Evening star., 1945-02-04
Foreign Relations Committee
Eager for Peace Discussion
Expected to Go Along With Administration on
Reasonable Plan" but History Has Found
Body Often Stubborn
By Frank /. Weller

BY fran
At the ripe old age of 129, the SEN
ate Foreign Relations Committee is
bristling to tackle the biggest job of its
Ife-World War II peace treaties.
Created as council of state" in 1915,
1t does the spadework for the Senate,
without whose advice and consent" the
President cannot make treaties with
foreign powers.
Fourth President James Madison was
about to turn his desk (battle-scarred In
the war of 1879 over to James Monroe
when the 25-year-old, 26-man Senate
made Foreign Relations" permanent as
the first of its great standing commit
tees as we have them today.
They gave it authority to:
Cd Smother a treaty, bill or resolu-
ton by simply failing to report it out
of committee. (2) report it 'favorably"
or "unfavorably" by a two-thirds ma
Jorlty, or 90 by simple majority send
1t to the Senate with reservations,
revisions, amendments or interpreta-
tions. Its will usually prevails.
Will Back Reasonable Plan.
1t has been red-headed Caesar at
times in its history, defying both the
White House and the Senate Some
times it has been accused of defying
the will of the people. 1t can, and has,
ripped treaty open at the seams and
put back only the parts it liked or
Nil fhN vryl,N
dow Oeague of Nations and World
CQurb.
Chairman Connally, 10th to hold
the job, says better than two-thirds"
Of the present committee will go along
with the administration on any rea-
sonable commitment of American SOW
ereignty and resources to preservation
of world peace.
Eighteen of the % members, gen.
orally speaking, are listed as inter
nationalists." The other 5 are Re-
publicans, johnson California;, Cap
per (Kansas), Wiley wisconsin,, Ship
stead (Minnesota) and Progressive La
Toilette CWisconsin).
The so-called big Middle" group in
cludes IA Democrats: Connally (Texas),
George Georgia., Wagner (New York;,
Thomas Utah, Murray OMontana),
Pepper Florida), Green (Rhode Is
land), Guffey Pennsylvania), Barkley
(Kentucky), Glass (Virginia), Tunnel
(Delaware), Hatch (New Mexico, Hill
(Alabama), Lucas 1llinois), and Repub-
licans, Vandenberg (Michigan), White
(Maine), Austin (VermonO, and
Bridges (New Hampshire).
Committee of Leaders.
They are all big" on the Hill. d. A
committee of leaders. Eleven of the
Democrats are chairmen of important
committees of their own Barkley is
Democratic floor leader. White is Re-
publican floor leader. Vandenberg is
considered the COP Senate "boss."
The committee meets every Wednes-
day morning now, but Connally says it
will be in almost continuous session once
the peace business starts to roll in.
Broadly speaking, control of foreign
affairs is lodged with the President. {. .
But the committee can tie him in
double bowknot.
1t forced Cleveland to modify his
hands-of policy in the Cuban insurrec-
ton, then turned right around and raised
Ned with Mckinley -. bowling Yankee
imperialism" when we took possession of
the Philippines and set up protectorate
in Cuba.
Mckinley outsmarted the committee
by naming three members on commits
sion of five to negotiate peace with
Spain. The three came back to fight
for the very things the committee had
opposed. Even then the treaty passed
the Senate by only two votes majority.
Named Members to Conference.
Harding, Coolidge and Hoover named
committeeman to international confer
ences such as the Washington Treaties
and the London Disarmament Confer
ences and swung the deals without all
the furore that defeated American men,
bership in the League of Nations.
Some say that it Wilson had not been
so pure" and had Gagged the committee
into carrying the ball for him at Paris
and Versailles he might have Jared
better.
Lord Bryce wrote that the committee
chairman is a second Secretary of
State" President Roosevelt always has
conferred closely with the chairman, and
former Secretary Hull frequently asked
to appear before the committee.
Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, held
the Craftsmanship 10 years d861-7D,
longer than any other chairman in his
tory. He wrote:
"The headship of the first committee
of the Senate is equal to anything in
our Government under the President"
Stone Defied Democrats.
Chairman William ]. "Gumshoe Bill"
Stone of Missouri d914-18 told his
fellow Democrats to 60 creep up rain
spout when they attempted to oust him
for opposing Wilson's war resolution.
Chairman William Allen of Ohio
(1s45-46), the opposite extreme, quietly
resigned when he differed with Presi-
dent Polk over the Oregon boundary
question.
Chairman Henry Cabot Lodge Of
Massachusetts d919-192D and Chair
man William E. Borah of Idaho 1924
33) were against any foreign alliance,
whether it got this country peanuts or
q planet. They lorded 1t over the Presi-
dent and the Senate.
Lodge, Of course, had Republican
Congress johnson was member) on
his side In fighting the League Of Ma