Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-06-14
When Is a Leak" Not n Leak?


TT is quito natural that members of the
1 United States Senate should feel mortified
even chagrned at the outcome of the elabo-
ratey staged treaty leak inquiry 1t is no
wonder that they have turned resentfully on
Senator'S Lodge, Borah and even Senator
Hitchcock for committing them to an utterly
farcical proceeding arousing them to q frenzy
OF excitement over what seemed to be an
iniquitous situation and stampeding them
into voting for an investigation that was ex-
pected to reveal horrendous practices on the
part of secret treaty leakers
Most members of that ordinarily conserva-
tive, II quarrelsome. body are slow to plunge
headlong into any ridiculous situation They
love their dignity. They pride themselves
on their deiberation and they generally leave
1T to the House to do the skyrocketing for
both branches of Congress. But what seemed
TO be grave situation was presented to them
in connection with the peace treaty. They
had yearned for certified copy of that docu-
ment. not because it would give them any
additional information, but because the Presi-
dent had found it advisable to withhold it
from the Senate.
While fussing over this matter Senator
Lodge very gravely announced that the treaty
which had been denied the Senate was
known by him to be in the hands of at least
one New Yorker. Senator Borah went Lodge
TO believe that great financial interests were
in possession of the document. At this point
Senator Hitchcock, seeing an opportunity to
make grand-stand play, declared that if the
Looge ana Borah statements were true. then
somebody was in possession of ''stoen goods
which they had come by through bribery"
This, indeed, was sensational 1t stirred
the Senate 1t astounded the country 1t
amazed Wall Street and it provoked the
to I,
urging the Senate to exercise it's full powers
to run down the thieves and the bribers
AT that point the Senate socmnly nut its
pondarous investigation machinery in motion
III gave full powers to the Committee on For
elgn Relations to summon witnesses and to
seize papers. to examine them under oath
ana to send them to jail If any refused to
tell the truth or to tell the whole truth 1t
was never contemplated, OF course to force
the two most important witnesses Mr. Lodge
and Mr.. Borah, to tell anything They al
ready had invoked their senatorial immunity
Thereafter came the grand inquest Four
witnesses appeared Two of them knew
nothing and were excused. Former Senator
Root, a volunteer came forward declaring
that he had copy OF the treaty, given to
him by Henry P. Dawson, head of the Inter-
national Red Cross which, in turn. had been
given to Mr.. Dawson by Thomas P Lamont a
member of the American peace commission.
MIR. Lamont had right to it, because of his
position. Mr.. Dawson had a right to 1t be-
cause OF his position, and Senator Root
claims he had right to it because Germany
had made it public.
Thus ended the first chapter No thieves
we're run TO earth No brbers were dis
covered. No vlainous Wall Street gamblers
had the instrument apparently we're
enough interested in it to send out and buy
German copy. The whole business COL
lapsed And the committee. conscious of the
ludlcrous position in which it had been
placed. seemed eager to wash it's hands of
the whole matter. The Senate feels that it
has been made the victim OF huge practical
joke, and Mr.. Lodge and Mr.. Borah probably
feel that they owe both the Senate and the
country an abject apology