New-York tribune. [volume], January 04, 1920, Page 11, Image 77

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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New Year Br
Press of Both Parties Urge Sen?
ators to Agree on the
Treaty
DEMAND for compromise on
the league reservations be?
came more and more In?
sistent during the last
days of 1919. Stanch Republican
papers have spoken as plainly as
have Democratic. It cannot be said
that any definite grounds for com?
promise have been put forward?
go long as the President maintains
his silence it is recognized that
?Agreement is exceedingly difficult,
for no Democrat is in a position to
gay what compromise, if any, Mr.
Wilson is ready to accept. The
most that can be said is that the de?
ntad for peace is growing more
vocal and that compromise upon
some as yet undefined basis touch?
ing the league is now the almost
unanimous demand of the press.
"Please Settle. It Soon" is the
title of an editorial in "The Utica
Press" (Ind. Rep.) and it is typi?
cal of the great bulk of Republican
opinion. Its plea and argument run
as follows:
Get Together
"The effort to agree is commendable
and worthy of encouragement and sup?
port 'Prom one end of the country to
the other there is an earnest desire
amounting to a demand that the busi
ings Lo
?-.-_-_.?
ness eome te a conclusion. It is i
year last November the armistice was
signed, and too much time has elapsed
already. Clearly the thing to -do is to
get together, and it can be done. The
indications are that the present- effoii
will be successful.
! "Both Democrats and Republicans an
committed to it and engaged in it. Th<
constituents of all the Senators an
anxious for it. With reasonable ear
nestness and fair speed it can be dorn
early in January, and after that is ou
of the way there still remains plenty fr
occupy the attention of both house
of Congress."
This new insistence upon actioi
in the direction of compromise lead
to some criticism of Senator Lodg?
notably in "The Indianapolis News,
which says:
" 'Call you that backing of you
friends?' asked Falstaff; 'a plagu? Upo
such backing.' It is said that thos
Republican Senators who want.to se
the treaty with its league covenai
ratified have not yet decided wheth?
they will go ahead without Senat<
?ud Call
Lodge. Unless they so decide, they will
get nowhere, and the country will get
nowhere. Surely there can no longer
be any doubt as to the Massachusetts
Senator's attitude.
: "Republicans snould by this time
realize that there is no party question
involved? There is no longer any obli?
gation on the part of those who favor
the league to follow the leadership o?
the .man who by his every act has
shown that h? is hostile to it. The
question is one.of making the will of
the Senate majority, without distinc?
tion of party, prevail, and of bringing
together the Senators, constituting two
thirds of the Senate, on a resolution of
ratification. Senators will be judged
by the people, not on the basis of their
loyalty to the Lodge leadership, but
rather by their responsiveness?or lack
of it?to the people's will,"
The Democratic Side
On the Democratic side "The
Cleveland Plain-Dealer" continues
the independent support of the
treaty, dividing the blame equally
between the two parties and urging
a prompt compromise:
"The pressure of public opinion is
beginning to tell in the Senate con?
troversy over ratification. That the
country wants the treaty and league of
nations covenant approved without
emasculating reservations has long
been apparent. Senators now show an
inclination to bow to popular sentiment
on the question.
"The treaty might easily have been
ratified before the" holiday adjourn?
ment had majority and minority lead?
ers been willing to Bwallow their pride
momentarily, and put through a pro?
gram of conciliation already agreed
to informally as to detail. That -op?
portunity was thrown away. But evi?
dences have continued to multiply since
the adjournment that Senators are not
as indifferent to the currents of public
thought as they sometimes like to
appear to be.
"From the minority side, through
Senator-Underwood, comes a proposal
of quite another character?that a bi?
partisan committee be chosen to work
out a ratification resolution of such a
character that it may command the nec?
essary two-thirds vote. , The bitter
enders, ot course, are left out of con?
sideration. They see no merit in any
teague of nations and would prefer to
.ee peace hold up indefinitely rather
?han approve a society of powers to
preserve peace.
Compromise or No Treaty
"It is the best suggestion on the sub?
ject now before the,Senate and coun?
try. The months of discussion has
clarified tl.?'-is_t-*e at many points. It
!s plain beyond dispute that both rati?
fication without reservations and ratif?
ication as Senator Lodge would have it
are impossible. Unless there be compro?
mise there can be no treaty. Refusal
to concede anything is obstruction, no
matter which side is guilty of it.
"Fighting ended ih 1918. Peace
mould have been accomplished by mid
1919. The issue is allowed to dawdle
Into 1920."
