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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1919)
THE NORTH PLATTE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. ONLY SENATE CAN IB WILSON President Has No 'Power to An nul Act of Congress. FALL'S QUESTIONS ANSWERED Upper Chamber's Failure to Act Is the Only Bar to Ending Present State German Colonies Taken In Trust. Wellington, Auk. 22. Prosldcnt Wilson lins not the power to doclnrc penco by proclamation, nor coulil lie coimont In nny clrcnmstnnccs to tnko such a course prior to llio rnt mention of n formal treaty of pence by tlio sen ate. The president so wrote Senator Kail In answer to one of the 20 written questions the senntor presented nt the "White House conference Tuesday. Roplylng to another question, tho president said tho provision of the treaty that It should come Into force nftcr ratification by Germany and thrco of the principal associated pow ers operated merely to estnhllsh peaco between those ratifying powers, nnd that It was "questionable, whether It can bo said that tho League of Nations Is In any truo sense created by tho as sociation of only three of tho allied and associated governments." Peace Would Cut H. C. L. As to tho question of when nonnnl conditions might bo restored, tho pres ident said he could only express tho confident opinion that Immediate rati fication of tho treaty nnd acceptanco of the covenant of Uic league, as writ ten, would "certainly within the near future reduce tho cost of living," both In this country nnd abroad, through .tho restoration of production and com merce to normal. r To Senntor Fall's questions relating to tho disposition of Germany's pos sessions, tho prosldcnt snld tho ar rangement In tho trcnty conveyed no title to the nllled or associated powers, but merely "Intrusts disposition of the territory In question to their decision." " ."Germany's renunciation In favor of tho principal nllled nnd associated powers," tho president continued, "of her tights and titles to her overseas possessions Is niennt slmllnrly to ope rate as vesting In those powers a trus teeship with respect to their flnnl dis position nnd government." Question of Procedure. 1 Unless Mr. Wilson absolutely re verses himself, the strugglo between hm and the senate must center for the next week or month entirely on n simple question of procedure. The president holds most of tho enrds tho Constitution gives him n big ad vantage In being able to negotlnte and sign peaco treaties. It Isn't like n do mestic luw thnt can bo passed over his veto by two-thirds vote. No such con flict between tho executlvo and legis lative branches of the government In volving so many signatories to a trcnty has occurred before, nnd tho legal con sequences nro enough to make mnny International lawyers rich In fees for years to come. Commercial as well ns financial relations will bo subject to varied Interpretations. Here Are the Twenty Queries. 1 The 20 questions answered by Pros Ident Wilson, which were submitted to him by Senntor Fall nt the confer once held nt the White House Tucs day, are In brief as follows: Questions I to IV Could not tho president, with tho assent of congress, proclaim n status of peace with Ger many nnd permit tho resumption of trado? Question V asks tho president to define the establishment of tho League of Nations and stnto "how many tui tions win nnvo to nitiry the penco treaty before such establishment will bo perfected." Question VI Will tho League of Nntlons reduce the high cost of living In the United States? Asks About Neutrals. Question VII What do Norway, Sweden, Denmnrk, Holland and Switz erland think of tho League of Na tions? Will they Join, and when? Questions VIII and IX deal with resumption of commcrco with Ger many. Question X asks If certain com mittees ns stipulated in tho lengue hnvo been appointed nnd Inquires to whom they mnko report. Questions XI and XII To whom does Germany renounco ccrtnln terri torial rights which It Is required to renounco under tho treaty? Quostlon XIII Inquires as to the dis position of ovorseas possessions by tho United States. Quostlon XIV What disposition Is made of Germany's foreign posses slons? - Questions XV, XVI and XVII nsk for Interpretations of certain phases of the leaguo nnd tho reason for tho appointment of certain commissions. Questions xvill, XIX nnd XX Why was the United States mndo n party In tho appointment nnd fulfill ment of ccrtnln missions In tho set tlement of foreign ploblsclto ques :lons? Tho President's Reply. President Wilson's letter to Senntor ran, replying to the sonntor's 20 questions on tho treaty nnd the League or Nations, Is as follows: "My Dear Senator Fall : rou left yesterday In my hands certnlfi written questions which promised you I would nnswer. I nm hastening to fulfill that promise, "I feel constrnlned to sny In replj to your first question not only that In my Judgment I hnvo not the power by proclamation to doclnrc that peaco exists, but that I could In no circum stances consent to tnko such a courso prior to the ratification of n formal treaty of peaco. I feol It duo to per fect frankrress to say that It would In my opinion put n stain upon our na tional lienor which wo never could efface If, after sending our men to tho buttle field to fight tho common cause, we should nbnndon our associates In tho wnr In tho settlement of the terms of penco nnd dissociate ourselves from nil responsibility with regard to those terms. "I respectfully suggest thnt, having snld this, I have In effect answen- l nlso your second, third nnd fourth question- so fur us I myself nm con corned. Peace When Treaty Is Ratified. "Permit mo to nnswer your fifth question by snylng that the provisions of the treaty to which you refer oper ate merely to establish pence between the powers ratifying, and that it Is questionable whether It can be said that tho League of Nations Is In nny true sense crented by the association of only three of the nllled rnd asso ciated governments. "In reply io your sixth question, I can only express the confident opinion that the Immediate adoption of the treaty, along with the articles of the covennnt of the leaguo ns written, would certainly within tho near future reduce the cost of living In this coun try tin elsewhere, by restoring produc tion and commerce to their nonnnl strength nnd freedom. "For your convenience, I will num ber the remaining paragraphs of this letter as tho questions to which they nro Intended to reply nre numbered. "VII. I hnvo had no offlclal Infor mation as to whether Norway, Swe den, Denmnrk, Holland, or Switzer land will Join the league.' "VIII. I answered your eighth ques tion In reply to a question asked me nt our conference the other day. (This question 'referred to licensing of ex ports to Germany.) "IX. In February, 1017, Spain was requested to take charge of American Interests In Germnny through her dip lomatic nnd consular rcprcsentntlvcs, nnd no other nrrnngement hns since been made. "X. The committee to prepnro plnns for the organization of the lengue, for the establishment of the seat of tho league and for tho proceedings of tho first meeting of the assembly, hns been appointed, but has not reported. "XI. Article 118 of the peace treaty, part IV, under which Germnny re nounces nil her rights to territory for merly belonging to herself or to her allies was understood, so far as spe cial provision was not made In the treaty Itself, for Its disposition, as constituting prlnclpnl nllled anil asso ciated powers tho authority by which such disposition should ultimately bo determined. It conveys no title to thoso powers, but merely Intrusts tho disposition of the territory in question to their decision. XII. Germany's renunclntion In favor of the prlnclpnl nllled nnd asso ciated powers of her rights and titles to her oversens possessions Is meant slmllnrly to operate as vesting In thoso powers n trusteeship with respect to their flnnl disposition nnd government. League to Pass on Disposition. "XIII. Thero hns been n provisional acreement ns to tho disposition of these oversens possessions, whose con flrmntlon nnd execution Is dependent upon tho approval of the League of Nn tlons, and the United Stntes Is n party to that provisional agreement. "XIV. Tho only agreement between France nnd Great Britain with regard to Afrlcnn territory, of which I am cognizant, concerns the redlsposltlon of rights already possessed by thoso Countries on thnt continent. The pro visional agreement referred to In the preceding paragraphs covers all ,tho German overseas possessions In Afrlcn ns well ns elsewhere. "XV. No mention wns mndo In con nection with tho settlement of the Snur bnsln of the scrvlco of nn Amer ican member of the commission of live to he set up there. "XVI. It wns deemed wise thnt tho United States should be represented by one member of the commission for set tling the new frontier lines of Belgium nnd Germnny, because of the universal opinion thnt America's representative