The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1922-02-24
HARDING CAN 7
GIVE PACT DATA
Tells Senate He Has No Record
of Proceedings.
SAYS NO SECRET PLEDGES
President Declares 1t is Not "Compat-
ibIe With Public Interest" to Bare
Work of Sessions-"lrrecon-
ciIabIes" Dissatisfied.

Washington, Feb. 21.-President
Harding, replying to the senate on the
Hitchcock resolution asking for 1nfOr-
nation relative to the negotiation OF
the four-power Pacific treaty, stated 1t
was impossible to furnish the request
ed information because most of the ne
gOtiations were conducted without the
maintaining of record.
The President said it would not be
compatible with public interests TO
disclose the confidential negotiations
of the treaty negOtiatOrs but he de
clared that there were no concealed
understandings anC no secret ex-
changes of notes"
Approves zap Treaty.
Almost coincidenI with the arrival
of the Presidents letter at the cenate,
the foreign relations committee, by a
vote of ten to one. ordered the treaty
between the United States and Japan
regarding the island of zap reported
favOrably.
The action followed a twO-hOur de-
bate in the committee and was taken
after several Republican and Demo
cratic senators had indicated they
would favor reporting the treaty to
the senate, but reserved the right to
further discuss it on the floor. The
single negative vote was cast by Sena-
tor Pittman (Dem.).
Those who voted to report the
treaty were Senators Lodge, McCum-
Der, Kellogg. Brandegee, BOrah. john
son, New and Wadsworth. Republic
ans and Williams and POmerene. Dem
Ocrats. Among the absentees Senators
Hitchcock Democrat, and Mccormick
and Moses, Republicans. were said TO
have indicated previously that they
would vote for favorable committee
action.
Text of Presidents Reply.
The Presidents reply TO the Hitch
cock resolution. which was adopted by
the senate last week, follows:
Responsive to senate resolution No.
237, asking for records, minutes, argu-
ments, debates, conversations, ETC., re-
lating to the sO-called fOur-pOWer
treaty l have to advise that it is inn
possible to comply with the senates
request Many of the things asked
for in the resolution it is literally inn
possible to furnish, because there were
many conversations ana discussions
quite outside the conference, yet vital
to it's success. Naturally these are
without record
81 do not believe it to be compatible
with public interests or consistent
with the amenities of international ne
gOtiatiOns to attempt to reveal infOr-
NAL and confidential conversations or
discussions of which no record was
kept, or to submit tentative sugges-
lions or informal proposals, without
which the arrival at desirable interna-
tiOnal understandings would be rem
dered unlikely if not impossible.
"While | am unable to transmit the
information requested, I do, however,
take this opportunity to say most en-
phatfcally that there were no con-
cealed understandings, and no secret
exchanges of notes. and there are no
commitments whatever except, dS dp-
pear in the fOur-pOwer treaty itself,
and the supplementary agreement,
which are now in the hands of the SEN
ate"
Without discussion the Presidents
letter was referred to the foreign re-
lations committee when it was read
I'm the senate. the motion being made
by Senator Hitchcock
Necessary to Cali Hughes"
After studying the Presidents reply
to his resolution and comforting with
Republicans who have criticized the
four-party treaty, senator Hitchcock
declared he believed Mr.. Harding's
letter had made it absolutely neces-
sary'' for Secretary Hughes to appear
before the committee if it is to act in
telligently. Senator Borah (Rep.) Of
Idaho and other committee members
took a similar attitude, although it did
not appear whether motion to sum-
mon the secretary home from his va
cation trip to Bermuda would have q
majority.