The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1920-01-09
WHY BLAME
THE UNITED
STATES SENATE?
A Vigorous Protest of Our
"Play Ball" Editorial from
Lawyer Shields
Dear Editor

Dear Editor
Anent your editorial in the Gale
donianRecord of the 7th instant. en-
titled "Play Ball", in which you com
part the attitude of some of the mem
bers of the Boston Chamber of Com
merce on the subjec. of ratiiicatio.
OF the so-called Treaty, including tn,
incubus of the League of Nations
with that of Senator Lodge and 9th
er members of the Senate, to the dis
paragement of the Senators, permi
me 70 voice a protest.
| Your editorial suggests that tn,
action of the Chamber of Commerc,
must have caused a cold chill dowl
the back of Senator Lodge; intimate,
the great joy which pervades in som,
quarters because the Vermont Sena
to-; have heard how emphatic tn,
pon of the Calcdonian-Recor ION,
hundred votes in alD sustained rati
fication; and closes with the follow
ing:
1.-The American people arc dis
gusted at the delay in the United
States Senate, and the partisan
ship that has been displayed 1t
is time for statemanship and not
! for politics. Gentlemen of the
Senate quit playing politics and
play ball"
Your editorial, therefore, nccessar
lily implies:
First That there has been undue
delay in ratification of the treaty;
Second, That the Senate is tt
blame for it; and,
Third That the Senators-pal>
ticularly men who have followed
the leadership Of Senator Lodgc--are
not statesmen but politicians, anc
have been playing politics with the
Treaty.
Reverting to. the history Of oul
country, it is found that when the
United States. Constitution was adopt
ed, which was after the American
States had had a union under the
Conferedation for some years, and
when the new union contemplated
was of domestic states, whose people
were largely of one race and of the
same ideals, the proposed new gov
ernment was under consideration by
the Constitutional Convention fol
three months, and was not ratified
by the necessary number of states
for approximately one year thereaf-
ter. The League of Nations con.
templates a super-government hav-
ing legislative, executive and ju.
dicial functions. 1t is league with
foreign states, whose peoples, Gus
toms, language form of government
and ideals differ widely in many in
stances from our own. The League
in its original form gave British in
terests six votes to our one, sacri-
feed out time honorcd Monroe Doc
trlnc, made us subservient to other
countries and was SO rcplete in glar-
ing inconsistencies and ambiguous
language that even its friends could
not agree upon the same interpreta-
ton of many of its provisions. In
its original form it afforded most
fruitful field for misunderstanding
among its members, thus tending to
the promotion of ill-feeling and the
creation of war, the very things it
was professed to prevent. The
League is a complete departure from
our previous attitude, SO long sue
ccssfully pursued of minding oul
own business, except in cases where
gross oppression demanded action
Tin which event our country has
never hesitated to do its duty, and
places us where. we will be compcll-
ed to take part in every dispute in
the world, no matter how remote
from US nor how contrary to oul
interests, and will force US to send oul
boys to sacrifice themselves in the
settlement Of these matters, if called
upon by the League.
Surely, under these circumstances
the Senate should be considered
praiseworthy rather than otherwise
in having made haste slowly on such
a proposition, and would be justified
in taking at least a. much time as
we did when forming a union of our
own American States.
The Senate is not to be blamed
for what delay has occurred, for the
President, without its advice or con
stnt so far as apcpars, negotiated a
treaty and so closely cntwincd there
with the League of Nations--largcly
of English conception-that he him
self boastcd they could not be sep
aratcd; before leaving on this task.
He asked at the elections for sup
port of his policies by the return of
his party to power and was rcpudiat-
ed by the voters ;duling the course
of his negotiations he was informed