Evening star., 1937-03-21

caSlon, genuinely unique, in March.
1919, Wilson and Taft appeared on
the same platform speaking for the
League. Rarely in our history has
anything like that happened. on any
platform, with respect to any SUBJ
jeCt.
Difference Between Fights.
Here, then is one difference be-
tween the League of Nations fight
and the Presidents court proposal,
difference which would seem to
suggest defeat for the court pro-
poSal For the court proposal. dur
ing the early days when it was be-
fore the public, decidedly did not
/ have universal approval. Decidedly
there was and is opposition TO it,
very strong opposition, opposition so
intense that large proportion of
even President Roosevelt'S own party
is opposed TO it, In short, where the
. League OF Nations had a flying start
and favorlng wind at the beginning,
President RooSevelt's court proposal
has not.
In another respect Mr.. Roosevelt's
fight for his court proposal differs
from Wilson'S fight for his League
OF Nations The distinction lies in
the difference between the two men
and their respective circumstances.
Wilson, when he first laid his League
of Nations proposal before the Senate.
had not anything like the strength in
Congress that Mr.. Roosevelt has.
Wilson'S party, indeed. had only a
haIr-llne majority in the Senate and
not a majority in the House at all
whereas, as everybody knows. Mr..
Roosevelt has an immense majority
in both branches.
Similarly, Wilson had not the popu-
larity in the country that Mr.. Roose-
welt has. Wilson had won his second
term only by squeak, and in effect,
by an accident; whereas. as every
body knows, Mr.. Roosevelt won his
second term in an election in which
he carried IS out Of 48 States. Wilson
after election TO his second term. had
become more popular; throughout the
conduct Of the war he was indeed
strlklngly popular he was the SYM
Dol that the country followed in battle,
and had for himself much of the same
kind of emotional support that is
given 10 the flag. This wartime
popularity, however, Wilson had lost,
just as the war came to an end. He
lost 1t, in part, by one of the most
serious blunders ever made by any
political leader. AS the congressional
elections of 1918 approached he asked
the country to elect a Democratic
Congress. And the country, which
had supported him with non partisan
fervor, felt chilled and hurt: the
country elected Republican House.
BY other mistakes, of substance and
manner, Wilson still further lost popu-
larity.
SO that here is difference between
Wilson'S League of Nations fight and
Mr.. Roosevelt's court one, a difference
strongly in favor of the latter.
People for League.
In the Senate, as in the country,
not only at the beginning, but
throughout many months of tie early
part of the League of Nations fight, a
majority of the people were for the
League. Almost as many Republican
Senator'S favored it as Democratic
ones. In the Senate there never were
more than handful of Is or Is Re-
publicans who were wholly opposed to
| the League of Nations. At all times
during the first 10 or u months Of
the year and half the League of Ma
tionS fight lasted in the Senate.
majority of the Republicans would
! have accepted the League, provided
! certain reserve tionS were attached, and
OF course most of the Democrats would
| have accepted it. In the Republican
National Convention of 1920. held Is
months after the League Of Nations
| fight began in the Senate. those Re-
publicanS who were starkly opposed
to the League had the greatest diff
Guilty in preventing the Republican
convention from going on record with
a resolution in favor of the League,
with certain reservations. The Re-
publican nominee for President,
Harding, felt it necessary, In the
beginning of his campaign, to seem
to favor the League, at least lin
principle"-"in principle" was in
those days frequently used phrase.
Between the League fight of 1920
and Mr.. Roosevelt's fight for his
court proposal there is another dis
! tlnctlon. Wilson, to win his fight,
needed to get the votes of tWo-thirds
of the Senate. because joining the
League Of Nations required the sign
| ing of a treaty. Mr.. Roosevelt, of
| course, needs only to get majorities
for his measure in the Senate and
! House.
Small Group Brought Defeat.
| The beating of the League of Ma
tlonS, after nearly two years fight
in the Senate, was accomplished.
! really, by not more than about 8 men.
| That was about the largest number of
| those who reSolutely and implacably
opposed it in every way, and would
not have it, with reservations or with
out. Practic1uv all the rest of the
Senate, at one time or another, would
have voted for the League, with one
| reservation or another What those
! fifteen to eighteen resolute men were
able to do to the League shows how
effective comparatively small mi
nority can be when that minority
has determination, is in compact
agreement and knows what it wants,
as against a majority having less de-
termination, less solidarity and less
upanimity about what it wants.
.s lice in WonIorIonJ,,