On the other hand, some Republi
:an papers see no possibility of com?
promise, and insist that there be no
I for Pe
?r
surrender. Says "The Kansas City
Star":
"The report from .Washington of the
compromise proposals of the mild res
ervationista on the-league of nations
seems incredible. A large majority in
the Senate has voted for Americanizing
the treaty. Surely there can be no
yielding to the minority on any essen?
tial part in the process of American?
ization.
No Surrender
"The President was defeated in his
plea to the country for approval before
he went to Paris. At every Congres?
sional election since that time the peo?
ple have spoken strongly against the
proposal to surrender American sover
'eignty to a foreign tribunal. In spite
of the pressure for party regularitj
only a small minority of the Senate
voted to apprqve the 'treaty without
i change.
"There can be. no surrender to th<
sninority now. If Senators are contem
plating anything ?o foolish they wil
invit? the repudiation of their con?
stituents. This country will not stanc
for minority rule."
Similarly "The Pittsburgh Ga
zette-Times" declares ..that then
is no possibility of compromise
"Either we agree to surrender ti
the league authority over our arm;
and navy in certain cases, or we re
fuse to give a pledge that we wil
not Keep." However, "let the Presi
dent attempt to draw a reservatio;
more satisfactor"y to America tha
Senator Lodge's. If he cannot.d
so he should be willing to take th
only statement of our position tha
we can honestly make."
Mr. Taft Wantei
As Peacemaker
The movement in the Senate t
petition Mr. Taft to enter the seer
as a peacemaker and engineer a con
promise upon the league comes |
a consequence of Mr. Taft's cqi
sistent support of the principle <
the league from a nonpartisan vie\
point. He has not hesitated to blari
Mr. Wilson or the Republican leai
ers of the Senate as he deemed jut
His latest utterance, an editori
in "The Philadelphia Public Ledger
is chiefly a practical plea to $
Republicans to take the initiati
and obtain a compromise, thus ,i
moving the league issue from t
1920 campaign. His argument is
follows:
"From the Republican partisan star
point, the reasons for compromise a
ratification of the treaty are stroi
The prospects of Republican victory
the next Presidential campaign are .<
cellent. Indeed, this ?3 what has ma
the bitter enders so truculent a
boastful. The anti-league roectir
which Mr, Johnson and Mr. Borah .\
dressed were very enthusiastic a
were mistakenly supposed to indicatt
strong general opposition to the trea
Gol. t
TT TILLTAM JENNINGS
W BRYAN has emerged
* * from his three years' re?
tirement at Lincoln, Neb.,
ud stepped once more into the lirae
tight at Washington, ostensibly to
farther the progress of the peace
treaty, but there is a strong sus?
picion that all this is only a pre?
liminary to casting his hat into the
r?ig for the Democratic nomination.
His advance on Washington raises
the question, Is he interested in ob
tsining a fourth try for himself?
Hss he another candidate? Or is he
?haply an old-timer looking the
youngsters over?
Hs has come, says "The Baltimore
A_Dfa_can,'' to "wrest from his
chief's band the baton of influence,
or perhaps, Wilson having washed
?ryan's t
his hands of the treaty, Bryan has
been deputized to aid in the settle?
ment." It may be, thinks "The
Boston Globe," "that he has only
come for this end, but there is
ground for the belief that he has not
entirely relinquished his interest in
the Democratic councils." There
may be some significance in the
summons of Bryan's paper, "The
Commoner," for the Democratic
aspirants to "advance and give the
countersign." Mr. Wilson, con?
tinues "The Globe," has led the
Democrats since 1912, but since his
illness the country has been without
a leader, and it would not be sur?
prising for Mr. Bryan to decide that
his own services were necessary to
marshal the Democrats for the com?
ing campaign.
"The Knickerbocker Press" (Rep.)
Bashful Bill
??Wxom The Maltimore Amerioatk
lat in th?
thinks "the Boy Orator" has come
to rescue the treaty and the Demo?
cratic party from the state to v/hich
they have been reduced by President
Wilson.
Mr. Wilson in a Hole
"It would be unkind to suggest that
his program is based upon the fact
that President Wilson, having put the
Senate and the country into a hole by
his peculiar treatment of the issue,
has disclosed his inability .to get out of
that same hole. It would be equally
unkind to suggest that Mr. Bryan,
surveying the impossible predicament
in which the President has landed, has
in mind a way out which would leave
him in control of the Democratic situ?
ation. Yet, whether it is kind or other?
wise, Mr. Bryan's part is clear, and it
is plain enough that he thinks that
Wilsonian policies have degenerated to
the point where he is called upon to
Intervene.
"Mr. Bryan, to be fair to him, is not
the only Democrat who has been run?
ning around in circles in the eifort to
save something out of the mess into
which the treaty has fallen under the
President's leadership."
