The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1920-06-24
PARTISAN POLITICS HELD
UP The PEACE TREATY
Reasonable Compromise Resolutions
Were Acceptable To President But
Was Unwilling 70 Tave 1t Mutt
lated BY Politicians. Former
President Taft Wrote Reservation
To Which Republicans Objected.

Washington, d. G.. June "a
Repeated statements made by Re
publican members of the Senate
that the President had refused to ac-
cept any change in the League of
Nations covenant are diSporVed by
the record itself, asserts Senator
Gilbert NJ Hitchcock, who led the
Democrats in the treaty fight. Sen
ator Hitchcock says that he himself
offered five compromise reservations
to the peace treaty, and that they
were approved by the President.
Partisan claims that the President
has demanded the adoption OF the
treaty without the dotting of an ~
of the crossing of ''T'', Senator
Hitchcock declares, constitute an ex-
ample of the campaign of misrepre-
sentation INDUCED in by treaty OPP
ponents.
THE Presidents recent letter,
said Senator Hitchcock, declared his
devotion to the League of Nations
and denounced the Lodge reserya-
tions. That is all it did. l de-
nounce them. l will never consent
to them and many other Senators
never would and millions of people
never would.
But those Lodge reservations
were matched by reservations on this
Democratic side of the chamber. L
had the honor to offer five reserva-
tions and they were endorsed by the
President and they were tender of
compromise. On article Ten l offer
ed a reservation which was COM
promise. There was some doubt as
to whether the President would ac-
cept that but we on this side OF the
aisle were willing to stand for 1t.
You did not accept it. Yet that
reservation was drawn by former
Republican President of the United
States. civilian Ii. Taft but you
refused to accept it. We offered all
the compromise; the Republican
side offered none You refused all. ;"
Quoting the claim of Senator
Knox that the President had kept
the country in an alleged state OF
war for almost a year now because
ne would not yield one jot or little
on the treaty, Senator Hitchcock
asked:
How can a man say a thing OF
that sort to the Senate OIL the United
States with a straight face? The
President came back here with the
treaty and delivered it to the Sen
ate in July, 1919, and the Senate
sent it to the Foreign Relations
committee. of which the Pennsyl>
vania Senator, Mr.. Knox, is a mem
treaty within the four walls of the
committee room for two months, al
though they might as we'll have re-
ported it out in one week. But they
kept it there, delaying peace.
The Senator from Pennsylvania,
author of the Knox peace resolu-
ton, was one of the Senators whose
votes made that outrageous delay pos
sible, and when it came into the Sen
ate in September even before Sep
TENDER. and i was talked about for
all these months and when finally
patience ceased to be a virtue l Of
fered a resolution of cloture to stop
debate and the Senator from Penn
sylvania voted against it. He did
not want to stop debate. He was
not then afraid of delay"
For the second time. Senator
Hitchcock pointed out, the Senate
debated the treaty for weeks, finally
rejecting it a short time ago. Sena-
tor Knox, he said, voted against
ratifying in any form.
Yet he now talks about the Pres1-
dent of the United States keeping
the country in a state of war, *
claimed Senator Hitchcock, wien
he was instrumental himself in con-
tinuing that perfectly outrageous
delay, and if he had had his way we
would have been debating the ques-
ton even to this day