The second reservation is as follows:

2. The United States declines to assume, under the provisions of Article X, or under any other article, any obligation to preserve the territorial integrity or political independence of any other country or to interfere in controversies between other nations, members of the league or not, or to employ the military or naval forces of the United States in such controversies, or to adopt economic measures for the protection of any other country, whether a member of the league or not, against external aggression, or for the purpose of coercing any other country, or for the purpose of intervention in the internal conflicts or other controversies which may arise in any other country, and no mandate shall be accepted by the United States under Article XXII, Part I, of the treaty of peace with Germany, except by action of the Congress of the United States.

The result of adopting reservation 2 would be that the United States agrees to respect the territorial integrity and existing political independence of other nations, but "declines to assume any obligation to preserve the territorial integrity or existing political independence of any member nation, or to use the boycott of Article XVI to prevent war."

The purpose of Article X is to let the statesmen of any nation contemplating the invasion of a neighbor's territory know that the whole world will resent it and use force to repel the invasion, and by Article XVI use the boycott as a primary penalty for unjust war.

The pledge of the member nations to rebuke war with the boycolt and repel by force a war of invasion will prevent such wars ever occurring. It will in all human probability cost nothing and make absolutely sure world peace for all time.

The way to prevent war is to make those who threaten it know. they can not possibly succeed, but will meet certain merited punishment.

Senator Lodge's proposal is that the United States will make no. promise to safeguard the world. The world can look out for itself. He calls this Americanism and standing for America first. It is not "Americanism" nor standing for America first. It fails to see America's true interest in world peace. It takes from America the moral leadership of the world, and will injure even its commercial future. This is the blind policy that created the last war, for Great Britain refused to say what she would do and Italy would not say nor did any of the 20 nations finally at war with Germany say what they would do until they declared war. How foolish. Germany would not have gone to war if she had known that all nations would oppose the invasion of Serbia, Belgium, and France. It is not distinctively American to be foolish, or cowardly or without vision in world affairs. The reservation is an amendment under the form of a reservation that seriously weakens the power of Article X to preserve world peace.

Now is the time to safeguard the future of the world-before the Orient, with ts 800,000,000 people, may be led to organize for war. If we do not now organize the world for peace, we may be obliged to organize it for war with universal military training and huge expensive armies and navies.

The reservation does not promote world peace; it would weaken it and thus expose America.

It will be observed that while this reservation obliges the United States to respect the territorial integrity of other member nations it does not assume any obligations to preserve such territorial integ

rity, and therefore the weight of its great influence is not to be pledged to prevent any outlaw nation in future embroiling the world by invading another.

The effect of this reservation is to leave the other nations pledged to protect our territory from invasion while we give them no such assurance, unless they all make similar reservations and leave outlaw nations to invade member nations and create war without assured world opposition.

Article X, and no other article, contemplates our interfering in controversies between other nations as suggested by the proposed reservation.

The provision that no mandate shall be accepted under Article XXII, Part I, except by action of the Congress of the United States should be passed by a concurrent resolution of Congress if deemed necessary. It should not be intertwined with Articles X

and XVI.

Many Senators might approve the reservation as to the latter but not the former.

The reservation offered by Senator McCumber on Article X is much more clear and acceptable. It is constructive and interpretative and makes for world peace while safeguarding Article X against the misinterpretation of its enemies. It shows the difference between the view of a friend of the league and its enemy.

MCCUMBER RESERVATION.

2. That the suggestions of the council of the league of nations as to the means of carrying the obligations of Article X into effect are only advisory, and that any undertaking under the provisions of Article X, the execution of which may require the use of American military or naval forces or economic measure, can under the Constitution be carried out only by the action of the Congress, and that the failure of the Congress to adopt the suggestions of the council of the league, or to provide such military or naval forces or economic measures, shall not constitute a violation of the treaty.

An interpretative resolution that the advice under Article X of the council would be regarded as purely advisory as far as congressional action is concerned would cover the objeciton that Article X authorizes the council to command Congress, but even this is unnecessary, for no such interpretation is possible by any sound and unprejudiced mind.

The third reservation offered by Senator Lodge is as follows:

3. The United States reserves to itself exclusively the right to decide what questions are within its domestic jurisdiction, and declares that all domestic and political questions relating to its affairs, including immigration, coastwise traffic, the tariff, commerce, and all other domestic questions, are solely within the jurisdiction of the United States and are not under this treaty submitted in any way either to arbitration or to the consideration of the council or of the assembly of the league of nations, or to the decision or recommendation of any other power.

