Why We Fought Capt. Thomas G. Chamberlain With a Foreword by Hon. William Howard Taft Bx*President of the United States PI •This is the testimony oF ^ ^'itness who was a soldier on the fighting /rant, with a keen, inquiring, intelligent mind, who speaks authority as to wh*^t our boys mtt?nded m this war,” From Ex- President Taft* ^ Foreword *An interesting, brief and brilliant explana- tion of the great question upon which every lerican citizen should be informed.” "Horu Alton B* Parker, formerly Chief Justice New York Court of Appeals WHY WE FOUGHT The League to Enforce Peace, 130 West Forty-second Street, New York City, will send a copy of Why We Fought to any address, postage prepaid, upon receipt of Twenty-five cents to cover cost. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LtDo TORONTO WHY WE FOUGHT BY THOMAS g/cHAMBERLAIN CAPT. U. S. ARMY A. B., J. D., Sometime Teaching Fellow in Political Science, University of California FOREWORD BY HON. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT Ex-President of the United States JI3etD gotb THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1919 A.II rights reserved COPYBISHT, 1919 By the MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electrotyped. Published July, 1919. gjo 73,000 AMERICANS, FRIENDS OF MINE AND OF YOURS, WHO WILLINGLY GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR A BETTER WORLD, THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. . . •. . you from failing hands barian sheaths into their breasts and, by perishing, saved the world,” so the Marines drowned the German monster in a welter of American blood. Eight thou- sand Marines went into the fight, eighteen hundred came out of the fight. In all the history of land warfare there has never been a body of troops wTich, for courage, morale and determination, could excel the United States Marines. They turned the tide. They saved Paris. They saved France. They saved the war. They saved the world! You have heard much in praise of the Marines, and they are worthy of it all. Then, too, the Aviators played a great part in the victory. Many Esquadrilles had replacements running over one hun- 32 WHY WE FOUGHT dred per cent, every few days. You re- call what that great leader, Lloyd George, said of the aviators: “They are the knighthood of the war. They are the cavalry of the clouds. Every flight is a romance; every report is an epic.” All credit to the Aviators. But there is another branch, not so much heralded, yet worthy of much credit. I refer to the Infantryman, the “ dough- boy.” He carries a bayonet. He goes over the top. He meets cold steel with cold steel. He figlits. I saw one com- pany of infantrymen go into the lines at Chateau Thierry with two hundred and fifty men. That company came out of the lines with twenty-nine men. Here it was that I talked with the soldiers, talked with them under circum- stances that would certainly guarantee the truth and the sincerity of their opinions. I talked with them just before their deaths. I know that the soldier did not j believe that this was merely a war among f wars. He believed this to be an epoch- making war and that something mightily WHY WE FOUGHT 33 worth while would follow his sacrifice. The battlefield was thousands of miles from the United States, and possibly some judged war by good-looking uniforms and a brass band. What Senator has seen the torn and mangled bodies of fallen men, men hanging on the wire for hours with one hope and one prayer and that for a friendly shot to end the agony. I have seen men’s eyes eaten out by gas. I have stood by, unable to help, as the gas ate slowly into their lungs, and have seen ! them gasp for the final breath. That is v/ar. And the worst is not found in the phy- sical suffering of the men, but on the trail of the refugee. There are those who give more than life itself — the lives of those dear to them. I have seen an entire family trudging along the road homeless, helpless, hopeless, perhaps driving a goat as their sole possession, but more often without possession. Once I sav/ a mother ^ carrying a new-born child. The mother looked pale and haggard, but the child no i longer suffered. 34 WHY. WE FOUGHT And as they filed along the roads, they would sometimes stop and with a stone, against the wall of a ruined house, write the names of those they loved and lost. I remember the bent and tired form of an old French peasant who asked a light at dusk, and, as the tears streamed down his face, he wrote his name and that of his beloved wife. Over and over again he wrote the names of a couple parted, perhaps forever; and, as he wrote, he dropped the stone, turned, went sob- bing out into the darkness which led, he knew not where. I returned to this country on a ship with two thousand w^ounded men. There were legs gone, arms gone, eyes gone. Sometimes so much gone that it seemed ’twere better if all were gone. On the boat there was a cage for shell-shocked mxcn — men driven insane. I liked to talk with the wounded men because among them I found a spirit unequaled. One young fellow, leaning on crutches and sup- porting one crutch by a stump of an arm while nursing a bad head-wound, said he WHY WE FOUGHT 35 would have preferred a grave in France, but added, “ At last the world has learned the lesson that wars must end.” It was from such scenes of hopefulness as this that I went to the United States Senate, and there, to my utter dismay, I found that the very principles were being condemned for which American soldiers have been giving their lives. It may seem presumptuous for a mere soldier, one among four millions, to take issue with one so high and dignified as a United States Senator. I claim no more credit for myself than is due to the lowest “ buck ” private who carried a rifle in the rear rank; but that lowest private can stand squarely on his two feet, look full in the face the most distinguished descendant of Rip Van Winkle who ever sat in the United States Senate, the greatest man who ever represented or misrepresented the American people In that body, and say, “ When it was a matter of the honor and integrity of our country; yes, when it was a matter of the life or death of our nation, I was on the firing line.” 36 WHY WE FOUGHT The plain soldier has earned a right to be heard. He asks that American opinion hear him and then he says : “ We have had enough of war. We have accom- plished our end in the army by organi- zation. We believe in organization. Internationally, we are unorganized. Internationally, we are in a state of anarchy. We don’t believe in anarchy. We believe in order through organiza- tion.” The soldier fought to make the world safe for democracy and he is going to fight to keep it safe. The American people accepted President Wilson’s state- ment of our war aims, and supported the war with the conviction that the defeat of Germany Avould mean the birth of a new freedom. All of the belligerent countries and the great mass of mankind the world over accepted the Fourteen Points, one of which provided for a League of Nations, as the basis for the armistice, and as the only basis for a just and lasting peace. The fact that the soldier fought and bled and died for a WHY WE FOUGHT 37 better order, that the American people poured out their money in the faith that a new era approached, that all the belligerent governments accepted the prin- ciple of a League of Nations, that the mass of mankind, the world over, has hoped and prayed for the end of war, did not prevent Senator Borah from saying on the floor of the United States Senate, without even a suggestion for better or- ganization, “ If the Savior of mankind should revisit the earth and declare for a league of nations, I would be opposed to it.” Is this the representative of the American people or are they more truly represented by the men who made the supreme sacrifice for a better world? Twenty-four hundred years ago Greece at Plataea defeated her Persian invaders and drove them finally and forever from her lands. To her dead soldiers she erected a monument. For that monu- ment