Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-09-19
WHAT THE PRESS OF THE
NATION SAY.
PRESIDENT WILSON DID NOT
MEET THE ISSUE
(Spokesman- Review, Spokane).

The presidents Spokane address. like
nearly all his public utterances, was
fine in diction and rich in lofty senti-
ment But the president failed here, as
he has failed elsewhere, to present a
convincing reason for his opposition to
the adoption by the senate of inter-
pretative reservations defining the
American governments understanding
of those articles IN the league cove
nant dealing with our right of with
drawal from the league, our exclusive
right to deal with purely domestic
questions like immigration, citizenship,
alien land holding and the tariff and
our right to maintain the Monroe doc
trine
The president said that reserva-
tons were unnecessary, as the same
meanings are already in the covenant.
But other very able judges hold that
they are necessary and that the Ian
guage of the covenant might later be
| construed by other members Of the
league in ways to challenge the
rights which the reservations would
put beyond all question.
That is the real issue now before
the country. That Is the issue that Is
delaying senate ratification of the
covenant and jeopardizing the league
of nations. The president has only to
give his assent to reasonable reserva-
lions, as he has been advised to do by
some of his closest party associates
at Washington, to bring Immediately
upon the senate such pressure Of pub
lie opinion as could not and would not
long be resisted by enough senators
to block ratification.
| If the meaning of the proposed res
ervations Is the same as that of the
articles they interpret and the other
members of the proposed league agree
with the presidents understanding, 1t
is frivolous to say that their adoption
by the senate would endanger the
covenant, for the other members could
not in good faith object to their adop-
ticn.
| On the other hand, IL there Is a
possibility that some other govern
ment or governments might hereafter
construe the covenant as restricting
our right Of withdrawal, or as war;
ranting the leagues passing judgment
on such domestic questions as immi-
grafton allen land ownership and the
tariff. or upon the Monroe doctrine,
wo owe 1t now in good faith and can
dor to make our understanding and
our position entirely clear to all the
world.
| Disputes over the meanings of
treaties and international law have
been prolific cause of war. dis
pute OF that nature involved US in the
second war with Great Britain. A
long and rancorous dispute over the
| meaning of parts of the American
| Constitution brought on the civil war.
If Germany had construed interna-
tional law as we construe 1t she would
have refrained from lawless submarine
warfare.
| There can never come better oc-
casion to test the good faith of the
other members of the league Of ma
tons. and our own as we'll. than the
occasion offered by the proposed SEN
ats reservations. II the heads OF
other governments that sat around
the Paris peace table agree that the
covenant means what the reservations
say 1t means. and President Wilson
says it means, they can not in good
face, franASness and fairness reject
the treaty as thus ratified. II they
are Of mind and a recklessness t
destroy the league Of nations for nc
better reason than that the United
States senate has ratified the cove
nant interpretatively as President
Wilson says he interprcts 1t. let ua
know 1t now
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