The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-08-20
PRESIDENT REPLIES FRANKLY
TO LODGE QUERIES ON LEAGU UE
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Continued from page ~
the tentative League Of Nations drafts
submitted by Great Britain. France and
Italy.
The President: II would have sent
them to the committee with pleasure,
senator, IL / had found that l had
them. l took it for granted had them;
but the papers that remain In my hands
remain there in haphazard way. |
can tell you the character of the other
drafts. The British draft was the only
one as l remember that was In the
form Of definite constitution of a
league. The French and italian drafts
were In the form of series OF prop
ositions laying down general rules and
assuming that the commission, or what.
ever body made the final foundations.
would build upon those principles IL
they were adopted. They were princi-
pies quite consistent with the final ac-
ton.
General Smut's Plan Used
81 remember saying to the committee
when 1 was here in March, have for
gotten the expression l used. but 1t
was something to the effect that the
British draft had constituted the basis.
/ thought afterward that that was mis-
leading, and l am very glad to tell the
committee just what ! meant. Some
months before the conference assem-.
bled. plan for the League of Nations
had been drawn up by British com
mittee, at the head of which was Mr.
Phillimore-I believe the Mr.. Phillimore
who was known as the authority on In
ternational law. A copy of that docu-
ment was sent to me and | built upon
that a redraft. l will not now say
whe ther l thought it was better or not
an Improvement; but l built on that
a draft which was quite different, mas
much as l put definiteness where there
had been what seemed indefinteness in
the Phillmore suggestion Then, D.
tween that time and the ime or the
formation of the commission on the
League of Nations, l had the advantage
of seeing q paper by General Snuts OF
South Africa, who seemed to me to
have done some very clear thinking
particularly with regard to what was TO
be done with the pieces of the dismem'
bered empires. Before | got TO faTls'
therefore, | rewroe the document TO
which have alluded and you may have
noticed that it consists of series or
articles and then supplementary agree
ments. 1t was in the supplementary
agreement that l embodied the original
ideas that had come to me not only
from General Smut's paper, but from
other discussions. That is the full story
of how the plan which l sent TO the
committee was built up
Senator Lodge: "Then it is obvious
that the General Smuts plan was used
That appears on the face of the docu
ment."
The President: yes
Senator Lodge: Then there was
preyious draft in addition to the one
Won have sent to US? You spoke or
radraft That was not submitted to
the committee"
The President: mo; that was pr
vately, my own
Senator Lodge: Was it before our
commission?"
The President: mo, 1t was not before
our commission
Draft Of Article 10
The president said draft OF Articie
10. which Senator Johnson had pre-.
sented to the committee, was part OF
the draft which preceded the arai'
which was sent to you"
Senator Johnson said he had taken II
from the Independent.
The President: II read 1t with the
greatest interest, because I had forgot
ten it, to tell the truth. but l recog
nized it as soon as I read it.
Senator Johnson: 1T was the orig
lnal plan?"
The President: at was the original
form of Article 10. yes"
Senator Lodge said he had been about
to ask whether Article 10 in its present
form had been in the British plan, put
If there were no definite drafts OF these