her poet, Simonides, wrote the Epitaph. In that epitaph he made the dead heroes speak and this is what they said: “ If to die nobly is the chief part 38 WHY WE FOUGHT of excellence, then to us of all men Fortune gave this lot; for, by hastening to set a crown of freedom on Hellas, we lie pos- sessed of praise that grows not old.” By so much as the freedom of the world to- day is of greater moment than was the freedom of Greece of old, by that larger measure do our dead heroes lie possessed of praise that can never grow old. I speak and feel as I do, not primarily because I admire President Wilson as a great leader in a great cause, not primarily because I admire Mr. Taft as a man big enough to put principle above partisanship, not because of any debt I owe to any liv- ing man, but because of a debt I owe, and because of a debt you owe, to almost 100,000 of America’s best citizens, who now lie sleeping in lonely graves in the far-off fields of France. To-day a voice comes to me and to you from that distant ^ land. It speaks with one accord and asks, “ Have we died in vain ? Oh, have we died in vain ! ” Speech Delivered By Captain Thomas G. Chamberlain Before the Mid-Contineni Congress fot a League of Nations y Si. Louis, Mis- souri^ February 26, iQig. One year ago I was in the city ot Paris when forty German Gothas, painted black and flying at 120 miles an hour, came over the city and dropped their bombs. Great buildings were destroyed; men, women and children were killed. There were only forty planes. Why should there not be four thousand? If we go on under a system of competitive armaments, there will be, and the city will be destroyed in a single night, before there has been a declaration of war; and there is no city on the face of the earth that need not await the tame fate. Considering the present development of the hydroplane 39 40 WHY WE FOUGHT and the number of such planes that can be transported on a single ship, no city could feel secure. I was in Paris when “ Big Bertha,” the German long-range gun, opened fire on the city. At regular 1 5-minute intervals the bursts occurred and each burst spelled destruction and death. There were only two guns — why should there not be 200 with bursts occurring at intervals of a few seconds or continuously? I have seen a tank come up out of a shell hole, the sides of which were so steep, that a man could not climb up. Tanks as large as locomo- tives — why not movable forts with heavy guns? Recently an American flew over the city of London in a Handley-Page with forty passengers. Within the last few months we have come to classify bombs by tons rather than by pounds, as previously. We know that an American scientist dis- covered a gas so deadly that a few bombs containing it would have destroyed every vestige of life in Berlin. Both sides so feared the resultant horrors that they WHY WE FOUGHT 41 hesitated at dropping gas bombs on cities. To consider the possibility of the de- veloped engines of war — the developed aeroplane, tank, long-range gun, gas bomb, gas shell, submarine, under the system of competitive armaments — is to arrive at the inevitable conclusion that civilization must, here and now, end w^ar or be ended by it. Competitive armaments not only cause war and therefore constitute a challenge to civilization itself, but they undermine the very foundation of free government. President Lowell, distinguished authority on political Institutions that he Is, will tell you that English political history repre- sents a struggle for the establishment of the principle that the House of Commons is supreme, that the House of Commons shall determine questions of policy and de- termine the amount of taxation. In 1913 the first Lord of the Admiralty appeared in the House and said, “ Germany has undertaken an increase In her naval program. When Germany lays two keels, we must lay three.” Accordingly, the 42 WHY WE FOUGHT proposed increase in the Navy was under- taken and the necessary taxes were voted. In France, where representative gov- ernment was only established by a bloody revolution, the length of compulsory military service was determined by the , whim of the Kaiser. An increase in the German army meant an increase in the French army. Our own military and ; naval policy will be determined by the ac- j tion of other nations. The peoples of the world can eliminate a policy dictated ! by fear and suspicion and gain true rep- resentation only through the meeting of their representatives for common action, as proposed by the League of Nations. Final consent is, of course, reserved to our own Congress. We w^ent into this war for the verv good and sufficient reason that we could not keep out with honor. There are som'’ people, apparently, who do not yet realize that when Germany attacked France and Belgium she was attacking the United States. Freedom was at stake. Our | ships were sunk on the high seas; our -j WHY WE FOUGHT 43 citizens were ruthlessly murdered on mer- chant vessels where they had a right, under international law, to be. When free institutions are challenged the United States stands ready to oppose and we will not ask that others fight our battles. We are not ashamed of our record in this war. We are now ready to stand with all free peoples for the freedom of the world, just as we have stood during the last year. . The policy of glorious isolation didn’t ^ keep us out of this war, and it won’t keep us out of any great war. Mechanical methods and modern transportation have made the world smaller. To-day, the peace of the world is the business of the world and in that business the United States must take full share of the benefits and the burdens. That is only fair play. George Washington was a man who looked^ squarely at the facts and then looked forward. George Washington was the man who presided at the Con- stitutional Convention that gave us the Constitution of the United States. Was he looking backward? At the time of his 44 WHY WE FOUGHT farewell address, he certainly had no such world organization, as is here proposed, in mind. The very purpose of this or- ganization is to prevent the alliances he objected to. I firmly believe that if George Washington were alive to-day he would favor the League of Nations. Even if it were admitted that Washing- ton, in his day, opposed such organiza- tion, nothing is established thereby. Washington said that a stage-coach was the best means of transportation and in his day he was entirely right. Great disciples of Washington that certain Senators have recently become, they don’t use the stage-coach. From one year in France I learned the true fueling of the American soldier. While ht had no elaborate means of ex- pression and no elegant ideas on the de- tails of a League of Nations, he believed that something mightily worth while would follow his sacrifice — that he warred to end war and that out of his efforts would come an effective interna- tional organization which could render the WHY WE FOUGHT 45 recurrence of such a catastrophe improb- able if not impossible. I recall those dark days last Spring after the defeat of Italy, the loss of Chemin-des-Dames by the French, the de- feat of the Portuguese in Flanders and the breakdown of the British Fifth Army in Picardy. It seemed that nothing could stop the German armies and, as they drew closer and closer toward Paris, the ques- tion was asked with greater and greater anxiety, “ Who can stop the onslaught? ” How proud I was as an American in those dark days, to see the American standard raised high at Chateau Thierry and carried victoriously onward through St. Mihiel and the Argonne Forest toward the River Rhine. In this critical period of the world’s history, when the peoples of the earth cry out for leadership, is the United States going to stand up to the standard of leadership erected by her soldiers? That is the issue! It was a great surprise to me upon re- turning to this country to find that the very principles for which the American 46 WHY WE FOUGHT soldier has been dying on the battlefields of France were being condemned