Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-06-11
COUNSELS OF FOLLY
ON THE PEACE TREATY
The Knox Resolution Contains the Mad
dest and Most Pernicious Propo-
sitions Yet Made

international crisis than are contained in
the Knox resolution offered in the Sen
ate within two or three hours after the
appearance of the Congressional Record
yesterday morning containing the full
text of the peace treaty in the form IN
which it was submitted to Germany.
The resolution is apparently intended
as complete reputation Of the course
of the President in Paris. 1t disputes
the constitutional power of the Senate to
ratify any such treaty as the President
| has assisted in negotiating. And it
charges that the treaty contains prin-
ciple,. guarantees and undertakings OBJ
! lucrative Of legitimate race and national
| aspiration, oppressive Of weak nations
and peoples and destructive Of human
progress and liberty
In Senator KnOX's CaEcrnCss to smite
! the President he has delivered blow at
| the honesty of purpose of every one of
| the Allied nations which has participated
in framing the treaty. He charges France
and Great Britain, Italy and Japan, by
| implication. with conscnting to principles
oppressive Of weak nations and destruc-
| tive Of human progress and liberty.
This is a grave charge to be made by
a former secretary of state. who Is one
| of the leaders Of the party in power in
| the legislature of one Of the nations en-
gagged in making peace. 1t matters not
| whether the Senate adopts or rejects the
resolution when it comes to a vote. The
mischief has been done by its introduce
tion and publication. 1t gives aid and
comfort to Germany, which has been
quick to take advantage of every differ
ercc Of opinion among the peace dele
gates of which it could learn. 1t will
stiffen the backbone of Count Won Brock
dorff- -Rantzau and his colleagues, who are
to be told that they must sign the treaty
within a few days. 1t will weaken the
power of the President in Paris through
its announcement to the whole world that
the leaders of the Senate majority do not
accept him as the spokesman for Amer
lea. We say "thc leaders," because it is
incredible that Senator Knox should have
offered his resolution without the knowl-
edge and consent of his associates.
While protesting to desire the peace Of
the world and the early agreement on the
| treaty, Senator Knox seems to have acted
without any sense of responsibility for
| the consequences Of his course, and to be
seeking partisan advantage no matter
at what cost 1t is most unfortunate and
is to be regretted by every American who
cares more fol the equitable settlement
of the problem of peace than he does for
putting the leaders of any political party
in hole.
After announcing that Congress de-
clared war upon Germany and pledged
the resources of the country to bring the
conflict to a successful termination, the
resolution declares that the Senate,
"being a coequal part of the treaty
making power" is gravely impressed by
the fact that the provisions of the treaty
"appear calculated to force upon US un-
desirable and far-reaching covenants
nimical to our free institutions" and
that if it fails to accept these our CO.
belligerents may be at peace while we
shall be at war. This is aimed at the
league e-of-nations section of the treaty
and it begs the whole question by assum-
ing that it is admitted that the league
would be inimcal to our free institutions.
The third paragraph in the preamble
| goes even farther by denouncing the
| treatment accorded to the little peoples
| as oppressive and destructive of human
| progress, as quoted above. If the treaty
is as bad as all this, then its ratification
should not be considered at all, either
with or without the league of atoms
section in it.
But we all know that a serious at
| tempt has been made by all the delegates
| l. l..
| the independence and autonomy of the
small nations. The Poles and the Czecho-
! Slovaks and the Serbans are under no
| delusion about what has been done for
them. Their leaders are protesting graft
tude for the opportunity which the treaty
guarantees to them to live their own
life in their own way. They are certainly
as good witnesses as could be found to
testify on this matter
The first section of the resolution an
nounces that the Senate will regard as
adequate to our national needs treaty
(which shall assure to the United States
and its people the attainment of those
ends for which we entered the war;" but
nothing is said about what those
ends were; whether they were to make
the world, including the United States.
safe for democracy, or whether they were
merely to secure a military victory over
Germany, to be followed by renewal of
the commercial treaties which the break
ing out of war nullifed.
Then it is resolved that the constitu-
tion cannot be amended by treaty and
that the Senate cannot consent to any
treaty which would change the constitu-
ton. This is mere fubdub.
There is nothing in the treaty which
trespasses in any way upon the consti-
tutional functions of Congress. Particu-
lar pains have been taken to respect the
constitutional limitations placed upon the
President and upon Congress. There are
some lawyers who say that the effort has
not been successful; but equally good