536 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURXAL 



able to act independently. This is in- 

 ternational \A'ork. It seems to me that 

 this function should be exercised di- 

 rectl}^ through, the League of Free Na- 

 tions. An organization should be cre- 

 ated l)y it to handle international 

 responsibility in the interests of the 

 world. This will involve the setting up 

 of an appropriate government in each 

 case, the apportioning of the necessary 

 protection, and the allocation of the re- 

 quired funds among the members of the 

 League. From time to time, as need 

 ari.ses, a helping hand should be given, 

 but always with the purpose of develop- 

 ing a province exclusively in the inter- 

 ests of its inhabitants, and when the 

 time comes, of establishing self govern- 

 ment. 



The foregoing discussion assumes 

 that the L^nited States will become one 

 of the great nations of the Free League. 

 Already in this war, the United States 

 has abandoned the policy of isolation 

 and has acted in practical alliance 

 with the great powers fighting Ger- 

 many. In every respect in the con- 

 duct of the war the United States 

 has acted precisely as have the other 

 members of the alliance. Indeed the 

 L'nited States has taken leadership in 

 making the alliance stronger and firmer 

 through a common command of the 

 fighting forces, through cooperation in 

 the feeding of the Allies, and through 

 apportionment of the materials of war. 



In the second place, even if we had 

 not already abandoned the policy of 

 isolation, sooner or later it would have 

 been necessary to do so under the condi- 

 tions of the modern world. The policy 

 ma}^ have been wise when the Atlantic 

 Ocean was a great gulf between Amer- 

 ica and Europe. Transportation and 

 communication were so slow that the 

 United States could pursue policies in- 

 dependent of those followed in Europe. 

 ]S!"ow, however, that communication is 

 instantaneous and transportation so 

 rapid that goods cross the Atlantic in 

 less than a week, and the trade of each 



nation depends upon materials derived 

 from other nations, isolation is no 

 longer possible. The world has become 

 one body, and no great member of it 

 can proceed independently of the other 

 members. They must act together ; and 

 this is possible only through formal 

 treaty covenants. 



It seems clear that if the United 

 States now shirks the responsibility of 

 entering the League of Free Xations, it 

 is inevitable that some time in the fu- 

 ture she will again be obliged to inter- 

 vene in a war for wliich slie is in noway 

 responsible and the initiation of which 

 she has no means to control. Because of 

 the intimate international relations, if 

 a world conflagration again start, it is 

 almost inevitable that we shall be drawn 

 into it precisely as we were into this. 



Finally it should be pointed out that 

 the proposal to join a League of Free 

 Xations is fundamentally different from 

 joining an alliance of the kind which 

 was meant when the doctrine of avoid- 

 ing entangling alliances was developed. 

 The danger of joining an alliance is that 

 this alliance will get into armed conflict 

 with another alliance. The plan of bal- 

 ance of powers between alliances in 

 Europe we know has led to disastrous 

 wars from time to time. If it were 

 proposed that the L^nited States should 

 enter into an alliance with one or two 

 powers of Europe, the objection would 

 hold that it would be entering into an 

 entangling alliance ; but the proposal is 

 that the United States shall enter a 

 League of Free Nations which shall, at 

 the outset, include the great dominant 

 free nations, and which shall finally in- 

 clude practically all nations. This is 

 not an alliance, but a step toward co- 

 operative world organization, and there- 

 fore World Peace. Xot only should the 

 United States enter the League of Free 

 Xations, but she should take the posi- 

 tion of leadership in its formation to 

 which she is entitled by the commanding 

 influence she is exercising at the pres- 

 ent time in the councils of the world. 



