Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-12-15
EuRoPE'S FAVOR TO REVlSloNS
FOCUSES THE BLAME ON US
Only Political Perversity Now Stands In
the Way Of Compromise lnsuriua
the Passage Of the Treaty

! ~ is sometimes a means of demonStrat
| ing its worth and inspiring its cham
! pions. The peace treaty is case in
point.
Fresh from the hands Of its makers in
June, 1919, it was said to have satisfied
! nobody. But. as the chorus of detrac-
| tion swelled, the very eXaggeration of it
| gave to saner champions of world to
be rcmade sense Of realities.
II was evident that the treaty was a
! good deal like the climate. The average
mortal bound to his environment by in
dtssouble ties, must accept it or cease
/ to exist. And 50 these critics Of the pact,
originally displeased because it did not
attain perfection, came to realization
| that, whatever its faults, it was indis-
! pensable.
Hostility, which took a sensational
and unreasoning form, unquestionably
united the friends of the document and
| increased their number. Borah, John
son or Reed on the rampage exercised
profoundly SOLDERING effect on hypercrit-
icsm. Although the treaty, technically
speaking, lies dead" in the Senate, it is
safe to say that it never had SO many adj
! vocates as at this moment.
! Similar events, although more yelled,
! have taken place abroad. It has been
reported, and perhaps with considerable
truth, that prevailing sentiment in Euro
pean official circles was unfavorable to
the league covenant which was inextrica-
! bly, bound up in the treaty. Doubtless
there were cynical diplomatists who
hoped that American opposition would
! kill a program making for disarmament
and the end Of the balance of power
! system.
Realities, however, have been admin
istered in large doses abroad since last
summer. The pound, the franc and the
lire have been parachuting toward eco
nomic chaos. Bolshevism is not throttled.
B. F, Kospoth, foreign correspondent of
this newspaper, declares that it is ad-
vancing with alarming speed
The antidote for it is not merely pol
icy of espionage and arrests, but the CO.
hesion of the best elements in civiliza-
ton in a definite reconstruction program.
Ratification of the treaty will end one
of the most dangerous interregnums in
| all history. The Endorsement, if one
sided, will be futile. The cooperation
of the United States is absolutely i'm
perative to repair the tragic mischief
wrought by the world war. 1t is vital
to Europe's interests, selfish as we'll as
idealistic, that America become a part
ner in the treaty.
So pressing, indeed. is the necessity
that convincing rumors are now abroad
indicating that reservations which we
may make to the treaty will be received
in spirit of tolerance. The Matin hints
that Senate recommendations unless too
truculently perverse, will be accepted.
There are sound reasons for believing
that this prominent Paris journal speaks
with authority. It's editor, Stephen Lau-
zanne, was a special representative of
the French Government in this country
during the war, and is admittedly in close
touch with diplomatic affairs.
John w. Davis, American ambassador
in London, has been visiting Downing
street, where Premiers Lloyd George and
Clemenceau have been in conference.
1t begins to look as if that momentous
document were worth few sacrifices
Europe is seemingly willing to make its
share. Europe hopes for eventual agree
ment on the subject; prefers it, whether
on grounds of self-interest or not, to un.
derground intrigues and the formulation
of imperialistic projects. Presumably
, the values in the case have been care
fully appraised, and the new regime, ever
with American provisos, is found prefer
! Oh 10 Ln n1J H.
industrial wreck, financial degradation
revolution and anarchy. In other words
common jense is prevailing.
1t warrants imitation in the United
1 States. Here, also, it will entail sacri
!. fees, but not of anything vital. Politi
cal jockeying must be renounced-politi
cal vanity and obstinacy and politica
playing for points. With these factor
eliminated neutrality-suspicious. re
form would involve the remaking o
man-the treaty can indisputably be re
) vived and passed and the wishes of tn
n vast majority of the citizens of this re
public be gratified.
o The prime responsibility rests upo
r the President. His original stand ma
have been sincerely taken. Perhaps tn
= mood of Europe when Mr.. Wilson lef
8 Paris was distinctly unfavorable to an
: American tinkering with the treaty. how
I ever trihing or we'll intended But tn
solvent of time has been working. Wha
h the foreign ministries were thinking 81
d months ago is conceivably quite dill
a ferent from the color of their thought
It today.
v 1t may be also that the rejection {
d the treaty in the Senate exercised a
v Illuminating influence abroad. Mr.. Wi
d son and the friends of the treaty
l. both parties would, of course, have il
s finitely preferred its immediate adol
I ton. But it is at least arguable tn;
n the Presidents recent policy of ina
tlyity on the subject may have bee