This reservation is not necessary, because it is self-evident that every nation will insist on the same principle in regard to its domestic affairs, and this interpretation of the meaning of the Covenant (which nobody abroad-has ever questioned) could be fully covered by an interpretative resolution, which would not require the consent of any other nation and yet which would fully protect the

United States against any possible misinterpretation of what the United States had agreed to.

The principles of this reservation are fully recognized by ali Senators and is a just interpretation of the meaning. It does not change the meaning of the covenant in the least.

The fourth reservation of Senator Lodge is as follows:

4. The United States declines to submit for arbitration or inquiry by the assembly or the council of the league of nations provided for in said treaty of peace any questions which in the judgment of the United States depend upon or relate to its long-established policy, commonly known as the Monroe doctrine; said doctrine is to be interpreted by the United States alone, and is hereby declared to be wholly outside the jurisdiction of said league of nations and entirely unaffected by any provision contained in the said treaty of peace with Germany.

The form of this reservation is objectionable merely because it is equivalent to saying to the democratic peoples all over the world that we have no confidence in their respect for the Monroe doctrine; that we suspect them of laying a plan to weaken the Monroe doctrine by interpretation.

The McCumber reservation is more considerate in tone, as follows: 4. The United States does not bind itself to submit for arbitration or inquiry by the assembly or the council any question which in the judgment of the United States depends upon or involves its long-established policy commonly known as the Monroe doctrine, and it is preserved unaffected by any provision in the said treaty contained.

There is nothing in the covenant suggesting that inquiry would be made by the assembly or council, by arbitration or inquiry, into any questions depending upon the Monroe doctrine. The doctrine is plainly recognized by the covenant, and any further protection of it is unnecessary, but could be covered by an interpretative resolution, which would suffice.

LACK OF FAITH.

The opponents of the league appear to be moved by a complete lack of faith in the integrity of mankind, in the honesty of nations, in the good faith of the great world democracies. With the passing of secret treaties, with the end of military dynasties, the pathway of the nations of the world is free from the conspiracies of the past. We are justified in taking counsel of our faith in the common sense and common honesty of mankind, and especially of our faithful Allies, who fought to the death for liberty and justice.

CONCLUSION.

The great democracies of the world have fought a wonderful war to establish liberty on earth, to end arbitrary force, to destroy military dynasties, the rule by divine right, and to establish the principle that sovereignty is vested alone in the people, and that just government depends alone on the consent of the governed.

Their representatives have assembled together-32 nations-and have drawn the most magnificent charter of human liberty in all the annals of time; they have drawn up the covenant to make effective these principles.

It is a splendid instrument, as nearly perfect as its best friend` could have hoped for.

It pledges the nations of the world to the high principles in which America believes; it provides a mechanism to make these principles effective; it provides in the most complete way for the conciliation and arbitration of disputes.

It provides for gradual disarmament, on land and sea.

It will abate the gigantic taxes of war preparation.

It will put millions of soldiers and naval men to work in peaceful production.

It ends conscription.

It abates private munition making.

It gives publicity to all war preparations.

It pledges every nation to respect the territorial integrity and existing political independence of every other nation.

It pledges every nation to preserve the territorial integrity and existing political independence of every other nation.

It puts an end to secret treaties.

It prevents nations going to war over disputes until every remedy has been exhausted to settle such disputes, and then for three months thereafter.

It establishes a universal boycott on an outlaw nation and its nationals.

It provides the force of arms of the nations of the whole world to reduce to subjection any outlaw nation.

It provides a forum where subject peoples can bring their grievances if they are denied justice, liberty, and self-government.

It encourages humane conditions for the labor of men, women, and children throughout the world.

It protects the world from the slave traffic, the traffic in opium and deadly drugs.

It safeguards the health, internationally, of the people of the world.

It provides a wonderful forum where all the nations of the earth may meet in conference and discuss and develop the principles which will promote the peace, the dignity, the happiness of mankind.

Those who drew this great charter of liberty are entitled to the confidence and lasting gratitude of mankind.

We enter now a new era which promises a thousand years of peace and brings into being at last the divine doctrine of the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God.

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