Evening star., 1928-12-23
KELLOGG PACT OIL
REGARDED CERTAIN
President Assured Foes Can
Muster No More Than
10 of 28 Votes.

President Coolidge and Secretary
Kellogg enter upon their Christmas
holidays this week confident that the
crowning achievement of their foreign
policy-the multilateral pact for the
remuneration of war--is thoroughly as
sured of Senate approval. Assurances
are in possession of the White House
and the State Department that not
more than 10 votes will be cast against
the treaty ratification. Debate on and
after January 8, when Senator Borah,
chairman of the foreign relations COM
mittee, will call up the pact in open
executive session, may be more or less
protracted. But at least 10 votes are
safely in hand in favor of ratification
without "interpretative" resolutions of
any kind.
It would take no fewer than 2S or
80 votes to prevent Senate approval,
Nowhere near that number is in sight.
The Moses Reed combination itself has
eounted noses and realizes 1t is in
hopeless minority. According to pres
ent calculations ratification should be
an accomplished fact by January 10 or
sooner.
40 Nations Wait Action.
Forty-nine other nations are eagerly
waiting for the United States Senate to
place its seal upon the anti-war treaty,
in order themselves to ratity 1t. AS
get. none of the original Is slgnatorleS
to the pact has ratified it, but 10 OF
the adhering nations have done so.
Four of them have actually deposited
ratification documents with the Depart
ment of State, as provided for In article
3 of the treaty-Afghanistan, the Do
minican Republic, ETHIOPIA ana rus
ala. Six countries have reported TO
the State Department that their ad-
herences have been perfected by rati-
fication-Austria, Cuba, Haiti Liberia,
Panama and Portugal.
The war-renunciation covenant into
which SO different governments nave
entered does not actually take enect
until all of them have deposited their
several instruments of ratification at
Washington. When this has been done
and the treaty has come into tull 1orce
It will remain open as long as may De
necessary for adherence by all the other
powers of the world.
Popular o. X. Pleasing.
Two aspects of the treaty situation,
as 1t has developed, are particularly
gratifying to the President and his
Secretary of State. One is the un-
precedented popular approval which II
has evoked throughout the United
States. Mr.. Kellogg declares that in his
whole experience, both as a Senator
and as head of the State Department,
he has never known public opinion to
express itself so volubly and so unani-
rnously on any international question.
Both the White House and the State
Department for weeks past have been
inundated with letters, kilograms ana
petitions from all parts of the country
approving the anti-war treaty and ask
ing for its prompt ratification. 1t proved
impossible to make acknowledgements 70
these communications from vox popull,
but a digest and tabulation Of them
has been supplied to the Senate in
order that that body may be aware OF
the volume of Nationwide support the
pact has behind it.
The other feature in the situation
which fills the administration with
satisfaction is the unusual bipartisan
backing the treaty commands. Stalwart
Republicans, old-time ''irreconcilable"
anti-League Republicans, Republican
progreSsiveS and regular Democrats are
standing shoulder to shoulder In favor
Of the pact. There is hardly any doubt
that ratification would have enSued be-
fore Christmas If the cruiser bill had
not contrived to be on the Senate cal
endar at the same moment. Neither
President Coolidge nor Secretary Kel-
.logg sympathizes with the view Of the
anti-cruiser group that the naval build
ing program conflicts or collides with
the anti-war treaty. Not much more
idesultory opoSition to the cruiser meas
IRE is looked for than will be launched
against the Kellogg pact.
Hale Confident Of Bill
While the treaty requires two
thirds vote, the naval bill can be passed
by a majority. Senator Hale, Repub-
lican, of Maine, who, as naval affairs
chairman, has the cruiser bill in charge,
is confident he can marshal the neceS-
sary vote in its favor as soon as the
roll can be called. At one time there
was fear that if the treaty were rati-
fed before the cruiser bill was called
I'D the latter might be in Jeopardy.
That danger is now considered past.
One other threatened rock IN the
path of the anti-war treaty'S ratifica-
ton has been averted. At an earlier
period Senator Borah was thinking OF
making ratification conditional upon an
understanding that Soviet Russia's ad-
herence carried with it American recog-
milton of the Moscow government. But
if the foreign relations chairman ac-
tualiy had any such purpose he seems
to have abandoned it.
Copyright, 1929