Evening star., 1919-11-27
FRANCE COUNTING ON u. S.
TO RATIFY SPECIAL TREATY
Rejection Would Be Regarded as Repudia-
tion of Obi cation Incurred at Paris,
Mr.. Simonds Contends.

Is Contends.
tute OF American military guarantee.
Every one who was in Paris during
| tne peace conference knows that Foch
demanded for his country and as an
essential condition to future security
the occupation of the left bank of the
! Rhlne. The sole excuse Clemenceau
could present for putting aside the
adVlce OF the great soldier whose mil
| ltary genius had won the war was the
veracious statement that President
wilson opposed such a course. with
| the complete support of Lloyd George.
ana that to insist upon it meant to
ALLEVIATE America.
| when the terms of tho treaty were
themselves made public, the French
hatlon nation waited, not for the details of
| thls document, already fairly accu-
| rateiy forecast byH past reports, but
LOT the exact terms of the pledge all
| france knew had been given by the
/ PRESIDENT and the British prime min
lster to assure British and American
support should Germany attack
again. HAD such pledge, given in
lacking, Clemenceap would have gone
out OF power and the treaty would
hand.
Moreover, and this is the circum-
stance which becomes significant to-
uay, nad there been the smallest sus-
Plclon In France that there was any
question of the favorable action of the
| lnited States Senate, then France.
without regard to parties or persons.
would have demanded that the views
or Foch should be accepted and those
OF Clemenceau discarded. In point of
TACT there were many Frenchmen who
hn
policy in any case.
Would Leave France No Remedy.
Now the fact is that the course of
PRESIDENT Wilson at the peace con-
ference resulted in the surrender by
ane french of certain physical guar
antees which the mass OF the French
people and all of the French military
men regarded as essential to the safe
ty of France. This surrender was en-
bodied in the treaty of Versailles, and
.ne terms of that treaty have been
ain and Germany. A refusal of the
the United States Senate to ratify the
Anglo French American treaty will
thus leave the French no remedy,
since they have paid in advance.
In the United States the discussion
of this treaty has turned on the fact
that no actual pledge could be given
by the President and the right and
power always remained with the Sen
ate. This is true, in fact, but it is
suaded by the American representa-
tives in Paris that the ratification by
the Senate was certain, and on this
assurance, conveyed by the President
of the United States. himself. they
consented to resign in advance. what
lay in their power to acquire and in
their need to possess. if the American
aid promised in the agreement should
be denied.
If we now reject the French insurance
agreement. for that is what the tri-
partite agreement amounts to, the ef-
feet. if not the intent OF our course, will
be to abandon the French. after having
led them into a difficult and even dam
gerous course.
The fact is that President Wilson
was responsible for the surrender by
| the French of the project for a per
| manent military occupation of the
Rhine barrier as an insurance against
a new German aggression. They
abandoned it only because they be-
lieved that in offering them the sub
stitute of an American pledge to aid
| in case of any German attack. he had
promised with certainty Of perform
ance. If the Senate declines to give
force to the Presidents promise,
trayed. but will obviously have sound
basis for such feeling. q ''
Blow to Americas Word Abroad.
If the President of the United states
can go to Europe and persuade Euro
pean nations to lay aside legitimate
demands and claims and to abandon q
policy conceived by their leaders. by
men of the worldwide eminence Of
| Marshal Foch, to be matter Of life
| and DEATH on the assurance of future
American assistance and then the
Senate of the United States refuses to
make good the Presidents promise.
then It Is patent that the word Of
America will lose much of its value in
world conferences:
A debate, a dispute between the
! President and the Senate over the
real limits of the power of each in the
matter of treaty-making, is a purely
! domestic matter, SO long as 1T does
! not involve the safety or the prosper
| ity of the other nations of the world.
| But it becomes something more than
! a domestic matter when the nations
of, the world seeing. the President ar
rive in Europe as the unquestioned
representative of the United States,
! with all the prestige of his high Of
flee supporting him and accepting him
! as such. consent to yield their own
views to his. surrender their own poll
icies to his, risk their own safety to
| comply with his purposes, only to dis
cover that. when they have done all
that was asked of them. when their
! sacrifices have become irrevocable,
the United States. through the Senate,
can repudiate the Presidents course
and leave them without remedy.
! The question raised is not one of
| right, save on the moral side. Rather
I it is one of future policy. II we re-
| pudiate the Presidents pledge to
! France. the next time we send dele
cation to any International confer
ence it's position will be beneath con-
| tempt, because no nation will dare
trust it's words or accept its 'sugges-
| tions lest they be presently repu-
dated.
League Issue" Not Raised.
AS to the league of nations this is
sue is not raised. The President did
! not persuade European nations to
| sacrifice their safety to subscribe to
| the covenant; they subscribed to it of
their own free will. in the hope that
by SO doing they would win American
ance. Rejection of the covenant, mu-
tilating it by reservations, will be Il
humiliatint circumstance for the
Presidents but it will not involve the
honor of the nation. since it will not
do violence to the interests of other
countries.
But if we refuse to make good the
Presidents assurance to France, the
effect will be to leave the French
without the hope Of our aid and pro-
they have. in obedience to the in
sistence of the President Of the United
States in Paris and in frank opposi-
tion to the advice of their supreme
soldier. Marshal Foch. abandoned
those other guarantees which Foch
timent demanded. Nor is it less plain
that the effect of this double disarma-