League in employing the forces of a nearby State to quell
disturbances in other parts of the world; so that, unless the
struggle be formidable or unless an international force be
needed to allay fear of abuse of power, the forces of the
United States will rarely be called upon to act abroad.

The "entangling alliance" argument is met by a whole
series of facts and considerations. The detached position
of the United States, which obtained in Washington's day,
is shown to have disappeared with the spread of dominion
and interests since then. From a country limited to a
comparatively narrow settlement along the Atlantic sea-
board, the United States has extended its empire over the
continent to the Pacific, has acquired Alaska, Hawaii, the
Philippines, Porto Rico, and the Panama Canal strip, while
a multiplied commerce and social intercourse tie up her
fortunes intimately with the fortunes of other peoples. The
life that pulses through her veins today is the life of the
world and disease in the body politic elsewhere affects her
own health. We have seen that we cannot keep out of a
general world conflict and we risk less by assuming the
obligations of membership in the family of nations and
throwing our great influence in the scale for the preservation
of peace than if we were to attempt isolation and play the
rôle of onlooker until the conflagration drew us irresist-
ibly in.

Our presence will make the potential strength of the
League so overwhelming that the hand of the would-be
aggressor will be stayed, making serious assault on the
world's peace unlikely. In most instances the need for the
actual use of force will be avoided; just as the declared
purpose of the United States to maintain the Monroe
Doctrine has resulted in its being respected without our

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