The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-11-26
DEMOCRATS HAVE:
BIG PLACE WITH
HARDING IS PLAN
Continued from first page.A


Amcricanism that prevailed at the
polls on election day. Moreover, the
adage that party lines end at the
waters edge" contains a wholesoma
truth Wit. which our neat president
has always sympathized His hos
fi!ity ds q member Of the senate t.
the treaty II Versailles was as FREE
from personal animosiiy toward the
negotiator of that engagement as il
was from partisan bias. When as
chief executive he succeeds TO the
power If initiative in foreign affairs
and. having turned his back upon
tht Versailles treaty. solicits the att
vice and consent Of the senate in his
new approach to the other members
OF the family Of free nations, Mr..
Harding is well aware that the
wishes o. the minority will not be
without their value II his new yea
ture is to bear fruit. For no extern
sion of The Hague treaties can be
made save with the advice and con-
sent off tWo-thirds Of the senators
present, and II would probably not be
wise to call third Hague confer
ence unless members of the minority
in the senate joined with the ma
jority in approving the extension of
the invitation.
Senate Pair.
Naturally his service in the senate
has made Mr. Harding better &C
quainted with the members of the
minority of that body than with Dem
ocratic congressman or Democratic
governors, II is u singular fact that
his pair in the senate is Senator
Underwood of Alabama, who was
elected by the Democratic caucus at
the last session to succeed Senator
Hitchcock as minority Leaders Not
only have Senator Harding and Sen
ator Underwood been what is called
standing pair" in the senate, but
outside the senate they are stanch
personal friends, differing, of course
on many vital questions of public
policy, but bound by ties of mutual
respect and esteem. 1t will fall, of
course to the lot Of the new presl-
dent to steer a course in national af-
fairs. and perhaps at times in inter-
national affairs of which the minori-
ty leader of the senate will feel it
his duty to be frank and fearless
critic.
But there will be many questions,
foreign and domestic, in which Presi-
dent Harding can be counted upon to
ask, and Senator Underwood TO give,
advice and consent animated solely
BY the desire to find an answer that
will best serve the welfare of the
country.N And at all times 1t is safe
to assume that this Ohio Republican
and this Alabama Democrat will re-
main what they have so long been
warm personal friends, frequently
taking counsel together and mutually
mindful. of the respective rights and
preroe%tives of the president and the
senate As marked out In the constitu-
tion. In Senator Underwood our next
president will have as an adviser a
member of the minority who Is typi-
cal of all that is best In the traditions
of Southern craftsmanship. A native
OF Kentucky, graduate of the Uni
verstty of Virginia, and citizen since
early manhood of Alabama, he gained
long and valuable experience as
legislator in the lower~house of con.
gress, where he served as the repre-
sentative Of the Birmingham district
from May, 1895, to 1915. In the latter
year he was elected to the senate and
az the last election was reelected
for second term,
With an abundance OF common
sense, gift for counsel, a genius
for cooperation and friendship,
wide acquaintanceship with national
legislators past and present in both
parties and in both houses of con-
gress, Mr.. Underwood has retained
as a senator a larger measure of i'm
dependence under the present admin
istration than many of his Demo-
cratic colleagues. Long before he
became the minority leader he and
senator Lodge were upon the most
friendly terms and. with Mr.. Under
Wood as the minority leader, the re-
iatlons between the majority leader
IN the senate and the newly elected
chief executive at the other end Of
pennsylvania avenue will be- of n sort
TO facilitate that recognition of the
constitutional rights of the minority
winch Is one of the distinguishing
characteristics and valuable assets
soI our governmental system.
odd Hickory's" State.
The only reason that Senator
shields Of Tennessee was not marked
Tor slaughter was no doubt because
hs could not be reached at the recent
erection. AS member OF the COM
hilttee on foreign relations he Joined
The Battalion Of Death" and fought
side by side with Senator READ nf
missouri and Senator Borah of Idaho
No member of the senate gave more
consC entious study Of the treaty than
aid this able Southern iurist. Having
been both an associate Justice and
chief justice Of the supreme court of
his state before going to the senate
senator Shields was splendidlv uuaIi-
Iled TO examine the treaty in all its
parts. sitting around the table OF
the committee on foreign relations
with Sena or Harding the two natur
a {s,f.
president elect knows the courage
that Senator Shields showed in vot-
ing his honest convictions on the |
treaty and the wisdom that he dis
played in defending his position on
the floor OF tine senate. Like senator |
Reed Of Missouri Senator Shields Of |
tennessee is d senator Of the indie |
pendenCe that the Founding Fla
TIERS intended should sit in that !
BODY. As senator from Tennessee, |
as a member Of the committee on for |
elgn relations and as one Of the /
ablest lawyers in the senate Mr. .
Shields is one Of the minority lead .
ers to whom il is reasonable to expect /
the president-elect will turn for coun- T,
sci in large affairs. In the event that |
II falls to the next presidents lot, As !
it probably will to appoint four or
more members of the supreme court |
OF the United States Il is more thar
probable thGt Senator Shields Will
stand in the forefront of Southern |
Democrats whose qualifications will
receive the most careful COusdera-
tion for one OF trese vacancies In
cidentally tn, curse of senator
Shields IN the senai" where he is OPP
posed to the ratification Of the treaty,
20 h.