Evening star., 1920-01-07


views prevai!-those who believe that
the silence which the President has
maintained since the pact failed OF
a two-thirdS vote in the last session
of Congress should not he broken at
a purely partisan gathering, but to
the Senate and those who say the
republican banquets and politicai
meetings recently. including the ONO
Society dinner at New York, nave
given the impression that the tTesl-
dent is standing out against the so
called Americana of the treaty
and league by reservations, and
should use the occasion to explain
his position.
President Plans n secret.
Just what the President will say
is a secret. for the simple reason that
he will reserve until the last minute
the opportunity to pen his thoughts
to the banquet For a supposedly de-
clining party. the democrats are put
ting up an even livelier front than
the republicans when they were here
for their national committee meeting
recently.
Possibly it is because the democrats
have a sort of freefor-all contest on
and perhaps it is because there are to
be present such veteran figures as
William Jennings Bryan and Senator
Oscar Underwood and Senator Gilbert
NJ. Hitchcock and Attorney General
Palmer. all of whom have made the
nominating conventions of recent
years very interesting. Anyway. the
democrats have managed to work up
considerable interest in the National
Capital and each and every candidate
for the presidency or his friends are
on the job talking about issues, per-
sonalities. treaty fight and what not.
In contrast to the republican meet
ing, where it was considered better
strategy to suppress talk of individ-
UalS and concentrate on party har-
r'ony. the democrats reveal the very
opposite talkativeness about every
thing. Judging by the number of
speeches-nearly four hours of it
which is planned at the banquet,
which, by the way. is to be held in
two separate hotels to accommodate
the overfiow-there will be plenty OF
politics released before the week is
over.
Mr.. Wilson's Position Delicate.
But while Mr.. Bryan talks about
government ownership and argues
against any reduction of taxes on big
business and hits at the proposed
abolition of the right of railway EN- =
ployes to strike. there stands in the
background the biggest issue of all
the league of nations. President Will
son is treading on delicate ground.
There are republicans in the Senate
announcement from Mr.. Wilson which
would enable them to say he is max
ing party matter of the treaty con-
troversy, and that the best thing to
do is to settle it in the next campaign.
Senator Lodge himself has said that
while the republican party would not
take the initiative in making the
treaty Il party issue. he and his col
leagues welcomed the opportunity to
carry the matter into the campaign.
I IL
called which is intent on killing the
treaty and league altogether, are
striving hard to get the treaty into
the campaign, being confident that as
time goes on and the people become
familiar with the intricacies of the
question they will vote for the men
who openly favor rejecting the treaty.
On the democratic side one finds
the other kind of confidence and
analysis of the status of public opin-
ion. There are democrats who say that
while they are admittedly weak on
are irritated over various instances
of miSmanagement and inefficiency
revealed by members of the demo-
cratic administration, the desire to
get the treaty ratified and normal
business conditions established would
give the democrats strength from
large numbers of the American people
who if voting on domestic affairs
alone, wouldn't think of supporting
the democratic ticket. 1t is. therefore.
slowly becoming evident that on both
the democratic and republican sides
there is not such a reluctance to let
the treaty become an Issue. unfortu-
nate as the result may be for Eu-
rope and the world at large.
interested in Partisan Success.
But. as remarked before in these
columns, the two old line parties are
considerably more interested in their
own partisan success this year than
in anything else. The move being
made by the democrats to compromise
the treaty has in it elements of
camoufiage. The republicans smil-
ingly call the democratic offer sur
render" but at the same time heSl-
tate to say they will accept it. There
is some suspicion that the democrats
would be surprised and dumfounded il
the republicans did accept it and that
they are hoping that the republicans
will pile up a record of refusing TO
compromise SO as to make good ma
teriaI for the campaign outcry that
the republican party is delaying
peace.
on the other hand, there are mild
reservationists and progressives on
the republican side who are sincerely
anxious to keep the treaty out OF the
campaign and to get it ratified at
once.
Were it not for the aggressive tao
tics of the other republican group,
who want to kill the treaty, reserva-
tions. league and all-which group is
making life miserable for Senator
Lodge in his effort to preserve solid
front in the ranks of his party-the
best republican move would be to ac-
cent one of these compromise offers,
oct the treaty out of the way and
focus attention on democratic mis-
takes on domestic questions that touch
more closely the pocketbook of the
householder and his vote than any
thing else
But on the subject Of strategy in
both parties much remains to be
learned The republicans evidently
have not been instructed by the cam
Daign that nearly elected Charles
Evans Hughes in 1916. and the demo-
crats have not yet cleaned house and
nnrged themselves of those in their
ranks who helped lose the democratic
congress in 1918. But the speech
making and promising and condemn
ing and pledging and praising and
nointing-with-pr stuff is upper
most nowadays, while the treaty lies
unacted upon and countless measures
needed to help America weather the
storms of war reconstruction are Sc
Ienely and leisurely side tracked.
Copyright. 1920
Ice Ties Up Ships in Baltimore.