Part 28 (1/2)

The draft of the League Constitution was denounced even before its contents were known or explained The bare fact that the document had proved acceptable to the British Eonism of the ”professional” Irish-Americans, the ”professional” German- Americans, the ”professional” Italian-Americans, and all those others whose political fortunes depended upon the persistence and accentuation of racial prejudices Where one hyphen was scourged the year before a score of hyphens was now encouraged and approved In Washi+ngton the President arranged a conference with the Senators and Representatives in charge of foreign relations, and laid the Covenant frankly before them for purposes of discussion and criticism The attitude of the Republican Senators was one of sullenness and suspicion, Senator Lodge refusing to state his objections or to le reconition was given to the Monroe Doctrine; that it was not expressly provided that the League should have no authority to act or express a judght to withdraw fronized; and that the constitutional right of the Congress to deteruarded

The President, in answer, gave it as his opinion that these points were already covered satisfactorily in the Covenant, but that he would be glad to e more explicit, and entered a promise to this effect Mr Root and Mr Taft were also furnished with copies of the Covenant and asked for their views and criticisave assurance that every proposed change and clarification would be made upon his return to Paris On March 4th, i these conferences, and the day before the sailing of the President, Senator Lodge rose in his place and led his Republican colleagues in a bold and open attack upon the League of Nations and the war ais is taken froe_: Mr President, I desire to take only a moment of the time of the Senate I wish to offer the resolution which I hold in my hand, a very brief one:

Whereas under the Constitution it is a function of the Senate to advise and consent to, or dissent from, the ratification of any treaty of the United States, and no such treaty can become operative without the consent of the Senate expressed by the affirmative vote of two thirds of the Senators present; and

Whereas owing to the victory of the arms of the United States and of the nations hom it is associated, a Peace Conference was convened and is now in session at Paris for the purpose of settling the terms of peace; and

Whereas a committee of the Conference has proposed a constitution for the League of Nations and the proposal is now before the Peace Conference for its consideration; Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the United States in the discharge of its constitutional duty of advice in regard to treaties, That it is the sense of the Senate that while it is their sincere desire that the nations of the world should unite to proeneral disarue of Nations in the form now proposed to the Peace Conference should not be accepted by the United States; and be it

Resolved further, That it is the sense of the Senate that the negotiations on the part of the United States should ient business of negotiating peace terms with Germany satisfactory to the United States and the nations hoainst the Gerue of Nations to insure the permanent peace of the world should be then taken up for careful and serious consideration

I ask unanimous consent for the present consideration of this resolution

_Mr Swanson_: I object to the introduction of the resolution

_Mr Lodge_: Objection being nize the objection I : The undersigned Senators of the United States, Meress, hereby declare that, if they had had the opportunity, they would have voted for the foregoing resolution:

Henry Cabot Lodge Ja Lawrence Y Shere H Moses Frederick Hale J W Wadsworth, Jr Williae Albert B cuee Lawrence C Phipps William M Calder Selden P Spencer Henry W Keyes Hirae Williae P McLean I L Lenroot Joseph Irwin France Miles Poindexter Medill McCormick Howard Sutherland Charles Curtis Truht to say in justice to three or four Senators who are absent at great distances from the city that ere not able to reach them; but we expect to hear from them to-morrow, and if, as we expect, their answers are favourable their names will be added to the list

A full report of this action was cabled to Europe, as a matter of course, and when the President arrived in Paris on March 14th, ten days later, he was quick to learn of the disastrous consequences The Allies, eagerly accepting the orders of the Republicanthe President and the soleue of Nations was not discarded and the plan adopted for a preliminary peace with Germany was based upon a frank division of the spoils, the reduction of Germany to a slave state, and the formation of a uaranteeing the gains Not only this, but an Allied army was to march at once to Russia to put down the Bolshevists and the Treaty itself was to be ad its orders by an army of occupation The United States, as a rare favour, was to be permitted to pay the cost of the Russian expedition and such other incidental expenses as ht arise in connection with the military dictatorshi+p that was to rule Europe

While prienerals, it had the approval of statesmen, even those ere assu neck-deep in the conspiracy

Not a single party to the cabal had any doubt as to its success Was it not the case that the Republican Senators, now in the majority, spoke for America rather than the President? Had the Senators not stated forue of Nations, and was the Republican party itself not on record with the belief that the Allies ht to i, and that these terms should show no mercy to the ”accursed Hun”?The President allowed hirasp the plot in all its details, and then he acted, ordering the issuance of this statement:

”The President said to-day that the decision made at the Peace Conference in its Plenary Session, January 25, 1919, to the effect that the establishral part of the Treaty of Peace, is of final force and that there is no basis whatever for the reports that a change in this decision was contely enough, that there would be a league of nations as an integral part of the Peace Treaty

It was now the task of the President to take up the changes that had been suggested by his Republican enemies, and this was the straw that broke his back There was not a single suggested change that had honesty back of it The League was an association of sovereigns, and as a ht of withdrawal

The League, as an international advisory body, could not possibly deal with domestic questions under any construction of the Covenant No power of Congress was abridged, and necessarily Congress would have to act before war could be declared or a single soldier sent out of the country Instead of recognizing the Monroe Doctrine as an Aitimized it as a world policy The President, however, was bound to propose that these plain propositions be put in kindergarten language for the satisfaction of his eneave Clee, and their associates a new chance for resistance All of the suggested changes were reat demur until the question of the Monroe Doctrine was reached, and then French and English bitterness broke all restraints

Why were they expected to make every concession to American prejudice when the President would th of accepting the doctrine of Monroe for the whole of the earth, but now, because American pride deht to give orders No! A thousand tiive a little consideration to French and English and Italian prejudices--tioverne, Clemenceau, and Sonnino had parliaress of the United States If the President asked he nal, France renewed her claim for the Rhine Valley and the Saar Basin; Italy clamoured anew for Fiu silence, rushed to the fore with her deht of her nationals to full equality in the United States

Around this time the President fell suddenly ill and took to his bed That the illness was serious is evidenced by the following letter which Doctor Grayson wrote me:

Paris, 10 April 1919

DEAR MR TUMULTY:

While the contents of this letter may possibly be somewhat out of date by the ti in it of interest