New-York tribune., 1920-07-21
BY William Howard Taft


Copyright, 1920. by Tho Philadelphia
Public Ledger)
1t has been asserted in these columns
several times that if Mr.. Harding is
elected President and, pursuing the
course which his votes in the Senate
give US reason to think he will take,
sends the German treaty to the Senate
again to receive Republican reserva-
tions, it will secure enough Democratic
votes to ratify it. The treaty with
such reservations lacked only seven
Democratic votes of ratification when it
was voted on in February last. The
record clearly proves that but for Mr..
Wilson's intervention the needed seven
votes and more would then have been
cast for the league anG reservations.
Considering how much is made of the
struggle in the Senate and the so-called
vital differences between the Republi-
can and Democratic Senators. it is start
ling to note how little real difference
there was. A bipartisan committee rep
resenting both sides met to see whether
it could not agree. Of the fourteen res
ervations supported by the Republi-
CANS, SIN Wclc lHtelpIcIdliNe, IWo were
declaratory of constitutional law and
six reduced the obligations or relieved
the limitations of the treaty as to the
United States. 1t is not too much to
say that this bipartisan committee sub
stantially agreed on all of the reserva-
tions but two-those as to the Monroe
Doctrine and as to Article x.
Monroe Doctrine Difficulty
1t is true that the Democrats OBJ
jected to excluding the President
from participation in any decision to
withdraw from the league, while the
Republicans insisted on it: but with
a Republican President neither the
Republicans will insist nor the Demo-
Gratis object with the same fervor.
Coming now to the Monroe Doc
trine, the league covenant provided
that regional understandings like the
Monroe Doctrine should not be af-
fected by the league. The Republican
reservation on this subject was in
three parts, as follows:
(1) The United States will not
submit to arbitration or to inquiry
by the assembly or by the council
or the League of Nations, provided
for in said treaty of peace, any
questions which in the judgment of
the United States depend upon or
relate to its long established policy
commonly known as the Monroe
Doctrine; (2) said doctrine is to be
alone and (3) is hereby declared to
be wholly outside the jurisdiction
of said League of Nations and en-
tlrely unaffected by any provision
contained in the said treaty of
peace with Germany.
II the United States is not to submit
any question it deems to depend upon
the Monroe Doctrine to arbitration or
inquiry, it would seem necessarily to
follow that the doctrine is to be inter-
preted by the United States alone and
that it is placed wholly outside the
jurisdiction Of the league and is wholly
unaffected by the treaty. In other
words, the same idea is enforced and
stated in three different forms. The hi
partisan representatives of the Demo-
Gratis were willing to agree to the res
ervatlon if the second part, declaring
that the United States alone was to in
terpret the doctrine, were omitted. In
other words, the only difference was
that the Republicans wished to say the
same thing three times, while the DEM
ocrats said: "No, We'll only say it
twice. To characterize such q differ
ence as crucial is humorous.
A Diaphanous Difference
Upon Article x the real difference
between the two sides was nearly as
diaphanous as that in respect to the
Monroe Doctrine. The reservation as
to Article x adopted by the Republi-
cans in November, 1919, was
The United States assumes no OBJ
legation to preserve the territorial
integrity or political independence Of
any other country or to interfere
in controversies between nations,
whether members of the league or
not, under the provision of Article x,
or to employ the military or naval
forces Of the United States under
any article of the treaty for any pur-
pose, unless in any particular case
the Congress, which under the Con-
stitution has the sole power to de-
clare war or authorize the employ
ment of the military forces of the
United States, shall by act or joint
resolution so provide.
Article X provides for no interfer
encc between nations except that in
volved in preserving the integrity O.
/ independence of one of them apains g