Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-12-10
MAI. BATES APPEALS
To MAINE SENATORS
Former Delawarean, Now OF
Lewiston, Maine, Writes Strong
Letter in Favor of Treaty.

Major u. NJ Bates of Lewiston, Nc.
formerly of Wilmington, Is successiul
business man in his adopted State. He
has taken great interest in the treaty OF
pcacr which has recently been defeated by
the United States Senate, and beileveS
that serious mistake was made when the
Senate failed to ratify 1T, with or without
r cServatIons.
Major Bates wrote very pointed let
ter to the Maine Senators on the subject, In
which he gave expression to his views on
the matter, and appealed TO them to
help save the treaty. In the letter to the
Senators he said he felt dazcd when news
of the failure of the Senate to ratlfy the
peace treaty either with or without reser-
vations, reached me think most oi the
business men Of the country, lrrcspcctlVeS
of party tics, shared my feelings and now
stand aghast at the prospect OF endless
world unsettlemcnt which such a sltua-
tion holds out. ::
81 believe few business men are IN
sympathy either with the extreme atu-
tude of President Wilson or with the eX,
frene attitude Of Senator Lodge, ana
tho, most of ms think. with former ProsI-
dent Taft, that the treaty IN IT'S origilh
form protects all vital American interests
hut that there should be no objection To
reasonable interpretatIve reservations COW
erinp such vital points rs our position on
tbs question OF fulflllment OF Obligations In
c,se of withdrawal from the league, OF the
nowcr of Congress alone TO declare war on
hcbslf of the United States In cases arls-
ing under Article \, OF non-Interference
of the league in what we consider purely
domestic questions, and Of the Monroe
Doctrine.
although | WAS reared In Delaware IN
- IL
Bsyard, and although am an adrnirer Of
President Wilson for many things which
he has accomplished, / have the right to
speak to you as ono of the independent
voters of the country, without party
affiliation, for | have not once, but many
times, supported Republican as well as
Democratic candidates with my vote,
ranging all the way from candidate Tor
President down through the various
offices of the State and OF the city to that
of common councilman of my home ward.
"And | want TO say to you, Senator,
that while most OF us realize and dcplOre
that the handling of the treaty IN the
negotiations at Paris and in the suhse-
uuent deliberations at Washington was
done In IN unfortunate, tactiess and
partisan manner, we feel that there IS
less to critlcise IN the treaty itself than
In which il was presented to the Senate;
and that had such men as Mr.. Taft and
MIR. Root been on our Peace Commission
and had they brought back this same
treaty, il would have been ratified with
little opposition and little fear as to the
future Of the United States under it,
Major Bates said in his letters 10 the
Senators that he spoke by no means for
himself alone Besides being in close
touch with our folks at home in Lewiston,
| am In Boston and in New York every
other week and have talked with Demo
.crats and Republicans alike. Many OF
Senator Lodges own party, many OF his
own State, older men who have known
no other party allegiance their whole
| ives long, have expressed the feeling
that the opposition to the treaty has been
overdone.
"W What they and / and most American
business men resent IS the making Of this
treaty football IN the United States
Senate In a personal scrimmage between
Senator Lodge and the President. What
we want understood IN Washington, in the
United States Senate, and throughout
the length and breadth of this land. Is that
this treaty, League of Nations and all, Is
our treaty, that its vast import is our
vital concern, and that we, the whole
American people, will not tolerate It's
being made q matter Of personal wrangle
or OF party stTlie.
''I beg YOU in the few DAYS before Con-
gress reasScmbles to travel through our
State, TO talk with our representative
business men Of every political faith to
examine the situation at first hand from
every point OF view You will find that
we want this treaty ratified it the earliest
possible moment after the reassembIlng
Of the Senate IN Washington next month
.afe-guarded, i necessary, with reason
able nterpretative reservations, courte-
ously expressed, which viii Be acceptable
0 the other powers without the re-
assembling OF the Paris Conference.
In my humble opinion any man or
party who denies our people the realiza-
tion OF this Treaty Of Versailles and Of the
League Of Nations. who denies us the