The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-11-15
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER Is, 1919.
IS THE TREATY DEAD?

The reservation TO article y. of the
league of nations covenant adopted by |
the senate Thursday has been called a !
dagger thrust at the peace treaty !
itself While dagger thrusts are dan
gerous they are not always as fatal
as the thruster hopes and 1t is possible |
he opponents of the league may not
have accomplished so much execution
as they wished 1t is true the Presi-
dent has said the adoption of this res,
eryatiOn would make the treaty unac
ceptabe to him, but he has in the past
accepted conditions he opposed and he
may suppress his indignation again and
accept what he can get rather than
what he wants.
Here is the text of article Y and
the reservation:
Article X-The members of the
league undertake TO respect and pre-
serve as against external aggression
the territorial integrity and existing
political independence of all members
aggression or in case of any threat
or danger of such aggression the coun-
ell shall advise upon the means by
which this obligation shall be fulfilled.
The reservation-The United States
| assumes no obligation to preserve the
territorial integrity or political indie
| pendence of any other country or to
interfere in controversies between ma
rhay ha,. oe =,
or nOt--under the provisions of article
! X, or to employ the military or naval
| forces of the United States under any
article of the treaty for any purpose,
unless in any particular case the con
gress, which, under the constitution,
alone can authorize the employment OF
the military or naval forces of The
United States, shall by act or joint res.
olution so provide.
'The United States assumes no obi
CATION etc, is declaration unworthy
of this country. 1t should assume &
moral obligation 'to respect and pre-
serve the territorial integ
rity and existing political independence
of all members of the league" 1t coulC
not under the constitution employ tn,
military or naval forces of the United
States without authority of congress
How much more honorable it woul,
have been for the senate to have mad
this clear and accepted the moral obi
cation.
/ The conservative Springfield Republi
: can says:
If the other powers will accept tli
inequality in obligations and duties
which a majority of the senate nov
indorses the rent thus made in the GOV
enant can probably be repaired in prac
tice by any president disposed to ex
ercise his general constitutional power
in the management of our foreign re
lations-powers belonging TO the exec
utive which no senate reservation cal
touch. The treaty becomes "the su
preme law of the land the momen
il is finally ratified and the Presiden
takes an oath to enforce the laws
1t follows that, being a signatory t
the treaty, the United States would b
interested in having its provisions oh
served, and this interest would be some
thing for the president to be concerne
about if there were no covenant and n
league of nations. Congress could no
prevent him from exercising his dip
lomatic resources short of war to pre-
serve tthe territorial integrity and tn
I existing political independence, agains
external aggression, of the new state
/ established by this treaty so long as tn
United States was a signatory 10 tina
treaty, and a treaty of the Unite
States was, under the constitution
''the supreme law of the land
III This view indicates that while tn