on the floor of the United States Senate; and what is the argument he hears? He is told that in 1848 the United States had trouble with Mexico — that we got what we wanted, and he is asked if such a case should recur would we wish to leave it to foreigners. j- If this war has established any principle it has established the principle that there is a moral law above the state and to that moral law the state must answer. It was the Kaiser who believed that the state was all supreme and irresponsible. The trouble with certain Senators is that they are steeped in the philosophy of Kaiser Wilhelm, the philosophy we fought to kill, the philosophy that died with the defeat of Germany. And who are these fearful foreigners? It now happens that there are about two million “ Yanks ” who, by close associa- tion, by living in the same dugouts with “ Poilus ’’ and “ Tommies,” have learned a new lesson. We have discovered that WHY WE FOUGHT 47 the Britisher, Frenchman, and Italian are two-legged animals, like ourselves, who cat, sleep, fight; yes, and even think as we do, and we have about made up our minds that we can better put our trust in these fearful foreigners than in certain men who claim to represent us in the United States Senate. Throughout the great war the world ) has turned to America for moral leader- ship. It now rests with the power of a United American opinion to lead the world to the victory of Peace by the establish- ment of an effective League of Nations. Speech Delivered By Captain Thomas G. Chamberlain Before the Southern Congress for a League of Nations , Atlanta, Georgia, February 28, igig. The fight for a League of Nations will go on, but so far as this trip is concerned we are approaching the end of the trail. Those of you who attended the World’s Fair in 1915 at San Francisco remember the statue of the duck baby, and those lines — “ Thus ever it is in this world of ours, The brightest light must fail, There is a tear in the c^^e and an aching heart. When we come to the end of the trail.” So it is that I feel about this trip. Great changes are wrought by war. A few months ago I was riding in a box car 48 WHY WE FOUGHT 49 in France, a car with holes in it large enough to throw a cat through while the temperature was several degrees below zero. The car bore that label which has become a slogan with the American Expeditionary Forces, “ 40 Hommes, 8 Cheveaux.” I translate it, not because I doubt that there are those who do not speak the language of our glorious ally, but because I have reason to doubt my own pronunciation. As one of the men in my battery said when writing home to his mother, “I studied French for two years before I came over here and speak it perfectly, but these people don’t know their own language.” 40 Hommes, 8 Cheveaux, — 40 men, 8 horses, and the only difference was that the horses had straw to sleep on. My bunkie on that box car was an Italian, who spoke no English. I know that he spoke no English; I also know that I speak no Italian. Because several weeks later he came to me and said something that sounded like the Latin I ©nee learned and forgot. I thought he wanted to visit one of the towns in the 50 WHY WE FOUGHT rear and, desiring to give him the same privileges that the other men had, I said, yes. He left, and didn’t return; and later I learned that he had gone to- Italy — so far as I know, with my permission. Such are the changes wrought by war that in the course of a few short months I have graduated from that humble box car in France, with my humble bunkie, to the special car of the ex-President of the United States, and my bunkie is none other than the distinguished scholar and learned head of one of our greatest universities. Dr. Lowell. I wish to have a personal talk with you. I wish to talk about myself. I haven’t ventured to do this before because I de- sired to finish the trip, but now we have (arrived at the end of the trail. I gradu- ated from the University of California in 1915 and returned to the University for two years’ graduate work in the legal de- partment, during which time I held a teaching fellowship in Government. I had occasion to follow very closely the events prior to the entry of the United WHY WE FOUGHT 51 States into the war and to consider the purpose of the war. Soon after our gov- ernment came in I enlisted in the army and there I made it my business to find out what the men thought. In the camps of this country, on the high seas, in the hospitals of France and in the trenches I have talked with the soldiers. The soldier believed that this actually was a war for democracy; he did not consider this a war among wars; he considered this an epoch-making war. He believed that something mightily worth while would fol- low his sacrifice. I sometimes wonder if the situation last Spring looked as serious to you on this side as it did to us over there. We knew of Italy’s misfortune, we knew the im- portance of Chemin-des-Dames, and that the French, after a fight against great odds, had lost it. We knew of the retreat of the Portuguese in Flanders and of the British 5th Army in Picardy. We knev/ that the German hordes were coming on and on. As we went out from Paris to Chateau Thierry last Spring, w'e could see 52 WHY WE FOUGHT the appearance of despair on every hand. French peasants had piled high their two- wheeled carts with household goods and were leaving for other parts. The ques- tion was asked on every hand — who can stop the German advance? Troops re- turning from the line looked v/orn and v/eary and did not seem to entertain much hope for the situation. I remember the night at dusk when it seemed that all was lost, there came swinging up the road a long column of troops and they were sing- ing, “ The Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming.” And the Yanks were com- ing. As they marched along the road a French liaison officer, pale and excited, ap- proached Colonel Wise, saluted, and said hurriedly, “ Sir, your orders are to hold the advance as long as possible and then retreat to the trenches ; we will prepare for you in the rear.” “ Retreat,” said Colonel Wise. “ Re- treat Hell; we are just coming, we will let the Germans retreat,” — and the Germans retreated. WHY WE FOUGHT 53 In one determined smash the whole course of the world’s history was changed. When it seemed that all was lost I was proud at Chateau Thierry as an American to see the American standard raised and carried victoriously forward. It took that same standard to wipe out the salient at St. Mihiel. It was that same standard that waded through hell in the Argonne Forest, and went victoriously on to the river Rhine, on to the victorious end of the greatest war of all time. At this critical period in the World’s history, when the peoples of the world cry out for leadership, is American opinion go- ing to rally round the standard which American soldiers raised on foreign bat- tlefields? There are those who ask re- treat, but the American soldier answers just as Colonel Wise answered at Chateau Thierry. A few weeks ago I visited the United States Senate and was utterly dismayed to find that the principles for which American soldiers have been dying in France were being condemned on the floor 54 WHY WE FOUGHT of the Senate. It makes my blood boil to think that our distinguished representa- tives do not display the same willingness to play the game that was displayed by our men over there. Well may it be said that if Mr. Taft were a modern Catiline condemned by Cicero for conspiracy, and if President Wilson were an Aaron Burr of to-day, their condemnation on the floor of the Senate could not be more bitter. Yet of what crime are they guilty? In all sin- cerity and in all earnestness they have at- tempted to do the will of God and fulfil that prayer of the Savior, for “ Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.” As this is my Swan Song I wish to read you a bit of verse which I have never read to an audience before, and may never again. It was written by a man in my Battery, a “buck” private; not even a first-class private. He wrote this in a letter to his mother, and while censoring the letter I found it. That it represents the thought and purpose of the soldier is borne out by the fact that practically every WHY WE FOUGHT 55 ni":i in the Battery made a copy and sent it home, if he knew how to write and if he had a home. Why is this strife and turmoil Loose in the world to-day? Why are the armies gathered? Why is this warlike display? Each night the flare of the cannon Paint the northern skies all red, Each eve are hundreds of missing — Missing — wounded or dead. Farmers are gone from the harvest, Husbands are gone from their wives. The earth is plunged in sorrow Mourning a million lives, Children cry for their fathers And women grieve for their men, Mothers, half doubting, are praying Their sons shall return again. Towns and cities arc ruined, Thousands of fields lie bare, War holds earth in her clutches. The sea and the land and the air. What can the old v/ar offer As a recompense for this? Can the things we shall gain ever ban^ The forms and the faces we miss? What of the wife, now a widow? 