The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-11-22
DEMOCRATS Will
mot PROTEST
II Republicans Insist Treaty
Being Made Political
Issue.

Washington, Nov. 32.--Whether fur
ther compromise efforts are to be
made to ratify the peace treaty, or the
whole controversy thrown into the
1920 presidential campaign for deci-
sion, was a question which aroused
lively speculation today in official and
political circles.
1t was agreed everywhere that the
statement issued last night by Sem
ator Lor~e. the Republican. senate
dce4aring the time for com
promise had passed and that Ii was
his desire that the majority reserva-
tion program be carried into the cam
paign, had advan I'd materially The
movement to leave the treaty sit,ia-
ton just Is it Is for the present and
give the people a chance to decide
the issue next year.
The first expressions of administra-
ton senators regarding the statement
were defiant in II e. though they still
predicted that before the campaign
began the republicans would come
into a compromise agreement that
would make ratification possible.
Senator Hitchcock, the acting ad-
min stration leader, declared that
while the democrats would be 10th
to see the treaty made a political is
sue, they would accept it, if the re-
publicans insisted, with entire con-
fidence of the outcome.
'If the republican leader wants to
make a political issue" said Mr..
Hitchcock, "of course he will not COM
promise. But IL he really wants the
treaty ratified, he will make a reason
able efforts to compromise. The
question is one of partisanship or pa
triotism."
Senator Hitchcock predicted that
President Wilson would resubmit the
treaty at the beginning of the next
session of congress on Dec. |, and
that compromise would result. 1t
was admitted Nby the administration
leaders. however. that they had no
definite assurance the president would
prefer that course to a postponement
of further action until the people had
spoken in 1920.
Hitchcock Confident.
Democratic Leader Hitchcock, in a
statement replying to the ,cIaration
Of Republican Leader Lodge that the
peace treaty issues should be settled
in the coming campaign, said today
that he was confident I compromise
would be worked out by which rati-
ficatlon could be ecured.
Text Of Reply.
Senator Hitchcock's statement fol-
lows:
Senator Lodge expresses an
ardent wish to carry Il treaty
and the reservations which the
senate defeated nto the cam
paign as an issue.
II regret to say that Senator
Lodge is evidently thinking more
of politics than he is of pa
triotism.
ITO my mind the highest inter-
ests of the United States and of
the world demand ratification of
the treaty.
THE reservations to which
penator Lodge refers did not
even receive a majority vote of
the senate, although tho marty
which Senator Lodge leads con-
trolls the senate. His party is
split on ratification III the SEN
ate, as well as throughout the
country. The reservations were
not framed for thS purpose of
ratifying the treaty. They we're
framed for the purpose OF making
it impossible for many support
ers of the treaty to vote for rati-
fication in that form.
The reservations were sup
ported by fifteen ,nators who
would not vote for the treaty un-
der any circumstances and who
voted against every form of rati-
fication. Those senator's, after
helping Lodge to force these res
ervations upon the senate, voted
no when the resolution contain
ing them came to a vote.
Reservations in tho ratitica-
tion OF the treaty a. inevitable,
but they must he framed and
agreed TO by senators who eX-
pee to vote (, ratification.
When the senate meets in De-
cember there will he eighty-one
senators out OF the ninety-siX
who favor ratification in some
form. They arc the ones TO de-