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WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. 19, NO. 5
Lincoln, Nebraska, May, 1919
Whole Number 721
Welcome, World '
Peace
The Allies have submitted to the German rep
resentatives the terms of the treaty. As the
readers of The Commoner have learned these
terrrs from the daily papers it is not necessary
to reprint them. They are 'harsh but just. The
military party of Germany was permitted to take
charge of the government and direct its policy;
it plunged the world ihtj the bloodiest war
in all history, and in moments of success it
gave the Allies an in- ,
League of Nations, Yes; Anglo-French
Alliance, No
American
The morning papers of May 10 contain the
following announcement given out from tho
White House:
"Happily there is no mystery or privacy about
what I have promised the government here. I
have promised to propose to the senate a supple
ment in which we shall agree, subject to the
approval of the council of the League of Nations,
to come immediately to the assistance of France
I
timation c" what terns
it would have imposed
had been vict.ilous.
The treaty forced up n
Russia is a s ifflcient il
lustration of the militar
ists' idea of justice.' The
burden put upon Gar
many, heavy as it isyfis
much less than the bur
den, of debt which' she
has imposed upon the
Alll.j and SMALL com
pared with the total cost
of the war, in so far as
t'.o cost can be measured
by dollars. If the Ger
man government accepts
the termr in good faith
and proceeds to carry
them out the world will
enter upen a new era
an era of peace which
may never be broken.
The League of Nations
gives the world what it
has never had before, namely, machinery for
peace machinery which provides a substitute
for war. The' United States furnished 'the plan
when it entered into thirty treaties providing
for investigation of ALL-disputes before a resort
to war. This plan ls the foundation upon which
the League -of Nations is-built. Disarmament
and the abolition of secret treaties were added
to compulsory investigation, and these, three
make war almost impossible.
Welcome, World Peace!
W, J. BRYAN.l T
WOMAN SUFFRAGE NEXT.,
an!' iUS il is exPecte(1 the woma-. suffrage
amendment is submitted when congress ' con
venes, the governors in the states friendly to the
amendment should call special sessions so that
jne amendment can be ratified before 1920. We
need woman's conscience in politics even more
inan women need the ballot.
GIVE HIM HIS JOB
hm!!e ecGPtions to returning soldiers are'en
hA c' a8they should be no welcome can
Bhnn0rdial but what of reemployment? What
Cm pF0Ut if he whip; the whole world and
v aw place among his' country's producers?
'!'Pa '!'i ' ' '' ' ' -
The paperweights which Mr. Bryan, while Secretary of State, had made
and presented to each of thirty diplomats who signed with him treaties
for investigation in all -cases. The miniaturo plowshares were made o
steel and nickel-plated. Tho steel was composed of melted swords this
explains the inscription "They shall beat their swords into plowshares.
in case of unprovoked attack by Germany, thus
merely hastening the action to which wo should
be bound by the covenant of tho League of Na
tions." The League of Nations furnishes machinery
for peace and should he ratified at once. To
reject the League of Nations would be to choose
' CONTENTS
' WELCOME, WORLD PEACE
LEAGUE OF NATIONS, YES; ANGLO-
VrENCH-AMERICAN ALLIANCE, NO
LABORS VICTORY
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
DENOUNCES PRIMARY APPEAL
NOT A FAIR TRIAL
LEAGUE OF NATIONS COVENANT
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP VS.
PRIVATE MONOPOLY
SUMMARY OF TIIU PEACE TREATY
APPLIED CHRISTIANITY
tho certainty of recurring wars to the prospect
of settling all future disputes by reason.
But entering into an ALLIANCE with ANY
Europoan country is an entirely different matter.
The proas dispatches have reported that tho
Prealdent would lay tho proosod alliance treaty
before tho senato WITHOUT RECOMMENDA
TION, and leave it to the Judgment of tho
senate. Let us hope that he will not ask for, or
advise, ratification; but whether he asks for
ratification or not THE ALLIANCE TREATY
SHOULD BE REJECTED. It is a reflection on
the g od faith of the League of Nations and an
argument against its value. It draws us into
European (disputes and compels ub to put our
army and navy at the disposal of GreH Britain
and Francewwithout giving uB"a1i'y authority to'
prevent the acts that may load to wan If Franco
is o' or attacked wo can decide at tho time
whether tho attack Is unprovoked and whether
wo should go to her rescue. Wo will havo as
much sense then as wo have now and more light.
Tho wranglings at the conference showed hat
our nation was tho only one that was fighting
unselfishly for world betterment we spent over
one hundred thousand lives and billions of
money, and we asked neither land nor Indem
nity. Wo cannot afford to be yoked up with na
tions whose commercial and territorial ambitions
make it impossible for them to share our altru
istic views. No entangling alliances should be
made with tho empires of the old world.
The proposed alliance treaty should bo re
jected by a majority so decisive that Europe will
understand that wo reservo the right to decide
war questions when wars come, and that wo
will not surrender the constitutional right of
congress to declare "war. If we want a referen
dum on war we will submit the questions to our
own people and not to the parliaments or as
semblies of the other countries.
W. J. BRYAN.
GROWTH OF ."Jf IDEA
It it interesting to note the growth pf an idea.
In February 1905 TheCommoner suggested a
peace plan; viz., INVESTIGATION OF ALL DIS
PUTES BEFORE RESORT TO WAR. In 191C
tho plan was indorsed by a peace congress In
London. A little later President Taft used a
part of It in two peace treaties that failed of
ratification. In January 1913 it was approved by
President-elect Wilson. Between August 8, 1913,
and June 9, 1915, It was embodied In thirty
treaties with nations containing three-quarters
of the population of the globe. In 1919 it Is
made the chief corner-stone of the League of
Nations. It i roves anew the power of truth to
triumph over all opposition. W. J. BRYAN.
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