The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-25
(BY DAVID LAWRENCE.)

-(Copyrighted for The Chattanooga
News. .)-President Wilson has at last
told the country what he would do
if the senate insisted upon changing
the meaning of the treaty by means
of reservations" He did not, in his
speech at Cheyenne, say he would
regard all reservations as disap-
proval of the treaty of peace, but he
went definitely on record as saying
he would be obligated to regard the
Lodge reservation on Article X as a
rejection of the treaty. That means,
he added, the necessity Of negotat-
ing a new peace with Germany, as
the other powers, Mr.. Wilson de-
clares, will soon have ratified the
present treaty and put it into opera
tion.
For several days the president has
been approaching this climax. He
has been reading the newspaper ac-
counts of the senate's activities and
has insisted to his audiences that
many of the men who are favoring
reservations" are high minded men,
but that they did not realize or fully
understand what would be the con-
sequence of their action. The presi-
dents denunciation of the proposed
reservation to Article Y was unspar-
ing. After reading its text whereby
it Is suggested that the United States
would assume no obligation to pre-
serve the territorial integrity OF any
nation, and would be exempted from
all action in such cases unless con-
gress should so direct. The presi-
dent declared that such a reservation
meant that America made no formal
promise but left it to other nations
to guess always what she would do.
1--WE won't join it now, but occa-
sionally we may CO. operate is what
the president says America would
mean by such a reservation.
Crowd Listened in Awe.
The president made it very clear
that such a course would involve un-
certainty and would take from be-
meath the structure of peace it's props
and foundation. ut means the re-
lection of the treaty" said Mr.. Will
son, and the crowd at Cheyenne lis
tened in solemn awe.
Mr.. Wilson's threat to regard the
reservation on Article y as re1ec-
ton of the treaty is not an empty
one. He has fully considered the
consequences of his statement. He
was inclined to go as far as that IN
his Salt Lake speech, but absence of
definite advices concerning the sen
ate's intentions may have swerved
him from his original purpose At
any rate, he made the issue clear
when he reached Cheyenne, where he
declared that the organized forces Of
opposition outside the congressional
halls We're the hyphenated Americans
and pro German forces which tended
toward dsloyalty during the war
"The issue is final,' he said. I'VE
cannot avoid it. We have got to make
it now, and, once made, we cannot
turn back. We must either go in
and guarantee the peace of the world,
or stay out until some dark and dis
astrous day and seek admission with
Germany"
So the president has cast the die,
and the whole burden of his speeches
hereafter will be toward a delinca-
ton of the forces which he is CON
yinced are trying to bring about n
separate peace with Germany and a
rejection of the treaty by means of
destructive reservations.
The president realizes that many
of the proposed reservations have no
such purpose; that they mean only
to clarity the language OF the cove
nant: so the discussion will now CEN
ter on what kind of reservations do
alter the meaning of the contract and
what reservations it will be possible
for the president to defend as he
approaches the other nations and
asks. their acquiescence in such un-
Objectionable reservations as the SEN
ate may finally put into the ratify
ing resolutions.
Two Thirds Needed.
But even though a majority vote
may insert in the ratfying resoIu-
tion amendments or reservations
such as are proposed with respect to
Article X, two thirds vote is needed
ultimately to pass the ratifying reso-
luton, and rather than put t,e
United States senate in the position
of rejecting the treaty or putting lam
guage into it which would mean re-
submission or renewed negotiations
with Germany, sufficient number
Of sen nators, little more than one
third, could prevent the ratifying res
olutlon from coming to vote in OBJ
jcctionabIe form.
This would transfer the fight to