Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1919-08-28
WILSON ANSWERS
SENATE QUERIES
Says He Sees No Reasonable Oh
lection to Reservations Con-
cerning League of Nations.
CONFERENCE AT WHITE HOUSE
President Asserts United States
Surrenders No Powers and
May Withdraw at win.

dent wilson and the members OF the
Foreign Relations Committee of the
Senate met at the White House Tues.
day to discuss the peace treaty.
The President opened the discussion
by impressing on the senator's the
urgency OF prompt ratification OF the
treaty without amendments and with.
out reservations that would require re
submission of the treaty to the other
signatories, especially Germany.
The President said that the inter.
est of every class OF people, tho
farmers. Industrial workers and EN-.
pioyees, demanded prompt ratification
to the END that stable conditions OF
industry. agriculture and employmen,
be re-established. The Presidents ad.
dress, which was In effect an address
to the country, follows:
II hope that this conference will
serve TO expedite your consideration
Of the treaty Of peace beg that you
viii pardon and indulge me II I again
urge that practically the whole task
Of bringing the country back TO normal
conditions Of life and Industry waits
upon the decision Of the Senate with
regards to the terms Of the peace.
II venture thus again to urge my ad-
vice that the action OF the Senate
with regard TO the treaty be taken
at the earliest practicable moment be-
cause the problems with which we are
face TO face I'm the readjnstment of
our national life are OF the most press
Ing and critical character, will require
for their proper sOlutIsn the most In.
Innate and distinterested cooperation
Of all parties and oil interests, and
cannot be postponed without manifest
peril TO our people and to all the ma.
tional advantages we hold most dear
"The copper mines OF Montana, Ari-
zona and Alaska, for example, are be-
ing kept open and IN operation only
at great cost and loss, In part upon
borrowed meney; the zinc mines OF
Missouri, Tennessee and Wisconsin
are being operated at about one half
their capacity; the lead of Idaho, iii.
nois and Missouri reaches only a por.
ton OF It's former market; there Ii an
Immediate need for cotton betting, and
also for lubricatlng oil which cannot
be met, all because the channels OF
trade are barred by war when there
Is no war. The same Is true of raw
cotton, Of which the central empires
alone formerly purchased nearly four
million bales And these are only ex.
amples. There Is hardly a single raw
material. a single important foOdstuff
or single class Of manufactured
goods which Is not in the same case
Our full. normal profitable production
waits on peace.
"Our military plans, of course. walt
upon IL. We cannot inteIlIgently OF
wisely decide how large a naval OF
military force we shall maintain or
what our policy with regard 10 mill
tary training is TO be until we have
peace not only. but also until we know
how peace IL to be sustained, whether
by the arms of single nations or by
the concert Of all the great peoples
And there Is more than that tifiicuIty
involved. The vast surplus properties
OF the army include, not food and
clothing merely, whose sale win af
feet normal production, but great
manufacturing establishments also
which should be restored TO their for
irer uses. great stores of machine tools
"sd all sorts Of merchandise, which
must lie idle until peace and military
policy are definitely determined.
THE nations that ratify the treaty
such as Great Britain, Belgium and
France, wifi he In a position to Iay
iiieir plans for controlling the markets
~ central Europe, without competition
from US, II we do not presently act
We have no consular agents, no trade
representatives, there TO look out for
our interests.
There are large areas of EIrope
whose future will lie uncertain and
questionable until their people know
the final settlements Of peace and the
forces which are TO administer and
sustain II.
without determlnate markets our
production cannot proceed with Intelli.
2ence or confidence. There can be no
easy or normal Industrial credits be.
cause there can be no confident or per.
inanent revival of business. There
ian be no stabilization of wages be-
cause there can be no settled condl.
tions. Of employment.
Every element of normal life
amongs rs depends upon and awaits
the ratification Of the treaty of peace;
and We cannot afford TO lose a single
summers day by not doing ali that
Ne can to mitigate the winters suffer.
ing, which. unless we fnd means to
prevent IL. may prove disastrous to q
urge portion OF the world. and may
az Its worst. bring upon Europe con
ditions even more terrible than thoss
| brought by the war Itself.
Nothing. am led 20 believe. stands
In the way Of the ratification Of the
treaty except doubts with regard e
the meaning and Implication Of GER
tain articles OF the covenant OF -,
league Of nations; and I must fra