Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-14
Rotitv- the Treaty!
From the New York World.

The treaty Of peace is not \ personal issue
between President Wilson and Senator Lodge,
nor is the covenant of the League OF Nations
personal issue between these two eminent
There are lOO.OOo,ooo other Americans who
have a direct stake in this controversy, and
there are hundreds Of millions Of people IN
other countries swhose interest is no less i'm
portant
day dinner of the democratic leaders is i'm
medately followed by an expression OF defiance
from Senator Lodge. The president showed no
disposition whatever to compromise. He again
expressed his readiness to accept interpreta-
tons which would not alter the meaning OF the
treaty, but IF there is any doubt as to what the
people of the country think on this vital mat
ter, the clear and single way out is to submit 1t
for determination at the next election to the
voters of the nation, to give the next election
the form of great and solemn referendum.
ator. The president places himself squarely IN
behalf of internationalism against American
ISM"
With due respect to President Wilson and
to Senator Lodge, who seem to have an infinite
capacity for getting on each others nerves, both
of them are talking nonsense, and very dam
gerous nonsense at such time as this. There
is no way in which tho differences between the
president and the senate majority can be sub
mitted to referendum next fall How are the
American people at the polls going to differ
entate between reservations which alter the
meaning of the treaty and interpretations which
do not alter the meaning of the treaty? The
president and Senator Lodge cannot even agree
on that question and there is no unanimity OF
opinion on either side.
The United States senate has great consti-
tutional' duty to perform in relation to the
treaty. and it should discharge that duty with
out further delay. The presidents hope of an
unqualified ratification of the treaty cannot be
realized, much to our regret. Senator Lodges
reservations have been decisively beaten, much
to our delight. But there is left great middle
ground of compromise, and it Is the business
of the two factions to reach an agreement for
which 81 senator's can vote, mindful of their
responsibility.
The senate cannot evade that duty, nor is it
under obligations to run to the White House
treaty. Nevertheless, it is under obligations to
take into consideration all the objections that
the president has raised to changes in the
treaty and to make the resolution of ratification
as whole hearted a response on the part of the
United States as the situation permits
When the senate has done its duty the re-
sponsibility again rests with the president. He
can refuse to exchange notifications if he be-
lieves that in effect the treaty has been rewrit
ten and its great aims and objects perverted,
but no president would take such step for
light and trivial reasons. What the president
does with the treaty after "a senators have
voted for resolution of ratification is no af-
fair of the senate. 1t will have discharged its
constitutional junction. and the final decision in
any event rests with him.
President Wilson will not reject an honest
compromise No president can ever reject such
compromise Least of all could President
Wilson submit such rejection to the Ameri-
can people and ask them for their approval.
But it must be fair compromise. Mr.. Bryan's
advice to the democrats to take anything that
&c fere oct he 1T he
merely a revelation of his Grass ignorance and
of his moral bankruptcy SO far as any matter
of real principle i%aeoncerned
For 10 months Senator Lodge has posed as
an irresistible force, but events have demon
strated that he is not irresistible. President
Wilson is now posing as an innmovable body,
but if the senate does what the vast majority
of the American people expect it to do, events
will demonstrate that the president is not i'm
movable.
The moral prestige of the United States
throughout the world must not be further sacri-
feed in this quarrel