The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 2, 1919, Page 6

Iy P, [ ¥ Tonpartisan Teader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week Entered as second-class matter September 8, 1915, at the postoffice at St. Paul, Minnesota, under the Act of March 3, 1879. OLIVER 8. MORRIS, Editor E. B. Fussell and A, B. Gilbert, Associate Editors Advertising rates on application. Subscription, one year, in advance, $2.50; six months, $1.50. Please do not make checks, drafts nor money orders payable to indi- i . Address all letters and make all remittances to The Nonpartisan Leader, Box 575, St. Paul, Minn. MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS THE S. C. BECKWITH SPECIAL AGENCY, Advertising Representatives, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City. B. O. Foss, Art Editor Quack, fraudulent and irresponsible firms are not knowingly advertised, and we will take it as a favor if any readers will advise us promptly should they have occasion to doubt or question the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns. e A TREATY OF PEACE—OR WAR? HE condensed version of the treaty of peace has been pub- lished in most of our newspapers. Few of us have much idea what it is about—except that it is about 80,000 words long. But the most hasty reading is sufficient to show that the treaty of peace departs widely in many particulars from the basis of the 14 points pronounced by President Wilson and accepted by all the allies something over a year ago. Point No. 1, “open covenants, openly arrived at,” was aban- doned as soon as the peace conference organized. the seas” appears.to have been forgotten altogether. Point No. 6, promising Russia “the best and freest co-operation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered . and un- embarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development,” is another thing that the peacemakers have overlooked. N Self-determination is promised to Poland, Czecho-Slovakia and Jugo-Slavia—but it is still doubtful how this promise is to be car- ried out. All these new nations are threatened by jealous.neigh- bors. The insistence of Italy that Jugo-Slavia be deprived of Fiume and the apparent disinclination of the other allies to act in behalf .of the smaller nation indicates what difficulties may come up in the future. In the same manner, Japan was given control -of the Shantung peninsula in China. ) » rg The league of nations has been discussed in the columns of the Leader many times before. a tremendous sentiment among the people of the United States in favor of a league to end all war. There is little doubt but that this same sentiment is felt by the common people of every other coun- try. Whether the league of nations proposed will do this is a mat- ter of question. Whether it will or not, it is our belief that a start has been made in the right direction, and futurecyears, we hope, will bring the improvements needed in the covenant. Our fear is that the forced annexation of territories, like the Saar basin, may lay the basis for future wars, just as the forced annexation of Alsace-Lorraine laid the basis for the war of 1914. Whether the league of nations will prove strong enough to prevent such a war is a matter that only the future can determine. One thing in the peace treaty that is worthy of commendation is the advanced ground taken in connection with labor problems— 2 adoption of the eight-hour workday and one day rest in seven prin- {{ ciples and others which were little more than theories a few years :i ago. It still remains to be seen whether the allied nations are | - going to be able to make facts of their pronouncements. g1 Realizing the greed of the European victors, we do not feel it is fair to condemn President Wilson too severely for compromis- ing on his 14 points. Doubtless the president did all that he felt “was in his power to do. At home he has had a senate hostile to the 14 points and the big press has shown marked hostility to any but imperialistic moves. v & ; ; “It is difficult for any of us to get a comprehensive view of things as they are. Will Germany sign the treaty? What will happen if she does not sign? What will be done in regard to Russia? Will the allied nations see that China gets protection from Japan, and Jugo-Slavia from Italy? Upon the answers to these and many other questions depends the value of the settlements made in the peace treaty. 0 We are sorry that the peace treaty does mnot carry out the promises made to the world by President Wilson something over a year ago. We fear that the peace treaty contains the germ of future wars. It will take months or years to tell whether the dip- ~ hope for the best. =~ . . e e b s e o SR VT S ML It B A S S e AT “Freedom of ™ There is no doubt that there is . lomats have done their work well or ill. Meanwhile we can but . : * LIBERTY LOAN BONDS : OW that the Victory Liberty loan issue of goverx_lment notes N has been successfully floated and the Nonpartisan Lea(_ler can not be charged, by any stretch of the imagination, with attempting to interfere with the loan campaign, we feel that we can safely express regret that in planning the new loan no arrange- ment was made to keep the bonds of previous issues anywhere near par. ; ) 'll‘)he notes of the fifth loan, bearing 43/ per cent interest, run- ning for only three or four years and with the conversion privilege, undoubtedly will sell at close to 100 per cent of par value through- out their life. But the fact that the government interest rate has been es- tablished officially at 434, per cent now, in itself detracts from the value of the 4 and 4% per cent bonds previously issued. - We believe that the treasury department easily and reasonably could have allowed holders of the earlier issues to exchange-their bonds for the notes of the new issue. This plan of allowing .holders of bonds to exchange them for later issues bearing higher interest was adopted by this country at the beginning of the war. It has been followed by England throughout the war. Under existing cir- cumstances the bonds of the earlier issues are being snapped up by men of wealth at bargain-counter prices because many of the original purchasers have gone beyond their means in their effort to help their government. 3 - ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA. - NTI-FARMER papers in various parts of the United State have been printing a series of a dozen or more letters, pur- porting to have been written by League members in South Dakota, stating that they were through with the League and want- ed to resign. The Leader has had several requests for an explana- tion of this situation. - ' The explanation is comparativly simple. A rival so-called “home rule Nonpartisan league” was started in South Dakota by a group of politicians who failed to get political indorsements from the League. This “organization” in some way got hold of the South Dakota membership list of the League. We hesitate to accuse any one of downright theft, but it is hard to see how any one could have gotten this list honestly. Letters were then sent to. members of the League, asking them to re-enroll and pay additional member- - ship fees.. Many of the farmers who got the letters, of course, were misled by the signature, “South Dakota Home Rule Nonpartisan League,” and thought it was the real Nonpartisan league asking for another $16. Therefore it would not be surprising if a dozen or so had written back, refusing their second subscription and asking to be taken off the books of the League. Of course we have no means of knowing whether the letters in question are genuine or not; they may have been manufactured in the offices of the fake league in South Dakota. 5 In any event the matter is not worth while worrying about now. The fake league has collapsed, the newspaper- “organ” which was supporting its cause has suspended publication, and South Dakota is in better condition for the farmers than it ever has been in the history of the state. ! \ AN ENGLISH PROPHECY e . NLESS a capable leader shall arise in the twentieth century the United States will be destroyed as Rome was, with this \ difference—her vandals will be bred by her own institu- tions.” No, Mr. Reader, this is not the “seditious” utterance of some Nonpartisan league speaker, but the words of prophecy uttered more than half a century ago by Lord Macaulay, English essay- ist and historianm. = ' ' Il fares the land, to hastening ills the prey Where wealth accumulates and men decay. Princes and lords may flourish or may fade— : A breath can make them as a breath ‘ _has made; But a bold peasantry, their country’s ; pride, - e When on'c:ed destroyed can” never be supplied. ; —Goldsmith. Oliver Goldsmith, English poet, wrote th than BIBB% Aeal;;go in t';l’l'he Deserted Villni:ee.'ym'xl‘%seym:g e ay as the; i L ey s 1h be)j were in England at the time