OCR Text |
Show ui.c the fart that thrre are hones rl if -ferences of opinion reeardin interpretations interpre-tations upon debatable poin's in the document. At the same time we are convinced that the people of the country coun-try are opposed to amendments when such, amendments aro certain to des'roy tho treaty and throw tho greater P-'11 of tho world into interminable confusion, confu-sion, and we heartily concur in the following fol-lowing advice pi vert tho senate by tho Philadelphia Ledger, one of the leading Republican newspapers of tho country: W'o cannot stand aloof. Wo cannot shirk t l.o rinks. Immensely greater n'ka will mPnaco us it' we do. We rniit "-.'hip in." We must pool our brains and our hearts and our strong right arma. Wo must join tho forces of prevention as well an trie forces which subsequently fight tho flames on dizzy ladders. We cannot afford to split hairs and chop logic over definitions of Monroo 1 joctrines or what aro or aro not domestic questions. Let tho ienate take all the preen u t ions It thinks necessary and the president oucht to dal with them without pride of joint authorship . In the pending covenant; but let them unite to put "America first" In the firing lino of duty toward mankind and progress toward permanently assured peace. INTERPRETATIONS. A few days ago it seemed possible, or even probable, that tho peace treaty and tho leayuo of nations covenant would bo ratified by tho senato with reasonable interpretations and reservations. reserva-tions. Tho president, even, did not make any strenuous objection to such a compromise, provided tho interpretations interpreta-tions and reservations wero not mado part of the document itself. Tho senato foreign relations committee, however, is now busy amending tho treaty for the purpose, according to tho view of Senator McCumber of North Iakota, a Kopuljliciin member of tho conimittoo, of killing the league. Now it in a generally gen-erally accpjiteil proposition that a great nlajorily of (1r) pcnplo of tho United St.:itcs believe that tho senato should rntify tho treaty and covenant. Thcso peopio havo no objection to interpretations interpre-tations and reservations if the purpose is to clarify tho text whoro tho senators sena-tors think it is obscure; but they do not desire to have tho covenant strangled by means of amendments, and they will likely agree with what Senator MeCuniber has said regarding tho Shantung matter. Thoro aro opponents of the league undoubtedly conscientious in various parts of tho country, and tho charge is being mado that the league of nations invades tho sovereignty of the United States and impairs tho constitution. Former Prcsideut Taft, whose knowledge knowl-edge of tho organic law of the land is at least equal to that of any other jurist iu the country, disposed of all such arguments in a recent speech, in which ho took occasion to reply to Senator Sen-ator Knox of Pennsylvania; who has declared de-clared against Iho league. The 'plain unvarnished statement of the ex-president follows: Tho president and senate aro to ratify this covenant. If it bo ratified, by virtue of their constitutional power to make treaties. This power, as the supreme court has held, enables them to bind the United States to aVontrant with another nation on any 'subject-matter usually th subject-matter of treaties, subject to the limitation that the treaty may not change the form of poverninont of the United States, and mav not part with territory bolonsjinsjf to a state of the United States, , without the consent of the state. ' The making of war, of cmbarpoes, ' of armament and of arbitration are frequent subject-matter of treaties. Tho president' and senate may not. however, confer on any body constituted by a league of nations na-tions the power and function to do any-thin? any-thin? fop the United States which Is vested bv the federal constitution in con- , Kress, the treaty-making power, or any other branch of the United States government. govern-ment. It therefore follows that whenever tho treaty-makir.sr power binds the United States to do anything, It must be done1 bv tho branch of that government vested i by the constitution with that function. j A treaty may bind the United Statos to make or "not make war in any specific; contingency; it may bind tho United i States to submit a difference or a class1 of differences to arbitration; but the only! way in which the United States can per- ; forin the agreement is for conpress to ; fill fil the promise to declare and make i war; for confess to perform the oblipa- tion to levy a boycott; for congress to fix j or reduce "armaments in accord with tho contract, and for the president and senate, as tho featy-makin power, to formulate tho issues to" bo arbitrated and agree with the opposing nation on the character of the court. When the treaty provides that the obligation obli-gation arises upon a breach of a covenant cov-enant and does not make the question of the bren ch conclusively de terminable by any body or tribunal, then it is for congress con-gress itself to decide in good faith whether or not the breach of tho covenant upon which the old i gat ion arises has in fact occurred, and, finding that it has, to perform the obligation. These plain limitations upon the federal treaty-making power are known to nations na-tions of this conference, and any treaty of the United States is to be construed in the light of them. Following those necessary neces-sary rules of construction, the provisions of the covenant entirely and easily conform con-form to the constitution of the United States. Thev lose altogether that threatening threat-ening and dangerous character and effect ef-fect which Senator Knox and other critics would attach to them. This effectually disposes of tho contention con-tention of Senator Lodge that tho United States, under the terms of tho treaty and covenant, can bo forced into war in any part of the world against the will of congress and the people, and it also disposes of the claims that tho Monroe doctrine is weakened; that the right of congress to declare war is abridged; that the right of this nation to act exclusively on its internal affairs, af-fairs, such as tariffs and immigration laws, will be taken away by ratification. ratifica-tion. Former Attorney General Wicl;er-sham, Wicl;er-sham, whose ability as an expounder of tho constitution lias never been questioned, ques-tioned, agrees with Mr. Taft that the senate should ratify tho treaty without delay. Neither of thcso two Kepublican leaders lead-ers believes the combined treaty and covenant a perfect instrument. Neither do they believe it will absolutely prevent pre-vent war. They realize, however, that if. is the only foundation uou which vc fan build a temple of justice at this timo an-1 at Vast make an attempt to ffurc lasting pcaco. Wo fully recog- |