Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-08-22
Answers QUESTIONS
OF SENATOR FALL OH
VERSAILLES TREATY
Friends of League Plan
StrategyinSenate-Hitch-
cock DiscIains Support Of
Pittn1an Resolution

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21.-Presi
dent Wilson has not the power To
declare peace by proclamation, ."
could he consent in any circun
stances to take such a course prior
to the ratification of a formal treaty
of peace by the senate The pres
dent so wrote Senator Fall today
answer to one of the twenty wrI,
ten questions the senator presented
at the White House conference Tues
day.
Replying to another question, the
president said the provision of the
treaty that it should come into force
after ratifcat ton by Germany and
three of the principal ASSOCIATED
powers and that It was questionable
whether it can be said that the
League of Nations is in anv true
sense created by the association OF
only three of the allied and asso-
| ciated governments"
AS to the question of when normal
| conditions might be restored, the
| president said he could only express
the confident opinion that immediate
ance of the covenant of the league
| as written would "rcetainly within
| tn near future .educe the cost of
living" both in this country and
| abroad through the restoration of
production and. commerce to normal.
German Possessions
To Senator Falls question ting
! to the disposition of Germany's DOS
sessions, the president said the
! agreemen in the treaty conve d no
title to the allied or associated pow
ers. but merely "entrusts disposition
of the territory in question to their
decision"
"Germany's renunication in favor
of the principal allied and associated
| powers" the president contlnu,,t.
"of her rights and titles to her over
seas possessions is meant sim atIv
| to operate as vesting in those powe
a trusteeship with respect of the"
fiji II DISPOSE m and government"
"There has been p.ovis,n}l
agreement" the president uddeu
this connection. "as to tn. diSpo-
sition of these overseas possuss'uD
whose confirmation and execution :
dependent upon the appr oval of vsier
Legue of Ntions, and the unhy
States is party to that provision =
agreement" 1F~
The president said the only a"rr
ment between France and q. :
British with regard to African te,
tory of which he was cognizant. con-
cerned redisposition of rights a
ready possessed by them on Il.
continent.
1t was deemed wise, he said, tn
the United States should be re-
scented by one member of the CON
mission for settling the new 'front.'
| lines of Belgium and Germany 'be
cause of the universal opinion thai
Americ's representative would add T.
the commission useful element oi
entirely disinteersted judgment"
The same thought applied, he add H.
| to appointment of an American re -
! resentative on the commission
up to exercise authority over tua
plebiscite in upper Silesia.
The president wrote the senate
he had no official information as 10
whether Norway, Sweden, Denmarn
Holland or Switzerland would joI
che legue.
Senator Falls fifth question WIS
divided into four parts: Whether tbs
League of Nations is established
after three allied powers and Gei-
many have ratified the treaty; whetn-
er all provisions OF the treaty are
! in full force as to such ratifying
powers; whether as to the two re-
United States, the state of war viii
terminate, although the particular
terms of the treaty itself will not
be in force or such non-ratifying
poWers;" and whether such last pow
ers will not be members of the
| league.
The sixth question was "by what
process" will the immediate adop-,
ton of the treaty and covenant
within the near future or one of
two more years reduce rentals, costs
of necessaries, etc?
Administration leaders in the sen.
ate hope, by careful strategy, to OBJ
tain ratification of the peace treaty
without reservations. it became ap'
parent today.
Rejection by treaty opponents of
President wilson's suggestion thai
selves with a separate, interpreta-
tive resolution, such as Senator Pitt
| man introduced yesterday, was the
answer today to the first move in
the administration campaign.
The refusal to accept the Pittman
plan was followed by equally EN-
phatic disavowal by Senator Hitcn
cock, the administration leader of
| Senator Pittmans resolution as al
| administration measure.
| Though Senator Pittman averred
| that his resolution was intended to
carry out President Wilson's person
! ally-eXpressed idea sof the way the
! demands of reservationists should b.
| taken care of. Senator Hitchcock de.
/ clared that he is as much against
| any sort of reservations as he ever
| was.
Administration senators now are
| trying to work out parliamentary
! tactics which will force reservation
| lists to showdown. If possible
| they want to force the senate to
vote. squarely on the issue Of rati-
| f1cation or rejection. In such a case
! they are confident, the demand for
! reservations will not prove strong
| enough to beat the treaty.
Ferguson Testifaz-
DR.. John G. r erg uson, ADVISOR ~
| the president of China on the Shan
tuns award, was again before the
senate foreign relations committee
| China to accept the Fl demands made
| early in 1915. Among other threats
| by which Japan gained her will,-Mr
! Ferguson said, was one that Japan
| would not return Kiao Chow to China
unless the 81 demands were granted.
Alabama First Bale
Is Sold for $3.50
TROY. Ala. Aug. 21.-The FIRST