The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-01-08
ANTI-LEACUE
FORCES MAY
WIN BATTLE
Knox Plan May Lead Irrecon-
cilables to Victory New
Senators and Holdovers
Leaning Against Pact.
STRATEGY TO TRIUMPH
BY MARK SULLIVAN

BY MARK SULLIVAN
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 8. - If
any body assumes that Harding out OF
all he has heard from his recently
ended conference with best minds
is going to make a distilled essence
so as to speak and that distilled es.
sence is going to be Harding's pro-
gramme with regard to the league of
Nations such an assumption is very
wide of the mark.
Harding's plan will not 60 into de-
tails. Harding does not intend that it
shall go into details. 1t is merely a
set of principles so to speak, anda he
intends to restrict it to that. This
plan he will disclose in his inaugural
address on March 4.
Machinery Uncertain.
Within week after March 4, he will
put certain machinery in motion. AS
to what this machinery is, Senator
Harding has made no greater disclos-
ure of details than he has made of his
plan for the league of nations. l as
sumo this machinery will consist OF a
commission to negotiate with the lead
ing nations of Europe.
That is all that Harding has in
mind. So much for that. Let us now
consider the forces at work outside of
Harding and to some antagonistic to
Harding.
The first thing to remember Is that
Harding can not make or can not put
through any plan whatever affecting
foreign relations except "bv and with
the consent of the senate" so far as
that is concerned it would be contrary
to everything we know of Harding il
he should try to combat the preroga'
tive of the senate.
To conciiiate Senate.
Harding is much more likely to con
ciliate the senate to find out how far
the senate is willing to go and then
adopt that as the maximum of his own
plan.
Let us then see what the new Sen
ate is likely to do. The new Senate is
overwhelmingly Republican. What ac-
tion it is to take about foreign affairs
is most likely to be determined by the
Republican majority. The prevailing
drift of that Republican majority and
markedly anti-league.
The Republican majority in the new
Senate in all probability when the time
iect. Indeed I suspect that informal
caucuses are already being held by a
group of Senators who l think are
likely to be dominant on this sub
ject.
Knox Plan.
suspect but can state it no more
strongly than as a suspicion that the
plan which Senator Knox announced
last week as an alternative to our ell
tering the League of Nations was the
result of Just such an informal caucus
of group. 1t is fair to Senator Knox
to say that he rather evaded admitting
this.
In the first place, most of the new
Republican Senators are irreconcilable
in their leanings | know this is so
because | have been at pains to talk
with some of them and correspond
with nearly all of them The bulk OF
them say they are opposed to the
League and practically all of them say
they will be guided by the attitude OF
the Republican majority or by the Re-
publican caucus.
Lean Against League.
Moreover many of the holdover Sen.
ators who last winter were for the
league with reservations, have now
moved closer to the irreconcilable posi-
tion. Conspicuous among them is Nc
Cumber, of North Dakota. Last winter
he was the lone Republican who was
willing to vote for the league without
any reservations. Last week Senator
McCumber called on Harding and noti
fled him tha he had abandoned his old
position and had moved over toward
the irreconcinable group. Further
more several Democratic senators. not
ably Shields, of Tennessee, have
moved over toward the irreconcilable
position.
All in all the new senate is much
more likely to be dominated by the ir
reconcilables than by those who are
friends of the league in any degree.
Knox is Leader.
Since Senator Knox is one of the
three acknowledged leaders of the ir
reconcilable seniors let us examine
the n'an which he formally laid before
Harding last week, Senator Knox's
r,an leaves the league wholly out OF
consideration. His programme is as
follows: First Immediately after
""rch 4 Senator Knox will introduce
his resolution for separate peace
v-'th GERMANY.
th'~ ItF"t'utioh VIII
n"~~ the senate.
The nassing of the Knox resolution
viii end tho state of war with Ger
manv and clean un everything con
nec+ed With that. 1t will prenare the
rronnd for the next stem. The next
step is really Senator Knox's euuival
ent for our entrance into the league
Of nations He proposed either as a
part of the resolution already describ
cd or new resolution to introduce
the following:
Knox Resolution.
"It is the declared nolicv of the
United States in order to meet fully
and fairly orr oh'irations to ourselves
and to the world that the freedom and
peace of Europe being again threaten
ed bv anv mower or combination OF
powers. The United States will re
gard such a situation with grave con
Germ as menace TO it's own neace and
freedom. will consult with other DOW
ers affected with a view to devisins
means for the removal of such menace
end will the necessity arising in the
future cooperate with the friends of
civilization for its defense" That is
fContjnued IN Page Fourl