The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-11-20
SENATEvS FAILURE TO
RAITFY WILL NOT KEEP
WORLD PEACE IN CHECK

900 worth of goods from that country
and sent it goods valued at about 3d.
100000. For the nine months ending
with September, the import trade tai
lied nearly S3,000,000 and exports
about $34,000,00 This compared with
pre-war exports of about $275000 900
| for nine month period. A further in
crease was to be looked for in the fig
ures for October.
Who Owns German Ships?
The Senate's failure to act left on
the hands of the administration a big
collection of knotty problems, chief
among which is the question of prop
erty rights in the German ships and
other property of enemy aliens seized
by the government in this country
The state department experts said
there is no legal sanction for retention
of this property unless the treaty,
which contains provision legalizing 1t,
is ratified.
As corollary to this problem, stands
the question of what is to become OF
the vast American interests in Ger
many, especially if the technical state
of war is to continue and no American
consuls or diplomatic representatives
are to be sent to take up the subject
directly.
In these property questions is under
stood to lie one of the chief objection
able features of the administration to
the plan of the Republican leaders to
declare the state of war ended by a res
olution OF Congress. Without the
treaty provisions, officials say a state
of peace would leave this country in
an awkward position when it came TO
establish its title to the German ships
and the other German interests taken
over and in many cases liquidated by
the alien enemy property custodian,
There Is every evidence, however,
that the Republican leaders in Congress,
anxious to get the country to an actual
peace basis so that many wartime leg
islative provisions may be erased and a
more normal legal foundation placed
under the country's trade, are going
ahead with their plan Of declaring
peace by resolution as soon as the new
Congress meets.
Another Bitter Fight in View.
A resolution making such declara-
ton was introduced by Senator Lodge
after three attempts to ratify the
treaty had failed Not only Is it ex-
pected to start another bitter fight in
the new session but, if it is passed, the
constitutional authority of Congress to
take such a step is sure to be ques
toned In the opinion of some officials
situation viii result which only the
supreme court can untangle.
As presented by Senator Lodge the
peace resolution is concurrent"
measure Of the nature which, under
Senate practice for many years, does
not require the signature of the presi
dent. But the administration 'sena
tors are prepared to urge against its
validity the following provision Of the
constitutions
every order, resolution or vote to
which the concurrence Of the Senate
and House of Representatives may be
necessary, Except on question Of adj
iournmentl shall be presented to the
president of the United States; and be
fore the same shall take effect shall be
approved by him, or being disapproved
by him. shall be re-passed by two
thirds of the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives according to the rules and
limitations prescribed in the case of a
bill
Under this provision the administra-
tion senators say that any concurrent
resolution meeting with the dsapproy-
al Of the chief executive could be We
toed or disregarded by him and never
could be re-passed by thirds vote.
The reply of the Republicans is that
the constitutional limitation applies to
legislation only and that the sole right
of Congress to declare war carries with
it the right to declare peace.
In that situation, many officials fore.
see a possibility that the president
and Congress may soon find themselves
in disagreement which viii have to
be thrown into the courts to be decided.
On such a question, the courts would
be without precedent, and it is taken
for granted that only ruling from the
highest tribunal in the land would be
accepted as final.
No "Wet" Season Probable.
Foremost of all the domestic prob
lens waiting on some sort of peace
declaration is prohibition. Hopes have
about disappeared for an end of the
wartime act by Senate ratification of
the treaty in time to permit a wet sea
son before the constitutional amend
ment becomes effective Jan l6.. With
a constitutional controversy developing
about a declaration Of peace by rosolu-
tion, that avenue begins to look almost
4 equally inaccessible.
The hope of the vets therefore has
been transferred to the supreme court,
before which proceedings to test the
validity of the wartime law were
urged to-day
Food and Fuel Control.
But liquor is by no means the only
consideration involved in the continua-
tion of technical state of war. Until
peace is declared formally, war.t time
| food and fuel control powers of the ex-
ecutive are in full force and the espion-
age act operates unimpaired Members
of Congress are mindful also that the
war legislation authorizing govern
ment operation of railroads gave the
president power, if he chose, to hold the
railway systems until q months after
peace shall have been accomplished. He
has announced, however, that he will
return the roads on Jan. !.
Question About Troops in Germany.
It was pointed out that the effect of
the Senates failure to act would be of
a negative character only with regard
to the American troops in occupied