"The Wichita Beacon" (Rep.) also
believes that Mr. Bryan has come
to demand a new deal and a break?
ing away from the Wilson spell; he
| wants his party to face realities and
get back to business. After all, he
j is the obvious Democratic candir
: date for President, "always in the
j background ready to step two paces
to the front." He has been a real
factor in politics for a long time,
and is probably the strongest single
factor in the party to-day. "He's at
it again!" sighs "The Hartford
Courant" (Rep.), prophesying that
he will "ride several horses-^prohi
bition, peace, and the rest of his
specialties." ^
"The New York Times" (Dem.)
ridicules Mr. Bryan and his pro?
posed candidacy. It reviews In no
gentle manner his nomination of
Alton B. Parker, "the obscurest can?
didate he could And" in 1904, his
success in Democratic politics in
Nebraska, which is solidly Republi?
can, his "self-sacrificing method of
strengthening Mr? Wilson's"?ablnst
tin June, 1015," h_3 brilMsnt *ecord
e Ring
as Secretary of State, and interest
in world prohibition. His domestic
politics, especially his views on the
railroad question, come in for
greater ridicule. "The Times" con?
cludes:
"Some thoughtless sociologists who
fail to understand the inevitable re?
currence and unavoidable candidacy
of Mr. Bryan lightly assume that his
present onward movement arises from
the fact that Mr. Wilson is sick and
Mr. Bryan naturally feels himself
called to take in the interim the lead?
ership of the Democratic party. On
the contrary, Mr. Wilson is getting
well, while the Democratic party, look?
ing at the immortal visitant from Lin?
coln, might be forgiven for feeling
very, very sick."
"The Baltimore American" (Rep.)
has no fears for the Republicans in
the event of a Bryan candidacy.
"The Republicans know how to deal
with and to honor a straight-out old
timer like Bryan in the political
game."
The Republican Latest
The latest addition to the collec?
tion of Republican hats is that of
Professor Butler, the president of
Columbia University. Republican
papers agree that he may be a very
good man, and "the more the mer?
rier," especially since this latest
"favorite son" is from New York.
"The Hartford Courant" compares
the list of Republican candidates,
Wood, Lowden, Coolidge, Butler
and Harding, to the Democrats,
McAdoo, Palmer, Bryan, etc., to
show the superiority of the former
over the latter. . . . But few
believe that Butler, in spite of his
virtues, will be nominated. "The
New York Call" (Soc.) calls atten?
tion to Butler's friendship with the
Kaiser in 1913. ,
A Pershing boom has ' been
launched, in spite of the general's
silence. The effect so far is uncer?
tain, some, according to "The Wash?
ington Post," suspecting an attempt
to cut out Wood, while Pershing's
boomers scorn this idea and say that
he will be in the lead by June.
This, thinks "The Post," is causing
worry among-the "favorite son"
phalanx.
I St. Ge?
-?-__?_???- ,( i
??-J-^ULLING the- Dragon's
*? W~ Teeth; or, Making the
-*- High Cost of Living Eat
Out of the Administra?
tion's Hand," is the title bestowed
by "The Kansas City Star" oh "that
splendid and spectacular produc?
tion, put on with an all-star cast at
popular prices, plus War tax," by
the government, for our entertain?
ment; that is, Attorney General
Palmer's latest attack on the high
cost of living. This particular play,
however, is generally regarded as a
farce, in view of previous hopeful
announcements of lower prices just
before a rise. Even the most hope?
ful papers only advise "wait and
see," while the others are tired of
seeing St. George announcing the
heroic deeds he means to do, while
the dragon goes on living. "The
Kansas City Star" continues in ref?
erence to Palmer's little drama:
"There has been a tremendous bur?
nishing up and oiling of the knightlj
nrmor worn by the St. Georges who art
to perform this popular operation, anc
the preparations and applause that have
attended them have been sufficient tc
scare an ordinary dragon to death with?
out waiting for the coup-de-main. Bui
this particular dragon seems to hav<
received a defective education. He ap
parently doesn't know what is expectec
of him, and instead of curling up anc
dying tc the expensive music provider
by the Administration, as any dragot
with a proper histrionic sense wouh
do, he keeps on devouring the helples;
and innocent, heroine quite as if no St
George Palmer or other dragon slaye:
was in the neighborhood.
No Gurgles Yet
"Fortunately for the St. Geo??es tb>
audience is as much taken up with it
own affairs as the dragon. Othorwis
some impatience might be manifeste.
St the protractedness of the prelude
The elattering of armor and the whet
ting of swords, while'exciting, are no
of themselves a form of ontert?inmen
to keep an audience all the ?venins
Mr. palmer has dashed out in front o
the curtain several times now, and *
various degrees. of armored sheathinj
to announce that the combat was abou
to begin. But amid the noise of th
thunder barrels and th? blaring of th
These meetings merely indicated the
intense, purpose and interest of pro
Germans and' extreme Irish revolution?
ists to beat the league.
