It In January, 1918, Wilson had stated 14 points for an enduring peace, and the spirit of the world WOODROW WILSON soared at the hope of a peace , with justice, and a future with-eut with-eut waa, i Placed Hopes la League On June 28, 1919, the treaty was signed at Versailles. Everybody, Every-body, Including Wilson, knew it was Imperfect. They placed their ' hopes in the League of Nations, which would be able, they hoped, to adjust conflicts which might arise from the treaty. Then Wilson's own country re- Jected the league. But the league became a reality. On November 15. 1930, the first assembly waa called by Wilson, and 41 countries coun-tries sent representatives to Geneva. For 20 years the league, established es-tablished In a set of lordly buildings build-ings in Geneva, tried to cope with the world's problems. In 1922 it established on a permanent basia the Court of International Justice Jus-tice at The Hague which had been temporarily set up years before. be-fore. Again the United States refused to take part (1935). Desertions Freae League The story of the league effort. Its large failures and Its little triumphs. tri-umphs. Is a long one. Beginning in 1933 members began to desert It (and though In December, 1938, it still technically had 54 . member-countries, the absence of . Brazil, Japan and Germany, and the notice of withdrawal of Italy, i Chile, and others had left It a frozen cripple In its marble palace pal-ace In Geneva, helpless to have prevented or to halt the new war ' sweeping Europe. . These things Wilson was not to see. On Armistice day, 1923, he 1 spoke his last public words. "I am not one of those," he , said, "that have the least anxiety I about the triumph of the principles prin-ciples I have stood for. I have seen fools resist Providence before be-fore and I have seen their destruction, de-struction, as will come upon these again utter destruction and con- , tempt That we shall prevail la as sure as that God reigns." On the morning of February 3, 1924, he died, defeated aa a statesman. Immortal aa a prophet of peace. NEXT: Frank B. Kellogg, the anaa who "outlawed war." |