Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-06
|PACT FIGHT START
| HANGS ON QUORUM
Debate on London Treaty
Expected to Be Bitter.
to Open Tomorrow.
Continued From First Page.)

itself will, of course, be presented dur
ing the special session.
ANY attempt to curtail full. free and
honest discussion, by long hours to wear
down Senators, any effort to prevent
the fullest consideration of every con-
ceivable phase" he added, would be
not only unfair to Senators, but an out
rage upon the American people them
selves, for 1t must be remembered that
this treaty comes to the Senate without
report OF any kind or q single word of
official explanation or elucidation.
There is another aspect Of this
treaty that is appealing to those who
have believed this country should be
free from the internationalism which
our .peop.s have repudiated," johnson
continued.
Following this treaty will come I'M
ooubtedly what has been spoken of so
often during its negotiations-the i'm
plementing' of the Kellogg pact. Just
exactly what 'implementing' means no
one has taken pains to explain, as none
has officially explained to the Senate
thus far what the treaty means, but
SUFFICIENT has been said for us to know
that implementing' the Kellogg pact
means putting the United States into
some sort Of pact or alliance In con-
junction with European countries.
Foresees Internationalist Cry.
when we have concluded with this
mysterious implementing' then we'll
have the League of Nations Court with
the celebrated Root formula. which Is
the abandonment of what the Senate
once did And after that the same old
internationalist cry will be raised
through the country in the same old
way to take us into the League of
Nations.
IF the memories of our people were
not so short this would be obvious to
them from the round robin in the 1920
campaign presented to the American
people by Messrs. Root, Wickersham,
Hoover and others, telling our people,
in substance, that the way in which
the United States could be brought into
the League of Nations was by the cleo
ton of Presiden Harding.
While these gentlemen were mis-
taken in their prophecy then, there is
nothing to indicate that this pious wish
has been abandoned"
Senator johnson has with him in OPP
position to the treaty Senator Moses Of
New Hampshire, the president pro tenn
pore of the Senate, who has strongly
opposed the calling of a special session
to deal with the treaty, and Senator
4bODLLAoOl VI ILcpuDlI-
can member of the Foreign Relations
Committee. Senator Hale of Maine,
chairman of the Naval Affairs Commit
tee, is committed, also. to the opposition,
and so is Senator Mcclellan of Ten
nessee. Others who are regarded as
certain to vote against the treaty are
Blaine of Wisconsin, Shipstead of Min
neSota, BrouSSard of Louisiana, Oddie of
Nevada. Steck of Iowa and Copeland of
New York, IL all told. Senator Bing-
ham of Connecticut and Senator Cut
ting of New Mexico are listed as
doubtful,
It requires a two-thirds vote of the
Senators voting to ratify treaty. The
strength of the opposition as at present
indicated will not run above IS votes
out of total of 96, if all the Senators
are present and voting. If the propo-
nents of the treaty are able to maintain
quorum and to keep a sufficient num-
Der of their group in Washington, the
ratification of the treaty becomes only
question of time.
Opponents TO Demand Quorum.
It is expected that the opposition,
which is seeking to postpone a vote on
the treaty at the special session and
put it off until next Fall, will insist
that there be a quorum of the Senate
on hand at all times. Further. after
the debate has run for a number of
days, it is likely that move will be
made to adjourn the Senate.
The treaty is open to amendment and
reservation. No one believes at this
amendmentS or reservations to the pact
by Senate action. But it Is possible
and probable that reservations and
amendments will be offered and de-
bated at length. Senator johnson him
self, however, is not paying attention
to reservations and amendments. He is
out to defeat the treaty if he can, not
merely attach reservations to it.
The opponents Of the treaty insist
that it does not give the United States
the kind Of cruisers which this country
needs, and that because of the great
number of British naval bases, the
parity with Great Britain in naval
strength. They contend, too, that the
treaty gives to Japan a greater ratio
than the 5-5-3 ratio established in
connection with the capital ships at the
Washington Naval Conference in 1922.
Advocates Insist Parity Given.
The advocates of the treaty, on the
other hand, fatty deny the charge
that the United States does not have
full parity with Great Britain in naval
strength under the treaty. They also
defend the agreement reached with
Japan and the ratio accorded that coun-
try by the treaty.
While the supporters of the treaty
have the needed votes to
clamp a cloture rule on the debate
should occasion arise, they are not
likely to adopt that course unless
filibuster sets in. They do
not desire to curtal the debate, as
long as it is legitimate and not evidently
designed merely to delay. The leaders
do not intend to permit anything to
come up before the Senate which will
tend to slow up consideration of the
treaty. The President may send
to the Senate and doubt
less Will do so. But any controversies
which may arise over nominations will
be postponed until after the treaty has
been disposed of.
Senator Robinson Of Arkansas, is ex-
pected to return to Washington Tues
day to take part in the night. The
Democrats, generally speaking, are
favorable to the treaty. The adj
has done all it could to
bring about the negotiation and con-
sideration of the naval treaty in a nom
partisan way, and partisan politics
have not entered into the matter up
to date.