Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-24
MAY DRIVE WILSON
!. TO DEFEAT TREATY
Senate Committee Piles Up Res
ervations Which President
Will Not Certify
PARTY PASSES THE BUCK"
by CLINTON w. GILBERT
Stan Correspondent of tho Evening Public
Ledger

Ledger
Washington. Oct. 2i.-Thc Senate
foreign relations committee Is again
playing into President Wilson's bands.
BY piling up numerous reservations
through the adoption Of every sugges-
ton in sight. even the ideas OF men
like Senator Reed who, though not
members Of the committee. drop in ut
| its meetings and offer reservations, the
committee is giving the President the
issue on which he may refuse to certify
the treaty il adopted with all the ap-
pcndages.
The committee is plainly trying to de-.
feat the treaty. Having failed to Kill
it by outright rejection and again by
amendment. it is trying now to defeat
it by amending it under color of merely
making reservations.
The Reed reservation ordered prepared
by the committee yesterday is the clear =
est instance of this purpose. If that
| is adopted there will be little left of
the league of nations and the United
States will enter it in such spirit
that the prospect of the league ever
developing into anything will be killed
at the outset.
If the committee had got together
tious. even including the one on Article
Y which the President denounced on
the stump. it would have been ditbcult
for the administration to beat inc
treaty. The issue left before the pub
lie would not have been clear enough
for the Democratic party to take "
into a national campaign. KesponSl-
bility for the delay and confusion re-
suting from the defeat of the treaty
Democrats,
But the Republican majority is los
ing its practical sense. 1t is SO dc ,
sirous of damaging the treaty and OF
making President Wilson $ part in nm
ishinr its ratification so difficult as to
be almost impossible, that it is fur
nishing excuses in the public eyes TOR
the refusal of the President to certify
the treaty when adopted.
i Committee Opposes Treaty
Its wish to kill the treaty is SO plain
that it cannot conceal it.
! The previous report of the foreign
relations committee simply died on cT
posure to the public view. The amend
ments that were sure to pass the
Shantung amendment ana the 1onnsSpn
amcndmept-stcadily lost ground under
nublic discussion The same thing may
bappen again to the more extravagant
nronosals in the present report, thc
preamble. the Reed reservation and
| the sheer mass of reservations, the pur'
nose of which is to emphasize the con
tompt and hostility of the Senate TO thc
league. .t,-o
1 Common sense may prevail and these
! politically unwise excrescenscs may pe
| removed and reservations may Dc
adopted slowly, calculated TO appeai 10
the common sense of the nation without
any regard to the personal feelings oil
the President.
The Senate foreign relations com
mittec is running "emptyings, rather
spiteful ''emptyings.
On the face of it there arc now votes
enough to pass most. if not all, rcscrva e
tions and the preamble. And the short =
ness of the time left and the shceI
wearincss of the men who. ike inc mliu
reservation Republicans, have at Iehstn
given into party pressure. MAKE prooi
able the adoption of the latest report OF
the committee substantially as II
stands. -,
IL a majority is found for tho report
ns IL stands n definite fight between the
President and the Senate seems certain
m follow. If Mr.. Wilson were well
there would be no question as to his re-
iectinp the treaty thus burdened Wlth
ratificatiops. But, sick as he is. 1t is
not conceivable that he will certify the
treaty. u,.,
Whether the Democratic minority II
lthc Senate will take upon itself thu
responsibility for defeating the treaty,
seems doubtful. Senator Hokc Smiti
. sovs that Senator Hitchcock S plan t'
vote down the treaty. il the propose
! reservations arc attached to it. il
.'ridiculous and there is 10 question
, that MIR. Smith speaks for Iarg
: minority of Democratic senator's.
MIR. Wilson is near the end of his
, form. Many Democratic senators hate
: him as bitterly as do the Republicans
: and they no longer fear him. They arc
: ready for revolt. Mr.. liitchcocb
! might have the support of some Re
$ publicsn bitter cudcrS" in defeating
c the treaty.
But this is improbable. The Repub
j licans are likely to be satisfied with thu
8 reservations proposed, and they are
I more interested in embarrassing thu
y President than they arc in defeating
l. the treaty,
1t is perfectly plain that the Demo
: cratic senators wish TO avoid the iSsu
:, of voting against ratifications. The.
. want the President to assume respOnsi
= bilty for the treaty's defeat. The frs
y step the President is likely to take i
Il to send message to the Senate disap
q proving of the proposed reservations
Q If that message is not needed th
r President will probably refuse TO certif
% the treaty and the issue will go int
= the next campaign.