Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-12-13
BORAH STARTS
SENATE FIGHT
ON NEW TREATY
Declares FOur-POwer Agree
meHt Is Instrument
of Force.
MILITARY ALLIANCE
Special to Indiana Daily Times
and Philadelphia Public Ledger.

Special to Indiana Daily Times
and Philadelphia Public Ledger.
By JOSEPH r. HARRINGTON.
WASHINGTON, Dec. Ex-senator Bo-
rah Of Idaho, ''irreconcilabIe' opponent of
the treaty OF Versailles, opened in the
Senate yesterday the fight against the
four-power treaty. Unless the powers
now gathered in Washington reached an
agreement approximatIng real disarma-
ment," Mr.. BoTah served notice he would
fight to a finish the new covenant
Predicated upon scrapping of capital
ships alone, as provided in the Hughes
program Of naval reduction, the treaty,
the Senator from Idaho asserted, be
came an instrument OF force and not of
peace. Abolition Of submarines and other
equally efficacious weapons Of warfare
Mr.. Borah said, must be accomplished
before the United States should enter
into an alliance such as is proposed by
Messrs. Hughes, Balfour, Kato and Wv
fani.
This alliance makes it absolutely
necessary that real disarmament take
place here Mr.. Borah said, "or else
It becomes nothing in the world but a
military alliance by which the Pacific
is to be controlled by the four great
were such disarmament as to reasonably
assure the world they would prefer to use
. arbitration or other methods Of settle
i. ment one might reasonably argue thar
this would not be a dangerous treaty
in which the United States could enter
without real disarmament. 1t would
mean to me nothing but a military al
lance, the same as the Anglo-Japanese
alliance"
DOESN'T BURN
BRIDGES BEHIND.
In spite Of his opposition to the results
OF the Washington conference as they are
in prospect. the Senator left a way open
for supporting the four-power treaty. He
said;
Il am frank to say my attitude toward
it will be determined very largely by
what the conference does with refer
ence TO real disarmament and the rights
of China"
Mr.. Borah's address opened a general
debate on the treaty. Senator Poindexter
of Washington, who was aligned with
Mr.. Borah in the League Of Nations
fight, took issue with the Senator from
Idaho.
zone OF the most conspicuous features
of this instrument" Mr.. Polndexter said
sis the fact that our representatives
= ,
no governmental power, except what ex
lists under the Constitution Of the United
States. There is not a word in the in
strument which would confer upon tho
President or upon any other representa-
tive Of the United States authority to
commit any act except in a constitu
tional method when authorized by tn
Congress Of the United States or by sucl
other sanction as required by our funda
mental law"
SEES RESEMBLANCE
TO ARTICLE Y.
In tsating his position on the treaty
Senator Robinson Of Arkansas, advocate
of the treaty OF. Versailles, sought TO
= show that Articles 1 and ? on the four
, power treaty proposed to bind the United
States to the same moral obligations as
famous Article 10 Of the League Of Ma
lions. Senator Reed OF Missouri broke
into the debate with remarks demon
strating his opposition TO the treaty
while Senator Kellogg OF Minnesota pro-
pounded questions indicating his posi-
ton was to the contrary. Senator Tom
Watson of Georgia compared the treaty
to the obnoxious" anglo-Japanese ALI
ance.
Senator Borah opened with praise for
Secretary Hughes, the manner presen-
tetion and the content OF the Secre-
tary Of States program on naval reduc
ton. But he added:
Up until this time. the conference has
not dealt at all with the weapons with
which the next war will be fought in case
it should come. It was Of tremendous
moment that the cessation Of the build
ing Of battleships should become an es-
tablished fact, but in my opinion that
relates practically and alone to the ques-
ton OF economy"
The battleship, he said, is "either OBJ
solete or obsolescent," In the opinion Of
leading American and English naval au-
thorities, among whom he named Admiral
William S. Sims. In continuing, he said :
However, much credit may, there
fore, be Justly given to the conference for
dealing with this particular phase of
naval preparation, feel It would be a
very discouraging proposition If the
teaty to be sent to the Senate for rati-
hcation, concerning disarmament should
include nothing more than the program
which thus far has been presented"
Citing the submarine as a proper
weapon with which the conference could
deal, Senator Borah said. ''we are in a
position, if we have faith in what we are
doing, and in the leagues and alliances
= we are forming, to eliminate and Danish
sfthem from the sea entirely"
"It is within the power Of the three,
or four at most, great nations assembled"
he said, to esta blish the rule OF the sea,
to free it In time OF war as well as IN
time Of peace, Of these instruments which
at the time they were first brought to
cur attention, we're universally denounced
as outside the pale Of civilized warfare"
URGES ABOLITION
OF SUBMARINE.
To leave the submarine, he continued
would be "to cast doubt and fear and
suspicion and plant them all in the very
heart Of the movement for disarmament"
he said.
'Tf we have faith in France, in Great
Britain and in Japan, there is no pos
sible reason why We should kweep this
instrument on the sea. If We have no
such faith, this entire propC sition is but
a camoufage."
The submarine, he said, is not IN the
interest OF the defense OF small nations,
figuring that they never could muster a
sufficient force against tha great powers
gathered IN this city.
without further disarmament, IN as
sembly Of the powers signatOry to the
four power treaty would represent
gathering Of the only. naval power in the
In, A.I-4 v,sr he