Evening star., 1926-10-02
u. s. HELD UNLIKELY
TO ACT ON COURT
Next Move Believed Up to
Powers Which Acted on
u. S. Reservations.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

1
The next move in the World Court
controversy is up to the powers who
assembled at Geneva recently and re-
jected the American reservations
which had been adopted by the United
| States Senate.
The word IRE jected' Is used ad-
| visedly. For President Coolidge re-
| CARDS the action of the foreign
| governments as a rejection of the
| American proposal. This was officially
| disclosed at the White House. The
| President also feels that the proposal
which the foreign governments re-
| jected was the Senate's own proposal
and that, therefore, he must ask the
| Senate what it desires to change in
| the wording of the proposal to con-
| form to the ideas of the foreign gov
| ernments.
| He proposes to do the asking in
! informal fashion rather than by for
NAL message, so there will be no time
! lost in extended debate. 1t is a fore
| gone conclusion what Senators of
| both political parties will tell HIM
namely, that it is useless to reopen
the question and permit the ''irrecon-
| cilables" to talk it to death and de-
strOy chances of having other import
ant legislation acted on at the coming
| short session of Congress.
Confers With Swanson.
| Senator Swanson. Democratic leader.
| who handled the fight for the World
| Court, was the first consulted by
! President Coolidge. Mr. Swanson had
| been in Geneva at the time the Ameri-
| lean reservations We're under consider
alton, so knows the viewpoint of for
| eign governments. Possibly they
| thought the American Senate would
| be conciliatory and would accept the
| Interpretation placed on the famous
| fifth reservation.
They will shortly be advised that
| 1t would be difficult to get two-thirds
| of the Senate to accept the new in
world wants the United States in the
World Court, the language Of the
diplomatic note to be addressed to the
! United States soon by other govern
ments must be changed. There still
| is time to do it for the final diplomatic
exchanges have not been carried out
| The views of the United States will
! be told informally to some of the
American Ambassadors and Ministers
abroad by the Department of State If
| the President can obtain a concenSuS
! of the Senate in time to do SO.
When the powers receive word that
| the Senate will not accept the Geneva
Interpretation they still have a chance
to modify the phraseology and yet not
| be in a position of avoiding a formal
| refusal from the United States. What
is most feared now is that if the word
| from the United States comes after
| the Geneva message is formally de-
| livered, pride will prevent many ma
tons from agreeing later to a con-
cession or change of vital importance.
What is most desired here by
friends of the court is that the foreign
! governments will accept in it's en-
tirety the American set of feserva-
tions and then determine for them
selves later on what procedure shall
be adopted in the case of advisory
opinions requiring American consent
| In advance. A diplomatic note from
the Department of State setting forth
the class Of questions on which there
might be objection to advisory opin-
| ions being rendered by the World
Court might suffice as a practical
| working formula. Two or three years
| from now the Senate might even con-
sent to an explicit declaration of
what 1t meant by the fifth reserva-
| ton. But if America is not admitted
| into the court at all at this time. the
| chances of entry at future date are
| remote. So it's up to the Geneva
members to say the next word.