Show TAFT OUTLINES LEAGUE PLAN puts it into plain language free from legal and diplomatic verbiage in response to request MANY ARE CONFUSED BY PRESENT DEBATE danger that people wilt wilf lose sight of basic principles during discussion of complicated details and technicalities by tx ex president william H taft the plan for a league afna of nil 1 Is based on a few simple principles which are not lard hard to understand when lifted out of the morass of technical discus slon blon and freed froni from legal and diplomatic language Inne As the 4 one authority best able to pre sent these points without par alsan aisan bins bias ex er taft p lias has been asked to put the league idea into a few plain I 1 P words for the benefit of millions of Arile ricans who desire a better understanding of the plan but find themselves confused by the debate in the united states senate in response to this I 1 ie e quest he has haa written tile the following article S purpose of the league the chief purpose of the league ot ol nations Is to keep the world in st state bbate of peace another way of expressing it to Is to flay any that the league Is designed to prevent wars behave we have just finished tile the greatest which Is to say the most horrible of all conflicts between nations we ve bata ivon a clorious clor lous 4 victory victori will be wasted unless dinless lils ills war w has made the nations ready to put aside their differences and cooperate to end war forever it la is not enough however to provida for the prevention of wars and the settlement of disputes after they have arisen wa ave must foresee causes of trouble and abd remove them before they have reached an acute stage hence there roust must be provision for frequent consultations of members of thi ali league for exchange of information for agreement on common policies and for the gradual formation of rules of internal international dional law which at present are uncertain and incomplete tito the representatives of the great free nations which won the war haat met at paris and after long consultation have aye drawn an agreement which they believe will accomplish these ends at the very least it will set in motion great changes which will result in universal benefit to all mankind this agreement Is called the covenant of the league of nations end and it la 19 a part of tile the peace treaty there will be no league worth talking about however unless the united states la Is a member the decision as to whether the united states shall join rests with ettli our senate the sella senators chosen by tile tho people will in the end vote as tile tho people desire for tills this reason the people themselves will decide whether or not the united states will join the league ju in tills this question every citizen should have a voice olce he or she can express opinion either by writing direct to Sena senators torm by letters to tile the newspapers by in ills his lodge or local union or in conversation with friends methods of maintaining peace since tile the prime object of tile the league of nations Is to preserve peace and to reap the benefits of peace let us see how the league will operate to accomplish that purpose la in the first place it will seek to re dhove move the main causes of war vy tile fornia formation fornication tion of an international wurt it will create a means for the peaceful settlement ett lement of disputed dispute if bet between ilveen nations then it will seek to compel tle tho nations to make uso use of tills thin court this Is nothing more nor less than an application of tile the rules and custom custo rut governing private individuals in III civilized communities to the relations between nations secondly the league will seek to lo re move a great temptation to war by b tile the general agreement to reduce tin the size of armies and navies title this will ivill halt the race for military and naval supremacy which was largely responsible tor for the war just ended the tha amount of armament any nation may maintain will vrin be strictly defined ned thus it will bo be for one auntry country to overwhelm its neighbor by unexpected attack in the way that germany Ger mally crushed belgium and vi fild have bave crushed france had not thet titter allsop JR ma W 1 act la in that mat cacti country nifty may keep an firms army and navy large enough to enable it to fulfil fulfill its responsibilities no as a member ber of 0 the league but no target larger the the U untied states for fol example arx ably would mould be 18 expected to keel beep it A check on and ho tho state of con stunt turmoil oil lit in that country would b be taken into consideration in deciding how largo 0 nit an army we should need P ake the thuel important oaf safeguard e guard tile the league will set up Is ys of 0 penalties this will wak make ays in an outlaw of any nation or group of notions which goes to war in violation of the rules of the th league the out t 1 law a e ed 4 nation n a to will III be e boy boycotted by all ta the 1 0 other ta ar e members of tile the league and will wll flad find itself cut off fromi from both business and social communication with rest of the world how it will prevent wars war I 1 it to Is not claimed that the league of iNn talons tons will do away with altogether every possible provision that hilt hurban ilian intelligence can devise will be aae to settle international disputes peaceably leace peaceably ably hut but should nil all these measures fall fait and two nations go to war 1 als this la a what will wl happen it both parties to the dispute have observed the rules of tile the league tile the 1 other nations will stand back and let them fight it out war under such gilr circumstances N uni stances Is alfil difficult cult to imagine however because before the angry tian nan athons will w III bo be allowed to tight fight in or dance with the rules of the longue league j so 80 much hluch thile line must elapse that in III all probability their anger will cool and eliy will reach an anti cable under at