The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-03-09
WEAKEN ARTICLE X AND VERY HEART OF
 TREATY |MPER|LED
All Reservations So Far Suggested Virtual Nullifi- cation of Article to
 Which They Applied
sv Associated revs.

Washington, March S.-President
 Wilson restated for the democratic
 senators today his opposition to
 aAy peace treaty reservations
 which would weaken the full force
 of Article ten otherwise ma
 terfaTIy impair the provisions of the
 League covenant.
 Without saying specifically what
 qualification he would or would not ac-
 cept, he wrote in letter to Senator
 Hitchcock, the administration leader.
 that almost all of the reservations he
 had heard suggested were fin effect
 virtual notifications of the treaty ar
 aicles to which they applied.
 II hear of reservations and mild
 reservations,'' the letter added. "but
 | cannot understand the difference
 between a nullifier and mild null
 Iiffer.s
 Discussing Article ten particularly,
 the President wrote that there was mo
 escaping the moral obligations which
 are expressed in positive terms in this
 article" though there could be no ob-
 jection to explaining in an interpreta-
 tiona the constitutional methods by
 which such an obligation would have
 to be fulfilled.
 ssThe very heart. of the cove
 nant, he reiterated. would he inn periled by weakening Article ten. TEXT OF LETTER
 The Presidents letter, written in re-
 sponse to request that he confer with
 Senator Simmons of North Carolina, in charge for the democratic side of the Senate in current negotiations Tor a cpfnpromise follows in full;
 My Dear Senator Hitcheock; | un- derstand that one or two of your col- leagues do me the honor of desiring to know what my views are with refer enee to Article ten of the League of Ma : M tions and the effect upon the league of II the adoption of certain proposed reser- \ yations to that article.
 "I welcome the opportunity to throw \ any light l can upon a subject which II has become so singularly beclouded by II ,nisapprehensions and misinterpreta- Al tions of every kind. There is no escap- N ing the moral obligations which are ex
 pressed in positive terms in this article N of the covenant. We won moral vic-
 tory over Germany far greater even than M the military victory won on the field Of \ hattie because the opinion of the whole II world swung to our support and the N support of the nations associated With N us in the great struggle It did so be- H cause our common profession and \ promise that we meant to- establish an
 organization of peace which should II make it certain that the combined M power of free nations would check ev- M cry invasion of right and serve to make M peace and justice the more secure by affording a definite tribunal Of opinion M to which all must submit and by which s every yainternational rcadjustment that M cannof be amicab bly, agreed upon by the N peoples directly concerned shall bf M sanctioned This promise and assur' M ance were written into the prelimi. M naries and the armistice and into the Ia prelirninaries of the peace itself, aAf N constitute one of the most sacred obli- II gations ever assumed by any nation oi N body of nations. It is unthinkable tha' E America should set the example of iG IN noring such a solemn compact. Y PLEDGED TO SOLDIERS IN ~For myself. l feel that I could N not look tho soldiers of our gall | fant armies in the face again If M did not do everything in my power M to remove every obstacle that lies in the way of the adoption of this \ particular article of the covenant. Rl because we made these pledges to\ M them As we'll ss to the rest of the M world and 1t was to this cause H they deemed themselves devoted In M a spirit of crusaders.. I should he N forever unfaitkfui to them If did not do my utmost to fulfNi the N hfEh purpose fer which they Al fought.
 M TX think, my dear sena tor. we cal H dismiss from our minds tne idea tha it is necessary to stipuiate in connec N tion with Article 10 the constitutions M methods we should use in fulfillin, our obli2ations under it. We gail H nothing by such stipulations and SC E cure nothing which is not 7fready SC cured. It was understood as matte of course at the conference in Pari E that whatever obligations any govern \ n,ent assumed or whatever duties undertook under tue treaty would, o course have- to be fulfilled by 1t usual and established constitutions methods of action One or twice I treaty was under consideration, reser l ,ations' were made 70 that effect b \ the representatives of indiyidua powers. and those reservations wer irvariably received in the way i N. which men who havesmet for bushes and not for talk always receive act \ of scrupulous supererpgation-liste X to with indifferent siience as sue mon listen to what is matter ' course and was not ne&essary to say. \ CONGRESS HOLDS POWER
 ..There can be no objection to eA l planning again what d}T constitt | tional method is and that bur Congre' \ alone can declare war orN determir ! the causes or occasions fot war. ar thai it alone can authorize use of ti
 armed forces of the United States ( land ar on the sea. But to make sue II declaration would certainly be
 work of supererogation.
 E ssfo say that the reservations tn have come under. my notice are aimo without exception not interpretatio
 of the articles to which it is propos
 to attach them but in effect nullifAc tons of those articles. ~Any reservations which seek to' aeprfye the League of Nattons of ne force Sf Article 10 cut at the EIA very beart and life Of the covenant Xlz' llDeH.
 ~Any League of Nations which dc
 not guarantee a matter of fnco
 testable right the political independefi
 and integrity of each of its membs