Evening star., 1920-03-08
FEW WANT LEAGUE
TO BECOME ISSUE
IN 1920 CAMPAIGN
Majority Believed Unwilling
to Yield to President and
IrreconciIabIes.
BY n. o. MESSENGER.

1t is thought to be reasonably sure
that outside of President Wilson for
one. and the group of irreconcilable
republican and democratic senators
| for the other interest, nobody wants
! the league of nations to be thrown
into the presidential election as
campaign issue. The death to the
treaty" senators make no bones of
their desire to have it as an issue; the
residents unbending opposition to
compromise on article Y is inferred
to indicate his Willingness to have it
an issue
The question which the politicians
in and out of Congress are disturbed
over now Is whether the President
and a bakers dozen of senators shall
pring about political situation de-
plored by the great body of demo-
Gratis and republicans in ttr- Senate,
with reflected sympathy in .-<e same
proportion in the House F.i- ( must
be remembered that the pol.,,-sal for
tunes or members of the t...:se are
at stake in this game. The- '.appen
10 be running for Office, al yell az
the presidential candidates.
Members of House AnxIoux.
For weeks whispers have come to
| democratic senators from men in the
House to take the treaty in your
| own hands, make the compromises
and ratify the thing. We don't want
IL TO ngure in the campaign" And
republican members of the lower
body have urged republican senators
to ride over the irreconcilabIes and
clean up the blasted treaty. My peo.
pie are sick and tired of it,
However II it must come, IL there
Is no way to avoid it, the republicans
believe they will have the popular end
OF the argument. They arrive at this
conclusion from the change in senti-
! ment which they are convinced has
been brought about by the long de.
! bates over the league and expositfon
OF its meaning and the consequences
involved. They declare they have evil
dence OF a great revulsion of feeling
| since the project was first presented
with It's halo of pacifism and Rauxy
| Wings OF keep US out of war;
Inc people are now realizing, re.
publicahs say-ant many democrats
privately admit. that In some of its
| original features the league would not
only fail to keep US out Of war. but
would compel this country to go to
war in specified eventualities The re.
publicans contend that the reserva.s
tions presented by the committee ON
foreign relations. and which have se-
cured democratic assent, American.
ize" the treaty and the league. and
Just at this time there is quite a furor
throughout the country for Ameri.
canization generally.
Republicans Would Unite.
Republicans also claim that il the
; league of nations with the Wilson
original hallmark becomes an issue
1t Will at least serve to bring all fac
t1ons OF republicans together in
common cause to resist it. No repub-
lican leaders of great influence in
their party are now insisting unon
unqualified ratification of the treaty.
NO great. influential republican papers
contend for it. All are against the
league in varying degrees of opposi.
ton. from mild reservation to down.
right rejection
So. with the Wilson league, indorsed
by the democratic party, the entire
mass of republican strength would
be arrayed against 1t, together with
the Independent vote and those DEM
ocrats who have come to the opin-
ion that the league as first proposed
Is a menace to the United States and
is not warrant against future wars.
Democratic politicians are by no
means blind to the situation depicted
by the republicans and realize the
perils to democratic success contain
ed therein. But they are in very
difficult position. they explain. They
cannot. it seems, get the President
to agree with what is claimed to be
the view of the majority of the dem
ocrats in the Senate. that reserva-
tions must be made and indeed ought
to be made. and they are confronted
with the alternative Of abandoning
the titular head of the party.
Party preservation-and self-preser-
walton as well-begin to appeal to
democratic senators with increasing
force. however, and there are long
and earnest conferences among them
from Z " to day.
Democrats Reported Anxious.
Some of the democrats in the House
and Senate say they dread to con-
template looking down from the plat
form Of the national convention on
the faces Of the delegates. fresh fron,
the people, as a plank in the platform
advocating the original league Of 49,
tions was read as one of the 1885,,
say they can well picture the look
of apprehension which would spread
over that sea Of faces as the party
was committed to policy which has
been characterized for months by
both democratic and republican
statesmen. as inimical to the future
interests of the nation.
II the treaty fails, through the
Presidents refusal to compromise. It
will be the republican play, 1T is said.
to go before the country upholding
the general idea of a league of ma
tions, reiterating their assent to ii.
but with proper Americanizing pro-
tective features, and placing upon
the democrats the responsibility for
putting into effect a workable plan
to minimize international disputes
while at the same time upholding
Americas sovereignty.