The sun., 1919-07-29

II the Senate should adopt raserva
tons by majority vote, assume thai
these will be made part of the proposed
resolution OF assent to the treaty, and
the question will then be whether tn,
Senate will give its assent, with thes,
reservations. by the requisite two-thirds
vote. II the proposed reservations ar,
reasonable, the responsibility for the de.
feat of the treaty, IL 1t is defeated, will
lie with those who refuse the vote es-
sential to the assent. II the Senate give,
Its assent to the treaty with reserva
lions, the concurrence Of the Preslden
will still be necessary as ratification
will not be complete without his action
and the responsibility for a refusal L
lions as adopted by the Senate as a par
of the instrument OF ratification woult
thus lie> with the President.
Assuming that the reservations ar,
made as a part OF the instrument o.
ratification, the other parties to tn,
treaty will be notified accordingly. A.
contract, the treaty of course will
bind only those who consent to it, TIL,
nation making reservations as a part o.
the instrument of ratification is no
bound further than It agrees to b,
bound. And II a reservation, as a par
Of the ratification, makes a material ad
dition TO. or substantial change in
the proposed treaty, other parties will
not be bound unless they assent. Il
should be added that where a treaty 1,
made on the part of a number of ma
tons, they may acquiesce in q partia
ratification on the part Of one or more
Not Case of Amendment.
But where there Is simply a statement
OF the Interpretation placed by the rati
flying State upon ambiguous clauses II
the treaty. whether or not the state
ment Is called a reservation. the case 1.
really not one of amendment, and &C
Quiescence of the other parties to tn,
treaty may readily be inferred unles.
express objection Is made after[notic,
has been received of the ratification will
the interpretatlve statement forming 9
part Of 1t.
Statements to safeguard our interests
which clarity ambiguous clauses in tn,
covenant by setting forth our inter,
probation Of them, and especially wher
the Interpretation is one which is urget
by the advocates of the covenant t
Induce support, can meet with no rea.
sonable objection. 1t is not to be sup.
posed that such interpretations will bt
opposed by other parties to the treaty
and they will tend to avoid disputes ir
the future. Nor should we assume thai
= reservation would lead to the failure
OF the treaty or compel a resumption Of
the Peace Conference, when the reserva-
ton leaves unimpaired the main provi-
sions OF the covenant looking to the
peaceful settlement Of disputes and the
organization of conferences. and simply
seeks to avoid any apparent assumption
OF an obligation on our part to join ir
war at some indefinite time in the fu.
ture for a cause the merits of which
cannot now be foreseen. as It is evil
dent that in such case we must newt
ably await the future action of Congress
in accordance with what may then be
the demand of the conscience of the ma
ton. In contemplating this experiment
tai. albeit hopeful, enterprise, or security
anf good faith are primary considera.
tons. Those, either here or abroad, who
would oppose such reasonable interpre-
tations or reservations on our part
would take a heavy responsibility.
Reservations Specified.
The question is then what, specifically
should the reservations be:
Cd With respect to the right of with
drawal (Article ~. 1t is reasonable
to provide that a member withdrawing
from the league should not be released
from a debt of liability previously in
Cured But It should not be possible
that, through a claim of the non-per-
Torrance of an obligation. q member
desiring TO withdraw should be kept in
the league. perhaps indefinitely. !
understand that different interpreta-
tons have been put upon the clause in
question, and l think that there should
be clarifying statement as part OF
the ratification.
CD The clause relating to domestic
matters, such as immigration or tariff
laws, is ambiguous (Article XVI, as II
provides for a finding by the council
whether the question is one solely within
the domestic Jurisdiction. There should
be a clear statement Of our understand
ing that such matters, where no inter
national engagement has been made with
respect thereto. are not submitted for
the consideration or action of the league
or any of its agencies.
(3) 1t Is urged by the advocates OF
the covenant that Article XXI. recog-
nizes and preserves the Monroe Doctrine
But the descriptive phrase employed in
the article is inaccurate, End the mean
Ing OF the article Is far from clear
There should be an interpretative state
ment which will remove all doubt that
the traditional policy of the United
States as to purely American questions
is still maintained. fully indorse Mr..
Roots proposed statement of reserva-
tion and understanding upon this point
but In the view that an alternative
form Of statement may be helpful. ]
submit one below.
60 agree with Mr.. Root that II
would be desirable to eliminate Article
x. with its guaranty to 'preservs
against external aggression the terri
torial integrity" OF all members of the
league. My views as to this article
were stated in the enclosed address be-
fore the Union League Club March 2s
1919, and l need not repeat them al
length. I still think that Article x. IL
trouble breeder and not a peace
maker.
Should Foresee Consequence.
If we are entering upon a new world
order OF democracies the inevitable con-
sequences should be recognized. De-
mocracies cannot promise war after the
manner of monarchs. It Is idle to at
tempt to commit free people to the
making OF war in an unknown contin-
gency when such a war may be found
to be clearly opposed to the dictates OF
justice. The limitation with respect 70
external aggression" Is important but
does not meet the difficulty. AS the most
earnest supporters OF the article admit
1t may be invoked against a Power
which has performed all its obligations
under the other provisions OF the cove
nant and be the victor "in a war
legal under Articles XII. XIII. and
XIV"
While the Importance of Article X IL
strongly emphasized by its supporters. II
is said at the same time that the fulfill
mAnt of tina enRa RemAnt WOULD he nnIu