New-York tribune., 1920-03-18
''RatiN, ''B,.yan s
Word to Democrats
Trom Tac Trtoune's Washington Bureo.

FroR ldr Trtbunc's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON. March 17.-MakinC
vigorous demands on the Democrats in
the Senate to break away from the
President and help ratify the peace
treaty. William Jennings Bryan denied
this afternoon Mr.. Wilson's assertion
that the Lodge reservation to Article
cuts the heart out Of the covenant"
Mr.. Bryan arrived in Washington
to-day from Miami. en- route to New
York, where he will lecture tomorrow
night on the text: Beware of the
Dam" He cautioned newspaper men
VINO met him here not to put an IN" on
the word dam" Although he did not
go to the Capitol, and talked with only
ono or two of the Democratic Senators.
he was busy all day with conferences,
many of his visitors being qualified to
act as messengers in taking his advice
to Capitol HILL
The Nebraskan refused to be drawn
into discussion Of President Wilson's
recent utterances demanding rejection
of the modified treaty, but he made no
effort to conceal the wide breach be-
tween his views and those of the Chief
Executive.
Besides urging the Democrats of the
Senate to vote for ratification, and con-
demning the proposal TO carry the
whole treaty issue into the campaign,
he went on record for constitutional
amendment eliminating the two-rhirds
rule for the ratification of treaties, de-
claEed for instructed delegations to the
Democratic National Convention and
expressed confidence that both the
Democratic and Republican parties
would write into their platforms planks
indorsing prohibition.
Urges Right of Majority to Rule
He declared the principle of democ-
racy involved in the right of the ma
jor1ty to rule 'in the Senate was far
more important than differences of
phraseology in the reservations, and
recalled that the United States had en-
tered the war to "makc the world safe
for democracy"
'1t should be as easy to declare
peace as to declare war" he said, in
referring to his proposal for an elimi-
nation of the two thirds rule on the
ratification of treaties
assume he said, "that the Demo
cratic Senators who favor ratification
will now support the reservations
agreed upon, these having been sup
ported by more than majority, and in
most cases by more than two thirds of
The Senate. For example. what seems
TO nave been the most bitterly contest
ed reservation, that on Article X, was
carried by a vote of So to 26. That is
four more than a two-to-one majority.
If the votes of the thirteen so-called
'irreconcilables' were subtracted from
the fifty-six who voted for the reserva-
tion the vote would stand 43 to 26,
which is majority of II of those
voting on the proposition.
ut is inconceivablc that the Demo
Gratis who fought for eight months to
secure ratification of the treaty and
have held up to public scorn and criti-
cism those who delayed ratification
would now join with the 'irreconcila-
bles' to defeat the treaty and make it a
campaign issue.
Sees Test of Democracy
Before the Senate had decisivcly
expressed itself it was a matter of
opinion upon which Senators could
differ. But it has ceased to be a diff
ference of opinion and has become a
test of the Senate's belief in democ-
racy, because democracy is belief in the
rule of the majority. After what we
have spent in life and money to make
the world safe for democracy we can
afford to apply that doctrine to the
Senate. Acquiescence in the direction