Evening star., 1923-05-24
PRESIDENTS COURT
/ ISSUE MEETS TEST
Made Platform of Los An
geIes Candidate for Con-
gress, Who Wins Easily.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

President Harding is deriving con-
siderable satisfaction from the result
IF a congressional by-election in the
Los Angeles district of California on
May .. 1t is the first cotest at the
polls yet fought on the clean-cut is
sue of the Presidents world court
proposal Final figures just an
nounced show that John d. Fred
ericks. republican, who stood for
American entry into the court won
by an overwhelming majority. The
Hiram Johnson anti-court element
pitted a candidate of it's own. Alfred
L. Bartlett against Fredericks. The
johnson nominee ran a poor fourth.
Fredericks' vote was 2S,0S4, while
Bartlett's total was less than third
of that figure-S.357. Fredericks Is
a lawyer who made a national repu-
farion in 1911 by convicting the Nc
,Namara brothers for blowing up the
LOS Angeles Times building.
Is Largest District.
The Los Angeles contest. held to
fill the vacancy caused by the death
of Representative Henry u. osborne,
took place in the tenth California
district. With 550,v00 inhabitants, the
district is Cne most pOpulOuS III NiiS
United States. 1t is made up largely
of representative eastern people from
practically every state beyond the
Mississippi who are now domiclled In
southern California. In way there-
fore FrederickS' election on the
straightforward world court PROPOSE
tion is interpreted at Washington as
D. symptomatic croSS-sectlon test OF
American public opinion. Frederlcks
announced at the outset OF MS cam
Ia niI n a L
for of emphatic Endorsement OF the
Harding Hughes plan for American
participation in the Permanent Court
of International Justice. The day be-
that he didn't want anybody TO vote
Tor him who was not definitely III
favor of the Presidents project.
Court Convenes Soon.
About the time, during the third
week of June, that the President is
making his principal World Court
speech, at the outset of his swing
across the country. the tribunal will
be getting down to its first real work
II The Hague. On June Is the court
VIII be convened to deal with its int-
tial international controversy, with
sovereign nation. Germany, virtually
in the role of an arraigned defendant.
The case has been brought by Great
Britain, France, Italy and Japan in
bnnection with Germany's refusal to
IlloW the steamship w LnOleQOn Tree
access to the Kiel canal. The German
government in virtue of the right
conferred by the courts statutes. has
appointed a judge of German ma
tionality. Prof Walter Schuecking. to
sit in the case. Poland has informed
the court of it's desire to intervene
under article 81 of the statutes. which
provides that state considering
that 1t has an interest of a legal
nature, which may be affected by the
N hn a Iht1att a ra-
quest to the court to be permitted
to intervene as third party"
At the forthcoming session the
World Court also will consider a sub
Ject upon which the council of the
league of nations has asked it for an
advisory opinion. This concerns meas
ures taken by the Polish government
with regard to individuals of German
race in Poland who have protested
against expulsion from their holdings
=, FER German territory ceded to
Poland.
Mr.. Harding Pleased.
At the White House there is un-
concealed contentment with the or
sanized phases of public sentiment
which now are on record in favor of
the Presidents world court PROPOSE
tion. The churches have been for 1t
Fundamentally from the start. The
national business community. as ex-
emplifed by the strong resolutions
of Commerce at it's New York con-
vention earlier in the month. is
1quarely behind Mr.. Harding. Sam
Gel GomperS, president of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, has COM
mitted the trade union classes to the
project. Senator Arthur Capper, lead
er of the farm bloc. has by his per-
sonal support indicated that agricul-
ture favors American adhesion to the
court. At Atlanta, recently, the Cen
eral Federation of Womens Clubs
acclaimed the scheme in categorical
terms, emitting only the mention of
Its name because of the desire not to
widen breach in the federation on
league issues. Mrs. Thomas G. Win
TER. president of the federation, is
publicly a supporter of the Harding
Hughes program.
The poll just taken by a New York
newspaper, showing seventy-three
senators for the Presidents proposal
-thirty-seven republicans and thirty
six democrats-is considered in ad-
ministration quarters an uncommon
ly accurate piece of foreshadowing.
counting the seven republicans and
Two democrats certain to be n oppo-
sition and listing as hostile even thir-
teen other republican, democratic
and farm-labor senator's. a total pee
sible opposition of twenty-two-the
world court is seen as a sure winner
whenever it can be brought to a vote. |
But there's, admittedly, the rub. No
body will prophesy when the foreign
tion is strong, if not paramount. will
permit the proposal to reSIA> the SEN
ate floor for debate and passage.