Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-09-25
CHANGES TO
DOOM PACT
WILSON SAYS
President Hurls Threat at
Foes - Amendments
Mean League Lost.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
(SnnciaI to The ArpuS

t0PCNldA " 4 AlC al u.s.
Denver, Colo, Sept. 25.-Presi-
dent Wilson has at last told the
country what he would do if the
senate insisted upon changing the
meaning of the treaty by means OF
reservations. He did not in his
speech at Cheyenne say he would
regard all reservations as a dis
approval of the treaty of peace
but he went definitely on record in
saying he would be Obliged to re-
gard the Lodge reservation on ar
ticle 10 as a rejection of the treaty.
That means, he added, the neces-
sity of negotiating a separate
peace with Germany, as the other
powers, Mr.. Wilson declares, will
soon have ratified the present
treaty and put it into operation.
For several days the president
has been approaching this climax.
He has been reading the newspa-
pers' accounts of the senate activ-
tiles and he has insisted to his au-
diences that many of the men who
are favoring reservations" are
high-minded men but that they did
not realize or fully understand
what would be the consequence of
their action.
DenOuncPS 1t Unsparingly
The presidents denunciation of
the proposed reservation to article
10 was unsparing. After reading
it's text whereby it is suggested
that the United States would as
sumo no obligation to preserve the
territorial integrity of any nation
and would be exempt from all ac-
tion except in those cases wherein
the congress might direct, the pres
ident declared that such a reserva-
tion meant that America made no
general promise but left it to 9TH
er nations to guess always what
she would do. I'VE won't join it
now but occasionally" is what the
president said America would
mean by such a reservation. 1--WE
won't cooperate now. but from
time to time we may cooperate"
The president made it very clear
that such a course would involve
uncertainty and would take from
beneath the structure of peace its
props and foundations. "It means
LuG 1GJtNIlOh VI the II CaLEs CdlNl
Mr.. Wilson, and the crowd at Chey-
enne listened in solemn awe
Means What He Says.
Mr. wilson's threat to regard
the reservation on article 10 as a
of the treaty is not an
empty one He has fully consid-
cred the consequences of his state
ment. He was inclined to go as
far as that in his Salt Lake speech,
but absence of definite advices CON
Cerning the senate's intentions may
have swerved him from his orig
inaI purpose. At any rate, he made
the issue clear when he reached
where he declared also
that the organized forces of oppo-
sition outside the congressional
halls were the hyphenated Amer
leans and prO-German forces which
tended toward disloyalty during
the war
1.-The issue is final" he said. I'VE
can't avoid it, we have got to make
it now and once made we cannot
turn back We must either go in
and guarantee the peace of the
world or stay out until some dark
and disastrous day and seek ad-
mission with Germany"
Has Cast the Die.
So the president has cast the die.
And the whole burden of his
speeches hereafter will be toward
ielineation of the forces which he
IS convinced are trying to bring
lbout separate peace with Ger
many and a rejection of the treaty
1y means of destructive reserva-
ions. The president realizes that
many of the proposed reservations
nave no such purpose, that they
mean only to clarity language of
he covenant, so the discussion
Will now center on what kind of
do alter the meaning
If the contract and what reserva-
ions it will be possible for the !
PRESIDENT to defend as he ap-
)roaches the other nations and |
Lsks their acquiescence in such un- !
reservations as the |
enate may finally put into the rati-
ying resolution.
TwO-third Vote Needed.
Dut even 1LouSA d AldJOI Atg HOle /
nay insert in the ratifying resolu- |
ion amendments or reservations /
uch as are proposed with respect |
o article 10. a two-thirds vote is |
Ieeded ultimately to pass the rati-
ying resolution and rather than |
iut the United States senate in the /
position of rejecting the treaty or /
,utting language into it which |
would mean resubmission or re- !
Iewal negotiations with Germany,
sufficient number of senator's, a
title more than one-third. could |
Continued on Page Thirteen.)