The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-10-18
LANSING PARTLY
|. ACTING PRESIDENT
-
Is In Full Control of Peace
] Negotiations and Ameri-
can Delegates
CAN EVEN BOSS
COLONEL HOUSE
These responsibilities Come to Him
as Secretary of State - Will Decide
Policies in Accordance With Viii
son s Ideas.


son S Ideas.
WASHINGTON, Oct. ls.-The question
of how President Wilson's illness will
affect the intricate and important remain.
ing negotiations at Paris has been ex.
planned here. There will be no complied
lions and no delay. The full direction OF
Americas policy, already has been taken
overly Secretary Of State Lansing. So
far as international affairs are concerned
| Mr.. Lansing temporarily has become act
ing Presidentof the United States, with
power to direct the American peace dele
CATION and dispose of all questions affect
ing the interests of the United States.
| In his new role, with all its response
bilities, Mr.. Lansing is well qualified at
this time because he was with the Presi-
dent III Paris and has been in daily touch
with him concerning all matters at issue
prior to the time the President left on
his western trip But the arrangement
whereby Mr.. Lansing now assumes the
helm is due primarily to the fact that he
is secretary of state and, therefore, under
lHe AdN cHtlticu 10 carry on the neSOIld-
lions.
Ordinarily when a treaty of peace is
negotiated the President through the sec
Rotary of state conducts the negotiation.
The treaty making power belongs to the
President so far as negotiations are con
cerned, and the appointment of peace del
egates IS merely the naming OF agents to
!, represent the President. The delegates or
! Inn atAt- l.at-a I
directions come from the President or
: from the state department with the APP
prevail of the President
In the present case the President HIM
, self was delegate. so that the function
of the state department to act as nterne-
, diary between the delegates and the Pres
ident was eliminated. As a delegate Mr.
Lansing had no more power than Colonel
: House or Henry White, because the Pres
, ident represented in himself the full pow
er to negotiate But with the return OF
s1'the' Pryssidentast % theo nite,t the
function of the secretary OF state to act as
t intermediary between the President and
t the delegates became operative.
Mr. Lansiaig's position as secretary Of
, state therefore was verv different from his
position as delegate. He has on many oc
| I.
and the American delegation and has not
infrequently' decided questions of policy
on his own responsibility, knowing always
that the Presidents ultimate approva
alone made them valid
The situation now is different in the
! sense that Mr. Lansing will issue orders
and make decisions on all questions Of
: whatsoever magnitude without consulting
: the President When the treaty finally is
; signed, the Presidents signature will con
< stitnte the official Endorsement OF what
ever Mr. Lansing has done on his own re
sponsibility
: theoretically the President could refuse
to sign the treaty because of some actor
: taken by the secretary of state which h,
S did not sanction. but as such contin
geney, in the circumstances, is out of the
Y question. the power of Mr. Lansing now
is practically absolute
+ 1t is very probable that Mr. Lansing
in every important case will attempt t
translate into action the ideas which ht
knows the President to entertain rathe
than his own should they disagree Oh
the matter of Fiume, for example, it j.
i understood that Mr. Lansing has not
shared in the views of the President il
all particulars Nevertheless in directin.
$ the American policy now it is probable
that he viii strongly support the Presi
; dents stand.
c But on questions where Mr., Lansin!
O and Colonel House have disagreed
/ there were many-the situation now i
+ unique Mr. Lansing may tell Colone
Il House or any other delegate Just WIN
II he wants done When the colonels ad
g vice does not suit Mr.. Lansing he raal
c with Il degree of good humor tell hia
o ;,lst what he thinks os II. In other words
Mr.. Lansing is now Colonel Houses hos
and the boss of all the other delegates
n 'nother unusual feature of the situation
n is that the foreign relations COMMITTEE
,right now got some very definite inform7
: ton from Mr. lansing. When he las
went through the ordeal of cross-examin
! otian before the senate committee Nj
!. ! ansing was at disadvantage hceans
Z as decorate he was merely an aoont o
! the President and not in a position t
: lnow much officially. Now however
'e Re raight sir,aly be asked to tell what +
decided in this or that case and he co'ilt
~ ,,Ioal iOnOraoce of his own decisions