New-York tribune., 1920-05-28
I'm
Armenia Is
Voted Down
Senate Committee De-
cides, Ill to 4, to Rec
ommend Rejection of
the Presidents Proposal

From The Tribune's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, May 27.-The Senate
Foreign Relations Committee acte i
speedily to-day to refuse the request of
President Wilson that he be authorized
to accept for the United States a man
date over Armenia.
After a brief meeting the committee
reported, by a vote of II to q, a resolu-
ton refusing consent to the request
and Senator Lodge, chairman of the
committee, served notice that he would
ask the Senate to vote on the refusal
mediately after the pending supply
bills were disposed of. The vote prob
ably will come Tomorrow
Members Of the committee were op-
posed almost unanimously to having
the United States become mandatary
for Armenia, but three Democratic
Senators voted against the reso.~ -. :
refusing the request because they said
they were opposed 10 disposing of the
question of mandate without full
consi ration.
Senator Lodge proposed at the COM
mittee meeting that the following rcao-
luton be adopted:
"Resolved, That the Congress her,
by respectfully declines to grant to
the Executive the power to accept d
mandate over Armenia as requested
in the message Of the President
dated May "a, 1920"
In urging immediate adoption of the
resolution by the committee Senator
Lodge read from the testimony of the
representatives of Armenia before thu
committee, in which all the Armenians
who testified had opposed a mandate
They urged recognition of their COM
plcte independence and asked for finan-
cial assistance to enable their country
20 rsestablsh herself, Senator Lodge
said.
Hitchcock Explains Vote
All ten Republican members of the
committee voted for the resolution
Borah, Brandegee. Fall, Knox, Harding
Johnson, New and Moses. Senator
Shields, Democrat, Tennessee, joined
the Republicans. Senator Pomerene, of
Ohio. and Swans on, Of Virginia, who are
opposed to mandate, did not atterd
the meeting.
Senator Williams, Democrat, of Mis-
sissippi, was the only member of the
rolumittee who favored a mandate
Vo ing with HIM against the resolution
were Senator'S Hitchcock. of Nebraska {;
Pittman, of Nevada, and Smith, of Ari-
zona. all Democrats.
Senator Hitchcock told the commit
tee that he was as strongly opposed to
having the United States become man
datary for Armenia as any other mem
Der of the Senate, but that he was op-
posed to having summary action taken
on the Presidents request.
Senator Smith said he doubted
whether a mandate would be legal, but
he believed the question of a mandate
should receive full consideration be-
fore any action was taken.
Senator Lodge reported the resolu-
tion of refusal to the Senate imme-
diately after the committee meeting.
later to-day, but the conslde eration of
supply bills prevented action on the
resolution until Tomorrow
Shields Calls Plan Monstrous
Senator Shields. in explanation of
his vote for the resolution, said:
ut is, | have no doubt, very at
tractive proposition to Great Britain,
who wishes buffer state created in
Eastern Asia for the protection of her
commerce and her protectorate over
and control of Egypt, Mesopotamia,
Hedjaz. Persia, and India, and also to
the Armenians, who are always so
liciting aid in this country and want
some other country to fight their
battles and feed them. But, as | view
it, it is simply monstrous. 1t is the
legitimate and natural offspring of the
league of nations and what we would
Hna Il 4 6. =
had become member of the league
"If we must have a foreign war why
not send an army into Mexico to sta
bilze that country and protect Amer
leans and their property there? There
have been over 500 Americans mur-
dered, many American women horribly
treated and hundreds of millions Of
dollars Of American property de-,
stroyed there in the last five years"