The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-24
BREAK IN RANKS OF DEMOCRATIC TREATY
 FRIENDS FORESEEN
toent1nuea from Page onsl

neither side loses sight of the pos sibility that the White House may again exert it's influence to stiffen the backs of the administration sem ators, or that the President may, if an unacceptable ratification innpends withdraw the treaty from Senate con- sideration. He might take the latter
 course, it is suggested, to express at the same time his displeasure with the Senate reservations and his un- willingness to have the nation become
 party on any terms in the Adriatic settlement.
 Neither is it concealed that broad
 questions of party policy are involved
 in the problem of ratification, now
 generally admitted by leaders to have
 been ihrust into the political campaign.
 Privately the senators pressing for ac- ceptance O. the republican reservations confess themselves out of accord with the Presidents Jackson day declara- ton for a solemn referendum" and they are seeking to d.ssociate Senate democrats from any appearance of in-
 dorsing that proposal.
 Tn the caucus, therefore, this group l Is prepared to plead that the treaty be ratified on the republican specified tions so that the President if he chooses to regard the Senates action as a rejection and to pocket the treaty, may have upon his own shoul- ders the burden of a decision which 1 they do not believe will be popular with the country. With Senate demo- crats going one way and a democratic President another, they believe that a democratic national convention will feel itself free from any cut-and dried programme when it comes to deal with ] the subject.
 ARE UNAFRAID l The administrations staunch sup | porters in the Senate, however, appar entlv are not fearful that the counsels Twill prevail. They indicated tonight that if any considerable number oi 1 democrats wanted caucus, one would be called But they Haunted the sug- gestion that it might throw over the 1 Presidents advice or show a majority against the past and present party ! stand on reservations.
 Among the republicans it was said that the caucus proposal apparently | had grown out of a stiffening in the
 republican ranks, which, in turn, re- ! suited from the action of the Senate Saturday, when the irreconciliable op' 1 ponents of ratification seized the bal ance of power and used 1t to prevent any modification of the republican reservations. Thus, 1t was argued, tn, mild reservation republicans wer' shown that modification in the inter ests of compromise would be impos sible and that the whole reservation group, including Article 10, must stant or fall together.
 \ Bearing out this contention, mile reservationists who heretofore hav predicted that the Article 10 provision
 could be modified if necessary, sai' today that the only chance of ratifica ton now seemed to rest in the pos
 sibility that enough democrats woul accept the provision unchanged. II Who initiated the movement for T democratic get-tOgether was not
 apparent, but the move was under stood to have the indorsement of
 Senator Underwood of Alabama. a candidate for the democratic leadership. and other influential senators who have been urging
 that every effort be made to bring Fl a ratification.
 Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska, tn . acting democratic leader, was not i Washington today but will return to morrow.
 7 During the day the treaty was men tioned on the Senate floor, and ther
 remained some doubt tonight whethe
 1t would be called up tomorrow. Tn : leaders are anxious to work on tarii . and appropriation legislation, whic may be ready for Senate considerable ' any day.