Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-01-20
COMP ROM|sE ON
TREATY IS HOPE
MANY SENATORS OF ALL GROUPS
DISPOSED TO GET TOGETHER
ON RATIFICATION.
PLAN THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS
Knox Resolution for Separate Peace
Considered a Last Resort--Modified
Lodge Reservations Are Gaining
More Supporters.
BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.

BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.
Washington.-Th treaty of peace
with Germany will have its last chance
| in the United States senate soon after
January 5, the date on which congress
will reassemDle. A goodly number of
senator's have remained here during
the congressional recess for the ex-
press purpose of trying TO arrive at an
agreement under which the treaty can
be ratified. Representatives of the
several groups into which the senate
| divided on the treaty are participating
in the informal conferences that are
being held. No one, however well in
| formed, wculd undertake to say at this
time what the outcome of this final
effort to pave the way for ratification
will be. All that can be said with
certainty is that senators representing
each of the political groups are show
ing a disposition to forget what has
gone before and to get together on a
ratification resolution.
The senate will reconvene with the
resolution offered by Senator Knox for
a separate peace with Germany on the
calendar subject to action at any time.
This is joint resolution, which means
that to be adopted it would have to
receive a majority vote in both senate
and house, and having received such
vote it would go to the president for
his signature. In answering a question
submitted to him by Senator Fall more
than two months ago, President VIII
son said that under no circumstances
would he ever sign a resolution pro-
viding for a separate peace with Ger
many, and so it is assured that if the
Knox resolution should go through
congress it would be vetoed, and that
would mean that it would have TO re-
ceive a two-thirds vote in each branch
of congress, or fall by the wayside.
Only as a Last Resort.
The Knox resolution is looked upon
as the last resort. If all efforts to
compose the differences in the senate
on the treaty should fail, the Knox
resolution would. in the judgment of
practically all the senators, probably
command majority vote in both sen
ate and house. 1t is doubtful, how
ever, say tne best informed senators
and representatives. whether it could
ever command a twO-thirds majority.
For the next two weeks interest will
center not in the Knox resolution, but
in the sincere effort on the part of a
large number of senator's to revive the
treaty and open the way for its ratifi-
cation. 12c technicality over the ques-
ton as TO whether the treaty is still
before the senate is to be waived by
those senators who believe that the
proper course would be for President
Wilson to withdraw the treaty and
resubmit it. In the conferences that
are now going on and will continue
until the senate comes back after the
holidays, the so-called Lodge reserva-
lions, which failed some weeks ago,
are being used as the basis for peace
negotiations. Those senators who in
the earlier stages of the senates work
on the treaty favored ratification with
out reservations are now saying to
senator's who have from the first in
sisted on reservations, that they are
willing to accept without change the
most of the Lodge reservations. They
would like to have the preamble, which
stipulates that the treaty shall not
become operative as to the United
Of tho fn1Ip mo ar
allied nations shall accept the reserva-
lions made by the United States SEN
ate, stricken out, and they would like
to obtain notifications of three or four
of the reservations.
How Allied Nations Feel.
Recent information that has come to
senators to the effect that Great Brit
ain, France, Italy and Japan will prob
ably be willing to accept most of the
Lodge reservations provided the pre-
amble is eliminated, is having some
influence on the situation Senators
are now led to believe that even the
reservation expressing the disapproval
| of the United States of the Shantung
award in the treaty might be accept
able to Great Britain and Japan, pro-
vided the preamble is not made a part
of the ratification resolution.
The negotiations that are under way
seek to eliminate partisan politics as
far as possible and necessarily they
are not taking into account persons In
the senate or outside of that body who
hold Incorporating opinions with
respect to the treaty.
May Reduce Size of House.
The census committee of the two
branches of congress are already
giving thought TO the new APP
portionment of members of the
house of representatives, which will
have to be worked out by them as soon
as the bureau Of the census an
nounces the result of the new count of
the people At present there are 435
members In the house. The consensus
of opinion among persons who have
given the subject study is that this is
too many that a deliberative body
composed of that number of persons
becomes unwieldy and is not produc-
tive of the best results. But when
the census committees get down to