Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 July 1919 — LANSING SEES NEWSPAPER MEN [ARTICLE]

LANSING SEES NEWSPAPER MEN

His Midi No Arrangements to Appear Bison Senate Committee. SILENT ON SHANTUNG ROW Secretary of State Says Both Great Britain and the U. 8. Would Bo Obligated to Equal Extent by the Treaty. Washington, July 20.—Secretary Lansing gave his first audience to newspaper men since his return from France. The secretary said he had, not made any arrangements to appear before the senate foreign affairs committee. He expects to be In Washington for some time and the senate, committee can call him if it sees tit to do so. The senate has naked the state department for the protest which it understands Secretary Lansing, Mr. White and General Bliss 'made against the Shantung award. Mr. Lansing was asked if be would state the nature of that protest. He declined to do so. The secretary’s attention was called to the statement from the White House relative to Shantung in which it was said the president "exerted all the Influence he was at liberty to exercise in the circumstances to obtain a modification.” He was asked if it was fair to assume that the argument which he and Mr. White and General Bliss made followed the line of argument made by the president. His reply was: "That would be a dangerous assumption.”

Lansing Surprised. Mr. Lansing was told of the debateIn the senate over the French treaty-. He assumed that the text of the treaty already had been presented to the senate and when told that it had not been expressed surprise. It was explained to him that the criticism of the Republican senators was that “under article 4 of the treaty it was provided that the treaty should be submitted to the senate at the same time as the treaty of peace. “How do they know that if the treaty hns not yet been presented?" he asked.

He was told that what purported to be a true copy of the treaty has been read to the senate by Senator Brandegee and was asked if he would confirm life allegation that the treaty actually did provide that it was to be given to the senate coincidentally with the peace treaty. He refused to confirm it It would be improper, he said, to make known any part of the treaty until the (ull text had been given to the senate. "But,” it was suggested, "the fall text of the treaty has been printed in the Paris Figaro and the London Times and the complaint Is that it should be published abroad before it Is published here.” "It makes no matter whether or not it had been published abroad, they have no senate to deal with there as a part of the ratifying power, and we have,” be replied. “But because it must be a party to ratification is the very reason why the senate complains that Europe gets the text of the treaties before they are given to the senate,” was further suggested. To this Secretary Lansing made the following reply: "The complaint is that the treaties,, are not made public by the state department. If they were made public by the state department before it was possible to send them to the senatethere would be even greater complaint. Then we would be accused of propaganda. We would be accused of making the document public In order to form public sentiment in its favor before it was given to the senate. I know quite likely that would be my contention in those circumstances if I were senator.” Britain Bound Like U. 8. Secretary Lansing was asked if it wei;e true that there was a difference in the texts of the French-American and the French-British treaties. He declared that the difference was only In phraseology. Both Great Britain and the United States, he asserted would be obligated to an equal extent. He admitted that, as sent out from Paris, the language of the French-British treaty meant something very different from the languageof the French-American treaty, but he declared that the quotations given in the Paris dispatches were not correct. When the secretary was asked what progress was being made in the resumption of American trade with. Germany, he replied: , “We are still at war with Germany and., will be until the treatv of na»no

Is ratified. The blockade on Germany has been lifted by general agreement, but every person from the United States who goes Into Germany until peace is declared necessarily does so at his own risk.” Mr. Lansing did not know anything about the arrangement which Undersecretary Polk had made to bring about resumption of American trade with Germany, even before the signing of peace, by issuing American traders passports to neutral countries bordering on Germany from which they could gain entrance to Germany.