Evening star., 1920-03-20
PRESIDENT MEETS
THIRD DEFEAT IN
EIGHTEEN MONTHS
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

IuNu1bI VuvIVuvk1tV
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Twenty-three democrats stood with
President Wilson; twenty-one desert
ed him. The treaty of Versailles
signed last June still is unratified.
Technically, the United States is at
war with Germany. Americas for
eign policy is underlined. And the
deadlock in the Senate will be carried
into the presidential and congress
sional elections for final settlement
next November.
Briefly that tells the story of what
has happened after nine months of
Wearisome debate. But the effect
upon the future of both the repub-
lican and democratic parties is not
as simply analyzed. True. the repub-
lican party in the Senate stood TWEEN
ty-eight for ratification with the
who wanted neither treaty nor league
of nations. But the votes of the
twelve were grouped with twenty
three democrats, who said they want
ed the treaty, but not the reservations
to the league.
Difficult to Fix Blame.
Any campaign orator or writer of
political textbooks who tries to fix
the responsibility in the Senate upon
either the democratic or the republican
parties as such will have about as
much chance of carrying conviction
as the man who attempts to blame the
failure of the treaty upon the dis
agreeable weather of the past winter.
For both republicans and democrats
have voted on all sides of every motion
proposed and the record Of what occur
red is about as confusing as an income
ia K report.
But there is no escaping one outstand-
ing fact[President Wilson has suffered
the third defeatiin eighteen months. His
loss of Congress in November. 1918. was
followed by the defeat of a ratification
resolution on the treaty in November
1919, and now in March. 1920. the treaty
is formally sent back to him with the
democratic party in the Senate split in
twain. Mr.. Wilson has lost the tight
hold on his party which he once exer-
'cised. Hardly any democratic senators
from northern or western states remain
ed with him. Only handful of south
ern democrats stood till the end. Nor
can the split be measured on the basis
of Bryan strength. There are men who
deserted the President who have no use
for Organism of any kind.
Lfne-Up for Ratincation.
But note the democrats who favored
-ratifying the treaty with the Lodge res
ervations and the states from which
they hail: Kendrick Of Wyoming, Cham
berlain of Oregon, Henderson and Pitt
man of Nevada, King OF Utah, Myers
and Walsh of Montana, Nugent of Idaho.
Phelan of California. Owen and Gore of
Oklahoma, Pomerene of Ohio, Walsh of
Massachusetts, Wolcott Of Delaware.
Smith of Maryland, Ashurst of Arizona,
Beckham of Kentucky. Fletcher and
Trammell of Florida, RanSdell of Louis
lana and Smith of Georgia. Total. 81.
Then examine the list of twenty
three democrats who stood with the
irreconcilable republicans for the de-
feat of the Lodge resolution of rati-
fication with reservations and it shows
Senators Reed of Missouri, Shields and
McKel of Tennessee and Thomas of
Colorado. The viewpoint Of these four
men on the treaty by no means COIN
cides with that of President Wilson,
even though they were finally record
ed with his supporters. They, like the
irreconcilable republicans. found other
things in the treaty Objectionable and
cast their votes against ratification.
So Mr.. Wilson on the final muster
didn't have a majority of his own
party with him. And with the excep-
tion Of Senators Hitchcock of NebraS-
ka and Johnson of South Dakota not
a single democratic senator north of
Mason and Dixon's line or from the
west supported the position of Presi
dent Wilson on the last count.
President's Loss Of Leadership.
This detection from the leadership
of the President is unquestionably the
most disappointing circumstance of all
to the White House. for it shows the
party stampeded by the
of their republican oppo-
l4Po nf he dern
vations might be viewed by the coun-
try as hostility to the making of an
early peace.
The battle for the control of the
next Congress and the White House
will be waged in the north. All but
two of the democratic senators from
the north can exhibit as good a rec
ord as Senator Lodge and the republi-
can reseryationists.
IF President Wilson should be nomi-
mated for a third term or decide to
in behalf of the democratic
would direct his attack at the Lodge
ignoring the votes of
the democratic reservationistS. The
issue 40 far as the Senate is concern
ed. is SO mixed up that everybody
doubts whether the President, either
as y candidate himself or spokesman
for some other candidate, could de-
fine the question clearly enough TO
alter the Complexion of the next Con-
gress on that alone.
Republicans Are Cnafratd.
The republicans do not fear the
treaty. as an issue. They are cock
sure of winning on domestic counts
AGAINST the Wilson administration
The democrats. on the other hand.
who stood with President Wilson. be-
ieye that the league issue will fur
,ish a more transcendent question for
he voters than anything else and will
end to submerge complaints on do
nestle policies. OF one thing the pub
ic can be sure-the politicians have
to muddle the whole situa-
ion so completely that the average
yoter will have a difficult time deter
mining what he is voting for next
ime. And when he has gotten through
n November the senators who hold
,ffice until the following March,
ear from this month-can occupy the i
est of their terms trying to interpret
he mandate of the election. So the |
,oice of the people cannot make itself |
,eard or felt much before March, 1921.
ind Senators Borah. johnson and the |
,o-called battalion of death" have |
riumphed-America will remain tied |
% a policy of isolation at least one
year longer