56 WHY WE FOUGHT And the mother whose sons are gone ? Will peace bring back our missing And happiness go on? Cheer up, O grieving mothers And ail of you who mourn, Our dead are dead victorious For the larger w^orld unborn. » To them fell the task of the ages And, oh, how gloriously Have they fought and died and suffered To free Humanity. Free from the bands and the shackles That bound us to the past; Free from the strife and struggle ' And to make this v/ar the last. Free, and each man in kindred To a hundred million others. And earth again an Eden Where men may dwell as brothers. i Speech Delivered By Captain Thomas G. Chamberlain Before the State Convention for a League of Nations, Portland, Maine, May 2g, igig. “ There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” Judging from the arguments against the League by certain Senators they would class these lines as a very low form of literature because they were written by an Englishman. But most of us require a little more proof than that to establish their worthlessness, and most of the United States will judge the Cov- enant of Paris on its merit. A great tide in the affairs of the world has come. We must take it at the flood and go on to fortune; or reject it and before the tears and blood of this war are dry, prepare for 57 58 WHY WE FOUGHT another world catastrophe under which our civilization cannot endure. We stand at the threshold of a new and better world order. There is danger that we shall not enter, but there is more im- minent danger that by amendment we shall ruin the very foundation of the structure in which our high hopes are housed. We come before you advocating the League of Nations as it is. We ask only that you read the Covenant, come to a decision, and do all in your power to make your decision the decision of your govern- ment. The people of the country who very properly turn to their Senators for enlight- enment hear from. Senator Reed that the Covenant is a cruel and monstrous docu- ment by VvTich the United States would be enslaved to black and yellow races. That statement is untrue and the proof tiiat it is untrue is to be found in the Cov- enant itself. I ask you in all solemnity: Is a stricken humanity standing amidst the blood and ashes of the cruelest war of all history to be defeated as it gropes toward WHY WE FOUGHT 59 peaceful settlement of international diffi- culties by bald and unvarnished misstate- ments of fact? That statement of Senator Reed’s must be denounced as a malign attempt to defeat by the politician’s tongue what has been won by the soldier’s blood. Will the ratification of the League mark the day of America’s surrender to foreign powers? The foundation principles, the corner stones of the League, are disarma- ment and arbitration, and these are Ameri- can principles. More international dis- putes have been peacefully settled since the founding of our Republic than were set- tled in all human history, prior to that time. In 1790 Congress provided that our army should consist of “ twelve hun- dred souls.” Before the Civil War there were fifteen thousand men in the Federal Army. Before this war we had an army of one hundred thousand men as against the millions in the European armies. The ratification of the Covenant by the Senate will not mark the day of America’s surrender to foreign powers; rather will 6o WHY WE FOUGHT it mark the day of America’s triumph, for on that day will great American prin- ciples be spread to all the world. There is talk of a treaty of peace first, and a League of Nations afterward. I hope that peace comes quickly; I hope that the treaty may soon be in force; but as one who has seen the results of a violated treaty, who has seen the rape of Belgium, the death and destruction that followed in the wake of that decision to regard a solemn treaty obligation as a scrap* of paper, I hope that peace never comes, I hope that the treaty never goes into force, until as part and parcel of that treaty there is an organization to stand behind it, to guarantee its terms and to enforce those terms. Suppose we provide in the Treaty, as we should and as we have, that Poland is to be an independent state. Suppose that Germany signs the Treaty. Suppose that ia a few months or in a few years Ger- many decides to annex Poland. Now, consider the chaos of Russia, the condi- tion of England — in fact, of the British WHY WE FOUGHT 6i Empire — after the drains made by this war. Consider the condition of the in- dustries of France, of those towns along the French border as I have seen them and as you know them to be, and tell me what power is there to step in at once and stop that aggression should it be under- taken. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no power and there will be none unless it be the I^eague of Nations. Did we set up before the world that the rights of small peoples are just as sacred as the rights of great and powerful and declare that the fulfilment of that prin- ciple was one of our war aims only to back out, only to back down, now at this the hour of greatest hope of these peoples, when it seems that after years of oppres- sion they are about to realize these na- tional hopes, these racial aspirations, this great ideal, the great American ideal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Millions of struggling people took on a new vitality during the war and putting their hope, their faith, and their trust in America fought on to a state of utter ex- haustion. 62 WHY WE FOUGHT Would you call out to a drowning man, “ Don’t give up, I’ll save you,” and after he had spent his strength in the struggle and you had brought him to the wharf, would you leave him helpless to be hurled back into the black abyss of despair by the first enemy that happens along? Would you leave him when his weakened condition is due to his faith in you? No, you would not. Not if you were an American and, thank God, I know what an American is to-day! When I w^as a boy, and that wasn’t very many years ago, I read of the glorious deeds of the men of Bunker Hill and Gettysburg and I was thrilled by their per- formance. Then I read that the Amer- icans of to-day were mere slaves of greed, money grubbers, v/hite and lily-livered. But to-day I know that the Americans of your blood and your generation know how to suffer and how to die and beside the men of Bunker Hill and Gettysburg can stand the men of Chateau Thierry and the Ar- gonne Forest. The League of Nations is not a auestiop WHY WE FOUGHT 63 of magnanimous philanthropy. It is a simple question of simple justice, and in this fight for justice we stake our leaders, Mr. Taft and President Lowell and the rest, against all their Reeds and all their Borahs, remembering as we do that “Thrice is he arm’d that hath his quarrel just, And he but naked, though lock’d up in steel, Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.” A square deal to small peoples calls for the League of Nations now. We need the League as a part of that Treaty of