Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-12-20
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York. Neb., Dec. Ito the Ed
tor Of The Bee: Il It not time to w
knew where we stand in this coun.
try, whether II 10 q constitutional
republic or an old medieval auto.
cracy? Mr.. Wilson has given am.
1 pie grounds for raising this cues.
ton.
| When some Of his party leaders
/, did not want to be rubber stamped
on something to which they were op-
posed, he said that those who would
not work on the team ought to get
| OF the team. Then on October 81
1918, he asked the country to give
| HIM wax-nosed congress so he
could pull, bend or twist 1t in any
shape or direction he cared to turn
| 1t. but the voters were not up to the
Wilson date on this being q one
man country. 30 they turned him
down In very neat fashion. Here ia
what made them do It:
After asking the people to give
him such a congress he tells them
| why he wanted it. He said that he
might be the sole and unhampered
spokes man for this country" We
heard somewhere that che kept us
out Of war;" and later he said che
realized what 1t meant when he led
this great nation into war" But
some of us yet have an old book
that says congress has power to de-
clare war;" ETC., and then in the Ar
ticles of Confederation Of the states
we read this:
1.-THE United States in congress as
sembled. shall also have the sole and
exclusive right and power of de-
termining on peace and war" And
the U. S. constitution. article 2,
reads like this Cor used toy speaking
of the president and his power in
rels lion to war and the making of
treaties:
HE shall have power by and with
the advice and consent of the SEN
ate to make treaties, provided two
thirds of the senators consent"
Now listen to him when he says
1t must be ratified as written with
out the dotting OF an ! or the cross
ing of t. After he had surrend-
cred his fourteen points on which
he got the armistice signed as the
basis on which the settlement was
to be made, then he accepted the
Shantung steal. He says 1t was not
right and that he protested against
II, Uul peCdIlO pal ~ III anu ~ ~
in order to get Japan into his League
of Nation. So there he could give
and take, barter and trade his four
teen points, his conviction of right,
for China in order to bring home
an English insurance policy for the
United States to underwrite the con-
tinuity of the British empire, which
is the very heart of his covenant.
Then he says to those whose power.
duty and responsibility is equal to
his own, now you take that as 1t is
and don't you change 1t in the least
or I won't accept it, and then l will
blame it's failure on you and all the
other troubles I will lay on the re-
lection of the treaty. .a.
Now get this: At Cheyenne IN his
speech he said this: 1--WE had Just
as we'll know where we stand. that
the making of treaties In this coun-
try rests with the executive and L
shall reserve the right to say when
the senate has acted whether 1t has
ratified or rejected the treaty"
Now after the senate has done
what it's best Judgment has dictated
was best to do to safeguard this
country, he refuses to recall the
treaty back to be acted on, and
saws he has no changes In mind,
but he shifts the responsibility onto
the senate.
Now that just leaves one big plain
duty for congress to do, that Is, pass
without delay a resolution declar-
ing the war ended and If Mr.. Wilson |
wants to sit In the corner and pout, |
that is his privilege, but about four
teen points of thirty days each and
he will have plenty of time to re-
fleet on his action. In the mean
time an echo from the cheyenne |
speech ought to be heard IN wash
ington, saying 'It is time we knew
where we stand in this country.
there is but one Of us or
there are others"
FRANKLIN POKE.