Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-13
Long-Drawn, Bitter Contest
Over Adhesion to Tribunal
Looms on Debate Eve.
FRIENDS OF RESOLUTION
SEE ULTIMATE VICTORY
Borah to Lead Group Demanding
Absolute Divorce of Body
From League.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

Unlteu states 10 tndt tTlDufdi LOT
mally will come before the Senate for
consideration on Thursday. For the
better part of three years the World
Court proposal has been kicking
around the Senate foreign relations
committee without having it's day in
the Senate.
AS the Senate stands today, the nee
essary two-thirds vote for ratification
of the protocol, with the Harding
Hughes Coolidge reservations - more
properly amendments - would be
forthcoming on a roll call.
A real fight is promised in the Sen
ate, however, by Senator Borah Of
Idaho, chairman of the foreign rela-
tions committee; Senator Hiram John
son of California and others of the
old 'irreconcilable" group. Their hope
Is that the debate in the Senate will
arouse public opinion against adher-
ence to the World Court as it is now
created, and that enough Senators
will swing over to the opposition to
prevent ratification, or at least to in
sure the adoption of reservations or
amendments so drastic as to make
the Democratic supporters of the
court proposal unwilling to vote for
ratification under such conditions.
Opposition Confident.
The opposition insists that 1t can
count on more votes against ratif1ca-
ton in the Senate today than there
were against the ratification Of the
League of Nations covenant and the
Versailles treaty when the treaty
first was presented to the Senate by
! the late President Wilson. With such
start, it is thir hope to defeat in the
end favorable action on the proposal
to join the court, unless 1t Is abso-
lutely divorced from the league,
which would mean practically the es-
tablishment of a new court. To de-
feat ratification at least 80 votes must
be cast against the court proposal. If
all the Senate is accounted for.
The friends of the court insist that
today there are not more than
dozen, and perhaps not so many, who
would vote in the Senate against rati-
fication of the World Court protocol
with the Presidents reservations.
The Senate, at it's special session
last March, voted to make the World
Court the order of business on Decem-
ber II, the vote at that time standing
II to 2. BY no means all those who
oppose adhesion to the World Court
voted against this motion, which was
made by Senator Robinson, the Demo
cratic leader. after Senator Curtis
of Kansas, Republican leader. had
asked unanimous consent to take up
the World Court on that date and OBJ
| lection had been made.
The motion of Senator Robinson
was to take up the resolution intro,
duced by Senator Swanson of Virginia
ranking Democratic member of the
Senate foreign relations committee.
proposing adherence to the court with
the reservations advocated by the
| President 1t is this resolution, there
! fore which comes before the Sena te
! Thursday.
! Swanson to Open Debate.
Senator Swanson will make the first
| speech in support of the resolution.
| Senator Lenroot of Wisconsin, one of
| the so-called mild reservationists In
! the League of Nations fight, a strong
| supporter of the World Court propo-
sal, probably will have charge of the
World Court resolution in the Senate,
as the highest ranking Republican
member of the foreign relations com
/ mittee in favor of adhesion on the
conditions laid down by President
| Coolidge. Senators Borah, chairman
and Johnson of California and Moses
! of New Hampshire are ahead of Sen
ator Lenroot on the committee list
| but they are reckoned now in opposi
tion to the court proposal, unless the
| court be absolutely separated from
the league.
| One of the Republican members OF
the foreign relations committee, dis
cussing the situation last night, said
| that he supposed the Swanson reSolu
| ton, either in it's present form OF
with some amendments, would be the
measure on which the Senate finally
would vote. He indicated that there
is no disposition on his part to take
from Senator Swanson the distinction
of having his name connected with
the resolution of ratification: that the
desire is to have non-partisan actor
| on this matter.
Democrats Hopeful.
| The Democrats, however, as friends
Of the League of Nations and of the
World Court, doubtless will take al
the credit they can for favorable &C
ton by the Senate on the World Cour'
protocol. Some of them do not hest
tate to say that they hope the United
States eventually will join the Leagul
of Nations.
Opponents of the court propose
will seek to make the fight over tn,
court another league fight. They hopt
to convince the country that adhesion
by the United States to the Worlt
Court as now constituted Is nothing
more than a back-door entrance int
the league. They will attack thu
court as the League COURT a politica
rather than a judicial tribunal. The!
will declare that court to which ;
nation which has been guilty o
wrongdoing cannot be hailed unless
that nation grants its consent is M
court.
Opinion at the Capitol is divided a
to the extent of interest which tn
country really takes in the Worlt
Court proposal. Opponents of th
court insist that there is no popula
demand for adhesion to the court
that the appeals for such action ar
the result of propaganda by organiza
tions financed by those who have par
ticular interest in having the Unite
States involved in European affairs.
Supporters Of the court, on tn
other hand, point to the large numbe
of churches and organizations favor