Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-01-14
SENATORS EXPECT
RATIFICATION SOON
No Chance for Agreement on
Paris Treaty Before Next
Week, However
26 SOCIETIES URGE ACTION

Washington. Jan. 14.-Prospects Of
ratification Of the peace treaty with
Germany by the Senate before Friday.
the date of the initial meeting of the
league of nations council, had been
abandoned TODAY by leaders of all fac
tions involved in the controversy.
William Jennings Bryan. in tele.
grams to number of members of the
Senate a few days AGO. urged that the
treaty be ratified before the league
ronnci' met so that the United States
might participate.
Among Democratic senator's, however.
there was well defined feeling that
next week might bring an agreement
on reservations which soon thereafter
would result in another ratification
vote. Republican leaders. particularly
mild rescrvationists. view the compro :
mise negotiations of the last few days
as promising.
Statements of Senators Lodge. of
Massachusetts,. and Hitchcock. OF Ne
braSka. Republican and acting Demo
cratic leaders. respectively, given SEN
arately yesterday 10 delegation repre- L.
senting organizations seeking early rati- :
fication through compromise, were
pointed to today as Indicating that Re =
publicans and Democrats had prepared
the way for reaching common ground,
Both leaders emphasized in their state
ments that each side would have to
make and was willing to make conces- :
sions.
Await Democratic Caucus
nf ,t,,
treaty controversy, senator's on both
sides of the chamber showed great in
terest today in the Democratic leader
ship caucus, set for tomorrow. Senators
Underwood, of Alabama, and Hitch
cock are candidates for party leader to
succeed the late Senator Martin, of
Virginia
Twenty six societies, claiming to rep
resent 2o,0OO, 900 American people, are
in session at Washingt to demand
speedy ratification of the treaty.
The organizations include the Amer
lean Federatio of Labor, the League to
Enforce Peace. National Educational
Association, the National Dairy:lCn's
Union. the National Council of
Churches of Christ ia America and
many others.
The attitude OF this conference is
that if President Wilson will not
yield the Senate must: that if the Sen =
ate persisted in it's pervereitv th-
Pr"sident should prove big enough to
make concessions, but that the treaty
must be ratified.
About the only echo to that call
from the American people was joint
affirmation from Lodge and Hitchcock
Of the Senate's desire to effect ct:n
promise Both senator's. however,
pointed out the difficulties in the way
Of comnrOmise.
A manifesto signed by the authorized
spokesmen of the most prominent civic.
commercial. agricultural. economic and
industrial interests of the nation was
presented to the White House, to Mr..
Lodge and to Mr.. Hitchcock.
White House Silent
The White House made 10 comment.
Mr.. Lodge. telling how eager he was
for compromise ratification, explained
the so called Lodge reservations. which
the President holds nullify the treaty.
represented on November 10. las they
do now," the majority opinion OF the
Senate. He dwelt upon the great diff
Guilty of getting sixty four senator's to
agree uncn any compromise program.
Mr.. Hitchcock, emphasizing how the
Senate had come to regard the treaty as
greater than partisan politics and how
both Republicans and Democrats were
80 sincere" in their advocacy of com
promise, laid stress upon the fact that
the Democratic senators could not &c
farther than they believe the President
would approve.
The real answer is Article y, OF
the covenant for league of nations.
Neither side has agreed to sacrifice its
principles with respect TO the obligation
embodied in that provision. and neither
has any present idea of doing so. That
is the answer the White House and the
Capitol might have given in positive
terms yesterday to the men and women
who represent the dominant American
thought with respect of the treaty.
Instead. only careful phrased gen
cralities were delivered when spokesmen
for the united organizations waited upon
the two Senate leaders responsible for
the existing situation in the Senate and
the Misrepresentation associated with
the compromise chatter about the Sen
ate lobbes. The public spirited people
who called at the White House and the
Capitol went away without any assur
ance. expressed or implied, that either