"Should the league issue be projected
into the next national campaign, the
Republicans would be seriously divided
over the issue. There would not be
enough of dissentient Republicans to
defeat the Republican candidate for the
Presidency;i but the issue would mod?
erate th? party enthusiasm and pre?
vent the overwhelming Republican vote
which must be had to promote Repub?
lican purpose and plans.
"The next four years will present
difficult constructive problems to the
Republican party. It can do little un?
less it has a compact and real party
majority in each House. Senator Pen
rose, an experienced legislator and
I Senate leader, has declined at this ses?
sion even to outline, much less to at?
tempt, legislation of a financial nature,
because the Republicans now have only
a nominal majority in that body.
Republican Danger
"The regular Republicans must per?
ceive that unless they can win a vic?
tory at the polls next November, so de?
cisive as to sweep into both Houses
regular Republican majorities so Jarjre
that these dissentients will not be
needed to carry Republican measures,
the party will not succeed in meetin?
gs responsibilities. Indeed,* it may re?
quire two elections to give a real Re?
publican majority in the Senate. Thi:s
! is not drawing the line which divided
the Roosevelt Republicans from the
I regulars in 1912. Roosevelt Republi
cans in the East, and many of them in
| the Middle and Far West, are united
with the rest of the party, and are as
much opposed to the radical views of
Senators Johnson, Borah and La Fol?
lette as the so-called regulars.
"To weaken the support of the Re
publican party by making the league a
party ;, s sue awcr alienating conscientious
i Republican advocates of ratification
will prevent such a victory as the Re?
publicans must have. From a sin?
cerely Republican partir?n standpoint,
therefore, a compromise on the Lodge
ri servations with the Democrats should
be pressed and th?; treaty and league
be ratified, .and taken out of national
politics. Over and above all political
considerations, the needs of the world
and the honor and duty of this nation
require it"
Drge and
?>
trumpets no sound has yet reached the
front that resembles in any manner the
death gurgle of a dragon. If there has
been anything at all to indicate that
Mr. Palmer and the dragon had even
seen each other, it is a distant commo?
tion sugestive of a gentleman in sheet
iron trying to climb a tree."
Mi: Palmer is dubbed "a dis?
credited soothsayer" by "The Buf?
falo Express." He has advised the
American people not to be too much
shocked if a drop in prices should
occur between January 1 and
March 1, but the American people
would be more sanguine if previous
prophecies of this kind had been
borne out. It is wondered if, be?
hind his confident statements,
Palmer has much faith in his own
efforts. "The Des Moines Register"
takes us back to last August, when
he predicted relief in the course of
thirty or sixty days, but prices only
rose, and have done so ever since?
so that, to most of the American
people, "the curve of living costs
rises in the same ratio that the
curve of, faith in Mr. Palmer's eco
the H. C
nomic doctrines turns down." It
considers that Palmer's spectacular
attack on the packers was inspired
by partisan motives, while . sugar,
flour and butter were left un?
touched.
A Hopeful View
"The Washington Post" takes a
hopeful view and notes that the na?
tional associations of shoe, clothing
and drygoods retail dealers have
joined the movement to get business
back to a normal basis. The trouble
has been that everbody expected,
along with extra pay, an immediate
fall in prices, which had to be a
gradual process. Indications are
now pointing to the ebb of the tide
and hope of material relief during
1920. After all, prices have risen
between August and November in
past years, while this year they
have remained stationary during
that period, and there has always
been a tendency for prices to fall
early in the year. "There is no
ground to believe," says "The Bal?
timore American," "that the pre
A. OI jLj.
vailing rate of prices will be indefi?
nitely sustained. There is much rea?
son to believe that they will decline."
Relief may come through natural
recovery from the el?ects of war
and economy and cooperation by thw
public, but few papers hope for any
results from .heroic and spectacular
attacks on the profiteers. The B?tn
tion, reminds "The Kansas City
Star," is not one for St. George's
methods :
"Probably it v/ould be too much to
ask of our political dragon slayers to
come out and tell us frankly that what
the world needs is production and not
tournaments. The form of entertain?
ment the world needs just now is the
interesting and absorbing one of work
?the turning out in unprecedented
quantity of the things the world needs
to cat, to wear and to live by. When
we all jump in and do that, instead of
waiting around to applaud a show
staged by gentlemen madly running
for office and willing to pose in any
role that promises a cheer, we shall see
our dragons turn up their toes. Un?
less and until we do we will remain in
a fair way of turning up our own."