Peace. We didn’t fight this war to set up a mere truce ; we deserve a peace worthy of our effort. I can tell you in all truthfulness that America was not misrepresented on the fighting front. She couldn’t afford to be — there was too much at stake. And there is too much at stake now, to have her misrepresented in the U. S. Senate. Are you going to allow her to be misrepre- sented in this great crisis of the world’s history? We owe it to those v/ho are not going 64 WHY WE FOUGHT to come back to set up a structure worthy of their sacrifice. They were enthused and fired to a pitch where death was not feared by the belief that this was a war for great principles, a war for democracy, a war to end war. One of the men w-ho ha:s a wooden cross in Flanders for a monument sent this challenge to each and every one of us just before he went down to his death: In Flanders fields the poppies grow Between the crosses, row on row", That mark our place : and in the sky The larks still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw’ sunset glow. Loved, and w^ere loved, and now^ we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The Torch: be yours to hold it high! If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS Adopted at the Plenary Session of thi Interallied Peace Conference, April 28, 1919 In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security, by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of open, just and honor- able relations between nations, by the firm estab- lishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Gov- ernments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one an- other, the high contracting parties agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations: Article I MEMBERSHIP AND WITHDRAWAL I. The original members of the League of Na- tions shall be those of the signatories which are named in the annex to this Covenant and also 65 66 WHY WE FOUGHT such of those other states named in the annex as shall accede without reservation to this Cove- nant. Such accessions shall be effected by a declaration deposited with the Secretariat within two months of the coming into force of the Cove- nant. Notice thereof shall be sent to all other members of the League. 2 . Any fully self-governing state, dominion or colony not named in the annex may become a member of the League if its admission is agreed to by tW'O-thirds of the Assembly, provided that it shall give efFective guaranties of its sincere in- tention to observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military and naval forces and armaments. 3 . Any member of the League may, after two years’ notice of its intention so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that all its inter- national obligations and all its obligations under this Covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal. Article II EXECUTIVE ORGANS I. The action of the League under this Covr nant shall be effected through the instrumen- tality of an Assembly and of a Council, with a Permanent Secretariat. WHY WE FOUGHT 67 Article III ASSEMBLY 1. The Assembly shall consist of representa- tives of the members of the League. 2. The Assembly shall meet at stated intervals and from time to time as occasion may require, at the seat of the League, or at such other place as may be decided upon. 3. The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. 4. At meetings of the Assembly each member of the League shall ha.ve one vote, and may not have more than three representatives. Article IV COUNCIL 1. The Council shall consist of representa- tives of the principal allied and associated pow- ers, together with representatives of four other members of the League. These four members of the League shall be selected by the Assembly from time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the representatives of the four members of the League first selected by the As- sembly, representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Greece and Spain shall be members of the Coun- cil. 2. With the approval of the majority of the 68 WHY WE FOUGHT Assembly, the Council may name additional mem- bers of the League whose representatives shall always be members of the Council ; the Council with like approval may increase the number of members of the League to be selected by the As- sembly for representation on the Council. 3. The Council shall meet from time to time as occasion may require, and at least once a year, at the seat of the League, or at such other place as may be decided upon. 4. The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or afEecting the peace of the world. 5. Any member of the League not repre- sented on the Council shall be invited to send a representative to sit as a member at any meet- ing of the Council during the consideration of matters specially affecting the interests of that member of the League. 6. At meetings of the Council each member of the League represented on the Council shall have one vote, and may have not more than one representative. Article V VOTING AND PROCEDURE I. Except where otherwise expressly provided in this Covenant, or by the terms of the present treaty, decision at any meeting of the Assembly or of the Council shall require the agreement of WHY WE FOUGHT 69 all the members of the League represented at the meeting. 2. All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or the Council, including the ap- pointment of committees to investigate particular matters, shall be regulated by the Assembly or by the Council and may be decided by a majority of the members of the League represented at the meeting. 3. The first meeting of the Assembly and the first meeting of the Council shall be summoned by the President of the United States of America. Article VI SECRETARIAT 1. The permanent Secretariat shall be estab- lished at the seat of the League. The Secre- tariat shall comprise a Secretary-General and such secretaries and staff as may be required. 2. The first Secretary-General shall be the person named in the annex; thereafter the Sec- retary-General shall be appointed by the Council with the approval of the majority of the As- sembly. 3. The secretaries and the staff of the Sec- retariat shall be appointed by the Secretary-Gen- eral with the approval of the Council. 4. The Secretary-General shall act in that capacity at all meetings of the Assembly and of the Council. 70 WHY WE FOUGHT 5. The expenses of the Secretariat shall be borne by the members of the League in accord- ance with the apportionment of the expenses of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union. Article VII SEAT, QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICIALS, IMMUNITIES 1. The seat of the League is established at Geneva. 2. The Council may at any time decide that the seat of the League shall be established else- where. 3. All positions under or connecting with the League, including the Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. 4. Representatives of the members of the League and officials of the League when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy diplo- matic privileges and immunities. 5. The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its officials or by representa- tives attending its meetings shall be inviolable. Article VIII REDUCTION OF ARMAMENTS I. The members of the League recognize that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction WHY WE FOUGHT 71 of national armaments to the lowest point con- sistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations. 2. The Council, taking account of the geo- graphical situation and circumstances of each state, shall formulate plans for such reductions for the consideration and action of the several Governments. 3. Such plans shall be subject to reconsidera- ; tion and revision at least every 10 years. 