Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-07-20
SENATOR FALL IS
UTTERLY OPPOSED
To RAT|FI FICATI0N
Of LEAGUE TREATY
Declares Provisions of Cove
nant Are Repugnant to the
Spirit of American InStitu-
tons and History,
u. S. COMMITTED TO
SELF-DEFENSE POLICY
Had Provisions Now Adyocat-
ed Been in Force in 1846
Southwest Would Now Be-
long to Mexico,
ESPECIAL DISPATCH ro MORNING JOURNAL

ESPECIAL DISPATCH 70 MORNING JOURNAL
Washington, July 19.--The follow
ing statement by United states Sena-
tor Albert B. FAN was given out to-
day:
you ask me. as one of those who
signed the statement made by certain
senators on March 4. to the effect
that the league covenants as then
drafted should be accepted, whether
in my judgment the present league
covenants should be accepted by the
United States; and. second whether
consideration of the covenants by the
senate should be separated from the
consideration of the peace treaty and
reserved for discussion after the
treaty tself has been considered
without any hesitation Of mental
reservation | will say that in my
judgment, the proposed league COW
enants should never be accepted by
the United States. on Monday, June
80, | expressed myself fully in the
senate of the United States upon this
subject
Il am perfectly willing, if ma
iorty of my fellow citizens so desire,
to have the United States enter
league or parliament for the discus
sion of international questions.
u am perfectly willing to enter into
an international agreement for codify-
ing as nearly as possible international
law and | would be willing even to
create a great international court for
passing upon international law ques-
tons,
The questions naturally to be con-
sdered for the codification OF interna-
tional law, of course. as any inter-
national lawyer knows, would be the
arrangement IN written form of the
natural, necessary. voluntary laws of
nations which, have always been rec
ognizad III times OF peace and ex-
pected to be enforced in times of war,
together with such international
agreements as have been entered into
at The Hague and other meetings of
this kind.
What Might BE Done.
Further than this, we might enter
into a league, as | have suggested. for
the purpose Of discussing various
questions arising under International
law, as it exists, or as it might be
codified, ana we might agree to sub
NIT any questions of dispute between
court for decision under the rules of
international law; and we might
agree to submit any other questions in
dispute between ourselves and any
other nation to the decision of such
court, reserving always, of course, the
American policy of self-defense for
our own determination as occasion
arises and insisting upon recognition
of the fact that the Monroe doctrine
is a declaration of such right and that
in its application to this hemisphere
our Interpretation of it will never be
questioned by any other nation with
which we are associated in any such
league or parliament
The American doctrine means
self-defense-the doctrine of the
United States-and when we allow it
to be brought in question or chal-
Ienged we reserve to ourselves the
unhampered by any obligations or
right to act exactly as we please ana
agreements with any other nation
whatsoever, either as to the interpre-
tatiOn or application of the doctrine
when occasion arises.
"Our entry into the present league
deprives us of the right of national
sclf-defense, which Is just as sacred
to a nation as ~ the right of personal
self-defense to an individual and
more so. Yet individual right of self
defense may be offered in excuse or
justification in any court in any civ
iliZed country, where the charge even
is the taking of human life.
IF we enter this league no such
defense could be made if we. in what
we believed to be necessary self-de-
fense against sudden and unprovok1d
attack, used our own means in or
own way to prevent or repel such an
attack but would be compelled 10
await the action and approval of
other nations not in accord with us in
religion political theory. or form of
government alien to us in race and
preiudiced against us, as IS practically
all the world today.
What Might Have Been.
"IIad the league been acting and
we a member under its present
clauses in 1916, Texas would yet have
been a part of old Mexico. as would
my state of New Mexico, the states
of Arizona and California and part of
the state of Colorado. This section
of our country would have been
breeding place for Carranzstas and
Villstas.
"As has been said before, had the
league been in existence in 1776, this
great United States of ours, as to the
territory then comprised within 1t.
would have been a colony of Great
Britain.
should we join the league now,
tie United States would be in the
same position with reference to free
dom of action-would not ever enjoy
the same freedom of action--as is en-
loved by the British Dominion of
Canada and through Great Britain's
control of the processes of the league,
we would be as much as subject do
minion as are South Africa or Aus
tralia.
"The peace treaty itself was not
formed for the United States, but has
been negotiated merely for the pur-
pose of embodyng, not peace itself,
but the terms of the future peace of
Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan
and other countries, and Germany and
Austria, and by the action of the
president of the United States in nego-
tiating it. he has obligated the United
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