would add to the commission n useful element of entirely disinterested Judg ment. League to Pick Saar Commission. "XVII. The choice of the commis sion for the Saar basin was left to the council of the League of Nations, be- cnuRO the Snnr basin Is for 15 years to be directly under tho care nnd direc tion of tho League of Nntlons. "XVIII. Article 8.1 does In effect pro vide that five of tho members of tho commission of seven to tlx the boun daries between Poland and Czecho slovakia should bo nominated by cer tain countries becnuse there nre five prlnclpnl nllled arid associated powers, and tho nomination of live representa tives by those powers means the nomi nation of one representative by each of those powers. "XIX. No such commission has yet been appointed. (The commission re ferred to Is thnt for the fixing of the Polish boundaries.) "XX. It wns deemed wlso thnt tho United States should have a reprosen tntlve on tho commission set un to exercise authority over tlfe plebiscite of Upper Sllesln for the snine roason thnt I have given with regard to tho commission for settling the frontier line of Belgium nnd Germany. "Sincerely yours, "WOODBOW WILBQN.? l-Aeromnrlno seaplane taking on a bag of lnte foreign mall for delivery to the stenmer Adriatic, widen had left New York for Europe several hours before. 2 Sale of surplus army food In the New York custom house to employees. '.I Senator Thomas of Colorado who denounced ns "nothing short of treason" the de mands of tho railway brotherhoods. NEWS REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS Relations With Mexico Strained When U. S. Troops Cross Bor der in Chase of Bandits. CARRANZA PROTEST FUTILE President Wilson Discusses Peace Treaty With Senate Foreign Rela tions Committee, Without Vis- Ible Result Progress of the War on Profiteers and Hoarders. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Relations with Mexico flared up again alarmingly last week and the amateur and unofllclal prophets freely predicted that wo would be at war with our southern neighbor within u short time. Once more Amerlcnn troops hnvo crossed the border, with out asking permission of Curranza, for the purpose of capturing Mexicans who have committed outrages against Amerlcnn citizens and for whose ac tions tho whiskered one says he can not be held responsible. The capture and holding for ransom of the two army nvlators who hnd lost their wny was the act of a small band of bandits, but the administration at Washington shows n growing Inclina tion to step across tho border and "clean things up" If the federal govern ment of Mexico ennnot do the job. It appears that n stern warning was Is sued some time ago to Cnrranzn, to which he replied at length, stating that his government would do and was do ing all In Its power to protect the lives nnd property of foreigners in Mexico. In this case of the captured aviators who were released on payment of part of the ransom federal troops were sent nfter the offenders. The Amerl cnn punitive expedition consisted of pnrt of the Eighth cavalry, aided by some army flyers. They cnught two bandits nnd killed four others who opened fire on them when surrounded. Under Instructions from his govern ment, Ambassador Bonillas entered protest against the "Invasion" and de manded the Immediate withdrawal of the troops. The reply, drafted by Pres ident Wilson, was a lint refusal to comply with the demnnd. The press of Mexico City was nroused to loud protest. One or two of the pn- pers there, however, realize the serl ousncss of the situation that has been created by the numerous outrages ngnlnst foreigners nnd ndmlt thnt un less Cnrranzn radically changes his policies he will Invite disaster to him self nnd to Mexico. In the United States Indignation Is by no means confined to the border states or to thoso who hnvo suffered financially or otherwise, at the hands of the Mexicans. The demand Is gen ernl that our government give to American citizens everywhere the full protection to which they are entitled and there Is n feeling thnt unless It docs so our membership In the League of Nations would be farcical. Which brings us to the second great event of the week, the unprecedented meeting of the senate committee on foreign relations with President Wilson In tho White House for the elucida tion of many points In connection with the peace treaty and league covennnt. In accordance with the desires of both parties, the entire proceedings were given full publicity but a study of them and of