The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-11
President Treats of Pact
From Many Angles in
General Terms.
MUST FOLLOW VISION
French Treaty, Shantung
and Ireland Not Referred
To in Address.
MENTIONS SAAR BRIEFLY
Foreign Relations Committee
to Take Up Consideration Of
Measure on Monday.
SAAR BRIEFLY

Special Despatch to THE Sun.
WASHINGTON. July 10.-President
Wilson went before the Senate to-day
and fred the first gun in defence Of
the proposed League of Nations when
he submitted the covenant of the
league and the treaty of peace. Con-
filming himself to generalities, Mr.. Will
son scarcely touched on the peace
terms, using almost all Of the forty
minutes his speech occupied in treat
ing the league proposal from many
angles, but always In general terms.
The President assured the Senate
that "a league of free nations has
become n practical necessity" He
said 1t was "the practical statesman's
hope Of success in many of the most
difficult things he was attempting"
in the formation of the peace pact,
the "world settlement"
In his message the President with
held the proposed French-American
alliance. He studiously avoided any
mention of the Shantung matter and
Of the Irish question; only fieeting
allusion was made to the Saar Valley
settlement. All of this was explained
by the Senators who heard him as
due to the fact that the Peace Treaty
itself had been withheld-offic cially--
from the Senate until the moment
the President stepped into the Senate
Chamber nt quarter past twelve
o'clock, and he could not consistently
explain something of which the Sen
ate had been kept in ignorance
Too Late to Turn Backward.
At the end of his pleading for the
child of his brain Mr.. Wilson de-
cinre1: The stage is set. the des-
tiny disclosed. 1t has come about by
no plan Of our conceiving, but by the
hand of God, who led us into this
war. We cannot turn back. We can
only 90 forward, with lifted eyes anil
freshened spirit to follow the vision.
1t was Of this that we dreamed at
our birth. America shall in truth
show the way. The light streams
upon the path ahead, and nowhere
else"
In one line of the Presidents ad-
dress those Senators who from the
first have seen surrender of .Ameri-
can sovereignty, rights and indepen-
dence II America becomes q member
| OF the League OF Nations, saw ad-
mission of their worst fears This
was when the President declared that
| every enlightened judgment demanded
that ut Whatever cost of independent
action. every Government that took
thought for its people or for justice
or for ordered freedom should lend
Itself TO new purpose and utterly
destroy the Old order of international
politics"
In the beginning the President dis
posed Of the peace terms by stating
that they constituted nothing less than
n world settlement, but that II would
he impossible for him to summa rize
or construe them in anything less than
Il treatise. For this purpose, he said.
he was entirely at the disposal OF
the Senate Foreign Relations Com
mittee at any time.
Secrecy AlIusion Causes Smile,
A quickly repressed ripple of laugh
ter among certain Senators was audi
Bile when Mr. Wilson, speaking OF his
activities in Paris. said you have
been fairly cognizant of what was
going on there"
The President arrived at the Capi-
tol soon after noon, having been pre-
ceded thther by Mrs Wilson, her
mother, Mrs. Boiling, and Miss Mar-
garet Wilson. Ordinarily the Presi-
dent addressed Congress from the
rostrum Of the House Of Representa-
| tiyes. This Is the first time since his
coming into office that he has ad-
dressed legislative body of political
views opposed to his own and the
second time in his career tfat hs has
addressed only the Senate.
The Republican ma jority WAS anx-
ious to see that no awkward or un-
! toward incident marked their enter
tainment Of the hend OF the nation.
so recourse was had to the book Of
rules and precedents, and the cere-
mony OF receiving Mr.. Wilson was
carried through with every attention
to the prescription laid down by the
| first Senate.
The Senate was sitting when the
President reached the Capitol. At