Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-05-25
EFFECT OF RESOLUTION
ON PEACE DISCUSSED
BY VIM. H. TAFT
Continued from Page u

an agreement with another nation
has had sufficient precedents to neg
ative the claim that the constitution.
III comforting the treaty making pow
er of the United States upon the
president and the senate. is entirely
exclusive. On the other hand, he
method of agreement by statute is
limited, as the legislative power of
congress is limited. One congress
cannot bind another. Therefore, con-
gresS could not by joint resolution
effectively promise to another nation
to do something in the future and
bind the United States which another
congress might not legally and hon
orably withdraw from. Whereas, the
treaty-making power has that fllnc-
ton fully developed, and though
treaty as municipal law, it does not
end the obligation of the United
States in international law, but only
breaks the treaty. With this dis.
tinction in mind between the two
modes of making agreements, it IS
affects the present, as, for example,
changes the state of war into a state
of peace, it is within the power of
the congress, of the United States
government effectively to declare
peace by co-ordinating statutes.
Peace then becomes fait accompli
A subsequent congress could not
change that except by a new dec
laration of war. If, therefore. this
joint resolution of congress, in so
far as it declares peace, were fol-
lowed by a declaration of peace at
the same time by the German gov
eminent, the status of war would be
ended as an international fact, with
all the legal consequences in interna-
tional law that follow from such a
change of status.
Awkward Procedure
Second The text writer's and prece-
dents justify the conclusion that an
agreement for permanent peace
changing the status from war to
peace may be inferred from the ces-
sation of hostilities and from a long
continued acquiescence of the parties
in an actual state of peace. In the
present case hostilities ceased upon
the making of an armistice by the
president as commander-in-chie% that
by it's terms looked forward to a
permanent status of peace created by
a treaty. And most of the nations
havu concluded such a treaty. We
have not. But we have not commun-
icated to Germany our refusal to
agree to the peace treaty which the
other associate nations have ratified.
The actual suspension of hostilities,
therefore, under the armistice it is
difficult to conStrue to be a perma- \
nent peace by acquescence. Such a
resolution of congress as that we are
considering, which declares peace,
would, however, even without a sim
liar joint resolution by Germany, if
the deadlock were long to continue
and trade relations were established,
without any resumption of HOSTILE
ties, be evidence of general acquies-
cence.
From these propositions it follows
that such a resolution as either the
one which passed the house or the
one which passed the senate, or the
one agreed upon in conference of a
similar tenor, would, if Germany en-
acted similar legislation, make peace.
But 1t is a very awkward way of
the resolutions as prepared in the
two houses, while differing some
what, were careful to negative any
possible waiver of. rights Of the
declaration of peace and are an eff
fort to preserve permanently what
is secured to the United States by
the armistice, to which it was a par
commander-in-chief and also to Sc
cure u benefits of the treaty
Versailles without assuming it's OBJ
legations. This it would be very diff
ficult to do, and the joint declaration
eaRe open ny rut1l for
disagreement, much to be depre-
cated. To such peace and it's con-
sequences authorities of information
al law attach the doctrine of uti
party to tho peace retains what is IN
his possession. The parties are left
in the bed in which they were lying
at the time of peace. One need
hardly say that this would be an un,,
satisfactory settlement and would
need a subsequent treaty between the
parties properly to fix their mutual
rights.
Domestic Erect
Third. The domestic effect of
such declaration as this by con-
gress is more easily stated. All the
war statutes comforting exceptional
powers upon the president or exer-
cising congressional legislative au-
thority wholly dependent on the ex-
istence of war, and limited by terms
to a period having relation to the
end of the war, would cease. The
resolution dispenses with the neces-
sity for any further formal declara-
ton, though such declaration was
required in the acts themselves Thus
the arbitrary powers which have been
used to accomplish peace purposes
would end and a growing source Of
irritation to the public would be re-
moved.
The president intends to veto the
resolution on the ground that it is
and the senate from the treaty-mak-
ing power, and is an encroachment
on function of government intrust-
ed to them. The Democrats are in
sufficient number in each house to
sustain the veto, and therefore the
resolution will not pass. The Re-
publicans are charged with playing
politics therefore in pressing the res
olution and sending it up to the
president to be vetoed. In view of
the fact that the president refuses
senate over the treaty, and thus OBJ
structs the performance Of the func--
ton of the treaty-making branch of
the government, the Republicans
would seem to be justified in show
ing his unreasonableness by seeking
to make peace in another way. They
thus compel him to assume sole
power of initiating peace and render
more acute his responsibility for
putting the treaty through by rea-
sonahle concession to the judgment
of the senate, his coordinate asso-
ciate in making of the treaty. In
any event, as the situation now is,
even if the resolution were to pass,
subsequent treaty should be made.
There is nothing in this resolution
inconsistent with subsequent action
by a Republican president in sub
hitting the treaty to the senate and
it's ratification with the Lodge res
ervations by a majority of the Re-
publican senators and the Democrats,
who, freed from President Wilson's
could, after a long delay, take our
place, as we should take it, with the
others nations of the world around
the council table of the league.