Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-10
BOTH SIDES IN
FAVOR OF PACT
RESERVATIONS
Opposition Discount t 8
Moral Effect, Wilson
Upholds 1t.
By DAVID LAWRENCE.
lS0na.o1 e. rV,l,o ,N

the senate takes up once more the
JOB OF trying to reach an agree
ment on the form in which the
peace treaty shall be ratified. the
most significant piece of news is
that President Wilson has said ex-
plicitly just what reservations he
would accept. Though his advis-
ers have been urging him for
months to do so, Mr. Wilson, for
reasons Of his own, has steadfastly
refused to erase from the public
mind the impression that he wanted
the treaty ratified by the senate
without SO much as the crossing of
a 1t" or the dotting of an I''.
Though the presidents concession
is belated it is nevertheless vital
and clears the atmosphere to this
extent. Both the president and his
opponents favor reservations and
the debate now centers on how
many shall there be and what they
shall contain.
The senate again and again re-
fused by its votes to amend the
treaty and Mr.. Wilson is deter
mined that under the guise of res
ervations" amendments shall not
be made that impair the validity of
the whole document. The Repub-
licans, however, have been
strengthened by the utterance of
Viscount Grey to the effect that
Europe would accept reservations.
Everything now depends upon the
form in which they are presented.
Some Hastily Drawn.
Senator Lodge admits that some
OF his reservations were drawn
rather hastily and put into the de-
bate at moment when careful re-
vision was not possible. Once in
the debate, they could not be re-
drafted, though the bipartisan con-
ference recently made good prog
ress toward revising the Lodge
reservations. 1t was on article 10
that the break came. The fact that
president Wilson wrote letter at
that time-Jan. 26-outlining his
views on reservations was not
made known until last Saturday to
the Democrats or Republicans
Here was a tactical error of re-
grettable proportions. The respon-
sibility is plainly on the shoulders
of the president for Senator Hitch
cock himself wanted to make the
letter public. 1t was written before
Viscount Grey wrote his letter to
the London Times 1t would have
revealed that the president was not
stubbornly trying to get the treaty
through without any qualification
whatsoever and might have pre-
vented the bipartisan parleys from
breaking up. And there is no tell
ing how far advanced the treaty
situation would have been months
ago if the president had permitted
Senator Hitchcock to say last No
vember what he now authorized
him to state to the senate, namely,
that the president approves of res
ervations to the treaty.
Reservations of Wilson.
Here are the reservations which
President Wilson refers to in his
letter to Senator Hitchcock as
those on which he stands:
That any member hation pro-
posing to withdraw from the league
on two years notice is the sole
judge as to whether its obligations
referred to in article one of the
League Of Nations have been per-
formed as required in said article.
THAT no member nation is re-
CURED to submit to the league, its
council, or its assembly. for decis-
ion. report, or recommendation any
matter which it considers to be in
International law a domestic ques
ton, such as immigration, labor,
tariff, or other matter relating to its
internal or coastwise affairs.
"'rhat the national policy of the
United States known as the Mon
roe doctrine, as announced and in
terpreted by the United States, is
not in any way impaired or affected
by the covenant of the League of
Nations and is not subject to any
decision. report, or inquiry by the
council or assembly.
That the advice mentioned in
article 10 of the covenant of the
I league which the council may give
to the member nations as to the EN-
ployment Of their naval or military
forces is merely advice which each
l ny, ps.u lto