Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-10-27
THE PREPARATIONS
COMMISSION.


tive on the Preparations commits
sion" as provided for in the Yer
sailles peace treaty. IF he doe
he must get majority vote in con
gress. That would not be hard il
the president maintains any con
siderable influence with his party
as leader because he could com
mand a pretty solid Democratic
vote on that issue. Secretary
Hughes has been outspoken in ad
vocating such appointment. Sen
ator Johnson of California and sew.
eral other bitter enders who voted
for the peace treaty negotiated by
President Harding declared that II
such event they would oppose the
presidents nominee for confirma.
ton. Senator Borah pointed out to
them that it only took one-third Of
the senate's members to defeat the
treaty, but it would take one-half
of them to defeat a presidential
nomination for such committee
Senator Reed Of Missouri called
the attention of Senator johnson to
the fact that it had been stated on
the floor of the senate that the
president agreed with his secretary
of state about the appointment of
an American member of the COM
mission, but the California senator
pleaded ignorance of the fact, say
ing that he was absent at the time
the discussion was had in the cham
Der to which the Missouri senator
referred. The Congressional Rec
ord thus reports the incident:
Mr.. johnson y Mr.. President,
what I said was that the danger
lies with the views of the secretary
of state; the hope rests with the
president. More than that I can
not say; I am not speaking either
for the secretary of state or the
president; I have no authority to
speak for either of them; but what
I have said concerning the activi-
ties of the secretary of state has
been said from what has been stated
upon the floor of this body during
the debate in the days gone by.
Mr.. Reed-Then / should like to
ask the senator one further ques-
ton. Is it not the senator's I'M
Outstanding that the president has
indicated that he believes
that the United States ought to en-
ter the reparation commission?
Mr.. Johnson-Mr. President, !
have no such understanding.
Mr.. Reed-It has been SO stated
on the floor Of the senate.
Mr.. Johnson wish to say to
the senator from Missouri, however,
that unfortunately on the one occa-
sion when matters Of this sort were
discussed and the secretary Of state
his views, and possibly
the president may have expressed
his, I was not present at the meet
ing of the foreign relations COM
mittee; I was absent from the city.
Whatever action the president
may take with reference to the re-
pudiated Versailles treaty he can
easily justify by quoting his pre-
speeches because he faced
every way on that issue from time
10 time. He was in complete agree
nent with Senator Borah's ideas
about the Versailles treaty, and al
10 in complete agreement with
Messrs. Taft, Hughes and Hoover
Who took quite opposite views
rom those of Borah and Johnson
md other bitter enders. The latest
'peeches of the president, though
ramed carefully in what Theodore
would describe as weasel
vords," would almost justify one in
that he was ready to ac-
:ept the whole Versailles treaty,
league of Nations and all. The
Springfield Republican thus COM
nents on his latest speech: !
president Harding found it op-
fortune at Yorktown to hint strong
y at closer contacts with other ma
ions. He observed in the world "a
'resh hungering for understanding,
| new call for cooperation, a clear
of purposes and devo-
ions and loyalties not limited to
'overeignties nor national bounda-
les IF this does not come dam
near suggesting the root
dea of 'internationalism,' not the
'ogey but the sane reality, one is
t a loss to know the meaning Of
he presidents language.
I'm another passage he deepened
he impression already made by say
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