Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-05-21

contained the statements which were
likely to appear in the Chicago plat
form.
1t is mistake for the Republican
party to permit johnson and Borah to
dictate its policy. These senator's rep
resent small section of the party.
Borah has never boltcd and johnson
has announced that he will not bolt
again. The necessity for conciliating
them at the expense of antagonizing a
much larger element of the party is not
apparent.
1t should be evident to the man of
least intelligence among the Repuhli-
can leaders, whoever he may be, that
the Indiana plank is a most stupid and
contradictory conglomeration of words
revolving to every man who wishes to
retain his intellectual integrity.
That plank begins with the dcclara
tion that the treaty of peace with
Germany ought to have been made i'm
mcdatcly after the armisticc." as
though that were not exactly what was
dona. The armiSticc was signed on
November II. and as soon as it was
possible for the large number of nations
at war to name their delegates and
agree on place of meeting and get the
delegates there the conference assem-
blcd. And the negotiations proceeded
with much greater speed than any one
at all familiar with the conduct of such
aSScmbagcs in the past had believed
possible.
Then the President is charged with
forcing the powers to adopt the cove
nant of the League of Nations as an
integral part of the treaty and thus
sacrificed peace to his own plan for the
League of Nations, seeking in this way
through coercion to nullify the consti-
tutional powers of the Senate in regard
to treaties
The President could not have forced"
the powers to accept the league if it
had not become apparent to them that
it was necessary to create some agency
by which the provisions of the treaty
could b. carried out. Ii the league had
not been created it would have been
necessary to organize some other in
Strumcntality under n different name to
do the work planned for the league.
AS to "nullifying the constitutional
powers of the Senate in regard to
treaties those powers were respected
just as fully as by every other Prcsi-
dent who has negotiated n treaty. The
very rejection of the treaty by the Sen
ate is ample proof that its cOnStitu-
tional powers are unimpaircd. whatever
may BE- the opinion about its intellectual
powers.
The Indiana platform further declares
its absolute opposition to the covenant
of the League of Nations as submitted
by the President and charges the
President with responsibility for the
rejection of the reservations which were
indOrScd by majority of the senator's.
Every one knows that the response
bilty for the defeat of the treaty is
shared equally by the President and the
Senate, although the President is guilty
of the same kind of disingenuousncss n :
the Indiana platform builders when he
charges the Senate with the sole re-
sponSibility. Neither side will get any
where by singing n katydid chorus
about "You did and ! didn't" and Il
ddn't and YOU did. -
But after declaring its opposition 10
the League Of Nations covenant, the
Indiana plank proceeds to declare its
support of IAN association of nations
to promote the peace of the world, " as
though this were not exactly what the
League of Nations is. Then it saws that
the Republican party has always been
in favor of the judicial settlement of
international disputes and urges the
establishment of world court to ad
minister international Justice. forget
ting or ignoring the fact that the league
covenant provides for the establishment
Of just such a court.
1t earnestly supports an intcrna
tional agreement for the reduction Of
armamcnts which does not give TO any
foreign nation the right to interfere in
any way with our army or navy. The
league covenant provides for Just such
way of reducing HrmamcntS through
recommendation agreed upon BY the
league and acted upon in the discretion
Of the powers involved
The platform objects to the establish
mcnt Of any tribunal which shall have
jurisdiction over the domestic affairs of
the American people or which can in d.
tcrfcrc in any way with the Monroe
Doctrine But no such tribunal is con
tCmplatcd in the league covenant and
the Monroe Doctrine is expressly OK .
| cmpted from the jurisdiction OF the
| league.
And finally. the Indiana plank de.
| rlares that the Republican party be g.
! lcvcs that should the peace of Europe
be again threatened as it was in 1914,
"thc United States should regard such
n situation with grave concern as n
| menace to its own peace and freedom -
aud that under such circumstances the
United States should consult with other
powers with view to devise means
| for the removal of the menace"
! In other words, this plank declares
| that it does not believe in the kind Of a
League Of Nations provided for by the
covenant in the treaty but that ii does
believe in ian association of nations
which shall do the very things which
the league itself was planned to do.
The question will at once obtrudc
itself: Why not go ahead and ratify
the peace treaty with the league cove
nant in It which has already been rati :
fed by the rest Of the belliggrcnts and Is
ready for carrying out TIL exact plans