The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-27
Bitterness Increases
 As League Is Debated
Reed Declares League Would Place Destinies of White Race in Hands of Ignorant Black and Yellow Nations of the Earth
Rv AssncIafsd Preu


 league of nations was debated in the Senate again today with an increasing show of bitter ness. Senator Reed, democrat, of Missouri, attacked the pro lposal in such vigorous terms that he aroused repeated objec- tions from Senators supporting it and developed a running de bate colored by dramatic accu- Stations and heated retorts.
 The Missouri senator declared tho league would place the destiries of the white race in the hands of ignorant and superstftious nations of black and yellow population, and charged that many desrio- crats were supporting itfor partisan req l sons.
 | In frequent interruptions of the Mis- souri senator's speech, Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska, ranking democrat of the | foreign relations committee. insisted | that the premises for these charges were false and that the inferences drawn were unfair and dangerous, He drew in turn reply from Senator Knox. republican, of Pennsylvania, who suggested that sup pcrters of the. league covenant should read it before they discussed it.
 So heated did the exchanges become at one point that the chair rapped for or der and Senator Reed declared that Sem ator Hitchcock had lost his temper" The measure which brought the league ! issue before the Senate was the resolution of Senator Johnson, republican, of Cali- fornia requesting from the State Depart Enent the full text of the peace treaty. EThere was no attempt to reach vote on the resolution on which debate ran last Friday. and the measure went over again as unfinished business to come up when the Senate reconvenes Wednesday.
 MAKES GENERAL ATTACK Without speaking directly on the John tson resolution Senator Reed made a gem eral attack upon the league covenant it. self as a proposal to hand over control of the white race and the civilized world si to an assembly of nations where a ma Ijorty always could be brought together ton any race question in or/osition to white supremacy. He declared support of the league plan never could be ex- lplained at home by senators from the south, with it's negro problem. or from the west, with its Chinese and .Jaaanese problems Turning dramatically to his democrat colleagues, he continued: If n republican President had brought it herc--if Roosevelt had } brought 1t here--therc Is not democrat that wouldn't have been standing by my side fighting to the
 last ditch to rescue the country 3 M from so monstrous and so cruel a thing.''
 Q Southern democrats particularly : were chided for refusing to recognize the negro as an equal at the ballot box but at tha same time accepting !, South Africa ana other nations, where the black race predominates. as mein-
 bers of the league assembly on an equality with the United states. !, You think you can control the vote s of the black race, he asserted. but on 2 any question of race equality you new
 CT will be able to do it.
 To support his prediction that the Il black, yellow. brown and red races would combine to embarass the white = | race Senator Reed cited the amend ment offeredw by Japanese delegates q al Paris, Although the amendment fsiled, he said. the Japanese delegates 0 r. erved the right to bring 1t later before the league for determination. : QUOTES NEGRO PAPER : He also quoted from periodical e published by negroes in this country o passage declaring a league of nations t or some "other international power to }, be absolutely necessary for the salvr- 1, tion of the negro race" in view of the
 element of negroes in the United States
 and South Africa. In his speech of s nearly three hours. Senator Reed pre- . scented a mass of statistics and other :, information regarding the smaller U members of the league
 The member nations in which tho o white race was predominant. he said. = totaled in population only 2s9, ,4Ss, 500. v He said white nations would have 15 f votes in the league and the other na-
 
 ' As the nations where white blood a does not predomnate, the senator a named Liberia, Haiti, Hedjaz. Panama, :, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala. Ecu a ador. Cuba. Bolivia. Peru. Brazil South v Africa. siam. India. China and Japan. T In these countries, he asserted the av- V craze of illiteracy was S5 per cent.
 and he quoted extensively from refer
 ence works to show that many of them I were overrun with superstition. II Senator Hitchcock said he had argued that the United States could not be out voted under the original league plans.
 Your friends in Fnris showed you
 that you are utterly mistaken Mir, Reed
 replied, and that we were right and you
 were wrong. by their amendments. They
 repudiated you at their first meeting.
 When Senator Hitchcock pressed for q
 dipect answer to whether Mir. Reed had
 changed his position the Missouri sena- tor replied:
 |. q condemn any league that proposes to put the vihil interests of the United
 States in the power of foreigners of a league from which we can never escape
 except by unanimous vote of other nA- ltions That is abominable."
 A>single vote on the league, MT Reed
 continued, could prevent the United
 states from increasing it's army from
 100000 to 500,O0O men. "So we place the
 fate of our nation so it may be deter
 mined by the vote of one degenente nA-
 ton. or of an enemy" he argued.
 OH, YOU LILY WHITES
 Senator Hitchcock interjected that Mir
 Reed confused -te powers of the league
 membership with those of the council but
 this was denied by MT. Reed. Analyzins
 racial and moral conditions in Honduras
 Panama and other small nations which
 would hnve league membership, Senator
 Reed said "Oh. you men of the south
 you lily whites You want to give Pa
 mama, with it's 90 per cent of negroes and
 mulattoes a vote equal to the United
 States Go tell your people that, in the
 league one negro outside the United
 States would have a vote equal e
 50o.oo0 white of this republic" While the Missouri senator was assaii-
 ing the league in the senate. Representa-
 Itive Madden. republican, of Illinois. maoe
 a speech criticising it in the house anc ldecIaring the American people neve' could mingle on equal terms with tnt Ipeople of Europe, No general debate de Ivecped however
 When the Johnson resolution comes n lin the senate Wednesday Senator Robin