Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 273, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1919 — “Not the Fault of the President; It Is the Omission of Our Laws” [ARTICLE]

“Not the Fault of the President; It Is the Omission of Our Laws”

By MAJ. HARRY B. HAWES

At the conclusion of hostilities our president appointed himself, selected four associates, and proceeded to the conference in 1 aris. 1 hese five men spoke for the United States of America, and from the first meeting until the treaty was signed theirs was the voice of the United States. Whether the commission truly interpreted of'failed to interpret the wishes of the American people they were placed in the unfortunate position of not knowing poßitiyely. wliat .Qjir people. wanted. . They guessed that it favored a certain policy, which was their policy, and it may be they guessed correctly. To this day they do not know. If they had known there would be no discussion in the senate. George of England, Clemenceau of France and Orlando of Italy knew that if at any time they failed to properly interpret the wishes of their countries the legislative branches of their governments had in their .possession the power of recall. No king, monarch, president or ruler of a single nation in Europe is permitted to exercise the same unrestricted right as our laws give to a president. The president must not be blamed because he exercised these unusual, extraordinarv powers. It is not his fault; it is the omission of our law. Will the Democratic party*the Republican party, or a new party secure for the people of the United States a right that is possessed even by the people living under the monarchies of Europe, or shall our executive retain and exercise a power more unrestricted, unrestrained and autocratic than that of any European ruler? This is a problem for the future and is independent of the question of the ratification or approval of the peace treaty or the League of Nations.