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But I.fm'rol..-discotttagodf.I learned many
years ago noUp expect reforms advocated by mo
to be accepted at once. It takes time- for the
, people to mfojcmjliemsolves;. "sometimes it takes
years. It to6lt about twenty-three years for
silver to ;rise abpve gold, at the coinage ratio
but I was patient an(l waited, and finally the
silver dollar ertt to a premium. So with this
reform, thewpeople will he aroused some day
the sooner thoy are aroused, the less they will
suffer. .Someone has said that the. American peo
ple sleep until the eleventh hour 1) ut that, when
they do wake up, they, can do more in the next
hour than, any other people can do in the whole
day. Some day the American people will take
this matter in hand and then all parties, joining
together, will, rid the land of the profiteer and
close the door against his return. In the mean
time, thechurches should be at work and lead
in the creation o a sentiment that will coerce
the parties into actiqn for parties act not from
inclination-but under compulsion.
There-is san international problem even more
menacing tthan the domestic problems to which
I have refenjed-r.the peace problem. , While we
were in the war wo could hardly comprehend its
magnitude,.justTas one standing by the side of a
mountain. sees not. 'the mountain but only the
part next to, hiiri.- We.are now far enough away
from the war to see .something of its outline.
Let me, mention a few of the facts that have been
gathered. .Nearly thirty million human beings
lost their lives directly, or indirectly as a result
of the war, and three hundred billions of prop
erty was "destroyed, The debts of the world
grew from forty billions to two hundred and
fifty-nine billions .an increase of more than five
hundred per; cent; the paper money of the world
increased from.Seyen billions t0 fifty-six and the
gold reserve .behind it dwindled from seventy
per cento. twelve.- These are sOme.of the out
lines of a war without a precedent or parallel
in the annals of ime. t ..
And have y.outhp'ught "that all but one of the
great nation. ia? this war are Christian nations?
And that alL$ .the great branches of the
Christian .Church- yfere involved,? . Germany is
Lutheran;. Austrfc. fs Catholic; in. Great Britian
the EpiscppaL;Ciiujch ,ls.vthe SJ.atp, church; in
Russia tMvi&K fhiircto' ia dominant; in the
united-- States, all branches of the Christian
Church unite in .determining our ideals. I
know of np grayer indictment that can be
brought against the Christian Churches of the
world thanthis; that, nineteen hundred years
after the, angers sang to the shepherds at .Beth
lehem their .song. of "Peace on earth good will
toward men,?' the Christians have found no way
of settling their disputes except by killing each
other pn the! battlefield! Even this would not
be so appalling If out of the war had come a
world-respive to make it the last to. redden the
the earth with blood. But the world does not
seem to hayev.?earned ..much by its experience.
If I can understand the news that .comes to us
from acrpjB(the ocean they are drifting back
toward war in Europe and we have- n,ot learned
as much as we. should. In :act, we are the only
great nation,! which, seems unable to conclude a
peace, We,;demo&strated that we could go into
the war and moboiize our resources for war but
we cannot, got out. Great Britian can make
peace; Gprhmny oa"n make peace; Japan, France,
Italy, and ven poor devastated Belgium, can
make peacpbu we cannot. Our senators will
not let lis. piir constitution enables one more
than one-third of the Senate to prevent the rati
ication of, a 'treaty; neither party, can secure the
necessary two-sthirds and, so far, congress has
shown nogisp.psition to amend the constitution
so as tp KiaTve., it as easyjto end a" war as to
begin one. ; ,
The ". senators have been talking about the
treaty for more , than a year but they talk about
things infinitely. smalL and ignore provisions that
are Infinitely great." There are three, big pro
visions in, the League of Nations that arouse no
controvery, excite no debate and to which no
one -objects. Let me name them. First, six
months' time is given for the investigation of
any dispute of any kind or character, and after
that three mOiiths 'or deliberation before a re
port to Warnine months' time before the dis
pute can ;hp, carried to the battlefield, The idea
s taken from ihe thirty treaties, which our na
tion has negotiated with thirty nations renrQ"
renting threViuarters ot the world, A. years
time is .allowed hx the treaties, hut nine months
is enough, , Only forty-eight hourwera allowed
Jor the. abVeptap-ceJor trejectioMi -the. ultimatum .
that begathls7war?. pnetjie, .ambassadors;
''" 'N&' ;';--''' " -" '''' " - ."""
