Omaha daily bee., 1919-09-12
START BATTLE ON
RATIFYINC PEACE
treaty MONDAY
Senator Hitchcock Presents
Minority Report Signed by
All Democratic Com.
mittee Members.


committee minority report, the
peace treaty, with its covenant for
a league OF nations, was made ready
today for the ratification battle No
be waged about it in the senate.
By general agreement this will
not begin until Monday. Meanwhile,
however, republicans, claiming
enough votes to prevent ratification
without reservations, were urged by
Chairman Lodge of the foreign re-
lations committee to stay on the job
until final disposition is made of the
treaty, weeks hence, perhaps.
With as little formahty as that
attending the presentation yester-
day of the majority report, Senator
Hitchcock, leader of the adminstra-
ton forces, today submitted the mi
nority report, signed by all the dem
ocratic members of the committee
except Senator Shields Oh Tennes-
see, who stood out tor reservations
to the league covenant.
Without attempting specifically to
answer majority charges against
certain provisions of the convention
as brought back from Paris by Pres
ident Wilson, the minority urged
speedy adoption without modifca-
ton, or in precisely the form laid
before the senate two, months ago.
Change Predicts Loss.
Rejection or change, the report
declared, meant loss by this country
of all concessions obtained from the
enemy by dictated peace, includ-
ing Germany's acknowledgement of
responsibility for the war. Denial
was made of Chairman Lodges
statement that the peace conference
still was in session for consideration
Of textual amendments the report
declaring that Germany. once hav-
ing signed the treaty, might not be
disposed to sign it again.
The minority at the outset charg-
ed that the treaty could have been
reported out long ago by the COM
mittee which was trying to destroy
it by reservations. No reference
was made to republican attacks on
the award of Shantung province to
Japan or the inequality of the voting
power in the league for the United
States as compared with Great
Britain. The report set forth a de-
tense and explanation of the league
covenant, described as the best hope
of the world ."even if like all human
instrumentalities it be not divinely
perfect in every detail" "
Deploring delay to which the
document had been subjected, the
report asserted that the industrial
world was in ferment, the financial
world in doubt, and that this was
caused "by the majority of a COM
mittee known to be out of harmony
with the majority of the senate and
The majority of the people"
Republicans Getting Together.
Formal reporting of majority and
minority views was of secondary
however, to continuation of
private conferences by republicans
in efforts to agree with COM
promise reservation program. Sen
ators active in the negotiations said
complete agreement was near-one
which would insure support Of all
forty-nine republicans and proba-
bly, number of democrats. This
program does not contemplate for
NAL or informal announcement of
a compromise in the near future
and probably not until the close
Of discussion of the treaty when
will be in order.
1t was said new assurances had
been given by democratic senators
today that modification of the
Lodge reservations predicted now
by leaders Of factions advocating
both strong and mild reservations
would make considerable demo-
cratic support virtually certain.
Proposed Substitutes.
Senator Lodge had before him for
Of the strong" reserva-
tionists, it was said, proposed sub
stitutes of the mild" reservation
group of republicans.
After the minority report had
been presented Senator Harding of
Ohio, republican member of the for
eign relations committee, spoke at
length, against the treaty and its
league covenant, declaring he would
vote for amendments. When he
concluded the galleries broke into
vigorous applause, which Vice Pres
ident Marshall endeavored to check.
Warning was given by the vice
president that the rules committee
would have to say whether the rule
against applause during considera-
tion of the treaty was to be en-
forced, declaring visitors paid no
more attention to standing regula-
tions than to a last years bird
nest"
Senator Williams, democrat, Mis-
Yssippi, put into the record an edi-
torial from New York newspaper
characterizing the Lodge report as
Prussianized. All of the allies, SEN
ator Williams asserted, were "in-
suited" by the majority report sug-
gestion that the peace conference
might we'll be occupied in re-nego-
tiation of the Germany treaty in
stead of considering Grecian, Italian
and other territorial disputes.
The spirit of insult" the senator
declared, "is oozing out of that re-
port against everybody in the world
with whom we are allied"
Senator Williams charged that
Senator Lodge was trying to defeat
the league of nations indirectly, if
he could not do 50, directIv