Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-05-09
THE PRESIDENT SCORES.

THE PRESIDENT SCORES.
The fine hand of Secretary Hughes is to be
seen in the clever manner in which President
Harding has accepted the invitation OF the Allies
to have a representative on the supreme coun-
Gil. the council of ambassadors and the repa-
lions commission. To be sure, the invitation has
been only partially" accepted. the American
representatives being present more as observers
than as participants, yet this is a step in the
right direction and cannot help but have a good
effect in the settlement of world affairs.
The President has succeeded in out-witting
the senate by assigning men who have already
been confirmed by the senate to serve on these
various commissions. Report from Washington
say that the senators are not altogether pleased
with the action Of the President, but they have
to admit that he is entirely within his rights
as the diplomatic representatives who have
been named by the President to act for the
United States in compliance with the invitation
of the Allies, are clearly under the direction of
the President exclusively.
1t was pointed out on the part of the sena-
tors that the only possible ground for criticism
would be that the matter is of such Importance
the President should have remembered his
promise to consult the members of the senate
before deciding upon any important and far
reaching international policy. But with the at
titude of the senate so we'll known and its APP
parent attempt upon several occasion to take
the control of foreign affairs out of the hands
of the President, 1t Is not surprising that the
President has seen At to act in a way to cir
cumvent the senate. President Harding is on
the right course and with Secretary Hughes as
his helmsman he is bound to be guided into
safe waters.
But with the announcement that the Presi-
dent has taken this important step and named
men who can function as representatives of the
United States without their names being first
submitted to the senate for confirmation one
cannot help but imagine what an awful howl
there would have been on the part of the sem
ate IL Woodrow Wilson had been President and
had taken such action over the heads Of the
senator's. He would have been accused of again
showing his autocratic tendencies; the cry of
.'one-man government would have been echo
ed through the senate chamber and there would
have been a great hallabaloo.
But with President Harding 1t is different.
The only difference. however. is that Harding is
a Republican whereas Wilson is a Democrat.
The august senators who could see nothing right
in anything Mr.. Wilson did are ready enough
to find excuses for Mr.. Harding. at least, for
the present.
That there is smoldering under the surface
some trouble between the President and the
senate over the control of foreign affairs is ap-
parent. Sooner or later President Harding
has got to choose with which faction he will
stand. 1t was Senator Penrose who said that
it didn't matter much who was named as the
-, % A. .1a1 l@~,. t ~, ant ,nvrvoy hecnu
the future policy of the government would be
directed by the foreign relations committee OF
the senate. But President Harding picked a
man for secretary of state who is no rubber
stamp. The President would do we'll to stand
by him. He has scored heavily in the skirmish
Just passed.