New-York tribune., 1921-12-14
No Ceremony
AS FOur-P over
Pact Is Signed
American Reservation Pre-.
serves Attitude ON Nan
dates and Exempts Is-
sues Purely Domestic
Senate Gets Treaty Later
Harding Considers Haste to
Obtain Ratification of
Document Is Unnecessary

WASHINGTON, Dec. Is (By The AS
sociated Press).-The four-power Pa
cific treaty, with reservation at
tsehed to make it inapplicable to purely
domestic questions and to the Ameri-
can mandate policy, was formally
signed to-day by the plenipotentiaries
of the United States, Great Britain.
Japan and France.
The reservation, presented in writ
ing by the American representatives
and accepted by all the others, declare 5
that the American attitude toward
Pacific mandates shall not be affected
by the treaty, and that the treaty pro-
vision for a four-power consultation
on questions arising over the Pacific
islands shall not be construed as ap-
plying to any problems which, in in
ternational law, are only of domestic
concern.
No formal ceremony accompanied the
afixing of seals and signatures. The
signing took place in the ante~room of
the Office of the Secretary of State, in
tho presence of large company of
American and foreign officials, advisers
and clerks. There was no speech
making.
Treaty Goes to Harding
The American copy of the treaty now
goes to President Harding, who will
submit it to the Senate for ratification
He probably will not take it to the
Capitol in person, and he may delay
its submission until the arms confer
ence is nearer decision on the other
important points before it. 1t was in
dicated at the White House to-day that
Mr. Harding saw no reason for acting
hastily.
Only one copy of the treaty, en-
crossed on parchment, was signed. Au-
thenticated duplicates will be given TO
each delegation and the official copy
will be deposited in the archives of the
State Department.
Before the signing began the text of
the American reservations was handed
to the japanese in English and agreed
translators were busy making a French
copy of it and the delegates were kept
together in the room for completion of
the process so that the reservation
would be available to every one in both
the official languages of the arms con-
terence before they separated.
Arrangements had been made earlier
in the day not to have the ceremony
held in privacy, State Department Off
clals planning to permit newspaper
men to be present. Secretary Hughes,
however, Cancelled the arrangements
just before the delegates met.
Pact in French and English
When the American reservation had
been put into final form in the two
languages it was signed by all of the
delegates present and was placed with
the official copy of the treaty itself,
which is in French and English printed
in parallel columns.
The only absentees- among the dele
gates of the four powers were AM
bassador Jusserand and M. Sarraut
both of the French group.
Blanks were left in the signature
space of the French group and Am
bassador Jusserand and M. Sarraut
will put their names there later.
All of the delegates except two
signed with ordinary steel pens or
with their own fountain pens. Senator
Lodge and Elihu Root, of the American
delegations, used an eagle quill sent
to them by Robert Underwood John
son, former Ambassador to Italy. 1t
will be placed by Mr.. Johnson in the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
in New York.
After the signing, Senator Lodge
went to the White House for con-
ference with President Harding. pre-
sumably regarding the Presidents
transmission of the treaty to the SEN
ate.