4. After these plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments, limits or armaments ! therein fixed shall not be exceeded without the concurrence of the Council. • 5. The members of the League agree that the manufacture by private enterprise of munitions and implements of war is open to grave objec- tions. The Council shall advise how the evil j: effects attendant upon such manufacture can be ;i prevented, due regard being had to the neces- i sities of those members of the League which are ij not able to manufacture the munitions and im- J plements of war necessary for their safety. 6. The members of the League undertake to interchange full and frank information as to ; the scale of their armaments, their military and naval programs, and the condition of such of i their industries as are adaptable to warlike pur- I poses. 72 WHY WE FOUGHT Article IX PERMANENT MILITARY COMMISSION ' I. A permanent commission shall be consti- tuted to advise the Council on the execution of the provisions of Articles I and VIII and on military and naval questions generally. Article X GUARANTIES AGAINST AGGRESSION I. The members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggres- sion the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression, the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obli- gation shall be fulfilled. Article XI ACTION IN CASE OF WAR OR THREAT OF WAR I. Any war or threat of war, whether im- mediately affecting any of the members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise, the Secretary-General shall, on the request of any WHY WE FOUGHT 73 member of the League, forthwith summon a meeting of the Council. 2. It is also declared to be the fundamental right of each member of the League to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of the Council any circumstance whatever attecting international relations which threatens to disturb international peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends. Article XII DISPUTES TO BE SUBMITTED TO ARBITRA- TION OR INQUIRY 1. The members of the League agree that, if there should arise betw^een them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, they will submit the matter either to arbitration or to inquiry by the Council, and they agree in no case to resort to war until three months after the award by the arbitrators or the report by the Council. 2. In any case under this article the award of the arbitrators shall be made within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council shall be made within six months after the submission of the dispute. Article XIII ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES I. The members of the League agree that, whenever any dispute shall exist between them 74 WHY WE FOUGHT which they recognize to be suitable for submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, they will submit the whole subject matter to arbitration. 2. Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any question of international law, as to the existence of any fact which if estab- lished would constitute a breach of any inter- national obligation, or as to the extent and na- ture of the reparation to be made for any such breach, are declared to be among those which are generally suitable for submission to arbitra- tion. 3. For the consideration of any such dispute the court of arbitration to which the case is re- ferred shall be the court agreed upon by the parties to the dispute or stipulated in any con- vention existing between them. 4. The members of the League agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award that may be rendered and that they will not resort to war against a member of the League which complies therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an award, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give ef- fect thereto. 75 WHY WE FOUGHT Article XIV COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE I. The Council shall formulate and submit to the members of the League for adoption plans for the establishment of a permanent Court of International Justice. The court shall be com- petent to hear and determine any dispute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The court may also give an ad- visory opinion upon any dispute or question re- ferred to it by the Council or by the Assembly. Article XV DISPUTES NOT SUBMITTED TO ARBITRATION I. If there should arise between members of the League any dispute likely to lead to a rup- ture, which is not submitted to arbitration in accordance with Article XIII, the members of the League agree that they will submit the matter to the Council. Any party to the dispute may effect such submission by giving notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary-General, who will make all necessary arrangements for a full investigation and consideration thereof. For this purpose the parties to the dispute will com- municate to the Secretary-General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case, with all the relevant facts and papers ; the Council may forth- with direct the publication thereof. 76 WHY WE FOUGHT 2. The Council shall endeavor to eflFect a settle- ment of the dispute and, if such efforts are suc- cessful, a statement shall be made public giving such facts and explanations regarding the dis- pute and terms of settlement thereof as the Coun- cil may deem appropriate. 3. If the dispute is not thus settled, the Coun- cil either unanimously or by a majority vote shall make and publish a report containing a statement of the facts of the dispute and the recommendations which are deemed just and proper in regard thereto. 4. Any member of the League represented on the Council may make public a statement of the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions re- garding the same. 5. If a report by the Council is unanimously agreed to by the members thereof other than the representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the members of the League agree that they will not go to war with any party to the dispute which complies with the recommenda- tion of the report. 6. If the Council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed to by the members thereof, other than the representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the members of the League reserve to themselves the right to take such action as they shall consider necessary for the maintenace of right and justice. 7. If the dispute between the parties is claimed WHY WE FOUGHT 77 by one of them, and is found by ‘the Council to arise out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the Council shall so report and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement. 8. The Council may in any case under this article refer the dispute to the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the request of either party to the dispute, provided that such re- quest is made within 14 days after the submis- sion of the dispute to the Council. 9. In any case referred to the Assembly, all the provisions of this article and of Article XII relating to the action and powers of the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the As- sembly, provided that a report made by the As- sembly, if concurred in by the representatives of those members of the League represented on the Council and of a majority of the other mem- bers of the League, exclusive in each case of the representatives of the parties to the dispute, shall have the same force as a report by the Council concurred in by all the members thereof other than the representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute. Article XVI SANCTIONS I. Should any member of the League resort to war in disregard of its covenants under Ar- WHY WE FOUGHT 78 tides XII, XIII and XV, it shall ipso facto be deemed to have committed an act of war against all other members of the Leag’je, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to the sever- ance of all trade or financial relations, the pro- hibition of all intercourse between their nationals and the nationals of the covenant-breaking state and the prevention of all financial, commercial or personal intercourse between the nationals of the covenant-breaking state and the nationals of any other state, whether a member of the League or not. 2. It shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend to the several Governments concerned what effective military or naval force the members of the League shall severally con- tribute to the armed forces to be used to protect the covenants of the League. 