Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1919 — SENATE FIDDLING WHILE ROME BURNS [ARTICLE]

SENATE FIDDLING WHILE ROME BURNS

History says that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The United States senate is indulging in a similar passtime. Senator McCumber of North Dakota, Republican, scored the foreign relations committee of the senate last week for playing politics with the treaty of peace and the league of nations. Everyone knows that the delay in ratifying the treaty is causing unrest and disturbance throughout the country and the world, as well as keeping up the high cost of living. President Wilson has stated that the league of nations is only binding on us morally, and it in no way limits or imterfers with our sovereign power pr any of our rights. There are three great moral forces embodied in the league of nations, each of which alone will prevent wars in the future. The first is, that the league binds every nation* to give three months’ (notice before starting a war. In three months’ time the power of public opinion will be able to prevent the commencement of that war. The second point is, that no nation will be allowed to build up a traffic in arms, such as the great Krupp works of Germainy did, and without Which Germany would never have started the war. The third point is, that every nation signing the league has agreed to impose a commercial boycott .on whichever nation wilfully attempts to start a war.

These three great principles will be more than ample*to preveht another terrible war. While the senate has been dillydallying with the treaty and talking as if they were going to reject it, the Hapsburgs of Austria have been getting busy, and one of the grand dukes of the old dynasty actually got possession of the Hungarian government for a few days, and there are powerful influences at work in Germany endeavoring to place the kaiser back on the throne. .All of these evil developments have resulted from the hostile attitude of certain senators ifi regard to the league of nations. If there is no league of nations there will be nothing to prevent the old bloody warriors and savages of Germany and Austria from plunging into war again, and finally drawing us into it as they did before. Every senator who votes against the league or who delays it by offering useless amendments is working In the interests of future wars and further slaughter of the human race. • It is said that every senator is receiving piles of letters from his constituents urging prompt 'ratification of the league, which will not only prevent future wars, but will speedily restore the country to normal and peaceful conditions. Every citizen who believes in ending wars for all time should write to his senator urging him to vote for the ratification of the treaty.