Manchester Democrat., 1919-05-21
WHAT THE SENATE CAN DO.
(From the New York World.)

(FrOm the New York World
Technically, at least, Senator Lodge
Is right in his contention that the SEN
ate has power to amend a treaty, to
strike out any clauses that it regards
as Objectionable or to write into it any
provisions that two-thirds Of the Sena-
tors present And voting are agreed
upon. "T1iis has been the practice of
the Senate ever since the Jay treaty
was considered in Washington's time" !"
says Senator Lodge, and the state
ment is historically correct.
-- When the Senator adds, however,
that "the Constitution having declared
that treaty is the highest law of
the land there can be no question
that the Congress alone has the right
to fix the final terms so far as the
United States is concerned, for no
other body can pass laws except Con-
gress," he is talking loosely and care
lessly. Treaty-making is not leg
islative function; it is an executive
function, and the Congress as Con-
gress has nothing to do with it. The
Senate is concerned with it, because
the Constitution makes the Senate
part of the treaty making power, just
as It makes the senate part Of the APP
pointing power by providing that
nominations by the President must be
confirmed by it.
The relations between the President
and the Senate in the matter of treat
les were correctly stated by Senator
Lodge himself in speech in the Sen
ate Jan. "a, 1906, in defense Of Presi-
dent Roosevelt's action in sending
delegates to the Algeciras Conference,
when the Senator from Massachusetts
said:
No one, I think, can doubt
the absolute power of the
President to initiate and carry
on all negotiations, and after
a treaty has been returned to
him with the ratification Of the
Senate, to withhold it from
ratification if he sees fit to do
so.
In his debate on the League OF
Nations with President Lowell of Har-
ward, in March, Senator Lodge tried
to maintain the thesis that President
Wilson should be only the agent Sand
messenger boy of the Senate in negotia-
ting the treaty Of peace in Paris, but
this was mere partisan pettifogging.
Senator Lodge was right Jan. "a, 1906.
and wrong March 10, 1919.
Senator Lodge and his Republican
associates can amend the treaty OF
peace with Germany il they have
enough votes. They. can rewrite 1t
il they have enough votes. They can
eliminate the League of Nations; they
can declare that Alsace-Lorraine must
be returned to Germany; they can
strike out the reparation clauses; they
can restore the German colonies. They
can do anything they please-if they
have the votes.
Bnts the treaty, when they have
amended it and modified it, will not
be q treaty. The power then reverts
to the president. He can toss the SEN
ate's treaty into the waste
basket He can refuse outright
to enter into negotiations to
bring about acceptance on the part of
the other Governments in the Senate's
changes. He can hold that the Senate
has completely subverted the objects
of the original instrument and that the
whole proceeding has been nullified.
or he can send the original treaty
back to the Senate with a plea for
ratification in its original form and
an appeal to the public opinion OF
the country to support him.
The Senate cannot negotiate
treaty; it cannot make the President
accept its amendments or its interpre-
tation of treaty, any more than it
can make him nominate John Doe
by rejecting his nomination of Rich
ard Roe. The last word is with the
president. The Senate can obstruct