The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-08-29

my judgment / have not the power by
proclamation to declare that peace
exists, but that / could in no circum-
prior to the ratification of q formal
treaty of peace. / feel 1t due to per-
feet frankness to say that 1t would in
my opinion put q stain upon our ma
tional honor which we never could
efface If, after sending our men TO he
battle field to fight the common cause,
we should abandon our associates in
the war in the settlement of the terms
Of peace and dissociate ourselves
from all responsibility with regard to
those terms.
Il respectfully suggest that, having
said this, / have in effect answered.
also your second, third and fourth
questions so far as l myself am con-
cerned.
Peace When Treaty Is Ratified.
Permit me to answer your fifth
question by saying that the provisions
Of the treaty to which you refer oper-
ate merely to establish peace between
the powers ratlfying, and that 1t is
questionable whether it can be said
that the League of Nations is i'm any
true sense created by the association
Of only three of the allied end asSo-
ciated governments.
I'm reply to your sixth question, |
can only express the confident opinion
that the immediate adoption of the
treaty, along with the articles of the
covenant of the league as written,
would certainly within the near future
reduce the cost of living in this coun-
try as elsewhere, by restoring produc-
ton and m to their normal
strength and freedom.
"FOr your convenience, l will num-
Der the remaining paragraphs of this
letter as the questions to which they
are intended to reply are numbered.
wi. l have had no official infor-
nation as TO whether Norway, Swe-
den, Denmark, Holland, or Switzer.
land will join the league.
"VIII. / answered your eighth quos-
ton in reply to a question asked me Mt
our conference the other day. (This
/ question referred to licensing of ex-
ports to Germany
"IX. Tn February, 1917, Spain was
requested to take charge of American
interests in Germany through her Dip
lomatic and consular representatives,
and no other arrangement has since
been made.
az. The committee TO prepare plans
for the organization of the league, for
the establishment of the seat Of the
league and for the proceedings of the
first meeting Of the assembly, has been
appointed, but has not reported.
XXI. Article rs Of the peace treaty.
part ", under which Germany re-
nounce all her rights to territory for
merly belonging to herself or TO her
allies was understood, so far as spe-
cial provision was not made in the
treaty itself, for it's disposition. as
constituting principal allied and asso-
ciated powers the authority by which
such disposition should ultimately be
determined. 1t conveys no title to
those powers. but merely intrusts the
disposition Of the territory in question
to their decision.
"XII. Germany's remuneration in
favor of the principal allied and asso-
ciatcd powers Of her rights and titles
to her overseas possessions is meant
similarly to operate rs vesting in those
powers q ~trusteeship with respect to
their final disposition and government.
LEAGUE to Pass on Disposition.
XIII. There has been IL provisional
agreement as TO the disposition Of
these overseas possessions, whose con
firmation and execution is dependent
upon the approval of the League Of Ma
tons, and the United States is q party
to that provisional agreement.
XIV. The only agreement between
France and Great Britain with regard
to African territory. Of which ! am
cognizant, concerns the ~redisposition
of rights already possessed by those
countries on that continent. The pro-
visional agreement referred to In the
preceding paragraphs covers all the
German overseas possessions in Africa
as well as elsewhere.
XIV. No mention was made in con-
nection with the settlement of the
Saar basin of the service OF an Amer
lean member of the commission Of five
to be set up there.
"XVI. II was deemed wise that the
United States should be represented by
one member Of the commission for set
Ting the new frontier lines of Belgium
and Germany, because Of the universal
opinion that Americas representative
would add to the commission a useful
element OF entirely disinterested judy
ment.
League to Pick Saar Commission.
'"XvT. The choice Of the commits
| sion for the Saar basin was left to the
| council Of the League of Nations, be-
cause the Saar basin Is for 10 years TO
be directly under the care and direc-
ton Of the League of Nations.
xviii. Article So does In effect pro-
vide that five Of the members Of the