Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-07-22
'HARRISON'S PLEA
For Acceptance of
League of Nations
Accuses Republican Leaders Of Rank
Partisanship in Opposing cevsn.
ant-Asssrts Lavish Deception
Praetiesd and Misrepresentation
Generously Employed

| &uG-A0o0fSo kaVtU0 deception
Praetiesd and Misrsprssen ut alton
Generously Employed
Washington. July 21-PartisanshiI
in opposition to the league Of nations
and the peace treaty was imputed t,
republican leaders today by Senate,
Harris, democrat, of Mississippi
Never before in the discussion If 9
great national question" he said
has deception been so lavishly
practiced and Misrepresentation at
generally employed. Just criticisl,
is always acceptable, but when op-
position to international policies
such as are contained in this treaty
is founded on rank partisanship and
personal dislike of a particular iadi-
vidual. it is worse than Bolshevtsin
=! gone wild"
/ Naming Senator Lodge, chairman
Hays of the republican national com.
mittee. Senator Borah, Of Idaho
Senator Knox, Of Pennsylvania, and
others, Senator Harrison asserted
that the republican leaders had
sought to embarrass President vii.
! son at Versailles and now were seek
! ing to strange the treaty for parti-
| sanship.
IT appeal to you." he >said, at,
! come out from that shell Of parti-
| sanship. Help US to ratify this
treaty. Give to the people the pea:e
they desire.
DO not think yourselves wiser
than your masters; do not think tina;
the wisdom of the republican party
is lodged in your membership. tn.
thousands Of men and women
| throughout the country who have
| never voted anything but the repub-
lican ticket believe that this treaty
should be ratified.
"Sirs, IL you are to defeat it. let
me appeal to you to meet the issue in
the open. Do not put yourselves in
the attitude Of voting reservatio,, rs
that are meaningless or ratify it with
string tied to it. such a string that
, will strangle it,
Reservations urged by Chairman
Hays and other republican leaders,
Senator Harrison said. were unneces-
sary and would require reconsidera-
ton of the treaty by all the sigma
tories and destroy the hope Ct man
kind for world peace"
He charged the republican leaders
with having sought to arouse racial
labor. religious. Irish and other pre-
JUDGES in their partisan opposition.
Their real opposition, however. he
declared. was because President VIII
son had hand in making it and be-
cause they objected to the disarma-
ment and commercial clauses. Ii
this connection he pointed out that
! munitions industries were prominent
in the states Of the prominent sena-
tors attacking the treaty.
mo argument has been to falla-
cious. no illustration too far fetched,
for you to seize upon in your desper-
ate efforts to becloud the issue They
! became jealous of the growing as
cendancy of this man Presidcn.
Wilson,. He was becoming toa
| popular, too influential. Your sp-
position arose simply and merely be-
| cause he happened to be the spokcs-
man and leader of another political
party. I had never believed part:-
sanship would become so acute that
| jealous leaders would rather see the
| star Of their country dimmed than
to witness the ascendency Of rna
individual. simply because he was
| of different political faith.
You tried by every possible
| means to embarrass him. No ASK
! was ever accomplished against sur:l
! unfavorable odds; in foreign coun.
| try against a propaganda conceived
by men in this chamber, adequ ate
| ly financed and consistently prose-
| cuted, that his influence might be
destroyed and his plans defeated, he
| won.
| And now, with the work finished and
signatures Of these able statesmen OF
the allied countries attached, you have
organized the machinery of this body
that their work might be undone. Bar.
gaining has been INDUCED in and com.
promises effected that you might carry
out your nefarious schemes. The erst.
while pretended progressives of the Re.
! publican party buried all their differ.
ences and solidly voted for the senators
from Pennsylvania (Penrose) and wy
oming (Warren) as chairmen Of the
finance and appropriations committees,
While 1t appeared an awakening at the
time, subsequent events and the DELHI
crate stacking Of the foreign relations
committee against this treaty of peace,
! including the league Of nations, ex-
plains everything.
! Not content with levelling your mud
{ batteries on the league of nations GOV.
enant. when you failed, you continued
to take issue with your representatives
at Versailles on practically every i'm
portant question
| Senator Harrison quoted an address
by Senator Lodge supporting Italy's
claim to Fiume and continued:
| When China. stirred and influenced
by expressions er,anating from your
leaders. refused to sign the peace. she
received the most sincere cooperation
and sympathy from you. When the
representatives Of America were doing
everything within their power commen-
surate with right and justice to COM
promise our differences with Japan
your leaders famed the fires Of dis
content and did everything to widen the
breach. You are still doing 1t.
Before Germany signed the treaty
your leaders in t his chamber, by elo-
quence that sounded to German ears,
showed to them opposition that was
sympathetic and akin. Nothing has