The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-14
Mr.. Knoxs Constructive Criticism
OF the Covenant.

Mr.. KNOBS Constructive Criticism
OF the Covenant.
An astonishing ignorance or avoid
ance Of the facts appears in a dis
cussion by the New York World Of
the talk in Paris about amendments
to the Wilson covenant:
where Senator LODGE. Senator
KNOX and other opponents OF the
present draft of the league constitu-
ton have laid themselves open to
Just censure Is not In their insist
ence upon amendment but in their
stubborn refusal to suggest changes
and notifications. The Lodge reso-
luton declared against the consti-
tuition of the League OF Nations in
the form now proposed to the Peace
Conference but not one OF the SEN
ators signing 1t has had the good
faith to indicate the amendments
that he deems necessary"
Senator KNOX was one of the sign
ers of the pledge to oppose the Will
son draft of the league constitution
in It's present form, and If the World
had INDUCED in the intellectual treat
of reading the speech which Mr..
KNOX delivered In the Senate on
March 1 1t would not have said in
honesty the remarkable words we
have quoted.
OF course the most important feat
ure Of the Wilson covenant Is the
evils that it contains. A secondary,
yet very important, consideration is
the things that may be inserted in
the document after the evil things
have been torn out. Senator KNOX
devoted his address first to the perils
of the covenant: the looseness and
unintelligibllity of its wording; the
absence of details of procedure such
as are contained, for instance, in our
own Constitution; the prospect of the
covenants abrogating our trea ties;
its power to force the United States
into wars not affecting or concerning
that every future war should be a
world war; It's withdrawal from Con
gress of the constitutional power to
declare war; its power TO send our
power to decide how much America
must contribute, in lives and treas
ure, to the leagues purposes its
sterilization Of the Monroe Doctrine
these are the principal objections
which Americans make to the present
draft of the covenant, and Senator
KNOX voiced them.
If Senator KNOX had stopped with
that his speech would still be most
valuable contribution to the cause of
America; but not content with de-
structive criticism Of the bad feat
ures of the covenant, he went on to
make the constructive suggestions
which we must assume the World
cannot have read. As the prime ne
cessity of any international agree
ment reached at Paris is the proven
ilNll VI iuliAt hdlN' AD'iltIuI hNOA
suggested three methods, two Of
which are available for consideration
In framing n league constitution that
would be acceptable to Americans.
The first of these was this:
zone way is to provide for the
compulsory arbitration of all dis
",utos ,,rdor sor,a sIr,ct ,,i.r 90, a..
provided for in the International
Prize Court, or the unratlfied Ameri-
can-British and Americana French
arbitration treaties OF 1911, or the
or union of the best In all Of
them"
In his comment on this first plan
Senator KNOX said that he could re-
call no case between great Powers
in which an award made has not
either been carried out as given or
has not led TO an adjustment mu-
tually satisfactory to both parties"
He then announced a second posi-
BILE plan:
III we feel that world interests
and power are reshaplng In such a
way that We need to be protected
and that We need 10 protect others,
then let US form an alliance with
the strongest other Power or two
Powers of the world for mutual pro-
lection. That We be not thrown into
quarTels in which we would have no
sympathy we must choose as our
allies those Powers '"hxk traditions,
institutions, ideals ana people are
most like our own"
The third plan suggested by Mr..