River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1922-03-02

amenities of international negotiations
to attempt to reveal information and
confidential conversations or discus
sions of which no record was kept. or
to submit tentative suggestions or In
formal proposals, without which the
arrival at desirable international I'M
derstandings would be rendered I'M
likely If not impossible"
Mr. Harding, however, emphatically
assured the senate that there were no
concealed understandings and no Sc
cret exchanges of notes. But the "ir-
reconcilable'' senator's are not salts.
fed and insist that ratification must
be hedged about with considerable
reservation. Although President Har-
ding adhered to his position that no
reservation was necessary, the foreign
relations committee was informed that
he would not object to the one offered
by Senator Brandegee if it was deemed
best thus to facilitate ratification. This
reservation reads:
1.-THE United States understands
that it assumes no obligation either
legal or moral to maintain the rights
i'm relation to the insular possessions
or insular dominions of any of the
other high contracting parties and that
the consent of the congress of the
United States shall be necessary to
any adjustments or understandings
under articles one and two by which
the United States is to be bound in
any way, and that there Is no obliga-
ton either legal or moral to give such
consent"
Naturally, Senator Johnson of Cali
fornia was not satisfied even with this.
and he offered another more drastic
reservation. But the administration
senators said the Brandegee resolution
was as far as they would consent to
go. and the "staIwarts," like kellogg
and New, didn't want to make any con-
cessions at all. Then Senator Lodge,
after comforting with the President,
offered substitute reservation safe
guarding congressional authority over
the use of armed force. This was not
liked by the more radical members.
CONSIDERATION of sales tax for
~ financing the soldiers bonus was
given consideration by a subcommit-
tee of the house ways and means COM
mittee, but no conclusions have been
reached. Secretary of the Treasury
Mellon was called on for further adj
vice and said he still believes bonus
legislation should be postponed, but
that if bill is to be passed he would
prefer some form of tax as against the
issuance of bonds. He said that
sales tax would mean 1900 additional
employees, but that it could be admin
istered.
Petitions in opposition to sales tax
were circulated in the house last week
and were signed by at least seventy
members. 1t was asserted that fully
one hundred could be counted on to
vote against such a tax. Meanwhile
a movement is gaining Roadway to
postpone bonus legislation altogether
until the newly appointed foreign debt
commission has ascertained the
chances for the payment of interest by
foreign nations and decided concern
ing the funding of foreign debts into
long term securities. A number Of
well known men have asked the Ma
tional Republican club to oppose the
granting of federal bonus ito any
soldier who cannot show wound or
who was not disabled In the service"
THE foreign debt commission men,
l. toned above, as named by Presi-
dent Harding, is made up of Secretary
of State Hughes, Secretary OF the
Treasury Mellon, Secretary of Com
merce Hoover Senator Reed Smoot Of
Utah and Representative Burton Of
Ohio. The fact that all five are Re
publicans has aroused the ire of the
Democrats and the latter in the senate
declared they would not vote for the
confirmation of the appointments Of
Smoot and Burton.
NEW pay scales for the army, navy,
" marine corps, coast guard, coast
and geodetic survey and public health
service have been arranged by the
Joint congressional service pay COM
mission and a bill providing for them
ordered favorably reported to house
and senate. For the fiscal year 1928
the new rate of pay for those six serv-
ices will save the government about
S13. 100000, and ultimately. 1t is esti-
mated, the saving will be $28.6OO,OOO
annually. The proposed rate Is below
the present basis, which was hxed In
1920, but considerably above that es-
tablished in 1908.
The house appropriations commit