baing ab ehst it we have to fear is that some will go to war in defiance of ith league and every precaution has vee been p taken to suppress such it a nation I 1 bythe immediate use of the united io power er of the other nations it if international it na boycott failed to bring her ito cerms terms slie alto would have to face ft a international til army and eav tito founders foun dera of ahe league bo be aleve that the mere possibility of such n situation will prevent any nation I 1 ro m violating its aaret agreement anent does antone think that germany would halt begun war five years tiro ago I 1 it r she lie ly anyn that nearly nit all tile the othi othir r gadt power would combine her doing boang the worlds world work lit in addition to sett settling linc international disputes peaceably the league of nations will provide means for doing much of the worlds work more systematically and effectively than can ile be done now when cacti nation Is working only tor for itself tho the people you know best and like best are those who work with you on oil the same job it will be tile the same bamo way with tile tho nations of the future tito more they work together the lie sooner they will come to understand and like each caell other for example tile league will establish an international organization for the bettering of labor conditions in III different countries for tile protection of women and children and the native of civilized and deml benil civit izod countries ono one of Germ germanas germanys anys greatest crimes has been lie her barbarous treatment of the le helpless people lit in some borne of tier her colonies col onles one of tho the chief tasks of tile league will bo be to look after peoples that lire are not strong enough to protect themselves the longue league will appoint con commissions lillis to take charge of various international undertakings so that hat tilot may inny be carried rin on not for the benefit of any one nation but fur for the benefit of flig lie whole world provision will bo made for promotion of fair and equal trade conditions these are only a few of the benefits the world will derive front from the league As ehno goes oil we filially find more und cnare tasks at which tile the lons can work in common coin nion flud end a greater number of opportunities to remove causes which stir up jealousies anti and animosities between races laces and People 11 objections objection answered of course we cannot hope to make the great changes such as the longue league of nations will bring about without opposition fortunately tile tho war litia line taught us tile tho great of international operation cooperation co it was only by good team beom work that lint the freo free liberty loving nations were able to whip germany the treaty which the united states senate to Is debating obligates the lie members of the proposed league to protect one another against attack from enemies outside their own boundaries bent upon conquest although this agreement article X of lie covenant nant Is vital to tiny arrangement which seeks to prevent war it lins hns been attacked on tile alio ground that it would draw tile the united states into wars in III various parts of tile alie world and force us to send bend our boys to fight in quarrels which did not concern us we should remember however lio wever that the main purpose of article X to 1 to frighten nations tempted to 0 o wars vars of condu conquest ext from yielding to the he temptation ti onby hy tile lie certainty vint hint they will be crushed if b lv begin be iw such it war by a universal boycott borot and a u union of iora of the world agali against st abeja eq it ir a vig dig war avar drebes breaks out oui again the states will bo be forced to take part in it whether ave Q have a league of rations nations or not wo we tried hard enough to keep keel out of the lie war with Germany but found wo e A war ar contrary contney to the lie league rules could be handled by tile lie powers ilose close tit nt hand lift iid certainly it would not be necessary essory to send bend american troops tr I 1 oops to suppress nit an uprising in the when ft licit prompt action by the armies of italy or sunie bome other nearby powerful nation could suppress the fracas lie be fore american troops could even een get st fitted great gain for small lose lor we had 0 to o make many sacrifice to w win in the lost war and we e wade thera them willingly because we e knew they were rera worth willie sv lille it will be the same in a smaller ller degree etli a league of motions when men form a bu business bartut partnership iship each out lias has to make concessions to tile the views and opinions of 0 the other members of the firm when we enter tile the league of nations we may duay have to g elve I 1 V e u up p CC certain r privileges but tho the losses will be wit tile the profits the united states will mill not have to sacrifice her independence or right i if lit to make her own decisions tito the council tile the chief achl ef governing body of the league cannot take ake action without unanimous decision of its members and since the united states will have a representative in III tile tie council our interest will be pro pio there here we hear it said bald that tho league Is formed for the lie benefit ot of great britain or japan or some other one nation this Is not true all tile the nations will gain by it not only the great nations such tie is the he united states great britain france japan and italy but the little nations which in III tho file past have fmc been oppressed by their big neighbors the international court will give gho oil mi opportunity for tile settlement of old bid grievances which have long troubled tile the peoples of tile tho world it line liaa been said eald that tho the league will interfere with the monroe doc trine but tile lie longue league covenant or cx cressly P protects this doctrine in fact through lirou cli tl alie ie covenant tile bonroe poe poc trino receives throughout I 1 tile tho as become |