Evening star., 1920-02-24
SEEK DEMOCRATIC
CAUCUSTORPARTy
STAND ON TREATY
Friends of President Urge 1t,
Although Stories of Revolt
Exaggerated.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

the democrats in the Senate against
the leadership of President Wilson on
the peace treaty are exaggerated.
Eight or nine democratic senators are
ready to surrender to Senator Lodge
and the republican reseryationists on
article y, but that would not be
enough to bring about ratification
OF the peace treaty. The movement
is not organized and has not the
sanction of either Senator Hitchcock
or Senator Underwood. rivals for the
minority leadership in the Senate.
Nor is il likely to do anything more
at present except unity the democrats,
for it has acted like a danger signal.
Friends of the President in the SEN
ate. men like Senator's Simmons and
Underwood. have seen the possibility
of break in democratic ranks when
vote on various reservations is
taken. And they therefore want a
caucus to express the viewpoint OF
the party. For instance. 1t would be
embarrassing. indeed, for the demo-
Gratis if considerable of their num-
Der voted with the republicans,
because if the treaty failed of pas
sage and the issue were carried into
the campaign the blame could hardly
be put upon the republican party so
long as large numbers of democrats
were recorded with Mr.. Lodge in the
final votes.
Would Know Attitude.
The purpose of those democrats who
want a caucus is to determine what
the attitude Of the democratic party in
the Senate Shall be and to lay the
ground for the battle in the next presi-
dental campaign in the event that the
treaty becomes an issue, as seems like
ly at present writing. The viewpoint
Of the democrats who want to see the
caucus called and party action taken
seems to be to commit the democratic
senatorS-or at least the majority OF
them-to the program which twenty
eight democrats recently signed, name
ly, support of the results of the bi-par-
tisan peace conference held recently. in
which a virtual agreement was reached
on all points but article Y. On that
fateful article the democrats are in
clined to stand on the ton Of
fered by former President Taft, which
Senator Lodge has rejected.
Thus their campaign program would
be to say to the country that they
stood ready to accept the agreement
and reservation written by a repub-
lican ex-President They could hardly
be accused then, it is contended by
some of the democrats, of blindly fol-
lowing President Wilson along obsti-
nate paths of pride. II is the fear that
the country may fasten upon demo-
cratic senators some of the same blame
for obstructing the treaty which SO
many friends and foes of the treaty
have recently begun to attach to Presi-
dent Wilson himself that is causing in
dividual democrats to grow restless.
They feel that the country wants
the treaty disposed of. They are un-
ha
obstruction. Two ways suggest them
selves-absolute surrender to Senator
Lodge or insiStence on the program
which Mr.. Lodge himself was ready
to approve when the bitter enders or
irreconcilables served notice that they
republicanism ii he deviated from the
original language of the reservation
on article X voted on last November.
Some Papers for Surrender.
The course of surrender is being ad-
vocated by many newspapers. who are
anxious to See the treaty ratified and
who think there is more to be gained
by taking the league with the Lodge
reservations than by having no league
at all. But the democrats are not al
together sure what President Wilson
would do if they did surrender. Sup
pose. for instance, he decided that the
Lodge reservations nullified the pur-
poses of the league and rendered it
unworkable and that he would not
permit his signature to go on the doc
ument as constituting the Senate's res
ervations to mean ratification. Where
would it leave the democrats in the
next campaign who had refused to
stand with the President? And where
would it leave the democratic cam
paign orators. who might want to
point to their republican opponents as
the true destroyers of the treaty when
a large number of democrats could
be promptly exhibited as having sup
ported the republican program?
Questions of practical politics enter
into the situation in both parties
The republican platform in New York
state has indorsed league of ma
tions with reservations" The demo-
Gratis will take the same position.
The matter of responsibility for de-
lay will be hard to define. but the
movement to get unity of action
among the democrats is the first step
toward Qualification Of the democratic
position. 1t will tend to emphasize the
desire of democratic senators for res
ervations as distinguished from Mr..
Wilson's long insistence on unquali-
fed adoption of the peace treaty. But
it wifi not mean surrender to Senator
Lodge on article " Therefore for
the present it will not mean much
hope for the ratification Of the peace
treaty itself.