the subse quent comments of the participants does not show that much was accom plished In the way of removing the ob stncles to ratification of the treaty Mr. Wilson made a long preliminary statement to tho senators and then nn swered their many questions with nil frankness. Ills position regarding Interpretations and reservations might be summarized thus: If ordinary com mon sense is used In rending the treaty nnd covenant they nre unnec essary; If they merely accompany the act of ratification there Is no objec tion to them; but If they are made a part of the resolution of ratification, long delays would result because all jg the other notions would have to be asked to accept the language of the senate as the lnngungc of the treaty; It would be especially humiliating to hnvo to ask the assent of the German national assembly. Senator Fall cnlled the president's attention to the fact thnt Germany Is not to be an original member of the league and consequently nny amendments to the covenant proposed before her admis sion would not be submitted to her. Mr. Wilson admitted this wns true nnd that the point had not occurred to him, but ho insisted that Germany already has a relationship to the league and thnt It wns the plan to admit her immediately. As for article 10.' the crux of the whole fight, President Wilson inter preted it as follows: If the league calls on the United Stntcs to send troops abroad to preserve the terri torial Integrity of another member stnte from externnl nggrcsslon, the United Stntes will bo under nn abso lutely compelling moral obligation, though not n legal obligation, to com ply. But the league cannot call on the United Stntes for sucli aid unless the American member votes his ap proval In accord with American pub lic sentiment. After It wns all over, Senntor Hitch cock said the president bad clarified mnny Involved questions In a wonder ful mnnner nnd that speedy ratifica tion would be the result. Senator Lodge said Mr. Wilson had not given them much renl Information and thnt the admissions he had made had vin dicated the criticisms leveled nt the league covennnt. Between these ex tremes stand tho "mild reservation tsts." To capture their votes, Senator Plttman of Nevada took the reserva tions they advocate, called them "In terpretations or understandings," nnd put them Into a resolution which he presented to the senate for Its adop tion apart from the resolution of rati fication. He asserted that he was nct-lifft- with the president's approval, whereupon Senator Hitchcock, admin istration lender, felt himself ignored nnd showed that PIttmnn's resolution was not much to his liking. The op ponents of the covennnt were brutal ly outspoken In condemning the reso lution. In the course of the lively de bate Mr. Plttman admitted thnt the Lengue of Nations was "hardly more than u meeting place where the con sensus of the civilized world may be obtulncd and Its moral force brought to bear." "If you'll write that Into the lengue covennnt there will be no difficulty about its ratification," Interrupted Senntor Heed of Missouri (Dem.). Pnrls correspondents predict that the peace conference will adjourn within two or three weeks and that when It renssembles In November or December the United Stntes will not bo represented unless in the meantime the sennte shall have ratified tne treaty and decided that we shall nc- cept mandates. The work for the con ference nfter It reconvenes will be the partition of Turkey and the settle ment of the Thrnclun and Adriatic questions. If the United States does not take part In these, both Italy and Greece expect to win their demands, for the Americans nre now their only opponents. As to Thrace, the Amer lcnn delegation Insists on the creation of a buffer stnto that will give Bul garia access to the sen. The Greeks and Turks, who make up the bulk of the population of" Dedcagatch dis trict, involved in this plan, are bitter ly opposed to the continuation of any thing like Bulgnrlan rule there and nre reported to be preparing to resist It by arms. It Is not the Intention of the peace conference to leave any part of Thrace In the possession of Bul garia. 