Evening star., 1922-02-19
BY n. O. MESSENGER.

I ARDLY had Secretary Hughes
- got his sea legs on. in his
jaunt to the still-vexed Ber-
mudas for little we'll earned
rest until the wireless began to
crackle messages from the capital re-
calling to his attention the very sub
Ject he had gone down to the sea in
ship to avoid-the late Washington
conference. One can imagine the
wearied Secretary of State just en-
sconcing himself in steamer chair
Saturday. keeping an eye off to lee
ward for the first glimpse of tur-
quoise blue of the gulf stream. when
along comes n deck steward with a
tray of bouillon in one hand and
message from the wireless operator
In the other. IT is from -he' State De-
partment and tells him that thesSAn-
ate. having no mill, Of human kind
ness in its bosom. waH+s to know
some of the detoi'e OF the t"lts he
had with Mr. Pa,.ov-. Po~on Kato
and NJ. viviani about the |our-nower
Pacific pact sent to the Senate by
president Harding.
Now. who has stared !he."H" the
Secretary rieht he ir,aein"d as soy
ing. According to the -ecord. Sena-
tor Hitchcock. the ranking democrat
Of the foreign reIatiors committee. is
the guilty person. but it's dollars to
floushnuts that Secretary HUGHES
susnected one Of those wicked ire
Hrr
him up to it," Who do you reckon it
was?
What's it all about a"r"nw" SEN
ator Lodge and Sen"tnr Underwood
of the American ae'ae"tion declare
that no minutes of the discussions at
tending the negotiation of the treaty
were kept: they were "conversa-
tions." as they understood. and not
proceedings of the committee. Which
accentuates tn" feet that one or the
most imncrtant PRODUCTS OF the con-
ference. measured in terms Of benefit
to the worlds peace. was not in its
initia ton ground out by the confer
ence machinery itself. but was out
side o: the works proper. although m
dorsed by the conference.
, All of which is preliminary to ask
ing if this. opening skirmish on the
four-power pact foreshadows fight
in the Senate against that treaty. to
be participated in by the irreconcili-
able republicans and some democrats:
It would seem somewhat paradoixcal
to witness the extremist opponents OF
the Wilson league of nations and the
extremist supporters OF that pan
Joined in an onslaught upon the
treaty which proposes to link the
United States. Great Britain. Japan
and France into an understanding to
regard each others rights in the Pa
cific without pledging to take up arms
to defend them.
* X x x
AS much is likely to be heard upon
this subject in the near future, it may
be of interest to consult counsei
and get some advice from experts upon
the question whether the fouE-power
pact does or does not commit the sig
natories to resort to war. When Sem
ator Lodge submitted the treaty at
the fourth plenary session of the
conference lxi "ppi w O. At> Ss,'N
'There is no provision for the use of
force to carry out any of the terms
of the agreement and no military or
naval sanction turks anywhere in the
background or under cover of these
plain and direct clauses"
In the Congressional Record the
other day there was inserted an
article written by DR.: David Jayne
Hill, an eminent American authority
on diplomacy and international law.
published in the New York. Tribune.
A quotation from that article in the
Record says:
If this treaty promised a definite
act, undoubtedly that act would have
to be performed, cost what it might.
If it were a pledge to come to the
assistance of a particular power in case
it were at war, and to conduct the
war in common, as in the case Of the
Anglo-Japanese alliance, which 1t
terminates. then there would be a
moral obligation to fulfill the con-
tract. If it promised to preserve the
territorial integrity and the political
independence of all the signatories.
as In the case in article 10 Of the
covenant Of the league Of nations.
then clearly it would be an alliance.
But there Is in this treaty no obliga-
tion expressed or implied that goes
beyond the pledge to endeavor to ar
rive at an understanding. The con-
vocation of the powers in given
emergency is simply fer the purpose
of orrIuinR MT an understanding
If one or more powers should de-
mand military action another might
under the terms Of the treaty justly
decline to participate in it unless the
case were such that without any
~~ AYN 0Y AAY1