The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-05-29
PRESIDENT HAS
ALL GUESSING
Next Move In Treaty Fight
Is Mystery. to Republi-
cans and Democrats
PROBABLY WILL SIT
QUIET UNTIL JULY
Expected He Will Write the Democratic
Plank On Treaty and Define Issue
sions Concerning Veto.
By DAVID LAWRENCE.
(Copyripht bv The Reformer,1

(Copyrlght by me sRe1ormer.)
WASHINGTON, May %. - Presi
dent Wilson has not merely his politi-
cal opponents but his. friends guessing
as to his next move in the treaty sit
uation but unless the President changes
his mind abruptly his present man
oeuver is to keep the treaty of Yer
sailles in the White House either until
the two political conventions have met
and declared themselves and new dis
position is manifested toward the doc
ument or until the American people
have shown by their votes that they
sustain or repudiate the present mem
bership of the senate.
The Republicans were eager for the
President to act on the Knox peace
resolution. The Democrats didn t fill
| buster or engage in prolonged debate
but FASTENED the resolution to the
White House. The Republicans ex-
pected the vote but also expected the
| treaty to come back to the senate with
statement of the reservations he
would accept. Then having selected
| Senator Henry Cabot Lodge to make
| the keynote speech at the Republican
1 national convention, the expectation
| was that the Massachusetts senator
would discuss the phraseology of reser
vations and that the issue would again
appear to be only one of language. At
any rate it was believed the people at
the polls wouldn't be able to distin-
guish between the Democratic or Re
publican kind of reservations and that
the treaty question would be lost in
a maze of controversies over domestic
policies.
But the President is unwilling to
play into Republican hands. He plans
to make it as uncomfortable as pos
sible for his opponents. He is waiting
to see what the Republican national
convention with a temporary chairman
4 advocating ratification of the treaty
with reservations will do about nomi-
mating man who denounees the whole
treaty, reservations and aIl-namely,
Senators Hiram johnson or Phiander
c. Knox.
Mr.. Wilson has consulted nobody in
the senate and has worked out his own
strategy His tactics are not alto
StbHtl titdSiiS 10 HIS 1tiiiOtIdIIC COt-
leagues but they admit he is playing a
bold hand and may succeed eventually
in keeping the treaty issue clear out
by retaining the Versailles pact at the
White House. Several senators on the
Democratic side who are not partic-
ularly in favor of the President s sup
posed plan do nevertheless see various
grounds upon which Mr. Wilson could
Justify his action The President as
disclosed by his veto of the Knox res
olution accepts the action of the SEN
ate in failing to pass the peace treaty
itself as final He argues that there
is no need for him to send the treaty
back-that the senate has notified hin
| that it cannot pass He appeals from
the senate to the American people He
wants a new senate. On the Other
hand if the American people sustain
4 the present senate next November. Mr.
! Wilson can turn over the development
of American foreign policy and tn,
treaty and all data thereon to the mex
z President of the United States
1t begins to look certain that Wood
row Wilson will never withdraw hi
L name from the treaty of Versailles O
negotiate a separate peace with Ger
many. He regards what the senate ha
tried to do in the way of a peace res
Pollution as can ineffaceable stain o,
America 8 honor and with that state
ment he rests his ease. If the Ameri
can people differ with him, they cal
say so at the polls.
Incidentally, MIR. Wilson will hav,
his say in the Democratic national plat
form at San Francisco There is M