The daily times., 1921-07-22
AN BE NO ACTION
The Invitation to Become a
Member of the World
Court Must Be Submitted to
the Senate; Secretary of
League Must be Patient
With Amy Apparent Delay.
(By David Lawrence).
Copyright, 1921, by The Daily
Times

(COpyrlS0t, 1871, Dy Inc Ddlly
Times.)
Washington, July 21.-The United
States government is not intentional
ly ignoring communications from the
League of Nations and has not failed
to note the invitation to this govern
ment to become a member of the
World Court of International Justice
created by the League.
This attitude was made known to-
day at the Department of State to
Offset published stories giving the
impression that the United States
was somehow offending the League
of Nations by refusing to deal with
it's letters and communications. In
the first place, the permanent seere-
! tary of the League has been sending
out printed circulars to the various
governments of the world and it was
but natural that one of the govern
ment bureaus filed the circulars with
out regarding them in the same light
as formal communications.
But what the secretary of the
League of Nations hasn't evidently
taken into consideration is that
while all communications are duly re-
ceived and filed Secretary Hughes is
powerless to deal with the League
=; because of the expressed desire of
the President of the United States
: that America stay out of the League
and the evident concurrence of the
Senate in that viewpoint. Ambassador
Harvey went a step further in his
speech in London by saying the Uni
| ted States wouldn't even deal di-
rectly or indirectly with any COM
Nations and that's why both the
White House and Department of
State would be embarrassed in deal
/, ing with the world court for it would
mean a reputation of Ambassador
Harvey's expression of American for
eign policy.
| Thus far the executive branch of
1.-THE United States government has
|
come a member of the world court.
That invitation must be submitted
. to the Senate to be ratified as it is
in the nature of protocol. State
Department officials decline to say
whether it will be sent to the Senate.
Inasmuch as the Versailles treaty
hasn't been ratified and no substi-
tute policy has as yet been made
public and since President Harding
and Senator Lodge have said in their
speeches the league was dead" it
is difficult to accept any invitation
from the League to join any of the
international instrumentalities Great
! ed by it. Elihu Root took part in
framing the world court and has been
asked to help name judges for the
court but the government here OFF,
,cially has no connection even with
that feature of the thing as it con-
isiders Mr.. Roots relationship to the
world court simply personal affair.
After the court is once established
however it will be possible for ma
,tions which are not members of the
League of Nations to become identi-
fed with the world court accepting
it's jurisdiction for as much or as lit
tie as is considered desirable by the
individual nation. While it is true
that the world court was created by
the league of nations and that the
method of providing Judges depends
Iupon the Council of the League, the
court when once established will op-
} crate as an independent judicial body
| having no relationship whatsoever to
: international politics. So some day
! when the Senate disposes of our poll
tical relationships with Germany and
: the Versailles treaty provisions, the
, executive branch of our government
, may submit to the Senate protocol
Towering membership in world