The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-10-15
KNOX DEATH
BRINGS OUT
LEAGUE YARN
Beginning of Organized Op-
position to Wilson S League
Plans Brought Out by De-
mise Of Famous Statesman.
LETTER VITAL FACTOR
BY MARK SULLIVAN


to tell the story of the beginning of
the organized fight of the Republican
senators against the League of Ma
tions.
The story involvese others who are
living, but there is no reason to an
ticipate that any of them would be
embarrassed by its telling.
The story involves others who are
tically in the words in which your cor
respondent wrote it down when 1t was
told TO him by one of the participants,
with only such amplification as IS
necessary to make the story clear TO
readers less familiar with the intim-
acies of politics
March 2, 1919, was Sunday. Ex-
President Wilson was then in Wash
ington on the brief visit he made to
American from the peace conference.
He had announced, with implacable
firmness, that he was going to insist
that the League of Nations should be
made an integral part of the treaty of
peace, that he would not listen to the
protests that had been made in Amer
lea, and that, on the contrary, he
would see to it that the league and the
treaty should be so thoroughly bound
separate them.
Gets Forceful Letter
On this Sunday morning Senator
Brandegee, of Connecticut, as was his
occa sional custom, visited his office
in the senate office building to look
over his mail.
There happened to be among his
letters one from a man whom he did
not know-a man whose name is en-
tirely lost to the history in which he
had an obscure but initially vitaliz.
ing part All that is now remembered
by those who read the letter at the
time is that it came from man whose
letterhead indicated that he was in the
iron and steel business in New York
The letter was of the sort that pub
lie men frequently receive from stran,
gers. II was intelligent and forceful
II pointed out that if President Will
son were permitted to go on in his
course without formal protest and
that if no formal record Of opposition
were made on the part of the senate
the time would go by forever when
anything could be done to forestall
what Wilson was doing in Paris.
Brandegee Consults Lodge
Senator Brandegee was very much
impressed by the letter. He mulleC
it over for some time, and then pu
it in his pocket and walked over Il
the home of Senator Lodge, who, a:
the leading Republican member of the
committee on foreign affairs, was tbs
most obvious person to consult.
Senator Brandegee showed the let
ter to Senator Lodge, and the latte
was edually impressed. After som,
discussion at Senator Lodges home
the two senators decided to go arount
10 Senator Knox's house and talk t
him about it.
When they arrived at Senate
Knox's house they found he was no
at home, so they left a message ask
ing Senator Knox to come to Senate
Brandegee's house that night and TAX
dinner with them.
When dinner time came that even
ing Senator Lodge was the first to al
rive at Senator Brandegee's house. !
little later Senator Knox arrived.
Take Dinner Together.
At the moment, Senator Brandege
was shaving, and as the servants wer
busy elsewhere in the house, Senate
Lodge went to the door to let Senate
Knox in. Senator Knox upon bein
admitted by Senator Lodge made
humorous remark to the effect tina
the Massachusetts senator was tn
handsomest and most expensive lool
ing butler that has ever opened a doc
for him.
The three senators took dinner Il
gether and discussed the matter tho
oughly Their conclusion, towards tn
end of the evening, was that the bes
form of action would be a round rol
in. For the drafting of the round robi
Knox was selected and late in tn
evening went to his home to wor
over it.
The next morning, Monday. Senate
Knox brought his draft TO the Senat
cloakroom and showed it to the othe
two The language of the round robi
is, of course. familiar. 1t began wit
several formal "wheras'e 'es" and CO.
cluded with two paragraphs whic
recited that ''it is the sense of th
senate that the constitution of II
League of Nation, in the form now pr
posed 10 the peace conference. shou
not be accepted by the United States
and that the peace treaty should
written first and separately, leavir
the League of Nations to be forme
later.
Signing "Round Robin"
In that early morning conference
the senate cloakroom Senator Lods
and Senator Brandegee agreed tn
the draft was all right, and immediat
ly began the work of soliciting Il
other Republican senators to sign
The fourth senator who was let in {
the matter was New OF Indiana.
The first to sign was Lodge, the sc
ond was Knox. Apparently the thi
was Senator Sherman of Illinois, b
in point of fact the fourth signer, Sc
ator New, was more active in {
matter; Senator New joined Senat
Brandagee and Senator Lodge in (
work of soliciting signatures from q
other senators.
Senator Brandagee's name appear
as number II on the list of signel
but this fact has no relation to (
order of importance among those w
worked the matter up. Senator Bra
dagee-and his forgotten correspor
ent-undoubtedly had more to do wi
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