Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-24

Iatt in the hope of uniting on
middle ground enough Democratic
and Republican senators to defeat
any radical amendment of the Gov
enant and in the end obtain its rati-
fication.
The suggestion has been received
with earnest consideration by the
group of Republicans who favor the
League idea. The administration
leaders, however, still insist they will
nave the votes when the time comes
to ratify the covenant as it is.
SO confident are the league Repub-
llcans of the success of their plan
that some of them believe President
Wilson will publicly accept it to
smooth the way to acceptance of the
League.
Taft Letters to Hays Published
Mr.. Taft's suggestion, which cre-
ated sensation in the Senate be-
cause of his well-known advocacy of
unreserved ratification, was en-
bodied in two letters to Will II. Hays,
the Republican national chairman.
They emphasized the former Presi-
dents belief that only by acceptance
of some reservations could the Treaty
be ratified.
OH SpStlHC interpretation pTOpOS-
ais are outlined which Mr.. Taft says
he is convinced will meet the OBJ
objections of a large group of Rep
ublicanS who favor league. He
counts forty-five Democratic sena-
tors as supporting the President in
the Treaty fight and says that should
fthree Republicans be committed to
vote against material amendments
no such proposals could receive a
Senate majority.
Mr.. Taft also has written some of
the Republican senators who, under
the leadership of Senators McCum-
J Der, North Dakota, and McNary,
Oregon, have been interested in
formulating a middle course for
solution of the Senate situation.
Criticises President
In one of his letters to Mr.. Hays
Mr.. Taft severely criticised President
Wilson for his partisan" course dur
ing the war and in the peace nego-
tiations and in the other gave the
impression that no serious opposition
is to be feared to any portion of
the Peace Treaty except the League
Covenant. The Shantung provision,
he wrote, had been the subject of
deliberate eXaggeration."
Denies Shantung Report
While the letters were being cir
culated among Republican senators
the first public expression on the
Shantung settlement came from the
White House in the form of a state
ment declaring altogether false"
published reports that the President
had formulated the provision.
The two letters to Mr.. Hays do
not outline definitely the six inter
pretations suggested by Mr.. Taft but
they are referred to as having been
contained in a previous unpublished
communication. These six stipula-
tions are understood to be substan-
TALLY as follows:
That upon two years notice the
United States could cease to be
member of the League without
having the League pass upon
whether She had fulfilled all her
obligations under the Covenant.
That self-governed colonies
and dominions could not be rep
resented on the league council
at the same time with the
mother government, or be in
cIuded i'll any of those clauses
where the parties to the dispute
are excluded from its settlement.
That the functioning of the
council under article ten shall
be advisory only and that each
member shall be left free to de-
terminc questions of war in its
own way, the decision of the
United States resting with Con-
gress.
That differences between the
nations regarding immigration,
the tariff and other domestic
questions shall not be left to
the League for settlement.
tho Il
to be reserved for administra-
ton by the United States.
That the United States re-
serves the right to withdraw un-
conditionally at the end of ten
years or at least 10 terminate
than her obligations under ar
ticle ten.
These interpretations, Mr.. Taft
wrote, could be made without weak
ening the Covenant. The argument
of administration senators has been,
however, that any qualification at all
would necessitate re-negotiation with
the other nations and encourage
them to adopt reservations.
1t is known that in his White
House conferences with Republicans
! the President has emphasized this
argument though he has been told
by some of them who are friendly
to the League that he must choose
| between reservations or failure of
the entire League plan.
Sees More Republicans
The President saw four more Re-
! publlcans to-day and il is understood
that each OF them expressed a de-
! termination to vote for reservations.
They were Senators Page, Vermont.
Mclean, Connecticut; Sterling. South
Dakota, and .Newberry, Michigan.
| During the day Senator McKellar
| Dem ocrat Tennessee, supported the
i League in a Senate speech and in the
| House representative Edmonds Re
pupllcan, pennsylvania, introduced n
resolution asking the judiciary com
| mlttee TO report whether the Presi-
dent can negotiate a treaty placing
IN the hands of a foreign commits
sion powers constitutionally vestad
! in Congress.
| A program of interpretations to
be included in Senate ratification
of the Peace Treaty in order TO in
sure support of the Republicans fav-
! orable to League idea is suggested
in letters from former President TIA ~
to VIII II. Hays, Republican national
chairman, copies of which are in tba
hands of some of the RepubIican
senators. q"
The letters suggest six "in+ernro
tauons" covering the right of with
drawal limiting the representatia,
| or dominions and colonies. assertinar
the prerogative of Congress to de-
! clare war under article ten. con fr,e
| ing national control over dop,o..t