The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-05
GROW
 FOR HARDING OVER
 LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Faces Difficult Task In Recon cling Various Views of . What Constitutes an
 Association"
By RoBEr r T. SMALL

Marion, O., January 4.-(speciaI )---As tinue here nt Marion. it is becoming ss.sse .Tr.ren. shas much ss sh. suc- cess failure of the plans Senator Harding may hnve in mind as to the fu- ture international relationship of the United States, will depend upon the in-
 depreciation of a single word.
 What is an "association?" Some of our best minds" are decidedly at odds as to the correct definition. and are pressing their conflicting views upon the President t-elect. The difficulty Of the situation arises out of the fact that Senator Harding promised in his cam paign speeches he would do his best. at the earliest possible date, to bring about new association" of nations to replace the Geneva League of Nations, upon which he definitely turned his back at Des Moines at A. supposedly critical moment of the presidential con- test.
 Senator Harding still is old fash toned enough to believe that campaign promises should be carried out so far as it is humanly possible to do so. Ger tainly he feels this ought to be done where the promises were so definite and personal as he made them. Plat form promises, of course, are quite something, else again--sort of relics of a historic age.
 CAN STIR UP TROUBLE
 In his purpose to carry out the prom ise of a new association of nations a handful of the bitter end irreconcila- bles at Washington see too close an approach to the idea of the present League of Nations, and a handful of irreconcilables, 1t has been proved in the past, can stir up powerful rumpus in tn eSenate. These irreconciliables say they will oppose with all their might any attempt to set up what might be called an organic association or league of nations regardless of how much of the objectionable matter in tho so-called Wilson league may be elimi- mated from the plan. The bitter enders, or battalion of death" will stand for nothing that smacks of an international governing body. no matter how nebu- lous the governing power may be.
 At the same time. all but two or three of the irreconciiables want to help War ren Harding when he reaches the White House. They want to see the repub- lican administration as success. of course, this does not refer 10 the dem ocratic irreconciiables ir this connec- tion, and there are likely to be more of
 
 HOPES FOR SMOOTH SAILING
 Senator Harding naturally would like to be assured of smooth sailing for his plan when he launches it in the Senate. He knows what happens to plans when there is no smooth sail ing. Mir Harding is convinced he can easily satisfy those republicans who favored going into the present league of nations with proper reservations, but the hopes he had a fortnight ago that the irreconcilables who we're about to fall in line appear to have been a bit shattered of late. Such ir- reconcilables as Senators Fall and New are so friendly to MT. Harding and President-elect into the belief possibly that other irreconcilables would be as easy to handle. This has not proved the case.
 The irreconcilables are amenable to reason, however, to the extent that they are willing to help Warren Hard ing out by convincing him that an association" may mean many things. Senator Reed, the democratic irrecon- cilable, broke the ground in this re- spect when he told Senator Harding some time ago that he considered the exchange of ambassadors and minis ters between nations as constituting an association of nations. William Jennings Bryan told Mfr. Harding he considered that the 30 odd nations bound together in the arbitration
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