Jhe Commoner
9
ffioJMt1, Vf could "nT0
for fim rwi. t -y had nad tw weeks' time
tion C t one 0t lUo poaco forco the na
on. The League of Nations allows twolvn
ttwnrik8 fr ,nvtigatL ami thosix
times two weeks moro for deliberation o!Khtean
tOKOtownrnfr8ttImPOB8,bl fr :tW natl8
WtSn-U'dellbia 8I,Ut lB ,nV08ti-
m nSnT11 Pr0,ftr"0S3 toward universal 'disarma
ment. The allies meet from time to time to tU-
Snii hWiimany, f ol?,ers GGrmfty and Austria
contemplates the disarmament not of a few na
tions but of all the nations. When this policy
of disarmament Is carried out no nation can pre
pare for war without notifying the world of Its
wicked intent.
Third, tho abolition of secret treaties which
nave been found to be a fruitful source of war,
I repeat: Nino months for investigation and
deliberation, progress toward universal disarma
ment and tho abolition of secret treatiefj three
provisions which, taken together, constitute, I
think, the longest step toward peace taken in a
thousand years, If not the longest over taken by
agreement among nations, but we cannot have
these things because the senators cannot agree
.on the phraseology of contingent reservations
that may never bo UBed at all.
And see the situation in which our nation is
placed. It entered the war to make the world
safe for democracy, spent more than twonty
flvo billions of dollars and sacrificed, an hundred
thousand precious lives. Little nations in
Europe took us at our word, drove their kings
and emperors into exile, wrote constitutions like
ours, and for a year and a half have been strug
gling to keep their feet. Monarchy surges back
on one side and Bolshevism threatens them with
chaos on the other, but we cannot lend a hand
to, help them we cannot ratify the treaty; the
senators can not agree on reservations.
And now, after shaming the word Democracy
before the world for a year; after blocking the
world's progress1 toward peace for more than
twelve months, we make the treaty a partisan
issue and ask the world to wait while we fight
; but pur differences at the polls, knowing all
the 'tinie that neither party can secure a two
thirdsmajority in the Senate at this election
and that, therefore, compromise will be as
necessary at the end of the campaign ao now.
If we can.net compromise now, how can we hope
to. do so after four months spent in denuncia
tion, each party trying to throw tho blame upon
. the other?
But the platforms are written and any Repub
lican can stand on the Republican platform and
think anything or nothing it is a, matter of
construction. Any Democrat can stand on the
Democratic platform and think anytbinqfor noth
jnK1t is a matter of construction. The
Republicans say they are not afraid and the
Democrats say: "neither are we." The Repub
licans hope to make political capital out of tho
issue and the Democrats hope to make more
capital than the Republicans. Shame on any
Democrat or Republican who talks of a party
advantage when a world Is on fire and our na
tion is the only one than can speak the word
peace to the contending nations.
Who knows but this groat nation, was raised
Up for this very hour? Surely, we have such
an opportunity as we never bad before and as
n8 other nation has ever had to lead the world
toward peace. But wnat are we aomg t oiionu
ing nearly twice as much for the army and navy
as was thought necessary before the war and
" a committee of the Senate recently reported a
bill which contemplated the expenditure of seven
hundred millions a year more for tho establish
ment of universal compulsory military training
-a system to which we have never thought it
necessary to resort, even when our nation was
small Seven hundred millions a year to be ex
pended in training every young man In the art
of taking human life, and yet neither conven
tion Kave the country a pledge to oppose this
menace to the treasury of the nation and to the
ThValliewe us nearly ten billions of dol
lars and they Jan never pay it; they cannot
oav the interest. We have suspended the In
terest r three years; If they cannpt pay one
S interest how how can they pay bw se years'
'&Pnt three years from now, with the old
interest tnree ye ban1mlPtcy? jf we col-
'Sd'-this itidfebtedneftr from,o,ur allies WW
vMiKaVe. to.cOlIictkirtrom'thenemyand they
t"t.urf ' ' -
coulo" dot collect this In addition to what inf
fool that thpy thomsolyoi- need without ow
tho seeds of a war moro bloody than the omi out
of which wo have oomo. Why not urn a worth'
less debt to purchase poaco, un 'vernal and per
petual? Why not ueo a debt that will never
be paid and will be an incroaIng Irritation
while It stands to remould tho tonus of the'
treaty and bring tho natioiiH togethor in friend
ship and co-opcratlon? Wo can then have uni
versal disarmament and lift tho burden of mili
tarism from the backa of those who toll. Hun
dreds of millions of Christians addressing tbi
Heavenly Father- each morning pray, "Thy king
dom come." Is it not time that they rie from
their Unoos and lineton tho coming of God'
kingdom by ushering in thnt prophetic day when
swords, shall bo beaten into plowuharos and na
tions learn war no moro?
