New-York tribune., 1919-03-20
Both lodge and Lowell
In World League Debate
Say Pact Needs Changes
Continued from page (

obscurely drawn. /. 1t seems to me that
Lord Robert Cecil, who, l believe, is
principally responsible for it, should
have put it in the hands of a parlia-
mentary craftsman before it was sub
mitted. A constitution or treaty
ought to be in legal, statutory or con-
stitutional language, and not in the
| language selected for this purpose.
"The language of that draft is of i'm
mense Importance, because it is neces-
sary that there should be just as few
differences of opinion as to the mean
ing of the articles of that draft as hu-
man ingenuity can provide against. No
man, be he President or Senator, can
fix what the Interpretation of that
draft is.
''The draft itself, the articles them
selves, should answer as far as possible
all questions. There is no court to
pass upon them. They would have to
be decided by the nine powers whose
representatives compose the Executive
Council. The people who are for this
draft of league and those who are
against it differ about construction of
nearly every article; and, not only that,
but those who are for it differ among
themselves, and those who are against
it differ among themselves as to it's
construction. There will be differences
strument. There will be differences
arising before twelvemonth has
passed among the very nations that
signed it."
"Mr. Taft said on the 7th of March
Undoubtedly the covenant needs
revision. 1t is not symmetrically ar
ranged, it's meaning has to be dug out,
and the language is ponderous and in
diplomatic patois.'
II have said nothing about the draft
as. severe or as we'll put and as thor
oughly descriptive as that.
Another question point which ap-
plies not only to the necessity of clear
and definite language in the great in
strument but to the whole treaty, or
to any treaty or any alliance or league
that we make, is this - that the
sanctity of treaties is above every
thing else important.
Whatever a country agrees to, that
it must maintain.
Many British Suggestions
Seen i'm the Covenant
"This scheme for league now be-
fore us creates number of new
contracts, number of new relations,
which nations have not undertaken
before to create. There have been
many league. There is nothing new
in the idea of league. They go
back to the days of Greece. There
is the Peace of Westphalia, the League
of Cambria. believe there are some
thirty altogether in the pages of his
tory, none of them very successful,
and in the Holy Alliance of 1915 an
other attempt was made, and that time
league to preserve peace. But we
are approaching this league on a diff
ferent basis and on different theory
from any, / believe, ever attempted.
We are reaching for a great object,
playing for a great stake. But we
are creating new contracts. There
fore, we should examine all the prop
ositions with the utmost care before
we give our consent to them.
"The sanctity of treaties lies at the
basis of all peace, and therefore we
mnst be as careful as possible to re-
move all chances of disagreement aris-
ing out of conflicting interpretations Of
language.
GAS l have said, my first con-
structive criticism is that we should
have revision of the language and
form of the draft.
"Now, in discussing the draft of the
league | can deal only with the most
important points. To analyze those ar
ticles of that league as they should be
analyzed would take many hours.