Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1921-05-30
'sJealousy"
May Defeat
Peace Plan
Differences Between House
And Senate Threaten to
Keep Country in State
OF War.
Scrap Knox Resolution

Washington, May %. - Discord
characterized in some quarters a;
petty jealousy" between the house
and senate, has reached such pro.
portions that it not only threaten:
to keep the United States in a tech
nical state of war with Germany fol-
an indefinite period, but also jeoI ar
dies the movement for naval Gis.
armament which the senate unani.
mously adopted Wednesday.
The Knox peace resolution was
passed by the senate after long and
careful consideration of form and
substance. In order to place the
United States on a footing of peace
with the other allied nations at the
earliest possible moment, the senate
sat far into the night to bring the
measure to vote.
A month has elapsed since the
measure was sent to the house. The
house foreign affairs committee has
not yet held meeting on the resolu-
ton, although it is planned that a
meeting be held next week and pre-
dictions have been made that the
resolution may get before the house
the following week.
Oppose Knox Resolution.
Republican members of the COM
mittee, however, have already de-
termined to scrap the Knox resolu-
ton. They declare they do not like
the language of the measure. 1t
specifically repeals the declaration of
war against the central powers. They
regard this as a reputation of the
war against Germany.
In the place of the Knox resolu-
ton they have agreed to substitute
the resolution drafted by the chair
man of the committee, Representa-
tive Porter of Pennsylvania which
simply declares the war at an end.
Senators, when they heard of this
action, were indignant at what they
characterized as merely "jealors
trick" on the part Of house and an
attempt to make an issue of the
difference between tweedle4dee and
tweedle-dum." They pointed out that
any peace resolution, if effective,
would automatically repeal the dec
laration of war whether it speciflcal-
ly declared so or not.
They traced the beginning of the
friction to personal jealousy between
Representative Porter and Senator
Knox, both of whom come from
Pittsburgh.
Take Row to President. A
Both sides have already gone to
the president with their troubles.
The president was understood to
have given his approval to the Knox
resolution. More recently he told
Mr.. Porter that he would accept
whatever solution the two houses
worked out.
The whole controversy, it appears
now, will be thrown into long
drawn out dispute in conference and
made the subject of the indefinite
wrangling while the country remains
technically at war with Germany.
But an even sharper issue is be-
ing drawn between the two houses
over the disarmament question.
Again and again the senate had de-
clined to entangle the straightfor-
ward proposition of curtailing naval
building with the idea of general
military disarmament. Now, it ap-
pears. house leaders have decided to
enlarge the scope" of the Borah
amendment requesting the presi-
dent to enter into negotiations with
Great Britain and Japan for an
agreement to cut down naval build
ing. They propose to bring all 9th
er important powers into the con-
ference, in order that the whole ques-
ton of disarmament on land and
sea, in the air and under the sea,
may be discussed. Representative
Mondell, republican leader of the
house, has had conference with the
president on the subject and reports
that the president is not averse to
the "enlarging" idea. 1t is their pur-
pose to doctor the Borah amendment
in conference so that the question of
military disarmament can be brought
in.
Senator Borah declared today that
the house plan would simply mean
the death of the naval holiday pro-
gram. He said he would prefer to
have no disarmament amendment at
ali rather than clutter it up with the
endless question of military disarm-
art,ent