Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-12-23
! NE thing in connection with the

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tions is far from commend
able, and that is the undignified
treatment of the Senate and the
senators of the United States by
speakers, general writer's and a por-
tion of the public press. Indeed, il
has been most humiliating.
Senators have been verbally at
tackled, ridiculed, caricatured and
threatened simply because they did
not favor and Immediately approve
the treaty of peace with the League
of Nations entangled in it and ne~
cause they did not view the question
as did the other side, and all this
in what was free and fair America.
where authority is still supposed to
be respected and untrammeled and
where the chosen representatives of
the states and their people are pre-
sumed to have freedom of action.
1t is true that people and papers
have not advised resort to physical
violence, but the tendency of the
lnfiammatory appeals was such that
1T would not have been surprising If
the result showed itself in such an
extreme. Back of all this. though
the innocent public may not have
suspected it, has been persistent,
influential and strongly financed
propaganda which has been pub
hcly and privately stirring up the
masses to make attacks by letter
ana otherwise on individual senators
until the victims consider and have
right to consider them to be down
right insults. In this way moncved
interests and persons Of influence.
with varied motives and ambitions,
nave appealed to the classes and the
masses to force" the senator's to
vote for the league and the treaty..
ana have assured them that they
can force the Senate to do as they
Will. rms is simply mobocracy
which has no place in America n
government, and the attempt to
thus coerce the Senate is bolshe-
vistic and should have no encoura ge-
ment in this land. Those who want
bolshevism should go to Russia, and
go right soon.
The whole thing is like mob
attack upon duly constituted au-
thority while back of the mob are
some conspicuous individuals and
financial corporations, who. stand
ing some time in the shadow. hiss
on the crowd and incite unsuspect-
ing people to force senator's. against
their judgment and their conscience,
to violate their oath of office by ap-
proving - league and treaty the an
Droval of which they believe would
be against the interests of their
country and against the principles
both of good morals and of inter
national equity.
The movement is like tampering
IN In Tn 70 Ia
pose of securing n decision and YER
dict wanted by the outside parties.
but contrary to the law and evil
dencei which the court and jury are
sworn TO follow. Such interference
in any court would be criminal
act; and it is not less criminal when
the attempt is TO Coerce the SEN
ate. which i'm such a case is a high
court.
The Senate. like n jury, is to con
slider the evidence and to act ac-
cordingly, each Senator acting ac-
cording to the unbiased dictates of
his intellect and conscience. and
must or should be left free to de
eide according to his conscientious
convictions. To bring undue pres
sure from the outside and to make
open or covert threats. of political
vi OiHtI pun O.
ishment is improper. un-American
and. in spirit. criminal.
Senators whose study and Ameri-
canism lead them to decide against
this proposed League have right
to stand for their convictions with
out being penalized, and undue in
reference by unfair pressure or
practical threat is not only morally
wrong but periious to American po-
litical institutions
But II may be said, and has been
said, that the senator's who do not
favor the League and the treaty are
playing politics" That. however.
is not a proved fact but a mere as
sertion or false inference.
OF course. President Wilson hap
pens to he the head of a party. and
his political followers. naturally, IL
may be said, want to support their
party leader. This may be sugges-