1 The council of five hopes that the Austrian treaty will be signed within a week. It also Is feeling optimistic about Hungary, where a new coalition cabinet has been formed, and thinks It may soon be able to recognize the government nt Budapest and present (.lie Hungarian treaty for signature. The week's news from Itussln was somewhat more encouraging, for Ad miral ICoIchnk appeared to have stopped Jils retreat and to have checked the pursuing bolshevlsts. The red forces were ousted from Odessa, nnd lost ground In some other regions. In the Gulf of Finland u British fleet encountered a number of bolsbevlst vessels nnd snnlc fout ot them, thereafter concentrating against Kronstadt. The fortress was bom barded and the city set on fire. The situation In Upper Sllesin is confused nnd confusing. The Germnis and the Poles are lighting each othsr In a desultory fashion there, and both arc contending with the striking workers of the country who have be come so violent that the German au thorities proclaimed martial law. The new German constitution hns Just gone into effect, and u summary of It has been made public In Amer ica. It seems to be In most respects nn admirable document, designed to establish and maintain a moderate nnd commendnble form of republican government, more strongly centralized than our own. The powers of the president nre very great. The equal ity of nil men nnd women before the law Is nsserted, nnd titles of nobility are abolished except "as a part of a person's name." It Is noticeable, how ever, that Germany Is still called an empire. It may be added, as a matter of Interest, that the former kaiser has just bought a place of residence In Holland, and thnt current reports of his fast fulling health are flatly con tradicted by a correspondent who sees William nearly 'every day. Uncle Sam's war against the prof iteers and "hoarders went on stendily If not so swiftly ns the victims of the II. C. of L. might have hoped. The ultimate consumer hailed with en thusiasm the assertion by Attorney General Pulmcr thnt the small retail ers ns well as the big retailers and the wholesalers are going to feel the heavy hand of the department of jus tice. He appeared before the house committee on agriculture to discuss proposed amendments to the food con trol net, nnd argued against a pro vision that would exempt from prose cution as profiteers thoso retailers who do nn unnual business belou $100,000. Many of the complaints of extortionate prices, ho said, are ngalnst the small dealers nnd he add ed he would feel hopeless if he were restricted to the larger dealers. Mr. Palmer also asked the committee to withdraw the proposed provision glv lng the president authority to fix prices. This, ho said, he considered unnecessary and calculated to provoke too much discussion. The only amend ments he favored were one extending the scope of the net to Include wear- lng npparel nnd containers of foods, feeds nnd fertilizers, nnd one Impos ing n pennlty of 55,000 or Imprison ment for two yenrs for profiteering. The great quantities of foodstuffs which have been seized in various cities by the ngents of the department of Justice will not be placed on the market until proper court proceedings have been completed. Meanwhile the government Is disposing of Its vast surplus army stores practically at cost, and tho way In which hundreds of thousands of people struggle for n chance to buy these commodities Is sufficient evidence of their need. The actors' strike, after spreading to Chicago, became so stubborn a struggle there that the unions of mu slcans nnd stage hands were called on for help, with the result thnt nenr ly every thenter was obliged to close. Efforts to end the strike nmlcnbly In New York were fruitless, nnd It was said there It might be extended to cov er the entire country nnd all hall shows, Including the movies. Within a week there probably will be a conference between the officials of the steel workers' unions nnd rep resentatives of the United States Steel corporation. If It Is refused by tho lntter, a committee bended by Samuel Gompers Is empowered to call a strike forthwith. The corporation innlutulns the open shop, nnd the unions wish to present to It a rather portentous list of 12 basic demnnds. Cudnhy. Wis., nnd Hammond. Ind.. were the scenes of strike riots nnd stnte troops were hurried to both places to restore order, which they did. ' The farmers have won their fight against daylight saving, for nlthough the rest of the .population Is unani mous In Its favor, the bill for repeal of the law was passed ny both house nnd senate over the veto of Preslden Wilson. TD SENATE COMMITTEE REVERSES PEACE TREATY CLAUSE. TAKES PROVINCE FROM JAPAN First Amendment to Versailles Agree ment Carried By Close Vote; Seri ous Consequences Predicted. Washington. Tho senate foreign re lations committee voted, 0 to 8, to strike the word "Japan" from tho pro visions of the pence treaty relating to tho disposition of Germany's rights In Shantung nnd Insert tho word "China." Tho effect of the nmciidinent Is to provide for the return of tho territory to Chlnn. 