Evening journal., 1919-11-10


OF waiting and millions, II not billions,
OF dollars. The purpose OF that reso-
luton was to separate the business OF
concluding peace from the visionary
enterprise of creating a new world
supergoyernment. Everybody, even
the enthusiastic supporters of the COW
snant OF the League, must see now
how response TO that sensible and
reasonable call for the postponement
for adequate consideration and proper
[ decision of the general project of
| league OF nations anti Our entry there
into would have served .he best inter
ests of the world.
But Mr.. Wilson willed otherwise,
He had already formulated in his own
! auiocratic intelligence his plan for so
/ Intervening covenant of interna-
tional dealsm with plain treaty Ter
minating the status Of belligerency
that the two things could not be sep
arated as the Knox resolution ana
ordinary practical common sense pro-
posed. He had his way. The Knox
resolution of December 3, 1918, was
not allowed to come to vote In a
Senate then controlled by the Presi-
dents partsans. And the rainbow
chase began.
The one other thing that could have
been done to stop this year long Wal
purgls nOght's dance of visions all
around the horizon and to bring peace
without national involvement in all
the quarrels and intrigues Of Europe
was. Of course, not done at Paris by
President Wilson and his more or less
negligible associates in the American
delegation. That would have been to
safeguard Americas independence by
adequate reservations before signing
as was done in the ease Of the con-
yentions of The Hague and Of Alge-
clras. But instead Of reserving and
preserving and safeguarding the Presi-
dent devoted his entire energy TO the
business of trading and Intervening,
with results this nation now knows
too well.
Now again as the tangle becomes
more complex at Washington, and res
ervations clash with reservations and
the prospect of adequate projection
by that means becomes more remote.
Senator Knox arises again to suggest,
in the tone of absolute sanity and prac-
tical prescience, a way out of the diff
flculty resulting from Mr.. Wilson's
obstinately self-determined course at
Paris.
The Senator proposes that the reso-
luton of ratification to be so wOrded as
10 ratify unreservedly the treaty in so
far as it provides for the creation Of a
Status Of peace between the United
States and Germany; and at the same
time, with regard to the League of
Nations. to reserve to the United States
the cOmpletest liberty Of action to de-
eide for itself any question raised in
that quarter, or 10 Withdraw at will
at any time from any relation to .he 4
establishment contemplated by the /
Wilson covenant. AS we read the pro- (
posed reservation it would do the job.
1t is a proclamation of emancipation |
indeedI
We have referred TO Mr.. Knoxs ear
lier resolution of detachment because
it scenes to us that this new resolu-
tiOn Of reservation accomplishes pre-
cisly the two laudable aud desirable
things which that would have effected
nearly year ago. The first Of these
two things is the technical ending Of
the war. The second is the postpone
ment Of the question of changing our
form of government and subjecting
TO supergovernmens until il
can be decided by the only authority
to decide il. namely, the
sovereign will Of the people of the
United States.
We had been coming gradually. If
to the conclusion that the
only way out was to scrap the Wilson
instrument in its entirety and then to
hunt up some other method OF declar-
ing peace that exists in every respect !,
save the announcement
The Sun cOngpatulates the eminent
gentleman from Pennsylvania upon the
rectilinearity Of his vision.
JUDGE BRADFORD MUCH IMPROVED.