Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-16
PRESIDENT ALONE
HAS POWER TO SAY
WHEN WAR ENDS
Supreme Courts PhraseoI-
0gy Indicates Absolute
Right of Executive.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE,

The war is still on. There can be
no peace until the President of the
United States proclaims peace, and
this he need not do until a treaty of
peace is ratified by the United States
government and accepted by foreign
governments. The President is the
sole judge of the proper moment for
the issuance of his proclamation of
peace.
These are the big points which, en-
tlrely apart from a nationwide In
terest in the liquor question, were de-
duced from the decision of the Su
preme Court of the United States. So
absorbed were most observers IN en-
deavoring to discover whether or not
the country would be on a wet or dry
basis that the plain spea king of the
unanimous decision of the Supreme
Court on matters affecting the status
of the peace treaty Itself did not
have it's full effect until today, when
digested by official Washington.
1t isn't possible, OF course, to inquire
into the purposes which the Supreme
Court had in mind. but there were
many observers who thought they
saw an intention on the part of the
court at this critical moment in the
nations history to set at rest the con-
fusion which has existed as to wheth-
er or not the war ended with the ar
mistice or with subsequent acts of the
executive himself. The portion of the
decision which attracted most atten-
ton was this statement:
Peace Ratification Necessary.
I'm the absence of specific provision
to the contrary. the period of war has
been held to extend to the ratification
of the treaty of peace or the proc
lamation of peace.
From the fact that other statutes
concerning war activities contain
each a specific provision for determin-
ing when it shall cease to be opera
tive and from the alleged absence Of
such provision here. it is argued
that the term conclusion of the war
should not be given it's ordinary legal
meaning: that instead it should be
construed as the time when actual
hostilities ceased or when the treaty
of peace was signed at Versailles on
June %, 1919. by the American and
orally, when the actual war emergen-
cy ceased by reason of our complete
victory and the disarmament ~
enemy. coupled with the demobilizs
ton of our Army and the closing o<
war activities. or when the dec<x1uj
purpose of the act of conserving th0
manpower of the nation and to u
crease efficiency in the production O 1
arms munitions. ships. food ann
clothing for the Army and Navy shall .
have been fully satisfied.
But there is nothing in the uor16
used to justify such a construction.
Conclusion of the war clearly did not
mean cessation of hostilities. becaus ,
the act wartime prohibition) wal
approved ten days after hostilitie1
had ceased upon the signing of the
armistice Nor may we assume that
Congress intended by the phrase to
designate the date when the treaty
of peace should be signed at YER
sailles or elsewhere by German and
American representatives.. since by
proposal until approved by the Sem
ate.
Phrase of Supreme Court.
1t will be noticed that the Supreme
Court uses the phrase approved by
the Senate" instead of ratification by
the Senate" for the fact is that. strict
ly speaking, the Senate does not rat
ify. but it merely approves or disap-
proves OF d treaty. and the power of
ratification rests with the chief ex-
ecutive. Thus the decision of the
court plainly confirms the contentious
of those constitutional lawyers who in
the last twelve months of controversy
have contended that the President
was the sole judge of whether the
Senate had approved or disapproved
of the treaty which he had negotiated
with foreign powers and that it was
discretionary with him to proclaim
ratification only when he was salts
fled that an international agreement
between foreign governments and our
own had been reached.
Briefly. therefore. the decision OF
the Supreme Court is regarded as one
of the most effective arguments that
| had yet been presented for action or
! the part of the Senate of the United
! States on the pending peace treaty
/ There is no peace, says the court, till
/ the Senate approves a treaty and the
| President proclaims peace. Mr. viii.
| son can regard the inclusion of reser.
vations as not affecting the treat,
provided other nations accept those
amendments or reservations, but hs
| is not Obliged to proclaim peace unit
he has discovered whether or not for.
eign governments assent to American
] reservations amendments TIT
! supreme Courts decision is expected
to dispose effectually of efforts t.
bring about a state of peace by tn.
massage of joint or concurrent reso
iution by Congress. The Suprem.
Court of the United States has de.
cided that treaty of peace mean:
an agreement between the repre-
sentatives of Germany and the United
States. and not an act of Congress.
Copyright. 1871