Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-10

leave behind them for the contem-
plation of their children.
Amendment No. 2 is simply to
| provide that where q member of the
| League has self-governing dominionS
and colonies which are also men,
bers of the League, the exclusion OF
the disputants under the League
rules shall cover the aggregate vote
of the members of the League and it's
self governing dominions and parts
of empire combined if any one ot
them is involved in the controversy.
THE remaining amendments with
a single exception may be treate d
as one, for the purpose of all alike
is to relieve the United States from
haying representatives on the COM
| missions established by the League
| which deal with questions in which
the United States has and can ha re
no interest and in which the United
States has evidently been inserted
by design. The exception is amend
ment 45. which provides that the
| United States shall have n member
of the reparations commission bat
that such commissioner of the Unit
ed States cannot except in the case
of shipping where the interests of
1
/ volved deal with or vote upon any
other questions before that commis-
| sion except under instructions fror.
the government of the United
States.
The committee proposes four
reservations to be made a part of
the resolution of ratification When
| IL is offered. The committee re-
serves, of course, the right to offer
other reservations If they shall 50
| determine"
The. four reservations now pre-
sented are as follows:
1.-The United States reserves
to itself the unconditional right to
withdraw from the League of Ma
tons upon the notice provided in
Article of said treaty of peace
with Germany .. -
/ ..f The provision in the league cove
nant for withdrawal declares that
any member may withdraw prov:d-
ed it has fulfilled all its interna-
tional obligations and all its obIi-
cations under the covenant. There
has been much dispute as to who
would decide if the question of the
fulfllment of obligations was raised
and it is very generally thought
the question would be settled by the
Council of the League of Nations
The best that can be said about il
is that the question of decision Is
clouded with doubt. On such a point
as this there must be no doubt. The
United States, which has never
broken an international obligation
cannot permit all its existing trea-
ties to be reviewed and its conduct
and honor questioned by other ma
tions. The same may be said in
regard to the fulfillment of the OBJ
legations to the league. 1t must
be made perfectly clear that the
United States alone is to determine
as to the fulfillment of its obiiga-
tions. and its right of withdrawal
must therefore be unconditional as
provides in the reservation.
"'2-The United States declines
to assume under the provisions 81
Article 10, or under any other article
any obligations to preserve the ter
ritorial integrity or political inde-
pendence of any other country or to
interfere in controversies between
other nations, members of the
league or not or to employ the mill
tary or naval forces of the United
States in such controversies or Ia
adopt economic measures for the
protection of any other country
whether n member of the league
or not, against external aggression
or for the purpose of coercing any
other country or for the purpose OF
Intervention in the internal conflict
or other controversies which may
arise in any other country, and no
mandate shall be accepted by the
United States under Article %, Part
of the treaty of peace with Ger
many except by action of the Con-
gress of the United States
This reservation is intended to
meet the most vital objection to the
league covenant as it stands. Un-
der no circumstances must there be
any legal or moral obligation upon
the United States to enter into war
or to send its army and navy abroad
or without the unfettered action OF
Congress to impose economic boy
colts on other countries. Under
the constitution of the United States
the Congress alone has the power
to declare war, and all bills to raise
revenue or affecting the revenue in
j any way must originate in the
House of Representatives, be passed
by the Senate and receive the sigma
ture of the President. These con
I stitutional rights of Congress must
not be impaired by any agreements
such as are presented in this treaty
nor can any opportunity of charging
the United States with bad faith he
permitted. No American soldiers or
sailors must be sent to fight in other
lands at the bidding of a League of
Nations. American lives must not
be sacrificed except by the will and
command of the American people
acting through their constitutional
representatives in Congress.
This reservation also covers the
subject of mandates. According to
the provisions of the covenant of the
league the acceptance of a mandate
by any member is voluntary, but
as to who shall have authority to
refuse to accept n mandate for any
country the covenant of the league
is silent. The decision as to accept
ing n mandate must rest exclusively
within the control of the Congress
of the United States as the reserva-
ton provides, and must not be dele
gated, even by inference, to any per-
sonal agent or to any delegate or
commissioner.
The Monroe Doctrine
"'3-The United States reserves
to itself exclusive the right to de-
eide what questions are within its
dom aaftc itrriudiotiOu and aaoio~n-