The daily times., 1921-08-05
THE UNITED STATES
IS NOW MAKING A
SEPARATE TREATY
With THE GERMANS
Germany Has Not Been Asked
to Reaffirm the Treaty of
Versailles and This Country
Has Not Asked the Allies to
Join With Them in Signing
a New Treaty.
(By David Lawrence) .
Copyright, 1921, by The Dali,

Copyright, 1921, by The Daily
Times).
Washington, Aug. 4.-The United
States government is making a Sc
parate treaty with Germany.
The treaty of Versailles will not
be submitted to the Senate with or
without reservations.
The new pact with Germany will
be a peace treaty only in the sense
that it will formally end the state
of war between the United States
and Germany but it really
amount to treaty of amity and
commerce.
Germany has not been asked to
reaffirm the treatv of Versailles or
to grant again to the United States
specifically all the rights which she
gave America under the Versailles
treaty. The United States hasn't
asked the allied powers to sign
new treaty.
All the foregoing statements re-
present developments in the most
complex legal controversy that has
ever faced our government and if
they seemed to contradict expecta-
tions of the past they must be taken
as the latest turn in a negotiation
which has required our officials to
turn from one expedient to another
to put an end to the state of war
between Germany and the United
States
Briefly, the United States doesn't
abandon the rights given her under
the treaty of Versailles. She still
claims them but not by virtue of an
American presidents signature at
Paris but because of Americas sig
nature to the terms of the armistice
which symbolizes Americas parti-
cipation in the war. The United
States government doesn't ask Ger
many to reaffirm anything and does
not ask the Allies to conced any
thing. The program of the Hard
ing Administration is based upon
the broad assumption that when
Germany bestowed all her rights
and properties upon her conquerors
she made an "indivisible grant. :"
That grant was made to the ''Prin-
cipal Allied and Associated Pow
ers.' The United States was one of
"the associated powers.
America construes that act as ir-
revocable and final no matter
whether the treaty of Versailles was
ratified OF not. Since the United
States has decided to stand on that
ground, it isn't necessary to ask the
Allies to agree to the principal. Sec
retary Hughes enunciated the doc
trine early in the Harding Admins
tration when he insisted in for
NAL note to all the powers that
America derives her rights not out
of any treaty but out of her partici-
patton in the war He stated this
principle in the Yap case and vlr-
tually all the powers have acGuiesc-
ed in that position though it is true
their acquiescence specifically dir
ected and may yet be the basis for
varying interpretations.
The United States has notified
the Allies of the kind of treaty
she is negotiating with Germany.
That's the courteous thing to DO and
doesn't imply that America wants
the permission of the Allies. Tt
simply means that America is not
attempting to take herself out OF
the allied group simply because she
finds it necessary to make special
peace treaty with Germany at be-
lated date.
AS for the Allies, however, the
big question remains as to whether
they have or have not accepted the
doctrine of prior rights of victorious
possession growing out of the ar
CONTINUED on page 80