The Washington herald., 1920-03-01
PACT ALLIANCE
OF HITCHCOCK
DEBATE ISSUE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.

be able to arrange trade that
would result in a modification of
the Article Y reservation 1t is
not at all certain that the irrecon-
cilsbles will support the Hitchcock
proposal They would be apt to
do so were they convinced that their
votes would adopt it.
Effort to Force Republicans.
With the President stating anew
his irreconcilsble opposition to the
Lodge reservations on Article Y
and the Monroe Doctrine and the
senateayi+fualiys despairing of rati-
'fcationNa at this time because of the
knowledge that approximately
thirty Democrats would stand with
Wilson, many persons professed to
discover in the Hitchcock proposal
a desperate effort to force the Re
publicans to compromise on Ar
ticle Y
In many quarters there is frank
amazement over the fuss being
made over the Hitchcock reserva-
tion. which reserves from decision
by the league of nations domestic
questions such as commerce, tariff,
immigration and labor. The res
ervation was proposed by Hitch
cock on November Is. 1919. 1t was
rejected by the Senate by a vote
Of 43 to So The Democrats sup
ported ii. with the exception of
Senators Reed, of Missouri; Gore,
of Oklahoma, and Shields, Of Ten
nessce- A day or two later this
reservation was included in a group
Endorsed by President Wilson and
approved by the Democratic eau
Gus which decided against ratifying
the treaty with the Lodge reserva-
tions. In his letter of January IS
to Hitchcock, the President again
stated his approval of the Hitchcock
'interpretatiYe" reservations, in
Guiding the one that now has cre-
ated such a storm in the Senate.
Interpretative Reservation.
The distinction is clear. When
the reservation was proposed orig
inally and when it was Endorsed by
the President. it was part of a def
mite program of "interpretative"
reservations 1t is not doubted
that standing alone, the verbiage
constitutes a textual change in the
language of the covenant, in that
1t applies to all nations, not merely
to the United States, the Hitch
cock text being:
That no member nation is required
to submit to the league, its council,
or its assembly for decision, report, or
recommendation any matte: which IL
considers to be a doiii6.,:n question:
such as immigration labor, tariff or
other matter relating TO its Internal
or ccastwise affairs"
Internal Affairs.
The real nature of this reservation,
its defenders point out, is apparent
only when considered as a part of
the whole of the Hitchcock Wilson
program of "interpretative" reserva-
tions. A preamble to these reserva-
tions stated that in advising and con-
senting to the ratification of the
treaty the Government of the United
states understands and interprets this
treaty as follows" and the reserya-
tions then were recited. The quaA-
flying lang age of the preamble makes
the Hitchcock reservation on domes-
tic questions simply an Interpretation
by the Senate to the effect that the
league covenant did not provide that
the internal affairs of any nation
would be subject to the Jurisdiction
of the league. Read in the light of
the preamble, it is stated. the reser-
walton is not the ogre that ii appears
to be to the Republican reservation
lists when standing by itself.
Preamble Questioned.
The objection of the mild reser-
vationists," however. is based on
the fact that there Is absolutely no
prospect OF the Senate consenting to
the Hitchcock preamble to make all
the other Lodge reservations mere
interpretations" of the text of the
treaty. The Hitchcock reserya-
tion, If adopted, therefore, would
stand as a part of the Lodge pro-
gram. and as such. they contenu.
would be nothing more nor, less
than a textual amendment. The
irreconciliabies. who are inclined
to aid the Democrats in adopting
the Hitchcock reservation as a SUBJ
stitute for the original Lodge res
ervation on domestic questions,
never would aid the Democrats to
adopt the qualifying preamble,
an entirely different light
on tho reservation. g.s
(Copyrfght. 1890, by Public Ledger
COD