Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-25
Report FOur-POWer
Treaty FaUOrdbly
Continued from PAGE Ono

Continued from Page Ono
tions through conferences In danger.
And this applies as much to the second
Brandegee reservation as to the first
one and to the johnson reservations.
Mr.. Harding is committed to inter.
national dealing through confer
ences such as the one just held at
Washington. He holds that the peace
of the world can best be safcguarded
through The meeting together Of ma.
tions and their discussion of their re-
lations in gatherings like that ut
Washington.
Must BE Able to Count on L. s.
But for the success Of such confer
cnccs It is necessary that nations may
be able TO enter into contracts with
each other with reasonable confidence
that such agreements will be accepted
by whatever branches Of the Govern
mcnts have to pass upon the work of
the delegates.
If the most important nation of all.
the United States. has the habit Of
rejecting or modifying the compacts
signed by It's delegates. no other
Power can enter into arrangements
with II with any degree Of confidence.
II to the failure Of the Versailles agree
ments is added the essential modifica-
ton of tho various treaties recently
made at Washington. then the influence
of the United States in international
congresses is destroyed. This, IL was
indicated yesterday, Is the Harding
view.
So important does the President re-
gard the issue that he has apparently
rcccdcd from the position he first took
Of having no objection to purely inter-
pretivc reservations. lie regards all
reservations as unnecessary and to be
avoided IL possible. He will not, It Is
believed. make n fight against innocu-
ous interpretations which Jealous Sena.
TORS seek to attach to the treaty, but
he prefers not to have them attached
to It,
President IIarding's stand is impor-
tant because of the number Of treaties
now before the Senate Us Il result of the
| Washington Conference. II the Senate
/ hcg!ns by attaching reservations to the
-Four. Power pact 1t will run wild be-
/ fore it gets through with the other trea
/ ties.
Reservations would increase and null
| tiply rs they did during the league coy.
! cnant fight. until the Senate contrib
I Utcs as much language to elucidntc re-
! lNl lbllS III lHt L t'il'' a. uAN Wv W '''
! ington Conference itself.
What will happen is going to depend
upon the reaction of the country ant
especially Of the press to the irrecon
/ cilablc proposal Of reservations. In tho
Versailles Trenty fight the public and
the press, after some hesitation, tool
sides with the reServatonists. That /.
what gave tho Republicans their cue
and led in the end to the defeat Of the
Wilson treaty.
In this case Brandegee and johnson
have put up the trial balloon for Hard
ing's possible opponents. II the public
and the press once more support reser
vationS the Democrats will be cncour
aged to do TO the President what th'
Republicans did to his predecessor.
Mr.. Harding. on the other hand. ha
now made his position clear.
He is against reservations as thong
n cloud upon international dealing
through conferences. II the public an
the press stand with him against res
crvatiOns as unnecessary and possihl
harmful, the Democrats will undoubt
odly vote against reservations md tn
treaties will go through the Senate q
negotiated.
; To BE Settled on Senate Floor
: The issue will be settled on the foo
Of tho Senate as til" treaty will com
ont Of the Senate .'oreign Relation
Committee with some reservations nj
tochcd to il. Two years ago the Var
; saillcs Treaty came out of the sam
committee with various amendment
affixed. These amendments were con
scented to for the purpose of getting I'll
treaty out of committee. But the
we're subsequently, defeated, it being Il
) rolicy of the Republicans not to amen
the treaty, but to make reservation
to it.
In similar way this time a rcsci
vation attached to the treaty by II
Foreign Relations Committee need NJ
. be taken too seriously. Mr.. Hardin
has evidently elected not to make h
Hght in committee, where the irrccor
rIlobles are over represented, but lat
! in the debate upon the treaty befo
Q the whole Senate.
. nv the time the fate OF reservation
, 10 really to be decided, Secretal
: Hughes will be back from his vacati(
! and his force will be added to tho
=, cnI,ntrd against reservations. The Il
.ne which Mr.. Harding lodged whit
] no consented to Senate alteration
tho German treaty will have to
fought out now. 1t is most importa
: in its bearings upon the future intcl
national relations of the country.