'Tho treaty ut present gives the territory to Japan. After voting to amend the trcnty, tho committee notified President Wil son thnt It could not Intelligently pro ceed with' Its work on amendments un Ul ho furnished nddltlonnl Information. Tins Is the first nmendment to tne treaty-made by the committee. After making it, tho committee considered other amendments, In executive ses sion. Those who hnvo given close thought to the situation hnvo expressed the be lief thnt rejection by the United States of the Shantung provisions of tho penco trenty might throw the question back Into the peace conference In such a way ns to cause Japan to seriously consider entrance Into a lengue with Germnny nnd Russia nnd would bring the world face to face sooner or later with war which would equal or sur pass tho lately ended world Avar. With the committees action tho fight over the Shnntung settlement is trnneferrod to the sennte' floor. Repub lican leaders say they have the votes to uphold the committee nmendment but administration senators appear cqunlly certain that It will be beaten. American Troops Withdrawn. El Paso, Tex. Troops of the Amer ican punitive expedition, which cross ed the border in pursuit of bnndits who captured nnd held for ransom Lieutenant Harold G. Peterson ot Hutchinson, Minn., and Lieutenant Paul II. Davis of Strnthmore, Cal., Amerlcnn aviators, have withdrawn- from Mexican soil. Colonel Lnnghorne, In chnrge of tho 300 cavalry men, said the expe dition was considered a success from a military standpoint. Ho pointed to the killing of five bnndit suspects nnd the arrest of six other suspects by the Americans and capture of nine by Cnrranzn troops nt Colonic. Tho reason for withdrawal, he said, was that there wns no longer any prospect of capturing other bandits nnd there were no more hot trails to follow. Severe rainstorms had oblit erated all of the tracks. The expedition had penetrated farther Into Mexican territory than, any since tho punitive expedition which wns sent across the border un der Gen. Pershing on March 15, 191(5, in pursuit of Francisco Vllln's bandit band. Great Reception Awaits Pershing. Washington. General John J. Pershing, when he returns to tlia United States, will be accorded a reception, If plans prepared are car lied out by congress, ne is scheduled to arrive In New York September 8 oi 0. President Wilson may meet him there. Chnlrmnn Knhn of the house mili tary affairs committee bus prepared n resolution asking a special joint ses sion of congress September 18 to wel come Pershing. At thnt time, if Chnlr mnn Knhn's plans nro carried out, the enmmnnder in chief will be presented with a gold sword ns an appreciation of his services. U. S. Building Huge Fleet. Washington, D. C. Fourteen hun dred and ninety-three ships will have been completed by the United State shipping board by December 31, 11)10, under the present building program, Chalrmnn Payne announced. All will be "first-class, ocean-going, steel ships," according to Payne. The total capacity of this fleet, sail ing under the American ling, will bo 12.1S5.000 deadweight tons. Approximately 4,205,000 deadweight tons of It, or 5211 ships, nre now on the wnter, Payne said, and other and minor ships built nnd projected by tho board will total more than 2,000 bot toms by the end of 1020. More Traces of Murder. Mnplehlll, Kan. Numerous pieces of smnll bone, Imbedded In a thick layer of lime, were found last Friday nfternoon by Investlgntors on ground back of a livery stable formerly con ducted by Rufus King, held on charges of murder In connection with the mys terious disappearance of three persons here several years ago. Three skele tons, partly Identified, the authorities assert, ns thoso of the missing poisons hnvo been found on the King prem ises. Tragedy Near Des Moines. Des' Moines, la. Three persons were killed nnd two seriously Injured at Lnkevlew, In., when an automobile In which they were riding, wns struck by a Northwestern train. Carload of Sugar Seized. Chicago, 111. A carload of sugar wns seized here by government nnent In the campaign against profiteering. The seizuro followed the nrrust of the fourth sugar Jobber. All have been chanted with profiteering under the iAiver food control act. SHANTUNG I