3. The members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually support one another in the financial and economic measures which arc taken under this article, in order to minimize the loss and inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will mutually support one another in resisting any special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant- breaking state of the League, and that they will take the necessary steps to afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of the mem- bers of the League which are cooperating to pro- tect the covenants of the League. WHY WE FOUGHT 79 4. Any member of the League which has vio- lated any covenant of the League may be de- clared to be no longer a member of the League by a vote of the Council concurred in by the representatives of all the members of the League represented thereon. Article XVII DISPUTES WITH NON-MEMBERS 1. In the event of a dispute between a member of the League and a state which is not a mem- ber of the League, or between states not mem- bers of the League, the state or states not mem- bers of the League shall be invited to accept the obligations and membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute upon such con- ditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation is accepted, the provisions of Articles XII to XVI inclusive shall be applied, with such modifications as may be deemed necessary by the Council. 2 . Upon such invitation being given, the Coun- cil shall immediately institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute and recommend such action as may seem best and most effectual in the circumstances. 5. If a state so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and shall resort to war against a member of the League, the pro' 8o WHY WE FOUGHT visions of Article XVI shall be applicable as against the state taking such action. 4. If both parties to the dispute, when so in- vited, refuse to accept the obligations of member- ship in the League for the purposes of such dis- pute, the Council may take such measures and make such recommendations as will prevent hos- tilities and will result in the settlement of the dispute. Article XVIII REGISTRATION AND PUBLICATION OF TREATIES I. Every treaty or international engagement entered into hereafter by any member of the League shall be forthwith registered with the Secretariat and shall as soon as possible be pub- lished by it. No such treaty or international en- gagement shall be binding until so registered. Article XIX REVIEW OF TREATIES 1. The Assembly may from time to time ad- vise the reconsideration by members of the League of treaties which have become inapplic- able, and the consideration of international con- ditions whose continuance might endanger the peace of the world. WHY WE FOUGHT 8i Article XX ABROGATION OF INCONSISTENT OBUGATIONS 1. The members of the League severally agree that this Covenant is accepted as abrogating all obligations or understandings inter se which are inconsistent with the terms thereof, and solemnly undertake that they will not hereafter enter into any engagements inconsistent with the terms thereof. 2. In case any member of the League shall, before becoming a member of the League, have undertaken any obligations inconsistent with terms of this Covenant, it shall be the duty of such member to take immediate steps to procure its release from such obligations. Article XXI ENGAGEMENTS THAT REMAIN VALID 1. Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of international engage- ments, such as treaties of arbitration or regional understandings like the Monroe Doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace. Article XXII control of colonies and territories i. To those colonics and territories which as a consequence of the late war have ceased to be 82 WHY WE FOUGHT under the sovereignty of the states which for- merly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the well being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilization and that securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant. 2. The best method of giving practicable ef- fect to this principle is that the tutelage of such people be intrusted to advanced nations who, by reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical position, can best undertake this responsibility and who are willing to ac- cept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as mandataries on behalf of the League. 3. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the development of the people, the geographical situation of the terri- tory, its economic conditions and other similar circumstances. 4. Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of de- velopment where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and as- sistance by a mandatary until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the mandatary. WHY WE FOUGHT 83 5. Other peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such a stage that the mandatary must be responsible for the administration of the territory under conditions which will guarantee freedom of conscience and religion, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, the prohibition of abuses such as the slave trade, the arms traffic and the liquor traffic, and the prevention of the establishment of fortifications or military and naval bases and of military training of the natives for other than police purposes and the defense of territory, and will also secure equal opportunities for the trade and commerce of other members of the League. 6. There are territories, such as Southwest Africa and certain of the South Pacific islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their popula- tion or their small size, or their remoteness from the centers of civilization, or their geographical contiguity to the territory of the mandatary, and other circumstances, can be best administered under the laws of the mandatary as integral por- tions of its territory, subject to the safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the indi- genous population. 7. In every case of mandate the tnandatary shall render the Council an annual report in refer- ence to the territory committed to his charge. 8. The degree of authority, control or admin- istration to be exercised by the mandatary shall. 84 WHY WE FOUGHT if not previously agreed upon by the members of the League, be explicitly defined in each case by the Council. 9. A permanent commission shall be consti- tuted to receive and examine the annual reports of the mandataries, and to advise the Council on all matters relating to the observance of the mandates. Article XXIII SOCIAL ACTIVITIES I. Subject to and in accordance with the pro- visions of international conventions existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the members of the League : (a) will endeavor to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions of labor for men, women and children, both in their own countries and in all countries to which their commercial and in- dustrial relations extend, and for that purpose will establish and maintain the necessary inter- national organizations ; (b) undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of territories under their con- trol ; (c) will intrust the League with the general supervision over the execution of agreements with regard to the traffic in women and children and the traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs; WHY WE FOUGHT 85 (d) will intrust the League with the general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with the countries in which the control of this traffic is necessary in the common interest ; (e) will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of communication and of transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all mem- bers of the League. In this connection the spe- cial necessities of the regions devastated during the war of 1914-1918 shall be in mind; (f) will endeavor to take steps in matters of international concern for the prevention and con- trol of disease. Article XXIV INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS 1. There shall be placed under the direction of the League all International Bureaus already es- tablished by general treaties, if the parties to such treaties consent. All such International Bureaus and all Commissions for the regulation of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction of the League. 