New-York tribune., 1919-10-05
Real Reservations Needed

on making those reservations "mild,' If
by mild" they mean innocuous. Reser-
vations, to be worth anything, must be
clear and have some positive content
Whether they have the moral effect Of
amending the covenant or not amending
it is a side issue. They do not change it
in form. And whether they change it in
fact no one can predict, since nobody can
say in advance that our Interpretation
Of our rights and obligations under the in
strument will or will not harmonic with
the Interpretation put upon it by the
other major sIgnatories.
The covenant is full of obscurities
The reason for that is not far to seek
The original conception Of the league Of
nations was that Of genuine super
state. Each member was to transfer
some Of its sovereignty to an imposing
F., international organization, which was to
compel arbitration, secure disarmament
and prevent wars. The original drafts
of the covenant contemplated strong
centralization Of world authority When
the superstate theory was abandoned it
was difficult to reshape the compact so
as to reserve full sovereignty to the par
tlcipating members. The old thought
persisted and it's persistence resulted in
many antiquities, of which the trainers
were perhaps not wholly conscious. Pres
ident Wilson has maintained that the ma
tionalistic implications of the disputed
passages are perfectly clear to him.
They are not clear to others. And the
covenant may be interpreted hereafter
with little regard to the understandings
which the statesmen of this generation
may read into it.
Reservations-clear, precise and out
spoken-are necessary guarantees against
the broad constructionists Of the future.
If the United States doesn't define it's
obligations when it has the chance to
do so it will let itself into a compact
charged with friction and contentious
ness. And the league of nations will be-
come league not to promote peace, but
to create chickering's and misunderstand-
ings among it's members
The chief antiquities of the covenant
are these:
l. Article | permits any member of
the league to withdraw after giving two
years notice of it's intention to do so.
But the abandoned idea of league super
sovereignty survives in the proviso that
"all its 1.-THE retiring members] inter
national obligations and all it's obliga-
tions under this covenant shall have been
fulfilled at the time of withdrawal"
Manifestly under this language the
league would be the judge as to fulfil
ment or non-fulflment. Mr.. Wilson has
said, however, that the withdrawing
member is and ought to be the Judge. A
definite declaration on this point is essen
tlal. Our Civil War was fought to de-
termne whether under the Constitution
each state retained or didn't retain the
right of secession.
H. Article X binds each member of
the league to "respect and preserve as
against external aggression the terri
torial integrity and political indepen-
dence" Of the other members In case of
aggression or threat of aggression "the
council shall advise upon the means by
which this obligation shall be fulfilled"
The council advises only as to the means.
The obligation is absolute. But under
our system of government no obligation
to make war can be imposed on this
country by all outside agency. Congress
alone has the power to declare war or to
authorize economic boycotts. 1t is evil
dent that the uper-sovereignty theory
as it crops out again in Article X must
be repudiated by the United States. A
reservation rigidly limiting our obliga-
tions under Article x is indispensable
IN order to make the covenant conform
to our national practice and to protect
our freedom of action.
III. Article XI allows any 1..ember Of
the league to bring tc>.he attention of
the assembly or the council "any cir
cumstance whatever affecting interna-
tional relations which threatens to dis
turb international peace or the good un-
derstanding between nations upon which
peace depends" The President has
strongly limited that under this language
the grievances of Ireland could be pre-
sented to the league. Ireland's griev-
ances are British domestic question.
Our discrimination against Chinese and
japanese immigration has affected In
ternattonal relations. 1t can also be
brought TO the attention Of the league.
A reservation Is therefore needed rcliev-
ing tho United States of any obligation