Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-03-27
THURSDAY. MARCH q, III
WILSON'S AMENDMENT
DEFECTIVE.

Gables from Paris say that the FOL
lowing provision is being incorporated
IN the covenant of the league OF ma
lions for the purpose of clearing up
the relation of the covenant 70 the
Monroe doctrine:
Agreements under the covenant
shall rot he construed as an infringe
ment upon the principles OF inter
national policies heretofore Seherail!
recognized ..
II is said that President Wilson
drew this amendment, and that 1t is
his purpose to have the senate ratlfy
it as he has drawn it.
The Journal is of opinion that the
senate will do nothing of the sort
The Monroe doctrine never has been
formally recognized by any nation
except the United States. by which 1t
was promulgated. Both France and
Germany have attempted to thwart 1t
France by the invasion of Mexico
and the setting up of a monarchy
there with an Austrian prince as em-
peror and Germany by the threatened
seizure of Venezuelan territory. 1t
took a powerful United States army
on the Rio Grande. put there at the
order of President Grant and under
the command of General Sheridan, to
compel the withdrawal of the French
forces. President Roosevelt notified
nt at
once to arbitration with Venezuela
Dewey and the American fleet would
sail from the West Indies to the Vene-
zuelan coast.
But President Wilson has agreed
that the covenant shall be amended,
which is quite different from the
story sent out by the Associated Press
regarding what he said at the confer
ence with the senate and house mem
bers of the foreign relations commit
tees at the White House. The re-
port said
Mr.. Wilson thereupon disclosed
that the members of the peace COM
mission, Of winch he was chairman,
had agreed to urge that no
attempts be made to amend it in any
particular. 1t was with great diff
Guilty, said the president, that all ma
tional views had been brought into
harmony on the subject of the peace
league, and any proposal of amend
ment, necessarily, would open the dis
cussion and raise the danger of dis
sention and ultimate failure. He
lat Of ba
document without change"
Next to former President Taft,
President Lowell OF Harvard univer-
sity has been the strongest champion
of the league. yet in Lis debate with
Senator Lodge he used the following
language;
1.-THE covenant is very defective in
its drafting. In places it is so OBJ
scure that the meaning is Orten in
accura, ely oppressed and sometimes
doubtful !; is easily misun l"rstood
and has in fact been widely misunder-
stood"
President Lowell made very force
full and well considered defense of the
covenant as he understood it, and as
ne WOulu nave IL dHleHueu W ledu
But the very frankncss of admissions
as to it's defects tended to disarm
criticism of his speech.
Senator Lodge said IN that debate:
"If they want to know in Paris
what amendments we require, call to-
gether the constitutional advisers of
the president, and the amendments
will be drafted and sent If
they are adopted, the treaty will be
ratified in short order"
But the Journals opinion is that
the president need not hope to have
the amendment proposed by him
adopted by the senate. 1t would be
quite as well to adopt the present
covenant, which says nothing, even
inferentially, regarding the Monroe
doctrine, except that all the members
of the league will stand pledged to
the integrity of all national righta
and boundaries as they exist when
the treaty of peace is made. @
That was interpreted by the presi
dent and Lord Robert Cecil, who
drew the covenant, to extend the Mon
roe doctrine to all the world.