Tho third gift to which I invito your atten
tion is the government under which w Uvo
Wo aro In tho midst of a presidential campaign.
It will continue with increasing Intensity until
tho night before election when It will explode,
as it were, in a blaze ot glory. Tho noxt day
a hush will spread over tho land, "the tumult
nnd tho shouting will coaso" and tho voters will
wend their way to an hundred thousand voting
places, where oach will havo an opportunity to
register a freeman's will. That night the wires
will flash out tho name of ono vho will bo added
to tho list of Presidents. He will bo given a
little time for rest and preparation; then, early
in March, at a certain hour on a certain day he
will appear at the White House door and knock.
The occupant of tho executive mansion will wel
come him with a smllo and say, "I was expect
ing you Just at this moment." Tho man on the
inside of tho White 'House will rotlro; tho new
man will tako the oath of ofllco and become
President. Ho will then be clothed with a power
that no human bolng but a president has over
exercised. When ho spoaks his volco fs tho vole
of an hundred millions of peoplo; when ho acta
there is in his arm tho strength of a nation. When
he writes an order battleships will go out to
sea, carrying their big mouthed guns; when tef'
writes another ordor tho ships will roturn. At
his command, armies will assomblo and raarfch
and fight, and men will die; at his word, armie
will dissolve and soldiers will become citizen
again. And this will go on for a certain num
ber of years and months nnd days for so many
hours and minutes and 'seconds, and then an
other man will appear at tho Whito House door
bearing a now commission from the people. Xh
It not worth something to live in a land like
this whore tho people can, by their ballots
select one of their number and lift him to this
pinnacle of power? And is it not greater still
to live in a land wherotho peoplo can, by the
ballot, not only exalt a Prcsidont but also re
duce him to tho ranks again? It Is oven more
important that tho people shall bo able to put
a President down than to bo able to raise him
up; for when they elect him president he is
just common clay, but when they tako hlni down
thoy soparate him from those instrumentalitiee
of government which despots have used for the
enslavement of their peoplo. .
And why Is ft that wo havo a government like
this which tho people can themselves control
a government by tho terms of which the peo
ple rule? It is because throughout the cen
turies past millions of tho best and bravest
that ever lived have poured ouJUkelr bipod upon
the ground that wo might be free. Every
right of which we boast Is a blood bought right
""' and bought by blood of others, not by our
own blood.
Is It not strange that any to whom such a .
government descends as a rich inheritance from
the past should lack appreciation of its worth;
or fail, to live up to the duties, of citizenship?
Is It not strange that any should bo indiffer
ent? In time of war all are willing to die for
the government, Is It not strange that In lime
of peace any should be unwilling to live for
it? And yet we must havo long campaigns and
put forth every effort to get tho vote out
Even after all is done that can bo done wo
never get the full vote out. It ninety per cont
i& polled after a heated Presidential campaign
wo do well; it may not exceed seventy-five or
eighty per cent at an intermediate election, and
f n nWmarv. which may bo more imnortant
than an- election, the vote may fall below sixty
per cent, or fifty, or forty or. even ininy. aiu
what excuses do men give for not voting? Thej
am as absurd as those mentioned In the Biolj
i wheni, all with one accord oegan io mH
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