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The Commoner
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President Tells Women League Will
Save Their Sons f roM Future Wars
President Wilson's addrosa at Sail Francisco,
Septombor 17, at the Associated Women's Club
luncheon, In part, follows:
"Quito apart from tho merits of any particular
question which may arise about the treaty, itself,
I think wo are under a certain moral compulsion
to accept this troaty.
"In tho first place it was laid down according -1o
American specifications. Tho initial sugges
tions upon which this treaty is basod emanated
from Amorica I would not have you under
stand mo as meaning that they were ideas con
fluod to Amorica, because the promptness with
which they wore accepted, the joy with which
they wore acclaimed in sorao parts Of the world,
tho readiness of the loaders of nations that wero
supposed to bo seeking chiefly thoir own interests
in adopting those principles as the principles of
the troaty, show that they were listening to the
counsels of thoir own" people, they wore listoning
to thom and know the critical character of tho
now ago and tho necessity wo wore under lo take
any measures for tho peace of tho world.
"Because the thing that has happened was"
intolerable, tho thing that Germany attempted,
If it bad succeeded, would have set the civiliza
tion of tho world bade 100 years, wo liavo pre
vented it. But prevention is not enough.
LIKES ATTITUDE OF WOMEN
"Again and again, as I have crossed the con
tinent, generous women women I did not
kuow have shaken my hand and said, "God
bloss you, Mr. President". Some of them, like
many of you, had lost sons and. husbands and
brothers in tho war. Why should they bless me?
I advised congress to' declare war. I advised
congress to send thoir sons to death. As commander-in-chief
of the army I sent them over tho
sous and they wero killed. Why should they
. bless me? Becauso in their generosity of their
hoarts they want the sons of ether women saved
lioncoforth. They boliovo that tho methods pro
l)osod at any rate merit a very hopeful expecta
tion that similar wars will be prevented and that
other armies will not have to go from tho United
States to die upon distant fleldB of battle.
"And so the moral compulsion among us
among us who at the critical stage of tho war
saved tho world tho moral compulsion upon
b to stand by and seo it through is overwhelm
ing. We cannot now turn back. Wo made tho
choice in April, 1917.
"And not "only is thero compulsion of honor,
but there is tho compulsion of interests. I never
like to speak of that, becauso, not withstanding
tho reputation that wo had throughout tho world
before we made tho great sacrifice, of this war,
this nation does lovo its honor hotter than it
Hyoa its Interest.
"But if you want, as Borne of our follow coun
trymen insist, to dwell upon tho material side
of it and our interest in tho matter, our com
mercial interest, draw the picturo for yourselves.
The other great nations of the world are draw
( ing together. Wo, who suggested that they
should draw together in this now partnership,
stand asido.
DANGER OF STAYING OUT
"Wo at once draw their intense hostilitv upon
us. We at once ronow tho thing that had 'begun
to 'bo. donp before wo wont into the war. Thore
was a conference in Paris not many months bd
foro wo wont into the war in which tho nations
then ongaged against Gormany attempted to
draw togethor in an exclusive economic com
bination, whereby they should servo one an
other's interests and exclude those who had not
participated in tho war from sharing in' that in
terest. And just so certainly as wo stay out
. ovory market that can rossibly be closed ajrainst
us will be closed.
"So that if you merely look at It fqpm the
material point of view of-tho material prosnoritv
. of tho United States, wo are under compulsion
to Btay in tho partnership.
"And then there is a deeper compulsion, even
ban that, the compulsion of humanity, if there
is one thing that America ought to havo learned
MU,"ft ViVi Ui' uut UL "ll mc ranks of humanity,
enter the war she could do th ann, ,.
regard to Shantung that she had lVhlng
gard to Port Arthur thai i 8hn i ?lh
.what Germany ha'd in Shantumr aim
it. .It was Germany's right in fhSX. 0uId kP
Chinese that we conceded by -tho tXg, m no
But with a .condition which was nnf Vapan'
upon at tho cession of Port Artw lm
condition that no other nation in ZruP0IU
things in China has ever yielded In-Br 8,mllar
under solemn promise to forego nil pan u
rights in the province of Shantung and t?
ssMt prIvate &a
.of Nations, under whicl Japan wlim?
takes with the rest of us, to roroSt?? Under
the .territorial integrity of ChlSr And kW
her promise is likewise themiiar pJomU S
every other nation, timf t,t..i, r.lonwe of
every other nation, thnf. -nn ,.., i, orai
a' disregard for territorial integrity ITtLTf
in serving itself it must servo the whole human fc
race. I suppose I could not command words
which would exaggerate the present expectations
of the world with regard to the United States.
"Wo cannot desert humanity. We are tho
rodeem tho pledges which are always implicit y oupied with this arrangement is the W
in so creat a trusteeship. ?f. Nations, under which Japan xoJlI
"T cannot conceive a motive adequate to hold
men off from this .thing.
NOT SATISFIED WITH SHANTUNG
"Lot me take tho" point in which my initial
sympathy is most with them, thp matter of the
cession to Japan of the 'interests of Germany in
Shantung in China. I said to my Japanese col
leagues on the other side of tho sea that I am
not satisfied with this settlement. I think it
o..ght to be different. But when gentlemen pro
pose to cure it by striking that clause out of the
treaty, or by ourselves withholding our ad
herence to the treaty, they propose an irratfonal
thing.
"It was in .898 that China ceded these rights
and concessions to Germany. The pretext was
that some German missionaries had boen killed.
