Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-12-16
SENATOR REED
ATTACKS FOUR
POWER TREATY
Says Pact Is 'Quadruple AL
lance Which FavOrs
BritOns and Japs.
special to Indiana Daily Times
nd PHILADELPHIA Pubic Ledger


and Philadelphia P"5;ic Ledger.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16.-The four
power treaty was projected again into
the Senate today by Senator Reed of
Missouri, who began a vehement attack
upon the Washington conference. His
address followed a series of informal con-
ferences between Senator Underwood OF
Alabama, minority leader, with his fol-
lowers in the Senate
With expressions of confidence from
Mr.. Underwood that the people of the
country would support the work of the
conference, Democrats cooled off con-
siderably. In conferences with Senator
Harrison of Mississippi and Senator
Glass of Virginia, who yesterday were
reported critical Of the Alabama Senator's
course in the conference, Mr.. Underwood
was understood to have strongly advised
Democrats the wise thing to do was to
support the treaty. He was said to
anticipate with few doubts the ratitca-
ton of the treaties.
The irrecOncilable opposition continued
apace, however. The provision of Article
l in the four power treaty interpreted to
provide guarantees" against aggression
for Japan proper, New Zealand, ard Aus
tralia as part Of the 'insular dominions"
of the signatory powers, was denounced
by Senators BOrah of Idaho and Shields
of Tennessee
1T is utterly inconceivable to me that
the United States would undertake to
guarantee protection not only to Japan
herself, but to Australia and New Zea-
land" Mr.. BOrah said, when the treaty
was first announced, several of us read
the guarantee clause in it as obligating
this Government to make that guarantee,
if the treaty were ratified.
1--WE said nothing about it because we
were not sure. 1t is beyond our hopes
that those who wrote the treaty would
admit the guarantee clause could not be
construed to protect Japan herself. To my
mind, that means the treaty certainly
will be killed in the Senate"
Mr.. Reed began his attack on the
treaty this afternoon and said he would
continue tomorrow. Referring to the
treaty as the "quandruple alliance" he
characterized the covenant as a gold
brick which was fnised at about II
o'clock one night and handed to the peo-
pie the next morning" He declared the
ceremonies attending the calling of the
conference to show that the idea went
forth the prime purpose Of gathering
was the limitation Of armament to pre-
vent wars.
Then" he said, little by little It
leaked out in secret conference some
kind of effort to form some kind of al
lance was being made" adding that the
secrecy attending the negotiations was
such as to permit Senators TO receive
only hints, "suspicions and prOgnOstica-
tons" Stating all Senators, all mem
bers Of the House, and the people of the
country would welcome with JOY a
limitation of ornaments to ease the bur-
den of armament he said the restriction
Of the ships quilt by each nation had
no relation to a quadruple alliance.
1.-The plain truth is that it is a plan to
make the proposition of Il reduction of
ornaments the pack horse upon whose
back shall be loaded a quadruple al
lance" Mr.. Reed said, made to protect
the interests of Japan and England in the
Orient and to have the United States IN
derwrite in the blood of its sons the am
billions and ayarice of Great Britain and
Japan in the southern seas"
Citing 4 quotation from Lincoln to
elucidate on Americas Traditional policy
Of isolation, the Senator proceeded to de-
scribe tie position Of the country in the
world at present as permitting DONNA
ton of the world. But, he said, Amer
lea had no imperial impulses" and de-
sired to enslave no people
I'VE are today so situated as the
creditor nation of the world" he said
THAT in a race for naval supremacy we
could exceed all other nations. We can
take the interest on the foreign loans
and build faster than any other nation.
We can attain the supremacy of the sea-"
Affirming such was not the policy OF
this country, he said the Hughes pro-
posal on the three power naval ratio
gives Great Britain right to dominate
the seas for period Of ten years. In
prohibiting this country from building
navy equal to any other, he said. the
agreement was "a dangerous concession"
Copyright, 1921, by Public Ledger Com
pany.