Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-06-12
THIS is NOT A NATION
OF WELCRERS AND CUTTERS
The Sooner the Senate Republican Lead
ership Learns It the Better for
the Country

the Country
THE Republicans in the Senate are
l. suffering from ,aCk Of intelligent
leadership. They are foundcring around
after the fashion of the Democrats Of
generation ago seeking for some new
issue on which they can attack the Dem
ocrats.
There are plenty of Cd issues on which
the Republicans have won campaign after
campaign They arc still alive, and the
principles behind them arc part Of the
fabric of Republican history. The APP
0ljca' on Of thosc principles to present
cond tions is what is needed to carry the
nation through the grave crisis Of the
yostoia alton Of industry to peace basis
and to the solution Of tho new problems
which have arisen out Of the wreck of the
industrial systems Of Europe.
But instead Of concentrating their at
tont'on ani the attention Of the nation
on the great principles behind the his
tc,ic Republican policies. the Senate lead
crsh y is doing its best to make the honor
Of the nation in international affairs
party is.uc. They have done their best
to destroy Whatever influence the Presi-
dent has in Paris because, forsooth, he is
a Democrat.
NJ. Wilson is a Democrat at home, and
a pcrniciously active Democrat, too, if
you will: but IN Paris he is the President
of the United Stnt.s, fghting the battles
Of the United States in tho Peace Confer
cnco and using h.s bost Judgment in at
tcr-pting to bring about an agreement Of
the nations On The terms Of peace and on
plans to make the cmhroilmont of the
world by any nation diiiicUlt N the future
Tho policy cf sniring and firing in the
back which has consistently been fol-
lowed fNr many months does rot weaken
NJ. Wilson 81 much as it urdermings The
influence Of tho United States itself in
the Peace Corf, rercc. If a deliberate
attempt had leen made to play into the
hands of Germany it would have been
difficult to conceive of a more successful
policy.
There has been no better illustration
of the sublime asininitv Of the Re"ubi-
can leadership in the Senate than that
afforded by the Investigation on into the
charges that "Wall street had secured
copies of the draft of the peace treaty
by Illicit means.
Congress was called in session to pass
tho necessary appropriation bills before
the eXp aticn of the r;scal year at the
end of this month. The President was
denounced for his refusal to call the
extraordinary session earlier, and it was
said that it would be difficult IN the time
allowed to do the work which must be
done.
But the Senate has not been doing the
wcr!s it was summoned to do. 1t has been
playing politics. Page after rage Of the
Congressional Record has been filed with
campaign speeches aimed at TIE league
of nations first and later at the refusal
Of the President to break his word to
TIE Other nations represented in the
Peace Conference and make public on his
own initiative the text Of the treaty. He
might if he had chosen to do so. have
communicated to the Senate committee
on foreign affairs copy of the draft.
1t might have been polite cnursc for
him to have taken. But whether he
should take it or not rested entirely in
his own discretion. Then after Germany
published the treaty we began to hear
that copies of it were in the United
States.
Senator Borah, who comes from the
part of the country where "WaI street"
is used as bugahoo to Tighten babies,
raised that hueaboo in the Senate cham
Der itself, and with fine show of out
ragged virtue charged that by some in
direct way the "nterests" had secured
copies Of the treaty and were making
millions in speculation because Of their
advance knowledge Of its contents. He
said th.s in spite Of the fact that a fairly
faithful summary Of the document had
been made public and in spite of the fact,
also wei. known, that copies Of the treaty
were freely offered for sale in Germany,
in Switzerland, in Holland and even in
Paris itself 1t was, indccd limited shat
tie treaty had been obta ned by bribery.
And what happened? Elihu Root,
former Republican senator from the
state of New York and former Republi-
can secretary of state appeared before
the committee at his own request and
exp aimed that he had shown a COPY Of
the treaty to Senator Lodge 1t had been
brought to this country by Henry P.
Dawson. head of the Red Cross and a
partner in the firm of j. P. Morgan. &
Co.. at time when no ban had been
placed on its publication. Mr.. Dawson
explained that he had obtained it from
his partner, Thomas W. Lamont, one of
~, Gr,Inial alNyi-nrc cf h.
Mr.. Root aso said that other represen-
tatives of big financial interests were
represented among the advisers of the
American delegation and that they all
had copies of the treaty.
The inference is clear, namely, that
these men had participated in framing
the financial clauses of the treaty and
had first-hand knowledge of what it con-
tanned and could not by any possibility
be charged with surreptitiously obtain