New-York tribune., 1919-09-26
A Strange Reversal

Since turning east from California
President Wilson's attitude toward rcser-
vations to the league covenant has under
gone a violent change All the way to
the Coast he treated the reservations as
merely literary surplusage. They offered
the United States, he said, no guarantees
which were not implicit in the original
text. The Senate reservations, he argued,
had not sufficient positive content to JUS
tify the delay and inconvenience which
would result from the necessity for sub
hitting them for approval by the other
Allied powers.
Suddenly the President has discovered
that Reservation Two "cuts the heart
out of the covenant" Some of the news
papers supporting ratification without
qualifications had, originally put forward
this criticism, bat dropped it when it
was seen to be hopelessly in conflict with
the Presidents view The public wasn't
at all prepared for reversal of the
Presidents position. This was anus
ingly illustrated at the meeting in Salt
Lake City. The President read to
friendly audience there the following
paraphrase OF the Senate Foreign Rela-
tons Committees second reservation:
The United States assumes no obliga
ton under the provisions of Article X to
preserve the territorial integrity or polit-
cal independence of any other country or
to interfere in controversies between other
nations, whether members of the league or
not, or to employ military and naval forces
of the United States under any article for
any purpose unless in any particular case
Congress which under the Constitution
has the sole power to declare war or
authorize the employment Of military and
naval forces Of the United States shall
by act or joint resolution so declare'
The audience started to applaud 1t
sympathlzed with the purpose of the
reservation and evidently expected the
president to go on and say that proper
Interpretation Of Article X, as it stands.
leaves Congress free to determine in
each individual case whether it will or
VIII not accept a recommendation from
the league council. On the contrary. he
exclaimed: IF you have a knife in YOUR
hands with which you intend to cut out
the heart Of the covenant apn)aud
This is rejection Of the cove
nant'
IN ms conference with the members Of
'ne Senate Foreign Relations Committee
on August l9, when the treaty was dis
cnsSed without passion and with apalvtj-
caI precision, the President agreed in
principle, to all the ideas expressed in
''e pafaphrase reservation which he
READ at Salt Lake City. 1t is worth
"hlie 70 go back to that discussion. for
1t represents certain definite undar-
s'a"oifigS arrived at between the Presi-
dent and the official spokesmen of the
Senate
AT that meeting there was long dis
cusslon Of the character of the ohloo.
tion resting on the United States RI .;va
heed TO a recommendation made bv the
council. under the provisions of Article
\. The President SAID that there would
be no legal obligation, but only a moral
one, and that in the case of everv moral
obligation an element of judgment would
enter Senator Brandegee supposed a
case like the recent invasion of Hun
gary by Rumanla, and asked whether the
United States would be bound to send
troops TO protect Hungary. at request
to that effect made by the council. The
President answered:
Il quite agree with you that moral
obligation is to be fulfilled, and | am
confident that our nation Will fulfil II.
but that does not remove from each in
d'vidual case the element of judgment.
which w Arg frss to sxsrciss in two