“There came to us the divine opportunity to act quickly and with high Christian purposes.  We might with one stroke have become the counselor and friend of all humanity, its guarantor that all the forces of morality would be enlisted upon the side of peace.  But the precious moments were wasted in fruitless discussion, in idle bickerings, in invention of fancied situations, purposely forgetting that the great purpose of the League of Nations was to band the world together in a great brotherhood against war.  We were to lead the nations back to peaceful ways but through our own wavering we actually, by reason or a small coterie of men, we think wrongly advised, have drenched Europe and Asia with new wars.

“The great heart of America has always been right upon this great issue.  There has never been a time when associations of men and women, independent of partisanship, have turned from the League proposal.  America gave freely in alms to every war-torn nation in the world.  She sent her devoted bands of workers to relieve distress.  She sent her nurses to heal the sick.  She sent her contributions to feed the hungry.  She opened her warehouses to clothe the naked.  She willingly gave her talent, through private auspices, to help bring life back to normal.  Her men of finance gave counsel; they offered credit and we applauded.  We were touched by the works of associations and individuals to lessen war’s terrors and to refound the wrecked civilization.  But foolish men, vain men, envious men forbade our government to do in larger form the same sort of acts which, done by private auspices, we applauded as evidence of Christian purpose.

“And the good that we sought to do was lost in our larger neglect.  Weak fears that in helping the world, fantastic forebodings that in taking our stand for peace everlasting, imaginary perils that in service we might be surrendering our birthright of independence restrained our more noble impulses.  While famine stalked and the world cried to heaven for our help we debated selfish questions.  Our nation became a silent but effective partner in undermining Christian civilization, causing the despairing peoples of Europe, friend and enemy alike, to turn in every agony to those who denied the fundamental precepts upon which our society rests.

“Some one has called this black despair, ‘Satanism,’ the belief that the laws and deeds of God and men are set against the victim.  And we, through the perversity of a few men, have been silent enemies of Christian faith and allies, indeed, or this newer scourge of mankind.  There are happiness and satisfaction in the thought that we have not this fault to bear.  It is not strange to us that those who permitted narrow views and ungenerous purpose to thwart our nation in its duty rest uncomfortably under the accusations of the American conscience.  If temporary success is to be won at such sacrifice we cannot think it worth the price.