Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-30
KELLOGG WAGED
TENACIOUS FIGHT
Negotiations of Peace Pact
Accomplished After Month
of Effort.
By FREDERIC WILLIAM wnR.


Frank Billings Kellogg. former SEQ
Rotary Of State, has been awarded the
Nobel peace prize for 1929, but his old
associates IN washington. both at the
State Department and In the Senate,
declare he Is entitled to the all-time
prize for diplomatic persistence and de-
termination. His negotiation of the
general pact for the remuneration Of
war. to which "a of the worlds nations
are now parties, was marked by an i1-
tensive drive said to be without parallel
In the history Of American intercourse
With foreign governments. During the
last year and half of Kelloggs Secrs-
taryship Of State-from December, 1927,
to July, 1s2S-the pact was practically
his sole preoccupation. To see 1t be-
come the law of the world was not only
his ambition, 1t became his obsession.
Both in the United States and abroad
Kellcgg encountered general indiffer-
ence as the first obstacle he had to
overcome. Skepticism existed on all
hands. The ScS-etary of State was
beset by counselS Of despair in Wash
ington and In various European capt.
tails. From here. there and everywhere
kellogg would be told of the irisur-
mountable objections to the idea of re-
nouncing war as an instrument Of ma
tional policy. The burden of the song
dinned into his ears was that it couldn't
be done.
Insisted on Broader Pact.
The earliest snag into which KelloQr
ran was M. Brands proposal that the
REORGANIZATION agreement should be
confined to France and the United
States. The American Secretary Of
State objected promptly to q bi-lateral
pact and insisted upon q multi-laterai
treaty to which as many powers as pos.
sible should be parties. NJ Brands
views commanded deep respect In wash.
ington, because 1t was the French for.
eign minister who really fathered the
whole antt-war project In June, 1927.
France put before the State Department
draft Of pact Of perpetual friend
ship between France and the United
States" Kellogg courteously but firmly
rejected anything of this sort, savorire.
as 1t did, OF a dual alliance between
the two countries. Our objections were
note of December 20, 1927.
The French government lost no time
in asserting to Kellogg's demand for
q multi-lateral pact. Then ensued from
Washington long series of diplomatic
exchanges with the governments of
France, Great Britain, Germany, italy.
Japan, Canada, Belgium, Australia, the
Irish Free State, India, South Africa,
Poland, New Zealand and Csecho-
slovakia. the IA countries which. with
the United States. were the signatories
of the pact as finally sealed at Paris
on August 81, 1928. Before that con.
summation Secretary Kellogg was In
virtually uninterrupted correspondence
with all these powers. He had anything
but smooth sailing. All were agreed IA
principle with what was projected. But
nearly every country had ideas of It's
own as to what should or should not
be incorporated In the pact. kellogg
found. as he went along, that his task
now was to prevent the agreement from
being loaded down with clauses ana
provisos that often threatened TO sap
1t OF vitality. The Secretary of states
unalterable plan was to make the pact
conspicuous for brevity and simplicity.
Sought Senate Support.
While he was fencing with the foreign
ministers of other countries. KELLOGG
was keeping in closest touch with the
arbiters OF Americas international
destinieS in the Senate-the Foreign
Relations Committee. Senator Borsh,
its chairman, and Senator Swanson. its
ranking Democratic member, were con-
slant visitors to the State Department,
as was also Senator Walsh of Montana,
another Democratic member of the
committee Kellogg adopted the pro-
gram of assuring himself of the com
mittee's support In every major move
he made abroad. The result was that
when he went to Paris for the signature
of the pact, 1t was In shape that assured
It's eventual ratification by the Senate,
even though that body, after threaten
ing to tack on reservations. finally in
sisted upon attaching only 'interpreta-
TONS"
Secretary Kellogg's next activity, after
successfully negotiating for signature Of
the treaty by the is principal contract
ing parties. was to secure the "adher-
ence" of 40 other states This, too,
proved q tedious process, but it was
tackled and carried through with the
same logged perseverance that marked
Kellogg's earlier diplomacy.
The statesman who has Just won the
Nobel prize does not believe, and has
never believed, that the Kellogg BRAND
pact means the end of war. But he is
convinced that 1t lis a most impressive
manifestation of the spiritual nature of
man" and an irretrievable step forward
in the direction of settling international
disputes exclusively by peaceful means.
(Copyright. 1gS0)
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