The Washington times., 1919-11-20
; INTERNATIONAL
LAWYERS DISCUSS
TREATY DEFEAT
Thomas Nelson Page, Hannis
Taylor, and DR.. w. M. COL,
lier Give Views on Re-
lection by the Senate.

lection by the Senate.
The opinions of three eminent inter-
1ational lawyers on the action of the
;enate last night, in rejecting the
peace treaty and the covenant of the
.eague OF Nations, are given bleow.
DR.. Hannis Tay'Hr, international
lawyer. and American minister to
spain during the Cleveland Admins
ration; and DR.. William Miller COL
'ier. president of George Washington
University, and an authority on inter-
national affairs, unite in upholdins
The action of the Senate, while Thomas
Nelson Page, until recently American
Ambassador to Italy. deplores the turn
! events have t. IN.
BY THOM.S NELSON PAGE.
Former Ambassador to Italy.
consider defeat of the peace treaty
| an immeasurable misfortune Those
who defeated it have assumed the
most terrible responsibility which
any men have assumed in our time.
It's effect must be to plunge Europe
| into even deeper choas, from which
! America can hardly escape entirely.
Those who were most against the
| treaty and the League of Nations
were the Germans, the extreme Sim
| Feiners. the L. w. W., and the Boil
shevists. Those who have Just killed
the treaty, however sincere their mo-
tiVes, have given these cause for
great rejoicing.
No one maintains that the treaty
Or the league was perfect; but every
one knows in his heart that it was
better treaty and sanction than was
hoped for one year ago. Just one
year ago and a little more America
and the world were holding their
! breath at what was happening in
France. We were vowing to God that
peace were vouchsafed US, that
| thing which was destroying the
world and had already swept away
so many millions of men should never
come again. The ruins Of France and
Italy still were smoking. Our men
we're dying by thousands in the Ar
gonne and along the other fronts to
save the world, and it was saved.
Approved By the Allies.
I was present when David Lloyd
George laid the treaty Of peace on the
table of the House of Commons and
declared that the league Of nations
was the only means of future safety
n sight. and that he could not imag-
ne how any sensible man could op-
pose it's being fully tried out. Since
that times the treaty has been ap
proved by all of the allies.
But the Senate of the United States
has rejected alike the treaty and the
League of Nations. Thus the United
States and China stand out alone
against the treaty and the league.
'hina may have a defensible reason,
but what reason have We? If tn,
treaty did not protect America, then
human intelligence has no sound
basis.
/ came home recently from q coun-
,ry where the burning question was
how to get bread for the people for
the following day and how to get coa'
for the folinwing week to prevent
closing down all industrial establish.
nents and revolution. / found here
hat the burning questions were the
omission Of the President to appoint
certain persons on the peace commits
/ sion and the cession of certain claims
to the Shantung peninsula to Japan
IN accordance with the conventions
which England and France had al
| ready signed.
Bordering On Chaos.
Today I am asked what will be the
probable effect in Europe OF the de-
|
| lean Senate.
Europe is in a condition bordering
on chaos, and this is not likely to
bring order there. The first thing
will be Germany's relief from the eX-
| actions of the treaty. Can ii be that
she now will put forth her efforts to
pay the great reparation amount i'm
posed upon her unless, indeed, she
| recognizes that the present situation
offers the unexpected chance for her
\ to conquer the world once more COM
mercially? If not this, then the result
| must and probably will be in any
| event. re-cstablishment OF great
| ornaments.
The league of nations having been
repudiated by us, the result to us Is
clear. II means we must inaugurate
here a great armament. We. Ger
! many, and China alone stand outside
J of the league, which at present con
| stitutes a sort of inchoate alliance o.:
! those who have en'ered it.
The present situation, as ] see it, is
! that we have had Il chance to escape
| fl ON being overwhelmed N what
| thI eatened to be q universal deluge
/ and the Senate has thrown IT away.
safety.
| Have Sunk Peace Ark.
| The chief builder Of the ark that
promised us rescue worked himself
| wellnight to death to save US. And
| it looks as though those who were
not called in to help build the ark
have sunk it, What will they give Us
! in its place?
My only hope now is in the sound
| common sense-that sober sc ond
| thought Of the American people" on
which Mr.. Lincoln relied so securely.
| count on this, when all pride. preju-
dice, and passion shall have passed, TO
follow the lead which the President
|, ,VVT:C1-