Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1920-09-28

practice of the world
Yet the great fighting powers dld
nothing of the kind. They merely put
this American doctrine under the
jurisdiction of the league OF nations
and threatened to rob ii forever OF us
peculiar power in the western hemls-
phere.
How we'll they succeeded is demon
strated by the official British state
ment that future disputes over the
Monroe Doctrine would be settled by
the league. In the British Whlte
Paper on the treaty is the following
language:
1.-The origin of the Monroe Doctrine
is well known. 1t was proclaimed
in 1923 to prevent America becoming
theatre for the intrigues OF Euro
pean absolutism. AT first principle
of American foreign policy, it has pc
come an international understanding
and it is not illegitimate for the PEG
pie of the United States to ask that
the covenant should recognize TINS
fact. In it's essence ii is consistent
with the spirit of the covenant, and
indeed the principles of the league, as
expressed in Article TO- represent the
extension to the world of the princi-
pies of the Monroe Doctrine; while
should any dispute as to the meaning
Of the latter (the Monroe Doctrine)
ever arise between American and
European powers, the league is there
to settle it.
That is what President Wilson calls
safeguarding" the Monroe Doctrine.
He would hand it over, for interpre-
tation, to the whole world. What
more could its worst enemy desire?
So the senate made the reservation
unmistakeable by providing Reserya-
ton No. 5:
1.-THE United States will not submit
to arbitration or to inquiry by the
assembly or the council of the league
or nations, provided for in said treaty
of peace, any questions which in the
Judgment of the United States depend
upon or relate to its ng-established
policy, commonly known as the Mon
roe Doctrine; said doctrine is to be
interpreted by the United States alone
and is hereby declared to be wholly
outside the jurisdiction of said league
of nations and entirely unaffected by
any provision contained in the said
treaty of peace with Germany"
Another important reservation was
put into the ratification resolution to
offset the provision that accorded the
British empire six votes to Americas
one in the assembly of the league
one each for the British Empire, Can
ada, Australia, South Africa, New
re aland and India. Originally the re-
publican senators proposed a reserva-
ton which would deprive the British
Empire of this sextuple representa-
ton. This reservation might have
necessitated new negotiations at the
conference table So the senators
agreed to let the British representa-
ton stand as far as other nations
were concerned, but by resolution
No. IA to make it powerless to bind
the United States until part l. being
the covenant of the league of nations
shall be so amended as to provide that
the United States shall be entitled to
cast a number of votes equal to that
which any member of the league and
it's self-governing dominions, colonies
shall be entitled to cast" Until such
time, it provides. "the United States
assumes no obligation to be bound
except in cases where congress has
previously given its consent by any
election, decision, report or finding
of the council or assembly in which
any member of the league and its self
governing dominions, colonies, OF
parts of empire, in the aggregate, have
cast more than one vote"
This reservation further provides
that 1.-The United States assumes ne
obligation to be bound by any de-
cision, report, finding of the council
or assembly arising out of any dis
pute between the United States ant
any member of the league if such
member, or any self-governing domin.
ion, colony, empire or part of empire
united with it politically has voted"
Why the British Empire should have
thus been made the only plural-vot-
ing nation in the league has never
been adequately explained. Equality
of votes was prOfessedly made funda-
mental in the composition of the
league, and Liberia, Hayti, Guatemala
and Siam were made equal in the as
sembly with the United States, with
France, with Japan-with every world
power except the British Empire
That nation-and it alone-was ac-
corded six votes. President Wilson
pretended that this was done to recog-
nize the self-governing dominions OF
the British Empire. But one of these
votes was given to India and India ie
no more self-governing than Ireland
which got no vote and no hearing, or
Madagascar or Korea-and not SO
much as the Philippines which are not
mentioned.