New-York tribune., 1922-02-08
Question Raised by Sen.
aiors Hinges on Rule
Established by Con
gress in Taft Regime
Specific Law as
Permit Required
" WhitcHousc to Announce.
Friday, Response to IN
vitation of Europeans

WASHINGTON, Feb. "a question
has been raised informally among
Senators hethcr President Harding.
under the law. can participate in the
Genoa conference or similar economic
conference without having specific au-
thority Of Congress. The fact that the
question has been raised was brought
TO light to-day in Senate circles. 1t
grows out of the informal discussion
among Senators of whether this gov
crnmcnt will enter the conference.
1t develops that Congress passed a
law March 4, 1918, in the form of an
amendment to deficiency bill. which
is found in Chapter 149, Statutes at
Large. Volumc 81. part I, Page al3,
undcr date OF March /, 1919, and which
is as follows
"Hereaftcr the Executive shall not
extend or accept any invitation to par
ticipate in any international congress-
conference or like event without first
having specific authority of law to
do so
Passed Under Taft Regime
lhis law was enacted at the close Of
the Taft Admin stration and. as cX-
planned by Senator'S to-day, grew out
OF tn" fact that in the closing davs
OF the Taft Administration, when there
was Democratic House, the Prcsi-
dent was accepting numerous invita-
tons to participate in international
conferences on different Subjects The
House Democrats protested over the
expense. Finally, the Republicans in
the Senate, realizing the incoming
President would be Democra rat,
hitchcd this amendment to deficiency
bill and it became the law. 1t never
has been repealed.
Senator Lodge. chairman of the For
cign Relations Committees has had his
attention called to the matter Ic has
not given an opinion on wFiccfhcr if
would keep the United States out of the
Genoa conference without consent OF
Congress. Some leading Adminstra-
tion Senators, however, express the
view it would.
has the clear constitutional right to
emer into Il conference for the pur-
pose Of negotiating treaties. He
would have the right to send repre-
scntatives to a conference looking to
formulation Of a peace treaty. or to
such a conference as the armament con-
ference. If the Genoa conference is
held by the Administration to be con-
ference which may result in a treaty in
which the United States may partic-
pate, the President could not properly
be excluded by this statute
Genoa Decision Friday
American response to the Allied Su-
prcmc Council to be represented at
thc Genoa conference probably will be
announced Friday. it was said to-day
at the White House At the same time
it was stated officially that the delay
in framing the American reply had not
been occasioned by any connection with
legislation for the funding OF the debt
of foreign nations to this country
No indication of the nature of the
American governments response to the
invitation was given to-day, but the be-
lief has been expressed in official cir
cles that the attendance Of delegates
actually representing the United States
at Genoa, as differentiated from unof-
fetal observers, might be dependent
upon the scope of the proposed discus
siOns. In this connection it was sug-
geStcd in some quarters that last min
ute developments might determine this
country's attitude.
Matters likely to be discussed at the
conference were reviewed extensively
tonight by the Federal Reserve Board
in it's monthly bulletin for February
in which it covered broad field of
European economic problems such as
German reparations, the existing fiscal
affairs of the various nations, the gold
standard and exchange stabilzation
According to the board, Russian and
German questions are practically in
evtab!e elements in the existing Eu-
ropean economic SITUATION.
Importance of the reparations ques-
ton to European conditions was
stressed by the board, which called at
tenton to "the unsatisfactory posi-
ton" in which the question had been
left