Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 84, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1920 — THE PRESIDENT’S CALL [ARTICLE]

THE PRESIDENT’S CALL

The first meeting of the council of the league of nations will be held in Paris on Friday, pursuant to the call of President Wilson. There will be great regret that the government of which the president is the head will not be represented. It ought to have a part in the worjc of organizing the league, and setting the machinery in motion. But

until the senate consents to the ratification of the treaty and cove- 1 nant, America must continue to be. an outsider. Article 5 of the treaty provides that “the first meeting of th& assembly and the first meeting of the council shall be summoned by the president of the United States of America,’’ the assumption being that the United States would have been a party to the treaty long before the meeting of the league. Ini his call, Mr. Wilson says that “it is unnecessary for him to point out the deep significance attached to this meeting or the importance which it must assume in the eyes

of the world.’’ iHe continues: It will mark the beginning of a new era in international co-opera-tion and the first great step toward the ideal concert of nations. It will bring the league of nations into being as a living force, devoted to the task of assisting the peoples of all countries in their desire for 'peace, prosperity and happiness. The president is convinced that its progress will accord with the noble purpose to which it is dedicated. There is a general feeling in Europe that the league will be greatly weakened by the nonparticipation of the United States. This is the opinion of the English and French papers that have discussed the subject. The Swiss papers say that the league without America is a very different thing frpm that originally projected, one of them going so far as to compare the league of nations without America to a structure without a foundation. But it is something that the new organization will soon be in existence, an actuality rather than a dream. Before very long, it may be hoped, this nation will be a member, giving both its material and moral support to this great peace organization of the world. Yesterday Senators Lodge and Hitchcock were visited by more than a score of representatives of societies said to speak for 2 0,000,000 •people, who urgea ratification. The canvass of more than a score of universities and colleges shows an overwhelming majority for ratification ini some form: All this is having its effect, especially as the tide in favor of the treaty is daily rising higher.—lndianapolis