New-York tribune., 1919-08-28
The Fall Amendments

or some tlnle, until the treaty is
disposed of, it will be unwise to ac-
cept at face value every report COM
ing out of Washington or to assume
that any particular action, however
loudly advertised, is firmly resolved on.
"A parliamentary struggle is on, and in a
parliamentary struggle there is always
Jockeying to secure advantage when the
final test comes. The action of the Sen
ate committee on the Fall amendments
may be considered, it would seem, with
this thought in mind; strategic rather
than definitive.
The President for. months has ma
noeuvred to stymie his opponents. In
March he boasted he would so entangle
the covenant and the treaty proper as to
compel the acceptance of the one if the
rejection of the other was to be avoided
Ihls was to say the Senate was not to
be allowed to enjoy its constitutional
prerogatives. The Senate was. of course.
compelled to accept the challenge or to
consent to a disregard of the spirit of
the Constitution. 1t set about deyising
ways to defeat the Presidents DESIGN IT.
has not been a pleasing business. but the
Senate is able to say that the President
began the game and has not desisted
from effort to win a personal and a party
victory without scruple as to method.
In the contest of wits the Senate thus
far has outplayed the White House. II
has discovered a way by which in effect
the treaty and the covenant can be dis
artlculated, and to pass back to the
PRESIDENT the responsibility of choosing
between defeating the treaty or accept
ing changes
The President several times has been
seemingly on the verge of acknowledging
his discontinue by accepting the reserva
tlon principle. Perhaps he still intends
SO to do, but strategy forbids him to
make admission until the reservations
are matured and the majority Of the
Senate is firmly committed to particular
form of them. To cover the interim he
put forward Senator Pttman with his
lnterpretative resolutions. Thus the res
ervation principle was conceded and a
sprlngboard set up to vault to public
acceptance of reservations as soon as the
Senate majority uncovered it's precise
programme
In the mean time, as the President
holds back trading material, so the SEN
ate would accumulate some Moreover.
although the Senate majority is agreed
in principle, there is natural difference
of opinion as to many details, and Sena-
tor Lodge sees the wisdom of giving
every group its chance to exploit its
ideas. Senator Fall is now having his
day in court-his opportunity to convince
public opinion that we should not par
ticipate in the minutia of European poll
tics. But it will be noted that the Fall
amendments, although striking from the
treaty the provisions for our representa-
tion on various international commits
sions, avoid saying that the league, if
established, shall not name similar COM
missions.
So far the Senate position has steadily
grown stronger in public opinion aud
there has been development of internal
unity; but this has been while the policy
of holding the good of the covenant and
eliminating its bad has been pursued.
Should it appear that the purpose was to
defeat ratification altogether it is pos
sible there would be a change of senti-
ment. 1t is plain enough that the Presi-
dents chief hope of ultimately having his
way is in teasing or provoking the Sen
ate to a course that will give chance to
rally public opinion against it. But this
is as manifest to the Senate leaders as to
the President, and they are not likely to
adopt the course he would have them
pursue.