2. In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general conventions but which are not placed under the control of international bureaus or commissions, the Secretariat of the League shall, subject to the consent of the Coun- cil and if desired by the parties, collect and dis- 86 WHY WE FOUGHT tribute all relevant information and shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or desirable. 3. The Council may include as part of the ex- penses of the Secretariat the expenses of any Bureau or Commission which is placed under the direction of the League. Article XXV PROMOTION OF RED CROSS I. The members of the League agree to en- courage and promote the establishment and co- operation of duly authorized voluntary national Red Cross organizations having as purposes im- provement of health, the prevention of disease and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world. Article XXVI AMENDMENT 1. Amendments to this Covenant will take ef- fect when ratified by the members of the League whose representatives compose the Council and by a majority of the members of the League whose representatives compose the Assembly. 2. No such amendment shall bind any member of the League which signifies its dissent therefrom, but in that case it shall cease to be a member of the League. ANNEX 1. Original members of the League of Nations, signatories of the treaty of peace : United States of America Belgium Bolivia Brazil British Empire Canada Australia South Africa New Zealand India China Cuba Czecho-Slovakia Ecuador F ranee Greece Guatemala Haiti Hedjaz Honduras Italy Japan Liberia Nicaragua* Panama Peru Poland Portugal Rumania Serb-Croat and Slo- vene State Siam Uruguay States invited to accede to the Covenant: Argentine Republic Denmark Chile Netherlands Colombia Norway 87 88 WHY WE FOUGHT Paraguay Persia Salvador Spain Sweden Switzerland Venezuela II. First Secretary-General of the League of Nations: Sir James Eric Drummond. THE UNIVERSITY AND WORLD ORGANIZATION Published in the Daily Californian, January 27, 1919 These are great days in which to be alive. Better than some others we have known. The first steps have been taken toward a real- ization of the great principles which have bound millions of Allied soldiers together in a deter- mined struggle. But these principles still remain as a challenge to those who have it within their power to translate ideals into action, still remain as principles merely, as yet unrealized. With the disbanding of the armed millions we are conscious of another and far greater army, the great army of public opinion which is destined to rule the world. In that army the universities are the generals and we as students at the university are responsible for our generalship. Our position is peculiar for several reasons. In the first place, opinions, political institutions, na- tions and races are in a state of flux. Govern- ments which have ruled for years are being shat- tered and wrecked. Subject peoples find now 89 90 WHY WE FOUGHT their first opportunity to assert themselves. Po- litical organisms the ^vorld over are changing with a rapidity heretofore unknown. The England of to-day is not the England of 1913, and this is true also of France, Italy and, to a smaller extent, the United States. Because the flood of political opinion is rolling high we have a good opportunity to accomplish a much needed international political organization. Internationally we are in a state of anarchy. The very term international law is a delusion and a snare. It is a rank misnomer. Law is a rule of action supported by a sanction, and there can be no law without such sanction. An interna- tional organization that could give us interna- tional law is as yet unborn. In the second place, the position of the United States at the peace table is one of peculiar power. We have no selfish ends to serve,” and for that very reason, while others will be forced to make concessions to gain the territorial and other ma- terial advantages which they seek, we can stand firmly for the accomplishment of our high pur- pose. Lastly, the position and responsibility of one so fortunate as to be a university student at this critical period in the world’s history is peculiar. We have every facility for an advance with the first wave. The zero hour is at hand. We have the library. We have the daily papers. We must read what Wilson, Lloyd George, Clemen- WHY WE FOUGHT 91 ceau, Orlando and Vcnizelos arc saying. These men speak with the consciousness that they repre- sent millions and that they hold the destinies of people in the palms of their hands. We can’t afford to miss what Professor Henry Morse Stephens is saying in the “ War Issues ” course. We may find courses in the Political Science de- partment where a leisure hour can be spent quite as profitably as before the fraternal hearth. This is not the place to drift with the current of opin- ion: it is the place from which the course of those currents should be directed. There is no problem so important as that of political organization for the world. War repre- sents a relapse of civilization to a state of barbar- ism and never can we reach that higher civiliza- tion with the necessary concomitants of better social and industrial conditions until we devise the machinery for the prevention of these periodic relapses. We may be pardoned for believing that a per- fected international government is a considerable distance in the future, but we can not be par- doned for being without thought on a problem so important. This for consideration : — peace fol- lows justice; justice follows law; law follows political organization. Signed, Thomas G. Chamberlain. LETTER FROM A WOUNDED SOLDIER To the Editor of The New York Times: To those who oppose the proposed League of Nations, either because they are not in favor of the policies of our President (which would be very narrow minded of them), or because of some other reason, and who were unable to be in a battle, I address the following: You who have never seen the horrors of war, who have never seen a man disappear, literally blown to atoms, on being struck by a shell; who have never heard the shrieks of wounded human beings, who have never heard the hysterical laugh- ter of a man as he gazes at the stump where his hand was a moment ago, who have never heard the cries, the groans, the swearing, the praying of men with festering wounds, lying in a first aid station, waiting too long and in vain for ambu- lances.; who have never witnessed the terror of those men when the station is gassed and there are no gas masks, who have never seen convales- cents, totally blind and with both hands ampu- tated above the wrists — can you say that we should stop at anything in order to prevent this 92 WHY WE FOUGHT 93 frightfulncss, this savagery, this horror from oc- curring again ? Is there any other way than by a League of Nations and combination of power? Will a simple treaty among the greater nations prevent a recurrence of such an attempt as Ger- many has made? Is not the League of Nations, as proposed, elastic enough and broad enough, whatever its defects, to insure w-orld peace? Is it not a step, and the only possible step, in the right direction? I firmly believe so. If there is another way, speak it out. If not, for God’s sake, stop opposing this one remedy. Wyman Richardson, (Wounded in action.) Boston, March i8, 1919. FEINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA J. DATE DUE ' ^EMCO 38-297