Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-09-10
SENATE GETS TREATY.
WITH As AMENDMENTS
AND u. S. RESERVATIONS
Treaty Report
as Offered by
Senator Lodge


ident on July 10, 1919. Three days were
consumed in printing the treaty, wnicn
was in two languages and filled e''
quarto pages. The treaty therefore was
not in the possession Of the committee
for action until July IA, 1919. The re-
port upon the treaty was ordered oy the
committee on September 4. Deouctihs
Sundays and holiday. the treaty mas
been before the committee on foreign
relations for forty five days. Tne COM
mittee met on thirty seven OF those
working days, sitting whenever possible
both in the morning and afternoon. Inc
eight working days upon which the COM
mittee did not sit were iost Owing "
unavoidable delays in securing the pres
ence of witnesses summoned by tne
committee. In view Of the fact tnat slx
months were consumed by the peace
conference in making the treaty, IN
addition to a month of work by the
various delegations before the assem-
bling of the conference, the period OF
six weeks consumed by the committee
in considering it does not seem excess
Sive.
These facts are mentioned because
there has been more or less clamor
about delay in the committee. Thls
demand for speed in the consideration
of the most important subject when
ever came before the Senate of the
United States, involving as it does
fundamental changes in the character
of our government and the future OF
our country for an unlimited period,
was largely the work of the admins
tration and it's newspaper organs and
was SO far wholly artificial. Artificial
also was the demand for haste dis
seminated by certain great banking
firms which had direct pecuniary
interest in securing an early opportu-
nifty to reap the harvest which they
expected from the adjustment of the
financial obligations of the countries
which had been engaged in the war.
The third element in the agitation for
haste was furnished by the unthink-
ing outcry of many excellent people
who desired early action and who For
the most part had never read the treaty
or never got beyond the words league
of nations which they believed to
mean the establishment of eternal
peace. To yield helplessly to this
clamor was impossible to those to
whom was intrusted the performance
of a solemn public duty. $50
Responsibility Is Equal.
''The responsibility Of the Senate in
regard to this treaty Is equal to that
of the executive. who, although aided
by a force of thirteen hundred assist
ants, expert and Otherwise, consumed
six months in making it, and the Sem
ate and it's committee on foreign re-
lations cannot dispose of this mo-
mentous document with the light
hearted Indifference desired by those
who were pressing for hasty and
thoughtless action upon it. The COM
mittee was also hampered by the i'm
possibility of securing the full in
formation to which they were entitled
from those who had conducted the
negotiations. The committee was COM
PEELED to get such imperfect informa-
ton as they secured from press re-
ports, by Summoning before them some
helped to frame the complicated f1nan-
cial clauses and certain outside wit
neSseS. AS an illustration in small
way of the difficulties in securing in
formation, it may be stated that no
provision had been made to supply the
Senate with the maps accompanying the
treaty, and it was necessary to send to
Paris to procure them. The only docu-
ments of the many asked for by the
committee which were furnished by
the executive were the American plan
for the league of nations, submitted to
the commission on the league cove
nant. and the composite draft made
IL.
THE treaties with Poland and with
France, as well as the Rhine protocol.
all integral parts of the treaty with
Germany, were obtained by the Sen
ate, prior to their transmission by the
President, from the documents laid
before the house of commons and the
chamber of deputies early in July by
the prime ministers of England and
France. The records of the peace
conference and of the conferences of
the representatives of the five great
powers were asked for by the commit
tee and refused by the executive
The committee had before them the
the American delegates and a signer
of the treaty, and they also had the
privilege of a meeting with the Pres
ident at the White House, which they
had themselves requested. The testi-
mony of the Secretary Of State and
the conversation of the committee
with the President, published in the
record of the committee hearings
have been laid before the country by
the press, and it is not necessary to
say anything further in regard to
them, because the people themselves
know how much information in re-
gard the treaty was received by
the committee upon those two occa-
sions.
Character Well illustrated.
1.-THE character of the clamor for
speedy action is well illustrated by
the fact that i. was directed solely
against the Senate of the United
States and it's committee on foreign
relations. The treaty provides that it
shall go into force when ratified by
Germany and by three OF the princi-
pal allied and associated powers,
which are the United States, France,
Great Britain, Italy and Japan. Great
Britain very naturally ratified at
once, but no one of the other four has
vet acted. Persons afflicted with in
little that the distressed mourners
over delays in the Senate have not
also aimed their criticismSat the like
shortcomings on the part of France,
Italy and Japan, an act of even-hand-
ed justice in faultfinding which they
have hitherto failed to perform.
perhaps it is well also to note and
to consider for moment one of the
reasons given for the demand for hasty
action, which was to the effect that it
was necessary to have prompt ratffica-
ton in order to renew our trade with
Germany, for even the most ardent
advocate of unconsidered action was
unable to urge that the channels Of
trade to the allied countries were not
open. The emptiness of this particular
plea for haste, now rather faded, is
shown by the fact that we have been
trading with Germany ever since the
armistice. Between that event and the
end of July we have exported to Ger
many goods valued at $11.270,624. In
the month of June -aEanexported more
to Germany than we did to Spain. In
July, by orders of the War Trade
Board. the provisions of the trading
act were set aside by
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