Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-24

ment today on former PRESIDENT IaIt 5
effort to conciliate the opposition to
league Of nations by concession and
compromise, but Mr.. Taft's action
seemed to create an impression there
of weakness on his part. readiness
to surrender his own convictions to
"the exigencies, personal. partisan and
political" which he says must be rec
ogniZed in the present situation.
Difficulties in Store.
The President has insisted that his
desire to see the peace treaty and
league of nations ratified without res
ervation is not based on any personal
feeling, but a knowledge of the diff
culties in store if the whole document
is opened up to all nations for change
and Interpretation. Already the
French parliament is waiting for the
American Senate to take the militia
tive before reopening the delicate
question of the Saar basin. which
kept the peace conference at SKIES
and sevens for three months.
Mr.. Wilson's position is that
reservations may seem innocuous to
American senators, but that foreign
nations would not so regard them.
If Great Britain has assured Senator
Lodge that she is ready to accept
reservations, such action not only is
tonishing to Mr.. Wilson. as the usual
channel of communication on for
eign affairs is through the executive
branches of the two governments.
The White House didn't like the
Taft letter. That was plain to see:
Certainly the impression on Capitol
Hill was that defenders of the league
were giving ground, were yielding to
the point of view of the opposition.
Many senators still view the peace
as a piece of domestic legislation
finished when the various factions
have agreed either In committee or
in conference on a compromise. But
from Mr.. Wilson's standpoint, that's
where the trouble begins.
Did Not Help Cause.
Mr.. Taft has made clear that he be-
lieves the interpretations and conces-
sions are unnecessary and that. were
he a senator, he would vote for the
league unamended. In the opinion of
friends of the league, he did not
therefore help the cause by admitting
that vital clauses in the covenant
could be changed and to some extent
sacrificed.
The President, for example. has
steadily opposed an idea which Mr..
Taft frankly espouses-the placing or
a ten-year Limitation on the obliga-
tions by the United States with re-
spect to article 10.
Mr.. Wilson has; said that this would
be practically serving notice that
America was interested in peace for
only ten years and was in effect tell
ing the other nations that they were
free to do as they pleased at the end
of the ten-year period.
would r.
cept an Interpretation or statement
saying that the obligations of article
10 could not be carried out without
the consent of our war-making power,
the Congress, though he believes such
a statement superfuous. Nor could
there be objections to a definition or
appendix on the Monroe doctrine.
These could be defended as affecting
peculiarly American circumstances.
But a limitation on article 10 would
be regarded as a. change in the sub
stance of the league and the treaty
itself and a precedent for further
changes by other countries.
Like Reopening Revenue Bill
The situation is very much like re-
opening a revenue bill when once it
comes back from conference between
the two houses of Congress. Many
senator and representative has hith-
erto voted for a conference report be-
cause the alternative Of defeat was a
loss of the whole measure. including
the provisions Objectionable to him.
Naturally. from a political point of
view. the Taft letter caused much
qualification among republicans.
They applauded the return Of Mr..
Taft to their fold and believed that
his criticism of the partisan character
of Mr.. Wilson's war administration
and his failure to consult republicans
heretofore to take Mr.. Root to the
peace conference was sound. And
many others besides republicans
thought Mr.. Taft had spoken aptly,
no matter how offensive his abrupt
remarks might seem to sensitive
minded administration officials.
It is believed that the former Presi-
dent was not seeking to make any
gratuitous attack on Mr.. Wilson's pre-
vious policies, but really to help put
the republicans in a better frame of
mind in voting for the treaty, SO that
the republican party would be freed
from the burden of defeating the
treaty" and its issues removed from
the next political campaign.
Persuasion Fails to Win.
The former Presidents letters are,
however, evidence of another thing
that Mr.. Wilson's efforts at personal
persuasion have not been very sue