New-York tribune., 1920-09-16
Lansing Broke
Wi itf1 Wilson ON
w 0rld Court
Secretary's Advocacy of the
Plan Now Favored by Root
and Harding Was Cause
of. Friction at Paris
President Annoyed by Plea
Brushed Aside the Scheme
Which Cabinet Member.
Had Worked cen 20 Years

From The Tribune's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15.-Advocacy
OF an international court Of justice aa
proposed by Elihu Root and insisted d
upon by Senator Warren G. Harding in
recent addresses, was the chief bone
of contention between President Will
son and Secretary of State Robert
Lansing at the peace conference, ac-
cordlng to reliable information here
to-day.
Mr. Lansing had long been an ad
| vocate of some such plan before the
League of Nations was proposed either
by General SHUTS or Woodrow Wilson
or any one else. AS matter Of fact
Mr.. Lansing had frequently discussed
the world court idea with Elihu Root
and with James Brown Scott. of the
carnegie Endowment for International
t"Feace. Professor Scott, in 1916, pub
lished discussion of the subject in
book form, under the title can Inter
national Court of Justice"
Curlously enough, Professor Scott
was not only one of Mr.. Lansing's ad.
vlsers at the Paris peace conference
put E, has acted in a similar capacity with
Mr.. Root recently in Europe.
snsistencc Annoyed Wilson
Feeling as he did, Mr.. Lansing con.
,sstantly insisted upon the world court
idea being embodied in the League
Of Nations, but President Wilson paic
little attention to the suggestions Of
ms Secretary of State. Mr.. Lansing
1T IS said, became so forceful in his
contentious for the idea that the Prcsi
dent was annoyed, and it is to thi,
that the President is understood to have
referred in his letters to Mr.. LANSING
at the time the latter RESIGNED.
The President said that he had be
! gun to notice in Paris the reluctance
of Mr.. Lansing to follow out the Pres
dents ideas. 1t was in the same let
ter that the President mentioned the
necessity of having some ore as Sec
retary Of State whose mind would more
willingly go along with" his own.
Wilson Intolerant of Court Idea
at is another case" said a friend OF
Secretary Lansing to-day, "of the stone
which the builders rejected becoming
the head OF the corner. Mr.. Wilson
could not tolerate the injection of such
an idea In his league. He viewed the
mere suggestion almost as a piece OF
efrontcry. Now it is held up not only
as essential, but as something without
which the league cannot accomplish
its functions. 1t is advocated not only
| by Senator Harding, who will probably
+ become President because of the OBJ
stinacy Of President Wilson on the
league issue, but by Mr.. Root and ap
parently by the nations which at pres
ent compose the League of Nations.
SMr. Lansing offered this suggestion
to the President, not as a half -baket
idea, but as problem which he hae
been working out and pcrfcctng TO,
twenty years. He had virtually invlt
ed discussion of it for twenty year.
| by his articles in The American Jour
nal OF international Law. Some of tn,
best minds in the world. including tha
of Elihu Root. had been at work with
Mr.. Lansing on the question. But i
was intoierant!y brushed aside by tn,
President because the President seemed
to have passionate objection to tn,
slightest change in the plan he ha,
approved. This is the stranger sine,
the President was author Of only ,
small part of the league covenant
virtually only Article X-the rest be
| ing written chiefly by the British"