The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-10-22
DEFINING FUTURE OBLIGATIONS.

sides OF the chamber and from tne drt OF Lne Young
upon proposed amendments it quite certain that
the outcome of the long discussion of the peace treaty
will be ratification of the text without amendment in
making such reservations will thoroughly
safeguard the vital interests honor and independence of
the United States
The reservations that have been tentatively agreed upon
by majority Of the Senate will not only keep the United
States safe, but will furnish such valuable suggestions
to other nations will cause them, without doubt to
make similar reservations The result will be League
of Nations incomparaby better fitted for the mante
Of the worlds peace than the league that would
have been evolved from the covenant adopted at Paris
single illustration will emphasize this point The reser
walton which will provide that Congress shall determine
when and how this government shall intervene in behalf
of another nation under Article will be infinitely more
potent than the original provision, because American in
tervention under the reservation will be made only in
response to the combined will of the American people,
constituting action which other nation, however
ambitious powerful, would care to resist Without
the reservation however the action of the United States
might be merely diplomatic move, similar to some of
those made by the American delegates to the Paris con-
ference, which might might not the. fear and
respect of other powers.
The nature and effect of the reservations tactiy agreed
upon are we'll known and generally believed to
be adequate We believe however, another reservation
should be made which heretofore has received little at
tention This reservation should provide that
mitments undertakings of any kind tending toward the
acceptance by the United States of mandate any
foreign territory people should be valid without the
express consent of Congress-
The truth is that the Senate is still in the dark
corning the matters dealt with in Article XXI of the
covenant There are antiquities and hidden meanings
in this article which may be of immense consequence to
the United States not only in the dispatch of American
troops to various parts of the world but in the amcabe
relations of this with four other great powers
If there is anything in the which the Senate
and people should understand in implication before
committing themselves to it it is the article relating to
manufactures Yet almost nothing is known to the Senate
and absolutely nothing known to the public If there
is nothing to know is sometimes asserted by advocates
of the covenant then the Senate should guard against
future deadly surprises by providing that the United
sent of Congress.
The little that known by the Senate indicates that
Immediately upon ratification of the treaty the United
States will be found to have incurred moral obliga-
tom a binding obligation, in other words--to send
armed forces to pacfy and the territory loosely
described Armenia The region is of indefinite boun
dares, but is usually understood to be portion of the
late Turkish empire consisting of vayets stretching
from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, between Ana
toa and Persia and inhabited largely by Armenians but
also by Kurds Tartars and other turbulent and uncvi
lied tribes. There mixture of and religions in
that backward region which makes for murders and wars
as long as the population exists
But the pacifcation of Armenia would be only one
phase of difficulty What about the disposition of Ar
menia after having taken the mandate? How could
the United States get rid of the country? 1t could not
turn adrt could it turn it back to the league
which has machinery for administering colony III
It should attempt to turn it to some other power
quarrel would almost surely ensue such as now threat
ems the good relations of France, Italy, England and
Japan in various directions On the other hand, the
powers may take mandates other regions and adj
minister them in contrary the interests of the
United States and in violation of the spirit of the cove
ant. In that violent disputes might develop in
pte of the efforts of the league council
The inevitable tendency of Article XXI is to embroiI
he United States in foreign quarres Therefore the
enate should make specific reservations concerning it.
Washington Post.