New-York tribune., 1919-02-19
League Covenant Is
Pact With a Bite
". II. Taft Declares
Former President Scores
Borah and Poindexter
for Opposition: Would
Enforce All Decisions

Special Correspondence
PORTLAND, Orc. Feb 18-"It is a
rea covenant with bite in il sand
ex-President Taft to the CORRESPONDENT
Of The Tribune when asked to CON
trast the Paris covenant with the pro
gramme of the League to Enforce
Peace. The eN-President stressed the
word "bite" and later made plain
through amplifications that the League
to Enforce Peace places due emphasis
on the third word of its title. Once
he bristled perceptbly at thoughts of
the opposition certain men in Congress
exert against peace league of nations
and broke out with:
"Oh, why can't we play the game :?
We go into arbitration on the theory
that the decision is going to favor us.
put II 1T doesn't you take it anyhow.
we have been in arbitration hundred
times and have taken the decisions
creditably."
Senators Poindcxter and Borah were
specifically scored for what he termed
petty fault-inding with plans for ar
bltration and peace.
Let me tell you this" said Mr.. Taft.
"Borah and the rest of them trying to
find extreme hypothesis to destroy the
league could destroy our Constitution
by adopting the same course" Dis
cussing the constructive side of peace
principles, he declared that he had al
ready expressed his favorable opinion
of the Paris covenant, and added at
proposes real league with a bite in
it. sincerely hope it viii be adopted.
as 1t is long step forward"
ut is the dutv of Oul SpOa+e 10
ratify the treaty whom it arrives there.
feel sure it Will, in spite of the op-
position of such men as PoindcXter,
receive the necessary two-thirds vote"
Wants Enforcement Power
Here he remarked that in only one
or two respects would he have the
covenant altered. "One point in which
it S hardly strong enough, he said is
with regard to the use of military
forces to enforce decisions.
81 would be glad if the obligation to
furnish military forces were imposed
on the league he said "There is no
such obligation now. The main lever
age now to secure awards of the
covenant is the boycott. We advocate
that, but we also recommend, as did
General Smuts, that they have a mill
tary force to back them up if the
boycott fails.
France wanted standing inter
national police force. We do not want
that. There is every provision to get
that, so we come pretty near The OBJ
jectivo. ! would say to the people of
New York that it would appear to me
that the advantage of having an inter
national arrangement that Will prevent
another such war as we have just had
must certainly appeal to them.
Congratulates Wilson
"It must be a very small contracted
view of our power as a nation which
which will accomplish this purpose
less than that of other nations. Presi-
dent Wilson is to be congratulated on
having the league of nations take the
form it has"
He was not ready to discuss in de-
tail the question of military forces in
this country after peace is established
but said that he did not think an
army OF 100000 is needed or will be
sanctioned Maintenance of a large
army such as some programmes now
suggest is too ambitious and expensive
in his Judgment AS parting shot
straight from the shoulder again the
ex- x-president gave his opinion as to
what should have been done in Russia
and Siberia to curb the rise of Boil
shevism.
81 have always said" he declared in
answer to a question about the Rus
sian situation, 'that we should have
put 100000 men both at VladivostoI
and Archangel. Had we done this YOU
wouldn't be seeing any Of this Bolshev
ism there or in the United States
now -