My heart aches, I must say, when I think how
w have made an excuse of religion sometimes
to work a deep wrong. The contral govornmont
of China had done all it could to protect those
German missionaries. Their death was due to
local disturbances, to local passions, to local
antipathy against the foreigner. Thore was noth
ing that tho Chinese government as a whole
could justly be hold responsible for. But sup
pose thoro had been? Two Christian mission-'"
ariesare killed, and, therefore, one great nation
robs another nation and does a thing which is
fundamentally unchristian and heathen.
"For thero was no adequate excuse for what
Germany exacted of China.
i
"I read again only the other day the phrases
in which poor China was made to make tho con-"
cession. She was made to make that in words
dictated by Germany in view of her gratitude
to Germany for certain services rendered; tho
deepest hypocrisy conceivable. She was obliged
to do so by force.
McKINLEY DID NOT PROTEST
"Then Russia came in and obliged .China to
code to her Port Arthur and Ta Lien Wan, not
for quite so long a period, but upon substantially
the same terms. Then England must need have
Wei Hoi Wei as an equivalent "oncossion to, that
which had' been made to Germany. And present1
ly certain ports and territory back of them wero
conceded upon similar principles to France.
. Everybody got in, except the United Stat'os, and
said "If Germany is going to get something we
will get something". Why? No one of them was
entitled to it; no one of them had any business
in thero on such terms. And then, when tho
Japanese-Russian war came, Japan did what she
- has done in this war she attacked Port Arthur,
and Port Arthur was ceded to her as a con
sequence of the war.
"No protest was made by the government of
tho United States against tho original concession
of this Shantung territory to Germany. One of
the highest minded men of our history was Pres
l(i01 nt Jhat time I mean Mr. McKinley, One
of the ablest men who wo ever had as secretary of
state, Mr. John Hay, occupied that groat office.
And in the message of Mr. McKinley about this
transaction ho says that, inasmuch as the powers
that had taken these territories had agreed to
keep tho doors open for our commerce, there
was no reason why we should object. Just so
we could trade with these stolen territories, we
were willing to let them be stolen. .
Which of these gentlemen who are now 'object
ing to the cession of the German rights in
Shantung -in. China were prominently protesting
against tho original cession or any one of those
original cessions? It makes my heart burn when
some men are so late in doing justice. .
LEAGUE PROTECTS CHINA
"Now, in the mean time, before we got into
this war, but after the war had begun, because
they deemed the assistance of Janan in 5
Pacific, absolutely indispensable, Groat Britain
and Franco both ni?r,r i,n T" ua ri
-. v wv it .iujiuii WOUIU
"Tt. in flm flrf i , .?:,? ""' PeO-
"- mw 1AUU V4AUU 1L LIIH HKinrif F A I.
that anything Jhas been done for China Ai
sitting around our council board in Paris l Z
this question.- 'May I expect that this win be
the beginning of the retrocession to China of Z
exceptional rights which other governments hi
enjoyed there?' And the rosponslble CiS
tatives of tho other great governments sad
Yes, you may expect it.' '
AIDS WEAK AND OPPRESSED
'"-Hr attention i8 constantly drawn to Articlo
10 and that is the article, the heart of the cove
nant,' which guarantees the political Integrity
not only of China, but of other countries rfloro
helpless, even, than China. But besides Article
, 10 there is Article 11, which makes it the right
of every member of the league to draw attention
to anything anywhere that is likely to disturb
the peace of the world or the good understand
- irig between nations upon which the peace of the '
world depends. Whenever formerly anything
was done in detriment to the interests of China,
. we hzl to approach the government that did It
with apologies; -
"Now 'When you' havo the treaty and tho
-Lea es of Nations, the representative of tho
United-States has the right to stand up and say:
'This is against the covenant of peace. It can't
be done.' And, if occasion arises, we can add,
'It shall not be done.
"The weak and oppressed and wronged peo
ples of the world havo never before had a forum
made for them to which they could summon their
enemies in the presence of the judment of mankind."
WORLD-DRY CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN
A Rockland, Me., dispatch, dated Sept. 18,
says "The Victories of today call for a vastly en
larged program of service," Miss Anna A. Gor
don, national president of tho Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union, said in an address to
night at tho state convention of that organiza
tion: JFOR CHILD WELFARE '
"The W, C. T. U. is raising a fund of
.- $1,000,000 to be devoted to pushing constructive
plans for child welfare, Americanization, women
in industry, health and moral oducation ana
world prohibition. ,
"Cur organization has been at work for jo
years in 40 lands. We are entering upon a new
crusade. We are deeply stirred by the compell
ing challenge of a supreme and unfinished taw.
We esult in. the. high purpose and tom
possibilties of a- new era of national and mm
activities for purity, total abstinence and pru
hibition.
"The work of tho Woman's Christian Temper
ance Union is not ended. With victorious i faun
and quickened zeal we shall meet the sacred ou
ligations of 'tomorrow." - . ,ht
"t is providential," said Miss Gordon, W
suffrage for women in all probabill y ta to
the 19th amendment to our federal cons utiom
-. .i -. ..... -.i inocmro Will IllA"4
the backing ofmen and women
The strong prohibition code measure w u
1 lnlr.n- nfmon fltlfl WOmOIl VOterS lluu6
out the republic." .. ,e Dfl.
Mrs. Edward M. Lawrence of this cu, i
tiDnaLlecturor, said: IH MajnC,
VThe nation has at last caught up w tli M
and it no longer implies that alcohol for d
age purposes Js either useful or noctss aij.
appealed to the men to save me"Ar,t had
threatened cigarette, habit, saying uuu
conquered ono sexf and that unless v m
qu'ered, "the precious life crni of the
must become degenerate."
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