Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-06-02
A SEPARATE PEACE DEFEATED.


A SEPARATE PEACE DEFEATED.
Now that the house has failed to pass, over
the presidential veto, the notorious peace resolu-
ton, an attempt to evade the constitution of the
United States and make separate peace with
Germany and Austria without the Intervention
of the president or any treaty, we assume that
the senate will not make any attempt to get
tWo-thirds majority. 1t could not do so in any
case and it would be useless if it could. The
whole matter will now go into the presidential
campaign for discussion and final solution and
peace will be delayed until after March 1921.
The Springfield Republican thus very ably
presents the issue from it's own independent
standpoint.
The president bitterly condemns the Knox
resolution declaring the war at an end in saving
that such method of making peace would
place an lneffaceable stain upon the gallantry
and honor of the United States" Yet he hardly
more than echoes the declaration of Senator
Lodge in December, 1918, that I'VE cannot
make peace except in company with
our allies. 1t would brand us with everlasting
dishonor and bring ruin to us also If we under
took to make separate peace
This resolution would not make peace ''in
company with our allies" It unmstakably con-
templates separate peace. The mere fact that
it would terminate the legal state OF war with
out treaty of any description having been ne
gotiated and ratified between the United States
and Germany is convincing evidence that this
method of peace-making can have no other OBJ
ject than separate peace. At the last moment,
for political reasons, the section of the reso-
luton requesting the president to negotiate
treaty with Germany was withdrawn; but the
resolution also provides for the termination of
war with Austria and Hungary as well as with
Germany and very curiousy there was no with
drawal of the clause requesting the president to
negotiate a separate treaty 'for the purpose Of
establishing fully friendly relations and COM
mercial intercourse between the United States
and the government and peoples OF Austria and
Hungary" The separate peace policy, with all
that it entails, is the inescapabe resultant of
peace-making in this highly-unusual way.
It is an astounding fact that the congressional
majority would make peace without making
sure of victory. Let us take Senator Knox, the
author of the resolution, at his word. When
taunted with seeking the benefits of the treaty
of Versailles while repudiatng its obligations,
the senator's defense was: I'VE do not accept
any benefits; we merely decline to waive our
rights to them" But these rights are not Sc
cured even if, as he says they are not waived in
this method of peace-making by resolution.
The war resolution adopted by congress on
April g. 1917 directed" the president to wage
war against Germany; but it also pledged "all
the resources OF the country TO BRING the con-
fct to successful termination" It would be
the quntessence of irony to say that the Knox
resolution would bring the conflict to success
full termination" How can the termination of
the war be Successful from the victors point
of view when nothing whatever, in the form of
reparations and the vindication of challenged
principles, has been exacted through the con-
tract known as treaty from the vanquished?
The Knox resolution more than repeals, it
pudiates the nations declaration of war.
The president cannot be blamed for refusing
to associate himself with peace-making of this
questionable character The president was di-
rected to wage war against Germany and he
waged it so effectively that the imperial dynasty
was overthrown, the war lord hustled into exile
and the German empire was humbled in the
dust. If, however, the war is not yet Success
fully terminated in accordance with the pledge
of the war congress of 1917, it is because the
United States senate has failed" to ratify, to
quote one of its own resolutions, a peace treaty
which not one of the many other signatories has
rejected.
The situation created is anomalous and dis
turbing. The way out is through the ratifica-
ton of the Versailles treaty. How this can be
effected we do not now pretend to say. But the
Knox resolution is impossible and the president
has wisely made an end Of it.