The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1920-01-15
MIGHT PASS TREATY
BY MAJORITY VOTE
If SENATE DOES NOT ACT SOON
THIS RECOURSE Is OPEN.
Same Thing Was Done When Texas,
and Hawaii Were Annexed;
Expect No Trouble.

Washington, Jan. 13-Is there any
way to solve the tangle over the
peace treaty, if the Senate continues
to fail to act, without putting the
matter before the American people
until enough Senators can be elected
who will vote for the document with
notifications which are acceptable to-
the President?
In a talk with Representative Hen
~ ID. Flood, Of Virginia, ranking
Democratic member of the House com.
udttee on foreign affairs and its chair
man during the war period, the cor
respondent of The News and Courier
was told that there is another way.
and q very direct one, and that Mr.
Food himself and number of 9TH
er members Of Congress favorable
to such alternative action to cut the.
Gordlan knot.
Mr.. Flood has had the matter un-
der discussion with officials and with
colleagues for sometime, but has re-
Trained from proceeding with the
suggestion because it has not YET
been approved by the administrations.
This is taken to mean, not that aI2
the administration officials who have
to do with the matter are opposed
to the alternative method but that.
President Wilson has not given his
sanction.
Representative Flood considers it
entirely competent for congress-, by
majority vote, to pa SIS bill making
the peace treaty and the league OF
nations a statute law of the Unit
ed States. Such reservations as con-
gress regarded as essential In the
way of Interpretation could be includ-
ed in this law. Then the matter would
go straight to the President for his.
signature.
Mr.. Flood was asked if there are:
any precedents for adopting treaties
as statute laws in cases where they
failed to get through the Senate i'm
their technical shape as treaties. The
Virginian replied that there were such
Iprecedents, and very good ones.
First, he cited the treaty annexinE
the republic of Texas to the United
States. The Senate refused to adopt.
this, and in 1S45, the document was
turned into a joint resolution and
was passed byNboth Houses of Con-
gress and signed by President Tyler
Second, Mr.. Flood. cited the law-
anneXing the territory Of Hawaii,
President Mckinley endeavored to
take in Hawaii by the method of n
treaty in 1898, but the approval OF
the senate was not obtained, though
the treaty was never brought to an
outright vote. Rather than wait long
er on the Senate or allow the Senate
to defeat the treaty, the proposition
was put into joint resolution form.
and enacted by Congress. 1t now
stands as a part of the lew of the lanf
precisely as if it had beep put on the:
books in treaty shape.
The parallel as to Hawaii is special
ly pat, inasmuch as the Mckinley ad-
ministration did not wait for the Sem
ate to vote the treaty down, but ex-
pedted matters by adopting the route
of majority congressional action e:
which both Houses participated.
1t has been clearly shown that AZ
decided majority Of the Senate is IL
favor of ratifying the present peace
treaty with reason, DIE reservations
There is no question that the senti-
ment of the Senate is duplicated ip
the House, with perhaps an even lar
ger majority for ratification in the
latter body.
Mr.. Flood, therefore, does not
doubt that if suitable joint resolu-
ton making the treaty and pact a
law should be put up to Congress, x
would pass.
X. Foster Murray, in News and Cour-
ier.