The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-22
DEMOCRATS
WILL YIELD
RESERVATIONS
Many Administration Sena-
tors Ask Compromise to
Save Treaty.
HITCHCOCK OBDURATE
Wishes to Await G.. O. p.
Move, but His Colleagues
Are Afraid.
FEAR COUNTRY'S WRATH
Foreign Relations Committee
Starts to Frame Proposed
Changes in Text.
Treaty Ratification, -
Completed by France
PARIS, Oct. 21.-The State
seal was affixed to the peace
treaty with Germany this after
noon, thus completing the French
ratification of the instrument.
Special Despatch to THE Sun.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2l.-The last proc
ess in the consideration Of the peace
treaty win be entered upon tomorrow
Relations Committee will meet to con-
slider formulating additional reserva-
tions and matters of procedure for the
formal steps in disposing of the pact.
The various reservations which
must be consolidated into the ratifi-
cation resolution are not yet adopted
by the Senate, but the time has come
when preliminary matters must have
consideration. Procedure is among
these. The Senate has not even dis
posed OF all the amendments, but by
Thursday it is expected to have acted
upon the two remaining and to be
ready TO consider the reservations.
Reservations Are introduced.
In place of the amendments that
have been and will yet be rejected by
the Senate the committee will report
reservations dealing with the same
matters; and these must have the
consideration of the committee. A
number Of reservations were formally
introduced in the Senate to-day and
referred to the committee.
The Democratic members of the
Foreign Relations Committee held a
conference this afternoon to which
several prominent party men, not
members of the committee were in
vited. 1t was explained that the COM
mittee members desired the advice Of
their colleagues as to the course that
shall be pursued in the committee to-
morrow.
This conference developed that there
is sharp divergence of views among
different elements of the Democrats. AL
most no progress was made because of
these disagreements and other confer
ences will be held.
Hitchcock Wants to Wait.
Senator Hitchcock (Neb), Democratic
leader both in the committee and on the
Senate floor, has taken the view that the
Democrats should not consider the pos
sibility Of reservations until that issue
Is forced upon them; he has wanted to
fight the Republican reservations and
has insisted that these can be defeated,
as the amendments have been. and, after
these are defeated, It would be ample
time to consider. the possibility Of COM
promise between the drastic Lodge res
ervations and the Democratic demand
for no reservations at all, but a ratifica-
tion of the treaty verbatim ct literatlm.
Early in the conference to-day it was
made plain that not all his colleagues
agree with this view. One Senator, un-
derstood to have been Mr.. Shields
(Tenn.), declared that the Democratic
leadership might as we'll understand I'M
mediately that 1t faces the certainty OF
reservations in some form being adopted
and that it is necessary to consider the
measure in which Democrats will con-
sent to them, But Mr.. Hitchcock was
not willing to make this admission or to
take steps TO deal with such situation,
at least until 1t should be possible to
discuss II with the President
situation Must He Faced.
He was told very plainly that the sit
uation must be faced as It is, that there
must be reservations or else the treaty
will be rejected. II the Democrats want
to have part in formulating them they
may as well recognize the inevitable and
set about getting their ideas In order.
1t is impossible. Democratic Senators
said, to get sufficient Democrats to vote
to reject the treaty even with the Lodge
amendments. Senator Williams (Miss)
Senator Underwood and Senator Bank
head (Ala.) and some others have
threatened that they would vote against
the ratification resolution II the Lodge
reservations were included in It. II
sufficient number OF Democrats could be
mustered to take that attitude they
might reject the treaty and charge that
the Republican reservationists had
wrecked 1t and quote some OF the Presi-
dents speeches as their Justification for
such a step.
But the conference was plainly told
that not a sufficient number of Demo-
Gratis could be found to follow such a
course, and that unless the Democrats
unite In supporting a programme OF
reservations milder than those from the
Foreign Relations Committee. the out
come would be ratification with those
reservations.
Lodge. Claim Correct.
Among the matters brought out in the
conference was the fact that Democratic
leaders know that Senator Lodge Is cor