Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-03-11
-FOUR RESERVATIONS
ARE RE.AD0PTEO
Relate to Armament, Economic
Boycott, Alien Property and
Labor-Senate Works Swiftly
on Treaty

Washington, March S.-Limiting de-
bate by unanimous consent, the Senate
moved swiftly to-day to reduce it's
firh. over the peace treaty to basic is
sues.
Four more of the republican rescrva :
lions were readopted, two of them
without change while negotiations for
a compromise on the keystone problem
of article ton were pressed toward n
conclusion, apparently unaffected by
the renewed declaration of President
Wilson against any material weaken
ing of the treatys provisions
The Presidents letter coming at a
time when the article ten negotiations
were declared by one of their sponsors
to have brought the two sides very
near together" was given widely diff
fering interpretations. But the demo-
cratic senators working for a compro-
mise continued their efforts. telling
their colleagues they felt free to act
since the executive had not seen fit to
say he would pocket the treaty II II
came back to him with compromise
reservations.
In the days work on the Senate floor
the last of the fourteen republican
reservations except those relating to
article ten and league voting power were
swept out of the way and debate on the
voting power provision was begun
The four adopted related to armament,
the economic boycott. alien property and
the labor section. the latter being brought
to n roll call without a word of debate.
Until the voting power reservation was
reached. tho Senate worked under a
unanimous consent agreement. proposed
by Senator Lodge OF Massachusetts, the
rpnthlipln 1t,,.it intv oha,, -
twenty minutes. Few senators spoke, how
ever, and none used his allotted time.
Efforts to apply Limitation on discussion
of the two remaining reservations were
blocked by objections that both probably
would meet with prolonged opposition.
While the article ten negotiations
reached point 1t was said, where the
addition or omission of only a few words
stood in the way of an agreement the
leaders emphasized that the last pull
might prove the hardest and minimized
hope that enough senators to insure
ratification would be brought into accord.
1t also was pointed out that neither Sena-
tor Lodge nor Senator Hitchcock of
Nebraska, the democratic leader, had
openly given assent to the negotiations
and that even If a bipartisan agreement
were reached, 1t might not command a
two-thirds vote.
The letter from President Wilson did
not reach senators until late in the day,
and few cared to make any public COM
ment on it. Senator Hitchcock described
1t as illuminating" Senator Lodge de-
clined to discuss it, and Senator Borah,
republican, Idaho. leader of the irrecon-
cilable opponents of ratification. said the
President had helped insure the treaty's
defeat by throwing cold water on COM
promise
Democratic senators were quick to see,
however. that the President did not adj
wise them to vote against ratification as
he did last November, nor promise to put
the treaty in White House pigeonhole IL
1t were ratified with more than interpre-
tive reservations. In that respect they
contrasted it with his letter to the No
vember democratic caucus, when he sug-
gested that the treaty with the republi-
can reservations be voted down.
1t also pointed out on the democratic
side that Mr.. Wilson did not center his
objection on any specific form of reserva-
ton, and from this hope was revived In
some quarters that he would take under
protest such compromise as now is UNI
der negotiation.