The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-08

OF our Executive ana Legislative ue-
partments rs Is the business of dredg-
ing out the canals in Mars. The
treaty turns over to the experimental
League the government Of the region
in question for the next fifteen years.
II makes us a part Of the railroad
administration of the Saar basin. 1t
makes us a part of the local taxing
power. 1t puts us on the police COM
mission Of the Saar. 1t mixes us up
In the labor questions of the. basin.
1t constitutes us, after fifteen years
when the League may have lapsed
into innocuous desuetude and Mr..
WILSON'S present interest in the
League may have been almost for
gotten by American mankind-one Of
the supervisors of plebiscite to de-
termine the future nationality Of the
inhabitants of the basin. Moreover, II
the vote Of the population, after that
long interval, shall tprn the Saar
basin back to the Germany Of that
future time the treaty sent by Mr..
WILSON to the Senate engages us, as
a member Of the League, to assist in
the determination of the purely eco
nomic and local question Of the
amount Of coal which shall be sold
annually by Germany to France!
Now what, in the names. Of GEORGE
wAsHINaToN, THOMAS JEFFERSON and
JAMES MoNRoE-may their blessed
shades continue to be happy in Para
disc has the United States Govern.
ment, as constitutlonally ordained, to
do with these local and economic and
political questions pertaining to the
Saar basin? What constitutional au-
thority exists for the solemn engage
ment Of our Government In European
administrations like this case and
dozens or hundreds Of others2 We have
spoken Of the Saar basin provisions
in Section III. of the treaty not be-
cause they are the most important
Of such proposed entanglements, or
even the most likely to lead us into
trouble in the future, but simply be
cause they afford q concrete and al
most grotesQuely absurd illustration
of the certain effect of Mr.. WILSON
treaty and covenant-tying enterprise
to prevent peace without the League
and to save the Leagues face and his
own at any sacrifice of American dol
lars and American lives.
For this Saar engagement is only
one of many similar engagements scat
tered over the continents of Europe
Asia and Africa, not to speak of the
distant isles of the seq. 1t would
require many columns Of many num-
bers of THE Sun to discuss specifi
cally and adequately the myriad obli
cations his present enterprise would
devolve upon an unfortunate republic
The same thing is true of the Danzie
business, of the neutralized zone east
Of the Rhine, Of the Kiel Canal, of the
lately German colonies in all parts
Of the earth, of countless other un
foreseeable yet perplexing difficulties
which his attempt to render the cove
nant and the peace treaty inseparable
would insure to us during pro
tracted and expensive future Of unnec
essary responsibility.
Mr.. WILSON has riveted where he
saw the bargain chance of profit to
his main and dominant conception
He has stitched and tied wherever
the stitching and tying seemed tc
lpromise votes at Paris for his self
identification with vague but i'm
pressive scheme Of world government
But in other and equally important
matters he has failed to rivet, he ha
neglected to stitch and tie; as, fol
example in the matter of Danubiar
control and the Rhine and Mosellt
questions. These are disposed of II
the natural and proper way, by inter
national commissions of the nation;
interested, without mention of the
covenant or the League, and in con
sequence apparently without involv
ing the American Government fol
which he has assumed to speak. Ye
other European and Asiatic ant
African matters Of quite as great, oil
even greater, moment are left unde
termined by the treaty and postponed
for settlement TO about the time Of tn,
Greek kalends. We can at least thanh