, 1919-06-12
HOW THE SENATE
WILL HANDLE PACT
PRESIDENT WILSON PROBABLY
WILL DELIVER THE TREATY
TO 1T IN PERSON.
LODGES COMMITTEE GETS 1T
There the Document VIII Be Subjected
to Careful Study and Debate-New
Peace Conference May Be round
Necessary.
BY EDWARD q. CLARK.

$500
intention of President Wilson to stick
to the precedent which he established
and to deliver in person the treaty Of
peace and the covenants of the league
of nations to the United States SEN
ate, and to accompany the presenta-
ton with a speech of calculation and
Endorsement.
Already a summary of the covenant
or the league of nations and the peace
terms have been given to the American
people, but the pacts as they have been
written in extenso probably will be
made public only when the president
appears before the senate.
The means of making and of secur-
ing ratification of peace treaties and
international pacts of all kinds is of
particular Interest today. In fact, it
Is OF greater interest, so some of the
senator's seem to think, than anything
In connection with foreign affairs has
been since President Monroe put forth
the doctrine which has become his
toric.
As soon as the president has ex-
planned from his point of view all the
sections of the treaty, and of the cove
nant which really has been made a
part of the treaty, Senator Henry
Cabot Lodge, Republican chairman of
the committee on foreign relations,
Will make a motion to have the treaty
referred to the committee over which
he presides. This motion will be agreed
to unanimously, because such is the
regular procedure.
Lodges Committee to Pass on It.
In the committee there will be hours
OF study and debate given to the sub
1ect In hand. 1t Is expected that in q
large measure the committee proceed
ings VIII take On the semblance of a
court. Experts on International af-
fairs and on constitutional law will be
summoned to bear testimony. 1t is
even possible that the president of the
United States may be called into con-
ference to give further explanation of
some parts of the document in contro-
versy. The sessions of the foreign re-
lations committee will be executive,
and not until a report is made to the
senate will the public have full knowl-
edge Of what is going on.
There has been much discussion as
to whether or not the senate has the
power to mend the treaty. There is
also a question as to whether or not
the senate has the power to separate
the treaty from the covenant of the
league of nations and to consider the
two things separately.
When the report OF the committee is
laid before the mate the first tests
will come which will tend to show
what the final fate Of the document Is
to be. Party lines will be ignored, be-
AUS there are Democratic as well as
Republican opponents of the treaty
and covenant as they stand. 1t may be
that the majority report of the foreign
relations committee will contain
amendments to the treaty. If the mi
nority report contains no amendments,
but accepts the documents as they are,
the senate could sanction the treaty
and the by the acceptance of
the minority report.
1t takes a two-thirds majority of the
United States senate to ratify a treaty,
but so far as the proceedings on the
floor are concerned a majority is sufi-
cient to amend. 1t is for this reason
that amendments will be fought for
and against just as hard as for or
against the treaty itself.
"As Soon as Possible"
There is in the Constitution of the
United States a specification that all
peace treaties must be ratified "as
soon as possible" lust how long "as
soon as possible" will mean in the
present case 1t is hard to forecast. Ger
tain it is that it will take a consid-
cradle time for the senate to get
through with the business In hand. 1t
must be remembered that the treaty is
a long one, $4,000 words in length, In
fact. The limitations of human en-
durance and mental acumen therefore,
will prevent a quick consideration and
adoption or rejection of the document.
An authority has said this concern
ing possible senate procedure:
"If the senate should determine to
amend the treaty and If. also, other
nations parties to the treaty should
fail to concur. the result would be no
treaty at all and a new peace confer
ence would have to be called. In case
no amendments are made, the treaty
finally will come up for ratification In
the form in which It is presented"
Senators Themselves In Doubt.
The fog which enveloped two United
States aviators on their approach to
the coast of the Azores vas no thicker
than that which envelopes the United
States senate to cover up the details
of prospective action concerning the
treaty of peace and covenant of the
league of nations.
Literally thousands of sheets have
been covered with writings concerning