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Show rir'iAMfNJ o .MtU ,4t 4J THE CITIZEN MYSTERIES OF PARIS FIXING the blame for the treatys is now the pleasant task of the critics. . Republicans and Democrats are pointing the fingers of scorn at one another and neutrals are . screaming in a belligerent way at the senate. Calling the senate names has . long been one of our most comfortable forms of criticism. When writers have dull moments they have a few stock editorials to fall back on and one of them deals with the interminable delays of our national debating society. Senators are a little more sensitive A than usual in the face of these criticisms and they are not found without a weapon of defense in this instance a veritable double-edge- d snickersnee. To bring out their views in salient fashion they propose that the presidents powers to negotiate treaties shall be limited. They point out that when the fathers framed the constitution, using, the words by and with the advice and consent of the senate they intended ' that . the president should conduct his negotiations, not: on his sole responsibility, but guided constantly by the advise of the senate. They note the fact that the earlier presidents really kept in touch with the senate during the progress of negotiations and accepted senatorial ad- vice and that, moreover they even asked the advice of the senate before , beginning the negotiation of commercial and other compacts with foreign powers. .As long as the presidents adhered to that practice the dangers of secret diplomacy did not appear to be menacing. i a p was SECRET diplomacy, however, in the earlier years of our. republic. During the second war with England our representatives were sent abroad to negotiate for peace. Without swift means of communication our diplomats were necessarily thrown on their own resources and were compelled to make definitive decisions wholly unaided by. advice No from this side of the Atlantic. one could justly complain of secret diplomacy in the negotiation of treaties because there was no means of keeping the public informed concerning the progress of the negotiations. When,- therefore, President Wilson, after proclaiming open covenants openly arrived at as one of his fourteen points, abandoned open covenants and nearly all of his fourteen points, he could defend the secrecy of his negotiations by pointing to the example set. by the American diplomats who negotiated the treaty of Ghent; but in an age of rapid communication he would have been more in harmony with the intent of the makers of our consttiution had he forced open cove- $ nants on Europe by reporting, from time to time, to the Senate of the United States and asking its advice. In that way he could have put an end to secret diplomacy and the result 7 -- : By F. P. Gallagher probably would have been a treaty to which the senate could have given its assent wtihout amendments or even reservations. would have thought that the of the great war would not have been forgotten so quickly. Not one of the nations had been free from secret compacts which, when the crisis came, made the preservation of peace impossible. Take the case of Great Britain, for example. Premier Asquith and Sir Edward Grey assured parliament that there were no secret understandings that bound Great Britain to enter the war. They insisted that parliament was . free to do as it chose, but when the truth came out it was clear to the parliament that they were bound in honor to wage war on behalf of a France bound to wage war in support of Russia. And Russia was mobilizing all her military forces despite Germany's warning that general mobilization would compel Germany to declare war. ONE A Siegel -- LEST Overcoat changes a freezing wind into a mere bracing breeze $25 to $75 Just received a new line of this statement give the that Germany was forced into the war it is well to recall the fact that the entente powers, Russia excepted, did all they could to preserve peace and that Germany, as shown by revelations made in Germany since the armistice, did all it could to bring about hostilities up to the time, at least, that Great Britain threatened to plunge into the conflict. Then there were moments of hesitation which quickly passed and Germany hurled defiance at Great Britain. But Great Britain did not enter the war, as she declared, solely to pre- serve the sanctity of the treaty anteeing Belgiums neutrality and territorial . integrity. She entered the war largely because of the entente agreement with France, and because it was necessary to curb the power of a Germany bent on the conquest of the world. In the few maddening hours just before the commencement of hostilities the members of the British parliament learned quickly the terms of this agreement. True, it did not provide absolutely that Great Britain should declare war if France were subjected to an unprovoked attack by Germany, but its terms were of such a character that all Englishmen could see that the obligations of honor bound them tighter than fetters of steel to France and self-respecti- ng war. FRANCE had already fulfilled her She had concentrated her fleet in the Mediterranean so that Great Britain could assemble her war- ships in the channel and the North Sea to meet the Teutonic menace. For more than three years France had abided by this obligation and by the further obligation to enlarge her army so that, when war came, she would be able to withstand Germany Leather Coats The Siegel Clothing Co. The Store Men and Boys for 228-23- 0 Main Street - LADIES! OUR ROTISSERIE i Will operate daily from 6:30 to 9 p. m., get a nice roast chicken I for your family dinner. I Get the habit of lunching and dining at ROTISSERIE INN Where tempting dishes can always be had. We specialize on Olympia Oysters, Soft Shell Crabs, Frog Legs, Soles, Dung-enes- s Crab, Mushrooms, AlliPears and all fresh vegegator tables obtainable on eastern and western markets. C. RINETTI F. CAPITOLO 323 SOUTH "11111111 MAIN STREET IIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIItllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIHIIMIIIUIIIIlUinilllUUIIMWMIlHI. on land while Great Britain maintained control of the sea. Here was a compact which already had benefited the British empire. The ruling powers in England, that is to say the secretive statesmen, who had entered into the agreement, had al- ready taken advantage of the terms of it and when the war crisis came they were placed in the dilemma of deciding whether they would support or abandon an ally who had faithfully carried out their terms of the understanding. The conduct of the ministers of state was strange. They told parliament that Great Britain had a free hand and perhaps they believed it, but they could not make their countryin the men see the understanding The British same fantastic light. parliament, as soon as the terms of were rethe entente agreement vealed to them, knew that they were committed to war in case France should be attacked. And Great Britain went to war as much to preserve the sanctity of that compact as to preserve the sanctity of the treaty with Belgium. She did not have a free hand. She was bound by a sacred agreement and it was a contract that had been entered into with the (Continued on Fage 18.) |